[Let's Play] UFO: Alien Invasion

[Torben]

Concur with Plasma Rifle>Kerrblade>Autopsy barring recovery of alien craft.

[The Vortex Empire]

Plasma Rifle, if the pistol is this effective I'd like to see how the full sized version measures up.

[OmegaChief]

Aye, Plasma Rifle, then get those mass produced, it should make us even better alien killing machines.

[ChaserGrey]

Aye. Plasma rifles.

Out of curiosity, what kind of weapon am I currently using to purge the Xenos? I'm seeing a lot of EM Rifles out there- have they replaced Assault Rifles as standard squaddie weapons yet, or is that still ongoing?

[Force Lord]

"Zzzzzz...Plasma Rifles...more dakka..."

"Zzzzzzz...huh? Was I talking in my sleep?"

[phred]

Sorry about the one in the sea I can't seem to get the hang of herding them just yet.

As for research, plasma rifles> alien autopsy. Hopefully we will have a ship by then.

[JonB]

While I don't have an update ready yet, I can tell you that yes, we finally have a shipyard and a ship (or two) ready for you guys. I'll let you know in more detail once the update is ready. Hopefully by Saturday.

[ChaserGrey]

"Move it, rookie!" ChaserGrey tumbled out of a sound sleep and hit the floor, grabbing on his combat boots and lacing them before he looked up at Alison, one of the senior squad members. "Not Area 51 just picked up a grounded UFO in Michigan, and we got the call. C'mon, it's time to earn your spurs." With that, Alison was gone, leaving Grey to swear as he checked the rest of his gear. He was a trained, experienced soldier and had been through a fair bit before being assigned to PHALANX. What was so special about these aliens that made the others treat him like a rookie all over again?

It was thrilling to strap into the back of the Firebird and prepare for his first real combat drop, though. Vertical takeoff, vertical landing, and hypersonic performance that was going to let them respond from Hainan Island to Michigan fast enough to catch the xenos on the ground. Grey grinned at the thought as he racked his rifle and tightened the straps over his chest. Fuckyeah! He'd show these guys he knew how it was done!

The takeoff slammed him back into his seat, a heavy boulder rolling onto his chest as the pilot threw on the Gs. Suddenly the Firebird jinked off to one side. Grey's eyes went wide and he looked over at the trooper next to him.

"W- what's going on?" The man looked back, unconcerned.

"Oh. We've just got a UFO on our tail, that's all. Yosemite's trying to dodge away from it." Chaser's eyes got wider.

"Uh...can we do that?"

"What? Oh, hell, no. Those things can run rings around us. We're just trying to keep it distracted until barnest2 gets here in his interceptor."

"Uh...who?"

"Barnest2, kid. The interceptor pilot?"

"I, uh," Grey tried to keep his dinner down, "I don't think I've seen him around the base."

"Nah, you wouldn't have." The man grinned. "He's a cyber."

"Beg pardon?"

"A cyber. You know, somebody gets fried by the aliens, they send him down to the labs and have Sir Nitram scoop out his brains and nerves, built it into a metallic shell that suspends them in a hideous half-alive existence from which they can find escape only in the surcease of relentless slaughter." The other trooper jerked his thumb. "PeZook over there, he's one."

"Waitaminute. You mean if I die, I get-"

"Depends. You have to agree to it. Did you sign up for it when you joined PHALANX?"

"Uh, I don't think so."

"Agree to all the options on the health plan?"

"...Maybe. Why?"

"Updated iTunes since you joined?"

"...Yes. Last night." Chaser's eyebrow twitched. He had a feeling he wasn't going to like this.

"Sorry, kid. It's techno-zombie land for you, check page 53 of the Terms of Service. Think of it as an incentive not to fuck up!" Chaser's...whole body twitched. Very subtly, but definitely, twitched. The Firebird threw itself into a turn and Yosemite came on the intercom.

“Alright boys! Barnest shot her down, we are two minutes out! Finish the job!” Yosemite bear threw the Firebird into a turn tight enough to cause the airframe to rumble.

Alison yelled back from the back. “Wait! We're aborting the America mission?”

“Hell no! This is warmup!”

...warmup. *twitch*

They had just almost been shot *twitch* down by frakkin ALIENS. If they died *twitch* they got turned into some kind of combat *twitch* cyborg. And now they were going to attack the UFO that had just tried to shoot *twitch* them down, as a *twitch* warmup. A frakking warmup for whatever was waiting in Michigan.

None of that bothered ChaserGrey, suddenly.

He was in his Happy Place.

A Happy Place that he would stay in *twitch*, until he got a chance to...get some of his own back. *twitch* A chance to shoot. To kill. To BRING *twitch* PAIN!!!

When the Firebird landed, Chaser was out the door, rifle in his hands, and blew the first xeno he saw into the world's first ever Alien McNuggets. And as they reboarded the Firebird on the way back to Canada, he was smiling, and humming.

From his Happy Place.
Spoiler

Alison, hope you don't mind the cameo there. Just wondering how a PHALANX newbie managed a blitz kill like that on his first turn in combat...and this explanation looked entertaining.

[FaxModem1]

Fax Modem filled out a form. It was the only way to get out of the cell that his quarters had become.

Fax Modem was now mine detector newest recruit for PHALANX.

[SirNitram]

SirNitram sifted through papers as he surveyed his new post, the medical bay. With an actual dedicated robotics and cybernetics attached facility, this was where he belonged. A written note was sent to the base commander voting for plasma rifles. More firepower meant less for his chop-shop. He checked over a few things, and overrode the intercom. "Would the assorted jackasses scarying the new guys about my work cease and desist, before I 'lose' your consent forms, and use a damned ice-cream scoop?"

[JonB]

"Move it, rookie!"

<snip>

I approve of this!

Actually, Alison Sniped a Taman dead, then you killed your own, then ForceLord fried a guy, moved close enough to fry a second, and did so with 0TU remaining. It was epic.

[JonB]

Academia Nut decided that the best course of action would be to examine the Alien Plasma Rifles. He knew that the Assistant Director was working over in China to build the new UFO Yard, so he didn't want to commit to anything strenuous for a while.

02:11, 27 July 2084
Command Center, Builder of Chinese DOOM
China, The Asian Republics

“Oh fuck! Xeno-65 just dropped from orbit right to our south! Launch Barnest-2!”



“This is Barnest-2, Xeno shot down, light damage to craft, cannot pursue Xeno 66. RTB.”



Alison: “You know, 8-on-3 starts to get boring after a while.”
Chaser Grey: “You want them to have a chance?”
Eternal Freedom: “Only the chance to die faster.”
((Sorry, forgot to screencap the victory screen.))




00:00, 28 July 2084
Wenchang Annex
China, The Asian Republic

The Acting Director saluted the workers and producers of the new facility. “Thank you all for your efforts. With this facility, we now have the ability to house and examine UFOs for our own purposes.”


Not Area 51, United Americas
“WOO-HOO! Party! Our defense Missiles are online! Hey, when are we getting those newfangled Lasers from China?”

“I think they're installing them in over there first, sir.”

