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[Aavak]

April Report
27th of April, 2015:

April has been a busy month, not only did the aliens increased the intensity of their attacks but they also increased the frequency. I thought that with so many incursions repelled, and with us being so close to the end of the month it would be unthinkable that they could throw yet another spanner in the works.

But it would seem I had drastically underestimated their commitment to foiling our plans. Operation Rotting Stroke (… I really need to have a word with the administration staff who keep coming up with these names) was the result.

However, despite the otherwise ominous operation name, Rotting Stroke seemed to progress well. Although I had instructed our troops to incapacitate any alien soldiers they could in hopes that we could recover some of the more fragile technology, I insisted that they take no risks in doing so. Although Dr Vahlen will be disappointed, I value the survival of our troops above the acquisition of alien weaponry... perhaps an idealistic flaw, but if we discard our humanity in our attempt to defeat the aliens, what would be left to protect?

Only one soldier was injured during the operation, Leilith. At least Evelynn will have some company in medbay. Though there is a bright side to this, with the constant crew rotations (and lack of fatalities) it does mean we're gradually training up several of the soldiers. If ever a time does come when we're forced to honour a fallen comrade, at least there will be skilled soldiers to fight on in their place... a morbid, but regrettably necessary concern.

But with only three days left of the month I defy the aliens to get in our way again. It's time to launch the satellites we've been holding onto, and prepare for the council report!

PERSONAL LOGS:

Evelynn:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Diaries of a (finally) recovered soldier, May 1, 2015:

The cybernetics lab was completed by Shen's team of engineers, and and the commander wasted no time in searching for volunteers to the program. I declined, in large part because I've no interest in being a MEC. I've nothing against the program or anyone who volunteers, but I simply don't believe that it is the correct path for me. If there is any enhancement to be had for me, I'd certainly stray more towards what I've heard Vahlen theorizing. If we can use meld to enhance the body I already have to make me more effective on the field, I would certainly be open to it.

Brandi Bear volunteered, and I think she'll do well. I wish her the best of luck, and hopefully she'll be an even better soldier for these enhancements.

May 6, 2015:

I haven't been able to see Bear's enhancements because I've been busy training and recovering what little skill I've lost from being pretty much strapped to the hospital bed by the doctors. Now that I'm up and about, I don't want to disappoint the commander with another shoddy performance.

I just heard the alert go off, and I'll be reporting shortly to the commander. I'll be seeing Bear's MEC suit and enhancements for the first time, and I imagine the commander will send her with us to stress test it all. Hopefully she'll be as effective in combat as Shen claims.

Captain Terrence Whittaker:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Combat Mission UFO 4 Recording
XCOM Firebase Eagle, North American Command
May 6 2015

Whittaker: Final checks complete. Airspace clearance from St. Paul given?

Control: You're clear Raptor-3. St. Paul ARS gives permission to fly in Minnesota Air Space. Good hunting, Captain.

Whittaker: Goddamn I love this airplane...

*almost an hour later*

Whittaker: I am on and locked in for attack.

Control: Roger Raptor-3. Green light to engage. I repeat, green light to engage.

*burst of static*

Whittaker: Damn it! Took a hit on my left side but the armor absorbed it! My turn E.T.! Phone this one home! Raptor-3 box-1!

Damn, it's fast! Reacquire! Box-2!

Control: Good effect on target Raptor-3.

Whittaker: Box-3! HA! Gotcha!

Control: Good hit Raptor-3! Target has lost power and is going down. Good work. Return to base. I repeat, zero energy signs!

[Aavak]

Operation Driving Summer
6th of May, 2015:

Despite some disapproving looks from Central Officer Bradford, as the end of April loomed I gave the orders to launch satellites over France and the United States. The presence of a satellite over a European country meant that I needed to also order an interceptor to protect European airspace, but the resultant drop in panic meant that XCOM once again received a glowing report from the council.

Not that I did it so those fat-cats and bureaucrats would praise us, but we can't afford for any countries to withdraw their support from this project. They may not realise it, but we're their best hope of surviving this crisis.

With the report out of the way (I hate facing them, even when I know they'll be pleased with our progress... it just, unnerves me) I was able to top up the various department budgets, much to everyone's elation. A slew of building projects immediately got under-way, and the cybernetics lab was finished at last.

It's not something any soldier should volunteer for blindly, we made all the information we have available to those who showed interest. Of those who were still willing to volunteer, knowing all the risks, I authorised Brandi Bear for the procedure. I can't say that her poor performance on the field didn't factor into my choice, and for that I feel an element of shame, especially considering what she willingly sacrificed. Whatever she may lack in combat potential, I will have no one claim she didn't have the heart of a warrior.

We had just enough time to prepare one of these cyber suits, a MEC, for her to pilot before a UFO contact was detected over the United States. She's waiting in the Skyranger Hangar along with the rest of the squad for me to give the Operation the go ahead. Time to see whether her sacrifice was worth it...

PERSONAL LOGS:

Anahita Shahnaz:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

May 7th 2015
XCOM Engineering Team Mjolnir
Bellator Ex Machina

Dr. Shen and the team is absolutely ecstatic about the success of the Warden project. Watching the replays of the battle I don't think it was a total success however the progress we have made in a few short months on the project have been phenomenal. The servo-motors fine tuned for the sniper model are among the most sophisticated I have ever seen and augmented by alien technology it will become a successful war platform. I've seen the war torn state of a country and how many people lose a part of themselves in battle. This is why I chose to become a specialist in prosthesis. This technology and just what i have learned in general I can take back to my country and truly help people, soldier or civilian.

I have never seen so many nations gathered in one place. It's uplifting to see every corner of the world pulled together to fight a common enemy. I am working not only with with my own people but Africans, Asians, Americans, Europeans, Pacifiers, Russians, even Israelis! Iranians and Israelis working together on the same project! I cannot imagine how important this thing is!

The languages make it hard to talk to other people though. Not even some of the other middle easterners know Persian. But the interpreters from the United Nations are facilitating a lot of spoken words. There are even a few British men teaching me English. I am not so good at it but I'm trying. People learning from each other. That is the meaning of being both a scientist and a wiser person.

[Aavak]

Operaion Driving Summer, conclusion!
6th of May, 2015:

There was some concern that, equipped in her MEC suit, Brandi Bear would not be able to board the Skyranger, but beyond the need to adjust the seating slightly the squad were aboard and on route to the crash site in short order. I barely had time to get back to mission control before they were preparing to land (though Dr Shen may be partially responsible for that... I swear he starts brewing a pot of tea the moment he hears my footsteps.)

We were all eager to see how Brandi Bear operated in the mission, there was a lot of unproven technology in that suit, aside from the safety of the operator I was concerned for the safety of the rest of the crew should she panic. But it seems her MEC suit made her a perfect opponent to face the Thin Men they found about the crash site. It seems the suits automated life-support systems were capable of neutralising the alien's poison gas. A useful side-effect given she seems quite happy to beat them to death in close combat.

