Jag – Officer’s Dispatch 14
Heroes: Jag, Zeke, Atobe Keigo, Dust, Pacci, and Balarai Snowe
Enemies: Mongol Warriors, The House of Stormwind and Tallyn, Warlady of Stormwind
Recent Duties: Once again, it’s abundantly clear to you that Law Division is the only thing holding up the rest of the Electran military. Without you and the Shark Pack’s killer instinct, there’s no way the other squadrons would have escaped the Stormwind vice. Exactly how the enemy was able to ambush you once again, however, is another story…
Troop Status
Supplies: Schmitzer SMGs, Armored Flak Vests, Deluxe Laywers’ suits, Field Medkit, Healing Syringes and briefcases full of legal documents.
Morale: The Shark Pack’s kill rate was astounding in the last battle, but that has only served to whet their appetite. Now, you and your lawyers are out for blood, and you intend to keep the streak going the next time the Spherans dare challenge the long arm of the law.
Health: Barnes Jr. was pretty worried about a few scratches he suffered in the last battle, but now the smell of blood has only contributed further to the Sharks’ frenzy.
Military Communiques
Radio transmission seems poor in these caverns, thus you’ve been unable to get in contact with Law Division HQ. But with Rodric MIA, you can only assume that you’re acting commander of this mission. And although you’ve suffered a minor setback, you intend to stick to your instructions and continue your assault on the Aerie, with just you and Mattar if need be.
Personal Notes
Your men are a bit concerned about the safety of these underground caves. The shots from Balarai Snowe’s mortars may have compromised their structural integrity. The fact that he seems to be firing them off every now and then behind your back makes matters worse. At least, you assume it’s him – you’ve definitely felt the rumble of more than a few muffled explosions since arriving in the caverns.
You’ve noticed that every now and then, the cavern walls seem to have a strange glitter to them. The Velguara region is famous for its production of Electran Crystal, so maybe that’s what it is. The walls of these caverns look man-made at many points, so it seems likely that this may in fact be a former mine for the highly coveted crystal.
Mini-Objective
Prove that the Shark Pack is indeed out for blood by obtaining more kills than any other unit in any upcoming battles.
Kill Count:
Balarai Snowe – Officer’s Report 13
Recent Duties: You have to say, today has not been a great day. First, Jack Frost all but threatens to kill you, then you’re once again ambushed and trapped by Spheran forces, and now, worst of all, you’re stuck in a cave with a bunch of lawyers. Oh well. At least you got your dunebuggy back.
Troop Status
Supplies: Heavy Field Mortars, 2 Remote Mines, Gortex winter parkas and snowshoes, and a ‘dangerous’ dunebuggy which if you have your way, will not be going anywhere near 'Captain’ Smith.
Morale: The Avalanche is seriously disgruntled over being sent straight into yet another Spheran ambush. To be honest, you can’t really say you blame them.
Health: Many of your men still claim their ears are ringing from the Spheran pilot’s bombs. You, however, suspect that it’s your own side, not the Spherans, who are to blame for any headaches. Well, that’s if you consider Smithie to BE on your side, which you’re not sure you really do. But he does seem quite adept at finding those rum caches...
Military Communiques
Radio transmission seems poor down in these caverns, and thus you haven’t received any official communiques. With Rodric gone, you’re not quite sure who’s in charge, although Jag seems to think it’s him. That’s fine by you, that way he can take the fall for anything bad that happens and hopefully your boys will ice him instead of you.
Personal Notes
The fact that once again, the Spheran forces seemed to be lying in wait to ambush you only confirms your suspicions – somewhere amidst the Republic ranks, there’s a leak. And you don't actually think it's you.
You don’t trust that Mr. Smith at all. Not only does he steal your dunebuggy, but from talking to Fats and a few of the boys, it sounds like it might’ve been him who got Frost and the others talking about desertion again. He’s a bad seed, and you intend to keep him away from your men as much as possible.
Mini-Objective
Keep the Avalanche at least 2 hexes away from Smithie’s unit at all times.
Zeke – Officer’s Report 17
Recent Duties: You have to admit, this cavern which you now find yourself in is indeed decidedly like an underground bunker. The only problem is, bunkers aren’t really big enough for both you and a bunch of bloodthirsty lawyers. In fact, you’re getting pretty tired of that Kufta pulling out his psychology babble from that first year course he took back in University. You’r thinking you could really use a trip to Mexico right about now.
