XCAS Roleplay 3

[Ego Terrorist]

<<Tis the new year, and tis the time to start a new roleplay thread! So lets get posting!>>

 

Doctor Yorke, Medical Bay, UGS Patton.

 

It had been 12 days since Lieutenant Kacur had died, the fact that he was dead was still fresh in Yorke’s mind, almost a day after Kacur had died he’d had to perform an autopsy to determine the cause of death. Though it was obvious what the cause of death was, the left and right cartoid arteries had been cut through by the knife, and due to the method executed by the offender the windpipe was also cut through. Already the deceased’s heart rate was high, and once the cartoids were cut through blood was being lost at a rapid rate. The much reduced amount of blood going to head meant that not only was the brain being starved of oxygen it was being starved of everything else, within around 15 to 30 seconds the deceased was dead. Bruising to the neck, as well as to the abdomen. Cause of death, brain starved of blood and oxygen, resulting in death. Was something how the autopsy report came out.

 

Weapon used was a knife wielded by Commander Weindhoven, the blood on the knife was the deceased and fingerprints and DNA samples confirmed that Weindhoven held the knife, and blood taken from the Commander’s uniform was that of deceased.

 

And now Weindhoven lay on a medical bed secured by the wrists, ankles and waist to the bed, Yorke had so far treated Scott’s claims with scepticism, but he wasn’t going to take any chances. On the head and on several points on the body were several monitors that were linked to displays that showed brain, respiratory and circulatory rates, the levels they were in were low but stable, the bullet wound sustained had punctured his lower abdomen, some how the Commander was still alive, perhaps the Commander had been given some superhuman ability or not, but either way the only sign of such an ability was the fact that he was still alive, though chances are that it was more due to luck than anything else.

 

The needle slipped in though the skin and he withdrew some blood, he placed along side the urine sample that he’d extracted earlier, he’d been taking samples on a almost daily basis since Weindhoven had been secured. He nodded to Necro and Goorit, would been keeping a close guard on their CO. Yorke strode over to one of the lab benches and placed the two vials into one of the analysis machines, he activated it, punched in the settings and then left it to do it’s work, the results would be found out tomorrow. Yorke looked to his stomach as it grumbled and frowned. It was time to eat.

 

Yorke arrived in the canteen a few minutes later, there were a few familiar faces present busy eating and talking amongst themselves. Yorke got a tray and selected a few items of food he picked a table, sat down and started to eat. Many things had happened since the death of Kacur, with the Commander and the leader of Alpha Team either, incapacitated and suspected of murder or dead. The command structure was thrown into chaos, two senior officers out of the chain. Cyriacus had taken overall command, Scott had been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, and Yorke had now been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant as well, presumably because Scott had taken up the mantle of XO and Yorke was the Second XO, either way things had changed only a little because of it. Yorke had been known as Sergeant for a long time now. August 29th 2062 was when they had arrived on Mars, back then he was a Private and the ships doctor, now it was 2067 over 5 years he’d been out here, and he was now a Lieutenant and in charge of the support section and R&D. As the time stretched on he wondered whether they’d ever make it back to Earth. As the casualties mounted he wondered if he’d ever make it back alive.

 

Either way he knew he wouldn’t be same person if and when they got back, he’d seen too much, Yorke had never seen real combat wounds until they were stranded out here, he’d never had to perform an autopsy on anyone that he known just a few hours ago, he’d had to in effect let himself become so detached from everyone otherwise he’d never of lasted this long, but now the cracks were showing, Kacur’s death was a blow to him, he’d gotten to know the Lieutenant better than he should of over the past few months, what with Kacur’s Post Traumatic Stress. Fleche had as of late buried herself in her work she was coping but she and Kacur had been close and she’d been hit harder than anyone, but she tried not to show it. “Poor kid.” He muttered under his breath as he ate his dinner, he’d have to talk to her see how she’s holding. But for now he just ate his meal and read up on a few of the medical reports.

[DragonHawk]

>

 

Strike Base 1, Ascidia, 24 October 2067

 

Ko was looking for Ong. He quickly went to the pair's bunk-room and found the Sergeant reading some sort of book. Not quite his stereotypical activity, but Ko paid it no mind. "Hey, have you heard? We've got another assignment"

 

"Oh really?" Ong paid no heed to his bunk mate and resumed his reading. The book was an ascidian version of a murder mystery, though with much more violence and foul language than terran ones. Curiously, they don't have butlers in service.

 

Ko flopped down into one of the chairs and shrugged. "We're being put on another investigation mission. Apparently one that Alpha is working on as well. Paronnen, unusual attack from... something, it's not yet known, but the government is damn curious."

 

That last statement caught Ong's attention and he finally places the book back on the shelf beside him. "An unusual attack from an unknown source? I thought the aliens are too thrashed to try something again." He stares at the ceiling for a few seconds, deep in thought. "Unless, the attack comes from an internal source."

 

"That could be it." Ko leaned closer to whisper. "Off the record though, the attack is rumoured to be another species of alien. The government has shut down all civilian channels and most military communications from that region, which is unique in itself."

 

"You're shitting me" The look on Ko's face showed otherwise and that is enough to get Ong's full attention. "What did the LT say? I'm surprised that the gits even revealed that piece of information."

 

"It's not official yet. I grilled one of the other operatives about it though... I haven't seen Ghost since he went into a meeting though... the local rumour mill is going crazy." Ko shook his head and said, "Damn soldiers, can't keep their mouths shut."

 

"Well at least they don't have crazy reporters here." Ong tried to lighten the tension but even he was bit rattled by the sudden news. "Why don't we go out and look for the others? I need the exercise anyway and if my intuition is correct, there's a whole lot of trouble coming soon."

 

"Probably." Ko's mind was still whirling. For rumours to propagate like this, the event was either incredible in scope or ridiculously miniscule. "Let's go see if we can catch some of the others."

 

Ong jumps out from his cozy seat and heads for the exit. Outside their room, he could see several groups of ascidians talking quietly to each other. "Hmmmm.....even the usual rowdy gits are more subdued today."

 

"I agree. Some of them don't know yet though, and some aren't going, so don't just blab to anyone..." Ko moved down the hallway, towards the mess hall. The meeting had gone over lunchtime, so maybe Ghost would be there.

 

 

"Don't you worry about that, I'm just keeping an eye on them in case another so called duelist decides to jump me again for a battle for honor or something" Ong shakes his head as he follows Ko into the mess hall.

 

Ghost is sitting at one of the mess hall tables, eating absent-mindedly, a frown on his face makes it look as if something is bothering him. He is looking at a datapad which is on the table next to his plate, and seems to pay more attention to that than the food. Likely he doesn't even taste what he's eating. He also doesn't notice Ko and Ong entering because of this.

 

Ko walked up to Ghost's table. "Hey, Dmitri, how's it going?" Ko slid into a chair opposite of him. "How was the meeting?"

 

"I see you decided to try the Ascidian Fried Space Chicken Dish. It's a miracle that you're still alive and well." Ong looked around the mess hall and noticed that it's much less crowded than usual. Shrugging it off, he's glad that at least they'll get some privacy without some loud mouthed git yelling another assortment of choice insults.

 

Ghost switches off the datapad. As the two troopers joined him he looks up and smiles. "Hey there Derrick, Kev. The meeting went pretty well I guess. As well as can be expected of a Military Intelligence meeting. And we got a new assignment as well." He ignores the comment about his choice of food. Hey, he likes it, who cares?

 

"What's the mission?" Ko put on his most innocent looking face and coughed slightly. "Anything interesting?"

 

"Errr...yeah. Care to enlighten us on the mission parameters?" Ong sits down right beside Ko and tries to put on an impassive looking face, looking quite comical in the process.

 

Noticing Ko's somewhat strange innocent look, as if he knew more than he wanted to let out, he flipped on the datapad again and browsed a moment, and turned it so the other 2 can see it. The screen showed a 3d image of Paronnen III and a short description of the planet below it. "Paronnen III, there have been reports of a strange attack group raiding Council installations there, and we're being sent to investigate."

 

"Interesting... It's quite bizarre. I wonder why they want special operations troopers doing this sort of work. Certainly their military police must be sufficient..." Ko lost himself in thought momentarily.

 

"Define strange attack group." Picks up a fork and pokes at the remains of Ghost's meal, trying to do something to occupy himself. An ascidian soldier choked on his food and was laughed upon by his fellow troopers on the other side of the mess hall.

