OPERATION DRIVING JUSTICE - AFTER ACTION REPORT
PREPARED BY: SFC Leigh Fahey
SITUATION
o Enemy Forces:
- 3x Thin Men, 8x Chryssalids, 3x Seekers, 2x Zombies
o Friendly Forces
- SFC Leigh "B.A.M.F." Fahey (United States)
- SSG Monica "Azrial" de Matos (Brazil)
- SSG Lieselotte "Maschine" Faber (Germany)
- SSG Rainhard "Ogre" Horn (Austria)
- SSG Sylas "Fawkes" Maillet (Canada)
- SSG Peter "The General" Van Doorn (United Nations)
- SGT Ward "Shroud" Parsons (Australia)
- SGT Simone "Tomahawk" Ribeiro (Brazil)
MISSION
o Strike Team deploys to Montreal, Canada, 27 AUG 2016 @ 1558 hrs, IOT halt a Terror Mission in progress.
EXECUTION NARRATIVE
The Mission Alert came in at 1520 hrs. The Skyranger was wheels up by 1536, with boots down by 1558 hrs. As we approached the AO, I sent SGT Parsons ahead to get a better look, and he spotted three Thinnies moving to cover. Liesel provided overwatch, taking one of the Thinnies down with a headshot. Az moved to cover, then immediately reported contact, as a pod of Lids came charging up. Horn was ready though, and leveled 'em with a rocket, and Fawkes followed up with an AP 'nade to finish them off. The General cut loose on one of the Thinnies, but didn't manage to kill it, leaving it to Tomahawk, covering my six as I advanced, to put it down for the count. With most of the X-Rays down, I moved up to the first civilian and sent him packing toward the Skyranger.
The last Thinny hightailed it, but we didn't get a break, as another pair of 'Lids ran into sight, backed by a zombie. Az managed to wing the first Lid, send it staggering into my line of fire, where it went down hard. I heard another blaze from Maschine's snipe, and then she reported the walker was down. I was focused on the second 'Lid as it approached. I waited until I could see the slaver glistening on it's mandibles before I blew it's head clean off, then waved another nearby civilian to run for it.
In the brief respite that followed, I ordered everyone to advance, double-time. The slower we moved, the more civilians died, which we could clearly hear them doing. I took point, bursting into the store, and taking cover by the bookshelves, just as a pod of Chryssalids came careering toward me. I shot the lead monster point-blank as I backpedaled, yelling for backup. It kept coming, even after Parsons nailed it with a solid shot through the window, though it was obviously hurting. Just before it leapt at me, Horn managed to put it down with a third hit. As I got to cover, Monica winged the second 'Lid, and Fawkes tossed another AP grenade into their faces; Both were briefly stunned, but they kept moving. To make matters worse, I heard Tomahawk yelling about Seekers on our flank.
The General decided to make himself useful, and eliminated two of the Seekers. Meanwhile, the 'Lids decided to go after softer targets, one fleeing back inside the building, the other going after a civilian, just as the surviving Seeker went into stealth mode. Fawkes managed to slag the one Lid before it could reach the civilian, but the other was out of sight inside the building. Az ducked inside for a quick look, but didn't see it before I ordered her back out.
We needed to regroup, so I had everyone find cover, and check their weapons; Fortunately, as the Cryssalids burst out of the side of the building, and Tomahawk cut it down; A zombie, presumably a recent victim, followed immediately after, but The General blasted it off of its feet. When it tried to rise again, Az finished it off, and I moved toward the cowering civilian that had been the target of the recently dead 'Lids, and Shroud reported that he was taking to the rooftop for a better look. Everyone else regrouped and kept an eye out for the Seeker. When it finally appeared, trying to grab Maschine, it went down in a hail of laser fire.
Based on SGT Parsons' motion-sensor report, we swept out to envelop the back room of the building. I ducked into the building, only to find a Thinny raising its weapon; I dodged through the doorway before it could fire, nearly crashed into a civilian, and swatted him out of the way, telling him to run. Everyone else came running on my report, while that coward-ass X-Ray decided to murder another unarmed civilian rather than coming out to play. Luckily, Van Doorn managed to get a good angle, and lit that fucker up before it could get back into cover.
We moved through the rest of the building, clearing all of the remaining civilians, and finding no more hostiles. We dropped the civilians off near a refugee camp that was forming outside of Montreal, and returned to base.
LESSONS LEARNED
o Sustain:
- Aggressive advancement saved lives
- Judicious use of explosives and cross-fire
o Improve:
- More use of the motion sensors
- Better awareness of our flanks
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Friday, November 13, 2015
A Familiar Path (24 AUG 2016)
SFC Leigh Fahey paced quietly down the corridor. She was looking for SGT Glynn, whom she'd been asked to find by CPT Lindemann. When she'd checked his bunk area and found him gone, SGT Parsons had said he'd seen Glynn and Zhu headed toward Mission Command. Her steps took her into the armory, and she felt her pace quicken as the familiar path played on her memory, reminding her of the many times she'd pounded in here, scrambling to get her gear on for a mission. She paused a moment, glancing around at the orderly rows of rifles, the crates filled with neatly packaged grenades and other devices.
She drifted to the ready rack, where the precious few laser weapons and sets of phalanx armor were laid out; she traced a finger lovingly along the bulky shape of the scatter laser that she'd carried several times already, then spent a few moments looking at the various sets of phalanx, seeing the slight irregularities where the engineers had repaired plasma burns; Each set of armor told a different story, but in amalgam, it was a story of pain, injury and triumph. With a sigh laden with meaning that is only comprehensible to those who have felt the exhilaration and terror of being in combat, she turned away from the racks of equipment, and left the armory behind.
Mission Control was a very different place. Where the armory was all orderly gleaming gunmetal and stillness, the nerve center of XCOM was chaos barely held in check, with a low hum of constant talk as the many technicians communicated with outlying stations, reconnaissance elements, and the various Council Nations. Dominating the room physically was the hologlobe, showing near-real-time intel from all over the globe, integrating the multiple flows of information from the workstations all around into a single cohesive picture which the Commander and Bradford used to coordinate XCOM's efforts.
