Part 39: Mission 40: It Came From the Mountain

With the losses we suffered fighting the dragon, our pools of materials and funding were suddenly looking a lot smaller. We managed to finish research on the Elmag 2, but we wouldn't be doing much research for a while.

The Elmag 2 was a significant improvement over its predecessor that would hopefully be suitable for the increasingly deadly upcoming battles. We now had enough main battle tanks to spare to mount the improved coilgun turret on an M1 Abrams chassis, which would drastically improve the Elmag 2's ability to survive on the frontlines and its compatibility with experimental components. With advances in magical power technology, we were also able to significantly increase its firepower; rather than a single coilgun, the Elmag 2 was armed with 6 smaller coilgun mounts, allowing it to rip through enemy infantry formations much more quickly without any real loss of effectiveness against armored targets. While it was not a consideration at the time of development, the Elmag 2 was also expected to be capable of providing much-needed fire support against dragons.



Speaking of dragons, they had unsurprisingly become front and center of our long-term strategic planning. The Drunken Slavs had now seen the terrible power of dragons firsthand, and nobody had any doubts about the threat they presented. The single dragon we had faced in the swamp - a recently awakened one, at that - had wiped out a third of the Drunken Slavs' air defenses before the rest could counterattack, even with a screen of tanks providing support and attempting to draw the its attention. We had no idea how many dragons the Forces of Darkness could call forth if they needed. If they ever gained the ability to deploy dragons in numbers, it was quite possible that the beasts could wipe out our entire division by themselves.

There was, unfortunately, little we could do. Our only real means of improving our chances against them was to improve the odds of our Rolands surviving to fire at them. To this end, after our aging Elmags were replaced by the newer models, fitting all of our Rolands with Andurital had become a high priority.

We were also able to, with some difficulty, replace the units we lost. We now had a new Universal 1R platoon, the Paper Tigers, and a new Roland platoon, Less Than Lethal.



We fitted many of the other vehicle platoons with additional upgrades; we could barely afford them, but we could afford losses like we'd sustained in the last battle even less. Anil's Paladin battery became our first unit to be armed with the new Trantor cannons. We'd been reluctant to use them because it necessitated removing armor, but the Paladins were the furthest-reaching guns we had. The Paladins were made for long-range firepower, not taking hits, and fitting them with Trantors would give us a powerful option against targets that proved too dangerous to engage at close- or mid-range.




We also fitted our surviving Leopard 2A5 platoon with Andurital in the hopes that it wouldn't suffer the same fate as the other, along with a few other odd upgrades for some of the other tanks.



We turned our bare-bones research budget to the question of the enemy command structure, but answers weren't forthcoming.



Finally, our division now having new gear and new confidence, we turned our sights back to the target we'd been pursuing before our disastrous detour. Shortly after we'd destroyed the arachnoid nest to the south, we were able to expand our search radius. Not long after, our scouts found a massive, sprawling nest, far larger than any of the others. It was kilometers across, an enormous hive carved into the mountain. We'd found the enemy's heart, and now we would strike at it.

Mission 40: It Came From the Mountain

Attending:
Lazarus (Forlorn Hope, 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, Hi-Tech Infantry)
Habitually Red (Sane Max's Own, Hi-Tech Infantry)
Gordon Frohman (Concerned Citizens, Hi-Tech Infantry)
Patrick Gallagher (Just In Time, Elmag 2)
Svetlana Aliyev (Rusalka, Elmag 2)
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)
Reginald P. Linux (Doom Squad, Leopard 2A5)
Aethereon Darkfyre (The Mary Sues, UDES)
Stephen Smith (The Counts of Monty Python, UDES)
Anil E. Hilated, Esq. (Polite Obliteration, M106)
Grand Inquisitor Solaus (Balkanian Inquisition, AMX-30)
Gregor (The Swell Swords, AMX-30)
Michael de Boulogne (Chivalric Order of Saint George, AMX-30)
Cholmondely Featherstonehaugh-Smythe (Sphinx Battery, Roland)
Sigrún Raske (Skysmasher Brigade, Roland)
Roger Murtaugh (Less Than Lethal, Roland)
Billy Mays (Infomercial Men, Humvees)
Vlasta Děvínská (Paper Tigers, Universal 1R)



Stephen Smith: Jesus, this is just as bad as the valley. The arachnoids don't leave anything alive, do they?



Vlasta Děvínská: Nope. All the more reason to kill them.



Aethereon Darkfyre: A thin strip of land bridges the canyon. I shall cross it in the hopes that there won't be masses of swarming terrors waiting in the canyon walls to devour me.




Vlasta Děvínská: Not a peep in the east. Let's keep moving up.



Billy Mays: WE CAN PROUDLY SAY THAT THE LAND BRIDGE IS COMPLETELY BUG-FREE!
Aethereon Darkfyre: Proudly? We didn't do anything!
Billy Mays: WE'RE PROUD TO SELL ONLY THE BEST REAL ESTATE!
Aethereon Darkfyre: But this land is a withered husk because of those bugs!
Billy Mays: THAT'S WHY OUR EXTERMINATORS ARE ALWAYS ON CALL!



Aethereon Darkfyre: I've taken fire!
Mael Radec: They're waiting for us on the other side, then. Get back, Darkfyre. Everyone else, move up. We'll convene on the near side of the bridge.



Vlasta Děvínská: Let's see if we can get eyes on the bugs.



Stephen Smith: We just took the long route, we're heading toward that hill from the west. We don't see anything yet, though.



Vlasta Děvínská: Spotted 'em, just east of the hill! Can we get a bombardment there?