 

Ghost looks at Kev a moment as he is prodding at his food. "You know, you could just get some for yourself." Ghost grins slightly and continues. "Anyway, strange attack group, well that isn't entirely clear. We don't know their origins, nor do we know why they are attacking us. That'll be up to us to find out."

 

"Well... This promises to be unusual for sure." Ko wasn't going to get any more information from Ghost, it seemed. He either didn't have it or didn't know, but at least he had confirmed the rumours. "I think I'll go grab some food myself."

 

"Well that's not a whole lot of information to chew on." Ong didn't feel like eating and decided to head to the bar. As he downed several stiff drinks, his mind ponders about the stuff that Ko told him earlier and what events await the team next.

 

Ghost nods at Ong and replies, "Yes, I know, there isn't much information, but as soon as we know more, hopefully things will be more clear." He watches Ong get up and to the bar, and looks at his food, which is cold by now and gets up to toss it away. "Oh by the way, better get packing, we will be leaving in just a few days."

[Chrysalid_zombie]

The ride back home on the Avenger seemed like it took forever as Daniel looked into nothingness. It had become his custom on long space flights to set his glasses just to pick up low frequency X-rays, this just meant a blackness pierced by small flashes caused by cosmic radiation getting through the hull and probably going through everything else without doing much... His head rested slightly on it's side against the wall while his rifle was secured to the side of his seat. The ride back home...

After so long NAO had become his home, his sanctuary, and after spending a few insane weeks there it had suddenly become some sort of hell dimension. Instead of a building that felt safe and could take on any aliens that were dumb enough to try, it now felt like an asylum from old horror movies. People went mad there, murders happened, people were strapped screaming to beds and it was almost like spectres haunted some of the rooms where things had happened. All this time Daniel had thought he was the crazy one, now he really felt like he'd gone crazy; reality could never be this sick and twisted.

 

But now there were these humans maybe? All the way out here with wierd technology that owned Ascidians like plasma had owned humans all those decades ago in AW-I. Could they be here to get the team home? What if Earth as going to invade or something insane like that? The questions resonated around Daniels head along with the vibrations of the hull it was resting on, each one producing an almost impossible train of thought that made less sense than the last. But one question and one train of thought would always repeat after a few incoherent ones... Could I get home? But more importantly... Do I want to get home?

[DragonHawk]

>

 

UGS Patton, 30 October 2067

 

Rallwell drummed her fingers against her desk absent-mindedly. The recent activity had been good for the troops. The dismay and anguish over Kacur's death had weighed heavily on the team during the last two weeks, as they had started to come to grips with their own mortality. Rallwell herself, though she had never been close to Kacur, felt the loss to the team. In times as turbulent as these, one could not afford the loss of any leader.

 

This, of course, brought things to Commander Weindhoven as well. Currently an inmate in the Patton's brig, he was in almost total isolation. Colonel Cyriacus, the new commander of X-Com, was busy trying to sort out what happened, and the newly promoted Lieutenant Scott was shaping his team the way he wanted to see it.

 

Rallwell had been assigned, along with a number of other people, to be examining Weindhoven to see what the source of his actions were. Having little, as far as she was concerned, motive, other mechanisms were also being investigated. That he might have gone 'stir-crazy' had been suggested, but Rallwell thought that unlikely and mostly a lazy-man's excuse.

 

For now though, that wasn't her concern. She picked up a stack of reports and decided to deliver them to now-Lieutenant Yorke's office... He probably had been waiting for them long enough.

 

>

[Strong Bob]

<<Ah yes. A new campaign, a new roleplay topic... But jeez Pickers! Couldn't you have at least spelled "Roleplay" right!? corrected by DH>>

 

Joseph was sitting down in his new office. It used to belong to Kacur, but now Joseph was the new leader of Alpha. Of all the soldiers in the platoon, Martin's death hit Joseph the least. Ever since he were a Private, not too long ago, Joseph never really liked the guy. Granted it was for mixed reasons that changed over time. But when Martin died, Joseph saw it as a chance for the team to finally recover, not the brutal loss everyone else saw.

 

He looked around the empty room. All of Martin's personalized items were removed from the office as Joseph was promoted, leaving behind a chair, a desk, and a mess of paperwork on that desk. Where Martin's music player was, there was a clean section of a wall free of the dust plaguing the rest of the room. Sighing to himself, Joseph looked at the one personal item he brought with him, laying on it's back on the desk beside the papers...

 

Staff Sergeant Scott, Joseph R. 673. ALBINO.

 

His old police badge. He had his nickname engraved on the bottom, since so many people knew him by that name.

 

Scott: Albino...

 

Joseph was now thirty nine years old. His birthday was only three days after Martin had died. He was a year older now, and all of his hope of returning home had already faded into nothing. In his mind, Arkunis IV would be his homeland for the rest of his life, NAO would be his house, and the other X-COM soldiers, both above and under his command, were his roomies. Yet they were all mere aquaintances to him, none of them even remotely seemed like a friend save for Atzel and Brad, and that was only because they had the common interest in piloting Joseph had. None of them had any personal value to him, save that he was personally obligated to help them, to support them, to protect them, and now to direct them.

 

Scott: Albino... Nobody's called me that for so long...

 

His eyes turned away from his badge, his past, and to the papers in front of him. In the last mission to an Ascadian base, the Gits were attacked by a group dressed in strange X-COM uniforms. Obviously impersonators to him and the rest of the platoon, but the Ascadians sure don't believe it. The higher commanding Ascadians even had a hard time believing they were innocent when they saw the videos, their only current defense was the strange technology used. Holographics, Nephilim technology, even a forgery in the camera was now suspected. But that meant nothing so long as the common Ascadian found X-COM to be a backstabbing traitor.

 

A piece of strange metal was found at the base and the video of the "X-COM Attack" was forwarded to R&D. Joseph was going to find out who the hell was behind this, he could never stand plagiarism...

 

Communicator: *BEEP* Lieutenant? This is the Colonel.

 

Scott: (Turning to the comm. unit on the wall and switching on the send button.) This is Scott, what is it sir?

 

Cyriacus: There's been a message from Ascadian high command. There's been another attack, and the X-COM actors are suspect once again. I need you to come up here at once.

 

Scott: Yes sir. I'm on my way now.

 

Joseph switched off the comm. unit and slowly stood up. Sighing to himself, he almost felt that he missed Martin for a second... Nobody to argue with over what to do next.

 

After gathering his thoughts, Joseph left his office for Colonel Cyriacus. If there was another attack, Joseph wanted to get his hand on their grimy necks this time...

 

 

***

 

 

PATTON R&D SECTION

 

Christopher Xiggores was looking at a chunk of strange black and blue metal inside a transparent vacuum sealed jar. It was suspended in the air by a single alluminum rod so it could be seen from every angle.

 

Chris was holding a pen and paper, jotting down a brief description of it.

 

Xiggores: Amazing...

 

He spoke aloud, despite being completely alone at the moment.

 

Xiggores: It's just your every day metals, titanium, carbon, steel... But I've never seen such a mundane compound so resilient.

 

He turned his attention away from the metal, his interest quickly switching to the video being played over and over again on a nearby display. Due to the quality of the cameras, the whole video was shot in black and white. Mostly due to the cheap necessity of cameras in all Ascadian complexes.

 

The start of the video was pretty mundane, featuring a pair of Ascadian soldiers drinking something and telling each other dirty jokes in their own language. After a minute, the sound of shooting could be heard in the distance, by both fusion and projectile Ascadian weapons. Only to be followed by the foreign sounds of something more along the lines of a rapid 'wavy' electrical noise. It wasn't long before the shooting got so loud, that Ascadians were in plain view of the camera and could be seen getting shot. Energy bolts flew in from off-camera, burning right through the Ascadian's armor and their bodies, stopping only when they hit the walls behind them. Two Git bodies were in view of the camera as two human figures appeared. The humans were wearing strange armor, clearly terran in origin, as it looked like standard X-COM fashion, but they were also quite foreign in that they seemed to be very bulky as though something else was housed inside besides people. As one human started dragging the bodies away, the other turned around more in the direction of the camera. An insignia could be seen on it's chest, displaying a blurry but legible "X-COM" emblem. After that, the camera was shot out from another source, causing it to static and restart again.

