The Long War (X-COM 2 resistance quest)

[StarMaker764]

We all know the story, aliens invade earth and humanity puts aside its differences to defeat the would-be subjugators through their ingenuity, adaptability or sheer will (or just luck and a deus ex machina).

Except this time none of that happens, this time the world's top scientists aren't able to crack the secrets of an enemy they don't even know the languages of in mere weeks, this time geopolitical struggles aren't put on pause against the common enemy and of course the invaders don't end up dying from inhaling a common bacterium. Against an enemy that has the advantage of better weapons, orbital supremacy, and psionic powers the human race had little understanding of, the best of Earth's militaries were found wanting in what would be called the Seven Months War. There was no grand alliance of all the human superpowers; xenophobia, proxy wars, and economic attacks had left all too distrustful of one another even to consider the idea.



One by one the nations of humanity fell; some merely surrendered, knowing that they had no way of effectively fighting and cut off from any outside help, and hoping that submission would make the alien merciful (it did, being monogamous to surrenderees is, after all, a great way to encourage at least division in the nations that fought on still). Others were conquered or sued for peace after their armed forces proved useless one battle after another. A few resolved to fight to the end and bring down as many enemies as they could and would pay unspeakable prices for their defiance.


In the end, their efforts were for naught as by the 21st of September, 2027 the last independent human state, Afghanistan, would fall under the rule of the one world order that would come to be known as the ADVENT coalition, the first government to de jure claim dominion over the entirety of Earth (and actually have the means to back it up).

Many feared what cruelties the aliens would inflict on mankind but for the most part, ADVENT proved to be a rather benign or at least not overtly crushing regime. Cities were built or rebuilt, new technologies were introduced that revolutionized transportation, medicine, and energy production. The world was more inter-connected than ever before, and humans now lived longer, healthier lives with genetic disorders, cancer, and diabetes now being as extinct as smallpox all while probably experiencing what may be the true first instance of true global peace since primordial times. Poverty, homelessness, and hunger became virtually unknown in the tier-1 urban areas, and in certain districts, humans even retained a great deal of autonomy and the right to elections. All this seemed to vindicate the collaborators and the quislings who now spoke of the benevolence of the "Elders" and how they had come to uplift humanity from the sorry state it found it in and together they would forge a path towards the stars and enlightenment.

Of course, many knew better.

Everyone knew someone or someone who knew someone who disappeared one day, either after visiting a gene clinic and dying of "one of the few yet uncured diseases on earth" or for some crime or another against the regime. Many could see the writing on the wall as ADVENT cultural and integration programs began slowly erasing human cultures and ethnic identities in the more areas that had resisted the most, and of course, the seemingly innocent dating apps whose algorithms seemed to possess a eugenic logic to them.

Though climate change is under control, the introduction of so many literally alien species and mutagens has sent the native biosphere into steep decline. ADVENT tier-1 districts were prosperous true but a great deal of humanity is kept out for reasons that range from economic to political. These souls usually live in the decaying tier-2 and tier-3 districts, shantytowns, ramshackle settlements, or the ruins of cities wrecked by the war and left to rot out of spite by their destroyers. Here the old specters of famine and pandemic remain alive and well, it is here where ADVENT "pacification units" regularly visit for "peacekeeping operations" and it is here where resistance and dissidence are most active.

For though many submitted, others refused to bow their heads before the invaders, the enigmatic XCOM may be the most famous and well-known but they are merely one of the hundreds of organizations, from newly found xenonationalist rebels in the imperial core to guerrillas who have been fighting for decades already, resistance continues and grows ever more organized against the rule of the aliens.

From the ruins of the old world, the three largest organizations to consolidate (however loosely) are the Terran Emancipation Revolutionary Front (TERF), the Universal Human Congress (UHC), and the Global people's army (GPA).

TERF is the largest but most disparate, combining an eclectic mix of groups and ideologies united only by their desire to bring about a global pan-human independent government with a single "Terran" identity, what that identity would look like or the tenets of the global governance system are of course hotly contested issues with various groups holding mutually exclusive ideas, notably many TERF groups merely use xenonationalism as a fig leaf for more conventional chauvinistic ideals.

The UHC is a reformist organization that believes in militant but non-violent resistance to ADVENT's more questionable policies but overall believes that the government as a whole can be changed into something better and more humane, and that violent overthrow will only invite worse reprisals or risk ruining all the good things achieved since the invasion. Technically illegal, they are nonetheless ignored by most administrative regions, being seen as useful release valves as opposed to more spirited resistance groups.

The GPA is an explicitly leftist broad tent group though the majority of cells lean towards Maoism thanks to its emphasis on guerrilla conflict but all manner of ideologies can be found in the GPA, united by hatred towards the occupiers and distrust towards other resistance groups. Initially small and confined to small areas, they have grown to a global organization thanks to ADVENT's mismanagement of most places that aren't tier-1. Sometimes called the 5th Internationale, the GPA remains decentralized and the allegiance of most groups tends to be nominal thanks to the fact that international communication is lacking in the post-war era with most cells operating more or less on their own.

You will play as one of those cells, your goal is to survive, organize and expand, disrupt the occupation whenever possible, help build the GPA into a force to be reckoned with and build your own alternative in the shadow, and lay the groundwork for the emancipation of Earth, and perhaps beyond it.

But before all that, who are you exactly:

Name:

[ ] Write in


Starting region (pick one):

[ ] North Africa: This region has been among the less devastated ones by the SMW thanks to many resisting nations turning quisling after the Harrowing but conversely its ADVENT presence is not as extensive as it could be thanks to the relative stability of the administrative regions in the area, a group operating in this area would take some time before encountering any actual alien forces. The Sahara is large, hot, and empty which makes it both inhospitable and an excellent to hide if one can find a suitable base, with abandoned oil wells being popular places for resistance settlements.

However, the relatively light hand of ADVENT rule in the area means that most citizens are at best likely to be apathetic to your cause at best and the region is a hotbed of UHC and TERF activity. Still, the remnants of the national armies and Abrahamist cults in the area could make for excellent recruits.

