The year is irrelevant. What matters is that the demon stain still discolors the world. There's only relative peace, only conditional stability in the lands deep beyond the walls. But great cities arise even close to the frontier, feeding the war that has lasted for generations. Through togetherness, through faith, through industry and progress - that's how humanity has persevered against the demons, their magic and thralls. And you're still fighting this war.
You belong to B Platoon, III. Company, 1st Battalion (Vanguard) of the 7th Heavy Infantry Brigade of the 872nd Three Times Order of Absolution, Glory of Smyrna, Intergenerational Dedication Mechanized Division "Ruthless Convenanters" assigned to the Intercaucasus Frontier District. You will fill whichever role necessary, step in whatever shoes are demanded to fulfill the mission. No matter who you embody, your choices will determine not only whether your troops live or die, but also the success of the mission.
The signals intelligence people at the District have discovered a listening station just accross the No-Man's Land. Normally, it would be situated a lot further behind the frontline - certainly beyond artillery reach. Analysts believe this to be a sign of complacency on a quiet sector of the front as well as audacity on the part of a demon commander looking to advance their position. An intelligence station this close to the wall - this close to NuBaku City - could be soaking up all sorts intentional and unintentional transmissions.
Reconnaisance by martyrprobes shows the area to be lightly fortified and sparsely garrisoned. Analysts declare demonic presence to be neglible due to force reallocation in response to the 2nd Jihad for Aegypt. Therefore, it has been determined that a quick raid by a platoon-strength Vanguard force to obtain intelligence from and then destroy the listening station is viable.
Your mission is thus:
1. Conduct a mechanized raid into lightly-held enemy territory.
2. Sweep the listening station for intelligence assets,
3. Destroy sensitive infrastructure via targeted demolitions.
4. Exfiltrate.
{(set: num-type $casualties to 0)
(set: num-type $mortars to 1)
[[Here are the forces under your command->The Forces]]}The mission calls for a raiding force comprised of a single mechanized platoon. Of the forces available in the NuBaku area, Heavy Infantry Brigades provide the best balance of speed and firepower. Their most motivated veteran troops are to be found in Vanguard battlions.
7th Heavy Infantry Brigade has already served a tour in this area and has recently been rotated back. 1st Battlion (Vanguard) is one of its senior formations. "B" platoon was getting ready to stand down after being on QRF readiness with III. Company. The troops are in good spirits as the QRF duty passed without any surprises, The vehicles are checked, fueled and loaded.
The disposition of "B" Platoon is as follows:
Squad Alpha
- 9 Infantry
--Alpha squad replaces one rifleman with the Platoon coomander
- Mechanized Infantry Vehicle Model 49L (MIV-49L)
Squad Beta
- 8 Infantry (1 in infirmary)
- Mechanized Infantry Vehicle Model 49A (MIV-49A)
Squad Gamma
- 9 Infantry
- MIV-49A
The force will be provided with the following support assets:
- 1 fire mission from battery of self-propelled mortars (4 x MIV-49M). The battery will advance after "B" Platoon into the No-Mans Land and return to the base after firing to avoid counter-battery fire and engagement.
[[Have a look at the troops->Side color: The troops]]
[[Have a look at the vehicles->Side color: the Vehicles]]
[[Start the mission->Leg 1: Leaving the base and entering the No-Man's Land]] The red lamps at the wall’s inner gates cast the platoon in a sinister light. Their tan fatigues seemed crimson, the armor and the webbing were nearing black. The visors on the spherical helmets, shifted up out of combat, drunk in all the light.
The soldiers were relaxed, moving comfortably in their Mechanized Infantry Armor Set Heavy - the articulated cuirass on their torso, the solid pieces around their extremities. The ingenious craftsmanship of joint Iberian-Abyssinian material research programs left the soldier well-protected against small arms at most ranges and made pistol-caliber rounds nearly a non-issue.
Most troopers had developed their own ways of pitching fabric or loosening straps to make the suit fit with least encumbrance.
The webbing covering the cuirass was a mess of pouches, pockets, and loops; storing cylindrical grenades, breaklights, tactical flashlights, ammo, combat knives as well as trinkets, talismans, crumpled smoke packs and bright plastic e-med boxes.
Their backs were a lot less busy, occupied by the water bladder in the center and the sensor-camera bracket above the shoulders. Sometimes, there would be clinking from sidearm holsters or gasmasks strapped to the belt.
The spherical Medium Helmet (Reinforced) was punctuated by the bulges over the ears - to accomodate both ear protection and communication system - with a short antenna sticking out over the left one. The visors were shifted up outside of combat - nobody needed the eye protection or a surface for the data projectors mounted to the left of their face.
Helmet graffiti stood out even in the twilight of the dock. The “B” squad gunner had marked killing an incubus with a broken shield of Mars. The rare white Sigma marker signified lifers that had actually served with the division all the way back to the Smyrna campaign. More common were kill marks and number of tours served.
Behind the assembled troops, their weapons rested against the sides of their transports. The Bakker Model 55 was considered long for use in transports but a lot of heavy infantry swore by the increased range. The Mukali Works Squad Automatic Rev.2s - one per squad- appeared bulky as it was not much longer than a BM55. Lastly, there was a single BM54 marksman rifle at the side of the “A” squad carrier - not standard issue, but permissible by the platoon commander.
So were the weapon tokens, devotional inscriptions, and foregrip wraps.
