While Drs. Vahlen and Shen have yet to come up with any propositions for expanding the ammunition capacity of our MECs, they have completed some improvements for other aspects of the MEC design.
The Mark Two Mechanized Exoskeletal Cybersuit - codenamed "Sentinel" - has the base capabilities of the MEC-1 Warden, but is capable of utilizing an additional tactical subsystem; where the Warden could mount either a flamethrower or what Dr. Shen refers to as a "kinetic strike module", the Sentinel can also mount either a grenade launcher or what Dr. Shen calls a "restorative mist applicator" which, while lacking the stabilization or resuscitation capabilities of a standard medkit, does allow a MEC to assist injured allies.
In addition, Drs. Vahlen and Shen reported that they had traced the origin of the signal received by the Outsider Crystal; while initial visual scans of the target area - a mountain range in Tyumen Oblast, Russia - revealed nothing, more intensive subsurface scans uncovered the presence of an alien facility buried beneath Mt. Narodnaya.
With the facility located, Dr. Shen set to work fabricating a device with which to emulate the identification codes transmitted by the Outsider Crystal; this "skeleton key" would theoretically allow an XCOM strike team to infiltrate the enemy base and, with any luck, disrupt their command structure.
Operation: SPECTRAL FEAR
Alien Base Assault - Mt. Narodnaya, Tyumen Oblast, Russia
Troops deployed:
Col. Christophe 'Bull' Leroy
Maj. Lehana 'Fast Lane' Gunda
Cpt. Ye 'Hex' Song (piloting MEC-2 "Sentinel")
Cpt. Shaojie 'Chilong' Zhang
Cpt. Faroni 'Cheyenne' Sisioni
Lt. Skye 'Zistonian' Shepherd
After locating the alien base, Strike-One was dispatched with Dr. Shen's 'skeleton key' to infiltrate and destroy the facility. The device worked as promised, and the team entered the base through what appeared to be one of the base's hangar bays.
Just past the hangar bay was a storage facility containing stasis tanks - tanks which held several human abductees. This part of the facility was lightly guarded - two Seekers and what appeared to be two small maintenance drones - all of which were swiftly dealt with.
The next chamber (a medical facility of some kind) was far more heavily guarded: five Chryssalids and two Mutons patrolled the area. Here, Cpt. Song's skill as a MEC pilot served the team well; he was able to kill three Chryssalids and one Muton, while critically wounding the remaining hostiles, allowing the rest of the team to finish them off - albeit not without injury: Cpt. Zhang was injured by plasma fire as the second Muton attempted its escape; the Muton, however, was not so lucky, as Lt. Shepherd dispatched it as it fled.
This firefight brought the attention of two Sectoids, one of which was encased in a power suit not unlike our own MECs. This "Mechtoid", as the troops have taken to calling it, was an impressive sight, bearing twin miniaturized plasma cannons (no doubt adapted from the alien ships' weapons); were it to have arrived during Strike-One's previous engagement, it would no doubt have caused the team considerable trouble. With only a fellow Sectoid for support, however, it proved much less of a threat.
With these threats eliminated, Strike-One proceeded into the base's command center. This area was guarded by two Mutons, two Cyberdiscs, and a new variant of the Sectoid creatures encountered previously (presumed to be the base's commander).
While the Mutons were easily dispatched, both the Cyberdiscs and the Sectoid Commander proved to be far more troublesome - the Cyberdiscs simply by their nature, and the Sectoid Commander by employing an array of potent psionic abilities, one of which apparently allows it to turn allies against each other - a power to which Cpt. Zhang fell victim.
Fortunately, the rest of the team was able to cripple the Sectoid Commander, and Col. Leroy moved in with an Arc Thrower with which he stunned the Sectoid Commander, thus breaking its hold over Cpt. Zhang.
With the base's staff dealt with, a team of engineers was dispatched to the facility to assist Strike-One with salvaging any useful components.
Promotions
Lt. Shepherd was promoted to Captain
Casualties
No fatalities to report; however, the following personnel have been placed on medical leave due to injuries sustained in the course of the operation:
Cpt. Shepherd - 15 days
Cpt. Zhang - 8 days
Cpt. Song - 8 days
Commander's Personal Note
While much of the staff believes that the alien threat has been eliminated, the command cadre - myself included - think otherwise.
Central Officer Bradford concedes that this operation is a major victory, though he also believes that the alien threat is merely crippled. Drs. Shen and Vahlen, on the other hand, harbor much darker thoughts - that the aliens may step up their assaults in retaliation for this attack.
I find myself agreeing with the rest of the command cadre; amongst the various artefacts recovered from the alien base, we found what appears to be a communications device of some kind.
If it is, as we suspect, a communications device, it raises two important questions:
One, who was the Sectoid Commander communicating with?
Two, what will the alien forces do when they discover we have this device? Retaliation seems an obvious option, but what form will this retaliation take?
I find it hard to believe that they would not have a contingency plan for such an event as this...
