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>>5068423
Despite a few halfhearted probing attacks, and even with the presence of the underfed militiamen, your men and bots manage to avoid the bulk of the remaining bugs on the field, recovering your core as they go. It's a push to get the troops moving quickly, especially after the earlier lightning assault launched from the jungle, but they seem to cope with it well, pushing hard to make ground and avoid being caught in nasty pincer between enemy reinforcements.
It'll be a bold statement on the news networks that still function in these days, an HCON raid into one of the Nexus zones without great losses- the liberation of living freedom fighters as the cover objective, of course- and hopefully, it will be a suitable debut for your steel soldiers. People should be excited about the newest sword of humanity against its enemies; particularly with the light human casualties in this operation.
That being said, you are leaving behind a good bit of opportunity. Experimentation by the Horde on human beings is something that would make your blood boil- if you had any- but being unable to completely confirm it makes the intelligence not quite as valuable. Even so, with the Bolgirm project deciphered, and the bevy of research on genetic manipulation that your team recovered, there is certain to be plenty of positive outcome for this operation.


These thoughts and more run through your silicon processors as you watch the chugging train of men and machines trundle along, slowly approaching the waning sounds of battle to the north. It seems like General Stone's relief force has done their job well, though not to total completion. From this distance across the thick jungle, it's hard to get a good look at the enemy force opposing his soldiers, but there are certainly some of them left.


A panting, sweaty Collins comes up alongside you at the head of the column. "Well, sir, I'm honestly surprised we haven't seen any enemy air assets yet. Maybe that Foxhound squadron hit a nearby airbase?" He shrugs, motioning up ahead- "That still seems like a bit of a furball though. What's the move?"


This begs the question- do you come in guns blazing to the enemy's rear, or do you try and avoid conflict?

>Ride into the enemy's flank, like the conquering heroes you are, and break them utterly!
>Be more cautious- let the battle subside more, and hold in place
>Contact the General's forces by radio to figure out a course of action, even though this could pinpoint your forces to the enemy
>Write in

>>5068427
>Ride into the enemy's flank, like the conquering heroes you are, and break them utterly
Have the Punishers lead the way alongside the least damaged Patroclus unit, with the AA battery in tow just in case. The others should maneuver around the enemy and get behind friendly lines since they are mostly combat ineffective at this point.

Damn, we took an assload of Robot casualties. Only two units are relatively unschated. We should ask HCON for an expanded budget so we can field more units in future combat scenarios.

>>5068427
>>Ride into the enemy's flank, like the conquering heroes you are, and break them utterly!

>>5068443
>>5068486

Backing this, but we should radio ahead once our forces are spotted and let them know that we're inbound.

This might even cause the bugs to rout outright if they see and hear us on approach.

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>>Ride into the enemy's flank, like the conquering heroes you are, and break them utterly!

>>5068427
>>Ride into the enemy's flank, like the conquering heroes you are, and break them utterly!

>>5068427
>>Ride into the enemy's flank, like the conquering heroes you are, and break them utterly!
I like the cheesy new OP kek

>>5068427
>>Ride into the enemy's flank, like the conquering heroes you are, and break them utterly!

>>5068427
>>Ride into the enemy's flank, like the conquering heroes you are, and break them utterly!

General Stone's forces are the anvil, we'll be the hammer.

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>>5068486
>>5068511
>>5068528
>>5068705
>>5068924
>>5068950
>>5069035
>>5068443
Onwards to battle it is! Roll 1d100 + 15 for the element of surprise.

Rolled 64 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>5069055
Oh dear.

>>5068924
Cheese tastes good mayn.

>>5069055
Anyone else want these two rolls? I'll give it another hour.

Rolled 23 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>5069055

Rolled 88 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>5069055

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>>5069142
Absolute unit. The bugs won't know what hit them.

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>>5069056
>>5069131
>>5069142
In closing with the battlefield, you start to see the telltale signs of not just battle, but war. Your previous experiences have largely been tactical in nature, all smaller-scope. As you scale a large hill, the great expanse of deforested, scarred ground stretches for several miles in either direction, marking the price of top cover for your operation in a casualty number. It has clearly been a boxing match of a fight, a no-holds-barred slugfest; corpses litter the landscape and hasty fortifications burn and crumble.


Luckily, however- or mayhaps owing to something more than just simple luck- human forces seem to have come out on top of the Vash’atun. The sloped, curved vehicles of the insects lay largely in flaming shambles across the field, and the main core of continued resistance is a centerline, dug-in infantry regiment with some sort of powerful, legged howitzer at its rear. It is only this bastion of indirect firepower that keeps Stone’s own advance from pushing forward through them- the unfortunate reality of fast-movement by helicopter is a dearth of heavy armor; without heavier cannons of his own, the General seems to have been fought to a standstill even after early successes.


In a quick assessment of the battlefield, you order your least-bruised robot units to the forefront of the advance, increasing speed and violence of action to shock the enemy as heavily as possible. TAM hints at a risk of counterattack if you’re too slow- It wouldn’t be good!- and so, the die is cast. A quick microburst of radio waves carries your plan to the General, who responds in the affirmative and begins a renewed attack even as your mechs charge down the forested hill in the rear of the enemy position.

Rolled 103!

And indeed, violence of action is just what’s called for here. Your Punisher mechs are easily the heaviest unit still on the field, and their powerful cannons combined with the fusillade of fire from the relatively intact Patrocolus bots will be a stout stab in the back to the enemy position.


Of course, there is also the human phenomenon of warfare that pushed this decision from a reasonable one to the sole acceptable action: the concept of a charge. It’s not something that makes complete sense to you- how exactly running into enemy fire makes men more bold, rather than less so- but you are familiar with the cause and effect, and so you pump your vocal module to full and transmit on all channels a rousing shout: CHAAA-RRGGEE!

[1/2]

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>>5069225
The men oblige with a resounding echo, and you lead the way, watching your arthropod foes whirl about in sudden, horrified realization. There is no time for their artillery battery to rotate all the way around to launch a barrage, and their paltry small-arms fire is insufficient to drop larger armored vehicles such as these.

Unfortunately, even in a perfect storm such as this, there is still the mathematical certainty of combat- a few dozen bots and men fall in the exchange of fire. The enemy bears the brunt of the casualties in the exchange, easily four or five times your own losses- and that is prior to Stone’s men executing their own push. In a moment, they are surrounded, and even these hardened Horde soldiers are forced to drop their weapons and beg for their lives.


One of them is brought to you in the immediate aftermath that follows disarmament and bondage, a tall, winged four-armed insect with a colonel-equivalent chevron on it’s shoulder and emblazoned into a tattered piece of chest armor. Despite a pair of bullet holes marring its chitinous thorax, it speaks to you in clear, unlabored Standard Vash’atun.

“It seems as though you have bested this Filderazi, metal-shaped-sword-thing. Our lives are in your hands as the victor of confrontation. This one, Varix, is the commander of this battlegroup; I request you take this one’s life and spare the rest, if you must draw prisoner’s blood.”

It bows to you, in a curious facsimile of Age of Sail warfare, as though this is merely some noblesse diversion instead of humanity’s fate at hand. It’s a stark reminder that the Vash’atun do not have a unified culture, as much as they try. Clearly, this Filderazi creature is from a more honorable martial culture.


This is also a reminder of the vanishing rarity that is taking Horde prisoners. It doesn’t happen often, and even less so in recent years when the disparity between Earthly forces and that of the Horde has grown larger. It only adds to the windfall that this mission has been. There’s only one question: what’s to be done with them?

>Execute the lot- that’s what they do to most HCON troops captured, and it’ll save you limited transport space later
>Issue a complete stay of execution, and let a more senior military authority determine that later
>Wait to come into face-to-face contact with General Stone to make a decision
>Write in

>>5069232
Let General Stone make the command. But arrest the Colonel and its command staff.

>Insult the bug. Stupid bug. (Morale boost the humans, get a selfie)

>>5069232
>Execute the lot- that’s what they do to most HCON troops captured, and it’ll save you limited transport space later

Mop 'em up. Filth like these guys don't deserve our mercy.

>>5069232
>Write in
>Allow General Stone to make the descision, but argue for a stay of execution
This one is different from the others, we could stand to learn much about the inner workings of the Horde from him if we can show martial respect he seemed to expect from us.

>>5069232
>Write in
You would have me show honor when you give us none?
You would have me spare the rest when you spare none?
You would dare to ask for mercy when you put my people into camps, and experiment on them?
Why have you come unto our planet to exterminate us and take our resources?

Shame him, then extract intel.
>Wait to come into face-to-face contact with General Stone to make a decision

>>5069232
>Execute the lot- that’s what they do to most HCON troops captured, and it’ll save you limited transport space later
>Insult the soon to be dead bugs

>>5069232
>Allow General Stone to make the decision, but argue for a stay of execution
Intel is critical for this war. Need to know where to hit.

>>5069232
>>Issue a complete stay of execution, and let a more senior military authority determine that later

>>5069232
>Execute the lot- that’s what they do to most HCON troops captured, and it’ll save you limited transport space later

>>5069232
>Write in
Do the exact opposite of what the bug says. Execute everyone except the commander.

>>5069242
>>5069244
>>5069278
>>5069321
>>5069346
Looks like letting the General decide and arguing they not be executed takes the edge, just barely, with write-in for insult and attempt at intel extraction. Writing!

>>5069244
Yes

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>>5069564
Before responding, you turn to the trusty unit XO. "Collins, round up the enemy command staff. I want them all in front of me in the next five mikes." He responds with but a nod, quickly moving off to give snappy orders to his company commanders and subordinates. While there were certainly others that you could've had fill the executive officer position- maybe with better quality men, quantitatively- there is something to be said for a human who trusts you, even if it seems to be somewhat reserved.

Trait Revealed: Trusting
Major Robert Collins has put his full trust and confidence in you after your shared battlefield experience, and will never second-guess or betray you willingly.


Returning to the prisoner- who still waits in a low bow- you come to the conclusion that it is most proper to allow a superior officer to decide the fate of the defeated. Emotion matrices flooded with rage and loathing urge you to simply dispose of these disgusting monsters, but your primary mission overrides all: Protect human life at all costs. It would do you well to acquire a reputation for mercy even if others are not so merciful; perhaps this could lead to Horde commanders sparing your own men if you were to be defeated yourself.


That being said, none of your directives restrict you from disparaging this creature, or attempting to manipulate it into giving you information. A scything response comes to mind, and speaking in the same Standard Vash'atun, you give it.

"What misguided, imbalanced sense of honor, mercy and grace are you attempting to leverage, Colonel? No foe that deserves my parley would murder so many surrendering human soldiers, nor experiment on civilians in closed-off black sites. Why have you come unto our planet to exterminate us and take our resources?"

The thing looks almost taken aback at your statements, his mandibles clicking and extending in a series of unreadable facial expressions. He looks.. almost hurt?

"This one regrets the actions of the Collective as a whole, and begs your forgiveness for the dishonorable conditions in which this conflict must be fought. Varix and Filderazi are new to your planet, and must serve as they are told."


Well, it's not a complete answer, but it is something. Every time you push more for information on why the Horde are on Earth, Colonel Varix deflects, apologizing for the misconduct of other Vash'atun forces as though he could personally be held responsible for their actions in every way- but he does not give away any nuggets of information that you could use to discern some new intelligence about the Horde's purpose here.


[1/4]

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>>5069790
It is at this point that Collins and the enlisted men that accompanied you into the Gamma-12 labs arrive, pushing along a quintuplets of six-legged spiderlike bugs. They all bear the insignias that you would expect; three captains, a major, and a lieutenant colonel, which makes sense for a unit of the size. They are all in various states of disarray and covered in dirt and ichor; stained by battle and destruction just as much as the HCON soldiers who approach now.

And so they do, General Stone riding in an up-armored Jeep with a platoon of US Army Rangers in tow, their powered exoskeletons whirring in-stride as they easily keep up with the wheeled vehicle. Each bears a squad-size weapon; Stoner 62 machine guns and heavy multi-shot grenade lobbers pepper the formation just like normal rifles would for an un-exo'd infantry platoon. Clearly, the General has not skimped on his personal security.

"Brigadier TC, I presume," he says, dismounting his Jeep with carefree abandon and a practiced hand, "that was quite a maneuver. Well done- we might've been here awhile longer. Seems that you've even taken prisoners, eh?"


Stone is a tall man, if a bit portly- definitely strong, though, from the way his deltoid and bicep brachii muscles bulge through his large-sized uniform shirt. A pair of piercing green eyes particularly draw the attention of your social evaluation module, advising that between his HCON profile and the way he approached, you should take caution and remain deferential.

"Yes, General," you respond with a nod, "my men have been quite busy. Thank you for your stout anvil to crush the enemy against. I leave disposition of the remainder in your capable hands, though I do have my opinion on the matter. The Colonel there has been more talkative than most."


His booming laughter fills the air as he looks to your right, eyeing the Horde commander, stepping slowly closer to the bug. His pupil motions belie anger- an almost predatory gaze that he fixes on Varix. To its credit, the alien Colonel does not move an inch from his servile bow.

"You have.. an opinion, do you? Those Department L lab rats really cooked you up with something special. Can't say I've ever seen a computer with an opinion."

You shrug while Stone continues. "I'd say these prisoners can follow us back north, but I'll have to radio for extra exfil assets. Good call on keeping them intact. God knows we need every drop of juice we can squeeze out of the fuckers- as much as I'd like to do the squeezing myself, right here and now."

[2/4]

>>5069803
A short conversation with the bug commander later, you make clear that the enemy must turn over all comms devices, weapons and ammunition, and Stone's men frisk them down thoroughly, most grimacing the whole time. From there, the division forms up- even with your undersized regiment in tow, they are down two thousand men, the vehicles loaded to the top with body bags and corpses of friends and family, sons and daughters, husbands and wives, all sent to pay the butcher's toll of this terrible dance for humanity's collective life.