If only we had a better understanding of the operational limitations of the suit though, we may have been able to avoid Evelynn being wounded once again. It seems her reputation proceeds her, I can think of no other explanation for the way the aliens seem to prioritise attacking her over far more exposed opponents. I wonder how she'll take being confined to the medbay once again.

If I can't find a way to keep our troops from being wounded, then perhaps we need to look at other ways to reduce their time in recovery...

PERSONAL LOGS:

Evelynn:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Diaries of a wounded soldier, May 7, 2015:

I've spent more time in the infirmary than in my own quarters, and that seems to have no sign of changing. Dr. Moriarty and Dr. Noguchi are both quite unsurprised to find me, once again, being towed to them on a stretcher (which, for the record, was utterly ridiculous, as my legs worked perfectly fine). They sentenced me to eight days in their hell hole, stating that my accumulation of serious wounds in such a short period of time was taking a heavy toll on my body.  They informed pretty much the entire base that if I were seen outside of the infirmary before at least two days had past I was to be hauled back posthaste. As such, the commander had to officially promote me to Captain in an extremely awkward ceremony in the middle of the infirmary, while I laid about looking horribly pathetic on one of the beds. If I made so much as a move to get up, Dr. Moriarty would grab a syringe and glare at me. I made a feeble attempt to look as dignified as possible, but I'm quite sure I failed.

During Operation: Driving Summer, I think we all performed quite well. Outside of the alien's ship, Bear seemed to struggle with shooting down the aliens. However, she seemed to grow more accustomed to her new body and MEC suit as we progressed, and by the time we were inside the ship, she had a firm grasp on how to maneuver herself around. She also managed to shoot down one of the Seekers before the fucker got its tentacles on me, and for that I not only owe her, but am incredibly grateful. I'll be keeping an eye on her development and hope that with improvements of her suit, she'll become even more powerful of a force on the field.

May 9, 2015:

I've been released from the custody of Dr. Moriarty and Dr. Noguchi and been given free reign to walk (slowly) around the base again, on the promise that I would continue to spend the night in the infirmary and take everything I did carefully. Since the Officer Training School had been built, I decided to go and participate in the classes being offered. They're teaching me, and the rest of the students there, proper leadership techniques and how to handle larger squads. They also offer classes to us about keeping morale up on the field. The commander took this opportunity to further train the doctors and nursing staff, as well as buy improvements on their medical equipment. It won't help me altogether too much, as they're in training and just beginning to move the equipment in, but I'm happy to know that, when I return, I'll be back in action sooner than ever before.

Grimnir:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Log Begins
8/5/2015 Cpl. Grimnir Half-Dwarf

Been out of action for over two weeks now. It occurs to me that a lot of the rookies, most of whom haven't even seen combat since joining XCOM are probably just as bored as I am. I wonder what base policy on pen & paper role-playing games is...

As I mentioned in my last entry, base policy only allows soldiers a limited number of hours per day in training, and I've mostly memorised the base layout now, so I've been offering my services to the construction and engineering teams where I can. Mostly helping to transport construction materials, either by hand or, more commonly, by means of one of the on-site materials transport vehicles.

Zhang gave me a few pointers on handling my weapon on the demolition range yesterday. How in the hell does a member of a criminal organisation learn how to operate that kind of ordnance? ... On second thoughts, don't tell me. I'm probably better off not knowing. Can't deny he knows his stuff, at least - though with all the training I've put in down at the firing range, I'm a little more familiar with the recoil pattern of the XCOM standard issue LMG, so I was able to give him some advice on controlling sustained fire.

I hear Captain Frost is in medbay again. I feel like I should at least visit her, see if I can get her a decent book or something. I know how horrible it is to be stuck in there with those damn Chinese soap operas.

Log Ends

Fang Yaochuan:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Squad Leader of PLA 79th Infantry Division
Squad Officer XCOM "Shi" 1st Division, XCOM Security Forces

May 7th 2015

I saw nothing better to do with my time so I figured that, among other things like studying languages with the United Nations Translators to better communicate with others on the base, I should start writing in a journal. The commander has suggested it personally as a form of relaxation and I must admit that settling down with a good drink and a journal is a great way to pass the time between guard shifts.

It's been several months since we were brought over from China to serve here. Although we were all dismissive of the thought that aliens were invading earth then, we know what these things are capable of now. That makes them all the more scary to us. Every day a new monstrosity comes to the autopsy room where my men and I are stationed. A mechanical squid, a tall man with lizard eyes, a massive gorilla like brute once, a killer spider, a half-machine torso... thing.

I'd rather not think about that thing. It looks like it was once a man but stripped of its arms and legs and organs. Slowly replaced by machinery until all that remains is a pale imitation of what it once was. An open-handed insult to whatever it once was. If we fail... Is that what awaits us?

I shouldn't think about that. It makes me sick. I should get out and talk to the other soldiers. I heard rumors the pilot wants to start up some sort of game. Maybe I should see him about it?

[Aavak]

Operaion Cryptic Heart
9th of May, 2015:

With Evelynn already badly wounded, and without any medical supplies available in the mission (damn me, and damn the false sense of security we'd been lured into!) I issued orders to proceed with utmost caution through the remainder of Operation Driving Summer. It paid off.

Although the aliens did catch us off guard with a sudden seeker ambush (where were those advanced recon satellites Bradford spoke of, that could detect life signs in the AO?!) the squad managed to clean up the crash site without further injuries and even managed to recover some new alien technology!

So, with the operation concluded, and with promotions and medals to hand out, things were looking up. And with the construction of an officer training school, I authorised several classes for our troops... they weren't particularly enthused with having these lessons cut into their already limited 'down time' but the impact the training will have on their survivability will be staggering... we've even managed to train our squad leaders to manage larger squads!

Now, with our soldiers attending training and the engineers busy hammering and blasting away at the foundation beneath the base as they construct a thermal power-plant, all that remains for me to do is ponder a recent request from Argentina while I nurse a cup of Earl Grey and wonder how long the aliens will leave us alone this time...

PERSONAL LOGS:

Grimnir:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Log Begins
11/5/2015 Cpl. Grimnir Half-Dwarf

Just delivered a crate of alien alloys up to the research lab when Central paged me to get my gear and get to the hangar. One of the lab staff was kind enough to let me log on to the staff network on her terminal to write this before I hustle off. If I don't survive, I hereby bequeath what few books I was allowed to bring into the base to the medbay, so that patients have something to entertain them other than those thrice-damned interminable soap operas.

More if I come back alive.

Log Ends

Antonio Vingino Reyes:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

XCOM Support Staff, Firebase Xenos

May 9th 2015

In the fight against Aliens, these men and women are the best. In the fight against bowel busting diarrhea that the cooks of this place put out... Well, that's my area of expertise. I was recruited out of the service staff in a government office in Manilla. Every base needs facilities. I know its not as exciting as going out and putting the damn aliens in their place but so help me I've seen what their weapons do. I prefer my face not come back to the base melted halfway off thank you very much.

