The Hyphen Is Important, I Swear: Let's Play Classic X-COM [COMPLETED]

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

New hangars are ordered for the outlying bases in Africa and the Arctic.



An obsolete radar system is decommissioned at the Asia base to make room for some more storage.





More Ethereal ships go down.


An Ethereal supply ship is briefly pursued, but lands at its destination before it can be intercepted.


The Avenger's repairs are finished, and it's stationed at the Arctic base, with a supply of fuel and ammunition.



Another Ethereal supply ship is caught, and is shot down near the Chinese border.



A small scout ship is pursued and obliterated.






Analysis of the miscellaneous UFO components is finished, as well as interrogation of a navigator.


Another Ethereal supply run is terminated over the Indian Ocean.



More Ethereal scouts are neutralized.



A Floater scout is let go in the hopes of luring some soft targets.



More alien supplies are dumped in the ocean.


A lucky shot completely obliterates a scout craft.



A Snakeman fleet on route to Oceania is spotted. The Skyranger at the Asia base is sent after it to try and hijack the supplies; we are critically short on Elerium.


Operation Night Viper begins.

Briefing: X-COM forces have pursued an alien supply ship to the Australian Outback. The goal of this mission is to recover as much of the resources on board the craft as possible. Hostiles will consist of a medium to large crew of Snakemen. As this is a night mission, caution is recommended.











Unfortunately, the squad doesn't have any equipment to handle a night mission; a lack of flares or incendiary ammo means tactics have to be adjusted to compensate.



The HWP fires ahead; desert sand doesn't ignite, but the smoke will support the squad in getting to the door of the UFO.


Unfortunately, shots from the darkness quickly destroy the tank.


More smoke is set down so the squad can deploy; in the process, one of the team at the front takes light injuries.







Even in the darkness of night, Snakemen around the landing site are clearly visible. The night has negligible effect on the squad's aim.


Another Snakeman tries to move in from the north, but is brought down by reaction fire from the squad.


In no time at all, the ship is breached.



A Snakeman is spotted hiding around the far corner of the ship. A grenade is used to take it out.





A pair of Snakemen around a corner gets blown away by a sergeant.


The main prize of this operation is found; three functional reactors, all with Elerium fuel.



A charge begins towards the back of the ship, where the path to the upper levels is.



A Snakeman comes out of the right lift, promptly getting mowed down.


The team then commandeers the lift, moving up to the top level of the ship.




A Snakeman fails to spot the troops as it passes through the hallway, getting hit from a flank at close range.



A Snakeman near the control room is quickly taken out.


A rookie on the first level is ambushed by a Snakeman that escaped a search of the middle storage level.



The leader in charge of the ship tries to exit the control room, but is caught between two Sergeants and is quickly blasted.



One last Snakeman is spotted and dealt with, clearing out the ship and allowing X-COM to recover the cargo.

Result of Operation Night Viper
HWP: Destroyed
Sgt. Shigeo Tanida: 5 kills; wounded, will recover in 3 days
Sgt. Dwight King: 3 kills
Cpt. Isao Tanida: 2 kills
Sgt. Isao Fujimoto: 1 kill
Sgt. Bernard Revenu: 1 kill
Clarence King: Killed in action
12 aliens killed by X-COM ground forces
UFO hull, reactors, navigation systems, fuel, food capsules, and surgical equipment recovered
Debriefing: Given that this was a night mission the squad was not properly equipped for, only losing one soldier and a cheap HWP is a good outcome. Recovering the Elerium is a massive gain.


Using the funds from the salvaged materials, it's time to start constructing some defenses at the outlying bases.


A Snakeman scout that's part of the base construction fleet is taken out by an interceptor.


The month ends; Nigeria has been lost to infiltration, but the other backing nations are more than picking up the slack.


The first round of psionic testing is completed. Now that we know the psychic strength (and weakness) of some of our troops, fighting the Ethereals is much less of a risky proposition. With how many Ethereal supply ships are flying around, hopefully we won't have to worry about an Elerium bottleneck ever again.



The Snakeman base has been located, close to the site of an Ethereal base in Papua New Guinea. It's honestly hard to tell which is which.

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

The engineering team in Europe starts constructing some amplifiers to take advantage of the troops' new capabilities.





Some scouts get taken out.



A Floater ship gets brought down in China.



A Snakeman supply ship slips past air defenses.


A Snakeman terror ship appears. Interceptors aren't able to shoot it down, but the air patrol repels it from its destination and prevents an attack.


The storage expansion at the Asia base is done.



A small scout is the next to be destroyed by air patrols.



Another scout goes down.


While preparations are made for the Europe team to deal with Ethereals, the team in Asia goes after the crashed Floater ship. Operation Soft Shell commences.

Briefing: A Floater scout craft was recently shot down in a rural area of China. Forces from X-COM Two have been deployed to clear the site for recovery. Hostiles will consist of a small to medium crew.








Due to not having quite enough armor for a 10-person squad, only eight are being deployed here. If eight soldiers in power suits with heavy plasma guns can't deal with Floaters, though. we have bigger problems.


Smoke gets set out and everybody gets moving.



The first Floater encountered goes down without any trouble.


Another quickly goes down.



A third Floater is taken out by the squad as it fans out.


An alien grenade fails to reach the squad, instead kicking up some smoke that can be used for cover.



Unfortunately, it doesn't help against an ambush, and the smoke rapidly clears.



Another Floater to the west goes down.


Unfortunately a Floater emerging from the ship ambushes the captain running point on this operation.


This alien goes down as well, but not planning for hostiles coming out of the ship was a bad mistake.



Breaking into the ship finds one more Floater, which is swiftly taken out.


Yet another is spotted hiding in the crops.



An initial burst of fire misses, and the Floater retaliates, taking out the attacking sergeant.



Someone from further away manages to get it.



Another Floater tries to sneak up on part of the team around the ship's door. Nobody has patience for that kind of trick at this point.

Results of Operation Soft Shell:
Sgt. Dwight King: 1 kill
Sgt. Tatsuo Koyama: 1 kill
Rene Buchard: 2 kills, promoted to Squaddie
Louis Dujardin: 2 kills, promoted to Squaddie
Cpt. Isao Tanida: Killed in action
Sgt. Bernard Revenu: Killed in action
8 aliens killed by X-COM ground forces
Debriefing: No easy way to say it, the execution of this mission was sloppy. Losing three troops in engaging mere Floaters is a disappointing outcome. We still come out ahead here, though.



Construction starts on defenses at the Europe base.



Another Ethereal scout is eliminated.



The science team doesn't really have much else to do until we can capture a commander.


A new batch of recruits is brought in.



Blaster ammo for one of the HWPs is finally available and brought to X-COM One. With a squad carefully hand-picked based on psionic capability and two HWPs ready for battle, it's finally time to start taking the offensive against the mysterious aliens that have had us on the defensive for months.



And it appears we might have some volunteers.

[Iced Fairy]

It's time to crush the aliens with our minds.  And by that I mean heavy weapons platforms.

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

A Snakeman terror ship appears on radar. It evades pursuit, leaving interceptors to patrol cities around Australia in case it shows up again.


Unfortunately, the ship attacks New Zealand instead.



Forces are assembled, but the attack ends before the Skyranger can arrive in Wellington. New Zealand is not a backing nation, and Australia is already under alien control, so the political impact from this will be minor as long as long as the offensive is kept up against alien forces.



A Snakeman scout ship hunts the South Pacific for a base that doesn't exist.




Another Ethereal scout goes down. Forces are mobilized for Operation Think Tank.

Briefing: An Ethereal scout ship has crashed in a rural region in Central Asia. Selected troops and a pair of HWPs have been deployed to clear the site for recovery. Hostiles will consist of a small to medium crew. Psionic powers will be used by the enemy; the troops being deployed have been specifically chosen to counter this threat.







The two troops with the weakest psionic power have been left unarmed to act as decoys for the Ethereals. Helen Wright, with the strongest power, has been given a Psi-Amp.


An Ethereal is spotted on a rooftop near the landing site. Mentally, its raw mental power is actually weaker than a few of the troops, but it's far more trained and refined; it's effectively a psionic stalemate, where neither side can really use its powers against the other.




The Ethereal manages to evade attacks from the first HWP's plasma cannon and take it out with counter fire. However, the second tank's fusion launcher is far more difficult to avoid.




With little resistance outside, it's easy to breach into the ship.



Unfortunately, a close-quarters firefight doesn't go in the team's favor.



Another Ethereal is quickly



As expected, the Ethereals direct their attacks straight to the two who have been brought along to be distractions for the rest of the squad.


This wasn't part of the plan. Fortunately, Unger's far from everybody else.


Unfortunately, his morale is vulnerable, and even when not under mind control he's still dead weight.



When Unger's back to functional, he searches through the door and finds an Ethereal... unfortunately he dropped his weapon earlier. While pulling back, he receives some wounds.


Treating them is a difficult proposition, with Klaus panicking again and unable to pass his Medi-Kit to the nearest squadmate.


Eventually, he pulls himself together long enough to toss it over to Helen, who quickly starts patching him up.



