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

Pre-Operation Notes:

We’ve received word from our friend in the resistance that we’ve gotten ADVENT’s attention. It seems they are working on some new project across the globe. It’s being called Avatar. They believe that the Blacksite we uncovered is but a small part of this project.

We ended up scanning for the encrypted signal that we found. This is the one that somehow hacked Shen’s ROV-R. Central wants us to investigate this right away, as he believes the only one that would be able to bypass our systems and gain access is Shen’s father, Dr. Raymond Shen. I hope we do investigate this soon, as I would like to know if he can provide information on what happened to my father and if he’s still out there.

The scientists have finished researching magnetic weapons. Shen says they’re similar to early railgun prototypes that fire projectiles at extremely high velocity. With this research, the engineers can now craft magnetic rifles, shard guns (magnetic based shotguns), and mag pistols. Unfortunately, we are currently short the alloys needed to make these. Also, this opens up a chance for the scientists to research gauss weapons.

Operation Holy Sky – April 5th,2035

We just received word that the Resistance has attacked an ADVENT supply line. If we can get in and clear out the enemy forces and not cause too much destruction, we can gather up some valuable resources (maybe even some alloys to have Engineering craft us those magnetic weapons).

I’m going into the field today with familiar faces. Squad today consists of Sgt. Kelly (Ranger), Cpl. Ishikawa (Grenadier), Cpl. Girard (Specialist), and myself (Sharpshooter).

As soon as we land, Ishikawa takes point and moves ahead into cover. Kelly follows suit and moves a bit further out. She spots a trooper and something that resembles a giant snake-man. We each move up as far as we can while staying hidden from the enemy to prepare for our next move.

We watch the aliens for a few while they patrol their zone and all of us but Kelly set up in Overwatch to prepare. We let Kelly start things off since she is trained to do better while hidden. She pulls out one of the axes and hurls it at the Viper (what we’re calling the snake looking guy). It sinks in deep, but this guy must be tough, as he’s still standing. As the enemy scrambles for cover, Ishikawa takes out the trooper and I finish off the viper. With nothing in sight, Kelly moves up a little further to scout ahead. At the front of the transport truck she spies a trooper and officer. They also see her and scramble for cover. Kelly pulls out the bolt caster and takes down the officer with a solid blast. Realizing he’s in the open, the trooper rushes forward trying to find cover behind some boxes on the transport. Seeing as he didn’t have a chance to do anything with the last two enemies, Girard takes his chance and fires at the trooper. He hits and kills him with one shot.

Since we haven’t gotten the all clear from HQ, we try to figure out the best places to check in the area for the rest of the enemy troops. I stay where I am and go into overwatch mode in case they come upon us. Kelly moves up a bit and take a moment to reload the bolt caster. Girard and Ishikawa make a mad dash to take cover behind one of the transport trucks.

After not seeing or hearing any movement, Kelly moves forward some more and hits paydirt and finds a sectoid and stun lancer. Before the sectoid has a chance to terrify or mind control anyone, Kelly takes him down with her bolt caster. I’m quite a ways back, but I take a shot at the stun lancer and miss low. Girard and Ishikawa move up behind some boxes on on the bed of the transport truck and since neither can get a good shot they both go into Overwatch.

They made the right choice too. Since he only has the stun baton, the enemy was forced to move up to try to melee someone. Girard takes a shot and misses, but Ishikawa nails him and he drops. Central lets us know that there are no further enemies in the area and that our mission is accomplished. Time to head home.

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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