Those who served:
Caverick
Plancake
Berklesnort
Powderman
Malchrntyne
Continuing from Part 1
The chopper prowled the skies above us. We stayed out of our vehicles, not wanting to risk the wrath of its rockets. Plancake had a launcher with just one AA shot, our only answer to it. The chopper came over the top of us, and he saw his moment.
The rocket detonated ten metres behind the helo, right over my head. Hit by the shockwave and shrapnel, the chopper started to fall. Its pilot autorotated and steered for the flat area to the west of the radio towers, and we ran toward it.
The pilot brought the helo down roughly in a gulley. He was hit by fire on exit. His crewman ran into the scrub, and winged one of us before I got him. The chopper, damaged and without fuel, was ours.
Having taken out their air cover, it was time to assault the second AA position. Malchrntyne and Berklesnort took overwatch, Plancake ordered (AI) Ivan into position with his AT, and Powderman and I used a gulley to approach the objective unseen. Moving from rock to rock, we reached the back of the smaller building undetected. Plancake counted us down, and SPLAT attacked.
Powderman and I sprang around the corner. Before we could fire on the men around the campfire they collapsed and the AA tank exploded. Plancake, Berklesnort and Malchrntyne had done their work well.
Powderman and I turned our attention to the buildings, checking the smaller one then doorkicking the larger from two directions. The house held three prone soldiers who fought back hard, hitting Powderman as he took a couple of them out. I mopped up and brought him around.
As we exited the building, an enemy patrol came down the road to investigate. I heard their bullets tug the air around my ears as I threw myself back through the door. Our boys on the hill, however, were still on the ball and took them down.
We readjusted our gear (Powderman grabbed a scope and I liberated an RPG launcher), and we turned our attention to Camp Rogain. It was a formidable emplacement, bristling with soldiers, AT and armour. Malchyrntyne, our marksman, thinned out a couple of their troops at long range but this drew attention. BIG attention. A tank roared out of the base, coming our way.
It was moving fast, but stopped at a large rock coming down the hill and I saw my chance. I launched an RPG across the valley, trying to allow for the drop. I got lucky, hitting the rock and washing fire over the tank. As it spun to move around the rock my second shot scored a direct hit.
Morale and adrenalin surging, SPLAT charged Rogain with Powderman leading. I reached the entrance of the camp and was firing on one of the four soldiers atop a building when he shot me. By the time one of my squadmates had brought me around, we were mopping up. Rogain was ours!
Driving a truck back to the radio towers, we assembled the strikers and other vehicles we'd commandeered for our attack on "the golf ball", the helo base to the south.
We moved in convoy, stopping just short of their grenade launchers' range. Previous attacks from the northeast and west had proved unsuccessful, so we crept through the forest to a small rise to the base's southeast, and attacked from there.
Eliminating their tower lookouts and snipers, we went to work on the main force. They fought back hard, however, and topped off the counterattack with armour. Two APCs drove us back, inflicting heavy casualties. Fortunately, while they hammered my teammates I had time to lift my RPG launcher again, and got them both.
SPLAT regained the initiative and pressed the attack, running into the compound and using the buildings as cover. I took out two shooters, burst into the HQ, secured the bottom floor and then found a sniper on the roof.
Some static guns gave us a small amount of trouble, and then the compound was ours.
Plancake and I then drove a refuelling truck back to the downed chopper. Once it was gassed up, we assessed our chances of getting it off the ground. It was at an awkward angle and among the trees, making a takeoff a guaranteed disaster.
Plancake, Powderman and Berklesnort, however, wouldn't give up. While Berklesnort repaired the helo, the others used trucks to bulldoze the trees and nudge it into a flatter position.
Nervously, I climbed into the pilot's seat and warmed up the engine. My teammates cleared to a safe distance as I hit the throttle, and with a scraping of leaves I was airborne!
[There was actually a bug whereby if the host dies inside a vehicle or static emplacement, they could not be revived or respawn, so I took some risk flying it]
I flew the helo back to the golf ball for rearming. Soon we had an arsenal of two attack choppers, a T-100 tank and some armoured vehicles, all prepped for our final assault.