 

Christopher had noticed something with the X-COM soldier facing the camera, and started speaking to himself.

 

Xiggores: Hmm... That's where we normally have OUR X-COM symbol. I wonder if they also have a rank and callsign?

 

Chris fastforwarded the tape to the end, pausing it where the X-COM symbol could be most easily seen, and zoomed in on it with the terminals enhanced video functions.

 

The picture only got blurrier, but after some adjustments the picture got clearer. Clear enough to see more on the X-COM symbol than before...

 

"Sergeant Woolery, Alec C. Boombox"

 

Chris gasped for a second, this find meant something, but he wasn't sure yet.

 

Xiggores: Dear god! I've got to tell Corporal Chung about this!

 

And so he did, with his pen and notepad in hand, he bolted out the door in an excited manner to look for Ki-Tat. Not yet realizing, that he had no idea where the head scientist was...

[DragonHawk]

>

 

XCS Peregrine, orbit around Ascidia, 25 October 2067

 

Ko admired the newly refitted armoury. The old armoury had been essentially a small locker room. Both teams had found that the facilities were sorely lacking. In particular, places to hold weapons in ready had been less than impressive, with most of the guns in boxes and cases on the floor.

 

The new armoury was much better. Non-support walls had been knocked down. Personal weapons were kept outside of the new weapons holding facility, nicknamed the Cage. Protected by heavy walls and an electrically-chargable mesh across the counter, the heavy weapons were quite secure. It wasn't perfect security, but it would buy extra time in the case intruders attempted to enter the facility. Both the clerk and the designated guard were armed, and they stood there now, waiting on Ko.

 

The personal weapons area consisted of a large locker and safe room, also sealed by heavy doors. Each trooper kept his personal weapons in his locker. Ko opened his and started to inspect his gear. He always wore his pistol; that was habit mixed with paranoia. Inside the locker, he had left his Paratrooper Carbine and Paratrooper Combination Rifle. Both weapons had seen wear, most recently in action on Yurilis against the entrenched Alien forces there. His old bullpup carbine was stored in the Cage along with the rest of the standard rifles and X-Com derived armaments. The rest of his gear was here too... The load bearing vest in digital camo, his black tactical vest, full body armour, enhanced vision goggles, survival equipment... Everything he might need in short order. He also had more than the regulation number of magazines there, many of them loaded, just in case...

 

He closed his locker and walked to the Cage. The guard went through the procedure of opening the heavy door, while the clerk kept watch on the rest of the room, no doubt with a handgun or PT Carbine under the desk. They would take no chances; Ko had selected only the most dedicated, and somewhat unimaginative, soldiers for this task.

 

The Cage was home to some of the more destructive weapons. As a guideline, the most dangerous weapons were kept towards the rear, but Ko never thought of weapons as dangerous. He had been adamant when he had talked to Kin'jih'ma last. "There are no dangerous weapons. Only people."

 

Ko picked up and inspected a grenade launcher. This one had been Kevin's for the Yurilis campaign. How many Aliens did he kill with this? Beside it were boxes of propelled grenades, each box labelled with an ordinance code. Explosives, smoke, incendiaries, acid, concussion... Too many to consider. Farther back from that were the rocket launchers, tactical shotguns, fusion rifles, a small supply of Alien weaponry, demolition charges... Innumerable weapons representing their need for specific hardware instantaneously.

 

Ko was far from being a stranger to taking life. He mourned the loss of each useful life, but acknowledged to himself that he had to do it. Somehow, over the previous half year, it had never really gotten to him. Martin's death shocked and demoralized the rest of the troops, friends... I wonder how Scott is doing with his new command.

 

X-Com-left-behind had come unbidden to his mind, and gave Ko pause. His last contact with them had not been a particularly happy one; he had been injured in an engagement that he perhaps should have never been a part of. Even so, he didn't hold a grudge against anyone for his own mistakes, and missed the easy banter that went on back in his enlisted days. My FIRST enlisted days. Ko silently wished them luck and dismissed them from his mind.

 

As he left the Cage though, he almost felt a peace wash through him, a certainty that he often felt when renewing his faith in others. Since his recovery, he had known that it was only a matter of time before he would be killed, he was certain of it. Here though, close to the tools with which he used to save his comrades, he felt at ease with what he did in life. Thoughtful and ruthless, he bore no regret for what he had done, despite mourning the vanquished. Here, his humanity and his honour came to harmony.

[Strong Bob]

<<Pvt. Anne RALLWELL (DragonHawk) and Pvt. Chris XIGGORES (Strong_Bob)>>

 

 

UGS Patton, 6 November 2067

 

 

Pvt. Xiggores - Christopher walked into the R&D section of the Patton with the recent test results of the strange metal found in the Hor'Dyu system. It was an entire stack of paper, mostly listing mundane metals found anywhere. When he spotted Rallwell working there, he almost froze in his tracks. Still a bit humiliated from his "display" the day after she was wounded.

 

Pvt. Rallwell - Rallwell had been examining a laser rifle, tuning it for higher output and range, when Private Xiggores walked into the R&D section. He looked hesitant to come in... Rallwell waved at him. "Come on in Chris, what have you got there"

 

Pvt. Xiggores - "Oh, I uh..." He shook nervously for a second and then walked on over to her, avoiding eye contact. "It's the test results from that metal thingy. It looks like plain old... Stuff with some residual energy signatures... But they don't make much sense." He took a page out and showed it to Rallwell, his hand shaking slightly. "It says some of this energy is anti-matter... But that's just impossible! Right?"

 

Pvt. Rallwell - Rallwell looked questioningly at Xiggores, but she didn't say anything as she took the paper. She gave it a brief look through, wondering if anti-matter, on this scale, was a possibility. It seemed to be consistent with anti-matter profiles that she had seen, but those had been for small samples, not large masses. "Well... It doesn't matter what we think, it seems to be possible."

 

Pvt. Xiggores - "Either that or the dangin' computer is broken..." Chris forced a chuckle. "What's really throwing me off is... How? By all laws of physics, the metal would've just blown apart instead of becoming more resistant to our weapons." He smiled freakishly and raised an eyebrow at Rallwell. "Heh, if we knew about all this sooner, we would've bombarded ALL our armor with anti-matter and we wouldn't be having so much trouble"

 

 

Pvt. Rallwell - At least Xiggores seemed to be a bit calmer, more open now, thought Rallwell. He was smiling a little weird, but it was better than before. Rallwell grinned back and said, "I have no idea. Maybe we're too far from that level... Maybe on analysis of the material, a more detailed analysis, we can reverse research their production methods. But more importantly, we need to figure out how to breach the damn stuff."

 

Pvt. Xiggores - "Oh yeah..." He thought to himself for a moment. "Hmm, maybe we could take another look at the two videos we have. The one sent to us by the Ascadian Commander and the other recovered from the base... Any suit of armor has it's own kinks. Maybe if we could find a way to exploit them? Areas around the neck, shoulder, elbows, knees, and hips shouldn't be too well protected. Otherwise these guys couldn't move..."

 

Pvt. Rallwell - "Good point." Rallwell had forgotten all about the videos. She made a quick note to get a copy from Lieutenant Scott. "That'll be another thing to look at. What else is on the list of things to do today?" Rallwell glanced down at her to-do list... It still had a fair number of things that weren't crossed off yet, from maintenance issues to checking out that material that they were talking of now...

 

Pvt. Xiggores - "Well..." Christopher put the papers down on a nearby table and whipped out the pen and paper he always carried with him. "I've been wanting to take a look at the Electrical Projection Weaponry blueprints. I hear they've been on the table for a very long time." He jotted down a note. "Oh yeah... And I had an idea to submit to the Colonel for authorization, but I wanted to ask you first..."

 

Pvt. Rallwell - "Oh?" Rallwell perked up at the word 'authorization'. The idea was probably going to be quite the doozy... "What's on your mind?" Rallwell hoped it wasn't something to crazy, she didn't want to have to shoot it down if it was infeasible.

 

Pvt. Xiggores - Christopher pulled a piece of paper off his notebook and showed it to Rallwell. It looked like a truck with a gun on top manned by an angry stick figure person. "The Tanks we currently use are AI controlled, and are thusly not 100% reliable. Not only that, a simple EMP burst could easily blow out the circuitry. I was thinking of designing and building a different chassis of mobile armor, that's manned by our own soldiers..."

