Incident Eliph at Kianid [Original Weird War Fantasy/Horror Quest]
- Thread starter Havocfett
- Start date
- Original
- Location
- National Capital Region, USA
[X] Follow those tracks into the wood. If they're not a particularly good pilot, they may have left a trail for you to follow. [You must leave the Trucks at the farmhouse, they can't go offroad]
13. Hunt
- Pronouns
- He/Him
You decide to head directly after the mech. If you're lucky, it's an idiot on a joyride and you can finish in an afternoon. If you're not, it's imperative to figure out where it is and what's going on with it and the trail is the most direct lead you have.
Your men begin to disembark. Bilal and Bahadir move to leave behind their heavy weapons at first, but at a gesture from you they grab a pair of the runners to help carry the heavy machine gun and mortar. There are nervous glances from the civilians at the appearance of heavy weaponry, and faces watch you from the windows as you head into the woods. Boys and girls, men and women, with every reason to distrust Turkish soldiers.
The trail is easy enough to track, at least at first. Wide, clumsy, heavy steps. Deep imprints, broken roots and tattered trees. The trail of a drunken idiot at the controls, or at least someone who should never have been allowed at the wheel. They start to thin as you head further into the forest. The ground is harder here, it doesn't keep tracks well and you are forced to move more slowly. Search for ever thinner, more fragmentary evidence.
Soon you have spread out your platoon, casting a wide net and calling out shattered branches and crushed nests. Depressions that may be where an ironclad foot sunk into the ground, or may simply be a small hollow. Turgut finds the first piece of evidence half-covered by leaves and swarming with ants. It's a shattered human arm, ripped off at the elbow. Blood and splintered bone litter the ground around it and the brown gloves over its twisted hand is stained red and black.
Everyone marches with rifles raised after that.
After two kilometers of this. Of hiking, waiting for a yell, and reorienting the hunt, you hear a gunshot to the east. Someone in Third Squad, though there is no reply, or screaming to indicate a firefight. You halt the rest of the line while you wait for Atun to send word or for more shooting to start.
Shortly afterwards you hear a sheep from the same direction, Turgut has time to start a rude joke about Nefers and Sheep before being cut off by distant cursing and another gunshot.
That gets you running. You arrive as a second gunshot rings out, and witness the remains of the sheep.
You've seen what shrikes do to their prey. You found it morbidly fascinating as a child, and mostly just disgusting as an adult. The fate of the sheep reminds you of nothing so much as those poor impaled insects.
Its legs have been pulled off and it has been shorn bare. Stitching crosses its belly where it has been sewn back together, and its head is bent backwards to stare at you. It is twenty feet up, impaled upon a great oak branch, yet doesn't seem to take notice as it bleats loudly at you. At the base of the tree is Third Squad, the squad is watching the perimeter while Atun reloads.
Atun sinks another round into its chest. You watch a round slip from shaking fingers as he tries to chamber it, raise your own shotgun as he reaches for another round. But his fourth shot puts the sheep out of its misery.
"Good short, Cavus," you call, "Report!" You stride towards him as he composes himself, there's no reason to rush him.
He stumbles over his words the first time he opens his mouth, then takes another breath, visibly stills as the adrenaline leaves. "Sir, Nefer Zaki tripped over a root and his gun discharged. We thought he had made contact. When we reached him, we heard the bleating start," he says, "We, well, we found it shortly afterwards. You saw what happened next. I don't, don't. I am not sure why." And with this he gestures at the now-dead sheep.
"It's an alarm," you say calmly, "We've stumbled upon something it doesn't want us to." You look around the clearing. Second squad have already found cover and are watching the horizon, first is still coming up to the clearing. The thing….it would be able to see quite a bit, impaled on a tree, but the forest would still kill its sight lines rather quickly. Either it's a perimeter alarm, in which case there should be more sheep in the area, or it's meant to watch over something nearby. Either way, you know what to do.
"Platoon, I want a ten meter perimeter around the sheep. Start bracing the big guns," you say, "Runners, Faysal, sweep everything the sheep can see. We're looking for something it might be guarding, or else more alarms."