[ ] Europe: Once the heartland of empires that spanned the entire globe, the daughter of Elysium has seen better days, its armies having either lain down their arms without a shot fired or being utterly annihilated in battle with results as hilarious as the 2 hour battle for England and as grim as the melted grave where Switzerland once stood, a reminder of the price of defiance.

Europe today is separated between idyllic tier-1 districts and a mosaic of patchwork administrative regions deliberately built with no regard to pre-existing borders or ethnicities, decaying towns, refugee camps, and nomadic groups. It is here that TERF xenonatioanlism finds its most fertile ground but GPA has made inroads in recent times, though competition keeps them limited for the most part. Insurgents in this area will suffer from fighting off TERF groups and the heavy ADVENT presence but will likely gain access to more advanced weapons and more specialized members.

[ ] Middle East: The Middle East under ADVENT is almost unrecognizable to an observer from the early 21st century, the nations once iconic to the region have nearly vanished to give way to the blandly named ADVENT districts and the ethnic/religious conflicts are buried as homogenization programs attempt to stamp out identities in the name of stability and peace. Of course, as with everywhere, there are ethnic groups who see most of the fruits of ADVENT advancement and those who only bear the brunt of the oppression.

Even as the region rebuilds and its rulers hope to become a model administrative zone, the successors of pre-war fighter and criminal groups have regrouped and worked everywhere from the shadows of the gleaming ADVENT urban zones or amid the wretched slums, though paradoxically actual attacks on ADVENT assets are a rarity, a fact that is explainable by the scars left by the Harrowing. Any cell operating here would have to navigate a complex web of shifting alliances and avoid the gaze of a large well-entrenched ADVENT presence but will have no shortage of seasoned recruits and smuggling networks that can keep them well supplied, provided they can prove able to succeed where so many have failed and overcome the fear that has been so ingrained into the populace.


[ ] South and East Asia: Where this region once housed economic titans of modernity and the would-be heirs to the mantle of global capitalist hegemony, there are only the revenant remains of so many great nations and peoples, the twin goliaths of China and India torn apart by the unleashing of so many WMDs that vast areas are practically uninhabitable as rogue alien horrors, Lost hordes and worse roam the land. The ADVENT districts that dot the area are bastions that both protect those inside of them and keep outsiders from entering to maintain control over both.

ADVENT control outside of the designated zone is virtually non-existent and this has allowed guerrillas to flourish, from the still-fighting Naxalites and NPA to a CPC that has by necessity returned to its roots and a thousand more movements bloom, though tempered by the triple struggles against rogue horrors, a more militarized and openly alien ADVENT presence and the lack of surviving infrastructure. Still, any group that can overcome these problems will find a huge reservoir of manpower and prestige.

[ ] Siberia: Large, sparse, and wild, little has changed by the arrival of the aliens here. Those areas with large population concentration were integrated as districts and the rest has been deemed too much effort to hold and patrol and thus, with the exception of a few outposts, is left mostly untouched by the Ethereals. This has made the region a haven for any who seek an escape from ADVENT and are willing to brave its harsh environment, resulting in a motley mix of native peoples, refugees, and enclaves of the Russian Federation (even stranger are those settlements that claim to be part of the USSR).

Any group operating here will be largely free from ADVENT interference but will find itself with few and far between population centers and having to effectively scavenge for essentials until some kind of industrial base can be found and may encounter unlikely allies or enemies.

[ ] Central Asia: The steppes and mountains of central Asia have had a comparatively smooth transition from self-rule to alien vassals with the exception of Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Its rulers, having suffered from resource shortages and increasingly restive peoples, welcomed the invaders with the promise that they can mend these problems. The result is that Central Asia is both one of the most developed regions in the new world order and the one with the lightest ADVENT, while also having a dark side of being a smuggling and trafficking hub thanks to their relative freedom.

Of course, there were many left behind in the rush towards tieronedom such as the still mutinous Afghanistan and remnants of pre-war groups remaining active in the area with plenty of rugged terrains to give them cover. However, the relative comfort of ADVENT occupation here means that insurgents are fewer in number and reliant on more surgical tactics and smuggling in high-grade equipment.

[ ] North America: The former ailing hegemon of the Old World retains some of its former importance even in the post-war era. Though it resisted valiantly, infighting, the defections of many governors, and the swift fall of Canada ensured that it would fall relatively swiftly despite what its countless stream of americocentric movies portrayed. Its relatively intact infrastructure compared to the other defeated superpowers and the ethereals not wanting to empower their Russian vassals too much, meant that ADVENT headquarters would be constructed in the very heart of US territory, the so-called "Urban center 67" or UC67 for short.

The people of the area resent alien rule but are kept in check by the Ethereals masterfully playing its ethnic groups against one another and rewarding loyalty with development and punishing sedition brutally throughout the nominally independent puppet districts. GPA cells here will face a population that had been already indoctrinated against its ideals for centuries beforehand and will be battling the myriad TERF, apocalyptic cultish, and ADVENT forces in the region, success, however, will be highly rewarding to access relatively undamaged alien technology that is ubiquitous in the heart of ADVENT territory.

[ ] Central America: Central America, like many regions, is a place of devastation, though it differs in that the ethereals had little hand in making it so. The credit goes to the US performing humanity's largest aerial bombing campaigns just prior to the invasion as a response to a wave of socialist electoral or revolutionary victories in the region, before its troops marched in, stripped the region of anything of value and leaving the people here to their fate.

Devastated and ruined, the region would face famines, disease, and mass migrations even before the invasion, and such was its sorry state that even the Ethereals saw little worth in doing more than establishing a few districts and resource harvesting operations and the scrapes that trickle down from these relatively well off areas are barely enough to sustain the remaining population. These conditions and prior history mean that the area is one of the areas to have the highest rate of support for the GPA, its devastation means that any aspiring revolutionary movement will have to do as much rebuilding as fighting.



[ ] South America: Though it too had its own red wave and subsequent American bombings, South America was less damaged than its Central American neighbor which meant it managed to put up a fight against the aliens when they came. Although the aliens came out on top eventually, they quickly abandoned the interior to rebels and dissidents for seemingly no reason.