 

Pvt. Rallwell - The paper was hardly a technical drawing, but it conveyed some of the critical information. Rallwell was impressed; he had done a number of estimates for weights, engine requirements... He had almost specced out the whole vehicle. "It looks small enough to still be usable without getting clumsy. What sort of weapon are you looking to put on this thing?"

 

Pvt. Xiggores - Christopher couldn't help but get a little excited. "Well, ah, I was thinking of using a modified autocannon as a gun turret. That way different forms of ammo can be used, only using slightly larger shells. A 25 millimeter barrel would suffice I think... Maybe... Could we go bigger?"

 

Pvt. Rallwell - "We could, but the autocannon is already a fairly slow-firing weapon. I think maybe something more rapid would be better... perhaps a more powerful machine gun platform, based off of the rifle... Maybe modular? I think that would be possible as well." Rallwell's mind turned the idea over. She wasn't a tactician by any means, but she could see the use of such a weapon.

 

Pvt. Xiggores - Chris turned the paper over onto the table and started to redraw the specs. The drawing itself was still crude and childlike, showing absolutely no remote sense of artistic talent. He had a number of diagrams scribbled all around it, as he spoke to Rallwell aloud. "Hmm, you're right. A modular rifle mounted on the pickup... It would need to be manned by at least two people, a driver and a gunner. And there should be room for a passenger or two... What kind of fuel would we be looking at to pull this thing around? I'm not settling for elerium very well."

 

Pvt. Rallwell - "We hardly need something like elerium. The vehicle will probably run well enough on conventional petroleum fuels. Fuel cells are a possibility as well... Battery pack maybe, but I can't trust that." Rallwell thought carefully... "I think we should requisition our fuel from one of the local regiment's supply depot, and use that. No sense in going TOO complicated."

 

Pvt. Xiggores - Chris sighed, simple solutions were not his style but he was going to go for it this time. "Alrighty..." He finished drawing the diagram and the end result looked like a badly drawn blueprint of a pickup truck with a stick figure holding a gun in the cargo area, shooting down a UFO. Complicated specs were written and pointed out along the picture, detailing the estimated size and location of critical components. The gun was currently left blank. "Hmm... Still, the gun should be mounted on the rear. I was think of an electronic swivel? That way the gunner can rotate by simple pulling the gun in a certain direction and not worry about running around in circles to shoot at things..."

 

Pvt. Rallwell - "The shooter would have to be on the platform as well, or it'll be difficult to get the full 360 degrees. Do we want full circle firing arcs?" Rallwell wondered how the safety aspect would work, as she would have to have some way to prevent the gunner from shooting the driver in the head.

 

Pvt. Xiggores - "Of course. There's the height definition." He drew a few notes, clarifying the height of the gun compared to the height of the driver and passenger section. "Ah... The only problem would be hitting things in front up close... But if they're that close, the truck can just run them down! Plain and simple" He smiled, unable to help his gloating manner.

 

Pvt. Rallwell - "Like anything, it's going to need some work and testing... Not everything can be done standing up and looking at the drawings, not by two people, anyway. Yes, I think you should bring it to the Colonel. We may be able to get that ratified, especially without other tracked support..." The loss of the HWP still grated on her.

 

Pvt. Xiggores - "GREAT" he jumped up excitedly. "Maybe this time, our mobile armor won't be such a messy screw up and will actually work" He stopped himself mid-sentence, remembering Rallwell's work on the Tankinator. "Uh... Oops..."

 

Pvt. Rallwell - "The goddamn HWP worked. Careless usage as always... I'm not sure what Alpha is doing with my heavy equipment, but when I lend it out, I expect it back in reasonable condition." That mission, as far as she had been concerned, was a huge foul-up, with the testing team taking poor care of her baby.

 

Pvt. Xiggores - "Heh heh heh..." He chuckled nervously. "Of course. It was that damn Alpha squad and Corporal Goorit that screwed it up! Man, things would be a lot better around here if people weren't so darn reckless." He nudged Anne in the arm in a friendly manner. His absence of a social life was almost glaring now.

 

Pvt. Rallwell - Rallwell shook her head. She should have gone along on that mission, that much was obvious. Oh well, that was long in the past... Rallwell grinned easily and gave Xiggores' shoulder a quick pat. "I agree, bloody soldiers. Now, is there anything else you need? I really want to get this work done... We can talk later, if you'd like."

 

Pvt. Xiggores - He sighed and grinned. "Nothing else right now. I'll get to the Colonel later when I make a good blueprint on the armed car." He picked up the paper and pocketed it with his pen. "Tchus" He said, meaning 'goodbye in German, intending to impress Rallwell by looking like he was bilingual. He then turned around and started for the door...

 

Pvt. Rallwell - Rallwell blinked at the farewell... What the heck did that mean? She didn't think much on it, though she made a mental note to bring that language up in a future conversation. "Take care, Chris. See you later."

[knight_of_the_ravens]

XCS Peregrine, orbit around Ascidia, 25 October 2067

 

"Dammit" Calvin mutters as he embraces his head with his hands, after the mission he had gotten an extreme head ache. "HAH!!! I thought we were weaker than you when it comes to that sort of stuff" Kin'jih'ma snorted sarcastically..."OKAY! So some of my words were harsh! I'm sorry!"

Cal sneered "SOME???" Kin'jih'ma replied laughing, "Oh shut up and quit pressing the luck of that apology, it could be the last one you get from me" Cal replied with a small chuckle.

 

He had been sitting in that seat for nearly two hours and trying to ease his head, but the pain seemed to get worse. "Look, how about some pain killers?" Kin'jih'ma asked,holding up a med-kit..." What are you crazy??? I'm not taking anything for this, this is'nt the first time,but i thought the last one happened years ago and would cease after that, but why now?" Cal said. One side of Kin'jih'ma was haveing the time of his life watching him go through with this, but Cal could also sence the other side,which had a high sign of worry for a comrade,which kind of warmed Cal, at least he knew the git did'nt hate him.

 

"Do you think it has anything to do with that creature you were oh so admiring?" Kin'jih'ma asked.

 

"I doubt it,though it was'nt too long ago that we went through the UFO raid...and nothing messed with us in the infiltration...so I really can't tell what the hell is causing this" Cal replied.

 

"Anything I can do?" Kin'jih'ma asked.

 

"Yeah...get Dmitri for me,tell him i would really like to talk to him" Cal said.

 

"The LT.??? What can he do?" Kin'jih'ma asked.

 

Calvin's head throbbed..."Damn this pain!!! If i don't get a hold of Yorke soon, I'm sure I'll go nuts...there is a special drug for this and I need to know if Yorke or any of the damn scientists have any here like they do on earth! I need to ask the LT if he'll let me send a message to the Patton, this will not go away without that drug!"

 

With that Kin'jih'ma walked out of the room, and Cal began writing notes and random words that did'nt make very much sense,but he was actually recording every word and thought that came to mind in this moment." Please LT." Cal whispered to himself...

 

 

<<You guys take it from here i guess>>

[Ghost]

XCS Peregrine, orbit around Ascidia, 25 October 2067

 

A few minutes after Cal sent out Kin'jih'ma to fetch Ghost, the door to Calvin's quarter's opened again. Through it stepped the large shape of Lieutenant Schmerjchanikov. He looked at Calvin a moment and noticed he was obviously feeling quite badly, especially considering he was mumbling to himself, and the psionist didnt even seem to have noticed his approach, which was quite unusual Dmitri knew from experience around Cal.

He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him, sitting down in a seat across from where the psionist was sitting.

 

"What's the matter Cal? Kin'jih'ma came to me, telling me you had asked for me to come here urgently, and that you were feeling quite badly. He said you needed some kind of drugs from Yorke on the Patton or something like that. What's the matter, and what do you need?"

 

The lieutenant looked at Cal, waiting for a reply, somewhat worried about their psionist. He had a feeling they might need him on their new assignment with these strange new enemies... assuming they are enemies.

 

<<Tag Raven, or bug me on Yahoo/MSN for a joint post >>

[DragonHawk]

Sim De-Brief

 

UGS Patton, 11 November 2067

 

Rallwell tapped on the keyboard franticly, looking through the reams of data provided by their last operation. She had just barely managed to file a sensible battle report, according to the information that they had received from the tactical team, but from the radio logs, it seemed like they had been taken prisoner.

