GDI Platoon Commander: A "GDI Edition" side-quest (non-canon)

"We'll be cutting it close, but we can get it done, sir." You respond, having looked at the map. You've got a plan, a couple possible plans actually; but you'll need to get your vehicles consolidated and fixed up first to execute it.

"Any chance you can hold the Elephant convoys up for a couple of days, sir?" you ask. "I'm estimating I'll need at least four days to catch that oversized pile of, uh... heavily laden vehicle, and it'd be easier to do that if I didn't have to worry about securing the whole N2A area."

"That's an option." the Captain responds, smirking. "Since you were able to capture that Tib refinery earlier, those guys have cleaned the crystals out of their sector and we've got a little extra in the bank. So, I can either convince the zone ops guys to hold the convoy, or see if I can wrangle some air or orbital support. Or you can bank it for a rainy day, although... " he adds. "It may not be pouring, but there's definitely something coming down. Think about it and get back to me."

You do. Pick one of the following:

[] Hold the convoys until you've recovered the Elephant.
What it says on the tin. No more Elephants will enter the area until you've resolved the situation.

[] Request Orca strike (usage: one battle)
An Orca will be on station to deliver ordnance to a grid sector of your choosing at a time of your choosing.
-[] Anti-vehicle loadout: +15 vs target vehicle
-[] Anti-infantry loadout: +15 vs target infantry

[] Request Firehawk strike (usage: one combat round)
Two Firehawks will be on station to deliver ordnance to a grid sector of your choosing at a time of your choosing. Their loiter time is pretty limited, but they bring some serious firepower while there.
-[] Anti-vehicle loadout: +30 vs target vehicle
-[] Anti-infantry loadout: +30 vs target infantry

[] Request 1x Ion Cannon strike (one-use)
An orbital ion cannon can be briefly tasked with destroying a single designated target of your choice. Target is automatically destroyed.

[] Request recon overflight/satellite sweep (one-use)
A Firehawk with a recon package or a satellite, whichever is available will grant you full visibility on the entire area of operations for one turn, including unit and structure positions.

[] Save it for another day, you've got this covered.
This will also happen if you pick one of the above but don't use it.

---

Battlefield control... expanded.
Transferring command protocols for N2A outpost... completed.
Adjusting coordinate system... coordinate system adjustment failed.
Adjusting coordinate system... coordinate system adjustment failed.
Adjusting coordinate system... coordinate system adjustment failed.
Manual re-calibration of coordinate system requested.
New objectives received.

"Lt. Smythe to second squad, please confirm your grid position verbally. I'm getting odd position readings from you." ... and every other squad, you mentally add but decide not to say out loud for the moment.

"Sgt. Rei here. Grid coordinates B-3. Sounds like Nod ratcheted up their ECM, we've been getting radio fuzz and bull-crap sensor pings the whole day." the sergeant responds, looking a little frustrated.

"Understood, Sergeant. Continue repair operations, I'll try to address this on my end."

"What about that Nod buggy, ma'am? It's still in sensor contact and visual range." The sergeant asks, waving his hand in a direction you assume the Nod buggy is.

"Stand by on that, sergeant." You respond.

Seems like the whoever is in charge on the Nod end has just decided to crank up their comms jamming another notch, and at this point, you're barely getting messages through, let alone real-time data or video feeds. You'll have to deal with it somehow, either by building more comms facilities, destroying at least some of the jamming sources, or just moving to where the fighting is. You'll have to figure it out soon, though, or your troops will be fighting at a comms disadvantage.

EVA Report:

Current Objectives:
Repair vehicles (self-entered)
"Relocate" Tiberium Refinery to B3 (self-entered)
Continue Escorting Elephant vehicles (primary command directive)
Escort Recovered Elephant to A2; current location at B3 (primary command directive)
Recover captured Elephant; estimated current location in grid sector E4.
Address increased Nod ECM (self-entered)

Base Status:
Power: +55
Housing: 4/22
Building Slots A1: 0/8
Building Slots A3: 2/6 (rocky terrain)
Building Slots B3: 2/4 (rocky terrain, tiberium)
Building Slots D1: 0/8
Credits: 954 Credits
Infantry Requisition Capacity: 4
Infantry/Engineers can change their loadout if at A1, B3 or D1
Tiberium Storage Capacity: 1250/5000
Buildings:
-Construction Center, 3x Barracks, 2x Power Plant, Command Center, AA Emplacement at A1;
-Outpost, Refinery, Tiberium Silo at A3
-Outpost, Barracks at B3
-Construction Center, Barracks, Power Plant, Refinery, 2x Silo, sandbags at D1

Construction/Repair Options (pick 2):
Credit budget: 954;
Current income:
A3: +750 every two days (two days remaining)
D1: +750 every four days (two days remaining)

[] Repair damaged APCs: -146 Credits (does not take a construction pick)
Kind of a no-brainer, unless, for some reason, you decide you can recover the Elephant with three out of your five APCs damaged, including two critically damaged.

