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Time to conclude this one-shot!

Part 1: >>2673430

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BurningGray
Archive: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=XCOM%20Trooper%20Quest
EXALT Dossiers: https://imgur.com/a/rKlavBO

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>>2689818
>>Frag the Skinny! Danger close! (TN 40)

>>2689818
>>Charge the Skinny. (TN 30)

>>2689818
>Charge the Skinny. (TN 30)

>>2689818
>>Charge the Skinny. (TN 30)

>>2689818
>Charge the Skinny. (TN 30)

>>2689818
>Charge the Skinny. (TN 30)

But don´t be an idiot and use a nonlethal charge in your baton. Skinnies explode upon death.

>>2689818
>Charge the Skinny. (TN 30)

>>2689832
>>2689839
>>2689844
>>2689846
>>2689852
>>2689867
Stunning the Skinny it is, writing!

File: It's time.gif (2.79 MB, 600x338)

2.79 MB GIF

You need this alien eliminated immediately and from what you gathered with others Cells combating this type of alien getting in melee range would be very stupid, as the things explode in a cloud of poisonous acid upon death. However with the stun baton…? You can set this thing non-lethal. You dash right towards them, the Lancer’s in built mobility giving you, hopefully, the edge you need against the Skinny.

As you close the distance you swear you see the thing smirk at you, smug at what it thinks is you charging suicidally at him. When you the suit’s walker servos kick in and you see it quickly change it’s tune. It begins to move back attempting to blast you with it’s plasma rifle!

You hear someone yell behind you in the moment. Was it Helga? Iskra? You can’t tell. No time to listen, there’s an alien to taze!

>Roll 1d100 (TN 30)

Rolled 3 (1d100)

>>2689904

Call in the Thunder

Rolled 42 (1d100)

>>2689904
ERE WE GO LADS

Rolled 13 (1d100)

>>2689904
More low rolls for Six!

>>2689907
It truly does seem that 42 is the answer to almost everything.

>>2689942
Pixel confirmed for 42. OLD

The alien attempts to spring back away from you, but it doesn’t move fast enough. It’s reactions are fast sure, but the thing was cocky. You use that to your advantage. With a wide swing you manage to tag and hit the Skinny on it’s side, the sharp prongs that are part of the baton’s design dig in and lodge in tightly, like barbs. You crank up the energy of the baton as much as you can without outright killing it.

The thing lights up like a red christmas tree, and the smell is awful. Some of it’s disgusting gas begins to leak out a bit as it crumples to the ground alongside it’s yellow blood, but otherwise it lays there. You kick the still intact plasma rifle away and for good measure you jab the baton on the thing again and give it another shock of red energy. Best to be sure.

“Christ, 6! I almost blew your head off!” Iskra cusses you out, adrenaline still pumping.

[6 totally saved your butt!] Same-Chan counters, which surprises Iskra.

“The hell!? You switch sides with blondie-- I-- whatever thanks I guess!” Iskra grumps, thrown off and relenting with Same-Chan coming in at the last moment. In fact, she literally did in your Lancer suit’s visor helmet, her shark avatar’s been swimming around in your HUD since you secretly let her into the system. She waves at you encouragingly.

“Close call.” Helga says. “But we need to move quickly to regain control of the situation.”

“Can we even? There’s like twenty of the lanky fuckers crawling out here! Man, why couldn’t we get those cute little potbellied greys to fight against.” Iskra complains.

“If we can clear enough of the AO and secure the cargo the Sparrowhawk can pick us off for an emergency evac. We can still turn this around. 6, take this.” Helga motions for you to come over and when you do she presents the looted Laser Pistol you had acquired just prior to this operation.

“Thanks.” You say, taking the laser pistol. There’s enough charge for a few more blasts and a spare reload of a… you guess a battery pack? It’ll do more than enough with one hand on your baton and the other holding the pistol. You now have versatility.

It’s then you hear numerous explosions towards the record store, the other building in the AO. That’s where Petros is. Judging by the liberal explosives being used about, the EXALT Heavy is keeping them busy. Conversely, you see several smoke grenades pluming up where Evert and the other EXALT Agents are being assaulted by the Skinnies close to the cargo truck.

“We need to assist the others.” Helga explains as she reloads her weapon.

“Woah, you sure you want to charge in there boss?” Iskra frowns . “You’re injured.”

“I can handle myself and we need every advantage we can take.” Helga insists.

“Back me up here, 6. Helga should totally sit out.” Iskra says to you.

Helga looks over as well, expecting you to agree with her…

[I’m staying outta this!] Same-Chan exclaims, swimming out of view on your HUD.

>Helga should sit out.
>Helga should keep fighting.
>Other

>>2689965
>Helga should keep fighting.

>>2689965
>Helga should keep fighting.
Don't really have the luxury of picking and choosing with how outnumbered we are. She should stay behind us though.

>>2689965
>Helga should keep fighting.

>>2689965
>>Helga should keep fighting.

>>2689965
>Helga should keep fighting

>>2689965
>Helga should sit out.

>>2689978
>>2689980
>>2689985
>>2690008
>>2690027
Helga should keep fighting, writing!

File: Operation Portent.png (340 KB, 595x283)

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“We don’t have the luxury here to pick and choose. We’re outnumbered and outgunned.” You say, throwing in your opinion in the mix.

Helga nods in approval, appreciative that you aren't wishing to coddle her. It's a nice feeling, you admit.

“Meh, whatever floats your boat.” Iskra shrugs. “You do you, boss. I’ll do me. I’ll make sure to give any Skinny the middle finger from up here before I blow their head off while you guys have fun.”

“Not a chance.” Helga shakes her head, which clearly ticks Iskra off. “You are sticking together with us.”

“That’s a load of bull!” Iskra snaps aggressively. “I’m a sniper. Y’know, someone who ISN’T in the middle of a firefight? This here is the high ground, this is where I want to be! I’ll just slow you guys down.”

“We cannot afford to stay separated. And I am not having any insubordination in this unit.” Helga presses, absolutely done with Iskra’s utter disinterest in compliance. It does not help the argument with the firefight raging all around you and the girls.

“I’m going to die down there!” Iskra yells.

“You are going to die up here!” Helga barks.

[Nope! Still not being a part of that convo!] Same-Chan continues to abstain herself from the decision.

You need to get some order back, maybe your opinion on the matter will make a difference. People are dying and you can’t afford to waste any more time.

>Iskra should stay on the roof.
>Iskra should stick together with you and Helga.

I’ll wait a bit longer for this vote!

>>2690106

>Iskra should stay on the roof.

>>2690106
>>Iskra should stick together with you and Helga.

>>2690106
Do we have any smokes or flashes?

>>2690106
>Iskra should stay on the roof.

>>2690114
Evert has smokes, Helga has flashes!

>>2690106

>Iskra should stay on the roof

Give her flashes and laser pistol

>>2690118
Okay

>>2690106
>Iskra should stay on the roof.
Give her a flash. The biggest concern is a Thinman beaming in on her roof when she has no backup. Give her a flash or two. If that position goes to shit she can use her combination if grenades to escape and evade back to the main squad.

>>2690106
>>Iskra should stay on the roof.

>>2690106
>Iskra should stick together with you and Helga.

>>2690106
>>Iskra should stick together with you and Helga.