Now do not mistake me for a coward. Everyone on this base has earned their privilege to fight with humanities best. Even me. I have become so used to running the power and plumbing lines in this base that i could walk it backwards blindfolded. plumbing, cook, non mission critical electrics, general maintenance, heating and AC, I do it all and more. Then I teach the rest of the staff to do it too. I'm not superman ya know?

[Aavak]

Operaion Cryptic Heart, conclusion!
9th of May, 2015:

After much thought, I finally agreed to Argentina's request for additional satellite coverage. It will mean we're going to need to purchase more planes to protect their air-space, but that offer of reward for something we would have to do eventually anyway, seems too good to miss.

However, despite our increased support, or perhaps because of it, the Aliens made a point of attacking Argentina, along with Australia and the United Kingdom. I realised the moment I saw Australia was part of this mess that my hands were tied. It didn't make it any easier to ignore the pleas from the other countries though, but our long term strategy demands that panic be managed across all of Asia. We're in this for the long haul, after all.

And so, here we find ourselves, our troops are already on the ground and engaging enemy forces in the AO, as part of Operation Cryptic Heart. Those damned Seekers are once again proving to be a serious menace, but other than that the squad have been performing well. With any luck, they can keep up this momentum and we can get them all home in one piece, just as the kettle finishes boiling!

PERSONAL LOGS:

Evelynn:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Diaries of a wounded soldier, May 11, 2015:

Spending my days between officer training and the infirmary has been quite rewarding, as it seems the commander is investing heavily in keeping his troops well trained. There's much to be said for a commander that values his troops, and while I've yet to receive a response about my invitation for tea (Frankly, I'm not used to being stood up. Maybe it's time to invest in something a bit sexier than these fatigues. Then again, it's not like I asked the man on a date, so that's hardly necessary.) he is certainly proving himself efficient with what little time he has. He's effectively given us the best equipment, training, and trust that a soldier could ask for, and that more than satisfies me.

Operation Cryptic Heart went stunningly well, aside from the injuries sustained by Bear and Powell. Cat has been promoted (finally!) to Sergeant, and the man deserves it after his stellar performance in the operation. He made several excellent shots and served as a brilliant secondary point man, behind Bear. Speaking of Bear, she was also promoted, and I do believe it's about time for her as well. She's proven herself to be a boon in these missions, and in Operation Cryptic Heat, she selflessly put herself in front of everyone else, soaking up the alien's plasma so that the others would remain unharmed. This is a quality that I greatly admire.

The Lieutenant we received from Australia is a pretty good shot. I took my lunch (and tea) break at the armory and shooting rang area, and I saw him throw down some impressive shots. He's yet to beat my score, let alone Leilith's, but I imagine I could give him a few pointers to speed up his training.

Of special note, I feel, the risk the commander ordered was a good one to take. I would mourn quite heavily the death of a comrade, but I recognize the desperation of our situation and the potential benefits of capturing an alien. Granted, he jumped the gun a bit and captured one before we had the proper containment facility, but an unexpected side effect occurred when the weaponry the muton was using did not explode like usual. It appears stunning them and then taking the weapon away will preserve it, and killing the alien later will not result in the destruction of the weapon. With further research by the science division, we may be able to use the alien's weaponry against them. I should see if I can hobble my way down to the lab and check on my friend to get her opinion on the matter.

Grimnir:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Log Begins

11/5/2015 Cpl. Grimnir Half-Dwarf cont.

I live! Operation Cryptic Heart, under command of Lieutenant Johnson, went mostly by the numbers. Seekers got closer than most of us would have liked, but it's not like there's a lot we can do about that. Least we got 'em off Old Man Powell 'fore they were able to cause any serious harm.

And that engagement with those... Mutons, I think we're calling them? The big fuckers in the green armour. After that mess, I can't help but feel the officers have been instructed to disregard the safety of the XCOM soldiery in order to capture as much alien weaponry as possible. To be fair, I've seen that green crap burn right through Brandi Bear's MEC armour, and straight up vaporize a granite headstone, but that engagement still could have gone to shit real fast.

I guess I'm just a grunt, I don't have the big picture down here in the trenches, and maybe sacrifices will have to be made to win this war, but... XCOM simply doesn't have the numbers to just be marching soldiers into the meat grinder, rookie or not.

Log Ends

Dr. James Novak:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

XCOM Medical Staff, Philippines Fire-base Xenos
Initial Exhumation of Muton Corpse

May 9th 2015

The invaders continue to surprise us with a new type of troop. We've glimpsed this "Muton" before when it made its presence known on a previous operation but now more corpses have will give us a look into the brute's incredible strength. It seems to be a heavy grenadier type fighter. The fragments we've had small success of reconstructing seem to be a charged miniaturized plasma explosive akin to human fragmentation grenades. With this I highly advise caution when encountering the troop in the field and keeping loose formation to lessen the impact this weapon can cause. Furthermore it seems that this trooper is the core soldier of the invaders arsenal and carries a heavier version of the plasma rifle that the thin men have been seen carrying. If we can capture a working prototype we could be able to match the aliens abilities on their own level. The magnetic coil technology and superior material construction suspending the plasma in a sustainable projectile should be surprisingly simple to replicate given what we now know about the aliens weaponry. I will submit a report to the commander requesting he capture one for the science team to play with if its possible.

[Aavak]

Operaion Crystal Fear
11th of May, 2015:

The seekers have continued to prove one of the more troublesome enemies our troops face on the ground, a fact David can attest to as he languishes in medbay after their repeated attacks.

However, the remainder of Operation Cryptic Heart proceeded by the numbers. Brandi Bear is quickly becoming an invaluable member of the squad, her MEC suit has repeatedly allowed her to perform manoeuvres, and even take-downs that would have been difficult if not entirely impossible for our regular soldiers. She has given a lot, but XCOM has gained much from that sacrifice.

Though, that said there was a moment of panic when three of those fleshy tanks, Mutons, burst into the AO. I do not feel ashamed to admit that I genuinely believed we might be bringing back one of our troops in a box... or maybe a few boxes. But once again our troops showed precisely why they were recruited for the XCOM project. They kept their cool, followed their orders, and ultimately managed to eliminate the threat with minimal damage. They even managed to use one of the new Arc Throwers to incapacitate one of the brutes!

Of course, I've been given the expected lecture by Dr Vahlen about the waste of having to put the thing down before returning to base, as we don't yet have an alien-containment facility. But she fails to understand the reason we incapacitated the Muton was not to stick it in a cell and taunt it, we wanted only one thing, and that was its gun. And as soon as her team are done researching Carapace Armour I intend to have her focus the teams efforts on unlocking the secrets behind these weapons!

[Aavak]

Operaion Crystal Fear, conclusion!
16th of May, 2015:

With a mission behind us and the feelings of accomplishment high amongst the troops, I was afforded some time to reflect on our progress. While I'm generally very pleased with the work being done on expanding the base, I worry that we may be falling behind, especially regarding our science labs.

