Part 9: Mission 9: Turkey Shoot
Our last operation had demonstrated the need for better equipment for our forces, but we once again found ourselves in a position where we needed to act quickly. We'd gotten word that recon teams had found a new kind of flying monster in the highlands to the north. Tentatively named "harpies," they were responsible for the loss of multiple scouting groups in the area. Nobody who'd seen them in combat had lived long enough to report anything useful about them.
What our scouts were able to tell us, though, was that the harpies had taken up residence in a local network of abandoned mine shafts. It wasn't long after that someone got the idea to bomb the entrances and trap them inside. Whether because they guessed we might try that, or because they were preparing their own attack, the enemy was shifting forces to that area. If we wanted to do a hit-and-run rather than a pitched battle, we had less than two weeks to act.
We weren't ready yet, though. With the enemy bringing in newer and more dangerous weapons and monsters - one of which we hadn't seen in action yet - we couldn't afford to go into this battle at anything less than full strength. We'd had a lot of close calls with the Piranhas, and sending in an understrength unit would be inviting disaster.
Since we had to wait for replacements for most of the Piranha units anyway, we figured we might as well give the only one with a full complement - Gallagher's - some of the new KTU engines.
The new lieutenant arrived, and was quickly assigned to lead the Piranha platoon that the other couldn't cover, along with some of our heavy-hitting infantry.
While we were doing this, the new diesel engine concept entered the field testing stage. Unfortunately, it wasn't small enough to use in our Humvees, so we wouldn't get any benefit from it until we were authorized to use tanks.
Our agents also made researching the ballistae a priority, in light of the losses they'd inflicted on our IFVs. Structurally, they were quite similar to the arrow throwers - they used the same chassis, in fact - but with the rows of anti-personnel crossbows replaced with a single, massive one, the arming of which required dozens of orcs working in unison.
The dangers of ballistae, along with the threat of the enemy developing even more lethal anti-armor measures in the future, made developing new vehicle armor a priority.
The enhanced armor was derived from new materials, designed specifically to protect against ballista bolts and other weapons favored by the Forces of Darkness. Unfortunately, while it wasn't any larger than conventional armor, it was heavier, and the vehicles' speed and maneuverability suffered for it. IFVs and tanks with the new KTUs and ADs using this armor weren't any faster than their unmodified counterparts, and any vehicle that used this armor without getting one of the new engines would find itself struggling to keep its speed. On the other hand, it was undeniably better at taking a hit than conventional armor, and that was something we needed. In the end, I decided to ask the Piranha crews whether they would rather have improved speed or improved armor.
The last enemy we could get intelligence on at this time was the magotari, but the report told us little we didn't already know.
Though we were learning more about our enemy's combat abilities, we still understood very little about them. Where did they come from? Why did they attack us? What else did they have in their arsenal? And most importantly, how could we strike back? We couldn't just keep fighting them here and hoping they exhausted their strength before we did - we'd been doing that for months, and our increasingly battered forces only faced more of their seemingly unending armies. We needed answers.
Time was running out, but we still weren't ready. Whatever these harpies were capable of, we needed the best we could bring to bear against them. Two platoons of AMX-13 anti-air guns seemed easy enough to me, but the Forces of Darkness had just launched a major offensive on the main front, in Mongolia, and the air was so thick with magotars that they didn't have any to spare. On the plus side, they apparently had no shortage of qualified officers, so we managed to get our hands on another.
Given that we already knew the harpies were dangerous, I wasn't about to attack the nests without proper air defense. We'd already gotten a new batch of KTUs, and since we were going to be waiting anyway, I decided we might as well install them.
A few days and as many phone calls later, the situation in Mongolia had improved, and Command finally sent the AMXs.
The arrival of a new commander and new units meant shuffling things around a bit. Berger had been with us for a while now, and he was getting the hang of how we did things, which showed in that he'd earned a promotion. With the harpies still an unknown quantity, the AMXs got priority in the new lieutenant's group.
Everything was finally ready. There were no more useful preparations to make, and even if there had been, we wouldn't have had time. We attacked as soon as the new AMXs were ready, just hours before the main enemy force was expected to reach the area.
Mission 9: Turkey Shoot
Attending:
Anil E. Hilated, Esq. (Polite Obliteration, Mortar Infantry)
Habitually Red (Sane Max's Own, Heavy Infantry)
Bonaventura Ferrer (Confederacion Internacional de Militadores, Heavy Infantry)
Logan "Hardtack" Smith (War Dogs, Commandos)
"Doctor" Snark (Mage Killers, Commandos)
Solrick Skaft (Scion of Emer, Commandos)
Mael Radec (Radec's Rhinos, Piranha)
Skull Face (XOF, Piranha)
Patrick Gallagher (Just In Time, Piranha)
Svetlana Aliyev (Rusalka, Piranha)
Erik Spanner (The Toolbox, Piranha)
Catherine Ulysses (Smart Patrol, Humvee)
GyverMac (Gyver's Grinders, AMX 13)
Cholmondely Featherstonehaugh-Smythe (Sphynx Battery, AMX 13)
Auxiliaries:
Jools (M106)
Jops (M106)
There was some concern that our division might not have been properly equipped for collapsing mine shafts, so the British let us borrow a couple of their M106 artillery batteries. I wasn't sure how well our division would take to the new guys, but they seemed capable enough.
