"I miss the Internet." -Anonymous spray painting, circa 2024.
Prologue: Blackened Eve
"Ah, Colonel Black, welcome to my office, do you like the decor? I picked it out myself."
"It seems very... Lavish. Too much so for my tastes, I'm a simple woman myself, sir."
"Oh, come now, there's no need for formality here... Just call me Ryan, and put out that cigar, would you?"
"My apologies sir... Ryan, but I'm not putting out my cigar. Do you have any idea how hard these are to come by?"
"Hmph. We'll train that out of you yet, Marie. Though, to business! Yes yes. In the future... I must insist... That you... Inform me, next time, you send out our men near the Shadow Zone."
"The same could be said of you, sending out an entire mechanized battalion."
"How was I supposed to know there were anything more than vagrant mutants out there?"
"The reports I left on your desk might have helped."
"So what makes you think that this smaller squad will do anything better?"
"Well, they can't be heard clear across the city. That helps in not attracting the attention of everything that lives here that has made us their number one item on the fast food menu, sir."
"I told you to call me Ryan."
"Sorry again, sir."
"... Ah... Nevermind... You know, sending that... Harshly worded letter around to everyone and their mother about me... I'm quite offended, nay, gravely wounded you think of me in such a manner."
"As I said. Simple woman. Not much for those masquerades you choose to indulge in."
"You know... Next time... If you were a little less... Harsh... In your letters... Specifically to the rest of the council, I might be able to... Make sure you have a good supply of fresh cigars, and not that guttural crap you smoke now."
"... Is that a bribe?"
"No, no, a... A gift, an... Incentive, for future... Cooperation."
"Good. If it was a bribe, I would have had to have shot you on the spot just now... Council rules."
"Yes... Rules... Well... When you're done writing another letter that I'm sure my mother would be disappointed by, I want you to read this report... Eve is back. When your men are finished fucking around near the fog, should they survive of course, I want them to investigate this."
"Eve?... Now?... Hmph... There's something you're not telling me."
"Well, you said it yourself... I do like to indulge in my masquerades."
"Hm... I will get back to you after I finish reading this report personally, and after dealing with the raiders again."
"Fair enough. You are dismissed... Marie."
"Sir yes sir."
Mission Introduction--South West
Nathaniel, Daniel, Bruce, and Chris would be air dropped via heavily modified Chinook in the area, the Chinook first setting the mechs down, and then the four troopers, before quickly fleeing the scene. The two mechs would require about a minute of start up time, just enough time to look around while the mechs came out of sleep mode and un-compacted themselves. In fact, it was just enough time in the south western block to find the mentioned debris... And something else. Bodies. A lot of bodies, and a few wrecked tanks, a couple of demolished mechs. One of the mechs was still on fire, suggesting that combat had been recent. There was blood sprayed on several pieces of the debris, implicating that whatever had killed them had done so in a brutal fashion, likely pinning them to a piece of concrete from the fallen skyscraper and then rending them apart. One body in particular almost seemed to stare at the four of them, eyes empty.
It took several seconds for Nathaniel's mutant senses to finally pick up on the fact that he wasn't dead, only a brief moment before the body curled up into a ball and started rocking back and forth. "It came... It saw... It stared... The stares... They pierce... They make you scream... See the screams... The bodies... The fire, oh god, the fire... Every inch burned and yet refused to relinquish life... Eternal fire... Fire like hell... The eyes... The eyes..." In his state it would be remarkable if he even knew that the four of them were there, leave alone communicating with the man.
Around them were several pieces of cover they could take, though the mechs were shit out of luck unless they crouched behind debris, which would naturally block their own line of fire. In particular, there was a chunk of what might have once been an office room surviving, complete with a partially still standing wall, that had fallen with the rest of the skyscraper ages ago and survived to this day. The other area of note was a tank that looked abandoned, but not destroyed. It could provide superior cover to the random bits of concrete, and was only a few feet away from the surviving office. If one of them felt especially ballsy, they could even try to drive the tank. Chris in particular, with his CQB training, could move from cover piece to cover piece with relative ease so long as he wasn't spotted yet.
Whatever their decision, they had only a couple of minutes to make it. Within the fog, in the distance, they could hear the sound of gunfire and a few motors. Some of the battalion was still inside, and from the sounds of it, quickly making their way out while they could. Achilles Heel makes a quick flyby, examining the area, before chipping in with tactical advice for the group. "Yo! Seems y'all got two options really, y'all can move into the fog and try to surprise the enemy, course this is very risky and could backfire, or stay out here and cover those who escape, but we'll get less folks back, y'know? Up to you though. If you need me, holler, I'll be 'round as fast as I can, but not in the damned fog, no fucking way." He flies past them on his way to the south west, likely to give them the same speech before heading central so he could reposition to either side quickly if requested.
Mission Introduction--South East
A second Chinook delivered Georgia, James, Roman, and Eira to their combat zone, in the South East section of town. There wasn't much to be found here, it was in fact eerily sterilized of life. No corpses, no blood, no grass, no weeds, nothing existed here save for the inorganic matter that composed the buildings and street posts. This was especially unsettling due to the fact that everything outside of the Bunker was overrun with vegetation attempting to take control back over what was once the concrete jungle of man. Mercy was also dropped off here by the Chinook, the mech would take a minute to start up, giving her enough time to take in the utter creepiness of the situation. Once they were dropped off, the Chinook quickly took off and fled the scene.
