Part 16: Tastes Like Chicken

Update 14: Tastes Like Chicken

"February twenty seventh, Biomass and Cult of Sirius situation update.

Well, I'll start with the most serious concern. That fungus that was growing in Egypt has continued to grow. Egypt is pretty much gone and it shows no signs of slowing down. What is worse is that this Biomass has shown up in other places as well. Near Moscow...



and here near the Pacific coast of Russia/China.



This is a very bad development for us, if the second and third clumps of biomass continue to expand like the Egypt one has then all progress into Asia and Europe from Thule base will be blocked off until we can find some way to deal with this shit.

I've suggested putting resources into getting what ever specialized equipment possible together and sending Phoenix Squad to the edge of one of the piles of Biomass and collecting a sample. The Council however continues to waffle over the decision. Maybe I can get it done anyway with out their direct consent, just shoot a UFO over the crap and get a sample while the squad is recovering the UFO. You know, I was kind of hoping this political crap wouldn't have survived Nightfall.

That aside, there is some good news. As usual our labs have been busy with the following:





The upgrade to our air force continues to level the playing field against UFOs, we went about 50/50 on UFO engagements. We're down another six planes and one pilot. Replacing the planes is becoming easier as we have plenty of raw materials to work with and three bases dedicated to manufacturing equipment.

We had one other interesting research topic come up and... I'm not exactly sure why the lab is looking into things like this. Well, maybe if our situation becomes a lot more dire then it could come in useful, but for now we have plenty of food stores and most bases have some farms sown around them.



I'm a little concerned about eating at the mess hall now.

Erm, well that just leaves us with the serious business of the latest mission. Snake Squad reported a sudden drop in the cult's activity along our southern border, going almost completely inactive. While Snake Squad has been doing well in holding the line, they report they hadn't done enough direct damage to the cult to cause this sort of inactivity on the cult's part.

With the cult hiding or otherwise not confronting our forces there, Snake Squad located a potential base site they might have been using. Using the teleporter systems Phoenix Squad geared up, teleported down to Managua and hit the base."




Booya: Okay grunts, listen up. We're looking for signs of The Cult of Sirius, this is their territory, but Snake Squad hasn't seen them lately. They miss the little fanatics, so they asked us to deliver them a get well soon card. Understood?
Golden: Uh... are you sure thats the mission objective?
Booya: Of course I am!
Fastball: Really? That doesn't seem like the kind of thing I heard you guys were doing.
Booya: Shut up rookie.
Rabbit: Uh Sir, what about the part about the cults' base?
Booya: Oh right, go there, kill them all, leave Snake Squads card and take the base over.
Canuck: Oh man... At least its warm here.



Teppec: Whoa, that the hell is that?
Rabbit: That's a new one.
Booya: Ugly son of a gun. Kill it!



Golden: Huh, not much of a threat. It just stood there.
Fire Storm: Maybe it was cowering in fear from your manliness Golden!
Golden: Oh no, Val and Ackbar warned me about you, so just back off.
Fire Storm: Oh no fun...
Fastball: Warned you about what?
Golden: Oh uh, nothing rookie.



Canuck: Gross.
Teppec: Looks like it was hollow.
Booya: Come along pudding pops, we'll let the guys at base look at it.



Teppec: Chrysalis spotted!
Fastball: Oh, I got this one!



Fastball: Boom, hot plasma in the back as it tries to flee! You see that Rabbit? * flex*
Rabbit: Uh yeah, good shot.



Golden: Oh crap, I see a lot of them.
Booya: Oh, really? Thanks for this breaking report Showers. Why don't you put it in a memo and entitle it Shit I Already Know. And make sure Vault gets a copy for his records.
Golden: You don't have to be so mean about it.
Booya: Just shoot them, dirtbag.



Fastball: Hot plasma going out!



Fastball: Plecton down!
Rabbit: Hey, rookies doing pretty good.
Fastball: Just wait 'til you see what I can do with a 'nade.
Rabbit: I'm not even sure I want to know what that means.



Canuck: Got him! Gobber down.
Fire Storm: Canuck kills them with the sniper rifle, okayyyyyyy!
Canuck: hey hey hey, you get back over there! Get away!
Fire Storm: Foooooo!



Teppec: Last kills mine.
Booya: You see any more there Showers?
Golden: No...
Booya: You sure? I would hate for your memo there to be misleading.
Golden: Sigh.. Its clear.



Golden: Oh god its not clear!
Fastball: Its shooting swarms of angry bees!
Canuck: Run!



Canuck: Oh god! They're attacking me! Get them off! AHHHhhhhhhhggghhhhh....
Golden: Fuck!
Rabbit: Canuck!
Booya: Shit, I lost that thing around the corner. Golden! You said it was clear!
Golden: It was! I didn't see that!
Booya: See if you can help him damn it!



Golden: Its.. no use Booya... I don't have a pulse or anything.
Teppec: Jesus.. He's dead?
Golden: Yeah...
Fire Storm: Oh my god... Canuck.
Booya: Get yourselves together, Fastball, leave a colored smoke grenade here. We'll have the 'copter boys come in and get him.
Fastball: Yes sir.
Booya: Now, rest of you. This is war, people die and we've got a mission. You want to kill the god forsaken monster that killed Canuck? Then lets go!