 

Beside her, Lennox Sinclaire was also furiously analyzing data. The two had spent the last three hours pouring over the mission logs, trying to figure out what had happened so as to prepare Corporal Jackson's team...

 

The remaining X-Com troopers had mobilized quickly when news of the possible capture had been confirmed. Corporals Jackson and Evander, the remaining Alpha Squad members, had split the rest of the troopers up between them. Jackson's team consisted of Fleche, Machera, and Stax, while Evander had Paul, McBannok, Bradly, and herself. They had already spent time training heavily, ready to take down the enemy soldiers however they could... She suspected it was fruitless though, and they needed to have a more intelligent method of engaging the enemy. Right now though, their options were limited, and everything they had was being brought out of stores.

 

She also sent a message to Dmitri and the rest of Kappa Team. She knew that Task Force Raptor was in the general vicinity, last seen on Paronnen III. That avenue might also be closed to her, but she had to try. She tapped out a quick message, appended the data, and put it into a message cylinder. It would go out with the next batch of communiques...

[DragonHawk]

>

 

Hey guys, we're pretty much captured, as some people have guessed. This week's roleplays are sort of split up in different locales. The storyline is called Dark Premonition. Good job, Bob.

 

Captured personnel post from the XCR Rommel (I think) around 12 November 2067, and they are:

 

Lt. Joseph Scott

Lt. Ned Yorke

Sgt. Sam Howardson

Cpl. Jon Goorit

Cpl. Andy Necro

Pvt. Mordechay Hoz

Pvt. Jarl Ryan

 

Non-captured personnel post from the UGS Patton at the same date, and they are:

 

Col. Brad Cyriacus

Cpl. Ki-tat Chung

Cpl. Atzel Evander

Cpl. Terra Fleche

Cpl. Daniel Jackson

Pvt. Gael McBannok

Pvt. Anne Rallwell

Pvt. Chris Xiggores

Pvt. Host of NPCs

 

Kappa Team posts are still a bit behind, we post from the XCS Peregrine, roughly towards the 26th-29th of October. They are:

 

Lt. Dmitri "Ghost" Schmerjchanikov

Sgt. Kevin "Saber Warrior" Ong

Cpl. Kaitlin "Fox" Stone

LCpl. Calvin "Raven" Chavez

LCpl. Derrick "DragonHawk" Ko

 

Try to get some posts running through the mill. Even if time doesn't permit you to write a long post, one or two posts as to what you're doing would be nice. Active characters are going to be determining how the next sim session sets up.

 

If non-captured personnel wants a location transfer, let me know. If someone would prefer to be captured, then go ahead and be captured. Kappa Team members cannot be captured, but they can be transferred back to the Patton. If non-captured persons want to run a joint mission with Kappa Team, let me know and we'll arrange one.

 

Game on, folks.

[ShadowBlade]

Jonathan was rather shocked due to the events that had happened over the last few hours. He and his entire team were abducted by some kind of X-COM branch. The intriging fact was, besides it was already surprising to find humans so far from home, this Terrans seemed to have come from the future somehow. It was obvious from the beginning that they were far more advanced than the X-COM operatives or the Ascidians.

 

They ambushed us while we were passing through the forest near the Avenger's crash site. The soldiers apparently came out of nowhere. We heard their footsteps near our location, but we managed to see nothing but trees and leaves. By the time they "materialized" we were already surrounded. This strange Terrans took us to their ship, and advanced battlecruiser, the XCR Rommel. Lieutenants Howardson and Scott were taken to the medical bay because of their injuries, but the rest of us, the healthy ones, were thrown into a titanium-walled cell. It wasn't long until our alleged captors arrived. Sargeant Woolery and Captain John Roberts walked through the door and, after a brief chatter, they took us to the starship's Mess Hall. Once there, I saw for the first time in months, or even years, pure Terran food. I quickly sat next to Doctor Yorke and grabbed the biggest sirloin steak I found. Only when I finished my third steak I noticed two people I hadn't met before. Jon clumsily cleaned his mouth with handkerchief and turned to the Colonel he had just sighter across the table:

 

"So, you really come from Earth? How's it like now? Well, when you left..." - Goorit asked and waited just a couple of seconds for an answer before taking another piece of steak, while Yorke and Necro looked at him rather embarrased of his attitude.

[Strong Bob]

Captain Roberts piped up, dropping a fork rudely on his plate after Goorit asked his question.

 

Roberts: A big f**king wasteland of goo and rocks... Not even worth taking back anymore...

 

The Colonel interupted him, a feeling of tension was definitely in the air between them.

 

Dogget: AHEM! (Clears throat and stands up) Corporal... What I am going to tell you may be a bit of a shock to you... To you and the rest of your friends here...

 

Right now, in December of 2095, Earth is longer dominated by humanity. In fact, the only human life on Earth are either Micronoid zombies or specimens for the Starspawn to feed off of.

 

The confusion from Scott and a few undoubted others demanded more explanation.

 

Dogget: Well, you see... I don't know much about my history. But the tale of the Patton is actually in the history books now. You're ship was thought to have exploded in orbit over Mars, even though there was no recovered debris or any visual sign of damage... The Patton and the UGS no longer exist in our time. And I'm afraid it gets worse... (Points at VAL) Captain Val. I believe you were briefed on the history since...

 

The android staring blankly next to Yorke suddenly came alive. Turning to the people in general at the table with motion that one would believe unbecoming of a 'robot'.

 

VAL-919: Oh yes sir! (Eyes glow as made a noise resembling the clearing of a throat) About one year after the Patton was destroyed, the top scientists of Earth designed elaborate cities that were designed to be self sustainable. The first...

 

Dogget: (A little annoyed) Val, get to the important stuff.

 

VAL-919: I am stating the 'important stuff!' They won't know what I'm talking about unless I inform them what Megaprimus was! Ahem... Now then...

 

The first Megalapolis was built somewhere in Toronto North America. During it's construction, a number of marvelous discoveries are made and humans begin settling on planets nearly 100 light years from Earth. This is when we encountered the Starspawn menace for the second time after Alien War I.

 

Luckily the Starspawn in that sector were only recently colonizing the area and a great developement was in our power that helped us win. The X-COM X-1A Lightning II-class fighter-interceptor! With starfighters designed to counter the alien threat right out in space... We managed to ward them off with success. But this was not a victory... In a way, there was a critical piece of information that slipped by us.

 

There was a short pause, as everyone was quietly eating and listening.

 

VAL-919: Many years later, 2081 to be precise, the first Megalapolis is FINALLY complete. They called it "Megaprimus". And it was the first 100% self sustainable city ever built. More were scheduled... But sadly they were not meant to be... For a new enemy came. The Micronoids! (Suspenseful music plays from VAL's voicebox.) Warp gates, looking like glowing pyramids floating in the sky, apeared above Megaprimus. Out of them came huge organic UFOs. They were very different, comprising almost entirely of flesh... But they had the same tactic as our Starspawn friends once had... Studying us at first, peacefully and quietly, only to lash out later. When that happened, Megaprimus was ready... X-COM promptly leapt into action!

 

These aliens were not so different from the Starspawn. At first we thought they were a biological race that could quickly adapt and evolve to a given environment. They couldn't last very long on earth though... The toughest alien among them had the lifespan of only a few days before either suffocating to death or dissolving from the elements in the air. But it was soon discovered that they were not the threat... But rather psionic microscopic beings that lived inside of them.

 

These beings were named the 'Micronoids', and after careful research X-COM scientists theorized that they were in complete control of the alien's bodies and organic craft via mind control. They planned on adding humans to this sick scheme... But we fought back, using biological weapons that directly countered the Micronoids themselves.

 

Once we ensured a good defense, we salvaged the tech to travel through the warp gates in the sky. They traversed across different dimensions, meaning that the Micronoids didn't live on another planet, but a completely different dimension. Possibly a dimension of Earth itself! Anyway, with the biological weapons we developed along with the drive to venture into these dimension gates, we fought back the Micronoids in their hometown. We were sending teams of X-COM soldiers in every day, destroying critical buildings and devastating their fleets... Victory looked like it was almost ours...

 

An interuption from Captain Roberts came.

 

Roberts: Right... The Starspawn then returned. They came back with a massive Battleship larger than any capital ship ever seen before. It had the power to destroy an entire planet with a single blast from it's main cannon... It decided to tease us. The Starspawn battleship sent low charged beams raining down on most the populated cities on Earth. The European, African, and Asian continents were then black and charred afterwards.

