So the good news is Duncan’s head has been fixed. Hurrah for temporary bugs.
Base construction proceeds, a few more days and we can get the lift fully functional, then it’s simply a matter of building enough power stations to run everything we’ll need. I’m sure we’ll make the money somehow, unfortunately there is news of three alien abductions in progress, in Egypt, Mexico and Japan. We don’t have the manpower to interdict more than one of them. Japan’s panic level is higher then either of the other two countries, but they’re only offering money for our support. Egypt has promised 4 of their top engineers if we intervene, and we need the manpower to get the base up and running asap.
Everyone needs some experience where possible so in general we’re going to try and send at least one Rookie, and on this mission it’ll be Naeem joining Laura H, Wendy and Will. The skyranger set the squad down near the reported incursion zone, which appears to be a construction site. Naeem and Wendy move up to covering positions, and Laura flushes a pair of Sectoids. One of them “hides” in plain site of Will who takes it out with a single shot from his sniper rifle. The other moves to cover and critically wound’s Will who hadn’t even bothered to seek cover in order to nail the perfect shot on the first x-ray.
Will moves to cover now and bandages himself up. Laura ducks behind some pallets and fires a burst, but the alien ducks down behind some concrete rubble. Naeem also unloads on it’s position but to no avail. As Wendy moves up to try and finish the job she spots another pair of Sectoids which move into a flanking position. She decides she’s too exposed and falls back to a more defensible position; just in time too, as one of the Sectoids opens fire just as she ducks behind a back-hoe.
Laura moves up and connects with one of the aliens, but it’s psychic connection shields it and it stays up long enough for Naeem to circle around a bulldozer and finish it off. The coast now clear, Wendy plugs the remaining x-ray from the first pair. The final Sectoid burst from cover and trades fire with Naeem, both hit, but only Naeem remains standing.
Promotions for everyone, and even if half our squad is injured, no one is dead so that is some small reason to rejoice. Will is now at 7 kills and has earned the nickname “Hex”. Naeem has been promoted to sniper. It kind of sucks that both of them are wounded as no one else has mastered the sniper rifle yet, and I doubt the aliens will wait a week before their next annoyance.
