Mega Primus needs you - Lets Play X-COM Apocalypse!

[Force Lord]

Forcelord's log:

Well, the brass decided I needed some rest, so they gave me leave. But they didn't give me a fucking time limit?!

I need to kill some xenos right now.

[White Haven]

Me? Pfft. Screw toxins, I ran in realtime with most of the team dual-wielding Devastators. Sure, they're inaccurate, but that doesn't matter when the UFO's door opens and forty-eight disruptor cannons roar in unison.

[Coaan]

I say gas the fuckers.

Though mass dual-wielding of the hog-cannons does sound vastly entertaining.

[White Haven]

Megaspawns would open the doors of a UFO, start to roar, and die before they finished the animation or sound file. Volley fire, bitches.

[Torben]

Personal log, day 15: *Snarling* *biting at restraints* SHOCK *drool*

If I still had a consciousness I would vote to gas the fuckers til they drop, nuke 'em from orbit, then drop an asteroid or two on their home planet. Seeing that I don't, well, I will just continue to chew on my tongue and attempt to eat the eyeballs of anyone who gets too close.

[Edi]

The few times I tried to use the C-toxin, I got my head handed to me. Tröö (Devastator) for the win! The nickname "tröö" doesn't really translate, but would be short for "tröö-oink".

[Nephtys]

Monday, March 27, 2084
Roster Update, Col. Nephtys, X-COM Intelligence


Killed In Action:
Coaan (Ammo Explosion)
KrauserKrauser (Popper)
Hawkwings (Popper)
Ford Prefect (Popper)
Borninshadow (Popper)
Torben (Brainsucker)
Vanas (Brainsucker)
Phred (Vehicle Destroyed)

I'm updating our records for active agents currently employed by X-COM. So far, we've suffered surprisingly few casualties. Only eight fatalities of X-COM Personel. That's an all-time low for us, I think. While I'm aware of the civilian deathtoll in the tens of thousands, it's a war damnit.

Anyway, interesting trends appear for our agents. It seems our soldiers with the most kills are using two types of armament. Alpha Squad's heavy weapon group has claimed a hell of a lot of alien lives, and so has Omega Squad's point recon duo. Karza is our current kill leader with 28 using a high-ex autocannon. Covenant is second place, largely using a combination of plasma fire, powersword and grenades. I can attribute their success due to being the point of each team, and having first contact with the alien forces. Unfortunately, it appears that most of our hybrid soldiers have fared poorly in combat. Only JonB has more than a single kill.

Two of the 'Iron Skull' medals have been awarded. This is the lowest of extraordinary X-COM Commendations, and is awarded for agents with an exemplary record. It is only natural for our two agents with the most kills, Sergeants Karza and Covenant to receive them.

Captain VX-145 is the ranking officer of Alpha Squad, and all our field agents in general. Sergeant Covenant meanwhile is the highest ranking officer of Omega.

So far, we have a few new unassigned soldiers. With our pressing need for agents (and continued attrition for our ground vehicles in the face of more powerful alien weapons), we've transferred MKSheppard, Zixinus and Guppyshark from vehicle duty to field duty. They have passed our basic requirements. Ford Prefect Junior has signed up to avenge the death of his Father at alien hands, and Monty Python is a new android recruit. I'm not sure what to think about Robo-Phred. He is a Cyborg built around the remains of Phred, who was died heroically attempting to shoot down a UFO early in the war. His brain is still technically alive in the robot body. I have yet to speak with him. This new squad will be equipped likely for internal security and work closely with MegaPol to ferret out alien infiltrators.

As to changes in our equipment, most of our light-arm troopers have been equipped with Disruptor Guns. These weapons are moderately accurate, very lightweight, powerful and have a regenerating energy source. All of Omega Team has also been issued flight units. The extra mobility has proven very useful for UFO assaults, while Alpha is better armored for close-quarters urban combat.

LOG TERMINATED

[GuppyShark]

Drake "GuppyShark" Defel sits alone in the gunnery compartment of his AFV, a brown paper barf bag held tightly in both hands.

Taped to the monitor above him is the transfer order to the new internal security team. Relegated to the Poor Bloody Infantry.

He trembles, brings the bag closer to his face, then breathes deeply and lets it fall to the floor.

"We've been through a lot together," he says at last. "You brought me through those days and out the other side, but now it's time to part ways."