 

We thought we had it covered though, despite the surprise attack. With the disruptor technology we stole from the Micronoids, we had personal beam weapons more power than the Starspawn could dream of. Our ships tore up the Battleship in a matter of hours, Annihilator fighters bombarded the hull and eventually it's orbit decayed and it crash landed in the Indian Ocean... Some of it's could still be seen looking into the water after that...

 

We then thought we had both alien sides on the run, but the Starspawn had a surprise for us. Three new strains of alien spawn were at their disposal... The Claw Reaver, the Apeman... And the Human-Sectoid...

 

John was becoming a little broken up, and looked like he was almost about to cry.

 

Roberts: They attacked Megaprimus next... Full ground support. I saw the first terrorist ship land. I was the first to see the Claw Reavers... Purple, four armed, chitinous creatures that had remarkable stealth camoflage.

 

Scott: (Whispers) Phasers...

 

Roberts: The Human-Sectoids came next. Sectoids with the bodily strength of the average human... They were the new breed of psionic soldier. We had some of our own, but they were inferior both mentally and physically. We eventually had to execute every last Human/Sectoid mutant hybrid on our side, to ensure no traitors on our end.

 

Finally, the bulk of the new aggressors, the Apemen. Homogenous monkey creatures, comparable to the Mutons on terms of strength and size. Only they were far more intelligent, they practically had minds of their own in combat. Unlike the rest of the 'Spawn, which often relied on the thinking of the Ethereals...

 

Roberts grabbed his plate and hurled it across the room in anger.

 

Roberts: They destroyed EVERYTHING! Only me and a few dozen others managed to fly transports of only a few hundred civilians to safety on Mars and the Frontier in time. My wife... My children... I couldn't save them...

 

Dogget: (Standing up with hostility) Captain, you are here as a GUEST! I will not have you out of control while we have sensitive personel present. You are dismissed, get out!

 

There was a brief moment of pause and John Roberts walked out.

 

Roberts: (As he walks out the door) Cold bastard...

 

A few seconds of quiet pass when Val decided to jump in and continue...

 

VAL-919: Ahem... Well that was rude! ... Anyway... What the Captain forgot to include in his speech was that while the Starspawn were attacking Megaprimus, the Micronoids flew in from the jumpgates with the same intent. The two were discovered not to be in league with one another because they were soon firing at each other during the battle. Which is why Captain Roberts was able to move everyone to safety aboard a transport... They were too busy to notice the evacuation of Earth. This was our key to winning from here on...

 

The Starspawn did not chase us. They wanted to gain a foothold on Earth first, for some reason. They did not know how to fight the Micronoids yet, however. And while they started building alien bases all over the planet, the Micronoids rebuilt their complex in their dimension and began pouring through more and more dimension gates all over the world. Eventually, Micronoid aggregates started to litterally ooze out from gates in the sky, soaking the Earth's crust in a thick green goo that comprised entirely of Micronoid mass. We're not sure why exactly they were doing that, but it sure caused some problems for the Starspawn.

 

The alien war became fought entirely between the Micronoids and the Starspawn on Earth. Until X-COM was completely redesigned and overhauled... We came to take back our planet!

 

First we improved on the disruptor weapons we stole from the Micronoids, making the Mark 2 Disruptors we use now. After that, the X-COM forces in the Frontier designed several branches that would work together but as separate entities. The X-COM Navy, Marines, Armor, Scientists, Weapons, and Enforcers. The Navy and Marines were the starships and ground forces that fought the aliens on and off-world. Armor comprised entirely of special androids and computer controlled tanks and aerospace craft, they were technically exactly like the Navy and Marines, but the only manpower involved was a few engineers to build and repair the robotic soldiers. Soldiers like me! Only, I was originally designed to drive a taxi...

 

There was a short pause.

 

VAL-919: Ahem... Anyway, the scientists were the only ones that were passive. Designing and building better guns and technology to fight back. Not much different than the X-COM scientists long ago. The Weapons division consisted of bomber spacecraft and weapons designed for destruction on a large scale. The Enforcer branch is internal, consisting of military police and Internal Investigation agents that make sure we stay on the right side. That was 2091, four years ago. It is now 2095...

 

You are aboard the XCR Rommel, a marine Battlecruiser. We have an auxilary cruiser docked with us called the XCR Dorian Gray, we use that when we need the Rommel in two places at once. A small squadron of 5 X-COM Storm Interceptors from the Navy, headed by Captain Roberts, were flying with us when we attacked a spatial Micronoid dimension gate in orbit around a Starspawn owned planet 150 light years away from the Frontier. The mission was supposed to eliminate a number of key Apeman bases on a few planets when we encountered Micronoid presence outside of Earth. After the gate was destroyed, we moved on to the planet... The base we found was much smaller and much more lightly defended by Apeman soldiers than we thought. As per X-COM regulation, we salvaged their bodies...

 

The Apemen were weaker, they possessed fusion weapons of only half the power the Starspawn returned with. No cybernetic implants... And one of us swore that some were begging us to let them live before we blasted their heads apart. I guess now we know why...

 

Silence fell across the table. The only one standing was VAL.

 

<<Sorry, I had intended to throw this history into the beginning storyline... But it appears I had completely forgot to do that! >>

[Ki-tat Chung]

As Ki-tat sat in his chair, running through notes and possible ideas for the Avenger shield compartment and ways to power it other than elurium and conventional fossal fuels.

"Fuel cells could work, but we would need a constant supply of something like hydrogen nad oxygen..."

"Well," he thought after a while of light reaserching, "Better take a break." He stepped out of the lab and headed towards the mess hall, while contemplating the possible fates of his fellow comerads before a strange thought popped into his head. "Hey, at this rate we won't have any Avengers to install the shields into" He turned a corner to find a very frusterated Christopher Xiggores.

 

"Damn, I've been looking for Chung for at least a day now! Where the heck is he!?" Xiggores shouted in his head. "Argh, why do I bother...its just an idea, and he'll probebly just dissmiss it..." Xiggs then turned around and started to head back to the lab before promptly bumping into Chung.

 

"Hey, careful there Xiggy! You just might bump someone into next week if you keep that up"

"Well, that it kind of what I wanted to talk to you about." Chris said.

Edited February 14, 2004 by Ki-tat Chung

[DragonHawk]

>

 

XCR Rommel, 12 November 2067

 

Jarl gaped at the revelations brought to the table by this robot. He had seriously doubted their origins previously, and had thought that they must be some breed of Alien designed to corrupt the X-Com team. It wasn't so far-fetched, as the Aliens had had plenty of time to copy their genetics, and they seemed to be masters at genetic manipulation.

 

That view was drifting away. Even though what the XCR members were saying was quite extraordinary, he could feel that what they were saying was correct... But what did that mean for them?

 

One thought was that the men from the future were their future and lost comrades, X-Com from Earth, as they (current X-Com) perceived the universe. That would mean that these future people represented the future... and that the future was negative. The Aliens must have overpowered the Ascidians... Ryan shook slightly. That would have meant that the Alliance was doomed.

 

On the other hand, Future X-Com's history seemed subtlely different than the one he remembered... He would have to look it up in the Patton library, but some of the events weren't jiving in his mind. If things were different, maybe they represented a potential future for X-Com... a potential path.

 

Ryan's mind stopped there though, as the possibilities were endless and he was getting dizzy. He needed a drink... He swallowed down something that passed as juice as he continued to listen.

[ShadowBlade]

Jonathan simply couldn't believe his ears. The apocalyptic news of a totally ravaged Earth struck him like nothing in a long time. His steak fell from his hands and loudly hit the plate upon hearing all these revelations by Captain Roberts and VAL. This shock would've lasted longer if it weren't for the fact that Shadow felt some degree of comfort knowing that these dreadful events hadn't taken place yet, hopefully, if the theory the XCR personnel came from the future is correct, and knowing that these could be prevented somehow.

 

Nevertheless, Jon came back to his senses after a couple of seconds. His fear, mingled with anxiety could be seen in his face, but he tried to continue his meal normally during the uneasy silence that followed the long speech VAL and Roberts gave to the team. He realized his mates' faces weren't different from his, they were as shocked as he was.