Troop Status
Supplies: Hacksaw Shotguns, Combat Helms, Steel Breastplates, brand new leather Wheel jackets, a shiny new motorbike, Zeke’s Tent of Horrors, multiple watches and a barrel of genuine White Lotus Lager mixed with rum. The result is little more than a sheer abomination, not to mention a bad waste of rum.
Morale: With the sole exception of Funky, who is quite excited at the prospect of business for his rope traps, your men are pretty fed up about walking into yet another Spheran ambush. You can’t say you really blame them.
Health: Your remaining men are a bit shaken, but mostly unhurt. You, on the other hand, may be psychologically scarred for life. Those bombs were nothing short of terrifying!
Military Communiques
Radio reception has been bad in these underground caverns. As such, you’ve been unable to contact your Electran superiors, resulting in Jag acting like he’s in charge. This has you a little concerned - it sure doesn't look particularly good in front of Desrae..
Personal Notes
You’ve decided that you’ve had quite enough of this mission. Two suicide missions in a row is a little too much to handle. Your recent encounter with the Spheran bombs might also have something to do with this decision. It’s time to get you and your boys out of here while you still can.
You have to admit, even for a ‘business’ man like yourself, the mere presence of Warlady Tallyn of Stormwind was almost inspiring. Surely, if she had had any Sugar Crisp, she would have shared it, unlike that greedy Kronos, so-called ‘Master’ of Time.
Mini-Objective
Find an opportune moment for you and your men to ‘get lost’ in these caves and find your way back to the surface without the other squadrons.
Atobe Keigo – Officer’s Report 13
Recent Duties: Life would be so much easier if it weren’t for the cowardice of your fellow officers. You’re sure that with Seigaku leading the way, a concerted charge would have taken down that insufferable Spheran leader, if they all hadn’t started running away. Bahh, but what else would you expect from grubby foreigners anyway? Well, no matter, you’ll reach the Aerie one way or another, and when you do, they’ll be hell to pay.
Troop Status
Supplies: FLAME-THROWERS, Deluxe uniforms, kamikaze headbands, several exploding “tennis balls” and a fake red Santa hat. Smithie has promised to get you a bigger and better one, but so far you have yet to see this materialize.
Morale: Seigaku remains undaunted by their recent losses – most of those guys didn’t even have names, after all – but they are a little more concerned about getting out of the caverns. Smithie has a compass which he claims will lead you out, but it seems a rather sketchy instrument as far as you can tell.
Health: Unfortunately, you’ve now got two health hazards to watch out for. First there’s Stenda with her vile ‘all-natural’ juices, and then there’s Smith with his seemingly endless supply of rum. It’s a vile drink that would turn even your most respectable soldiers into complete scoundrels, and as such, you can’t let your men near it. On the other hand, it IS rather flammable...
Military Communiques
Radio reception seems poor in these underground caverns. As such, you haven’t been able to get through to Kilant or Republic HQ. With Rodric MIA, you can only assume that means you’re in charge of this operation now.
Personal Notes
You’re not sure what’s worse: being stuck in a cramped cavern with the Denchulli, or with the French. After all, both are foreign, and both are likely to surrender to the Spherans at the first available opportunity. But at least the French leader seems to be quite professional, if a bit of a jerk.
Mini-Objective
Burn all of Smithie’s rum so it cannot contaminate your troops.
Dust – Officer’s Report 12
Recent Duties: Well, isn’t this just blarny. Your mission for the Special Forces has resulted in you walking into yet another ambush. You’re sure that with the Conventionals in charge, this kind of nonsense wouldn’t be happening. And as if that wasn’t enough, you’re trapped underground AGAIN with some decidedly unpleasant company.
Troop Status
Supplies: SIR Rifles, Camouflage Scout Uniforms, PK-33 Handguns, Sniper Scopes, a Spheran ‘Highwind’ Light Infantry Rifle, and not nearly enough Sugar Crisp cereal (as in none). Even if Pacci has any left, he’s not here, and you bet that sneaky Zeke is stealing it all right now.
Morale: The Boyos are in a near state of panic, and quite frankly, so are you. You can’t stand being trapped in close confines, without lots of space for a clear shot, and where an enemy could be lurking around every corner. What’s worse, you’re trapped in such close confines with that Smithie character, who seems to take great delight in scaring your Boyos at every opportunity.
