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>>1937556
>>Dr. Shen or Dr. Vahlen might be cooking up something that could help get your teammates back into the fight. Best to ask them.

Time to get back into the fight.

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>>1937556
>>You have yet to speak with the Commander about your evaluation. It might look bad if she has to come to you and not the other way around.

Time to face the music, boys.

>>1937556
>>You have yet to speak with the Commander about your evaluation. It might look bad if she has to come to you and not the other way around.
Don't want to look bad. Go before we're called

>>1937556
>>Dr. Shen or Dr. Vahlen might be cooking up something that could help get your teammates back into the fight. Best to ask them.

>>1937556
>>You have yet to speak with the Commander about your evaluation. It might look bad if she has to come to you and not the other way around.
>>1937582
I'm envious of that desk.

>>1937556
>You have yet to speak with the Commander about your evaluation. It might look bad if she has to come to you and not the other way around.
We're fine! Everything is fine! No cracks in the seems! Riots a-okay! And that's what matters.

>>1937556
This >>1937583

Our first command and we consider ourselves lucky that two of ours returned merely maimed and not in body bags.

>>1937633
>we consider ourselves lucky that two of ours returned merely maimed and not in body bags.
This. I donno why everyone else is worried. We're glad she only lost an arm and not her life. The first is replaceable, the latter is not.

Cybernetic, or genemodded arm?

>>1937556
>>You could be a hinderance to your team if you don’t at least set the record straight with them. Best to do that.

>>1937556
>Dr. Shen or Dr. Vahlen might be cooking up something that could help get your teammates back into the fight. Best to ask them.

Surely this is a good idea. We're not projecting at all :D

>>1937649
>>1937649
I have ethical concerns about where the genemodded arm would come from.

Does Vahlen secretly have a bunch of cloned XCOM members for spare parts?

>>1937556
>You have yet to speak with the Commander about your evaluation. It might look bad if she has to come to you and not the other way around.

>>1937583
>>1937587
>>1937610
>>1937613
>>1937693
To the Commander it is, writing!

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>>1937689
Uh oh...

>>1937689
Most likely, but the arm is probably made with Meld mixed with sciencey gubbins.

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>>1937556
>>Dr. Shen or Dr. Vahlen might be cooking up something that could help get your teammates back into the fight. Best to ask them.

>>1937556
>>You have yet to speak with the Commander about your evaluation. It might look bad if she has to come to you and not the other way around.
Best get this done so we can work on getting past it.

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You make up your mind on what you have to do, and decide it’s time to face the music. The Commander has, as she had explained during the debriefing on the operation, been speaking personally to each of the team’s leaders that participated in the Terror Mission. Taking the time to evaluating their positions and gathering on hand accounts from their perspective to better adjust future missions first hand.

You’re aware she’s already spoken to Strike-2 for example, their eccentric squad leader being quite pleased with how it went and making his duty to make sure everyone in the Barracks was well aware of this fact. There’s still the question of whether she has gotten to Rook yet but you know she hasn’t spoke with you. Best to present yourself instead of taking time out of the Commander’s schedule to find you.

“Where are you going?” Babbler asks you as you hop out of your bunk. Looking up from his bed looking away from the photograph in his hand. You not sure what the photo’s subject matter is and you know not to pry on personal stuff like that.

“Evaluation.” You say, slipping on your boots.

“Ah. Well hell, good luck mate. Rook never says what happens when he speaks with the Commander but he’s always a bit more of a hardass than he was last time. Try not to become a hardass.”

“Noted.” You smirk, as you make your leave. You don’t know why, but it almost sounded like a warning.

Exiting of your bunk, you begin to head towards Mission Control where the Commander would most likely be. You take a bit of a longer route to get there, partly to get yourself in the right mindset and also to not bump into some of the other squad. It just doesn’t feel like the correct time to speak with them after all. It also doesn’t help that you are a bit nervous, after all, who wouldn’t be when being evaluated by your superior? The Barracks and Mission Control are practically next door so the walk is still rather short, and instead of trying to awkwardly walk circles around the pool table and making a fool out of yourself, you step through.

(Part 1 / 2)

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THE BEST TIME OF FRIDAY IS HERE

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>>1937910

Mission Control still remains just as active and buzzing with activity as last time, the hologlobe at the center bathing the room entirely in a soft and almost pleasant blue. You could stare at that globe slowly but surely spinning for hours if you were allowed the chance, honestly. It’s quite mesmerizing in a way.

As you begin to search about the room for the Commander, someone else spots you first, standing by the main observation platform and looking down at you is Central Officer Bradford. Barring the Commander herself, Bradford remains the king of Mission Control. It’s practically his domain in the base after all. And given that that is the case, it’s quite easy for him it seems to suss out something out of the ordinary in the room. He lingers his gaze on you, is he glaring at you? After a moment, he steps back from the main platform and begins to approach you, his emotions failed in stone cold professionalism.

To others in the bar that can also be read as having a huge stick up his ass. It seems Bradford is going to speak to you as he moves to you with purpose. That might not be good.

>Wait for him to approach. Probably best to grit your teeth and get this over with.
>Approach him. If he wants to talk best to meet him head on.
>Back off. It’s clear he likely wants you out of Mission Control at best or worst, maybe you should find the Commander elsewhere.
>Other

>>1937915
>Approach him. If he wants to talk best to meet him head on.

>>1937915
>>Approach him. If he wants to talk best to meet him head on.

>>1937915
>>Approach him. If he wants to talk best to meet him head on.
might gain some respect, or anger, les go

>>1937915
>>Approach him. If he wants to talk best to meet him head on.

>>1937915
>>Approach him. If he wants to talk best to meet him head on.
Bradford gets ridiculed, but he is one of the most experienced and dedicated members of XCOM. We should show a little respect when we deal with him.

>>1937920
>>1937922
>>1937923
>>1937935
>>1937940
Straight to Bradford it is, writing!

>>1937915
>>Approach him. If he wants to talk best to meet him head on.
It's weird seeing him so unapproachable; I always liked him in game.

