[Phantom Hoover]

What kind of robopilot am i

[StarSlayer]

What kind of robopilot am i

[NGTM-1R]

Not a terrible answer.

Full AI. Exactly how bright I am undecided. There's a backstory of sorts. It's possible you'll end up composing most of the Interceptor force in time.

[NGTM-1R]

Operation Fading Shield Lille, France, 6:58 AM, April 19th
Deployed: Popolion (support), Micheal Sanderson (MEC, mission commander), Admiral Ralwood (MEC), Starslayer (sniper), Trashman (sniper)

“I'm a Sergeant. I'm being commanded by a corporal. You guys are just ****ing with me now.”

“You want to argue with the Commander, argue with the Commander. Not with me! Ralwood and I have point. StarSlayer, Trashman, take the middle. Popolion, bring up the rear. We're clearing this rooftop. The Foreign Legion's got issues with it, they'll handle the rest.”

"Oh christ really? I mean really?"


"Star, come on!"


"Like this, man."


"Quiet, Trash.

"Enemy fire, incoming. Their aim's not great."


"Floaters!"


"Scratch one!"


"Dammit, come ON!"


"Minor damage. Miss and-****!"'




"There, that's one down."


"No like-aww, come on!"


"Turnabout is hilarious, isn't it Trash? Off the roof you go, grey man."


"Oh come on, you can't get a shot at the other one so now it's me? Cowards."


"They're alien bastards. They don't even understand you. You can't shame them, Ral. Target down."


"Fine! Moving around to the other par-CONTACT! Target down!"


"Ow! Crap!"


"Keep your damn head down, Trash."

"X-Ray down."


"Damn. Swing and a miss."


"Both of us. Crap."


"Cloak noise-STAR!"


"On it! X-Ray down! StarSlayer!"


"I'm fine! Taking the-dammit!"


"I got it. X-Ray down."


"POLLY!"


"No hit, no hit!"

"****!"

"Star, take it!"


"No hit!"

"Trash!"

"Target down!"


"Polly, talk to me."

"If you ever make the obvious joke about that nickname, you're going to need a cybernetic face too."

"Fair. Think we're done here."


So the Commander mentioned medals.

...he apparently wasn't kidding.

_{This is the awards screen. You can rename your medals and give them powers here. Medals are conferred post-mission based on mission events; the game is too new and opinions conflict on what exactly makes it work. I have made the Urban Combat Badge into the Marksman's Cross, for example; it confers a +5 Aim bonus against targets in full cover. The Wound Badge is the Defender's Medal, and is set up to allow improved healing of its recipients. Hope you're okay soaking a lot of fire, Ral and MP.}


Three of us received decorations. MP-Ryan and Ralwood, for their continued service despite serious injuries, plus Ralwood and I received Marksman's honors for our collective snapshotting of cloaking squids off people's heads.

[deathfun]

Medal system? I'm getting even more excited about this whole thing

By the way to these four fellows:
Patriot
SpardaSon21
Scourge of Ages
The Force

(Didn't take Scotty because he's an Interceptor Pilot)

You're now part of X-Com Bravo Team, update coming soon

[StarSlayer]

Thank God I made Corporal, time to get some Squadsight.  Now if only I can make John Buford proud and get damn good ground.

[Herra Tohtori]

Reporting in line - I mean queue - of duty. Either pilot or infantry, whichever becomes available first...

[TrashMan]

Given that I apprently can't keep my head down, can I request a cool helmet?

And 3 missions but 8 kills? Damn, that's a great kill/mission ratio!

[Grizzly]

Halls of cold and dark metal. A low humming sound, indicating the reactors are working. The strange flows and heatpatterns of the aircon trying to keep this subterrenean base rather cool.
This is really not where I thought I would end up after becoming a fully fledged stem cell research scientist.
Yet here I am, working under the rather enthusiastic dr. Vahlen, although... perhaps that is not a good way to describe her. She is rather cold cunning personified, which is both praise and damnation. Yet, perhaps, she is not as bad as some of the other members of the research team I have seen, some of them indicating an entirely ruthless stance on what this newly found "meld" technology allows.