Health: You and your men are still feeling a bit of a buzz from both those adrenaline syringes, and in their case, all that Denchulli whiskey. Of course, this has only served to make them shout in an even higher pitch than usual whenever Smithie jumps out from behind a corner.
Military Communiques
Radio reception has been bad in these caverns and you haven’t been able to pick up any transmissions. Hopefully such transmissions would be ordering you to return to base after the ambush. As it is, you’ll just have to press on as quickly as possible to get out of these horrid caves.
Personal Notes
You’ve absolutely got to get out of these caverns. You’ve only been here less than an hour, and between Smithie’s surprise shouts, Jean Reno’s constant coffee complaints, and the way a couple of Keigo’s men keep hissing like snakes, you’re about ready to snap and the Boyos are about ready to run in all directions. At the very least, you’ve got to do something to make this situation more tolerable...
Mini-Objective
Take Smithie out of commission for as long as possible, preferably with a blunt object to the back of the head.
Pacci – Officer’s Report 8
Recent Duties: Some people are a little upset at being trapped in these underground caverns, but not you. Why? Because such winding and twisting tunnels remind you of a maze, with which you’re intimately familiar. Besides, with a cheerful and speedy officer like Bumblebee by your side, how could anyone feel down and out?
Troop Status
Supplies: PK-33 Handguns, SIR Rifles, Bright Yellow Deluxe Uniforms, and a fashionable European carry-all which once contained Sugar Crisp cereal, before the other officers jumped you and ate it all.
Morale: The Pac is their usual happy self, thanks to the presence of both yourself and Bumblebee. And they should be able to stay that way, as long as there aren’t any spooky ghosts running around after you. Which if you believe that Zeke fellow, there probably are.
Health: Sadly, after the other officers ate your Sugar Crisp supply, you don’t have all the components of a complete, balanced breakfast, and you’re worried about the effect this may have on your men’s nutritional intake.
Military Communiques
Radio reception has been extremely poor in the caverns, thus you haven’t received any communiques from your commanders. Not that you really know what a ‘communique’ is, come to think of it, despite the fact it’s the heading for one of the sections in your dispatch every day.
Personal Notes
These caverns are even cooler than you thought at first! You’ve noticed that in numerous spots, the walls seem to sparkle with the white crystal embedded in them. Bumblebee has told you that such crystals are a fantastic source of energy and can even be converted into Energeon Cubes. Surely, with so much energy, the Pac would be powered up to defeat the Spherans once and for all!
It seems that not all Spheran Warlords are big bad guys like that Lord Kronos. That Warlady Tallyn seemed like a pretty nice lady to you all around, despite the fact that you ended up having to fight her. Hopefully, she won’t have taken it personally and you can all be friends the next time around.
Mini-Objective
Obtain as many crystals as possible for conversion into Energeon Cubes.
"What're you jackasses doing? We have to get back out there!" shouted Stone Cold, indignant and insistant that they go out and do battle with the Spherans again. He revved the engine of his monster truck, and rammed into the rubble. Bits and pieces of the wall fell out, and among the rubble were fragments of crystal.
Bumblebee took notice immediately, whispering to Pacci that they could create Energon cubes out of enough of the stuff. With this in mind, Pacci grabbed all that he could. But the shiny crystals did not go unnoticed by others: the two Auxilliary units tried to greedily snatch all they could. Meanwhile, Pacci asked Stone Cold if he could try that again, and Austin rammed another wall, dislodging more crystals. These were collected by various people for various purposes: either for Energon cubes, to sell for marks, or as "evidence". However, this time, the ceiling and walls seemed to shudder, and all save for Zeke realized that it probably wasn't too safe to remain in that corridor. After Stone Cold had been distracted and Snowe had siphoned off half the gas tank of the monster truck into the dune buggy, the group, minus Zeke, moved onwards.
Dust's seven remaining Boyos, injured by shrapnel from the Thundercrackers' artillery strikes, were also feeling pretty shot-up emotionally. Between Seigaku hissing like snakes, and the sneaking and shouting of "BOO!" from Smithy, they could barely keep out of the fetal position, never mind march. Something had to be done. Smith was at the moment pushing a cask of rum down the corridor behind the Boyos. Dust walked up to him.
