Part 27: Mission 28: Zoinks!

The new tank program had just been completed and the first vehicles entered combat duty when the attack started. There was, of course, no chance to use these for ourselves yet. That was a shame. The UDES might have saved a few lives if we'd had their armor.




Once again, the enemy caught us while we were still preparing. We thought we had some time to organize and deploy in defensive formations among the hills. We failed to account for the enemy's ability to make the dead rise from their graves. Even that shouldn't have been enough to overwhelm the flamer-armed defensive positions we had keeping watch at the hilltops. This time, though, there was something with the skeletons. Something much worse.

Mission 28: Zoinks!

Attending:
Lazarus (Forlorn Hope, Flamethrowers)
Habitually Red (Sane Max's Own, Flamethrowers)
Solrick Skaft (Scion of Emer, Flamethrowers)
T. Hinman (Ethereal Corps, Flamethrowers)
Logan "Hardtack" Smith (War Dogs, Paranormal Infantry)
Joe Moore (War Boys, Paranormal Infantry)
Patrick Gallagher (Just In Time, Elmag 1)
Svetlana Aliyev (Rusalka, Elmag 1)
Mael Radec (Radec's Rhinos, M1 Abrams)
Erik Spanner (The Toolbox, M1 Abrams)
James "Griff" Griffin (Party Crashers, M1 Abrams)
Basil (Paladin, M1 Abrams)
Jorji Costava (Cobrastan's Best, M1 Abrams)
Isara Gunther (Edelweiss, M1 Abrams)
Anil E. Hilated, Esq. (Polite Obliteration, AMX-30)
Grand Inquisitor Solaus (Balkanian Inquisition, AMX-30)
Gregor (The Swell Swords, AMX-30)
Michael de Boulogne (Chivalric Order of Saint George, AMX-30)
GyverMac (Gyver's Grinders, AMX-13)
Cholmondely Featherstonehaugh-Smythe (Sphinx Battery, Gepard)
Billy John (The Truther Squad, Gepard)
Catherine Ulysses (Smart Patrol, Humvee)



Gregor: Same as last time, yes?
Mael Radec: Objective's the same, but we're facing a tougher crowd this time. Everyone stay on your toes.




Catherine Ulysses: I've got line of sight on the mountaintop now. Doesn't look too bad so far, just some skellies and a couple harpies.
Solaus: We don't have range on the skeletons. Come on back, Cathy. We'll let 'em come to us, just like last time.




Catherine Ulysses: Here they c-



Erik Spanner: Jesus fucking Christ!




Isara Gunther: That's a wizard! There's a goddamn wizard on the hilltop!
Michael de Boulogne: We've gotta take it out, now! Hurry up and get eyes on it!
Lazarus: With what? Our last humvee just ate it, we've got nothing to recon with!



Joe Moore: Hang on, what the hell are those?
Svetlana Aliyev: I don't see anything but the skellies or harpies. What're you talking about, Joe?



Joe Moore: Those patches of mist! They're coming toward us, and they're moving fast!
Basil: How the hell do we fight those? You can't fucking shoot fog!



Cholmondely: I do hope you form a plan sooner rather than later. They're rather uncomfortably close to me, and I don't imagine my vehicle is airtight.



Habitually Red: These things were running with the skeletons, right? Maybe fire will work on them, too!
Hardtack: That's astoundingly bad reasoning.
Habitually Red: You got any better ideas?
Hardtack: I'm already psychic. I'm sure I could get a head start on a career in exorcism.
Habitually Red: Now would be a good time to start!





Solrick Skaft: Mother of God, even fire can barely drive these things back! What are we supposed to do?




Solaus: It might not do much, but I've at least got to try!




Patrick Gallagher: Got 'em! Good to know these things aren't completely invincible.



Anil E. Hilated: They're close enough they might as well be, though. We're not gonna stop them before they all get to us.



Isara Gunther: Harpy down, for all the difference it makes. This mission is fucked!
Basil: I agree with Isara. We're already down a unit, we've got a wizard raining fire on us we can't even see, and those fog-things are about ready to shred our lungs or whatever it is they do to kill people. Shit's about to go south if we don't bail.



Mael Radec: I'm afraid I have to agree. Everyone, prepare for a full retreat! We'll make our way back south, to the old defense line!



For the first time since its formation, the Drunken Slavs fled. This was not just a failed assault, as our first encounter with the undead had been; we were being driven back, losing hard-won ground to the full fury of the Forces of Darkness. The enemy pursued without pause, vast hordes of skeletal soldiers and predatory clouds of deadly vapor. But while the Drunken Slavs had taken the first blow, we weren't beaten yet. As soon as we returned to our old defensive line, we dug in for a rematch, now with the terrain and knowledge of the enemy's new weapon on our side.

KILLED IN ACTION:

Catherine Ulysses