Part 17: Interview 9 - “Prelude To Chaos” (Or, “Boris Will Choke This Point”)

Interview 9 - “Prelude To Chaos” (Or, “Boris Will Choke This Point”)























And Olaf was leading the charge against the Black Hole forces.



Classic Olaf, charging on ahead. At least he's making sure his forces are rested.



I... didn't really get that vibe, but whatever. I guess I wasn't there.



You know, this implies that Olaf has the ability to forewarn snow. How else would he know it's snowing up ahead?

His eyes? He could just see it.

Yeah, but if that was the case, Grit would also be able to see it, and he wouldn't have to ask. Olaf is psychic, end of story.



A battle, probably.

Well, there's quite a few of those in Wars World. Which I suppose shouldn't be a surprise.





Olaf was born in Blue Moon?

Is that a surprise?



Well, in my first campaign I was told that he used to serve Orange Star before defecting to Blue Moon.



Ah. So if he was born in Blue Moon, that makes the decision to serve Orange Star a bit odd.



Exactly! Did he grow up in Blue Moon, leave to join a foreign military, then go back to Blue Moon? Or was his hometown originally Orange Star territory, or..? I have no idea, and I don't think the writers do either.





Best not to think about it too much.





Pfft. At least we have Grit, a light in these dark times.



Unfortunately...



All was not well in Olaf's hometown.

Do we ever find out it's name?

What do you think?



Toy Box? Hm. That's a strange designation for this mission.

It won't be when you see the field of battle.



What.



Lash has taken several liberties with this region.

Liberties?! She has access to the map editor. How else do you do something like this?



It can hardly be said to be "consistent". But this is where Olaf first faces the foe.



For once I'm on Olaf's side. This kind of higgledy-piggledy map design doesn't benefit anyone. Like, if you have the ability to mess up towns and cities, why not set up a battlefield that favours your side?

You're forgetting the crucial point that Lash is quite demonstrably unstable.



Good point.





I really can't see how this is following Sturm's orders at all. Wasn't she supposed to be stealing money and stuff?

She seems to be the most playful of the bunch. One wonders if Sturm gives her preferential treatment.





Wait, SHE'S the one hiding the lab maps? Why the hell would you even?! Is she actually on our side?



See my previous point about her instability.



Oh, Olaf's angry. This should be fun.



Indeed. And with that, the map is to begin, so here - we've got plenty of new soldiers to meet this time.

DIMITRI
Age: 33
Personality: Long-suffering squadron commander.
Proficiencies: Mech, Tank, Neotank

BORIS
Age: 31
Personality: Vengeful squadron member.
Proficiencies: Infantry, Medium Tank, Anti-Air

IVAN
Age: 34
Personality: Relaxed squadron member.
Proficiencies: Infantry, Artillery, Transport Copter

PETER
Age: 22
Personality: A soulful poet.
Proficiencies: Infantry, Cruiser, Artillery

EDUARD
Age: 19
Personality: Short and angry.
Proficiencies: Recon, Anti-Air, Infantry

LEO
Age: 24
Personality: Sweet but short-fused.
Proficiencies: Mech, Tank, Anti-Air

MIKHAIL
Age: 41
Personality: Jaded war veteran.
Proficiencies: Tank, Medium Tank, Battleship

ZLATA
Age: 29
Personality: Awkward, lovelorn gearhead.
Proficiencies: Bomber, Medium Tank, Neotank

VALENTIN
Age: 17
Personality: Work-shy and weary.
Proficiencies: Fighter, Rockets, Missiles

ANTON
Age: 22
Personality: Dreaming of more.
Proficiencies: Infantry, Missiles, Rockets

LUDMILLA
Age: 25
Personality: Loose and lustful.
Proficiencies: APC, Lander, Recon

MARK
Age: 23
Personality: Socially awkward incel.
Proficiencies: Artillery, Rockets, Missiles

And the deployments.

TODAY’S DEPLOYMENTS
Ivan, Infantry
Peter, Infantry
Eduard, Infantry
Dimitri, Tank
Leo, Tank
Mikhail, Tank
Boris, Medium Tank
Zlata, Medium Tank
Valentin, Rockets
Anton, Rockets
Ludmilla, APC
Mark, Artillery



God, that was a lot. I've never heard of any of these losers.

You... you worked with most of them during the final battle against Sturm, from what I know.

Eh, maybe. There were a lot of names and faces, I wasn't going to commit all of them to memory.



Hmph. Anyway, Olaf begins proceedings by deploying Ivan and Peter.





Same deployments on the enemy side... this is going to be quite the map.



Up north, Ivan makes for the nearest property. Peter does the same down below, and is also joined by Eduard. What do you mean by "quite the map"?