It doesn't take long for Faysal to find your quarry. It is hidden in a hollow between the roots of a tree. Entrance obscured by fallen branches and moss, in plain view of the sheep. A man made cave, the first room large enough for three men to sit comfortably and littered with centuries of forgotten detritus. There's a doorway down there too, half buried in fallen dirt, and who knows how many more rooms it hides.
You are about to order second squad to enter the cave with you when you hear the shooting, and the screaming. For a horrible moment you think it is your men, but then you realize how distant the sounds are. How faint the report of gunfire.
You leap out of the hollow in a flash and find your men looking north, where you see flashes of gunfire in the distance. Hear the thunderous explosion of what must be some great cannon and the screams of terrified and dying men.
What Do You Do?
[ ] Save the People
People are dying, the cave will be here when we return, and if it isn't you would not prize its secrets over lives. Whoever they are.
[ ] Search the cave
It knows we found the cave, or are at least near it. If we leave it could clear out crucial evidence or have prepared an ambush for our return. Ending this is more important than one firefight.
Your men begin to disembark. Bilal and Bahadir move to leave behind their heavy weapons at first, but at a gesture from you they grab a pair of the runners to help carry the heavy machine gun and mortar. There are nervous glances from the civilians at the appearance of heavy weaponry, and faces watch you from the windows as you head into the woods. Boys and girls, men and women, with every reason to distrust Turkish soldiers.
The trail is easy enough to track, at least at first. Wide, clumsy, heavy steps. Deep imprints, broken roots and tattered trees. The trail of a drunken idiot at the controls, or at least someone who should never have been allowed at the wheel. They start to thin as you head further into the forest. The ground is harder here, it doesn't keep tracks well and you are forced to move more slowly. Search for ever thinner, more fragmentary evidence.
Soon you have spread out your platoon, casting a wide net and calling out shattered branches and crushed nests. Depressions that may be where an ironclad foot sunk into the ground, or may simply be a small hollow. Turgut finds the first piece of evidence half-covered by leaves and swarming with ants. It's a shattered human arm, ripped off at the elbow. Blood and splintered bone litter the ground around it and the brown gloves over its twisted hand is stained red and black.
Everyone marches with rifles raised after that.
After two kilometers of this. Of hiking, waiting for a yell, and reorienting the hunt, you hear a gunshot to the east. Someone in Third Squad, though there is no reply, or screaming to indicate a firefight. You halt the rest of the line while you wait for Atun to send word or for more shooting to start.
Shortly afterwards you hear a sheep from the same direction, Turgut has time to start a rude joke about Nefers and Sheep before being cut off by distant cursing and another gunshot.
That gets you running. You arrive as a second gunshot rings out, and witness the remains of the sheep.
You've seen what shrikes do to their prey. You found it morbidly fascinating as a child, and mostly just disgusting as an adult. The fate of the sheep reminds you of nothing so much as those poor impaled insects.
Its legs have been pulled off and it has been shorn bare. Stitching crosses its belly where it has been sewn back together, and its head is bent backwards to stare at you. It is twenty feet up, impaled upon a great oak branch, yet doesn't seem to take notice as it bleats loudly at you. At the base of the tree is Third Squad, the squad is watching the perimeter while Atun reloads.
Atun sinks another round into its chest. You watch a round slip from shaking fingers as he tries to chamber it, raise your own shotgun as he reaches for another round. But his fourth shot puts the sheep out of its misery.
"Good short, Cavus," you call, "Report!" You stride towards him as he composes himself, there's no reason to rush him.
He stumbles over his words the first time he opens his mouth, then takes another breath, visibly stills as the adrenaline leaves. "Sir, Nefer Zaki tripped over a root and his gun discharged. We thought he had made contact. When we reached him, we heard the bleating start," he says, "We, well, we found it shortly afterwards. You saw what happened next. I don't, don't. I am not sure why." And with this he gestures at the now-dead sheep.