Anil E. Hilated: Figures we finally get to bring along some bigger guns than these mortar tubes, and we don't even get to be the ones to use them.
Jools: Just keep us in one piece and we'll return the favor, 'kay?
Catherine Ulysses: East of the deployment zone is clear. Piranhas, AMXs, you're up.
Mael Radec: Stay close, everyone, and watch the skies.
Catherine Ulysses: Hold on, guys. I'm gonna check out this little alcove here.
Erik Spanner: Got it, Cathy. Try not to get trog ambushed.
Catherine Ulysses: Enemy contact! Ballistae among them, along with some kind of new flyer. I think I found our harpies.
Catherine Ulysses: Well, harpy singular. There's only one. She's an ugly bitch, too. I don't see any obvious weapons, though.
You might notice the above image is censored. Somebody at Cauldron apparently decided that what their game really needed was a quadruple-breasted monster lady with rendered nipples. I edited them out to be on the safe side.
Catherine Ulysses: Ballistae took a potshot at me! I'm okay though. They're all yours, guys!
Mael Radec: We've got more harpies sighted! Four of them! Weapons free, everyone!
Skull Face: We'd better pull back and group up with our infantry! We still don't know what these things can do. Let's take every advantage we can get!
Mael Radec: Works for me. Fair fights are for suckers.
Catherine Ulysses: We've got a sixth, repeat, sixth harpy sighting. Fuckers are fast!
Jops: Sounds like they're getting closer. We'd better get ready, huh?
"Doctor" Snark: Shouldn't be sitting around scratching our asses, at any rate. Cluster up, guys. Dense formations and massed fire haven't failed us yet.
Jools: Like this?
Bonaventura Ferrer: Looks good! Okay, now all we've got to do is wait for them to come and be ready to ventilate them.
GyverMac: OUT OF MY WAY YOU FUCKING TROGS.
Patrick Gallagher: God damnit! They're gaining on us!
Erik Spanner: Just keep running! We're on even ground and driving directly away from them! We should be able to put some distance between us!
Cholmondely: I can't say I'm putting as much distance between us as I'd like. Shame we didn't get here in time to get fitted with the new engines.
Cholmondely: Getting awfully crowded here, isn't it?
Catherine Ulysses: We've gotta do something! He's fallen behind, and at the rate they're going, he's going to end up surrounded!
Svetlana Aliyev: Just keep driving! They haven't caught him yet, have they? All he has to do is stay ahead of them until we reach the rest of the group.
Cholmondely: I'm afraid, Ms. Ulysses, that might be a bit of an issue.
Patrick Gallagher: To hell with this! If we don't help him, he's dead!
Erik Spanner: Guess we're making our stand here, then, huh? All right, Chol, get your ass moving! We'll cover you!
Cholmondely: I'll have you know, my name's Cholmondely Featherstonehaugh-Smythe.
Erik Spanner: You want us to help you or not?
Cholmondely: Well, yes-
Erik Spanner: Then your name's Chol!
Patrick Gallagher: Good news, guys! Harpies aren't invincible!
Skull Face: Things are already looking better!
GyverMac: Wait, one of the harpies stopped! It's just hovering in place! God, it's screeching and it sounds awf... wha... I... can't...
Mael Radec: Gyver? What's happening? What the fuck are you doing? Shoot that thing!
Svetlana Aliyev: My God. Do you think...?
Mael Radec: Whatever they did, we can't let them do it again! Concentrate all fire on the harpies!
Skull Face: We've gotta break Chol free first, he's surrounded!
Skull Face: You're clear, Chol! Go!
Cholmondely: Thanks, Skull!
Catherine Ulysses: Finally dropped a harpy! Fuckers are tough.
Erik Spanner: Sucks that our AA gunners are the only ones here that haven't gotten an actual chance to shoot.
Erik Spanner: Abominations! Nothing should be able to fly around naked and still take that much autocannon fire to kill.
Patrick Gallagher: Shit shit shit, it's screeching againnnn
Mael Radec: God damnit, who'd it get this time?
Svetlana Aliyev: Chol and Pat, it looks like.
Skull Face: At least this is the last one!
Svetlana Aliyev: Was the last one. Jools! Jops! Get up here and help us finish off the rest!
Jools: Finally! I was getting bored waiting here.
Habitually Red: God damnit. We could've finally seen some action if the AMXs weren't too slow to outrun the trogs.