Slightly away from the troops, the platoon commander was discussing some last minute details with the sergeants - all four as rough and grizzled as their troops, with only muted rank details on their shoulders to tell them apart from the rank and file.
[[Back to the forces at hand. ->The Forces]]MIV-49s stood there, squat and ugly, caught in the penumbra between the darkness of the bay and the red lighting on the walls. A fairly new design, it was a big vehicle - a function of its protype being a turretless tank. Stuffing nine infantry and two more crew into an armored package was never easy. The bulky MIASH armor of the heavy infantry made it even harder.
However, the increased weight and lenght of the MIV-49 was largely offset via the turretless design. The commander/gunner sat comfortably in the hull, with the driver and the engine to the front of him and the troop compartment to his back.
The carriers were wide, which caused some issues with navigating on narrow roads. But they also had an excellent ground-pressure ratio - all thanks to their wide tracks. This gave them much better mobility in any battlefield conditions.
For protection, MIV-49s had not only their armor, but side skirts over the tracks and explosive-reactive armor blocks on every feasible surface.
Each vehicle was armed with a brutish 30mm autocannon accompanied by a coaxial machinegun. ATGM tubes could be seen on both sides of the weapon system, looming over the smoke launchers and chaff dispensers. The “Ugly Eye” - a bubble-shaped optics suite - was recessed behind the AC.
The exception was the L model. Instead of ATGMs, it featured dual AC mount. Behind it, for reasons known only to military planing specialists, was a ground-search radar, a tool much better suited for specialist recon vehicles not meant to face combat.
[[Back to the forces at hand. ->The Forces]]The gates opened and the armored carriers rolled out into the dusk. Quickly, they crossed the shadow of the wall. The lights of NuBaku were behind them, while in front of them was twilight pockmarked by distant fires and smoke.
After fifteen minutes of chewing asphalt in the middle of uninhabitted fields, the platoon reached a forward base - the last permanent structure before the No-Man’s Zone. The base was surrounded by thick, angled walls with watchtowers sweeping the surrounding area with searchlights.
The gate sunk into the ground to allow the APCs to pass. The buildings inside were short and squat, with most of the real structures extending underground. Not a lot was to be seen outside of a few vehicles as the platoon’s MIV-49s ground to halt.
The mortar battery, ready and waiting. The Leutenant Marya was the only one to jump oustide. She had a short chat with the battery leader and jogged back to her vehcile. The convoy was ready to move and the mortar carriers got arrayed behind them.
The other gate rumbled open and the armored vehicles went down the road, with the searchlights corteously ignoring their departure.
[[Keep your eyes on the horizon at all times. ->Fight 1: Truckborne Thralls]] The APCs kick up dust as the convoy enters the No-Man’s lad, with //Unbranded//, the MIV-49A of Squad Beta taking the lead.
Normally, the frontier would have a lot of trees and only some craters. But the further you are from friendly lines, the rarer former become while the latter slowly turn into an ever-present mark of the surroundings.
The detritus starts crowding the road. Some burned out friendly vehicles. More unfriendly. Just because it's a quiet sector doesn’t mean that either side doesn't attempt a push now and again.
Speak of the devil worshipper - the platoon clears an embankment and the //Unbranded// reports contact with a small convoy of enemy trucks going the opposite direction about 700 meters away.
You are lieutenant Marya Gvazdikova, platoon commander. How do you engage?
[[Don't stop. Let the ACs shred the softskins. ->Fight 1 Option 1: Let the ACs take care of them ]]
[[Halt and open fire. Let dismounts close in and confirm the destruction of the target. ->Fight 1 Option 2: Dismount and Skirmishs]]
[[Dismount and close in. ->Fight 1 Option 3: Close in together]] “Gunners, fuck them up!”
The command is clear. Speed is of the essence, so the APCs don’t even stop, firing as they go. 30mm rounds blast holes in the engine blocks and cockpits, shred the tarps covering the truck beds.
As you pass by the ruin of the enemy convoy, you don’t even take time to check the markings of the legion these had belonged to. You only hope that the sound of battle didn't reach any evil ears.
But as you drive off, a rocket streaks from one of the trucks - a survivor! The rocket crashes harmlessly into a tree next to the road. The trailing vehicle’s gun station turns to the shooter. Soon, he’s not much more than mist and meat.
[[The convoy rides on. ->Leg 2: The No-Man's Land]]
“Infantry, skirmish formation!”
The command falls onto deft ears. The carriers stop, firing in short bursts to disable the trucks. Troops pour out of the back - you go with. Your heavy infantry execute bounding movement in trees, covered by both the stationary MIV-49s and their comrades in arms. You too crouch, fire a few bursts, sprint, crouch again.
Incoming fire, not that intense in the first place, dies out. Your troops are getting closer, hoping for a quick cleanup. The ACs stop firing and the troops start a sweep of the trucks, hunting for survivors.
Alpha squad and Beta squads pull security while Gamma checks the trucks. You can see them open doors to mangled cabins and lift shredded tarps.
[[Continue. ->Fight 1 Option 2 Outcome]]“Dismount! Coordinated charge” you shout and wait for the transports to halt.
Then the hatch opens and you pile outside with the your troops. You take position on one side of the transport, half the squad goes to the other. The line advances, firing. The APCs move slowly to keep the pace, leting off short bursts, alternating ACs and MGs.
There’s sporadic return fire. A rocket goes long and hits the ground well off-target. The firer is immediately pulverized by 30mm high-explosive shells.