[whip crack]

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If you’re already going to deal with the Commander, it’s best that you also deal with Bradford before things further complicate with him as well. The last thing you need is one of the command staff bearing down on you.

You begin to make your way over to Bradford, causing him to stop walking. You see him raise an eyebrow slightly, his gaze looking at you unreadably as you walk up to him. This time around he waits for you to approach him, placing his hands behind his back and looking stoic as you finish your crossing to him.

“Sir.” You say, snapping a salute to the Central Officer. Bradford doesn’t return the salute, his face stoneset as he looks at you.

Oh. You’re definitely not in good standings with him then. This may not go well for you. You lower your hand and stand at attention, waiting for him to speak.

“What are you doing here, soldier?” Bradford starts, his hands remaining behind his back as he regards you. You remain at attention. “You don’t have clearance to be here.”

“To speak with the Commander for my evaluation on the last mission, sir.” You answer without hesitation, it was true after all. While you may not know much about Bradford besides the comments at the bar, you are well aware that he has had a rather extensive military background. You use that to act accordingly, to hopefully ease things.

“Well, it’s good you're finally showing some initiative soldier.” Bradford says almost dismissively, you really can’t tell. “If you had kept the Commander waiting longer that would have not gone well for you. The Commander is in the Situation Room right now in an important meeting... you can wait for her to finish.”

Bradford rubs his chin looking about the room, finding it a bit of a hassle to be dealing with you. It’s clear he’d rather not deal with you and focus on other things. That or maybe he’s just stressed out in his admittedly extremely stressful position. After a moment he points to a corner by the stairwell to the Situation Room.

“You can wait there… try not to get any ideas and start poking your head around where you shouldn’t.” Bradford finishes. He doesn’t wait for you to reply as he turns heel and walks away, leaving you standing there like discarded laundry.

Well then...

>You should just wait there like he said.
>You have some questions to ask him, such as how long you’re going to wait and whatnot, you point that out.
>Add to Bradford that he is looking at your position the wrong way. You’re put off by his dismissal of you.
>Other

>>1938119
>>You should just wait there like he said.
Best that we don't look around if we're captured in the field the less we know the better.

>>1938119
>>You should just wait there like he said.

>>1938119
>>You should just wait there like he said.

>>1938119
>>You should just wait there like he said.

>>1938119
>>You should just wait there like he said.
If he's mad at us already, best to not cause more trouble.

>>1938119
>>Add to Bradford that he is looking at your position the wrong way. You’re put off by his dismissal of you.

>>1938119
>You should just wait there like he said.

>>1938119
>Add to Bradford that he is looking at your position the wrong way. You’re put off by his dismissal of you.

>>1938119
>>You should just wait there like he said.
Classic Bradford is a dick. I like Punished Bradford a lot better.

>>1938125
>>1938136
>>1938137
>>1938164
>>1938165
>>1938205
>>1938238
Waiting it is, writing!

>>1938119
>>You should just wait there like he said.

>>1938119
>>Other
"Hey asshole, you were the one that held Strike 4 in reserve, forcing our squad to split in two. and be exposed to extreme risks, resulting in casualties."

>>1938238
Who knows, maybe this will extend into XCOM 2? It's Pixel's first quest, so we don't know a lot about how long he's gonna keep it going (but the sheer amount of [s]arguably[/s] good content has me hopeful).

>>1938119
>Other
>Fuck you AND your stupid ass green sweater

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>>1938238

Bradford's only a self-righteous asshole because he needs to be--I mean seriously playing second banana to the Base Mom/Commander probably is its own set of annoyances and idiosyncracies. I"m sure he'll loosen up with a few drinks--hell, the only reason he's so humbled and down-to-earth in XCOM 2 is because he saw the earth get conquered and occupied--so if that never happened he'd probably still be a gigantic asshole.

Also HAHA TIME TO PURGE THE ALIENS

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>>1938312
>>1938281
Blasphemy.

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Best not to sour things, so following his suggestion you walk over and make your way to the spot he had pointed out, planting yourself right on the corner and waiting for the Commander.

And that’s where you resided for the next thirty minutes or so. If it wasn’t for your previous patience you had gained in stakeouts crammed with your old squad inside of a hot and sweaty APC waiting for the green light to deploy for ungodly amount of times you would have found the wait agonizing.

At the very least you had gotten the opportunity to look at the hologlobe. Watching it slowly rotate around, various XCOM assets displayed and active around the globe alongside the errant and menacing possible movements of alien UFOs, their dark red icons visually shaded out to mark possible patterns and movements from the enigmatic otherworldly force.

The other communications analysts keep their distance from you, their attentions focused on their work as you are essentially given as much time of day to them as a potted plant. A part of you wonders if they were quietly ordered by Bradford to ignore you.

Interestingly enough you do catch Bradford occasionally glancing back at your direction, to confirm that you are still there. He doesn’t acknowledge you any further but it seems he’s taken note that you are definitely not planning on going anywhere anytime soon.

The minutes stretch on and eventually you do spot the Commander making her way out of the Situation Room. You get ready to approach her but decide to pause as she walks over to speak with Bradford over something. They discuss things for a few minutes before, somewhat awkwardly, Bradford points you out to the Commander.

The Commander looks back over and is a taken back a bit to see you. Another quick discussion is had, where the Commander seems to look a bit dismayed to Bradford before thanking him and approaching you. Bradford pauses for a moment, returning his gaze at you with another stern look in his eyes before turning back to the hologlobe.

“Ah, hello Dozer! My apologies, I didn’t mean to keep you waiting. I wasn’t informed until just now that you were waiting for me.” The Commander says pleasantly and apologetically.

“It wasn’t an issue ma’am.” You state, and it mostly wasn’t.

“Good good.” The Commander says with relief. “So, what can I do for you, Dozer?”

>Start the conversation seriously and to the point, you’re here for your evaluations.
>You want to be humble about this, best to let her know you are aware you fucked up.
>Lead into the conversation light heartedly and jokingly. She’s friendly and reasonable about this after all, right?
>You wish to talk about getting your squadmates back into the fight as quickly as possible.
>Other

>>1938325
Of course he has to be the no-fun dad, someone has too, and the Commander is too busy being a team mom.

