Part 56: Mission 56: Orc Against Orc

It would put all of our best psychics out of commission for weeks, but we finally managed to redirect the Gate to the world of the Karadan-Ka and reopen it. With no other means of communication available, we sent a diplomatic envoy to the other world and held our collective breaths.




Twelve hours later, our envoy returned. They'd managed to get in touch with Sil'Vain, a high-ranking leader of Karadan-Ka, and from their meeting, they'd managed to gain a wealth of information.

The war between the Forces of Darkness and Karadan-Ka had not just been going on since before their invasion of Earth; it had been raging for the past four thousand years, with uncountable casualties on both sides0. The invasion of Earth had merely dragged it into an an ancient and bloody conflict the likes of which humanity had never seen. Karadan-Ka were fewer in number and did not have the vast, disposable hordes or bound monsters of the Forces of Darkness, but they had an immense advantage in their cooperation. The magicians of the Forces of Darkness were jealous and guarded, hiding their research from each other and only briefly cooperating when faced with the threat of a major defeat. Karadan-Ka, on the other hand, cooperated and shared each other's knowledge, and bolstered the spells and rituals of their companions whenever possible. This was how they had become figures of fearful legend among the orcs.

Karadan-Ka had, in fact, already unknowingly helped us. The Forces of Darkness had spread themselves too thin trying to invade Earth while already waging another war. As their losses on Earth mounted, they pulled many of their best divisions away from Karadan-Ka to reinforce their positions on Earth. This didn't escape the notice of Karadan-Ka, who launched a massive attack on their front, making the Forces of Darkness withdraw their reinforcements before they could ever engage us - just in time for our invasion of China and the destruction of the first Gate, as luck had it.

Our request for military aid was, unfortunately, turned down. The war was going very poorly for Karadan-Ka, and they needed every available fighter defending their homeland. They were, at least, willing to share their knowledge. The leader of the Forces of Darkness, the Dark Lord, was personally leading his elite unit in an assault against them - a unit even the Knights of Death paled in comparison to. They'd managed to drive him back repeatedly, but the only things capable of killing him permanently were rare artifacts known as the Dark Swords. Only a few had ever been created, and the magic needed to do so had long since been lost. Our only choice was to track one down, something we would be doing with the cooperation of Karadan-Ka.



That would be for others to worry about for now, though. The Drunken Slavs' task was to destroy the second Gate, and to that end, we ordered a third Destrutor. This unit went to Just In Time, marking the end of the Elmag 2's service for our division.



As we headed north, we ran into resistance sooner than we had hoped. Ka-Tugrag had been carrying out a plan to turn a large portion of the enemy orcs in this area to our side, but his own forces had gotten ambushed before he could finish the job. We'd since lost radio contact with him. With their rallying figure gone, many of the would-be defectors were unwilling to take the risk, and we now found ourselves rolling into an orcish civil war. Some of the other commanders questioned our decision to risk personnel and equipment on a mission to rescue and orc. The area was strategically important, though, being part of the shortest, safest route to the Gate, so there was little serious contention.

Mission 56: Orc Against Orc

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, M1 Abrams)
James "Griff" Griffin (Party Crashers, M1 Abrams)
Basil (Paladin, M1 Abrams)
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)
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)
Vlasta Devínská (Paper Tigers, Universal 2R)
Charles C Thuluu (Strange Aeons, Universal 2R)



Mael Radec: Alright, people, let's roll. We've got the firepower to meet them with force, so let's not waste time creeping forward.



Vlasta Devínská: I figure I should come along anyway. Just in case you guys decide you need to slow down.




Charles C Thuluu: AT Orcs, north and west. They aren't wearing Ka-Tugrag's colors.



Michael de Boulogne: That means open season!



Michael de Boulogne: Ow! Not on us!



Patrick Gallagher: Just relax, we've got this. They had to leave the cover of the trees to shoot at us.



