THE FATE OF THE EARTH: THE MEAT GRINDER
[BATTLE LOG: IMPOSSIBLE IRONMAN]
OPERATION HIDDEN JESTER
ALIEN ABDUCTIONS
Alexandria, Egypt 0524 Local Time
1 Mar 2015
ET kills: 8
XCOM operator casualties:
1 Wounded, recovery time 10 days
0 Fatalities
Participating Units:
VASILYEV, ALEKSANDR - 4 ET kills. Promoted to Squaddie, assigned rank SUPPORT
MEDINA, INEZ - 1 ET kill. Promoted to Squaddie, assigned rank ASSAULT
DIXON, AMANDA - 1 ET kill. Promoted to Squaddie, assigned rank SNIPER
CANAAN, AYA - 2 ET kills. Promoted to Squaddie, assigned rank HEAVY. WIA, recovery ETA 10 days
MATERIAL PROCURED:
Meld, 20 Units (2 Canisters total)
Sectoid corpses x8
??? Weapon Fragments
ORDER OF BATTLE:
Skyranger set down, 4 man recon unit inserted into target location. Rk. Vasilyev was sent to the roof of the structure to locate threats while the remaining three operatives spread out.
Rk. Canaan reports contact with alien object, later identified by science team as “Meld.”
Contact with ET reported, species defined by research team post mortem as “Sectoids.” 2 teams of three ET took up positions at the other end of the building. Canaan retreived contents of first canister and retreated, with Medina and Dixon covering her. Shots were exchanged.
Rk. Vasilyev repositioned across roof to use a fragmentation grenade on enemy cover. Grenade failed to destroy alien object. Additional grenade from Rk. Medina took out Northeast corner, exposing ET to gunfire from Canaan. Kill confirmed.
Rk. Vasilyev reports contact with secondary alien canister. Team repositioned to western corner of building.
Contact with second ET group. Rk. Vasilyev secured contents of canister while team utilized final two grenades.
Intense firefight inside structure, destroying a wall bordering the vault room, more of the Northeastern corner, and an interior wall. (Rk. Medina moved to high cover through hole in wall to engage ETs across room.) Science
team is well advised to study construction of the bank, as the fact that the whole northeastern corner didn’t collapse under its own weight was nothing short of miraculous. Rk. Canaan WIA during engagement while repositioning to north wall. All visible ETs KIA.
Final ET KIA by Rk. Dixon at Northeast corner of property. Meld canisters loaded into Skyranger, team extracted from area. Cleanup crews dispatched, will remove abductee spindles and other alien tech from the area before Egyptian government can contaminate the scene or destroy equipment.
XCOM Stats as of 1 Mar 2015
PERSONNEL:
12 Soldiers on-staff, Operations XO Bradford
5 Scientists on-staff, Research head Dr. Valen.
5 Engineers on-staff, Engineering head Dr. Shen.
STRUCTURES:
ACCESS LIFT 1x
SATELLITE UPLINK 1x
CURRENT PROJECTS:
Satellite construction 20 Days
Xeno-Biology 24 Days
Council Report 31 Days
OPERATION HOT DRUID
ALIEN ABDUCTIONS
Leeds, United Kingdom
0249 Local Time
04 Mar 2015
ET Kills: 7
XCOM Operator Casualties:
2 Killed in Action
1 Wounded in Action
PARTICIPATING UNITS:
Sq. Aleksandr Vasilyev 0 ET kills, KIA
Sq. Inez Medina 4 ET kills
Sq. Amanda Dixon 5 ET kills, WIA. ETA to recovery 8 days.
Rk. Jeremy Carroll 0 ET kills, KIA
[NO MATERIAL PROCURED]
ORDER OF BATTLE:
Skyranger set down, 4 man recon unit inserted into the observatory. The team moved torwards the main observatory structure, carefully watching each other’s backs.
Rk. Carroll reported ET contact, as well as Meld canister. The ET retreated out of weapons range. The sample was too unstable to attempt to reach, so the team attempted to locate a second.
Rk. Carroll was incapacitated by weapons fire while attempting to reach the second canister, and bled out at the scene. The squad fortified a position within the observatory and attempted to lure the Sectoids into a corridor. Sq. Dixon managed to take down several ET through this method.
