Part 23: Mission 23: Just Like Old Times

Even after we arrived in Russia, I was still coming to terms with just how far our division had come. We'd started out as a battalion of fresh-faced soldiers, armed with everyone else's cast-off gear and fighting skirmishes against enemy reserve troops in a place that was little more than a footnote in the Alliance's strategic briefings.




General Malcolm, Supreme Commander of the World Alliance, laid bare for us in an address just how important we were now. We were front and center of the Alliance's main defense line. We'd be taking the brunt of the enemy's strength, fighting the core of their army. We would be responsible for succeeding where other divisions had failed, and the Alliance would stand or fall with us.





The importance of the assignment was reflected by a newfound generosity in Command. We now had access to some of the best hardware the Alliance had, and when I asked for multiple platoons of top-of-the-line tanks, artillery, and anti-air guns, it was immediately approved.

Once again, though, several unit commanders were listed as being from nations that didn't actually exist. I thought I'd caught one in the act when he presented an obviously fake identification drawn in crayon saying he was from some place called Cobrastan. That was, until I checked his "real" records, which had him listed as being from another nonexistent country called Obristan. Given the sheer volume of these things, I couldn't help but think that perhaps they were one of the more subtle results of magic coming to Earth. That, or a bored IT specialist.



Anyway, some of our existing units were getting outdated. Even in Saudi Arabia, the loss of Amina's unit showed that Piranhas weren't up to the task anymore, and our foes would only be getting tougher from here. We would be replacing everything we had with the best available - all of our IFVs and tanks swapped out for M1 Abrams, our M106 mortars for proper AMX-30 self-propelled guns, and our AMX-13s for Flakpanzer Gepards. A large portion of our force wouldn't be combat ready while this was happening, but it was a small window. The enemy forces were still establishing themselves and resupplying from their last advance. A single AMX-13 platoon was left untouched for now, to deter enemy magotars.





Meanwhile, Alliance scientists were beginning to carry out new tests on volunteers among those who had fought, or were currently serving, at the magic well in Saudi Arabia. While all of the personnel and vehicles showed traces of magical energy after leaving the site, most of them returned to background levels within a few days. Some of the people didn't, though. Some still had significantly elevated levels of magic in their systems, even weeks after the fact.

This quickly became a top-priority line of research. Our magical research and development so far, the Elmags and Nordias and Evadit armor, had all significantly improved our capabilities. The ability to wield magic directly would be a major boon in itself, as had been proven by the devastating feats enemy wizards were capable of. Soldiers with magical abilities, even if they only reached a fraction of those wizards' powers, would allow for perfectly combat-capable units that didn't need to haul around weapons or be resupplied with ammunition.



Then we were sucker-punched by the impossible.

Multiple enemy orc divisions were charging our lines, just hours before our new M1s and AMX30s would be ready. The attack was carried out with great haste - the orcs had barely managed to position themselves before the attack began, and the elves and other races were still establishing their camps and supply lines. The lightest enemy forces were racing headlong toward the front and center of a line the Alliance was committing all its heaviest weapons and best troops to.

The move made no tactical sense. Unless, of course, they knew that our armored forces were in a state of flux. We'd been keeping the exchange as quiet and smooth as possible for obvious reasons, but somehow, somewhere, word must have gotten to someone who wasn't supposed to hear it. Someone who was, despite the Alliance's best efforts at rooting them out, a traitor or double-agent.



There were no other options. The fighting had reached the heart of Russia's industry. Every inch we gave the enemy would further compromise our ability to produce much-needed tanks and guns. We could only hope that our weakened defenses would be enough to stop their hasty attack.

Mission 23: Just Like Old Times

Attending:
Joe Moore (War Boys, Mortar Infantry)
Lazarus (Forlorn Hope, Flamethrowers)
Habitually Red (Sane Max's Own, Flamethrowers)
Solrick Skaft (Scion of Emer, Flamethrowers)
"Doctor" Snark (Mage Killers, Commandos)
Logan "Hardtack" Smith (War Dogs, Commandos)
Patrick Gallagher (Just In Time, Elmag 1)
Svetlana Aliyev (Rusalka, Elmag 1)
Ash Kleef (Ashsavers, Humvee)
Catherine Ulysses (Smart Patrol, Humvee)
GyverMac (Gyver's Grinders, AMX-13)

Auxiliaries:
Boris (The Rocketeers, Heavy Infantry)
Ivan (6th Infantry, Light Infantry)




Hardtack: Alright, everyone. Intel shows the enemy'll be coming at us all from the same direction. The trogs don't have much in the way of ranged weapons, so we need to get as much open ground between us and them as possible.