[] Dismantle Tiberium Refinery at A3; +750 Credits, +40 Power (does not take a construction pick)
Taking apart the Tiberium refinery at A3 will enable your construction crews to use some of the spare parts to set up a refinery at B3 a little quicker, and also frees up space and power capacity. You'll be keeping the harvester, though.

[] Dismantle Tiberium Silo at A3; +50 Credits, +10 Power (does not take a construction pick)
With the basically empty silos now under your command in D1, you can get some cargo trucks to transfer your Tiberium there and roll up the soon-to-be-defunct harvesting operation at A3. Your main concern is that D1 is kind of lightly defended at the moment, so putting all your Tiberium there may not be the smartest idea.

[] Sandbags: -500 Credits, +5 to all defensive infantry combat rolls where built
For your forward outpost at B3 or your main base, this is one of the options you have to improve security.

[] Sentry Tower: -500 Credits, -10 power, automatically engages hostile units
This is another option you have for securing your B3 outpost or your D1 secondary base.
-[] Machine gun; +5 vs infantry; also detects stealthed/underground units in grid square
-[] Railgun; +10 vs vehicles
-[] Anti-aircraft battery; +10 vs aircraft, -10 vs others

[] Tiberium Refinery: -1500 Credits, 40 power, 2 building slots
One of the reasons you set up an outpost at B3 was to make Tiberium harvesting a little more rapid - "moving" the refinery from A3 to B3 would accomplish that goal. With all the spare storage capacity you have, this will be pretty easy to accomplish.

[] War Factory: -2000 Credits, 40 power, 2 building slots
The lure of being able to call up additional APCs is strong; although it will take some time to get this set up given your currently low income stream.

[] Command Post: -1000 Credits, 50 power, 1 building slot, re-activates commander bonus.
You need additional transmitting power to cut through all the noise that Nod is putting out; you'd actually be happy to have two more of these so you can maximize your ability to coordinate your forces.


Requisition Options: Pick between 0 and 4, may pick each option multiple times (but you only really have credits for 2)
New troops will arrive next turn. Make sure to designate an arrival location with a barracks.
[] Infantry Squad: -450 credits (10% discount), -1 housing.
-[] Standard loadout
-[] 3x grenade launcher: +15 vs infantry, -15 vs armored units/aircraft
-[] 3x rocket launcher: +15 vs vehicles/aircraft, -15 vs infantry
Instead of setting up fixed defenses, you can always call up another infantry squad and have them break out the shovels.

[] Engineering Squad: -450 credits (10% discount), -1 housing
-[] Standard loadout
-[] Additional repair gear: can repair 2 units per turn; cannot capture buildings
You've got enough engineers at this point that you don't really need any more.

Graphical Representation of Operational Area:
Green - Tiberium Field
E3 - Last known position of captured Elephant
E4 - estimated captured Elephant position
B3 - Position of Elephant to be Escorted

A1 B1 .C1 D1 .E1 F1
A2 B2 .C2 D2 .E2 F2
A3 B3 .C3 D3 .E3 F3
A4 B4|C4|D4|E4 F4
A5 B5 .C5 .D5 .E5 F5
A6 B6 .C6|D6 .E6 F6

Current Reconaissance Report:

Current Force Status:

Your plan for the day is (probably) to repair your damaged APCs and prepare for a push south through the pass to C4 with your combined force; at that point, you will have to make a choice on whether to attempt to punch through directly to E5 and try to set up an ambush there or set up an ambush further in the canyon system.

You have several military decisions to make.

One decision is whether or not to allow your APCs to pursue the escaping Nod rocket buggy, and the threshold for allowing engagement. The buggy is a little shot up, but not enough that it's combat-ineffective, so if it outmaneuvers your APCs, you're risking some damage there that you don't know you can afford.

[] 1:1 - Better than even odds of taking the buggy out, between your direction and veteran APC crews.
[] 2:1 - Buggy gets taken out unless your guys really hose it up or the buggy's driver is a total ace.
[] 3:1 - Almost guaranteed to take the buggy out, but pretty cautious - it may just get away.

The second decision is regarding the surveyor the former commander of N2A had sitting in the base. There are a couple of places there where you could set up either Tiberium harvesting capability or a good convoy waypoint. Or both, in the case of sector E2. With no mobile forces to defend the area, you'll need to construct fixed defenses or put down another barracks and infantry squad.

[] Write-in location to deploy D1 surveyor; it has a movement range of 2 spaces per turn, non-diagonal as usual.

The final decision is whether you're coming with your "rescue crew". With Nod ECM now severely overpowering your comms, you're concerned that lag and interference will impair your situational awareness when you engage whatever is defending the Elephant. If you're coming, the time to decide is now, as it's either a lengthy hike or ride in an APC to the rally point.

[] Come with your assault force
+10 commander bonus where commander is present
-5 commander "bonus" where commander is not present

[] Stay in your command post, deal with the lag and fuzzies
Commander bonus remains negated

[AN: Check out the cool new tactical map with annotations: mouse over the dotted underline sectors for details so you don't have to scroll back and forth. I believe we call that an EVA upgrade. Ignore the dots while I figure out how to space these properly over the next couple of posts.]