Would be interesting how she reacts when someone dies for good.

>>1938433
>>You want to be humble about this, best to let her know you are aware you fucked up.

>>1938433
>You want to be humble about this, best to let her know you are aware you fucked up.

>>1938433
>>You want to be humble about this, best to let her know you are aware you fucked up.

>>1938433
>You wish to talk about getting your squadmates back into the fight as quickly as possible.

>>1938433
>>Start the conversation seriously and to the point, you’re here for your evaluations.
Well, let's be careful where we step for the moment. Also, she's packing heat now, even in the base. Hm.

>>1938433
>You want to be humble about this, best to let her know you are aware you fucked up.

>>1938433
>Start the conversation seriously and to the point, you’re here for your evaluations.
>Throw a quick look at the Commander's revolver.

>>1938480
And its an XCOM 2 pistol. Now, why would she have that? Greater stopping power?

>>1938433
>>Lead into the conversation light heartedly and jokingly. She’s friendly and reasonable about this after all, right?

>>1938433
>>Lead into the conversation light heartedly and jokingly. She’s friendly and reasonable about this after all, right?

>>1938433
>>You wish to talk about getting your squadmates back into the fight as quickly as possible.

>>1938433
>>Start the conversation seriously and to the point, you’re here for your evaluations.
>>You want to be humble about this, best to let her know you are aware you fucked up.

That is a serious hand cannon the Commander is packing.

>>1938480
>>1938499
She knows the Base Defense mission is coming.

>>1938499
Advanced prototype not available to the troops yet?

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>>1938519
Maybe she defeated a Predator and took it as a trophy.

>>1938544
Unless that's a /laser/ revolver, there shouldn't be anything particularly revolutionary about it.

>>1938447
>>1938449
>>1938464
>>1938474
>>1938483
>>1938519
Humble it is, writing!

>>1938571
Personal custom job, then? We know nothing about her background.

>>1938571
It's a big ass hand cannon, so it has that going for it.

>>1938602
>>1938604
I bet she even has a custom uniform underneath her outfit.

>>1938622
She has a mini-skirt. I don't think that is regulation.

Also, how does that gun stay in the holster? Nothing is keeping it from sliding backwards.

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>>1938635

>>1938635
Looks like it grips the cylinder.

>>1938602
Would make sense. I want to see her shoot it sometime. I wonder if she practices at the range occasionally?

>>1938635
magnets?

>>1938645
Good find! I guess a shoulder holder wouldn't work with her uniform, so she modded it to go at the waist? Now I'm even more curious about her history; why she would be shoulder carrying that monster?

>>1938675
My personal theory is that she's JTF-2. Which has absolutely no basis whatsoever. So, your guess is as good as mine.

>>1938701
She's a neet. The gun is a prop. She was RPing with her commandy-buddies across the globe.

She's a clone. Has a clone sibling with dark hair. They were named after states of matter. This isn't actually her original body.

>>1938701
She's Canadian, why else would she be commander of a super special forces group if she wasn't at least in a basic special forces group?

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>>1938622
>>1938635
I wouldn't be surprised if she had a sneaking suit for special occasions.

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You compose yourself as best as you can look at her in the eyes. If it wasn’t for how kind the Commander is you feel like this could go really bad really fast. And while you do feel better, that sense of wariness remains.

“To discuss my fuck up, ma’am.” You say humbly. It takes a lot out of you to say it, but any other way of dancing about it would surely not look good on you.

The Commander’s pauses for a moment, her eyes regarding you. The moment passes seemingly agonizingly long, making all that time spent waiting for her seem like child’s play in comparison. However, she smiles softly and nods.

“I see, let’s talk in my office then.” The Commander says, motioning for you to follow her. You do of course, following her back up the stairs to the Situation Room and ultimately her office. You take one last look at the hologlobe before leaving. You take note in the room that the large monitor display of the globe has changed since last time. In particular the United States is now colored yellow instead of the previous soft blue / green. Several other countries have changed colors as well. The status bars on the sides of the monitor donating the sixteen council nations changed accordingly. China in particular is a dark-yellow almost turning orange.

“If you’re curious, that is the state of the world, albeit rather abstracted.” The Commander comments, taking a quick glance at the board before continuing onto her office. “A general overview of the public’s level of unease and if you look it cynically, panic.”

You are filled with unease as you look at the world, the colors shifting towards what you assume would be red. Deciding to not dwell on it any longer than you should, you hurry after to follow the Commander to her office.

Her office is just as nice as you recalled the first time, that some homely and inviting feeling putting yourself more at ease than the rather cold seemingly indifferent display of the state of the world. The smell of good pastries and confections lingering in the air, a pot of coffee brewing to the side. The room is still as distinctly warmer than the rest of the base.

The Commander takes a seat and motions for you to sit as well, which you do.

“Well, you are right Dozer. That was a fuck up. An almost colossal one at that.” The Commander starts, speaking frankly. You blink, not expecting that start. “Let’s indeed talk about it, so we can figure out why and how so that it won’t happen again. Now would you like some coffee, we might be here a bit.”

Ah-- uh.

“I’ll let you start first Dozer, what are your thoughts on the operation?” The Commander asks you.

>The reason why you split up, best to be straight about why you did it in the first place.
>The operation as a whole seems like a good starting place.
>You want to talk about your squad, particularly on the status of Naru and Rachel.
>Other

>>1938799
>>The reason why you split up, best to be straight about why you did it in the first place.

>>1938799
>>The reason why you split up, best to be straight about why you did it in the first place.

>>1938799
>>The reason why you split up, best to be straight about why you did it in the first place.
This is the exact point at which Things Went Wrong.

>>1938799
>The operation as a whole seems like a good starting place.

>>1938799
>>The operation as a whole seems like a good starting place.
We should start at the beginning, and work our way down to the particulars.

>>1938799
>>The reason why you split up, best to be straight about why you did it in the first place.

>>1938799
>>The reason why you split up, best to be straight about why you did it in the first place.

>>1938799
Briefly touch on the operation as a whole, but focus on...
>The reason why you split up, best to be straight about why you did it in the first place.
...since it's the core of the issue here.

