The engineers are positively giddy at the bounty of extraterrestrials recovered on the team's last outing, but they resolve to finish the problem in front of them before moving on to another. Namely: plasma weapons. It was a vexing mystery: weapons recovered from the battlefield would function perfectly for a new hours, then fall inert. The easy explanation would be a kill signal or switch triggered after they fell into human hands, but the scientists had swept every millimeter of the design and was confident it was incapable of receiving outside signals. Indeed, even when placed in a Faraday cage, the weapon would become inactive in short order.
March 21st, the long awaited research breakthrough finally comes, surmounting the difficulties posed by the alien weaponry and enabling XCOM to use the enemy's weapons against their creators. While the commander had taken to selling the numerous smaller alien armaments to fund the organization, he had methodically hoarded all of the most powerful configuration XCOM had came across, dubbed the heavy plasma. Ammo is a little tight for the alien weapons, but the engineers assure everyone they can manufacture more if necessary from the base's stocks of Elerium-115, the element powering the aliens' power sources - although recovering more would be far more preferable.
Not more than half a day later, a chance comes to test the new armaments out: a small UFO is downed along the coast of the Red Sea in Africa. The team also packs the small number of alien grenades they have managed to accrue. Peace Keeper 2014 and Gemini do not accompany the team on account of their wounds, nor do avianchild and Atlas to accommodate rookies and rotate in other rocket-bearers: SearchingLyoko and MooterZolo-Kira. This will the the first mission for nodsviper, Abraxas, Karl, and MovMou.
Upon exiting the Skyranger, they find nothing worth noting to its rear or left flank. On the craft's left, however, the UFO is visible, shocking close to their LZ. The forward troopers keep a sharp on on the entrance for alien ambushers as the rear guard trundles down the ramp.
A Floater appears to the side of the UFO, performing its customary slow, unsteady hover. It's practically begging to be made a target - and shortly after, a corpse. AeonFrodo obliges this death wish.
The alien falls from its airy perch into a cabbage patch.
Snickie enters the UFO, but no aliens are present inside, and she knows better to stick around without backup. Without need for verbal communication, the team automatically splits itself into three groups: one to enter the UFO, and two to sweep around the UFO's exterior, one from each direction.
Directly ahead of the Skyranger's nose are a series of farm structures. Dreamowd heads there to scout them out.
Inside the UFO, a Floater makes itself known. MovMou trades fire with it, hitting the alien once, but the potent plasma weapon doesn't take the Floater out of play.
jacobbeahm enters and finishes the alien off.
On the far side of the UFO, another Floater enters, then proceeds to blast nodsviper, killing him, and empties a follow-up shot into TheAppleFreak, wounding her.
Outside, a plasma bolt brushes past Immudelki's leg.
TheAppleFreak whips out her stun rod and zaps the Floater into unconsciousness before it can finish her off. Snickie and the others on the left side push into the small chamber through the first door on their side, and a peek into the control room reveals no Floaters. On the other side of the UFO's hull from the control room, drpdrp97 and Karl fire plasma at Immudelki's attacker, but the plasma misses its target without exception.
AeonFrodo can do no better.
SearchingLyoko steps forward to fire, and in the process spots a second Floater. Two for one? Unfortunately, it isn't to be: Searching's rocket slips through a gap in the fence and flies off into the distance.
Fortunately, rockets are no longer XCOM's only easy-to-project weapon with a punch. Immudelki primes and throws a potent alien grenade.
However, the oddly shaped explosive doesn't go where Immudelki had intended it to. Instead, it lands atop a hay bale.
The explosion envelops one Floater, but the second is unscathed - it advances and fires back. Thankfully, SearchingLyoko's armor absorbs the hit. Immudelki finishes off the Floater with his heavy plasma.
Inside the UFO, the heroes enter the control room in force, find it deserted, and breach the central power chamber of the UFO. Inside they find two deceased Floaters and the shattered power source that killed them.
While this is happening drpdrp97, Karl, and MooterZolo-Kira swing counter-clockwise around the UFO to link with the other troopers. MooterZolo-Kira spots another Floater.
SearchingLyoko makes up for his earlier miss with an accurate rocket that kills the Floater. A second Floater appears through the inferno now engulfing the barn and fires down at drpdrp97's group.
AeonFrodo kills it before it can do any damage, and the area proves to be clear of any further threats. Mission complete.
---
Mission Recap and Debriefing
TheAppleFreak: 1 capture
AeonFrodo: 2 kills
Immudelki: 2 kills
jacobbeahm: 1 kill
SearchingLyoko: 1 kill
New Squaddies: TheAppleFreak, Karl, MovMou
nodsviper: Rookie, KIA on his 1st mission with 0 kills
We took a UFO with only a single Rookie lost, so I call that a successful mission. (sorry, nodsviper) The team ate a couple too many plasma bolts for my liking, however, and to compound issues we didn't get any more ammo for our plasma weapons to replace what we used. We did take one of the Floaters alive, but capturing the foe's rank-and-file is almost meaningless now, and we won't find any alien leaders in scout ships.
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