>>2690106
>Iskra should stay on the roof.

>>2690130
+1

Things that are a good idea in an XCOM based quest.

[X]Suppressing fire.
[X]Lots of guns.
[ ]Splitting the party.

>>2690183
Unless you have a squadsight sniper.

>>2690193
I'm going to add going forward that Iskra is a Snap Shot sniper like an in-game EXALT Sniper and not a Squadsight Sniper!

>>2690193
She's a snapshot sniper, not squadsight.

>>2690201
That should tell you all you need. She needs to stick with the squad.

>>2690106
>>Iskra should stick together with you and Helga.

>>2690201
Then why is she acting like she'd be useless in close quarters when in fact without squadsight she might as well be acting completely alone up there? The moment we get out of range she'd be useless.

>>2690269
Because she's a hotshot punk who likes killing people but not putting herself in danger?

>>2690109
>>2690115
>>2690127
>>2690130
>>2690136
>>2690173
>>2690181
Iskra staying on the roof it is, writing!

>>2690275
Goddamnit

And here I was thinking I had a decent plan with the grenades, but it's not going to matter if her position becomes useless in a few *turns*.

>>2690106
Changing >>2690130
to
>Iskra should stick together with you and Helga.

>>2690201
>>2690181 Switch to >>2690106
>>Iskra should stick together with you and Helga.

Why would we have our sniper come with us? Have her, you know, snipe!

.>>2690286
>>2690287

You know what given how the votes are literally a minute apart, I'll recount it Iskra's coming along!

File: 1475978349534.jpg (94 KB, 600x604)

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>>2690291
Leaving our sniper alone with Thinmen in the area worked out so well last time.

>>2690291
Ever leave your sniper alone on a Council Mission and two Thinmen teleport behind him?

>>2690297
That's different. She critfailed. Dice is dice, you can't account for that. And she had Zhang with her to cover her so she wasn't alone. And that Thinman brought out a sniper rifle. Squadsight snipers should have elevated positions and let the squad push on. Babying them will make them useless.

This Snapshot sniper on the other hand will be useless in that tower eventually.

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>>2690297
>"I'm going to die down there!" Iskra yells.
Our GM even threw us a bone with foreshadowing and we still fuck it up. Oh well.

>>2690314
I doubt Pixel will pull another Babbler.

>>2690314
See >>2690275
We've got Thinmen actually dropping into the area at this very moment and no solid base to fall back onto. She's being a scared little bitch, not thinking about how she'll literally have no backup when three of them gangbang her.

File: Helga.png (71 KB, 594x1188)

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It’s, admittedly, a rather difficult call. Both Helga and Iskra raise good points. You open your mouth to say Iskra could stay-- but at the very last moment you change your mind.

“You should come with us.” You say to Iskra.

“Oh-- of course! Helga’s boyfriend would side with her! Does he roll over in bedwhen you want him to? Roll over? Shake? ” Iskra groans. Helgra’s eye twitches and she’s about to lose her shit even more, utterly invalidating her positive focused mindset prior before you quickly decide to step in.

“You keep telling us you’re a badass sniper right? All I hear from you is how you can ‘no-scope’ this and ‘drop shot’ that. How about you prove it?” You challenge Iskra.

“I don’t need to prove shit! I’m the best!” Iskra argues back.

“Sounds like you’re a coward.” You shake your head.

“...FINE! Fucking fine! If I’m in a body bag after this I’m going to haunt your ass forever!” Iskra throws her arms up in defeat, relenting.

Helga relaxes a that, honestly, given how difficult Iskra is.

[I’m sorry she’s like that. You gotta do that sometimes to get her to do stuff. I think it’s a good idea!] Same-Chan quietly chimes in on your private frequency with her. You appreciate that.

It’s a resounding success, then. Hopefully it doesn’t bite you hard in the ass.

With that sorted out the three of you quickly begin to climb down off of the roof, landing onto the alleyway. Most of the Skinnie’s attention is securing the cargo container, which is now being hastily defended by Beta Cell and Evert. The rest is focused on the rather loud and bombastic Petros and his, well, bombs. Both Petros and the other Agents are separated from each other.

“We shall need to be coordinated and swift if we are to stand a chance. If we can divert the attention of the aliens away from the AO or at the very least clear an opening for the Sparrowhawk once we have the cargo. If we assist Petros we can use his explosives to help clear the area, but the defenders might be overrun by then.” Helga explains quickly as the three of you are advancing.

“Yikes.” Iskra grumbles.

“6, your Lancer armor is our wildcard. You have the best understanding of the equipment. Where do you think you’ll be the most effective? We shall cover you.” Helga asks you.

[I'll add that Petros is holding them off well! I think he's blowing up everything around him! There's lots of smoke cover where the cargo truck and the others are as well!] Same-Chan chimes in, watching from the cameras.

Helga raises a good question…

>Assist Petros. Strength in Numbers.
>Help Evert and Beta. Don’t risk the Main Objective.
>Other

>>2690369
>Help Evert and Beta. Don’t risk the Main Objective.

>>2690369
>Assist Petros. Strength in Numbers.

>Help Evert and Beta. Don’t risk the Main Objective.

>>2690369
>>Assist Petros. Strength in Numbers.

>>2690369
>Assist Petros. Strength in Numbers.

>>2690369
>>Assist Petros. Strength in Numbers.

>>2690369
>>Help Evert and Beta. Don’t risk the Main Objective.

>>2690369
>>Assist Petros. Strength in Numbers.

>>2690380
>>2690398
>>2690402
>>2690405
>>2690430
Assisting Petros it is, writing!

File: EXALT Engages.jpg (110 KB, 1200x800)

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“There’s a lot of open ground on the street, barring the armored cars.” You say after a moment of thought. “If I don't have a good base of fire to cover me I could easily be focused down. We should help Petros.”

“His explosives and his LMG would provide more than enough cover for you alongside us.” Helga agrees. “Move out.”

“Fuuck…” Iskra mumbles underneath her breath.

You and the others cross the road and stack up on the other end of the record store, just across from the storage building. Already from peeking through the large hole in the building’s wall and the windows you can see a pair of Skinnies have already taken positions inside of the building, but any attempts to move closer is met by a hail of bullets. There also sounds like there’s some Skinnies above on the roof. The near continuous explosions going off on the other side of the building sounds like Petros is certainly giving the Skinnies a run for their money.

“We’re moving up to assist you, Petros. We’re moving up from the other side of the store.” Helga informs him over the comms.

“...That’s… splendid! I shall endeavor not to shoot any of you!” Petros answers back, panting heavily.

Helga nods to you and you nod back, prepared. She pulls a pin on her flash and chucks it into the building. Like clockwork you’re already moving as soon as it detonates with Iskra and Helga providing what covering fire they can.

You head…

>Towards the roof to ambush the aliens from above. Clear the top. (TN 40)
>Inside the building. Eliminating the dazed aliens inside swiftly. (TN 25)
>Flanking around the side. There might be flankers and if not you’ll reach Petros with minimal risk. (TN 15-30)
>Other (TN ???)