"It's an alarm," you say calmly, "We've stumbled upon something it doesn't want us to." You look around the clearing. Second squad have already found cover and are watching the horizon, first is still coming up to the clearing. The thing….it would be able to see quite a bit, impaled on a tree, but the forest would still kill its sight lines rather quickly. Either it's a perimeter alarm, in which case there should be more sheep in the area, or it's meant to watch over something nearby. Either way, you know what to do.
"Platoon, I want a ten meter perimeter around the sheep. Start bracing the big guns," you say, "Runners, Faysal, sweep everything the sheep can see. We're looking for something it might be guarding, or else more alarms."
It doesn't take long for Faysal to find your quarry. It is hidden in a hollow between the roots of a tree. Entrance obscured by fallen branches and moss, in plain view of the sheep. A man made cave, the first room large enough for three men to sit comfortably and littered with centuries of forgotten detritus. There's a doorway down there too, half buried in fallen dirt, and who knows how many more rooms it hides.
You are about to order second squad to enter the cave with you when you hear the shooting, and the screaming. For a horrible moment you think it is your men, but then you realize how distant the sounds are. How faint the report of gunfire.
You leap out of the hollow in a flash and find your men looking north, where you see flashes of gunfire in the distance. Hear the thunderous explosion of what must be some great cannon and the screams of terrified and dying men.
What Do You Do?
[ ] Save the People
People are dying, the cave will be here when we return, and if it isn't you would not prize its secrets over lives. Whoever they are.
[ ] Search the cave
It knows we found the cave, or are at least near it. If we leave it could clear out crucial evidence or have prepared an ambush for our return. Ending this is more important than one firefight.
[X] Save the People
This feels more in character, all things considered.
This feels more in character, all things considered.
LupineVolt
Now with 200% more Puns
- Location
- Michigan
[X] Save the People
Always in the moment, let's try and make sure we don't let anything that can't be reversed happen.
Always in the moment, let's try and make sure we don't let anything that can't be reversed happen.
- Location
- Reno
- Pronouns
- They/Them
[X] Save the People
Whiskey Golf
Being of Editing & Technical Assistance
- Location
- Chained to my desk
[X] Search the cave
We may not be able to arrive in time to help the people in the firefight, and the monster knows we found it's lair. Doubling down and going in deep and hard is the least worst of a bunch of bad options.
We may not be able to arrive in time to help the people in the firefight, and the monster knows we found it's lair. Doubling down and going in deep and hard is the least worst of a bunch of bad options.
- Location
- New England
I'm genuinely having trouble with this choice. On the one hand, it's not right to just let a bunch of people get whacked, but there's a good chance that the fight is going to be over by the time we get there. Still, the cave will be there when we get back.
[X] Save the People
[X] Save the People
- Location
- National Capital Region, USA
[X] Search the cave
What Whiskey said. Whatever is happening, it is happening far away and it would take us time to get there. That mutant sheep alarm means we found something here, and whoever owns it will know it if we leave.
What Whiskey said. Whatever is happening, it is happening far away and it would take us time to get there. That mutant sheep alarm means we found something here, and whoever owns it will know it if we leave.
- Location
- St. Petersburg
The timing is suspicious. You don't organize an assault like this on a minute's notice. Would it really be a reaction to our presence rather than an independent action?
Then again, it might have expected us, given the alarm system.
[x] Search the cave
TenfoldShields
Lounging on a Hoard of Words
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Thaaaaaaat's a fucked up alarm, Jesus Christ how horrifying.
I think...mnm.
[X] Save the People
We have experience fighting these things, we have information from the Journal and know how they work. It's also very possible that this is the base the ongoing attack was launched from and it's possible that that's- uh. That that's our missing agri-walker that's the cause of the screams. We have multiple heavy weapons with us and whether it's a large concentration of messed up dieselpunk necromorphs or something like armor we can absolutely make a meaningful difference and bring them down. Beyond that? It could be civilians being attacked. It could be Ottoman army units or some of our missing Russians, whoever they are helping them is important in and of itself. And, like, man we have Second Squad with us and I don't trust them on guard duty or in, uh, a tight warren of tunnels and cells, in the dark, with the relevant evil ambiguously in residence.
