Part 66: Mission 66: Highway to Hell
anilEhilated posted:
(cut to our sorely missed general)
Malcolm: We are exactly where we wanted to be - ever since the invasion began. We need to end the war, fast; the entire humanity is weary and exhausted and our soldiers are holding on only on inertia... Or hatred. They're at the end of their tethers and strategic resources are running out. If this is to be the final battle, it's about time!
We are at our limits - but we also have a powerful weapon and allies and we won't go down without a fight. One way or another, this ends here - whether by victory or defeat, we'll just have to see.
Now, the situation: Murdanur is gathering his forces. Our magic sensitives are completely blind and deaf due to all the energy coming towards his Gate: something BIG is coming. Only the ancient sword gives a chance - but even so, most are convinced a real Armageddon is coming. The last, decisive battle for the fate of the world; the end of humanity is nigh.
Indeed, the ultimate battle is coming, the final confrontation: modern weapons against the abominable magic of the Gate Masters - and who knows what else. Who would've thought it'll end like this...
This time, the Drunken Slavs would be well and truly alone. The Forces of Darkness may have been on the verge of defeat, but so was the Alliance. Our ammo and fuel reserves were nearly depleted, shortages stalling the liberation of the parts of Africa and South America where enemy remnants still held out. We'd only just established martial law in the capitals and major cities of the former BFS nations, and there was no telling how long it would take to root the guerrillas (human and orc alike) out of the rural areas. The South American partisans had already done their part, punching a hole through the enemy's defenses to open a path to the Gate and nearly being wiped out in the process.[/i]
The landscape of the Andes had been altered beyond recognition. The peaks and valleys had been twisted by magic into an enormous labyrinth of of winding paths and barren plateaus surrounded by ninety-degree drops. The entire range had become a country-sized magical fortress. Capturing it seemed to be an impossible task, but we had no choice. Unless we won, it was all over.
While we were in transit, I gave the order for all of our Destructors to be upgraded with Terminator cannons. The trip was long enough to make the conversions, and the downtime wouldn't be an issue because they wouldn't be fighting at sea anyway.
I spent some time considering whether to refit the UDES as well, and in the end, went through with it despite the slight reduction in armor. We were on borrowed time, and trading defense for firepower meant that battles would end quickly - one way or another.
While we were at sea, Alliance scientists had time to finish compiling all of the research that they had gathered on the enemy.
The baffling appearance of the strange, fireball-throwing wooden boxes had been a top priority. Those that weren't destroyed by cannon or rocket fire exploded whenever they got close enough to a human or a vehicle, though, so we had only combat camera footage and debriefings to refer to. Because these creatures appeared and behaved erratically, and magical signature analyses did not detect command links between them and the Forces of Darkness, the prevailing theory was that they were a predatory invasive species that had found their own way into our world some time after the Gates had opened.
Similarly, we had never recovered an intact Kamikaze Bird corpse. Based on reports from recon units that spent extensive amounts of time tracking single Birds, they could fly indefinitely once summoned.
The Sonic Cannons, while theoretically quite dangerous, were ineffective in combat. Even under ideal conditions, the sonic blasts from their emitters were only effective at ranges less than 100 meters. They were slow and cumbersome, which prevented them from carrying out ambushes, or from closing in to engagement range before being hit by anti-tank weaponry.
I think they oversold the Slizoids, though. Maybe they were actual threats to units that didn't have high-end magical gear like we did.
The Arachnoid report had apparently been completed months ago, lost in the system, and then never corrected. That was the only reason I could think of to call them superior killers to humans when they were all dead by our hands.
Finally, we arrived.
Between us and the Gate was a gauntlet of Murdanur's chosen - the most experienced, most dangerous units of the Forces of Darkness ever deployed on Earth. They had set up defenses in depth, fortifying positions all across the winding paths that led to the Gate. We wouldn't be able to proceed until we'd completely wiped out the enemy presence here. Charging headlong into a prepared defense was about the worst thing an army could do, but every hour they delayed us was another hour closer closer to the awakening of the Titan. We had to charge through this deathtrap at full speed - whatever the cost. There were no reinforcements coming, no reserves available. Every soldier we lost would diminish strength that we couldn't replace.