>>2690503
>>Flanking around the side. There might be flankers and if not you’ll reach Petros with minimal risk. (TN 15-30)

>>2690503
>Flanking around the side. There might be flankers and if not you’ll reach Petros with minimal risk. (TN 15-30)

>>2690503
>Towards the roof to ambush the aliens from above. Clear the top. (TN 40)

>>2690503
>>Towards the roof to ambush the aliens from above. Clear the top. (TN 40)

>>2690503
>>Towards the roof to ambush the aliens from above. Clear the top. (TN 40)

>>2690523
>>2690526
>>2690530
Clearing the roof it is, writing!

File: Thin Man 3.jpg (209 KB, 600x450)

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While Helga and Iskra clear out the bottom floor, you’ll be moving up onto the roof to hopefully eliminate or at the very least distract the Skinnies on the roof long enough so that the rest of your team can link up and then help secure a foothold on the record store.

You quickly climb up onto the roof as the staccato of Helga’s SMG and the loud crack of Iskra’s Sniper rifle join in the chorus of plasma and ballistic weapons fire. Climbing up onto the top you see a pair of Skinnies taking cover along the numerous air conditioning units, taking a moment to reload their plasma rifles. A part of the room has been fragged to hell and back again, judging by the shredded and broken remains of other AC units.

The aliens spot and begin to raise their plasma rifles but you’re already closing the gap, blasting away with the fancy laser pistol in one hand and your stun baton wound up and ready to deliver an electric smackdown once you get within close range. Dr. T had said the armor should be able to at minimum take one plasma shot, hopefully you don’t have to find out how durable it is.

You get right into the fray!

>Roll 1d100 + 5 (TN 40)

Rolled 38 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

>>2690583
Low rolls for 6!

Rolled 43 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

>>2690583

Rolled 56 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

>>2690583
WEW

File: Petros.png (73 KB, 750x1355)

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One of Skinnies winds up and attempts to spit a noxious cloud of acid right in your face, given how the things are immune to the stuff. Catching you in close range would be fatal, but your speed with the laser pistol is quicker in the draw than it can spit at you. You hit in the chest, burning the tacky tie right off of it.

It lets out a pained hiss, recoiling back. It doesn’t kill it outright, but the laser pistol gives you more than enough of an opening to take care of the Skinny’s buddy as you thrust and pin the other Skinny onto the metal AC unit and shock it. The metal from the machine amplifies the damage and quickly drops the thing onto the ground, allowing you to spin around knock out the other Skinny you had shot with quick order.

[Coooool!] Same-Chan cheers.

“Roof clear!” You say, not wasting any time to congratulate yourself on what was a swift and effective pair of takedowns as you cross to the other side of the rooftop and vault down onto the front door, landing right beside Petros.

“Hello, friend! Thank you for the hell, yes!” Petros grins at you as he squeezes a detonator on his hand. Another explosion goes off in the road causing an that had landed there to scurry further away from the area… only for a second delayed explosive to turn it into a pile of alien goop.

You’re prepared to take out the pair of Skinnies inside of the record store but instead just see two acid clouds where the pair had been standing on. It looks like Helga and Iskra had taken out the other two.

“One of those things nearly blew my head off!” Iskra exclaims, anxiety tinged in her voice as she links up as the two women regroup with you and Petros.

“Well you had killed it first before it had shot you, so it’s fine.” Helga answers back. Iskra nods but she’s definitely a bit shaken. All of that sniper training she praised herself on and ego is all but quickly shattered when there’s plasma fling at her face.

“Status report.” Helga asks Petros.

“Good. It was getting really close there towards the end. I was about to use my ‘last resort’ if they were to overrun me.” Petros explains.

“Last resort?”

“What is the saying… ‘dragging them to hell down with me’ I believe?” Petros scratches his chin and motions to the plastic explosive on his kit. Was he really going to blow himself up? “Nevertheless! I have ensured the soon to be POW’s are still alive!”

Petros kicks one of the unconscious Council troopers you had stunned.

“Huh…” Iskra blinks.

“I doubt we can bring them all back with our new friends present, but I can carry one of them! I can easily drop the fellow to use my weapons.” Petros says.

Helga glances down at one of the unconscious bodies.

>You don’t think it’s worth it. Carrying someone would just slow Petros down.
>Leave them. There’s no time for this secondary objective.
>Other.

>>2690736
>Leave them. There’s no time for this secondary objective.
Way too much of a liability

>>2690736
Though aren't both options negative?

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>>2690747
Oh crap, you're right! Whoops!

Here the other options!

>Let Petros carry one of them. The man is rather strong and he's already wired most of the area in explosives.

>>2690736
>Leave them. There’s no time for this secondary objective.

>>2690736
>>Leave them. There’s no time for this secondary objective.

>>2690736
>Let Petros carry one of them. The man is rather strong and he's already wired most of the area in explosives.
The Intel is too good to pass up

>>2690736
>Leave them. There’s no time for this secondary objective.

We already got a wounded and down to a 3rd if not a 1/4th of our support strength.
We can't afford to babysit captured units when our main objective is on the line.

>>2690740
>>2690762
>>2690815
>>2690846
Leaving them behind it is, writing!

File: Spoiler Image (153 KB, 400x300)

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“Leave them be.” Helga says. “They’re not worth it. We need to assist the others.”

There’s no disagreement either from you or the others. It’s a bit of a shame really, they’re as good as dead if left behind with the aliens. But it’s not your problem anymore. What matters is getting out of here alive, and with aliens in the equation it would simply be too greedy of a risk. There’s always another operation.

Regrouped, you and the rest of the squad advance, looping in from the behind the convoy towards the cargo truck. Steadily you and the others begin to put pressure onto the other aliens bearing down on Evert and Beta’s position. Downing one or two of the Skinnies here and there and pinning down others elsewhere. Your groups assistance to the beleaguered EXALT Agents is felt immediately, the extra coordinated firepower splitting the attention of the aliens as you try and relink with the other assets.

But they just keep coming. And it’s not just Skinnies anymore. The aliens are sending in Caspers now. These flying half mechanical monstrosities that are both half machine and alien are crazed and near suicidal. They ignore pain and swoop in like literal vultures to cause havoc from above or behind. You have no time to wonder why EXALT classified them as Caspers instead of Flyers or something.

The Caspers are landing everywhere with the Skinnes, or perhaps more specifically flying in from above. While your cell is able to take out some as some as they hit the ground, the numbers are steadily becoming overwhelming. That storage building roof for example? A Skinny is already raining down disturbingly accurate fire that could only be stopped with Petros lauching a decisive rocket detonating part of the roof. Iskra is too busy trying to not get shot, but you do see her freeze up for a moment as that could of very well been the Skinny that blasted her in the back of her head with plasma.

“We are almost there!” Helga shouts over the combat and confusion. You can actually see the other EXALT agents, whose manpower has dropped significantly. Evert is nowhere to be found either but he could be treating wounded.

You haven’t fully committed to a charge just yet, with the possibility of the UFO hidden in the sky dropping a Skinny right in the middle of your cell and being useless against the Caspers. One Skinny actually did land near Theta, which you had swiftly dealt with. You’re getting closer to the cargo truck with only two armored cars are between you and the struggling fellow agents. You spot a pair of Skinnies using the now destroyed convoy APC as cover, that’s really close to the cargo truck. You could assault them but the Caspers in the air could be an issue…

>Eliminate the Skinnies near the APC. (TN 45)
>Continue escorting Theta. (TN 25)
>Advance towards the Cargo Truck. (TN 50)
>Other (TN ???)