 

Trying to continue the conversation, enphasizing the planning of a possible solution, Jonathan spoke once again:

 

"Hmm... So the Ascidians, Apemen you call them, were one of the species that attacked Earth?" - Goorit inquired even though he knew the answer to that question.

 

"I suggest we promptly start thinking how can we prevent the future events from happening, starting by warning the Ascidian government about the Micronoid threat. With the advanced technology here in the Rommel, I'm sure we can even stop the Micronoids from corrupting the native species of this planet in the first place." - Jon stated as he finished his last piece of sirloin steak.

[Ki-tat Chung]

<<Joint Post: Cpl. CHUNG, Pvt. XIGGORES>>

 

 

UGS Patton, 7 November 2067

 

 

CPL. Chung - "Really now?" asked to Corporal after hearing Chris's strange response. "What do you mean?"

 

PVT. Xiggores - Christopher brushed himself off a bit and pulled his notebook out from underneath his lab coat. He flipped over a few pages and showed Chung the drawing he and Rallwell came up with regarding a manned fire support vehicle. The picture depicted a stick figure running over a Sectoid with a truck. "This" He said.

 

CPL. Chung - "Uhhh..." the scientist didn't know what to make of it. "Uhhmm...a manned tank! Not bad. So what have you got so far?"

 

PVT. Xiggores - "No no no..." Chris frowned and pointed out a few differences in the vehicle chassis. "It's not a tank, but rather a fire support vehicle. Lightly armoured, faster, more accurate firepower, no computer malfunction error. A simple pick up truck with a turret mounted in the space in back. I can ask Rallwell to come up some blueprints within a few days, and the basic idea is all planned out. I just need to ask for yours and Cyriacus authorization..."

 

CPL. Chung - "Sure. But how well is it going to be able to support fire? If it's just a truck with a gun, it may not be worth the effort. I mean, it may have a bigger gun, but having two heavy weapons experts would take up less space and effort than a fire support vehicle," Ki-tat said while motioning Chris into the mess hall.

 

PVT. Xiggores - Chris followed Ki-tat while losing some self esteem at having his idea shot. "But...this isn't a heavy weapons platform. It's a fire support vehicle with an enhanced autocannon. And because it's faster, it can move in and out way before our troops can now. The Tankinator is also an unreliable AI platform, while this can accomplish more things with a greater chance of success..."

 

CPL. Chung - The Corporal ordered a bit of everything while listening to his fellow scientist's pleas, and sat down. "Well, I have to admit, you have certainly put things into a different light, and I am definitely considering it, and I'm sure Cyriacus will think about it too. But I have one more query before committing myself to this little project of yours. How well can it handle terrain? You did mention it was essentially a pickup truck, right? So will it have wheels or is it going to be tracked?"

 

PVT. Xiggores - Chris got excited again as Chung stated his compliment. "Well...it will be using specialized "monster" wheels. They're made of a special rubber and use a mouldable axle that allows it to traverse most rocky, hilly, and mountainous terrain. The only problem would be driving on ice, but that could be solved with simple tire chains or something."

 

CPL. Chung - "Well, I must say, you've been quite convincing. It's certainly an original idea, and it would take less effort to construct and operate than the Tankinator. Though I doubt it will be able to outpower the Tankinator, you did after all say it was only fire support and well, I wish you luck with the Colonel." Ki-tat said while munching on some git food, and trying to stop himself making a face.

 

PVT. Xiggores - "Oh thank you sir! You won't regret it! And neither will the Colonel" Chris shot over to shake Chung's hand forcibly, accidentally knocking some ice cold soup from his tray and onto the Corporal's lap. Chris did not notice this however... "I'm going to tell the Colonel right away! YES" He released Ki-Tat's hand and ran out of the Mess Hall.

 

CPL. Chung - "AAARRGGGHHH!!!" Ki-tat screamed.

[DragonHawk]

>

 

XCS Peregrine, 31 October 2067

 

Ko set aside his light-action gear. The team was approaching Paronnen III, where the unknown force had hit first... or the first acknowledged hit, Ko thought cynically. It wouldn't be unusual if they had covered up another attack as well, though he didn't think that was the case this time.

 

He set aside his carbine and body armour, with his loadbearing gear on top. He wasn't planning on bringing a pack, nor did he think he required a sword... Extreme measures. But this mission was supposed to be a recon, so the lighter gear was by far more comfortable.

 

He sighed as he looked out the window. It was dark out, as space was, but he could almost feel Paronnen coming closer... He wondered briefly what it would be like. He had read the briefings, of course, and knew somewhat what the planet was like, but nothing could really substitute the real presence.

 

Briefly, he wondered who the attackers were, but the majority of his mind didn't concentrate on that. He needed to be clearheaded for the investigation. He didn't need to miss something in his area, not if that thing could break the identity of these invaders wide open.

[Saber Warrior]

<<Yeah, I’m a bit slow to react. This post is supposed to be before XCAS found out who the enemy is >>

 

<<Private McBannok>>

Royal Ascidian Fusion Test Facility, 2 November 2067

 

“Ahem! This is Private McBannok continuing my report on our progress on the mysterious energy reaction found in our analysis of the unknown enemy contact. Today marks the third day of our experiment with sadly little progress.” Gael puts down his personal recorder and sighs.

 

“Hey Prive! If you could spare a moment from listening to your whiney self, come on over here and give us a hand.” Gael turns around to glare at the source of the voice, an old man with a sneer in his face. X-Com had requested the assistance from the Kabrons and surprisingly the Kabrons not only agreed but they went out of their way to send their best and brightest to work on the new analysis. The pirates don’t have any scientists per se but their technicians are incredibly talented in their work. The Ascidians while still distrustful of their human allies decided that a joint investigation might help ease the tension and maybe shed some light on the erratic energy readings.

 

Head Technician Randell Kain is smoking something that smell worse than a squad of sweaty Ascidians. He’s scowling at his underlings working furiously in front of him, occasionally commenting on their sexuality and questioning their ancestry. “Hey old man, I’m detecting power fluctuations on valves four and six. Should we abort?” One of the technicians turns around while the rest stares at the warning signals popping up all over the screens. Most are sweating which is ironic since the Kabrons are used to keeping their own atomic engines on the red zone most of the time. Lacking both the technology and the resources to keep up with X-Com, the Kabrons had been known to over-pressure their reactors to generate extra output at the cost of maybe getting a critical reactor core meltdown in space. The test reactor in front of them is being tuned to a level well beyond even the craziest Kabron would never dare try. “What’s our status?” Randell looks like he’s going to rip someone’s head off. “25% of the projected energy level.” Said one of the Ascidian scientist in another corner. The scientist is referring to the calculations made by the team on the predicted energy output from the mysterious equipment used by the unknown enemy. “Then we goddamn proceed! No way we’re going to lose to some alien buggers…..”

 

Gael could almost see the reactor vibrating in response to the critical levels that it is subjected to. The Ascidians scientists look at each other doubtfully before continuing the experiment. “Increasing fusion output…..26 percent, 27, 28, 29.” The entire facility is silent with anticipation except a few mumbled prayers to whichever God that the person believes in. Suddenly, red klaxons activated and a loud buzzing is blaring from all the speakers. “I detect an overflow in valves 5 through 10!” “Shit, valve six just ruptured! Rerouting to secondary valves now.” “Coolant temperatures are still increasing. We cannot hold the reactor steady!” The facility is in total chaos as every Ascidian and Terran work furiously. Randell mumbled a curse before ordering an emergency core shutdown.

 

“Private Gael McBannok speaking. Our experiment has failed……. The test reactor suffered a malfunction before reaching our objective. The maximum output we’re able to generate is a mere 30% of the enemy’s ability. God help us all…….”

[Strong Bob]

**The XCR Rommel**

 

Joseph turned to Johnathan Goorit as he made his comment aloud. The Lieutenant dipped a piece of his steak into some barbecue sauce.

 

Scott: Corporal... I've spoken with the Colonel about this already. The Micronoids, so far, pose no threat to the Ascadians... But rather us and maybe even the Starspawn.

 

Joseph took a bite of steak from his fork. Colonel Dogget turned to Goorit, looking slightly annoyed.

 

Dogget: I believe history makes it clear enough... After judging the situation, the Starspawn will inevitably invade this entire sector and eventually add your Ascadians to their vile genepool... And it's also a safe bet that their design for the Human-Sectoid comes from one, or all, of your DNA. The Claw Reavers are still a bit of a mystery to both of us. The one alternative we see here, is to stop the Starspawn invasion of this sector at all costs...

