Part 129: New York

Briefing Video: video link






Could it be GOLAN who is jamming us? As long as we cannot speak to the ED and LC they will continue attacking us. That's something to worry about once we cross the sea. For now we have two very large bases in front of us. Fortunately, we can cutoff LC reinforcement by destroying a bridge. For now that should be our first objective.



If we can knock out this bridge our life will be much, much easier. Unfortunately it is directly behind the LC base.



On the upside, we do have a ton of resources available to us. And since we're going to be heading to Europe after this, we need to use up all the resources we have at HQ. We're not going to be coming back after this mission.

Research: Dragon Bomber mk 1



Let's see if we can figure out a way around the LC base with our scouts.



Hmm...looks like a solid no. The majority of their defenses are facing us and they have a good chunk of units in position. Any attempt to bypass the base will fail.



But I have an ace in the hole. I bet you can guess what it is.



Hello SHADOW units!



Once again, the LC is attacked by an invisible enemy. You'd figure at this point they'd build Phobos detectors...but you'd be wrong.



They're completely blind to us. Maybe we can take down the whole base before we even get to the bridge?



Unfortunately the Condor didn't have its lights off so when it went to resupply this unit it was spotted. Sorry Mr. Robot but you're gonna die



The first of many, many LC buildings is destroyed.



And now to focus on picking off the LC air units so they don't destroy our Condors on resupply runs.





Our pressure on the base is unwavering. We've now broken through the first line of Main Base defenses.



Time to focus on the power plants.



That went well. Except for that one unit getting spotted.

Research: Dragon Bomber upgrade



The LC base is crumbling before our eyes. If we can push past those Mines up near the top of the screen we'll have unfettered access to the bridge.





The LC attempt a retaliatory raid, but it fails before it even gets going thanks to all the rockets I equipped everything with.



A group of mobile units have joined the fray, probably reinforcements from the north. They still can't see us though.



We're working our way south, to ensure everything is cleared out. With such a tactical advantage, it would be foolish to not destroy the LC now.





And after all that, they've still got what looks to be a sizable base to the south. Let's keep up the pressure then.



I've retained a small force up in the north to clear out the Mines and open the way to the bridge. Things are going very well so far this mission. I did not expect to have the LC on the ropes only 15 minutes in.



Looks like we just lost a Condor. Brace yourselves for incoming LC units!



Ohhhh shit. Does everyone have their lights turned off? Those Super Fighters will pick our Gargoyles out of the sky.



Thankfully the answer is yes. Unfortunately these are all rocket units and will need to reload...thus taking them out of the stealth field.



We now have a problem on our hands. With the army re-directed to the north to deal with the aerial threat all our Condors are going to get shot down before they can reach their targets. And it's night, so we're not at our most mobile (to keep the SHADOW generators working everyone is running with lights off).



Sadly, I'm forced to break off the attack and head back to neutral ground. The Condors also are going to be running lights off, in case any of the LC air units get near.



Oh good! The LC have decided it's a really good idea to come after our base now. Guess this means their guardianship of the north has ended.





This attack goes no further than the first one.





With the threat neutralized and the sun back up in the sky we continue our assault. It looks like those Guardians are guarding something interesting. Let's check it out once we've dealt with everything on this side of the river.



This is it. Once we've taken out those power plants the LC will be fully powered down and we can clean up the scraps.



Or...not? Ugh. Are they hiding more power plants on the other side of the river?



I make the call to send in more reinforcements to help.



Again, we're "ambushed" by LC mobile units. That bridge needs to go down...



It's a bit hard to fight back when you can't see anything...



There's nothing at the bridge now. This is the perfect time to take it down.



And a mission like this is exactly why I developed the Jaguar SHADOWs. They can operate completely independently and clear out these last few towers.



Down south we've nearly cleared out all the remaining Guardians. This is taking forever...



Hooray! All the defenses in front of the bridge are gone! Now to just...



OH COME ON! WE WERE STANDING RIGHT THERE HOW DID YOU SNEAK PAST US!?

Research: Gargoyle Plasma Cannon

Those Gargoyle Plasma Cannons will ensure we don't have a repeat of what happened with our Gargoyles earlier this mission.





I'm forced to divert the SHADOW Jaguars as the main army is too far south to do much good.



Ah, so I was right. The other side of the base does have all the power plants. Clever.



Our Jaguars could destroy this bridge but I'm afraid of one of them getting dumb and standing on top of what they're trying to destroy. Or accidentally destroying it from the other side. So the Gargoyles can handle it.



While the LC had all their power on the other side of the river, they had absolutely no defenses of note there. We don't even need our SHADOW generators to do this.





And there we have it! The LC base is destroyed and the bridge is now sitting in the bottom of the Hudson...except we haven't gotten any notification about completing our first objective.


Research: Gargoyle Plasma Cannon Upgrade



Ah. That's why. Sneaky LC. Very Sneaky.

intercepted Dynasty Transmission posted:

Confirmed. LC base destroyed by cloaked units, suspected origin is GOLAN. Bridge to our position destroyed. LC will be evacuating through points to the north. We'll be ready for them here.

Well I guess the cat is somewhat out of the bag now. The Dynasty know we're using cloaked units. But at least we don't have any LC to worry about now.



I send out scouts while I move the army back to base. The front entrance of the Dynasty base looks...tough. We'd nee to travel through a ravine and be open to enemy fire without the ability to counter for our entire time in there.



This...looks more promising. Is there a back entrance?



Yes! It looks like there is! And we may be able to sink the Dynasty navy before it can get out to sea. We do not want to deal with that in the middle of the Atlantic.



It also appears there are no other ways into or out of the base. We either storm the front gate or try to sneak in through the rear. And I am all about the sneaking.





I love my SHADOW Jaguars. You just send 'em out and don't have to worry about anything.