>>2690954
>Eliminate the Skinnies near the APC. (TN 45)

>>2690954
>>Continue escorting Theta. (TN 25)

Primary objective right now should be making sure the rest of our squad links up with the second unit and does so safely--we'll just need to deal with the Thinmen and Floaters as they drop in.

>>2690954
>Eliminate the Skinnies near the APC. (TN 45)
Tell the rest of the squad, specifically Iskra to focus on the Caspers while we draw their attention as we engage the Skinnys

>>2690954
>Eliminate the Skinnies near the APC. (TN 45)

Do not let them set up a firing line on our squad.

>>2690954
>>Eliminate the Skinnies near the APC. (TN 45)

>escort Theta

>>2690954
>Eliminate the Skinnies near the APC. (TN 45)

>>2690964
>>2690968
>>2690970
>>2690975
>>2691021
Clearing the APC it is, writing!

File: Lancer EXO Suit.jpg (285 KB, 1920x1080)

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“Clearing out the APC!” You shout, sprinting off towards the ruined hunk of metal steel that was the armored vehicle.

“You heard the devil, keep the aliens off of him!” Petros bellows, propping his lmg onto the hood of one of the armored cars and unleashing a fierce barrage of LMG fire to suppress the aliens.

“Iskra focus on the Caspers!” Helga shouts.

“You don’t have to fucking tell me twice! It’s just like skeet shooting!” Iskra answers back already turning her attention skyward.

You duck and weave through the convoy, darting right past the defensive line that the Council team had initially used which was quickly taken by the other EXALT agents. You don’t spare a glance to see if your fellow Theta is alive, as looking away might mean you’d miss a plasma bolt sailing right towards your face.

The twisted screeches and roars of one of the Caspers echoes out as it begins to trail after you above in the air, trying to gun you down. That doesn’t alert one of the Skinnys using the heavy cover of the APC, but one spots you and quickly diverts it’s target toward you. Now you not only have to deal with plasma raining down from above, but also plasma soaring right in front of you! It’s one thing to get shot, but seeing every bright streak of green gives you another burst of adrenaline and fear for your life more so than any other bullet or explosive has given you. You use that that extra energy from your body push yourself further and faster as you careen right towards the Skinny trying to gun you down at full speed!

Roll 1d100 + 5 (TN 40)

Rolled 73 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

>>2691072
TIME TO DIE!

Rolled 7 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

>>2691072

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>>2691074
That's a very good roll but I still need ONE more roll before I can proceed, please!

Rolled 67 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

>>2691072

Rolled 86 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

>>2691072

>>2691101
Don't worry! I'm just here draining your good rolls so that X-Com can job ultra hard against EXALT.

Rolled 95 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

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You proceed to dodge the enemy plasma fire, the bolts of superheated green energy seeming to just miss you by inches, perhaps extremely frustratingly so to the aliens. The Casper trying to shoot at you sounds really pissed, that’s for sure.

You close the gap and diagonally swing right at the Skinny as it attempts to slip back behind cover and reposition, managing to catch one of the limbs of the thing with your baton’s prongs and proceed to dig it’s arm straight into the APC, causing it to drop it’s plasma rifle. The other Skinny hiding behind the APC now notices the scuffle and spins around to try and fire at you. Thinking quickly, you kick the Skinny in you’ve entrapped into the line of sight of it’s buddy, yanking your banton off of it in the process. As you jump back, the thing explodes into a cloud of acid, as you force an alien friendly fire incident.

In the confusion of the cloud you decide to try and get the highground on the alien, clambering up to the top of the APC as the alien is attempting to reorient itself. By the time it spots you, you’re already jumping off of the APC, diving at the thing with your baton held up high.

You fall right on top of it, driving the baton straight into its chest. The thing spazzes like a fly that had sailed into a bug zapper, it makes disgusting squelching noises as it spasms before it slumps onto the ground, unconscious and out of the fight.

You rip off the baton from his chest and look at the crackling baton in your hand. God, you fucking love this thing. You really hope Dr. T makes a handheld sidearm version with the same stun tech or something, then you’d really become a literal tazing machine.

With the flanks secured, the rest of your squad finally manages to link up Beta and together you and the others quickly form a tight perimeter, taking out any any all aliens that try and get close. If the aliens really wanted to try and get the cargo, whatever it is, they’d have to pry it off of EXALT’s plasma burnt hands. The Betas are in a state of a full rout, their clear lack of a leadership has caused most of them to crack under the threat of the aliens. They’ve completely lost control of the situation.

“Where the hell is our medic!?” Helga demands shouting through the gunfire as she grabs one of the terrified Betas, shaking him vigorously for an answer.

“I-In the truck with the other medic!” He stammers. “This isn’t what we signed up for, god dammit! This shit is FUBA-AGK!”

Helga tosses him onto the ground.

“6, check up on Evert! I’m calling in our extraction!” Helga relays.

You don’t waste any time moving to the back of the cargo truck. You note, that the door is some heavy duty stuff, and one of the Beta Agents had to use a drill to cut it open. The Council really didn’t want their cargo to get loose. As you attempt to open the door you are interrupted as it’s slammed open as the other EXALT Medic’s body is flung right at you!

(Part 1 / 3)

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The medic collides with you like a limp ragdoll as your suit’s stabilizes you from falling. It still causes you to take a step back from the suddenness of it as the Medic’s body falls to the ground right before you. You look down in confusion at her. She’s dead, her body somehow twisted her torso into a horrible angle as if someone had broke it like a toothpick. It’s a ghastly sight. When you look up inside of the truck however you see one of the most terrifying sights you’ve ever seen inside of the cargo truck.

It’s a woman. Glowing purple.

The woman is a tall caucasian brunette with an assortment of tubes and IV’s strapped onto her arms as if the Council had tried everything in her power to keep her as drugged up as possible. Judging by the grey shirt and jacket, it looked as if the Council had just plucked her off of the street without warning. Swirling around her, like some sort of glowing purple cocoon or aura… is an otherworldly purple energy that only means one horrifying thing.

Psionics.

The Roswells, the grey aliens that were the first aliens to invade earth, had these powers and were easily some of the most dangerous aliens in the field if left unchecked. This woman? She’s… she’s not being possessed by one of them, she seems to be creating such strange power.

And she’s absolutely terrified. Her eyes are wide and she’s in a state of shock and panic. Inside of the cargo track was some sort of portable clinic or medical chamber of some kind, and everything's been trashed or thrown about as if a hurricane hand went through it. There’s multiple other bodies inside all crumpled and twisted. There’s another EXALT agent, but there’s mostly doctors or scientists. That doesn’t matter to you however...

She’s looking directly at you.

“Tenir à l'écart!” The woman shouts in French seeing you as an enemy in your black armor.

She points her hands right at you as they glow with that same purple energy.

You freeze in your place, the entire battle around you completely ignored. It’s just you and her.

And someone else.

(Part 2 / 3)

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Battered, bruised, and bleeding you see Evert behind her. Clearly having been jostled around in the truck in the woman’s scared rampage, somehow he hasn’t met the same horrible fate as the others. Slowly. Very slowly. He’s approaching the woman with a large needle. A sedative perhaps? You can’t tell.