The forces are evenly matched - both started with the same number of properties, and all of their properties pretty much mirror each other.



Thus, the key to this map will be what's captured, as well as that middle area. That's the real linchpin.



Oh? You mean that mountain range?



Precisely. Firstly, over on Lash's side, there's a mountain and a tiny sea tile which will make for a pretty good chokepoint. And more importantly, that base. Currently they both have equal production - 2 bases each, so whoever gets the middle base will be at an advantage, since they can deploy much closer to enemy territory.



So if I were Olaf, I’d make like a communist and seize the means of production.





Well, all three infantry units begin capturing nearby properties, so evidently funds are important to Olaf.

That's a point - you got a file on Olaf? Been a while since I've fought him, so I'd like a refresher.





Here you go. And information on his CO Powers is right here...





Oh, wow, that Super CO Power does sound pretty fun. Free damage on everything is never a bad thing. Alright, I'm refreshed - back to the battle!



There isn't much to say at the moment.





Just capturing and advancing. Noted.



All three of Olaf's troops complete their captures, though. They'll soon turn their sights on that middle base.



With the funds he saved by deploying fewer infantry than his opponent, he also deploys a tank - Dimitri.

"Alright, troops, form up. There's more tanks on the way, but we need to forge on ahead if we're to make progress here. Those down south, head for the base by the mountains - I'll take care of the incoming infantry up here!" Dimitri says. The troops nod and prepare to make their move.





Ah, infantry can cross rivers. Dimitri made the right call in aiming for those. If they're not careful, they might overrun the northern area.



It's quite a troublesome setup. The water down south isn't river, but ocean, so Olaf's infantry can't pull the same trick. They have to take the long way round.



The troops do as Dimitri commands, anyway, whilst he moves out. A new tank is deployed, too - Leo.



And Ivan's the closest to the base, makes sense that he'd go for it. If they're not quick, though, he's gonna be under fire from several enemy infantry.





God, all the Black Hole soldiers just look so smug.

You can't even see their faces.

Still smug!



The enemy are joined by a recon and an APC. Though Olaf's forces seem outnumbered, he is the only sane CO on the battlefield, which helps.





Oh my god. Is that combat? On a battlefield?



I never thought I'd see the day.

I know it's a slow map, you can stop being sarcastic now.



Besides, Ivan's made a start on his capturing.



Argh. Leo's not quite close enough to block off vehicle access to the base. Thankfully there isn't anything in range, but if we're not careful that recon could ruin Ivan's day. Oh, who's the new tank?

Our third and final regular tank, Mikhail.





Although to be fair, once they've finished capturing every fucking city in sight, the enemy infantry will be in range to attack Ivan, so he's going to eat a hit no matter what.



Like so?



Yes. Sigh.





Don't worry. Leo's ready to blast this poor infantry to the depths of hellfuck.



Is... that a real place?

You can't prove it's not.



I'm not surprised that Ivan's beating a hasty retreat though. I would, too. We'll have to wait a bit longer to capture the base.



Indeed. And with two tanks on hand now, any infantry that even thinks about going for the base will immediately collapse and die.

So Olaf IS psychic!



It was just a joke, sorry. Anyway. Dimitri bullies an APC for no reason.



I miss Max's tanks.

We all do, my dude.



And this is how things shape up. The infantry are starting to reach the middle of the map.



And they still have no idea where that lab map is hidden. This is going to be trouble - but first things first, he needs to capture that middle base.



I meant Olaf, god dammit.



They're certainly starting to monopolise the nearby cities. Lash will put all of those funds to a nefarious use if given half the chance.



Oh, and the recon came to say hi... which means that the tanks can't kill the infantry since it's in the way. God, Lash likes to be annoying.





It seems the soldiers agree - Lee quite furiously begins an assault on the offending recon.



Good. Fuck that thing.

Mikhail attacked the infantry, meanwhile, bringing it to 5HP. Forgive me for forgetting to make proper notes on this segment.



Up north, Ivan has retreated to a city to heal. Dimitri and Eduard, meanwhile, are preparing to face the enemy infantry who crossed the river.



Nice.



Left severely weakened, they aren't so much of a threat anymore.



Plus, the infantry still hasn't finished capturing the base. There's still a chance.



The damaged recon flees, only to be replaced by a tank. And more trouble approaches from the north - an artillery.

This is what I would call "very fuck".

I'm inclined to agree. It's not a perfect situation for Olaf.





Leo has his priorities straight, though. Blood for the blood god!



I'm pretty sure Wars World doesn't have a blood god.

Excuse me, I'M the blood god.



Pfft. You're far too scrawny to be a blood god.

Hey!

Heh. Anyway, Mikhail finishes off the infantry on the base.



