Part 16: Mozambique

Operation: Kill Neo has begun. But first we find out all the water on the planet is evaporating. Guess Fang and Sheela won't be able to take that swim after all

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wm9a4tzpmos



We'll be working directly under command of the UCS this mission, no input from Sombra and the rest of the gals. And the President doesn't seem to enjoy chit chat that much. That's a shame. Fang's still a UCS citizen so getting a direct order from the President is a big deal.



Our base is in a valley again but this time there are a plethora of base approaches. I'll try and button things up as best I can.



Only one new research item this time, the 50% guided heavy rocket. We still have the large shield generator from last mission to research as well.



We were given 3 Lunar scouts as per usual and this one found something very interesting: undefended ED tunnels. With no defenses it's very easy to use the tunnels. For the first time in the game we are going to try and use underground subterfuge to infiltrate the enemy base.




Another Lunar scout finds this undefended mineral field. Maybe the developers originally intended the UCS to assist here? Either way we'd be fools not to use it so I plop down a mine and Guardian.




These tunnels seem kind of empty and boring. Also I'm heading south...isn't our base to the south? Where the hell do these tunnels go?




The third and final scout finds the ED base in the north. She doesn't last long against the ED lasers and rockets but at least we know our target now. But the base being in the north makes the south-leading tunnel even more perplexing.



Okay here's the tunnel exit let's see where this takes us.



Oh my! This is right outside our base! Neo has a very devious trick up his sleeve: he's going to move units in via the tunnels and have them show up right in the undefended heart of our base. We can't allow this.



I destroy the small towers guarding the tunnels and post a guard to make sure no one gets in. I've also built two Guardian towers behind the mobile defenders. Let's see Neo try and sneak into our base now!



Fang explores the tunnels to make sure there isn't some other secret passage. There's nothing but rocks and disappointment down here.



Surprisingly, Neo throws a bunch of Cossack helicopters right at our defenses. Haven't they learned these things are useless at this point?



And now they send in a Gruz. Come on Neo! We've seen this before way back in the Himalayas. Try something unique.

Er well I guess you did try something unique and we sniffed it out before you could use it on us. A for effort, F for execution I suppose.




I send Fang out the northern tunnel entrance to see if he can find a backdoor into Neo's base. He doesn't find one but he does encounter two Dynasty patrols. They're easy take-downs.



I'm guessing this used to be a river. I miss the water already




Our defenses are ready with a laser wall in the rear of the base, a mix of towers on the western edge and two Guardians guarding against any tunnel sneak attacks. At this point I just need Fang to find the enemy base's weak point and I can send in the army.



And find it he does. That's an absolutely pathetic set of defenses. Three small towers? Neo's arrogance will be his downfall.



Fang provides cover for the girls while they assemble at our rally point near the base's backdoor. We'll need to keep the pressure up during this entire operation or Neo may slip away.



Now that we have heavy units I'll be using our Craters to spearhead the assault. We have two electro-cannon units and two heavy rocket units so they should be able to hit air or ground defenders.



Cossack helicopters attack seconds after we destroy the first line. My rocket units are almost entirely out of ammo and it will take some time for the Mercury resupply unit to arrive. Shit. What am I going to do?



Why use Fang as bait of course! With his high armor and HP Fang can sit here and take 20mm bullets until I've gotten everyone reloaded. One of the Craters is already making quick work of Neo's air force.



The second line of defense is a bit more formidable. The rocket towers sit far enough behind the laser towers that they can all engage at once. I'm nervous about sending up my full force but Fang can't take out all these towers on his own, not when they're well-positioned like that and there are certainly more defenses in the base itself on production buildings. I call up half the air force to deal with anti-air duties so the rest of my units can focus on destroying the towers before they kill any of our soldiers.



My fears in bringing the entire army up don't come to pass as the auxiliary defenses are only a solitary pillbox. The bigger concern is all those repairer units. They're going to slow us down until I can clear them off the field.



The base's production structures are situated in that valley but have an extremely tight power grid. I'll need to knock out the two power plants you see on screen, plus another one just off to the left edge to silence them. That's entirely too much work, especially since Neo has been putting shields on any building I start hitting with energy weapons.

You can also see the end of the base's southern defensive line. It's large towers spaced out like that all the way around the base. Good thing we took the back entrance.



The Craters focus on knocking out power to the upper ridge while the Moons and Fang worry about taking down the first Weapons Production Center (the one that keeps building all the Cossacks). Most of my air force has moved back to base to reload so I can't clear the copters as fast as I'd like.



The base's last Gruz unit is trying to augment the power on the defensive line. We don't give him the chance.



A surgical strike from my newly replenished air force allow me to take down the central power plant. There's one more left powering the cannons on the mines and production buildings, but we've almost routed the base. Just a bit longer now.



The heavy firepower of the Craters allow us to take out the production buildings with no casualties. The mines are a bit trickier but also pose no major problem.



The base is mostly destroyed and we've put an Ore Transport Refinery on the ED mineral patch. All we need to do now is clean up the large towers and radar buildings to wipe out the ED base. Then we can take on Neo's HQ.



As you may recall from the earlier screenshots, Neo's base is powered by two separate power plants: the one right next to the HQ building and another here up on the ridge that splits duties between the HQ defenses and the main defensive line. With no towers to the east it's a vulnerable target for a well-positioned aerial attack.



The second power plant falls but the vast number of small towers make the fighting brutal. We lose a Moon or two in the chaos.



The Craters move to mop up the rest of the base. Fang orders the Moons to cease fire on Neo's HQ. He wants the last shot for himself.



The HQ collapses after Fang's laser blast. It's over. Neo is dead. The UCS-LC alliance will survive.



Or not. Neo was never even here! Shit. I'm thinking this was all a trap. Is he going to go after UCS or LC HQ now? Sombra and the rest of LC command are extremely vulnerable right now with the entire LC army and Fang engaged in Mozambique. We need to finish this mission at double-time and ensure this wasn't the opening act in a surprise attack on our Spaceport.



Alia gives us an update on Catharsis's progress. It seems like things are okay back home but Neo could be en-route! We need to blow the rest of the ED structures in Mozambique and evacuate. NOW!



The Meteors bomb the tunnel entrances into rubble while Fang and the LC army rush back to base.



That sounds...ominous. What the hell does the UCS President have planned? Is this related to OPERATION SUNLIGHT? Is OPERATION SUNLIGHT some sort of LC-UCS plan to kill Fang? That's...impossible. They'd be nowhere without Fang. Certainly the LC won't stab Fang in the back. Right?

And yet, after all this time Fang is still technically not a Lunar Corporation citizen. What's to say they won't turn on him when things get bad? Plus he's far away from the safety of the UCS so a betrayal by the LC would have fatal consequences. Something stinks here but we don't have enough information to figure it out. We'll have to trust the LC doesn't have plans to eliminate Fang.



Sending home almost 50,000 CR in resources is unbelievable. That's a sixth of what we need to finish Catharsis.



Given how much money we've got left in Mozambique it makes sense to spend some on the Large Power Shield Generator (even though there's almost never a reason to use it).




Total domination. Again. The ED commander did manage to get three researches in though.



This sounds like a trap mission. Fang's got to be on his guard here. With Neo and all the danger he poses plus a possible LC-UCS plot to betray him this could be his most dangerous assignment yet. I'd say Fang would send only his most trusted soldiers on this next mission, but when you're a commander in a foreign country, can you really trust any of your units?