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Eternal_Freedom wrote:

SirNitram wrote:Perhaps, with A N in R&D, I should be shoved back into engineering. You know. The people who do the REAL WORK.

Real work, ha. Remember Science Boy, if it wasn't for us going out and twatting them aliens, you wouldn't have anything to study

He does have a point. I can always put you into.. field science as the 7th member of the dropteam where you get to experiment with where to shoot the enemies.

I've started research into E-M Rifles as per majority opinion. Advanced the in-game clock to the first UFO (which was on the 26th), and have it saved before combat. I have a commitment this evening, so I'll try to find time over the Easter Weekend to run the battle.

How did I not know this was happening?! Any more room for another meatshield? I prefer fire and big booms, if you've got it. Will need a new body as my last one was brain-sucked by a face-fucker.

Meatshield Alison Krause reporting for duty!

Eternal_Freedom wrote:

SirNitram wrote:Perhaps, with A N in R&D, I should be shoved back into engineering. You know. The people who do the REAL WORK.

Real work, ha. Remember Science Boy, if it wasn't for us going out and twatting them aliens, you wouldn't have anything to study

Give me my favorite wrench and I'll murder them all and then turn their still-warm carcasses into armor.

Then I'll make a new gun and not give it to you because you dragged me along.

Good answer!

Unless of course, that alien zaps you from thirty metres before you can get close with your wrench.

Then, having dragged you out there, I'll have to drag you back again , but in a large rubber bag.

Eternal_Freedom wrote:Good answer!

Unless of course, that alien zaps you from thirty metres before you can get close with your wrench.

Then, having dragged you out there, I'll have to drag you back again , but in a large rubber bag.

Fine. Be that way. I'll go sit in engineering and wait to be shot when the base is invaded.

You do that. Just don't expect me to come running to save you Science Boy

"Wait, this base is going to be invaded?"

Looks at current cleaning supplies.

"I'm going to need a LOT more bleach for all the blood stains."

11:04, 22 March 2084
Command Center, PHALANX HQ
Turkey, GEU

I sputtered and slammed down the phone. "FUCKERS! Are they trying to kill us?" My venting carried across the entire room, causing some of my subordinates to wince. “Someone tell me who I have to kill to get Russia's Mil-spec Radar hooked up to ours!”

This was the order of the day. The nations of the world, united in their common cause of destroying the Alien menace, was shutting out the very organization dedicated to that goal above all others.

I had hoped to get the Ulster Radar array in England tied to our own here in the base, and maybe the one in Lisbon, Portugal in order to finish covering the Greater European Union with our Radar net. But I was blocked. PHALANX was blocked as each nation shifted to secure their own territory and be damned what the rest of the world needed.

They were going to kill us all. At least the budget in 9 days should allow me to easily finance our own private array. But seriously, fuck them all. This is because I left New York unprotected, and the SecGen is still pissed, right? It has to be.

On the bright side, work on the EM guns is advancing smoothly. E-mails forwarded to me by SirNitram, the second in command of the R&D department show that PHALANX's old documents indicate that they ran into materials technology issues; that is, the materials sciences a century ago couldn't do what we can do now. So they figure a couple weeks max before they have a working model. It's just redoing the math and conducting the experiments.

Maybe I can use our first native PHALANX weapons to show the world that we can be trusted. Let us do our job, please!

Well, I went back to the grind of paperwork.

10:30, 26 March 2084
Command Center, PHALANX HQ
Turkey, GEU


“This is Barnest2! Taking off!”

I watched as the symbol for our interceptor – as well as it's projected engagement envelope – appeared on the Geoscape. I heard a voice call out that interception was projected for 70 minutes.

Longest 70 minutes of my life.

11:39, Turkish Airspace


Barnest2 enjoyed the thrill of the hunt. This custom interceptor hungered for alien blood, and he was only too glad to partake. His own radar showed his target in Iraqi airspace, and what he would be doing here would have been an act of war in another age.

Just as the enemy crossed effective weapons range, he fired the Shiva cannon. The semi-guided gyro-jet rounds accelerated to over Mach12 and ripped across national borders. Finger off the trigger, he jinked to the left, throwing him out of the way of the lack of return fire.

Lack of?

He checked his radar and visual surroundings. No return fire? Then his radar beeped – indicating a change in attitude of his target. Augmented vision turned an eye towards the Alien craft, which he now saw was bellowing smoke and descending quite rapidly as Gravity took hold.

With a whoop, he reported that he had shot down the alien craft, and plotted an escort course to make sure it stayed going down.