The transports stop two hundred meters from the trucks and hose them down with MGs. Gamma squad sergeant, Murillo, calls in to tell you that one trooper got hit, but it was just ricochet off their vehicle and the bullet didn’t even go deep into the armor.
The trucks are swept in short order. No survivors. You signal everyone to mount up again.
[[The convoy rides on. ->Leg 2: The No-Man's Land]] Halfway through the No-Man’s Land, the signs of the demonic foe are getting clearer and clearer. Any friendly wrecks have devotional graffiti left by thrall patrols - sometimes clearly on top of the markings left by previous supplicants.
You can glimpse, at a distance, some inverted crosses - with inverted crucified remains, too. Closer to the road, you may see a devotional road shrine, not much more than scrap and detritus arranged into a shape suited to bear a demon’s name or heraldry drawn in blood.
As they explain it back home, patrols mark the furthest reach of their incursions that way, hoping to bring glory to their lord and favors upon themselves.
Time and again, you may glimpse a tiny altar, festooned with vermin sacrifices. Only the dregs that coalesce around regular ranks of the damned thralls may offer service in such debased manner.
The red tinge of the vehicle optic lenses, the Ugly Eye's gaze - do they make the sight more creepy or less? The annoying thing is that you can’t spare time to stop and destroy these ersatz fanes.
After all, if the demon worshipers believe they bring glory and favor with such tributes, then maybe destroying them is an insult, an implication of weakness?
But that's not the mission.
[[Everyone's observing the surroundings for contacts. ->Fight 2: Enemy foot patrol]] Aline Berger, you're sergeant of squad Beta. Your vehicle will soon reach the location where the mortar battery will stay and provide support. It’s a good piece of high ground.
But there’s even more high ground next to the road now, and your vehicle commander just notifirf you that after checking the Ugly Eye data with the radar readings from Alpha's //Reconvener// , they have detected an enemy foot patrol coming.
The cult scum are going to be here in time to spot the mortars setting up - and also watch the convoy drive off into the distance.
You check in with the Lt. Beta is ordered to conduct an ambush while the rest of the convoy takes shelter en-route.
Your troops dismount and huff it to the trail the patrol will take. But how will you prepare the ambush?
[[L-shaped ambush. Textbook stuff. ->Fight 2 Option 1: L-shaped ambush]]
[[Concentrate fire. Wipe them out in one go. ->Fight 2 Option 2: Ambush to the front]]
[[Cross-fire. Keep the troops together. ->Fight 2 Option 3: Cross-fire]] There’s a turn in the trail that makes it a perfect spot for the ambush. You start pealing off buddy teams.
The squad automatic and assisstant remain at the bend, looking straight down the trail the enemy will come down.
A pair of troopers will pull security beyond the ambush point - in case any of the patrol breaks through.
Two more will sneakily make a position themselves before the ambush point, to both provide heads-up and to take care of any squirters.
Lastly, you and two accompanying troopers will be the main supporting body of the ambush - once the automatic opens up, you’ll shoot anyone going off the path.
[[And now, the wait. ->F2O1Ou1]]
The patrol isn’t going to be too big, so it’s best to concentrate all the firepower to the front. No sneaking in the underbrush, no breaking the unit apart in dangerous territory.
Just surprise and fire superiority..
To that end, you order your soldiers to hide themselves at the bent in the route with a good line of fire down the entire path.
Anything that comes down there will be minced before they can even become a threat to you squad.
You take up a position by a tree and wait.
[[Keep your eyes on the trail. ->F2O2]] You loathe to fragment the squad in unknown terrain, but just firing down the trail leaves too many opportunities for stragglers to occur.
That's why you go with two fire-teams and cross-fire.
Squad Beta splits into two and positions itself on both sides of the trail.
They’re staggered, to cover the gaps left by troops spacing out on the other side. This way, the enemy foot patrol will be cut down by crossfire - you probably won’t even have survivors to deal with.
You settle at the last position on the line - you’ll signal the ambush once the enemy crosses in front of you.
[[It's a waiting game now. ->F2O3Ou1]]The patrol despatched, the platoon leaves the mortar battery at the designated spot and continues on the road.
Remember, one fire mission and they’re gone.
Gamma squad's //Believer// takes point - Beta squad is given time to take a breather after the recent excitement.
The terrain definitely marks this out as demon-land. There’s nothing as fanciful as horns jutting from the ground or lava pools. But the shrines are definitely getting bigger. There are human skulls on poles around the more prominent ones.
You don't even look at the sacrifices.
A waypost stands at a crossroads. The distances to nearest free human cities are written out in blood.
The tracks roll over the remains of a checkpoint, destroyed by long-range fires.
[[Only the armored glass of the vision slit separates you from this accursed land. ->Fight 3: Ambush!]]
You are lieutenant Marya and you are shaken awake from your reverie when a rocket explodes in front of the //Believer//.
Another one falls short of your carrier.
The third one hits the //Believer// on the front, but is consumed by an ERA-block detonation.
“Ambush!” you shout as machine gun fire starts raining on the the carrier hulls.
[[You're fighting this one out, calling the mortars. ->Fight 3 Option 1: Call in the artillery]]
[[No mortars, we have to finish this quick. ->Fight 3 Option 2: Dismount and fight]]
[["Punch the fuck through, no stopping!" ->Fight 3 Option 3: Punch through]] “Smoke up! Wait for cover and dismount. I’m calling in mortars”
Smoke grenades burst into stars above the formation and the convoy is soon enveloped.
