Eragar was involved in a pretty serious car wreck with a drunk driver a few weeks ago. He's going to make a full recovery, but isn't going to be able to use his hands for typing for a while. He wanted me to let you know that he is really sorry. He talked a lot about his plans for this game and I think this is the most frustrating thing for him to lose.
Your soldiers quickly take care of the remaining enemies, although DiFortta takes a gash on her leg from one of the zerglings. No other enemies have made themselves known yet.
DiFortta took 2 damage. 2 more rounds have passed
Minder and Elofsson--I have placed the relevant symbols for your squads so that you can comment their stats (chevron is for someone with a carbine, blocky shape for LMG, and the arrow for shotgun). Minder, I still haven't had time to actually map out your map yet, which is why there's nothing there.
Just to make sure I understand what you want me to do: you want me to pull the info from my army sheet and set it up in the comments of the battlemap, right? Would it help if I set up a spreadsheet instead so that we won't need to repeat the process in the future?
Yes, that's exactly right. Setting up a spreadsheet might help, but I want to keep importing the information into the comments so I have it right there when I'm doing the combat.
Since my previous method of making the battlemaps was taking way too much time, I'm going to change things a fair bit.
If we look at the map the US will be using this round you'll see that it's rather different. Most of it should be self explanatory--each enemy type will be one of the different purple shapes, and each of your soldier types will be one of the (in this case) red shapes. All of the soldiers The Director brought on this mission are using carbines, so all of them are the same this time.
You guys should be able to see the comment I made detailing Agent Doe's stats, and you guys should be able to make your own comments as well.
---------------------
Director, if you can stat out the rest of your guys in comments the same way I did, I would really appreciate it. That will give me more time to work on the other maps (I'm almost done with the one in Russia), and we should be able to actually play more this week.
----------------------
If any of you have any questions about the new map setup, or suggestions, or anything else, please let me know. I want to make sure this still works.
Your soldiers rip through the nearby enemies with ease. The two remaining drones and zerglings close towards them, but you have time to issue more orders.
1 round has passed. Each of your grenadiers has used 1 frag grenade. The purple circle at the top right of the UFO is the second zergling (he's right around the corner, so your guys can see him even though the camera angle means you can't).
And yes, the dark marks on the sides of the rock are the cave entrances.
the time that I was going to use to work on this ended up being time I spent trying not to be sick. I'm about to make another post in the discussion thread explaining the changes I'm making to battlemaps, since doing on Tabletop Simulator is simply taking too much time. Thanks for still being patient with me.
Your soldiers find the UFO in an area covered with sand. A stone outcropping lays nearby, and several dark patches in the stone suggest a small cave.
It looks like there aren't too many survivors from the crash, although your pilots did see a few aliens making their way towards the outcropping, so more may be hidden there.
Minder and Elofsson, can you remind me which soldiers you're taking where?
I apologize to everyone for not posting for a while. I got a new job and it takes a lot more of my day than I thought it would.
I still intend to keep this up, but it's going to slow down--I should have all the combat for this round up by Saturday.
The English interceptors make good use of their second chance, each blowing its target out of the sky. The Swedish skyranger prepares to land at the crash site over Russia.
Elofsson:
Despite some impressive flying by your pilots, the UFO over Norway escapes a second time, and it vanishes off of your radar display.
It's not likely that your interceptors will be able to catch another UFO, but they could try. Your skyranger could still reach the ground contact in Spain as well.
Anderson:
Your interceptors catch the UFO again over Niger, and a flurry of missiles sends it crashing to the ground.
After a remarkably short dogfight, Special Agents Hammerfall and Raven report that the UFO is down. Survivors have been seen moving away from the wreckage.
Sparrow 1 chases the UFO over the Atlantic. The first missile is off target and veers left. The second, however, slams home on the ships right flank and causing it to rock precariously--one more hit should take it down.
