OPERATION BROKEN CALM - AFTER ACTION REPORT
PREPARED BY: LT Naomi Bowden
SITUATION
o Enemy Forces:
- 5x Sectoids, 2x Seekers
o Friendly Forces
- LT Naomi "Artemis" Bowden (United Kingdom)
- SGT Leigh "Beacon" Fahey (United States)
- CPL Beatrice "Preacher" Rydberg (Sweden)
- CPL Rainhard "Ogre" Horn (Austria)
- SPC Jermaine Glynn (United States)
- SPC Qutuz Safar (United Arab Emirates)
- SPC Joosef Hintikka (Finland)
- PFC Kaseem Quadri (Indonesia)
MISSION
o Strike Team deploys to Marseille, France, 08 JUL 2016 @ 2301 hrs, IOT assist CO Markusova in protecting the transmission of EXALT Data to XCOM HQ.
EXECUTION NARRATIVE
We received the Mission Alert at 1229 hrs. The squad was assembled in the Skyranger by 1244, and we touched down in Arizona at 1254 hrs. We expected it to be blazing hot, based on the intel reports, but the sky was incredibly overcast, though it wasn't yet raining. It was still uncomfortably warm however, and it didn't take long to be drenched in sweat.
There was scant cover near the LZ, so I advanced my squad the best I could, and was able to get everyone to some sort of cover before Hintikka made contact with a pod of Sectoids. Glynn was able to zap one, which forced them to keep their heads down while the squad moved into killing formation and took two of them down, leaving the third to flee.
Hintikka advanced again, taking cover in front of a semi-truck, and spotted a pair of Seekers, which immediately advanced, snaking through the air and dodging our initial fire. From the back, Glynn managed to line up a shot and knocked one of the squiddies out of the sky. Hintikka drew his pistol and designated the second, lighting it up for Rydberg to blow to hell.
Our next bound forward revealed a live canister of meld. With no contact, I ordered Hintikka and Safar forward to keep eyes on it as the rest of the squad moved into position. Just then, we heard movement off to our right flank, and a pair of Sectoids came into sight, just as the Sectoid we'd scared off earlier came back, presumably to secure the meld before we reached it. Safar and I took reaction shots at the sectoids on our flank, managing to kill one.
PFC Quadri moved under cover and claimed the meld, spotting another in the distance, then lobbed an AP grenade at the Sectoid to his front, wounding it. Rydberg was perfectly positioned to eliminate the Sectoid on our right flank, and took the shot, putting it down for the count. Horn attempted to blow the Sectoid to our front out of cover, but his rocket went slightly astray. I drew a bead on the Sectoid, but ordered Beacon forward, holding my shot in reserve. She was able to finish off the X-Ray, after which point, we met with no further hostilities. We also managed to recover the second Meld canister, just before the rain started.
LESSONS LEARNED
o Sustain:
- High Operational Tempo
- Multiple shooter coverage
o Improve:
- Better Skyranger recon
- Calibrate weapon sights prior to mission
Showing posts with label Naomi Bowden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Naomi Bowden. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
OPERATION LOST KING - AFTER ACTION REPORT (08 JUL 2016 @ 2301)
OPERATION LOST KING - AFTER ACTION REPORT
PREPARED BY: LT Naomi Bowden
SITUATION
o Enemy Forces:
-
o Friendly Forces
- LT Naomi "Artemis" Bowden (United Kingdom)
- SSG Shousei "Lightning" Daiwa (Japan)
- SGT Spencer "Leo" Donohue (United States)
- SGT Jade "Mineral" Colman (United Kingdom)
- SGT Leigh "Beacon" Fahey (United States)
- CPL Wushun "Tu-Tu" Zhu (China)
- CPL Sylas "Fawkes" Maillet (Canada)
- PFC Osazenomwan Olufunke (Nigeria)
o Covert Operative
- CPL Jirina "Stiletto" Markusova
MISSION
o Strike Team deploys to Marseille, France, 08 JUL 2016 @ 2301 hrs, IOT assist CO Markusova in protecting the transmission of EXALT Data to XCOM HQ.
EXECUTION NARRATIVE
We received the Mission Alert at 2115 hrs. The squad was assembled in the Skyranger by 2129, and we touched down in France at 2301 hrs. Despite this being a Covert Op, the damage to the police station made it obvious that the alien occupation was not going easy on the country. We made contact with the operative, and staged our advance toward the Encoder while Stiletto, our Operative, moved to hack a nearby transponder.
We heard a helicopter as we entered the room where the Encoder was, but it was Lightning who first put eyes on the enemy; Two EXALT agents behind the building. They scattered to cover when they spotted Fawkes moving into the building. Meanwhile, Tu-Tu and I took up flanking positions at the front of the station lobby. Then Maillet fragged the EXALT and blew their cover away, opening them up for Leo and Lightning to eliminate two of them, while Fahey, dashing in from the back severely wounded the third and flushing him out, where she finished him off with a second blast. Meanwhile, CO Markusova finished hacking the transponder, disrupting EXALT communications.
One EXALT agent advanced too aggressively and took a shotgun blast from Beacon, and a followup from Fawkes put him down. On our side, I moved into the room and spotted an enemy through the back door, then ordered Zhu to take him out. Once that was done, I had Markusova join us on our side, as there was another transponder nearby. Then the EXALT made their move. The first to advance on the main squad was tagged, but not killed, by Leo. I snapped a shot through the backdoor when I saw movement, and managed to take down an enemy.
Then we heard the chopper moving in, as Central alerted us to heavy EXALT reinforcements to our rear and flank. Markusova dodged through the enemy lines of fire to hack the nearby transponder, and cripple the EXALT agent nearby with a point-blank shot from her laser pistol. We're unsure of why this seems to disrupt their ability to fight so thoroughly, but it saved lives just then. Zhu then took down the rocketeer to his immediate rear, and I eliminated the other with a couple of shots, leaving only the critically injured agent near the transponder.
Maillet, back on the right flank, lobbed a grenade at the advancing EXALT, killing both of them as they got close. Another pair of agents charged recklessly in. The first managed to dodge several shots before Mineral tore him to shreds, and the other ate the business end of Beacon's shotgun. Not content with one kill, she runs forward as Leo covers her with smoke, flanks and puts down another agent. On our left, Lightning comes to join us and finishes off the wounded EXALT, as Stiletto eliminates another reinforcement with her laser pistol.
The EXALT continue to show a reckless disregard for their own lives, rushing toward the Encoder. Fahey manages to wound two with snap shots from her shotgun as they close on her. Once again, we hear the chopper dropping reinforcements on the right flank. Zhu spots one of the new agents, and drops him before he can even get his bearing. Olufunke unlimbers his rocket, and yells at Fahey to get clear. She darts forward, rolling under reactive fire, and blows her attacker away, just as Olu's rocket splashes down and kills the two agents that Fahey had previously wounded.
At this point, we did not immediately meet any further resistance, though Central had reported more agents entering the AO. The squad searched around the building, including tossing out a Scanner, but initially found nothing. We were about to report negative contact, when an EXALT rocketeer dashed out of the shadows behind a large delivery truck, followed by another agent, both managing to avoid the startled reactive fire from Colman and Maillet. Maillet followed up with his last grenade, injuring them and blowing the rest of the wall. Fahey and Colman then finished off the shell-shocked and exposed agents.
A final sweep through the area revealed no further hostiles.