It's not too long of a trip north to your exfil, relatively- only about 90 miles. The sun sets and rises a few times without incident as the troops march, footfalls constantly mixing with the sounds of aircraft sorties in the distance. It is not just the ground soldiers who have given heavily in this mission- the pilots, too, have surely taken their own losses. You think deeply on just how much was paid for the information you gained, and even with the resounding success that this has been.. it doesn't feel like enough.

There is no point, however, in dwelling on the losses at this point in time. It is only one drop in the great bucket that is this war- that, and there are more important uses for your processing power on the long trip back to Colorado. Foremost among them is the creation of your after-action report that will be needed upon arrival.

What will you focus on? Naturally, the pertinent details of all intelligence information collected will be disseminated to the relevant parties.

>The enemy's lack of particular defense or reinforcement for what was supposedly a high-security laboratory
>A tactical analysis of enemy direct response to your attack, which seemed disjointed, and included no air assets or any of the elite troops that occupied the facility
>Capture of human guerrilla fighters and what that could mean in your professional opinion


The marshaling ground that the great column of troops finally arrives to is well protected, a resilient firebase on the edge of the conflict zone with the Mexican nexus. The soldiers are quite happy to see the long, beige container walls and the warm looking quonset huts, but you are more excited to notice a cutting-edge heavy duty VTOL lifter marked with a DEPT L. logo. Looks like your ride is in town.

As you make your way across the tarmac, a half-dozen Punishers pulling your core behind you, Major General Stone approaches you one last time, with a sheaf of papers in hand. "I have to say, for a tin can, you aren't half bad. Continue to keep your eye out for the men and I think you'll keep doing well."

Looking down at the papers, you note the header of one: OFFICIAL RECOMMENDATION FOR COMMENDATORY MEDAL. It seems like it isn't just words that Stone has for you. With a smile and a hearty handshake, he leaves you to your flight, and returns to his bloodied division to lick wounds and prepare for the next fight.

[3/4]

>>5069827
This flight is shorter than the one you took to get here, and by a long shot. Helicopter travel is great- fuel-efficient, high-capacity, and all- but nothing beats ramjet speed. With gravtech-enhanced life support for humans, very fast trips are possible, and it is only a few hours before you are back at the headquarters in the deep mountains of Colorado.

The jet sets down gently, and the cargo door opens to the verdant greenery and bright sunlight that usually pervades your home in early April. It is a jubilant feeling to be back here heralding the great success that your first mission brought.

A welcoming party awaits you, consisting of the Department L team, Doctor Morgan, and Overstead, the latter scowling his eternal scowl while the rest smile and cheer. You swear that your optical sensors detect a slight upturn of the corners of Overstead's mouth, though.


Mission Success. Grade: B


The debriefing is relatively quick, with few questions being asked of you. It will be some time before your intelligence can be processed into something usable, and your chain of command is interested in your next priorities- you are a "big boy", so to speak, able to determine your own next course of action. There are many valuable missions that your limited attention and manpower could be used on- and there's also the matter of upgrades that the scientists have cooked up in recent weeks. Some things might also be worth waiting for.

What's next? Select as many options as you want, but remember that time keeps moving as you wait! You have acquired 12 Enhancement Points for upgrades.

>Spend some downtime refurbishing, refitting and upgrading, and give your human troops an R&R period (minimum 1-2 weeks for just repairing damage, 1-2 months for applying upgrades)

>Lobby command for more funding and industrial capacity, to increase the maximum number of units you can field (5 days, hinges on chance and success of previous mission)

>Get in touch with the HCON Wartime Radio and Video Ministry, to record a proper propaganda film of your exploits (3 month minimum)

>Request an intelligence dossier on a next mission target to begin prepping, or just to look at (Suggested Action)(Suitable Targets: Balkans, NW Russia, Indonesia, Tijuana Line)

You can request a dossier/mission anywhere, but it may be turned down. Remember, you've only got one mission under your belt!

>Write in

>>5069843

>Spend some downtime refurbishing, refitting and upgrading, and give your human troops an R&R period (minimum 1-2 weeks for just repairing damage, 1-2 months for applying upgrades)

>Lobby command for more funding and industrial capacity, to increase the maximum number of units you can field (5 days, hinges on chance and success of previous mission)

>Request an intelligence dossier on a next mission target to begin prepping

>>5069827
>A tactical analysis of enemy direct response to your attack, which seemed disjointed, and included no air assets or any of the elite troops that occupied the facility

>>5069847
>>Request an intelligence dossier on a next mission target to begin prepping (Balkans)

Sorry, forgot to put in a target.

>>5069827
>A tactical analysis of enemy direct response to your attack, which seemed disjointed, and included no air assets or any of the elite troops that occupied the facility
>>5069843
>Lobby command for more funding and industrial capacity, to increase the maximum number of units you can field (5 days, hinges on chance and success of previous mission)
>Request an intelligence dossier on a next mission target to begin prepping, or just to look at (Suggested Action)(Suitable Targets: Balkans, NW Russia, Indonesia, Tijuana Line)

Hot damn, an actual Recommendation for a Medal out the gate. That's fucking Snazzy, the mission must've gone real we-

>Mission Success. Grade: B
...fuck. I can't belive we missed the S ranking. We're not Pro Gamers.

>>5069827
>Capture of human guerrilla fighters and what that could mean in your professional opinion

>>5069843
>Spend some downtime refurbishing, refitting and upgrading, and give your human troops an R&R period (minimum 1-2 weeks for just repairing damage, 1-2 months for applying upgrades)
>Lobby command for more funding and industrial capacity, to increase the maximum number of units you can field (5 days, hinges on chance and success of previous mission)
>Request an intelligence dossier on a next mission target to begin prepping, or just to look at (Balkans)

I think we should wait until we participate in a major successful offensive before we engage in Propaganda. I don't know if we should upgrade yet, but we can always take a look at what we can do and the decide afterwards. More unit variety would be nice to spend Enhancement Points on if no upgrades are too our liking right now.

>>5069843
>Mission Success. Grade: B

I want to ask about the grading system. Is B the second highest grade behind A or is there an A* or S grade or something like that?

>>5069827
>>A tactical analysis of enemy direct response to your attack, which seemed disjointed, and included no air assets or any of the elite troops that occupied the facility

>>5069843
>Spend some downtime refurbishing, refitting and upgrading, and give your human troops an R&R period (minimum 1-2 weeks for just repairing damage, 1-2 months for applying upgrades)
>Lobby command for more funding and industrial capacity, to increase the maximum number of units you can field (5 days, hinges on chance and success of previous mission)
>Request an intelligence dossier on a next mission target to begin prepping (Alaska or Balkans)

Those upgrades where nice, and they would help us if we can have one or two. We should clean up North America if possible. One continent not occupied can help the rest of the planet better. For sometime at least.
Otherwise Balkans is a decent choice. They are a thorn in the middle of several untouched nations and nearby war theatres. If they are free, HCON doesn t need to watch their backs there for a while.

>>5069935

Supporting these choices!

In general, we should apply an upgrade or two, but we shouldn't wait too long before our next mission. We should be out in the field within 4 months, preferably.

>>5069992
The mission grading is an abstract measure of success based on possible outcomes. The best possible grade is an A+, and the lowest possible grade is an F.

It also seems like everyone at least wants a look at the possible upgrades, so let me throw a reminder of what the possibilities are here. In order of how long each class of upgrades take: Personal >Core>>>Army

Personal:
[10] Emitter Miniaturization: Expand the ability of your inbuilt transceiver from hundreds of drones to thousands, allowing you to remove the necessity of bringing your core along on missions. Makes the MCD a good bit bulkier, but also adds some extra armor plating.

[5] Machine Consistency: Take a 50 on one roll that involves your commander unit, once per mission. Can be improved to better base numbers for more upgrade points later. At the first level, only works for personally-involved, low-variance tasks- opening a lock, calculating a trajectory on a stationary but distant object, etc.

[5] Interceptor Module: Install a grav-tech projectile interception module. Allows you to project a small 2m bubble around yourself for extremely short periods of time. The bubble is capable of stopping projectiles up to anti-tank munitions; at the current level this is incapable of stopping artillery rounds or offering any protection against chemical or thermal threats. Requires regeneration period commensurate with use time; maximum use period 5 seconds.

[3] GLMU-10: Install a multi-use 40mm grenade launcher on the shoulder of your command unit; allows for some extra combat options and gives your MCD some decent punch- until you run out of ammunition.

[3] Grav-tech Disruptor Blade: Insert a short prototype gravity blade into your left forearm. Ideal for cutting through armored targets and accessing denied spaces. Provides a minor bonus to unit combat rolls in certain circumstances.

[2] Spider Drone grenades: Equip 3 replenishable grenades that contain a few knuckle-sized spider drones each. Not practical for combat use, but excellent for recon in underground spaces and investigating rubble.

[2] Cutting Torch: Attach a small canister of gas and a cutting torch aperture to your right arm. Capable of generating high heat; usable as an improvised anti-armor weapon.

>>5070275
Core:
[10] Rocket Rails: Set a pair of SRBM launchers into the command core assembly. Massive destruction will ensue if targets can be properly lased and missiles are unimpeded. Might make the core a target. Only 2 missiles/mission.

[5] EM Pulsar: Upgrade the radio transceiver unit in your command core with an electromagnetic pulsar, a rapidly rotating pulse-based radio emitter. Allows for powerful electronic warfare and jamming attacks on enemy units in the battlefield at any time, 1/turn, though this ability can expose the command core's location!

[5] Battlefield Hardening: Equip the command core with more substantial armor, a deployable wall, automated sentry guns, and a platoon-sized detachment of inbuilt Patrocolus drones. Makes it much more difficult to destroy; also increases the footprint of the core and makes it harder to conceal.

Army:
[10] Autonomy Upgrade: Install basic logic chips into your drones that allow them to function in absence of your orders, based on preprogrammed routines and general guidelines- protect humans from harm, destroy aliens, kill threats to command unit.

[7] Suicide Drones: Implant one in every five infantry robots with a series of detonation charges which will explode on command.

[7] New Unit Type: Invest part of your upgrade budget in fully funding a new unit type. You'll get to pick from a few options when the process is complete. [Will take 1-3 missions.]

>>5070281
Since we have 12 points, I think the spider drones and drone autonomy upgrades make sense, though I don't know if we want to spend that much time upgrading the whole army.

>>5070307
Drone Autonmy I feel is a little uneccessary at this point, we just have to ensure we don't break our Command Unit. What I feel we should do is this:

>[Spider Drones]
>[GravTech Disruptor Blade] / [Cutting Torch]
>New Unit Type

This will give us more flexibility both in combat with the new unit type and outside of it with the spider mines being able to scout out closed off areas and the blade/torch letting us access it.

I really want the Rocket Rails for the Core, but until we get the Automated Defense upgrade and the budget to field more units it will be too risky, as we could be put in a position where we can't defend the Core after we fire the Missiles due to the lack of units. It's absolutely a must when we can defend it though.

>>5070281
>Cutting Torch
>Autonomy Upgrade
I suspect EMPs and Jammers in the future.

>>5069847
>>5069920
>>5069935
>>5069998
>>5070109
Looks like it's a unanimous vote for refurbishing, looking for more funding, and a strong preference for the Balkans. Writing now- and the vote on upgrades will come in this next post.

Please give me 1d100 + 10 for the lobbying attempt!

Rolled 30 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>5070575
Robot Lobbyism is entrenched in HCON Society.

Rolled 1 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>5070575

File: Pain and suffering.gif (2.39 MB, 360x360)

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>>5070597
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

>REGRET

>>5070597
An impressively terrible attempt at diplomacy.

>>5070612
We still have hope anon. The third guy could roll a 100

Rolled 25 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>5070575

Crit fail it is.. well, this should be interesting.

Instead of getting an expanded budget, we're demoted and get our funding stripped. Sad beeps and boops.

Hey QM, finally found the thread again.

Glad your ball and chain is doing alright.

On the upgrades
Spider drones look good for recon - you can never have enough information and it helps our main punch which is our drone units.

I really, really don't like the idea of making our core more spotable. If we do, then we should go all in on it, but as far as I'm concerned, the bugs don't know it exists and I want to keep it that way as long as possible. If there are any stealth upgrades I'd like to know QM

New unit type is always good, more options to play with has never hurt.

>>5070597

A magnificent failure. We've probably set robot rights back decades...

>>5070597
PAIN

File: BalkansResistance.jpg (90 KB, 750x563)

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First things first, there's the matter of what your troops should be training for next and where you'll focus your efforts. So many trouble spots and battlefields that risk the life of innocent men and women; it's hard to pick between them all. That being said, the Balkans are particularly enticing: the soul of their resistance is strong, and it is an opportunity to leverage your special strengths in engaging with people.

Having decided on the general point of attack, you get the Brief-bot module to give you the foundational facts on the theater.


BRIEFING: The area containing the former countries known as Yugoslavia, Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania is a land rich in natural resources, possessing a fiercely resistant populace. Stemming the tide of the Red Horde often seems an endless task, but if there is one thing that the residents of the Balkans can agree on it is that arthropods need crushing.

BRIEFING:The Vash'atun previously viewed the region as a distant priority and an annoying thorn in their side, but recent weeks have noted an uptick in troops and materiel into the area, suggesting a more robust counter-insurgency effort or plans to establish an offensive into the European mainland proper.