Look how effective they are in clearing the way! Those Minelayers though And the worst part is we can't build any Minelayers ourselves. Better hope they forgot to plant mines...



We've cleared out what little resistance there was outside the base. Time for the assault to begin!



We're hitting 'em hard!



But they're...shooting back? Are our SHADOW generators not working?



Oh...Oh no. The ED must have heeded the LC's message. They've got Radar. And that means no cloaking.

And that means lots of dead robots.



Shit. This is not going well. Maybe we can eek out a victory thanks to all our plasma?



Oh god. We're getting completely overwhelmed. The navy joining in on the fun isn't helping either.



Shit. We're almost completely out of fighting units. Retreat! Retreat! We can't possibly repel firepower of this magnitude!



Holy shit. Our army is just a few Panthers now. Everything else was completely wiped out.



5 Panthers and a bunch of Spider support units. That's our entire land army now (discounting the Jaguar SHADOWs). We're going to need to think of another way into that base. We can't counter them if they can see us and out-range us.



Let's do some more scouting. Well, on the upside we found another mineral patch. That'll be useful.



Hmm...I was right. The front entrance to the base is extremely well fortified.

Except...

Except there are cliffs overlooking it. I've got a wonderful idea



Haha! We can hit you but you can't hit us!



The Dynasty send in two Khrushchevs to try and stop us, but they have to run past the base to reach my grenadiers. This does not end well for them.



We've cleared out a good chunk of the towers, but if we have to wind our way through those walls we'll get shredded before we can make it in.



Much better!



I've also added these Fortresses to take care of any counter-attacking problems we may encounter. Plus, the army is now (somewhat) rebuilt!



That Heavy Tower looks to be the last thing we can reach from the cliffs. Once it's gone it'll be time for an assault.



If we can make it through the valley I think we'll be okay.



Yes, this seems to be working well. We've drawn out the mobile units but only taken minimal damage.



HOLY SHIT! They've got artillery!

Uh...yeah. This is not gonna work if they can hit us with artillery. Um...time to go back to the rear entrance or I'll have to rebuild my army yet again



Okay. This is useful. Some of the navy has moved beyond the range of radar. We can pick them off and minimize our exposure when we get to where the radar actually is.





Thank god we're cloaked. Those extra-long range rockets the Dynasty navy carries are no joke.

Now to disable the radar before units come streaming out of the base...



Yes! Yes! It looks like it worked! Our cloaks will stay functional now!



Unfortunately our grenades weren't super accurate, and we've destroyed the bridge that leads into the base...



Well, at least we can hit the navy while I figure out what to do.


Hmm...

Actually. Is that island one we can build a bridge to?



Yes! It is! Let's see if we can use that to build a new route into the base. One that hopefully bypasses any nasty Radar or Heavy Towers.

Or Artillery



I'm moving a SHADOW unit along with the Mammoth. It'd suck to go through all this work only for the navy to spot the Mammoth and destroy it.



We're across! And the last ship in the ED navy is about to be sunk!



Unfortunately this bit of land doesn't directly connect to the base. But we can build another bridge that does connect. And it'll put us right in the rear of the base. This plan is great!



We're across and haven't been spotted yet! I think this really just might work.



I've expanded the bridge so our units can move across it a bit more easily. And they're rocking the Dynasty base right now, and there's not a hint of resistance.



Oh yeah. This is the ticket. We're all cloaked still and even if all these mines are tapped out we can clear it to give us a nice spot from which to bombard the base.




Yep, this bombardment is going very well.



Hey, why aren't you with the rest of the...oh shit.

Jammers. The ED have jammers. Not only do they break our SHADOW tech, but they make it impossible to issue new orders to units. We'll need to keep a wide berth or the entire army will be useless.



By mid-day we've knocked down a solid chunk of the base. But I still can't see these jamming units...



My Condor pilots aren't the smartest. They kept flying right over the base to resupply everyone, so I've now set up a small supply depot that won't result in a flight path right on top of the base.



A...missile control center!??

Yeah that's gotta get destroyed.





Before we can do that though, some ED units have spotted our lone jammed unit. Sadly, they don't know an entire cloaked army is behind it. Sorry guys!



Thankfully these guys can't see us because I'm staying out of range of both Radar and Noise Generators. If they could we'd have a pretty pitched battle on our hands.



Thankfully for me, I don't fight fair. At all.

When these last towers fall the base will pretty much be mine.



Okay I lied.

When these towers fall the base will be mine.



The ED attempt one last ditch attack on a unit that strayed too far from the cloaking range.

It doesn't work.



Meanwhile, I've evacuated most of the army back to base to make our final preparations for our departure.



Oh come on! I thought I destroyed the navy! There are more ships out there?



And we can't even build any impressive ships. This is gonna be a job for air units. Good thing I invested all that money up-front in Dragons and Gargoyle Plasma Cannons.



Okay, let's find this fleet.



THAT'S IT!? Seriously?



I lure them back to the coast where our Gargoyles can take care of them. Note, how they're all cloaked because I'm not crazy enough to try this without some protection.



Holy shit! They shot down the Albatross! I guess it was the only thing they could manage to target. Good thing we don't really need it anymore.



And we'll have a Scout bait another group back...





Thank you very much. Now I think it's time for us to get out of here...



Yep. Let's get everyone packed up and ready to go. It'd be foolish to leave our army behind...







On second thought, let's go RIGHT FUCKING NOW





403 units destroyed. That's...gotta be some kind of record. The real key to this mission is knocking the LC out of the fight before they can do anything to harm you. With how sprawled out their base is if you let them get up and running you'll be very, very fenced in.



Yes, this is all sad and shit but the Earth is literally falling apart under our feet. Now's not the time to get sentimental!



Next time: we make contact.