The ship crashed at 11:45 AM on the 26th of March. Barnest2 is credited with the first ship kill in PHALANX's war against the alien menace.


PHALANX HQ
RomanRepublic shoulder checked to make sure that all 8 troopers were strapped in, then gunned the engine on the dropship to leave the hanger and make for the crash site. Hopefully they would get there before the scavengers do.

He noted to ask the director to have the Firebird in the air behind the Stilleto to make for a quicker reaction time to the site.

In the command center, someone wondered where the Director was.

Crash Site 1, Middle Eastern Alliance
13:15, 26 March 2084

“I have the crash on visual!” RomanRepublic called out to HQ and to his passengers. “It's come down on the edge of a village of some sort. No Military response yet. Entering combat zone.”


Dave, having been given command of the squad due to drawing lots on the trip yelled back forward. “Where you going to set us down?

Roman Republic grinned.


“Less than 5 meters away. HOT LANDING! Two aliens spotted! Civvies spotted! HOT HOT HOT”

The side doors on the ship opened and the eight troopers jumped as the Firebird touched down, spreading around in a tight perimeter.



OmegaChief: “Alien spotted! He's got his back to me! Engaging!”


OmegaChief: Second Xeno spotted! Purging the first!”
(sounds of Machine gun fire)
(sounds identified as alien being hit and dying)
OmegaChief: “Down! Look'it that! They bleed red!”


VortexEmpire: “Advancing! I see the alien! Damn, that's a wicked knife in his hand! Fire in the HOLE!”
Edi: “Nice going, dipshit. The 'nade bounced past it and into that ditch.”
Vortex: “Hey, fuck you! My aim was perfect! It was the wind.”


JonB: “Nothing but grasslands out this way guys, I'm swinging around to support.”
ForceLord: “Director? What the hell you doing out here and not at base?”
JonB: “Regs call for an anti-armor weapon in all deployed squads, and I was the only one qualified on the AT-14 Rocket Launcher. Everyone fights, no exceptions.”
EternalFreedom: “Hey! I'm qualified! Don't give me that shit, sir!”
JonB: “Stow it! You skipped re-qualification yesterday and it was scheduled for later today. I'm not going to get us shut down because of that. Besides, everyone fights.”
EternalFreedom: “Yes sir.”


(This UAV shot shows the two remaining aliens taking cover. PHALANX forces advance as a unified line to the starboard of the Firebird, ready to react to motion from that alien, while two more PHALANX cover Forcelord and Shuwei Mubarak as they advance into the alien wreckage. Director JonB is highlighted off to the right.)

Forcelord: “NADE!”
(unknown sound from 'behind' Forcelord and Mubarak. AAR reports 'plasma fire'.)
(OOC: Sorry guys, missed capping the Alien tossing a 'nade over the wreckage and the explosion.)
Forcelord: (screams)
Mubarak: (screams)
EternalFreedom: “You see that? Blue flames! But they're still alive! The 'nade bounced! HAH! YOU MISSED!”
(OOC: Yep, the grenade bounced a couple squares past those two. If it blew up closer... well... this is an X-COM type game. )


Dave: “I see him!” (Sound of Sniper Rifle being fired.) “Got'em! He was trying to hide in the wreckage! EF! Come help me with the injuries!”


OmegaChief: “Hey! You stood still! Advancing! Shooting! Fucker didn't go down!”


VortexEmpire: “Airburst round! Firing! Kill!”

JonB: “Civvies say that's all of them. Everyone, spread out and secure the area. See if anyone has collected any 'souvenirs', and confiscate them.”

All: “Yes Sir!”



I took off the helmet, leaning against the inside bulkhead of the Firebird, the radio in my ear. “Sir, we don't have space to store the alien craft. However, the various nations are offering to take it off our hands, paying us a bounty. Over.”

I thought about it. “One second. Over.”

“JonB to all points. Strip everything you can carry from the alien craft in five minutes and hide it on your self or in the Firebird. Over.” I was pleased to hear plenty of affirmations before turning back to my second back at HQ. “Sell it to the highest bidder. As is. And allocate the funds for a victory party. The guys earned it. Over.”

“Yes sir. New Africa bid highest at just over 9 grand. They're sending people to collect it now. Over.”

“Over and Out.”


I got back to my office, having returned the gear I used to the armory. I could hear the party already starting, and I wasn't going to stop it unless a second alien craft showed up. There were three new messages in my e-mail, and I clicked to open them.