This has already begun to hamper the progress of our research projects, as Dr Vahlen has taken pains to explain to me. With a projected 44 days to research the alien plasma rifle I wonder if it might not be better to invest our resources into exploring alternate weapon technologies. However, not everything Dr Vahlen had to report was dire, she finally delivered the results of project Thorax, which focused on developing new tactical armour for our soldiers. Something that has been VERY long overdue!

Undecided on whether to pursue plasma technology or not, I've given her team the goal of taking apart those Seekers, I want to know how they can hide themselves so easily, perhaps we can learn something from an autopsy. Though she'd hardly had time to get through the door from my office, the alarms soon started to sound and Bradford chimed in on the intercom...

The Council had a new request for us, apparently this item we recovered from Zhang is connected to an inbound alien warship on course for China. Details were thin on the ground, and our troops barely had time to properly fit their new armour before they were buckling into the Skyranger and heading for a train station in the heart of Chongqing.

I don't know what the aliens have up their sleeves, but they're unlikely to allow us to interfere with these plans without a fight.

PERSONAL LOGS:

Evelynn:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Diaries of a surprisingly healthy soldier, May 16, 2015:

Operation Crystal Fear went surprisingly smoothly. Revocane got hurt pretty badly by one of the suits, and it killed me to see it. He's one of the few friends I have on base, counting my friend from the science department, Leilith, Cat, and Powell. I'm hoping that Grimnir might join that group, and maybe the commander (though that would be horribly inappropriate - protocol and all). All the same, seeing any of them hurt wounds me inside. I would, and have, thinking about it, kill to keep them safe.

During the mission, I missed some rather easy shots on a Muton. Granted, I was trying to avoid shooting Bear, but I still feel that I could have made it. I'll likely be revisiting the situation in a sim so I can practice to make sure it never happens again. Everyone else was quite on point. I'm proud of how far we've come: we're bad asses. I'm willing to be if we went back to the States, we could teach the Beret's a thing or three.

I was poisoned during the mission, those fucking suits poison fields are horrible, but it seems to be a quick toxin, and not lethal. I managed to fight it off during the mission, and other than a ten minute check up at the hospital (I checked in with Revocane, too) I don't actually have to spend any time there. It's good to be healthy after a mission, for once. I was able to attend the promotion ceremonies of each of the squad members (and not in a stretcher or limping). We now have Captain Revocane, Captain Cerberus Johnson, and Lieutenant Leilith.

The armor the commander bought for us was exceptional, at least compared to our old armor. It likely saved Revocane's life, and it felt good. It protected us more, and was a bit bulkier, but had no adverse effects on our ability to perform. I'm looking forward to what other things the science and engineering teams can make for us.

I'm off to shower, catch some rest (it's quite early in the day now), and then continue my training. Perhaps, if the world doesn't fall apart in the next few days or a mission doesn't get called on us, I'll see if I can invite the Commander to tea again. He probably needs a break, all considering he's not only watching over us on the field, but managing this entire operation. All I do is shoot, and get shot by, aliens - he has to deal with bureaucrats. I'm willing to be his job is harder.

Doctor Moriarty:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

May 16, 2015

I was not at all surprised to see Evelynn Frost enter Medbay. I was surprised and somewhat relieved all she needed was a simple blood test, which confirmed what we already guessed: Whatever poison these "Thin Men" use, it does not seem to linger in the blood. More than that, Evelynn's tissue was entirely undamaged. Somehow, the strange material our soldiers now use as armour appears to neutralize at least some of the poison, slowly degrading, but keeping the breath clear. Better to have Dr. Shen patch a suit, than me a lung. I am impressed.

Alas, even super armour was unable to save Bartholomew Revocane. He sat there stoically, claiming that Draig had already healed him, but stims and disinfectants cannot fix the gaping hole straight through the chest plate of the armour, piercing all the way into his abdominal cavity. Luckily, it seems his major organs appear to have been spared the worst, and with the aid of corticosteroids and dermal grafts, he'll soon be on his feet. Without the armour, undoubtedly, he'd be dead. But still, this is a worrying development. Our newest armour barely barely came off the assembly line, and already the aliens nearly rendered it obsolete. Were their weapons always this powerful, or have the aliens their own Dr. Vahlen researching new technology to murder us all? Quite a worrying thought. But my job is not to worry. My mission is to get Revocane on his feet before that battleship starts the bombing run. And his mission is to give the aliens a taste of revenge.

Council of Nations:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Notice: This is a Communique from the United Nations Special Security Council for Countering Extra-Terrestrial Threats. Any attempt to copy, falsify, delete, omit, or otherwise alter the contents of, or attempt distribute in part or in entirety to any unauthorized persons this document, constitutes an Act of International Treason as for the Founding Articles of the United Nations and General United Nations Founding Security Resolutions Article 1-79-A-VI As well as Treason against any and all relevant signatories of the United Nations Security Council. All violations will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of international law.

People's Liberation Army Air Force Command

General Ma Xiaotian

As of 2322 local time our reconnaissance satellites detected a massive Extra-Terrestrial Battleship in high orbit over Chinese airspace in Hong Kong. Do not take any action against the invading battleship and instead institute a mandatory immediate curfew that all citizens in Hong Kong and the surrounding areas will be subject to until such time as the threat is eliminated. AGAIN: DO NOT ENGAGE THE BATTLESHIP IN ANY CAPACITY. The ship itself is automated to follow a beacon to its target. We already have an operation in motion that will prevent the ship from reaching the beacon and once completed prepare to raid it and eliminate any threat it poses. The Chinese President and Secretary of National Defense are already aware of the situation and will brief you further.

Signed: Signatories of the United Nations Special Security Council for Countering Extra-Terrestrial Threats

[Aavak]

Operaion Hot Jester
16th of May, 2015:

The train station to which we were deployed for Operation Crystal Fear seemed eerily quiet for the time of night, and while it's certainly possible many people would have been scared off by the approach of BigSky, the fact that there was no-one there was a little worrying, but for a little while it almost seemed as if our troops were entirely alone there.

It became clear to us that we were working against the clock, not something we're unused to at this point, but rather than missing out on some additional resources for our cybernetics department, any delays here could cost the lives of everyone in the city. Of course, as if the ticking clock wasn't enough, the silence of the station was eventually broken as Thin-Men showed up in force, and worse still the alien battleship launched reinforcements to the scene making an already difficult job even harder.

It is because of these hardships, overcome, that my sense of pride in our troops is so great. Not only did they manage to complete the primary objective (though in true XCOM fashion, they left it to the last moment... I'm sure they did it just for the dramatic effect!) but they did it with hardly any injuries at all. Only Revocane has had to report to medbay since the squad returned, and I'm told it will only be a few days before he's back on duty.

Perhaps this is a turning point in the war? We're doing well. Very well in fact, and with the aliens hopefully licking their wounds we may even have some free time here at the base. Perhaps I can finally make good on some of the promises I've made to join the troops in the barracks for some drinks (tea, of course!)

… and yet, for some reason, I can't quite shake this feeling that something big is about to happen.