Going through to the cockpit discovers some more Ethereals.  One goes down after a burst of plasma fire; the other only has a stun launcher and isn't much of a threat.





The worn-out Unger manages to get the Ethereal that attacked him on the other end of the ship. Unfortunately, there's another Ethereal around the corner that wasn't expected.



The Ethereal technician at the controls goes down.


Attempting to pursue the other Ethereal just leads to Helen getting shot.


Sgt. Okabe goes down from the rampage of the last Ethereal.


With one of the remaining soldiers under mind control and the other panicking and running away from the evac zone, retreating isn't possible at this point.




There's still a tank, though. Careful aim means being able to blow open the cockpit and take out the last Ethereal while avoiding damage to the reactor we want to recover.

Results of Operation Think Tank
Plasma HWP: Destroyed
Blaster HWP: 2 kills
Gerard Bouton: 0 kills
James Wright: 0 kills
Sgt. Helen Wright: Killed in action
Sgt. Dwight McNeil: Killed in action
Sgt. Kenji Okabe: Killed in action
Klaus Unger: Killed in action
7 aliens killed by X-COM ground forces
UFO hull, reactor, navigation system, and fuel recovered
Debriefing: This battle with the Ethereals went poorer than expected, although it was due to tactical deficiencies and overconfidence rather than being overwhelmed by psychic attacks. These powers must be refined in our remaining forces.

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

Some Sectoid ships are shot down over Europe and Africa. A medium-sized one is worth salvaging; the Europe team is sent in for Operation Brain Buster, with a recovered Iwahara leading the charge.

Briefing: A Sectoid abduction craft has been shot down over western Europe. Forces led by Col. Iwahara have been sent to clear the site for recover. Enemy forces will consist of a medium to large crew; high-ranking Sectoids with psionic capabilities may be present.








Another rookie's here with a Psi-Amp and pistol but was accidentally glossed over.


Smoke is set down and the HWP gets moving to a nearby rooftop.



A Sectoid is hiding in a nearby farmhouse; rather than have the troops chase it down, a fusion bomb is launched inside, blowing everything up.


The tank is heavily damaged by enemy fire from ground level, but it's still kicking for now.



An alien emerging from a hull breach is taken out.



The HWP detects more Sectoids lurking in the shadows.





A Sectoid attempts to take cover in what's left of the nearby farmhouse. Somehow, it manages to not only survive a direct hit from a heavy plasma, but take out the attacking sergeant with a counterattack. It takes a shot from further away to finish the job.




Another shot from the tank takes out a small crowd of Sectoids.



One further away gets a blast all to itself.



One shot from the distance breaks through the weakened armor of the HWP, putting it out of commission.



Another soldier goes down courtesy of Sectoids hiding in the broken ship.




Iwahara's wounded by a firefight with an alien on the opposite side. Joy.



She gets patched up quickly enough, but she's still going to be out of commission after this operation.



With one arm injured and her aim off as a result, taking on two Sectoids at once is a bad idea. She gets out of the aliens' sight.


A proximity grenade is set down to block off the hull breach.



The grenade takes out one Sectoid, making it easy to just blast the other.



Another Sectoid is brought down by Iwahara.


Psychic attacks from the cockpit go for more than just the decoys, yet again.


With Noguchi stunned by panic, he's a sitting duck for a Sectoid.



Iwahara takes out the stray Sectoid, and starts going for the control room of the ship.



All that remains is the alien leader; it doesn't take long to deal with.

Results of Operation Brain Buster
HWP: Destroyed
Col. Yoko ?Eliminator? Iwahara: 5 kills; wounded, will recover in 21 days
Sgt. Naohiro Noguchi: Killed in action
Sgt, Maria Jones: Killed in action
Helen Jones: Killed in action
14 aliens killed by X-COM ground forces
UFO hull, navigation systems, and surgical equipment recovered
Debriefing: And so, we lose multiple sergeants, the good HWP, and Iwahara's hospitalized again. On the other hand, a side effect of this battle is knowing she's mostly immune to psionics. Another month of psychic training and testing will be needed to get any use out of the Amplifiers.

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

An Ethereal scout is sent crashing down in Europe.


The squad from the Asia base is sent to Africa to handle a small crash site. Operation Desert Remnant begins.

Briefing: A medium scout is crashed in the Kalahari desert of southern Africa, close to the location of New Three One. A ground team has been sent to clean up the wreckage and prepare the site for recovery. Hostiles will consist of a small crew of low-level Sectoids; opposition should be minimal.










Due to an oversight, not all of the troops on this operation have been equipped with armor. This mission will focus on trying to only use the squad members with power suits.


The mission starts with smoke being set down.



Sectoids don't do well against their own plasma weapons; a single shot is enough.





Sectoids are lurking around the landing gear, but against armored troops in smoke they can't do much.





The battle is fast and non-stop, but every Sectoid that arrives to the fight is one that gets mowed down.



Rather than rush the ship, a proximity grenade is set in front of the door to await any remaining Sectoids while troops lie in ambush around the sides.



The first Sectoid to emerge from the ship triggers the blast, while a second runs into the squad's line of fire.

Results of Operation Desert Remnant
Cpt. Shigeo Tanida: 3 kills
Sgt. Dwight King: 2 kills
Louis Dujardin: Promoted to Sergeant
No X-COM casualties
6 aliens killed by X-COM ground forces
UFO hull, reactor, navigation systems, and fuel recovered
Debriefing: This operation was fairly straightforward.



A Sectoid scout slips away from our interceptors, but it's of minimal concern.



Another supply ship is sent down into the ocean near Sri Lanka.




It's overkill, but the Avenger is used to shoot down a Floater harvester when nothing else can keep up.

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

It's time to get going after the ship recently shot down in the United States. Operation Forest Ranger commences.

Briefing: A Floater harvester ship has been shot down in the Pacific Northwest. Ground forces from X-COM One have been deployed to clear the site for recovery. Hostiles will consist of a medium to large crew.











Team is equipped and deploy. That Psi-amp probably isn't going to do anything, but somebody needs to get relegated to support regardless.



As usual, the mission starts with a smoke grenade out the door.






Floaters in the forest make easy targets.



A quick pass from Barbara to one of the sergeants on the ground gets another smoke grenade in the field, covering the advance forward.



A Floater emerging from the hills in the distance gets struck by reaction fire from the squad.


Another Floater gets mowed down by the wall of troops.


A Floater grenade not only completely fails to injure any of the squad, but manages to kill one of the aliens themselves.



A Floater on top of the ship gets taken out.



Yet another Floater goes down.



As a Floater emerges from the ship, it quickly falls.



Unfortunately, another manages to get a lucky shot in on one of the squad. However, even this Floater is eliminated.


The squad moves in on the entrances to the ship.



A Floater trying to come down from the upper levels of the ship is caught by two of the squad.



A floater technician armed with nothing but a stun launcher also doesn't last particularly long against the advance of the troops.


With no resistance, it's easy to get to the top level of the ship and reach the control room.


All that's left is a pair of Floaters; one has dropped its weapon and one is within easy range.



The furthest Floater goes down, and the nearer one is brought down by the blast from an exploding control console. The squad is done here.

Result of Operation Forest Ranger
Cpt. Oscar Bradley: 1 kill
Sgt. Barbara Stephens: 1 kill
Sgt. Gerard Bouton: 3 kills
Sgt. James Wright: 4 kills, promoted to Captain
Sgt. Spencer Miller: 4 kills
Sgt. Gaston Dreyfus: Killed in action
13 aliens killed by X-COM ground forces
UFO hull, navigation systems, food capsules, and surgical equipment recovered
Debriefing: Considering the length of the battle and number of enemies involved, one loss is what can be considered ?acceptable casualties?.





Using the recent infusion of funds from scrap and surplus, some additions are made to the various bases. It'll take a while, but soon X-COM bases will become much more fortified against assault.

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

A supply ship heading to the Snakeman complex in Oceania is shot down. With the Skyranger from the Europe base still out, forces from Asia are deployed for Operation Serpent's Cache.

Briefing: A large supply ship has crashed very close to Russia's border with Kazakhstan, in a rural area. Forces from X-COM Two in Asia have been sent to clear the site for recovery. Enemy forces will consist of a medium to large force of Snakemen.











Apart from a rookie getting a medi-kit and pistol and a captain getting a rocket launcher, everybody's getting the heavy plasma guns.


The operation starts with smoke being set down.


The crashed supply ship is nearby; the squad can proceed once any nearby hostiles are cleared away.


Speaking of nearby hostiles, a Snakeman is hiding in a nearby farmhouse. It's best to stay away from any windows that would provide a line of fire.




As the Snakeman passes by the window, an attempt at reaction fire from the troops puts a hole in the wall. This provides a perfect opening for someone to go in and take out the alien.



A Snakeman in a nearby field gets sniped by advancing forces.


It survives and gets up again, only to get shot once more.



Snakemen are lurking in the vicinity of another farmhouse to the northwest.


The Snakeman at the door gets taken out, along with the door itself.


A rocket launcher is fired at the corner of the building to clear away cover.