Rabbit: Found it!
Fastball: Eat plasma!
Booya: Just get behind the building if it shoots any bees this way.



Teppec: Its down.
Golden: Rest in peace buddy.
Booya: Almost to the base, keep going guys.




Golden: Fuck I hope there aren't any more of those things down here. No room to dodge out of the way.
Fastball: They looked too fat to get down the lift.



Fire Storm: Cudgel spotted!
Booya: What? Inside the cults base?



Golden: Those guys aren't even a challenge anymore.
Booya: Shut up showers. What are transgenants doing inside the base?
Rabbit: That is strange... Maybe they're just freaky enough to live with them.
Teppec: Or maybe they are the transgenants.
Fire Storm: Ohh creeepy.
Booya: Eh, kill them and speculate later. Humph, in here jackasses.



Booya: Found 'em.



Fire Storm: Headshot! Fooooo!
Golden: Dude, you're like 15 feet away with a sniper rifle, and that thing is half head.
Fire Storm: Raining on Fire Storms parade, okayyyyy.



Rabbit: Got the other one. Laser rifle is working nicely.
Teppec: Yeah? I hear the techs are trying to make our own version of it.
Booya: Quit chattering, more killing. Fastball, pop that door.
Fastball: On it!



Fastball: Whoa! Enemy surprise.



Fastball: Got it! ... and a buddy! Ha, didn't even see him!
Booya: Huh, area effect weapons, nice.
Fastball: Hey I see another!
Booya: Hey get back here!



Fastball: Shotgun... hike!



Fastball: Oh yeah! He's all kinds of dead!
Booya: Damn it rookie, don't go running off by yourself! Going to get yourself killed.



Rabbit: Got another one over here!



Rabbit: And its down.
Teppec: You notice how there sure was a lot of humanoid transgenants down here?
Golden: You still think that they are cult members?
Teppec: It might make sense. They worship the aliens right? So maybe they see the stuff that fell from the skies as some sort of divine blessing and have been messing around with it.
Rabbit: Well, we better not let them see Egypt them.
Teppec: Yeah...




"First and most seriously is the death of Jean-Luc 'Ice7' Roulot -"
"Uh, it was Canuck sir."
"What was that Johnson?"
"Sir, Ice wasn't on the last mission, it was Canuck."
"Oh god! That's even worse! Shit, well I better record over that... now how do you do that again...."

"First and most concerning is the death of Jean "Canuck" Maury, a fine soldier and a great sniper. The cause of death was a new type of previously unencountered transgenant. The lab boys are calling them Death Bellows. They are mostly hollow and seem to be a living bee hive for a mutated strand of bees which it then shoots out by compressing parts of itself. From what we can tell these bees swarmed Canuck and stung him hundreds of times, each one delivering a small out of poison. Unfortunately not even combat armor was able to slow this down as it doesn't completely enclose a person from the outside world, which is about what it would take to prevent these bees from swarming through the narrowest of cracks.

I've advised the squads to be incredibly cautious when confronted with a death bellows from now on, to take shots and run the moment it launches bees in their direction. This was our first loss of life to a transgenant, previously considered much easier foes then the Reticulans.

The grave news of Canuck aside leaves us with the fact that we have captured a base near Colombia, previously though to be the cults font post for skirmishing against our forces at Managua. No traces of the cult were found, but the base contained exclusively humanoid transgenants. Making us wonder if they were merely over run by them, or if some more sinister fate has befallen the cult.

We have captured more supplies, of course, and the inventory list has been sent to Haggis. The death of Canuck also puts my plans of a second squad on hold until I can gather more recruits. Fastball preformed very well during the mission and scored many kills. I'm glad we have another heavy weapons expert on the squad. Also him and Rabbit are the only ones brave enough to try out the alien weapons so far, Rabbit having replaced her AR-M4 with the aliens laser rifle. Her testimony says that its far more accurate and with zero recoil, leading to great long range accuracy.

We're preparing a funeral ceremony for Canuck in the evening. God rest his soul, and all others who have died fighting in this war."




--Soldiers Logs--


Posted by lilljonas 'Hero'

Personal log of Megan "Hero" Okembo, part 9.

Again, we've lost a squad member. Again, it happened while I was recovering from injuries. I saw them carry him on a stretcher through the corridor past my room, Ice was all bloated and mangled, killed by hundreds of space bees they say. What a truly awful way to go. These things always makes me wonder if I could have changed anything if I was there, if I could have made a difference. But we're at war, and people die in wars. I just can't get used to it.

I hope this recent mission means that we're finally getting close to securing the entire continent. I've seen pictures from what's going on elsewhere, and it looks really goddamn ugly. I hope any survivors living there had time to evacuate. I hope the Commander plans to find out what it is, and if there's a way to stop it.

The food in the cafeteria tasted strange this morning. Not as grainy and dry as it use to be. I don't know if they got a new chef or something, but it's nice that at least something is changing for the better right now.