PERSONAL LOGS:


Dr. James Novak:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Personal Log
XCOM Medical Staff, Philippines Fire-base Xenos

May 16th 2015

DAMMIT!  Captain Revocane was seriously harmed out in the field wearing our new armor. We had to pry it off of him because parts of the plasma had fused it into his chest and shoulder. He will be sitting for a while in the medbay while we patch him up. I had the armor sent over to Shen's team so they could assess what exactly happened to make it fail so spectacularly. Apparently there was a imperfection in how the alien material was folded into the plating, it was too thin. I told him in rather colorful language to re-engineer it and check the armor of the other soldiers too. Dammit Shen we can't afford mistakes! Not now! NOT when we've come so far!

Because if the damn terror attack in London and the alien war itself all the football games are cancelled. I can't even relax watching my favorite team kick arse on the pitch.

Oh Lord. The panic in London. I hope my family made it out okay. I'll ask the commander if I can send a message to them. I know that this is supposed to be a secret facility and all but maybe he could pass it to the UK Councilman? I just need to know they're okay.

God please, say they're okay.

[Aavak]

Operaion Hot Jester, continued...
16th of May, 2015:

Well, so much for having time to meet with the troops... beyond managing to attend a meeting with Dr Vahlen to discuss the latest research results and suggestions for further genetic modification projects (I've now authorised the construction of a gene-lab) I was barely half way to the barracks before the tannoy summoned me to the situation room for a meeting with the council. At least I could nod to the troops as I walked by.

What the council had to tell me was quite disturbing. I'd been planning on having some time to let our troops recover after Operation Crystal Fear, but it seemed that the time to strike at the now-off-course battleship was at hand. Operation Hot Jester was given the green light, and our best soldiers were once again assembled ready for lunch.

What they've encountered so far is underwhelming, only thin-men, easily dispatched, but I know better than to assume that's all the aliens will have to throw at us. This is too important a target to be so poorly defended!

PERSONAL LOGS:

Kerneels Gerlof:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Project Manager Thorax, XCOM Engineering, Firebase Xenos
May 16th 2015

I was brought on to this project from my research position for metallurgy in South Africa. I was in charge of the research team that developed the Carapace armor. I thought we had every kink figured out. My team had ensured that there were no structural weaknesses in the armor but look what happened last mission. The manufacturing process was flawed and one of our team was seriously wounded as a result. I'll take another look at the schematics for the folding of the alien metal into our armor. A mistake like this will not happen again. Not on my watch.

After that I might settle in with some of the science team. I think they have a betting pool for what new technology Dr. Vahlen will crank out next. Ambitious girl. A bit hard to understand. Brilliant and pretty.

I wonder if she's single?

[Aavak]

Operaion Hot Jester, continued...
16th of May, 2015:

Progress through the Alien ship had been slow but steady, with our troops executing their orders flawlessly. Not only had they slain a half dozen of the ship's crew, but they'd done so without anyone so much as taking a scratch!

It is perhaps because of their great success that they, and we, became overconfident. I issued risky orders, banking on their outstanding performance up to now, and they executed them flamboyantly, the rush of battle clouding their judgement... and their aim.

Ultimately, the fault lies with me though, as their commander I alone shoulder the blame for the poor decisions made, and later, when the mission is over and I have time to reflect on what went wrong, I will share in the suffering of every soldier wounded because of our overconfident zeal.

So far, only Brandi Bear has suffered any serious wounds, and I hope that they are the only ones, but I get the feeling there will be difficult decisions ahead of us before this mission is done.

PERSONAL LOGS:

Xi Gui:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Commanding Officer of PLA 79th Infantry Division
Commanding Officer XCOM "Shi" 1st Division, XCOM Security Forces

A battleship. The aliens brought down a battleship over my home? I cant wait until I get the chance to push back against these alien bastards. They think they can threaten MY family? MY country? MY home?

Damn them! I hope we destroy every single one of them. I hope we send every last one back to whatever black hole they crawled out of in body bags. My men feel the same way. I'm glad i was brought on to this project. The aliens made a mistake coming here. Now let's prove to them why! I need to get back to patrol duty.

[Aavak]

Operaion Hot Jester, concluded!
16th of May, 2015:

It seemed that Brandi Bear's wounds helped to refocus the team, and far from become panicked they instead redoubled their efforts. I will have to remember to mention Zhang's precision with a shredder rocket in the official operation report, for I'm certain it saved lives.

Though the early victory seemed all but forgotten as our team proceeded and encountered a far more deadly enemy than Thin Men. Within seconds it managed to pin the team down, heavily wounding one, only to follow up with a grenade that wounded the rest. If it weren't for Brandi Bear's willingness to throw herself into the line of fire, I have little doubt that one or maybe even all of the others would have died in that engagement, and it was in part thanks to her close combat skills that they were able to put the thing down at all, though all she got for it was an explosion at close range.

We're left with a squad of heavily wounded, tired soldiers. Only Leilith seems to have avoided any injury up to now, but will she be enough to guide the others to their final objectives? Do they have anything left to give at this point? All I know is that the lives of everyone in that city rest on their shoulders, and that's a terrible burden for an already exhausted squad to bear.

PERSONAL LOGS:

Evelynn:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Diaries of a wounded soldier, May 18, 2015:

(The writing in this section of the journal is scrawled, unlike the comparatively neat handwriting from the other sections, and at times the words seem to run together. The writing seems lackadaisical in its presentation, though the vocabulary and general knowledge used seems to be consistent with the rest of the journal.)

William Sherman said, "War is Hell." The man sure as shit knew what he was talking about.

I'm lying here with my entire team - except Corporal Bear (she's with Dr. Shen's team) and Lieutenant Leilith - in the infirmary, burned, cut, blasted up, and for some of us, bleeding. I hear the doctors attending to Zhang, and if I knew Mandarin more fluently, I imagine I'd be translating a lot of cursing for this journal. I tried to get them to treat me last - while the official promotion hasn't come through, I've heard through the rumor mill that the Commander is planning on making me a Major, and as both the squad leader and highest ranking officer on the ground teams, I will be thrice damned before I watch my squad mates suffer while I get patched up.

Dr. Moriarty and Dr. Noguchi completely ignored my protests.

Operation Hot Jester went well enough. The mission was accomplished, the alien ship was captured, and the team came home with all of us alive, though, as previously mentioned, heavily battered. We managed to combat a new type of Alien device, the Cyberdisk, which is the thing the damn near killed all of us. I'd rather not have to face one of those again, and maybe it's the drugs talking, but as far as I'm concerned any Cyberdisk we might encounter in the future can go ahead and get fucked.

I asked one of the nursing staff, a cute little woman with one hell of an ass, (Damn painkillers. I'm trying to keep this shit professional.) to get me a cup of tea; chamomile and mint. I'll keep myself awake until either the doctors drug me to sleep or every one of my squad is settled in, and after that I'll rest.






(There is a relatively large space between the last paragraph and the next sentence, and once again the writing is back to its normal, neat, clear, and clipped handwriting.)