Raw Plan/Results:

August 22, 2058

You smirk. Some air support would be nice, finally, after all the times you heard "request denied". So far, you're having a pretty good day: the refinery in A3 has been decomissioned and moved over to B3 very quickly, and the new harvester is about to fly in. Your infantry reinforcements will be delayed until tomorrow, but that's not a big deal. The recently recaptured Elephant is making its way to B2, and will be on its way and out of your hair in a couple of days. Your APC ride is trundling along to the link up point, having picked you up just outside the base (it's a pleasant enough day for a little hike to make the APC ride go faster).

The Nod buggy got away as two out of your three APCs tried to take a shortcut and got some tiberium jammed in between their wheels - by the time they sprung themselves loose, the rocket buggy had dodged the third APC and was off to the south. That kind of put a damper on your day. Then you get this message:

"Ma'am, Surveyor reporting." Your somewhat patchy comms sound off.

"Go ahead, Surveyor."

"We've just finished setting up in this tib field in E2, but it looks like it's almost picked clean, there's maybe one more load left, and then it'll be so clean we can get out and work on our tan."

You frown. When you called the harvester working that area for a report previously, it had reported at least three loads. You sigh. This means there was a stealthed Nod harvester working that field. Obviously there isn't one now, otherwise the outpost would detect it.

"Stand by, Surveyor." you tell them. You're kind of tempted to set up an unpleasant surprise for the Nod vehicle next time it comes by.

--

EVA Report:

Current Objectives:
Repair vehicles (self-entered) (complete!)
"Relocate" Tiberium Refinery to B3 (self-entered) (complete!)
Continue Escorting Elephant vehicles (primary command directive)
Escort Recovered Elephant to A2; current location at A2 (primary command directive) (complete!)
Recover captured Elephant; estimated current location in grid sector F4.
Address increased Nod ECM (self-entered) (mitigated)
Fortify E2? (self-entered)

Base Status:
Power: +55
Housing: 2/22
Building Slots A1: 0/8
Building Slots A3: 4/6 (rocky terrain)
Building Slots B3: 0/4 (rocky terrain, tiberium)
Building Slots D1: 0/8
Building Slots E2: 6/7 (very light tiberium)
Credits: 1448 Credits
Infantry Requisition Capacity: 4
Infantry/Engineers can change their loadout if at A1, B3 or D1
Tiberium Storage Capacity: 3552/5000
Buildings:
-Construction Center, 3x Barracks, 2x Power Plant, Command Center, AA Emplacement at A1;
-Outpost, Refinery, Tiberium Silo at A3
-Outpost, Barracks at B3
-Outpost, E2
-Construction Center, Barracks, Power Plant, Refinery, 2x Silo, sandbags at D1

Construction/Repair Options (pick 2):
Credit budget: 1448; (+1500 today)
Current income:
B3: +1500 every day (up to 3000)
D1: +750 every four days (four days remaining)

[] Dismantle Tiberium Silo at A3; +50 Credits, +10 Power (does not take a construction pick)
With the basically empty silos now under your command in D1, you can get some cargo trucks to transfer your Tiberium there and roll up the unnecessary outpost at A3. Your main concern is that D1 is kind of lightly defended at the moment, so putting all your Tiberium there may not be the smartest idea. However, freeing up an extra Surveyor doesn't sound like such a bad idea.

[] Sandbags: -500 Credits, +5 to all defensive infantry combat rolls where built
For your forward outposts and bases defended by infantry, this is one of the options you have to improve security.

[] Sentry Tower: -500 Credits, 10 power, automatically engages hostile units
This is another option you have for securing your outposts - you can put a couple in E2 to show those Nod harvesters what-for if they show up again, D1 to secure the bigger facility there, the possibilities are... well, not limitless, but you can think of plenty of places to put these.
-[] Machine gun; +5 vs infantry; also detects stealthed/underground units in grid square
-[] Railgun; +10 vs vehicles
-[] Anti-aircraft battery; +10 vs aircraft, -10 vs others

[] Tiberium Refinery: -1500 Credits, 40 power, 2 building slots
You think you've got enough of these for now, close enough to the Tiberium that your income stream is pretty rapid.

[] War Factory: -2000 Credits, 40 power, 2 building slots
Now we're cooking with gas - you'll have enough credits soon to crank one of these out in a location of your choosing, and finally be able to call up some APCs or Pitbulls (the latter to help hunt down those stealthy Nod harvesters).

[] Command Post: -1000 Credits, 50 power, 1 building slot, re-activates commander bonus.
While you're able to coordinate your main force just fine now, cutting through the Nod ECM remains a priority in general. Additionally, setting one up in E2 will let you keep an eye on the surrounding area a little better.

[] Barracks: -500 Credits, 15 power, 1 building slot, +4 housing
Putting one down in E2 will allow you to designate it as a drop point for your incoming infantry; in combination with some sandbags or a sentry turret, that'll make it into a pretty nasty strongpoint.

