Part 64: Interview 32 - “Sunk Cost” (Or, “A Newfound Respect For Anti-Airs”)

Interview 32 - “Sunk Cost” (Or, “A Newfound Respect For Anti-Airs”)

Ah, Ruin, my favourite time-and-space-travelling police officer.

You don't know any other time-and-space-travelling police officers.

...True! Anyway, where were we?

Jess' forces had converged upon the battleships, and with the lab map found, she can now focus on her primary goal of sinking those ships. It is, however, Lash's turn, and she has decided that she's bored now.



She is, indeed, bored now.



Her Super CO Power is annoying, though. Huge terrain benefi... wait.

Hm?

She's mostly using planes to attack! And planes don't get any terrain advantages at all - so her power isn't gonna do squat to help her bombers and copters out!



Very perceptive, my dude. Despite that, however, this copter is going to be quite a problem for our friend...

"Mulligan, is that-" says Adelaide, staring along the coast - a flying shadow has been spotted in the distance, and as it comes into view, the THWOCK-THWOCK-THWOCK of a chopper's blades can be heard, carrying for miles across the island.

Mulligan glances up and winces, before turning to his transceiver. "A copter! It must've been moving in on us when we went for the lab. But we have to get this map back to Jess."

"In that case, we'd better move now." Adelaide replies. Mulligan nods.

"I'll head back to the lander - be ready to move out as soon as I hop on! We don't have much time!"



This is concerning. We can't let Mulligan get sunk when he's got such valuable information. But that copter has more movement than Adelaide's lander... hm. I wonder how many hits she can take.



"Alright, I'm here. Let's get moving!" Mulligan says as he leaps onto the deck of the lander.

Adelaide nods. "Here we go..."



The daring escape begins.



I see Petra is none too pleased about this battle copter being all up in her face.

She most certainly isn't, and erases it. Good job, too, because...



Oh you are kidding me. She's gonna keep churning those out, isn't she?



In the meantime, the rest of the units are getting themselves into position. Cassandra heads north to be the welcoming party for the bomber, whilst Noah positions himself perfectly to take on the second minicannon.



Frederick goes back to his original task of shooting these battleships. As you can see... he's going to be a while. Noah and the artilleries should catch up soon to help out.

Heh. Noah and the artilleries sounds like a band name.



The rest of Jess' forces gather themselves like so. It's time to finish this map.



Ooh, not good. The copter's chasing them.

It doesn't do very much damage, thankfully. However, it needs to be removed so that Mulligan can be dropped off safely with the lab map.



And at least it's the only thing of note that happens on Lash's turn. Back to Jess.



I see the bomber found our welcome wagon. Man, it's fun to see anti-airs just ripping through those things.

They do take a little bit of counter damage every time they attack, though. Cassandra is going to have to be careful.



Noah gets a good shot on the northern minicannon.



And Roland/Matilda can finish it off, thankfully.

Alright, now everything's been taken care of, the ranged units should make a move on the battleships.



Well, there are bits and pieces of cleanup to do, such as this infantry which is apparently trying to recapture the base south of here. Our friends Conrad and Henry - though most likely just Henry - take the first shot.



And Wallace can easily finish it off. Nice.



Our good boat Frederick continues to plink away at the enemy battleships, meanwhile - and you'll note that our artilleries, Sebastian and Amarah, are in position and ready to go.

Rain hellfire upon them! Or artillery shells. Whichever's easiest.



Adelaide decides to cut east instead of heading back to the port directly. You know why, don't you?

...Oh, I see. Yeah, I think I know what her gambit is here.

"Mulligan, come in! How are you doing? Everything good?" Howard asks frantically. His fingers begin to itch, but it has been a long time since he smoked and he doesn't intend to go back. Breathing in and out to counteract his rising stress, he waits for the response.

"Don't worry, Howard. I'm going to be OK. Hang in there, alright?" Mulligan replies. "I'm coming back to you soon."

"Easy for you to say." murmurs Howard, but he has a faint smile on his face. He ceases communications and nods to himself.



Well, the bomber is still alive, so it's probably going to try attacking one of the indirects. Shouldn't be too much damage, but even a 1HP bomber is not something to be underestimated.



Quite excellently predicted, my dude. The bomber goes for Noah and does a tiny bit of damage.



And here, the battle copter attacks Adelaide. However, it does so from the north.

That was the copter's last mistake! Now it's accessible from land, and it is in range of Petra. I think?

Correct. It is, to use your vernacular, completely fucked.



Also, I haven't mentioned it before because it wasn't particularly relevant, but you should note that Frederick has been spreading out his damage over the ships. This is causing them to join up to heal every so often, which is why there's now one less battleship.

I'm not actually sure if spreading damage out or focussing fire is faster, come to think of it. They're probably fairly similar in terms of speed, but we'll see how Jess gets on with her strict deadline.



With not much else to do, Wallace goes for the transport copter. The rest of this battle is in the hands of the anti-air squad and the indirects.

There's still eight battleships to go, though. Even with Noah's backup, are they going to get it done on time? Maybe Jess should've produced some more rockets or artillery from those bases earlier.



