Spaceman42

I'm back from the dead! Sorry, I kind of got addicted to The Sims 2 and such for a bit, forgot (temporarily!) about the Field Manual. It hasn't been updated since, sadly. I do need contributions, though.

Geez, I've been away a while. What's been happening? (University, right. Kinda put this on the side for a while, then suddenly remembered it. Heh. Still haven't finished that field manual.)

Oh, hey. Sorry about being non-here so much. I've kinda... um... I'll just say "Baldur's Gate 2", "Half-Life 2" and "Neverwinter Nights" as an explanation.

Awright boyos! Man, it's been a while. I'm soliciting contributions to the Field Manual, because despite my best efforts and all that most of my wrtiting ability is taken up in essays and reports. And so my ability to convincingly mimic military parlance has undergone a severe decline in performance. However, my ability to edit stuff to that standard has not undergone a similar decline - thus, if anyone wants to submit bits of chapter headings or the like that need contributing, I'd greatly appreciate that. I'll probably also be copying the Project to one main site and soliciting material from other X-COM forums and sites, so the Project might sorta be able to stand on its own! Yay! LET'S MOVE, TROOPERS! Also, please note the change in my email address if you have it; I've gone from Hotmail to GMail. Yay.

Whoa, it's been a while. How's it been while I've been away? University and such has played havok with my ability to participate in online stuff until I could get organized, so I haven't been around all that much... Sorry. Can anyone give me a heads-up via PM about the current situation?

Aargh! Stuff just keeps popping up, I keep not having time to write... I'll attempt something after work today, once I've had time to mull over recent developments.

Wasn't Genega in the hangar?

Just to confirm: What's up with Genega? I need to know so I can write my bit with Dherzhin - no way Theo'd miss a body lying on the floor of the hangar. Or for that matter, the brass. Double-security lockdown, you betcha. Second: Would it be likely for Johann to run into Terrick - or vice-versa - while he's moving his stuff into the "trooper" barracks? And who'd he wind up rooming with? Anyone? [Edit: Ah, shit, Vet's away? NOW what am I supposed to do with Dherzhin? Also: not on vacation, just away perfectionning my French on the government's dime. ]

Right. Just waiting on Alitorious' post, then.

Okay, Squad 1 it is then. I believe that's what I'd decided on last month anyway.

Hum. Would now be a bad time to introduce Johann as a member of the squad? Also, I haven't made a Dherzhin post in a while. Heck, I haven't made any posts in a while. Probably ought to post something - most likely after supper today, at earliest.

I'm going to work on it after finals. If anyone wants to work on a specific chapter or something, that'd be good; I'm better at editing than at composition, at least for the first month or so after exams. I ought to remember to check this thread more...

*attempts to remember the names of his secondary characters* Um, yeah. Johann will be transferring to combat personnel, mortality moderate, to be controlled by me. Can someone figure out the squad assignment he'd get?

Ooh, I'd completely forgotten about the Field Manual... it's about time I worked on it more. After finals, I mean. Yeeaaah.

I'm down / have been down for a while from having my wisdom teeth pulled and the associated medications. Whoa, everything's all different-looking... Anyway, yeah. Just so you know. And knowing is half the battle.

I'm thinking he'll survive until a bunch of grenades are stockpiled - at least enough to fill a crate - then he'll get himself nicely blowed up. Call it foreshadowing or something. (He's psi-susceptible, you know.)

Hey, if a UFO gets splashed, you'd probably check to see if it's recoverable. If not - or if it's made difficult by whatever - then you'd just mark it for later. I don't think X-COM would just leave them. Send out a speedboat and some divers to check it out. Mmm. Bloated floaters.

... Yeah, I'll do that. Probably tomorrow, hopefully.

I didn't think the HWP was fully mission-ready yet, though. Though I suppose that the "groundcrew mission mandate" will be expanded when it is.

Well, yeah - but Gilbert's on TDY as a HWP techie, as is Heather - as I so brilliantly covered for JFG - so he'd probably be able to peek over shoulders and whatnot. I doubt that the implementation of such a rigid security system could have been implemented so quickly; besides, it's expected that anyone smart enough to get into X-COM would be smart enough not to touch what they don't understand.

Dherzhin hadn't liked releasing what amounted to half of his mechanical groundcrew for work on the HWP project, but the urgency of the project - and the terseness of Genega's written directive - was too great to ignore. Ibsen's transfer was still being processed, but it seemed likely to go through - and so he'd been busy packing for the past day or so. Still, the craft had checked out - both Hurricanes and the Skyranger were signed off as fully mission-capable - so Dherzhin couldn't really complain. At least it's quiet... ---- Gilbert was thoroughly happy with his assignment to the HWP project. Whenever he had a break, he could freely wander around the labs where the alien technology was being studied. It was amazing, all the technology! He'd had a strange dream about the UFO, the other night - after they'd brought back the alien. He couldn't remember it, though, and shook the thought out of his head. For now, he was happy just to look at all the interesting stuff, all over... It was hard, though, to keep from touching the shiny-looking metal, the glowing crystals - and most especially, the gleaming alien weapons... Gilbert shook his head to clear it, and went back to work.

We-ell, I'd say Zeroth Law overrides First Law in this case - Humanity > human, in other words. ... I thought Heather was Aircrew? I suppose I can expand her job description, though. "Mechanical Engineer", check. "Giving horny techies and grunts an eyeful", check. Dherzhin's going to complain about being short-handed, but there's not that much to do, really, with only 3 craft. Oh, and that reminds me - what happens if a UFO is 'splashed'? Would a boat or something be 'requisitioned'?

Killing Cyberdisks? If they're near a gas station, well...

Dherzhin was looking over the landed Skyranger and shaking his head. The maintenance people had done a fair job of hosing down the cargo hold, but... The whole hold would have to be disinfected, all exposed surfaces scrubbed - on the off chance that the alien carried some latent bacterial or viral disease. He sighed, heavily. There were specks of dried blood - human and alien - still clinging to the walls. He hadn't known either of the soldiers well - maybe shared a drink or two with them in the canteen - but their loss still weighed somewhat heavy on his mind. The other day, Johann had told him he'd be applying for a transfer to combat duty. "I am not made to be a mechanic," he said. "I came to X-COM not to build, but to fight. I do not feel right, sitting at base when I could be out there, fighting the enemy. I will apply to replace the casualties." It didn't come as a surprise, but it was a bit depressing, all the same. Gilbert, on the other hand... Gilbert had been hanging around with the scientists all day, helping with the unloading of captured alien weapons from the Skyranger and Osprey. Dherzhin checked his watch. "Time for a break - and a drink," he said to himself...

Uh, that was Alitorious who suggested landing more troops. And it wouldn't need to *land* - there's always long-rope deployments...