Unfortunately, the UFO pilot takes advantage of the push on his side and pivots 180°, flying past your interceptor. Pilot Burke speaks into his headset "Sir, I'm not going to catch that thing with my engines. Permission to use afterburners and take him out of the sky?" The UFO escaped combat. Normally you would just be out of luck at this point, but you can use your Afterburners to automatically re-engage.
Minder, Elofsson:
As your aircraft approach the UFO over Western Russia, the English fighter pulls ahead and begins launching missiles at the alien craft. The first missile lands a solid hit, but the second misses--as do the third, fourth, and fifth. The long engagement favors the UFO's superior speed, and it eventually flies beyond the range of your weapons.
Minder, you can use your Afterburner to re-engage the UFO. Elofsson, assuming the UFO gets shot down you'll reach it--but using an Afterburner (assuming you have one) will get you there sooner).
TARVI:
Your interceptors close on the alien craft over Syria. Pilot Schwarz fires two missiles--which hit simultaneously and ripple explosions down the length of the UFO. Just like that, it's down and your skyranger begins looking for a good place to land.
Elofsson:
The aerial battle over Norway starts well with a hit from Sparrow 2. However, the UFO begins weaving between mountains, and your aircraft simply can't keep up with its maneuverability and speed. You'll have to engage your afterburners if you want another shot at it.
Director:
Did you still want to send your interceptors to deal with the UFO in Canada? It wasn't quite clear from your post.
Anderson:
Your interceptors do not have any more luck than those of the other commanders, and the UFO in Libya manages to escape without so much as a scratch.
Your interceptors can use their Afterburners to re-engage it, or they can try to go after another one.
The color coding is more to denote squads so I can keep easy track of who is who and where they are (So Parker's 1st Gunman squad was red). At some point I'll change the colors and people to show who you're sending out this round.
But yeah, the colors are really just an organizational thing.
Director: I've renamed all of your guys. For the sake of keeping my stuff consistent, I've left them with the normal military rankings, but if you refer to them as Agent I (corporal) or Agent III (lieutenant) etc. I'll know what you're talking about.
The other thing I want to make sure you're aware of is that Abbot, Roth, and Stone are all currently at 2 Fatigue-which means they'll be at -2 Evasion and -2 Accuracy (using a D10 system, so 20% penalty) in combat this round. I don't want to tell you who you should or shouldn't send, but I want to make sure you didn't just miss that information.
------------------
For everyone: with Valentine's Day I won't get the chance to start air combat until I get off work tomorrow, but we'll get things rolling then.
Anderson answered most of your questions correctly. The other one about names I can answer--feel free to rename them all. Or I can rename them for you.
Ah I think that is a legacy problem, plus a typo).
My MG guys are named AW-Trooper (Automatic Weapon Trooper) and I obviously tried to shorten that even more to just AWT.
So a mashup from AWT and MG (what I was thinking about), got to AWG instead ;-)
That's what I guessed, but I wanted to make sure. Did you want to fit him with a medkit or a breaching charge?
TARVI--I've updated your squads with their new loadouts. The only thing I'm confused on is that in your post you listed Sergeant Gerhard as having the "AWG" loadout, which I couldn't find on your profile.
-----------------
I also have a question for everyone: Bradley has been absent for a while, and I want to take your input on what we should do about that. Should we give him a few more days to respond? Should we find (another) new player, or should we drop the American cell altogether?
Anderson's staff takes only a few minutes to contact the Libyan military. "Yes sir, they could dispatch a small force to take care of any crash survivors."
AndrewAnderson wrote:
Did asking Russia for help in locating alien base had any effect?
Oops, missed that.
"Commander, unfortunately, that location is not mobile. We will however see if we can get some people near our border with China to keep a better view on the xenos. Thank you for informing us of this potential threat."
Newly recruited soldiers do arrive in time to be used that same turn.
I thought it takes soldiers 1 turn to arrive. Since it's not a case a will recruit them next round to save money on upkeep as I didn't plan on using them on turn 2.