14:09, 28 July 2084
Command Center, NA51
United Americas

“Hey, we got Xeno 68 on the Radar, moving up the west coast!”

“Why don't we have our own interceptors yet?”

“Cause the Director can't afford them yet?”

“That's no excuse! Well, we have the AA guns, so let him come for us!”

17:24...
“Well, it landed in Northern California. The Chinese team is still on Training, so call them.”


Alison: “Alright guys! We have an intact UFO on the ground, and a waiting berth back in China for her. Let's do this by the numbers.”
Hawkwings: “One, Two, Three, Four! Shoot the Xeno through the door!”
Vortex Empire: “Five, Six, Seven, Eight! Then you pack them in a Crate!”
(All): “Hoo-RAH!”


Hawkwings: “No one on the second floor of this well-lit building. Not like the last building you guys had me check.”
ChaserGrey: “It was for science!”


Vortex Empire: “XENO SPOTTED: Convenience Store. How dull.”


Vortex Empire: “What does it have against cola?”
Edi: “Haven't you heard? It'll rot your teeth.”
Vortex Empire: “I'm a cyborg.”


Vortex Empire: “Another one on the second floor. I found something interesting about the Assistant Director.”

Chaser Grey: “Yea? Like what?”

Eternal Freedom: “Let's see if I can lob a grenade through the broken window here. Well, howabout the fact that he has no name. He's always the Assistant Director, except for that one month where he was the Acting Director.”

Alison: “Seriously? I know I know it. Let me see. It was... It was...”

PeZook: “ANALYSIS INDICATES PRESENCE OF MEMETIC AGENTS PREVENTING CONGNITION OF HIS NAME.”

Omni-Q: “Who the hell can do that? That's, like, science fiction.”
Edi: “Dude, we're firing laser beams at aliens who want to invade.”
Omni-Q: “So?”



07:56, 29 July 2084
Wenchang UFO Annex
China, The Asian Republic

The Assistant Director smiled as the reports came in. Although it would take a few days to move the intact UFO onto a boat then over the Pacific, where the CVN-3 Enterprise would escort it for that leg of the journey.

With UFO research in the immediate future, he felt that it was a good advancement for the defense of humanity.

17:40, 29 July 2084
Firebird Dropship
Sea of Japan

“Yosemite Bear! This is DOOM! We have a UFO, Xeno-70, on an intercept course. Change heading to Due West to allow Barnest an Intercept! He is in the air!”

“This is Barnest-2! I have the Xeno on my radar, and an engaging!”

“And he is down! Yosemite, wake up your crew, they have a site to secure!”



Alison: “Whoa.”


20:00, 29 July 2084
Wenchang UFO Annex
China, The Asian Republic

The Assistant Director smiled. A second type of UFO – although this one was in far worse condition. However, a new report passed his desk.


He picked up the hotline back to HQ, where the Director answered. “Sir, our Team has reached major injuries due to combat. I'm putting them all on rest. Your team will have to cover while they recover.”

00:00, 31 July 2084
Storage, PHALANX HQ
Turkey, GEU

A routine inventory check revealed that while there were the five produced sets of Nanocomposite armor, there were also two sets on the open market.

Emergency investigations revealed that there were no excess production, and the only possible explanation was that there was still a leak in PHALANX HQ.

00:00, 31 July 2084
Storage, Builder of Chinese DOOM
China, The Asian Republics

A routine inventory check revealed that while there were nine produced D-F cartridges, there were also over two dozen available on the open market.

Emergency investigations revealed that there were no excess production, and the only possible explanation was that there was a leak in Builder of Chinese DOOM.

08:00, 31 July 2084
Wenchang UFO Annex
China, The Asian Republics



The UFO – classified as a 'Scout', was secured in its new berth. The scientists and production workers were already swarming all over it, but then the first reports came back. They needed to research more general UFO theory before they could examine the ship in detail.





((Another case of Rockets killing a civvie in the blast zone. JonB is now up to two innocents killed in the middle of a war zone. Ugh. ))

00:00, 01 August 2084
Command Center, PHALANX HQ
Turkey, GEU

“It's finances Time again, boys!”

---

---

So, here's our current base and financial status. We have our research shown earlier, and Plasma Rifles are coming online right away, like less than a day. Shall I go for UFO-Theory, then start on the UFOs themselves in terms of research?

Also, as this coming week is Hell Week at work, I'm not promising any proper updates. Instead, I'm going to be giving you guys background information from the UFOpaedia, as well as restating what weapons are available, their stats as well as my opinions on them so you guys can choose your Xeno-killing tool of choice.

I might get a real update in this week, but I don't promise it. Sorry!

[Torben]

Whatever is necessary to research ufo's, DO IT!!

[OmegaChief]

Second working on UFOs, should be some very usful research maybe even somthing we can use to upgrade Barnest2

[FaxModem1]

UFOs, we have to know thine enemy.

Also, is Fax Modem one of the troops yet or he is still in a cell?

[ChaserGrey]

UFO Theory, definitely. And if we have the cash for it, how about either an interceptor in North America, or another radar base in Africa?

[Edi]

UFO Theory for research! Finally!

Edi had seen the reports of classified equipment on the market. He'd been following the arms market for a while now after the various breaches in security.

As far as he knew, there had been no leaks of classified material from the Chinese base and no strange goings on had been detected. He was stationed there to boot, and everything the workshops produced went to the stores. Everything tallied, or someone was very good at forging records. It wasn't out of the realm of possibility that there was another mole, but there was another possible explanation.

After all, there had been those unaccounted for labs that apparently belonged to the Shadow Phalanx organization. No bases that we know of yet, and if they've been sitting on various secret research stuff from the past decades AND have ours too, they probably had workshops of their own. If they could automate things, possibly entire factories at their disposal.

If that was the case, they could feed stuff into the open and black markets that would be attributable to Phalanx, especially if they could plant evidence at the Chinese base. If they were particularly devious about it, they might even be able to start off an internecine struggle within Phalanx.

The problem was, who was he going to talk to? The Assistant Director was setting all kinds of bad vibes off at the back of his mind and nobody knew anything about him. There had been all that bullshit with the research priorities back when he was the Acting Director. Come to think of it, the Director himself had been captured by the Shadow Phalanx and even though he was back and apparently had everything well in hand, who knew if he had been turned? Or brainwashed and programmed into some kind of ticking time bomb?

And the chain of command from down there was jumbled, half the guys were cyborgs and there was no idea if their program side was compromised if there were high-up turncoats. The cyborgs had also shown a marked tendency toward very quick, very final solutions, often abruptly and with little evidence if they decided that it was a logical outcome. What they failed to take into account too often for Edi's comfort was that many times there was more than one logical explanation and taking too precipitous action could cause more harm than good. In a stand-up fight with the aliens, he'd happily take the cyborgs to cover his back any day of the week. For cloak and dagger stuff, only if he had no other options.

Comms between the two bases were monitored and logged, so talking with anyone at HQ was not a good option if there was any foul play. What that meant that he could only trust those non-cyborgs around him. At least he was currently the senior ranked soldier in the Chinese base*, which gave him some room to maneuver.