Mission 66: Highway to Hell
Attending:
Lazarus (Forlorn Hope, Mobile Infantry)
T. Hinman (Ethereal Corps, Mobile Infantry)
Habitually Red (Sane Max's Own, Mobile Infantry)
Gordon Frohman (Concerned Citizens, Mobile Infantry)
Solrick Skaft (Scion of Emer, Mobile Infantry)
Joe Moore (War Boys, Mobile Infantry)
"Doctor" Snark (Mage Killers, Mobile Infantry)
Emil Västerström (Trollhunters, Mobile Infantry)
Mael Radec (Radec's Rhinos, Destructor)
Svetlana Aliyev (Rusalka, Destructor)
Patrick Gallagher (Just In Time, Destructor)
Erik Spanner (The Toolbox, Destructor)
James "Griff" Griffin (Party Crashers, Destructor)
Basil (Paladin, Destructor)
Reginald P. Linux (Doom Squad, Leopard 2A5)
Grandalt Noddington (Tea Battalion, Leopard 2A5)
Hulk Hogan (The Hulkamaniacs, 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)
Pusher Bot (The Space Robots, MLRS)
Uzgob (Deff Skwadron, 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)
Bob & Doug McKenzie (Royal Canadian Red-greens, Mi-24)
Amerlia Earhart (Time Warp, Mi-24)
Vlasta Devínská (Paper Tigers, Universal 2R)
Charles C Thuluu (Strange Aeons, Universal 2R)
Amelia Earhart: Just caught sight of the enemy's scouts.
Mael Radec: Alright, people, this is it. We're about to make contact with the enemy, and they'll throw everything they have at us. If we win here, our prize is a shot at ending the war once and for all. Get out there, don't stop for anything, and fight like there's no tomorrow - because unless we win, there won't be.
Amelia Earhart: Roger that! We flyers will scout ahead.
Bob McKenzie: There's a landmass to the north, eh.
Doug McKenzie: Might be worth a look-see.
Doug McKenzie: Well, that's rather messy.
"Doctor" Snark: They think that's going to scare us? They're wrong. Take a good look, people. That's what we're fighting to prevent.
Reginald P. Linux: Everything's quiet to the southwest. I guess they wanted those mags to be the first things that encountered us.
Amerlia Earhart: Contact, contact! Rocket fire!
Patrick Gallagher: Okay, pull back! We'll be there soon, it looks like we've got a clear path to you.
Amelia Earhart: To hell with pulling back! We're on the clock here, and I'm killing anything that gets in my way!
Joe Moore: Right there with you, Amelia.
Amelia Earhart: Next up on the menu is Death Knights, served cold!
Amelia Earhart: Ah, shit... maybe there's a time to retreat after all. I'll be doing a lot more dying than killing if I keep this up.
Griff: No worries, we're here now! Let's see what these Terminators can do.
Griff: Hot damn, look at that glow! Took out the whole platoon!
Reginald P. Linux: That's exactly what we need! Don't let 'em slow you down any more than you have to!
Charles C Thuluu: About that... these guys might be a problem. We've got fortresses, demons, a mess of Hell Riders.
Svetlana Aliyev: Alright, then. We'll do a single rocket salvo to soften them up, then unload our Destructors on them. This'll take some time, so we'll split up. Pat, Erik, Darkfyre, you're with me. Solaus, Pusher, Michel, I'm gonna need your artillery support.
Aethereon Darkfyre: Why am I so coldly denied the familiarity of a first-name basis, when the others are not?
Svetlana Aliyev: Because I don't like you.
Mael Radec: We'll take care of things up ahead, Svet. Just found the summoner that sent the kamikazes at us.
Solaus: Dealt with! This thin strip looks like it's gonna be a pain in the ass to navigate, though.
Anil E. Hilated: I'm guessing that was the point.
Svetlana Aliyev: Okay, everyone in position? Let's bring down some steel rain.
Michel de Boulogne: Okay, we're out! The rest is up to you tanks.
Bob McKenzie: More fire-dinos northeast of you, eh!
Solaus: Jesus, Darkfyre! You okay?
Aethereon Darkfyre: I can feel it! I'm at death's door! Farewell, my comrades!
Michel de Boulogne: Aaaaaaaaaagh!
Svetlana Aliyev: Michel! Status report!
Michel de Boulogne: Still in one piece! Unit's all shot up, though. Don't think I'll be contributing much the rest of the op. Hurry up and kill those things!
