What follows is a journal written by one of the operatives in the second XCOM campaign, Alan Robertson.

Recap: A UFO was hunting the Avenger and found us. It shot us out of the sky and placed an EMP disrupter spike outside. We cannot take off until we destroy it, and ADVENT is sending everything they have at us. We are currently battling their forces, and we have lost our senior officer, Lieutenant Jane ‘Specter’ Kelly.

Central advises that he is sending in another unit from reserves, Rookie Vanya Gusev. We also spot another incoming reinforcement flare land behind the officer and trooper that just landed. Ye fires her sniper rifle at the berserker and hits it. Unfortunately, it’s still standing and is now enraged from the pain. Keenan moves up a little on the battlefield and finishes off the beserker with a rifle shot before it can unleash its rage on Kim. Kim quickly takes advantage of that and moves into full cover behind a small monument and takes a shot at the disruptor spike. He does some damage to it, but it’s still functional. Schulz moves up into cover behind a fence row and takes a shot at the disruptor spike also, but it is still functioning. Ishikawa moves from behind the boulder into cover behind a fence row and goes into overwatch. Girard holds his position and goes into overwatch also. Gusev moves off the ramp and into cover behind a barricade across from Ye and goes into overwatch. I also go into overwatch as I spy the next ADVENT transport coming into view.

We watch as the transport drops off an officer and a MEC. They quickly move up into position with their comrades that were recently dropped off. The injured trooper by Kim moves even closer, and I quickly line up a shot and hit it with a well-placed sniper round. Ishikawa finishes it off with a volley of fire from his cannon. The officer that just arrived points and yells at Keenan, and all the forces around him quickly turn their attention to him as if he’s been marked as the next target. One trooper takes a shot at Keenan and hits and injures him. Keenan panics and runs for cover behind a tree and fires blindly at the officer and misses. Another trooper moves up and takes a shot at Schulz and injures him with a blast from his rifle. Right in front of the troops, we spot yet another incoming reinforcements flare land.

Kim finishes off the disruptor spike with one more shot. Central confirms that we can take off now, and urges everyone to get back to the Avenger. Ishikawa makes a mad dash for the ramp and takes cover behind a barricade on the side. Since he’s already on the ramp Girard goes into overwatch to cover the soldiers still out in the field. Ye falls back and takes cover behind a portion of the ramp and goes into overwatch. Schulz makes a mad dash and takes cover behind a stump near the barricade just outside the ramp. Gusev moves back onto the ramp and takes cover besides Ye, and he also goes into overwatch. I go into overwatch from my position on the ramp.

We watch the next ADVENT transport fly in and drop off another office and two more troopers. As the officer tries to move into cover I line up and take a shot at him. I hit him, but he’s still up and moves into cover and flanks Keenan. A trooper moves up, but Gusev takes him down with a rifle blast.

Keenan recovers from his panic. Ishikawa goes into overwatch again to try and stop any enemies from advancing on the Avenger. Ye follows suit and does the same. Keenan runs and takes cover at the fence section where Kelly’s body lies. Kim makes a mad dash back towards the Avengers and stops in cover just a little bit away from the ramp. Schulz moves back into the field and takes cover right besides Kennan. I then watch as he crouches down and picks up Kelly’s body and her belongings. He then proceeds to carry her body back and takes cover behind the barricade just outside the ramp. Gusev and I both go into overwatch and prepare.

<To Be Continued>

Author Heath Markley

I have been an avid gamer for 32 years now. It started with the Atari 2600 my parents bought me as a child (my mom still says she regrets that decision), and I have never looked back. For my gaming, I enjoy RPG and strategy games the most, but I will play almost all games. Besides gaming, I am a family man (beautiful wife and three wonderful children) and a healthcare IT professional. So, gaming time is a premium for me, but I make the most of every chance I get.



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