LESSONS LEARNED
o Sustain:
- Split squad into fire teams
- Explosive shaping of the battlefield
o Improve:
- Never assume your rear is clear
- Judicious use of Scanners can shorten a long engagement
PREPARED BY: LT Naomi Bowden
SITUATION
o Enemy Forces:
-
o Friendly Forces
- LT Naomi "Artemis" Bowden (United Kingdom)
- SSG Shousei "Lightning" Daiwa (Japan)
- SGT Spencer "Leo" Donohue (United States)
- SGT Jade "Mineral" Colman (United Kingdom)
- SGT Leigh "Beacon" Fahey (United States)
- CPL Wushun "Tu-Tu" Zhu (China)
- CPL Sylas "Fawkes" Maillet (Canada)
- PFC Osazenomwan Olufunke (Nigeria)
o Covert Operative
- CPL Jirina "Stiletto" Markusova
MISSION
o Strike Team deploys to Marseille, France, 08 JUL 2016 @ 2301 hrs, IOT assist CO Markusova in protecting the transmission of EXALT Data to XCOM HQ.
EXECUTION NARRATIVE
We received the Mission Alert at 2115 hrs. The squad was assembled in the Skyranger by 2129, and we touched down in France at 2301 hrs. Despite this being a Covert Op, the damage to the police station made it obvious that the alien occupation was not going easy on the country. We made contact with the operative, and staged our advance toward the Encoder while Stiletto, our Operative, moved to hack a nearby transponder.
We heard a helicopter as we entered the room where the Encoder was, but it was Lightning who first put eyes on the enemy; Two EXALT agents behind the building. They scattered to cover when they spotted Fawkes moving into the building. Meanwhile, Tu-Tu and I took up flanking positions at the front of the station lobby. Then Maillet fragged the EXALT and blew their cover away, opening them up for Leo and Lightning to eliminate two of them, while Fahey, dashing in from the back severely wounded the third and flushing him out, where she finished him off with a second blast. Meanwhile, CO Markusova finished hacking the transponder, disrupting EXALT communications.
One EXALT agent advanced too aggressively and took a shotgun blast from Beacon, and a followup from Fawkes put him down. On our side, I moved into the room and spotted an enemy through the back door, then ordered Zhu to take him out. Once that was done, I had Markusova join us on our side, as there was another transponder nearby. Then the EXALT made their move. The first to advance on the main squad was tagged, but not killed, by Leo. I snapped a shot through the backdoor when I saw movement, and managed to take down an enemy.
Then we heard the chopper moving in, as Central alerted us to heavy EXALT reinforcements to our rear and flank. Markusova dodged through the enemy lines of fire to hack the nearby transponder, and cripple the EXALT agent nearby with a point-blank shot from her laser pistol. We're unsure of why this seems to disrupt their ability to fight so thoroughly, but it saved lives just then. Zhu then took down the rocketeer to his immediate rear, and I eliminated the other with a couple of shots, leaving only the critically injured agent near the transponder.
Maillet, back on the right flank, lobbed a grenade at the advancing EXALT, killing both of them as they got close. Another pair of agents charged recklessly in. The first managed to dodge several shots before Mineral tore him to shreds, and the other ate the business end of Beacon's shotgun. Not content with one kill, she runs forward as Leo covers her with smoke, flanks and puts down another agent. On our left, Lightning comes to join us and finishes off the wounded EXALT, as Stiletto eliminates another reinforcement with her laser pistol.
The EXALT continue to show a reckless disregard for their own lives, rushing toward the Encoder. Fahey manages to wound two with snap shots from her shotgun as they close on her. Once again, we hear the chopper dropping reinforcements on the right flank. Zhu spots one of the new agents, and drops him before he can even get his bearing. Olufunke unlimbers his rocket, and yells at Fahey to get clear. She darts forward, rolling under reactive fire, and blows her attacker away, just as Olu's rocket splashes down and kills the two agents that Fahey had previously wounded.
At this point, we did not immediately meet any further resistance, though Central had reported more agents entering the AO. The squad searched around the building, including tossing out a Scanner, but initially found nothing. We were about to report negative contact, when an EXALT rocketeer dashed out of the shadows behind a large delivery truck, followed by another agent, both managing to avoid the startled reactive fire from Colman and Maillet. Maillet followed up with his last grenade, injuring them and blowing the rest of the wall. Fahey and Colman then finished off the shell-shocked and exposed agents.
A final sweep through the area revealed no further hostiles.
LESSONS LEARNED
o Sustain:
- Split squad into fire teams
- Explosive shaping of the battlefield
o Improve:
- Never assume your rear is clear
- Judicious use of Scanners can shorten a long engagement
Monday, August 31, 2015
Butter Bar Blues (06 JUL 2016)
Naomi and Jared sat together on the love seat in the farthest corner of the day room. They'd been talking all night, occasionally laughing, as they shared stories of their fallen comrades. Jade had been with them until about an hour ago, and for the last ten minutes, neither of them had spoken. They'd broken out the whiskey again, as they always did after a death, but the buzz was long faded, and they just sat in silence.
"It hurts," Naomi said finally, breaking into the stillness. "Doesn't it?" Jared just nodded numbly, his eyes far away. She knew exactly what he was thinking, feeling, as it had only been a week since CPL Cable had died on her watch. It had been her first mission after her promotion, too. She'd heard it whispered about as the Curse of the Butter Bar; Only LT Lindemann had managed to lead his first mission as a Lieutenant without any casualties.
"Was it your fault?" She asked the question, knowing it would hurt, and wasn't surprised when she saw him flinch and tense up. She knew the answer, of course, but she also knew that he'd be blaming himself. She waited for him to answer.
"Allah help me," he whispered at last. "I don't know." He leaned back on the couch, bringing his hands up to wipe at his face in frustration. "I've been replaying it all, ever since then. I didn't know that Bombshell's cover had been blown inside the building. I feel like I should have known, but I didn't. Carter though..." He trailed off, and stared at the ceiling. "He was a volunteer, did you know? He told me how he'd raised hell when the news reports starting coming in about the attacks, about how they should be doing something. Eventually, he got mysterious transfer orders, and was only told where he was going when he was already en route." Jared grinned hollowly as he spoke.
"I know," Naomi replied. "I spoke to him when he arrived, gave him a bit of a tour." Jared nodded, remembering that he was her countryman. "He was just so excited when he realized what we were up against. Kid wasn't even twenty, and nothing scared him."
"That's the honest truth," Jared agreed. "He told me that he had a clear line on the Cyberdisc, and he knew he could take it down. Hintikka reported that he didn't see anything else in the vicinity, so I gave him the go-ahead." He sighed, dropping his eyes from the ceiling, meeting her gaze for half a second before looking down into the hands he'd folded in his lap. "It was only after he'd reported the Disc going down that anyone saw the Drones move in."
"So you made the best decision you could, based on the information you had?" she asked gently. Jared looked up at her sharply, but after a moment of tense eye contact, he let out his breath in a gust, and looked away. "Merc', you know that leaving the Cyberdisc operational any longer than necessary would have put the whole squad in danger. He probably saved other lives by taking it down."
"I know," he admitted. "But seriously, two? No one else has lost two troopers, and this wasn't even that intense of a mission. It wasn't an assault cruiser flying through the sky, or anything." His voice was bitter, and she heard the thickness of tears in his throat.
"Lorena wasn't your fault," Naomi said. "She was my friend, and I loved her, but she was also a veteran who knew what she was doing. She took a risk, and it didn't pay off for her. She was strong enough to take responsibility for her own choices. Don't take that away from her by blaming yourself."
"It's just... It's getting harder, isn't it?" Jared met her eyes firmly, and she could see the worry in them. "Mistakes are costing more, the stakes are getting higher. We're seeing new threats we've not seen, and I don't think we've even begun to see what they've got." Naomi nodded quietly, as she'd had some of the same worries. "Can we even win this fight?"