>>1938799
>>The reason why you split up, best to be straight about why you did it in the first place.

>>1938804
>>1938807
>>1938810
>>1938818
>>1938821
>>1938822
>>1938827
Talking about the split up it is, writing!

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“To get straight to the point, it was when I had ordered the squad to split up.” You say with wincing to yourself as you say it. Memories still fresh coming back again. The smell of the Thin Man acid still lingering in the air, the corpses--human and alien--....

“Yes, that order. A rather decisive order that.” The Commander nods as she sets coffee down for you which you tale graciously. It’s brewed rather perfectly. “By accounts and footage recorded from the SHIV’s black box, your part of the operation was going rather decently up until that point. Until the new aliens entered the fray of course.”

The bugs skittering out from the concert hall, crawling on the sides, practically along the walls--

“We handled the new aliens as best as we could.” You continue, recalling your close harrowingly close encounter as one of the beasts descended upon the rafters right on you. The look of horror in Naru’s eyes.

“Your call on having Tanuki use her rocket was a good one, it did minimize their threat rather decisively.” The Commander adds. “Things were going to your favor until the Thin Man leader had retreated and Riot was gassed. It was around then that you had decided your choice.”

The Commander leans in a bit, studying you. She’s still has that kind air about her, but it’s clear she is well, disappointed. You’re glad it’s only that so far, actually… even if the sensation is not pleasant.

“So, I ask you then, why did you do it? What was your reasoning for making that call?”

>Speed was a necessity to restoring communications, every second wasted not getting comm’s back online was the rest of XCOM remaining in the dark and cut off.
>The bug aliens. You couldn’t leave those new contacts unattended with how quick and deadly they were. Even if it meant leaving a rear guard.
>Rachel’s condition after the engagement, she wouldn’t have been able to keep up with the squad when pursuing the Thin Man. Neither could Naru with her kit as well.
>Other

>>1938988
>>Speed was a necessity to restoring communications, every second wasted not getting comm’s back online was the rest of XCOM remaining in the dark and cut off.

I got nothing here, I never voted for leaving behind those two at all, only the SHIV. I will never get why people voted for leaving them behind.

>>1938988
>>Speed was a necessity to restoring communications, every second wasted not getting comm’s back online was the rest of XCOM remaining in the dark and cut off.

>>1938988
>>Speed was a necessity to restoring communications, every second wasted not getting comm’s back online was the rest of XCOM remaining in the dark and cut off.

>Riot could not keep up and I believed that with a choke point the fire plan and the Shiv and Taunki backing her The risk would be minimal. I was mistaken.

>>1938988
>>Speed was a necessity to restoring communications, every second wasted not getting comm’s back online was the rest of XCOM remaining in the dark and cut off.
>>The bug aliens. You couldn’t leave those new contacts unattended with how quick and deadly they were. Even if it meant leaving a rear guard.
>Didn't realize how many there were on the other side of that door.

>>1938988
>>The bug aliens. You couldn’t leave those new contacts unattended with how quick and deadly they were. Even if it meant leaving a rear guard.

>>1938988
>Rachel’s condition after the engagement, she wouldn’t have been able to keep up with the squad when pursuing the Thin Man. Neither could Naru with her kit as well.

>>1938988
>>Speed was a necessity to restoring communications, every second wasted not getting comm’s back online was the rest of XCOM remaining in the dark and cut off.

>>1938994
>>1939012
>>1939014
>>1939021
>>1939044
Speed it is, writing!

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“Speed was a necessity for the operation.” You explain. “Every second XCOM was in the dark as a possibility that something could go wrong and there would be no help to respond to them.”

The Commander frowns slightly at this but lets you continue.

“I know full well how important getting communication’s back online in a firefight would be. Half of my old team died because of the communication loss. I didn’t want to have any time wasted.”

“Hm, so it was that you didn’t trust the rest of the team’s combat ability?” The Commander asks you.

“Not all ma’am, far from it. But all it takes is one… mistake.” You pause at the end there, realizing that ostensibly, your team was the one who needed the help the most. The irony stings, and it seems the Commander is aware of it also.

“Yes, that is a way of looking at it.” She says cooly, considering her words for a moment. “I will be honest, I do appreciate your forthcomingness over evaluation. You are aware of your mistakes, that is surprisingly difficult for people to admit nowadays. You know, up until that point, your performance as a first time squad leader was more than adequate… though while your reasoning is…better than nothing, that does not override the simple concept of never splitting your team up. Perhaps if there were more people in the squad sure, you were only five bodies and a SHIV. The math sadly does not add up there.”

“No, it doesn’t ma’am.” You say quietly.

“Along with that, the two squad members could have barely helped each other even if they tried.. Tanuki specialises in long range, and Riot close, and that’s not even counting their current status at that time. It raises the question of why you couldn’t keep your squad together, sure while you may have been slower in chasing the Thin Man you at the very least would be ready to respond to whatever ambush it would have laid down. And that wasn’t even considering you not knowing the full capabilities of that new alien and not planning accordingly, as they both had to learn first hand...” The Commander pauses and finishes her coffee, standing up to pour another cup for herself and, after a moment of thought, refilling yours as well. She seems more distant than ever as she evaluates your mistakes, not pulling back anything. Sitting back down and resting her mug on her coaster she turns back to you “But, it seems you’re aware of this, barring that rather obvious bit.”

You don’t say anything, really, what can you say? That she’s wrong?

“Do you know why they’re still alive? It’s one simple fact. One you should be glad about.” The Commander questions you. If it wasn’t for it being the Commander, these questions feel like an interrogation.

>Rachel and Naru, they are both some extremely capable women. The toughest you’ve met, they didn't give the bugs an inch.
>The SHIV, leaving it behind gave them their opening. It saved their lives at the cost of it’s own.
>Pure and simple luck. You wish you could say something else but can't.
>Other.

>>1939208
>Other.
Roll to seduce the Commander.

>>1939208
>Pure and simple luck. You wish you could say something else but can't.

>>1939208
>The SHIV, leaving it behind gave them their opening. It saved their lives at the cost of it’s own.

