News From the Front (Bureau)

While Communications Officer Chulski helps with behind-the-scenes dispatch duties, she also is the head of XCOM's misinformation division, and works tirelessly to obfuscate mass media reports, doing everything she can to make sure the public knows nothing about the Outsider invasion. On the mission selection map, you can see the results of her work as public news bulletins.

Act 1 (After Groom Range)

First Contact

Groom Range, Nevada

Outsiders completely overran the Army’s advanced materials laboratory in their first- and to this point, only- known direct assault. The heavily armed attack left 208 personnel dead- only six survivors escaped, including Director Myron Faulke, Senior Agent Angela Weaver, and Special Agent William Carter. The escape of these survivors was made possible only by drawing the enemy into the blast-range of an experimental atomic weapon.

Worst Case Scenario

Washington, DC

The nation’s capital has gone dark, and repeated communication attempts have met with failure. Even embedded operatives in the area have failed to report through our secured channels. With no response from any other branch of government, emergency protocols are clear: XCOM is now the center of the United States’ military response.

World Gone Dark

Tuckerton, New Jersey

Attempts to contact the rest of the world have failed; radio signals are jammed and operatives report that the Trans-Atlantic Telecommunications cable has been sabotaged. Direct Outsider involvement is unclear, but it is believed to be the work of more infected “sleeper” agents.

Act 2 (After Rosemont)

Trouble In The Streets

New York, New York

Major communication lines have been cut off with New York City, but recon patrols and operatives provide multiple, conflicting reports. State of emergency in the city appears to have shut down the docks and many major roadways, with sleeper agents in position to starve the city as infection spreads. Operatives in the city are calling on national security preparedness to prevent rioting.

Global Tensions

Miami, Florida

Much of the population fears the communication outage is evidence of an impending Communist attack, none more that the residents of Miami, who have long suspected that Communist Cuba is allying with the USSR. Several independent reports suggest combat on the air and ground on the distant island. Operatives have evacuated many residents to fallout shelters, under the pretense of a nuclear threat from Cuba.

Rumbles Of Terror

Novato, California

We are receiving reports of devastating earthquakes in the San Francisco area. The damage to infrastructure and resulting fires in the major naval port has cost 82 lives and damaged on of our battleships, the USS North Carolina. Our analysts theorize that the seismic activity may be the result of more Outsider “terraforming” along the San Andreas faultline.

Act 3 (After Pima)

Sleepwalker Research

Ft. Detrick, Maryland

An isolated team of army scientists at the nation’s most advanced biological weapons facility have barricaded themselves in their laboratory as they research the Sleepwalker infection. Our operatives have been unable to observe their progress, as they are extremely secretive and paranoid of potential infiltrators- even refusing deliveries of food and supplies from the outside.

Terror On The River

Memphis, Tennessee

Rumors have spread of a “mysterious watchtower” being constructed in the nearby village of Blytheville, prompting the National Guard to build a makeshift defensive perimeter around the city of Memphis. Meanwhile, some claim that strange black sludge has been seen floating in the Mississippi river- sometimes moving against the current.

Deluge

Portland, Oregon

Operatives in Portland, Oregon report rumors that the nearby town of Vanport City has been destroyed by flooding after a breach in the dike holding back the nearby Columbia River. Some reports mention strange new construction in the area, possibly responsible for the breach, but they all agree on one fact: no survivors have been found of the town’s 40,000 residents.

Act 4 (After Medford)

Missile Crisis

Miami, Florida

Operatives report visual confirmation of a missile launch from the island of Cuba. It is unknown if the launch was an act of sabotage by Outsider agents or a deliberate attack on their forces, but the missile appears to have flown off course into the Pacific Ocean. Missile detonation and payload is uncertain, but residents fear the possibility of future attacks.

Terror In The Deep

New Orleans, Louisiana

Sudden flooding along the coastline indicates Outsider activity in the Gulf of Mexico, although long-range recon reveals little. New Orleans is especially hard hit, as it has suffered from an unusually high rate of Sleepwalker infection. Many have fled the city, but there are rumors of new horrors lurking in the swamplands and strange aquatic discoveries by local fishermen.

Chicago Burns

Chicago, Illinois

Fires rage across Chicago- the origin is unknown, but Outsider agents are suspected. While the enemy had limited their attacks to isolated communities while undermining the defenses of our major cities, it appears they are now preparing for direct attacks. The message is clear: our time is running out.

Act 5 (After Reo Verde)

America Rebuilds

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

With the first signs of success, our operatives can begin to return civilian lives back to normal. While communication remains partially jammed, major cities are no longer engaging in “nuclear preparation drills” to shield the public from Outsider activity. With industrial centers like Pittsburgh returning to almost normal operation, we can begin to consider rebuilding the towns and villages lost to the “Communist sneak attack.”

Long Winter

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Enemy activity in America’s farmland has led to significant crop shortages, and combined with disruption of interstate and international trade and transport, the nation faces a shortage of food and fuel for what threatens to be the coldest winter on record - particularly in the remote cities like Sioux Falls. If the final phases of the war are not completed soon, and vital trade restored, America may face a new threat to its continuation as a global superpower.

Towers Fall

Pima, New Mexico

Since first discovering the Outsider construction in Pima, we have maintained a long-range monitoring station of the tower, and today it has given us our first signs of victory: the transport tower is beginning to show signs of decay and imminent collapse. Whether a result of the disruption the enemy’s Mosaic network or lingering structural damage from our agents on the ground, this points to potential reclamation of these areas.