Soon however it became clear that the aliens had awoken something in the depths of the Amazon forest as the jungles seemed to expand even to areas where such a thing would be impossible and tales of strange creatures and disturbing phenomena abound amid the communities that live there. Though this leaves most of the continent as a haven, any GPA elements here will have to deal with whatever has the ethereals so worried.

[ ] West-Africa: Plagued by all manner of colonizers, the region of West Africa was just managing to claw its way from the grip of Western (especially French) economic domination when the invasion happened and the people were initially not willing to simply willing to trade one invader for the other. But the ethereals here decided to rely on diplomacy and subterfuge, using their psionics to entice leaders into submission and bribing the population with necessary commodities into seeing them in a more positive light. Those who still resisted were crushed of course but overall the region was brought into the fold with minimal effort and came to serve as a sort of secondary command area to the ADVENT administration.

West Africa is among the more populous and prosperous regions and houses many of the scientific complexes and research areas of ADVENT, however, it also has the highest density of ADVENT black sites and "overflow facilities". Still, it's this very concentration of potential technology sources that makes it an attractive region for GPA cells despite most of the population being rather apathetic and the abundance of MEC units.

[ ] East Africa: East Africa came under alien rule relatively quickly thanks to its nation-states suffering from either civil war, economic depression, resource shortages, or some combination thereof. Ethiopia proved to be the greatest challenge to the invaders and even it only lasted so long. What seemed to be a "normal" mop-up and occupation process was muddied by an unusual emergence of Psionics among the general population, the first ones in human history and by far the most powerful so far (naturally rather than artificially at least), and it was these psychic fighters that would form on the first psi-cults and become the backbone of resistance in the area, their awesome abilities allowing rebels in the region to hold out despite an ongoing pacification campaign.

East Africa is a place of near-constant conflict and very limited ADVENT development, so GPA groups here tend to operate more freely and though they lack the more advanced weapons their counterparts elsewhere may use, they make up for it with the aid of psionic allies.

[ ] Central and south Africa: If there is one region where it can be said that the aliens have been nothing but an objective improvement, it's here; where the region once had been leading the world in all the worst metrics has transformed almost overnight into a model ADVENT administrative zone, full of gleaming districts, advanced technology and a population that is rapidly recovering from the depredations of colonialism and capital. It is here that ADVENT finds its most genuinely loyal and idealist collaborators, where reliable human volunteers are drawn and where humans from other areas arrive to train to become officials in their native areas.

Here the UHC was born and remains most powerful while other organizations remain weak and confined to the very fringes and probably would have been wiped out if not for the extensive wilderness giving them shelter. Victory here would require..some creative measures.



Advantage (pick one):

[ ] Veteran soldiers: your cell has a core of battle-hardened soldiers, harder to replace but more adept than normal recruits and can act as trainers

[ ] Scientist defectors: your cell has managed to attract some brilliant minds to your cause, initially they won't be useful but may make all the difference if you manage to start up some R&D.

[ ] Tech specialists: These comrades are capable in the ways of technology, may not be of much use in a normal jungle but can be vital in an urban one

[ ] Captured arms factory: Whether by luck or by planning, your group has access to small arms manufacturing facilities, these weapons may not be much compared to ADVENT's toys but they are far better than fighting with sticks.

[ ] Friends on the other side: Your cell has reliable contact with moles in ADVENT.

[ ] Friends from down under: Your cell has underworld connections, distasteful maybe but may provide some much-needed supplies from the Grey Market

[ ] psionic member: One of your comrades is blessed (or cursed) with psionic abilities, making him potentially a highly versatile operative and a WMD if his abilities can be enhanced. Also useful for dealings with psi-cults.

Optional: Backstory

[ ] Write in: you may write a backstory for your resistance cell if you wish for the chance of getting some hidden bonuses or if you just want some lore for your group. You have a word limit of 600 words.



You have 48 hours to choose and plan. Make your choices wisely comrade.

Writer's note ​

Hello everyone, I am Starmaker674 probably best known on this website for writing the Road not taken 40K quest. This quest started out as a flight of fancy, just me playing X-COM 2 one day and thinking "wish we knew more about these nebulous resistance groups", because well for how much vital support they provide they don't get much development or story time at all, and the ideas just kept flowing through my head before I just decided to make it a quest to challenge myself. So yeah hope this quest goes places.

This quest will be more or less narrative based with minimal stats since if there is one thing my last work taught me its that I hate doing numbers.

And remeber: Praise be to the Maker of Stars

 

[StarMaker764]

Vote closed: [x] Plan In the Amazon v2 wins out

Starting region: South America ​

Group name: El Pueblo Invencido.

GPA support: extensive

TERF support: limited

UHC support: Non-existent

???? support: ?????

ADVENT presence: limited

ADVENT control: mediocre

Supply situation: precarious

Rebel infrastructure: limited

Settlement support: fair

Number of fighters: low

Tech base: primitive

 

[StarMaker764]

In the years before the invasion, both Central and Southern America would first experience what was termed a "pink tide"; characterized by the rise of several social democratic parties to power throughout Latin America, promising an end to the corruption, economic devastation, and to lift up the nations of the area from poverty, they even came to enjoy a certain tolerance from the USA as the latter was embroiled in various conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, most notably the Iran war.

However, the general global economic malaise throughout the 2020s and the crash of 2023 along with sanctions and SAPs imposed by a more bellicose United States led to these parties generally failing to deliver most of their promises, causing general disillusionment with electoral reformism among the left in Latin America along with most of the people who failed to see any improvement in their lives. Though the right initially rose back to power and had American support, it was no more capable of addressing the unending crises that enveloped the region, such as the Great Hunger of 2024.

This eventually promoted a great swing to popular support for the radical revolutionary left, which was swept into power either at the ballot box or at gunpoint in a growing number of nations. This period is often referred to as the "Red Tsunami" or the "Latin Spring" depending on who is asked, a period that came to a halt when the US, humbled by its defeat in Iran and increasingly polarized, polarised, and economically failing, decided it was not gonna lose its backyard on top of all that and initiated what many calledl the greatest act of mass-murder in the 21st century (before the Seven months war anyway).