The woman continues to beg and shout at you in French, all but ignoring the chaos around you, she’s so scared she has tunnel vision. Worse yet, everyone else is so focused with the aliens they don’t see this stare down yet.

You look at her, and then to Evert.

Fuck! You need to do something about Evert! Should you let him jam that needle in her neck or tell him to stay back? She might notice and literally snap his neck or spine!

>Let Evert make his move.
>Motion for him to back away!

I’ll wait longer for this vote!

>>2691273
>Motion for him to back away.

>>2691273
>Motion for him to back away!

She's frightened and is more or less Librarian levels of Psyker bullshitium.
That and she's probably reading our mind.

>>2691273
>Motion for him to back away!

>>2691276
+1

>>2691273
Also would it be alright for the players to know how much time we got on this voting period?

>>2691273
>>Motion for him to back away!

>>2691276
I always wondered if you can beat mind readers by thinking in another language they do not understand.

>>2691279
45 Minutes to an hour!

>>2691273
>Let Evert make his move.
She's too dangerous to keep conscious.

>>2691281
It's been a tried and true tactic in the Expanded Universe of Star Wars when it came to hunting jedi to think about random mundane shit that you would know about but they could not care for.
So if thinking about random shit would work, I can safely say that thinking in a different language might work too.
Of course there's always that minor chance of the Psyker just simply bypassing the language barrier due to Mindstuff =/= Vocalstuff

>>2691282
Thanks Bro.

>>2691273
>>Motion for him to back away!

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>>2691273
>>Motion for him to back away!

Shit, Annette's out of the bag already! Tell Evert to keep his distance or she'll spam him with mind bullets or whatever fucking Psionic Fightan Magic she has.

>>2691275
>>2691276
>>2691277
>>2691278
>>2691281
>>2691309
>>2691351
Having Evert back away, writing!

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You are staring down the barrel of a gun, for all intents and purposes. A woman who has, somehow, able to use what the Roswells can use. And you know what’d make things worse? If you pissed her off. You quietly look towards Evert and slightly shake your head.

Don’t do it.

Evert’s eyes widen and, with difficulty you see him slowly back away-- up until he knocks something on the floor. The woman is startled an immediately spins around, spotting Evert who hastily backs away. Your eyes widen and you have a moment of horror at possibly being responsible for killing Evert, however seeing Evert clearly trying to not be hostile she instead intimidates Evert into pressing as far back into the back of the truck as possible.

The woman continues to shout at both you and Evert now. Essentially ordering you both to back away.

“Miss! Do you speak English!?” You call out to her.

“...S-stay away! Don’t come any closer or else I’ll hurt you like I hurt THEM!” The woman says in a thankfully fairly fluent English. This’ll help, or perhaps make things worse?

It’s then at that moment, as the woman spins her head left and right one hand pointed at you and another at Evert that you are essentially in a hostage/gunman situation. Except this time they are one and the same. Without a shadow of a doubt this woman is the valuable cargo you’re looking for. She needs to be dealt with, either by talking her down, intimidating her, or if need be, knocking her out. Your visor’s calculations are all over the place, not able to understand the threat of the woman. You doubt the best minds of EXALT and Dr. T himself could have programmed a good risk analysis of her right now.

You need be very VERY careful how you handle this…!

>Reason with her to calm down. You want to help her get out of here (TN ???)
>Explain that the Council is your enemy as well as hers. (TN ???)
>Point out the aliens attacking. She needs to cooperate or everyone is dead. (TN ???)
>Knock her unconscious when she’s looking away. You don’t have time for this. (TN ???)
>Remove your helmet and drop your weapon. Go all in. (DANGER)
>Other (TN ???)

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>>2691458
>>Remove your helmet and drop your weapon. Go all in. (DANGER)

ALL IN, BAYBAY!

It's important to make that human connection and make it NOW, if you want any chance of quelling this woman's murderboner.

>>2691458
>>Point out the aliens attacking. She needs to cooperate or everyone is dead. (TN ???)

>>2691458
>>Remove your helmet and drop your weapon. Go all in. (DANGER)

>>2691467
+1

>>2691467
Supporting even though doing well here will probably dick us over when we swap back to XCOM.

>>2691458
>Remove your helmet and drop your weapon. Go all in. (DANGER)
>>2691467
Monika best girl

>>2691458
>>Remove your helmet and drop your weapon. Go all in. (DANGER)
Explain everything as you are doing it too. Maybe try to negotiate the medic out to the wounded after she's less hysterical.

>>2691458
>Point out the aliens attacking. She needs to cooperate or everyone is dead. (TN ???)

>>2691458
Ok guys, he is a civilian. Our chances of geting her fighting are pretty low and she dosn´t know anything about moving in the battlefield. SHe will just get killed.

>Calm her down, you are here to rescue her
>Remove helmet but sheath weapon

Let´s ust try to reassure her. We are going to help her out of this situation, but we need her collaboration.

Try to get her to stay put in the truck and don´t move since there are hostiles around.

>>2691467
>>2691480
>>2691485
>>2691491
>>2691495
>>2691497
Going all in, writing!

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You know what you need to do.

It’s going to be stupid. It’s going to seem crazy. It’s going to leave you defenseless. It’s going to be suicidal. And a dozen other things. But if you can’t try and win the trust and understanding of this woman, that she’s likely going to be a much much bigger threat than the aliens ever will. Your heart’s pounding as loud as Petro’s machine gun as you slowly hold your arms out… and let go of your weapons.

The laser pistol and stun baton clatter onto the ground on your sides.

That’s when the alarms start to go off in your suit. Warning signs and flashing colors and pop-ups of all shapes and sizes all telling you essentially one thing. RUN. But you don’t.

At that moment Same-Chan realizes what’s happening. You start to hear her synthesized voice sound confused and shocked at the sight. Which quickly turns to alarm. But the words don’t quite reach you. It’s almost as if… well… everything sounds underwater.

Slowly, you start to move your hands up towards your helmet.

Same-Chan’s shouting now. And it’s not her synthesized voice anymore, but her actual one. You still can’t pick out what she’s saying. Her avatar practically blocks your screen, trying to get your attention, but your eyes glaze over her avatar focused one thing. The woman.

You grasp the helmet.

The woman is paying attention to you now. Completely. If this were a moment for Evert to strike and take her down, this would be it. However. While Petros is ready to tackle her, he doesn’t move. He lets you do this. The woman is trying to figure you out and without even realizing it has pointed both of her glowing purple hands directly at you, expecting some sort of trick or ruse. The last thing you see before you remove the helmet is Same-Chan’s avatar banging and banging against the glass as hard as she can.

The helmet clatters onto the ground with your weapons.

It’s then you see Helga appear to the side weapon raised and likely hastily informed by Same-Chan, but you look at her and with a glance stop her right in her tracks. Helga’s just out of view of the woman. Your Handler is wide-eyed looking at you, wanting to do everything in her power to pull you away. But she doesn't budge.

You realize there’s one last thing you need to do as you stare down the woman.

Taking one last breath, you lower your scarf. Revealing your face to the woman in it’s entirety. No helmet, no scarf. Just you. You’ve never felt more naked in your entire life.

“Miss… I want to help you.” You say as deliberately as you can, looking at her directly in the eyes. “Let me.”

>Roll 1d100 + 25 (TN UNKNOWN). Good luck!