The Snakeman moves away from the wreckage of the structure, giving a prime opportunity to fire at it.



A pair of troops make their way over to one of the entrances of the UFO, bringing down another alien.


A Snakeman around the other corner gets blasted.




Another Snakeman emerging from the entrance goes down.


This clears the way to get into the ship.




Another Snakeman gets shot; the finisher comes from a surprise hit from the other side of the battlefield.



Another Snakeman that survived its initial injuries tries to slink away, but again the retreat is cut short.


While two of the reactors were blown out by the intercepton, one still remains.




One of the breaching troops gets ambushed while going around a corner, quickly bleeding out.


Another gets caught by a Snakeman coming out from the upper portions of the ship.





The brief shift in the tide of battle is quickly reversed, with the attacking aliens getting taken out.



A Snakeman blocking the lift is dealt with, clearing the way to the top level.





There's little stopping the attacking ground forces from rushing through the command level of the alien craft and taking out the last remaining Snakeman.

Results of Operation Serpent's Cache
Cpt. Shigeo Tanida: 4 kills
Sgt. Leon Gressier: 1 kill
Sgt. Rene Buchard: 1 kill
Clarence Miller: 1 kill, promoted to Sergeant
Stefan Richter: 2 kills, promoted to Sergeant
Andrea Martin: Promoted to Sergeant
Sgt. Dwight King: Killed in action
Sgt. Tatsuo Koyama: Killed in action
12 aliens killed by X-COM ground forces
UFO hull, reactor, navigation systems, fuel,  food capsules and surgical equipment recovered
Debriefing: Things went very well up to a certain point, but we still came out ahead.


Some more personnel arrive at the European base.







Some scout ships of minor consequence slip away from the interceptors.


The launcher HWP has been rebuilt. It will be a useful tool for future assaults.

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

Some Ethereal supplies are added to the growing pile under the ocean.



A Snakeman scout goes down over Central Europe.



An Ethereal scout gets knocked out in one shot.


Additional hangars at the Africa bases are ready.



More alien supplies get dumped into the sea.


An alien ship attempts hunting for the Asia base, but with patrolling scouts being constantly shot down, it has no luck finding its target.






A pair of Sectoid ships have made their way into Western Europe, where they are promptly greeted with air-to-air plasma cannons. The Skyranger goes after the one that was shot down first for Operation Grey Eire.

Briefing: An alien abduction craft has been shot down over Ireland. Forces from X-COM One have been dispatched to clear the site. Hostiles will consist of a medium force of Sectoids. A high-ranking Sectoid with psionic capabilities is likely to be present; exercise caution.











With psionics present, Bouton's here to be the bait for mental attacks, which is why it's reasonable to go light on armor with him.


Smoke is set down to start the operation.


The UFO is crashed nearby, with a rupture in the side providing an entry point.


A Sectoid hiding in a grove of trees tries to fire on the HWP, which merely provides an indication of where to aim.



One blast levels the field, and the Sectoid is flattened into the dirt.



A Sectoid emerging from the wreckage is taken out by reaction fire from the squad.


A Sectoid lurking around the corner of the ship gets mowed down.


A Sectoid is visible inside the medical room of the ship.



An attempt to shoot it with the tank goes awry due to a tree in the missile's path.



Plan B is ?just snipe it? and goes much better.



Another alien in the chamber gets zapped by a colonel.


Mental attacks start becoming present, and unfortunately, they aren't going for our decoy. Col. Gaudin sets his weapon aside.



Unfortunately, in the process of entering the hull breach, Barbara gets mowed down by a Sectoid firing through a hole in the upper level.




Another soldier manages to take out the alien and get to the command level of the ship.


A Sectoid in the medical room gets back up, but goes back down.



Another Sectoid near the breach on the opposite side is sniped by a Captain still near the Skyranger.

Someone scouting around the ship gets ambushed and killed by an alien grenade.


A shot is made at the Sectoid that threw it, but it survives a direct hit.


Plan B: Fire a shot from the tank to take it out.



The shot strays from its targeting waypoints, missing its intended target and hitting a nearby building instead. However, the blast wave reaches the Sectoid, killing it.




An advancing captain spots two Sectoids near the control room. They both have their backs turned; it's a perfect opportunity to get them both. Unfortunately, the alien in the control room comes out and finds him shortly after... The charge towards the control center of the ship has been disrupted and a captain has been mowed down. And things are about to go from bad to worse.




The psionic assault begins.


Bouton's been equipped with the expectation that he will be mind controlled, so he won't be a threat...



...on the other hand, a commander being mind-controlled? That's bad. Fortunately, he dropped the Blaster Launcher during his earlier panic. Unfortunately, he still has a weapon on him, and one of the squad goes down.


Matsumara the sniper is the next to be mind-controlled. She still has a line of fire into the Skyranger, and Commander Reynolds goes down.


Another officer attempts to breach the command area of the ship, and gets shot six times as a result.


The tank takes a shot at the hull near where the Sectoid is, but the smaller, weaker projectiles it uses aren't able to break through.


Plasma shots against a back wall of the bridge do manage to punch a hole, providing an opening to sneak up on the Sectoid in charge of the ship.



The Sectoid leader is gunned down, bringing an end to this dreadful battle.

Results of Operation Grey Eire
HWP: 2 kills
Cpt. Sumie Matsumara: 1 kill, promoted to Colonel
Sgt. Claude Buchard: 1 kill
Sgt. Gerard Bouton: Promoted to Captain
Cmdr. Paul ?Bomber? Reynolds: Killed in action
Col. Claude ?Eraser? Gaudin
Sgt. Barbara Stephens: Killed in action
Cpt. Oscar Bradley: Killed in action
Cpt. James Wright: Killed in action
Sgt. Spencer Miller: Killed in action

10 aliens killed by X-COM ground forces
UFO hull, navigation systems, and surgical equipment recovered
Debriefing: so there goes our commander, multiple officers,  most of our remaining troops with verified psionic capabilities, and a ton of armor. Back to being on the defensive.


Yoko Iwahara has become the new field commander. She still needs two weeks to recover from her most recent combat injuries, but once she is back to the battlefield, there shall be a reckoning.



With a need for more armor, manufacturing begins on new Flying Suits in Asia while the Power Suits are shipped over. This leaves the secondary squad without armor, but the immediate priority is getting the main squad as combat-ready as possible as fast as possible. Some of the veterans from Asia will also be sent to bolster the squad.

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

There's still another Sectoid abductor crash site, but after the previous disaster attempting to recover it would be a foolish venture.




As part of the shift in strategy, another base is established. With Russia and Japan as key contributors to the organization, the location of the new base will be on Sakhalin Island.






Construction starts on the complex.




A Sectoid scout is engaged by an interceptor with lasers; some slight damage to the attacking craft, but the alien ship plummets into the sea.


Some personnel and equipment arrive from the Asia base.



A Sectoid scout ship gets blasted.



The research team finishes some more ?keep busy? research. All that's left for projects is a piece of surgical equipment recovered from the abduction ships and interrogating low-level aliens for information.




A trio of battleships hunts for bases, but with the scout ships constantly being shot down, they're unable to find what they're looking for.



An Ethereal supply ship is sent crashing down in Chinese territory.



A Floater ship is pursued and shot down over Alaska. A recovery operation can be attempted, but the gains from such a mission may not be worth risking our troops for. The HWP is currently unavailable due to a shortage of ammunition, and our psionic advantage is not fully present yet.

[CyberAngel]

Well, they're just Floaters, so no psionics wrecking the team, at least. Plus there's no such thing as "enough Elerium".

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

The decision has been made; the wreckage of this Floater ship will be recovered. Forces arrive in Alaska at daybreak. Operation Winter Fall begins.

Briefing: A Floater harvester ship has been shot down over an arctic coastal region of Alaska. Troops from X-COM One have been sent to clear the site for recovery. Hostiles will consist of a medium to large crew; they are expendable.











Squad gets armed and ready.



Smoke is set out; with very little terrain cover, smoke grenades are almost all the squad has to rely on for protection. The surrounding area consists of ice floes and narrow strips of land in water; with no hover HWPs ready for battle and only one flying suit available to the squad, the highly mobile Floaters have a huge advantage.





A Floater across the water attempts throwing a grenade at the squad, failing to hurt anyone but providing more smoke and cover. The squad then promptly returns the friendly gesture.




A pair of Floaters decide they don't want to be left out, and join the previous alien in being on the wrong end of a heavy plasma.



Another Floater across the ice gets blasted.


One of the rookies gets wounded during the firefight; requiring some patching up. An arm injury reduces firing accuracy, but that doesn't put this guy out of the fight yet.



Yet another Floater gets taken out.





A Floater hovering above the water gets sniped. The name continues to be apt, apparently.



And another gets hit; this narrow strip of land the Floaters have been fighting from is massively working against them.


Using the capability of the Flying Suit to scout ahead, another Floater is spotted and eliminated.



This battle is working massively in our favor.



A Floater coming around the side of the wrecked ship gets hit by a scouting soldier.


Unfortunately, using the Flying Suit has overextended a colonel, and left them in the range of a still-living Floater with no cover.