They were from the R&D department. Three messages highlighting the only usable salvage from our mission. First was the melee weapon that was carried by two of the aliens. Academia was calling it a 'kerrblade' based on the sound it made while he swung it around. I winced at the image. Second was the plasma grenade that put two of my people in the hospital with serious wounds. Thirdly was the three bodies themselves. They wanted to autopsy the things ASAP to develop better weapons and tactics to use against them, and maybe figure out how to capture them alive.

I sent a message back telling them to finish working on the EM rifles, and once that was done, I would consult to decide the new research focus.



I visited Forcelord and Shuwei in the hospital. 2nd degree burns across their backs. Melted armor and cloth. The doctors tell me that another few feet closer and they would have been in the morgue instead.

We got lucky. Really, really damn lucky.

I can't let my guard down. This war was just beginning.

One kill. That's getting painted on my bird

Sign me up as another meatshield.

Oh my back...ow...fucking xenos....

10:00, 27 March 2084
PHALANX HQ
Turkey, Greater European Union

I sat at my desk with my second across from me. He held in his hands the (finally) updated physicals and test results from the 8 members of my drop-team. I gestured for him to take a seat, and he did so, putting the files in order on my desk. “Sorry for taking so long sir.”

“No problem”, I reply. “Yesterday was quite a good day all 'round, so I'll overlook this in all the hubbub.”

“Thank you sir. Now, shall we go over our men first, or the equipment?”

“Personnel, thank you.”

“Of course sir. First up is Dave.”

My second elaborated on the stats in front of me. “He's a very average soldier, although he does show a slight proficiency with Heavy and Assault Weapons.”


“VortexEmpire is a good soldier. His practice with the Grenade Launcher has improved his Assault skill over the norm as well as his general accuracy.”


“ForceLord is phsyically average, with some skill in Close Combat and Heavy Weapons.”


“OmegaChief has a stellar intellect and morale, although some strength training would be useful. Otherwise, fairly average. The picture shows the Jungle Camo uniform we pulled out of storage.”


“Edi is so average, I can't describe him. Desert Camo.”


“Torben beats everyone else with the Sniper Rifle, and the accuracy has only been going up. Good morale too.


“Alison Krause is another average-with-good-morale soldier.”



“Hawkwings sports our Arctic Camo pattern, and once again, so average it hurts.”

I looked over the details. “You know, I thought we were supposed to get the best. But these people are barely better than basic recruits.”

My second looked somewhat ashamed, as though this somehow reflected on him. It didn't. “Our gear is all up to current MilSpec, Sir. That's good news. Waiting for the new month to buy more ammo though.”

“Good, good. After the mission, has everyone kitted themselves out with what they feel most comfortable with?”

“They're in the process now sir.”

“Excellent. Let me know when they're ready and I'll do an inspection.”

“With a rocket launcher, Sir?”

I gave a half-grin, half-glare. “Who? Me? Perish the thought. I'm a paper pusher, remember?”

---

Alright guys, kit time! I'll let you all choose what weapons you want to bring to battle, as well as your camo pattern. Camo comes in Urban, Jungle, Desert and Arctic patterns, and it's mostly for the pretty as I don't think it reduces enemy accuracy. Well, we can always experiment, right?

Weapons come in three categories:
Primary
Assault Rifle (Assault Skill) – The AR-80 Assault Rifle is built up from the French FAA-191 Assault Rifle, and is the best that humanity has to offer in this realm. This is the optimal mid-range weapon in PHALANX's arsenal in the early game.

Sniper Rifle (Sniper Skill) – The S-1 comes to PHALANX from Canada (No, seriously! It's written in the UFOpedia!) and fires a 20mm Heavy Machine Gun round for anti-material work. In the hands of an expert, this weapon can hit anyone in the engagement area, irregardless of the distance involved.

Riot Shotgun (Heavy/Close Skills) – Used by SWAT teams around the world, the CRC-212 Shotgun can fire both Sabot and Flechette rounds. The Sabot can go farther, but the Flechette is lethal at the close ranges it's optimal in.

Secondary
Pistol (Close Combat) – The P-12 fires 7.62mm rounds, ubiquous in its commonality. The sidearm of choice for armies around the world, this weapon should be issued to anyone without a weapon useful for close-range.

Machine Pistol (Close Combat) – The MP-699 is a machine gun, only pistol sized. If you think the shotgun is 'spray and pray', you haven't seen this weapon in action.

Submachine Gun (Assault) – The CRC-8 was gifted to PHALANX by China, who promise that this weapon is nearly ideal for close-range urban fighting in comparison to the mid-range battles that the Assault Rifle is optimized for.