"Need a hand, Smithy?" the Denchuli enquired. Smithy nodded, and Dust helped him push, telling Dijon and Lt. Surge to take the Boyos and follow Keigo down the corridor. But Keigo would not be gotten rid of that easily, and told him that she wanted everyone to stick together. Dust nodded, but said that he needed to talk to Smithy about an important matter privately, and suggested that they talk while they got some more rum from one of Smithy's rum caches. The prospect of more rum seemed to brighten Smithy considerably, and the two of them worked their way down a number of winding corridors until Smithy found what he was looking for. But as he turned his back to Dust, Smithy found himself collapsing into unconsciousness as he had Dust's revolver smashed against the back of his head. Dust pushed Smithy's body into the rum cache, and closed the trapdoor, kicking some dirt over it to conceal it even more.
Making his way back, whistling a merry tune, Dust met up with the rest of the group. Trying to head off some of the questions about Smithy, Dust simply declared that the man had "fallen behind." Keigo, seeing a cask of flammable rum and Smithy nowhere nearby, gave in to her urges and pulled out her flame-throwing tennis racket. Realizing a bad situation, Dust urged the remaining Boyos to run, which they did; and behind them, there was a huge explosion. The group continued down the passage.
The way, though, was not unguarded. Ahead was a ladder leading down to a lower floor, with another ladder leading upwards at the opposite end of the room. But protecting it were two units of Mongol warriors: swordsmen, and crossbowmen. Keigo led the charge down the ladder, engaging the swordsmen, while the Boyo Scouts broke the crossbowman with a hail of rifle shots. The Boyos eventually made it down the ladder, but not before taking some casualities, reducing their number from seven to five. Seigaku, meanwhile, was happy to burninate the swordsmen, dealing massive casualities and occasionally breaking them. Making their way away from the swordsmen, the Boyos made a break for the other ladder, followed by Seigaku and the swordsmen. Eventually, there was only one swordsman left with Seigaku and the Boyos in the same hex, the latter two attempting to make it up the ladder. The crossbowmen smiled crooked smiles, and seemed to have no problem firing at their own comrade, not even pulling the blow. The last swordsman went down, and the Boyos, further reduced in number to two, broke. Seigaku, using their psychics, managed to break the crossbowmen while the Boyos rallied and headed up the ladder. Seigaku followed, and after the two units finished off the crossbowmen, they left.
Rushing out of the cavern, the Boyos (well, Dust, Seamus, and O'Malley) and Seigaku found themselves on a battlefield with a number of sealed-off exits, some of them looking fresh. Across the battlefield were two units of Spheran gunners, light infantry, and two fortified machine gun nests. There were far, far more Spherans than Electrans or Denchulis, and the situation looked grim: they were completely trapped, with Mongol shouts coming from the way they had just came. The two had no choice but advance on to the battlefield. Dust made a mad dash for the rubble of one of the exits, thinking it safe from machine gun fire, while Keigo held her ground at the exit of the cavern they had just left, which was blocked from view by a small mountain.
But just as things looked their bleakest, a huge revving sound filled the air, and a horde of motorcycles descended upon the battlefield, firing machineguns and rockets. Zeke and The Wheel had somehow managed to get ahold of enough Delta Mark IVs to mechanize the entire unit, and he was putting them to good use. Engaging the light infantry, Zeke made the machine guns unwilling to fire into their own troops. Meanwhile, there was a huge explosion from one of the cave exits, and the Shark Pack, reduced to two lawyers (Mattar and Koufta), emerged, as well as The Avalanche and the Pac.
With Zeke now drawing all of the Spherans' attention, the others started to sneak ahead. Jag, Mattar, and Koufta edged towards a group of gunners and let loose a volley of bullets from their Schmitzers, while Seamus, O'Malley, and Dust took up a forested position and shot at the gunners with scoped SIRs. Pacci, whose SIRs were unscoped, had to move up a bit further before attacking the gunners.
The tide, it seemed, had turned for the Electrans. Eventually, all the Spherans were killed, and the group made its way towards the Aerie's gates. They found them open, but they also found another man there: Smithy, whom Dust had thought would still be unconscious in a rum cache deep in the mountains. As the group entered the gates, there was a shout from Spheran troops, and Smithy declared that he'd hold them off, but would need some help. It was decided that one Sergeant from each unit with more than one would help out. Dust left Dijon to duel and deal with the troops, Snowe left Fats Dynamo, Jag left McMason, Pacci left Steven (who was more than willing to lay the smack down on those Spheran jackasses, something those candy-assed, geriatric Lieutenants could never do), and Zeke left Hermione, though he also left her with the instructions to study hard for her advanced psychics test.