Svetlana Aliyev: Gladly.
Solaus: I can still knock out a fortress or two!
Erik Spanner: There we go! Done all but officially now.
Pusher Bot: Ten percent battle capacity lost! Suggestion - delay celebration until confirmed deaths of all enemy forces.
Erik Spanner: Rather than argue, I think I'll just make that happen sooner.
Emil Västerström: Hold up, guys!
Emil Västerström: Raised platform with AT orcs to the south. I wouldn't be surprised if they've got Mammoths camping it too.
Gregor: Gregor clears the way!
Amelia Earhart: Looks like you were right, Emil. Got a Mammoth here.
Solrick Skaft: Not any more, we don't! Let's see what else is over here.
Amelia Earhart: I'll head east now.
Svetlana Aliyev: Took out the Riders that were bothering you, boys... wow, that thin strip of land looks weird even by this place's standards.
Patrick Gallagher: I can see tire tracks running along it. I guess they've been moving vehicles through here.
Amelia Earhart: Taking fire! No visual contact, but there's got to be a ton of them! Pulling ba-
Griff: Amelia, no!
Basil: Found 'em! Let's make 'em pay!
Sigrún Raske: Quick, SAMs! Kill as many of the flyers as you can before we get tossed back in cold storage!
Reginald P. Linux: You're Scandinavian, though. You'd be right in your element!
Sigrún Raske: The cold part, sure. Not so much the storage part.
Emil Västerström: Angels' wings are clipped!
Gordon Frohman: Don't relax yet. From what Amelia said, there's probably more where they came from.
Vlasta Devínská: Gordon's right, we've got a Fortress bearing down on us! Oh, and some sonic cannons I guess you guys should deal with eventually.
T. Hinman: That is not enough to stop us, after all we have been through! Together! As... siblings-in-arms!
Svetlana Aliyev: Hitting more resistance further northeast!
Solaus: More orcs, more angels.
Pusher Bot: All artillery-vulnerable targets destroyed!
Erik Spanner: Skies are clear, too.
Stephen Smith: Doesn't look like there's anything else on this plateau. Let's double back and take the other path at the fork.
Doug McKenzie: Looks like we're at the last place they can put defenses, eh.
Erik Spanner: Yeah, though I'm not sure I'd call this a defense.
Basil: Looks like we're at the same plateau you guys are. There's another bridge to it to the southeast. And yeah, this is the only thing standing between us and the Gate site.
Vlasta Devínská: Got eyes on a demon summoner camping a mesa. Everyone be careful, this is only the edge of their formation we're seeing.
Gregor: Rest of formation won't help when Gregor can hit them from here!
Anil E. Hilated: Hey, get back here!
Aethereon Darkfyre: Into the shadow of the valley of death I charge!
Erik Spanner: Running won't save them unless they can outrun gunfire!
Svetlana Aliyev: Given some of the shit we've seen, I wouldn't rule it out.
Patrick Gallagher: It doesn't matter, they aren't running!
Doug McKenzie: Fire coming at us from somewhere, eh!
Solaus: I think I know where!
Stephen Smith: I'm getting hit too! It's either a Mammoth or a Fortress at this range!
Vlasta Devínská: Survey says Fortress.
Griff: Survey says dead.
Charles C Thuluu: We're still dealing with a bit of a situation on our end.
Patrick Gallagher: I am, in fact, dealing with it right as I speak!
Lazarus: Got the last few stragglers in sight now! Let's mop 'em up.
Svetlana Aliyev: And we're done.
"Doctor" Snark: No time to sit around and enjoy the victory, unfortunately. Logistics will be coming in right behind us. Soon as we get our shit fixed and our weapons refilled...
Joe Moore: ...we get the chance to end this once and for all. Can't come soon enough.
We'd made it. The Drunken Slavs, battered but not beaten, were now in position to storm the enemy's last remaining stronghold on our world. In the face of their imminent destruction, the rival warlords who had undertaken the invasion of Earth had put aside their vendettas and were cooperating in their final defense. They'd divided their efforts between completing the ritual to awaken the Titan and positioning their remaining battallions, as before, to delay us long enough to finish it.
It wouldn't save them. We'd come too far to let it.
KILLED IN ACTION:
Amelia Earhart