There's a pretty high chance of friendly fire in there in addition to whatever casualties we incur from whatever's still nestled in there and we have no guarantees that something isn't. We really need 1st and 4th Squad for this and I'd rather do a better job of rescuing Whoever from this ongoing nightmare than, uh, a botchjob of recovering sensitive info in a situation that could get a ton of people picked off.
At least open combat plays to our strengths y'know? Setting the moral weight aside.
Whiskey Golf
Being of Editing & Technical Assistance
- Location
- Chained to my desk
i genuinely get you, and this was my first inclination. my concern though is that the cave might still be here, but the target may not be here anymore-
- or the target has had more time to dig in and get ready with all sorta of monsters.
TenfoldShields
Lounging on a Hoard of Words
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Either way I think that we've just got a bad unit composition for taking it on right now. 4th Squad's sensory abilities were invaluable when we were clearing the sub, a space it had significantly longer to work with and prep for being inevitably found and 1st Squad's expertise and nerves were absolutely critical. We don't have either of them right now, 3rd Squad's mostly unknowns, Atun is a known scumbag, and 2nd Squad's all brittle, broken glass.
Bringing them in there right now is kinda just begging for blue on blue in the dark.
[X] Save the People
Whiskey Golf
Being of Editing & Technical Assistance
- Location
- Chained to my desk
Oh, undoubtedly. Cave fighting is a bitch and half and superbadciv to do, even today with NVGs, IR lasers and suppressed carbines - what more with WW1 tech.
Ultimately it's a judgement call. I don't think we're going to arrive in time to help whoever it is in the distance. I don't like our chances going into the cave. But we're here, and the mission comes first.
The mission has to come first.
TenfoldShields
Lounging on a Hoard of Words
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Enhhh the assumption that we can't do anything meaningful feels a bit weird to me tbh, it's basically taking for granted that Havoc put an option in for the sole purpose of dicking us over and getting us to blow a limited resource for no real gain when in general his approach tends to be, like, even if you fuck up you fuck up in a forwardsly direction. Progressing, in some way, to your destination even if the path is fraught with new complications or inopportune developments. Plus, @Sarpedon raised a good point on a shared Discord that, like, we're in a forest yeah? Trees have a way of muffling and distorting sound. But given that we can make out what's happening pretty clearly and the proximate direction it means that they can't actually be that far off. Odds are generally solid that we'll arrive in time to make a meaningful difference, both from OOC and IC knowledge.
And on top of that, destroying a possible military contingent of weaponized necromorphs including an enemy armor unit is meaningfully working towards the overall objective. I mean...if the Thing in the Box kills Whoever It Is he (she? it?) is just going to use those corpses to bolster its forces, accelerating the process regardless of what we pull out of the underground lair yeah?
- Location
- in the trash
[X] Save the People
[X] Save the People
14. Distraction
- Pronouns
- He/Him
It only takes you a moment to make your decision. There will be more chances to learn what's happening here. Those people won't have another chance to get out of here alive.
"I will not let that thing prey on more people unopposed," you say. The men look towards you, some look relieved, others apprehensive, but they wait for a conclusive order. "We're joining that gunfight."
"Yousuf, we might not get another chance," says Faysal. He isn't challenging you, isn't reprimanding in tone. It's a reminder, that there are things at play here you are unaware of, that knowing them might save men later. That if you are not careful this could be Italy once again. You appreciate that, understand that, but you have made your decision and can only pray that it is correct.
"I know," you say. And he nods, and you all run towards the fighting.
Branches snap underfoot as you rush through hills and trees towards the fighting. Gunshots grow louder, as does the stench of death and powder. Dying screams intermix with garbled commands as you get closer, ever-closer, to the battlefield. The chug of a walker's engines, the whirring of gears and heavy footsteps cut through it all. The overwhelming sound of a walker upon the field of battle.