This time the US made no pretensions or proclamations about "spreading democracy" or "ensuring liberty", as the president at the time made clear: "we are there to prevent the spread of socialism and ensure the interests of the American people". This was achieved by a massive bombing campaign whose stated goal was to destroy any infrastructure necessary for a state to function and effectively reduced entire nations to the stone age. Though the relative distance at least softened South America's blow, it still saw most of its major metropolitan areas utterly decimated. The US didn't waste effort trying to occupy its targets, the army simply installed new puppet governments, looted whatever valuables remained, and left enough security company forces to safeguard its resource extraction operations before leaving millions to their fate.

The anarchy, hunger, conflict, and general complete societal collapse that soon followed left millions dead and more displaced as those leftist forces that survived struggled against the puppet regimes or even simply just to survive and keep people alive. In any case, they were not in any shape to meaningfully resist when the Ethereals arrived. Initially, the aliens desired to subdue the area like the rest of the world and were successful at first, enticing some with their gifts and crushing those who weren't fooled, with many of the leftist remnants forced to flee to the most remote and hostile areas of the contact just to survive the alien onslaught.


ADVENT had even established a large tier-1 district in the middle of the Amazon, aiming to "sustainably" utilize its vast biological resources for the benefit of all.

But something happened. No one knows what it was or how it came to be, with ADVENT heavily suppressing the details from what happened. But one day the tier-1 city simply was not there, and ADVENT forces were on a full retreat from the interior, not even stopping to destroy their remaining bases and settlements efficiently. Not long after the Amazon began expanding; rapidly and in all directions, even in biomes where the existence of extensive plantlife should be impossible, and in addition to the usual flora and fauna many new species began emerging, some of which bear no resemblance to anything else on Earth.

Nevertheless, this was a godsend to the resistance groups, who were dying a slow death in the wastelands they hid in, as they moved into the now unoccupied interior in droves and though the jungle was even more hostile and deadly than before, its bounty was great and would help sustain many a refugee settlement or impromptu rebel stronghold as they try to regain their strength and fight against the occasional ADVENT purification patrol, in many ways a repeat of the days of the Maroon communities.

You are one of those groups, El Pueblo Invencido. You are among the oldest groups in the Amazon and one of the few that remain from the old world though that was a near thing. You have managed to brave through the Red Wave, the following American slaughter, the flight from ADVENT, and the final settlement in the heart of the forest. Your eclectic mix of leftist beliefs has at times hampered you but at the same time given you the adaptiveness that made your survival possible.

Now you have set up shop in the remains of an abandoned mining town, long decrepit since before the 21st century, and subsist mainly by hunting and foraging (the jungle's bounty so far seems utterly unaffected by such endeavors). Your equipment is mostly the same, old and obsolete by the standards of the new world, barely enough to hold off the ever-encroaching plants and mutated wildlife but it was enough that you managed to be stable enough to attract some refugees and indigenous people who seek protection.

As of the year 2033, your transportation is limited to old river boats and good old-fashioned human legs, and your weapon maintenance is stretched to its limit. Though your supply situation is stable, it's barely enough to sustain the small community you have gathered and you will need much more if you ever hope to push back the invaders. Your main advantage is in the form of Jorge, a by all accounts normal young man if not for his white hair, purple eyes, and psionic abilities. So far they have been limited to minor acts of telepathy and telekinesis as well as rather impressive pathfinding and tracking abilities (which he credits as listening to the jungle sounds).

This year brings a lot of opportunities and threats for your group.

First off, you have been contacted by a group of settlements who have been constantly harassed by a small cut-off ADVENT force. They are offering to provide you with resources and knowledge of their area of the jungle in exchange for you dealing with them. The force isn't as well equipped as usual but can still pose a danger to your troops. Still, their small number means victory is not impossible and this is a chance to endear yourselves to the settlement and possibly expand your recruiting base and perhaps capture something valuable.

At the same time, scouts have uncovered what appears to be an abandoned military bunker but were unable to access it thanks to it being heavily sealed, to make matters worse they had to abandon it as a group of what appear to be former Brazilian soldiers turned Xenonatioanlists drove them off and appear to be in the process of cracking open the bunker for themselves. Though not better armed than you or more numerous, they can become a serious threat if they get entrenched in that bunker and they may find something valuable within if you don't stop them soon.

Finally, Jorge approaches your group's leadership, requesting permission to take a few men with him to investigate psionic signals he has been sensing in a nearby area. Normally you would not risk precious men in such an endeavor, Jorge's senses have often led your group to success on many occasions, indeed it was one of these "signals" that helped you discover your current camp in the first place. Perhaps something similar awaits or it could be a trap or a dead end.

Your members gather to decide on what to do with these three issues, should one be prioritized and others ignored? Should you risk it all and try to split your forces? Can you even act with the info you have? There are many suggestions as there are members.


[ ] Write in plan

---

Plans have a 700 word limit and you have 36 hours to vote, feel free to ask questions.

 

[StarMaker764]

X] Plan: Step One of the Protracted People's War
-[X] Give Jorge a small escort of whomever he needs to follow up on his psychic hunch. The escort's job is to follow his orders and keep him safe.
-[X] Send a liaison to the village to stay in contact with them. We can not hit ADVENT now, but we will later. Learn what we can through observation. Do not approach ADVENT.
-[X] If possible, look for news from the rest of the world; rumors, newspapers, broadcasts. Avoid trying ADVENT's attention.
-[X] Everyone else will be dedicated to hitting the xenonationalists before they can take the bunker. Observe them, learn their patterns, harass them during the night, pick them off when we can, and once we're confident in our ability to win, attack them hard and fast. If it looks like they're going to get into the bunker before that then move up the timetable, in order to prevent them from gaining access to it.

Click to shrink...

August 2033

You decide to send a liaison to the villages, though you currently lack the means to fight back against ADVENT directly, you had hoped to help organize the villagers to handle attacks better while your agents gather intel on their tactics, numbers and equipment. It would be hard work and you expect the villagers to be disappointed in the lack of more direct assistance you hope that your liaisons might be able to establish a working relationship regardless.