Jess is prepared, don't worry - she's got an ace up her sleeve for a bit more damage.



Perfect! Drive all over 'em, Jess!

You get excited about the strangest things.



However, it isn't all good news - there's some more foes waiting to the north.

Fuckin- how much money is Lash making per turn, anyway? These bombers are annoyingly consistent.



"I've opened up the way to that copter for you, Petra!" Cassandra says as she opens fire on the enemy bomber. "Protect Mulligan, please..!"

"Hey, no worries, Cassie! I got your back - watch me work!"



Holy shit. That might be a new record for the most damage in this campaign. _{I seem to recall the highest damage being over 200% in AW1, but perhaps I'm wrong...}

Yes, Petra pretty much eviscerates the enemy copter. Some careful positioning and intelligent moves from Cassandra, Adelaide and Jess has protected the lab map from being lost.



Also, Noah might not be quite in range of all the battleships, but he is in range of one of them, and he can do rather a lot of damage to it.

Oh, nice! I thought he was gonna be dead weight for this CO Power, but nope.



Our other indirect friends continue the assault - Frederick opens fire as usual.



And then... is that Amarah?

Indeed it is.



And finally, Sebastian lands a blow. You'll note that they all attacked different targets, but even so, a lot of the ships are heavily damaged now. They're likely to start joining up on Lash's turn.



You have to admit, a rather good use of a Super CO Power.

Yeah, Jess is impressing me so far. I mean, weakened infantry is meh, but artilleries and medium tanks are hands-down my favourite units, so...

I suppose she does everything you want, then.

Exactly! Though Kanbei is another contender for my favourite CO so far. What a fuckin' machine that man is.



"uh bluh can you survive my attack??" - Lash, moments before sending one battle copter to fight an entire invading army.



At least she doesn't get it as often as Adder.

Oh, god, don't remind me that Adder exists. I was doing such a great job of forgetting.



Oh, yes: as predicted, the battleships all joined up, as you can see. Back to Lash's 'attack'...



The bomber moves in, but isn't in range of anyone, and the battle copter lightly irritates Roland and Matilda.



It takes almost as much damage as they do, though.

Serves it right. Why do these air units keep brazenly strolling into the range of the anti-air squad? I swear air units usually have better self-preservation instincts than this.



In the meantime, Cassandra heads up to deal with the bomber, but as I mentioned earlier, she gets weaker every time she does. This map needs to end soon before the anti-air pair get overrun.



Yeah, no kidding. Petra wasn't in range to finish it off either, so she's gone for the bro copter, I see.



Some of the indirect crew had to move, such as Noah who needed to be in a better position, but Amarah and Frederick didn't need to move, so they can take a few more good shots at the battleships.



More like battleSHITS. Heh. _{Took me like twenty minutes to come up with that.}

...Hilarious, my dude.



In the meantime, we've got some good news.

"We're back at base!" Mulligan announces over the transceiver. "The lab map plans have been delivered safely to Jess."

The rest of the army breathe a collective sigh of relief at hearing the news. Cassandra in particular is relieved to hear that her close friend is OK.

"God, Mull, you didn't half scare me. Take care of yourself, alright?" Howard says over the comms.

"I did take care of myself, that's why I'm safely back at base. Thanks again to Petra for your help there, by the way. We would've have had a second chance at getting back safely if not for you."

"Oh, I was happy to help!" Petra replies, beaming. "You want air units deleted, you just ask me!"

"See you soon, then, Mull." Howard replies.

"Of course, Howard." Mulligan replies. "Keep yourself safe now."

Adelaide sits and pouts for a while, watching Mulligan talk to Howard, and lifts up her own transceiver with a grumpy expression, opening up a private channel. "Seb! Aren't you going to ask how I'm doing?"

"Oh, uh. Sorry. How are you doing?"

"No, don't worry about it. You obviously don't care." pouts Adelaide. "Hanging around with your new friend Amarah, are you?"

"That's not-" Sebastian says, but he stops himself. "Sorry, Adelaide. I'll do better in future."

"You'd better! I told you not to talk to other girls, and what do you go and do?!"

"But I didn't- no, you're right. Sorry." comes the rather morose reply.

"Hmph!" Adelaide replies, ceasing communications and stuffing her transceiver back into her uniform, glowering.



Ugh, that bomber is going to be trouble. If they don't take it out quick, Lash is gonna send YET ANOTHER BOMBER down to join it.



Mm, it's not good. This bomber goes for Amarah, though it doesn't do a huge amount of damage. Moderate at best.

That's still going to massively reduce her ability to take out these ships, though.



Quite, and Jess is running out of time to clear this map. Clear thought and a solid plan should win the day, though.

"Clear thought"? Can't say I've heard of it. I prefer to just go in with zero plans in mind.

You almost definitely beat Sturm through blind luck.



Anyway, it's more of the same. First Frederick...



Sebastian...



But not Amarah. She's had to move out of the way to let Petra take care of this bomber for her. It won't be troubling the indirects any more.

No, but I bet there's another one on the way, isn't there?



Roland/Matilda goes for the battleship over here, but they don't do very much damage. This is why we need indirects.

