Considering we're going to be going up against Slayers as well in the near future in all likelihood, I'll take the experimental new tanks over older cheap designs were going to have to rebuild to be useful anyway.
[X] Try to get the new European Tank: Cost increased to 250, gain 3 Experimental Tank Units.
*Waggles Hand* Twilight failing to get those 500 Funds means our budget concerns aren't as solved as I was hoping, we're going to have to spend a bunch of our income again next turn to make full use of our action slots. While it's true that a mere +50 Funds cost isn't that big of a deal compared to what we're already spending, don't forget that buying the cheap Russian tanks gets us double the number of Tank Units as well as being less than half the cost.
Assuming that the follow up action to overhaul them has the standard time and money costs (1 turn, 100 Funds), then we'd be getting 6 Upgraded Tank Units for 2 turns and 200 Funds. Whereas purchasing another set of 3 Experimentals would get us 6 Experimental Tank Units for 2 turns and 500 Funds. If the upgraded tanks are more or less equivalent to the Experimental Tank Units then that's a pretty hefty bang for our buck, especially since we just revealed that Emily would give a +25 to the roll for tinkering with them after the Workshops are done, plus a reroll, which gives decent odds of critting on upgrading them.
WARNING, WARNING! MAJOR BREACH DETECTED IN MEXICO! TITANS DETECTED! LARGE GATHERING OF BIOMORPHIC SIGNATURES DETECTED! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! DIRECTOR THOMPSON REPORT TO THE COMMAND CENTER!
Oh god damnit. *Sigh* Yeah, fine, since we're suddenly being sent into battle right now with whatever we deign to have at the moment, it's not even a choice anymore. Since Adams gave the impression that the outdated tanks aren't really worth fielding before we have the chance to upgrade them, and the delay option sends us into the Breach without any additional tanks, we basically have to pay the premium for the Experimentals.
[X] Try to get the new European Tank: Cost increased to 250, gain 3 Experimental Tank Units.
Don't worry, you can repeat the action next turn if you want more tanks. Which you are going to need when the Breach starts to vomit out Biomorphs later in the quest
"What are we looking at?" You asked, rushing into the command room where you found Commander Adams and, in fact, your entire council of Department Heads who were looking at a screen displaying what looked to be a satellite image. Alarms were going off throughout the base and you knew that the troops were moving into stand by positions for when they got the order to deploy to the mission zone. The pilots were already going to strap into their Slayers which would get the full combat load out for this deployment.
"We have a Breach in Mexico. It's out in the wilderness and far enough away from any towns or cities that we can engage without major concern for collateral damage." Commander Adams said as he made room for you to join the group in examining the satellite image. Immediately, you noticed something off.
"What are they doing to the Breach?" You asked, as you saw what you believed to be a greenish-red mass of something growing around the edges of the Breach, the kaleidoscopic tear into the fabric of space-time allowing a second Titan through before it started to shrink to half its initial size, but not closing.
"It appears to be some form of organic structure being grown to I theorize… stabilize the Breach." Dr. Vahlen said, and you gave her a look you knew conveyed your horror with that possibility from the way she grimly nodded to you.
"There were reports of biological growths around the Breach in Germany last month." Adams commented. "The one in Germany were the size of semi-trucks before the Air Force blasted them to bits. These ones might be more mature versions given their size."
"With our resources, we can't handle a second Alpha Breach." Your head of engineering said, Emily looked actually scared in your opinion. "H-Hell, we've barely gotten any work done on fortifying this containment zone or clearing out the Bios wandering around inside of it."
"Thankfully, unlike the Alpha Breach, it seems like these biological structures are what's keeping it from closing." Commander Adams said, pointing at the growing mass. "If we can eliminate these structures before they can finish growing, we can prevent them from gaining another foothold in our world."
"So, kill everything not human, blow up the meat building before it has finished setting up, and maybe come back home with lots of dead Biomorphs for us to dissect and study without the Mexican government being demanding." You said, thinking about it. "Those new tanks coming in?"