>>1939208
>>Pure and simple luck. You wish you could say something else but can't.

>>1939229
Nigga.

>>1939208
>>Pure and simple luck. You wish you could say something else but can't.
It's that simple. They could've died so easily, SHIV or not.

>that does not override the simple concept of never splitting your team up.

I fucking knew it. idiots.

>>1939208
>>Pure and simple luck. You wish you could say something else but can't.

>>1939208
>The SHIV, leaving it behind gave them their opening. It saved their lives at the cost of it’s own.

>>1939208
>>Pure and simple luck. You wish you could say something else but can't.

>The SHIV helped, but even that was not enough alone.

Rolled 35 (1d100)

>>1939229
Going for it, even though it's irrelevant.

>>1939234
>>1939243
>>1939249
>>1939251
>>1939276
Luck it is, writing!

Rolled 65 (1d100)

>>1939298
Put your back into it. But not like this.

>>1939298
>>1939308
You didn't even get her to twitch.

Rolled 6 (1d100)

>>1939313
Here comes the snow.

Rolled 92 (1d100)

Nat 1

>>1939320
You made her draw her gun on you because of how terrible you were.

>>1939322
He wasn't trying so he wins.

>>1939313
But you sure got me to cringe senpai

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>>1939341
We're a bunch of anons on an image board, it's our job

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>>1939366
>an anon
>being employed in any way
>even fictionally

You're really killing my immersion here buddy.

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You take some time to think this one through, it seems the Commander is expecting and perhaps hoping that you answer correctly with this. She’s rather patient as you stare at your coffee, hoping the answers within. By the time the Commander stands up to set her mug aside to wash is around the time when it appears to dawn on you that it was all plain and simple luck.

Clearly your calls were not the greatest at the end so you find it unlikely that it was because of you. Things just happened to lead to one another perhaps by divine fate extending it’s hand to save your squadmates from their time or something like that but ultimately it was just pure and simple chance.

“Luck. It was just luck they’re still alive.” You answer, deflated. Coming to this realization has taken the wind out of your sails. The Commander sighs, clearly displeased by your answer. It seems she might agree with you. However, much to your surprise she shakes her head with a sigh.

“You put yourself down, as it was your own calls that saved their lives. It was leaving the SHIV behind.” The Commander points out to you. You raise your eyebrow at this. “The SHIV gave just enough time for Naru to secure Rachel. The seconds needed to pull them back. It would’ve been likely they would’ve just been overwhelmed without the SHIV. Luck… you can’t escape luck in war, and while yes it will have some say in the end it’s not the be all and end all. You should remember that.”

“Yes ma’am.” You say.

“You’ll have a lot time to consider this as, you’ve probably guessed, as it will be… quite some time before you will be considered in a squad leader’s role, Dozer. Far from it.” The Commander explains. “Your performance as a whole has been solid marring this, there have been mishaps and accidents here and there before but most can be attributed to something or reasoned out, which is one of the main reasons why this evaluation went like this… I took a big risk taking both you and Rachel in, don’t make it ultimately a mistake.”

You nod, way better than you expected. You really feel like you dodged a bullet if that revolver she now has at her hip had anything to say.

“Now, I believe that’s that. Is there anything else you wish to discuss?” The Commander finishes, leaning back on her chair, that intense scrutiny on you fading.

>What is going to happen to Rachel and Naru now? What are the options to get them back into the fight?
>Prior to you leaving for the Terror Mission, you had seen that the Commander was different than usual. You want to express her concerns.
>Does she have any suggestions in how to deal with the rest of Strike One? You’re likely not in a good place with most of them.
>Other

>>1939418
>Does she have any suggestions in how to deal with the rest of Strike One? You’re likely not in a good place with most of them.
>What is going to happen to Rachel and Naru now? What are the options to get them back into the fight?

>>1939418
>What is going to happen to Rachel and Naru now? What are the options to get them back into the fight?

>>1939418

>Does she have any suggestions in how to deal with the rest of Strike One? You’re likely not in a good place with most of them.
>What is going to happen to Rachel and Naru now? What are the options to get them back into the fight?

Yeah, these two things are kinda pressing

>>1939418
>“Luck. It was just luck they’re still alive
I take ONE tiny nap bc it is night in the Netherlands and all goes to shit

>>1939418
>>Does she have any suggestions in how to deal with the rest of Strike One? You’re likely not in a good place with most of them.
>>What is going to happen to Rachel and Naru now? What are the options to get them back into the fight?

>>1939418
>>Prior to you leaving for the Terror Mission, you had seen that the Commander was different than usual. You want to express her concerns.

>>1939418
>>What is going to happen to Rachel and Naru now? What are the options to get them back into the fight?

>>1939418
>>What is going to happen to Rachel and Naru now? What are the options to get them back into the fight?

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>>1939426
>>1939435
>>1939441
>>1939430
>>1939444
>>1939460
Going for specifically Rachel and Naru's fate on this one only, writing!

Picture unrelated, it just amused me when I saw it again.

>>1939467
"Went straight through 'im!"

>>1939467
Also to add, something just came up so next update will take a bit longer than usual, apologies!

>>1939467
"Didn't need that part of my brain anyway."

>>1939486
She missed his vital organs.

I am now back and will resume writing, thanks for waiting

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“Well, if you don’t mind me asking, what’s going to happen to Rachel and Naru now? How are they?” You ask the Commander. Making sure to add that last particular bit to try and not make things too overt over with that.

“Well, you already some them both so you should be aware where their position is.” The Commander replies back, clearly well aware of what you had done. “Your camaraderie is nice and your attempt at saving face for the medical staff who had thrown you a bone is well meaning, but I know.”

“Oh.”

“To answer your question, neither of them are going to be seeing combat anymore. Tanuki has at the very least an aptitude in Engineering and can assist in weapons testing and design, but with a missing eye, her career as a Rocketeer is not going to continue. As for Riot… well… Rachel is at the moment is combat ineffective indefinitely.”

Your silence makes it clear you are not satisfied with that answer at all.