True, but hey, on a map like this, damage is damage.



And look, it weakened the battleship just enough so that Noah can sink it now! Nice job, Roland and Matilda!



They are doing quite a good job. But it's not over until every ship is sunk.

Come on, Jess... you've got this.



There's still a few days left, and just a few ships remaining. It should be fine.

What do you mean "should be"? You know what's going to happen!

I do, but telling you what's going to happen would be no fun. Where's your sense of suspense, my dude?



In the meantime, we have a very awkward new friend, and I'm sure you can see why.

...Oh boy. Cassandra can't take out that bro copter because she'll be in bomber range. And we discussed last interview about how much you absolutely SHOULD NOT LET bombers initiate on anti-airs. But at the same time, a full HP bro copter is going to be a big problem for our indirects... hm...



Let's focus on the more immediate problems, for now, such as these boats. Noah gets a lucky shot and manages to sink this one with some well-placed rockets, leaving just two left.

They're out of range of the artilleries, though - especially that one in the top left.



At least Frederick can chip it a bit. Oh! I see Amarah's moved into a better position to take out that battleship. Nice.



Indeed. This one, meanwhile, is in Sebastian's range.



And Roland/Matilda continue... uh...

"Helping"?

Ah, yes. They continue "helping".



We're approaching the end of the mission. Let's just hope that copter doesn't cause too much trouble.

Luckily, I don't think Amarah is in range. She was the one I was most worried about, being on 7HP and all.



Oh, yup, it's gone for Sebastian. Is he alright?

Well, he survives.



And now, it is about time to bring this to a close. ...In style, of course.



Oh shit, she got her CO Power?



Better.

How the hell did she get her SCOP three times in one mission? Goddamn. Crush them, Jess!



Here's a satisfying image for you.

Wow. An exact one-shot. God bless you, Petra.

Goddess, don't you mean? Green Earth believes in the goddess of the Forest of Light.

I... can't say that I knew that. Wars World has religion?



Every world has some form of religion. Usually quite a few, too. If you're intending on committing to Nell and living in Wars World permanently, it might be an idea to familiarise yourself with these other cultures.

Heh. I suppose so. But for now, we can enjoy Cassandra absolutely bitchstomping this bro copter.

Pfft. That's a new one, I haven't heard that before.



I just thought of it now! One of my finest verbs yet, if I do say so myself.



Well, anyway, Howard continues attacking these foes. He, Wallace and Henry/Conrad are just cleaning up the enemies, really.



Lorelei finishes off this infantry, which opens up a space to attack the transport copter...



And Conrad and Henry waste no time in taking it out.

"Hee hee! I do believe we clipped their wings!" Henry says, chuckling.

"If by that you mean 'shot them down', then yeah, I suppose so." Conrad replies, sighing. "Ahh, are we almost done now? I'm gettin' tired."



Frederick weakens the last battleship, which gives our "helpful" friends an idea.



Ah, it's still got a bit too much HP. I assume it didn't work?

Unfortunately, yes, Roland and Matilda weren't able to snag the kill. But it is for precisely this reason that Amarah moved over here, anyway.



She can finish it off with no issues.



Well done. Prepare to withdraw.

GE Soldier: Withdraw?

We’ve achieved our goal. Let’s vanish before they send out more troops.

Where from? They’re practically all dead.

GE Soldier: Yes, ma’am. We’ll get started right away.

Stick and move… That’s just like you, Jess.

I enjoy the implication that Drake was watching this entire battle without doing anything.

In his defence, Jess didn’t ask for his help.

You’d think he’d have something more important to do than watch her battle, though.

No sense getting caught up in the moment and getting your troops hurt.

Caring about troops? In my Advance Wars? It’s more likely than you think.

We seriously reduced the enemy’s firepower… That’s enough for now.

When you’re right, you’re right. I’ll help get your troops out of there.



We can’t fix the battleships if they’re all sunk, can we?!

She does make a good point.

BH Soldier: What… What should we do?

What else is there to do? We attack with all of our strength! They’ve made me mad, and now they’re gonna pay big time!

BH Soldier: Mistress Lash, that’s…

Hm?

BH Soldier: The enemy’s gone.

I gotta say, this random Black Hole soldier is the best character on this map. Absolutely impeccable comic timing, intentional or not.

What?

BH Soldier: There’s no sign of enemy units. It seems they’ve done what they set out to do and left.

You’ve got to be joking! They just sank my boats and took off? I…am…so…angry!!!



Oh, just shy of a perfect score. But honestly, that was a great map. Jess certainly proved herself capable here.

Yes, she's done rather well so far.



So, once more, that leaves us with a choice.



The Eagle map, the Drake map... oh, and I assume we have the lab map now, too?



Indeed we do. But who do you think went to the lab?

That's a great question.



I'm not gonna find out until next time, am I.

Correct.

Sigh. Alright, I'll look forward to it, then. Later, Ruin.

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Part 32 Additional

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[Author's Note: For various reasons, I'll be taking next Friday off, so there won't be an update. I'll still reply to stuff though, when I get the time. See you back here in two weeks, folks.]