"Of course we can. Yeah, we've lost a bunch of our friends, our brothers and sisters, but look at how far we've come. I agree that it's just going to get harder as the fight goes along, but we're going to win. This isn't a couple of nations disputing a border, or foreign policy. This is an enemy from behind the stars, and they've come to try to take the lives and freedom of every human on the planet." Naomi reached across and covered Jared's clasped hands, and squeezed. After a moment, he squeezed back and smiled a little. "We will win this fight, Jared. We'll win because we have to."
"It hurts," Naomi said finally, breaking into the stillness. "Doesn't it?" Jared just nodded numbly, his eyes far away. She knew exactly what he was thinking, feeling, as it had only been a week since CPL Cable had died on her watch. It had been her first mission after her promotion, too. She'd heard it whispered about as the Curse of the Butter Bar; Only LT Lindemann had managed to lead his first mission as a Lieutenant without any casualties.
"Was it your fault?" She asked the question, knowing it would hurt, and wasn't surprised when she saw him flinch and tense up. She knew the answer, of course, but she also knew that he'd be blaming himself. She waited for him to answer.
"Allah help me," he whispered at last. "I don't know." He leaned back on the couch, bringing his hands up to wipe at his face in frustration. "I've been replaying it all, ever since then. I didn't know that Bombshell's cover had been blown inside the building. I feel like I should have known, but I didn't. Carter though..." He trailed off, and stared at the ceiling. "He was a volunteer, did you know? He told me how he'd raised hell when the news reports starting coming in about the attacks, about how they should be doing something. Eventually, he got mysterious transfer orders, and was only told where he was going when he was already en route." Jared grinned hollowly as he spoke.
"I know," Naomi replied. "I spoke to him when he arrived, gave him a bit of a tour." Jared nodded, remembering that he was her countryman. "He was just so excited when he realized what we were up against. Kid wasn't even twenty, and nothing scared him."
"That's the honest truth," Jared agreed. "He told me that he had a clear line on the Cyberdisc, and he knew he could take it down. Hintikka reported that he didn't see anything else in the vicinity, so I gave him the go-ahead." He sighed, dropping his eyes from the ceiling, meeting her gaze for half a second before looking down into the hands he'd folded in his lap. "It was only after he'd reported the Disc going down that anyone saw the Drones move in."
"So you made the best decision you could, based on the information you had?" she asked gently. Jared looked up at her sharply, but after a moment of tense eye contact, he let out his breath in a gust, and looked away. "Merc', you know that leaving the Cyberdisc operational any longer than necessary would have put the whole squad in danger. He probably saved other lives by taking it down."
"I know," he admitted. "But seriously, two? No one else has lost two troopers, and this wasn't even that intense of a mission. It wasn't an assault cruiser flying through the sky, or anything." His voice was bitter, and she heard the thickness of tears in his throat.
"Lorena wasn't your fault," Naomi said. "She was my friend, and I loved her, but she was also a veteran who knew what she was doing. She took a risk, and it didn't pay off for her. She was strong enough to take responsibility for her own choices. Don't take that away from her by blaming yourself."
"It's just... It's getting harder, isn't it?" Jared met her eyes firmly, and she could see the worry in them. "Mistakes are costing more, the stakes are getting higher. We're seeing new threats we've not seen, and I don't think we've even begun to see what they've got." Naomi nodded quietly, as she'd had some of the same worries. "Can we even win this fight?"
"Of course we can. Yeah, we've lost a bunch of our friends, our brothers and sisters, but look at how far we've come. I agree that it's just going to get harder as the fight goes along, but we're going to win. This isn't a couple of nations disputing a border, or foreign policy. This is an enemy from behind the stars, and they've come to try to take the lives and freedom of every human on the planet." Naomi reached across and covered Jared's clasped hands, and squeezed. After a moment, he squeezed back and smiled a little. "We will win this fight, Jared. We'll win because we have to."
Monday, July 6, 2015
OPERATION FLYING HYMN - AFTER ACTION REPORT (29 JUN 2016 @ 0316)
OPERATION FLYING HYMN - AFTER ACTION REPORT
PREPARED BY: LT Naomi Bowden
SITUATION
o Enemy Forces:
- 8x Thin Men, 2x Seekers, 2x Mutons, armed with Plasma Weapons
o Friendly Forces
- LT Naomi "Artemis" Bowden (United Kingdom)
- SGT Jade "Mineral" Colman (United Kingdom)
- SGT Monica "Alpha" de Matos (Brazil)
- SGT Shousei "Lightning" Daiwa (Japan)
- CPL Wushun "Tu-Tu" Zhu (China)
- CPL Leigh "Beacon" Fahey (United States)
- CPL Tegan "Cable" Reed (United Kingdom) - KIA
MISSION
o Strike Team deploys to China, 29 JUN 2016 @ 0316 hrs, IOT plant transponders and redirect the X-Ray Assault Cruiser.
EXECUTION NARRATIVE
We received the Mission Alert at 0045 hrs. The squad was assembled in the Skyranger by 0108, and we touched down in China at 0316 hrs. We received word upon getting into the train station that the Cruiser was inbound, and that we didn't have much time. We moved into position near the back of the train, with CPL Zhu set to provide cover the length of the train. He was the first to get eyes on the enemy, and put down the Seeker as it moved toward the squad.
SGT Daiwa moved to the first designated location, and placed a transponder. The rest of the squad moved into the train, and I fired upon the Thin Man. When it moved to avoid further fire, SGT Daiwa finished it off. Then he advanced up the train toward the next designated point, where he spotted several Thin Men and a Seeker, which he reported went immediately into stealth mode as the Thin Men scattered.
CPL Zhu had eyes on, and managed to put one of the Thin Men down instantly. On the other side of the train, CPL Fahey charged forward and put down the only Thin Man to cross over. SGT Daiwa provided cover for Fahey by critically wounding the Thin Man on her flank, while SGT Colman critically wounded another, on the far edge of the station. The X-Rays returned fire, and CPL Reed managed to wing the Seeker as it came out of hiding and grabbed Fahey. However, she exposed herself to do so, and a Thin Man burst into the train and put her on the ground with a plasma burst that burned through her chestplate.
SGT Colman put a burst into the Seeker on CPL Fahey (further padding her reputation as a Seeker-bane) while de Matos moved to check on Reed, and get her back on her feet. Daiwa managed to wing the Thin Man up ahead in the train, which I followed up and destroyed. CPL Reed, back on her feet but still seriously wounded, moved to cover, but didn't quite make it before another Thin Man fired and put her down again. De Matos, preparing to move to her side again, was taken by surprise by a Muton from the next set of tracks. Her injury was severe, and she fell to the ground, screaming for several seconds. Fahey moved up and planted another transponder, while Zhu provided cover, and blew the Muton's head into a greenish mist. The rest of the team was shaken, and was less successful in their counter-attacks.
Two Thin Men fired on the prone de Matos, which seemed to snap her out of her panic. While she gathered herself and moved to check on Reed, Daiwa spotted another Muton that appeared to be teleported in. He charged forward to draw it's fire, and landed a solid, but non-critical hit on it. Colman finally managed to get into a position to kill the Thin Man that killed Reed, and Zhu managed to finish off the other one. After confirming that Reed was dead, de Matos crawled to the nearby designated point, and planted a transponder, and managed to provide self-aid. No one has a solid shot on the Muton, so the squad advances under cover, as de Matos manages to dodge yet another shot.
Advancing to the next transponder location, Daiwa gets eyes on two more Thin Men. He quickly plants the transponder, while Fahey charges up, hops the railing and blows the muton into the planter behind it. Daiwa, complete with the transponder, puts a bullet into one of the Thin Men.
Zhu reported movement to the squad's rear, but did not have a clear shot. I peeled Fahey and Colman off to support Zhu while de Matos moves up to start the train running, now that all transponders have been emplaced.
I order the squad off the train and we maneuver to eliminate the rest of the X-Rays, but apparently with the train gone, their command ordered them to exfiltrate. We did not encounter any further resistance as we cleared the station, so we collected CPL Reed, and returned to the Skyranger for our own exfiltration.