I took them off. You'll need to remind me again next turn to put them back.
How about training and recovery?
Does a training soldier recuperates from fatigue?
How much fatigue do they recover per round?
If I recruit new soldiers now, will they arrive in time to be used for the coming attacks?
Any soldier who does not go on a mission recovers 2 Fatigue, so training soldiers would still recover.
Newly recruited soldiers do arrive in time to be used that same turn.
Bradley, when you get the chance go ahead and post what research you want to do from last turn and any purchases you want to make this round, but I'm going to move forward in the meantime.
Klaxons blare loudly, and each of you receives a similar message. "Commander to the situation room--multiple enemy contacts detected." It seems that the lull after the aliens' first attack has ended.
Aerial Contacts:
North America
Spoiler:
1) 1 Small contact--62° North 100° West (Canada)--Confirmed
South America
Spoiler:
2) 1 small contact--8° North 74° West (Colombia)--Confirmed
3) 1 small contact--8° South 152° West (South Pacific)--confirmed
4) 1 medium contact--40° South 45° West (South Pacific)--confirmed
Europe
Spoiler:
5) 1 small contact--47° North 22° West (North Atlantic)--Confirmed
6) 1 small contact--62° North 6° East (Norway)--Confirmed)
Middle East
Spoiler:
7) 1 small contact--37° North 38° East (Syria)--Confirmed
Africa
Spoiler:
8) 1 small contact--30° North 12 ° East (Libya)--Confirmed
9) 1 small contact--27° South 18° East (Namibia)--Confirmed
Russia
Spoiler:
10) 1 small contact--75° North 35° East (Barents Sea)--Confirmed
11) 1 small contact--83° North 31° East (Barents Sea)--Confirmed
12) 1 massive contact--80° North 36° East (Barents Sea)--Confirmed
13) 1 small contact--62° North 40° East (Russia)--Confirmed
14) 1 small contact--50° North 41° East (Russia)--Confirmed)
15) 1 small contact--70° North 99° East (Russia)--Confirmed)
16) 1 medium contact--67° North 131° East (Russia)--Confirmed)
Ground Contacts:
North America
Spoiler:
1) Minor activity--61° North 128° West (Canada)--Unlikely
2) Moderate activity--31° North 109° West (USA)--Confirmed
3) Minor activity--22° North 77° West (Cuba)--Likely
South America
Spoiler:
4) Minor activity--6° South 76° West--confirmed
5) Minor activity--6° South 36° West (Brazil)--Likely
Europe
Spoiler:
6) Minor activity--43° North 5° West (Spain)--Unlikely
Africa
Spoiler:
7) Moderate activity--34° North 5° West (Morocco)--Confirmed
8) Minor activity--16° South 18° East (Angola)--Unlikely
Asia
Spoiler:
9) Minor activity--56° North 80° East (Russia)--Likely
10) Moderate activity--51° North 100° East (Mongolia)--Confirmed
11) Minor activity--49° North 64° East (Kazakhstan)--Confirmed
12) Minor activity--22° North 78° East (India)--Confirmed
13) Minor activity--26° North 119° East (China)--Unlikely
Oceania
Spoiler:
14) Moderate activity--5° South 150° East (Papua New Guinea)--Confirmed
15) Minor activity--17° South 179° East (Fiji)--Likely
On the note of laser lmg... it misses the 'can attack twice in a round' entry the 'standard' lmg features.
Is this a bug or a 'feature'?
It's a 'feature' I'm afraid, as your current technology takes a while to power up a significant charge. Further research can improve things like that and the range of the weapon to make it more viable.
Minder--you can sell the old LMGs if you want. But you'll get a total of $0 for each of them, since you have an infinite supply.
Minder, you mentioned that you wanted to build enough Laser LMGs for everyone. I've put two on your sheet (since that's how many of your guys currently are using LMGs), but I'm not sure if you wanted more.
I also need to know if anyone else is planning on building some of those right now.