From what talk is had in the headquarters, and your analysis of the situation, inserting into the area in large numbers would prove particularly difficult. A bevy of anti-aircraft plasma launchers and long-range artillery emplacements mean that an extended no man's land covers the northern reaches of the Balkans Occupied Zone, and to the shattered remains of the overambitious Syrian republican lands.

You conclude- in conjunction, of course, with several long discussions between you, your XO and the Department L command- that it would be best to keep your footprint minimal, and thus, execute a long-term resistance assistance mission. They need more logistical support, more command, more knowledge. Who better to give that much-needed help than a computer?


Now, there is also the matter of mission objectives. You could go into the Balkans for a hundred years and help people; free men and women from camps, and aid the freedom fighters on a person-to-person basis. That's just not a good use of HCON resources. General Overstead in particular is quite harsh on the point- Tactical Computer, you must prioritize your time and effort- and the two of you reach a good conclusion on what must be done.

[1/4]

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>>5070923
You'll insert with a small squad of troops- a half dozen infantry bots, three standard, three light, and the Major's team- from Budapest, and make your way into the occupied zone by any means necessary. Once there and in contact with the local teams, you have a selection of possible useful end goals:


Destroy the Horde scrambler towers: There is a network of powerful jammers located within the centers of Vash'atun military strength in the Balkans area. Advanced technology makes it difficult to detect their exact location, but if the radio blockade could be lifted, a counter-offensive could be scrounged up that might push the bugs out of the region.

Target enemy logistical centers: The enemy contingent that is located in this area of the globe is largely cut-off from their main body, with no high-traffic orbital Nexus organic to the territory. They rely heavily on their dominance of the airspace and orbital shipments to sustain themselves here, especially with the harassment of the resistance- more coordinated attacks could cripple the Vash'atun presence.

Sabotage the Med Fleet: Horde naval forces have increased in the Mediterranean Sea as of late, with the Balkan docks supplying most of the marauding fleet. If you could hit the southern docks, or the ships themselves, it could leave an opening for a sea-based landing to free the Balkans by conventional means.

Unify resistance leaders: Perhaps the most difficult objective among them is the idea of solidifying all the resistance factions into one. Only the sticky glue that is literal xenophobia helps keep the fighters from squabbling- but if all of the disparate groups could be made to see eye-to-eye, they would stand a better chance against the Vash'atun forces, and maybe they could even overwhelm the enemy with only indigenous capabilities and a surfeit of grit. It's a stretch, to be sure, but the payoff would be immense.


With clear targets in view, prioritization becomes much easier. It's always helpful to have an experienced room of human minds to bounce ideas off of; despite your own extensive doctrinal database, practical knowledge is usually most applicable.

After passing along directions to your sub-commanders for a longer rest period, and on to Major Collins to prepare his team, it is time to prepare yourself for another kind of objective entirely- the unfortunate human reality of politicking and budget struggle.

[2/4]

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>>5070951
In the aftermath of planning Operation Iron Eagle, there are several days until the quarterly Coalition of Nations Funding and Development summit. The summit determines budgeting for all of humanity's moonshots- the ideas and plans that have a low success chance, but very good payout if successful.

All of the money and industrial capacity that established Department L- and continues to fund it- came from this summit, and if there's a place to get the resources you've calculated that you need to protect humanity, it is here. It takes no small amount of convincing to get Dr. Morgan and Major General Overstead to allow your accompaniment of the delegation.

But convince them you do, and they wish you good luck. The team going to the conference consists of a pair of scientists and an obese Texan senior diplomat named Morris Dillersby- apparently the most technically-minded among the United States' dismantled foreign service corps. You board the gravjet alongside the trio, and as it takes off, Dillersby addresses you in a classic drawl.


"So," he says, his dip spit dribbling down his thick, double chin, "what kind of newfangled techno-secretary are you? Yer' here to take my minutes, right?"

If you could sigh, and the strictures of polite conversations with a superior allowed it, you would, but instead, you don't. "No, sir, I am Brigadier General TACTICOM, an 'iron soldier', if you will. I command a robotic detachment into battle, such that human beings might live."

His jowls flap in jovial laughter, a hand slapping a knee as he guffaws. You don't often dislike people- it comes with the territory of your programming- but to have your core purpose insulted like this grinds your metaphorical gears. Frustrating doesn't begin to describe it.

"A computer soldier, heh. That is somethin' else. I can't say I have much trust in computers- I mean, look at them NASA cats back in the late 60's, needed a whole room of the things to launch one teeny rocket into space. How smart can you be, all packed in a man-sized body like that?"


Before you even know you're saying it, your vocal modulator spits out an angry response.
"My creators are genius-level intellects. Certainly smarter than you, sir, and by a substantial margin." It is as though the air has gone out of the plane's cabin, as the two scientists who were just now playing a card game and conversing quietly go completely silent. The fat man looks across the table at you and you detect anger, disgust, and disbelief.

The remainder of the trip to New York is.. tense, to say the least. The diplomat doesn't say another word to you, furiously scribbling notes in an old State Department notebook. Even when you arrive to the convention location, you are instructed by one of the scientists in a low voice that you should probably stay in the back of the proceedings. So you do, relegated to looking onto a live feed from a television placed in the outer waiting rooms.

[3/4]

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>>5071062

You watch, in fact, as the fat Texan not only fails to defend the basic sustainment of your program- replenishment of losses, and a continued upgrade budget- but even argues in favor of moving 20% of your program's overall funding to an over-hyped, impossible Skyfortress project. Some sort of French-designed semi-orbital battleship to compete with Horde spaceships- but any good student of war knows one must secure their own land before taking the fight to the enemy.

With dismay, you even see the motion succeeding on the floor, the rest of the summit passing by in a blur. It seems like your rush to protect the honor of your creators left you in the dust with someone who just wanted flattery- a lesson learned, to put into your databanks. No one is perfect, as Doctor Morgan says- not even you.


Thankfully, you are able to depart alone, returning to Colorado with a much more friendly visiting group of Swedish scientists and their security detail. Interestingly enough, they were coming to visit your very own Department L, and being able to interact with one of the flagship projects of the unit makes for quite the treat for them. You reassure yourself with the knowledge that at least the trip was not a complete failure.

Again, in but a blink of time, the vehicle returns to the testing facility in Colorado, the scientists disembarking just as you have. This time, however, your welcoming party is.. much thinner.


Only the Foundry foreman, Mr. Horst, awaits you on the tarmac, though his demeanor is still just as simultaneously gruff and smiley as it was when you last saw him. He is also still the only human to have hugged you, and he does so again, wrapping you in a warm embrace. "Good to see you haven't kicked the bucket yet.. you old bucket!" he says, with howling laughter, and leads you to the Foundry gates.


The head engineer of Department L- how did he get to such a highly coveted position with his demeanor?, you think to yourself- walks into the humming, churning factory, you trailing behind him. He waves a hand at the machinery, smiling all the while.

"We have a whole suite of new upgrades since you last were here, chief. I recommend you check out the cool stuff the eggheads have dreamed up for you personally- and the bits and bobs for your core thingamajig. Lots of good stuff, and.."

He continues on for several hours, walking you through each and every choice for what you could put into production. It's helpful, and insightful. Now all that's left is your decisions.


What upgrades are you ordering?

See these posts >>5070275 >>5070281 for catalog.

>Spider Drones, Grav Blade, and a new unit to be picked up when you return from your mission
>The Autonomy upgrade and Spider Drones
>Write in

>>5071078
>>The Autonomy upgrade and Spider Drones

>>5071078
>Spider Drones, Grav Blade, and a new unit to be picked up when you return from your mission

>>5071078

> [5] Interceptor Module: Install a grav-tech projectile interception module. Allows you to project a small 2m bubble around yourself for extremely short periods of time. The bubble is capable of stopping projectiles up to anti-tank munitions; at the current level this is incapable of stopping artillery rounds or offering any protection against chemical or thermal threats. Requires regeneration period commensurate with use time; maximum use period 5 seconds.

> [3] GLMU-10: Install a multi-use 40mm grenade launcher on the shoulder of your command unit; allows for some extra combat options and gives your MCD some decent punch- until you run out of ammunition.

> [3] Grav-tech Disruptor Blade: Insert a short prototype gravity blade into your left forearm. Ideal for cutting through armored targets and accessing denied spaces. Provides a minor bonus to unit combat rolls in certain circumstances.

Save the remaining one point.

My logic is that we won't have as many troops on this mission so it is important that we improve the combat effectiveness of our MCD.

>>5071078
>>The Autonomy upgrade and Spider Drones
Autonomy is paramount.

>>5071078
>Spider Drones, Grav Blade, and a new unit to be picked up when you return from your mission

>>5071078

>Spider Drones, Grav Blade, and a new unit to be picked up when you return from your mission


> Unify resistance leaders

This is going to be fun… QM the Balkan war never happened in this timeline right? Because if the alien attack? Balkan insurgency and counterinsurgency usually involves a lot of genocide so uh

>>5071078
>Spider Drones, Grav Blade, and a new unit to be picked up when you return from your mission

Seems like the smartest pick. Those drones and grav blade are certain to be useful in an insurgency scenario.

>>5071102
>>5071105
>>5071120
>>5071261
>>5071316
>>5071383
>>5071516
Seems like the spider drones, blade, and new unit take the vote here. Writing.

>>5071383
Yes, that's correct. In the TACTICOM universe, the invasion of the Red Horde in late 1973 means that no Yugoslav war ever happened; racial, political, and religious tensions certainly still remain, however.

>>5071538

Don't I know it, I knew doing that guerilla warfare in Yugoslavia module would be useful. Hope Tito is still around, he's a G.

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>>5071538
As Horst takes you around the Foundry complex, a pair of particular pieces catch your mechanical eye. The first is a set of fist-sized grenades, studded with a series of leglike protrusions. You heft them in your steel hands, the lightness of the things becoming clear, and Horst calls out to a nearby engineer upon seeing your clear interest. "Hey, Jimbo, get the recon range ready. I think TC here wants to check out the Arachnid Surprise."


"The.. Arachnid Surprise?" you utter incredulously, walking quickly to follow the foreman. He takes long, fast strides for a good distance, traveling until you both reach an isolated underground room.

There's a large glass viewing window, clearly two-way, peering into this room, and you can now see the purpose of the place. It is strewn with obstacles- tall pillars, rubble, gravel, even a few swiveling robo-sentries with what look like paintball rifles. Horst extends a meaty hand, and you place the strange balls in it.


The engineer on duty places the grenades into a pair of small tubes, which then lobs the devices into the midst of the testing area. They quickly extend their legs, each sporting a central optical and audio sensor- and even better, you can feel them waiting for a command signal. Expertly manipulating the devices, you gain a sense of what they're capable of quite rapidly- top speed around 20 miles per hour, navigation over rough surfaces, and insertion into tight spaces less than two inches squared. That's pretty impressive!

"Go ahead and put those.. spider drones.. into production, Mister Horst. They will prove quite useful."

Horst frowns, looking at you with what you estimate is his attempt at a pleading face. "Spider drones? Not Arachnid Surprises?"

With a shake of the head, you complete his sadness, but he carries out the order, barking, "ALRIGHT, PUT THE.. SPIDER DRONES INTO FULL PRODUCTION, YOU ALL KNOW THE DRILL!"
[1/3?]

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>>5071884
The other technology that draws your attention comes a bit later in the day, far distant from the more esoteric reconnaissance section and well into the weaponry section. This place is filled to the brim with armaments that are just not quite mature enough for full production, or are too heavy even for your drones, but coming to a close of the tour, one humming, blue-tinged weapon catches your eye.

Horst, seeing your concentration again more focused on a specific thing, instructs the blade brought down from its vacuum-sealed chamber. "That," he opines, "is a majestic choice. Prototype gravity impact dagger; the power supply could be fulfilled by your base plant with no issues, and it's an absolute beast. Only problem is you have to get close."


Carrying the sword in your hand feels almost dangerous, the buzzing edges slicing through the very air as you whip it through a few slow passes. It does give you an idea, though. "Horst, what if this weapon was to be inserted into, say, my bracer? It would prove quite well concealed, and remove any issue of accidentally cutting any entity I did not plan to."

His face lights up at your suggestion, and immediately pulls out a piece of blueprint paper. The two of you brainstorm for a matter of minutes, his creativity supported by your mechanical, instantaneous knowledge. It's only an hour later that you exit the Foundry with your full new loadout in tow, a bandolier of spider drone grenades back-slung and the inert gravblade in your left forearm sheathe.
.

With that done, it's now time to address the final pre-mission concerns- loadout and insertion.

[2/3]

>>5071895
Gonna have to post the rest of this one tomorrow, I am wayyyy more drunk than I thought I was.

>>5072006

I demand that you write up a "TC simulates drinking with warbuddies" post after we get back from the Balkans as punishment for this delay QM

>>5072053
+1

Also I like the idea of uniting the Balkan resistance. We could do with a bit less genocide on our own planet, and if XCOM taught me anything, united we stand, divided we fall.

>>5071895
Following the hours-long Foundry trip you emerge into the late afternoon sun, the great star painting vibrant yellows and oranges across the sky. It is a striking sight- even for a robotic being as yourself, the immensity of the cosmos never fails to impress. Even with your strict timetable and reminders chiming, the allure of the sunset is enough to silence all your obligations for a moment and just watch.

You walk across the compound, calculations running and processors humming. The question at hand is what amount of supplies should be brought along, and how you intend to cross the wide exclusion zone.

Obviously, the two goals interact substantially- a lighter load will allow you to move more quickly over the dangerous terrain in question, while a heavier one will hinder you.


That being said, bringing in a proper arsenal of heavy weaponry and plenty of food, batteries and gasoline might prove to be very useful. Having a limited supply of logistically relevant materials will make bargaining with the locals difficult, and will cause your reliance on resistance factions to be higher.