Fighting the urge to scratch his bandaged wounds, Edi got up from the sickbay bed and headed for the barracks. At least they were minor bruises, scrapes and superficial burns from near-misses rather then the kind of nasty injuries some of the others had. In their current condition, they'd keel over if you so much as threatened to give them the evil eye.

"Oy, where are you going?" demanded one of the nurses crossly and barred Edi's way. "You're booked to stay here until you're discharged and-"

"You can either open the door and step aside or I'll use you to open the door!" Edi snarled. "I haven't had a decent cup of tea in ages, what with the constant scrambling on missions, reports, debriefings and the checkups here. And it's making me really goddamn pissed off."

"I'm going to head up to barracks, brew myself a good pot or two of tea, bury my nose in a book and listen to some Laura Pausini songs for a while and just enjoy the break until the teapot is empty and then come back." He grinned evilly. "Or I can go get the teapot, the water boiler and the stash of my various teas, drag the lot of it back here, set up shop and brew the stuff right here."

Edi looked around. "Only, that would violate how many different hygiene and containment regs...let's see..."

The nurse was looking slightly pale. "Uh, but..."

"Or if you absolutely must insist, I will comply, but that will be the absolute last bit of compliance you will get out of me and I won't let you forget it for a second while I'm here. So which is it? A couple of hours with a book, some music and a pot of tea in the barracks to make me happy as a clam, or a few days of incessant misery for everyone here?"

"Um, very well. You win, sir," the nurse gave up. "But only because you aren't as badly wounded as the others. And you'll help me out if my boss gives me grief!"

"Deal. Thanks"

Edi headed off to barracks and promptly dug into his stash of tea. Damn, one pot wouldn't last for long after this much deprivation. So he dug out the second one as well. The Stinkpot, as it was known, used for brewing all the pungently spiced teas that would ruin the delicate flavor of normal teas if the same pot was used.

Yes, this would do. Lapsang Souchong for the Stinkpot, the extra tarry, smoked taste was just waht he needed now. Followed by Cactus Green in the normal pot, with its sweet, delicate flavors of kombucha, aloe vera, cactus fruit and sundry other things. Of course, the music too. The book could wait until the tea was done.

Alison Krause walked in just as Edi managed to put one of the old Pausini records on. The music might have been made nearly a hundred years ago, but it was still some of the best he had heard. The strains of Un Amico È Cosi filled the room.

"Hello, Sarge. Thought I heard someone in here," Alison greeted him. "Let you out, did they?"

"Not yet. Just a break. I threatened murder and mayhem unless I got my tea and music and you know how the head nurse and some of the docs are about my choices on both accounts..."

Alison laughed. "Yeah, I do. What's that in the Stinkpot? Spiced chai?"

"Lapsang. Fancy a cup?" Edi snickered when he saw Alison's expression. "No?"

"You can keep that vile poison to yourself! Anything decent in the other?"

"Cactus. Help yourself."

From the speaker:
"E ricordati che finché tu vorrai
Per sempre al tuo fianco lo troverai"

"Now, this particular song is rather appropriate for the occasion," Edi said with a significant look at the Lance Corporal, as he turned the volume up. "Because I need all the friends I have. We all do. Let's take the cups and head topside for a breath of fresh air, then come back and finish the rest of it."

Alison nodded. "Yeah, be good to stretch my legs after being cooped up here for so long."

*A few minutes later, outside the barnest-2 hangar, out of earshot of the building*

"Okay, Sarge, what's up?"

Edi related his list of concerns to Alison. "And what with the UFO research hitting the pipeline any moment, if something is going to go down, it will likely do so sooner rather than later the moment we get any useful technology out of it. That makes me jumpy."

"Damn. I knew you could always see the cloud inside the silver lining, Sarge, but that's a pretty damn paranoid streak you have there!"

"Well, after all the shenanigans that have gone on with FaxModem and everyone else, can you blame me? What I need is for us to keep our eyes open. We've been in since the start and so have a couple of the others, but I'm not going to air this laundry in the hospital wing. Once they get healthy, I intend to bring Hawkwings and OmegaChief in on this too. Maybe the new guy if he checks out. If we see anything strange with the workshop side, whether it's unscheduled deliveries to or from the base, or anything else suspicious, we need to be on it like stink on shit and follow it up as much as we can."

Edi gave Alison a meaningful look. "And we're definitely not going to solo or do anything stupid ala FaxModem about this either. Are you with me? No need to answer immediately, if you want to think it over. Now, let's head back down before they come looking for us."


*per the hospital report. Alison Krause is the only one not trying to patch wounds, so she might be same or higher rank.

[Force Lord]

UFO! UFO!

[JonB]

Quick update - I've got 200+ images to sort through, plus getting the background text, plus detailing weapons. Progress is being made, but it is slow. For that, I apologize.

Now with that out of the way, guess how many people died in the 11-game days it took to research Heavy Plasma and UFO Theory? Here's a hint - I re-started the mission where JonB killed WhiteHaven with friendly fire.

[OmegaChief]

Oh no, we're all doomed, and I'd survived so long!

[Torben]

It's okay, Omega. As long as Nitram has parts, we never really die. Of course, we never really live anymore either. It's an interesting philosophical dichotomy, if you but think about it. And, I need an oil change. My filter is full.

Code: Select all

MAINTENANCE LOG
***RECOMMENDED LUBRICANT CHANGE INTERVAL EXCEEDED***
MESSAGE TRANSMITTED TO MOTOR POOL TECHNICIANS
LUBRICANT AND ANCILLARY COMPONENT CHANGE SCHEDULED

[JonB]

Here's the Background information promised!

INTRODUCTION
It is the year 2084. Earth, never the most stable of places, enjoys a time of relative peace. The violent beginnings of the 21st century are far away now; distant memories, but not so distant that they've been forgotten. To most of Earth's people, the Second Cold War is a dark shadow from the past, much like the World Wars were to the children of the late 20th.

Conflicts have gotten rarer near the end of the century as new technology and universal health-care finally became available to the third world. Even the fires of terrorism have cooled in the wake of the Second Cold War, with its horrors and inhumanities still fresh in the minds of the people, from the old United States to the ravaged Indian subcontinent. Class struggles are ascending to the political battlefield now that every nation is guaranteed fair representation in the UN, and the global standard of living is slowly on the rise down to the most impoverished corners of the planet. Countries have solidified, stabilized around a restructured United Nations that successfully polices the world governments. Fragmented clumps of smaller nations, frightened at first by the vast power blocks accumulating around China and the European Union, have banded together into powerful political leagues of their own -- then found themselves with no neighbors they could safely fight. For the first time in the history of mankind, there is law and order across more than three quarters of the world.

To many people on Earth, it seems like things are going all right.

The first attack hits the city of Mumbai on the 3rd of March, 2084. Six small UFOs appear out of nowhere and come screaming down from orbit, undetected by the vast radar installations covering the skies over Mumbai, and set down in the single most densely-populated city on Earth. They offer no warning, no explanation. Twenty thousand innocent civilians and three battalions of elite troops are massacred over the course of twelve brutal hours before massed Commonwealth soldiers manage to bring the aliens' advance to a standstill. Then, as suddenly as they appeared, they retreat to their craft and vanish back into orbit, leaving only the ravaged streets of Mumbai as evidence.

