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The Coldest War "Today, America would be outraged if U.N. troops entered Los Angeles to restore order. Tomorrow they will be grateful! This is especially true if they were told that there were an outside threat from beyond, whether real or promulgated, that threatened our very existence. It is then that all peoples of the world will plead to deliver them from this evil. The one thing every man fears is the unknown. When presented with this scenario, individual rights will be willingly relinquished for the guarantee of their well-being granted to them by the World Government." - Dr. Henry Kissinger,US Secretary of State 1973-1977 Founded by both world superpowers in the face of a possible invasion, the organisation has had to fight tooth and claw to retain it’s existence, appropriating funds from either side where and when it could. As the Superpowers glacially looked to expand their spheres of influence to counter each other, only the organisation remained aware of a potentially greater threat. When this threat arrived in October 1979, it was clear how far the organisation had moved beyond geopolitics. “A clandestine organisation known only as the ‘Xenonauts’ establishes communication with the major world powers and claims responsibility,” for the only known successful interception of an alien craft over the Baltic Sea. The Xenonauts demand “both funding and authority to operate within their territory and airspace in exchange for protection.“ In fighting the invasion, the goal of the Xenonauts organisation will indirectly result in each nation reassessing their relationships with the rest of the world. Earth’s best defence is a united one. It is the goal of Xenonauts to channel as much collective development and unity from its funding nations as possible. To that end results from some of the Xenonaut research can be distributed throughout the funding nations. While this may sound utopian, bear in mind that the Xenonauts are essentially extorting capital from their funding nations in return for protection and the hope that their advanced technology will secure a victory. Also note that throughout, Xenonauts do not openly share their key research findings with the rest of the world. “The deal was simple – a monthly funding grant and authority to operate in a nation’s airspace and territory, in exchange for protection against extraterrestrial activity. Reluctantly, all the major powers agreed.” Why? The ideas below were some of the very first thoughts I had when putting together the Geopolitical mod thread. That shows the reluctance the funding nations have in greater detail. The short set of ideas below would ideally be part of the same setup, but are separated here as they can stand alone. They follow a similar path that the Alien Origins/The Martian Solution/Cydonia or Bust research topics of the original did. This is intentional so as not to detract or delay the main mission too much. The back story, as provided, shows the Xenonauts as an organisation on the brink of extinction, a situation now facing the rest of the world. It also shows that they have goals and demands that coerce the funding nations into agreement. They are not quite the clean cut outfit that their X-Com predecessors were. The ideas below take the Xenonauts in a direction that is a little darker than simply saving the Earth from an alien threat. Particularly when there are other enemies closer to home. Shadow Kingdom Research Required - Iceland Incident; Alien Invasion; Third tier weaponry Game Trigger - Save scientist mission objective at a particular ticker point. Unlocks Research - The Third Path Unlocks Bonus/Penalty – Reduced staff costs Summary – While liberating a research lab from the aliens, a supposedly missing prominent scientist is rescued. In debriefing, he reveals that, although his research is compartmentalised, that he must be a tiny part of a larger recruitment programme. A programme so aggressive, that the scientist was believed to have died so that he could vanish into the project. Further research has revealed the mysterious disappearances of individuals form a variety of scientific fields. The deaths of prominent figures in Physics, chemistry and astronomy are now put in doubt. This programme has been going on since the late 1950s. Insiders refer to the programme as the Brian Drain, but it is designated Project Aquarius. The scientist’s own work has reached a conclusion. It is unknown if this applies to the rest of the programme. The location of any related work or of funding sources is also unknown. Notes: The third tier research topic could be replaced with something else. Ideally, it should be a technological topic as this fits into the rest of these additions. It should also be something far enough into the game to be advanced technology, but not so advanced as to get in the way of the final mission topics. The game triggers are provided as additions/ alternatives to the required research topics. The reduced staff cost bonus reflects that whatever was going on, it’s now coming to an end. This will free up researchers elsewhere to join the Xenonauts. Ties with existing Xenonauts story: Echoes the steps a clandestine organisation may have taken in the cold war to capture the only people it believed capable of advancing it’s own agenda. Mod Requirements: Edit Research topics, Add research Topics, Add mission objectives, Research Lab indoor mission (optional, but is one of the stretch goals); recruitment cost alteration The Third Path Research Required - Shadow Kingdom, Last third tier topic