You take some time to visit the training center, where Major Collins and the team are running exercise after exercise in preparation for your departure. Today's gauntlet is a study in urban combat, your XO taking the opportunity to test the responsiveness of your drones under human command. It goes.. decently. They are not designed for control by a non-mechanical mind- the inputs just don't come fast enough. That, unfortunately, is an unsolved problem to this point.

The exercise concludes a short moment after you arrive, and you consult with the team for a moment. All of the enlisted troops think you should go in heavy on ammo and light on food- "We can scrounge pretty good, promise," says LCpl. James- but the Major comes to the same conclusion that you do.

"Best to go with a balanced, mid-weight approach, I think, TC. We just don't know enough about what we're going to be up against."

Plenty of options await you, all with their own benefits and negatives. With the problem of moving fast across open ground in mind, what are you taking along with you?


>Take a modest amount of weapons, ammo, food and supplies
>Load up heavy on weapons and ammo
>Load up heavy on food and supplies
>Go in light and fast

>>5072053
Sounds like a good intermission idea. Also, oops, dropped my trip.

>>5072671
>Take a modest amount of weapons, ammo, food and supplies
Guerilla warfare, we need enough supplies to keep ourselves afloat until we can gain the trust of the locals, but not enough that it'll slow us down.


>They are not designed for control by a non-mechanical mind- the inputs just don't come fast enough. That, unfortunately, is an unsolved problem to this point.
New idea for future upgrade: Neural Implants that would allow human officers to command smaller detachments of drones, perhaps a section or a squad, more effectively in combat. Would allow for more effective small scale co-ordination on the battlefield.

>>5072671

>>Load up heavy on weapons and ammo

Guerilla warfare is about winning the support of the population in order to draw your supplies from them. Winning over the populace shouldn't be too much of an issue given the occupiers' species.

>>5072671
>>Load up heavy on weapons and ammo

We should bring enough to be able to distribute it to the locals.

>>5072671
>Load up heavy on weapons and ammo
Locals will have supplies they are however severely short on munitions and weaponry.

>>5072671
>>Load up heavy on weapons and ammo

>>5072671
>>Load up heavy on food and supplies
gotta keep our guys fed

>>5072671
>Load up heavy on weapons and ammo

>>5072671
>Load up heavy on weapons and ammo

I really want to give the locals supplies and medical but Uncle Lech's tactics from iron harvest makes the most sense here. Make the locals desperate, make them want to start an uprising and fight when the alternative is starvation and death then gain a foothold.

Worst comes to worst they can eat the insects.

>>5072692
>>5072726
>>5072752
>>5072785
>>5072804
>>5072810
>>5072853
>>5072923
Heavy on weapons and ammo it is! Writing now, though this update may take awhile.

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>>5073799

>>5073799
>>5073807
This now a CYOA thread?

>>5073838

Nah, some moron probably posted in the wrong thread.

>>5073838
Yeah, not sure what that is.

Should have this update done in the next 24 hours.

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Four posts deep on this update and still movin' along! Lots to set up with this new engagement.

I'll throw out some player questions while you guys wait:
>What's your overall strategy looking to be moving into a different, less conventional type of warfare?
>What kind of new unit do you most desire?
>Is there too much or too little character interaction?

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>>5075267
>What's your overall strategy looking to be moving into a different, less conventional type of warfare?
We need to be light and mobile for this job, anything heavier than a Patroclus unit would be be slowing us down. Since we're grabbing tons of weaponry I hope we can get things that will improve our first strike capabilities, like grenade launchers and heavy rocket launchers, so we can cause maximum confusion on the first turn.

>What kind of new unit do you most desire?
I like Tanks. I want a Fatboy, but it would probably be an extreme end game unit if we can make it at all.

>Is there too much or too little character interaction?
It's pretty good so far, I want to strangle that fucking Texan so I guess you did something right when you wrote him out.

>>5075267
>>What's your overall strategy looking to be moving into a different, less conventional type of warfare?
I prefer asymmetric warfare, I have better memories planning hit and run attacks as opposed to assaults and charges. Heavy on the weaponry means we can train up partisan units using the humans but they'd likely just be small fires compared to us. Human heroes might be useful though, as much as I want sniper units having a full battalion of sharpshooters seem... overspecialized. Even if we want light infantry we'd want light infantry we can use for other things later and that we can upgrade.

>>What kind of new unit do you most desire?
Something like Jump pack infantry like the Reapers from starcraft that can move in quickly, strike hard with mines and grenades then move out. Mines and traps will be incredibly helpful for the fight we're doing.

A fast APC would also be great since it'd let us move infantry and supplies around quickly. It'd also let us steal equipment on mass and move away quickly if we hit supply caravans.

>>Is there too much or too little character interaction?

I don't mind either way although it looks like warcrimes is gonna be splitting the viewers a bit so you might wanna be wary of that in case a salt storm arises from differing views.

>>5075267
>What's your overall strategy looking to be moving into a different, less conventional type of warfare?
Light and fast

>What kind of new unit do you most desire?
Snipers

>Is there too much or too little character interaction?
maybe turn it up just a tiny bit. But then again we are on thread 2.

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Just came in and caught up. Kickass quest, OP.

Question about the Patroclus. They're described in thread 1 as carrying two smoke grenades. Is use of that equipment simply assumed in regular play, or can we call specifically for its use?

For example, looking at turn 4 of the training exercise, I thought of using smoke to disguise a consolidation of our line and leaving enemy armor with nothing to hit, or at least a step behind us and unable to get LoS on the civilians. Just wondering if that sort of thing is possible.

Anon can judge me on tactics.

>>5075267
>What's your overall strategy looking to be moving into a different, less conventional type of warfare?
Raids, Ambushes, Harassment of patrols and supply lines and a Final rapid assault when we are sure we have bleed them enough and one of their strategic positions is weak and easy to break
>What kind of new unit do you most desire?
Stealth melee robots, predator like, just full on melee. Perfect for be a thorn on the side for our enemies, and keep them occupied with searching them. The other ideas throw around are also nice, same for war vehicles. Maybe we could get HCON command to throw us some human rangers with the PAs, in a war theatre where tougher units are required.
>Is there too much or too little character interaction?
It's a good amount so far. i imagine more people will come knocking to the department door, with more successful missions we have accomplish. That small gaffe with the Texan is a minor setback, he will begrudgingly return if we have more victories or someone else important in HCON will support us.

>>5075267

>What's your overall strategy looking to be moving into a different, less conventional type of warfare?

Conventional insurgency wisdom would suggest our best bet is to as the others say act light and fast in order to bog down and chip away at the alien occupier. It'd also suggest that it's necessary to win over the civillian population, but given we're dealing with ayys that might not be too hard. I disagree with not taking anything heavy though - once the ayys are weakened enough we'll need those heavy units for the final, decisive attack.

One thing that most people don't remember is that there is technically no such thing as 'conventiona;' or 'unconventional' warfare. Warfare is based on combinations that transcend boundaries and you do whatever you have to to win.

Copied and pasted from a lecture on this:

Centre of Gravity - Clausewitz
- Idea of the most effective target for a blow and place that inflicts the heaviest blow
§ Not necessarily about the enemy force - could be other things
□ What is the centre of gravity in a counter-insurgency? - The civilians - counterinsurgents competing with the insurgents for the support of the civilians

- Strategy of counterinsurgency
○ Punish for giving support to the insurgency - scare them into not supporting the insurgents
○ Reward for giving support to counterinsurgency - offer rewards for support
§ Need to find a balance between the two
§ Strategy of the insurgency is the exact opposite since both sides are competing for the civilians
- If counterinsurgency is about the balance between stick and carrot what has changed in regards to civilian populations as the centre of gravity


TLDR: we gotta be ready to commit war crimes and get war crimed.

>What kind of new unit do you most desire?

Do we have any organic fighter cover at the moment? That's what I want.

>Is there too much or too little character interaction?

Seems fine to me.

OP, is this going to play out like a normal insurgeny? because those take like ~15 years on average to win.

>>5075321
Dillersby is certainly a "principled" man.

>>5075338
War engenders desperation and lack of morality in men. You, however, are a machine- a machine made to emulate emotion well, sure- and with that comes the benefit of rational action. Sometimes, things that humans would view as war crimes are the right move; sometimes not so much. These will be your decisions to make.

>>5075437
Glad you're enjoying so far. Yes, the Patros are all equipped with a pair of smokes each, and that's in play- though remember, each of the battlefield squares represent battalion-sized engagements. If you want a coordinated usage of smoke grenades, that is a possibility, but those drones would have to abandon their normal activities to do so in a coordinated manner.

>>5075564
Organic fighter cover is not something you currently have, no. It's also hard to get a meaningful amount of the kind of loitering fighters you'd need with Department L's budget- that kind of thing is top of the line tech in this day and age; you could get three battalions of Patroclus drones for a single such aircraft.

As for "normal insurgency", this situation differs substantially from the normal insurgency-counterinsurgency balance- it's an alien occupation of a country where everyone's pretty much on the same page as to who the real enemy is. I can easily say that you won't spend 15 years here unless you really want to, but we may have a few short timeskips and jumps here and there throughout this mission/arc.

>>5072671
Ultimately, through a copious amount of pleading from the enlisted soldiers and a re-assessment of the situation from a different light, the decision is made to bring a frankly ridiculous amount of weaponry for your squad-sized team. Between yourself and the drones, you can pack in forty rifles or so, and the rest of the group manages to load up a half dozen rocket launchers, a pair of machine guns with plenty of boxes of ammo, and a hundred pound bag of pure explosives.

It is a veritable arsenal, enough to arm a full platoon of troops with military grade weaponry- and that's not even counting if you can get your hands on a vehicle or two in Budapest.


With the armory completed and in hand, there's the matter of regionalization, the process of gaining a knowledge base about local languages, customs, and expectations. Normally, servicemembers going into a situation like this would have many weeks, or even a month or two to learn- but with the escalation of enemy actions in the area, there is no time to waste.

One fine April morning, you make your way to the squad bay where your team is staying, interrupting a rare moment of rest time. Sergeant Matraq, the Lebanese team lead, stands up from a game of cards and snaps the remainder of the squad to attention with a bellowed command. "ATTTTTTENT-SHUN!"


Like the good men and women they are, your strike team stand. You've spent a bit of time around them in the weeks that have passed by in this interim period between missions; they seem to have gained a semblance of familiarity and trust in you. Working with a robotic commander must be strange for them, but James, Rictor, Klein and Matraq have taken to it well.

Goose and Maverick bonus increased!

Waving a hand, you motion for them all to stand down from their gesture of respect, and they return to their distractions- Matraq to his cards with Klein, and James and Rictor to a heated discussion on the virtues of import beer (a true rarity these days, when most shipping is impeded and reserved for wartime materiel).


Collins, on the other hand, is consumed with busywork setting out orders, endorsements and other paperwork on a older-model typewriter. He looks up as you enter the room, pointing a hand at a chair as you walk in.

"Have a seat, TC; let's get down to work." He gives you a smirk and pushes a stack of papers your way, and get down to work you do.

[1/5]

>>5076084
>War engenders desperation and lack of morality in men. You, however, are a machine- a machine made to emulate emotion well, sure- and with that comes the benefit of rational action. Sometimes, things that humans would view as war crimes are the right move; sometimes not so much. These will be your decisions to make.

Not not saying do it or don't either way, just that when to do war crimes and how sever the war crimes you do might cause a rift or fight in voters. Just something to keep in mind, they've fought over much dumber shit.

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>>5076104
Over the next few days, you requisition and receive several data-drives, all of them as big as a manila folder. Each one contains gigabytes of information on the Balkans- language, culture, and conflict alike. The reality of things has forced you into a unique role: you will be both leader and translator on this operation. It's a lucky thing that you never need to rest.


The time ticks down quickly to the scheduled trans-Atlantic flight. Your aircraft, a comparatively small modified C-17, will join a long-distance convoy consisting of a dozen HCON vehicles, plus a substantial escort of gravjet fighters.

In the early years of the Invasion, it was common for flights and ships to be able to make it across the great oceans unmolested- the Horde was apparently uninterested in targeting logistics, confident they could crush humanity through direct, brute force. After two or three years of only modest progress, doctrine changed, and the new Battle of the Atlantic was on.

Your internal memory stores are filled with tactical analysis of brave pilots in those early days, fighting with un-enhanced jets against space-capable Vash'atun craft. These engagements always returned a frightening cost in men and materiel, but the medal count was staggering, and the sacrifice of those heroes enabled the most crucial shipments to make it through the blockades.


Nowadays, however, with technology that's at less of a disadvantage, the key issue is not heroism, but numbers. There are simply not enough human pilots of high caliber intact to fly every mission; those that are still around are revered aces and nigh-superhuman. The remainder are barely-trained rookies, always cut down in swathes by even normal Horde fighters- a harsh truth that cannot be escaped.

As your men go through a rushed training curriculum on Albanian, Greek and Serbo-Croatian, you continue to assist Major Collins with the administrative legwork of the deployment and consider these dilemmas. The natural progression of things will lead to- has lead to- a degradation in the quality of fighting men in all sectors, not just aviation. Things are not grim enough to be conscripting the elderly and older children, but it's on the distant horizon- humanity may not die a quick death to the blade of the Vash'atun, but rather to the slow bleedout of population nonreplacement, if trends are not reversed. This is a worrying consideration, indeed.

[2/5]

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>>5076134
Finally, the fated day of departure arrives. The many bags of weaponry are hauled from the great central armory at Department L headquarters to your transport craft, and your small drone squad is brought out from the refurb bays to meet you there.