"Yes Director, with a crew already picked out and ready to act even in an emergency like this." Commander Adams said.
"Good to know, now then let's figure out a plan of attack that's more detailed than just 'attack.'" You said, bringing up the list of your forces and thinking of what you can do to handle this mess.
What Forces do you commit to the Mission
[ ] All In: All forces are sent to the mission (except the two units of Infantry reserved for Base Security).
[ ] A Measured Approach: Sent only in a portion of your forces.
-[] Write-In Units
What is your plan of attack?
[] The Direct Approach: Slayers at the front, Tanks and APCs behind and to the sides to screen for Biomorphs.
[] Even Fight: Slayers go in, Tanks and infantry create a perimeter and dig in to prevent any Biomorphs from escaping
[ ] Outside The Box: The Write-In Option
-[] Write-In
I'm probably going to go with All In unless someone brings up a good reason not to, since we already have dedicated security units. But could we get a breakdown of our forces (not to mention our base facilities and their mechanical bonuses) added to our Organization informational to help with planning?
I'm probably going to go with All In unless someone brings up a good reason not to, since we already have dedicated security units. But could we get a breakdown of our forces (not to mention our base facilities and their mechanical bonuses) added to our Organization informational to help with planning?
So, effectively you have 360 Infantrymen, 4 Standard Tanks, 12 Experimental Tank Units, 8 IFVs, 8 Transport and Combat Helicopters to throw at this Breach.
While having 40 Infantrymen acting as Base Security and thus staying behind.
Oh, and 3 Giant Mecha for punching Kaiju in the face.
Without knowing anything about how the bad guys work, all-in/direct approach is probably the way to go; unless our military chief has some input on the matter.
[X] All In: All forces are sent to the mission (except the two units of Infantry reserved for Base Security).
[X] Even Fight: Slayers go in, Tanks and infantry create a perimeter and dig in to prevent any Biomorphs from escaping
-[X] Combat Helicopters support the Slayer assault.
Hmm, can't think of any tactics more elaborate than this given what we know. Keeping rogue Biomorphs from escaping into the wilderness to cause havoc for the public later is the responsible thing to do, so we should probably establish a perimeter despite it lessening the force of our main assault. At the same time, we still need to go in with an assault to take down the structures and close the gate, because the longer it's up the more enemies come through. So we have to at least send in the Slayers with at least one type of support to do that. I'm going with Combat Helicopters, since they can help deal with any enemy type, particularly fliers which would otherwise be a pain for Slayers alone to respond to, and there's fewer of them so they can't fill as much of the perimeter (they also weren't given an assignment in the original options).
[X] All In: All forces are sent to the mission (except the two units of Infantry reserved for Base Security).
[X] Even Fight: Slayers go in, Tanks and infantry create a perimeter and dig in to prevent any Biomorphs from escaping
-[X] Combat Helicopters support the Slayer assault.
[X] All In: All forces are sent to the mission (except the two units of Infantry reserved for Base Security).
[X] Even Fight: Slayers go in, Tanks and infantry create a perimeter and dig in to prevent any Biomorphs from escaping
-[X] Combat Helicopters support the Slayer assault.
[X] All In: All forces are sent to the mission (except the two units of Infantry reserved for Base Security).
[X] Even Fight: Slayers go in, Tanks and infantry create a perimeter and dig in to prevent any Biomorphs from escaping
-[X] Combat Helicopters will act as a rapid reaction force just in case ether the slayers have trouble or the ground forces start to get overwhelmed.
[X] All In: All forces are sent to the mission (except the two units of Infantry reserved for Base Security).
[X] Even Fight: Slayers go in, Tanks and infantry create a perimeter and dig in to prevent any Biomorphs from escaping
-[X] Combat Helicopters support the Slayer assault.
[X] All In: All forces are sent to the mission (except the two units of Infantry reserved for Base Security).