As it is it turns out that you don't need to worry about any of that but that brings no comfort for you, as your agents return, battered and haggard. They were too late, they had arrived just in time to watch the ADVENT force, much larger and well equipped than expected, destroy the villages, massacre any who resisted and shackle the rest to be transported to god knows where.

There were very few who managed to escape, a precious 11 souls that managed to make their way to your camp. Some want to take them in, but others are wary of your already stretched supplies, now more precarious as you just lose a possible source, they advocate sending them to another settlement you know off further south. A few whisper of stories of resistance groups disappearing or being discovered by ADVENT after taking in refugees and they warn you that these people may be dangerous.

The decision on what to do with them has become a divisive issue.

Jorge's small party returns with better news at least, guided by the psionic's mysterious ways they have stumbled across an abandoned research outpost, most of the equipment there has been destroyed by time and negligence but surprisingly they have chanced upon several functioning radios and communication devices.

The radios are relatively modern by pre-war standards and they offer you your first glimpses into the wider world (and also finally let you know for certain what date it is today). ADVENT is currently bogged down in fighting in India, China, and Southeast Asia. Still, most of its regions of control are stable enough that the global administration has initiated Directive-55436 which aims to teach a single unifying language all across ADVENT's area of control, said language being called Frixian*. Said move has met opposition even in strongholds of ADVENT collaborators such as Russia, Egypt, and Botswana. However, even increased terror activity from TERF groups has not deterred the Administration.

The communication devices will be highly useful for coordinating your fighters in ambushes and patrol.

Jorge is celebrated for this find but he remains restless as he says the pull of jungle calls him still, this time much deeper and on an expedition he claims will need double the men he had before. He knows how occultist and un-pragmatic this sounds but he is adamant that the rewards this time may be greater than the last though he can't exactly determine it.

The matter of the bunker was a success as well, successfully ambushing and wiping out the TERF forces and taking few casualties in the process. Even better is that the xenonationalists have done most of the hard work of opening it for you and your soldiers uncover a great deal of weapons and armor; though its mostly pre-war equipment and not of the more advanced kind, they are still an improvement over what you are currently using. When a party returns to inform of their find however they manage to capture an armed man who had tried to hide from them in the forest.

Though initially skittish, the man did not resist and came peacefully, claiming that he is part of a small GPA cell operating nearby and had been scouting for possible enemies in the area. He offers to guide a liaison to the group's base of operation but you are wary that this may be a TERF trap. The man has no distinctions that would mark him as a GPA solider but that is expected of a scout. The camp is divided on whether to interrogate him further or trust his word.


There is also the matter of whether to destroy the bunker after you empty its content or attempt to garrison it as a potential forward base of operation at the cost of cutting your force in two.

So much decide

Current issues:

-Jorge's second expedition

-Bunker garrisoning or destruction

-Potential GPA contact

-the question of the 11 survivors


[ ] Write in plan

You have 24 hours to vote

*A Frisian derived co-lang made up by Advent

 

[StarMaker764]

Vote is closed

[X] A Better Plan
-[X] Give Jorge a decent-sized escort of whomever he needs to follow up on his psychic hunch. The escort's job is to follow his orders and keep him safe. At least one non-psionic scout, to cross-train and hopefully spot anything Jorge might miss
--[X] before Jorge goes have him double-check the refugees using his powers
-[X] Garrison the bunker for now
-[X] Take the supposed GPA Scout up on his offer
--[X] Have a forward scout check the spot before we go, using comms and carrying some evidence of GPA affiliation
-[X] Send the 11 survivors to the village in the South. Give them a small escort, letting us ensure their safety and make direct contact with the village


The survivors are sent to a small settlement to the south, the people there are also survivors of ADVENT massacres so you expect they will be sympathetic at the very least (and may know things that you don't). You sent them there with a few scouts who have since then returned and report that the journey went smoothly and the settlement remains friendly.

Jorge and his party are yet to return but that is to be expected as he has made it clear that his little expedition will take a while. The man is odd and his powers aren't understood by any of you but so far trusting him hasn't backfired and yielded impressive results.

The captured scout has been released and is leading a liaison to his supposed camp, just in case this is a trap, the men you sent carry a few grenades you have from the bunker in order to take out the attackers and kill themselves to prevent vital information from falling into enemy hands.

You will have to worry about this issue later as you have more urgent matters to attend to while you wait. The villages ADVENT destroyed lay in ruins but likely hold valuable materials that can be salvaged for your use but at the risk of having to keep your camp where it is, risking detection. Not to mention that ADVENT patrols may return to mop off survivors. Whether the potential resources from a salvage mission are worth it is up to you.

At least your troops are far better equipped than before with, the new weapons and armor from the bunker enough to outfit most of your fighters, which proves to be vital when your bunker garrison faced another TERF party trying to take back the bunker. They were repelled and a scout managed to follow them to their camp.

The group seems haggard and starving, their weapons are functional but from the scout's account they seem to be running low on supplies. Some want to take advantage and strike now while the group is weak to eliminate them while others suggest simply harassing and whittling them down without risking confrontation and casualties. Regardless both sides agree that they want to take at least one member alive for questioning.

Lastly, your troops informed you that there has been a downed ADVENT transport ship on the far side of the river northwards. Some want to investigate it if only to confirm whether there are any survivors who may cause trouble.

As you think about these issues, the radio devices provided by Jorge provide you with information on the outside world. It is clear that the increased ADVENT activity in your area is a result of Directive-48942, a new initiative announced by the speaker, a rather shady and reptilian-looking ADVENT spokesman, who has promised that ADVENT would establish full control of the non-tier 1 areas in two years while tightening the noose on any insurgent activity throughout the Americas. This is despite the fact that ADVENT has been fighting a bloody conflict in Asia that sees its volunteer forces suffering heavy casualties, stirring discontent in the administrative zones in North and Central Africa that have been providing most of the troops for the pacification campaign.