Sq. Vasilyev was incapacitated by weapons fire from the choke point, and bled out during the fighting. The commander at this time ordered a retreat, as Strike One was not combat effective. Sq. Dixon briefly panicked when under heavy weapons fire from the observatory interior, but managed to make her way back to the skyranger with Sq. Medina. The remainder of Strike One was extracted from the area. Once clear of the area, saturation bombing of the zone by the UK government commenced.
OPERATION LAZY DAWN
BOMB DISPOSAL
Seattle, United States
0119 Local Time
06 Mar 2015
ET Kills: 3
XCOM Operator Casualties:
4 KIA
PARTICIPATING UNITS:
Sq. Inez Medina 2 ET kills, KIA
Rk. Helen Wilson 0 ET kills, KIA
Rk. Irina Vorobyova 0 ET kills, KIA
Rk. Adrienne Thanos 1 ET kill, KIA
[NO MATERIAL FUCKING PROCURED]
ORDER OF BATTLE:
Once on the ground, Strike One was briefed on the priming mechanism for the bomb at the cemetery. Rk. Wilson deactivated the initial primer near the insertion point before the team moved northwest, attempting to find and disarm a second.
Strike One reported ET contact, 3x Sectoids. Shortly therafter, a tall, pale humanoid with an alien weapon also revealed itself. Rk. Wilson was subsequently ripped apart by plasma fire as the team scrambled to the second primer, sending the team into a state of panic. Two of the remaining squad members almost shot each other in the ensuing panic fire.
Rk. Thanos managed to reach the second primer and disarm it, but was subsequently slain by the aliens. Sq. Medina flanked farther northward while Vorobyova froze up in a panic. She was then killed.
Sq. Medina reported contact with an additional force of Sectoids near the bomb proper before she, too, was ripped apart by alien weapons fire.
The Skyranger managed to evacuate the AO before the bomb exploded.
NOTE TO THE COMMANDER: Ask the Council if you can send more than just four fucking guys next time. For fuck’s sake. This is the fate of the goddamn Earth we’re fighting for here, and we never get authorization to send more than a recon picket of rejects from whatever military feels like sending us their screwups. GET SOME GODDAMN MEN. Scuttlebutt says the men have taken to calling the Skyranger “the meat grinder.”
NOTE TO THE RECORD KEEPER, RE: NOTE TO THE COMMANDER:
Try to keep the personal notes out of the professional record. I realize the severity of the situation, and I will relay this to the commander in more… appropriate terms.
AERIAL ENGAGEMENT REPORT
UFO-1
ASSIGNED AIRCRAFT
RAVEN 1, loadout: AVALANCHE MISSILES
ORDER OF BATTLE:
Our single operational satellite over Nigeria managed to locate an airborne UFO contact. Raven 1 was immediately dispatched to intercept the ship. Within seconds of entering range, Raven 1 reported Fox 2. (infrared missile launch of an AIM-9 Sidewinder) The UFO sustained several hits from the missile while firing back at Raven 1.
Raven 1 sustained two glancing strikes, but managed to knock out the UFO’s engine array, disabling the craft.
Strike 1 will be deployed to the area immediately to secure the crash site while the aliens are recovering from the crash.
SIDE NOTE FROM THE RECORD KEEPER: The Council still refuses to let us send more than four men. I pressured the Commander to disregard this order, but the Council has security cameras throughout the facility, and wouldn’t clear us for takeoff unless we obeyed their operations plan. I wish we could find a private investor instead of this Council of nations. A bureaucratic pissing match is not something our organization needs to deal with right now.
MECHANICS REPORT:
Raven 1’s damage, though minor, shows alarming amounts of damage from a merely glancing blow. The aircrew of Raven 1 should definitely seek to upgrade their armaments ASAP, as the weaponry of these UFOs, much like their ground units, are a force to be reckoned with.
