Part 66: Lesotho

Comrades, as I'm sure you know the situation is dire. We have less than 72 hours before our scientists estimate the UCS will have broken the launch codes. The Khan himself has directed Marshal Romanov to send his best commander to deal with the situation.

The Marshal may have ordered the launchers destroyed, however if I manage to capture them intact I may be able to seize the launch codes for myself. It will be good to have a trump card in case this finance investigation turns ugly.

Some may say the use of a national emergency to better oneself is unbecoming of an officer but to those people I say: "Have you honestly seem the stuff I've done earlier?"



We may need a heavy bomber to clear out the UCS defenses. I order our scientists to work on the Han heavy attack helicopter. It's more suited as a bomber than a true fighter.



The Gruz must immediately begin building a base here. The game provides a helpful/stress-inducing countdown timer at the top of the screen. If it reaches 0, well...just don't let it reach 0.





Right outside our starting location the scouts encounter 2 UCS Small Towers. They're no match for 3 Siberia Rs, but they do manage to kill 2 of them.



The sole survivor discovers a heavily fortified choke zone filled with towers and barricades. This isn't going to be an easy nut to crack.



Fortunately we can at least use the UFO to neutralize some of the towers in the barricades.



With the towers destroyed the way forward is a bit less perilous but we'll still need to get through those Fortresses and Large Towers. Cutting the power from the Energy Transmitter won't do enough as there appears to be a backup power reserve. Clever robots



ED News has a report on our new Han bomber:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RRJWhI6JmQ

Due to the need for high HP when hovering over targets I order the Han upgrade researched.



Thanks to the bravery of another scouting party I've found the location of the UCS's backup power for the defenses. Someone will need to sneak back there and destroy the power plant. But who?



Oh right. I have the UFO.

But the UCS saw right through me and are building another plant even closer to the defenses. This cannot be allowed!





Well I guess if they're going to destroy their own power I should just let them. Good job guys! This will open the way and allow the rest of the army into the base proper.





It's rather easy to get in when no one is shooting back except for some Bat hRs.



Blast! Minelayers ahead! We'll need to clear the mines before we can continue our advance. The UFO is immune but I don't want to risk the rest of the army; we don't have enough time to rebuild if something goes wrong.



Once again in the chaos of battle we've captured some UCS defensive buildings. Unlike last time, these may actually prove useful.



The minelayer is on the battlefield. I hope the delay in clearing these mines won't make the difference



Our army pulls back to ensure no units are drawn into the minefield. The captured Fortress and Large Tower will provide cover while the Minelayer clears the field.



Putting a weapon on your Minelayer isn't necessary but it does let him take potshots at other Minelayers while he's clearing fields. The field was far smaller than I anticipated and so I'm able to give my army the go-ahead for the attack sooner than expected.



The UFO will do its usual duty clearing out the supply lines and power grid while the bulk of the army focuses on taking down the base proper.



These Harvesters are all that's left but we've found no silos. Shit! We've less than 48 hours left, where the hell could they be? Were we given incorrect coordinates?

A land-based approach will never find the silos in time. We'll need to take to the skies to have a chance here.



With the Han fully upgraded we now need to figure out how to drop bombs out of it. I thought you'd just open up a little hatch and drop them out but I'm not a weapons expert.



Time is short so only the most perfunctory of air forces is assembled. Two Groznys and a Thor won't be able to kill anything but they should allow us to spot where to go next.



We've encountered another well-defended position to the west of the destroyed UCS base. We'll need to level it to continue our advance.





Fortunately with the UCS base destroyed there is no backup source of power. Once the UFO knocks out this power plant the defenses fall dark.

The helicopters have also finished their search of the northern area of the map. No sign of the silos up there, so they must be to the south.



The UFO and the small air force start taking shots at the powerless defenses while the army advances.



It looks like our hunch about heading south was right. There's more thick defenses here.



And the UCS have buttressed the main defenses with a series of Small Towers. Taking out the power won't be enough here, although Small Towers are really only a threat to our air units.

We've still yet to find the silos, we must push deeper. Dodge those rockets comrades!



One helicopter survived the Small Towers and we finally have visual on the silos. The area is extremely well-defended by a network of Small Towers. This would be easy to clear if we were merely trying to level the base but given our own hidden objective, we'll need to take care here.

And time is starting to wear thin, we must move quickly.



The UFO moves in to engage the towers before the rest of the assault force. This would prove to be a grave mistake.



While the UCS was not able to destroy the UFO, they have damaged it so heavily it is forced to withdraw for the rest of the battle. We'll have to do this the old-fashioned way.



While half the army guards the UFO while it is under repair, the other half successfully penetrates the first line of UCS defenses. Three towers may be a match for 2 Groznys but it is nothing to a group of my Khrushchevs.



The towers are clear. The army now awaits my authorization for the strike on the silos.



Reports from our engineers on the UFO are not promising. It will need to return to HQ for a full diagnosis, it appears its shields are not properly regenerating. One of the Taiga Repairer operators believes the heavy plasma fire may have knocked out the shield's regenerating function.

Part of me wonders if the UFO's damage was so severe it will be unable to fully recover and will be sidelined for the remainder of the campaign.

While the UFO withdraws I give the order to march on the missile base. Strict orders are given to engage the towers only. The silos are to be left to the Volga Ion Cannon unit.



Initial contact is successful. Our heavy rockets out-range the towers. With the first silo control center exposed the Volga is ordered to the front to disable to control center and allow for its capture by the supporting ZK Taiga Repairers.



Success! Now to clear the remaining towers and ensure the capture operation goes smoothly.



The bulk of the army is ordered to the eastern half of the missile base while the Taigas do their work. The first control center has been captured with 32 hours on the clock. It was fortunate we captured it when we did. Once they entered the building, our scientists determined the UCS were actually only about 3 hours from deciphering the launch codes.

The imminent threat to the Dynasty neutralized, we just need to hang tight while we secure the remaining silos.



Research on the Bomb Bay finally completes just as we receive word the second control center is in our hands. The next upgrade to the Bomb Bay allows for more bombs, so research begins.



While we have succeeded, some idiot has destroyed one of the silos. I want his head on a pike before we get back to HQ!



ED News has a report on our victory:

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

We are now the "Savior of the Eurasian Dynasty." Nice title. They don't execute saviors do they?



Of course, this savior also has a backup plan. Our scientists indicate it will take a few hours but with some repairs made here we will be able to determine the global nuclear launch codes. ED high command has been told the silos were destroyed, so they will not know until it is too late to stop us.



Once the repairs are complete, the Dynasty, nay the world, will be ours.





The AI doesn't build all that many units here so most of your kills will be on buildings.




With Lesotho secure, the only thing stopping us from securing Africa is the UCS Atlantic Fleet. The time has come to scuttle it, just like its Pacific sister. Once it's on the bottom of the ocean we'll finally be able to cross the sea and penetrate into South America. This is our final mission in Africa, let's finish it!