Requisition Options: Pick between 0 and 4, may pick each option multiple times
New troops will arrive next turn. Make sure to designate an arrival location with a barracks.
[] Infantry Squad: -450 credits (10% discount), -1 housing.
-[] Standard loadout
-[] 3x grenade launcher: +15 vs infantry, -15 vs armored units/aircraft
-[] 3x rocket launcher: +15 vs vehicles/aircraft, -15 vs infantry
Instead of setting up fixed defenses, you can always call up another infantry squad and have them break out the shovels. With as many outposts as you have, this may become necessary.

[] Engineering Squad: -450 credits (10% discount), -1 housing
-[] Standard loadout
-[] Additional repair gear: can repair 2 units per turn; cannot capture buildings
You've got enough engineers at this point that you don't really need any more.

Visual representation of operational area:
A1 B1 .C1 D1 .E1 F1
A2 B2 .C2 D2 .E2 F2
A3 B3 .C3 D3 .E3 F3
A4 B4|C4|D4|E4 F4
A5 B5 .C5 .D5 .E5 F5
A6 B6 .C6|D6 .E6 F6

Current Reconaissance Report:

Current Force Status:

August 23, 2058

At the end of the next day, your APC armada has plowed through the Tiberium field in C3 and you've set up camp for the night in C4, between the two fields in C3 and C5. As you idly acknowledge the report that another Elephant has entered F2 and is following the road (where the hell do they get people willing to drive these things while half of them keep getting hijacked?, you wonder idly), you turn your gaze away from the melancholy sunset and look southeast.

Tomorrow, you'll enter the connecting passage between the two valleys, at which point you will have basically two options. You can make a bee-line straight for the ruins in sector E5, rolling over anything in D5 and E5. This'll definitely get you there ahead of that Elephant, allowing you to maximize your ambush effectiveness. However, this will leave any forces "around the bend" (in D6, E6 and F6) un-addressed, and they may attempt to come around the back of your ambush. Also, if you're detected by any Nod screening units, there's a possibility that Nod may try to get ahead of the Elephant and try to occupy the town themselves. You'll still be in a very good position to repel any attackers, especially if they come at you piecemeal, and you've got the air support trump card to play, but not being able to set up fortifications will hurt you quite a bit.

You also think for a second - the town is kind of an obvious ambush spot - and consider skipping it and setting up the ambush in D6 instead. While it's a little bit less advantageous in terms of terrain, doing so will allow you plenty of time to secure the area and dig in.

[] Move directly to E5
Depending on luck, infantry will wind up with a +20 bonus on the combat rolls (in addition to veterancy/commander/weapon bonuses), or "just" a +10. Basically, either "dug in" + "urban" or just "urban".

[] Move south around the bend to D6
Guaranteed +15 bonus on combat rolls to your infantry in addition to other bonuses. This is "dug in" + "rocky".

Before your infantry left the B3 outpost, the four squads you took with you had 3x standard loadout and 1x rocket launcher (+15 vs vehicles, -15 vs infantry; you'd also taken an engineering squad for any field repairs you may need to do). You don't anticipate fighting too much infantry, and if you do, your minigun-equipped APCs can probably take care of it, so taking more rocket launchers is a no-brainer to maximize effectiveness, but how many?

[] Write-in how many

Finally, if you choose to build a barracks at E2, you may re-designate your D1 infantry's landing zone.

[] Still land at D1
[] Re-target to E2

--

Also, let's have a 1d100 roll for "Nod Commander Aggressiveness"
1-10: total wuss
11-90: reasonable
91+: berserker

Raw Plan/Resolution:

August 24, 2058
Sector E2

"Can you believe that asshole?!" one of the war factory construction crew calls out over the comms. "Just waltzin' in here, doo-dee-doo, don't mind me, gonna grab some Tiberium."

"I know, right? It's like he knows we know he's there, and he just doesn't care. I got half a mind to ram him with my bulldozer." another responds.

"Nah, better get back to work. He'll get what's coming when our tanks start flying in." the first responds, briefly stopping his lifter, leaning out and extending a universal rude gesture to the shimmering air that's obviously a Nod harvester. "Hey Noddie! Go fuck yourself!"

A couple of loose Tiberium crystals emerge from the patch of shimmering air, flying towards our construction crew, apparently a response in kind.

"Bastard. Better get the remediation guys to sweep the place before we finish." the construction worker mutters.

---

Sector C5

You've seen videos, both educational ("Tiberium-based Lifeforms: A Primer") and on G-Tube ("You won't believe what this Visceroid did!"), but nothing prepares you to encounter the disgusting blob that is a Visceroid in real life. Thankfully, it's done through an APC's viewport and not, say, up close and personal.

Sergeant Rei orders all APCs buttoned up and the infantry squads to remain inside; you don't have time to mess around with random amorphous organic blobs that spit out acid, and your APCs navigate around the creatures without incident. You breathe a sigh of relief - that's one less thing to worry about. And also, it occurs to you, if some Nod units try to go through that Tiberium field, they'll have the same problem that you just did, especially their slower units.