I'm tired. I'm so very, very tired.

Doctor Moriarty:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

May 19, 2015

I have not had a spare moment since Big Sky landed last night. To say that the landing team was injured would be to say the ocean was wet. Cerberus's armour had sustained at least half a dozen punctures. Draig's appeared to be on fire. And Zhang had lapsed into unconsciousness during the short ride back from China. Leilith was deputized to help the orderlies transport him. Brandi Bear managed to march her suit back to Medbay, but frankly I am not sure how. There was not a square centimetre of her suit that was not covered in scorch marks. A testament to Dr. Shen's skill I suppose. As was the armour that almost kept everyone in good shape. But Evelynn was so banged up, she actually let us roll her into Medbay before protesting.

Once everyone reached Medbay, it soon became clear what an operation healing their wounds was to be. It was obvious that Brandi Bear sustained the worst injuries and needed to be taken out of the suit and examined posthaste, but none of us were entirely sure how to doff the armour, without damaging it even further. It took Dr. Shen himself to figure a way. A consultation with the engineers showed internal bleeding and extensive damage to the inorganic components, as well as extensive plasma burns. We staunched the bleeding, attached a medicinal line, and then had her rolled into Engineering to complete her course of treatment. Dr. Shen informs me that her and the suit will eventually make a complete recovery. Unfortunately, until then, we cannot reattach even the base augments. So she will have to lie on her stretcher, mute and without limbs, for at least five days. Sigh...

Zhang was next. He had entered hypovolemic shock. We ordered emergency transfusions. He was touch and go for a long while. Though I do not like to boast, I can say that with a lesser team than mine, he would not have pulled through. Even as he slowly regained consciousness, he lapsed a delirious state, reciting Qin Dynasty poetry to himself over and over. It is too early to tell whether we can salvage every organ, but at least all the essential functions appear in order.

By all rights, the blood leaking out of Evelynn Frost's suit proved decisively who should be the next patient, but she wouldn't have it. So we left her for a time to run a preliminary exam on the other two.

Draig was in rather better shape. His left kidney was ruptured by shrapnel and required removal, but one does have to. His spleen also sustained trauma, but we believe it will heal in time. Several ugly tears to the intestine required suturing.

Cerberus's wounds proved only superficial. While he took heavy amounts of shrapnel, the pieces had avoided embedding in any major organs or blood vessels. Nonetheless, as the effect of long term exposure to the alien materials in these grenades is unknown, it was decided to remove all locatable shrapnel from every patient and to keep Cerberus for monitoring. I hope the Commander is understanding about the lack of a sniper.

The entire supply of blood and plasma, both natural and artificial, was spent on the patients. While Atheist Cat proved a compatible donor to Evelynn, we will need to requisition more. The Commander will probably need to call in a favour from the council. He will not be happy.

Evelynn, right. Evelynn, look, if you somehow ever read this, let me put this in a way you can understand. You are the best damn soldier we have. You are the best damn chance we have to blow these buggers to Kingdom Come. And you are the best damn squad leader I've ever seen. That gives you certain responsibilities to your troops, like not bleeding out all over my pristine floor. We are not going to end up in some Thin Man's protein shake because you rather rest in a spirit jar in Dr. Vahlen's office over a bed. I don't care what blamed rank you have out there. In here we have a system to decide who to treat first: The woman dying fastest. Which will probably be you. So you take that treatment, damn you. I shouldn't have to drug your tea in order to dress the wounds. Enough is enough. You are a major, dammit. Act like one. Uggh.

And speaking of tea, I could use a cup. Black, two lumps, hold the milk. Hot, if ever I'll have a spare moment to drink it.

United Nations Special Security Council:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Notice: This is a Communique from the United Nations Special Security Council for Countering Extra-Terrestrial Threats. Any attempt to copy, falsify, delete, omit, or otherwise alter the contents of, or attempt distribute in part or in entirety to any unauthorized persons this document, constitutes an Act of International Treason as for the Founding Articles of the United Nations and General United Nations Founding Security Resolutions Article 1-79-A-VI As well as Treason against any and all relevant signatories of the United Nations Security Council. All violations will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of international law.

Commander Aavak

You have done the impossible, Commander, by bringing down the massive battleship that threatened China with no casualties and no damage to the city. I am here to bring you up to speed in the recent hours after your team evacuated the ship once we had it under our control.

3:46AM
We remotely brought the ship down in a region north of Hong Kong in a large open field our advance teams had cordoned off following confirmation of the ship's stabilizers being disrupted. The area was sealed off and all traffic through the region denied as per security protocols

4:00AM
The security team secured the crash site and the ship interior needs to be swept for any additional life signs to the 20 confirmed KIA's from Aavak's team.

6:32AM
All 20 KIA's accounted for as per Commander Aavak's report. 100 additional life-signs possible in suspended animation stasis pods located in lower cargo holds of ship but all pods were empty and flushed. All organic matter in the pods was dissolved by some yet unidentified highly corrosive substance. Either all life in the pods were terminated by the decision of alien commanders, were empty, or automatically destroyed when the ship lost power and/or crashed.

6:40AM
Salvage operations begin. All crew assigned to sections of ship relevant to their expertise.

We will keep you notified of all further developments and transport the salvaged material and corpses to Shek Kong Airfield in China for storage. They will eventually be released into your custody for research and building purposes soon.

The Chinese member of the council would also like to thank you for defending his country. He has sent a sealed can of his finest Luo Jie tea to be delivered to your quarters. Having had a cup with him myself, I can attest to its quality, and assure you it is a fine gift of gratitude.

We struck a major blow Commander. You and your men earned this victory.

VIGILIO CONFIDO

[Aavak]

Operaion Lost Bell
18th of May, 2015:

The last few hours have been the most tense of my life. The mission started well, and then began to falter, only to recover for a period, and then practically came to its knees thanks to a creature straight out of a Transformers film.

The squad killed it, or destroyed it, I'm not sure if it was alive to be killed. Dr. Vahlen can answer that question, I'm sure. But what mattered was the squad took it down, but it pretty much took everything they had to do it. I'm not talking about munitions, I'm talking about strength... they were on their last legs, and there was no lying to ourselves about that. A particularly strong wind could have knocked Brandi Bear over, and the rest of the squad weren't far behind her.

I resigned to some particularly slow, and cautious progress from that point on, but it seems my caution wasn't necessary. What crew remained on the ship went down without much of a fight, though I had the squad play it safe, I didn't want to throw it all away to a moment of recklessness.

But when the last power conduit went offline and the ship began to slip into a slow and safe descent, I let out a breath I hadn't realised I was holding. Though even with the mission over, the wait for the squad to return on BigSky still felt like an age, and I barely got to see the squad as the medical staff hurriedly loaded them onto stretchers and wheeled them off to medbay.

It's been hours since then, and only now have I been handed the medical report. Of course, most of the crew are going to be sleeping this one off for days, but most are out of the red (Brandi Bear was still touch and go right up until they managed to remove her from the MEC suit, but even she should make a full recovery).