Another Floater coming from the ship is taken out by an ambush.



The Floater that took out our colonel is dealt with.






The ship is breached. All that remains is some weakened and demoralized aliens that can't put up a fight.

Results of Operation Winter Fall
Cpt. Gerard Bouton: 2 kills, promoted to Colonel
Cpt. Dwight Kemp: 1 kill, promoted to Colonel
Sgt. Andrea Sharpe: 4 kills, promoted to Captain
Sgt. Alan Wright: 3 kills, Promoted to Captain
Sgt. Claude Buchard: Promoted to Captain
Clarence McNeil: 5 kills, promoted to Sergeant; wounded, will recover in 12 days
Gaston Marcelle: 1 kill, Promoted to Sergeant
Col. Shigeo Tanida: Killed in action
16 aliens killed by X-COM ground forces
UFO hull, navigation systems, food capsules, and surgical equipment recovered
Debriefing:Given the terrain disadvantage, losing only one soldier was fairly fortunate.


A new batch of rookies arrives and goes through the screening process.



An Ethereal supply shipment is shot down over west Africa.



An Ethereal force attacking a city is too severe of a threat to deal with, even now. The advance scout for the operation is taken out immediately.


A Floater scout is hunting for the Arctic base; it's being left alone for now. Last time I recall, a Floater attack on an X-COM base wound up with the alien force being completely annihilated. Some old-model HWPs are ordered and a Blaster Launcher is sent over to harden the Arctic base's defense.


Engineering in Europe starts on some laser pistols; ammo for the plasma pistols is low and is no longer being dropped by the aliens, who are solely using heavy guns now. To make more, engineering would have to use Elerium, which is being prioritized for armor production and aircraft fuel.


A Muton supply ship shows up on the radar. Rather than shoot this down, a Skyranger is sent as its exact destination is already known; capturing an intact supply ship would bolster our Elerium reserves.



An Ethereal ship can go, however.


A Floater scout is left to its own devices; if Floaters want to get themselves obliterated again, that's not a problem.


While pursuing the Muton supply craft, a more interesting tactical opportunity comes by. A Floater battleship is operating in North America; they're much easier targets than Mutons, and a battleship will provide far more resources than even a supply ship. The Skyranger is rerouted to a new destination.

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

December 24. Dawn on the eastern seaboard of the United States. Troops are ready to commence Operation Early Christmas.

Briefing: An alien battleship has landed in the eastern United States. The Skyranger has intercepted the craft and attacked the landing site; troops are ready to clear the site and prepare the ship for salvage and recovery. Enemy forces will consist of a large crew of Floaters, with some Reapers also present.











The squad gets geared up for a full assault, with a mix of heavy plasma guns, rifles, and the Blaster Launcher.




Smoke is set out, and a Floater trying to lurk around the ramp is given a friendly hello from a rookie.



A Floater trying to hide in a farmhouse is sniped from the Skyranger.


Unfortunately, the first rookie out is ambushed and taken out by a Floater that was missed in the initial sweep.



To the southwest is a Reaper, which is quickly mowed down.



A Floater lurking by the landing gear is dealt with in a similarly speedy manner.



An alien coming out of the battleship's entrance doesn't even see the squad coming.



The tactical risks of using the battleship's main entrance have not changed. Again the squad will be making its own more convenient door (and somehow setting air on fire while doing so)



The squad just sits outside the entrance, waiting for anybody else that decides to come out. More smoke is set down to help press the advantage.




A Floater wielding a Blaster Launcher gets taken out from behind; another alien seems to have fallen, either from a stray shot or from the attack on the hull.



Another is put on top of the pile.


A proximity mine is used to lock down one of the ground exits of the ship.



Another Floater goes for the elevator, but doesn't quite make it.



A Reaper provides some target practice for some rookies on the ground.



The veterans that have breached the ship make their way to the top level. Another heavily armed Floater is eliminated before it has a chance to attack.


A Blaster Launcher is shot from elsewhere, but the attacking alien isn't skilled with the waypoint system, and the shot hits a wall far short of the intended target.



The failed strike gives Colonel Bouton a perfect opportunity to sneak up and take out the alien before it can fire again.


Another Floater is visible, but there isn't enough time to both fire and retreat. It's safer to just pull back and wait for a better opportunity.


Unfortunately, Colonel Matsumara isn't as lucky as Bouton, and she's caught up in the explosion of a Blaster warhead.


Captain Sharpe uses a grenade to take out a Floater hiding behind cover.


The Floater that launched the warhead appears to have taken itself out, but another seems to be still wanting a fight. It gets a very one-sided one.



A Reaper and a demoralized Floater are wandering around outside the ship; they provide little opposition.



A lengthy search is carried out for the last hostile life signs. Eventually, one of the troops finds that a previously unconscious Floater has gotten back up. It takes little effort to put it down for good.

Results of Operation Early Christmas
Col. Gerard Bouton: 4 kills
Cpt. Andrea Sharpe: 6 kills
Yoko Shoji: Promoted to Sergeant
Franz Brehme: 2 kills, promoted to Sergeant
Uta Mederow: Promoted to Sergeant
Gennadi Korkia: 3 kills, promoted to Sergeant
Sylvie Dagallier: 1 kill, promoted to Sergeant
Yasuaki Sato: 1 kill, promoted to Sergeant
Col. Sumie Matsumara: Killed in action
Uta Schultz: Killed in action
18 aliens killed by X-COM ground forces
UFO hull, reactors, navigation systems, fuel, and entertainment systems recovered
Debriefing: While this operation cost us another colonel, we have a lot of skilled troops who have received promotions as a result of this mission. More importantly, we have obtained a vast cache of Elerium that will be crucial to manufacturing operations.

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

Using the excess of funds from recent victories, a new hangar is constructed at the Arctic base. The intended goal is to have at least one Avenger as an anti-ship craft, one as a heavy transport, and two other craft such as Firestorms or regular interceptors.


Speaking of Firestorms, assembly starts on another one at the Asia bases.



A Sectoid ship is shot down. The option exists to recover it, but the team in Asia doesn't have any armor available and the squad in Europe is still getting re-equipped.


Components from the scrapped battleship are brought to the Asia base; some of the elerium and alloys have been split up between the two main bases where manufacturing operations are occuring.



A scout ship is shot down; it could be safely ignored, but knocking alien craft out of the air improves our performance rankings regardless of whether they're recovered or not.



Another Sectoid ship is taken out over Africa.



Storage at the Sakhalin base is ready; some weapons and equipment are shipped over.


Engineering in Europe starts assembling some more power suits.



An Ethereal supply ship is shot down over east Asia.


Some HWPs arrive at the Arctic base.



An advance scout for an Ethereal infiltration operation is sent crashing into the ocean.



Radar at the Sakhalin base is ready, clearing the way to start on a new hyperwave decoder.



A Muton supply ship evades the pursuit of a Firestorm.



An Ethereal scout hunting for bases gets completely destroyed.


Some more rookies arrive at the Asia base.



A Sectoid scout from the South Pacific escapes the atmosphere, but it's not a significant threat.


Tanks arrive at the Asia base, either to provide defense or be used by the squad there.



The month ? and the year of 1999 ? ends with a favorable assessment from the council of nations.



Psionic testing continues, and the results are very promising.


Commander Iwahara has fully recovered and combat-ready, but that's not the end of the good news. The results of her assessment show her having raw psionic power that's beyond anything we've ever witnessed, either from our own troops or from the aliens. She will become even more powerful than she is now with further training, but we now know that in addition to her incredible endurance she's immune to mental assault.


Iwahara has surpassed the level of just a field commander. She has become the very embodiment of humanity's battle against the alien invasion. She has become the avatar of war itself.


Captain Andrea Sharpe earns the title of ?Successor?, in honor of one of X-COM's original leading officers.


Alan Wright has been granted the title ?Emergent?, due to his rapid rise in the ranks and due to the discovery of his immense psychic potential.


Gerard Bouton gets the name ?Beacon?.





Some more Ethereal incursions are neutralized.



Another scout ship is taken out.



Research is completed on the alien medical examinations is completed; the motives and methods of the aliens are starting to become clear.



A Snakeman supply ship is intercepted and shot down. It is time to unleash the full power of our forces.

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

Forces from X-COM One are sent to the crashed supply ship. Operation Avatar's Awakening commences.

Briefing: A supply craft has crashed in a rural region of Central Asia. Elite forces from Europe, led by Yoko Iwahara, have been sent to clear the area and recover the wreckage and materials. Hostiles will consist of a medium to large crew of Snakemen. Collateral damage is not a concern; forces have the authority to use all weapons and technology available at their disposal.












Going all-out here. Iwahara gets a Blaster Launcher and almost the maximum amount of ammunition that can be physically carried by a single person. Who needs an HWP when you have a commander who's in a flying suit, is immune to psionics, and can carry an entire arsenal without any effort?


As usual, starting with smoke.



An entrance to the ship is close by, and so is a Snakeman. It provides little opposition to an elite.



A Snakeman hiding in a field to the south also goes down fairly fast.


One of the doors of the UFO is quickly locked down.