Rolled 9 + 25 (1d100 + 25)

>>2691590

Here goes something

Rolled 5 + 25 (1d100 + 25)

>>2691590
It'd be a really bad time to roll a 1.

Rolled 98 + 25 (1d100 + 25)

well, i guess that worked

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>>2691602
Have we just converted Annette to EXALT?

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>>2691602
Well then! Standby for an update!

>>2691611
>X-COM gets Zhang and Van Doom
>Egg Salt gets Annette
Damn

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Final update in the pipe. Five by five. Stand by for deployment!

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There’s a moment of stunned silence and then… you feel a connection with this woman. A moment, however fleeting, where you ‘understood’ in some level what she had gone through. Perhaps, maybe, she can understand what you had went through. A choking purple miasma constricting and overwhelming. Needles and tubes and vials. A trigger pulled tight. Cold stark white isolated rooms. Screaming and begging for it all to stop.

The woman lowers her hands, taking a step back, gasping. Eyes wide with shock.

“You’re… you under--”

It’s then that she looks at the bodies all around her her, the ones she had killed. She’s aghast and horrified. Nearly snapping then and there at the overwhelming crippling fear of the numerous deaths brought by her hands.

“N-No! I’m sorry! I didn't mean too! They-- I couldn’t control it -- you -- you have no idea! It was awful, what they did to me! To others!” woman pleads, nearly dropping to her knees.

Others? There were more like her? How many? The trauma written on her face speaks of horrific things possibly done to her. You don’t know what… but all you know is is that your utter hate for the Council has only deepened. How dare they do this to this woman.

“I -- we can help you!” You insist quickly. “But you need to come with me. I’ll make sure you’re safe and looked after properly! But you must trust me!”

Trust is the absolute last thing the woman expects from anybody right now. Can you really blame her after just looking in this truck alone? However, the woman, desperate for something to cling onto lest she be swept away in all the chaos hastily nods.

“OK! OK!” The woman says taking a wobbly step towards you.

You catch a glimpse of Helga, a look of legitimate awe at how you had managed to resolve… all of that. The look is shared with Evert who quickly moves to assist the woman. However, the aliens are done with this moment and you hear the cries of several Caspers as they streak at full speed towards Helga, the woman, and yourself. Shit! You had completely forgotten about the aliens and the rest of the firefight in that one fucing moment! Stupid!

Helga spins her gun upwards and starts firing wildly at the Caspers as they propel themselves right at you. You catch a glimpse of Evert dashing to pull the woman out of the line of sight from the aliens. You try and reach for your weapons only to have to dive out of the way as plasma bolts pepper the spot you were just standing on. You land on the floor hard and realize in horror you can’t get out of the way of the next barrage of plasma.

You realize you’re a dead man. The Caspers have your goddamn ticket and they’re about to punch it. Your thoughts think of the friends you couldn’t avenge and… Helga.

But then you don’t die.

(Part 1 / 4)

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The three Caspers streaking towards you suddenly stop. Going at full speed before just locking instantly in the air, frozen. Paused. They let out a confused cry and then a horrible pained screeching as you watch their bodies begin to ‘crumple’. As if a great massive pressure had trapped them and squished them tightly until they were just a ball of flesh and metal. The former living aliens just hover there for a few moments -- before exploding into a mess of gore and metal. You stand up in shock.

You spin around and see the woman her eyes glowing, no, blazing a furiously bright and incandescent purple hue. All around her, small objects begin to levitate upwards. Bullet casings, broken glass, medical equipment, debris. It all builds up.

And then the woman screams. As a shockwave of purple psionic energy explodes out from her.

Several of the armored vehicles of the convoy around you begin to levitate, much to the surprise of the other remaining EXALT survivors and the aliens… before they’re thrown out. Colliding and impacting with or near alien positions. An armored car impacts a Casper in mid-air exploding into gore. A Skinny is trampled under a rolling APC chassis. The aliens quickly pull back, in full retreat from the power displayed by the woman.

They don’t want any part of that.

Just as quickly as the burst of energy explodes from the woman, it’s gone. She coughs and sputters, her eyes literally bleeding from the exertion as she holds a feeble hand towards you and then collapses, having completely spent her energy in that one burst of unrivaled power and ferocity.

You catch her. The other agents besides Helga begin to back away from the unconscious woman, their weapons trained on her.

“What the fuck was that!?” Iskra shouts, terrified.

“It was from her!” Petros exclaims.

[I recorded it! I recorded it all! It was incredible!] Same-Chan yells

Before you can explain yourself Helga places a hand on your shoulder, the one that doesn’t have the woman leaning against. She’ll handle it.

“It’s fine! She is who we came for! We have our ticket!” Helga says, enforcing order in the remaining agents. “Watch the perimeter before they return I will call it in!”

In a daze the agents do as you hold her from collapsing. Evert, approaches you and offers to shoulder the weight of the woman, entranced. It’s as if the man himself is going through some spiritual episode. You let him. You… you need a moment to collect your things and yourself.

You find your helmet and the baton rather quickly. It wasn’t thrown away in the shockwave. You don't want to lose either. After all, they’re both probably worth a small fortune…

(Part 2 / 5)

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The aliens attempt to skirmish a bit with you and the others but they ultimately leave you alone as a whole, clearly shaken by what had transpired. Eventually, the Sparrowhawk arrives and with it’s… close air support. Apparently the thing had a gun, which it proceeds to spray the area once or twice to keep the aliens pinned down. You hear Iskra complaining very vocally at why it didn’t show up to help way earlier. It was probably too risky for the priceless dropship…

As the Sparrowhawk lands and it’s ramp lowers to pick up the survivors another surprise is waiting for you. Instead of just the two Elites from earlier there’s a third person. One who immediately makes Helga snap to attention to give a crisp salute, though you can tell she’s confused as she does it. The man is of average height, with well kept black hair, a sharp outfit, and oddly enough is wearing sunglasses. The man smiles warmly, almost, fatherly, as he beckons for you all to hastily come aboard. You and the others do so, cargo in hand.

“Sir… what are you doing here?” Helga asks with a tired concern.

“I wanted to congratulate Theta-6 personally.” The man smiles wider, and it’s at that moment that you recognize that voice. It’s the Adjutant. He winks at you.

“How’d you get here so quickly!?” Iskra says utterly confused.

“I was in the cockpit the entire time, hahaha. Surprise!” The Adjutant chuckles. “We have much to talk about with you, Theta-6. Such as… a promotion!”

Nobody comments, not even Iskra. Everyone is just tired a bit shell shocked at what had just transpired. Before you can say anything, The Adjutant had already wrapped a friendly arm around you, chatting amicably as you are led to sit down, with the Adjutant taking a seat beside you. As you are pulled closer to the sudden conversation with a superior you the note rather odd… skin marks on his neck. A skin disease? It looks familiar and strange… but it’s probably nothing. You don’t have the energy to think.

The Sparrowhawk begins to lift off. The aliens don’t shoot it down. You wonder if they’re all terrified. Maybe their boss alien overlords called them off.

The first thing that’s sought to is the woman, whose name is learned to be Annette Durand. Her wallet was on her person. The Council were so afraid of her they didn’t even remove all the things off of her pockets and probably wanted her sedated and isolated the entire time. Bastards. They’ll get what’s coming to them… in more ways than one. Who knows what Durand means to EXALT or humanity as a whole? This could change… well… everything. It seems the Adjutant knows it, just by how pleased he looks.