“Besides her physical condition, you are well aware her mental state is not well as well, it will be quite some time until she can come to terms with her new life let alone the counseling. If you’re concerned about that specifically, don’t worry. XCOM will provide everything for her service. You are going to need to come to terms with that yourself, Dozer.” The Commander explains. She gives some consideration to her words, but she doesn’t sugar coat it and lays it to you straight. It’s almost too much for you to hear.

You...

>You accept this. You have to. It’s too much to hear and come to terms with, but the sooner the better.
>Bring up XCOM and their efforts in technology. You’re aware enough of MELD, and the genius of the bright minds in XCOM, isn’t there something they can do?
>You can’t accept the Commander’s view on this at all, especially Rachel. There’s still a chance for her to fight.
>Other

>>1939612
>>Bring up XCOM and their efforts in technology. You’re aware enough of MELD, and the genius of the bright minds in XCOM, isn’t there something they can do?

We can rebuild her! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGO57y4td-c

>>1939612
>Bring up XCOM and their efforts in technology. You’re aware enough of MELD, and the genius of the bright minds in XCOM, isn’t there something they can do?

>>1939612
>>You accept this. You have to. It’s too much to hear and come to terms with, but the sooner the better.

>>1939612
>>Bring up XCOM and their efforts in technology. You’re aware enough of MELD, and the genius of the bright minds in XCOM, isn’t there something they can do?
Science?

>>1939612
>>Bring up XCOM and their efforts in technology. You’re aware enough of MELD, and the genius of the bright minds in XCOM, isn’t there something they can do?

>>1939612
>Bring up XCOM and their efforts in technology. You’re aware enough of MELD, and the genius of the bright minds in XCOM, isn’t there something they can do?

>>1939616
>>1939618
>>1939620
>>1939622
>>1939624
XCOM Tech it is, writing!

>>1939612
>>Bring up XCOM and their efforts in technology. You’re aware enough of MELD, and the genius of the bright minds in XCOM, isn’t there something they can do?

>>1939612
>Other (2nd option+write in)
>Can MELD only amplify organs, not regenerate them ? And will Rachel's decomission be final, or will a research breaktrough by Shen in the future give her another chance ?

>>1939689
We could get Naru a bionic eye with multiple sight lenses and filters.

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You understand the Commander’s position on this, if this wasn’t XCOM you would’ve left it at that. But…

“Isn’t there anything that RnD or Engineering could do to help? What about MELD? From what I know of it it’s practically magic.” You say.

The Commander pinches her nose.

“Dozer, I need you to understand the big picture here. And sadly, Rachel is not part of the big picture. In a perfect world and with unlimited funding…” You note the Commander’s eye twitch at that. “...yes, I would love to help her. But we do not have time, resources, and capability to address her situation. Dr. Shen and Dr. Vahlen I doubt would put time out of their way in their busy schedule to help as well, they have much more important matters at hand. The MELD substance? We barely have enough to experiment on let alone use for something like that. Maybe if we had more of it alongside further research, that could be an avenue but it’s unlikely now… You need to accept this and press forward, Dozer.”

You open your mouth to try and say something, but the Commander holds her hand up. It seems her position is remains steadfast. She stands up and motions for you to stand as well.

“Thank you for going out of your way to speak with me, your initiative and understanding on what you did has put you back towards the right foot. Everything you said will be considered when the time presents itself, but for now just focus on the fight. Until then, you are dismissed.” The Commander finishes, nodding to the door.

“Ma’am.” You say almost robotically, snapping a salute before turning to head out the door. Crestfallen but trying your best not to show it further.

As you step out and make your leave stepping back into the Situation Room however, you pause to take a look at the steadily declining state of the world. The almost oppressing steadily changing colors to denote that the world continues to slip into panic and fear. For a moment, your discussion with the Commander and looking at this map sinks you further… before it doesn’t.

Your hands ball into fists as you feel determined to, as the Commander had put it, to move forward. You wonder idly if you’re just too damn stubborn for your own good, you guess your nickname really does fit. But you are not just going to lay down and die. You’ll need to do what you can to get things back on track, because who knows, the next operation could be your last.

With a second wind you decide to…

>To deal with your squad. The longer you don’t address what happened the worse it will be. It needs to fixed.
>To do something, anything, to help Rachel and Naru. While Dr. Shen and Dr. Vahlen may be busy, there still might be a chance they’ll throw you a bone.
>To get stronger. From putting the time into the gym, to marksmanship, to tactics. If you are a better soldier in every aspect you can make a difference.

>>1939704
>To get stronger. From putting the time into the gym, to marksmanship, to tactics. If you are a better soldier in every aspect you can make a difference.
This is the perfect origin story if you think about it.

>>1939704
>>To get stronger. From putting the time into the gym, to marksmanship, to tactics. If you are a better soldier in every aspect you can make a difference.

>>1939704
>To deal with your squad. The longer you don’t address what happened the worse it will be. It needs to fixed.

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>>To deal with your squad. The longer you don’t address what happened the worse it will be. It needs to fixed.

>>1939704
>>To deal with your squad. The longer you don’t address what happened the worse it will be. It needs to fixed.

This really needs dealt with.

>>1939704
>>To deal with your squad. The longer you don’t address what happened the worse it will be. It needs to fixed.

>>1939704
>>To deal with your squad. The longer you don’t address what happened the worse it will be. It needs to fixed.

>>1939704
>>To do something, anything, to help Rachel and Naru. While Dr. Shen and Dr. Vahlen may be busy, there still might be a chance they’ll throw you a bone.
Well if they aren't doing the research, time to kick them into high gear! It ain't XCOM if the scientists and engineers aren't working.

>>1939713
You ever consider they're working on you know, other things?

>>1939704
>>To do something, anything, to help Rachel and Naru. While Dr. Shen and Dr. Vahlen may be busy, there still might be a chance they’ll throw you a bone.

>>1939704
>>To deal with your squad. The longer you don’t address what happened the worse it will be. It needs to fixed.

>>1939704
>>To do something, anything, to help Rachel and Naru. While Dr. Shen and Dr. Vahlen may be busy, there still might be a chance they’ll throw you a bone.

>>1939707
>>1939708
>>1939709
>>1939710
>>1939711
>>1939717
Squad it is, writing!