Sector D5

It appears that the Tiberium field in sector C5 has grown considerably since the last satellite survey, and has now expanded to D5 as well. Everyone is either trying to get their bearings, gawking at the vast green crystal field or patting themselves on the back for avoiding those Visceroids back there; nobody sees the Nod buggy on a hilltop to the south until it revs its engines, and books it, leaving behind a cloud of smoke and dust.

Sector D6

You catch up to it some time later, along with a buddy. Both buggies are destroyed in a hail of rocket and minigun fire, but the damage is done: they've no doubt had time to warn their commander of your presence. It's not going to be much of an ambush any more if they know about it.

---

EVA Report:

Current Objectives:
Continue Escorting Elephant vehicles; Elephant at F2 moving to E2. (primary command directive)
Recover captured Elephant; estimated current location in grid sector F5.
Address increased Nod ECM (self-entered) (mitigated)
Fortify E2? (self-entered)

Base Status:
Power: 275/300 used
Housing: 2/22
Building Slots A1: 0/8
Building Slots A3: 5/6 (rocky terrain)
Building Slots B3: 0/4 (rocky terrain, tiberium)
Building Slots D1: 0/8
Building Slots E2: 5/8
Credits: 1498 Credits
Infantry Requisition Capacity: 4
Infantry/Engineers can change their loadout if at A1, B3 or D1
Tiberium Storage Capacity: 3552/5000
Buildings:
-Construction Center, 3x Barracks, 2x Power Plant, Command Center, AA Emplacement at A1;
-Outpost at A3
-Outpost, Barracks, Refinery at B3
-Outpost, War Factory at E2
-Construction Center, Barracks, Power Plant, Refinery, 2x Silo, sandbags, Railgun turret at D1

Construction/Repair Options (pick 2):
Credit budget: 1498;
Current income:
B3: +1500 this turn
D1: +750 every four days (three days remaining)

[] Sandbags: -500 Credits, +5 to all defensive infantry combat rolls where built
For your forward outposts and bases defended by infantry, this is one of the options you have to improve security.

[] Sentry Tower: -500 Credits, 10 power, automatically engages hostile units
This is another option you have for securing your outposts - you can put a couple in E2 to secure your War Factory, some wherever you set up the now "orphaned" A3 outpost, etc.
-[] Machine gun; +5 vs infantry; also detects stealthed/underground units in grid square
-[] Railgun; +10 vs vehicles
-[] Anti-aircraft battery; +10 vs aircraft, -10 vs others

[] Tiberium Refinery: -1500 Credits, 40 power, 2 building slots
You think you've got enough of these for now, close enough to the Tiberium that your income stream is pretty rapid. You anticipate having to relocate the one in B3 soon, or putting up with an income slowdown.

[] War Factory: -2000 Credits, 40 power, 2 building slots
You've got one, now it's time to crank out some vehicles instead.

[] Command Post: -1000 Credits, 50 power, 1 building slot, re-activates commander bonus.
While you're able to coordinate your main force just fine now, cutting through the Nod ECM remains a priority in general. Additionally, setting one up in E2 will let you keep an eye on the surrounding area a little better.

[] Barracks: -500 Credits, 15 power, 1 building slot, +4 housing
Putting one down in E2 will allow you to designate it as a drop point for your incoming infantry; in combination with some sandbags or a sentry turret, that'll make it into a pretty nasty strongpoint.

Infantry Requisition Options: Pick between 0 and 4, may pick each option multiple times
New troops will arrive next turn. Make sure to designate an arrival location with a barracks.
[] Infantry Squad: -450 credits (10% discount), -1 housing.
-[] Standard loadout
-[] 3x grenade launcher: +15 vs infantry, -15 vs armored units/aircraft
-[] 3x rocket launcher: +15 vs vehicles/aircraft, -15 vs infantry
Instead of setting up fixed defenses, you can always call up another infantry squad and have them break out the shovels. With as many outposts as you have, this may become necessary.

[] Engineering Squad: -450 credits (10% discount), -1 housing
-[] Standard loadout
-[] Additional repair gear: can repair 2 units per turn; cannot capture buildings
You've got enough engineers at this point that you don't really need any more.

Vehicle Requisition Options: Pick 1
New vehicle will arrive at E2 next turn.

[] Guardian APC: -600 credits, -1 housing, 3 speed
Old tricks are the best tricks, eh Lieutenant? Call up another armored personnel carrier so your infantry in the area can have a little better mobility.
Loadout options:
-[] Rotary cannon (default): +10 vs infantry, -5 vs armored units
-[] Guided missiles: -5 vs infantry, +10 vs fast units/aircraft
-[] Grenade launcher: +15 vs infantry, -15 vs armored units/aircraft

[] Pitbull: -600 credits, -1 housing, 4 speed, detects stealthed units, +10 vs aircraft, -10 vs infantry
This fast little recon vehicle has two purposes - one, to fire guided missiles at vehicles and aircraft and two, to detect Nod stealth units with its advanced sensor system. It can also be shipped with a mounted mortar for an additional resource cost.
Add-on options:
-[] Mortar: +10 vs infantry/buildings instead, may engage an infantry unit and a vehicle simultaneously, costs additional 100 credits

[] Predator: -800 credits, -1 housing, 2 speed, support attacks vs this unit do not take a penalty, +20 vs vehicles, hit points at 125%.
This heavily armored tank's railgun can punch through just about any armor the brotherhood can bring to bear and can target fast-moving vehicles effectively due to the projectile's incredible launch velocity, but it struggles against infantry and fixed defenses. Its front armor is pretty thick, but designers opted to put most of it in the front of the tank, so it performs best when it has support.