The troops pour out into the murk, visors down. You’re using the ground search radar to pinpoint the enemy positions for the mortars.
[[This is going to suck. ->Fight 3 Option 1 Outcome: Some losses]] “Smoke up! Wait for cover and dismount.”
Smoke grenades burst into stars above the formation and the convoy is soon enveloped.
The troops pour out into the murk, visors down.
You’re using the ground search radar to coordinate fire.
You can barely hear the AC above you start barking.
[[It's never easy in the heavy infantry. ->Fight 3 Option 2 Outcome: Combat ineffective]]
"Pop smoke and push through!"
The enemy has prepared the killzone and wants you to stay in it. That’s why it’s important to push through at all possible haste.
As //The Believer// recovers from shock, you order //The Reconvener// through the smoke. The gunner-commander has an easier time with the AC when he doesn't have to rely on radar.
He immediately destroys a wooden pill box with a good burst of HE-I shells.
The ammo cookoff distracts the enemy as the //The Believer// gets back into the fight. //The Unbranded// is following.
The fire from the vehicles is supplement by gunners firing from the troop compartment hatches - they're fighting from their own mobile trenches.
[[Speed and firepower win the day. ->Fight 3 Option 3 Outcome: Damaged, but not out]]
The sensors allow your troops troops to fire through the smoke. The dual AC on your track is guided by the deft hand of the gunner-commander, himself feeding on the data from the radar and the Ugly Eyes.
Still, the enemy can shoot into the smoke. Their prepared positions give them heaps of cover. Machine gun fire plunges into the smoke. You hear a scream on the net.
Another salvo of RPGs comes in. One is faulty and corkscrews away. One of them doesn't reach the target, landing in front of the troops, spraying them with gravel and shrapnel.
The third one hits //The Believer's// weapon station, disabling it and destroying the Ugly Eye.
Casualties continue to mount as the smoke clears. No squad remains untouched. //The Believer// is disabled, the crew tells you as they the enter the //Reconvener//. At least they managed to set charges to prevent its capture
More dead. More wounded. You order the retreat. Smoke goes out again. ACs are to fire until they're either dry or melted.
The walking wounded start piling in while the dead loaded on the roof.
You start the trek back to NuBaku once the the last trooper, caked in blood and soot, gets into the troop compartment.
This mission is a wash.
[[The End]]The sensors feed data to the troops, guiding their fire through the smoke. The dual AC on your track joins in as well, blending the data from the radar and the Ugly Eyes to burst heads, tear chests aparts and multilate limbs.
Soon, the mortars start raining on down on the entrenched thralls. Once the last round lands, You order the assault.
This is the work for heavy infantry. Taking turns moving and firing, they close in on the ambush positions. They’re taken in a hail of grenades and bullets.
You take a few minutes to rally the troops and dress the injuries. Two dead. Five wounded, three of them of the walking variety.
The mortar battery wishes you luck as they start moving back to base.
{(set: $mortars to it - 1)
(set: $casualties to it + 1)
[[You have to continue. ->Leg 4: On edge]]}
As your platoon moves out of the killbox, one last RPG hits //The Unbranded//, detonating ERA blocks on its flank. The MIV doesn't halt for a second - and Berger reports no injuries onboard.
Your track is leading from the front - and so you run face-first into the pathetic security element left to block anyone trying to punch through. It seems their sole RPG operator is the first to die.
The gunners coordinate fire on their own subnet. However, you're close enough to yours in the MIV that you hear him tell //The Believer// to take over shooting the infantry while he lights up the transports the ambushers had left behind.
Speeding away from the ambush, you are actually happy with your performance.
[[The road rises to meet you. ->Leg 4: On edge]] This is definitely enemy territory now. The periphery of the demonic realms where the oppression is relatively lower in exchange for fewer material comforts.
The road quality has improved a little - a result of being a necessity of war. You can even spot some missreable villages off the road.
A high tree on a hill. On it hangs a goatheaded figure, bisected at the waist, his false organs throbbing with life granted by whatever master punished him so.
Wretches and dregs scurry accross the road and disappear into the bushes. Even in the eyes of the demons, some creatures aren’t worth the effort of rounding them up and teaching them how to pull the tigger.
You reach the ingress location marked by the martyrdrones. It’s a good spot, plenty of space for reverse cover for the tacks.
[[Time to dismount. ->Fight 4: The pillbox]]The tracks are arranged to cover your rear and provide overlapping fields of fire for each other. The crews don't even seem that nervous, but you did spot them checking their PDWs.
The listening station can be barely seen through the woods - mostly the thin sensor masts and antennas.
Gamma squad takes the lead on the only path that leads to the the station.
You're sergeant Murillo and you tell the pointman to go first.
Soon, he finds a clearing with a pillbox and a trenchline on the other side.
The lieutenant frowns as she looks over the situation.
"(if: $mortars is 1)[I'm calling in mortars to soften them up. ]Murillo, you'll take Gamma and destroy the pillbox. I'll direct Alpha and Beta in distracting the enemy position and fixing them in place."
What is your plan?
[[Find a better angle on the pillbox and concentrate fire on it, try to lob explosives in the slit. ->Fight 4 Option 1: Direct fire]]
[[Use the distraction and charge the pillbox. Speed wins the day. ->Fight 4 Option 2: Direct charge]]
(if: $mortars is 1)[[Flank the pillbox. Smoke up and close in. ->Fight 4 Option 3: Smoke and flank]]“Right, lads. Alpha and Beta are drawing fire. We can use that (if: $mortars is 1)[and the mortars ]to find a good firing position. On my word, fire everything you got at the slit. We’re gonna knock it out without any unncessary risk.”