As if thinking of him summoned him, she saw Bradford move out of the shadows on the catwalk overlooking Mission Control. He appeared to be coming from the Situation Room; The Commander probably had a tele-meeting with the shadowy Council head. Bradford leaned on the railing, looking down at the hologlobe and the busy technicians below. Leigh, in turn, looked up at him. She'd only spoken to him a few times, during debriefs, but his demeanor never wavered. Stiff, formal, professional. It sometimes seemed that XCOM ran on his willpower alone. Bradford's eyes shifted, and she realized he was looking directly back at her, and she jumped slightly. She raised her right hand toward her brow in a casual half salute, and Bradford acknowledged it with a nod before turning his eyes back to the hologlobe.
Leigh stepped off again, letting her feet carry her along the well-known route to the Hangar, as she still hadn't seen Glynn. She had a hunch that he might be in there; Many of the troopers liked to hang out in the Hangar when they were doing maintenance on the bay doors, as it was the only time other than missions that any of them saw sky. Sure enough, she could smell the distinct aroma of fresh air, so different from the machine smells of oil and smoke, and the ever-present scent of moist granite. As she entered the Hangar, Leigh turned her gaze upward involuntarily, to where she could see a few stars winking through the lowering twilight, barely silhouetting the tiny shapes of mechanics working on the door mechanism.
"Sergeant Fahey," she heard, and dropped her eyes to find SSG Zhu raising a hand in greeting, with Glynn sitting next to him, with the single S.C.O.P.E. held to his eye as he gazed upward. She walked the short distance to the stack of crates they were seated on, and waited a moment until Glynn turned his attention to her.
"SGT Glynn," she began, "CPT Lindemann would like you to drop by his room this evening, when you've some time. He wanted to get your take on something from the bridge."
"No problem," Glynn said. "I'll swing by there in a few." He passed the S.C.O.P.E. over to Zhu who also put it to his eye and turned it upward. "What do you think?" he asked after a few moments.
"What are you doing?" Leigh asked, looking upward to try to discern what they were looking at.
"We're checking out some new tweaks to the S.C.O.P.E." Glynn explained. "Engineering's working on some new features, and they asked us to give our input."
Zhu dropped the device to his lap, and nodded. "I agree," he said shortly. "the calibration is a little off. Also, did you notice that the overlay tried to give him a third arm? It was actually a wrench on his belt."
Glynn burst out laughing. "I guess the computer is trying to extrapolate for new breeds of X-Ray?" he speculated. He glanced at SFC Fahey, then reached out and grabbed the S.C.O.P.E. and offered it to her. "Take a look."
Leigh took the device, and held it to her eye, raising it up. The auto-focus hesitated for a moment, then suddenly the lip of the bay doors came into sharp focus, and she could see the workers moving around. As she watched, the light level raised gradually. "Place the center reticle over one of the workers," she heard Zhu prompt, so she did so. Within a couple seconds, the man was overlaid with an outline, and data appeared on the edge of her view, designating him as human and giving his distance; There was also appeared two dots, one over his head, another over his heart. She let out a slow, appreciative whistle.
"That's pretty impressive," she said. Wouldn't be much help for a shotgunner like me, but I can see how that'd help you make some deadly shots."
Yeah, they're working on integrating features to help line up on more critical zones on our targets. They've been making some big improvements in the Foundry." Glynn grinned wolfishly, and Leigh returned it with one of her own.
"I'll write up our observations, then send it to you for review," Zhu said as he accepted the S.C.O.P.E. back from Fahey. "I think our time here is done anyway." As he spoke, muted klaxons sounded, and the bay doors began to swing closed.
"I guess so," Glynn agreed, sliding off of the crate. "I think I'll go see what the Captain wants," he said. "You coming back to the barracks, Sergeant, or are you going to stay here?"
"I'll come," she replied with a last glance at the sky, just as the bay doors cut it off. "I'll walk with you. I wanted to talk to CPT Lindemann again anyway."
She drifted to the ready rack, where the precious few laser weapons and sets of phalanx armor were laid out; she traced a finger lovingly along the bulky shape of the scatter laser that she'd carried several times already, then spent a few moments looking at the various sets of phalanx, seeing the slight irregularities where the engineers had repaired plasma burns; Each set of armor told a different story, but in amalgam, it was a story of pain, injury and triumph. With a sigh laden with meaning that is only comprehensible to those who have felt the exhilaration and terror of being in combat, she turned away from the racks of equipment, and left the armory behind.
Mission Control was a very different place. Where the armory was all orderly gleaming gunmetal and stillness, the nerve center of XCOM was chaos barely held in check, with a low hum of constant talk as the many technicians communicated with outlying stations, reconnaissance elements, and the various Council Nations. Dominating the room physically was the hologlobe, showing near-real-time intel from all over the globe, integrating the multiple flows of information from the workstations all around into a single cohesive picture which the Commander and Bradford used to coordinate XCOM's efforts.
As if thinking of him summoned him, she saw Bradford move out of the shadows on the catwalk overlooking Mission Control. He appeared to be coming from the Situation Room; The Commander probably had a tele-meeting with the shadowy Council head. Bradford leaned on the railing, looking down at the hologlobe and the busy technicians below. Leigh, in turn, looked up at him. She'd only spoken to him a few times, during debriefs, but his demeanor never wavered. Stiff, formal, professional. It sometimes seemed that XCOM ran on his willpower alone. Bradford's eyes shifted, and she realized he was looking directly back at her, and she jumped slightly. She raised her right hand toward her brow in a casual half salute, and Bradford acknowledged it with a nod before turning his eyes back to the hologlobe.
Leigh stepped off again, letting her feet carry her along the well-known route to the Hangar, as she still hadn't seen Glynn. She had a hunch that he might be in there; Many of the troopers liked to hang out in the Hangar when they were doing maintenance on the bay doors, as it was the only time other than missions that any of them saw sky. Sure enough, she could smell the distinct aroma of fresh air, so different from the machine smells of oil and smoke, and the ever-present scent of moist granite. As she entered the Hangar, Leigh turned her gaze upward involuntarily, to where she could see a few stars winking through the lowering twilight, barely silhouetting the tiny shapes of mechanics working on the door mechanism.