Perhaps that is why there's rumours that I am to be selected for the more... biological side of this project, as I am, if I may, the more carefull man. To be honest, I do find it hard to contain myself looking at these technologies. Although the aptly named "Iron Beer" (the name is well chosen - the drinks that man can stomach whilst off duty!)'s method is, in itself, very... invasive, it is not what I would call ... ruthless. It is,quite simply,a very advanced version of the prosthetic limbs the medical world has craved for for so long. One becomes a different human, but still... one is. The personality and such is still there.

Our method is more subtle, but as such can actually be more dangerous. We can literally make someone more then a man, as we can subtly modify areas which the cybernetic division can not. We can give someone the regeneration abilities some reptiles have, or we can give them the eyes some predatory birds have. But most importantly we can directly modify the brain.
The implications of this scare me. As a famous book has once said: We are our brain. Yet some of the scientists here seem to think that is the right course of man: Enhancing our brains by the virtue of the technology and modifactions given by the Aliens. And perhaps, this is true. Perhaps, beceause our biomodification department does not have any percieved drawbacks to the modications, this seems true. Yet... I am unsure. Scared. The look some of these people have in their eyes...

What does not help is that dr. Vahlen has found traces of this kind of technology being used in the 1960's. This scares me even more. Not the fact that the research has taken place, but the fact that only traces were found. Ponder on that a moment.
Why would we find only traces? We are the last, best hope for humanity's survival, yet information is hidden from us? That does not make any sense at all. All governments are in complete support, and we have full access to the (over-)extensive databases of all sorts of intelligence services. But why this? Why has this... forerunner thingy been scrapped from all records? Is there a government hiding things of us? Or has something been hidden from the government? But how can something like that (be allowed to) happen?

Or perhaps I am just a little bit paranoid. It's probably the walls and the living underground thing. Here I go on and on about all the scary bits, whilst this technology could make my original stem-cell field so much easier!

But then again, I am not normally paranoid.

- Joshua Vandenberg

[NGTM-1R]

Commander, we have a situation developing in China. A member of the local crime syndicates has contacted us. He claims to have an alien artifact and is willing to give it to us in exchange for a way out. The Council regards his information and the likelihood he has obtained genuine alien tech as credible. The mission is time-sensitive, as we need to extract him before the aliens, or his former associates, find him.

Strike, scramble. Briefing to follow.

Operation  Devil's Thorn (Friends in Low Places), Hong Kong, China, 1:58AM, April 21st.
Deployed: Euclidean Geometry (assault), Enoich (assault), The E, (assault), Micheal Sanderson (MEC, mission commander), Admiral Ralwood (MEC)

"Strike, your contact is Shaojie Zhang. He's a senior member of the local crime syndicate. The Hong Kong police suspect him as triggerman in about a dozen murders from the '80s but he's long since graduated to the more civilized side of the house. Before you get comfortable his skills are still sharp; an attempt on his life in Indonesia last year cost the lives of a half-dozen would-be assassins. This man is very dangerous. He's trading an alien artifact for international amnesty and the respectable life. It's fair to say his former employers will not be eager to let him go and the aliens may want their tech back as well."

"Sir, given our usual rules of engagement..."

"I am aware, Enoich. For the duration of this mission Standing Order One is rescinded. If you encounter anyone carrying a weapon besides Zhang, you have permission to drop them where they stand. If they are Chinese military or police then you should do it in a friendly manner, but they have been warned to stay out of the AO and this organization is not in the business of warning people twice."



"You had to chose a graveyard, man?"


"I had respects to pay. My parents would not be proud of the life I have lived, but I believe they would appreciate the choice I have made now. My associates wish to squabble over money and power while humanity fights for its very survival. They are fools. I have crossed many lines, but I have never been a fool."

"He's got you there, Euclid. Look after Zhang and the package. Ral and I have point. E, other E, rear point."

"Strike, PLAAF reports UFO inbound to your position. Expect company!"


"That is one awfully dead Thin Man." _{Seriously, everyone fired reaction at him. It'd be funny if the MECs didn't have only enough rounds in a clip for two bursts.}


"This is why HLPX-COM will always triumph, because evil doesn't understand how to overkill a target."

"Hey what the-flanker! Stunning!"


"Good move, Enoich. Ral, we're going around to the left."

"Copy. Target down."


"Strike, heads up, we've got something weird dropping in and another Thin Man."


"Once again: You came to the wrong neighborhood, mother****er."