An emergency meeting of the UN provides no conclusive direction. The incursions continue faster, larger and more savage than before, this time in Bonn, Johannesburg and Bangkok. Some nations attempt diplomacy, sending messages in a thousand different languages to the aliens ravaging across the countryside. Their words are ignored. Within hours, all three cities are emptied of human life. The attack is over by the time the various militaries are given permission to strike back. The aliens leave nothing behind them but concrete and blood. All the UFOs disappear without a trace -- but no one doubts they'll be back.

Eighty-seven hours after the initial attack on Mumbai, Earth declares war. For two weeks, the armies of humanity each try to fend off the mysterious alien attackers to the best of their ability. They score precious few successes.

Left with only one alternative, the UN takes action. Ancient equipment is dusted off, some of it more than a century old, and the long-defunct anti-extraterrestrial agency of the former United States -- PHALANX -- is resurrected under a new UN banner. Its sworn duty is to combat the alien threat, and to ensure the survival of the human race at all costs.

Funded by all eight of the political powers, and drawing its soldiers from the elite of their armies, PHALANX is the best of the best. It is Earth's first and only line of defense. It can't afford to fail; because if it does, humanity doesn't stand a chance.

Politics and the Second Cold War
In the year 2084, Earth is in better shape than it has been for more than a century. Perhaps for the first time, peace and cooperation are the norm rather than the exception. The current state of affairs, however, can only be explained through the brutal history of the 21st century.

In the first decade of the 21st, the Middle-East was the greatest concern of nations around the world. Tensions increased when Iran, Syria, Jordan and Afghanistan formed the Middle-Eastern alliance, a political body to unite the Islamic world. Soon after, democratic elections in Iraq caused the United States to lose control of the country, and Iraq joined the Middle-Eastern Alliance along with Pakistan and Lebanon later that year. In a panic, Israel threw in its lot with the expanding European Union, thus forcing itself to abide by increasingly strict EU laws on human rights and warfare. Its military presence in the region was significantly reduced over the years as a result.

However, as 2009 turned into 2010, attentions turned away from the Middle-East as the increasingly bold power grabs by China started to make waves. The People's Republic had been nibbling away at its neighbours for several years, but in December of 2010, after decades of harsh words and grim promises, Taiwan was finally conquered by a full-scale Chinese military invasion. The UN gave several sternly-worded reprimands which were summarily ignored. The international community debated the issue at length, and did nothing.

The Second Cold War between the old United States and China began when China annexed North and South Korea in 2012, after secret agents managed to disable North Korea's entire nuclear arsenal for the length of the three-day invasion. The well-trained and equipped People's Army vastly outnumbered the Korean divisions; they occupied both countries long before the Koreans could even begin to receive aid from overseas. The move drew even more ire from the UN and cooled diplomatic relations between China and Russia for decades to come.

Tensions around the world remained high during the length of the Second Cold War, with rebellions the order of the day in the newly-subjugated Chinese territories, but ultimately neither China nor the US was ready to commit to nuclear annihilation.

The war technically came to an end in 2031, as the US economy crumbled under a crushing military budget and deficit interest rates that exceeded the country's entire gross national product. Meanwhile, having become increasingly liberal during the Cold War years, China took on the mantle of world leader without knowing quite what to do with it. Its leaders perhaps became drunk with power, a little too hungry, a little too proud. Using the army to try and enforce their decision, they attempted to revert the country to the brutal Stalinist oppression of the 20th century. The people did not approve.

The ensuing civil war was like nothing Earth had ever seen. Officers often referred to it as the bastard child of Vietnam and the First World War. It saw firebombing of entire populations, mass executions of prisoners of war, and tactical nuclear strikes on several cities -- including Shanghai, Seoul and New Delhi -- on 7 June 2034. Government loyalists dropped a total of six 50-kiloton devices on heavily-defended rebel positions, including the civilian populations the rebels were protecting.

The loyalist army suffered massive desertions in the days that followed; it was the single event that eventually spelled doom for the government. More than six million lives were lost before the surrender of loyalist forces on 15 August 2036, having fought tooth and nail and employed large-scale scorched earth tactics as the rebels slowly drove them into the Indian Ocean. This is the official ending of the Second Cold War.

After the War

The Asian Republic
In the years that followed, the reformed Republic of China -- taking up its old, pre-Communist name -- slowly relinquished its conquered territories, including those seized in centuries past, offering them a choice between independence or a seat on the new governmental council as an equal and respected part of the new Republic. Having fought on the rebel side throughout the civil war, Taiwan was the first to merge with the new Republic, reconciling its differences with the mainland after the Communist government surrendered. Taiwan quickly became a major player in the new council and was instrumental in sending the captured government leaders off to The Hague to face a war crimes tribunal. North Korea, another rebel nation, also elected to remain in the Republic, sensing opportunities for greater economic growth and freedom from dictatorship. They would not be disappointed.
The resurgence of the Chinese economy was dubbed a miracle by contemporary historians. The first breakthroughs in nanotechnology were made by Chinese researchers, bringing in vast medical-industrial contracts from all over the world. Despite old hatreds and mistrust, other east-Asian nations slowly joined the Republic, which was soon redubbed the Asian Republic to honour its new members. Even Japan eventually joined to bolster its flagging economy and a population which had dwindled through the war years. The Republic continued mostly true to its principles with the civil war still fresh in mind. Over the years it made a reputation for dealing with all its member nations in good faith, and built enough trust and solidarity that it can now speak with a single voice for all the billions of people of south-east Asia.
Today, the Asian Republic's economy has all but recovered due to the commercialisation of nanotech and holographics. It still possesses a strong and up-to-date military, trained to a higher standard than any other country.

The Revolutionary Countries
With the successive fall of both the United States and China, Socialism in South-America waxed and waned during the post-war years. The US's economic death brought on a surge of revolutionary fervor, swaying several nations away from the influence of capitalism. However, with a democratic framework already halfway in place in most countries, the ideal of rule of the people could for the first time be realised without corruption. This new wave proposed to unite the principles of democracy with true Socialist ideals.
The whole continent watched in horror at the nuking of Shanghai during the Second Cold War, televised all over the globe right up to the final second. The new wave suffered another major blow when China fell. In that, everyone could see a first-hand example of what might happen to the revolution if it went the way of dictatorship and totalitarianism. It didn't take long for the leaders to respond.
Several dictator-led countries immediately tried to turn on the thumbscrews, trying to head off a rebellion before it began, which caused a huge backlash in the larger democratic nations, particularly Cuba, Brazil and Argentina. Suddenly, the last remaining kings of South-America were left with no friends at all.
One by one, they caved to public and political pressure and were replaced by elected houses. The revolution picked up speed instead of losing it; they encouraged greater trade, closer integration, and eventually followed Europe's example of open borders. A new network of highways all over the continent strengthened economies and allowed far more efficient use of arable land. South-America's natural riches were tapped like never before, and they demanded fair prices for every bit of it.
Today, the member nations have merged so closely that they are better known as a single body: the Revolutionary Countries. One joint government represents the entire continent, and they manage an economical juggernaut surpassed only by the Greater European Union. Their military is small but has state-of-the-art equipment. Their training is not exceptional.