"Sergeant Fahey," she heard, and dropped her eyes to find SSG Zhu raising a hand in greeting, with Glynn sitting next to him, with the single S.C.O.P.E. held to his eye as he gazed upward. She walked the short distance to the stack of crates they were seated on, and waited a moment until Glynn turned his attention to her.
"SGT Glynn," she began, "CPT Lindemann would like you to drop by his room this evening, when you've some time. He wanted to get your take on something from the bridge."
"No problem," Glynn said. "I'll swing by there in a few." He passed the S.C.O.P.E. over to Zhu who also put it to his eye and turned it upward. "What do you think?" he asked after a few moments.
"What are you doing?" Leigh asked, looking upward to try to discern what they were looking at.
"We're checking out some new tweaks to the S.C.O.P.E." Glynn explained. "Engineering's working on some new features, and they asked us to give our input."
Zhu dropped the device to his lap, and nodded. "I agree," he said shortly. "the calibration is a little off. Also, did you notice that the overlay tried to give him a third arm? It was actually a wrench on his belt."
Glynn burst out laughing. "I guess the computer is trying to extrapolate for new breeds of X-Ray?" he speculated. He glanced at SFC Fahey, then reached out and grabbed the S.C.O.P.E. and offered it to her. "Take a look."
Leigh took the device, and held it to her eye, raising it up. The auto-focus hesitated for a moment, then suddenly the lip of the bay doors came into sharp focus, and she could see the workers moving around. As she watched, the light level raised gradually. "Place the center reticle over one of the workers," she heard Zhu prompt, so she did so. Within a couple seconds, the man was overlaid with an outline, and data appeared on the edge of her view, designating him as human and giving his distance; There was also appeared two dots, one over his head, another over his heart. She let out a slow, appreciative whistle.
"That's pretty impressive," she said. Wouldn't be much help for a shotgunner like me, but I can see how that'd help you make some deadly shots."
Yeah, they're working on integrating features to help line up on more critical zones on our targets. They've been making some big improvements in the Foundry." Glynn grinned wolfishly, and Leigh returned it with one of her own.
"I'll write up our observations, then send it to you for review," Zhu said as he accepted the S.C.O.P.E. back from Fahey. "I think our time here is done anyway." As he spoke, muted klaxons sounded, and the bay doors began to swing closed.
"I guess so," Glynn agreed, sliding off of the crate. "I think I'll go see what the Captain wants," he said. "You coming back to the barracks, Sergeant, or are you going to stay here?"
"I'll come," she replied with a last glance at the sky, just as the bay doors cut it off. "I'll walk with you. I wanted to talk to CPT Lindemann again anyway."
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
OPERATION CRYPTIC SLEEP - AFTER ACTION REPORT (23 AUG 2016 @ 1547)
OPERATION CRYPTIC SLEEP - AFTER ACTION REPORT
PREPARED BY: LT Jared Houston
SITUATION
o Enemy Forces:
- 1x "Berzerk Muton Thing", 1x Muton, 6x Floaters, 4x Drones, 2x Outsiders
o Friendly Forces
- LT Jared "Mercury" Houston (United States)
- SFC Jade "Mineral" Colman (United Kingdom)
- SGT Svetlana "Eclipse" Petukhova (Russia)
- SGT Lara "Athena" Jordan (Australia)
- SGT Clarisse "Interrogator" Poncelet (Belgium)
- CPL Kelly "Luna" Meirelles (Brazil)
- CPL Osazenomwan "Mental" Olufunke (Nigeria)
- CPL Al Safi "Stretch" Ahmadi (Egypt)
MISSION
o Strike Team deploys to Boston, Massachusetts, 23 AUG 2016 @ 1547 hrs, IOT exploit a splashed UFO.
EXECUTION NARRATIVE
The Mission Alert came in at 1520 hrs. The Skyranger was wheels up by 1539, with boots down by 1547 hrs. Big Sky had dropped us closer than expected; No sooner than we'd pushed through the underbrush, but the UFO was before us. I ordered CPL Ahmadi to stretch his legs, and take a look around the aft of the UFO; Before he'd gone any sort of distance, a pod of Drones appeared, several of them taking shots before he could duck behind a stout tree. Eclipse had been tracking him with her scope, so it took her no time to refocus on the drones, and take one of them down. The rest of the squad cut loose, with SFC Colman and Poncelet registering kills. The remaining Drones zipped forward, with Athena and I managing to damage it, before Interrogator darted forward and took a close-range shot to finish it off.
With that initial engagement done, I order the squad to find cover before we advanced again, especially considering the likelihood that the Drones had signaled for reinforcements. Unfortunately a pair of Mutons and a pair of Floaters came around on our flank from the fore of the ship. The larger of the two mutons was different than anything we'd seen before. First, it was MUCH larger than its companion, and red; It also did not appear to be carrying a weapon. While the other muton and the Floaters took some sort of cover, this beast came charging directly at us, fast. Ahmadi took a shot at it, but misjudged its speed.
We repositioned and started taking shots at the monster, but it kept coming, despite several solid hits. Only the fact that it seemed intent on charging whoever shot it kept it from reaching me in no time at all. It was terrifying to see the juggernaut shrugging off laser fire, and I heard someone whimpering behind me; At the moment, I was only glad it wasn't me. Finally, as it closed on Luna, its monstrous paws reaching to tear her apart, she shoved her scatter las into its chest and fired; Finally, the beast succumbed.
Eclipse reported that she never had a clear shot at the beast, so she focused on the others; I was too distracted to notice, but she reported a Floater down once we'd finally taken down the berzerker. Luckily, the remaining X-Rays didn't feel like engaging after we'd taken their monster down, so they withdrew and we had time to reload and regroup. As we prepared to advance, the other Muton darted out, apparently trying to surprise us, and was cut down by combined fire from myself and Jordan.