>>1939713
I am 99% sure Shen is a workaholic, and has a pick of the best engineers that arent in it for the money.
And let's not talk about Vahlen social life (or the lack of it.)

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You’ve avoided your squad members for too long. Any longer and you don’t think they would consider you part of your squad anymore. The first order of business is to address that.

While the Commander had given you and Rachel your shot, it was the squad that welcomed the both of you in, and rebuking all of that because of your own fuck ups is not going to help anyone. You’ll have to speak to each of them and let them know and hopefully understand your position.

Suffice to say, it’s probably gonna be messy, uncomfortable, and just plain old not going to be pleasant, but like speaking with the Commander and laying out what needed to have been said, this is what you need to do.

It’s going to suck.

But they deserve better, and so do you.

Your decision settled, you don’t waste any longer as you exit out of the Situation Room and make a beeline for the Barracks. It’s time to face your peers.

>...And with that we’ll call it here! A rather intense evaluation but you guys didn’t steer it into a bad place, well done. So, until next time…

Thanks for playing!

>>1939737
See you next time!

>>1939737
Thanks for the run, Pixel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oday_Fc-Gc

Everyone is acting like splitting the squad is this unforgivable sin, but you know what would have pretty much guaranteed a squad wipe? A poison cloud at basically in point when holding out against so many chrysallids. Honestly the only thing I'd have changed is leave Peppermint back to defend to. She's great on the defensive and not near as handy on the move. Two people should have been enough to track down a lone thinman and if he had back up than we probably would have been wiped no matter what we did considering the chrysalid swarm.

>>1939737
Sorry I missed the thread. Thanks for running.

>>1939804
I too still support splitting the squad. But Dozer alone wouldve been enough to do the Benny Hill routine with the Thin Man.

Also, the only thing that dissapoints me in this quest is that we get all the blame, when Loki passed the buck to a newbie, knowing what would happen.

>>1939913
Eh, we gotta own it. It kinda rankles that one bad call and one shitty die roll gets us in the dog house... but that's truly X-COM, baby.

Yeah, maybe splitting the team could have been done better, but I still don't think it was a bad call. Honestly, all of the disappointment from Bradford and the Commander just don't make any sense. Surely someone with a military background can see the reason on why we wanted to get communications up. Maybe the other squads were doing fine, but it doesn't matter if no one can coordinate, including the Commander. Hell, every other team could be on the verge of death or discovered that a huge alien bomb was nearby and only we were close enough to disarm it before it went off. Communication on a battlefield is often the number one priority, and our higher-ups should recognize that.

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>>1939927
It can always be worse. You could've been the person to have actually rolled that 1 like I did.

>>1939929
Indeed. Anybody who's been training at Westpoint or for any other leadership position knows youre not a perfect commander from day 1.

>>1939913
>I too still support splitting the squad. But Dozer alone wouldve been enough to do the Benny Hill routine with the Thin Man.
Same. Clearly we should've done what we always do and recklessly tank the blows for our teammates.
>>1939804
>>1939929
>>1940108
To be fair, we expected the Thin Man to have reinforcements, which is why we split the team up like we did. Had we of known he didn't have any, I'm pretty sure we would've soloed it.

>>1940094
Oooouuuuuch.

>>1939804
Commander can only judge us on what did happen. If's and maybes are just speculation. Splitting the squad in the manner that we did was a bad choice, as shown by the results.

>>1939913
Who says Loki isn't going to get/already has been talked to? We fucked off to go see Rachel.

>>1939929
Communication is important but leaving two squad members and a robot against an unknown number of very aggressive and very dangerous new hostiles was still a stupid decision.

>>1940108
She didn't say we'd never lead again, just that we had to earn it. Which is completely fair considering what happened.

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>>1939927
>>1940094
The real kicker is that if it was a 20, then we'd be on the opposite side of the spectrum.

>>1939804
It wasn't just splitting up the squad. The Commander did concede that sometimes it would be necessary, but it's more ideal in situations where you have the manpower to afford splitting up the group. Group composition is also important and another factor was that Rachel and Naru didn't have good synergy with each other in terms of squad roles.

Even in XCOM, it's generally a bad idea to split your squad since it means you don't have your squad's full firepower in the event of a bad pod activation, and splitting up also effectively doubles your chances of activating a pod.

>>1940274
The difference between a bad plan and good plan is that if a good plan goes wrong, losses are minimized. If a bad plan goes wrong, losses get heavy.

>>1940430
But no plan survives combat.

>>1940451
I think there's also the saying, "If you're gonna do something stupid, at least do it together."

>>1940456
Ay mang jes cuz all ur buds is jumpin offa bridges dun mean u shul, nawsayin?

Honestly it just hurts because from a meta perspective, it's totally luck, because RNG. But from an in-universe perspective you can reason and justify it.

>>1940481
I don't think Pixel puts the correctness of our plans up to RNG. Bad plan is bad even when you don't roll a critfail during it.

>People still thinking splitting up was a good idea
It's like you guys didn't learn a damn thing.

1. Like the guy above me said, leaving half your squad to deal with a FUBAR situation is retarded.

2. There was no reason to hold the line there. The squad should have moved up together, immolating chokepoints with the molotovs to buy time and took care of the Thin Man together in which they could all turn around and deal with the lids together.

3. Like the Cmdr said the jamming wasn't nearly a priority because we should have trusted the other squads to have their shit together so we could have focused on the lids while Peppermint kept an eye out for the Thin Man's potential return.

And while I know all this shit is decided on d20s crits active, opposing rolls in which anything can happen, a squad together can cover for each other. Seeing some of you guys desperately try to defend your shit call makes me fucking glad Dozer isn't SL for a long time.

>>1940523
Even a bad plan can succeed if you get lucky enough.

>>1940703
It still would be a bad plan deserving disapproval.

