Part 28: Mission 29: Bustin' Makes Me Feel Good

We were lucky enough to arrive at our defense line with enough time to do emergency repairs and shuffle some spare personnel into our understaffed units. We were going to make every second count.



Even in the short time we had, though, the bad news just kept coming. The combat report from the Alliance's first engagement with a dragon was nothing short of terrifying, the beast able to incinerate entire tank platoons with a single fiery breath. The sole silver lining was that they could be harmed by our air defenses.



Then came the news that another part of the front had collapsed. The enemy knew we were the strong link in our line of defense, and they were picking off our support and isolating us so they could go in for the kill. Even if we survived the upcoming battle, we'd be up against an even stronger force within days.



Our infantry technology, meanwhile, had hit a roadblock. Our engineers' estimates about the timeframe in which they could develop infantry battlesuits had proven too optimistic. Current prototypes exceeded acceptable weight, the targeting AI prone to confusing dark elves for signposts and grain silos for mechanical towers, and they drained power too quickly for extended operation. Despite extensive refinements of the design, we would need more magical knowledge to make them suitable for combat use.




A new line of research, however, promised to solve at least one of those problems. Alliance scientists managed to synthesize a new kind of alchemical metal, called Tanarit. Early tests indicated that Tanarit was both lighter and stronger than conventional composite armor, even that which had been enhanced with Evadit runes.



We had no time to worry about that now, though. The enemy had caught up to us.

Mission 29: Bustin' Makes Me Feel Good

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)
"Doctor" Snark (Mage Killers, Commandos)
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)



Hardtack: Towers! Those weren't there last time.
Mael Radec: They're probably going to try to take out our flamers. Flamer squads, stay back. Don't hit the ghosts 'til they crest the hill!
Isara Gunther: That sounds insanely dangerous. The ghosts'll be on top of us before our flamers can hit them.
Mael Radec: We're the tanks. We can take a few blows. Our flamers can't, and they're the only ones that can stop the ghosts.



Jorji Costava: Hey, I got towers no problem!



GyverMac: We're getting in position now. We'll make sure you guys don't have to worry about the harpies.



Patrick Gallagher: Better hurry up, or there won't be any left!



Mael Radec: Last tower down. If you've got a shot at the ghosts, take it!



Griff: God, it's like trying to stab the air.



Mael Radec: Damnit. We really need some new recon units. Our 'vees could've seen those sooner.



Erik Spanner: Too late to worry about it now!



"Doctor" Snark: Wizard spotted! Hurry up and take it out, it's in position to hit us!



Gregor: Wizard hide true location with magic, but Gregor launch many shells! He have to be somewhere!



Mael Radec: Taking fire! Hurry up and get a fix on its position!



Erik Spanner: I almost pined for the days when we "only" had to fight Golems, but now I remember I STILL FUCKING HATE THEM.



Mael Radec: Ghosts on top of me! Need some flamer fire!



Gregor: Wizard is dead! More dangerous than most of them at home, but so is this big gun.



T. Hinman: Such strange creatures. I wonder if we could capture one.
Solrick Skaft: With what? A Mason jar?



Lazarus: Ghost down! We'll have to wait for the next one to come up. I wish this hill were just a bit less steep.



Anil E. Hilated: Let's sweep the rest of the trash.




Joe Moore: We've hit 'em hard! I just hope it's hard enough that the retaliation won't hurt too much.



Michael de Boulogne: Towers coming from the west! How do they build so many?
Billy John: Well, it's not like they have any shortage of manpower.



GyverMac: Let's change that.




T. Hinman: Second ghost is down.




Mael Radec: As are the rest of the things that were close enough to immediately threaten us.



Solaus: Luckily, we can do more than just threaten them!



Billy John: They flanked us! Need some help here!



Solaus: ...Yeah, we've got a bit of a situation on our end, too.



Gregor: Gregor can help! Gregor can turn golems into pebbles!



Michael de Boulogne: I'll give you guys covering fire, too. Come this way, there's probably more where that came from.





Solrick Skaft: Things are still pretty hairy here, but we're working on that!



GyverMac: Jesus, we're really caught in a vise, aren't we?



Jorji Costava: Help, fog is eating tanks!



Solaus: Shit shit shit! They went around the line! Three of my gun crews are dead, and another two bailed!



GyverMac: That's not all. We've got towers coming in from the east!



Gregor: GyverMac watch, and Gregor destroy!



Michael de Boulogne: So will I.





Solrick Skaft: Looks like they're finally starting to run out of ghosts. Looks like they aren't so invincible after all!



Cholmondely: By Jove, it's like that golem stepped out of the ether!



GyverMac: Guys, I can't keep this up much longer! I'm risking my damn life to find these things for you, shoot them!



Solaus: Well, since you asked so nicely...



Erik Spanner: More fucking ghosts!




Lazarus: Must be their ace in the hole. I'll bet they were banking everything on these ghosts being able to kill us.
Habitually Red: Then let's disappoint them.



Solaus: Gotta reload now! Hopefully I took out enough to keep you safe, Gyver.



Solaus: MOTHER OF FUCK. Can we please tell the R&D guys that we need something to let us scout without dying horribly?



Isara Gunther: I suppose I'd better take over rear scouting duty, huh? At least I have a decent chance of surviving what they throw at me.



Lazarus: That's weird. There's, like, one company of skeletons in this whole enemy group. Don't those things normally come in massive numbers?



Anil E. Hilated: Though some of our own may fall, our revenge is always swift.
Hardtack: We never killed that wizard that took out Cathy.
Anil E. Hilated: Son of a bitch. I'll have to try to talk the Commander into sending us to that hill again.



Habitually Red: I don't know why we can kill fog by setting it on fire, but I'm gonna keep doing it!



Hardtack: Damnit! I thought attacking them mentally would be easier, but there's... their minds aren't anchored to anything solid, like how most creatures have brains. Trying to hold them's like trying to grab a handful of smoke.



Isara Gunther: We're just about done on our end!



T. Hinman: One of them moved around the tanks! I'm under attack!



Solrick Skaft: Their mistake. To get close enough to hit us, they've got to get close enough for us to cook 'em!





Anil E. Hilated: Clear on this side. Is that it? Did we make it?



Griff: Not yet! Stragglers over there!



Griff: Got 'em.
Patrick Gallagher: Isn't it a bit odd that that's the second isolated undead group we've run into? I've never seen them behave like that before.
Svetlana Aliyev: Maybe they had a few to spare and figured they might as well throw 'em in with the rest?
Mael Radec: Possible, but I have a feeling we should take a look. Tanks, let's roll.




Svetlana Aliyev: New enemy spotted! It's Some kind of skeleton in a robe!
Isara Gunther: Let's get a good look at-



Isara Gunther: -it.
Solaus: Well, at least we know they die easily.
Patrick Gallagher: Question is, why was it alone when we've never seen undead do that before?
Mael Radec: I don't think we'll be able to learn that today. Let's keep sweeping the area and make sure we didn't miss any.



Solrick Skaft: Oh hey, we've got someone that thinks they're clever!



Solrick Skaft: I ain't afraid of no ghosts.



Once again, the Forces of Darkness had brought a terrible new weapon against us, and we survived. They'd bled us, killed some of our finest, but we'd annihilated their attack force, and we still had a formidable defense waiting for them. Their army of phantoms, which had seemed invincible, had been been scoured from the Earth by our guns.

KILLED IN ACTION:

GyverMac