As Ahmadi was in the back of the formation after our re-direction, Luna took point. As we neared the fore, several Floaters darted in, just at the edge of sight; Jordan and Petukhova managed to take one down, but the others remained out of range, taking potshots at CPL Meirelles. While they focused on her, Interrogator darted forward and took a shot, taking one more of the ugly bastards down. The other cowards had had enough, and withdrew again. I didn't allow myself to get overeager, and ordered the squad forward carefully. Meanwhile, Luna talked Eclipse onto the only visible target, which then quickly died.
Once in position, Mineral made short work of the only other Floater in range, and we moved forward again, until finally Ahmadi spotted and engaged the last Floater as it attempted to flee toward the far side of the UFO. It didn't make it. At this point, I was tired of chasing X-Rays that didn't want to fight, and re-directed again, into the UFO. It was time to take down the Outsiders I knew would be waiting inside. An earlier motion scan had given us their rough position, so we moved in through the deflector shields to engage.
Once we were in position, Athena dissolved the door, and Luna darted in, just in time to see both Outsiders waiting for her. As she reversed course, dodging for cover, I order Olu to blow the wall. Before the smoke had even cleared, Mineral laid down a blazing wall of laser fire, covering Poncelet's advance with an HE grenade to further destroy any cover they may have left. As soon as I could see, I took two quick, targeted shots, one at each Outsider, hoping to wound them enough to try for another capture, but Interrogator's grenade had worked too well, and both of them went down.
Surprisingly, though we waited for reinforcements, and then did a sweep of the perimeter, there was no further resistance; Either this was a skeleton crew, or many of them had been killed when the craft crashed down.
LESSONS LEARNED
o Sustain:
- Explosives shape the battlefield to our advantage
- Preparation leads to smooth execution
o Improve:
- Don't make assumptions about X-Ray locations
- Never assume we've seen everything
PREPARED BY: LT Jared Houston
SITUATION
o Enemy Forces:
- 1x "Berzerk Muton Thing", 1x Muton, 6x Floaters, 4x Drones, 2x Outsiders
o Friendly Forces
- LT Jared "Mercury" Houston (United States)
- SFC Jade "Mineral" Colman (United Kingdom)
- SGT Svetlana "Eclipse" Petukhova (Russia)
- SGT Lara "Athena" Jordan (Australia)
- SGT Clarisse "Interrogator" Poncelet (Belgium)
- CPL Kelly "Luna" Meirelles (Brazil)
- CPL Osazenomwan "Mental" Olufunke (Nigeria)
- CPL Al Safi "Stretch" Ahmadi (Egypt)
MISSION
o Strike Team deploys to Boston, Massachusetts, 23 AUG 2016 @ 1547 hrs, IOT exploit a splashed UFO.
EXECUTION NARRATIVE
The Mission Alert came in at 1520 hrs. The Skyranger was wheels up by 1539, with boots down by 1547 hrs. Big Sky had dropped us closer than expected; No sooner than we'd pushed through the underbrush, but the UFO was before us. I ordered CPL Ahmadi to stretch his legs, and take a look around the aft of the UFO; Before he'd gone any sort of distance, a pod of Drones appeared, several of them taking shots before he could duck behind a stout tree. Eclipse had been tracking him with her scope, so it took her no time to refocus on the drones, and take one of them down. The rest of the squad cut loose, with SFC Colman and Poncelet registering kills. The remaining Drones zipped forward, with Athena and I managing to damage it, before Interrogator darted forward and took a close-range shot to finish it off.
With that initial engagement done, I order the squad to find cover before we advanced again, especially considering the likelihood that the Drones had signaled for reinforcements. Unfortunately a pair of Mutons and a pair of Floaters came around on our flank from the fore of the ship. The larger of the two mutons was different than anything we'd seen before. First, it was MUCH larger than its companion, and red; It also did not appear to be carrying a weapon. While the other muton and the Floaters took some sort of cover, this beast came charging directly at us, fast. Ahmadi took a shot at it, but misjudged its speed.
We repositioned and started taking shots at the monster, but it kept coming, despite several solid hits. Only the fact that it seemed intent on charging whoever shot it kept it from reaching me in no time at all. It was terrifying to see the juggernaut shrugging off laser fire, and I heard someone whimpering behind me; At the moment, I was only glad it wasn't me. Finally, as it closed on Luna, its monstrous paws reaching to tear her apart, she shoved her scatter las into its chest and fired; Finally, the beast succumbed.
Eclipse reported that she never had a clear shot at the beast, so she focused on the others; I was too distracted to notice, but she reported a Floater down once we'd finally taken down the berzerker. Luckily, the remaining X-Rays didn't feel like engaging after we'd taken their monster down, so they withdrew and we had time to reload and regroup. As we prepared to advance, the other Muton darted out, apparently trying to surprise us, and was cut down by combined fire from myself and Jordan.
As Ahmadi was in the back of the formation after our re-direction, Luna took point. As we neared the fore, several Floaters darted in, just at the edge of sight; Jordan and Petukhova managed to take one down, but the others remained out of range, taking potshots at CPL Meirelles. While they focused on her, Interrogator darted forward and took a shot, taking one more of the ugly bastards down. The other cowards had had enough, and withdrew again. I didn't allow myself to get overeager, and ordered the squad forward carefully. Meanwhile, Luna talked Eclipse onto the only visible target, which then quickly died.
Once in position, Mineral made short work of the only other Floater in range, and we moved forward again, until finally Ahmadi spotted and engaged the last Floater as it attempted to flee toward the far side of the UFO. It didn't make it. At this point, I was tired of chasing X-Rays that didn't want to fight, and re-directed again, into the UFO. It was time to take down the Outsiders I knew would be waiting inside. An earlier motion scan had given us their rough position, so we moved in through the deflector shields to engage.