The tide is going to turn now.

(Part 3 / 5)

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As the Adjutant essentially leads the entire conversation by himself with you you try your best to keep up, you take the moment to sneak glances at the state of the rest of Theta. They’re all exhausted sure but… you can tell they each think of you higher in some fashion. Evert, nods to you in approval at speaking with the Adjutant. Petros gives you a weary thumbs up. Iskra, reluctantly grimaces at you, admitting wordlessly that she… owes you. Same-Chan is the happiest shark there is with everyone miraculously surviving the ordeal. She’s absolutely elated and if it wasn’t for the adjutant present she’d be blasting J-pop music or something. You wouldn’t have minded this time.

And Helga? She’s just glad for you. Proud even. You think she’s smiling underneath her scarf. You’d like that. She looks very pretty when she smiles.You’d like to tell her that later when you can later, after all the debriefings and whatnot. It… really completes her.

Sure, you were given a lot of shit before by just being the new guy… but you think you’ve earned your position in Theta cell, and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

(Part 4 / 5)

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When the Adjutant finally steps back into the cockpit, you finally get some time to relax. To unwind. And you know just how to do it… reaching into your pocket you pull out a single insignificant item to most. A… memento more than anything else. Your former life before EXALT. In your hand is a patch of the FBI, more specifically its SWAT division, it was plucked straight from your old uniform. You removed it personally before you burnt the rest in an incinerator.

It’s a reminder of your past, of the people you lost dearly before joining EXALT. Dead. Every single one of them because of the Council. All except for you. The sole survivor, thanks to someone in the Sparrowhawk who had given you another chance. From Captain Nguyen, Rachel, and… your best buddy. They're all gone. All sent on a mission to drug war mission in Arizona a lifetime ago that never came back. You press the patch close to your chest.

Your name was Charlie Nichols… but now you’re just Theta-6, an agent working EXALT. And with this Lancer suit you’re wearing and Annette saved from their clutches, you’re going to avenge your former squad and make the Council pay.

>>2691679
Oh shit son,I knew it.

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>...And with that finally... FINALLY The EXALT One-shot is concluded! Over a month of prepwork, drawing, and even longer planning and it's finally complete. A massive weight has been lifted off of my shoulder! I pushed really damn hard for this as... I won't be running next week, I'm going on vacation! XCOM Trooper will resume the week after. So until next time...

THANKS FOR PLAYING!

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>EXALT has access to the most powerful Psionic
>THey also might have access to her three Psionic butt buddy friends if they manage to pull off the Furies mission

Well it was a good run Dozer, but it's kinda hard to balance out against Psionic Fightan Magic unless you have access to Brain Dampening gene mods.

>>2691685

Enjoy your vacation, Pixel--you've earned it!

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>>2691674
>Speaker

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>>2691690

>EXALT is being run by a fucking Thinman
>[subversionintensifiesexcessively].webm

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I will be answering questions about EXALT Agent and XCOM Trooper Quest as a whole in this thread until it gets automatically archived, obviously not tonight as I'm literally about to collapse on my keyboard.

If you guys enjoyed EXALT Agent, I'm considering running further '''''one-shots''''' following 6's perspective in between major events until the... likely reunion of the fated FBI Swat Team if you guys want! Obviously it's all going to determine if you guys care enough about Theta Cell and their adventures.

Finally I'm also going to put up a vote on twitter soon on deciding if you guys want to replace THIS d100 system over the current d20 system in the main quest please do vote! I'd like some suggestions in how to tune it too particularly involving crits which were a major part throughout the quest for obvious reasons involving Dozer.

But for now... I'm going to fucking sleep!

>>2691697
Pixel, have you ever watched To Aru Majutsu no Railgun?

At some point, the writer introduced a recurring antagonist squad, made up of all these quirky characters. A couple of episodes was dedicated solely to establishing how cool and badass and awesome they all are. It was easy to see how much the writer wanted the audience to love them.

I hated them and wanted them to die.

>>2691688
I would Argue Dozer is as least as strong as she is if not stronger.
He used RIFT with no training.
Rift being the psionic power of "Fuck it everything dies!" That shreds tanks and sectopods apart with ease. It didn't even leave him in the sorry state Annette was in either.

Will we find out what happened to Captain Nguyen? I thought XCOM was watching Charlie, how did EXALT get him? Will you do new art for EXALT Charlie?

>>2691714
You're being a little too subtle their friend.
Why not just out and say that you don't like being introduced to a bunch of characters we're going to have to kill and think that, aside from finding out what happened to Annette, this could have been a big waste of time and effort on everyone's parts?

>>2691745
Yeah a lot of people survived that ops thanks in part to Dozer going Doomguy on the sectoids.

I hope exalt did not kill them all of and frame the council.

I really liked this 'one shot' and would like to see more of the Theta squad in the future. seeing things from the eyes of an exalt member is refreshing.

have fun on your vacation pixel and we will see you again in 2 weeks time

>>2691746
Even more than characters we'll have to kill I'd hate to be introduced to characters we aren't allowed to kill.

>>2691745
>I thought XCOM was watching Charlie, how did EXALT get him?
Prob the equivalent to normal police surveillance, aka easy to circumvent if you really, really want to.

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Charlie, for reference.

>>2691836
Was he the one who got Sectoid'd?

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>>2691861
Maybe

Might need to read the main XCOM quest after this. Always liked EXALT though.

>>2691962
Starts good, gets a little worse, but then starts coming into it's own later.

Pixel has improved a lot.

>>2691861
Yup. his Callsign in the FBI was BLackjack

>>2692299
Hah. Fitting he got a stun baton

>>2692303
Also looks like the Council Took Blackjack out from Xcom Medical care.


If we ever run into him we can find the traitor real quick.

>>2691697
Well I liked the interaction between all the characters, and I liked that we had less shit to juggle.
But I can kinda understand the other Anon's disposition about them.
At the end of it all I never minded the change of pace and POV of a different character. If it happens every once in a while it can definitely spice things up a bit.
And then we get a session where it turns out that Billy the Goat is actually the Ethereal from The Bureau who will help us train in our Psionic powers

>>2692406
I doubt Dozer needs it. Juggernaut is basically The Ethereal psionic shield minus the reflection ability. He came up with it in just one day.

His first power Was RIFT and he used it so hard an Ethereal NOPED away.

WE could have mindraped ZHang despite him being a tough SoB in terms of hitting him with anything mental and he could not have stopped us at all.


Dozer is a Terrifyingly strong psion.

>>2692486
>Not getting the joke
>Not wanting to pull UFOs out of the sky with our mind

Until we start shitting out Rifts in combat like a rich man with a poor sense of saving dosh, I'm going to believe that it was cut-scene power stuff. Because until we get back into combat we don't really know the real limits of our powers when the're not rage fueled and under fire

>>2691697
I would not mind a d100 system, but I would hope any roll that +s to over 105 or 100 would still be a crit.

>>2691697
What if you stick with d20 for base stuff, and use d100 for combat? It means missions will be less skewed by crits (assuming they're on nat 1 / 100), but crits will still be a part of the SoL stuff where it's less critical, but contributes to character / plot development.

