Operation Final Daze

 An alert sounds. Numbers and information fly across mission control and all of it gather to alert that a UFO has been detected flying over Germany. It is within range of XCOM HQ and an interceptor is deployed to engage the UFO. The Interceptor is state-of-the-art air-to-air combat fighter and is the fastest aircraft to exist...until attempting to engage with the UFO. The craft is small and circular in design... and incredibly fast once it detects the approaching Interceptor. Simulations quickly indicate that if the UFO is not destroyed in a matter of moments, it would quickly outpace beyond the Interceptor's weapons and would soon vanish out of our satellite range.

The Interceptor pushes the craft to it's limit and exchanges fires with the UFO.

Taking nearly a critical hit, the interceptor manages to punch through the shields and the hull of the UFO, causing it to drop in altitude and crashing near the German border.

 A roar of cheers erupt in Control as another blow is delivered to the enemy.

XCOM moves their satellites and scans for the wreckage and discovers that ship is in relatively one piece. Not wasting an opportunity or taking any chances, foot soldiers are immediately deployed on-site.

 Well rested, the First Contact team is called upon again. SQ. Andrew Robison links up with the team again, having recovered fully from his injuries. SQ. Robison's knack for getting into brawls and willingness to dash in to danger, he is offered training in close quater combat and Assault tactics. SQ. Spears, Duggar, and Crane is ready for combat and they board Strike-One.

 They are quickly briefed and it is search and destroy of any surviving aliens. It is however noted that XCOM stressed avoidance of destructive actions to alien craft and technology if at all possible, as it may destroy any evidence or clues as to why the aliens are here.

First Contact team arrives on-site and lands near the crashed UFO. The squad moves forward, spreading out to ensure they are not flanked. SQ. Crane takes high ground nearby in order to secure a spot for overwatch. SQ. Robison advances forward a little quicker than the rest and spots four of the tiny creatures advance forward on him immediately. The rest of the squad immediately dashes into cover before the aliens (who were apparently expecting them) begin firing.

 Duggar notes to watch for the ones that try to 'link' together and go for the source. Unfortunately, one of the creatures who is linked lands a blow on Robison's chest, flooring him to the ground. Panic quickly spreads and Robison quickly hunkers down behind the rock, in order to avoid another shot that might likely end his life. Crane, witnessing the shot, gasps and begins firing her rifle at the alien who fired at Robison in a panic and luckily one of the rounds finds it's way into the alien's skull.

Spears moves forward and begins laying down fire with her LMG but is unable to score any direct hits. Duggar attempts to kill one of the creatures that is providing a 'link' but only succeeds at wounding the creature and notes that it seems it is not enough to break the link.

Robison regains his composure from the earlier hit and despite the pain, immediately dashes out from cover. Before the aliens realize it, he moves past a linked alien and leaps over a rock, landing next to the alien providing the link. Both make eye-contact for a second before Robison pulls the trigger on his shotgun, spattering the alien into the tree. He hears another alien scream for a second and slump to the ground in silence. He hears another scream a moment later and a roar of bullets over the ridge nearby. Spears emerges from the ledge, covered in what is likely alien blood and simply joins Robison, quoting "They smell like shit."

With all known enemy contacts down, Duggar patches up Robison and the squad slowly inches to the downed craft. Crane takes position near a piece of the craft and spots a crystal floating inside the small craft. She quickly takes a reading with her equipment and XCOM notes the incredible energy output. The rest of the team moves in while Crane stays in overwatch, making sure they do not walk into an ambush.

Once in position, Spears moves inside and the whole team is surprised to see the crystal transform into another new alien, resembling a humanoid form. It quickly moves behind cover and begins firing on the team. Spears moves to the side and draws fire away from Robison, who with all his speed and strength, and in spite of his injuries, dashes and flanks the alien. Before the new alien could respond, Robison slags the new alien and it's body crumbles and shatters to pieces.