Once we were in position, Athena dissolved the door, and Luna darted in, just in time to see both Outsiders waiting for her. As she reversed course, dodging for cover, I order Olu to blow the wall. Before the smoke had even cleared, Mineral laid down a blazing wall of laser fire, covering Poncelet's advance with an HE grenade to further destroy any cover they may have left. As soon as I could see, I took two quick, targeted shots, one at each Outsider, hoping to wound them enough to try for another capture, but Interrogator's grenade had worked too well, and both of them went down.
Surprisingly, though we waited for reinforcements, and then did a sweep of the perimeter, there was no further resistance; Either this was a skeleton crew, or many of them had been killed when the craft crashed down.
LESSONS LEARNED
o Sustain:
- Explosives shape the battlefield to our advantage
- Preparation leads to smooth execution
o Improve:
- Don't make assumptions about X-Ray locations
- Never assume we've seen everything
Friday, November 6, 2015
Passing Time (22 AUG 2016)
The barracks were nearly empty. Most of the troopers were down in the common room, or the gym, but here and there someone laid on their bunk reading a book, or with a laptop propped up, casting pale light onto their faces. While there weren't many people, that didn't mean the barracks were quiet. Laughter and conversation rang out from the back corner, where the overhead lights were still on, illuminating four women. On one bunk, SSG Monica de Matos sat, leaning back against the wall with another woman's head in her lap. The reclining woman, Lieselotte Faber, was writing a letter and not taking part in the conversation, though she smiled occasionally at the banter that was going on.
Another woman sat backward in a chair that had been pulled up to the bunk, her legs straddling the seat, and her forearms crossed on the back. Recently promoted SFC Leigh Fahey was a boisterous, loud woman who had a joke and a smile for nearly everyone. On a nearby table, SFC Jade Colman had a cloth spread out, with several rocks and tools laid out on top. At the moment she was examining a promising specimen, looking for the best place to strike to break it open with her rock hammer.
"Heard your last mission was an interesting one," Jade said, never taking her eyes off the stone in her hand, turning it left and right slowly.
"Oh man," Leigh said with an exaggerated eye-roll. "this Van Doorn character." de Matos chuckled as well, absently stroking Liesel's hair.
"Get down here!" she said, affecting a deeper voice, which sounded oddly charming with her Brazilian accent. "Can't let me have all the fun!" Colman glanced at her and laughed.
"Rumor says he's going to be joining us, along with his attache," she said.
"Yeah," Fahey replied. "I checked the roster this morning, after hearing about that. Must be weird for 'The General' to not be in a command position, but they are giving him a field 'promotion' to Staff Sergeant." Her wry expression and air-quotes made it clear how she felt about that decision.
"It was a strange mission overall," Monica added. "The Council intel made it sound like we'd be stepping into an absolute warzone, and the devastation on the bridge was pretty bad, but the resistance wasn't anything, really." She patted her hip, where she normally carried her medpak. "I never even had to open my kit."
"Seriously," Leigh agreed. "We had to chase that last Thin Mint clear to the end of the bridge. It was like they weren't even trying to put up a fight. Why bother blowing the bridge if they weren't going to commit?"
"Who knows why the X-Rays do anything?" Jade asked rhetorically. "Still, I wish we could have been there with you girls." Liesel looked up from her letter briefly, nodding in agreement. "But I get with the Captain just getting his RTD Orders from medical, Command was eager to get him back in the field." Monica nodded; She'd served with him for half of her missions, and she held a great deal of respect for CPT Lindemann. Leigh shrugged; She'd rather have had Jade along, but it was Command's call, not hers.
The conversation lapsed for a few minutes, the quiet broken only by the nearly silent scratching of Faber's pen on the notepad, until Colman took up her hammer, and struck the stone firmly, resulting in a sharp crack as the stone broke cleanly in half. Leigh half-rose to get a look.
"Whatcha get?" she asked, leaning to catch a glimpse around the other woman's shoulder. Jade turned around, presenting her prize with a satisfied grin.
"Amethyst geode," she declared. "A good find." When Fahey held out her hand, Colman passed the stone over, smiling as the American woman held it up to the light, the crystals casting back tiny sparkles that played across the other woman's dark skin.
"Nice," Leigh agreed, reaching out to pass it back. "Amethyst is my birth stone."
"Keep it, then," Jade offered. "I've still got the other half."
"Really?" Fahey's brows lifted in surprise.
"Absolutely," the British woman smiled, suppressing a pang as she remembered the last time she'd given away one of her stones. She wasn't going to let sad memories stop her from sharing her love of stones, though. Leigh's eyes widened further as she saw the play of emotion across Jade's face. Her friend seemed oblivious to her scrutiny, so she said nothing, merely folding her hands around the stone.
"Thank you," she added after a moment, which earned a smile from Colman.
Monica, who had been there when CPL Huismann died, knew a little of what Jade was feeling. She looked down at Liesel who was so focused on her letter that she was actually biting the tip of her tongue absently. She didn't know what she'd do if anything were to happen to Liesel. She looked up then, at Leigh, Colman, and to where she saw someone across the barracks, faintly illuminated by a laptop screen, she thought it might have been SGT Parsons.
"Where would you be," she began, then paused to formulate her thoughts. "Where would we all be if not for this war?" Colman and Fahey looked at her, but didn't say anything, realizing that she wasn't quite done speaking, despite the question. "I would probably be in Manaus, doing some training Op for some cadets or something." She looked at each of them again in turn, meeting their eyes. "I wouldn't know any of you."
"You saying this war was a good thing?" Leigh asked, a certain mischief sparkling in her dark eyes.
"Not at all," Monica answered seriously, not catching the joking nature of the question. "But good ha come of it, I think. Look at the technological advancements we're making, that one day we'll be able to share with the world. Look at us, close friends from different countries, different parts of the world." Liesel looked up at her with a soft smile that was mostly in the eyes, and Monica stopped talking, meeting her gaze.
"I agree," Jade added. "I think that the human race will come out of this stronger and more unified than we ever were."
"I certainly hope so," Leigh said with a sigh. "We've got a lot to make up for. I certainly hope that this is a start." After several moments of silence, she shook herself. "Aren't we a bunch of Serious Susans? Hey, Liesel, you almost done with that letter? Let's go hit the common room and play some pool, first round of near-beer is on me."