End of Entry



Posted by seaborgium

Personal Log Entry 3, Bruce "seaborgium" Smith, Janitor for the Council of Earth,

Kept cleaning everything up as per usual. Apparently we lost an operative the other day. That's never good, brings the base down a little as a whole. Everyone feels sad for a few days. No real good way to cheer them up either, just gotta keep going. Hopefully we don't lose too many. Could get kind of shitty around here.

As for interesting good things that happen, I got roped into trying out some new armor Hagis had. Apparently I'm now disposable, as this armor isn't exactly new and has an elerium power source. Could have a working jet pack, but they wouldn't give me the fuel for it. Said it was a shortage on the supply end but I'm pretty sure they thought I'd fly it into a fucking wall, then they'd have to clean their own damn toilets. Seems like it would actually be useful if you went outside, but hell if I know. Doesn't seem like it would stop all that plasma shit I hear about that well. That, and I think I'm allergic to the armor or something, had a hell of a rash after running around in it for a bit. Had to see the medic, he said it would go away. We'll see though.

Also finally managed to get my hands on some brewing gear. Gonna make me some better shit than Haggis, hopefully less of a hangover the day after drinking some of it too.
----End log



Posted by Garfield - Der Film 'Golden'

Personal Log

It's never fun to see a squadmate go down. The crazy Canadian was a good guy. I feel kinda bad about not spotting the Trangenant but I know it isn't really my fault. Still it doesn't make the guilt go away. I suppose from now on I'll try that much harder at keeping an eye out for those buggers. I hope we never have to lose another man.

-Golden



Posted by Eddy-Baby 'Jimmy'

[Begin recording]
[Data stamp: 26-FEB-2237-PL-JCL]

Personal log, Jian Lueng, dated 26th February.

Today I assisted in the autopsy of the guy we lost in South America. I've never seen anything like it... we counted over three hundred individual wounds. Our analysis of the venom indicates that it causes advanced tissue necrosis and immuno-suppression within a very short time. The insects themselves appear to be derived from a native species of parasitic wasp. We retrieved egg samples from several of the larger wounds, and placed some in cryogenic storage. I recommended we cremate the body ahead of the memorial service; given time, it will probably become a host colony much like the original transgenant.

On the upside, the analysis produced an effective anti venom, which we've added to our standard medical pack. It will counter the effects of the poison and neutralize any parasites - if we can get to the victim before he's eaten alive...

I never really talked to him. I chatted with him in the mess hall once, and he seemed like a good guy - but what with my training time, I don't really get much time for socializing. I do get to talk to the guys recovering in medical, but they don't seem to have a lot to say to me. Most of them outrank me, anyway.

Anyway, I've now formally completed my advanced medical training, so I've asked the Commander to reassign me to field duties. I can't make much of a difference back here.

*click*
[End recording]



Posted by Forest Fucker

[Personal Log of Dietrich "Fuckery" Kast]
[Feb 30th]
[Entry 03]
Well, the eggheads were right. We can now go toe-to-toe with the aliens and actually expect to come out on top. But the cost is... pretty high. Instead of just being strapped in the seat, i now have a humongous amount of electrodes and other crazy shit plugged into my head and... other places. Though i can pull off all kinds of crazy shit in the sky, it's not worth the humongous hangover afterwards. If Vault sends another therapist to our quarters, i suspect there might be a stair-related accident...
Vault is clamping down on rumours hard, but we saw a glimpse of that weird shit growing in India before we were ordered to break and return. It's like an glacier made of...brain matter. I don't like it one bit.
[Entry ends]



Posted by Rear Admiral BOOYA 'Booya'

*** ALL LOG FILES CONSIDERED FOR YOUR EYES ONLY. THIS MEANS YOUR WIFE CANNOT READ THIS. HELLO, BOYS AND GIRLÔØ^†ÏÏ??>>>>?colloquialism lost>?' ***

Journal of Malcolm McLean, ( "BOOYA") dated xx/26/2085.
Current Music: Charlie Ryan - Hot Rod Lincoln
Mood: Excited

I am posting this journal update from the integrated computer in this new exosuit that the boys at R&D have managed to put together. Got me some newfangled emoticon things the kids using the blogonets told me how to use.

Don't tell nobody, though, I sure as hell ain't supposed to be doin' this.

**** REMOTE ACCESS TERMINATED ****



Posted by lilljonas 'Hero'

Personal log of Megan "Hero" Okembo. Part 10.

Today's tactical training was very special, because we tried out something very special. The Marsec Heavy Exoskeleton Suit or whatever they call it. I just call it "just in goddamn time", this will hopefully decrease the amount of wounds taken, especially during the hectic fighting in close quarters. Our practice rounds showed great promise during recreations of base and UFO assaults. It's never fun to be the first to enter those things, but now that the one who enters first will have a suit like this, it's slightly less scary. Until we can equip more of the squad, our close combat specialists will have dibs on them I guess. I'd like one myself, but I must prioritize the maximum potential of the unit before my own safety. Just sayin' I'd be happy if they churned out more of them, that's all.

I think the stress of my last injury is getting to me, I could swear I ran into Ice in the cafeteria. But considering how crowded the base is now, it could have been a second Canadian.

End of Entry