United America
As the US economy started to break down in the late 2020s, more and more people abandoned the country for the greener pastures of Canada and, ironically, Mexico. The value of the dollar plummeted to unprecedented depths, impoverishing millions until its price was fixed by the IMF and the international banking community. The country was then saddled with a brutal reform plan, requiring it to sell off or mothball over half of its military arsenal. To cope with the repayment on sixteen trillion dollars of debt, its interest rate was frozen and its exports shifted to technology and luxury goods. Successful restructuring of NASA, combined with a functional spaceplane prototype, also turned outer space into a money-maker for the post-collapse US. Cape Canaveral began offering the cheapest space launches anywhere on the planet, first with their prototype, later with fully-functional advanced spaceplane designs. This significantly helped the beleaguered country claw its way back towards the black.
The cooperation between North-American nations began with financial aid from Canada and Mexico, which saw their exports to the US dipping dangerously and wanted to help fix their most important trading partner. The growing number of expatriates also served to create closer ties. Then, in the most unexpected political turnaround in 2042, Mexico elected the US expatriate Esteban Villa-Lobos Garcia to the office of president.
The election was hotly contested. However, the decision held through two recounts, and the new president was inaugurated in July of 2042. Eventually, a combination of sound policies and personal charisma brought most of the country around on Garcia; and then he proposed the Tomorrow Plan.
Under the plan, Mexico, Canada and the USA would unite into one country to reawaken the North American superpower. In a number of controversial public votes, the general population in all three countries gave majority support for the Tomorrow Plan; 52% in the United States, 64% in Canada, and 71% in Mexico. The merger was eventually finalised in 2050, creating a United America out of the dominant powers of the New World. The booming space industry quickly spread throughout the new country, and despite a few stumbles along the way, North America steamed headlong towards recovery.
Today, UA's debt has decreased from sixteen trillion to two, and standards of living have nearly recovered to what they were before the crash. UA has the most advanced space industry on the planet; NASA performs almost 70% of commercial space launches around the globe. It exports vast quantities of goods to every other nation and is projected to return to solvency in less than three years. Militarily, the UA is the weakest of all the meganations. It has only a small volunteer army and a tiny defence budget as mandated by the IMF. However, what forces the UA does have are highly-trained and can turn on a dime, able to reach any place in the country within two hours.

The Greater European Union
Slowly but surely, the European Union has expanded borders further and further with every passing decade. It first moved into the Middle-East when it accepted Israel as an associate member in 2011, and then upgraded both Israel and Turkey to full membership in 2017. Several Atlantic islands were also accepted in the same resolution, making it the single greatest EU expansion of the 21st century.
Following Israel's controversial entrance as an associate member, the EU passed stricter laws on human rights, freedom of religion and separation of church and state. It was also the first Western superpower to officially recognise the Middle-Eastern Alliance, and fostered close relations with the Alliance -- despite United States protests -- in the hope of reducing culture clash and the ongoing threat of terrorism. For the most part, they were successful.
In 2028, Greenland -- having grown strong due to immigration from the United States -- formally declared its independence from Denmark. No battles were fought; the Danish government grudgingly recognised the independence due to political pressure from other European countries. In the following months, Greenland briefly considered joining the US as a protectorate, but reconsidered when the EU offered a full membership. This, along with the defection of several US island protectorates in the Atlantic, impelled the EU to rename itself the 'Greater European Union'.
In the aftermath of the Second Cold War, the GEU has always been on the forefront of political development. It was the only Western nation to second the Middle-Eastern Alliance's vote of no confidence on the old United Nations, after the UN's complete failure to act during the Chinese expansion and eventual civil war. The GEU also strongly supported the Alliance's efforts to create a new UN, providing fair representation to all the world's nations, and with enough teeth to live up to the principles under which it was first created.
Today, the GEU is the strongest economical and political force in the world. However, its vast bureaucracy and large number of members -- members who don't always see eye-to-eye -- make it slow to manoeuvre in every way. Its military is large and powerful but poorly-integrated, with each individual army sticking to the language and traditions of their country. Military cooperation is difficult to achieve and requires going through huge amounts of red tape. The GEU contributes a majority of UN troops, but they are only ever used as peacekepeers. Whether or not the GEU militaries have lost their 'edge' has been a subject of hot debate in Brussels for many years, and there appears to be no decision in sight.

The Middle-Eastern Alliance
The rise of the Middle-Eastern Alliance was a surprise to everyone, including the people involved. It was designed solely to weaken Western influence in the Middle-East. The principal designers and first members -- Iran, Syria, Jordan and Afghanistan -- never meant the Alliance to last more than a decade, by which time they expected it to fragment and disband under the weight of its own differences.
The Second Cold War changed everything. The People's Republic of China was no longer a nearby ally against the West; it became an expanding threat with an appetite, casting hungry eyes on Nepal, chunks of India, and possibly even the sovereign states on China's western border. Pakistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan rushed into the arms of the Alliance in order to guard themselves against invasion. The Arabian subcontinent joined the Alliance not a year later, seeking to expand their political pull with the West. Without even realising it, they had formed a power block covering nearly the entire Middle-East. Their position was simply too good to allow it to crumble.
The expanded Alliance, now recognised by the European Union, stepped onto the international stage with knife in hand. They had a stranglehold on most of the world's remaining oil supplies and the will to exploit it.
The Alliance's economic power grew as outside oil reserves dwindled. Pharmaceutical manufacturers packed up in droves and moved to the Middle-East, the only place left in the world where oil was cheap and plentiful. This, along with the many other applications of crude oil, allowed the Middle-East to survive the Russian 'nuclear revolution' and the subsequent worldwide migration to nuclear power. It continued its expansion with Egypt, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and disputed chunks of Africa around the Red Sea. The entire Red Sea region was quickly pacified when the Alliance moved in its military to assist the new African members.
Today, the spread of prosperity has turned the Middle-East away from dogma and towards secular law and gender equality. It is still ruled by individuals -- Sultans, Emirs, Maliks, Presidents and Generals -- but their personal power is kept in check by the rest of the Alliance, rulers who do not want their colleagues stepping out of line. Political dissent is tolerated due to pressure from the EU and other nations, but even in 2084 few of the Alliance's member nations have a functioning democratic process.
The Alliance military is large, fast and mean. It is one of the most elite and well-equipped forces in the world, and it uses more permissive rules of engagement than either United America or the Asian Republic. Their clause for 'acceptable civilian casualties' has been the source of huge amounts of criticism from across the world, but the Alliance has stubbornly maintained this clause throughout the four decades it has been in effect.