Visual representation of operational area:
A1 B1 .C1 D1 .E1 F1
A2 B2 .C2 D2 .E2 F2
A3 B3 .C3 D3 .E3 F3
A4 B4|C4|D4|E4 F4
A5 B5 .C5 .D5 .E5 F5
A6 B6 .C6|D6 .E6 F6

Current Reconaissance Report:

Current Force Status:

With the Elephant projected to be at least three days away from the broken hills where you've set up your ambush, you've got some time to clear the area a little bit. Of course, while the Elephant itself is super slow, the units escorting it are not - the Nod commander may decide to consolidate their forces and try to clear you off your perch. If the buggies stay in formation with any Scorpion tanks, they'll get to "the perch" the day after tomorrow. If the buggies decide to push hard, they can seize the perch tomorrow. You consider sweeping east to clear any Nod forces trying to pincer you from there, but how far and with what? If you sweep too far, you risk getting caught out of position when the main Nod force comes in. If you don't sweep at all, you risk getting pinched, possibly by superior numbers.

As to what to send to sweep, you could either send just your APCs or everything. Splitting your force in half has the benefit of your infantry being dug in in case the Nod buggies make a fast push, but you may not have enough firepower to take out whatever it is you're sweeping.

To Sweep or not to sweep?
[] Don't sweep east; go for one big battle instead
[] Sweep just to E6 and back
[] Sweep to E6 and F6, come back to "the perch" tomorrow

With what?
[] Just the APCs
[] APCs and infantry

The other thing you consider is whether to move some or all of your infantry from D1 to support the new outpost in E2; or whether calling up a Predator tank and/or building some static defenses will be sufficient. The fact that a Nod harvester was poking around indicates that they know your outpost is there, and may attempt an attack on it to take it out and perhaps even capture the next Elephant that's heading down the road even now. Given how much Tiberium Nod must have hoovered up from E2 and F2, it's likely that they've built an extra tank/buggy or two above what was observed with the Elephant. The question becomes, did those extra tanks go with the Elephant or are they here and getting ready to wipe your outpost out?

[] Move infantry from D1 to D2 (or E1) with the goal of getting them to the E2 outpost next turn.
[] Skip it, we're building static defenses and getting a tank.

[AN: Big thing this turn is the ability to bring vehicles in, but Nod may not take that lying down.]

Raw Plan/Results:

August 25, 2058
Sector E2
"Say again, three-five-eight actual?" the construction crew chief says into the comms unit.

"... need you to construct a *kzzsshhht* turret *kzzsht* Nod aircraft in the area, and have the War Factory build a *kzzsht* *bzzt* *beowbeowbeep* Nod armor *kzzzht beep bweep bweep* infantry... *bzzzzzzzt*".

"Any way we can clean that signal up?" the construction chief asks, sighing.

"No sir. Further south they go, the worse that Nod radio interference gets." the comms tech replies. "We even turned the video signal off to save bandwidth, we just don't have the juice to cut through all that jamming."

"Christ, fine. Let's just do what we can, then."

Sector E6
"Think any of that got through, Lieutenant?" Sgt. Rei asks you.

"I hope so." You let out a nervous laugh. "Otherwise, that outpost at E2 may be in for a rough time. Anyway, we can't worry about it now - all Guardians, commence sweeping east. Infantry picket, notify me immediately if any Nod units enter your area; engage at will."

"Targets in sight, ma'am, one tank, one buggy, looks like an infantry squad dug in over there, too. Moving to engage." The APC driver interrupts as you continue sweeping sector E6.

You nod from the passenger seat - in addition to overall command, you've got gunnery control. The days of sitting in an open cupola on top of a vehicle and exposing yourself to gunfire are long since over - turreted GDI vehicles use a series of cameras and the turret is controlled from inside the armored interior. The EVA *usually* highlights items of interest such as friendly or hostile units, but you can always ignore the markers and just blast away manually. You briefly designate the targets via your G-Pad, but once the fight starts you usually avoid micro-managing it: by the time you issue your orders, they're ten seconds behind what's actually happening and that can lead to fatal confusion - better to just let your troops do what they're trained to do and make sure they have what they need to do it.

You crack your neck and grip the controls as the driver brings the APC to engage a Nod Scorpion Tank. It fires its main (and only) gun at your other rocket-equipped APC, sending an armor-piercing SABOT round at the vehicle, which barely misses, but the explosion causes the driver to flinch and skid across the dusty terrain - this slows the Guardian APC down and as you see the Nod tank track it, you know the next shot will go right through the vehicle. Luckily, your driver has now finished circling around the back of the tank - the lock-on tone sounds and you send a rocket flying at the back of the armored vehicle. It reverses at the last second, so the rocket "only" impacts the side, but the damage has been done - the tank's shot is spoiled and smoke trails out of the armor breach as it attempts to disengage.