OPERATION SECRET FOG
UFO CRASH SITE
Nigeria
0422 Local Time
16 Mar 2015
ET Kills: 5
XCOM Operator Casualties:
1 KIA
PARTICIPATING UNITS:
Rk. Xavier Girard - 0 ET kills, KIA
Rk. Rene Andre - 2 ET kills
Sq. Aya Canaan - 3 ET kills
Sq. Amanda Dixon - 0 ET kills
MATERIAL PROCURED:
Alien Navigation Computer
UFO Flight Computer (x2)
UFO Power Source (damaged)
Meld, 20 units
Sectoid Corpse x4
Elerium x35
Alien Alloys x95
Weapon Fragments x4
ORDER OF BATTLE:
Upon touchdown, Strike 1 moved in on the crash site. Within less than a minute, Rk. Andre reported contact with a Meld canister. The team took up positions in a loose arc behind cover, awaiting contact.
Rk. Andre reports contact with ET, strength 2 Sectoids. Under cover of his teammates, he secures the first canister. Rk. Girard seeks cover to his nine o’clock and opens fire on the Sectoids, wounding one. Rk. Andre joins in, but missed his assigned target. Sq. Canaan and Sq. Dixon moved in from the rear to support, but were unable to take any shots before one of the Sectoids opened fire on Girard, killing him instantly.
Sq. Canaan reported two new ETs coming in from the northeast. Sq. Canaan took out both with a rocket before they had the chance to spread out, while Rk. Andre charged out of cover and threw a grenade at the wounded Sectoid in the initial group. Oddly, the second Sectoid also died, matching reports from the first mission of Sectoids firing beams of energy to each other to increase their vitality. This engagement confirms that killing the Sectoid that sourced the energy burst will kill the Sectoid recieving it. (I’ll leave the physical explaination as to why for the Research staff, as soon as proper facilities for an autopsy have been constructed.)
Once the area was pacified, the squad continued northward towards a second Meld canister. En route, they were engaged by a final alien of unknown type. It seemed to glow with energy and moved very quickly to cover inside the alien vessel. However, it was dispatched in short order when Sq. Canaan threw a grenade at the wall of the ship, destroying it and exposing the alien to interception fire from Rk. Andre. (How the hell did our grenade blow open the hull if Sidewinder missiles couldn’t even dent the thing? Stress fractures from hard landing, perhaps?)
All aliens in the area were confirmed dead, and the second Meld canister was secured without further incident.
Strike 1 exfiltrated the area while additional ground teams were dropped in the zone to strip the ship of anything useful. Acquisitions detailed above under MATERIAL PROCURED.
OPERATION CRYPTIC MOTHER
ALIEN ABDUCTIONS
Los Angeles, United States
2215 Local Time
ET Kills: 10
XCOM Operative Casualties: 2 KIA, 1 WIA
PARTICIPATING UNITS
Sq. Amanda Dixon - 1 ET Kill, KIA
Sq. Aya Canaan - 2 ET Kills, KIA
Sq. Rene Andre - 6 ET Kills
Rk. Zahara Akinwande - 1 ET Kill
[NO MATERIAL FUCKING PROCURED, GODDAMN IT]
ORDER OF BATTLE:
Strike 1 entered the area, a crowded street area with a construction site. Taking out the first squad of ETs, they secured the first Meld canister and pressed forward. However
Why. Why bother anymore. There were too goddamn many.
Two of our soldiers bought it out there, and for what? And what is our Commander’s problem? Every rookie we send out there gets dressed up in red and issued a fucking FEDORA?!? WHAT IS WRONG WITH HIM?!?
I hope the council cuts our fucking funding. I can’t take this anymore.
END OF MARCH 2015
UNITED KINGDOM, INDIA, CANADA, AUSTRALIA, MEXICO, ARGENTINA, AND UNITED STATES HAVE ALL WITHDRAWN FROM THE XCOM PROJECT.
Somehow, we still have backing. And what do you know, we got our funding cut. I wonder if they’re gonna fire me over that last report jynxing us. But how are we supposed to do this? They budget us on not a shoestring, but a thread of a shoestring. We only get clearance to send four guys out there. Is there any surprise that we’re getting our asses handed to us? We’re supposed to be defenders of the fucking Earth here. We’re not goddamn magicians.
Please, God, give us a chance.
.