LESSONS LEARNED
o Sustain:
- Sniper support and overwatch
- Tactical momentum
o Improve:
- Insufficient use of cover
- Unfocused fires
PREPARED BY: LT Naomi Bowden
SITUATION
o Enemy Forces:
- 8x Thin Men, 2x Seekers, 2x Mutons, armed with Plasma Weapons
o Friendly Forces
- LT Naomi "Artemis" Bowden (United Kingdom)
- SGT Jade "Mineral" Colman (United Kingdom)
- SGT Monica "Alpha" de Matos (Brazil)
- SGT Shousei "Lightning" Daiwa (Japan)
- CPL Wushun "Tu-Tu" Zhu (China)
- CPL Leigh "Beacon" Fahey (United States)
- CPL Tegan "Cable" Reed (United Kingdom) - KIA
MISSION
o Strike Team deploys to China, 29 JUN 2016 @ 0316 hrs, IOT plant transponders and redirect the X-Ray Assault Cruiser.
EXECUTION NARRATIVE
We received the Mission Alert at 0045 hrs. The squad was assembled in the Skyranger by 0108, and we touched down in China at 0316 hrs. We received word upon getting into the train station that the Cruiser was inbound, and that we didn't have much time. We moved into position near the back of the train, with CPL Zhu set to provide cover the length of the train. He was the first to get eyes on the enemy, and put down the Seeker as it moved toward the squad.
SGT Daiwa moved to the first designated location, and placed a transponder. The rest of the squad moved into the train, and I fired upon the Thin Man. When it moved to avoid further fire, SGT Daiwa finished it off. Then he advanced up the train toward the next designated point, where he spotted several Thin Men and a Seeker, which he reported went immediately into stealth mode as the Thin Men scattered.
CPL Zhu had eyes on, and managed to put one of the Thin Men down instantly. On the other side of the train, CPL Fahey charged forward and put down the only Thin Man to cross over. SGT Daiwa provided cover for Fahey by critically wounding the Thin Man on her flank, while SGT Colman critically wounded another, on the far edge of the station. The X-Rays returned fire, and CPL Reed managed to wing the Seeker as it came out of hiding and grabbed Fahey. However, she exposed herself to do so, and a Thin Man burst into the train and put her on the ground with a plasma burst that burned through her chestplate.
SGT Colman put a burst into the Seeker on CPL Fahey (further padding her reputation as a Seeker-bane) while de Matos moved to check on Reed, and get her back on her feet. Daiwa managed to wing the Thin Man up ahead in the train, which I followed up and destroyed. CPL Reed, back on her feet but still seriously wounded, moved to cover, but didn't quite make it before another Thin Man fired and put her down again. De Matos, preparing to move to her side again, was taken by surprise by a Muton from the next set of tracks. Her injury was severe, and she fell to the ground, screaming for several seconds. Fahey moved up and planted another transponder, while Zhu provided cover, and blew the Muton's head into a greenish mist. The rest of the team was shaken, and was less successful in their counter-attacks.
Two Thin Men fired on the prone de Matos, which seemed to snap her out of her panic. While she gathered herself and moved to check on Reed, Daiwa spotted another Muton that appeared to be teleported in. He charged forward to draw it's fire, and landed a solid, but non-critical hit on it. Colman finally managed to get into a position to kill the Thin Man that killed Reed, and Zhu managed to finish off the other one. After confirming that Reed was dead, de Matos crawled to the nearby designated point, and planted a transponder, and managed to provide self-aid. No one has a solid shot on the Muton, so the squad advances under cover, as de Matos manages to dodge yet another shot.
Advancing to the next transponder location, Daiwa gets eyes on two more Thin Men. He quickly plants the transponder, while Fahey charges up, hops the railing and blows the muton into the planter behind it. Daiwa, complete with the transponder, puts a bullet into one of the Thin Men.
Zhu reported movement to the squad's rear, but did not have a clear shot. I peeled Fahey and Colman off to support Zhu while de Matos moves up to start the train running, now that all transponders have been emplaced.
I order the squad off the train and we maneuver to eliminate the rest of the X-Rays, but apparently with the train gone, their command ordered them to exfiltrate. We did not encounter any further resistance as we cleared the station, so we collected CPL Reed, and returned to the Skyranger for our own exfiltration.
LESSONS LEARNED
o Sustain:
- Sniper support and overwatch
- Tactical momentum
o Improve:
- Insufficient use of cover
- Unfocused fires
Monday, May 25, 2015
OPERATION LONE LINE - AFTER ACTION REPORT (20 JUN 2016 @ 0712)
OPERATION LONE LINE - AFTER ACTION REPORT
PREPARED BY: LT Naomi Bowden
SITUATION
o Enemy Forces:
- 3x Seekers, 3x Floaters, 3x Sectoids, armed with plasma weapons
o Friendly Forces
- CPL Naomi "Artemis" Bowden (United Kingdom)
- CPL Jirina "Stiletto" Markusova (Czech Republic)
- SPC Wushun Zhu (China)
- SPC Leigh Fahey (United States)
- SPC Maurice Vos (Netherlands)
- PFC Synclair Mallari (Phillipines)
- PFC Caio de Abreu (Brazil)
MISSION
o Strike Team deploys to China, 20 JUN 2016 @ 0712 hrs, IOT disrupt Alien Abduction Operations.
EXECUTION NARRATIVE
We received the Mission Alert at 0930 hrs. The squad was assembled in the Skyranger 0521, and we touched down in China at 0712 hrs. The LZ was scarce of cover, so we moved to what cover was available as quickly as possible. Nearly immediately, CPL Markusova spotted a pod of Seekers, just before they went into stealth. We converged into a formation where we could provide overwatch, and waited for the bastards to come out of hiding.
Two of them came out of hiding almost immediately. I saw the one nearest Mallari first, but apparently one had also appeared directly above me, intent on locking me down with its tentacles. I took down the one going after Mallari, while the converged fire from the rest of the squad left little recognizable of the one that was coming after me.
When the third did not immediately appear, we started moving toward the distant building, where Fahey had reported hearing something. As we approached, we saw a Meld canister, but before we could reach it, the third Seeker manifested. The squad massed fires, but even so it took several direct hits to take it down. By the time Fahey made it to the Meld, it was already locking down.
I ordered the squad to spread out, with Fahey and de Abreu going right, and Vos and Zhu providing overwatch. At my signal, we breached the building, and spotted a pod of Floaters on the far side of the building. PFC Mallari made the first kill, taking a long shot at an exposed Floater nearly on our left flank. When the remaining Floaters did not advance, we took the fight to them.
Markusova dashed in, drawing fire so the rest of the squad could move, and snapped a shot as soon as she made cover, killing the Floater that had shot at her. With the other in full cover, we advanced, while de Abreu opened the rear wall, so Zhu and Vos could get into the fight. Unfortunately, the last Floater proved difficult to kill, so it fell to Fahey to charge in and flank it with her shotgun. Once it was down, she reported another Meld canister, but of course, it closed as we tried to reach it.
A few quick probing advances showed that the remainder of the building was clear, so we flexed back toward the other building. We stacked on multiple breach points, and went in at the same time, with Zhu taking to the rooftops. It was in the laundromat that we met further resistance, in a pod of Sectoids. Mallari, Markusova and myself were in contact, while Vos, Fahey and de Abreu came in from the cafe, and Zhu moved to cover from the rooftops.
Markusova moved up and took a close flank on the closest, while the other two scattered for cover out in front of the laundry. Zhu, from his rooftop vantage, had a clean shot, but the X-Ray jerked back at the last moment, and he only grazed it. CPL Markusova dashed the gap, drawing fire, and letting the rest of the squad advance. Mallari and Fahey moved up and flanked the two Sectoids from around the bus stop, putting them down almost simultaneously.