Other than that, all I need is Bradley's stuff and we can start on turn 2.
Well first, I'd just need someone to explain my forces who I was left in charge of, and what America was doing before I was put in charge
Your bonuses are that interceptors cost half upkeep, and recruiting soldiers costs 1 less per soldier. Your base is also extra-defensible if/when the aliens attack it.
At the start of the game Parker bought a training facility (which I will refund you if you want, since I really don't think it's necessary), 2 interceptors, 2 skyrangers, 2 lieutenants, 8 corporals, and 2 pilots. This left him with $16 in loose cash and an income deficit of $7 each turn.
Based on all that, I think it's safe to assume that he planned on buying lots of soldiers and training them as quickly as possible, and then probably selling lots of salvage to make up for the money loss
During turn 1 he assigned both of his science teams to researching alien communications (you can also change this). He sent both of his interceptors to the same UFO, which put up a rough fight before being shot down (one of the interceptors was almost destroyed, but not quite. He got $15 for shooting the UFO down). He then sent both of his skyrangers to that UFO crash site, where a bunch of his soldiers took damage but none of them were killed. They brought back a bunch of salvage which can be found in the record sheet linked in the campaign tab.
Yes. All research that has been shared (Laser LMGs, Nano-fiber vests, Improved light armor, and the UFO evasion) have all been added to everyone's research unlocks on the record sheets.
Anderson--none of your guys who were training managed to learn to be a better leader, but they will now get a bonus to any future attempts to learn it.
I just realized what's going on with your soldiers who didn't get their stat bonuses--they gained a Talent instead. So Tomsky and Neumann do not actually have the +1 Evasion I rolled for them.
Also, TARVI, I forgot to mention this, but you also know what the unknown personnel equipment you found in the UFO is--they're both gas canisters of some sort. Let me know if that changes your research decisions.
Also also, since Anderson offered up his captive spider, and it looks like TARVI has taken that, I've transferred that over on the record sheet.
"Facilities to TARVI: I'm afraid we don't even know where the energy on that power source is coming from, let alone how to connect it to our grid. It's likely possible, but not with the science we have right now."Basically, that's an option in the future after you do research on it. Let me know if that changes your projects for this turn.
I'll get the map for turn 2 up when I get home in about 8 hours, and then we'll get started on that.
Bradley--I want to give you a chance to change the research decisions that Parker made, and to assign soldiers to training, before I give all this info to you. You can also decide to not start with 2 training facilities if you want, instead keeping only the one (I would recommend doing this, as it will save you a fair chunk of money)
The first item of business is the soldiers who have shown measurable improvement in ability. Basically, these guys got a stat boost from the EXP they gained or training they did. I'm afraid I did this a while back, so I don't actually remember which stat was increased
Sergeant Novotny; Corporals Cancourek, Kasal, Neumann, Tomsky, and Urbanek; and Pilot Petracek have all exhibited improved abilities.
The next item of import is research.
Alien Avtivities Research Report: "Extensive review of the flight paths exhibited by the UFOs in our atmosphere, it has become obvious that many of the alien aircraft originate from the same point. Although we cannot know exactly where this base is, it is definitely somewhere in Eastern Asia. China or Korea perhaps?" No mechanical bonus from this, but the aliens are definitely commanding their air operations from somewhere near China.
Your engineers have also been looking at the unknown UFO components. The small one is some sort of stasis pod. The medium sized one seems to be some sort hologram probably used for navigation, and the large one is a power source. The smaller personnel-sized equipments are both a canisters containing an unknown gas.
Finally, the meeting ends, and you return to your other duties.
You can still stick soldiers in your training facility if you want, but remember that they will cost extra upkeep.
The first item of business is the soldiers who have shown measurable improvement in ability. Basically, these guys got a stat boost from the EXP they gained or training they did. I'm afraid I did this a while back, so I don't actually remember which stat was increased
Corporals Berglund, Engstrom and Mattsson; and Pilot Hansson have all exhibited improved abilities.