Hulk Hogan: WHEN HULKAMANIA RUNS, YOU'D BETTER HIDE, BROTHER!




Vlasta Devínská: Golems, charging our position!



Patrick Gallagher: Don't they know rock slides are supposed to go downhill?



Gregor: Now they learn!



Charles C Thuluu: Portal ahead! I don't see any magical focal points to destroy, though.



Roger Murtaugh: They've gotta be there. We probably just need to get closer.



Stephen Smith: Enemy spotted! Kill them, quick!
Vlasta Devínská: Wait, hold your fire! Those are Ka-Tugrag's boys.
Stephen Smith: Why are they in the valley, though? That's pretty much the worst place they could be.
Mael Radec: They must have been surrounded before we got here.
Stephen Smith: Quick, orcs, this-



Stephen Smith: -way.



Stephen Smith: Well, shit.



Svetlana Aliyev: Okay, they're moving! Everyone cover their retreat!



Svetlana Aliyev: Path's clear. Orcs, what's your situation?
AT Orc: Bad. Most of us dead. Absent Ka-Tugrag, we place ourselves under your command.




Charles C Thuluu: If I might make a suggestion, Radec, I think the only order we should be giving them is "run like Hell."



Bob McKenzie: Won't be anything to run from much longer, eh.



"Doctor" Snark: I think we can safely say our power's grown faster than theirs has. About time, too.



Patrick Gallagher: Okay, wait, I just took another look at that portal. There are no magical foci. How'd they do this, and how are we supposed to destroy it?
Charles C Thuluu: I think we have more urgent things to worry about, Pat.



Michael de Boulogne: War orcs? Urgent? The only thing they're dangerous to are non-flying infantry, and we don't even have non-flying infantry anymore!




Stephen Smith: Anything else up ahead? Hopefully we can find Ka-Tugrag and wrap this up soon.




Vlasta Devínská: Not quite. Just spotted what I think is the loyalists' base up ahead, with a temple.



Vlasta Devínská: And they've got AT orcs dug in.




Gregor: Is no problem for artillery!



Mael Radec: Looks like we got their attention.



Mael Radec: Not that they'll accomplish much without their magical support.



Stephen Smith: They still have magical support!



Mael Radec: Allow me to correct myself: they won't accomplish much even with their magical support.



Svetlana Aliyev: Jesus, where are they all coming from?



Svetlana Aliyev: Need a bit of help! They concentrated fire on me, and now my Destructor's pretty banged up.



Anil E. Hilated: You aren't getting magical support, guys, no matter how bad you want it!




Solaus: ...Arrow throwers? Well, there's a blast from the past.
Habitually Red: Maybe me and my boys should show them how the balance of power between throwers and infantry has shifted.





Pusher Bot: It's a variety pack of non-threats!



Svetlana Aliyev: But now that they're close, they're... nope, still non-threats.



Mael Radec: Path's cleared! Radar roll up, see if they're holding Ka-Tugrag there!



Vlasta Devínská: I think... hang on... just let me confirm the signature.



Vlasta Devínská: Confirmed, Ka-Tugrag sighted! He looks unhurt!
Ka-Tugrag: I am, but I wish I could say the same for my men. We have lost many of our number.
Mael Radec: We were able to save some of them, at least, though not as many as I would've liked. We'll transfer them back to your command.
Ka-Tugrag: Radec, it's better that they serve under you now. Clearly, they have fared better under your leadership than mine.
Patrick Gallagher: _{We probably shouldn't tell him that's because we stuck them in the back and ignored them, huh?}
Mael Radec: As you wish. We'll dispatch a chopper to evac you, then once that's-
Ka-Tugrag: Not yet, Radec. I need to finish what I started. No more lives, orcish or human, will be lost today.




With the capture of the Forces of Darkness' base of operations in the area and the return of Ka-Tugrag, the surviving enemy orcs quickly defected to our side or surrendered within a few hours. Once that was done, there was no one left to stop us here. We had taken another step toward the second Gate.