"Euclid, for all we know that's actually a thing Thin Men do."

"...thanks E. Thanks."

"What the **** is that!?"


"Firing!"


"Oh god dammit stop skittering you bastard! Ral!"

"I'm okay...the thing tried to bite me. It seems confused it bounced off the chestplate."

"Say goodnight, bugman." _{I told you, Chryssalids die horribly to MECs.}


"They weren't kidding about what you punching things does."

"As the saying goes, don't force it. Get a Kinetic Strike Module."

"Strike, X-Ray dropping in!"


"I got this."


"Nice shot Euclid."

"Another wave, Strike."

"God, will you people never learn?"


"Well, the other one's not that dumb."


"The hell he's not. Learn this gray gonadless."


"Zhang, go!"


"That was...quite impressive."


"It was a good mission. Well done people. And Zhang...Welcome to HLPX-COM."

"Not even a scratch. Promotions all around. Great day Wish we had more of these."


_{Admiral Ralwood, I'll need your favorite robot or AI name if possible so I can give you a less-silly nickname. 11 characters or less.}

[TrashMan]

MEC's are really powerfull, especially early in the game.

Of a few Let's Plays I've seen, it seems people tend to pack their teams with MEC's. No wonder, given the sheer health/armor and firepower.

[AdmiralRalwood]

_{Admiral Ralwood, I'll need your favorite robot or AI name if possible so I can give you a less-silly nickname. 11 characters or less.}

Given the amount of time I've been spending playing MW4:Mercs recently, I can think of no more appropriate nickname than "Marauder".

[deathfun]

But Molly the MEC has a nice ring to it!

[crizza]

Yeah, I think Molly is funny, considering he is a fully augmented steal beast^^

[NGTM-1R]

Given the amount of time I've been spending playing MW4:Mercs recently, I can think of no more appropriate nickname than "Marauder".

The irony is it actually works out for a pretty nice character bit where two people can bicker over whether it's a Starship Troopers or a BattleTech reference.

[StarSlayer]

Given he's a Japanese woman piloting a big robot I was half expecting "Mako"

[NGTM-1R]

Given he's a Japanese woman piloting a big robot I was half expecting "Mako"

I will confess, it is a rare time I have a game with a MEC that isn't named Gipsy D.

[NGTM-1R]

Commander! We have reports of aliens attacking a major city in India!

An abduction attempt. Scramble the Skyranger.

No sir.

...****. Scramble Hobbie and find me somebody to put in the other Asian interceptor! Get the Skyranger there now! Scramble Scotty and Phantom and find out if we can get tanker support from anyone in the area, or failing that inform Diego Garcia to have fuel trucks ready.

Operation Spectral Fog, Delhi, 4:00am, April 27th
Deployed: Micheal "Gipsy D" Sanderson (MEC, mission commander), Admiral "Marauder" Ralwood (MEC), Herra Tohtori, Trashman (sniper), Euclidan Geometry (assault)

"When the alien thing started the Indian Army set up encampments outside major cities to reassure the populace. The aliens hit the one outside Delhi hard with infantry and tactical air. Their last transmission was ten minutes ago and they were being overrun before they'd even gotten most of the AFVs active. Based on the alien rate of advance we're going to drop in the tank park. We do not expect there to be effective resistance by the Indian Army guys at that point, but there will likely be civilian refugees from towns and villages in the area. If we can secure the tanks the Indian Army can helicopter crews in to man them, our interceptors can clear the sky, and we might be able to turn this mess around."

Sky, Hobbie, just downed BVR two small fast-movers closing on you. I have at least a dozen more UFOs in the area. Get on the ground fast.

Central, this is Phantom. I am four minutes from the battle area. Please convey my appreciation to Gajraj flight for the tanker service.

Central, Scotty, tanking from Gajraj flight.

"Strike, Sky, LZ is a mess. Go!"

"Herra, stay close. I mean it, stay close and stay behind the MECs, we're for real now. Move people!"


"Christ on a crutch."


"Panic later, kill now! Move!"

"Stupid jetpack alien! Herra, take him!"

"Copy-X-Ray down!"


"Trash, I've got movement up ahead. Can you see it?"

"Got it. Target down."


"****, was that a scream? Move in!"

"BUGS!"


