Part 46: Mission 47: Would You Like To Know More?

By process of elimination, we'd managed to figure out where the gate was. We'd taken control of most of the area. All the enemy still held was encircled by a ring of mountains and fortresses. We would have to clear a path through them, but once we did, our target would finally be in reach.

Rather worryingly, we'd also lost contact with Ka-Tugrag. He wasn't in any Alliance-occupied territory, and it made no sense for his band of underequipped guerrillas to go where the enemy presence was strongest. He must have been there, though. The only question was whether he was alive or dead.



The first order of business was to retrain our paranormal infantry. They'd served us well, but they'd become outclassed both as artillery and as infantry with the introduction of the battlesuits. Given that we'd had multiple encounters with ghosts in the area, we weren't quite ready to replace our flamethrower platoons yet, so our paranormal infantry would be the first to be issued flying battlesuits.



Next came research. After scraping by for so long, we'd finally managed to secure a decent surplus of war materiel, allowing us to give our weapons development program the kick it needed. Our first new development was the T3000A Bullet, a new, top-of-the-line archotral engine for our tanks. An M1 with this engine could close distance as fast as a Humvee and sidestep just about any projectile the crew had time to react to.



Meanwhile, we outsourced development of another system to a technology company based in Detroit. The Cobra's improvements over the base Hind armament were modest, mostly in the form of AI targeting assistance, but they were welcome.



Finally, we were able to make a new kind of body armor, but it had already been largely obsoleted by the battlesuits. Our only soldiers who could still benefit from it by this point were our flamethrower platoons.








With resources to spare and new technology to adopt, we refitted a good portion of the division. Among other things, we fitted the Elmag 2s with the new Bullet engines to keep them competitive with the tanks and replaced our Rolands' existing armor with Tanarit plating. If Dragoth really was a dragon master, we needed to be prepared.



We also needed to be prepared for whatever else the enemy might throw at us, and that meant gaining information. During the lean times, our limited research funding was reserved for developing better weapons. Now we had the luxury of doing general research and learning more about our enemy.



We'd made all the preparations we reasonably could. It was time to smash through the enemy's perimeter and do what we'd come here to do.

Mission 47: Would You Like To Know More?

Attending:
Lazarus (Forlorn Hope, Flamethrowers)
Solrick Skaft (Scion of Emer, Flamethrowers)
T. Hinman (Ethereal Corps, Flamethrowers)
"Doctor" Snark (Mage Killers, Hi-Tech Infantry)
Habitually Red (Sane Max's Own, Hi-Tech Infantry)
Gordon Frohman (Concerned Citizens, Hi-Tech Infantry)
Logan "Hardtack" Smith (War Dogs, Mobile Infantry)
Joe Moore (War Boys, Mobile 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)
Grand Inquisitor Solaus (Balkanian Inquisition, MLRS)
Michael de Boulogne (Chivalric Order of Saint George, MLRS)
Gregor (The Swell Swords, MLRS)
Anil E. Hilated, Esq. (Polite Obliteration, M106)
Cholmondely Featherstonehaugh-Smythe (Sphinx Battery, Roland)
Sigrún Raske (Skysmasher Brigade, Roland)
Roger Murtaugh (Less Than Lethal, Roland)
Billy Mays (Infomercial Men, Mi-24)
Bob & Doug McKenzie (Royal Canadian Red-greens, Mi-24)
Ragna T. Bloodedge (The Black Beasts, Humvees)
Vlasta Devínská (Paper Tigers, Universal 2R)




Darkfyre and Bloodedge were were still understaffed, so Devínská and Smith took the job of scouting the southeast.



Meanwhile, the choppers headed east to see what was across the river.



Joe Moore: I can see so much farther from up here! Doesn't look like there's anything around.

The rest of the troops moved up, Devínská deploying his radar to continue scouting ahead, when suddenly...



Vlasta Devínská: God damnit! This kind of thing isn't supposed to happen anymore!



Joe Moore: You know that old wisdom about what artillery does to infantry! Well, it never accounted for flying infantry!




Jorji Costava: Bridge is clear now!



Bob McKenzie: Looks like we've got some elves prancing about, eh!



Doug McKenzie: Yeah, perhaps a few more than we're prepared to deal with.



Bob McKenzie: Don't suppose you could send some backup our way?



Erik Spanner: Can't be me, there's a Mechanical FUCK that doesn't know it's supposed to be extinct.



Erik Spanner: I'll be back as soon as I fix that.



Joe Moore: We've got enemies coming toward us from the bridge, too.




Reginald P. Linux: We've got this under control! You guys can help the choppers.



Reginald P. Linux: Damnit!



Svetlana Aliyev: Looks like Reggie found your Mammoth for you, Erik.



Reginald P. Linux: These things may resemble tanks, but they can't go head to head with good old Abe!



Griff: Alright, I'm heading east to help clear out the elves now.




Gregor: Gregor can hit them from where he is!



Griff: Goddamnit, they're hitting me from my line of sight! They can't be far, though, I'll just roll up and...