(if: $mortars is 1)[The mortars do good work suppressing the defending thralls. ]The pillbox has to split fire between B and C squads. You troopers take the time to find the best position possible in the bushes.
Once everyone in the squad has lined up their shot, you growl “open fire!” and pull the trigger. (set: $casualties to (cond: $mortars >= 1, $casualties + 1, $mortars <= 0, $casualties + 2))
A hail of fire starts chipping in at the concrete. The machine inside only takes a heartbeat to reorient itself to the new threat and start shooting at your squad.
Finally, someone manages to land a rifle grenade in the slit. The fire stops.
{(if: $casualties is 2)[[Time to assess the situation.->Fight 4 Outcome 2: Heavy casualties]]}
(if: $casualties is 3)[[Time to check on the troops.->Fight 4 Outcome 1: Mission ineffective]]“Right, lads. Alpha and Beta are drawing fire. (if: $mortars is 1)[Once the mortars stop raining, we're going in. ]Charge the pillbox and chuck enough grenades in there to take it back to hell. Hoo-ah, Vanguard!”
Alpha and Beta have taken the best positions they can for the firefight. It is a losing proposition, trying to engaged actually entrenched enemies in a simple exchange of fire, so it's up to your squad to make it happen.
Smoke grenades go out and a cover develops.
"Charge!" you shout and get up for a sprint.
(if: $mortars is 1)[The mortars may suppress the thralls in the trenches, but it does little for the pillbox itself.]
As soon as you and your men clear the smoke screen, you learn that whatever intelligence guides the pillbox isn't distracted by the ongoing firefight. It reorients itself to the closest theat immediately.
You get firsthand proof that, even as heavy as it is, MIASH isn’t meant to withstand sustained machinegun fire.
One of you makes it close enough to chuck a grenade in the slit. There's a flash and the pillbox falls silent.
Most of Gamma squad is splayed out in the field.
[[Check the casualties. Report back.->Fight 4 Outcome 1: Mission ineffective]]
“Right, lads. Alpha and Beta are drawing fire. We’re gonna flank, pop smoke - thermal, that’s the blue stripe, Peczkievic - get close enough to shove a charge in the slit."
Your squad hides behind the trees while Alpha and Beta draw the fire towards themselves. The rocks and steep bluff behind the thralls' position doesn't allow you to sneak behind them, so a flank will do.
The grenades go out.
(if: $mortars is 1)[If the mortars weren’t falling, you could probably hear the smoke hiss. ]They arc through the sky before landing in the grass, billowing thick red smoke.
(if: $mortars is 1)[The barrage is abating and the thralls have been thoroughly suppressed. ]The underbarrels thump, sending their own loads sailing through the smoke to land closer to the pillbox.
At least, that's the plan.
Your troops leave cover in a crouching run, bounding to cover each other from unseen or unforeseen threat. The real test of mettle is crossing the first smoke cover - what if the grenadiers were inaccurate? You take a step outside the red murk and meet your fate.
They weren’t. Two crimson clouds have formed just in front of the pillbox. The machine gun has stopped firing at on Alpha and Beta.
It’s good enough for Peckievic to sneak in through blind zone and chuck a few grenades in. The blast can be felt even outside.
(if: $casualties is 0)[[Time to assess the situation. ->Fight 4 Outcome 3: Light wounds]]
(if: $casualties is 1)[[Time to assess the situation. ->Fight 4 Outcome 2: Heavy casualties]]
Rocko is gone for good, didn’t even suffer. Two people are stabilizing Gradashvili. Not that anybody's left untouched.
And that's only accounting for Gamma.
This is the final straw. There’s only so many casualties the platoon can take and still continue its mission. The lieutenant can’t bring the carriers up here to make up for the loss of firepower - and neither can she recall the crews without compromising your retreat.
With less than two intact squads under her command, Marya orders the dead and the wounded be collected before retreating to the waiting vehicles.
[[The End]]In sheer numbers, Marya can still muster two squads to her name. That’s less than ideal, but these are still circumstances under which she can believe the mission may be accomplished.
The walking wounded come with the rest. The conscious wounded are left to look after those who aren’t, weapon in hand.
Even with vehicle crews reporting no contacts, she can’t afford to call them up.
[[The infantry presses on. ->Leg 5: Final approach]]
This has gone as well as it could have.
There are some light injuries - and someone in Beta squad got their bell rung by a glancing round to the helmet - but the platoon isn’t really worse off than when the entrenched enemy had been first spotted.
Marya looks at her soldiers. Some are self-administering pain killers and boosters while their buddies dress their bleeding to save time.
They can do this. They can take the listening station.
[[The infantry marches on. ->Leg 5: Final approach]] The trail that leads past the defensive position and to the listening station is unremarkable. The equipment must have been manhandled to the top.
If it had been accessible to vehicles, the Legions would have put it to use a lot sooner. And the platoon would have been able to ride straight up to, too - whereever a prime mover can go, so can a MIV-49.
But there's only the single path, beaten to dust by the boots of thralls and the feet of slaves.
This listening station is definitely someone's baby. Someone had the luck to read the right scout report and the ambition to squeeze something out of it. More likely than not, sulphur ran in their veins.