The team investigates the rest of the area slowly but find no other alien contacts and they call in the recovery team to pull as much salvage as they can from the site.

Spears and Crane both earn a promotion for their continued performance in the field (there is currently a running joke in the barracks about the kill she 'accidentally' made). Despite Robison's aggressive actions which resulted in three confirmed kills, he is noted as being too reckless and does not receive the expected promotion. He notes, "Whatever, I'm alive. Give me some goddamn morphine already!" Duggar is given praise for keeping a cool head and doing excellent patch work on the field on Robison's injury. The Commander is keeping an eye on him for future training in medical field work.

Operation Patient Mountain

Simultaneous abductions have occurred around the world around and XCOM is alerted. Unable to respond to all the distress calls, XCOM makes the hard decision of answering Russia's call for help.

XCOM calls upon it's First Contact soldiers, who are the very first to come across and engage in the alien abductions.

SQ. Ashley Spears and SQ. Margo Crane, both who are the first to score confirmed kills against the aliens, are leading this team. Due to their experience, they have demonstrated particular skills Heavy weapons and Sniping, respectively, and have received training prior to this mission. RK. Mark Duggar has also played a role in the first encounter, but has yet no kills. This will be RK. James Montgomery's first mission with XCOM. He takes the place of SQ. Andrew Robison, who bagged one x-ray but sustained injuries in doing so from plasma shots. He is wounded and will return to active duty in nine days.

 The squad is given their objectives and briefed on the situation unfolding in Russia. Unfortunately, information is bare and target's locations are not known, so it is a search and destroy mission and the dread of searching for deadly foes who move in darkness is unsettling.

 With Strike-One touching down, the soldiers hit the ground and immediately move into cover. It is quiet and not a single person (human or alien) is in sight. They slowly move forward from cover to cover, watching for signs of life or movement. Eventually, SQ. Crane spots the tiny creatures she had encountered previously and alerts the rest of the squad. The creatures (numbering two) also spot the XCOM team and scurry into cover and a firefight breaks out.

The noise brings out another two creatures to the team's right side and they are in danger of being flanked. SQ. Crane stays back, laying sniper fire down and keeping the aliens from moving from their position. SQ. Duggar moves forward and is able to position himself in good cover and sees one of the aliens channeling energy from it's head into one of the creatures and notes the aggressiveness generated by the receiver. Formulating a quick theory, RK. Duggar tests it and steps out of cover and lays a burst of rifle fire into the alien generating the energy. It's body crashes to the ground lifeless and the other creature who was 'linked' twitches violently for a second and falls lifeless.

SQ. Spears moves into cover near a fountain and is able to dispatch one with a quick spray of her LMG. She attempts to hit the final creature but is unable to as it evades into cover but is ambushed by RK. Montgomery and it's life comes to an end in a hail of bullets.

The operation is a success and after an extensive search, no more aliens are detected. The troops enter the skyranger and proceed back to base in Europe. Rk. Duggar receives a promotion to SQ. and due to his observational skills and willingness to observe the battlefield conditions has received training in a Support capacity. Rk. Montgomery also received a promotion and was noted in his ability for creative destruction with a grenade to remove cover from the aliens and received training in Heavy weapons.

A perfect execution on this encounter, XCOM takes a moment to celebrate, though many murmur that this good luck may run out...

First Contact

The Current State of Nations

With the discovery of alien life on Earth and who are (unfortunately) hostile to the human race, a council of nations have chosen to active the XCOM (eXtraterrestrial COMbat) project. Even before the project was given the green light, abductions across the globe have occurred. Despite the funding given to the project, many nations are skeptical of a singular operation capable of protecting every nation and it's doubts are well founded, as XCOM itself knows it cannot hope to be in several spots at the same time. However, there is only the choice of attempting to fight an enemy who is superior in technology in order to ensure our survival...or surrendering to the aliens and whatever horrific agenda they have.