New Africa
Born out of violence and strife, New Africa found its unification in separation. It languished onwards for three decades into the 21st century, as it had done for far too long, with its civil wars and ethnic purges and atrocities beyond measure. That is, until several central-African nations undertook a massive project in 2039 to break the notorious diamond cartels and seize their revenue for long-term national improvement.
It resulted in a military and economic bloodbath. The UN attempted various measures to stop the fighting but, even more toothless than ever before, it accomplished nothing. However, the league of nations was eventually joined by several others, tired of being pushed around by Western conglomerates, and after several years of bitter fighting they were successful in taking down the cartels one by one. This left them with some of the largest, most advanced diamond and gold mines in the world; it made their combined territory the largest single supplier of natural diamonds in the world. It also gave them a new sense of what they could accomplish together. The core of New Africa was born.
All the African nations involved in the anti-cartel war, with the exception of territories loyal to the Commonwealth of Oceania and the Middle-Eastern Alliance, began to work much more closely together, taking cues from South-America in building a dependable road network to fuel trade and communication. It also allowed a much better distribution of food. Over the next thirty years, New Africa completely eliminated famine within its borders, which it changed completely to accomodate ethnicity and a desire for independence within its territories, and brought socialised public health-care to its people at near-ruinous cost. However, it also found new exports in the commercialised, sustainable growth of tropical hardwood and exotic fruit. The new cooperation made price agreements across the continent possible for the first time; like the Revolutionary Countries, New Africa forced the rest of the world to pay fairly for all goods and services.
Today, New Africa is still the weakest of the great powers economically, but it is growing fast. It has a large, motivated standing army, but the troops are not well-equipped, armed mostly with former US antiques and even century-old Soviet equipment. They also have trouble getting to remote locations due to frequent equipment failures and the continent's difficult geography. Most of the time, the best the New Africans can do is spot UFOs as they land with one of thousands of scouts and small patrols out in the country to combat poaching and smuggling.

Russia
Russia took decades to recover from the fall of the Soviet Union and the ravages of the Soviet system on the country's economy. It festered like an open wound for the first half of the 21st century, still trying to quash the constant rebellions in Chechnya, still trying to reform after 70 years of state domination, still trying to get back its lost position as a world superpower.
Things finally started getting better for Russia when then-prime minister Yevgeny Karamazov granted complete independence to Chechnya in 2047. While the newly official Chechen Republic imploded in a storm of violence about who exactly should rule, Russia turned away and set itself to fixing its own problems, leaving Chechnya to itself -- and to the new and improved UN, which immediately took an interest in trying to stop the bloodshed. Unfortunately that wouldn't happen for a long time, and even then Chechnya could only return to Russia's sphere of influence, but for the first time it did so as a fully-recognised independent voice.
Economic salvation for Russia -- especially with oil supplies from the Middle-East dwindling -- began with drilling the country's own oil in Siberia, with new techniques and equipment able to survive the harsh winter conditions, and later with the construction of a series of new nuclear power plants. Russia invested heavily in research to make the new plants smaller, safer and -- more importantly -- sustainable. This involved a switch from enriched uranium to thorium as the main nuclear fuel for all the new Russian plants, and advanced new designs based upon the 'energy amplifier', a new type of fission reactor first test-built near Rome from 2004 to 2011. Two of the new reactors even consumed plutonium from dismantled nuclear weapons and from the stored waste of older power plants.
Then, eight years after the Chechen independence, Russia's 'nuclear revolution' really came into its own with the invention of the depleted element postprocessor, which could convert 90% of an energy amplifier's waste into radiation-free elements in weeks instead of centuries. The Russians ended the age-old energy crisis almost overnight; nuclear fission became safe, relatively clean, and global thorium supplies would see the world clear into the year 3000.
Today, many of the ex-Soviet republics have rejoined Russia, following the example of the other great nations, eager to take advantage of the power generation and nuclear technology that are now Russia's main exports. The nuclear revolution continues even today with the gradual development and commercialisation of fusion power. Though its economy is still troubled, the country is now in better shape than it has been for centuries -- whether under the khans, the czars or the Soviets. Its military is somewhat antiquated but highly-trained, well-disciplined and professional, and it does not lack for manpower.

The Commonwealth of Oceania
The Commonwealth of Nations, a political organisation made up of most of the countries of the old British Empire, lost a great deal of power going into the Second Cold War. First, Pakistan cut its ties to the Commonwealth when joining the Middle-Eastern Alliance. Then, as the United States crashed and burned, Britain and Canada became more and more concerned with their own parts of the world and let their participation dwindle to nothing. By 2030, they were members in name only.
The growing power of China throughout the war caused a huge expansion in military budgets for India and Australia, budgets which their economies had trouble supporting. Then, in 2035, India became one more battlefield in the Chinese civil war. Veteran government troops easily defeated the Indian military in several short but bloody engagements and seized most of the country while the rebels pursued.
Australia pledged a full-scale military intervention along with several South-African Commonwealth members. After weeks of brutal fighting, the Australian divisions managed to link up with Chinese rebel forces and the surviving regiments of the Indian army, and together they nearly annihilated the governmental army before the surrender in 2036.
The cost was high. The conquered parts of India were a wasteland, the country had no government left after the nuking of New Delhi, and famines were already starting to grip the population. It began ceding worthless parts of land to other nations and gave independence to several small regions along its border. The remaining Commonwealth nations undertook the vast task of reconstructing India, though many abandoned the project and the Commonwealth in favour of the other growing superpowers.
The reconstruction of India eventually united the Commonwealth into one great nation, taking advantage of their geographic location around the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific to charge strategic tariffs for ships passing through their waters. Commonwealth shipping, on the other hand, was free from tariffs and quickly rose to dominance in the competitive market. Later, with the breaking of the diamond cartels in Africa, the Commonwealth seized several leaderless mines inside its borders and used them to their full potential.
Today, the Commonwealth of Nations is better known as the 'Commonwealth of Oceania' or just 'Oceania'. Since its inception it has accepted several non-Commonwealth countries into its midst, notably Madagascar, Zimbabwe and Indonesia, extending its control over the Oceanian waters. While it still can't compete economically with the richer nations, it has carved out its own niche, and is quite happy to go on prospering in it.
Oceania's military consists mainly of a powerful navy. Its land army is minuscule compared to that of any nation except United America, and serves only in a defensive capacity, with average training and equipment. However, it can respond fairly quickly in emergency situations.

"PHALANX And The Mumbai Aftermath"
"Project PHALANX" was first conceived by the United States Department of Defense in 1955, after years of growing concern over increased numbers of UFO sightings all across the world. The possibility of an alien invasion plagued badly on the minds of politicians already unnerved by the nuclear power of the Soviet Union. The existence of hostile extraterrestrial life in the universe seemed a very remote possibility, even moreso that these hostiles might find Earth among all the vastness of space -- but could America afford to take that chance?

The project's proponents spent two years building support among the highest levels of power. Finally, in 1957, PHALANX received its first funding allocation. A significant chunk of the year's 'black budget' went to the construction of an advanced underground complex in the Nevada desert somewhere in the territory of Nellis Air Force Base. The complex was named "PHALANX Pacific Operations Command", loaded with state-of-the-art equipment, and staffed with the best and brightest to hammer out how best to combat an extraterrestrial incursion into US soil.