[[Inspect the dead thralls in the trench. ->Color 2: The Defenders]]
[[Have a look at the pillbox before you go. ->Color: the pillbox]]
[[A final push towards the objective. ->Fight 5: The listening station]] The troopers take a peek at the destroyed pillbox, approaching it from the back and carefully checking the hatch for traps.
Confirming that the MG is out of action is important for security, but there’s also curiousity - have the demons developed something new?
The hatch is now open.
They might have. Previously, even a destroyed pillbox showed some trace of human features, no matter how unnaturally the gunner had been melded with the gun. They say that in decades past, the same effect was achieved by simple straps and unholy sigils pumping the operator with teratogenic vigil.
The gun is still a gun, but the flesh is somewhat different. Maybe not even human derived? Have the demons started using animals - or maybe that’s another use they found for imps?
Can't be someone else higher in the pecking order. A lord would run out of disappointing lackeys long before they equipped any decent amount of pillboxes.
First comes the collection of footage, then - thermite.
[[Back to the matter at hand. ->Leg 5: Final approach]] The slit trench has been (if: $mortars is 1)[battered by mortars and ]darkened with blood.
The first trooper to the parapet stops and fires downwards - a wounded foe must have been considering a last stand. Who knows, maybe dying while taking down more with you did grant royalty - or at least mercy - beyond the veil.
The uniforms are cleaner than off the thralls encountered thus far. If you get close enough to touch them, you may even see that these men aren’t malnourished, either.
But their uniform markings don't like those of standard grunts and they didn’t perform that well under fire. This, and the eye-watering service patches, signifies an auxiliary unit of sorts.
Would explain the better grooming standards, too.
One of them looks stunningly more wretched. His face is doubed in dried blood - someone else’s, definitely. He himself cut those scars on the forehead. An officer - and worse, a striver.
[[Back to the matter at hand. ->Leg 5: Final approach]] Hoofing it up the hill, guns trained upwards, having to carefully balance the need to take cover and the necessity to check for traps, the platoon reaches the listening station.
It’s fairly large - four single story buildings. None of them permanent structures.
One of them is bigger, like several shipping containers welded together. The rest are nuch smaller.
And, of course, the is the large array of sensors next to the big one.
Leutenant Marya, what is your order? (set: $sweep to false)
(if: $casualties is 2)[[There's not enough personnel for a thorough sweep. Breach the main building. ->Option 1:]](if: $casualties is <2)[[Breach the main building. ->Option 1:]]
(if: $casualties is <2)[[Sweep the entire station before breaching the main building. ->Option 2: Sweep and clear]](if: $casualties is >1)[You don’t have the manpower to keep the site secure for a textbook sweep and clear. ] The sooner you get to the main building, the better odds of securing intel the enemy hasn’t had the chance to destroy. (set: $sweep to false)
You select the doors. You assign sentries to watch the perimeter. The rest of your warriors are stacking up, ready for in-door fighting. The troopers have been trained in urban combat well - and the training ranges didn’t look too different
Check the handle, throw in flash, then rush in, slice the pie, reach your position along the wall. Dangerous, yes, but fluid with practice, and exhilarating with some stims in your veins.
[[Breach. Breach. Breach. ->Breach the main building]] Beelining for the largest building may be tempting, but you didn’t make this far up the chain of command by giving in to the first impulse - that’s for Air Armies. (set: $sweep to true)
Alpha squad is going to watch the central buildings while Beta and Gamma sweep and clear the rest.
Your sergeants are quick and efficient. The troopers have been trained in urban combat well - and the training ranges didn’t look too different. There are enough bodies to provide overwatch on the uncleared structures and have breach teams stacked up at the door.
Check the handle, throw in flash, then rush in, slice the pie, reach your position along the wall. Dangerous, yes, but fluid with practice, and exhilarating with some stims in your veins.
There’s resistance. Of course, there’s resistance. By the sound of it, Leigh has taken one to the lung. But you’re not the one treating her - your eyes are on the prize.
[[Breach. Breach. Breach. ->Breach the main building]] The platoon regroups and starts heading out.
As luck would have it, the enemy personnel in the smaller buildings decide to break out, to counter-attack, to avenge their idol, to die now rather than face their masters' ire later.
They're neither well trained nor organized. But they have guns trained on your backs.
Bullets fly. People scream. (set: $casualties to it + 1)
Those who can drop down, roll away from the line of fire, start shooting back, The thralls are standing in the open, nothing but uniform between their flesh and incoming rounds.
They lose, but your victory isn't bloodless. Between this and the incubus, you have far fewer walking away from the listening station than walked in.
(if: $casualties is <3)[[The platoon lurches back to the transports. ->Minor Victory]](if: $casualties is 3)[[The platoon lurches back to the transports. ->Bad end]]Leutenant Marya settles into the transport next to vehicle commander/gunner.
The listening equipment - whatever they didn’t grab for analysis - has been thermited, and the sensor towers got plastiqued.
Leigh is intubated on the floor - the rest of the wounded don’t really have such luxury and have to sit with the rest, albeit far from the hatches to not impede dismounting.
(if: $casualties is 0)[[Begin the egress. ->Major Victory]](if: $casualties is not 0)[[Begin the egress. ->Victory]] Getting back to the wounded at the pillbox is an ordeal. Getting back to the transports takes even longer. Forced to carry the others, some walking wounded degrade under the strain.