"Blood for the blood god", as you say.

See, it sounds sarcastic when you do it.

To be frank, Commander, that's because I was being sarcastic.



_{Well I think it sounds cool...}

Peter replaces the recently-murdered infantry and starts capturing the base. Hopefully he'll have more success than Ivan.





Wow. Dimitri seems to be rather aggressive.

He's certainly determined to kill every last one of them.



Eduard heads for the mountain, hoping to capture that nearby property.



Ivan isn't fully healed, but he's strong enough to finish off the other enemy infantry.



They come from Blue Moon, they're probably all quite strong individuals. That place is cold as shit, even in summer.





The artillery heads north, and another tank comes down. The other tank is too damaged to attack so it just sits and waits for death.





Oh, and of COURSE the artillery is now targeting the city that Eduard was going for. Lash continues to annoy the fuck out of me.

If you're annoyed now, imagine how annoyed Olaf was at the time.



To work out his anger issues, Olaf orders Dimitri to shoot more infantry.



I've said it before and I'll say it again: Olaf really needs to get laid.

...Would that help?

Everyone knows that sex calms peop- wait, does this mean you've never done it?



Ahem! Peter captures the middle base, successfully marking the first part of the map as complete.



Ivan goes back to his city to heal up again.

Ivan is not having a good time in this map. He just wants to get fully healed.



Leo turns on the enemy tank, still sitting right next to him.



If it was more damaged it probably would've retreated. But nope. It's just totally accepted it's fate.



This makes an opening for Mikhail to bully more infantry.

In Mikhail's defence, Lash has like hundreds of them. She won't miss a few getting shot.





Of course, with the first part of the map to go, it's time for the real chaos to begin.



No kidding. Next, they'll need to capture that chokepoint where the enemy tank currently is. With the base captured, though, that won't be hard.

There's several enemy troops moving around though. Either retreating or healing, they're bound to cause trouble.

Yeah. I just noticed that the artillery moved despite previously being in a really good position... why do artilleries always move in weird ways when they're in enemy hands?



I'm not sure you're asking the right person. Anyway, this day is all about piling on the aggression.



Oh, my boy Peter murdering some infantry motherfuckers. Love it.



Where are your four defence stars now? Where's your god?!



Eduard takes advantage of the artillery moving away to capture this city. Unfortunately, he is leaving himself open to attack.



Medium TAAAAAAAAAAANKS.

Quite so. Boris has been deployed, ready to begin defending against the enemy.

I mean, when you want a point fuckin' choked, you use a medium tank.



To clear a path, Mikhail begins slapping the enemy tank around a bit.





And Leo finishes. What a dream team we have here.



Mm, they're quite competent.



Dimitri moves forward to prevent Peter from being attacked. Don't worry, he's not in range of the artillery.





Of course, the counterattack begins almost immediately.

You say that, but I still haven't seen a CO Power. Has Lash still not got it yet, or is she going for a Super CO Power?



You'll find out. Anyway, Eduard comes under heavy fire.

I could've told you that would happen. Sigh.



Thankfully, none of the other Black Hole forces attack. The artillery and tank seem more interested in the northern city again.

Mm. Makes me wonder if the lab map is hidden there. Why else would they defend it so jealously?



Eduard retreats, and a fully-healed Ivan prepares to take the enemy fire in his place.

"Stick behind me." Ivan says with a lazy smile. "This isn't my first rodeo, so just watch and learn."

"Hmph. I could've taken 'em all!" Eduard replies. "I can't believe I was ordered to retreat. This is ridiculous..."



And with the chokepoint now clear, Boris comes to claim it.

Yesssssss.



Some rockets are deployed - meet Valentin. Also, you seem unreasonably excited about Boris.

I just love points. And the choking thereof.



I strongly dislike the way you worded that.

Damn, rockets are quite useful here, actually. They'll be able to put pressure on the enemy now we've backed them all the way to one end of the map.



Quite so. Peter heads north to stay on the mountain - any infantry that attack Ivan will be met with a counterattack from Peter.



Leo finishes off this infantry before they heal up.



That southern city is also a likely hiding place for the lab map. Some infantry should head down that way.



Olaf seems to agree - he deploys Ludmilla, ready to quickly get some infantry down there.



And no longer needed for facetanking, Dimitri retreats to the safe part of the chokepoint.



They're still not completely safe. Those infantry are in danger.



STRANGER DANGER

Oh, can it.





You're right, though, the enemy forces are coming quickly. However, that's all I can tell for today, we're almost out of time.

Damn. For such a small map it's taken quite a while. Well, hey, guess it's my turn to talk.

Indeed. I'll continue with the rest of this mission next time. For now, tell me more about the events of that fateful night.

***

Part 9 Additional