Something swings through the trees. You hit the ground, rolling as a pair of gunshots ring through the air. You roll face up, shotgun swinging into place as the rest of the platoon raise their rifles. The creature begins to launch itself away, and your blast catches it mid-swing. A great shape, swaddled in cloth and covered in arms, falls out of the trees some distance away.
No-one appears to be injured, so you continue your march. Slowing down, peeking over the hill to survey the carnage below.
There are easily thirty civilians down there. Men, women, and children, escorted by a squad of Ottoman soldiers and fleeing in all directions from the foe. The great shape of the walker is visible in the distance, striding between the trees, not yet changed in the way everything else the foe gets its hands on has been. Misshapen things crawl atop its hull, and it carries a large bag slung across its torso, yet it otherwise appears the high-end farming walker it was when it was stolen. A great grasping hand for moving livestock and excavating earth topping one arm, a misshapen blade for clearing land and plowing the ground on the other.
A small swarm of monstrosities chases the civilians. Things made from man and fish and beast, armed with shattered bones and stolen knives and even the occasional firearm. They rained death from the treetops, from furtive scurrying between the trees, but though they had routed their foe and received little return fire they did not move to finish them. Instead occasionally killing someone, or dragging a screaming unfortunate into the trees or the brush, but mostly herding them. Making sure they didn't escape too quickly, or in a direction the foe did not desire.
You realize that they are a distraction. That the enemy knew where they were, and attacked to draw you away from the cave.
Other men began to creep to the top of the hill. Rifle fire forcing the enemy to seek cover and giving the civilians precious time to scramble away. The enemy forces surge backwards, diving for cover and holding their fire as you joined the fighting. For a moment you think that it might be enough. After all, you are distracted, the enemy cannot take the open without exposing themselves to fire. Perhaps they will halt long enough for you to bring the civilians over the hill, and then either repel the attack or retreat whence you came.
Then the walker reaches into its bag. It pulls something out, indistinct through distance and tree-cover. It reminds you of a bola as it flings the thing into the air, spinning wildly towards your position. Ripping branches from trees and sending people running, screaming.
It lands short, throwing up dirt far short of your position. Atun rises to look at it but Faysal pulls him down. A gunshot rings through the forest.
And the shape explodes. Shrapnel and earth following a great shockwave. A man falls bleeding, his crying child slipping from his hands as he prays to god from salvation, and you realize that this will not work. The hillside is a killing field, whether you charge down it or the civilians charge up the Enemy will shred them with explosive charges and rifle fire. You need something else. Something defensible, either out of throwing range, or where a thrown charge can't be shot by some sniper until Bahadir or Bilal drives the walker away.
You spot it by chance. A fallen tree abutting the hill's downward slope. A natural depression that will keep the civilians out of the line of fire and give you a defensible spot to repel the attack. So long as the heavy guns can drive off the walker, it should be what you need.
"Bahadir, Bilal, set up the guns here," you say, "I'm headed downhill."
Plan
Onbasi Bahadir is going to be setting up his machinegun on the rise. Who's staying by to guard him
Pick one or two
[ ] First Squad
Your best men and the ones most used to working alongside your heavy weaponry. They'll be the best at performing support duties and you trust them to foil a flanking attack or retaliation from the direction of the cave.
[ ] Second Squad
Their rifle grenades will ward off an assault on the machinegun and have the range to protect your position from an assault. It also leaves you more men to affect a rescue.
[ ] Third Squad
Atun's men include your dedicated snipers. They're likely to be the most effective at range and have the numbers to mount an effective defense. They're also fresh, have no idea how to support heavy weapons, and you think Atun might actually have an aneurysm if a black man gives him an order.
How aggressive are you being in civilian rescue?
[ ] Hold the hollow and provide cover fire.
You and your men will be far safer, but the civilians and their guards will have to reach you on their own. If any of them are wounded, wander off, or get shot there's not a lot you can do for them until the fighting ends.
[ ] Reach the civilians and escort them in.
You and your men will be more at risk. But you'll be able to make sure everyone stays together and in the right direction, and can pull the injured and disoriented to safety.