He gently pats the alloyed missile control unit, and then slowly clambers out of the vehicle. He's going to miss the roar of the engine, the shock of the treads crunching across the highways of Mega Primus. Most of all, he's going to miss launching missiles into the hulls of UFOs and watching burning aliens fall out.

And maybe now it's your turn, he thinks to himself. To die kicking some ass...

[Ford Prefect]

From the log book of Ford Prefect, Jr.:

Okay, so father got himself killed by some kind of exploding alien. Nice work, you git. Through some sort of insane human resources cock-up, I've been drafted. I was going to argue the point, but it's hard to argue with X-Com. They show up at your door and demand something, you give them what they want in the hope they won't 'accidentally' level your entire suburb. Intrinsically I get that they're more or less the good guys, protecting the people of Mega-Primus from the insidious alien threat, ensuring the future of the human race. On the other hand, I get here, and it turns out that most of the soldiers are raving lunatics. A couple are even religious fanatics who treat genocide as some kind of holy writ. On top of this, it's hard to ignore the fact that X-Com has actually killed more civillians than the invading aliens. Some of the guys in Omega Squad - father's old unit - brag about how they burnt a Cult of Sirius temple to the ground. I think the Sirians are a bunch of tossers, but at the same time Omega collapsed a highway and killed about a thousand people. I'm actually glad that father died: if he was still alive he'd working with that pile of frothing at the mouth psychopaths.

And just to finish up, I went snooping around and got some info out of a scientist (it's not hard: you just mention you're a grunt and they'll say anything, probably to avoid getting brutalised). Apparently there's talk of a biological warfare unit being started up, to exploit the unique physical make-up of the aliens. Hey, wow guys, you want to commit some more war crimes? I've got a list of them, you can tick them off when you're done.

[wautd]

Biowarfare in this game is notoriously broken. Even I've heard about C-toxin, though it is pretty evil.

It was that good then? I never really bothered with those when I played Apoc. Nothing desinfects better than a combination of fire, big bangs and disruptors I always say.

[White Haven]

Wow, high-ex produces the most kills? Alert the media.

Damned flashlight...

[Edi]

Edi's personal log:

Well, got promoted to squad leader. Now, we've been seeing more action lately, with bigger UFOs and from the looks of it, that newest type was bristling with all kinds of shit that will ruin your day in a hurry if you run into it.

I've still got a bad feeling about this since we've gotten off so lightly. I expect that when the aliens stop scouting and start fighting that we'll be looking at a whole different barbecue. Though as long as I don't end up on the menu, it's enough for me. I hope they issue me with one of those new disruptor guns, since I like the idea of not needing to lug ammo around.

Ford Prefect's kid seems okay, though he keeps scowling a lot at everyone, especially the soldiers. Though he's one of us now. And he's certainly an improvement over several of the crazies we've got. I guess he blames us for getting his dad killed?

[Karza]

Karza's log:

I got awarded the Iron Skull for killing a heap of aliens. Nice. One of the Omega team androids, Covenant, also got it. On the same occasion I found out I'm leading the killboard with 28 aliens blasted to oblivion*. Cov is second with 27, but keeps insisting he is in fact the leader, because he's been in the service two days less, meaning his kills per day ratio is higher than mine, which means he's more efficient than me. If I could do math, I'd find out if that's actually true. Goddamn tinheads.

*The count probably doesn't include civilians alien sympathizers, because in that case either Coffee or the pilots would rank highest.

[VX-145]

Captain VX-145's AudioLog, Entry 1:

"So how do you turn this thing on... there we go."

"This is squad leader, wait, forgot, CAPTAIN, VX-145. How the hell that happened I have no idea, but apparentley going into a battle rage whenever I get hit helps matters. If that's so, Coffee should be commanding this base. Anyway, since I'm a Captain now, I decided to try out one of these AudioLogs that seem to be all the rage these days. Annoying little thing, had to install at least thirty different programs to get it to work and... Oh right, this is my WORK log."

*Converstation can be heard in the background*

"What do you mean, I could have just turned the thing on?"

