- Jolly Green Hell
- Jolly Green Hell
- Metla II
- Jolly Green Hell
- Dorozhka I
- EZPZ
- Arbitration
We actually tried to start the session with Jolly Green Hell twice, but encountered some strange technical issues. The first time around, it was like one of those terrifying dreams in which you can't move (but you could see if you pressed Escape), and the second time around was identical except that our Blackhawk was rolling around and the whole thing was more like:
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So we postponed our visit to Tanoa and went to Takistan for some block and sweep action in new mission, Metla II. Commander Wolfenswan had the relative luxury of two fireteams (one of which he led) and and sniper to play with. The plan for the first hostile hamlet was for the whole squad to crest en masse, and then for A2 to sweep in an anti-clockwise direction whilst A1 provided cover from the high ground on the north side. Our sniper, Bodge, would provide top cover - but he refused to mark targets Wildlands-style, which made me sad. Dem Orange dots. However, before any action we had to walk through the first hamlet, imagining emotional music and thinking about the horrors of war (because that's where the AI Bravo squad was hanging out with its new collection of insurgent corpses).
The first assault went sort of to plan (including some awesome belly-crawling over the rise) except everyone in A2 died. Undeterred by what he deemed acceptable losses to the insurgents, General Westmoreland Commander Wolfenswan rallied the surviving members of the squad and advanced directly towards the next hamlet. I was in the rear of that blob and watched, in horror, as everyone in front of me was wiped out the moment we crested. Only Tasun and I survived, with Bodge still covering us from afar. Clearly, it was time for Glory. We all died (but not before Tasun and Bodge killed a good number of enemy fighters!).
Finally, we returned to Tanoa, and a working version of Jolly Green Hell. Bodge was in command, and Tasun was our distant pilot - but already human error had introduced a new element of danger: Tasun's settings meant he would have to fly the bird in using the advanced flight model, which he described as 'interesting'. Secretly, I began to plan a life on Tanoa, and wondered if I could open a shop selling beachwear. Meanwhile, the commander was complaining about radio reception and claiming that 'getting high is a good idea'. Since Boberro has only given us Malboros, and not joints, we climbed the nearest slope and sheltered in a treeline whilst Bodge told Tasun where to meet us (luckily, we'd found a helpful road sign minutes after leaving our stricken chopper).
Tanoa is pretty, and I quite enjoy wandering around it even when people aren't shooting at me. So hanging out in the treeline, looking across the valley and out towards the nearby town was a lovely moment of calm. Then a DShKM UAZ drew up on the road below and we massacred its crew, so it was time to get moving again. We hadn't made it more than 200m along the contour when a BRDM appeared on the road below and opened up with its MGs. I saw at least three of our guys go down in front of me, and crawled forward to find no survivors. I did manage to recover an RPG-7, but in my panic took only a single rocket. Under sporadic small arms fire, I retreated up the hill and attempted to find a place on which to take a shot on the BRDM - but he saw me first and erased me from the map.
Tasun, with a reincarnated Tigershark as gunner, did make it to the RV. As the bird came into land there was roar of minigun fire ... and then an explosion, as the helo fell to earth and became a fireball. There was to be no rescue for Bodge and his handful of survivors.
Again to Takistan, and in Dorozhka I (which means 'path') we assembled a hasty ambush. Minor PSA about this kind of mission (not singling you out, Tasun, this is something we struggled with on the mainland for years): orders for placing explosives - especially trip-wires - need to be very precise, and given over the 343 so everyone hears them. Don't be afraid to micro this. In the end we did create a rough line of mines and then withdrew up-slope to the East. The enemy caravan appeared up-slope from us, and initially appeared to be walking straight towards us, but we held our nerve (and our fire) and they turned back down into the green zone. A few minutes later we heard the thwump of a mine detonating and took that as our cue to open fire. Quite simply, we massacred them all in moments, but Tasun paid the ultimate price as the man closest to enemy.
(sorta)And then to Porto, for some 1980s action. Boberro has even fixed up EZPZ with an open credits sequence and music. It was epic. So, with blue team leading the way, red in the middle, and Tigershark in the rear-
-we set off on a Ghost Recon style sneakathon through the little town of Porto. We dodged enemy patrols, darted across streets, hugged walls and stacked up on corners like pros cosplay enthusiasts. Amazingly, we reached the hotel undetected. I tasked Tasun and Halop with securing the ground floor approaches to the stairwell, then everyone else set about ransacking the upper floors. Now, I'm not drawing any conclusions or judging in any way, but Boberro and Bormanov found all the coke pretty quickly. Just sayin'. So we loaded Boberro up as the mule and reconvened on the ground floor.
So this is where I made my mistake. Whilst we were ripping open suitcases and trying on the guests' ballgowns, a helo had begun orbiting and army troops had begun to surround us. I went out South to reconnoitre our escape and quickly lost my nerve. Returning to the hotel my new plan was to bug out West - into a denser part of town - but Tasun spotted soldiers entering the hotel compound from the north-west entrance and we were soon in a firefight. Thinking we needed time for a new plan - and not realising that every minute just made it easier for the enemy to tighten the noose - I ordered everyone up to the first floor, and told them to engage the enemy from its windows.
Well, that lost us our first few casualties.
Again, we reconvened in the stairwell and I attempted to lead us out through the north-west. I made it as far as the corner of the compound before being struck down, and then listened as the situation deteriorated further. In my last moments, I watched Boberro getting blown away as he tried to apply an FAK to me. I had failed.
Luckily, Arbitration has some awesome music in the cars, which cheered everyone up. Crime under-boss Boberro led us on a road trip to the south side of Bagango, after which we got into an awesome firefight with the nearest roadblocks. There was a lot of FAK action - I mean a lot - because the enemy was lobbing effective grenades at corners, and we took some losses. But eventually there were five of us, carrying looted AK-clones and wearing stolen (mismatched) armour and helmets. It was raggedy, but cool in its own way. Using alleyways instead of roads, Boberro led us around the town until we had ascertained that the Boss was still alive, and the last enemy was liquidated. Victory.