The next item of import is research.
Personal Armor Research Report: "We are still not sure what the material these 'alien alloys' are actually made of, but it's certainly not anything available on earth. It is light and flexible, but also extremely durable. Oddly, some of our samples conduct electricity very well, and other samples do not conduct electricity at all--but we cannot detect any difference between them that would explain this discrepancy. Regardless of the many questions we have, the molecular structure has given us some insight into our own soft-body armor, and we are working on improvements to it now. Your Light ballistic armor now gives +2 Health instead of +1 Alien Tactics Research Report: "Studying the movements of the cat-like aliens (whom some have taken to calling 'zerglings,' given their aggressive swarming tactics) we have discovered something interesting. The creatures usually work in teams or packs of three, and each team seems to take orders from a particular Sectoid. How these commands are being given, we are not sure. Further research will be needed." You don't get any mechanical bonus from this right now, but there is definitely a connection between the Sectoids and the cats.
Finally, the meeting ends, and you return to your other duties.
You can still stick soldiers in your training facility if you want, but remember that they will cost extra upkeep.
Do I need to buy any special facility to store live subjects?
Not as far as you know. None of the aliens you've encountered seem like they would be able to bypass traditional holding facilities.
TARVI:
The first item of business is the soldiers who have shown measurable improvement in ability. Basically, these guys got a stat boost from the EXP they gained or training they did. I'm afraid I did this a while back, so I don't actually remember which stat was increased
Corporals Hueber, Krumpf, Dorscht, Dreher, and Dahn have all had impressive performance reviews.
The next item of import is research.
VR Training Report: "Our research into Virtual Reality has produced some promising results, and we believe we can significantly reduce the costs associated with training. From now on, using a Training facility will cost 1 less Upkeep (effectively, the first soldier you train in each facility is free) Personal Armor Research Report: "Utilizing nano technology, we have been able to manufacture a tightly woven vest that can fit under conventional armor, increasing the survivability of our soldiers in the field." You can now give your soldiers Nano-fiber Vests. These use an equipment slot (not an armor slot) and give +1 Health)
Alien Activities Research Report: "Recreating the aerial battles between the alien craft and our own interceptors--and then running them through a large number of simulations--we are now better able to predict the paths that a UFO may take when it attempts to retreat from battle." [ooc]UFOs trying to escape from combat with your interceptors have a -1 on their roll.
Your engineers have also been looking at the unknown UFO components you retrieved, and have determined their basic uses. The small ones are both some sort of stasis pod, and the large one is definitely a power source.
Finally, the meeting ends, and you return to your other duties.
A few days pass without much action. There are some minor skirmishes with the alien forces,but local military forces are able to handle them before your intervention is needed. At the end of the week you each meet with your command staff to discuss reports and similar items of business.
Because I've messages a couple of you about restrictions your governments have put in place, these are actually spoilers. Please don't look at any that are not yours unless you can keep player and character knowledge separate.
Minder:
The first item of business is the soldiers who have shown measurable improvement in ability. Basically, these guys got a stat boost from the EXP they gained. I'm afraid I did this a while back, so I don't actually remember which stat was increased
Both Corporal Sabela Simmons and Pilot Cameron Burke are of note. Other soldiers have improved, but not significantly.
The next item of import is research. Remarkably, both of your science teams have yielded useful results.
Cat Autopsy Report: "Our primary concern here was for the health of the soldiers, as this creature has proven to be very dangerous in the field, and so we focused mostly on the claws and teeth of the beast. Both are formed of an extremely hard, almost chitin-like material. Surprisingly, both are also completely retractable. The teeth are serrated and barbed, and seem to have evolved to cause maximum damage and bloodloss--and could kill an unarmored man fairly quickly." You already knew from battle reports that their attack can do anywhere from 1 to 3 damage (without critting). Your scientists suspect it might be possible to do as much as 4 damage with a single attack.