*More converstation*

"Oh fucking hell. Moving swiftly on, a lot of stuff's gone on since my last log. We had Omega being a bunch of whiny pricks who took on the entire Cult Of Sirius and winning, escaping in a Hawk they stole from the Cult. I thought it was dumb luck at the time, but Omega's actually becoming quite good. In the same vein, the Android soldiers are brilliant, they pretty much took on a UFO by themselves. Reminds me of that time I uploaded into a robot body... damn that thing was annoying. Always had a programming error of one sort or another, but I'm sure that they managed to fix that. Anyway, I'm leaving out the important stuff: The guys in the science department's come up with some biotoxin that can kill these aliens. I say melt the fuckers, it's not like anyone's going to care aside from those alien huggers in the Cult, and we've demonstrated what we think of their beliefs."

*Fumbling noise in background*

"Where the hell is the... There it is."

"End Log 1."

[Mr. Coffee]

SGT Coffee's Log #6

Hokay, so we went and killed more aliens, blah blah blah, but this time some stupid civilians managed to get in the way. Fuck 'em, probably a bunch of alien loving fruits anyway. I mean, why else would they just happen to be in the same place as an incursion of face-fucking space trash? Don't give me any of that shit about "I was a neighborhood, they lived there, Coffee!" or "Mega Primus is a big city, lots of people, Coffee" or "Goddamnit, you kill crazy hick, quit shooting civilians!"

Fuck that! The only good aliens is a dead alien, preferably exploded into little orange and green chunks by autocannon fire. If people get in the way, well, fuck 'em. Bitches were either in on it or they were to stupid to run for cover when they see me and Karza arrive with the big guns. Either way, we're doing a public service here, people! Weeding out the slow and the dumb and the alien lovers in order to make Mega PPrimus the sort of town you can raise a family in without having to watch your kids get face raped by mutant space chickens.

You're welcome, bitches...

On an amusing note, the guys down in the labs hate me and my man Karza (Holy shit, homeboy killed 29 face-fuckers so far. Gotta find out what the Bss' been feeding that boy. I tell ya, it's always the quiet ones you gotta watch) on account of us always sending them alien meat jig-saw puzzles. Whatever, those douchebags got there job, we got ours, and our job is to make the city safe from aliens and alien loving civilians, and let's face it, the whole fuckin' city is infested with alien lovers. Boss keeps giving me weird looks for suggesting the obvious solution of nuking the entire place. Yeah, I gave me about the same look you got on your face, but hear me out...

If there's no city, there's no reason for the aliens to keep coming here, right. No city also means no alien lovers to give the face-fuckers faces to fuck either. So it's a win/win, guys.

Anyways, I gotta go and tell one of the new guys on Omega to see if he can find me blank adapters for an autocannon and ten gallons of blinker fluid. God knows those guys got enough newbie with their turn over rate...

[Force Lord]

Forcelord's log:

I'm a goddam squad leader now? Sweet!

But then, just four kills in ten missions. Either my aim sucks, or my gun is worthless.

Oh wait, I'm supposed to capture aliens, not kill them...

God I hate this job.

[JonB]

~pyschicmentalwaves~ "Everything is going according to plan." ~pyschicmentalwaves~

"Well, with our new guns, and jumpsuits, I think Omega will start to catch up to Alpha in terms of . Looking forward to it!"

[Darkevilme]

Is my tank still alive? I know my Griffon doesnt get much press but i heard at least one tank has died and i hope it isnt mine cause i like my armoured death machine. Admittedly i like less the idea of using it to fight an assault transport which would appear by all accounts to follow a line of 'firepower is our religion' an ethos they probably stole from us.

[Nephtys]

Is my tank still alive? I know my Griffon doesnt get much press but i heard at least one tank has died and i hope it isnt mine cause i like my armoured death machine. Admittedly i like less the idea of using it to fight an assault transport which would appear by all accounts to follow a line of 'firepower is our religion' an ethos they probably stole from us.

We had a minor raid earlier, which also just happened to destroy MkSheppard and Ziximus's AFVs... after they were transferred. The aliens figured out not to shoot at the tank, but to shoot at the ten story building next to the tank.

[Zixinus]

I request to be deployed in a flying unit. Both of me. Being under a ton of rubble is not fun.

[Nephtys]

Tuesday, March 28, 2084
Status Update, Col. Nephtys, X-COM Intelligence

I wonder sometimes if my predecessors were oddly blessed during the first two alien wars for having an obvious enemy. In this war however, it seems that fellow humans are the real puzzle. I went on a mission earlier today for Intel Division to meet with an important Psyke Syndicate official. He made overtures recently about a 'deal' with us for information. I don't know what he wants, but Command has asked me to speak with him. For added support, I took along Yosemite Bear from MiB Division.