The others quickly agreed. The gravity of the moment was seemingly forgotten as the four women made their way out of the barracks, chatting and laughing once more.
Another woman sat backward in a chair that had been pulled up to the bunk, her legs straddling the seat, and her forearms crossed on the back. Recently promoted SFC Leigh Fahey was a boisterous, loud woman who had a joke and a smile for nearly everyone. On a nearby table, SFC Jade Colman had a cloth spread out, with several rocks and tools laid out on top. At the moment she was examining a promising specimen, looking for the best place to strike to break it open with her rock hammer.
"Heard your last mission was an interesting one," Jade said, never taking her eyes off the stone in her hand, turning it left and right slowly.
"Oh man," Leigh said with an exaggerated eye-roll. "this Van Doorn character." de Matos chuckled as well, absently stroking Liesel's hair.
"Get down here!" she said, affecting a deeper voice, which sounded oddly charming with her Brazilian accent. "Can't let me have all the fun!" Colman glanced at her and laughed.
"Rumor says he's going to be joining us, along with his attache," she said.
"Yeah," Fahey replied. "I checked the roster this morning, after hearing about that. Must be weird for 'The General' to not be in a command position, but they are giving him a field 'promotion' to Staff Sergeant." Her wry expression and air-quotes made it clear how she felt about that decision.
"It was a strange mission overall," Monica added. "The Council intel made it sound like we'd be stepping into an absolute warzone, and the devastation on the bridge was pretty bad, but the resistance wasn't anything, really." She patted her hip, where she normally carried her medpak. "I never even had to open my kit."
"Seriously," Leigh agreed. "We had to chase that last Thin Mint clear to the end of the bridge. It was like they weren't even trying to put up a fight. Why bother blowing the bridge if they weren't going to commit?"
"Who knows why the X-Rays do anything?" Jade asked rhetorically. "Still, I wish we could have been there with you girls." Liesel looked up from her letter briefly, nodding in agreement. "But I get with the Captain just getting his RTD Orders from medical, Command was eager to get him back in the field." Monica nodded; She'd served with him for half of her missions, and she held a great deal of respect for CPT Lindemann. Leigh shrugged; She'd rather have had Jade along, but it was Command's call, not hers.
The conversation lapsed for a few minutes, the quiet broken only by the nearly silent scratching of Faber's pen on the notepad, until Colman took up her hammer, and struck the stone firmly, resulting in a sharp crack as the stone broke cleanly in half. Leigh half-rose to get a look.
"Whatcha get?" she asked, leaning to catch a glimpse around the other woman's shoulder. Jade turned around, presenting her prize with a satisfied grin.
"Amethyst geode," she declared. "A good find." When Fahey held out her hand, Colman passed the stone over, smiling as the American woman held it up to the light, the crystals casting back tiny sparkles that played across the other woman's dark skin.
"Nice," Leigh agreed, reaching out to pass it back. "Amethyst is my birth stone."
"Keep it, then," Jade offered. "I've still got the other half."
"Really?" Fahey's brows lifted in surprise.
"Absolutely," the British woman smiled, suppressing a pang as she remembered the last time she'd given away one of her stones. She wasn't going to let sad memories stop her from sharing her love of stones, though. Leigh's eyes widened further as she saw the play of emotion across Jade's face. Her friend seemed oblivious to her scrutiny, so she said nothing, merely folding her hands around the stone.
"Thank you," she added after a moment, which earned a smile from Colman.
Monica, who had been there when CPL Huismann died, knew a little of what Jade was feeling. She looked down at Liesel who was so focused on her letter that she was actually biting the tip of her tongue absently. She didn't know what she'd do if anything were to happen to Liesel. She looked up then, at Leigh, Colman, and to where she saw someone across the barracks, faintly illuminated by a laptop screen, she thought it might have been SGT Parsons.
"Where would you be," she began, then paused to formulate her thoughts. "Where would we all be if not for this war?" Colman and Fahey looked at her, but didn't say anything, realizing that she wasn't quite done speaking, despite the question. "I would probably be in Manaus, doing some training Op for some cadets or something." She looked at each of them again in turn, meeting their eyes. "I wouldn't know any of you."
"You saying this war was a good thing?" Leigh asked, a certain mischief sparkling in her dark eyes.
"Not at all," Monica answered seriously, not catching the joking nature of the question. "But good ha come of it, I think. Look at the technological advancements we're making, that one day we'll be able to share with the world. Look at us, close friends from different countries, different parts of the world." Liesel looked up at her with a soft smile that was mostly in the eyes, and Monica stopped talking, meeting her gaze.
"I agree," Jade added. "I think that the human race will come out of this stronger and more unified than we ever were."
"I certainly hope so," Leigh said with a sigh. "We've got a lot to make up for. I certainly hope that this is a start." After several moments of silence, she shook herself. "Aren't we a bunch of Serious Susans? Hey, Liesel, you almost done with that letter? Let's go hit the common room and play some pool, first round of near-beer is on me."
The others quickly agreed. The gravity of the moment was seemingly forgotten as the four women made their way out of the barracks, chatting and laughing once more.
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
OPERATION CURSED SMOKE - AFTER ACTION REPORT (21 AUG 2016 @ 2053)
OPERATION CURSED SMOKE - AFTER ACTION REPORT
PREPARED BY: LT Oskar Lindemann
SITUATION
o Enemy Forces:
- 7x Mutons, 5x Thin Men, 5x Floaters, 2x Sectoids
o Friendly Forces
- LT Oskar "Armarnis" Lindemann (Germany)
- SSG Leigh "B.A.M.F." Fahey (United States)
- SSG Sylas "Fawkes" Maillet (Canada)
- SGT Monica "Azrial" de Matos (Brazil)
- SGT Ward "Shroud" Parsons (Australia)
- SGT Rainhard "Ogre" Horn (Austria)
- SGT Jermaine "Da Pain" Glynn (United States)
- SGT Simone "Tomahawk" Ribeiro (Brazil)
MISSION
o Strike Team deploys to La Plata, Argentina, 21 AUG 2016 @ 2053 hrs, IOT rescue U.N. General Peter Van Doorn.