 

As for our technology, we have only what we need to run this ship functionally. But a data disc complete with designs and blueprints of disruptor tech can easily be made if you so wish it...

[DragonHawk]

>

 

Negotiations Log

 

XCR Rommel, 12 November 2067

 

The elements of X-Com inside the XCR Rommel, the flagship of the Future X-Com forces lost in time, had been assigned to two spare troop bays. Each bay could hold around ten troopers in its steel confines. Accomodations consisted of bunks, foot lockers, and small desks. It was fairly sparse and utilitarian, but it was also not expected to be used...

 

Current X-Com was pretty much been given the run of the troop living and recreation areas. However, there were strict orders against having them leave the area unsupervised, and it was generally frowned upon for them to be leaving at all. Colonel Dogget or one of his direct subordinates had to authorize each such trip, and he did it rarely.

 

Pretty much every FXC soldier entered the bay at one time or another, so any could be caught at the appropriate times. Major locations that were within their reach were the mess hall, exercise room, common lounge, and the adjacent squad bays themselves.

[Ghost]

<<Note that Kappa team is not aware of the exact nature of Future X-Com yet>>

 

XCS Peregrine, 12th of November 2067

 

Dmitri was walking through the corridors of the Peregrine, heading towards the navigation area, to check up on their progress. It had been a few days since they received the distress signal from Ralwell about Alpha team being captured by the unknown X-Com forces. On the way there he decided to stop by the engineering bay, where Derrick was busy investigating the tracks they found on Paronnen III with Kaitlin. As the doors slid open, he found the both of them each working in their own way, Kaitlin had some pictures pinned to the wall, and was looking at them while making notes on a datapad, while Derrick had an array of photo's spread over a table, and scribbled his notes on a piece of paper.

 

"So, have we found out anything about our unknown enemies?"

 

Kaitlin turned around towards Dmitri and replied first, before Derrick could.

 

"Not much yet, as far as I can tell from the looks of these footprints we found, the attackers were at least bipedal, and about the weight of average humans, except this one here." She pointed at a pair of footprints among the others. Not much special was visible about them. "These prints are much deeper than the others, and seem to be far more precisely measured in distance and position from eachother. I know it's just speculation, but if I had to guess it's probably some form of robot, or mobile armor, or something along those lines."

 

"Hmmm, sounds interesting... robotics wasnt that far developed when we left Earth, though 7 years can change a lot I suppose... although we dont know where these unknown attackers come from still, though they claim to be X-Com, both according to the Ascidians and the transmission we received from Ralwell on the Patton. Anyway, Derrick, found out anything about their ship?"

 

<<Tag DH, or of course another Kappa member if they have anything to add in, Alpha feel free to post in between as well on your setting in the Rommel >>

[DragonHawk]

>

 

XCS Peregrine, 12 November 2067

 

On the ground, Ko had thought that the prints were fairly clear... but in retrospect, the elements had been harsh. He had checked up on the meteorological reports, and a light rain had fallen in the area after the invaders had left. This had deformed all of the prints, though some basic qualitative observations could be made.

 

Stone had gone over the tracks with her trained eye and had offered up a number of observations. Ko was working on a rough calculation with regards to the ship size when Ghost walked into the room. He hurriedly crunched the numbers while Stone was making her report, before making his.

 

"It's hard to say, Dmitri. I've run a few numbers through the mill, and it would seem to me that the enemy landing craft was about the same order of magnitude of size that the Avenger is... maybe about the same weight as the Aplomado or a bit lighter. Given the sensor profile, I'm expecting a fairly streamlined ship, probabyl an attack craft built on the same profile and methodology as the Avenger." Ko scratched his head and shrugged.

 

"Beyond that, the analysis gets more sketchy. There wasn't too much burning around the target area, which makes me think their transport is not actually going to lift off like ours - no heavy thrust. Anti-grav maybe? The lack of vertical thrust AND the pads might indicated such. Given the expected size, we're probably not looking at too many troopers, maybe 20 and no motorized vehicles, or some combination that would require that same volume..." Ko shrugged again. "We've got a decent idea of carrying capability, but it's not firm by any means."

 

"We should sit down and talk about the transmissions sometime, with everyone. Just figure out some contingency plans... these boys sound tough. Can we schedule that?"

 

[DragonHawk]

>

 

XCR Rommel, 12 November 2067

 

Evander didn't even want to think about the predicament they were in. She hadn't bothered promising anything to Colonel Dogget's officers; she took her orders from Colonel Cyriacus and Lieutenant Scott. She didn't have the authority to make those promises on her own, but many of the troopers had.

 

Ryan rose out of the bunk and promptly whacked his head against the ceiling. "Argh" He wasn't having a good day. He had missed the whole bloody meeting yesterday, but since Yorke and Howardson had seemed to think it was ok, he had gone along with it. After all, he worked directly under Yorke, so he tied himself to Yorke's decision on the matter. He hoped he had made the right choice.

 

Evander looked up at the sound above her. "Hey, Jarl, you ok?" She leaned out and looked towards the upper bunk, but she couldn't see him.

 

Ryan grimaced as his head started to throb. "Yeah, I think I'm cool Atz, thanks. Wasn't very careful though..." He started rubbing his head. "Hey, could I ask you a question?"

 

"Sure, what is it?" Evander lay back down. She hoped the question wouldn't be too hard. Anything was better than associating with the weirdoes from FXC though.

 

"What do you think... I mean, what's going on all around us? Are we going to go back to the Patton? I think... I mean, these people seem trustworthy, and they have a point. If the Ascidians are going to turn, why not just destroy them now?"

 

Evander shook her head. She didn't think Ryan was that heartless of a b******, but maybe he just wasn't speaking properly. "Can we just kill them though? We can't destroy them any more than FXC can... what would be the point. Better to die trying to keep them on our side, rather than trying to exterminate them. I don't even see it as possible."

 

"They did quite a job on the bases we saw though. I think it could happen." Ryan leaned back again. They had superior technology, the skill to use it... it sounded like a for sure winner, in his opinion.

 

"Numbers are on the Ascidians side... eventually FXC will run out of resources to wage their war, and they'll collapse. A world's population is huge, they won't be able to kill everyone, unless... Well, unless they have a huge weapon that we've not seen yet, which is possible. They certainly seem confident." Evander had not considered that possibility before, but she supposed it was possible, though that didn't seem to be their plan from what she had heard.

 

"Yeah but..." Ryan still thought of techonology as the end all of power. He certainly couldn't convince her, and didn't plan on wasting his breath.

 

Evander let the conversation peter out. She lost herself in thought... Could FXC have another new weapon?

[Saber Warrior]

<<SGT. ONG (Saber)>>

 

XCS Peregrine, 12 November 2067

 

In the aft section of the ship, Kevin stood in front of stacks upon stacks of equipment crates that the Ascidian Special Forces had most generously supplied. The crew chief of the Peregrine who was also inspecting the crates, grinned as he ticked off each item on his exceptionally long equipment roster. “You know.” Kevin said to no one in particular since the chief was not really listening. “I once had a ruthless drill sergeant who always said that ‘when in doubt, bring lots of ammo’ but it seems that you gits took it a step further.”

 

Kappa Team had relied on stealth and precision to accomplish their missions so this was the first time that they had brought so much firepower. Kevin picked up a shotgun to check its condition. Most of these weapons never left the armoury except for the occasional field training so they looked almost brand-new. He realized that their new opponents were different from their previous ones but he’s still unconvinced about the need for such drastic measures. Rallwell’s message wasn’t really clear about the nature of their enemy so he decided that when the ship landed, the first thing he’s going to do was grab her, push her into the briefing room and………get more information from her. << :devil: >>

 

Usually the pilot would balk at the additional weight but strangely he just shrugged and reminded the team to make good use of the weaponry. “Well at least I’m not the one carrying all these crates out of the ship when we land…….” The equipment bay was strangely silent as Kevin realized that all the ship’s crew had disappeared. “Bastards!” Meanwhile, the crew chief locked the door to the cockpit and uncorked a bottle of Ascidian brandy. “To the Terrans!” He raised his bottle of liquor. “Terrans!!” The rest of the crew boomed as laughter filled the cockpit.