Logan "Hardtack" Smith: I sure hope R&D gets us some better gear soon.
Solrick Skaft: Yeah, like jetpacks!
Habitually Red: Don't think about it, Solrick. It'll only make you sadder when you realize it'll never happen.
Skull Face: That's another notch on my gun!
GyverMac: Guh... damn... harpies... Wait... Thank fuck, I can move again!
Mael Radec: Gyver! Thank fuck! What happened?
GyverMac: I heard that thing scream, and then I couldn't move! And then just as I was getting to the point where I could twitch my fingers again, there was another scream and I was frozen again!
Cholmondely: That's more or less what happened to me, except the first screech didn't affect me. Probably because I couldn't hear it very clearly.
Patrick Gallagher: Same here.
Catherine Ulysses: So now we know what they can do. I'll bet when our scouts encountered them, the harpies paralyzed them and the trogs picked them off.
With the harpies gone, the group was reduced to a collection of orcs and ka-orcs, the kind of which posed little threat to us even in the Eastern European campaign. They were defeated without too much trouble.
Especially with the new artillery helping. They were nice pieces, and I hoped I'd be in a position to requisition some soon.
Just as they finished off the last of the orcs, the arrow thrower platoon they'd seen earlier rolled up. Not that it was able to accomplish much by itself.
Nor were the ballistae that fired at them as they rounded the corner to the forest path, but they scored a few hits.
Erik Spanner: Magical bullshit arrows, meet scientific non-bullshit exploding shells!
Erik Spanner: Oh hey, these arrows can't hurt me!
Skull Face: And we're clear. It's safe, Cathy, go on up!
Catherine Ulysses: Hang on a sec. We've got another new enemy type.
Catherine Ulysses: Pointy-eared ren faire reject. Armed with a bow and arrows.
Svetlana Aliyev: Think it's anti-personnel or anti-tank?
Catherine Ulysses: Probably the former. These look more like the throwers' arrows than the ballistas'.
Mael Radec: Better not to take chances though. Everyone make a tankpile!
Patrick Gallagher: Shame the tankpile doesn't have any actual tanks.
Erik Spanner: Enemy's aiming at m-
Erik Spanner: Ow!
Erik Spanner: Fuck!
Mael Radec: They're definitely anti-tank! All units, open fire!
Patrick Gallagher: Wow! They can dish it out, but they sure can't take it!
Skull Face: Not surprising. Those bodies look like they were made for prancing through forests, not deflecting bullets.
Erik Spanner: There, that takes care of-
Erik Spanner: SHIIIIIIIIT!
Erik Spanner: Okay guys, gonna need you to cover for me while I make sure my Piranhas don't fall apart.
Patrick Gallagher: No problem! Chaaaaaaaarge!
Mael Radec: I think that's the last of the elves. Maybe now we can split up and find those caves.
Svetlana Aliyev: Damnit, I thought we killed all the harpies! Everyone, shoot 'em down! Don't worry about the trogs!
Jops: We're not worried about them. We just don't have anything else we can shoot at.
Catherine Ulysses: Just a heads up, I found one of the mine entrances.
GyverMac: Finally, I actually got to shoot something! These guns sure can tear up harpies!
Patrick Gallagher: So can these!
Skull Face: Watch it, Cathy! We got throwers!
Catherine Ulysses: Well, shit. I don't think I can get away in time. Really hoping I don't end up like Bill.
Erik Spanner: Finally, I'm back in the fray! And the only things that could hurt me are now-
Erik Spanner: FUCKING CHRIST, I THOUGHT WE GOT THESE PIRANHAS FOR THEIR ARMOR.
Svetlana Aliyev: We did. The fact that you're not minced proves it worked.
Patrick Gallagher: Got 'im. I don't see anyone else, do you guys?
Catherine Ulysses: No, and I've spotted the other mine entrance. Looks like we're home free.
The rest of the mission proceeded without incident. With no one to stop them, it was a simple matter for the Piranhas and M106s to bombard the mine shafts.
The M106s were particularly effective, and it didn't take much before the entrances caved in.
While that was going on, Cathy and Erik circled around the edge of the plateau, getting a view of the surrounding area and ensuring no enemy forces would interrupt the work.
They ended up mapping out a good portion of the area, which would likely prove very useful when the time came to liberate it.
Thankfully, the screams we heard when we buried them didn't have the paralyzing effects the ones we'd seen them use in combat did - it would've been a disaster if our forces had been paralyzed and left as easy targets for the advancing Forces of Darkness. Why that was, and what it was about that particular kind of shriek that caused men and women to freeze in place, was a question for Alliance scientists. For now, we could rest easily knowing we wouldn't have to deal with any more of them. The loss of a Piranha and its crew from Erik's unit, while unfortunate, was a small price to pay for depriving the enemy of a dangerous new weapon.
It was another victory, and our little group of oddballs was growing more cohesive with each successful operation.