A Snakeman near the other side is taken out before it can sneak towards the force.



Another around a nearby corner goes down.



Entering the ship leads to the discovery of a quickly removed alien, and the reactor room in complete ruins.


The advance continues, locking down the other door and holding down the entrance of the ship.



Some hostile fire indicates there's an enemy hiding in a grove up ahead; rather than try to flush it out, Iwahara sets up the Blaster Launcher and incinerates the whole area.


Another shot with the launcher is used to punch through the top part of the hull., right next to the bridge of the ship.


After the blast, two other troops get positioned to move through the gap.



An alien has been flattened by the explosion, leaving it clear to move ahead.


When the opportunity arrives, Sharpe goes around one of the corners, finding one Snakeman in front of her and one further up ahead in the shadows.


The closer one gets taken out; she then goes back into the cover of the control room until the other enemy is in a vulnerable position.



A reaction shot on the ground takes out a Snakeman trying to hide in one of the farmhouses.



Another Snakeman trying to sneak around the back of the ship gets brought down.



The other Snakeman in the top level's halls decides to try and come at Sharpe, which proves to be a poor decision for it.




Another Snakeman is hiding in the buildings, meaning another good opportunity for the Blaster Launcher. Plasma fire put a hole in the wall earlier, creating a perfect opening to guide the warhead through and blow the whole place up.




Another Snakeman reveals itself by firing through a hole made in the decks by the reactor explosion; the armor holds up exceptionally well for once, and an unharmed sergeant returns fire.




The loss of morale in the enemy ranks causes another Snakeman on the second level to panic and fire wildly, alerting the squad to its location. Obviously, it doesn't last long once its position is known..



All that remains is to deal with the Snakeman leader, which momentarily recovered after being knocked out by the blast to the hull.

Results of Operation Avatar's Awakening
Avatar of War, Yoko Iwahara: 4 kills
Col. Alan ?Emergent? Wright: 2 kills
Col. Gerard ?Beacon? Bouton: 2 kills
Cpt. Andrea ?Successor? Sharpe: 2 kills, promoted to Colonel
Sgt. Uta Mederow: 2 kills, promoted to Captain
Sgt. Franz Brehme: 1 kill
Sgt. Sylvie Dagallier: 2 kills
Sgt. Gennadi Korkia: 1 kill
Jacques Pecheux: Promoted to Sergeant
No X-COM casualties
16 aliens killed by X-COM ground forces
UFO hull, navigation systems, food capsules, and surgical equipment recovered
Debriefing: This is what a good mission looks like. Expectations have been completely exceeded.



Construction finishes on some of the base facilities that have been underway recently.



An Ethereal terror ship gets taken out over western Russia. We do not want to fight these types of aliens except when we have no other choice or it's vastly in our favor.


An Ethereal supply ship heading to North America is just out of reach, making it to its destination before an interceptor can catch it.



A Floater research scout also gets away, but it's a minimal threat.



Another Supply ship is on perfect course to get intercepted, though, and gets sent down in the ocean like too many others to count.




A Floater scout is shot down in the Arctic circle, crashing down on to ice floes.




A new Firestorm is completed. Once an armament for it is prepared and equipped it'll be ready to be transferred to another base.


Some new power suits are sent to Asia, and the troops there are once again combat-capable.



With a plasma beam ready to go, the Firestorm is armed and shipped off to one of the Africa bases.

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

An assault begins on the alien ship crashed in the Arctic. Operation Ice Breaker begins.

Briefing: A Floater scout ship has been shot down near the North Pole. Ground forces from X-COM Two in Asia have been sent to salvage the wreckage. Hostile forces will consist of a small to medium crew.











The team gets equipped and ready. Heavy plasma guns are the primary weapon here, with an  old-model rocket tank leading the charge.




A Floater is waiting on the ground, but it is quickly given a warm welcome from the HWP.






Another Floater gets blasted into the ice, while some shots from the Skyranger take out the other one.


Smoke is set down, and the squad gets moving out.



Another Floater falls as the squad advances.









The ship is quickly rushed and cleared out.

Results of Operation Ice Breaker
HWP: 2 kills
Isao Tanida: 2 kills, promoted to Sergeant
Marc Gressier: 1 kill, promoted to Sergeant
Arthur Martin: 1 kill, promoted to Squaddie
Galina Scharov: 1 kill, promoted to Squaddie
7 aliens killed by X-COM ground forces
UFO hull, navigation system recovered
Debriefing: This operation went very well. Short and simple.



An Ethereal scout is neutralized.


Another plasma cannon is assembled. Once a hangar is ready at Sakhalin, one of the existing interceptors will be transferred over from one of the current bases.



Another scout ship is shot down over Spain.




Construction at the Sakhalin base is making good progress. Work starts on some anti-air defenses and a   radar expansion.




A Sectoid ship scouting for bases gets taken out in southern Africa; this is a soft target, and the team from Asia goes in again for Operation Hunter's Bane.

Briefing: A scout ship has been shot down in a rural area of southern Africa. Forces from X-COM Two have been sent for a recovery operation. Hostiles will consist of a small to medium crew of Sectoids; high-ranking ones with psionics will not be present.

The squad gets geared up, same equipment as last time, HWP in front.


The HWP scouts around, and the landing zone appears clear. Smoke gets set down and troops start moving out.


However, Scharov gets taken by surprise by an enemy that the squad can't be see, getting hit by a surprise shot.




The Sectoid comes into view, moving into a field. It gets sniped, regardless.



Another squaddie is hit by an out-of-sight alien, but survives (although heavily wounded). Treatment is immediately applied.



The Sectoid that attacked goes into cover; a grenade is used to try and clear it out.



A Sectoid coming out of another building gets hit by reaction fire.


Another coming out of the ship gets ambushed by waiting troops.


The ship gets breached.



Unfortunately, one of the breaching troops gets taken out.


The Sectoid goes to the door of the ship, where another soldier takes it out in turn.



The bridge of the ship is breached, and one last Sectoid is taken out.

Results of Operation Hunter's Bane
Sgt. Isao Tanida: 1 kill
Robert Stewart: 2 kills, promoted to Sergeant
Arthur Martin: 2 kills; wounded, will recover in 25 days
Galina Scharov: Killed in action
Marc Gressier: Killed in action
6 aliens killed by X-COM ground forces
UFO hull, reactor, navigation systems, and fuel recovered
Debriefing: The losses here weren't very pleasing, but this operation yielded some Elerium.

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

The research team gets some previously-unknown information about the Sectoids.





An Ethereal infiltration mission is intercepted before it can gain ground in Egypt.



A Floater harvester ship is shot down, but goes down in the ocean, leaving no wreckage to recover.


A scout ship in the US gets destroyed.


Engineering has been working nonstop on using the acquired Elerium from previous operations to produce more troop armor. This ensures that battlefield losses can be quickly replaced.



A hangar is now ready at X-COM Five on Sakhalin. One of the extra interceptors is being sent over from X-COM Two.





Some more alien ships go down; the Snakeman supply ship is followed until it reaches a coastline, leaving an opportunity to recover it.


Operation Serpent Storm begins.

Briefing: A supply ship has been shot down over eastern Africa. Forces led by Yoko Iwahara have been sent to clear the site for recovery and reclamation. Enemy forces will consist of a medium to large crew of Snakemen.











Again, holding nothing back here. Iwahara's loaded with as much blaster ammo as can be physically transported by one person. Same tactics as last time; punch through to the bridge, assault the ship from the top with flying troops.


Smoke gets set down and the operation commences.



Fanning out from the landing zone, the squad takes out a Snakeman in the distance.



More Snakemen are in the vicinity.



The one near the ship gets taken out, but there's another next to it.



Iwahara takes care of the other one, and in the process of blasting the field takes out a Snakeman the squad wasn't aware of.


Some quick sniping cleans up the other one.



Another Snakeman trying to come around the corner of the ship gets brought down.


The path is clear to make an advance towards the ship.


Unfortunately, there was one more Snakeman the squad wasn't aware of, and a sergeant at the side of the line goes down.



The attacking alien is quickly spotted and eliminated.



With that issue dealt with, Iwahara blasts the top level of the supply ship open.



As the team moves forward, a Snakeman is spotted on the roof of a nearby building, just having barely evaded the explosion. It's quickly sniped, letting the advance into the ship continue.


Wright and Sharpe have Flying Suits, so they charge through the hull breach.



A Snakeman near the bridge is taken out by Sharpe.



Another tries to fire at her, but the armor holds up and she's unscathed. She responds by throwing a grenade down the hallway.


Some sniping takes care of a Snakeman further down.


The lower level is entered. A reactor explosion has taken out a good chunk of it, but there's one power source remaining ? and with it, some of the valuable Elerium this raid hoped to reclaim.



A Snakeman near the door gets quickly blasted by automatic fire.


The last Snakeman in the ship attempts to attack with a grenade, but winds up hitting the doorway and blowing itself up.