Micro-Shotgun (Heavy) – The Czech 425 Blesk Micro-Shotgun is a 12mm semi-auto weapon, but has the shortest range of any firearm due to it's small size. A good competitor for the CRC-212, but cannot fire Sabot rounds.

Combat Knife (Close) – It stabs people aliens.

Heavy Weapons
Machine Gun (Assault) – The British SA-3000 GBG dumps bullet after bullet into the enemy. It shares an ammo type with the AR-80, but this weapon has a 100 round drum instead of a 30 round clip. Good for fire support and reaction fire.

Flamethrower (Heavy) – Appealing to the pyromaniac in all of us, the Flamethrower is a very short ranged weapon, but has an AOE option that does not risk the firing soldier. If you can't clean a room with this, you aren't trying.

Rocket Launcher (High Explosives) – The heaviest weapon in PHALANX's arsenal, this weapon only holds one shot – a small artillery shell by any other name - but whatever it hits, dies. No questions asked. However, it is a slow weapon to reload, taking up quite some time.

Grenade Launcher (High Explosives) – It fires grenades with Airburst or Timer options. Currently we can fire High Explosive and Flechette rounds, however, our science division reports that once they've played with the alien plasma grenade we recovered from Iraq, they may be able to develop a round to fit this weapon.</spoiler>

You guys get to choose what weapons you want. Pick a Primary/Heavy and a Secondary, and I'll give everyone medkits, grenades, IR goggles (useful for night missions) and armor as I can get them.

Any new recruits should read this, and decide what they want for themselves.

Flame on!

I want Flamethrower, Riot Shotgun, and Machine Pistol.

Well, it looks like assault and sniper are my best skills so I'll go with a sniper rifle and submachine gun.

Looks like I have an edge in Heavy Weapon Assault, so I'll request the HMG. But feel free to kit me out with whatever's best/at hand. I think Machine Pistol would work well, but I don't recall if that was a pain to get ammo for or something.

Really, feel free to overrule me if you come up with something better. It's been a while since I played this game, and I didn't do any futzing with weapon optimization.

Force Lord wrote:I want Flamethrower, Riot Shotgun, and Machine Pistol.

ForceLord - Alas, I can equip you with the Flamethrower OR the Riot Shotgun as both + ammo would leave you without a Medkit or grenades. I can try if you insist, but I would request that you consider dropping one or the other.

Dave wrote:Really, feel free to overrule me if you come up with something better. It's been a while since I played this game, and I didn't do any futzing with weapon optimization.

Dave, this isn't a game for perfect optimization, not the way I'm playing it. This is an audience participation LP, so in the end, I want to leave as many decisions up to you guys as possible. Don't worry about things on my end, it's my duty and joy to take the various requests and suggestions and make something workable out of them.

---

Also, don't forget your Camo pattern of choice - Urban, Arctic, Jungle or Desert!

I also have the EM-rifle coming online soon. Anyone want to call dibbs on it, or should I wait until it's ready to hand it out?

Assault Rifle, machine pistol, and arctic camo. And I call dibs on the EM-rifle!

I'll take over cooking/stoner transport pilot (think apocalypse now)

just remember when the aliens show off my decapitated head at somepoint we need to scream "The Horror, the horror_

Assault rifle for primary weapon, pistol for secondary. Might as well play to my strengths. At least I have a fairly good mind stat and speed.

We didn't apparently get any of the supersoldiers (all stats above 30 to start with).

JonB wrote: Also, don't forget your Camo pattern of choice - Urban, Arctic, Jungle or Desert!

Urban.

I'll take the Urban camo, a Grenade Launcher and a Submachine Gun. Man, I'm jonesing to blow up some xeno scum.

I'll take an Assault Rifle for Primary Weapon and a Pistol for Secondary, that should play to my strengths according to the stat block.

Oh! Arctic camo too, it looks cooler. Get it? Artic cao? Coo-.. um yea, I'll just grab my coat now...

(Oh god I'm the smart one too, we're all going to die.)

JonB wrote:

Force Lord wrote:I want Flamethrower, Riot Shotgun, and Machine Pistol.

ForceLord - Alas, I can equip you with the Flamethrower OR the Riot Shotgun as both + ammo would leave you without a Medkit or grenades. I can try if you insist, but I would request that you consider dropping one or the other.

Hmm, well, I'll stay with the flamethrower. No Shotgun.

Private Torben requesting Sniper Rifle and SMG as primary. Riot shotgun and SMG as alternate if we already have a more proficient sniper. Oh, and please, the Arctic Camo, cause that was always my favorite GI-Joe camo pattern.