Machine gun rounds rock your APC, and you hear armor plating crunching and a very unhealthy vibration comes from the rear driver side of the vehicle. Looking at the video screens, you quickly identify the Nod buggy that has come to the tank's rescue, pelting your APC with machine gun fire. As you try to rotate the turret and your driver desperately tries to get out of the buggy's arc of fire, the APC you just bailed out sends a rocket flying at the buggy - smoke and fire belches out of the back and sides of the vehicle as the engine experiences severe damage.

The friendly APC is forced to turn and engage the tank again, leaving you one on one with the buggy again as it executes a rapid turn and makes its way eastward. Your APC rocks again as the driver briefly tries to pursue said buggy - a large salvo of machine gun fire strikes the front of your vehicle and you flinch, turning your head aside as sparks fly out of one of the screens showing the external view. By the time you shake your head clear, you're greeted with a report from Sergeant Rei:

"Scorpion tank destroyed; infantry destroyed. You got your target, number 2?"

"Negative." The driver responds. "Buggy has escaped. Gonna take them a while to fix that damage, though. Us too." he responds with a chuckle. "This thing looks like a colander now."

"Acknowledged." The sergeant says. "Return to formation and await further orders."

You feel a small trickle down the left side of your head, wiping it off with your hand. It's blood. "Do these monitors always blow up?" you ask, idly.

"No ma'am. Just microcircuits and LEDs. Usually means something blew through the armor plating." The driver looks at you briefly. "You better have that looked at, ma'am."

You nod. Not bad for your second combat: you didn't die. And you did accomplish your goals of reducing the amount of vehicles that Nod can throw at you to punch their Elephant through - you estimate that, at this point, they'll only have enough to match you in numbers; with your prepared position and mixture of veteran and elite troops, you can likely handle that.

E6 Combat results: 1x Tank, 1x Infantry squad destroyed; Nod buggy severely damaged; 4 APCs damaged, 1 seriously, repair costs 92 credits.
Garrison APC #2, #3 are elite drivers (+10 on init rolls)

---

Back at the improvised strongpoint your troops have dubbed as "The Perch", you pat the bandage around your head. Nothing serious, just some grazing shrapnel. You watch as the engineers weld spare armor plating back onto the APC you were driving in: from the outside, it looks like the pictures of swiss cheese that your dad showed you when you were younger. You never actually had "the real stuff" - by the time you were old enough, the cattle ranching industry and milk production weren't exactly around. But your dad said it tasted smooth and creamy and a lot better than "that soy bollocks they give us now". You smile, then turn your attention to the status update report you're reading from sector E2, which confuses the hell out of you: you're pretty sure you remember telling them to watch out for Carryall drops and to order up a tank and put down railgun turrets to defend against potential Nod armor. Instead, they ordered a Pitbull and built an anti-aircraft turret, at which point a pair of Nod Scorpion tanks showed up. To add insult to injury, the AA turret wasn't set up correctly, so somebody had to run out with tank shells flying all around and run power cables from the War Factory to the turret.

The Pitbull put up a heroic fight, using its guided missiles and mortar to engage both tanks simultaneously while the AA turret's power was restored; it was able to inflict enough damage on one of the tanks that it withdrew. The second tank then put an APDS shell through the Pitbull's center of mass, wrecking the vehicle, but by that point the AA gun came online and pelted the second tank with enough rounds that it had to withdraw as well. You have no doubt that the tanks will be back within a couple of days once they get fixed up, possibly with more buddies, and contemplate how to get your communications across better. Probably better send them in text form to reduce bandwidth usage and allow for better error correction.

E2 Combat results: 2x Nod Tank forced to withdraw; Pitbull destroyed, AA gun damaged (repair costs: 19 credits).

---

EVA Report

Current Objectives:
Continue Escorting Elephant vehicles; Elephant at E2 moving to D2. (primary command directive)
Recover captured Elephant; estimated current location in grid sector E5.
Address increased Nod ECM (self-entered) (mitigated)
Fortify E2? (self-entered)

Base Status:
Power: 300/300 used
Housing: 6/26
Building Slots A1: 0/8
Building Slots A3: 5/6 (rocky terrain)
Building Slots B3: 0/4 (rocky terrain, tiberium)
Building Slots D1: 0/8
Building Slots E2: 3/8
Credits: 1298 Credits (110 credits pending repair costs)

Infantry Requisition Capacity: 4
Infantry/Engineers can arrive/change their loadout if at A1, B3, D1, E2
Vehicle Requisition Capacity: 1
Vehicles can arrive/change their loadout at E2

Tiberium Storage Capacity: 3552/5000
Buildings:
-Construction Center, 3x Barracks, 2x Power Plant, Command Center, AA Turret at A1;
-Outpost at A3
-Outpost, Barracks, Refinery at B3
-Outpost, War Factory, Barracks, AA Turret (19% damage) at E2
-Construction Center, Barracks, Power Plant, Refinery, 2x Silo, sandbags, Railgun turret at D1

Construction/Repair Options (pick 2):
Current income:
B3: +1500 every other turn (two days remaining)
D1: +750 every four days (two days remaining)

[] Power Plant: -500 Credits, +100 Power
You've run up against your power limitation; time to fire up another turbine.