"****, that one's still up! Took a full burst!"


"Missed that one!"

Strike, Phantom, you have alien tactical air inbound on your position. Attempting to intercept.

"****! I've still got green lights but those things pack a wallop!"


"Mother of god."

Strike, Phantom. Alien tac air neutralized. Continue on mission.

"Flamethrower active." _{Yes, Chryssalids panic when set on fire. It is a thing of great beauty, is it not?}


"Target down! Herra, can you get the other one?"


"Bug exterminated."


"Is that a..."


"No using the Z word! ****, he took the full clip!"


"Set. Serve!"


"Herra, stay close, we're going in. Ral, flank the building, Trash, cover. Euclid, get these civilians to the Skyranger."

"****, flank!"

"I got you, take it easy."


"Missed."


"I got this."


"Area secured. Get those choppers in here, we've got at least four good tanks."

Strike, Scotty, you have alien tac air inbound.

"Everyone down!"

"Oh god, this is not what I signed up for!"

Scratch one, scratch one! Strike, report!

"Strike Lead. We're good. Keep them off us will you?"

Affirmative Strike. Indian helos entering the battle area. Mark your position with white smoke.

We've unfortunately proved Doctor Shen's suspicion: if the aliens fought us straight up, they would probably win. The Indian Army turned it around with our help, but there aren't that many Interceptors in the world and the alien CAS shredded everything the IAF threw at them. We won, so things calmed  down, but the Commander is looking pretty sleepless. We all are.

Herra did well. After Rodo, we've been very concerned about taking the rookies out, but he was as good as any of the veterans. The Bugs...and their zombie...we haven't really taken them serious so far, they have a habit of picking fights with the MECs and we tend to wreck everyone's **** at close quarters, but if some of the stuff coming out of Bio is true, we should. We really, really should.

[Hobbie]

Hurray I'm a flyboy!

[NGTM-1R]

Vahlen, are you sure of this?

Ja, Commander. There is no doubt. The Chryssalid...zombies, contain an immature Chryssalid. We have confirmed they do not need humans for this process; any sufficiently large animal will do.

So it could be...cows, elephants, horses. Deer.

Most deer lack the bodyweight to sustain a Chryssalid, but yes Commander, it could. We have also discovered they cannot be stunned with our Arc Thrower technology; something about a bioeletric potential of their own.

Mother of god. All right, Chryssalids are priority targets from now on. How is the laser project progressing?

Quite well! I have already turned over preliminary work to Doctor Shen.

We have a UFO on the ground in the Sinai. Scramble the Skyranger.

Operation Red Calm, Egypt, the Sinai, 11:00am, May 8th
Deployed: Micheal "Gipsy D" Sanderson (MEC, mission commander), Admiral "Marauder" Ralwood (MEC), Trashman (sniper), MP-Ryan (assault), Herra Tohtori (heavy)

"It's large scout, you've all done this before but Herra, stick together, cover each other, we'll get through this. Go."


"SQUIDS!"


"Cover each other!"

"Got Floaters rolling up from the other side!"


"Target down."


"Nice shooting Mike."

"Oh for the love of-"


"Everybody's got an off day Trash, relax, we're getting lasers in soon. If you miss with those, then we'll ***** at you."

"A lot."

"So are you Battletech or Starship Troopers anyways Ral? I think it's Starship Troopers but-"

"Battletech. Fight the threat dammit!"


"Cloak noi-TRASH!"


"We got it, we got it. Trash, you good?"

"I'm fine."

"Getting the last Floater."


"Cloak noises...what the hell's he doing? Doesn't matter, he's dead."


"Okay, set up to breach. Move in."

"Got noises behind this door-HOLY ****!"


"Get the **** over here folks we got problems!"

"Son of a-"


"Rocket out!"


"Jesus, Herra!"

"Scratch one!"


"KO."


"Got the last one."


"Ow! Sectoids!"


"Figures-dammit, minor damage."


"One down!"


"Oh come on!"


"Hmm, not going to clear the four-yard mark. Shame."


"Got a materializer!"



"Trash!"

"I'm okay, he missed!"


"Are you seri-these sights are worthless!"


"Say goodnight."


"I think we're clear, folks. Sweep the UFO and check. And Herra: that was good thinking with the rocket, but next time don't give me the heart attack."