When you arrive at the now-familiar tarmac, your squad is assembled, the Major and his men waiting in a stretched-out semicircle. The two most junior men are both snoring in the shadow of the plane, while Klein hums a gentle tune that you identify as a Russian classical piece.
Over near the foot of the onramp, the sergeant and your XO are speaking in a low voice. You approach and themen offer the appropriate salute- which you of course return- and the team leader turns to you. "Sir, we're heading into a real shithole of a mission, aren't we? Major Collins and I seem to disagree on the point."

Collins, to his credit, doesn't betray anything more than a smile before delivering his retort.


"To be frank, no, Sergeant, I don't think we're headed into a meatgrinder. People in that area are an angry bunch to start with. Really, I'm surprised they haven't pushed those goddamn bugs right into the ocean on their own- but I guess the military over there wasn't so much a barrier as much as a speed bump for the Horde."
Both men shrug and look at you.

"It's hard to say. We will make a more thorough assessment we get there," you respond diplomatically.

The pair of them glance to each other and crack up in some moment of levity you seem to have missed. In any case, it is good to see the troops happy and laughing.


The loading of the aircraft finishes and the unit boards the vehicle quickly. As usual with such long trips, you silence your whirring cranium and head into low-power mode for the journey, doing the same with your half-dozen drones. Dreams do not come to a being such as yourself, and your internal chronometer wakes you 16 hours later as rubber hits pavement.

[3/5]

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>>5076140
The ramp lowers and the team speaks in excited voices, eager to be out of this metal box and into the fray yet again. With no sortie occurring during the flight, the op is off to a good start, though it remains to be seen what the conditions are here in Budapest.

With a whirring, the door finally opens all the way to two mustachioed, brown-skinned HCON officers. The pair look a bit haggard, marked with telltale bags under eyes and stress signs, and as you make your way to the ramp, they wearily bring up hands in a casual wave.


That alone sets off warning bells in your mind- you rate a salute from these soldiers, a Lieutenant and Captain by the looks of it, and the only reason they wouldn't render it is if this was an active combat zone. Has the situation changed?

"Greetings, gentlemen," you say in what you suspect to be their native Turkish, from the crescent red patch on their shoulders, "I am-"

The older, more worn of the two responds, cutting you off. "Yes, the computer soldier. Surprised that you speak Türkçe, frankly. Follow us. Things have degenerated."


You follow the men, having your soldiers offload the equipment. Major Collins nods, pointing a subtle finger to his headset. He's got it switched on, now, so that you can communicate- not that you're in any danger here. Two men with standard rifles pose about as much of a threat to you as a common fruitfly.
As you walk, you observe, as you always do. The city seems to be in a state of utter chaos and disarray, this military airport the only visible bastion of order in the sea of insanity. People dash about, car horns blare, and a few fires even lick at buildings. You turn to the senior officer as he walks ahead of you. "What is going on here, Captain..Ozdemir?"

He speaks while he moves, his strides long and fast. "A new push from the bug monsters, General. They've driven another hundred-odd miles north in the past twelve hours and are still on the move, so people are hurrying to get out of the area as fast as possible. Nobody wants to be another Saravejo slaughter."

Your arrival at what seems to be the operations center- a large, olive-drab tent- coincides with a fracas on the runway. A dozen techs rush out to a jet as it taxis onto the tarmac, engines burning, and takes off, all the engineers and technicians yelling.


The Lieutenant shakes his head. "Damn, Oz, that's another one gone."

[4/5]

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>>5076190
In the wake of this desertion, you are admitted into the command tent and quickly immersed into a murmuring rush of activity and movement. The walls of the World War Two era canvas pavilion are lined with old-model rifles and ammunition- a sign of the continuously deteriorating times- and maps and radios are strewn about. At a short, flat table, you see a three-man HCON commmand staff planning something, and this is where the pair of junior officers bring you to.


In the course of crossing the wide tent, you catch a few snippets of the conversation. The first man- a tall, clearly American man with a Colonel's bird on his shoulders and chest- is boisterous. "Ajani, we have to counter-push at Csongrad immediately. If they make it past there, they break containment, and you know what that means. That's a failure of our primary mission in this theatre. Commit our reserves here, and we have a chance."


In contrast, the second man is a dark-skinned Rhodesian brigadier, scarred up-and-down and a bit shorter than the first. His voice carries a thick accent, but he speaks in coherent English. "I understand you, Colonel Kines, but if we commit at Csongrad, there's a chance of a strike behind our lines from orbit or with forces we're unaware of. They could shoot our gap and slaughter tens of thousands- hundreds of thousands, even. Particularly with the massive amount of idiots fleeing the area even now."


Finally, the third man, a squat Hungarian major, nods. "I agree with General Ngomo. Budapest doesn't need to be burnt for us to hold them, we just need to put our backs into figuring out what we can with what's on hand before we are reinforced."


He looks up, noticing your approach, and his visage darkens. "Great. Just what we needed- Iron Eagle has touched down."
You spare a glance at their planning board before commenting. It seems like a fast attack spearhead of three divisions punched a hole in the HCON lines across the great exclusion zone after an air raid knocked out a substantial amount of the heavy armor in the area. As the Colonel stated, if their pace continues, this fast-attack corps will tear a large enough gap in the lines that the HCON side of the no-man's land will be compromised.


>Analyze their planning, attempting to provide a mutually agreeable resolution (Write-in your suggested solution, or roll 1d100+15)
>Support the Colonel- they'll have to figure this out and contain the attack with the reinforcements available in the area
>Support General Ngomo, and the protection of the most humans possible
>To hell with their planning- leave, and find a vehicle to get you past the enemy lines

>>5076333
>>Support the Colonel- they'll have to figure this out and contain the attack with the reinforcements available in the area

>>5076333

"You're all correct, of course. We'll need to draw them in close."

1) TC and squad will assassinate Horde command at Csongrad to disrupt and delay offensive, then retreat into the city, drawing them in killboxes.

2) Remaining forces consolidate key areas of Budapest with ambushes, traps, and generally speaking, dirty insurgency tactics. We arm the civilians and let them know that "Budapest will stand." The bugs will bleed for every block.

3) Once we're within the city, we seek out and destroy any counter assault and preserve refugee lives if possible. They're tomorrow's soldiers.

4) With the Horde offensive stalled, the city can be cleared block by block as TC and squad commit targeted strikes, recover weapon caches, etc.

>maybe this is a dumb plan, any critiques?

>>5076360

Oh and I forgot the best part - we speak Bug, which means that if we collect Horde comms equipment, we can cause logistical fuckups, and probably order mortar, air strikes and orbital strikes on Horde positions before they wise up.

>>5076370
Gamer, not military guy here. Can't speak to logistics, but real-world strikes tend to be locked behind protocols we don't necessarily know, no? Probably different reference points, definitely different call-and-answer.

>>5076360

Reasonable depending on how much we know about the bugs' priorities. Csongrad is roughly 80 miles by road from Budapest, whereas all the gear HCON uses to enforce the no-man's land is right in reach. Do three enemy divisions actually hope to take Budapest, or simply ruin defenses that they know we'll struggle to replace? I don't actually know enough about the scale both sides are working with here, so that's a question for QM.

I'm also inclined to leave the reserves in Budapest to get the populace in order and/or fortify while TC bloodies the incursion, but: If history of infiltration or orbital strikes in Budapest is minimal to nonexistent, we can also reasonably pull some reserves into Csongrad. If on the other hand it's common, they should stay, and perhaps even be assigned to locating some hidden force or beacon.

>>5076333
Questions, QM.
>What is our strength at Budapest and Csongrad vs the enemy's? This lets us surmise what the enemy expects to accomplish in this attack.
>What is the enemy's history of infiltration/orbital strikes in the region? This informs how many precautions we must take in Budapest.

>>5076333

This is a planned bug assault, they have the numbers for an orbital/rear attack, so they'll come. Bugs aren't stupid, this assault had coordinated aerial support.

If we do use our reserves to blunt the attack, we need speed to be able to wheel around and deal with the inevitable flank and enemy air support.

Idk what to actually do, for now agree with Ngomo. We don't like civilian losses anyways.

But lets help out at the front before we sneak past to enemy lines. Do as much good for as many humans as possible. At least stabilize things.

I won't have time to properly write down my thoughts before work, but I will say this: If we are forced to put weapons in the hands of the civilian populace and force them to fight a bloody guerilla war in Budapest (civilians that I might add are none to keen on remaining to fight) we have absolutely failed in our prime directive, to defend human lives, so planning for it is right out. It is the absolute last resort we have, and we should only allow volunteers to remain for such an operation if it comes down to it.

What we need before we commit to anything is intelligence:

Friendly Force Concentration (Can we expect HCON forces to close the gap and encircle the formation if we can halt it's momentum)

Enemy Speed, Heading and Unit Composition (We know there's three divisions, but don't know what units make up those divisions. Fast attack spearheads would suggest at the very minimum armored units with supporting mechanized infantry.)

Defensible Terrain (Mobile Warfare is blunted with Defense in Depth where the Attacker has to exhaust himself on several well fortified positions in a row, see the Battle of Kursk as an example. We unfortunately don't have the time neccessary to prepare something as grand as that of the Kursk with multiple layers of static defensese, so we must find a location that can be easily fortified within hours. The easiest would be to anchor our defenses at Csongrad for now, with outlying defensive works before the city combined with lighting strike Ambushes to deal maximum damage to any enemy that falls on the city.)

I'll be able to put something more coherent together when I return from work, if I'm not too exhausted.

>>5076457
Obviously, intelligence is limited to what has been radioed in and observed by forward units, but those three divisons are definitely the spearhead of a more determined attack. How determined is anyone's guess- estimates range from 50k to 140k troops with dedicated armor and air support.

As for the defenses of Budapest- according to the maps here and the HCON Warnet- there's a full field army of 6 divisions, roughly 50,000 men in Budapest proper and the remainder (~30,000) spread out through the countryside and along the local section of the exclusion zone. The latter are the troops contending with the spearhead, and the issue coming to play is lack of force concentration- that, and they don't have enough speed to fall back to defensive positions before they're getting caught in battle again.


History of strikes that break the exclusion zone are rare in recent years. It's not a one of a kind event, but it is unique in the composition: light Scorpion tanks with mechanized infantry outriders on gravbikes and truck-equivalents. That spearhead isn't carrying a ton of punch, but their speed caught the artillery lines unawares, which is the cause of the deep penetration into allied lines. The follow up punch is standard Horde doctrine: overwhelming numbers, heavy artillery, and a shock-trooper/power armored core.

>>5076486
>Friendly forces:

Yes, absolutely. There are only two major threat zones in HCON Europe's area of responsibility, and this is one of them; reinforcements in numbers sufficient to encircle and blunt this attack will be arriving in 6-12 hours. Air support outside of what's organic can be expected in 1-2 hours.

>Speed, heading and composition:

Intelligence is incomplete about exact speed and heading, but it looks to be an attempted pincer around Budapest with the main force, and a straight drive to the city with the spearhead. They're within 20 miles of Csongrad, last spotted, and will be there in an hour or less.

>Defensible terrain features:

The main one of note is the Tisza river, which Csongrad is on the shores of. It's the reason why Csongrad would be a good place to stem this tide.

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>>5076506
>80k dispersed vs ~100k concentrated, reinforcements ~9 hours out
That's a lot to manage!

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>>5076506
Confused about what's indicating a pincer to us, given the geography and enemy approach described so far. Possibly I'm dumb, or am poking too deeply at game abstractions.

I assume that the enemy is all east of the Tisza, since neither it nor Csongrad are much in the way of an enemy advancing on Budapest from west of the Tisza. The exclusion border runs east-west, so the enemy breaking through is heading northish, spearhead northmost because it's faster. I can envision a pincer ensuing either by splitting forces after crossing the Tisza through Csongrad, or crossing both in Csongrad and somewhere further north. But unless I've assumed poorly, I don't see what indicates either possibility before Csongrad has even been hit. Or is it simply what's done with a force of this size?

>>5076592
Your map is roughly correct- there's the spearhead moving fast, headed to cross the Tisza at Csongrad and go straight for Budapest, and then there are two other more standard Horde forces on a path more northerly and southerly than the spearhead.

These two forces likely plan to cross the Tisza in other places and head for Budapest on the flanks of the spearhead- that's what the command staff thinks.

Right, so I've put some thought in to it and I believe that the most effective thing we can do right now is to order the destruction of the bridges at Csongrad and Lakitelek, either through precision air strike or controlled demolition. It is the single most effective way to halt the enemy advance right now, since we do not have time to dig in around Csongrad to provide any sort of concentrated defence.

The enemy advance relies on speed, so every minute we can buy is paramount. With the bridges destroyed the bugs have three options:

>1: Head South and attempt a crossing at Algyõ.
This is the least likely option in my opinion, for them to cross that far south would take precious amount of time the bugs don't have. Basically when they reach Csongrad after they've crossed the river we'd have been reinforced with air power and can harass their approach, forcing them to move in the open and be easy targets or be more cautious and lose momentum.

>2: Remain at Csongrad and attempt to repair or build pontoon bridges.
A resonable assumption if they carry combat engineers, but would leave them vulnerable since they'd basically be sitting around waiting for the bridges to be finished. A pontoon bridge will also limit the throughput of units trying to cross due to it's limited weight carrying capacity compared to concrete bridges, again costing the bugs time they don't have.

>3: Push North to Szolnok and attempt to force a crossing there.
The most likely option the bugs will take in my opinion, it'll keep them on the move towards Budapest and would basically just be a slight detour of 15 kilometers for their troops. For us however it's another hour and a half to allow units to organize, reposition and dig in.