Seeing as how the streets failed to have any particularly solid cover, there was three notable areas to keep in mind here. The apartments were all, in some crude fashion, connected to one another, either because one was literally now leaning on another, or because of impromptu bridges built over time to allow travel over rooftops instead of on the significantly more dangerous streets. One of these apartments in particular was still in very good condition and had been cleared by the scouting squads, making it a prime area to set up for a sneak attack with firearms. It was four floors tall--rather short compared to most of the apartments here, but nonetheless, that was perhaps why it was in a more solid condition than the rest. The second area of note was an alleyway with large dumpsters one could hide behind located very close to the fog. It could allow the mech, a short ranged combatant, or even someone who is melee-dependent, to move in and attack the enemy leaving the fog quickly at point blank range, on the other hand, it didn't have spectacular cover, so if they were discovered before they could attack the enemy, they would be in a world of hurt.
The third area is a computer store, also in remarkable good condition. Inside the shop were several empty metallic shelves one could use for cover, or even push to the main display window to give superior cover. On the other hand, it was only two floors tall, meaning that explosives fired at the building did have a chance to knock it down if enough were fired at the right points.
Either way, as Achilles Heel makes a flyby, a bloodied man comes stumbling out of the fog. His left arm was broken and he was splattered in blood, his combat helmet did little to obscure the look of pain on his face, or his heritage: An oriental. It was likely the only explanation for how he was still alive right now despite being that badly wounded inside the fog. His shotgun was slung on his back in favour of his pistol, also giving away his grunt training. He notices the four before they could take any position, and manages a weak salute with his right arm as he continued to limp away, towards the apartment building, likely to try and get himself some cover. The radio crackles to life. "Sergeant Morai here, agh... I'm not gonna... Be too much help... I think... Most of the men inside... Have gone completely insane... Antov and Carolyn have been trying to escape the fog now. Without them, I'd be dead, they've been trying to cover the escape of the men. Close behind me should be a tank, maybe two, if we're really lucky, and then... It'll be the two of them, assuming they don't get themselves killed doing heroics... I just wanted everyone here to know that... That if Carolyn and Antov make it out... I owe them my life, and my eternal gratitude."
The Achilles Heel hovers for a moment before the radio once again crackles to life. "As I said to the South West squad, you can move in to try and get more men out, but I can't cover you and it's riskier that way despite the fact that you might surprise the enemy. Or you can stay here and I can help cover you if you need it, but we'll lose more men that way... It's up to you... Sergeant Morai, remind me, if you survive, I'll take y'out for a drink, alright?" Sergeant Morai shakes his head but doesn't respond as Captain Derek chuckles audible into the radio. "Good luck everyone." He then flies above the large central apartment complex, to hover above it, ready to provide help where needed.
Mission Introduction--Central
The Chinook carrying Junko, Jenive, Kai, and Kiku, lands on top of the central apartment complex. It was ten floors tall, and gave an easy overview of both sides, though from the rooftop they had absolutely no cover, so retaliatory fire would be extremely deadly. Going inside to the ninth floor and taking a position in one of the several rooms would give vastly superior cover, but put them at risk of being attacked. The ninth floor itself had five rooms lining each side of the building, the west and the east side. There was a staircase leading down to the ninth floor from the roof as well, providing easy access. As the Chinook takes off and leaves the four of them there to get itself to safety, Achilles Heel arrives and hovers only a few feet above them. He gives them all the thumbs up to go inside. "REMEMBER! YOU CAN COVER BOTH THE SOUTH WEST AND SOUTH EAST SQUADS FROM HERE! IF THEY CAN SEE A TARGET, SO CAN YOU! THE LONG DISTANCE FIRING MEANS THAT SETUP AND AIM WILL BE CRUCIAL TO YOUR SUCCESS! AS WELL, WE DON'T KNOW THE ENEMY, THEY MAY COUNTER ATTACK AT ANY TIME! IF YOU NEED ME TO SPRAY AND PRAY A ROOM, MAKE SURE NOT TO BE INSIDE, MY BULLETS CAN'T TELL FRIEND FROM FOE!" He yells so as to be heard above the sound of Achilles Heel. "GOOD LUCK!" He yells one more time, before hovering a few feet higher so they could hear each other talk.
???
"Hmph. I feel something..."
"What is it, Michael? What do you feel?"
"... Eve... Eve is on the move, Gabriel..."
"... E-Eve?... She can't be... Eve doesn't do anything unless--"
"Unless Lilith is on the move, or Adam is awakening, I know."
"What can we do?"
"Nothing, for now. Nothing but wait and watch. She knows better than to interfere in the lives of those of the lands of Sodom... She knows just as well as the rest of us from their memories what monsters they are."
"Yes Michael, of course."
"...Gabriel... I know you love her, but don't do anything foolish."
"Michael, you are my brother, maybe not of the flesh, but of the mind, and the soul. I will follow your orders until Revelations comes to the lands of Sodom."
"Good... I knew I could trust you."
Europe still has a lot of rampaging conflicts involving several armoured vehicles but keep in mind that it's more in the numbers of a few hundred for the entire continent. The loss of even a dozen can hurt a faction badly, the same goes for the Thirteen Colonies faction, though they have less overall armoured vehicles.