Griff: Found you, fuckers!




Michael de Boulogne: Now that that little detour's out of the way, let's move on. We have a castle to take.



Erik Spanner: Yeah, and I think I just found it. They've got a few keebs at the walls.




Stephen Smith: On the other side of the bridge now, and I just took arrow fire. I'll lead 'em back to you guys.



Erik Spanner: Fuck, it's not just elves! They've got AT trogs too!



Erik Spanner: And... arrow throwers? The fuck you think you're kidding, pretending you're still relevant?



Vlasta Devínská: The elves Smith found are in range now.



"Doctor" Snark: Looks like they're coming at us from two directions. Everyone form a wall and shoot whatever's closest. Vlasta, get over here before they turn you into a pincushion.




Hardtack: Remember when arrow throwers were the bane of all infantry? Well, NOT ANYMORE.



Reginald P. Linux: And, well, they've never been a threat to tanks.



Michael de Boulogne: Last elves are down. That's everything clear except the southwest.



Isara Gunther: Enemy just reinforced their position with... ballistae? Is this the designated reject fortress or something?



Gregor: Gregor does not just reject Forces of Darkness here! Gregor rejects Forces of Darkness everywhere!



Joe Moore: Maybe they thought they could get some hits in on our tanks with enough ballistae. They don't have the gun - ehm, crossbow elevation to his airborne targets, though!



Basil: That's the last one. I think we can start blasting an ent-



Basil: Welp.




Gordon Frohman: Pfft. Ballistae aren't a big deal. Sonic tanks aren't a big deal. The most dangerous things among that bunch were our own stolen anti-tank missiles.
Patrick Gallagher: Guess they've been failing their crash course in modern weapon design, huh?




Stephen Smith: Hey guys, while you were taking care of things over there, me and Vlasta went scouting across the bridge.
Vlasta Devínská: Yeah, and we just found what looks like the enemy wizard's citadel. You should swing by once the fortress is secure.
Mael Radec: Copy that. Good work, boys. Vlasta, have a look into fortress and see what's hiding in there.

A little while later...




Vlasta Devínská: Ick. Plenty of impaled bodies. Guess this is what happened to the people who were living in this part of the country.



Vlasta Devínská: And I think I just found the ones they were sacrificed for.



Mael Radec: Alright, tanks, roll up as a group. Hell Riders take priority. Artillery, fire at anything that gets in range. Stephen, draw 'em in.



Stephen Smith: The usual plan, huh?



Stephen Smith: And here they come!




Solaus: Right into our sights.



Stephen Smith: Man, what did we ever do without the UDES?



Gregor: What Gregor ever do without rockets?



Isara Gunther: Aah, shit! They weren't supposed to get this close!




Solaus: Back to the burning pits, you demons!



Hardtack: It looks like the enemy forces to the east found out about our attack.



Joe Moore: They're gonna have to send more than that to stop us, though!



Joe Moore: I suppose that could be a bit more of a problem...



Joe Moore: ...if we weren't here!



Joe Moore: Okay, they might have an easier time getting through.
Hardtack: Not much we can do about ghosts. Flamer platoons, you'd better come up.



Griff: Guys? We'd probably get back there, too. Not a lot between them and our artillery.



Michael de Boulogne: Yes. We're hurting them, but not enough. We're going to need some armor.



Gregor: Sooner than later!



Mael Radec: That's it, box out the ghosts!



Hardtack: Taking fire!



Joe Moore: Guys, I think we found the wizard!
Hardtack: I think the wizard found us!



Joe Moore: Alright, open up on 'im, boys!




Joe Moore: FUCK YOU, OLD MAN! That's the power of technology!
Hardtack: Technology powered by magic and built using magical metals. But we've certainly come a long way. It used to take hundreds of infantry to bring down a single wizard.



Solrick Skaft: Just finished roasting the ghosts here.




Reginald P. Linux: Took out a few stray AT orcs. Who's next?
Mael Radec: No one. Just got word that the rest of the enemies are retreating. Looks like that wizard was the only thing making them stick around after we cleared the demons out of the fortress.
Lazarus: If they're running rather than surrendering, they're probably going to head to nearby forts and consolidate the enemy's strength once they arrive.
Mael Radec: They won't be getting the chance. Nobody get cozy - as soon as you're fixed up and, gassed up, and armed up, we're striking at their inner ring of defenses.




After a lot of anticipation and uncertainty, our mission to destroy the Gate started as well as we could've hoped for. We'd stormed a secure stronghold and crushed all resistance, boring a hole into their defenses. The enemy had as many as a dozen more fortress in the area, but it didn't matter. Only one lay between us and our destination.

By a stroke of luck, this fortress also housed a POW camp our intelligence hadn't been aware of, housing close to five thousand prisoners. The prisoners were a mix of civilians and members of the Chinese resistance, all of them having been scheduled to be sacrificed within a week. They were able to provide us with extensive information about hidden weapon and fuel caches they'd been forced to abandon, along with some basic information about the fort that was our next target.