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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 5265046" data-attributes="member: 143">Next week: Base Attack. There's a good number of posts left, but only a few more missions until the finale. * * * * * Interlude: Preparation (October 21-28, 2008)The e-mail arrived the morning after the Alphas’ return from the busted Australian mission. * * * HQX was engulfed in a flurry of activity as the date for the base attack raid drew nearer. Security is ratcheted up to its highest level ever, and tensions are tight. When a few physicists in the research labs get into a fistfight over a disputed centrifuge, you know that tensions are tight. Alpha Team's every waking minute was scripted. Joan Beauvais implemented a new training regimen, based on the data recovered from the Antarctica base computer and the latest data from the Ethereal analysis team.  The counselor was patient but uncompromising; more than one member of Alpha Team stalked from the banks of testing apparatus and training devices in frustration, only to find the only door leading out of the lab sealed and unresponsive.  For two hours each day, the members of Alpha Team worked at developing their latent mental abilities.  The results were impressive, as all of the team members showed improvement—in some cases dramatic improvement—since the last round of Psi tests. Finally the day arrived.  Alpha Team's gear was laid out on a long table in one of the research labs.  The new advanced interface for the medical production unit was put to hard use; 25 medikits were produced.  Mary's work synthesizing the regeneration serum resulted in 5 doses, lying innocently next to the medikits in portable injectors.  Jane's work on the HWP team resulted in two repair kits, sitting in squat, folding cases.  Vasily and Cat spent days sequestered in an unused lab, poring over the alien grenade.  The clean-up teams brought several cases full of junked components taken from the multiple alien ships that Alpha had claimed.  Curses had been overheard coming from the room in several languages over the week, but by its end, the pair had three working alien grenades, in addition to the intact sample that was originally provided to the research team for study. (ooc: All skill rolls passed, +100xp to Jane, Mary, Vasily, and Cat.) Even as the Alphas started to arrive, more technicians and researchers continued to bring more gear to the table.  Mary opened a sealed case containing a hypo filled with the Chryssalid countermeasure, which—if it worked as advertised—would kill an injected parasite before it could “hatch”.  Cat’s armor had been fitted with a special harness to carry the bulky Blaster Launcher, with several snub rounds loaded inside.  Doctor Sandesh delivered a new Plasma Tank, and as the team gathered in the hangar  to board the Lightning, he hurries into the room with a second HWP trailing behind him, a new configuration, lack a turret but with an odd bulge at the top where the weapons array should be. "This one is special for your trip," he told them. "It has the full AI suite and will follow you on command, but it has no weapons.  Or rather, only one; an atomic warhead.  It is set to a 10-minute delay, which can be altered by any of you via voice-print recognition.  Once you have captured the alien commander and are ready to depart, activate the countdown and leave... swiftly."NOTE: In case you are interested, here were the group’s Psi rolls for this week. They also completed a research project to boost everyone’s scores.Will save vs. DC15 (+1 per point >14 on roll) +1 to roll for in-character posting. Advanced Psi Research: +5 to all Psi Training scores. Jane: roll (16 +11 +1) +5 = +19 bonus Cat: roll (12 +6 +1) +5 = +10 bonus Vasily: roll (4 +5 +1) +5 = +5 bonus Mary: roll (20 +12) +5 = +23 bonus James: roll (8 +12) +5 = +11 bonus Hadrian: roll (11 +9) +5 = +11 bonus </blockquote>

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