What a fucking shit thread, "you fucked up" "yes I did" "k bro" *credits roll out*

>>1940786
I don't mind the thread being short, but it did suck that the Commander would say that we did well until the very end of the mission, and then it didn't turn out as bad as it could have since we left the Shiv, but there is no way we're going to be considered to lead a squad again anytime soon. You would think that one mistake on our first surprise squad leader role, which we still accomplished our goals in, is pretty encouraging for future leadership roles. Did every other squad leader in XCOM have perfect first missions? I would imagine not, since our squad was known as the only one that doesn't have someone on the wall

>>1940199
No you can't judge some one's decision making on factors they didn't know. You can only judge it based on how they utilized the information they had. Chance can fuck any action no matter how well planned out it is. If I get hit by a drunk driver on the road it doesn't make my decision to go get groceries a shitty one. So lets look at the information we had. The enemy had a communications jammer. Just because the only things we heard over the radio was all okays doesn't mean it couldn't have been the difference between life and death for an entire squad or that an entire squad had been wiped and the perimeter had been breached. Maybe even more civilians had been taken captive and were about to be executed unless some squads could link up. We had already decided to risk the lives of our squad for a handful of civilians and I'd think most would agree it wast right. Was that only the right decision because it went well? Is success or failure the sole judgement of right and wrong or do principals mean anything? We are fucking XCom we chose to risk our lives. Civilians did not.

>>1940533
The reason to hold there was because Rachel couldn't keep pace in her condition and Naru couldn't with a fucking rocket launcher on her back. Trying to bring them along would have just lead to the chrysalids catching up to us in a much less defensible position and had us much less prepared to defend ourselves. As far as I'm concerned our mistake was not leaving Peppermint with them. Also being told to trust other squads is bullshit. So we were supposed to stay behind at all costs because we didn't know the capabilities of a new enemy, but we were also supposed to assume everyone else was having no significant problems with that same enemy and potentially more new enemies?

Make Naru a drone SHIV operator, then put a rocket launcher on it. Rocket drone tanks are the best thing ever in X-Com EU. Low tech, effective and expendable. Don't need binocular vision to look at a computer screen either.

>>1941028
I mind the short thread when the short thread is a short thread about nothing.

>>1941065
deal with it, nerd

>>1941037
Available information was that we were leaving an injured soldier, a robot and a support specialist against a room full of unknown enemies, while also going after the communications. We had NO information about anything else. So we acted on the possibility that everyone else was fucking up instead of dealing with the one issue we did know about. Our role is to lead the squad, not deal with the whole operation. For the squad the best option would have been to stick together and clear the room or to accept that Rachel would be a little slow and go after the comms together. Instead we overextended and got shot up.

>>1941065
I'm sorry the free entertainment you get isn't good enough for you. Maybe you shouldn't read it anymore.

>>1941097
You have a point our role was to lead the squad and we might have lost sight of that. If that was how the criticism was phrased I would probably have just flat out accepted that. The thing is what exactly were we supposed to lead them to do just survive or get control of the situation and save civilians? Implying the other squads could need help is not saying they were fucking up. Are you seriously denying that there are legitimate reasons to prioritize communications on a massive labyrinthine battlefield with tons of civilians and an unknown number of enemies? Also you really seem to be underestimating thinmen. They are insanely accurate and agile. At any point it could have shown up shot a soldier and poisoned multiple others in the span of seconds. Saying we'd be on the lookout like that would take care of it means very little for something that is basically on permanent bullet time. Speaking of which it is also something a human in peak physical condition would have trouble keeping up with. Following it and bringing Rachel and Naru were absolutely mutually exclusive.

>>1941222
>Following it and bringing Rachel and Naru were absolutely mutually exclusive.

No it wasn't. Drop the riot shield. Pass the LMG. That inflexibility of thinking is what led to this outcome.

>>1941222
I'm not denying there are legitimate reasons to prioritize communications in the situation we were in and neither did the commander. If I'm underestimating thin men then what are you doing? What prevents them from circling around and killing Rachel and Naru with their inhuman speed if the squad isn't together?

>>1941251
True that was completely possible. Honestly I have been swayed a bit. We might not have made the best decision, but I still maintain we made a reasonable one.

>>1941083
I'm dealing with it, please go to school tomorrow you're not cool enough.
>>1941097
I didn't get any entertainment at all, just being free isn't a good enough reason to provide a subpar thread with a whole load of nothing.That being said, I'm sorry if my comment hurt your feelings, maybe you should stop coming to 4chan alltogether.

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>>1941330
We prevented the commander from having to come after us, getting in even more trouble and possibly getting verbally chewed out and/or put on punishment duty.

I'm sorry dealing with the fallout of what we did isn't important enough for you.

>>1941373
It was literally 2 posts of saying "you fucked up" "yep" "yep yep" "yep" how is that advancing anything anywhere. If we did something with the squad before calling it I would've called it subpar but sufficient, if barely so.

>>1941388
It's almost as if there were other options that could've made the thread better or worse and we managed to thread a needle of the commander not being happy with us but not being pissed either.

>>1941405
It's almost as if you're not getting what I'm complaining about and you're being an abrassive fuck because what you don't understand you perceive as a personal threat to you or yours.

(I'm complaining about ending threads way too early or calling it a thread when nothing has happened, quantity of content rather than time/words, if you wanna hit at least now you know where).

>>1941413
19:09-4:09 is seven hours, minus about an hour because of real life shit he had to deal with.

So clearly what we did, which is important for the character and could have possibly been made much worse or better by our choices isn't important enough for you.

There was an entire debrief in the thread, I'm satisfied with what happened since we didn't get thrown in the shitter.

>>1941405
The issue is the lack of content for a weekly quest.

If this was bi-weekly, sure a low content thread every now and then isn't so bad. But if all we get is dealing with one issue per week pacing will take a nose dive.

>>1941434
This is hardly low content compared to some of the quest I've followed. The fact that he's semi-regular is more than most.

>>1941413
go away autist

>>1941251
I still think putting the priority on getting comms back was the right decision, just that it would have been better to leave more people to keep the bugs bottled up. It was a complicated situation and not being able to coordinate the squads meant a lot of possibilities for a lot of people to die. Sometimes it's about trying to make the least bad decision.

>>1941485
This is a quest were paople manage to be civil. Why you are shitting it up with your meaningless buzzword is beyond me.