We cleared the remainder of the site, but met with no further hostiles.
LESSONS LEARNED
o Sustain:
- Mult-directional breech
- Explosives to shape the battlefield
o Improve:
- Use Scanner for better battlefield awareness
- Overwatch element still needs to be close enough to engage
PREPARED BY: LT Naomi Bowden
SITUATION
o Enemy Forces:
- 3x Seekers, 3x Floaters, 3x Sectoids, armed with plasma weapons
o Friendly Forces
- CPL Naomi "Artemis" Bowden (United Kingdom)
- CPL Jirina "Stiletto" Markusova (Czech Republic)
- SPC Wushun Zhu (China)
- SPC Leigh Fahey (United States)
- SPC Maurice Vos (Netherlands)
- PFC Synclair Mallari (Phillipines)
- PFC Caio de Abreu (Brazil)
MISSION
o Strike Team deploys to China, 20 JUN 2016 @ 0712 hrs, IOT disrupt Alien Abduction Operations.
EXECUTION NARRATIVE
We received the Mission Alert at 0930 hrs. The squad was assembled in the Skyranger 0521, and we touched down in China at 0712 hrs. The LZ was scarce of cover, so we moved to what cover was available as quickly as possible. Nearly immediately, CPL Markusova spotted a pod of Seekers, just before they went into stealth. We converged into a formation where we could provide overwatch, and waited for the bastards to come out of hiding.
Two of them came out of hiding almost immediately. I saw the one nearest Mallari first, but apparently one had also appeared directly above me, intent on locking me down with its tentacles. I took down the one going after Mallari, while the converged fire from the rest of the squad left little recognizable of the one that was coming after me.
When the third did not immediately appear, we started moving toward the distant building, where Fahey had reported hearing something. As we approached, we saw a Meld canister, but before we could reach it, the third Seeker manifested. The squad massed fires, but even so it took several direct hits to take it down. By the time Fahey made it to the Meld, it was already locking down.
I ordered the squad to spread out, with Fahey and de Abreu going right, and Vos and Zhu providing overwatch. At my signal, we breached the building, and spotted a pod of Floaters on the far side of the building. PFC Mallari made the first kill, taking a long shot at an exposed Floater nearly on our left flank. When the remaining Floaters did not advance, we took the fight to them.
Markusova dashed in, drawing fire so the rest of the squad could move, and snapped a shot as soon as she made cover, killing the Floater that had shot at her. With the other in full cover, we advanced, while de Abreu opened the rear wall, so Zhu and Vos could get into the fight. Unfortunately, the last Floater proved difficult to kill, so it fell to Fahey to charge in and flank it with her shotgun. Once it was down, she reported another Meld canister, but of course, it closed as we tried to reach it.
A few quick probing advances showed that the remainder of the building was clear, so we flexed back toward the other building. We stacked on multiple breach points, and went in at the same time, with Zhu taking to the rooftops. It was in the laundromat that we met further resistance, in a pod of Sectoids. Mallari, Markusova and myself were in contact, while Vos, Fahey and de Abreu came in from the cafe, and Zhu moved to cover from the rooftops.
Markusova moved up and took a close flank on the closest, while the other two scattered for cover out in front of the laundry. Zhu, from his rooftop vantage, had a clean shot, but the X-Ray jerked back at the last moment, and he only grazed it. CPL Markusova dashed the gap, drawing fire, and letting the rest of the squad advance. Mallari and Fahey moved up and flanked the two Sectoids from around the bus stop, putting them down almost simultaneously.
We cleared the remainder of the site, but met with no further hostiles.
LESSONS LEARNED
o Sustain:
- Mult-directional breech
- Explosives to shape the battlefield
o Improve:
- Use Scanner for better battlefield awareness
- Overwatch element still needs to be close enough to engage
Friday, March 27, 2015
Mail Call (07 APR 2016)
"Everything is in place?" Bradford paused, listening for a moment, before nodding. "Excellent. I'm sure the troops will be happy to hear it. Thank you for your efforts."
Central Officer Bradford hung up the phone, and leaned back in his chair. When the Commander gave the go-ahead at the end of March, he'd expected this to take a lot longer than it had. It turned out that the U.S. Air Force had been surprisingly willing to work with them, helping set up an APO with an obscured address. Now, the troops and technicians of XCOM could send and receive mail and packages without giving up any information about where XCOM HQ was located.
Of course, there'd still be a lot of restrictions on the mail, and privacy was basically not going to happen, but he'd argued, and the Commander had agreed, that mail privileges would strengthen morale. Right now, with only a handful of injuries and only one KIA, morale was pretty high, but Bradford knew that things wouldn't continue the way they were forever. Any enemy with the ability to fly craft between the stars must have more up their hypothetical sleeves than they'd shown so far.
Bradford pulled himself to his feet, stepping out of the small ready room and into Mission Control. As always, the Hologlobe caught his eye, and he saw the red blip signaling the UFO they'd splashed just before he'd received the call from the Peterson AFB post office. He knew that troopers were already gearing up to go out. Hopefully they'd all come home in one piece, to good news.
"Intelligence Officer Pidgeon," he said, scanning the room for the technician. He saw the Australian's head pop up as soon as he spoke, and gestured him over.
"Sir?" the man said, coming to attention as he approached. Bradford waved it off, indicating that he could relax.
"I need you to draft up a memo for the intranet message board. I've sent you an e-mail with the details, but the gist is that we're going forward with the mail service," he explained. IO Pidgeon's eyes lit up, but he remained silent as Bradford continued. "It'll be phased, starting only with letters, but once everything is up and running, we'll be able to handle packages as well. Let me know if you have any further questions, after you've read your e-mail."
"Sir, right away," Pidgeon turned and hurried back to his computer with a spring in his step. Bradford smiled slightly. The man had a wife and two daughters back in Queensland, and he was probably missing them terribly. It'd only been a month so far, but everyone knew this was going to be a long haul.
08 APR 2016
"Hey," Naomi Bowden looked up from breakfast as Lorena approached, tray in her hand. "Have you checked the message boards yet?"
"No," replied Naomi, stifling a yawn. She'd been up late, reviewing the just-published material for the Officer Training School, and had barely managed to drag herself out of her bunk this morning. "Something good?"
"I'll say it is," Lorena replied, sliding her tray across the table, and dropping heavily into the seat next to her. She grinned, and didn't say anything else.
"Well?" Naomi knew that the other woman was baiting her, but she didn't rise to it.
"Bowden!" Jared Houston waved from across the chow hall, hurrying over. "Did you hear?" he said excitedly as he slipped into the seat opposite her. "They're going to start allowing mail!" Naomi glanced at Lorena, who was scowling at Houston; Apparently, he'd scooped her announcement. Then what he'd said really hit her.
"Oh," she said. "Oh, now that's quite good." She glanced around the chow hall, and realized that the place was much more abuzz than it usually was this time of day. Apparently, she was one of the last to know. She smiled, feeling much more awake than she'd been a minute before. Oh yes, quite good indeed.
"No problem, Donohue." Parsons picked up his pen to begin writing again.
Central Officer Bradford hung up the phone, and leaned back in his chair. When the Commander gave the go-ahead at the end of March, he'd expected this to take a lot longer than it had. It turned out that the U.S. Air Force had been surprisingly willing to work with them, helping set up an APO with an obscured address. Now, the troops and technicians of XCOM could send and receive mail and packages without giving up any information about where XCOM HQ was located.