[] Sandbags: -500 Credits, +5 to all defensive infantry combat rolls where built
For your forward outposts and bases defended by infantry, this is one of the options you have to improve security.

[] Sentry Tower: -500 Credits, 10 power, automatically engages hostile units
This is another option you have for securing your outposts - you can put a couple in E2 to secure your War Factory, some wherever you set up the now "orphaned" A3 outpost, etc.
-[] Machine gun; +5 vs infantry; also detects stealthed/underground units in grid square
-[] Railgun; +10 vs vehicles
-[] Anti-aircraft battery; +10 vs aircraft, -10 vs others

[] Tiberium Refinery: -1500 Credits, 40 power, 2 building slots
You think you've got enough of these for now, close enough to the Tiberium that your income stream is pretty rapid. With your income rate slowed down by 1/2 due to the Tib field in B3 being cleared out, you will want to do this at some point in relocating the A3 outpost.

[] War Factory: -2000 Credits, 40 power, 2 building slots
You've got one, now it's time to crank out some vehicles instead.

[] Command Post: -1000 Credits, 50 power, 1 building slot, re-activates commander bonus.
While you're able to coordinate your main force just fine now, cutting through the Nod ECM remains a priority in general. Additionally, setting one up in E2 will let you keep an eye on the surrounding area a little better.

[] Barracks: -500 Credits, 15 power, 1 building slot, +4 housing
You can't really think of a good reason or place to put down any more barracks right now.

Infantry Requisition Options: Pick between 0 and 4, may pick each option multiple times
Make sure to designate an arrival location with a barracks (A1, B3, D1, E2)
[] Infantry Squad: -450 credits (10% discount), -1 housing.
-[] Standard loadout
-[] 3x grenade launcher: +15 vs infantry, -15 vs armored units/aircraft
-[] 3x rocket launcher: +15 vs vehicles/aircraft, -15 vs infantry
Instead of setting up fixed defenses, you can always call up another infantry squad and have them break out the shovels. With as many outposts as you have, this may become necessary.

[] Engineering Squad: -450 credits (10% discount), -1 housing
-[] Standard loadout
-[] Additional repair gear: can repair 2 units per turn; cannot capture buildings
You've got enough engineers at this point that you don't really need any more.

Vehicle Requisition Options: Pick up to 1
New vehicle will arrive at E2.

[] Guardian APC: -600 credits, -1 housing, 3 speed
Old tricks are the best tricks, eh Lieutenant? Call up another armored personnel carrier so your infantry in the area can have a little better mobility.
Loadout options:
-[] Rotary cannon (default): +10 vs infantry, -5 vs armored units
-[] Guided missiles: -5 vs infantry, +10 vs fast units/aircraft
-[] Grenade launcher: +15 vs infantry, -15 vs armored units/aircraft

[] Pitbull: -600 credits, -1 housing, 4 speed, detects stealthed units, +10 vs aircraft, -10 vs infantry
This fast little recon vehicle has two purposes - one, to fire guided missiles at vehicles and aircraft and two, to detect Nod stealth units with its advanced sensor system. It can also be shipped with a mounted mortar for an additional resource cost.
Add-on options:
-[] Mortar: Secondary weapon, +10 vs infantry/buildings, may engage two units vehicle simultaneously, costs additional 100 credits

[] Predator: -800 credits, -1 housing, 2 speed, support attacks vs this unit do not take a penalty, +20 vs vehicles, hit points at 125%.
This heavily armored tank's railgun can punch through just about any armor the brotherhood can bring to bear and can target fast-moving vehicles effectively due to the projectile's incredible launch velocity, but it struggles against infantry and fixed defenses. Its front armor is pretty thick, but designers opted to put most of it in the front of the tank, so it performs best when it has support.

Visual representation of operational area:
A1 B1 .C1 D1 .E1 F1
A2 B2 .C2 D2 .E2 F2
A3 B3 .C3 D3 .E3 F3
A4 B4|C4|D4|E4 F4
A5 B5 .C5 .D5 .E5 F5
A6 B6 .C6|D6 .E6 F6

Current Reconaissance Report:

Current Force Status:

Not much in the way of decisions to make in military terms: the Nod-controlled E5 elephant's escorts can move to D6 and engage your forces this turn so unless you want to abandon the position you've prepared, your main combat group is staying at D6.

You estimate that your E2 outpost will come under attack again within the next 48 hours by a stronger Nod force as well, so you'll need to address that, as well as the fact that you don't have any spare electrical power.

[AN: That could have gone better, but, thanks to some very non-statistical rolls, the outpost at E2 remains intact.]

Let's make another 1d100 "Nod Commander Decision Making Roll":
1-50: Nod Commander thinks you have infantry in the APCs
51-100: Nod Commander does not think you have infantry in the APCs