>>2691697
I'd like to see more every once in a while for sure.

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>>2693307
Yeah, I was thinking of some way to implement the Crits in combat and that could certainly work! There'd need to be a chance for Crit Fails as well of course... perhaps if someone rolls 10 or less it will count as a Critfail?

>>2693445
That's an interesting idea! I might add that into the vote I'll throw up soon on if you guys want to switch mechanics.

>>2695102
10 and under is more critical failure than a d20. A degree of success and failure system could work well in stead, with 3 degrees in either direction being critical. Maybe rolling high adding degrees (96-99 + 1,100 + 2), while rolling low subtracts them(1 - 2,2-5 - 1)?
Sorry if it feels like I'm throwing a lot at you here. and feel free to change whatever since it's just off the top of my head.

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It's appreciated! I'm definitely open to trying to constantly fine tune XCOM Trooper's dice mechanics like a .ini file without having it turn into something Magnificent like Long War's balance. It's not XCOM without RNG after all.

If there's ever a place to test it it'd be here in this one shot.

I will also add just in general that I was not holding back on wiping out Theta Cell in this One-Shot, but you guys were pretty good with decision making! I'm honestly really surprised you guys got a perfect end all things considered. Good job.

If we do oneshots, I wouldn't want them too often. I am rooting for xcom and I want to see our squad again. It's metagamey but I do kind of wish we had failed Thisbe mission so that exalt wouldn't have Annette.

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Reminder: tomorrow is World Ufo Day!

So, when do we get to kill the shit out of EXALT, like the aliens should/council should have during this oneshot?

>>2695652
Buckle up buttercup, Once 6 sees that Rachel and Dozer are still alive he'll probably defect and Annette and Helga will probably follow him.

>>2695653
Part of me would greatly appreciate that development, but the other keeps chanting "once a traitor, always a traitor".

>>2695656
He isn't a traitor in his mind. He thinks EXALT is doing this for humanity and that the Council are a bunch of ineffectual assholes. XCOM is still a secret. I imagine a lot of rank and file EXALT are like that.

>>2695658
I dunno, Evert and some of the Beta team seemed to be more of the PRAISE EXALT variety.

And I doubt the elites would be picked unless their loyalty was absolutely beyond question.

I think Same-chan is Lily Shen.

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>>2696734
I don't know what kind of feel this would give me

>>2696734
I kinda got the same feeling as well, but I hope it's not Lily. Mostly because I want Same-Chan to still be a mystery of sorts and also because I want the EXALT to have their own master hacker who is completely unrelated to X-COM.

>>2695656
>>2696513
I think we are building towards an "eventual" XCOM/EXALT teamup against the Council. Pixel has not been kind in portraying the Council, and while this is going to be pure speculation, hear me out. The Council only care about maintaining their position and status, as shown in XCOM 2 where only the spokesman remained loyal to XCOM while the rest submitted to Advent. That's why they only provide the bare minimum of money and soldiers to XCOM; they're trying to cover all their bases. They are afraid that if the Commander succeeds in defeating the aliens, she will turn XCOM against them. So they give her as little as possible, just enough to defeat the aliens, but not enough to be an actual threat to them. And should they be wrong and that not actually be enough, they can always go full "I for one welcome our new alien overlords". Hell, its entirely possible that should XCOM succeed the Council will attempt to destroy it anyway just to cover their asses. And I think the Commander is aware of all of this, which is why she was selling weapons to non-Council nations.
tl;dr the Council and XCOM are together out of necessity, and it wouldn't shock me if both have plans to stab the other in the back.

>>2691679
Also
>your best buddy
>we haven't even thought about him for like 30 threads
That is going to be an oof from me dawg

>>2697935
To be fair on Dozer, He is under the impression that Charlie was under protection/medical care and not kidnapped/recruited.

OH SHIT, I just remembered we had a choice between helping Charlie or Rachel way back in the before times. This could've been best girl helping to traitors to humanity.

>>2697935
Yep!

>>2698342
Wait shit wrong yep, I meant to this one! >>2698335

Dozer thinks of his old friends!!!!

>>2698335
It clearly proves that EXALT has superior taste in MCs.

>>2697065
ALL of this is amazing, thank you for sharing what I was thinking in a way that makes sense.

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Just a heads up to everyone, I threw up a vote on if you guys want to switch the dice mechanic system or not on twitter. Please vote!

>>2698380
I just hope you're still not planning for everything below 10 to be a crit fail. From my uneducated point of view that's just 1d10 with an extra 0 on each side of "d".

>>2698389
I quickly changed my mind on that don't worry, but I'm still trying to figure out how to do Crit Failure without it being too intense.

>>2698390
Would having different levels of failure equate to an enemy having a better advantage on you or an obstacle or problem being more challenging than the character realized?
Like say your dude is having a punch out with another dude and in the Bo3 the players roll two failed and one success. It gets translated to "You got the punch off but you left yourself wide open for a haymaker from him and he's taking full advantage of that."
The same can be applied to the crit fails and crit successes since applied are just simply stronger/more dramatic than normal ones
But if you're talking crunchwise I guess you can make the crits equal to 2 or 3 of it's roll type, like a critical fail = 2 failures.

Please note that I am a complete idiot on this sort of thing so if anyone wants to pick away at it or make a better one with blackjack and hookers feel free to do so to your heart's content.

>>2698389
This is combat against a (often) physically and technologically superior enemy. Realistically severe or crippling injuries are waiting to happen

>>2698390
5 or lower on a d100 is the same as a 1 on a d20 if you want the same odds.

Any chance we can still get Annette to join xcom?

>>2701178
Anything is possible! Except romancing aan alien that's going to be a hard NO.

>>2701185
If I wasn't already batting for Rachel I'd accuse you of being no fun.

>>2701190
>Namefag has shit taste.

Every.
Time.

>>2701185
Will it be possible to have sex with an ayy in a non-romantical way during a mission?

>>2701217
Rachel is best girl.

>>2701217
Person who takes time differentiating people who use the name function and those who don't has shit taste.

Every.
Time.

>>2701217
Given the ID system, there's functionally no difference between someone who has a name and someone who doesn't

>>2701642
It does absolutely. It only lasts for the thread and you can change IDs pretty easily.

Every stupid thing you've ever said is going to be attached to that nametag you wear for no reason.

My ID keeps changing so my posts can't be easily tracked by checking my ID because they don't have a name attached to them. This will be my 2nd post with this ID even though it's not my 2nd post in this thread. It's not a problem for me though, I'm happy I get to stay anonymous even on this board.
And I'm not even doing it intentionally.

>>2701681
So? You can use any name you want see look guys i'm pixel now. I can change it at anytime.

>>2701723
Yeah but you're a shitposter, not an actual namefag that maintains the same identity for no another reason than to attention whore.

>>2701729
But I'm also not attention whoring, you brought more attention to me than I've ever brought to myself.

>>2701723
Pixel, why have you shitposted?

>>2701738
I just corrected you on the difference between IDs and namefags is all man.

I don't really care if you wear it, but if you aren't doing it for attention why do you have it on? Only the QM's identity matters in quests. You don't get anything out of it other than ridicule.

>>2701756
Literally could not be bothered taking it off

>>2701220
There are other quests for that.