Sorry bros but I don't want to risk another fuckup now that this LP is getting close to the end. Thus I decided against editing the save files.
Also, this update will have a very, very important poll for you to answer.
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Road to Orta
On the way up, Ulminati gives his final honors to his fallen friend Bee, and gets her sniper rifle to ensure it will be put to good use.
Black finds out that all that jelly from those things have an use after all. Black and Orgasm, being naturally the ones who'll get into closer ranges in combat, will get it applied on both their armors and helmets while all others but Ulminati will get their armors applied with the jelly. Being a sniper Ulminati will always stay back and thus be technically less exposed, although he still applied the not so impressive but still good compound-18 to his vest.
The wounded are given medical care while the new mercenaries are still to arrive.
Damn! The disbanded militias will be seriously missed! The stop the damn chiggers caused in the Alma Mine surely harmed the finances for the the liberation of Arulco because with Drassen Mine running out, Alma Mine now represents over 70% of the total income from the liberated mines. Good thing it's operational once again.
On better news, the still operational mobile militia achieve another victory against Deirdranna forces. These victories although not ultimately important will always buy time between the offensives the tyrant queen launches against the three cities that were already liberated.
Looks like now Black won't be the only Night Ops specialist available. This is definitively good, while Stephen's leadership skills as a Deputy will give a slight boost to the capabilities of everyone around him during combat. He's quite expensive but more than worth his price for sure. Ulminati and Stephen call for Skyrider to get them as close to San Mon as possible without getting into the enemy SAM coverage. The money shortage must be fixed, and no better way than to sell surplus weapons that lie by the dozens, taken from the enemies they defeated.
They reach San Mona without incident, carrying lots of guns that won't be used, and hoping Tony can afford buying all of them, or that he has enough good stuff to exchange for. They buy an ACOG 4x scope, some extra trigger groups and sell most of their guns.
Tony ran out of cash to buy more but it was sufficient to solve the shortage of money after all the time the crepitus lurked over the mines before their extermination.
I suppose the insurance company is not really buying into the "gigantic monstrosities genetically modified by the Arulco brutal regime living in the underground killed Nails". Fuck them, but as much as it would be fitting to boycott them, now only human enemies will have to be faced so they won't have excuses to not pay insurance for the AIM mercenaries I got for hire, should more of them die, which hopefully won't happen.
I don't like the recon data surrounding the SAM site that was just liberated. With the disbanding of 40 militias it won't stand a chance, but if it is lost way too much time will be lost. This has taken long enough already. It is time to get everything settled for the final battle.
Thus I ordered kingconrad and Dynamo to defend the SAM site at all costs, and see if they can get those green militias to survive more than a few seconds. Because the SAM site has only one entrance, the two position themselves in a way of taking advantage of such chokepoint while using the tank traps around as cover.
Mercenary and No Guts, No Glory
I bet this is what you claimed when Momma's Gang HQ was defacing Codexia.
(Couldn't resist)
Dynamo tries to get the militias to behave rationally between his rants on how he is going to take revenge against Deirdranna.
Of course getting those greens to not act suicidal is easier said than done. Following orders that will increase their chances of surviving isn't something they tend to do.
kingconrad keeps shifting his focus at both sides, and then he decides to cover Dynamo's back, from where he puts down some of them trying to sneak in from that direction the militias are not bothering to protect in their suicidal charge. Being vastly outnumbered when the cannon fodder is not counted surely is something to remember since the massive counter-attack that happened in Drassen.
Yet, their well positioned emplacement near the SAM site gates and cunning allowed them to greatly thin a number of enemy soldiers far larger than the initial 14 that came with the first wave. This was a very difficult battle, where two men still stood against many.
Bullets rain into several enemies at once, as kingconrad's skills once again neutralize a deadly situation by severely wounding or killing multiple foes.
But it wasn't enough, and kingconrad is wounded, but still alive and able to fight back.
While Dynamo keeps covering that spot, he turns around just in time to prevent a disaster. And did I mention one of Deirdranna's troops just ran around trying to reach the inside of the SAM control building, ignoring Dynamo and kingconrad completely until being shot down by a surviving militia?
Dynamo finishes the last of them in this tough but victorious battle. The casualties were high: only two militiamen survived, of which one immediately became a regular, and kingconrad was wounded. Skyrider will soon get Ira to this SAM site to both help kingconrad training militias and provide medical care for both him and Dynamo.
Some ammunition and gear is bought from Bobby Ray's store. Black's rifle is good but .30 ammunition is totally impossible to find in Arulco. Thus better to always buy more when it is available. Those helmet camo covers will also be very useful for the Kodex Kool Krew to be able to get closer without being detected.
Mobile militias achieve a costly victory against at numerical parity with an enemy force that included elite troops. Considering the situation although costly it was still a great achievement. With all the deaths and increased costs from paying the AIM mercs, however, training of further mobile militias will be discontinued.
Skyrider arrives with Ulminati and Stephen, and the Kodex Kool Krew is gathered, getting in the choppa towards a simple destination: the Hummer they left behind when heading for Tixa that was packed with good stuff. That Hummer is going to be useful for the coming final offensive in Meduna, thus it can't just be left there. Of course, according to the last recon on that sector where the hummer was left, it was crawling with troops. So better for them to be careful.