The survivors don't board the MIVs in as much as they're carted into them. The two walking combat lifesavers are stretched to their limit. The vehicle crews are pressed into gathering the dead into a pile, dousing them in as much fuel as they can spare and lighting the pire with the last remaining thermal grenade.
It's the procedure. Anyone who doesn't go home goes up in flames.
Finally, the transports get moving.
And maybe it's too late because the wounded dragged you down, or maybe it was already too late. //The Unbranded// is hit and immobilized. //The Believer// backs up to it take on the survivors - and nobody notices a wretch dive under it. The explosion nearly lifts it off the ground and the fireball entering through the open hatch guts the //The Unbranded//.
You are Lieutenant Marya and //The Reconvener// has just lost its track. You have retrieved the package from under the commander's seat. The HQ has been notified.
Your last act of service is to detonate the charges to prevent capture.
(after: 5s)[=[[The End]]"We knew the mission was risky" is a small consolation to the dead, and nobody's brave enough to say that the wounded. Though there are some odds that someone will be dumb enough to do it back at the base.
However tall the price, the mission is a success. Even with all the wounded, you make good time to the transports. The MIVs are just spacious enough to load anyone still breathing comfortably inside. Some of the fallen are hastily fastened to the top - they won't mind riding outside if it means the wounded get to lay down on the way back.
You are Lieutenant Marya. You contact the base to signal that the task is done. There's increased radio interference, a mark of the enemy reacting to the incursion. However, there's also the gradual increase in signal clarity - a sign that you're not being chased.
Weary, you slump in your seat. A pity you can't spare the ammo to shatter all those shrines on the way back.
(after: 5s)[=[[The End]]There’s even some good news from home. Mission command has finagled to get some long range artillery to strike at suspected ambush points along the way out of the enemy lines. There will be carryalls and CASEVAC to pick them up at the friendly edge of No-Man’s Land, too.
On the way back, the gunners judge the ammo reserver to be sufficient to spare a few rounds to demolish shrines and wayposts. In the distance, smoke and flame erupt from a copse of trees artillery planners had deemed suspicious.
Disproportionate enemy casualties. Almost no friendly KIA. Objectives accomplished beyond expectations. Another beautiful day in the Vanguard.
(after: 5s)[=[[The End]]“Grenade!” you hear as they reach the second-to-last truck and you kiss the dust. The grenade explodes, seemingly harmelessly. Gamma squad lights up the truck bed.
The sarge - Murillo, good man - tells them to cease. One trooper then sneaks to the truck and chucks a grenade in the bed. Another blast.
No more survivors after that. You pile back into the transports. Enough time wasted.
[[The convoy rides on. ->Leg 2: The No-Man's Land]] lieutenant Marya Gvazdikova
Aline Berger, you're sergeant of squad Beta.
Gamma squad sergeant, Murillo
//Reconvener//, the MIV-49L of Squad Alpha
//Unbranded//, the MIV-49A of Squad Beta
//Believer//, the MIV-49A of Squad Gamma
You don’t have to wait for long. A click on the squad net - the security element reports that someone’s coming.
A lone thrall appears on the trail. His uniform is dirty and his webbing consists mostly of a makeshift bandolier. The only items of any craftsmanship on him are his rifle and his patched-up helmet.
“Pointman. Let him pass,” you whisper on the net. The rear security element is going to take him down before you even open fire.
Soon, the rest of the patrol appears. Five men, equally as bedraggled. They’re halfway across your front when the pointman disappears beyond the bent. The patrol takes a few moments to array fully in front of you.
[[“Open fire” you purr into the mic. ->F2O1Ou2]]
The squad automatic opens, catching the two men in front immediately. You join in. At this range, it’s straight up unfair - but that’s the point of the ambush.
Bones shatter. Flesh is torn. Soon, the patrol is all splayed out on the trail. You order the squad to cease fire and move in carefully with your element. Some bodies twitch - they get double-tapped as per SOP.
You gather and destroy any radios and handsets before calling back the security elements. A trooper from the rearguard smiles as he shows you his bloody knife.
[[Time to rejoin the others. ->Leg 3: In the Demonic boonies ]] A lone thrall appears on the trail. His uniform is dirty and his webbing consists mostly of a makeshift bandolier. The only items of any craftsmanship are his rifle and his patched-up helmet.
“Pointman. Shit.” You curse; not accounting for the pointman was a mistake. The squad won’t be far behind, but you can’t bet on it.
You can’t let him get away, either. “Bethlen. Lyra. Peel off and keep an eye on the pointman. Take him when you hear fire.”
The troopers move off, quietly - a hard feat when trudging throught the underbrush in a MIASH. You can only hope the pointman won’t spot them.
Soon, the rest of the patrol appears. Five men, equally as bedraggled. They’re halfway across the trail when the pointman disappears beyond the bend.
The patrol keeps getting closer.
[[Wait for the fight moment. ->F2O2Ou1]]
“Open fire.”
It’s impossible to tell who was the quickest on the trigger. The first man in the group soaks enough rounds to leave no salvageable organs. The radioman next to him doesn’t fare much better.
One by one, they fall. The bodies can shield their companions from the fire, but not reliably and not for long-
Bullets wizz above your head. Somebody’s returning fire! You slide the visor down and examine the killzone. One of the thralls was well trained - quick - lucky - and dropped down immediately after the first shots were fired. He rolled away from the line of fire and is shooting back from beyond a tree stump.