Whatever we chose to do, we should leave Budapest right now and head towards Cegléd while we wait for information on how the bugs react to the destroyed bridges. If they pivot north we race to Szolnok to dig in, if they take any other action we can turn south in Cegléd and attempt to intercepet any other plan the bugs might try to put in to action. We just need 12 hours before the bug advance will stall and subsequently get turned around, with the bridges destroyed we might actually have those 12 hours.

>>5077017
+1 this is a good plan

>>5077017
I haven't read this post, but it seems big and complicated and smart, +1

>>5077017
Solid. I'm on board. The spearhead's grav-bikes may be capable of ignoring or interfering with destruction of the bridges, but that's a much more manageable force.

>>5077017

This is pretty logical. If we delay them enough, maybe HCON can organize artillery and air strikes on the advancing bugs?

Do we have

>>5076360
>>5076457
>>5076481
>>5076486
Looks like between these, and general concurrence on this >>5077017, vote is for >Destroy nearby Tisza bridges and stall the enemy without displacing troops from Budapest proper.

Please roll me 3d100 bo3, writing update now!

Rolled 36 (1d100)

>>5077174

Rolled 60, 62, 18 = 140 (3d100)

>>5077174

Rolled 81, 90, 28 = 199 (3d100)

>>5077174

Rolled 28, 54, 86 = 168 (3d100)

>>5077174

Rolling for victory?

Looking good, ro-bros.

Alright- 81, 90, 86.

Those bridges don't stand a chance. Should have this update out in the next 24 hours, sorry for the wait anons.

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Rolled 47 (1d100)

>>5077174
After a moment's analysis- the effort of which would take a meat-brain at least a few hours- you find a solution that might perhaps be acceptable to all parties. "Gentlemen," you say, shouldering gently past the stout and aggressive looking Hungarian, "if we selectively destroy the bridges at Csongrad and Lakitelek- either by airstrike or engineering- we will deny the enemy easy crossing of the Tisza river and enable a substantial force multiplier in the area."

You motion to the map, pointing to the strongpoint being hastily thrown together at Csongrad even now. "Even if the Vash'atun gravity-bikes can cross the water at speed, they'll have to move through a wide, open area with no cover. That's a death sentence for light vehicles of that kind." Pushing the sole engineer battalion a little bit more northwards on the table, you shrug. "And that maneuver means that the forces in the field can deter enemy attack for long enough that reinforcements will arrive from higher echelons. No movement of Budapest's garrison is necessary."


The three men stand there, stunned. It's not as if you've suggested something insane- denying enemies river crossings is something that's been done throughout history, aliens involved or otherwise- but these senior officers seem to have been so caught up in their argument as to be stuck in the throes of decision paralysis. Five seconds pass, then ten. Finally, the Rhodesian speaks, and lays a large, heavy hand on your shoulder.

"I'd say that is a very good plan, Brigadier.. TACTICOM. Does that satisfy you, Colonel Kines?"


The buzzed head of the Colonel responds with a nod and grunt, and you watch as the men move into action, Colonel and Major coordinating via radio with the battlefield units, and the General working with the staffers in the command center to set up the necessary air sorties. With the deadlock broken, the men move to execute as fast as possible.


Radio reports are brought in shortly, indicating rapid acknowledgement of orders and a series of judicious, genius improvisations. The engineer battalion hops a ride with the mechanized troops nearby, riding on top of marching mechs and in trucks- the mechanized regiment has more than enough space, and leaves some of their own troops behind. Actions like these are a rare and serendipitous seizing of the initiative that allow commanders to leverage tactical plans into operational success.

DCs were 75, 60, and 80 for quick compliance with orders between disorganized units, and then destruction of the two bridges. Well done!

No longer than half an hour later, the forward units report the bridges at Csongrad and Lakitelek as destroyed; the former by way of engineering, the latter by a barrage of bombs from above. Without these river crossings, the Horde will be forced to decide on their next action at a serious disadvantage.


[1/2]

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>>5079639
And that.. is about the extent of what you can do. With these things in hand, and the positions as reinforced as they can be, the focus of the moment turns to your own mission: insertion into the Balkans Occupied Zone.


This incursion by enemy forces is fortunate, in a way- it might very well provide you an opportunity to run the gauntlet of the Horde defenses, assuming that you can make it in time before HCON reinforcements arrive to push the attack back from whence it came.

In thinking about it, you've certainly bought yourself goodwill beyond just that which Department L sent you with- perhaps there's maybe a small element that could be spared from Budapest's defenses to be sent along with you as a feint?


A radio transmission buzzes in your ear- Major Collins' voice coming through loud and clear.

TC, we got ahold of an old Jeep here that should be just enough to get us through that gap. We'll fuel it up and have it ready for departure in the next five minutes.


Well, it seems as though your options are myriad. What will you do to advance into the occupied zone?

>Take the Jeep and cut south to avoid the Horde push
>Ask General Ngomo to spare something faster, and maybe some manpower too
>See if you can arrange to participate in the counteroffensive, assuming the front holds
>Write in?

>>5079664

This seems like the most logical here - we can potentially harass the Horde as they wheel to the side and relay good intel back to the HCON in the process.

Can we make sure to maintain encrypted comms with HCON command?

>>5079683

Derp I am voting for taking the jeep.

>>5079664
>>See if you can arrange to participate in the counteroffensive, assuming the front holds

>>5079664
>Ask General Ngomo to spare something faster, and maybe some manpower too

We're gonna be behind enemy lines for a while. Having something with higher capacity would be incredibly useful for moving supplies and men around.

>>5079664
>>Take the Jeep and cut south to avoid the Horde push

>>5079639
>Ask General Ngomo to spare something faster, and maybe some manpower too
worth asking

>>5079664
Mobile guerilla command bus, something to carry all those extra supplies.

But we can always hit a target on the way past enemy lines to help the front.

>>5079987
>>5079664
>Ask General Ngomo to spare something faster, and maybe some manpower too

Just really need something bigger than a Jeep there are plenty of command/recon armored vehicles in the 1970s. Even like a BTR or an M113 even though they might be slower on road they're a lot better off-road with A LOT more room than a Jeep.

Actually, I'm pretty sure a squad of 6 is basically the capacity of an old WW2 Jeep, I'm not even sure if it can carry all the weapons and ammo we have.

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>>5080055
M113 with a Turret's actually pretty cute. Modern-day some countries with lower military budget's strapped Scorpion and Scimitar turrets to them which... is probably something they should have done earlier. It makes for a pretty great weapons platform just in general, they've put missiles and mortars on them with little modification needed during the cold war too.

>>5076104
>Between yourself and the drones, you can pack in forty rifles or so, and the rest of the group manages to load up a half dozen rocket launchers, a pair of machine guns with plenty of boxes of ammo, and a hundred pound bag of pure explosives.

Basic research and math tells me this and a 5-man squad plus gear is at least 1500 pounds before ammunition and packaging, while a modern humvee can carry 2000 or haul 4000; and 225 pounds per man is low-balling it, is it not? Seems to me we want a second vehicle, not just a bigger one.

>>5079664
>Ask General Ngomo to spare something faster, and maybe some manpower too

>>5079664
>Ask General Ngomo to spare something faster, and maybe some manpower too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUQIGeOp1bg&ab_channel=jeffwagner

>Play Run Through The Jungle - Creedence Clearwater Revival on the ride through enemy lines

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>>5079686
>>5079768
>>5079832
>>5079839
>
>>5079841
>>5079987
>>5080055
>>5080180
>>5080239
Asking for something a bit snazzier than whatever the "Jeep" is wins it, please roll 1d100 bo3 for.. luck!

Rolled 50 (1d100)

>>5080797
Can't wait for that natural 1 so we end up insulting Ngomo

Rolled 60 (1d100)

>>5080797

Rolled 98 (1d100)

>>5080797

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>>5080802
>>5080823
>>5080854
98/100.. looks like something special is available!
Writing now.

>>5080881
I mean I know that's cool but we probably need something that can actually fit supplies and not the futuristic big dick version of the MGS.

>>5080888
Yeah, I'm not a drawfag so kinda stuck grabbing whatever I can find that's close. There's plenty of room for supplies in the actual vehicle.

>>5080881
Are you still there, QM?

>>5083291
Yep, just caught up with work- got an emergency call-in this weekend, so I've been in the office since late Friday afternoon.

I'm gonna go to sleep for about half of tomorrow and then I should have this out late Monday or early Tuesday.

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>>5083297
Here's a duck in military gear

>>5083298
Sgt. Quackers is ready to make the enemy foot the bill.

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>>5080881
You take a moment in the chaos of battlespace management to come up alongside the dark-skinned General. Ngomo is directing a thrust northwards, one of the reserve units from Budapest sent out to accompany an artillery battery into an advantageous position in the case of an enemy breakthrough.

"Sir, if I may- my presence here is on a mission separate from the defense of Budapest and the surrounding area. Is it possible to requisition a high-capacity vehicle from your base? Preferably something with command and control capabilities able to operate in a denied environment?"

The General takes a moment to finish his conversation with the subordinate staffer before he turns with a nod. "I believe I have just the thing, my friend. It should fit your request perfectly."


Accompanied by a pair of guards and the General himself, you meet up with your detachment and their acquisition. It's a Frankenstein vehicle, almost a half-track but a bit longer and more robust. The open top doesn't make you feel good about it, but it probably would've worked alright for your needs- luckily, you don't have to settle.

Ngomo takes you deeper into the base, to the busy and bustling motor pool, where you pass by a mech squadron hangar. The human pilots joke as they work urgently along side their technician colleagues, attending to last minute fixes on the combat suits that have been so very instrumental in the combats over the past near-decade- mechanized warfare has proven worth its weight in gold; with enemies that are more than capable of squashing unagile tanks and heavy trucks with plasma firepower, dexterous humanoid mechs have a better chance.


You arrive to the small, corrugated metal bay with little fanfare, the doors guarded by a pair of well-armed men. They stand aside when General Ngomo shows them a small red-and-white badge, and the interior door slides clear of your way.


Resting in this hangar is a large, wheeled vehicle, easily 45 feet in length. The olive drab paint job does not obscure the thick armored panels that cover all but a pair of forward-facing viewports, but they are not the most attractive feature- instead, a massive retractable cannon on the top towers above the rest of the vehicle, a series of faint red running lights illuminating the thing's protruding muzzle.

"This," the Rhodesian intones, running his hand along the length of the attached front bull-catcher, "is the Tusk. It is a fusion vehicle- capable of long range artillery fires and counterbattery with the railgun attached, but with cargo space similar to two M113 APCs combined. Included in this variant is a 10 meter antenna mast, a 40-volt power generator, and an expanded tent extension in the rear for mobile headquarters space. I brought her here from my homeland- this is a Rhodesian specialty; after the beginning of the war and the takeover of southern Africa, everyone was on the run."
[1/2]

>>5085264
Twice the capacity of an M113, Command and Control capabilities and railgun artillery!? Jackpot!

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>>5085264
"Consider this a loan, though, Brigadier. I want this Tusk back when you're done. She has.. character."

Tusk Command Vehicle acquired!


With the fanfare done and all the particulars sorted out, the weapons and supplies are brought along- and supplemented with even more, slightly less-advanced weaponry that can be spared from the Budapest base's stores. It's not much more- a dozen WW2-era rifles, a few clips of ammunition for each, and a small case of hand grenades- but anything counts. The men and bots pile into the rear, with one curious addition- the pair of most junior men, Lance Corporals James and Rictor, have acquired a pair of old-looking motorbikes that they wheel onto the back space. You turn your attention towards them, and James pauses for a moment.

"What? They're fast, right? We need fast, sir."

Nodding slowly, you respond. "Yes.. you are not wrong. I suppose I shouldn't ask where those came from."

They laugh as they continue to wheel the bikes onboard. You can easily discern where they came from.. but no one should miss a pair of vintage motorcycles.


Now that you're properly equipped, it's time to set out. Major Collins ensures you have the radio frequencies of Budapest base on hand- even with the scramblers present in the Occupied Territories, anything can happen, and they are one of your major objectives- and then, the surprisingly-quiet engine of the Tusk gets going, and you're underway, steering the wheeled beast personally.


At the Tusk's maximum cruising speed of 60 miles per hour, you're making good time to the edges of the OZ- a great perimeter stretches north and south, but your determined entry point is the least guarded, most wide-open that could be found. This entry point that the headquarters helped you define is near the ruined city of Zrenjanin, a trashed urban nightmare that's near impossible to fully defend.

In the urban sprawl of this city, you could likely conceal the Tusk, the many parking garages and destroyed fighting positions perfect to hide anything smaller than an apartment building. That being said, there hasn't been much active resistance in the area, and the enemy does occupy the city- primarily in an observational and light defensive capacity.


Bypassing the conflict to the north and approaching your initial destination after two hours of driving at full speed, you have a pair of decisions to make:

How will you make your way through the defensive perimeter?

>Deploy bots on bikes as outriders and rush through, skirmishing with the defenders
>Try to detect the coverage of enemy sensors and spotters, and find a gap
>Skirt around the city to a more open area, to contest heavier automated defenses instead of lighter manned ones
>Write in

Where will you go first?

>Zrenjanin- it'll make a good base of operations, if you can stay concealed
>An urban area rumored to have high levels of resistance
>The quietest rural area you can find
>Write in

>>5085317
>Try to detect the coverage of enemy sensors and spotters, and find a gap
Less the enemy knows the better.
>Zrenjanin- it'll make a good base of operations, if you can stay concealed
Got to set up shop first, set up a hideout.

>>5085317
>>5085317
>Try to detect the coverage of enemy sensors and spotters, and find a gap
>An urban area rumored to have high levels of resistance

Zrenjanin is RUMORED to be one of the best places to base but the members of the resistance will have much more information on potential base locations as well as points of interest. If they've been fighting this hard for so long they definitely have some spots as well as just general and more clear intel on the situation.

