*** CLASSIFIED: ABOVE TOP SECRET ***
X-Com Command Staff Eyes Only
X-Com Incident Report, 20th July
After the frantic pace of the previous few days, we were allowed some days to rest. One alien vessel was detected in this period.
However, rather than making for a city to attack as expected, the craft left atmosphere as soon as a Firestorm moved to engage it.
Report Ends
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X-Com Incident Report, 22nd July
Our next taste of real action came a few days later. Another alien vessel was detected on approach to Canada.
It was intercepted and shot down over the eastern United States, and Skyranger 1 was dispatched to recover.
Report Ends
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X-Com Battle Report, UFO Crash Recovery 42
The Skyranger set down with a large farmhouse between it and the crashed UFO. Bling Cat II used her flying suit to get in position on the farmhouse roof, and spotted an alien to the southwest.
She fired and hit the enemy, but it survived. RootOfAllEvil moved around the southern edge of the farmhouse and finished it off.
The team swept the area and found no more resistance. They moved to breach the UFO, and as Kevvers approached the breach point, he spotted another alien in the bridge area and blasted it.
The rest of the crew were holed up in the northern arm of the vessel.
Kevvers and Combined II pincered them from the breach and the doorway, killing first one.
Then the other.
Report Ends
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Mission Debriefing, General McSwine
A short and entirely routine recovery, however the value of preventing infiltration agents from operating is still vast, our final strike may be close, but when it is over there will be much to clean up, and the more governments we have to purge, the longer that will take.
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X-Com Incident Report, 24th July
A rather more serious incident occured on the 24th, frustrating the aliens' attempts to establish a base had, it seems, provoked them into using a battleship to do the job.
We know from the vessel captured during the United States defection that we still have no weapons capable of matching these vessels in the air, so it was decided to shadow the craft with a Skyranger and assault it when it landed. It eventually did so in southern Saudi Arabia.
Skyranger 1 was soon on the scene to attack the aliens.
Report Ends
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X-Com Battle Report, UFO Ground Assault 8
Assaulting a battleship was no mean feat, and fierce resistance was expected from alien forces on this mission. AceDiamond immediately spotted two aliens to the north and northwest.
Higurashi disembarked and killed the first.
whilst Jack Lavish dealt with the second.
Dekkarax spotted a third to the southwest.
And was able to kill it too.
The rest of the squad deployed, and as the last few left the Skyranger, a hideous noise was heard, the whine of an incoming Blaster Bomb. The guided missile was fortunately off target, missing Birras' head by mere inches and sailing off into the distance*. It was impossible to locate the firer, and the team began to move more cautiously, ensuring that enemy scouts did not live to relay their position to their heavy support.
One was spotted far to the northwest hiding behind a dune.
And another under the shadow of the battleship.
Bling Cat II and RootOfAllEvil flew up to engage the enemy behind the dune, and RootOfAllEvil was able to kill it.
Whilst Dekkarax and Kevvers both opened fire on the one under the ship, putting it out of commission as well.
Advancing southwards, Higurashi spotted another alien scout.
And was able to put it down.
Eventually, Schizzy found the alien with the heavy ordnance far to the south of the UFO.
He ended the threat it posed.
The exterior of the vessel was clear, and the squad prepared to enter. As AceDiamond took the hovertank in through the doors, a surprised Muton came down the lift. Obviously shocked to see an X-Com tank inside the lift, it was rendered unable to act.
Combined II stepped smartly in and blasted it.
Followed by Dekkarax, who moved to the first floor and spotted another alien.
As he shot it, he spotted a Celatid approaching from the south.
Higurashi moved up to cover him and shot the floating creature.
Sounds of panicked fire began to come from the top floor, the crew were obviously losing control. The team pressed the attack, and found one muton who had blasted a door off it's hinges.
Higurashi put it down.
As he did so, another unarmed alien ran out of a door on the second floor next to Schizzy, ignoring him, despite him shooting it in the side, it ran across the hall and into the waiting gun of Jack Lavish.
Who put it on the deck.
The further sounds of panic and wild shooting drew Higurashi to the last alien, which posed no threat as it blasted at the navigation console instead of the X-Com trooper.
Report Ends
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Mission Debriefing, General McSwine
The seizure of this craft represents another blow to our enemy, however there is a danger that it was able to establish a base installation in the time before the Skyranger arrived. The Saudi army, with the assistance of local Arab nations, is cordoning off the area to contain any forces the aliens have dropped. With our assault on Mars only days away, X-Com cannot undertake a strike on an alien base if one has been established, but when the aliens lose their command and control, this base can easily be assaulted by local armed forces.
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* OOC Note: The Blaster Launcher can miss occasionally, luckily they aimed at someone in a flying suit, if this shot had been aimed at someone on the ground it would probably have hit something behind them and still detonated, which would basically have wiped out the whole squad.