Of course, there'd still be a lot of restrictions on the mail, and privacy was basically not going to happen, but he'd argued, and the Commander had agreed, that mail privileges would strengthen morale. Right now, with only a handful of injuries and only one KIA, morale was pretty high, but Bradford knew that things wouldn't continue the way they were forever. Any enemy with the ability to fly craft between the stars must have more up their hypothetical sleeves than they'd shown so far.
Bradford pulled himself to his feet, stepping out of the small ready room and into Mission Control. As always, the Hologlobe caught his eye, and he saw the red blip signaling the UFO they'd splashed just before he'd received the call from the Peterson AFB post office. He knew that troopers were already gearing up to go out. Hopefully they'd all come home in one piece, to good news.
"Intelligence Officer Pidgeon," he said, scanning the room for the technician. He saw the Australian's head pop up as soon as he spoke, and gestured him over.
"Sir?" the man said, coming to attention as he approached. Bradford waved it off, indicating that he could relax.
"I need you to draft up a memo for the intranet message board. I've sent you an e-mail with the details, but the gist is that we're going forward with the mail service," he explained. IO Pidgeon's eyes lit up, but he remained silent as Bradford continued. "It'll be phased, starting only with letters, but once everything is up and running, we'll be able to handle packages as well. Let me know if you have any further questions, after you've read your e-mail."
"Sir, right away," Pidgeon turned and hurried back to his computer with a spring in his step. Bradford smiled slightly. The man had a wife and two daughters back in Queensland, and he was probably missing them terribly. It'd only been a month so far, but everyone knew this was going to be a long haul.
08 APR 2016
"Hey," Naomi Bowden looked up from breakfast as Lorena approached, tray in her hand. "Have you checked the message boards yet?"
"No," replied Naomi, stifling a yawn. She'd been up late, reviewing the just-published material for the Officer Training School, and had barely managed to drag herself out of her bunk this morning. "Something good?"
"I'll say it is," Lorena replied, sliding her tray across the table, and dropping heavily into the seat next to her. She grinned, and didn't say anything else.
"Well?" Naomi knew that the other woman was baiting her, but she didn't rise to it.
"Bowden!" Jared Houston waved from across the chow hall, hurrying over. "Did you hear?" he said excitedly as he slipped into the seat opposite her. "They're going to start allowing mail!" Naomi glanced at Lorena, who was scowling at Houston; Apparently, he'd scooped her announcement. Then what he'd said really hit her.
"Oh," she said. "Oh, now that's quite good." She glanced around the chow hall, and realized that the place was much more abuzz than it usually was this time of day. Apparently, she was one of the last to know. She smiled, feeling much more awake than she'd been a minute before. Oh yes, quite good indeed.
-
Spencer Donohue walked in from the showers, towel still draped around his neck. He'd also heard the word, and he was pretty stoked about it. He'd had to tell his wife that he wouldn't be able to communicate at all for who knows how long. She'd hated the secrecy, but it wasn't exactly new territory. Most of the operations he'd been on over the years had been classified, though none so secretive as the XCOM Project. He saw Parsons hunched over on his bunk, a pad of paper in his lap, scribbling furiously. Spencer hadn't been by supply yet, but he figured there'd be a run on writing paper. Parsons might be willing to share, though.
"Hey man," he said as he approached. Parsons glanced up with a smile, clipping the pen to the edge of the notepad. "I don't suppose you could spare a few sheets for a comrade?"
"Absolutely," Parsons replied, flipping a few pages and carefully tearing out several blank sheets. "This stuff'll be like gold until the next supply truck."
"Thanks, man," Spencer replied, taking the paper. "You writing your.." He paused, glanced at the man's hands, and saw no wedding ring. "your girlfriend?"
"No," Parsons shook his head. "Boyfriend, back in Sydney."
"You're.." Spencer trailed off, startled.
"Yeah," Parsons replied, then lifted a brow. "Is that a problem?"
"No, no," Spencer quickly assured him. "Just wasn't expecting it. It's been years since they started allowing gays and lesbians to openly serve in the U.S. but I've only met a couple of girls who were out." He shook his head. "Man, I'm really sorry. I just got caught by surprise."
"Don't worry about it," Parsons waved it off. "You writing your... husband?" He grinned, and Spencer laughed, the tension gone.
"Nah, my wife. She went back to Texas after I got selected for this assignment. She's gonna flip when she gets my letter."
"Mike will too," Parsons said. "He didn't want me to go, but when the time came, he was as supportive as he could be."
"That's about the way it always is," Spencer agreed. "Is he military too? I met my wife in the Army."
"No, he works as a database administrator in Sydney. Doesn't approve of the military in general, but he makes an effort where I'm concerned."
"Can't ask more than that." Spencer reached over and swatted Parsons on the shoulder. "I'll let you get back to it. Thanks for the paper."
"No problem, Donohue." Parsons picked up his pen to begin writing again.
"Call me Spencer," he tossed back over his shoulder. "All my friends do."
Monday, March 16, 2015
Blowing Off Steam (19 MAR 2016)
PFC Naomi Bowden stretched as she walked into the day room. It'd been over a week since she'd been put back into the rotation for combat duty, but there'd only been the one operation in that time. She'd spent a lot of time in the medbay, visiting Horn and Dhalon, but a lot of her time was spent in the gym, running. It'd become a bit of a joke around the barracks, but that didn't dissuade her. Some of the other troopers understood, some of them had yet to see action in this new war. She didn't blame the rookies, though. When she'd seen the first shaky footage from Vancouver, she'd been skeptical too. It looked like footage from a badly done B-movie, like one of those direct-to-DVD things her sister was so fond of.
But then came Operation Twisted Grave. She'd been designated to lead the squad, even though none of them had any rank in this new organization. Hell, she'd only been a Corporal back in the British Army, and Houston had been a Sergeant with three combat tours in the U.S. Army. But they designated her to lead, and none of the others in the squad had made a big deal out of it.
All in all, the mission had gone well enough. PVT Dhalon had served ably as designated scout, though he'd taken a hit in the first contact. Parsons had patched him up well enough to continue the mission, and Dhalon had moved on to rack up several kills. Rainhard's injury was just bad luck; He'd peeked around cover at just the wrong moment, when they'd been lying in wait for that last pod of Sectoids. It could have done worse, and they'd all walked out of it with promotions. Still, both of them were going to be out of commission for a long time, and Bowden felt responsible. She should have done something differently, somehow.
The day room was packed, as it always was. With only three troopers in medbay, and no missions out, there wasn't a lot going on, and a lot of time to do it in. At least the engineers and researchers had work to do everyday. Naomi stepped out of the doorway and stopped, scanning the room for a familiar face. It didn't take long to spot Parsons leaned over the pool table, taking a shot while a woman with a pool cue stood by, waiting her turn. Naomi wove through the crowded room toward them.
"Has anyone called winner?" she asked. The other woman shook her head sourly as Parsons lined up another shot. Without a nametape she couldn't be sure, but she thought the woman's name was Kline. "Mind if I jump in, then?"
"Go for it. I don't think it's going to take much longer," the woman said, grimacing again as Parsons took yet another shot, leaving just the cue ball and the 8-ball on the table. "I thought I had this one in the bag, too." Naomi smiled sympathetically, and the other woman shook her head again, finally smiling ruefully. Indeed, it didn't take long at all, as Parsons called the corner pocket, then put the 8-ball into it.
"You owe me a beer, love," he said with a grin.
"Yeah, yeah," Kline shot back, laying her cue on the table. "You owe me a rematch." She glanced at Naomi, then added "After." She cut through the crowd toward the bar.
"Beer?" Naomi said, lacing her voice with disdain. "You mean piss-flavored water?" Parsons laughed and started racking up the pool balls.
"Hey, it's all we can get here, though my mate over in intel says that they're talking about introducing a chit system for the real deal. It'll probably be American domestic brews mostly, but it's better than nothin' eh?"