Boris: God damnit. I thought we were out of danger. I was told we'd be reassigned to the rear line because you guys would be taking over for us.
Joe Moore: Hey, don't worry. Haven't you heard about us? We get things done quick and clean.
Ivan: You guys haven't seen just how bad things are on this front, though. My boys have been dropping like flies.



Ash Kleef: Relax, it's just trogs. If everything goes well, you guys won't have to be around for the really nasty stuff. Alright Cathy, let's go find 'em.




Ash Kleef: Contact! Looks like it's just mags and light infantry, though. Nothing you guys can't handle.



Catherine Ulysses: Shit shit shit!



Ash Kleef: Jesus, Cathy, are you alright? I've never seen the trogs be that vicious!
Catherine Ulysses: One of my vics is down! Ka-orc just smashed through the windshield and yanked the driver out the front! Ivan wasn't kidding!
Ash Kleef: Okay, we're flooring it! Back to the firing line!




Solrick Skaft: Let 'em have it! Skills and experience won't save them from our guns!



Habitually Red: Man, this brings back memories, huh? No tanks, no golems or throwers, just us mowing down a wall of orcs.
Joe Moore: I wouldn't know. I wasn't around back then.
"Doctor" Snark: A fair amount of the people who were are dead now.
Hardtack: We're still here, though. Knock on wood, huh?



Catherine Ulysses: More coming! Looks like a small group, though.



Svetlana Aliyev: Main threats neutralized, you guys mop up the-



Svetlana Aliyev: They just keep pouring in!




Catherine Ulysses: Trickling in, more like. Seriously, they might've brutalized my humvees, but they still haven't figured out their old tactics won't fly against flamers and elmags.



Catherine Ulysses: Oh.




"Doctor" Snark: Everyone watch the riders. If they're more dangerous than their counterparts like the orcs and ka-orcs are, they might know how to make those shuriken hurt.
Solrick Skaft: Got it, I'll burn those next!



"Doctor" Snark: That's it, don't get complacent! We're holding them off now, but if we let them get on top of us, we could be in deep shit!



Svetlana Aliyev: Shuriken bounced! I don't think they can get them through tank armor!



Patrick Gallagher: Not gonna take my chances on that, personally.



Catherine Ulysses: Agreed, Pat. The ka-orcs were enough. I'd hate to see what these things can do to my 'vees.



Solrick Skaft: Gotta refill our canisters! I don't think we'll stop 'em all in time!



Svetlana Aliyev: Forget what I said, one of my Elmags has a wounded driver! Fuckers managed to wing a star right through the viewport!
Lazarus: How the hell did they manage that?
Svetlana Aliyev: Why don't you ask them? Or better yet, kill them! Jesus, now they blew the tracks on two of my vics!



Habitually Red: Working on that, but we need help here, too! Wolves're all over us!



Patrick Gallagher: Dealt with! Just a bit longer, I think we've almost made it!



GyverMac: God damnit, they're all over the place!



Joe Moore: Good, that means I can't possibly miss!




Catherine Ulysses: Okay, now that that's ov-




Catherine Ulysses: Okay, now that that's over, we need to find the mags. I didn't see a lot when that huge group was charging us. The rest have got to be flying around somewhere.



Ash Kleef: Like right there?
Patrick Gallagher: Looks like it. Turkey shoot time!



Catherine Ulysses: Hold up on that, Pat. We've got more trogs.
Svetlana Aliyev: How many?
Catherine Ulysses: Hard to tell. Let's get back to the firing line, just to be safe.




"Doctor" Snark: Just when you think it's over, more pop out, huh? That's fine. I could keep this up all day.



Patrick Gallagher: Okay, turkey time now, right?



Patrick Gallagher: Or sure, throw more of your soldiers away. Good thing these guys don't seem to have learned much other than how to throw things, huh?




Lazarus: No kidding. Now, you guys have fun tracking down those mags.



Ash Kleef: Laz, I don't think that'll be necessary.



GyverMac: And here I finally got to get back into the field and I still didn't get to shoot one airborne target. Guess there's always next time, huh?




Patrick Gallagher: As long as you stay in one piece, sure. Which means all those trogs are shit outta luck.



Despite the size and speed of the attack, the enemy didn't have the strength to capitalize on our temporary vulnerability. The massive orc army now lay dead at our feet, our own soldiers only a little worse for wear. The Forces of Darkness couldn't possibly launch another attack before the rest of the division returned, armed with devastating new weapons. They might be at the peak of their strength when they launched their next attack, but so would we.