Game Trigger –Aliens launch a base attack on a base not used by Xenonauts at a particular ticker point/ or a simpler pop up screen stating that local agents uncover a base, but it isn’t an alien one. Much like in X-Com/ Alien Base mission, but they’ve used a previously extant Xenonaut-like Base. Unlocks Research - New World Order Unlocks Bonus/Penalty – Free Base/ Reduced Construction Costs Summary – While the Xenonauts are setting up new bases around the world to combat the alien invasion, another party is making use of the bases set up in the 1960s following the Iceland Incident. While many of the facilities look to have been deserted for decades, there is clear evidence of recent and intensive use in key areas, such as laboratories and workshops. Whoever vacated the base in a hurry left few clues for the retrieval team. However, in the dust covered, deserted command centre Project Aquarius briefing documents are found, supporting the ‘missing’ scientist’s claims. The documents outline high level meetings between the Soviet Union and the United States military in December 1958. In these meetings, available findings from the Iceland Incident were shared. Analysis of potential further threats was made and ideas on how to combat such an enemy were suggested. These ideas became three distinct solutions. The solutions were known as Project Majority, an inside joke on the lack of consensus achieved to select one of them over the others. The documents suggest that parallel programmes, entitled The Three Paths (and the Three Bears informally), were put in place. Disturbingly, the Xenonauts look to be connected to one of these alternatives. Path 1: Project Aleph – The manipulation of population sizes, in order to force a cohesive, militaristic humanity prepared for the alien attack. Such extreme population control measures could only be put into effect by creating a number of disasters. Biochemical research was proposed for this purpose as was artificial escalation of the Cold War. A further option was to use this research to deny the planet to enemy forces should the situation become hopeless. This ruthless, cold option was considered one where worst case scenarios would prevail. Path 2: Project Anteus - Aquarius would ensure the construction of numerous underground shelters. Ostensibly these would be built to survive a nuclear war. In truth, they were to be build to survive an alien invasion. The bases would house a military command structure and a breeding population of civilians. Path 3: Project Aquarius – An expansionist approach that suggested that mankind’s best hope was through it’s own rapid advancement. By expanding knowledge in electronics, propulsion, astronomy and physics mankind could reach beyond the Earth. Increasing detection capabilities was considered an immediate goal of this project. Projected suggestions looked to move mankind to a more even footing with any invading force. These suggestions advocated that mankind should set up a base on Mars, titled Wells Station, using the Moon as a staging post. Veterans of Operation Verne provided support for an Aquarius programme that looked to advance the military readiness of a unified military force. They outlined a number of necessary projects. There are clear parallels between the Project Aquarius proposals and the structure of the Xenonauts. These projects would become the operational structure of Xenonauts in years to come. Aquarius – Umbrella project cataloguing all available intelligence from the Iceland incident Garnet - Coordination of all information relating to the aliens. Sign – Intelligence gathering to determine further aliens presences. Sign alerts the organisation following the WOW signal. Blue Book – The public face of Project Sign, actively investigating the public UFO sightings. Snowbird –Create disinformation to cover test flights & gauge intelligence. Redlight – to pilot reverse engineered UFO Pluto – Evaluating all alien technology with a view to enhancing human space capabilities/ biological intelligence. Excalibur – develop a weapons system capable of combating an alien craft. Gabriel - The use of pulsed sound weaponry against alien craft. Sigma – Establish communications with the aliens. No communications were received throughout the Iceland Incident. Plato – A project looking to create diplomatic links with an alien species. Blue Fly/ Blue Team – Reaction, retrieval and recovery operation briefed and trained on Iceland Incident. Xenonaut soldiers are trained by retired Blue Fly operatives. With no alien incursions following 1958, Blue Team eventually became part of Project Sign. Delta – The security arm of Blue Team and Pounce. Luna – Relates to construction and maintenance of secret underground bases. Pounce – the subsequent retrieval of crashed UFO materiel following Blue Team missions. Notes: Again, the research topic used as a requirement can be replaced. The changes to bases as a reward reflects the Xenonauts uncovering the series of hidden bases placed around the world by their organisation in it’s prime. It is suggested that the Xenonauts research topics be designated project titles as above to further tie them in with the Project Majority briefing documents. Ties with existing Xenonauts story: The back story reveals that the initially, well funded Xenonauts had a number of hidden bases that then fell into disrepair. This topic returns to that. It also suggests some tactical options available to countries facing a threat of unknown, but superior technology. Mod Requirements: Possibly a scripted map – combining alien and Xenonaut base (optional)