EXECUTION NARRATIVE
We received the Mission Alert at 1923 hrs. The Skyranger was wheels up by 1937, and we arrived at the mission site at 2053 hrs. As soon as we were on ground, a U.N. soldier made contact, identifying himself as Friendly. The whole area was in flaming ruins, so I knew the X-Rays wouldn't be far; I ordered SGT Parsons forward first; He immediately spotted a pod of hostiles, some of which advanced, others retreating. The rest of the squad moved to cover and engaged. SSG Fahey moved up to protect the U.N. troop, who explained that the General had moved up ahead to try to recover an injured soldier. SGT Parsons took a well-aimed shot, and put the Muton down, while I and SGT de Matos took down the Floater. The X-Rays retreated further, so we advanced, and SGT Parsons took down a Sectoid. It's companion stayed in cover, at the farthest range of visibility, until SGT Glynn shot it, and SGT Horn finished it off.
Now it was time to move forward to find the VIP. We did not immediately discover any further threat, so I activated my motion sensor, which revealed several hostiles on the wrecked section of the bridge. The VIP made contact via radio shortly after, explaining that he was currently hidden in a wrecked car, and the soldier he'd gone to recover hadn't made it. I told him to stay put until we'd cleared his immediate vicinity of threats.
While we were communicating, the X-Rays made their move, as a Muton and two Floaters ascended from the wreckage. Shots were exchanged, but other than a hit on the Muton that didn't seem to even slow it down, no one was injured. Once they'd established a beachhead, two more Mutons climbed up, taking cover positions. SGT Horn said he had a shot; I told him to take it, kill them all if he could. His rocket exploded at the precise point of maximum effect, and two of the Mutons were killed outright. SGTs Ribeiro and Parsons cut down two of the remaining hostiles, leaving SSG Fahey to eliminate the Floater which was coming down on top of her position. This left our level clear, but there was still heavy resistance below; SGT Fahey advanced to the edge and took a long range shot, injuring another Muton.
I had a shot on one Muton below, so I cut loose with a long burst, ripping it to shreds as the squad moved closer to the edge. The Floaters responded by moving up, trying to use their air mobility to flank us; Maillet and Fahey proved this futile, eliminating one of them, SGT Horn reported that one had come down from a high flyover. Our attention was diverted forward however, as another Muton climbed up and started taking shots at Fahey. In response, she dodged through its fire, rolled into cover behind it, and blew it away. A few seconds later, Horn reported that the Floater behind us was no longer a threat. SSG Maillet called to Fahey for a spot report; Then he lobbed a grenade over the edge. After the detonation, I saw SSG Fahey turn back with a grin and report a clean kill.
I advanced SGT de Matos and SSG Fahey to make contact with the VIP, while preparing the rest of the squad for whatever retaliation we'd see from the X-Rays. De Matos reported that the VIP was uninjured, and I ordered her and SSG Fahey to stay with him as he came back up. Then we heard Friendly come across the radio; There was a X-Ray immediately near him, but he'd crawled into one of the wrecked cars, and it didn't seem to have seen him yet. I ordered the squad back toward the Skyranger to protect him. The VIP advanced as well, despite not having a weapon to engage the enemy; He said he owed it to his men to not go down without a fight.
Then the X-Ray, a Thin Man, stepped around the cars and shot SGT Glynn. He reported that it had scorched his armor pretty good, but that he was okay. De Matos called out movement behind us, so I told her and SGT Ribeiro to stay on rear-guard. SSG Maillet, meanwhile, lobbed a grenade over the cars; Glynn reported that it was hit, but was still moving, so SSG Fahey once again charged into the breach and finished it off. With the way forward clear, I told the VIP to get to the Skyranger, just as I looked back toward the wrecked section of bridge. It was pure chance that I saw the Thin Man, not advancing as expected, but falling back. I sprayed the area with my Autolaser, and put the X-Ray down. No sooner than another Thin Man dropped down from the overpass above, directly in front of me; I thought I was dead, because I couldn't bring my gun around in time, but then several lasers fired, intersecting with the hostile's body; It was dead before it had a chance to raise its weapon.
SGT Horn turned back toward the Skyranger, and caught sight of another Thin Man creeping up; It didn't see him in time, and he shot it down. Then SSG Fahey escorted the VIP back to the Skyranger, and I directed Friendly to join him. Central reported continued movement back toward the wreckage, and directed us to clear any further hostiles. If we could keep the X-Rays from reporting the rescue of the General back to their command, perhaps it would give us an edge.
I directed the squad back, down into the wreckage, cautiously looking for any further resistance, but at first we saw nothing, even with the motion scanners. It wasn't until SGT de Matos advanced up to the high ground on the far side of the wreckage that she saw a Thin Man, weapon ready. She ducked behind a car before it could draw a bead on her, and I used her report to light up the target, but not quite enough to kill it. SGT Glynn, right beside me, sighted in and put a single shot into the wounded Thin Man's head. SGT De Matos and SSG Fahey reported that the bridge was completely gone just beyond the Thin Man's position, which is probably why it hadn't retreated further; There were no more hostiles.
We made it back to the Skyranger, and returned to HQ with the VIP and his surviving soldier. Both expressed interest in staying on with XCOM; It is my official recommendation that they be allowed, as their courage and level-headedness against an unknown enemy are traits I want to see more of in our troopers.
LESSONS LEARNED
o Sustain:
- Controlled advancement allows us to fight on our terms
- Hold the high ground whenever possible
o Improve:
- Never assume the enemy is only in a single direction
- Use motion scanners/ battle scanners more judiciously
PREPARED BY: LT Oskar Lindemann
SITUATION
o Enemy Forces:
- 7x Mutons, 5x Thin Men, 5x Floaters, 2x Sectoids
o Friendly Forces
- LT Oskar "Armarnis" Lindemann (Germany)
- SSG Leigh "B.A.M.F." Fahey (United States)
- SSG Sylas "Fawkes" Maillet (Canada)
- SGT Monica "Azrial" de Matos (Brazil)
- SGT Ward "Shroud" Parsons (Australia)
- SGT Rainhard "Ogre" Horn (Austria)
- SGT Jermaine "Da Pain" Glynn (United States)
- SGT Simone "Tomahawk" Ribeiro (Brazil)
MISSION
o Strike Team deploys to La Plata, Argentina, 21 AUG 2016 @ 2053 hrs, IOT rescue U.N. General Peter Van Doorn.
