Yoko Iwahara joined X-COM in August 1999. She quickly gained a reputation within the organization, partly for her combat prowess and partly for her ability to survive injuries that would be fatal or career-ending for other soldiers. She quickly rose through the ranks, eventually replacing the deceased Paul Reynolds as field operations commander. She was given the title ?Avatar of War? when her psionic strength was discovered; She is not just the leader of X-COM's ground forces, but the spearhead of humanity's war against the aliens.
Alan Wright joined in November 1999, and was first tested in the fires of battle during an anti-terror operation in South Africa. He gained the title ?Emergent? due to his rapid rise to the rank of officer and the discovery of immense psychic powers.
Uta Mederow has been a part of X-COM since December of 1999. She has consistently been one of the best-performing soldiers in X-COM, even in spite of her unrefined psychic powers.
Jungo Tanida and Claude Buchard have not participated in much direct combat, but their psychic capability has turned the tide of this war.
The other soldiers have been chosen for a variety of traits, including rank, experience, shooting accuracy and psychic resistance.
Avenger-2, ?Andrea Sharpe?, gets ready for takeoff. Operation War Gods begins. From here on, there can be no turning back. If this strike fails, the alien counterattack will be so severe that X-COM ? and human civilization ? will be completely crushed.
This will be a two-phase operation, starting with an assault on the surface and breaking through alien forces to find an entry point to the alien base.
Forces get armed and ready for the final battle. Not a single piece of equipment is wasted.
The assault on the surface of Mars begins.
An advancing HWP spots a Sectoid, which the troops take control of.
It attacks a Cyberdisc behind it, and both aliens are taken out by the resulting explosion.
The HWP takes some damage while scouting, detecting another Cyberdisc. Control is taken over its organic components, and the unit goes haywire. The resulting explosion destroys both machines.
With the disc destroyed and the Martian dust, it's hard to get a good visual on the battlefield.
The next casualty of the battle is the plasma HWP, critically damaged as it crosses the gap between two pyramids.
With the location of an alien known even without a clear visual, Mederow fires a launcher warhead into the upper level of one of the pyramids.
An alien grenade is thrown at the top of the Andrea Sharpe's exit ramp. The last remaining HWP takes no damage, but Mederow and another soldier are wounded by shrapnel and require treatment.
A cluster of Sectoid troops is spotted, and Iwahara unleashes another launcher shot.
The launcher HWP continues its patrol, taking severe damage as it runs into another trio of Sectoids.
Another launcher warhead is deployed, not only taking out the aliens but blasting out a path to what appears to be the base's entryway.
Mind control is quickly used to lure an alien into range, where ground forces take it down.
The last HWP is damaged beyond recovery by hostile fire from outside of visual range. This is where things become risky; scouting for enemies will have to be done by the troops.
Troops use whatever cover is available in order to advance towards the enemy.
Sergeant Bernard Marcelle is fatally hit by the Sectoid lurking the darkness.
Sigourney Miller manages to tank some hits and spot the alien. Mind control is used to bring it into range, where it falls alongside its former allies.
Troops manage to start getting into the base's entryway.
A grenade blast alerts soldiers to the location of one more Sectoid, which is brought into firing range and taken out. With the surface cleared of hostiles, troops can force their way into the interior of the Cydonia complex. Phase two of Operation War Gods is about to begin.