[X] Even Fight: Slayers go in, Tanks and infantry create a perimeter and dig in to prevent any Biomorphs from escaping
-[X] Combat Helicopters support the Slayer assault.
[X] Even Fight: Slayers go in, Tanks and infantry create a perimeter and dig in to prevent any Biomorphs from escaping -[X] Combat Helicopters support the Slayer assault.
[X] Even Fight: Slayers go in, Tanks and infantry create a perimeter and dig in to prevent any Biomorphs from escaping -[X] Combat Helicopters will act as a rapid reaction force just in case ether the slayers have trouble or the ground forces start to get overwhelmed.
[X] All In: All forces are sent to the mission (except the two units of Infantry reserved for Base Security).
[X] Even Fight: Slayers go in, Tanks and infantry create a perimeter and dig in to prevent any Biomorphs from escaping
-[X] Combat Helicopters support the Slayer assault.
"Send everything and everyone we can send out. I want a perimeter set up around the A.O. to contain the smaller Biomorphs as soon as we have boots on the ground. I want the combat aircraft to support the Slayers in taking out the Titans and eliminating the structures." You ordered, your commands being carried out with Commander Adams relaying them to the rest of the organization.
"Tanks will be our mobile elements in the perimeter, they should be faster than our infantry." Commander Adams said.
"I'll make sure the Slayers get their full loadouts this time, this isn't the same as the simulation." Emily said, rushing off towards the Slayer Factory to get your darlings properly equipped.
"Dr. Vahlen, prep the storage, we're likely to get plenty of specimens for you to play with after this mission." You said, to which she nodded and left as well. You then turned to Josephine. "As for you, I want you to get the PR team ready to spin this as good as you can."
"At least I won't have to worry about collateral damage, should make my job easier." She noted before leaving. You would have given Twilight something to do, but he had already left to likely cover your shadier operations, and if you needed to steal stuff from greedy local officials who wanted to claim some of the 'loot'.
"Right then, hope for the best…" You said before looking back at the screen.
Sonoran Desert, Mexico
00:30 Hours into Operation
The dry air of the Sonoran Desert was filled with the sounds of gunfire, cannons, and the screeching sounds of monsters mixing together to form a hellish orchestra of death and violence.
As the towering Titans and Slayers did battle with each other, the swarms of the lesser Biomorphs charged at the infantry and vehicles that did their best to encircle and form a border between the battlefield and the rest of the desert. Platoons of infantry fired at waves of the beasts, bullets flying through the air into the charging hordes while Tanks and IFVs traveled between locations facing the heaviest concentrations of enemy forces. The combat helicopters flew around the clashing behemoths of flesh and metal, peppering the Titans with their weapons in order to lend whatever aid they could towards their comrades piloting the Slayers.
Both Ryan and Alicia's Slayers were equipped with Slayer-Scale Swords which they used to effectively duel a Titan each, while Rebecca used a Slayer-Scale Machine Gun to keep at range and out of the reach of the Titans. The Titans themselves appeared to be just as brutish and melee focused as you thought they'd be based on the specimens you already encountered. Of course, there was also the Integrated Pneumatic Daggers and Arm Cannons hidden in the arm units of the Slayers as well, even if they lost those main armaments.
As for how well the battle was going…
"Alpha Platoon Lead, I've got wounded in sector-"
"Wolf Group, Report! What is your status?"
"This is Badger, Wolf is downed! Repeat, Wolf is down!"
"Someone get those Rollers off us!"
"Bravo Team, we've got eyes on the Rollers, laying down fire now!"
"Damn it, the gun's jammed! I'm barely familiar with this fancy crap- Brace for-!"
"Those new tanks are taking a beating! Rollers stopped rolling, light 'em up boys!"
"This is Hummingbird to Slayer-03, beginning attack run."
"This is Jackdaw, same with us!"
Well… it was a mixed bag.