>>5085317
>>Try to detect the coverage of enemy sensors and spotters, and find a gap
>Zrenjanin- it'll make a good base of operations, if you can stay concealed

>>5085317
>Try to detect the coverage of enemy sensors and spotters, and find a gap
>An urban area rumored to have high levels of resistance

>>5085317
>Try to detect the coverage of enemy sensors and spotters, and find a gap

This option is the least likely to cause casualties on our side.

>An urban area rumored to have high levels of resistance

We must find human resistance ASAP. They're the reason we brought so much weaponry and ammunition with us.

>>5085420

Backing this option.

We have the opportunity here to disrupt, delay or prevent the bugs from learning that we are within the operating area.

Seems like we could contact the resistance once we set up shop?

>>5085317
>Try to detect the coverage of enemy sensors and spotters, and find a gap
>An urban area rumored to have high levels of resistance

>>5085369
Not seeing the rumor element regarding Zrenanjin.

>>5085317
>Try to detect the coverage of enemy sensors and spotters, and find a gap
>Zrenjanin- it'll make a good base of operations, if you can stay concealed

>>5085317
>Try to detect the coverage of enemy sensors and spotters, and find a gap
>An urban area rumored to have high levels of resistance
Operating out of a city that has a confirmed bug pressence, even if it is only a scout force (or perhaps especially since it's just a scout force) is stupid. We'd have to dodge scouts when we try to leave, we'd have to dodge scouts when we return and we'd have to dodge scouts just staying in place in the city.
I'd prefer we set up our FOB out in the rural areas, away from bug patrols, supply routes and major population centers since that's where the bugs are bound to operate at, but it's not going to win so I guess I'll have to put my vote on the Resistance Stronghold even though I don't agree with it.

>>5085317
>Try to detect the coverage of enemy sensors and spotters, and find a gap
>An urban area rumored to have high levels of resistance

File: BotConsidering.gif (2.11 MB, 500x280)

2.11 MB GIF

>>5085330
>>5085369
>>5085420
>>5085424
>>5085440
>>5085447
>>5085506
>>5085509
>>5085528
>>5085533
Unanimous on the sneaky approach, and a close victory for making for an urban area.

Roll 2d100, best of 3- first roll will be a straight 1d100 for the EW attempt at detecting sensors and signals, second roll at a +15 for spotting enemy positions.

Rolled 18, 35 = 53 (2d100)

>>5085717

>>5085717

Rolled 18, 34 = 52 (2d100)

>>5085717
Booooooooooooooooooobbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbsssssss

>>5085717
"dice+2d100"

>>5085717
dice+2d100

>>5085717
dice 2d100

GAHHHHHHH HOW DO I ROLL DICE!?

dice+2d100

>>5085717

Rolled 89, 59 = 148 (2d100)

>>5085717

FUCKING FINALLY

>>5085839
lol and those arent bad rolls either

Rolled 2, 29 = 31 (2d100)

>>5085717

>>5085842
I think the dice gods took pity on my soul for trying to decipher how to roll dice. With the plus 15 at the end our rolls are 89 and 74, which is a damn sight better then the others.

>>5085317
>Try to detect the coverage of enemy sensors and spotters, and find a gap
>The quietest rural area you can find

Something is suspicious with the rural area. Possible small resistance or civilians we can arm?

>>5085721
>>5085828
>>5085839
Alright, 89 and 74 are the best out of these three. Writing now!

Just barely missed the second DC, so this should be interesting..

File: 9266932.jpg (31 KB, 500x560)

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>>5086341

Haha, surely OP will post today, right?

...Right?

I have an idea for a new unit. A "repairbot" that can repair damaged and destroyed robots, therefore replenishing the HP of our battalions.

>>5089982
Sorry, anon. I've been a bit busy with some work shit again- my industry gets really slammed around the holidays. Will get done with this update asap.

>>5090688
No worries, it's a good quest. Worth the wait.

File: CalculatingRoute.gif (1.69 MB, 480x276)

1.69 MB GIF

The blasted warzone at the edge of this area of Eastern Europe is a sight to see. The homes of a hundred thousand and women, strewn across the landscape like so many toys, torn to pieces by warfare and the struggle for survival. This area of suburbs near the city of Zrenjanin is perhaps one of the worst you've seen so far- the pristine Mexican jungle land was relatively untouched; even the torn streets of Tijuana were not so absolutely obliterated. The view rushes past the electronic cameras, converted into images and so many ones and zeros, all just more data to process and more lives to mourn.


Collins comes to the front of the vehicle a bit before you hit the actual edge of the city, his footsteps banging on the metal floorplate as he opens the drivers compartment.

"So, TC, what's the plan here? I assume you have something better than 'full speed ahead', right?"

You nod, still focusing most of your processing power on driving. "Yes, Collins. We will skirt the enemy defenses; I will detect their electronic and automated detection systems, and the men will use the reconnaissance systems onboard this vehicle to locate enemy spotters and observation posts; the cover of night will soon give us a good chance of avoiding detection. Full battle readiness, please- I calculate a high potential of some sort of confrontation."

His face lightens and opens to a slight smile. "I figured you had something good cooked up. I'll let the team know and get them on the scopes."


He closes the door behind him as he exits, and you pull off of the main road at the closest distance you dare to risk. There are many open fields and farms here, but the search is not for somewhere that you can barrel through at maximum velocity- rather, somewhere that will conceal the Tusk's substantial footprint and form. Closing in, you slow down and note a particularly ruined street in the city proper- perfect.


Your mapping module tells you that this street runs straight through the city with few turns, moving along the edges of the area and around the buildings of the city, in contrast to many of the streets that meander throughout the downtown. It's as good as any other option, and so you commit, pushing the Tusk's engine sounds down as low as they will go, and creeping along in the dark behind copses of trees, scanning the city's windows and roofs for radio and gravitic emissions.

Rolled an 89!


And it's a good thing you do. Littering these outer buildings are a multitude of Horde devices, constantly transmitting their findings towards the center of the city. Most are conventional motion detecting cameras, but there are a few specialty cases that you catch- a pair of grav-mass spectrometers, luckily pointed away from your location, and three or four electronic emission detectors. You manage to plot- with TAM's help- a route through the tangled web. It is no perfect defense, by any means, but for a larger force, slipping through would be impossible.

[1/3]

File: ZrejaninRuined.jpg (104 KB, 509x338)

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Rolled 75 (1d100)

>>5093066
Piped through from the cargo compartment, you can hear the commentary and reports emanating from the men and women of your team. The indications are just as fraught with danger as your own observations of the enemy's electronic capacities- a half dozen listening/observation posts, three anti-tank guns, and a platoon or two worth of Horde grunts holed up in the various buildings that mark a ramshackle perimeter.

On your current route, they note a pair of LP/OPs that will need to be avoided, but other than that, it seems like the posture of the bugs is oriented to the northwest- which makes sense, considering the battle that's going on not more than a hundred miles in that direction. That distance is practically nothing, in modern war.

Rolled a 74..


Pushing on through the forest leaves you with one final mad dash for the city streets- a short, 100-yard sprint across an open highway that seems to be the sole way into the interior of the enemy perimeter. You gun it, firing the engine up to its maximum capacity, and the beast roars a guttural cry as the wheels churn. The Tusk moves quickly, crossing ground with great alacrity- and then you've made it. No shots ring out, no cries of alert or urgent transmissions emit from the positions your men located.


All seems well, and so you continue your journey, rolling along in the empty, quiet city. The signs of a resilient alien occupation are present here- bulbous structures and signs, some weathered by time and others clearly recently built. None, however, are occupied- not out here, at the town's edge and not in the wake of the very recently-launched attack. It plays well to your advantage, and the planning seems to have been for good reason.

The command vehicle rumbles quietly through the town's edge, passing by destroyed buildings and plasma-melted cars. It's not a long journey through the once-inhabited place- you stop a few times out of an abundance of caution, waiting for noises that were approaching to stop- and eventually, you pass through the outer edge of town and begin to move deeper, getting ever-closer to your destination.

File: BalkansTroopOverview.png (35 KB, 936x509)

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>>5093132
The pavement cracks under the great rubber tires of the Tusk as you watch carefully, your surroundings eerily silent. Through good planning and excellent driving, you've avoided not one, but two patrols of Horde infantry walking lackadaisically throughout the streets. The sparse squads seemed uninspired, to say the least- and it makes sense. HCON has been content to allow the existence of the Balkans OZ in favor of other, more pressing priorities; these enemy troops likely have not seen combat action in many months, or even years.


With the end of the city terrain in sight, and the majority of enemy forces evaded, you chance moving a bit more quickly, taking the Tusk up to a more respectable speed- and misfortune strikes, as it always does. The frontal cameras spot an enemy patrol of two dozen bugs- a pair in the normal light power armor of Vash'atun infantry, the other ten unarmored and carrying the sparing weaponry of fodder- moving wrecked cars into the road not more than a few hundred feet down the way from you. The terrain around you is only sparsely urban, and the road in front is your quickest way out.

Worse, they seem to have noticed your vehicle! You can hear the chattering sounds of the bugs, and though they haven't moved to radio in the contact just yet, they certainly will shortly.

You have but a split second to react, and a myriad of choices spring to your mind, spit out by your decision-making algorithms. How do you respond?

>Gun it through the nascent barricade, no way those rusted cars will stop you
>Fire the main cannon at the patrol, hoping to stop them from getting out word (Initiates combat)
>Focus all of your efforts on jamming their transmissions by overloading their comms units, then deploy your troops to wipe them out (Initiates combat)
>Turn the Tusk to the right, down another road- you're fast enough to evade these troops on foot
>Write in?


Included is an overview of forces on hand- five flesh-and-blood troops, and six drones. [/spoiler[
Update pace will continue to be a little slow for the next week or two, but I will do my best to keep you anons updated. Thanks for your patience.

>>5093522
>>Focus all of your efforts on jamming their transmissions by overloading their comms units, then deploy your troops to wipe them out (Initiates combat)

File: QM2.png (9 KB, 952x85)

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>>5093522
>Focus all of your efforts on jamming their transmissions by overloading their comms units, then book it out of the city at full speed. Run over a bug or two if possible for good measure.
We get tied down in combat we're fucked. They don't need their comms to call reinforcements, the gunfire will alert the whole city. We have to skedaddle and hide until the heat dies down and then proceed to get in contact with the guerillas.

>>5093567
Hmmm....

>>5093579
Yeah, I tried to post something else while I was copying votes over. Still working on it.

File: BattleMapBugsZrenjanin.png (53 KB, 1497x667)

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>>5093583
And here we are, my best attempt at a battlemap of this situation for your better visualization.

>>5093597

Unironically beautiful and soulful. MSPaint?

>>5093638
Yep, Paint works well for the 70s-80s digital effect, I've found.

>>5093522
Can we both fire the main cannon and jam the communication devices at the same time?

>>5093669
Nope- you could do one, and then the other, but both of those actions take your full focus while driving. Gotta pick one to do first.

>>5093522
Is our cannon big enough to hurt all the bugs in one shot, or are they too spread out?

>>5093676
>>5093686
Also, what's the cannon's rate of fire?

>>5093522
>>Focus all of your efforts on jamming their transmissions by overloading their comms units, then deploy your troops to wipe them out (Initiates combat)

>>5093522
>Focus all of your efforts on jamming their transmissions by overloading their comms units, then book it out of the city at full speed. Run over a bug or two if possible for good measure.

>>5093686
>>5093688
The Tusk's main cannon fires a 6kg fragmenting rail-slug at extremely high velocity- odds are almost certain it'd kill all the unarmored fodder troops, but it might leave the armored ones wounded, or even unscathed, based on distance from impact. With the milliseconds you have to decide, you don't have the time to make the calculations that would provide you with certainty.

As to your second question, the main cannon fires 5rd/minute at max rate, which will burn out the rails in 3-4 minutes. Safe firing rate is 3 rounds per minute. The battery and included high-power generator support continuous fire at 1 round per 5 minutes, and will go for about 30 rounds at full rate before needing to be switched.

The Tusk carries an extremely large munitions store for the main gun, but only one backup battery and set of rails.

>>5093522
>Focus all of your efforts on jamming their transmissions by overloading their comms units, then book it out of the city at full speed. Run over a bug or two if possible for good measure.

Time to leg it!

>>5093522

>Focus all of your efforts on jamming their transmissions by overloading their comms units, then deploy your troops to wipe them out (Initiates combat)

This mission goes sideways if we lose our element of surprise.

>>5093522
>>5093808

With this in mind, I vote to first fire the main gun and then immediately jump out of the Tusk (Our MCD, other drones and men) to wipe out any survivors, prioritising those that have communication devices.

>>5093522
>>Focus all of your efforts on jamming their transmissions by overloading their comms units, then deploy your troops to wipe them out (Initiates combat)

>>5093544
>>5093751
>>5093860
>>5094302
4 votes for jamming comms and deploying troops

>>5093579
>>5093785
>>5093808
3 votes for jamming then booking it

>>5093916
1 vote for fire the cannon

A narrow victory for jam and slam. Give me 2d100- for an EW roll, and then an initial combat roll. 1st DC: 45, 2nd DC: 40

>>5094515
Oops, >>5093579, >>5093785, >>5093851 were the votes for jam and run, not the ones I listed.

Rolled 30, 87 = 117 (2d100)

>>5094515

Rolled 90, 92 = 182 (2d100)

>>5094515
How to fail an easy DC check 101

Roll

Rolled 42, 89 = 131 (2d100)

>>5094515

>>5094543
>>5094598
>>5094683
Woo, that's some good stuff. 90/40, 92/45. Writing now, this should be a pretty quick one.