"The other interesting find was in the brain structure, which housed unusually large amygdala--which are responsible for aggression and fear. This supports what was seen in the field--that the creature cares much more for ferocity in its attacks than it does for precision." Accuracy bonus is somewhere between 0 and 2
"NOTE: Someone on the team has taken to calling these creatures "zerglings," based on their apparent similarity to the videogame monster. Unfortunately, the unprofessional name has stuck, and has even managed to spread to the other XCOM cells."
"TOP SECRET ENCRYPTED NOTE: The creature did not show any evidence of crystallization of brain matter--no anomalies similar to Simon were found."
Weapons Research Report: "We have been able to confirm that the energy weapons the aliens are using are, in fact, firing blasts of plasma. Studying their system used to superheat gasses like this has given us insight into creating our own energy weapons--although our current prototypes can not fire as far, as quickly, or with as much devastation as those of our enemy. Perhaps further testing will allow us to overcome those limitations" You can now make laser LMGs, with stats as follows (this will also be noted in your record sheet): Laser LMG (short range, 6+ to hit, 2-4 damage; -1 Agility (cannot make two attacks per action))
Your engineers have also been looking at the unknown UFO component you retrieved, and have determined that it is some kind of holographic map used for navigation.
Finally, the meeting ends, and you return to your other duties.
You can still stick soldiers in your training facility if you want, but remember that they will cost extra upkeep.
There's still the ground combat in North America to take care of. If Bradley hasn't posted by the time I get home from work I'm going to run the rest of it for him, and we'll move on to research and then round two
As second in command of Colonel Parker, you were in the tactical room with him when it happened. Your commander unexpectedly drew his sidearm and started firing at the technical staff in the room. You were the fastest to react, tackling the man and trying to hold him down--but he threw you off with an immense strength you wouldn't have expected from him.
After grappling for a while, your only choice was to draw your own weapon and fire at your commanding officer, striking him twice just below the left breast.
As the man bled out, you noticed a slight lavender tint to his eyes, which faded back to normal with his last breath.
Everyone stands in shocked silence for a moment before one of the technicians calls to you "Sir... our soldiers are requesting new orders! What should I tell them?" You pull yourself away from the deceased Colonel. There will be time for answers and grief later. Right now you have a job to do.
You have control of the boots currently fighting. I can run the rest of this battle if you want to me to so you have an easier time settling in, or you can feel free to ask me any questions about anything as you go through it. All of the soldiers will have their stats and equipment in the player record doc.
Sorry for the delay everyone. Busy weekend. I will add rocket launchers to the equipment list, although their usefulness will be very limited.
Also, I think I completely forgot about it, so I'm going back and adding it--but anyone who has killed a muton should also have muton weapons as salvage.
To answer the questions regarding selling salvage:
There will be three (technically four) ways you can sell salvage.
1) You can sell to/trade with each other. Price negotiations will be completely up to you.
2) You can sell to world governments that who want to do independent research. For the most part, salvage sold to these groups will be safely out of the way of people who would misuse it, but that isn't an absolute guarantee.
3) You can sell it on the black market. This will give you more money for what you sell, but will be much more likely to cause problems in the future.
4) Sometimes you might be approached with special offers, which would be uniquely rare and valuable situations.
Prices will be static (I thought about having things change, but decided that would be too much bookkeeping). I haven't decided exactly how much things will sell for, but it will probably be around $1-$5 per item, depending on how rare it is. I'll post it all in the campaign info soon.
Finally, I'm going to give Parker until tomorrow afternoon to post, and then I'll replace him.
"I will speak to him" replies the general. He asks you a few more questions about specifics, then ends the call.
Your soldiers attend to the two civilians. The one who was almost captured regains consciousness fairly quickly, and reports that the last thing he remembers was being sprayed with some sort of green fog--probably a quick-acting knockout gas.