I expected the council to authorise medals, but to my great surprise, nothing... what do those pale rascals want from us?!

It wont be official, but I've spoken with Dr. Shen, and he's got some of the boys in engineering fixing up some medals and pins from melted down alien alloys. Of course, I'll have to have someone fiddle with the numbers to smooth over the discrepancies in the stock reports, but I refuse to have our troops fight their way through an operation like Hot Jester without some sort of recognition!

As for the council, I will be happy if I don't need to speak to them again for the rest of the month. In fact, I'd be pretty pleased if they left us alone for the remainder of this war.

On that note, Bradford mentioned that I was needed in the situation room. No rest for the wicked, I suppose...

PERSONAL LOGS:

Evelynn:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Diaries of a wounded soldier, May 20, 2015:

I've been thinking on Operation Hot Jester, and I think that, as per the purpose of this diary, I should speak of it more. It was, as I mentioned in my initial entry, a gruesome mission. It was also a very long one, and by the time the team had returned, it was not only our heavy injuries bringing us down: exhaustion set in by the end of the mission.

At several times during Operation Hot Jester, I thought I would lead myself and my squad to our deaths. There were more firefights in this mission than in any other mission I'd been in before, and considering I've had a tour in Afghanistan back in 2008 and three tours in Iraq afterward before pursuing the Green Beret opportunity, I've seen my fair share of flying lead. Hot Jester put those to shame though: there's no comparison a FUBAR mission from a couple IEDs and Al Qaeda can have on fighting beings bred with their entirety for war. All Al Qaeda has is a vision. The aliens have a mission, a vision, proper training, genetic manipulation, and a fuckload of weapons way more advanced than ours.

I'm trying not to think about all of the details of Hot Jester. Sometimes, a soldier just needs to compartmentalize and move the fuck on. But, for the purpose of this diary, I will mention two separate times during the mission that should be noted. First, never underestimate the aliens' aim. Bear at one point, while having a height advantage, was hit with a shot from halfway across the ship by a suit. It hit her in a critical area, and I damn near thought she was dead. She kept going, thanks in large part to that incredible armor she's got, but had a few more scorches than any of us were comfortable with.

Later in the mission, we encountered the cyberdisk. There's little other way to describe the thing other than by saying it's a Transformer that got plated in chrome and instead of becoming a car from a robot, it goes from a disk to a robotic killing machine. It's got enough weapons to kill a city by itself and is evasive enough to not take a scratch while doing it. If the message isn't clear: exercise extreme fucking caution when confronting a cyberdisk. It shot up Zhang, and much like with bear, I thought he was gone. He pulled through, but it was only to barely evade being hit with the grenade the chrome bastard launched at the rest of us afterward. As can be surmised, most of us were caught up in the grenade blast, myself included. Bear did manage to punch the thing down, and with assistance of a few shots, it was destroyed. Of course, it wasn't done, and upon critical damage being taken the cyberdisk self-destructed dealing further damage to Bear. She survived, though how I have no idea.

We've recently become alerted to the existence of a counter group to X-COM, calling itself EXALT. Kind of an arrogant asshole name if you ask me. We've sent out Magoo to investigate further in England, and that makes sense enough to me. Being and English woman herself would definitely allow her to stay under cover more easily.

The only other noteworthy news (at least, as far as I'm concerned) around the base is of the genetics lab being close to completion. My friend from the science division tells me that Dr. Vahlen is incredibly pleased, and it's unnerving everyone who works with her. My friend told me that when she went to report to Vahlen, she found the doctor humming show tunes to herself while she dissected small pieces of alien flesh. Creepy as all hell. However, in light of this development, I've sent the nurse with the nice ass (Fuck being professional.) to the Commander with a note suggesting that, upon completion of the genetics lab and provided the appropriate resources, I immediately be placed in the program. I'm not very comfortable with the idea of Vahlen poking around in my body, but if I can get my body tweaked here and there to make myself a better soldier and help out the XCOM project, I'm more than willing to take that step.

Sooner or later, we're going to have to use the aliens' technology against them, and then they'll learn that when given an equal playing field, humanity fights hard, fights dirty, and in the end will sure as shit come out on top.

[Aavak]

Operaion Lost Bell, concluded!
20th of May, 2015:

Seems the council just can't but help themselves this month. Though this time it seems they actually had something useful to say. It appears that we aren't the only Human organisation interested in the aliens... this 'EXALT' as they call themselves, apparently sympathise with the alien attackers and have begun to compromise our resources and relations with council members.

For some reason, they decided to worsen the situation in the United Kingdom, even though that situation couldn't get more worse. Mr Magoo has been sent out with orders to infiltrate the EXALT cell operating in the UK, with hopes that she can disrupt their operations. We expect to hear back from her within the week.

But rather than have any down-time (heaven forbid we actually be given time to recover!) the aliens launched an abduction strike against three countries across the globe, and yet again it fell to me to make the difficult decision of whose call for help we would respond to.

Based on the souring relations between XCOM and several countries in Europe, I chose to have BigSky fly to Germany. Most of the soldiers who went on Operation Hot Jester have yet to recover, but despite that we managed to put together a solid lineup of troops, lead by Cerberus.

So far the combat has been relaxed, we've had plenty of time to plan our movements and neutralise the alien threat. I can only hope it continues like this, as I don't know if we could suffer more of our troops being out of action in medbay... or worse, the morgue.

PERSONAL LOGS:

Grimnir:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Log Begins
20/5/2015 Sgt. Grimnir Half-Dwarf

Call came in at the end of my shift on guard duty - Abductions. Skyranger was airborne within 20 minutes.

Operation Lost Bell, under command of Cpt. Johnson, was concluded successfully with no casualties and two captured alien weapons. Op went smoothly for the most part. One Floater did try to go for a strafing run, but Rev gunned it down before it could draw a bead on any of us.

I've been promoted to Sergeant. While I am in no way opposed to the increase in pay grade, I'm starting to think that whoever is in charge of these promotions doesn't really understand the concept of the chain of command. Along with the increased salary, I'm now authorized to carry an additional XCOM-issue "Shredder" rocket in my gear along with my standard high explosive warhead.

Also, apparently people are calling me "Mack" now. No idea why, I would've thought "Grim" was enough.

Log Ends

Doctor Moriarty:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

20th May, 2015

We in Medbay were all heartened by the success of Operation Lost Bell, not least because we now no longer need worry about running out of beds. A refreshing change of pace from the outcomes of most missions. Draig, Zhang, and Evelynn continue to make measured but steady gains, and I look forward to the day this place will be empty once again. I am also excited that we gained a few more plasma rifles. I have previously said, and I will again say that if those devices are as injurious in Evelynn's hands as they are to her, the aliens will have much to fear.

I do have some worries. First, none of the other medical staff know that Mister Magoo is not actually fishing with her parents. I fear for her safety. Should her cover be broken, we'll have no way to rescue her. So far she has made no attempt to radio back, and we can only assume this is good news as we wait for her signal. This EXALT has me worried. What kind of monsters would ally with the likes of Seekers? And what foul designs do they have on Britain?