The remaining officers went inside. The Boyos were represented by Dust and Lt. Surge; Seigaku by Keigo and Stenda; the Pac by Pacci and Bumblebee; the Avalanche by Snowe and Kupp; the Shark Pack by Jag; the Wheel by Zeke and Desrae. Inside, they found two figures: an armoured petit prince, Aeolus; and the feather-robed Tallyn. After a bit of melodrama on the part of both the Spherans and the Electran military, the latter drew their weapons, and scattered, assuming that Tallyn, having earlier shown her mastery of psychics, would try to attack as many as possible. They were right: after they gathered and concentrated their attacks on Talon (le prince attacked when provoked, but otherwise seemed strangely uninterested), she attacked a number of them with a psi-storm, hitting all but Bumblebee, whose diminutive stature allowed him to completely avoid the attack. Next, declaring that he just wanted to help, Bumblebee ran in and attacked Tallyn with an untrained punch. He missed, but the sight of the little guy giving his all despite his complete and utter incompetence inspired his allies in the battle, healing them slightly.
The battle continued, with Zeke being dropped before he could eat beef or a sloppy joe, Pacci knocked out "stone-cold", and Stenda pretty easily taken out. Keigo, Snowe, and Kupp continued to attack Tallyn in the centre of the room, with Jag, Desrae, and Dust sniping from different corners so as to avoid being close and drawing an attack.
After looking badly injured, Tallyn drew her arms together, and created a shimmering barrier of light as birds flocked from above. Aeolus looked startled, and quickly snarled that if she were allowed to complete the barrier, it would mean certain death for all of them. As if to demonstrate the gravity of the situation, he ran in and let loose a duo-strike against his own mother. The group, convinced that, for now, Aeolus was on their side, concentrated a steady stream of PK-33 and DR Mark 3 shots, bishy-bashy bludgeons, and sabre slashes against the barrier. Funky, wondering if Zeke had fifty bucks, went to the man's body, and found that he did. Grabbing the money from Zeke's jacket, as well as a long length of rope, Funky snuck up behind Talon, and caught her in a lassoo. And while she was trapped, it was the man who had seen this sort of thing before, Kupp, that saved them: it was his eye gouge that broke the barrier, struck Tallyn, and sent her to the ground, clutching her eyes. Aeolus, standing over her, drew his sword, and seemed very prepared to make sure she wouldn't be an issue in the future. Jag was outraged, and wouldn't allow it, and Snowe didn't seem particularly pleased, either.
The prince, however, seemed to want Tallyn dead; and Dust, a single bullet left in his rifle, told them that either they should convince Aeolus quickly or he'd kill Talon himself. A good warrior, he told them, should be given the courtesy of a quick death. But they eventually managed to convince Aeolus to let Tallyn live, and the group made their way towards the airships.
They were not, however, alone. In front of them stood Smithy, pistol drawn, along with several members of the Wheel, the Avalanche (including Jack Frost), and perhaps surprisingly, Seigaku. He was in the market for a ship, as it were..."that ship", he said, pointing to the largest one. Dust wondered aloud why Seamus had not betrayed him, and was quickly told by Smithy and his "crew" that there was simply no way that they'd take someone as untrustworthy as Seamus.
Zeke, however, was having none of this, and mounting his Delta Mark IV, attempted to fire a missile at the aircraft. Before he could do this, however, he was piled upon by the traitors and mutineers. In the confusion, Dust was presented with Smithy's back. Hoping to knock out the man (publicly, to stop the treason, but privately, to attend to O'Malley's mental well-being), Dust drew his six-shooter and smacked Smithy upside the head as hard as he could. This did not seem to be a mini-objective plot sequence, however, and Smithy only whirled around, pointing his pistol at Dust and telling him that the one bullet in the chamber was not meant for him.
But in the end, the mutiny could not be prevented, and the airship was taken by Smithy and the ragtag mutineers of the Auxilliaries and Special Forces. And it was there that the camera faded to black, leaving the battered (save for Dust and Jag, who looked to be in tip-top shape) Lieutenants, Sergeants, et prince with Tallyn still secured by Funky's rope trap.
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