Results of Operation Serpent Storm:
Avatar of War, Commander Yoko Iwahara: 3 kills
Col. Andrea ?Successor? Sharpe: 3 kills
Col. Gerhard ?Beacon? Bouton: 2 kills
Col. Alan ?Emergent? Wright: 1 kill
Cpt. Uta Mederow: 2 kills
Sgt. Gennadi Korkia: 1 kill
Sgt. Franz Brehme: Killed in action
13 aliens killed by X-COM ground forces
UFO hull, reactor, navigation systems, fuel, food capsules, and surgical equipment recovered
Debriefing: Some Elerium was obtained from this operation, plus quite a bit of other useful materials and salvage. Losing one soldier is an acceptable tradeoff for those gains.



With a ridiculous surplus of alloys, the engineering teams at Europe and Central Asia make some basic armor for the security teams at outlying bases. Those bases would still be entirely screwed if Ethereals showed up, but if we have to deal with an attack by low-level aliens like Floaters the bases should hold.

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

A wrecked Floater scout is lying in northwestern Canada, an easy target to recover. Operation Klondike Lode begins.

Briefing: A medium scout ship was recently shot down in the wilderness of the Yukon. Forces from X-COM Two have been sent to clear the site for recovery. Hostiles will consist of a small crew of Floaters.











Same plan as usual; power suits, plasma guns, rocket tank leading the advance.


Right off the bat, there's a Floater near the wreckage of the ship.


Trying to attack with the HWP misses.


Another is near the ramp of the Skyranger. Unfortunately, the tank misses again, and is destroyed by plasma fire as it attempts to retreat.



Careful positioning in the Skyranger and use of a smoke grenade lets the two troops at the front get rid of the Floater near the crashed ship, but the one lurking around the ramp is going to be more difficult.




Fortunately, the smoke provides just enough cover to get the needed shot in and let troops get on the ground.



Another Floater on the other side of the hill tries firing on the squad, but 1-on-3 is not in its favor.



One Floater remains in the destroyed remnants of the scout ship, quickly falling to advancing troops

Results of Operation Klondike Lode
HWP: Destroyed
Sgt. Leon Gressier: 1 kill
Tatyana Kolotov: 2 kills, promoted to Sergeant
Brett Davies: 1 kill, promoted to Sergeant
4 aliens killed by X-COM ground forces
UFO hull fragments recovered
Debriefing: At this point the old-model HWPs are easy to replace; the cost is quickly offset by the massive amount of excess plasma guns being recovered.



The Ethereal infiltration operation in Egypt continues. Taking out the scout ship wasn't enough; the alien mission seems to be well underway. A supply ship is taken out by the new Firestorm from the base in South Africa.




An Ethereal battleship arrives to complete the infiltration. The Avenger flies over from the Arctic to intercept, but a full salvo of fusion missiles isn't enough to bring it down. Damaged, the X-COM ship is forced to pull back.



An interceptor makes a last-ditch attempt to stop the alien capital ship, but doesn't even get a chance to fire a shot before it's critically damaged and forced to retreat.


Another battleship comes by, but its search for X-COM bases fails.


Engineering capacity is expanded at the main base in Europe.



A Floater harvest ship passes by radar while exiting the atmosphere.



Another Floater scout gets sent plummeting into the Arctic Ocean.



Another scout ship hunting for bases gets taken out.


Another Ethereal battleship arrives for the takeover of Egypt. With the Avenger being repaired and an interceptor almost destroyed trying to take this class of ship on, we're out of options.


Mind shields are ready at the Africa bases; the chance of them being attacked is now greatly reduced.



An Ethereal supply ship heads for the already-active base in Nigeria. It doesn't get that far.


Personnel arrive in Asia, adding more to the roster at X-COM Two and providing security detail for the Sakhalin base.



A Floater harvesting operation packs up and leaves after completing its work in Oceania.




Another ship that appears to be involved in the same operation is taken out over Asia. This will hopefully be a viable target for recovery.

[CyberAngel]

You know, I'm quite amazed there are no aircraft losses yet. From personal experience, battleships can one-shot our usual planes before they even get close enough to try using the longest-range weapons.

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

You know, I'm quite amazed there are no aircraft losses yet. From personal experience, battleships can one-shot our usual planes before they even get close enough to try using the longest-range weapons.

I've experienced aircraft losses in playthroughs prior to this LP and I've learned to consider battleships "don't even fight these unless you have Avengers, and even then you probably want two".  The most reliable way to stop an alien battleship is to keep it from arriving via taking out any scouts ahead of it.


Forces move in to recover more wreckage, commencing Operation Terrace Reaping.

Briefing: A Floater harvest ship has crashed in a rural area on the border of China and Bhutan. Forces from X-COM One in Europe led by Yoko Iwahara have been deployed to the area. Recovery of the ship and its components can start once the region is clear of hostiles. Enemy forces will consist of a medium to large force of Floaters. The area is confirmed to be free of civilians, so collateral damage is not a concern.











The squad gets armed up and ready.



Smoke gets set down and the squad gets moving.





Attempts by Floaters to approach are quickly met with reaction fire.



A Floater emerging from the farmhouse gets sniped.



Another reaction shot takes out another Floater.


Dagallier's on a roll, taking out one alien after another.



Troops advancing towards the entrance of the ship take out yet another Floater with reaction fire.



A slow and cautious advance is made towards the ship, leaving plenty of chance to mow down anyone who emerges from the ship.



An attempt by Floaters to snipe from the farmhouse gets the troops' attention, leading to yet another fatal counterattack.



Another Floater is hiding in the top floor of the farmhouse, but one shot takes it out.



Another Floater walks into the path of the squad, but quickly retreats back into the ship.



However, it gets quickly chased down and taken out.



An alien hiding further in the ship fires a stun bomb, but that kind of weapon is only marginally dangerous in this kind of situation.



Another of the troopers comes around from the other entrance and shoots the Floater.






Another Floater lurking in the entrance gets taken out, and another after that.





It's not very difficult to get to the bridge, where two demoralized and vulnerable Floater leaders are. It's very easy to mop up.

Results of Operation Terrace Reaping
Cpt. Sylvie Dagallier: 8 kills
Cpt. Alan ?Emergent? Wright: 4 kills
Cpt. Gennadi Korkia: 1 kill
Sgt. Jacques Pecheux: 2 kills
Leon Dreyfus: 1 kill, promoted to Sergeant
No X-COM casualties
16 aliens killed by X-COM ground forces
1 alien captured
UFO hull, navigation systems, food capsules, and surgical equipment recovered
Debriefing: Luck went exceptionally in the squad's favor during this mission.


A Sectoid battleship hunts for the Africa bases; with the Mind Shields up and running, it's not going to succeed in locating a target.


More engineers arrive at the Europe base to speed up production.


A new HWP arrives at the Asia base for use by the squad.



An Ethereal assault gets shot down by one of the Firestorms.


More hangars are ready for use.


Floater battleships go hunting for the Arctic base. They don't find it, but a Floater attack at this point would be very easy to repel.


A Grav Shield is ready at the Europe base, which improves the performance of the other defenses there.



An Ethereal scout gets shot down over the ocean.



A Snakeman supply ship crosses the Indian Ocean. There isn't a good opportunity to catch it over land, so it's shot down while there's still a chance, sending it into the sea.



Another Ethereal scout is shot down.





With more facilities ready at Sakhalin, work is done to narrow the entryway into a choke point.



Another scout ship gets taken out.





A Floater scout escapes from the first interceptors that go after it, but one from the Arctic manages to catch up with it and shoot it down. This is a low-risk target if forces are sent to reclaim it, but the odds of the reactor and its fuel still being intact are low and we have more than enough of money and alloys.

For now, the main long-term strategic objective is defending as many primary backing nations as possible and holding out until the psychic capabilities of our elites can be refined. When that happens, assaults can begin on the alien bases worldwide.




Forces move in to recover more wreckage, commencing Operation Terrace Reaping.

Briefing: A Floater harvest ship has crashed in a rural area on the border of China and Bhutan. Forces from X-COM One in Europe led by Yoko Iwahara have been deployed to the area. Recovery of the ship and its components can start once the region is clear of hostiles. Enemy forces will consist of a medium to large force of Floaters. The area is confirmed to be free of civilians, so collateral damage is not a concern.











The squad gets armed up and ready.



Smoke gets set down and the squad gets moving.





Attempts by Floaters to approach are quickly met with reaction fire.



A Floater emerging from the farmhouse gets sniped.



Another reaction shot takes out another Floater.


Dagallier's on a roll, taking out one alien after another.



Troops advancing towards the entrance of the ship take out yet another Floater with reaction fire.



A slow and cautious advance is made towards the ship, leaving plenty of chance to mow down anyone who emerges from the ship.



An attempt by Floaters to snipe from the farmhouse gets the troops' attention, leading to yet another fatal counterattack.



Another Floater is hiding in the top floor of the farmhouse, but one shot takes it out.



Another Floater walks into the path of the squad, but quickly retreats back into the ship.



However, it gets quickly chased down and taken out.



An alien hiding further in the ship fires a stun bomb, but that kind of weapon is only marginally dangerous in this kind of situation.



Another of the troopers comes around from the other entrance and shoots the Floater.






Another Floater lurking in the entrance gets taken out, and another after that.