"If you say so," Naomi said, which was obviously not agreement. Still, he was right. Even an American beer would be nice after a combat mission. She might even drink it cold.
"You break, love," Parsons said, flipping the triangle end-over-end as he pulled it away from the table. Naomi took up the pool cue and leaned over the table, sliding the cue between her fingers a few times before letting loose with a crack that scattered the pool balls satisfactorily. Nothing went in though, which made it Parsons' turn.
"How are you feeling?" she asked as she stepped back from the table. "After yesterday's mission?" He didn't answer right away as he scanned the table, looking for a likely shot. Kline returned with a tray of near-beers and set it down near Naomi before picking one up and taking a slug. Naomi made a face, but grabbed one anyway.
"I'm feelin' good, honestly," he replied after a minute. "Olu gettin' hit at the last was damned bad luck, but it was a clean mission, and I think I'm going to do well as a Scout." He punctuated his statement with a clean shot that put the nine in the side pocket. The cue ball rolled until it fetched up immediately between two other balls, and he frowned before lining up his next shot. "Heard you got tagged for Infantry."
"Yes," she returned. "Bit of a surprise, really." Parsons' shot went wide when the cue ball clipped one of hers, and it was her turn. "I only managed the one kill, right there at the end. You'd think they'd want more than that." Naomi leaned over the table, and cleanly put the three into a corner pocket.
"Nah," he shot back. "You're an excellent all-arounder. You're not the fastest, toughest or most accurate, but you got high marks in all areas, and you kept your head through that whole mission." She nodded absently as she banked the cue around the fourteen, and put the two into a side pocket. "What I think? They're grooming you for an officer billet." Her shot went wild as what he said registered, and she glared at him. He smiled back with only a hint of apology before moving to the table for his shot.
"That's utter nonsense," she replied. I'm a Private First Class, all but bottom of the barrel, same as you and anyone else." He put the twelve away, and lined up for a bank on the fifteen. "They'll bring in officers from outside, I wager."
"XCOM's not like where we came from," Parsons replied. He didn't say anything else, but she could tell he wasn't done speaking. He stepped back from the table, carefully considering his next move. "Pidge says they've got plans for an Officer School. Once its up, we'll all have mandatory classes between missions, but they're already starting to earmark the promising troopers." He leaned over the table, lined up a shot and took it, the cue ball flying across the table. "Survive long enough, and I think you'll find yourself wearing lieutenant's bars." The cue ball smashed into the thirteen, putting it hard into the corner pocket, and the cue ball kept moving, clipping the 8-ball. "Oh, no..." Parsons groaned as the 8-ball slipped right into the side pocket, and covered his face with his hands.
"Looks like that's it, then," Naomi replied with a small smile. "Care to play?" she asked, turning to Kline.
"Sure thing, ma'am," Kline shot back, giving a sloppy salute.
"Oh, do shut up," Naomi shot back, pulling the triangle out. As Kline racked the balls, Naomi realized that she felt really good for the first time in weeks. Piss water or no, she took an enormous swig from her beer. "I hope you're better than him. I was looking for a challenge."
But then came Operation Twisted Grave. She'd been designated to lead the squad, even though none of them had any rank in this new organization. Hell, she'd only been a Corporal back in the British Army, and Houston had been a Sergeant with three combat tours in the U.S. Army. But they designated her to lead, and none of the others in the squad had made a big deal out of it.
All in all, the mission had gone well enough. PVT Dhalon had served ably as designated scout, though he'd taken a hit in the first contact. Parsons had patched him up well enough to continue the mission, and Dhalon had moved on to rack up several kills. Rainhard's injury was just bad luck; He'd peeked around cover at just the wrong moment, when they'd been lying in wait for that last pod of Sectoids. It could have done worse, and they'd all walked out of it with promotions. Still, both of them were going to be out of commission for a long time, and Bowden felt responsible. She should have done something differently, somehow.
The day room was packed, as it always was. With only three troopers in medbay, and no missions out, there wasn't a lot going on, and a lot of time to do it in. At least the engineers and researchers had work to do everyday. Naomi stepped out of the doorway and stopped, scanning the room for a familiar face. It didn't take long to spot Parsons leaned over the pool table, taking a shot while a woman with a pool cue stood by, waiting her turn. Naomi wove through the crowded room toward them.
"Has anyone called winner?" she asked. The other woman shook her head sourly as Parsons lined up another shot. Without a nametape she couldn't be sure, but she thought the woman's name was Kline. "Mind if I jump in, then?"
"Go for it. I don't think it's going to take much longer," the woman said, grimacing again as Parsons took yet another shot, leaving just the cue ball and the 8-ball on the table. "I thought I had this one in the bag, too." Naomi smiled sympathetically, and the other woman shook her head again, finally smiling ruefully. Indeed, it didn't take long at all, as Parsons called the corner pocket, then put the 8-ball into it.
"You owe me a beer, love," he said with a grin.
"Yeah, yeah," Kline shot back, laying her cue on the table. "You owe me a rematch." She glanced at Naomi, then added "After." She cut through the crowd toward the bar.
"Beer?" Naomi said, lacing her voice with disdain. "You mean piss-flavored water?" Parsons laughed and started racking up the pool balls.
"Hey, it's all we can get here, though my mate over in intel says that they're talking about introducing a chit system for the real deal. It'll probably be American domestic brews mostly, but it's better than nothin' eh?"
"If you say so," Naomi said, which was obviously not agreement. Still, he was right. Even an American beer would be nice after a combat mission. She might even drink it cold.
"You break, love," Parsons said, flipping the triangle end-over-end as he pulled it away from the table. Naomi took up the pool cue and leaned over the table, sliding the cue between her fingers a few times before letting loose with a crack that scattered the pool balls satisfactorily. Nothing went in though, which made it Parsons' turn.
"How are you feeling?" she asked as she stepped back from the table. "After yesterday's mission?" He didn't answer right away as he scanned the table, looking for a likely shot. Kline returned with a tray of near-beers and set it down near Naomi before picking one up and taking a slug. Naomi made a face, but grabbed one anyway.
"I'm feelin' good, honestly," he replied after a minute. "Olu gettin' hit at the last was damned bad luck, but it was a clean mission, and I think I'm going to do well as a Scout." He punctuated his statement with a clean shot that put the nine in the side pocket. The cue ball rolled until it fetched up immediately between two other balls, and he frowned before lining up his next shot. "Heard you got tagged for Infantry."
"Yes," she returned. "Bit of a surprise, really." Parsons' shot went wide when the cue ball clipped one of hers, and it was her turn. "I only managed the one kill, right there at the end. You'd think they'd want more than that." Naomi leaned over the table, and cleanly put the three into a corner pocket.
"Nah," he shot back. "You're an excellent all-arounder. You're not the fastest, toughest or most accurate, but you got high marks in all areas, and you kept your head through that whole mission." She nodded absently as she banked the cue around the fourteen, and put the two into a side pocket. "What I think? They're grooming you for an officer billet." Her shot went wild as what he said registered, and she glared at him. He smiled back with only a hint of apology before moving to the table for his shot.
"That's utter nonsense," she replied. I'm a Private First Class, all but bottom of the barrel, same as you and anyone else." He put the twelve away, and lined up for a bank on the fifteen. "They'll bring in officers from outside, I wager."
"XCOM's not like where we came from," Parsons replied. He didn't say anything else, but she could tell he wasn't done speaking. He stepped back from the table, carefully considering his next move. "Pidge says they've got plans for an Officer School. Once its up, we'll all have mandatory classes between missions, but they're already starting to earmark the promising troopers." He leaned over the table, lined up a shot and took it, the cue ball flying across the table. "Survive long enough, and I think you'll find yourself wearing lieutenant's bars." The cue ball smashed into the thirteen, putting it hard into the corner pocket, and the cue ball kept moving, clipping the 8-ball. "Oh, no..." Parsons groaned as the 8-ball slipped right into the side pocket, and covered his face with his hands.