We headed for the designated coordinates in an unmarked groundcar. The destination was an unregulated slum block that's the turf of the Psyke Gang. No doubt they are continuing Psi-Clone production here, beyond the reach of Megapol.


The Psyke Syndicate is a dangerous organization. While they were once the most powerful criminal group in the city, fierce gang warfare has reduced their influence substantially. They now operate in the shadows of the wealthier Osrion and Diablo Syndicates.


For this little diplomatic trip however, I've brought an extra bit of gear along. This handy device is a Tracker Gun, and it's paired multi-tracker. We used to use these out on the Frontier to tag suspected Elerium Smugglers with micro-chip transmitters, so they'd lead us back to their illegal caches. X-COM of course doesn't issue these toys, so I've only got six shots.


We arrived at the slum complex's top floor, where the Psyke Leader was waiting for us.
Yosemite Bear: Hrm. You think this is a trap? *adjusts mirrorshades*
Nephtys: Maybe. Not much we can do about it. Keep your transmitter handy in case Steel needs to break us out.
Yosemite Bear: Don't need to remind me twice. I'm a professional, Chief.


The Psyke leader welcomed us to his home. An armed guard watched over us with an autocannon, while his 'secretary' lead us to his office. The man was relaxed, wearing a red tracksuit and waiting for us. Even in his casual attire, the man was visibly armed. He went to his bedroom and poured a drink.

Psyke Leader: Ah, welcome. How good of you to join me. Care for a drink? '67 Merlot...
Nephtys: I'll pass. Thank you.
Psyke Leader: MmmmMMmm. A pity. *sips*.
Nephtys: Let me get to the point please, why have you asked us here?
Psyke Leader: Ah! How wonderful. As Blunt I expected from an X-COM Officer. Tell me... Colonel, was it? How do you do it? How do you constantly win against the odds against aliens in three seperate wars?
Nephtys: *smirks*. We find a way.
Psyke Leader: Indeed you do! I remember watching the old Sensovision dramas about the first war, with bold X-COM Scientists building the Avenger from whatever they had on hand, and stamping out crude plasma guns by the dozen! Tell me, have you been doing the same of late? Building secret new weapons leagues ahead of what anyone else can do?
Nephtys: That's classified information. I can't comment on if we have, or have not.
Psyke Leader: Well then. Fair enough. But to think of all the budgetary problems X-COM has always suffered. You must surely be sorely needing more funding in your valiant fight. You know of course, about how in the first war, X-COM sold advanced weapons to buyers all around the world in order to pay the bills?
Nephtys: I don't think a history lesson is particularly relevant right now.
Psyke Leader: Oh, but it is, Colonel. I want to make the same offer to you, on behalf of all humanity. Sell us your captured alien guns. Show us how to use them, and we will pay you handsomely. With your advanced guns, Psyke will return to it's place as leader amongst our... rivals. What are a handful of dead Osrion criminals, in exchange for the funding needed to save Earth?
Nephtys: ...
Yosemite Bear: *clears throat*
Psyke Leader: Oh, you don't need to answer me now. But I will buy as many weapons as you can spare. Do you have any questions?
Nephtys: ...One question.
Psyke Leader: Anything for you, Colonel!
Nephtys: Psi-Clone. You've been selling it to the Cult of Sirius, haven't you?
Psyke Leader: Perhaps. While we invented this wonderful product *points to back of own head*, we no longer are the largest distributor. Osrion sells them to anyone who can pay. How unsporting of them. But! With your weapons, we could become the major distributors once more, and keep sales limited to us... rabble, living in the unregulated zone. How's that sound, Colonel?
Nephtys: You haven't answered my question.
Psyke Leader: Oh! Forgive me, Colonel. We have sold a few units years ago to the Cult, but we've kept our activities limited to the slums ever since.
Nephtys: Then you won't mind me asking about this. *produces a Psi-Clone unit from pocket*. Serial Number PSK-500461A-R. The person using this module attacked one of my men while on a mission.
Psyke Leader: Ah, this one. Let my secretary pull up the record for you. Ah. Yes, it was definately purchased by the Cult of Sirius. It appears to have been tampered with. According to the computer, it's programming is designed to influence the user to be violently hostile towards X-COM. I'm very sorry, but we cannot be held responsible for what our customers do with our product. Will that be all?
Nephtys: That's all.
Psyke Leader: Excellent. I hope to hear your decision soon regarding my offer. Good day, and good luck with the Sirians, Colonel!