It's not very difficult to get to the bridge, where two demoralized and vulnerable Floater leaders are. It's very easy to mop up.

Results of Operation Terrace Reaping
Cpt. Sylvie Dagallier: 8 kills
Cpt. Alan ?Emergent? Wright: 4 kills
Cpt. Gennadi Korkia: 1 kill
Sgt. Jacques Pecheux: 2 kills
Leon Dreyfus: 1 kill, promoted to Sergeant
No X-COM casualties
16 aliens killed by X-COM ground forces
1 alien captured
UFO hull, navigation systems, food capsules, and surgical equipment recovered
Debriefing: Luck went exceptionally in the squad's favor during this mission.


A Sectoid battleship hunts for the Africa bases; with the Mind Shields up and running, it's not going to succeed in locating a target.


More engineers arrive at the Europe base to speed up production.


A new HWP arrives at the Asia base for use by the squad.



An Ethereal assault gets shot down by one of the Firestorms.


More hangars are ready for use.


Floater battleships go hunting for the Arctic base. They don't find it, but a Floater attack at this point would be very easy to repel.


A Grav Shield is ready at the Europe base, which improves the performance of the other defenses there.



An Ethereal scout gets shot down over the ocean.



A Snakeman supply ship crosses the Indian Ocean. There isn't a good opportunity to catch it over land, so it's shot down while there's still a chance, sending it into the sea.



Another Ethereal scout is shot down.





With more facilities ready at Sakhalin, work is done to narrow the entryway into a choke point.



Another scout ship gets taken out.





A Floater scout escapes from the first interceptors that go after it, but one from the Arctic manages to catch up with it and shoot it down. This is a low-risk target if forces are sent to reclaim it, but the odds of the reactor and its fuel still being intact are low and we have more than enough of money and alloys.

For now, the main long-term strategic objective is defending as many primary backing nations as possible and holding out until the psychic capabilities of our elites can be refined. When that happens, assaults can begin on the alien bases worldwide.

Just a heads up that updates are probably going to be a bit more sparse over the coming weekend due to a local convention, so don't expect anything new from Friday-Sunday.

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

The Floater crash site in Alaska is ignored; the focus remains on preparing troops and equipment for base assaults.


A hyperwave decoder is ready at Sakhalin.



Another Floater scout ship gets shot down.




Personal armor gets completed and shipped to the outlying bases.




Production begins on a new Avenger.



Another scout gets shot down.



A Muton ship returns to space after dropping off its cargo at the Gulf of Mexico base.



Another scout is taken out.


The month ends. Egypt has been infiltrated by alien forces and pulled its support. However, our funding is holding steady.




Psychic training continues. A few soldiers are starting to cross a threshhold where their power will be effective in combat. These psionic capabilities will be tested in ground operations at crash sites before we attempt a base assault.


The base established during the infiltration of Egypt has been located elsewhere in North Africa.

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

A pair of alien scout ships appear on radar. The Snakeman scout ship goes down in Eastern Europe, while the small scout ship is completely destroyed.


Forces are deployed to the crash site. Operation Fallen Viper commences.

Briefing: A Snakeman scout ship has crashed in Europe. Forces from X-COM One have been sent to clear the area for recovery. Hostiles will consist of a small crew.











The squad gets equipped and ready. The original plan was to have the two most well-prepared psychic troops be given amplifiers, but I forgot to rotate them into the squad, meaning time to rely on standard tactics.



Smoke gets set out and members of the squad get onto the battlefield.


The area is completely desolate; a slow, careful search is made, but no aliens turn up. Troops are cautiously moved towards the ship.


Two troops move in around the sides of the UFO; it looks to be in very good shape despite getting hit by a plasma weapon.


A proximity mine is used to block off the door, and it's time to start waiting.


Thanks to some weirdness regarding how 45-degree wall corners work, it's possible to get a glimpse into the ship. It's in better shape than anticipated, with a functional reactor.


A colonel gets on the roof and prepares to ambush anyone exiting.



A long, long time passes with no aliens exiting the craft. A regular grenade is used to clear away the mine and give the troops passage into the ship.



Now the Snakemen decide to emerge, but with multiple troops lying in wait, two of the alien crew are struck down within moments of exiting the door.



Sharpe pops open the door, taking out the alien at the far corner.




An attempt is made to shoot the one next to the reactor while it's facing away, but the alien survives the first shot and the next two miss. It turns around and retaliates.



Another rush into the ship takes out the last remaining alien.

Results of Operation Fallen Viper
Col. Gerard ?Beacon? Bouton: 1 kill
Cpt. Sylvie Dagallier: 2 kills, promoted to Colonel
Sgt. Leon Dreyfus: Promoted to Captain
Col. Andrea ?Successor? Sharpe: Killed in action
4 aliens killed by X-COM ground forces
UFO hull, reactor, navigation systems, and fuel recovered
Debriefing: Unfortunately, Sharpe's death was completely avoidable. I overestimated the capabilities of the troops and got too aggressive.


New troops arrive to support the existing security staff at the Africa bases.



An Ethereal supply ship is shot down near the Russian border.



Production begins on more flying armors.



A Floater ship is pursued, going off radar for a bit before it appears in the Great Lakes area of the US.

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

The Skyranger from X-COM One makes it to the Floater ship that's operating in the United States before it takes off again. Operation Lakeside Hunt begins.













Troops are equipped and ready to go. Two psi-amps, Blaster Launcher, this is massively in our favor.



Two smoke grenades get tossed out.





A Floater gets sniped as the troops advanced. Attempts are made to use the Psi-amp against it at first, but





Fences are blocking off the best path to get to the UFO. A grenade is used to clear the route, with the added bonus of some more smoke.



Another Floater goes down.



Troops are ready to push through and enter the ship.






A Floater is encountered in the doorway, leading to a short firefight.



Another Floater goes down.




The next burst of fire puts a hole in the inner hull, in addition to bringing down another alien. That breach is a good opportunity, letting troops go for the cockpit through the engine room.




Advancing into the engine room turns up a Floater technician. Firing at it takes out the reactor, but the Elerium fuel core remains stable and intact.



The squad continues through the ship.




A single burst of automatic fire takes out two Floaters on one side of the ship.


Unfortunately, another hole in the hull interior leaves Dagallier vulnerable, and another Floater gets shots in on her.



Another of the squad member takes out the Floater, cleaning out the ship.

Result of Operation Lakeside Hunt
Results of Operation Lakeside Hunt
Cpt. Uta Mederow: 7 kills, promoted to Colonel
Cpt. Alan ?Emergent? Wright: 1 kill
Cpt. Gennadi Korgia: 1 kill
Sgt. Jacques Pecheaux: Promoted to Captain
Jungo Tanida: Promoted to Sergeant
Col. Sylvie Dagallier: Killed in action
9 aliens killed by X-COM ground forces
UFO hull, navigation systems, and fuel recovered
Debriefing: Dagallier's loss was due to some poor placement while going through the ship. The powers of the psionic troops are not yet refined enough to be effective in battle.







An Ethereal terror ship is pursued to the South Pacific. The Firestorm just barely catches up with it and shoots it down over Australia.



A scout ship escapes from radar, but it's a minor threat.



A Muton supply ship is intercepted by one of the Firestorms, getting shot down. This is a perfect target.

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

I'm going to be taking a brief break from updating the LP; lately I've been having a lot of trouble focusing on the game with so much going on around me. I don't intend to quit the LP fully; it would be a shame to throw out so much progress moot after coming this far. Unless something world-shattering comes up, I plan to return to this by the end of August.

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

Previously, a Muton supply ship was intercepted and shot down near the Russian border. Forces are now moving in to recover the wreckage. Operation Hollow Shell begins.











Everybody gets armed up. As usual, Iwahara gets the Blaster Launcher.


Off the bat, a Muton is waiting outside the landing site.




While it's pure overkill, the Blaster Launcher allows nothing to be left to chance, and has the added benefit of providing much-valued smoke cover.




Another Muton is waiting. An attempt to fire at it misses and results in return fire. Rather than gamble on trying to hit it with a second shot, retreat is considered as an alternative. Unfortunately, the attempted retreat just leads to more reaction fire.



Plan B becomes ?use the launcher again.?



Another Muton near the ship goes down.


More aliens fire on the squad, taking out another of the team.



Return fire is swift and lethal.



Another alien goes down to some swift reactions.



Mutons keep flooding out of the wreckage, and keep getting mowed down.


The rest of the squad hits the ground running.



Another Muton lurking near the ship gets taken out.



An enemy shot sails by, managing to avoid the squad. Unfortunately for the attacking Muton, retaliation fire doesn't miss.


A Muton comes out of the ship, surveying the scene before retreating back inside.



The squad advances, taking control of the doorways.




A Muton at the other door tries to attack, but is outnumbered and outgunned.



The squad takes some Mutons by surprise when the entrance to the ship is breached











Opening the other door leads to another one-sided slaughter. Countless Mutons fall to the squad.



The advance into the ship continues.



Sending someone around a blind corner when it's known a Muton is present proves to be a bad idea.







Mutons wander blindly into the presence of the squad, getting ambushed.




