Part 5: Mission 5: Then We'll Fight In The Shade

The plan was coming together. We'd almost encircled the mountain pass, and we were putting pressure on the enemy's headquarters from two fronts. We were almost ready to drive the Forces of Darkness out of Ukraine, and the decision was cemented with the completion of the new armor.



The UNT Vests' hasty development and cobbled-together nature showed: they felt and moved like a cross between a too-small coat and a Wal-Mart bag, and the soldiers said as much (though rather more colorfully) when they first tried them. The results couldn't be disputed, though: the variant our division adopted was light enough not to encumber soldiers and strong enough to save them from potentially fatal blows from axes, bites, and throwing stars.




We still had a bit of time before the Confederacion arrived, so orders went out to fit all existing infantry units with the new vests. The War Dogs were also retrained to make use of some surplus equipment we were sitting on. Most of them were reassigned to another front, with the last 20 getting specialized training and anti-tank weaponry.



While our ground forces prepared for the next mission, our agents were put to the task about learning more about the nature of the enemy's abilities. To be perfectly frank, half the things we were up against on this front alone were physically impossible. Their bodies just plain should not have worked if they were subject to the laws of physics as we knew them. That wasn't even getting into the thick, unnatural fog that rolled over the land wherever their forces took hold. The last issue was particularly pressing, as it made it impossible to carry out air strikes against the enemy.




Without much to go on - mostly just existing reports on enemy forces being compiled together - our agents finished quickly but found little. Analysis of what few victories had been attained so far found one commonality between them all - they occurred when we were able to bring our best equipment to bear. No amount of orcs, however vicious and strong they were, had any hope of defeating MBTs and rocket artillery in an open battle. The problem was that we almost never got them. Overwhelmingly, our armored vehicles were ambushed and destroyed by enemy spellcasters or stranded in the mud by freak storms. It seemed that our victory would hinge on our ability to understand magic and develop countermeasures to it.



Our agents did gain one new lead, though, after being provided with a more in-depth report on the situation in Vinnytsia from our ground forces. In the enemy fortress and some of the houses, there were a number of corpses that didn't fit the orcs' standard MO of "chop it up with an ax until it stops breathing." This was organized and deliberate, with victims being lined up in neat rows or intricate patterns, often accompanied with circles and runes painted in blood.




After closer examination, a pattern emerged: these ritualistic killings were being carried out all over the world, in much the same way each time. In many cases, the arrangement and preparation of the bodies and iconography were so elaborate that they clearly required great expenditures in time and manpower. It used to be I would've put this down to superstition, or a gloating display of sadism. Given the apparently supernatural capabilities of the invaders and the significant effort they put into them despite the cost of doing so, though, it warranted closer investigation.



Without any enemy spellcasters at hand to question, though, we'd reached a roadblock on that line of research. It was time to return our efforts to studying their conventional forces.



Our soldiers were motivated, their equipment freshly upgraded. It was time to show the Forces of Darkness that we could bloody their nose.

Mission 5: Then We'll Fight In The Shade

Attending:
Anil E. Hilated, Esq. (Polite Obliteration, Mortar Infantry)
Sersan (Anoa, Rangers)
Habitually Red (Sane Max's Own, Light Infantry)
"Doctor" Snark (Mage Killers, Commandos)
William "Bill" Browning (The Bullies, Humvee)
Logan "Hardtack" Smith (War Dogs, Heavy Infantry)
Mael Radec (Radec's Rhinos, Commandos)
Bonaventura Ferrer (Confederacion Internacional de Militadores, Commandos)




Tactical maps of this area were spotty, but a quick glance at what we knew was enough to see that we had more ground to cover than in the last couple of missions.




Bill: Okay, everyone, look sharp. We've got riders on the next hill over. Looks like they knew we'd be coming.



Sersan: Thanks for drawing their fire, Bill. Makes things that much easier for us.
Bill: You say that like I did it on purpose.



Mael Radec: This hill's a pain in the ass. It's hard to get a good angle on them!
Anil E. Hilated: Should've taken up mortars like me. We don't have to worry about hills!



Anil E. Hilated: ...We do, however, have to worry about weapon range. Sorry guys, can't do my thing just yet!



Hardtack: Ow, shit! Why are they throwing at me? They're supposed to be targeting Bill!
Bill: Hey, you guys have your new body armor now! Some of you are better protected than me by this point.
Hardtack: And?
Bill: ...I hate you.



Hardtack: Still in one piece, thankfully. Got one of those stars lodged in my vest. My unit's not exactly doing great, but thank God we've got this armor.




"Doctor" Snark: There we go! The hill's ours, and so's its tactical advantage. Bill, do your thing!



Bill: Look, I know you can't wait to see me and my squad run around and get with sharp things, but you're jumping the gun there.



Sersan: And why jump the gun when you can shoot the gun? Or twenty of them. Nice of these magotars to save us the trouble of chasing them.