"Looks like that's it, then," Naomi replied with a small smile. "Care to play?" she asked, turning to Kline.
"Sure thing, ma'am," Kline shot back, giving a sloppy salute.
"Oh, do shut up," Naomi shot back, pulling the triangle out. As Kline racked the balls, Naomi realized that she felt really good for the first time in weeks. Piss water or no, she took an enormous swig from her beer. "I hope you're better than him. I was looking for a challenge."
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
OPERATION TWISTED GRAVE - AFTER ACTION REPORT (06 MAR 2016 @2011)
OPERATION TWISTED GRAVE - AFTER ACTION REPORT
PREPARED BY: PFC Naomi Bowden
SITUATION
o Enemy Forces:
- 3 Drones, 4 Sectoids, 1 "Outsider", armed with plasma weapons
o Friendly Forces
- PVT Naomi Bowden (United Kingdoms)
- PVT Ward Parsons (Australia)
- PVT Anant Dhalon (Pakistan)
- PVT Jared Houston (United States)
- PVT Rainhard Horn (Austria)
- PVT Kaseem Quadri (Indonesia)
MISSION
o Strike Team deploys to North-Central Texas, 06 MAR 2016 @ 2011 hrs, IOT clear and exploit alien crash site
EXECUTION NARRATIVE
We received the Mission Alert at 0900 hrs on 05 MAR, and were given orders to be ready to depart within 24 hours, once the Intelligence Operations could fully analyse the data. The squad was boots-on-ground at 2011 hrs on 06 MAR. PVT Dhalon was designated scout, and the squad advanced in standard wedge behind him, using cover as available until Dhalon signaled that he heard movement ahead. We took cover along a high ridge-line. That's when we saw them, a pair of the grey bastards they call Sectoids. Anant took a reaction shot and winged one before they withdrew out of sight.
The squad moved into better cover, and prepared to receive their assault. The buggers dodged in and out of sight, and one took a shot at Dhalon, and I heard his scream of pain. I directed everyone to hold position and wait for them to come to us, except Parsons who moved to provide aid to Dhalon. We weathered the next volley of shots, then Rainhard returned fire and eliminated one X-Ray while Parsons assisted PVT Dhalon, at which point we advanced to kill the other Sectoid. Dhalon was the first to get eyes on, at which point he returned the favour, with interest.
We shifted our line of advance back toward the downed craft, when we found ourselves under fire from the left again. This time it was three small hovering "drones" for lack of any other term. We were lucky to avoid injury, because they attacked before we'd had time to really react. PVTs Dhalon and Rainhard, still on the left flank, returned fire and destroyed two of the machines in short order. Parsons and Houston cut loose, full-auto on the remaining one before it finally went down as well.
With no current threats, we turned our attention again to the downed craft, and advanced under cover. It was large and rounded, with one side completely torn open, and what appeared to be a glowing door in the side facing us. Dhalon, Houston and Parsons stacked to either side of the alien door, while Rainhard and Quadri took overwatch on the flanks, and I took the centre. At my signal, Dhalon touched the door, to see if he could figure out how to open it. It dissolved under his touch, revealing the inside of the craft.
What we saw inside, I still cannot quite describe. It was a creature, human in shape, seeminly made of light. Anant and Jared fired reflexively as it charged the doorway. When it staggered, Parsons dashed inside, shooting it point blank in the head. He reported that the creature just seemed to vanish as its weapon exploded.
The overwatch team advanced to the ship to provide support for any other hostiles, but nothing immediately appeared. Quadri heard movement from outside the ship, so I directed everyone inside, using it as an impromptu bunker. Then we waited, weapons ready.
When they advanced, they came plasma first. Rainhard was seriously injured in the opening volley, but Quadri returned fire, wounding one and forcing them to seek cover. With two wounded, I knew we had to end this, so I ran for the doorway, dodged return fire and shot one of the big-headed bastards in the head, while Houston finished off the other.
Once we were sure there was nothing else coming, we saw to our wounded, and returned to the Skyranger.
LESSONS LEARNED
o Sustain:
- Movement formations
- Ammo discipline
o Improve:
- Clear the sidelines before advancing
- Use all of your tools
PREPARED BY: PFC Naomi Bowden
SITUATION
o Enemy Forces:
- 3 Drones, 4 Sectoids, 1 "Outsider", armed with plasma weapons
o Friendly Forces
- PVT Naomi Bowden (United Kingdoms)
- PVT Ward Parsons (Australia)
- PVT Anant Dhalon (Pakistan)
- PVT Jared Houston (United States)
- PVT Rainhard Horn (Austria)
- PVT Kaseem Quadri (Indonesia)
MISSION
o Strike Team deploys to North-Central Texas, 06 MAR 2016 @ 2011 hrs, IOT clear and exploit alien crash site
EXECUTION NARRATIVE
We received the Mission Alert at 0900 hrs on 05 MAR, and were given orders to be ready to depart within 24 hours, once the Intelligence Operations could fully analyse the data. The squad was boots-on-ground at 2011 hrs on 06 MAR. PVT Dhalon was designated scout, and the squad advanced in standard wedge behind him, using cover as available until Dhalon signaled that he heard movement ahead. We took cover along a high ridge-line. That's when we saw them, a pair of the grey bastards they call Sectoids. Anant took a reaction shot and winged one before they withdrew out of sight.
The squad moved into better cover, and prepared to receive their assault. The buggers dodged in and out of sight, and one took a shot at Dhalon, and I heard his scream of pain. I directed everyone to hold position and wait for them to come to us, except Parsons who moved to provide aid to Dhalon. We weathered the next volley of shots, then Rainhard returned fire and eliminated one X-Ray while Parsons assisted PVT Dhalon, at which point we advanced to kill the other Sectoid. Dhalon was the first to get eyes on, at which point he returned the favour, with interest.
We shifted our line of advance back toward the downed craft, when we found ourselves under fire from the left again. This time it was three small hovering "drones" for lack of any other term. We were lucky to avoid injury, because they attacked before we'd had time to really react. PVTs Dhalon and Rainhard, still on the left flank, returned fire and destroyed two of the machines in short order. Parsons and Houston cut loose, full-auto on the remaining one before it finally went down as well.
With no current threats, we turned our attention again to the downed craft, and advanced under cover. It was large and rounded, with one side completely torn open, and what appeared to be a glowing door in the side facing us. Dhalon, Houston and Parsons stacked to either side of the alien door, while Rainhard and Quadri took overwatch on the flanks, and I took the centre. At my signal, Dhalon touched the door, to see if he could figure out how to open it. It dissolved under his touch, revealing the inside of the craft.
What we saw inside, I still cannot quite describe. It was a creature, human in shape, seeminly made of light. Anant and Jared fired reflexively as it charged the doorway. When it staggered, Parsons dashed inside, shooting it point blank in the head. He reported that the creature just seemed to vanish as its weapon exploded.
The overwatch team advanced to the ship to provide support for any other hostiles, but nothing immediately appeared. Quadri heard movement from outside the ship, so I directed everyone inside, using it as an impromptu bunker. Then we waited, weapons ready.
When they advanced, they came plasma first. Rainhard was seriously injured in the opening volley, but Quadri returned fire, wounding one and forcing them to seek cover. With two wounded, I knew we had to end this, so I ran for the doorway, dodged return fire and shot one of the big-headed bastards in the head, while Houston finished off the other.
Once we were sure there was nothing else coming, we saw to our wounded, and returned to the Skyranger.
LESSONS LEARNED
o Sustain:
- Movement formations
- Ammo discipline
o Improve:
- Clear the sidelines before advancing
- Use all of your tools
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