"I will not let that thing prey on more people unopposed," you say. The men look towards you, some look relieved, others apprehensive, but they wait for a conclusive order. "We're joining that gunfight."
"Yousuf, we might not get another chance," says Faysal. He isn't challenging you, isn't reprimanding in tone. It's a reminder, that there are things at play here you are unaware of, that knowing them might save men later. That if you are not careful this could be Italy once again. You appreciate that, understand that, but you have made your decision and can only pray that it is correct.
"I know," you say. And he nods, and you all run towards the fighting.
Branches snap underfoot as you rush through hills and trees towards the fighting. Gunshots grow louder, as does the stench of death and powder. Dying screams intermix with garbled commands as you get closer, ever-closer, to the battlefield. The chug of a walker's engines, the whirring of gears and heavy footsteps cut through it all. The overwhelming sound of a walker upon the field of battle.
Something swings through the trees. You hit the ground, rolling as a pair of gunshots ring through the air. You roll face up, shotgun swinging into place as the rest of the platoon raise their rifles. The creature begins to launch itself away, and your blast catches it mid-swing. A great shape, swaddled in cloth and covered in arms, falls out of the trees some distance away.
No-one appears to be injured, so you continue your march. Slowing down, peeking over the hill to survey the carnage below.
There are easily thirty civilians down there. Men, women, and children, escorted by a squad of Ottoman soldiers and fleeing in all directions from the foe. The great shape of the walker is visible in the distance, striding between the trees, not yet changed in the way everything else the foe gets its hands on has been. Misshapen things crawl atop its hull, and it carries a large bag slung across its torso, yet it otherwise appears the high-end farming walker it was when it was stolen. A great grasping hand for moving livestock and excavating earth topping one arm, a misshapen blade for clearing land and plowing the ground on the other.
A small swarm of monstrosities chases the civilians. Things made from man and fish and beast, armed with shattered bones and stolen knives and even the occasional firearm. They rained death from the treetops, from furtive scurrying between the trees, but though they had routed their foe and received little return fire they did not move to finish them. Instead occasionally killing someone, or dragging a screaming unfortunate into the trees or the brush, but mostly herding them. Making sure they didn't escape too quickly, or in a direction the foe did not desire.
You realize that they are a distraction. That the enemy knew where they were, and attacked to draw you away from the cave.
Other men began to creep to the top of the hill. Rifle fire forcing the enemy to seek cover and giving the civilians precious time to scramble away. The enemy forces surge backwards, diving for cover and holding their fire as you joined the fighting. For a moment you think that it might be enough. After all, you are distracted, the enemy cannot take the open without exposing themselves to fire. Perhaps they will halt long enough for you to bring the civilians over the hill, and then either repel the attack or retreat whence you came.
Then the walker reaches into its bag. It pulls something out, indistinct through distance and tree-cover. It reminds you of a bola as it flings the thing into the air, spinning wildly towards your position. Ripping branches from trees and sending people running, screaming.
It lands short, throwing up dirt far short of your position. Atun rises to look at it but Faysal pulls him down. A gunshot rings through the forest.
And the shape explodes. Shrapnel and earth following a great shockwave. A man falls bleeding, his crying child slipping from his hands as he prays to god from salvation, and you realize that this will not work. The hillside is a killing field, whether you charge down it or the civilians charge up the Enemy will shred them with explosive charges and rifle fire. You need something else. Something defensible, either out of throwing range, or where a thrown charge can't be shot by some sniper until Bahadir or Bilal drives the walker away.
You spot it by chance. A fallen tree abutting the hill's downward slope. A natural depression that will keep the civilians out of the line of fire and give you a defensible spot to repel the attack. So long as the heavy guns can drive off the walker, it should be what you need.
"Bahadir, Bilal, set up the guns here," you say, "I'm headed downhill."
Plan
Onbasi Bahadir is going to be setting up his machinegun on the rise. Who's staying by to guard him
Pick one or two
[ ] First Squad
Your best men and the ones most used to working alongside your heavy weaponry. They'll be the best at performing support duties and you trust them to foil a flanking attack or retaliation from the direction of the cave.