Additionally, a bioweapon attack in district-312 of North America (previously known as Chicago) has resulted in the urban area being quarantined though the administration claims high casualty rates of up to 90% among the infected. Lastly, several UHC peaceful protests in Central Asia have occurred though nothing of substance has come out of it yet.



Turn issues:

-How to deal with the TERF camp

-Investigate the Downed ADVENT ship (or not)

-Villages salvage mission.





[ ] Write in plan

You have 24 hours to vote

 

[StarMaker764]

First to return are those you sent with the friendly scout from weeks before and you are relieved when they confirm that he was being truthful, There is indeed another GPA cell not far away from your current area of operation, Los loros Carmesi. The group is smaller and less well-armed than yours but they make up for it by controlling an area that is at the center of various settlement clusters, tier 3 towns, and grey market hotspots which they have exploited quite well by acting as mediators and couriers.
The leader of the group, a middle-aged woman by the name of Emilia, has offered you an olive branch and wishes to discuss cooperation between your groups. Though this is widely welcomed, some have reservations owing to the LLC's adherence to Rojavan Democratic Confederalism, which is somewhat at odds with some of your members' views (some recalling Rojava's tragic pre-war destruction). Nonetheless, none are outright opposed to talks for the time being.

The TERF camp attack goes much better than expected, with the enemy soldiers being caught off guard and either slaughtered or captured. From captives, you learn that the group is formed from motley remnants of various pre-war national armies united by a masked yet charismatic commander who is only known by his codename: La Espada (The sword). You encountered a small expedition meant to establish a foothold away from the TERF stronghold in the north. Your actions have ensured they won't be active in the area for a while but you now face the question of what to do with the captives, some want to execute them, others want to put them to work or merely imprison them while some just liberating them of their weapons and letting them go in a faraway area.

Jorge returns from his incursion at long last and he brings quite a few surprises with him. First, off he brings new faces into the group in the form of a group of plant researchers and botanists who had been stranded in the forest in the wake of the war. Tired and haggard but alive, they are thankful for the rescue and have proven vital in setting up a rudimentary farm and hydroponic system in the bunker which is helping alleviate your food shortages. Additionally, they have been giving your fighters tips on surviving in the open jungle alone for prolonged periods.

Secondly, the party managed to trap and bring back a rather strange creature. Looking like a mix between a bat, a pig, and a bird, this creature is nicknamed a hive bat and Jorge has discovered that their colonies produce a rather nutritious nectar substance that can be easily harvested by humans and acts as a rather handy free ranging micro livestock if properly established (he learned from observing tribes in the amazon making use of them). Getting them established will take some time and effort though and some wonder if it's not best to focus on your rudimentary farming practice first.

Finally, the expedition members say they have stumbled across a cave with weird markings and glyphs on its entrance. Jorge claims it beaconed him to enter somehow but his comrades convinced him to hold back and return. Even now so far away he can feel a pull towards it but unlike the previous times, this feeling is more sinister, like a chill that permeates his body but nonetheless entices him. You wonder if you ought to investigate or if you better not push your luck a third time.

Your salvage party to the villages returns empty-handed, ADVENT purifier patrols have burnt the whole place to the ground and removed most traces of its experience by the time they made it back. This does present the opportunity to start a new forward base for longer expeditions in the site of the ruins but the risk that ADVENT may return once again makes it a dangerous proposition especially since your forces would be stretched thin holding three positions.

Similarly, you fail to find any ADVENT low-tier settlements nearby.

Your ship mission has more success, though the ship is damaged and most of its contents destroyed, they manage to recover ADVENT weapons and armor from the corpses of ADVENT personnel. They are of course genetically locked and unusable by you but they can be bartered with your new grey market contacts for a generous payment of supplies, ammo or connections. Most are in favor of this but a few wonder if the technology isn't worth holding on to for now, in case you discover a way to use or reverse engineer them in the future.





Turn Issues

• Investigate cave or not
• LLC negotiations
• ADVENT equipment
• Whether to focus on farming or hive bat harvesting
• Captives treatment

[ ] Write in plan

Plans have a 700-word limit, feel free to ask questions, you have 36 hours.

 

[StarMaker764]

[X] Plan: Diplobats
-[X] Don't let Jorge investigate the cave. If it continues to trouble him, seek 2-3 non psionic scouts to cautiously explore the site, with radio
-[X] Begin negotiating a collaboration with the LLC. We have more power and security, they have more land and connections. Should be mutually beneficial. We differ ideologically, but way less than ADVENT or TERF.
-[X] See if the LLC knows anyone who knows how to handle ADVENT gear. If not, sell most but not all of it
-[X] Jorge leads hive bat harvesting, botanists lead farming. Focus the former, whatever it takes to get something running with the bats. If any think they have enough relevant knowledge to help, have a botanist consult on the bat project as well. If there are material limits such that we can't support both at once even with a tilted focus then have the botanists cross-train with the field personnel. Botanists learn more practical skills, others learn relevant theory. The bats should be able to eat a lot of the otherwise inedible Amazonian overgrowth, letting us take advantage of that. Also something important for Jorge to do if he's feeling restless.
-[X] Kill the captives. Not safe to do anything else.

Click to shrink...

The prisoners are hanged. It is not a pleasant task nor one you wish to do but you do not have the luxury of being able to adequately feed or house POWs, nor can you risk them escaping. Perhaps in the future, there may be a better way but for now, you content yourself with killing them in a non-torturous way that doesn't waste valuable ammo.

In less fatalistic news, your project of establishing a hivebat colony goes about smoothly with Jorge's supervision. The psionic fighter seems to have a natural knack for keeping the animals docile and compliant for the most part. The small colonies established have even started to produce a small amount of their nutritious honey, though not enough to feed your entire group; its sweet taste and nutritious value have proven to be a morale booster for the troops. One of the botanists is helping but admits she is out of her league in this area and is content to try and create a hivebat feed out of otherwise unusable plant materials.

Your farming initiative has been doing well for itself despite the need for secrecy and mobility limiting it somewhat. However, the cultivation process has been hampered by the forest ecology's unpredictable nature though it has occasionally led to some pleasant surprises like when one of your crop species underwent symbiosis with another edible plant, boosting productivity.