Looking at the feeds, you had lost half your IFVs due to some Rollers crashing into them at max speed from an unexpected angle. Their mass and speed proved to be too much for the lightly armored IFCs to tank as they managed to rip through some and knock the others over to the point of being easy pickings for the Manglers to get at the soldiers within. Your new 'cutting edge' tanks were also giving a less than stellar showing as well, but given you had literally just gotten them and threw a fresh crew into an intense combat situation, it was probably bound to happen.
Otherwise though, the rest of your forces were doing well. While there were a few injuries here and there among your infantry forces, they were holding the perimeter and tearing through any Biomorphs that charged into their firing lines. Bullets from heavy machine guns pierced through carapace and flesh to strike vital organs while recoilless rifles and RPGs take out more heavily armored enemies. Ironically, the regular tanks you already had managed to take out Ultras with a few shots of their main gun. Your combat helicopters were also harassing the Titans enough for your Slayers to get some good hits in, Ryan and Alicia swinging their giant blades like knights battling monsters in some fantasy tale while Rebecca circled around and laid down additional fire to aid the bombardment from the combat helicopters.
"Dakka dakka dakka!" Rebecca shouted as her Slayer pulled the trigger, massive bullets firing from the end of her Slayer Scale Machine Gun in a barrage of hot metal that pierced into the thick hide of the Brute Titan that Alicia was dueling, angering it enough to fully take its attention off the blonde pilot and focus on the gunner. "Uh oh."
"You're open!" Alicia declared as she moved her Slayer into a spinning slash aimed directly at the Titan's neck, monstrous muscle and bone meeting with sharped advanced alloys and resisting for only a few moments before the momentum of the swing carried the Sword all the way through, decapitating the Titan in a single cut.
Meanwhile, both Hummingbird and Jackdaw, the two units of Combat Helicopters, kept shooting everything they had at the second Titan. Its massive arms swung at the aircraft, getting too close for comfort. "This has gone on long enough." Ryan said as he charged forth, pushing his Slayer well beyond what was you knew to be its safe limits and swung his own sword down on the Titan's head. It fell with such speed and force it actually created a sonic boom and cleaved through the Titan's torso before the blade embedded itself into the earth. "Ah. I've overdone it again it seems…"
"That was so awesome!" Rebecca cheered over the comms, face lighting up as she actually pointed with her Slayer at her fellow pilot's weapon. "You swung it so hard it went right through it top to bottom! Oh, but I think you might have to apologize to Miss Chambers, and to the Director… I think your sword is stuck."
"I'll be sure to apologize to them both, I wasn't expecting to go through quite so easily." Ryan said somewhat sheepishly, giving a small awkward chuckle as he slowly drew his blade out of the ground with a plume of dust and dirt.
"Ryan, Rebecca!" Alicia called out to her teammates. "We still have the structures to worry about, focus on the objective."
"Oh, Right"/"Of course." The two replied as the three Slayers moved in on the portal, stepping on any smaller Biomorphs on the way. For a moment, you were worried that the Breach would spit out something else to make your day more complicated, but thankfully it seems you wouldn't need to deal with anything else as Rebecca unloaded her machine gun into the Biomorphic Mass, shredding it in a hail of gunfire.
The Breach twisted, spiraling as it imploded in on itself and vanished from existence. Afterwards was just a matter of eliminating the remaining Biomorphs, and with air superiority maintained along with the Slayers, that went a lot more smoothly.
Looking things over, you saw that while you had a few casualties and a completely wiped Unit of IFVs, you came out decidedly ahead in this operation. They weren't all going to go so smoothly of course, you'd be naive to think so, but it was a good first showing for your people.
Mission Rewards:
1 Beheaded Titan Corpse.
9 Mangler Unit Corpses
1 Ultra Unit Corpses
4 Roller Unit Corpses
lol, so what I'm hearing is we should have our guys camp the breach and let it spit out more bad guys instead of shutting it down for more of that sweet, sweet cash.
lol, so what I'm hearing is we should have our guys camp the breach and let it spit out more bad guys instead of shutting it down for more of that sweet, sweet cash.