[ ] Second Squad
Their rifle grenades will ward off an assault on the machinegun and have the range to protect your position from an assault. It also leaves you more men to affect a rescue.
[ ] Third Squad
Atun's men include your dedicated snipers. They're likely to be the most effective at range and have the numbers to mount an effective defense. They're also fresh, have no idea how to support heavy weapons, and you think Atun might actually have an aneurysm if a black man gives him an order.
How aggressive are you being in civilian rescue?
[ ] Hold the hollow and provide cover fire.
You and your men will be far safer, but the civilians and their guards will have to reach you on their own. If any of them are wounded, wander off, or get shot there's not a lot you can do for them until the fighting ends.
[ ] Reach the civilians and escort them in.
You and your men will be more at risk. But you'll be able to make sure everyone stays together and in the right direction, and can pull the injured and disoriented to safety.
TenfoldShields
Lounging on a Hoard of Words
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Second Squad
[X] Reach the civilians and escort them in.
Iiiiiiiiii am...amenable to arguments otherwise, but my thought process is essentially: the Thing in the Box is clever, manipulative, and gets people enough to fuck with them and work their emotional levers. So we keep Second Squad, brittle and fucked up but packing fairly heavy firepower out of the way and in a position where they'll have plenty of warning if something's coming for them and range to use their explosives. And where, uh, they won't have to worry too too much about potentially panic-borne sloppy trigger discipline.
And as for the second part it's...I mean this was a trap essentially. And like I said the Thing in the Box has a good grasp of human psychology, and it consciously preys on fear and chaos and confusion, fragmenting the opposition before really engaging (see how it handled the Russians in the submarine). It's probably counting on us to reflexively fall back, to dig in and entrench ourselves. But- I mean idk shit about military strategy but I know that, situationally, organized aggression in the face of an ambush or surprise attack. Counter-attacking into the invading forces (especially when they're, by contextual clues, fairly lean numbers wise and probably thrown together fairly fast) isn't an inherently bad strategy. And can decisively end things in a better fashion than a prolonged engagement.
Plus, uh, watching kids get sliced apart below isn't gonna be great for troop morale. Just sayin'.
[X] Reach the civilians and escort them in.
Iiiiiiiiii am...amenable to arguments otherwise, but my thought process is essentially: the Thing in the Box is clever, manipulative, and gets people enough to fuck with them and work their emotional levers. So we keep Second Squad, brittle and fucked up but packing fairly heavy firepower out of the way and in a position where they'll have plenty of warning if something's coming for them and range to use their explosives. And where, uh, they won't have to worry too too much about potentially panic-borne sloppy trigger discipline.
And as for the second part it's...I mean this was a trap essentially. And like I said the Thing in the Box has a good grasp of human psychology, and it consciously preys on fear and chaos and confusion, fragmenting the opposition before really engaging (see how it handled the Russians in the submarine). It's probably counting on us to reflexively fall back, to dig in and entrench ourselves. But- I mean idk shit about military strategy but I know that, situationally, organized aggression in the face of an ambush or surprise attack. Counter-attacking into the invading forces (especially when they're, by contextual clues, fairly lean numbers wise and probably thrown together fairly fast) isn't an inherently bad strategy. And can decisively end things in a better fashion than a prolonged engagement.
Plus, uh, watching kids get sliced apart below isn't gonna be great for troop morale. Just sayin'.
[X] Second Squad
[X] Reach the civilians and escort them in.
[X] Reach the civilians and escort them in.
Whiskey Golf
Being of Editing & Technical Assistance
- Location
- Chained to my desk
@TenfoldShields I have the opposite thought: if I was playing the monster, I'd love to be able to setup a situation like this. Attack civs, bait the enemy platoon away from my cave, and position forces in reserve so that when they charge down to rescue the civs, I hit them and counter their attempt to ambush my forces. I'm not really inclined to move away from the hollow.
this is totally not because i hate running irl, i swear 
Agreed on 2nd Squad staying back to support the MG, btw.
Agreed on 2nd Squad staying back to support the MG, btw.