Zhang and I have a have a gentleman's wager of which of our two countries will fall first. It does not seem promising for either. I always thought that after the war I might retire to an estate in the countryside one day, but there may be no countryside to retire to. Still we pulled through the Blitz; we'll pull through again. If only they would know of our Noble Operation, they'd never surrender to these EXALT Lord Haw Haws. I am sure of it. Godspeed Magoo.

[Aavak]

Operaion Blinding Vanguard
20th of May, 2015:

Operation Lost Bell went better than I could have expected, with Atheist Cat performing superbly in the difficult role of incapacitating aliens in order to recover their weaponry.

That said, there were a number of risks taken by the squad which resulted in the engagement escalating far faster than I would have liked. Despite this, our soldiers dealt with the increasingly unfavourable odds with the same calm, determined professionalism that I've grown to count on.

Special mention must be made of the outstanding performance of David Powell in the role of field medic. I have no doubt that without his quick thinking and expert use of a medkit (I wonder if Doctor Moriarty has been giving him pointers?) at least one of our soldiers would have been carried out of BigSky on a stretcher once the crew returned to base.

However, things aren't going nearly as well off the field as on. By the time I'd returned to the situation room, China had already entered a state of panic, with India, France, and Nigeria close behind... it's clear we need to do something to restore faith in our ability to handle the alien threat, but what?

For the time being though, there are more direct concerns that demand my attention. Namely, Mr Magoo is due to make contact with us in just a few days. I have no idea what to expect, but I imagine we'll need to be ready to mobilise an extraction crew at a moments notice.

[Aavak]

Operaion Blinding Vanguard, concluded!
25th of May, 2015:

With the final days of the month rushing past, things seemed quiet at base. Between reports from medbay of our troops being released and available for duty, Dr Shen's team managed to complete work on the foundry.

By the time I'd made it down to engineering to meet with Shen, he already had a list of planned foundry projects for me to look over. He is nothing if not efficient. Of the projects he suggested, I gave the go ahead for tactical rigging for our troops, as well as upgrading our standard grenades to use the alien technology. It will take a few days, but it should be worth it.

If only we'd had enough time to finish those projects before Mister Magoo finally contacted us, but with her message it was clear we didn't have time to wait. Needless to say, the soldiers were kitted up and ready to board BigSky within moments!

What they found was... worrying. Humans, more or less, equipped with equivalent gear to our own troops. But it was the—genetic modifications that worried me the most. Dr. Vahlen seems to believe they've begun to integrate alien genetic material into themselves. A frightening thought by itself, but the biggest question is who exactly are these people to have the means to perform these sorts of genetic enhancements, or even research them?!

So far, our troops have been as capable of killing them as they have been of putting down the aliens, but there's still plenty we don't know about this situation, and plenty of time for these EXALT operatives to surprise us...

PERSONAL LOGS:

Evelynn:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Diaries of a hardened soldier, May 25 2015:

Operation Blinding Vanguard was a change of pace, to be sure. Magoo was sent in undercover to uncover EXALT activity in the United Kingdom, and when she gave us the go ahead, it was our turn to take down the base and extract her from the area. It was actually an easy operation as compared to fighting the aliens: they didn't really put up a notable resistance.

Of note, though is the EXALT operatives' use of genetic modification. While it apparently didn't help them, it was worthy of noting in large part because we've only had Vahlen's theories. We haven't even gotten to this point, and that's with funding from the world's governments. I have to assume, then, that either EXALT has some exceptionally wealthy investors or the aliens are helping them. Regardless, the operation progressed smoothly.

I didn't quite realize the effect killing other humans again would have on me until I got back to headquarters. I thought I was done with that. I figured that we were all in this fight together and that afterward we might be able to reach a consensus. We haven't been this close to extinction since the Bubonic Plague and that only hit Europe. With something of this magnitude, I was under the assumption that we'd band together once and for all. I should've known better. Humanity doesn't work like that; we aren't some sort of idealistic species. We're assholes, traitors, and greedy fuckers right until the end. This operation just reinforces that. If anything, though, EXALT just shot themselves in the foot. Some outerspace collective of aliens trying to take us down? Fine. That's what they do, right? But our own people, humans, helping in the destruction of humanity? They've gone and pissed me off. I'll tear each and every one of them a new asshole, and the hole is going to start at their eye sockets.

Pricks.

As a side note, drinks with Revocane tonight to celebrate his promotion. Can't forget that. First up for him is a Masterblaster; hope he likes it. Depending on how fancy I'm feeling, I'll either hit up a red Zinfandel or a Cabernet Sauvignon. If not, then fuck it. A couple beers will do.

Grimnir:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Log Begins
25/5/2015

Feels like I've been on my feet for days. Between the officer training I'm being put through, the soldier training I'm giving to the rookies, (and you can be damn sure I am not going to go easy on them,) and all the drama over that screwdriver incident, I was already being run a little ragged.

Then the base intercom calls me in at 0040 for an unscheduled briefing on a second front in this war, a briefing that was, in effect, a long streak of piss taking an hour to tell the squad that we have no idea what to expect and good luck out there getting shot at boys, with us hustling off to the Skyranger not ten minutes after. Goddamn brass.

The way this was being handled I was convinced it was a black op, but now that I'm back on base and out of my three hours of debriefing, everyone here seems to be talking about Blinding Vanguard, EXALT, who they are, and what the existence of such a group means for us. Goddamn brass.

Everyone's got their own theories, but that's all they are - theories. Here's what I can say for a fact: EXALT are human. We're fighting our own now, and that's nothing like fighting some tiny grey with a huge head, or those floating, tentacled war crimes we're calling Seekers. They're not human, so you don't empathise - you just pop 'em. These guys? On the battlefield, it comes down to friend or foe, kill or be killed, but afterward... on some level, you know they're human, just like you. Traitors, sure enough, and I'm sure they'd murder every last one of us if they had the chance - soldiers, officers, hell even the mess hall cooks and the cleaners - but there's still that voice in the back of your head that counts out just how many people you've killed. Just how far you've damned yourself.

I can also say that EXALT are definitely not military. They don't fight like military. They fight like brainwashed cultists with military-grade equipment. And anyone who knows anything about modern military tactics will tell you that is one of the most terrifying things you could ever say. Modern tactics will train you to expect hostiles to take cover, use suppressive fire, flanking manoeuvres, flush you out with grenades. Modern tactics teaches you that the enemy wants to live more than they want to kill you. Not so EXALT. At least, not this cell. They charged us headlong, more than three times the number of our squad, screaming for our blood. The new XCOM training regimens seem to be paying off, at least - none of us lost our cool, and we promptly showed the enemy the meaning of the phrase "target-rich environment."

... Oh I don't believe this. Now Bradford wants to talk to me about "inappropriate fraternisation with my superiors." It was one non-alcoholic beer with Major Revocane right after debriefing. One! Never thought I'd miss boredom so much. Goddamn brass!

Log Ends