Anil E. Hilated: Wow, our techs outdid themselves on the Trantor! Wiped out those bugs in two volleys. Looks like my Paladin just got a whole lot deadlier.



Solaus: Just bagged another group on the hill. Looks like there's more swarming up from behind it. Darkfyre, why don't you go up and have a look?



Aethereon Darkfyre: A sea of them, threatening to roll over me and pull me under!



Mael Radec: Tanks, move up and let 'em have it! The artillery will cover your advance!



Svetlana Aliyev: These new Elmags make the old ones feel like popguns. One sweep got me a wall of corpses!




Griff: Even in these numbers, they can't stop us!



Isara Gunther: Doesn't look like they're going to stop trying, though. Take care not to get yourselves caught in a salient, guys. They might be able to get enough lucky hits in to take one of us out if they can concentrate their fire.



Solrick Skaft: As any sci-fi fan knows, fire is the best way to deal with alien bugs!



Habitually Red: Come on, you apes! You wanna live forever?
Gordon Frohman: Not like these guys are doing much to prevent that.




Griff: Another land bridge up ahead! According to our intel, this should lead us to the heart of their nest!



Aethereon Darkfyre: More vex me from the west, but I shall hold the line!



Vlasta Děvínská: Ow, shit! Why are these things going after me instead of the tank right in front of them?
Patrick Gallagher: Maybe they're maximizing our monetary loss?
Vlasta Děvínská: What do you mean, they're maximizing our monetary loss? How could they maximize our monetary loss, they're animals!



Patrick Gallagher: We're slaughtering them like animals, at any rate. Keep pushing, I don't think they've got anything that can stop us!



Michael de Boulogne: Let's not take any chances on that. Those sound a bit too much like famous last words.
Cholmondely: Absolutely. Let's all take a jaunt to that hill and have a look then, shall we?



Vlasta Děvínská: Alright, let's see what lies at the heart of... darkness...



Griff: Oh Jesus, they're everywhere! Game over, man, game over!
Erik Spanner: Just shoot 'em! Shoot 'em 'til they're all dead!
Roger Murtaugh: No, hit the big one! It's probably the most dangerous!
Mael Radec: Everyone, calm down and fall back! We'll set up a defensive position back at the first land bridge. If we try to fight them here, they'll be all over us!



The vehicle drivers gunned their engines, and the infantry ran. They wasted no time in their retreat, pulling back and getting ready for another assault.



Hardtack: Okay, I think we're far enough. I don't see them anymore, at least.
Vlasta Děvínská: Not picking 'em up on radar.
Lazarus: Somehow, that's not really assuring.
Reginald P. Linux: At least we're in position to mow 'em down when they get here.
Mael Radec: It has been a bit too quiet. If they were still chasing us, they should've been here by now. They may have fallen back to defend their own positions.
Patrick Gallagher: So it's a standoff, then?
Mael Radec: Not for long. Unlike them, we don't have the luxury of dragging things out. Scouts, get out there and find them.



Stephen Smith: Couple of their spikes just flew past me. Vlasta?



Vlasta Děvínská: Still nothing on radar.
Stephen Smith: Let's see if we can get a better view from the top of the hill.



Stephen Smith: Found 'em! Heading back, everyone get ready!



Aethereon Darkfyre: Be careful, everyone! These are no ordinary Arachnoids.



Aethereon Darkfyre: They actually landed hits on me!
Vlasta Děvínská: You aren't the only one! I can't see these goddamn things until they're close enough to hit me! Someone help!



Anil E. Hilated: Luckily, this is no ordinary gun.



Gregor: Gregor's gun is ordinary, but Gregor is not!



Gordon Frohman: They're pouring over the hill! And since these are apparently some kind of super-Arachnoid, that might actually be a problem this time.



Michael de Boulogne: Let's thin their numbers! We'll see how fearsome they are when they reach us.
Roger Murtaugh: Reach us? They're already shooting us!
Michael de Boulogne: Hey, it takes some time to get used to the idea of ants that can shoot anti-tank projectiles across canyons. But I suppose I can't deny you have a point.



Svetlana Aliyev: They might be able to shoot as far as we can, but our gunnery's better!



Habitually Red: This is turning out a lot like the last time. I guess mindless bugs can't really do much to surprise us, though.



Habitually Red: Shit, I wasn't expecting that, though!



Joe Moore: More coming over the hill!




Lazarus: Warm it all up! Everything you've got!





Isara Gunther: We've got the north just about cleared out! The rest of you guys, guard our flanks!



Solaus: There's not very many of 'em. They might've gotten a few surprise shots in on us, but that'll be all they get!




Gordon Frohman: East is clear. Was that all of them?
Mael Radec: All of them coming to us, it looks like. Let's start hunting down the rest.
T. Hinman: This will be difficult, won't it, Comhumander?
Mael Radec: We've probably got a rough, drawn-out battle ahead of us. We still have no idea how many more are out there, and they'll throw everything they have at us to protect our queen. We could be out here for weeks, and we'll need to constantly be on the aler-



Anil E. Hilated: Hey, there's the queen!





Mael Radec: Um... so... that... Mission accomplished! Let's get back to base, people!



With their queen dead, the arachnoids were sent into a frenzy. They thrashed about and blindly spit their flechettes at whatever happened to move, which almost always turned out to be another arachnoid. Within a few hours, they had all killed each other, their tunnels and colonies overflowing with their mangled, twitching bodies. The barren landscapes that they had overrun now lay truly silent, now missing even the rhythmic chittering of the gigantic insects. The land would recover in time, but the threat of the arachnoids had hopefully been ended once and for all.