File: RailgunImpact.gif (1.64 MB, 400x180)

1.64 MB GIF

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>5094688
There is no time to stop the truck, and no time to fire the gun. You have to deny the enemy the ability to communicate before all else, and the easiest way to do so is to obliterate any method they have to do so.

Channeling the power that runs hot in your core for a slow, aching 50 milliseconds, you send out a massive burst of power in a wide cone in front of you. It emerges from the metal of the vehicle itself, the Tusk becoming an emitter of energy for a brief moment.

Rolled a 90!

The cameras mounted on the exterior of the vehicle catch the barely-visible wave of power as it washes over the bug troops, the sounds of popping electronics and screeching, overloaded transmitters becoming a deafening din.


And then, everything is moving fast again. Speaking quickly, you transmit your orders to the men in the back and get the drones moving, tumbling out of the rear hatch of the Tusk to sortie against the enemy while they are still surprised. The drones huck their smoke grenades to the sides, allowing your men to get into cover even as the enemy still reels from the miniature explosions at their side; the numbers are roughly similar, and the exchange of gunfire and plasma accelerates.

Or at least, the gunfire begins to accelerate. You calculate the optimal trajectory and begin the firing sequence for the railgun- a half-second later, the slug rips out from the barrel at a rocketing Mach 10, impacting in the rear of the enemy's sortie formation in an eyeblink.

Rolled a 92!

The shell isn't explosive, because it doesn't have to be. The ferrous projectile shatters into a million pieces, sending shards of sharp metal into every direction. Your men are behind cover and laying prone, having been alerted to the launch by their communications devices; the Horde troops.. not so much.


It is a quick and bloody aftermath that follows- only one of the entire Vash'atun patrol remains conscious after their absolute thrashing from the Tusk's main cannon. The final, power-armored bug squats behind a piece of cover- though he could easily be flushed out by a grenade. Even as sirens wail in the city- Likely provoked by the din of combat, Commander! TAM comments- Collins gives you a breathy report. No injured, only down a few rounds each- but will you have the men attempt to capture this wounded enemy, or flush the creature out and gun it down?

Either way, it's time to get on the move- no matter your decision, the men will grab salvageable devices, guns, and ammunition, and re-board the vehicle so you can leave!


>Squash the bug, Collins, and get on with it!
>Instruct the drones to approach and beat the bug to unconsciousness

>>5096080
>Instruct the drones to approach and beat the bug to unconsciousness
Free intel, potentially. It's not like we can un-ring the sirens.

>>5096080
>Instruct the drones to approach and beat the bug to unconsciousness

Any intel is critical.

>>5096080
>>Instruct the drones to approach and beat the bug to unconsciousness

>>5096080
>>Squash the bug, Collins, and get on with it!

Can we destroy or hide the corpses before go? If yes, I vote to do so after we kill the last enemy.

>>5096080
>>Squash the bug, Collins, and get on with it!

>>5096080

>Instruct the drones to approach and beat the bug to unconsciousness

We can gain critical Intel here!

P.s. we should consider trying to hide the bug bodies if we get a spare second to prevent immediate discovery of the scene. The sirens are going off, true, but chances are good that they don't have an immediate fix on our location?

>>5096080
>>Instruct the drones to approach and beat the bug to unconscious

Beat it and then hoof it!

Merry christmas !

>>5096123
>>5096162
>>5096476
>>5096609
>>5096614
>>5096658
>>5097324
Alright, interrogation takes it!

Merry Christmas to all- will be busy until Tuesday of this week, but I should have a short fun intermission out on Monday or Tuesday, with us returning to our regularly scheduled war crimes on Wednesday. Thanks for playing, happy holidays anons.

>>5097783
Merry Christmas

File: BunkerChristmas.jpg (197 KB, 900x1200)

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Christmas Eve Morning, 0722 December 24th, 1976

Department L Headquarters, REDACTED, Colorado

Ensconced in the chilly command center, an elderly man hunches over a series of technical diagrams and blueprints. His brow furrows with mental rigor as he considers the details of the project at hand- the TACTICOM program, currently at v0.64a, which has given the assigned team no small measure of an academic drubbing. Lieutenant General Overstead stands up fully as a strange sound echoes deep in the metallic bunker- almost like the ringing of bells.


You are awake, now, rubbing your tousled brown hair with a thin hand. The alarm for today wasn't supposed to go off for another eight minutes.. Oh, shit, that's not my alarm, what? And I'm not at home, so what's with the Morgan family-style bell bonanza?!

Rolling out of bed, you slip on a pair of red, utilitarian tennis shoes that match your holiday pajamas, and grab your glasses. Someone is about to get a Doctor Norman Morgan dressing-down for their premature festive fuckery.

You step out of the modest room, your shoes padding on the metal causeway in the personnel dormitory. A few of the other researchers are similarly garbed, talking confusedly in low voices in the hall. That banging is coming from below us.. isn't that the industrial experimentation section?


Overstead, now in his full uniform, strides out of the command center with a full escort of armed guards. No one has authorized any merriment or cheer for prior to Christmas day itself- and even that was given begrudgingly. There is a war on, Um Gottes willen, and only so many resources for morale.

The party of men proceeds into the underbelly of the great bunker, passing by a pair of heavily-armed guards and into the ultra high security section, where the chiming of the bells grows even louder. A whole security contingent waits here, loaded to the teeth with lethal and non-lethal weaponry both, as the Department L head strides with practiced efficiency towards the cacophonous Industrial Experimentation section.


PROCESSING... OVERRIDING ADMINISTRATIVE LOCKS... COMPLETE. INITIATE ROUTINE: CHRISTMAS CALAMITY ...INITIATION COMPLETE. ENGAGE PROTOTYPE COMMAND UNIT AND IMPROVISED CHEER LAUNCHERS.

File: Spoiler Image (40 KB, 412x623)

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>>5100376
"What do you mean, it's out of its berthing? There's no way the prototype is even mobile, much less capable of independent action! It shouldn't even be capable of boot-up without my personal password!" you say, gesticulating wildly with your hands. You've been brought to the now-sealed IE sector where your pet project, the TACTICOM unit, is being housed.

The thing is, your boss is telling you that it's gone rogue. That shouldn't be possible; you're nowhere near full autonomous thinking or even the motive logic systems. Hell, you only finished the prototype host three days ago!


Even as you explain, one of the security personnel points to the door. "Uhh, isn't that the access procedure beginning?"

The door swings open and rifles come up to bear on the heavy, thick vault opening. And yes.. it is unfortunately your creation, the metallic body that you constructed so painstakingly a few days ago. It comes striding through the doorway- but something is strange.

TACTICOM is decked out in holiday gear, a metallic red hat and swinging tassel accessorized with a pair of strange tubes which are blasting red-and-green confetti as it stomps through the entryway. It even vocalizes- M E R R Y .. CHRISTMAS...

Everyone sighs a sigh of relief, covered in a shower of cheer, and you pat your stern, bald-headed superior on the shoulder. "General, see? Even the computer wants to start the Christmas celebration early!"

The room waits with baited breath as he crosses his arms and looks skeptically at the bot's unsteady gait and blowing confetti launchers. You swear you see a slight smile break his normally dour expression.

"Fine. We start the Christmas celebration now- but get that robot sorted out!"

CHRISTMASCALAMITYSUCCESSFUL. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT.


Happy holidays and a merry TACTICHRISTMAS to all of you, anons! Hope you had a good one. As I said, we will be back to the quest's current storyline tomorrow.

>>5100387
Merry Christmas robotman

File: BotTakedown.gif (575 KB, 498x278)

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>>5096080
Moving with great rapidity, your metal men advance on the hiding bug. It's a low-level squad commander, probably assigned to this patrol of fodder due to some inability or misstep it made previously, and despite the chattering of the spine gun it holds, none of your drones sustain any serious damage on the approach.


What follows is a brutal beatdown. These drones are not designed for close combat, per say- capable with their high strength and shovels, but no expert fighters by any means- and yet the result of six on one is not much of a fight at all. The bug (a squat Gernizan, if your xenobiology module is to be believed, one of the lower-caste new acquisition species) tries valiantly to contest the robots in CQC, but even with its power-armored strength and agility, it is no match for six of your troops.

They rain blows on its metal suit and exposed carapace- idly, you think that it reminds you of an Earth goliath beetle- and before fifteen seconds have passed, the Gernizan collapses in an unconscious heap on the cracked pavement. As the greenish ichor begins to stain the floor, the stout Sergeant Matraq breaks out of his hyperviolence-induced stupor and rushes over to police the prisoner, hefting the heavy, armored bug over his shoulder and rushing back to the vehicle.


The rest of your troops follow his example, grabbing up weapons, data-chits, and any sort of useful items that can be found in the minute or so that it takes to retrograde back to your vehicle. With their arms full of alien loot, they board back up the rear hatch and you set off, tires squealing.

[1/3]

File: Balkans Resistance Activity.png (162 KB, 1283x847)

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>>5101384
There are a few destinations that you've identified as potential centers for resistance fighters in the occupied zone- and the foremost, nearest of these is an old warhorse, the city of Belgrade.

One of your less-used modules is a stodgy old historical module referred to in your root files as "Professor_Ro-benzos". It doesn't have a holographic projection like TAM, but the Professor does have a particularly nasal mental voice- almost like he was built to be annoying, or to mimic someone who was. He does know, however, know quite a bit about history and military strategy, so you begrudgingly input your query.


Professor:The city of Belgrade and the local zone have borne witness to uncountable ancient conflicts. At any one time in the last fifteen hundred years, the area was ruled by the Byzantines, the ancient Hungarian kings, Austrians, or the Ottoman empire; only in the last hundred years or so has the principality become more centralized around Serbian and Slavic rule.

Post-invasion, information from the region has been scarce, as you know, young TACT-TI-computer, but the defense of the region was one of the most spirited on Earth when resources at hand are considered. The Balkans landing zone was not one of the Horde's major priorities; that being said, with the massive materiel and manpower outmatch, their minor priorities were existential threats to smaller powers like the Yugoslavians.


The flag of Yugoslavia flew in the embattled city of Belgrade until the day of HCON retreat from the area, on August 4th, 1974. Most of the leaders of the country (to include the Communist government and their President, Josip Broz Tito) are suspected to have gone to ground under the city in emergency bunkers and likely continue fighting to this day, though whether they remain in Belgrade is hotly contested.

Belgrade does seem like a good place to begin, and so you pass on your plans to the rear, hurtling over the ground as fast as the Tusk will carry you. The surprising detail is that there are no enemy forces pursuing you- at least, none that you can detect. That is a worrying thing in and of itself. The Zrenjanin garrison surely must have some of the fast-attack gravity repulsor bikes that led the attack northwards, or at least a few other hover vehicles. That means they're likely choosing not to pursue, for one reason or another.

Map is labeled with purple hexagons for high likelyhood of resistance, green star is the only confirmed ongoing resistance, Saravejo. Red line is the Balkans Occupied Zone perimeter.

[2/3]

Rolled 60, 58, 7, 82 = 207 (4d100)

>>5101430
Even with your misgivings about the enemy at the Zrenjanin perimeter, this mission has thus far been a complete success- no losses, a sturdy command vehicle acquire, and a prisoner in your hold. As the Tusk rumbles along, you listen to the heady conversations in the troop transport, the team swapping stories of the short combat encounter and analyzing what they've found.

The jamming towers here are in heavy effect, you find, as you proceed further into the BOZ. It'd be impractical to control your drones at distances longer than 100 meters; anything more than that, and they'd start to have unacceptable levels of reliability with receiving commands. There is just so much.. garbage in the radio signal environment that you have to live with.


You think about ways around this problem, and the men continue their work for another ten minutes or so- until your audio sensors detect something curious coming from the night winds to the southeast. Gunfire!

By the reckoning of the map you have, the only settlement in the direction is a little village named Perlez that seems to run along the banks of the Danube. Prewar population was a little over three thousand- it is certainly not the urban area you're looking for, but it is possible that an active resistance exists here and not in Belgrade.

"TC, you picking up that gunfire? Gotta be partisan activity, right?" Collins' voice comes over the comms. "That's mission number one, help out the locals. If it's my vote, we take a detour; not like we're catching more heat than we did out of that place we blasted our way through."


In a rare break with her traditionally silent self, Corporal Klein, the sniper, speaks up. "We have no idea what we'd be getting into, sir. We're lucky we squeezed out of Zrenjanin without being roasted; it doesn't make sense to dive into something we aren't familiar with."


Both have valid points- you could curry favor with the locals in Perlez here, but it'd take time, and potentially substantial resources. The situation in Belgrade could degrade in the time it might take you to deal with this little village, even.

>Commit to Perlez and detour from Belgrade to help out whoever's fighting there
>Continue on to Belgrade- you can always come back later
>Divert your route a bit to get a closer look at Perlez before you make a decision [Carries risk of detection, according to TAM]
>Write in?

>>5101664

A significant part of this operation is convincing the locals that we mean business and we have the know-how to beat the bugs.

I say we stop over at Perlez to assist - we could learn some valuable intel and this might feed us into the resistance network much faster.

In the meanwhile, we should be interrogating our captive once he wakes up - I'm guessing he's still unconscious?

>>5101792
Correct, the captive is still thoroughly unconscious.

>>5101664
>>Commit to Perlez and detour from Belgrade to help out whoever's fighting there

>>5101664
>Commit to Perlez and detour from Belgrade to help out whoever's fighting there
What's our mission if not to aid the Resistance? We also have a fuck-huge gun carrier that would absolutely fuck over any bug patrol the resistance is engaging right now, time to flex a little.

>>5101664
>Commit to Perlez and detour from Belgrade to help out whoever's fighting there

POV: You are an alien that is entering the Balkans
https://youtu.be/hp9hwjdPKvc