The project was a rousing success in its formative years, developing ground-breaking technologies and producing working prototypes of things the world had never seen before, all for a fraction of the costs that civilian contractors would run up. Due to its very nature, PHALANX was the subject of yearly budget battles, but its R&D successes always gave the project a reason to continue even for the most hardline practicalists.

However, the world moved on while PHALANX kept preparing for something that never happened. The Vietnam war saw a tremendous upsurge in military spending, almost none of which was allocated to PHALANX or similar projects, who saw their own budgets slashed and burned in the face of war. Despite repeated requests for more funding, the Joint Chiefs dismissed the outlandish 1950s program as 'pie-in-the-sky' spending and let it continue only because of its research efforts. Most of the remaining funding went to keep old equipment serviced and the labs running, if only barely.

PHALANX never quite recovered after the war. They would never again have the budgets they had in the '50s; the glory years were over. They supplied some new technology used in the Gulf War, and experienced brief uptick during the opening years of the 21st century due to soaring US military budgets, but after these brief spurts of creativity the project would again fade into obscurity.

The Second Cold War drained away the last life left in the project. Its commanders struggled to keep it going without even the money to keep their aircraft in the sky, but even the invention of artificial spider silk couldn't save them from the United States' crashing economy. The country's slide into ruin necked every 'non-essential' military program in the country, one by one, and PHALANX was finally stricken from the budget in 2027. It was five months away from its 70th anniversary. The staff was dismissed, the base dismantled, the unique equipment mothballed and thrown into storage. The project was quickly forgotten.

Until it was rediscovered on 9 March 2084 by an old man who remembered reading about it in a dusty file in his long-demolished office.

The horror and enormity of the events in Mumbai shocked the world. The existence of intelligent alien life in the universe was no longer a matter of faith. Not only did it exist, it had made contact in the worst way. The massacres were too large and visible for Earth's governments to keep them secret. Video evidence of the smoking, blood-stained streets aired on television sets around the world. The aliens had left no other evidence of their visit; they diligently recovered their dead and collected every scrap of dropped technology before pulling out.

Panic spread like wildfire in the wake of the Mumbai broadcasts, and things got worse as word reached the general public about the slaughter in Bonn, Johannesburg and Bangkok. The world knew it had been visited, and now it began to realise it was under attack.

The quest for solutions was frantic. The United Nations remained in session continuously for over a week. Plans were drawn up and burnt down with lightning speed. The world was completely defenceless against an alien invasion, both militarily and psychologically. No one had prepared for this. It was one of the forgotten doomsday scenarios that sat crumbling to dust in the back closet of some strategic planning office, unread and unheeded. Now, however, the public demanded answers that no one knew, action that no one could provide.

The UN could agree only on a few token gestures; at the order of the Security Council, NASA evacuated International Space Stations 1 and 2, as well as the permanent colony on the moon. The entire range of planned missions to Mars was stricken from the calendar. On all the matters that counted, the UN was deadlocked. Some nations wanted to build massive orbital defences while others insisted they should be permitted to use nuclear missiles for UFO interception. Still others had even more outlandish projects to push. The situation grew worse as the days wore on, until one aging diplomat remembered the PHALANX project.

With full access to the old US files, the UN was shocked to find plans, designs, equipment and training manuals; a fully-detailed response to an invasion scenario. They immediately decided to revive PHALANX and equip it to defend Earth from the alien threat. However, everyone who was once a part of PHALANX was either dead or dying. They were going to need a new staff.

By unanimous vote, it was decided to keep the project as secret as possible, known only to the highest-ranking politicians and military commanders in the world. The public was comforted with smokescreens and sweet lies while a hand-picked team of operatives from all over the world struggled to resurrect PHALANX and whip it back into fighting trim. Old equipment was tracked down and recovered from gutted warehouses, crumbling manuals were dusted off, and stockpiles of weapons were reassembled for use. With the secret backing of all eight great powers, the project had funding, support and the men it needed to go to war.

All it lacked was a leader.

Wow. That was a lot of words. Now, how many of you read all that, because it's all in the UFOpediea!

Now, onto part 2 – the actual update!

[JonB]

00:00, 01 Aug 2084
Polar Orbit, Earth, Sol System

A single camera flipped up, and took a single picture, transmitting it back to it's creators before vanishing back into the void.


21:00, 01 August 2084
Command Center, PHALANX HQ
Turkey, GEU

“IT IZ DONE! Now gimme that voucher to go to Cuba!” Academia threw down the report on my desk as I handed him the tickets to his favourite island in the world.


“And while you're gone, start your men working on UFO Theory! I'm tired of guys marching into my office demanding dibs on flying the first Xeno craft we have properly!”


18:00, 02 August 2084
Wenchang Spaceport Annex – UFO Research Facility
China, The Asian Republics

The Assistant Director thanked the Admiral from the UA Navy who had escorted the Xeno craft from their soil to his workshop. The one that had been shot down in China last month was far closer and secured, this one was now in place beside it.

The men were calling it the Harvester.


20:30, 02 August 2084

23:11, 02 August 2084

phred: “Sorry guys. Man, I'd hate to be the guy to go down into the Med in a submarine to try and recover all these ships. That's NOT A SUGGESTION.”

21:12, 03 August 2084
Italy, GEU



JonB: “Was it just me, or were those Xeno's not as well equipped as they could have been?”

00:00, 05 August 2084
Command Center, NA51
United America

“OH GOD IT'S COMING FOR US! RUN FOR THE HILLS!”

“Don't Panic! We have the new Missile Defenses!”

“See! We have impacts!”

01:20...

“It's down! The Defenses work! But damn that was a close call. We'll want a third one for better coverage, I think.”

11:18...
“This is Romulan Republic, your captain speaking. Today's weather forecast includes a rain of missiles on an unsuspecting Xeno craft. I hope they brought umbrellas!”

11:56...
“Aaa...nd it's DOWN! Two for two!”


Northern Michigan, United America

Kryten: “Sirs, I do believe that a flanking maneuver would suffice around that cottage.”

ForceLord: “I see four Xenos. Anyone got a different number?”


JonB: “I was hoping to make it three, but those fuckers can take a rocket to the face. Taking cover!”



Dendrobius: “Plasma continues to be effective. We should steal more!”
((Yep, two kills from the Plasma Pistol on a single turn from Dendrobius. One of those guys did take a rocket to the face earlier though, so it only took a single shot to kill it.))


Kryten: “Sirs! They killed Dave! The bastards!”
White Haven: “Wrong show.”

JonB: “Vengeance!”

JonB: “Hell, outta ammo. Switching to Plasma.”

ForceLord: “Xeno down. That's the last of them.”


JonB: “Keep Dave's body in the cooler until we get back to base.”

JonB: “We've got one more site to secure.”

30 minutes later...

Kryten: “Oh my.”


Sorchus: “Taking cover in this shed! Damn, these Xeno are pretty heavily armed.”

White Haven: “The Grenade Launcher takes some getting used too, but I got one.”