EXECUTION NARRATIVE
We received the Mission Alert at 1923 hrs. The Skyranger was wheels up by 1937, and we arrived at the mission site at 2053 hrs. As soon as we were on ground, a U.N. soldier made contact, identifying himself as Friendly. The whole area was in flaming ruins, so I knew the X-Rays wouldn't be far; I ordered SGT Parsons forward first; He immediately spotted a pod of hostiles, some of which advanced, others retreating. The rest of the squad moved to cover and engaged. SSG Fahey moved up to protect the U.N. troop, who explained that the General had moved up ahead to try to recover an injured soldier. SGT Parsons took a well-aimed shot, and put the Muton down, while I and SGT de Matos took down the Floater. The X-Rays retreated further, so we advanced, and SGT Parsons took down a Sectoid. It's companion stayed in cover, at the farthest range of visibility, until SGT Glynn shot it, and SGT Horn finished it off.
Now it was time to move forward to find the VIP. We did not immediately discover any further threat, so I activated my motion sensor, which revealed several hostiles on the wrecked section of the bridge. The VIP made contact via radio shortly after, explaining that he was currently hidden in a wrecked car, and the soldier he'd gone to recover hadn't made it. I told him to stay put until we'd cleared his immediate vicinity of threats.
While we were communicating, the X-Rays made their move, as a Muton and two Floaters ascended from the wreckage. Shots were exchanged, but other than a hit on the Muton that didn't seem to even slow it down, no one was injured. Once they'd established a beachhead, two more Mutons climbed up, taking cover positions. SGT Horn said he had a shot; I told him to take it, kill them all if he could. His rocket exploded at the precise point of maximum effect, and two of the Mutons were killed outright. SGTs Ribeiro and Parsons cut down two of the remaining hostiles, leaving SSG Fahey to eliminate the Floater which was coming down on top of her position. This left our level clear, but there was still heavy resistance below; SGT Fahey advanced to the edge and took a long range shot, injuring another Muton.
I had a shot on one Muton below, so I cut loose with a long burst, ripping it to shreds as the squad moved closer to the edge. The Floaters responded by moving up, trying to use their air mobility to flank us; Maillet and Fahey proved this futile, eliminating one of them, SGT Horn reported that one had come down from a high flyover. Our attention was diverted forward however, as another Muton climbed up and started taking shots at Fahey. In response, she dodged through its fire, rolled into cover behind it, and blew it away. A few seconds later, Horn reported that the Floater behind us was no longer a threat. SSG Maillet called to Fahey for a spot report; Then he lobbed a grenade over the edge. After the detonation, I saw SSG Fahey turn back with a grin and report a clean kill.
I advanced SGT de Matos and SSG Fahey to make contact with the VIP, while preparing the rest of the squad for whatever retaliation we'd see from the X-Rays. De Matos reported that the VIP was uninjured, and I ordered her and SSG Fahey to stay with him as he came back up. Then we heard Friendly come across the radio; There was a X-Ray immediately near him, but he'd crawled into one of the wrecked cars, and it didn't seem to have seen him yet. I ordered the squad back toward the Skyranger to protect him. The VIP advanced as well, despite not having a weapon to engage the enemy; He said he owed it to his men to not go down without a fight.
Then the X-Ray, a Thin Man, stepped around the cars and shot SGT Glynn. He reported that it had scorched his armor pretty good, but that he was okay. De Matos called out movement behind us, so I told her and SGT Ribeiro to stay on rear-guard. SSG Maillet, meanwhile, lobbed a grenade over the cars; Glynn reported that it was hit, but was still moving, so SSG Fahey once again charged into the breach and finished it off. With the way forward clear, I told the VIP to get to the Skyranger, just as I looked back toward the wrecked section of bridge. It was pure chance that I saw the Thin Man, not advancing as expected, but falling back. I sprayed the area with my Autolaser, and put the X-Ray down. No sooner than another Thin Man dropped down from the overpass above, directly in front of me; I thought I was dead, because I couldn't bring my gun around in time, but then several lasers fired, intersecting with the hostile's body; It was dead before it had a chance to raise its weapon.
SGT Horn turned back toward the Skyranger, and caught sight of another Thin Man creeping up; It didn't see him in time, and he shot it down. Then SSG Fahey escorted the VIP back to the Skyranger, and I directed Friendly to join him. Central reported continued movement back toward the wreckage, and directed us to clear any further hostiles. If we could keep the X-Rays from reporting the rescue of the General back to their command, perhaps it would give us an edge.
I directed the squad back, down into the wreckage, cautiously looking for any further resistance, but at first we saw nothing, even with the motion scanners. It wasn't until SGT de Matos advanced up to the high ground on the far side of the wreckage that she saw a Thin Man, weapon ready. She ducked behind a car before it could draw a bead on her, and I used her report to light up the target, but not quite enough to kill it. SGT Glynn, right beside me, sighted in and put a single shot into the wounded Thin Man's head. SGT De Matos and SSG Fahey reported that the bridge was completely gone just beyond the Thin Man's position, which is probably why it hadn't retreated further; There were no more hostiles.
We made it back to the Skyranger, and returned to HQ with the VIP and his surviving soldier. Both expressed interest in staying on with XCOM; It is my official recommendation that they be allowed, as their courage and level-headedness against an unknown enemy are traits I want to see more of in our troopers.
LESSONS LEARNED
o Sustain:
- Controlled advancement allows us to fight on our terms
- Hold the high ground whenever possible
o Improve:
- Never assume the enemy is only in a single direction
- Use motion scanners/ battle scanners more judiciously
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