Negotiations with the LLC are going smoothly, with both of you agreeing to cooperate against ADVENT activity and in fighting off any attempted incursions by the Espadan army. More importantly, you are presented with a rather ambitious plan; a plan that aims to unite all the settlements that both your groups are in contact with, with the main goal being to foster cooperation between the disparate settlement in order to better share resources, intelligence and coordinate against enemies as well as begin real if limited development and build a power base that can actually challenge and perhaps even replace ADVENT.

The idea is tempting to you but such a grand endeavor would require you to invest much of your time and men into and may require you to merge with the LLC overtime by necessity, which may not sit well with some of the ideologues in your group. You must decide how much you want to get involved since this will tie you to this particular area, at least until you are well established enough that you can afford to expand.

Problems pile up when scouts report that fighters affiliated with La Espada have been spotted close to one of the southern settlements. This group is far better armed than the one before and more numerous though so far it hasn't moved in but the settlement is anxious and hopes you will do something.

Finally, Jorge has not been able to shake off the pull he feels towards the cave, so you send two scouts to check on it and maybe get an idea of what is going on. The scouts return shaken, the cave was much bigger and deeper than anticipated and seemed to be like a maze at times but eventually, they came across a gruesome scene: an underground settlement, all its people dead and reduced to skeletons. Confusingly the corpses show no sign of a struggle or conflict, seemingly having just dropped dead while going about their daily lives. The town is also surprisingly well built and modern with a still functioning generator and water pump/drainage systems as well as many modern pre-war technologies, additionally, their supplies are abundant and intact.

However, the scouts report that they felt a general sense of unease in the place, which only escalated the longer they lingered, feeling as if something was watching them, hiding just in the corner of their eyes.

Normally you wouldn't take a second look at this place but a caravan of refugees was discovered in your area, survivors of an ADVENT purge of a far-away Tier 2 settlement. Many have useful skills to offer you and settlements under your protections but it is impossible to feed them with your current supplies. If you can acquire the cave's bounty, however; it may be feasible.

On the matter of global news, there has been a series of TERF attacks in the UK recently, mostly attacking gene clinics and minority districts in protest of the Firaxian language courses now mandatory across all of ADVENT. The Great Asian War remains as it is with ADVENT drawing more troops from across loyal regions in an attempt to gain an advantage. Meanwhile despite propaganda campaigns against it, Abrahamism* continues to grow in popularity in the Middle East, Southern Europe, and Sub-Saharan Africa.


Turn issues:

• LLC initiative support:

[ ] Full commitment

[ ] Partial commitment

[ ] Minimal commitment

[ ] No commitment

• Cave supplies and mystery town
• Espada on the borders

[ ] Write in plan

Plans have a 700-word limit, feel free to ask questions, you have 36 hours.

*An Egyptian originated religious movement that is trying to combine the best of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Believe it or not, this is not something I came up with but an actual underground movement IRL.

 

[StarMaker764]

[X]Plan: Mutual Aid
-[X] Full commitment
-[X] Have Jorge check the refugees for anyone psionically interesting. How many people we keep will depend on how things go in the town, but prioritize anyone he finds notable and those with particularly desirable skills. If there are substantially more people we want than we can afford to retain even after the salvage see if the LLC can help with resources. If we have to turn anyone away make sure we have scouts escort them to nearby settlements either near us or the LLC.
-[X] Tell Jorge about what the scouts found if we haven't yet. Talk to Jorge about his powers, to see how confident he is in his ability to detect threats for a hypothetical salvage crew, and at what range/fidelity he'd be able to do so
-[X] Send in a team to salvage the mystery town, size based on Jorge's confidence in his ability to cover the group but absolutely no less than 4 non-psions. If the two from before are willing to return send them.
-[X] Have the team enter if Jorge still okays it by the time they're at the entrance and the others don't think his judgment is compromised. Have him using his powers to try to evade whatever hostile forces may be present. Leave a couple armed people (or more depending on group size) at the entrance to try to prevent the salvagers from getting boxed in, the guards can use radio to keep contact with the salvagers, and if there are enough people to warrant it and Jorge can cover them the salvagers can break into groups and use radios to stay in touch with each other.
-[X] Focus salvage efforts on tech to the extent that there is useful, movable tech. Past that take supplies, especially those which might help with the refugees or shore up weaknesses in our own stock. If anyone can figure out what the hell happened there or what is occupying the area now all the better.
-[X] Send a radio scout (or a few if we can afford it) to the border settlement. If we have the manpower try to keep tabs on Espada's troops, but do not engage.
-[X] Tell the LLC about the southern Espada threat and ask them to help us with shoring up the settlement as part of our unifying initiative

I know all in has some risks, but we really need a win right now and I'm doubtful Jorge is going to be able to cover enough of an operation to take even half the refugees, just from how everything is described. I'm also hoping that this will let us shore up that southern settlement better than we could alone.

Click to shrink...

You inform the LLC that you will fully commit to their plan, pleasing them greatly and in return, they agree to provide you their full support in dealing with the Espalda threat to the south, though with their limited manpower that aid will be limited to scouting, reconnaissance and coordinating with your fighters.

The Espalda forces to the south have camped and entrenched themselves and have begun sending scouting parties throughout your area and are even beginning to extort smaller outlying settlements but no large-scale movements have been detected by your own scouts. Though relatively a minor nuisance by now, letting the Espada consolidate will not only make them a more dangerous enemy in the future but them establishing control over settlements in the south will damage your credibility and image in front of other territories, not to mention that the southern villages are the ones with the greatest population and thus largest pool of possible recruits.

On the other hand, your forces may be needed elsewhere as some settlements on the east have been encountering what appear to be packs of feral aliens, these creatures bearing no ADVENT crest nor any weapons but resembling reptiloid aliens that are often featured in American movies. For now, the threat appears minor for the most part. Still, it has the people rattled, and dealing with it should give you a boost in legitimacy in the east, an area with the greatest access to the gray market and failure to act quickly may jeopardize relationships just the same. You can choose to commit to either of those areas or split your forces in half and risk overextending yourself.