A further advance finds a Muton in one of the elevator shafts, which gets quickly taken out.



A wandering Muton in the fields is taken out, clearing the site.

Result of Operation Hollow Shell
Avatar of War, Yoko Iwahara: 1 kill
Col. Uta Mederow: 3 kills
Col. Dwight Kemp: 1 kill
Cpt. Jacques Pecheaux: 3 kills
Cpt. Gennadi Korkia: 1 kill
Cpt. Leon Dreyfus: 1 kill
Sgt. Yoko Shoji: 2 kills
Col. Gerard ?Beacon? Bouton: Killed in action
Gaston Marcelle: Killed in action
Clarence Miller: Killed in action
15 aliens killed by X-COM ground forces
2 aliens captured
UFO hull, navigation systems, food capsules, and surgical equipment recovered
Debriefing: Tactical mistakes were made, but this still became a very successful mission. No Elerium was found, but the political favor gained here will be very good for us.




X-COM One in Europe has solidified as the core of strategic operations. With most reverse-engineering and research that can be done completed, the science team has been reduced to a smaller staff focusing on gathering intelligence from captured alien forces. The engineering division here is mainly focused on production of troop armor. The psionic labs here are the most crucial element; once troops have strong enough psionic skill, assaults on alien bases can be carried out with reduced risk.



X-COM Two in Central Asia provides support for the main base. Manufacturing here is focused on the production of new aircraft, such as the Firestorm fighter and the Avenger assault craft. Troops here are deployed to smaller-scale operations, such as scout ships.



New Three One and New Three Two replace the fallen X-COM Three in Africa, extending the range of interceptor and radar coverage. The new anti-air fusion missiles and Mind Shield systems will protect these bases against alien incursion.


X-COM Four at the North Pole is designed to reinforce air coverage over the northern hemisphere. This base is where the Avenger craft built in Asia are stationed; when the time comes, the most combat-capable forces will be relocated here for heavy assaults on alien bases, including what is hoped to be the final assault on the yet-to-be-located alien stronghold on Mars.


X-COM Five on Sakhalin Island is mainly to provide extended reach over the Pacific and Oceania. With Japan and Russia as crucial backers, further defense for them is needed.


So far, the aliens have managed to infiltrate the governments of the United States, Canada, Egypt, Nigeria, and Australia. Our best hope lies in fortifying Europe and Asia and maintaining their political support to keep X-COM alive, while using alien salvage to maintain our cash reserves.

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

An Ethereal scout ship is shot down by a Firestorm, its wreckage left to decay.



A Muton scout is taken out over Siberia.




With another batch of armor completed, work begins on more ammunition for the blaster HWP.




Another scout ship is taken out over the Russian north; the Avenger is sent by mistake, leading to massive overkill.



A Snakeman scout craft is pursued, shot down, and sunk in the Pacific.



A Floater scout is taken down near the Great Lakes. Forces from Asia are deployed for Operation Sylvan Scrapyard.



In the meantime, a Muton scout gets taken out over Madagascar.











The team gets equipped for battle. Plasma guns should be more than enough for Floaters.



Smoke gets set down and the operation commences.



Right off the bat, Floaters are spotted.


Distance and range are a major consideration in fights like these. By having someone fire on an enemy that's already been spotted but is out of their sight range, that enemy can not see back or retaliate. This tactic is great for reducing risk.





This tactic is very reliable, and more Floaters go down.



Another alien tries to fire into the smoke, but misses and is quickly hit by return fire.




A grenade explosion alerts the team to the presence of another Floater, which is sniped from over a hill.

The mission concludes. One alien survived the battle, but with no containment facility in Asia, it dies quickly afterward.

Result of Operation Sylvan Scrapyard:
Sgt. Brett Davies: 2 kills
Leonid Petrov: 1 kill, promoted to Sergeant
Helga Zander: 1 kill, promoted to Sergeant
No X-COM casualties
4 aliens killed by X-COM ground forces
UFO hull and navigation systems recovered
Debriefing: Very well-executed, straightforward operation.

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

Expansion continues at the Arctic base. A new hangar is added, and a workshop is assembled so aircraft   and weapons can be produced on-site.


An additional hangar is constructed at Sakhalin.


Surplus materials from the Asia complex are transferred to the Arctic base, partially to supply the up-and-coming manufacturing division and partly to free up storage space.



Interrogating a Muton fleet engineer gives some information about the alien terror ships.



An Ethereal supply ship lands at the alien base in northern Canada. It lands before a Firestorm can catch up with it, and while a ground assault is possible, the forces would arrive at night, leading to a major disadvantage.





With the HWP ammunition completed, work begins on a new hovertank to prepare for combat against Ethereals.



The tank is ready in only a day. With no other essential projects needed, work starts on some laser cannons.


An Ethereal battleship hunts for the European base, but fails to find it.




A small Muton is pursued and eliminated.



Another Ethereal supply ship flies by radar range, leaving the atmosphere over the Arctic circle.



Another Muton scout ship is detected, getting pursued and shot down over Central Asia. It shouldn't be hard to capture, but the reactor is likely gone and we have enough alloys.

[Iced Fairy]

I eagerly await the day we can make ethereals eat small nuclear weapons again.

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

The Muton scout is being ignored; it's been neutralized, and a small ship doesn't net enough resources at this point to be worth the time and risk of recovering it.


A battleship attempts hunting for X-COM Two, with no success.


Engineering finishes the batch of laser cannons, which is sold off for a quick profit.



A Floater ship appears on radar, near the Arctic.



An interceptor from X-COM Four chases it down, bringing it down in US territory.



An Ethereal supply ship drops off its cargo in northern Canada.



Another supply ship gets intercepted, however, splashing down in the Indian Ocean.



An Ethereal terror ship shows up on radar. An attempt is made to shoot it down. Unfortunately, it gets away from interceptors and Firestorms.



Melbourne is attacked. Trying to fight Ethereals at the height of their power is going to be a losing battle, and Australia's government has already been fallen; our efforts would be best focused elsewhere.



The focus is put on the crashed Floater abductor. Operation Tormented Sky begins. The squad at X-COM Two has rotated, leaving this operation to a few rookies.











The squad gets geared up and ready to move out.



An old-model HWP leads the charge as smoke gets set down. Ground troops quickly follow.


It's not long until the team reaches the wreckage of the ship.


One rookie breaches the entrance, while the tank scans through the breach in the side of the hull.


A rocket is fired in, taking out the visible Floater.


However, another Floater in the breach that can't be seen takes out the tank with a plasma shot.




Peering in, the Floater is spotted, and there's a perfect opportunity to charge through the door and surprise it.


In turn, the rookie is surprised by another alien sneaking from around the corner.



Troops advance and counter-attack.


During the advance, however, another rookie is ambushed from around a blind corner.



Using the plasma guns, a hole is punched in the inner walls of the ship to avoid the ambush. One of the ship's reactors is still intact, it appears.



Floaters are waiting on the upper level. A close-range burst quickly takes one out.


Troops breach the upper level and get into cover.



A Floater fails to notice the first soldier, but spots the second and gets a lethal shot in.



It doesn't last long, however, before, getting taken out.



A Floater is even lurking on the top of the UFO's wreck, but it gets taken out with a lucky shot.


A burst of automatic fire is used to try and break through to the control room of the ship.


The wall breaks open, revealing a Floater leader. The safest option is to pull back into cover for now, however.


A Floater survived an earlier confrontation, and has gotten back up.


Unfortunately, it puts itself in a position that's very tricky to attack.



And while trying to deal with that, another Floater shows up, taking out one more of the rookies.




Another soldier coming up from the lower level helps to defuse the situation.



The control room is rushed through the hole in the wall, surprising the Floater on the bridge.



Outside the ship, a Floater in a farmhouse attracts attention ? and counter-fire ? from one of the troops.


There appears to be another Floater hiding in the building, which manages to snipe a rookie.





A search of the building leads to a firefight and the alien's demise. It's quickly confirmed that the area has been cleared out.

Results of Operation Tormented Sky
HWP: destroyed
Sigourney Miller: 1 kill, promoted to Sergeant
Spencer Bradley: 2 kills, promoted to Sergeant
Spencer Nash: 0 kills, promoted to Sergeant
Shuji Okamoto: 3 kills, promoted to Sergeant
Oscar Bryant: Killed in action
Isao Okamoto: Killed in action
Gaston Buchard: Killed in action
Claude Gressier: Killed in action
Sylvie Guerin: Killed in action
11 aliens killed by X-COM ground forces
UFO hull, reactor, navigation systems, fuel, and surgical equipment recovered
Debriefing: This mission could have gone much, much better. Losing half a squad and an HWP is unsatisfactory, even with the resources obtained here.


Another battleship tries hunting around for the Asia base.



A Muton scout gets dropped into the Mozambique Channel.


The second Avenger is finished and is ready to be transported to the Arctic.

[CyberAngel]

Quite ironic that breaking ties with X-COM doesn't prevent terror attacks on a country, even though, fluff-wise, their goal is to provoke just that. Serves them right for thinking a deal with xenos will save them from said xenos.