The woman who lost her arm will live, although her life will be very different. Right now she's in shock and there isn't much else you can do for her.
I'll answer the questions about selling salvage in the discussion thread.
"Yes sir, Turkish comms are reporting many of those aircraft lifting troops and captured civilians and flying them away."
Another channel opens for the Czech commander.: "This is Brigadier General Demir of the Turkish Army. I have heard that you had an unpleasant conversation with Major Johnston. Could you please tell me what was said to I know the proper action to take in disciplining him?"
Anderson:
Your soldiers rush forward, desperate to save the civilian they were previously ordered to ignore. For a moment it looks like they will be too late, but at the last second Sergeant Novotny sends a round into the robot's propulsion units. It tries to regain control of its movement, but the escaping gas and steam slam it repeatedly into the ground, and it finally lays still. With no one to bring aboard, the aircraft takes off, followed by the other two carrying the few remaining humanoids.
The only battle left is the one in the US. I'll PM Parker and see why he hasn't been posting.
In the meantime, if you guys want to change any of your research projects you may. Sweden will have enough time to stop by Germany to pick up those alloys, so I'll transfer 5 over (and then use them for the armor research Elofsson wanted to use them for).
This would also be a good time to decide if you want to sell any of the salvage you have.
As the battle continues, the alien forces suddenly turn and run. It takes you a moment to realize that three small aircraft have silently flown in and are landing, and these are what the aliens are running towards. Besides the one civilian that the aliens captured, the wounded woman, and the unfortunate grenade casualty, it seems that everyone is safe.
I didn't put circles around the aircraft as they're pretty large.
All three are in the upper right corner.
"Top secret organization designed to fight aliens?" scoffs Major Johnston. "Get off my radio channel or I'll have you arrested for obstructing emergency operations." His voice clicks off, the connection ended.
Anderson:
Your first round of shots aimed against the snake either fall short or seem to not have much effect. Your soldiers drop a couple of smoke grenades as well, but almost all of their efforts were directed towards the serpent.
As you watch, a second snake creature slithers around the corner of the wall on the left, its jaws opening wide and shearing a civilian's arm clean off.
Having gathered their wits, your men respond with a veritable wall of lead and heat, and both of the snakes collapse, writhing on the ground--dead.
Before you even have time to sigh in relief, three of the reptilian humanoids come around that same corner, blasting with their rifles. Cancourek takes a heavy blast of energy to the chest and nearly drops, but the smoke cover saves him from the other shots.
With three of the small humanoids, the three reptiles, and two of the robots clustered around the dead snake, there is only one reasonable option--despite the civilian also in the center of the group.
Two frag grenades fly, wiping out most of the aliens. A third takes out the remaining drone... but all three of the reptiles are still up. A fourth grenade finally blows them apart--but not before they loose another round of shots that take Petracek in the shoulder and thigh.
One of your aides motions to you, pointing to something on one of the other battle screens--near the rear of the battle a civilian has been knocked out by some kind of gas, and is now being dragged away by one of the robotic drones.
Concourek took 4 damage and Petracek took 3 damage. The civilian missing an arm has been tinted red, and a little above that is the black circle showing the civvie you blew up (along with 8 aliens). The dark purple circle is the corpse of the first snake (which will work as cover), and the civilian circle above that is the one being dragged away. Most of the civilians have made it safely past your soldiers. Two rounds have passed.
Yep, the thing behind the bridge is the snake. Also, Johnston is still on comms, although he probably won't be patient enough to stay and wait for you to find his service record. You'll have to go into at least the first part of the conversation blind (it's also likely that with his relatively low rank, he doesn't know that the XCOM project exists).
With so little cover to provide tatical options, the battle in Iceland is quick and brutal. Both Corporal Alfsson and Corporal Klasson of Purple Squad took large gashes from the cat creatures--and Helga Alexandersson was killed almost instantly when one of the monsters ripped through her throat.
Ultimately the day is won, and your tired soldiers make their way back home.