Damn bloodcats right at point blank range! Failure can lead to another situation like what happened when facing the crepitus!
The team rapidly reacts to the threats all around them.
Just a bunch of puddycats and redshirts. Typical.
Covering all possible directions they could come from, the Krew delivers a killing spree.
Stephen and MD got their first blood in Arulco here. In MD's case this is definitively the first time he killed someone. Hope it won't mindfuck him much. Probably not as much as getting inside those dark caves with those horrible creatures to salvage Azira's gear for himself did.
Once they stop coming, they get ready to sneak, Black and Orgasm ahead due to their camouflage.
And finaly, all clear. Time to get inside the Hummer and head for Estoni. Orta won't be much far from there, and considering how soon it will start, Estoni will be a staging area for the coming offensive against Meduna.
However, along the road they spot some enemy troops just in time to prevent an ambush. It was getting too easy, it seems. And probably there are more enemy forces nearby ready to come in as reinforcements too. Better to stay alert.
Ulminati decides to not shoot because they are yet to find a sniper suppressor either in the gear of a defeated enemy or in Bobby Ray's store. Better to let those with the suppressed guns loaded with cold-loaded ammo do the job and get the redshirts panicked for not knowing where those shots are coming from. Orgasm and Black, who advanced farther than the rest and took cover in trees and bushes, begin it.
Shortly after, reinforcements from the southern sector arrive. They must be taken down quickly!
MD and Stephen do their best to contain them, but Orgasm had to give some support too to ensure their safety as the number of such reinforcements was substantial.
They surely came in large numbers, but the Krew will put them down.
Covering all directions, the team does not advance but instead awaits for more of them to show up. And after a while, they do. Eventually though they stop showing up. Black and Orgasm advance first to the cover of trees and bushes further ahead, and once they get in position, the rest of the team gradually and cautiously advance.
More of them show up soon enough. Properly camouflaged rangers packing suppressed weapons are truly powerful. Silent killers of the best kind after the Lithuanian ones.
The slow, methodical advance with the two rangers on the lead is the only way to continue the hunt without exposing themselves.
And not too much time after this advance, another one was spotted, and quickly eliminated by Orgasm.
Ulminati acts as a spotter, but his rifle, not being silenced, would draw unwanted attention. Others do the shooting part of the job, for now.
Once their numbers have dwindled enough, Ulminati starts to demonstrate that switching from a 10x to a 7x scope for his sniper rifle wasn't a bad idea. His accuracy on engagement becomes much superior with it. The only disadvantage is that a sniper with a 10x scope will be able to spot him first, and that disadvantage will be mitigated by proper camo gear. And then they are all wiped out. Further on the road to Estoni no further enemies are found.
Everything is setting up for the coming final battle. They are so close now from total victory, but the challenge ahead will be one hell of a challenge. Meduna must be heavily defended.
Barry realizes that although it may look clumsy, the
AICW is actually a much, much better assault rifle than the POPAMOLE FN SCAR, once properly fitted, specially one with a rod and spring. The only advantage the Modern Warfare poster child has over it is that its grenade launcher has a somewhat better range. But a Metal Storm stacked grenade launcher that can launch a burst of 3 grenades at once plus a faster firing rifle just can't be passed like that in exchange of range. Plus it's black instead of that popamole colored plastic.
Stephen convinces Maddog to join the effort. Not only he is a great mechanic, but he is also skilled enough in combat to make a front-line combatant, depending on the decision to come regarding how Meduna should be handled once the time comes to decide that. Fuel cans and a compound-18 are bought from Jake as well.
I guess that was going to happen sooner or later regarding the only useful mercenary in MERC.
Everything is set. Skyrider is called to Estoni, and some risk will be needed. There is just one SAM covered sector adjacent to Orta and getting them so close while bypassing multiple enemy forces is just too tempting to dismiss. Hopefully the cock commander will manage to evade the missiles and get back to Estoni with his chopper in one piece.
Upon arrival they find no opposition, and begin to head straight for Orta. Meanwhile Skyrider managed to successfully evade the anti-air missiles and will shortly land on Estoni. Orta is a research facility for the tyrant queen where the most advanced weapons are being reverse-engineered, developed and tested... with human subjects, considering the nature of the brutal regime. Getting some of its gear to the cause of the liberation of Arulco just before the finall offensive in Meduna will be very useful.
Now that they are on the way, the chosen method to approach defeating Deirdranna for once and all will greatly change the strategic and logistical operations to be done in the coming final days of this war.
How should the final battle for Arulco be handled?
- Go straight for the snake's head to cut it: Get the main squad, once they have cleared Orta, to replenish their gear and immediately sneak through the SAM site in Meduna, avoiding combat whenever possible. Once they have cleared that critical SAM site, then get Skyrider to lift them straight to the Meduna palace, and put an end to Deirdranna's reign of terror for once and all;
- Infiltration is not EXTREME enough: Assemble a second squad with the best of the others, and maybe one or two extra hired mercs for only one day, and use both it and the main squad in joint offensives to completely liberate Meduna before getting to the end of this war at Deirdranna's Palace. The main squad will come by chopper while the other one will use the Humvee.
I'm putting this right now for voting because it will influence in what I'll have to do with Skyrider regarding transportation of equipment to Estoni.