Torben: “Agh! Hit! DIIIIIEEEEEEE!”

ForceLord: “You got him! And this one too!”

White Haven: “I thought I saw one around the corner here... AIIEEE!”


JonB: “Vengeance!”


JonB: “Damn.”

22:34, 06 August 2084
Command Center, PHALANX HQ
Turkey, GEU

As I set down the glass of burning vodka. Only know did it occur to me that the deaths of Dave and (re-death) of White Haven didn't affect me at all.

And that scared me. How could I do my job if I couldn't care?

17:13, 07 August 2084
Command Center, PHALANX HQ
Turkey GEU

“Xeno spotted! Number 77! It's headed right for us!”

I looked up at the Geoscape. “Begin evacuation procedures. We'll capture the ship when it lands.”


Kryten: “Sirs, I do believe that this Base Layout is suboptimal for defense.”


Reckless: “Moving to protect Command Center and Fusion Plant.”


JonB: “I am so glad we have reinforced walls. Using these Grenades would be murder on the sensitive radar equipment.”




Coalition: “Wow, these Plasma Rifles can sure pack a lot of dakka. But I burned through half my power-pack on that. But at least he's down!”


Reckless: ~~Reckless to all Cyber-Units. Infiltration of PHALANX files progressing. Priority retrieval on personal files on Director JonB, the Assistant Director, PHALANX and SHADO.~~


Sorchus: “Securing Alien Containment. No signs of Xenos.”

Dendrobius: “Basement secure. Academia and Sir Nitram have excellent sanitation standards.”


JonB: “Coalition! Kryten! Sorchus! Get topside! It looks like the rest are up here!”


Coalition: “Yes sir! I see one! Shooting! Damn!”


Kryten: “Xeno with a big rifle over here, sirs. No shot.”

Kryten: “HOW DID YOU MISS ME, SIR?”
((Hint: He didn't. The Xeno moved up, and seemed to leave TU's for reaction fire. In that spot. Guess what?))

Kryten: “Sir, THIS is how you shoot.”


Coalition: “Oh hell, the Taman ran! Who's closer?!?!”


JonB: “Me! He's under us! 'Nade Out!”
((What followed was three turns of my searching the base for the last Alien. Three. Very. Tense. Turns.))


Torben: “HAH! You trying to sneak in through the Radar Array? FAIL!”


JonB: “Good work everyone.”

01:01, 08 August 2084
Command Center, Builder of Chinese DOOM
China, The Asian Republics

“Sir, we have reports of an Alien ship on the ground in Russia. HQ's team is still recuperating, and they want our team to go in.”

“Really? I think that's the first time we've seen an attack there. Send them out.”


Alison: “What the hell is this place?”

Chaser: “According to this guy, it's a demolitions and explosives disposal facility.”
All: “Oh hell.”

Vortex: “Everyone, spread out, and be careful.”


Edi: “Xeno spotted on thermals in the parking lot.”


Vortex : “Damn it! My servo's are getting jammed from the heat! But at least it's down.”


Edi: “Hey! Xeno! Guess whose weapon fires through walls and whose doesn't!”


Alison: “I've got overwatch on the second-floor door.”
Chaser: “I'm sweeping the main floor.”


Vehrec: “Hold on, Vortex Empire. I'm coming with the Med Kit. There's some stuff in here for your injuries.”

Chaser: “Oh hell, there's a pair of them right out the window!” Sounds of glass shattering “GRENA...”



Vortex: “Catch up faster Vehrec! There, Taman Lasered! The other one is running!”


OmniQ: “I have an angle! Taman down!”



14:34, 08 August 2084
Command Center, NA51
United America

“Whaddya mean it only took one missile?!?!?!”

“Lucky shot?”

“Well, three for three. Can't argue! Pass the beer!”

((This is the friendly fire mission that I restarted. I'll post what happened at the end of the update.))


Cyber-White Haven: “NEW CYBORG PARTS WORKING. XENO CRAFT SPOTTED.”

JonB: “Alright everyone, take cover behind that building there.”


ForceLord: “Xeno killed. Careful guys, they're holing up inside the ship. While it's burning.”

Coalition: “I've got overwatch from the second floor. Damn, I can feel the heat from up here. I'm surprised this house isn't burning down.” bzzayt

JonB: “Coalition? Coalition! Damn it, Dendrobius, check up on her!”


Kryten: “Killzone established. That's the last of them, sirs.”

((Sorry, no Victory screenshot. 1 PHALANX dead, 7 Xeno's kick the bucket.))

12:01, 11 August 2084
Command Center, PHALANX HQ
Turkey, GEU

The Assistant Director sat down at the table, having come to listen in on this report.




Academia waved his hands over the papers. “There's really four things we can do at this point with the UFOs. First is research their Antimatter supplies With that in hand, better energy production would be ours to have. Second is the UFO hull. With that, we may be able to build better hull ourselves, or even how to better optimize our weapons. I suggest we do one or the other before we dissect either types of UFO in our possession so that we can properly catalog and store our findings.”


“What do we do sir?”

[hr][/hr]
Sorry about the wait guys. Now, let's get down to business. Antimatter is the new Elerium-115. And think about how many of them I've sold over the course of the game so far. All that in the hands of... well, not us.

What do we research next?

Now, you may be wondering about my little frak up there. Well, what happened was the Firebird dropped on the far side of the damaged section of the UFO. So JonB, White Haven and someone else went around the front while the rest went in the back. JonB had a Rocket Launcher.


Then every last goddamned alien on that side of the ship jumped out of the burning UFO right in front of JonB. Now Rockets don't have reaction fire, but the guys behind did take a few non-fatal potshots.

But the Aliens didn't shoot at my guys. They had lost morale and were panicking.

So, JonB drops the Rocket as firing it at that close range is dumb and stupid. With the Plasma Pistol, he offs the Taman right in front of him. Then he turns to his right and puts a three-peat of plasma into the Ortnok. Two hits kills it, the third sails down range, killing WhiteHaven.


Mission restart time!

Onto weapons. There's quite a bit of stuff available, and the data found on the project website is for 2.2-stable, not 2.3.1-stable. So I'll have to defer that information to next time. In the mean time, if you guys want to claim something without being fully aware of how awesome, or sucky it is, tell me, and I'll accommodate.

Anything else...??? Nope. 82 images is kinda big, but four deaths had to be recorded and presented. See you guys next time!

[ChaserGrey]

Here's the Background information promised!

Great stuff, thanks! Even provides a semi-IC reason why a lot of the soldiers on the roster are American. (At least, I assume so since a lot of the players are of the US persuasion) With the UA still basically in receivership, they're probably not going to be able to contribute a lot in the way of money- so maybe some of their contribution comes in the form of trained personnel. If the UA military is mostly oriented towards homeland defense they're probably well trained in light infantry and urban operations, which is most of what PHALANX's ground component does...

[ChaserGrey]

Aaargh. Oh well, this heralds the birth of Cyber-ChaserGrey. (Yeah, he ended up volunteering for the program. Life as a half-living maddened techno-zombie killing machine is better than no life at all.)