The expedition into the cave was successful and the supplies were secured but a few men report continuing feelings of unease and tension, feeling as if something is compelling them to return, one has already committed suicide and two others are showing signs of instability. Jorge can tell something is psionically wrong with them but doesn't know how to deal with it, but whispers from the cave beckon him to come, promising him answers and a way to save the men afflicted. You don't want to risk Jorge but more deaths will hurt morale and cost you

In any case, the refugees are able to be supplied, at least for now and many are grateful enough to join you outright. Your start-up farming project now has more than a few extra hands and you have a few engineers and gunsmiths that can help you maintain your vehicles and weapons more efficiently. Some of your members are suggesting a reorganization but that will have to wait until threats are dealt with.

There is not much in the way of global news, only that ADVENT fully intends on pushing the language act despite protests.


Turn issues:

• The whispers from the cave.
• Wether to prioritise the west or east.

[ ] Write in plan


Plans have a 700-word limit, feel free to ask questions, you have 36 hours.

 

[StarMaker764]

[X] Plan: Secure the Mandate of Heaven
-[X] Deploy Jorg and a team of skilled hunters, survivalists and tacticians who are confident they can teach their skills to the settlements bereaved by Ferals. There, they'll teach the local peoples information and tactics to fight the aliens, and add them in driving them back.
-[X] Send the rest of our fighters, with the support of our new allies, to crush and throw back the Espalda and (relatively) stabilise that region before it gets worse.
-[X[ Seal in the cave with some demolition work and explosives, and keep the people feeling unstable under watch, somewhere safe, far away. Whatever is in there does not have our best interests in mind.

Click to shrink...

The cave is sealed in with some rudimentary manual demolition and as little expolsoives as possible to preserve your precious stock. It is a rush job and many hope to improve on it in the future but it works well enough that Jorg isn't hearing anymore whispers and the remaining survivors from the previous expedition have displayed slightly improved mental conditions since then, though they remain under close watch.

The Espalda forces prove trickier to deal with as they appear adept at hiding and moving quickly through the forest canopy without leaving a trace, appearing out of thin air to extract tribute from helpless villagers before disappearing just as quickly before any of your forces can arrive. So far they have avoided any attacks or ambushes against your forces which leaves you with no concrete information on their numbers, equipment or weapons and having to rely on the testominies of the villagers, some of whom are not cooperative after just having been extorted from their hard earned harvests.

There is a division on how to handle the situation: some advocate that a portion of your fighters be stationed in the vulnerable on a permanent basis so they can rapidly response to any movement and organise better defenses, all while being instructed to aid the locals when possible to boost your image.

Others oppose this as stretching your forces thin and depriving you of precious manpower that may be needed elsewhere and instead advocate for arming and organising the villagers to defend themselves by themselves, providing them with weapons and gear needed to give any Espalda soldiers a run for their money while sparing your manpower though at the cost of spreading your weapon supplies thin and risking Espalda escalation.

Jorge and the team chosen have proven adept at keeping the feral attacks at bay but their true victory was the success they achieved in disseminating their knowledge on fighting the aliens to the people, who after a few meetings and training sessions have already begun to organise their own hunting parties and patrols. One of said patrols has uncovered a trail that led to what they believe is the lair of the creatures.
The lair is at the far east edge of your territory and is composed of what appears to be a giant nest structure built from wood and leaves, the aliens appear to gather and sleep here during the night, (the creatures only attack during the day). The villagers want to end the attacks permanently and want to strike now fearing the aliens may move later while Jorge and your fighters want to gather more information and are wary of an assault that can cost many valuable fighters.

In the meantime they send you samples and corpses of some of the aliens they killed, many of them will be sold on the gray market by you and the LLC for a trade in weapons and supplies but you wonder if it wouldn't be prudent to hold to a few of the better preserved specimens in case you may have the capability of studying them closely in the future.

Meanwhile you and the LLC are beginning to lay the groundwork for their unification plan, which starts by contacting influential community leaders and representatives of the settlements in your area and hopefully convicining them to meet with you to propose and begun discussion of a more unified anti-advent effort. Though the radios make this easier than normal, this is expected to take quite some time with the distances and talks involved.

In world news, the protests over the language act continue to grow in numbers but remain peaceful for now while the districts of Centeral Asia celebrate the completion of 20 new tier 1 cities, each expected to house 2 million souls.


Turn issues:

• The lair of the ferals
• The Espalda menace

[ ] Write in plan


Plans have a 700-word limit, feel free to ask questions, you have 48 hours.

 

[StarMaker764]

Vote closed and Plan better than nothing wins.

As I write the next update enjoy this little bit


Resister's knowledge dossier: X-COM


The origins of X-COM remain shrouded in conspiracy theories and unverifiable testimonies but what is confirmed is that the organization started publicly acknowledged activity right at the beginning of the Seven Months War, being ostensibly a UN backed and funded international effort, though in practice nearly all of its manpower and resources were provided by and under the complete supervision of the OECD imperial core nations.

Equipped with the most cutting edge and advanced equipment money can buy (and then some) and host to some of the best soldiers in the world, XCOM squads would gain a mixed reputation as they fought right at the front lines of the invasion as they seemed to alternate between feats of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat against all odds and managing some of the worst military blunders in human history as in the failed battle of Boston.

Their reputation would only be further dirtied by criticism on their seeming focus on saving civilians only in areas in the imperial core (which were deemed to be of higher priority) while only deploying in the periphery on artifact retrieval missions which led to a PR nightmare when an XCOM task forces not only refused to aid in the defense of Nairobi and even allegedly attempted to sabotage its defenses in order to distract the alien forces (the truth of this matter has yet to be confirmed to this day).

For all their efforts however the organization would fail to decisively turn the tide of the war and its headquarters would be overrun during the fall of America. It is said that a resistance group bears their name and is even composed of former XCOM operatives but not much is known about this new XCOM or its current capabilities and goals..

Thought for the day:

The first duty of a revolutionary is to be educated.