Not the most rational decision in an ambush that outnumbers him, but a decision never the less. You peel off two troopers to flank him while the rest continue pouring it on.
The exchange doesn’t last long. Fire erupts from the treeline to the right of the survivor. You see his head split.
Bethlen signals that they got the pointman.
Your squad checks the corpses. No survivors.
[[Time to rejoin the others. ->Leg 3: In the Demonic boonies ]] The trail is surrounded. Crossfire is ensured. You only need the prey to enter the trap.
A lone thrall appears on the trail. His uniform is dirty and his webbing consists mostly of a makeshift bandolier. The only items of any craftsmanship on him are his rifle and his patched-up helmet.
“Pointman. Damn it.“
Your mind races. He can't be allowed to live. But who’s to guarantee that he’ll be within line of sight when the firing starts?
Then the rest of the patrol appears. Five men, equally as bedraggled. You start moving after the pointman, telling the men to fire on the patrol once it’s fully in the kill zone. You follow the pointman, as quietly as you can in your heavy gear.
He turns at the bend and you hear corporal Bethlen hiss “Open fire!” into the squad net. You don’t have the time to take aim, shouldering the carbine and firing off a burst on training and relflex.
It wings the pointman.
[[You dash through the underbrush, gun forward. ->F2O3Ou2]]
Ping!
A grenade bounces off a tree in front. An ugly dive is the best you can do.
The blast and the fragments cut the underbrush, shatter bark. Something hits your shoulderpad.
Not even checking for pain, you rise on adrenalin, fire off a burst and dash to the tree closest to the trail.
The pointman is there. In fact, he took the most punishment from his own grenade.
It’s a mercy kill now.
Back at the killzone, it’s a mess. The crossfire slaughtered the patrol, but resulted in a few blue-on-blue hits. Nothing that would require evaquation, but at least two soldiers are walking wounded - others hide bruises under their armor and disquiet over such a fuckup behind the faceplates. (set: $casualties to it + 1)
At least the patrol is dead.
[[Time to rejoin the others. ->Leg 3: In the Demonic boonies ]] Door open, flash in-
Serendipity. Luck. Fate.
An incubus is charging through door as the flashbang explodes right in his face. The demon is blinded, slashing talons left and right.
The entity bursts outside and claims the hand that threw the grenade by sheer happenstance. The trooper on the opposite side of the door is thrown back, his rifle optics and helmet visor shattered.
You’re firing from where you stand. Everyone else is scrambling to bring their guns to bear, to shoot without hitting their comrades.
The demon is orienting by memory alone, slashing wildly and leaping to try and escape the fire. Another trooper is thrown aside as a talon swipe crushes his forearms - only the vambraces save him from mutilation.
[[The rampage continues]]
Its very hard to kill a demon - they don’t really have vital organs. The heart is mostly simbolic, only vulnerable when you're aiming for it or when you're desperately lashing out in a way that pleases the dramatic senses of the universe.
Bullets still shatter bone and tear muscle.
The incubus collapses at the head of the path down the hill - his form is physically unable to stay upright anymore. Two troopers move in, firing short bursts at the limbs.
One of them draws their combat knife and leaps forward, slashing at the neck. It’s unprofessional, but a trophy taken before a demon discorporates stays behind.
There’s some speculation that it both humiliates the demon and lengthens its banishment.
Most soldiers care about bragging rights, though.
The tropper lifts the demon’s head by the one horn that wasn’t shorn off in the firefight. You’ll have to reprimand her later. But now, you have to take care of the situation.
Your veterans have already fallen back into procedure, guided by their experienced sergeants. (if: $casualties is 0)[The casualties are being stabilized by troops freed up from house clearing duties. ] You soon get the all clear from the main building - any thrall technicians or troops have been neutralized. Time to gather intel and bug out.
(if: $sweep is true)[[Your platoon begins the march back. ->Outcome 2]](if: $sweep is false)[[Your platoon begins the march back. ->Outcome 1: Parting shots]] This was not a "dry run" - not the perfect mission without any incidents, any casualties. But this is war, and one must never forget that there's always a blood price for everything. Luckily for you, Lieutenant Marya, you got a real bargain in this trade.
Disproportionate enemy casualties in every encounter. Two ambushes ruined. Reams of data recovered for analysis. An actual demon, dead (the reprimand can wait till debriefing). What a wonderful time to be soldier.
There's only the tiniest fuzz of interference on the coms, soon gone. Your platoon was in and out before anyone could really react. The crews of the MIVs acted marvelously, just like the flootsloggers marching alongside you.
There will be medevac VTOLs at the forward base. The wounded seem stable, great odds of reaching extraction.
Even as the tracks grind on, you still have time to get on the autocannon and the ammo to turn some shrines into gravel.
Not the crucified being, though. He can hang.
(after: 5s)[=[[The End]](align: "=><==")+(colour:red)+(size: 1.5)[Demon War:
The Raid Across the No-Man's Land]
(align: "=><==")+(after: 3s)+(button:"=XXX=")[=[[START ->Intro]](align: "=><==")+(colour:red)+(size: 1.5)[Demon War:
The Raid Across the No-Man's Land]
(forget-undos:-1)
(after: 2s)+(align: "=><==")[Script-writing, coding, catering:
Martynas "JcDent" Klimas]
(after: 4s)+(align: "=><==")[Production cats:
Lunis
Suodis
Gogutis]
(after: 6s)+(align: "=><==")[Special thanks go to:
The cats, for not stepping on the keyboard]