Bonaventura Ferrer: And there's the other one! Don't these things usually come in pairs? Now's our chance to shut them down before they can... um... keep flying around and being useless I guess?



Sersan: Yeah, let's hope these guys don't ever think to try dive-bombing us.



With the initial surprises out of the way, the team was able to hold the hill without any trouble.



A couple of wolf riders tried to sneak in from the south, but with range on our side, they never even got close.



Bonaventura Ferrer: So what happens now? I hear your division's been the only one not just to win, but to win battles left and right. You must be using some incredible tactics.
Habitually Red: We find somewhere nice - like, say, this hill - sit on our asses, and wait for Bill to chase all the enemies into our wall of guns.
Bonaventura Ferrer: No shit?
Anil E. Hilated: No shit. Like some popcorn to go with the fireworks?
Bonaventura Ferrer: Sure would!
Anil E. Hilated: Me too. Wish we had some.



Bill found some wolves prowling about in the woods, but he couldn't get a clear shot on them. He made a note of their location, saying he'd swing back around to draw their attention when he got the chance.



He was on the eastern end of the pass, a scant kilometer from the enemy's headquarters in Ukraine, when he came across something none of the team had seen before.



Bill: Whoa! Guys, there's some kind of vehicles here. A whole platoon of 'em, it looks like. I didn't know the trogs had something like this!
"Doctor" Snark: Details, Bill. What're we up against?



Bill: It's got a sloped frontside packed with rows and rows of what look like crossbows. I don't see any means of propulsion, though. Maybe its wolf-towed.
Mael Radec: Like some kind of stationary gun battery, then? Doesn't sound too tough.



Bill: Negative, negative! Thing just turned and flung a wall of arrows at me. Sounded like a woodpecker was drilling at my Humvee. Whatever's powering that thing, it can turn as fast as our tanks! It had some orcs with it too, and now they're after me! Leading them to you guys!



Bill: Oh God, those wolves are coming out of the forest now! The enemy's getting smarter, they're starting to flank us when we scout!



Bill: Fucking Hell!



"Doctor" Snark: So, you trogs think you're pretty smart flanking Bill like that, huh? Bet you can't outsmart bullets!



"Doctor" Snark: Oh hey, I was right!




Sersan: Looks clear. Hey Bill, didn't you say there was some kind of crossbow tank thing, too?
Bill: Yeah. Doesn't look like it's here yet, though. I guess it's holding position. I'll roll up to it again and see if I can draw it out.

About ten minutes later...



Bill: So. Um. Guys?



Bill: The arrow tank thing is gone. I didn't come across it on the way here, either. There's no telling where it could be!



"Doctor" Snark: I'VE GOT A PRETTY FUCKING GOOD GUESS



"Doctor" Snark: Rockets away, everyone! Unload on these monsters with everything you've got!



Mael Radec: Damn things are certainly built like tanks. Took ten ATMs just to smash the crossbow racks on one!



Anil E. Hilated: Just keep unloading! However they enchanted that wood, it can't stand up to saturated explosives!



Habitually Red: Man, look at 'em burn! I only see two that still have any crossbows up, and their racks are both half-collapsed.



Hardtack: They're running scared! Quick, let's go down the hill and finish them before they get a chance to-



Bonaventura Ferrer: CHRIST ON A BIKE THERE'S ANOTHER ONE



Of course, there was no chance to soften this one up. All the rocket crews were reloading after their salvoes, and small arms could do little more than poke pinholes, leaving the strange war machines free to fire their deadly payloads. They wheeled around, all of them angling to face Radec's Rhinos, and with a deep thrum, hundreds of arrows launched simultaneously. Most of them fell short of their target, but many others hit their mark, punching clean through the team's improvised barricades and sending the shattered pieces raining down on them. No one was hurt, but if Mael's unit hadn't dug in, it's unlikely half of them would have survived.




Mael Radec: Got 'em! Alright, guys, the trick's to get a rocket right between the bow racks! Turns 'em into matchsticks.
Sersan: Say, is it just me, or is there a cloud of green shit coming from that wreck?
Habitually Red: Nope, not just you. We'd probably better tell the pencil-necks to be careful around that one.



Habitually Red: Oh shit, guys, the other ones got repaired!



Anil E. Hilated: Nothing to worry about! A wall of rockets beats a wall of arrows any day!



Mael Radec: Sure does. And I believe we've just cleared ourselves a path.
Bonaventura Ferrer: Then let's not waste any time. As soon as we've rearmed and resupplied, we've got a job to finish.




While we won the battle and were now in position to strike the enemy's center of operations in Ukraine, the new "arrow throwers" we came across were worrying. If the enemy could deploy these in significant numbers, what kind of damage could they do once they smashed through our barricades? Our UNT vests hadn't been tested against this kind of weapon, but I knew they weren't designed for that kind of onslaught.

There was no time to worry about it now, though. We had the Forces of Darkness backed into a corner, and now we had the opportunity to seize the entire region from them.