Fortunately, the extended conversation gave Yosemite Bear a bit of time to work his own magic. He is one of our non-hybrid agents that exhibits reasonable Psi-Capabilities. While I spoke, he unobtrusively probed the minds of the two others for useful information. There was apparently a gathering of Psyke officers nearby, in the park adjacent to this slum block. I concluded the meeting and returned to the MiB Sedan with Yosemite Bear
Yosemite Bear: *MIND BENDING!*


We re-equipped outselves with our gear, and sneaked around to the outskirts of the meeting point.


While hiding in some bushes, we spotted a pair of very heavilly armed guards. I tagged one of them with the Tracker Gun, and located his blip immediately on my multitracker screen. With this and Yosemite Bear's motion scanner built into his shades, we could follow the Psyke Guard in safety. There was however, one item of concern. Yosemite Bear scanned both guards from his concealment, and noticed something alarming.


The first guard, Danielle Collingnon, was armed with an alien disruptor gun! Where could she have acquired such a weapon? Why didn't Psyke tell us during the meeting? She didn't even appear to be brainsucked from his scan, and showed none of the phenomenon observed in poor Vanas or Torben.


The second guard was armed with a mundane autocannon, but betrayed a clue during the mind scan. Strapped to a pouch on her right leg was an alien device.


This device has been nicknamed 'Boomeroid' and was recently been figured out by our scientists. It is an intelligent homing grenade and proximity mine used by the alien forces. We only have captured five examples. How could Psyke have these powerful weapons? We needed to investigate further.


We followed the tracker-embedded guard to the gathering, and I slipped around the edges of their group. They were talking about something I couldn't quite make out, but this was a singular opportunity for intelligence gathering. I tagged each one in quick succession with the tracker gun, sneaking about a low wall while Yosemite Bear mentally distracted a guard watching that side. I escaped successfully, and we both returned to the Sedan and drove back to base.

---

What does this little mission mean for us? Something peculiar is going on with the Psyke Syndicate at the very least. Somehow, they have acquired alien weapons. Yet, they have asked us to sell them more at a staggering price. This order must be leaving their treasury severely depleted. What could they gain? Dominance over the other gangs in the Psi-Clone trade? Maybe monitoring the gang officers tagged by the tracker gun would tell us more.

At least we have a clue about the civilian that got Torben brainsucked. She was using a psi-clone unit sold to the Cult of Sirius and likely was under their influence. That may also explain how she got a brainsucker pod. If the Cult has made actual contact and has been collaborating with the aliens, then they must be destroyed utterly before they can further undermine the city.

I'm not sure if command will go through on the sale of our Disruptor Guns to Psyke, but whatever happens, I'm going to immediately recommend substantial action against the Cult of Sirius. They've gone too far. I want our retaliation to make Omega's unauthorized raid look like a picnic. Maybe that Psyke money could be used to buy some fusion-tipped Retribution Cruise Missiles for use against the cult HQ...

LOG TERMINATED

[MKSheppard]

BURN THE CULT OF SIRUS TO THE GROUND! PAVE THE RUBBLE! NUKE THEM TILL THEY GLOW THEN SHOOT THEM IN THE DARK!

[Mutant Headcrab]

Headcrab Log #2

I find having a flight unit to be quite liberating. Not only does it increase my mobility, but I can now get fantastic angles for my recordings. Need to work on getting more kills. Need more footage for my "Favorites" folder.

The Cult of Sirius has been a nuisance for our organization since day one. I can only hope Omega Squad is called to cull these wayward organics. The thought of butchering (hostile) humans fills my circuits with a warm feeling, not too dissimilar to joy. Better check my cooling systems, just to be safe.

[CaiusWickersham]

Suffer not the heretic nor the alien to live! We shall purge them all in the purifying flame of the Emperor! Not only the Cult of Sirius but also this "Psyke" organization have defiled the pure essence of Man!

[JonB]

BURN THEM ALL! The Cult! Psyche!