Central Europe

© 1999-2001 Imminent Storm of NEWST.

Chapter Eleven: New Weapons, Same Enemies

The Commander of Delta base leaned back in his chair after reading the reports on the N.I.P. and the Ultra-Borgs. He had received copies of them along with his new orders.

Before going over his orders, he looked out of his office window, high above Delta Base in the Command Center. Just a week before, it had been a scene of devastation; now, the base was totally rebuilt. He had just submitted information on a new multi-emitter pulse laser that they had found in the wreckage of the former enemy base. It sacrificed power for rapid fire, and was deadly to cyborgs.

The enemy had made several attacks over the past week, but they had been small skirmish forces and were repelled easily. In that time, Delta Base had been lucky. In the wreckage of the downed enemy flying missile platforms was found 2 complete Air-to-Surface missiles (ASMs). They now lie, in pieces, in the labs of 2 research buildings. They have yet to find out how the complex warheads work. All types of chemical- and fission- reaction explosives have been ruled out. Much about that attack remains a mystery.

Coming back to his computer terminal, he entered the access code to unlock his orders. The holographic interface came to life and showed the familiar atom-like emblem of The Project. These order packages had come a long way since the early days of the New Paradigm and The Collective.

Next came the pleasant female voice of the interactive verbal control interface. "Hello, Commander. How are you feeling today? I trust you have read over the two attached reports." The Commander answered 'yes'. "Very good. Allow me to fill you in on the current situation."

The image shifted to a map of Central Europe, including the Channel and North Sea, all the way to the Mediterranean. The voice continued, "This is the current front line." A bright green line appeared, running along a path from the North Sea to the Mediterranean. There was a large bulge in the line in the area of the former southern Germany, at the end of which was a Greek letter Delta. "Currently, all attempts to break through at other locations have failed. We have no other choice but to launch all subsequent attacks from Delta Base. We have noticed increased enemy activity in all sectors along the front. Delta base is now the main priority; a second breakthrough will only be attempted if the opportunity arises. That is the current situation; now, on to specific orders."

The image switched to a local map with Delta Base in the upper left corner. "In 3 days, at 08:00 you will lead a force to attack a small enemy base to the south-east. In preparation for the attack, you will receive 4 new Ultra-Borgs with pilots and transports. You will also receive 3 standard long-range aerial transports for tanks. This will help us secure this region. There are however, more orders. You are to destroy all enemy units and fixed defenses, as well as all unit production facilities and power plants. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT destroy any command or research structures. Capture these facilities and any personnel therein. You are to then await the arrival of a research team from HQ. Capture of intact command systems is of the highest priority. The Ultra-Borgs and transports will arrive in 2 days. Selection of LZs, and method of attack are your prerogative. Good luck Commander. Technical information follows."

"Well now, that's different," The Commander said to himself. "Open technical data." First was a technical description of the 4 U-Bs (Ultra-Borgs) that he would receive, followed by more technical data on the U-B transports. He started reading.

	Ultra-Borg 0001-A: Bird Of Prey HEAD: AP-27/Redeye TORSO: Lion ARMS: XLA-50/Gauss Arms LEGS: GNR-105/Raven PRIMARY WEAPONS: - Two XLA-50 Gauss Cannons, 20 rounds per arm SECONDARY WEAPONS: - CGN-92/Rapid Fire Chain Gun, 150 rounds - BMS-9/Stinger, 25 missiles
A medium weight model; with its Gauss arms, Bird of Prey can pack a large punch at long and short ranges alike. Capable of destroying both air and ground targets, it is a versatile machine. Excellent in forward armed recon and close-ground combat.
	Ultra-Borg 0002-A: Tiamat HEAD: AP-30/Bonehead TORSO: Grizzly ARMS: XL-30/Heavy Arms LEGS: GN-52/Mammoth PRIMARY WEAPONS: - G-60/Pulverizer Cannon, 60 rounds total - Standard arm-mounted plasmite cutting torch, 10m range SECONDARY WEAPONS: - CGN-2000/Big Bertha, 25 standard and 5 shockwave/EMP rounds total - CGN-92/Rapid Fire Chain Gun, 150 rounds
A super heavy-weight model; Tiamat carries every type of heavy artillery available. Very slow walking speed, but high armor strength. Effectiveness against air targets is limited. Best used in base siege and long range bombardment. Very ineffective in close range combat.
	Ultra-Borg 0003-A: Fenrir HEAD: AP-27/Redeye TORSO: Fox ARMS: XL-20/Light Arms LEGS: GN-98/Raptor PRIMARY WEAPONS: - GR-01/Medium Guss Rifle, 160 rail darts total - Standard arm-mounted plasmite cutting torch, 10m range SECONDARY WEAPONS: - BMS-9/Stinger, 25 missiles - LB-5/Medium Laser
A super-light model; Fenrir is very fast and highly manuverable. Effective against air and ground targets alike. Limited long-range capability; best used as a fast armed recon and ground skirmish unit.
	Team Leader: Ultra-Borg 0004-A: Necron HEAD: AP-27/Redeye TORSO: Lion ARMS: XL-2/Standard Arms LEGS: GN-32/Alpha PRIMARY WEAPONS: - G-49/Heavy Machine Gun, 1800 rounds total - Standard arm-mounted plasmite cutting torch, 10m range SECONDARY WEAPONS: - CGN-92/Rapid Fire Chain Gun, 150 rounds - LB-5/Medium Laser
A medium-weight and all-around versatile unit, Necron performs well in medium- and short- range ground fighting and base assault. It is also effective against airborne units.

Next, he read through the detailed schematics of the U-B Transport. One particular note caught his attention. It said that the U-B Transport was capable of dropping the Ultra-Borgs while flying; the Ultra-Borgs could then use their torso manuvering thrusters to slow their fall. That might be useful.

Then came the Recon-Sat photos of the enemy base. It was hilly and wooded (there seemed to be no areas of civilian activity, or human activity at all outside of the base) with only a few close areas good for an LZ. He brought up an enhanced overlay that marked every enemy defense structure as a red point, so he could see them better. Immediately, a problem arose. Every suitable LZ close to the enemy base was heavily defended. There was no way he could land a transport in any one of them. Thats when he got an idea. He had one of two choices: (1) Land far from the enemy base and move overland to the target, eliminating any element of surprise, or (2) Use the U-B Transports and drop the Ultra-Borgs directly onto a hot LZ and have them clear it for the conventional units. The first option was safer and less risky, but would lead to a much longer fight. Option 2 was very risky, dropping new and untested units into a hot zone with no chance of withdrawal. But it gave a crucial surprise edge and put battle units far closer to the enemy. Being a man willing to take risks, The Commander chose the second option. And for the first time in a long time, a smile formed on his face; "boy, are those guys in for a shock...."

Two Days Later....

The U-B transports arrived right on time. The rest of his air and ground forces were assembled and ready to go, packed in 5 transports (3 new ones from HQ plus 2 he already had). He had to expand a large section of the base and re-arrange a lot of defenses to accomodate the 4 U-B Transports. He met with the pilots, and gave each a copy of the attack plan. They gave him a data disk that had construction data for building an Ultra-Borg production plant. He forwarded it to the engineer units.

The next morning, the attack began. At 07:50, the U-B Transports took off and headed south-east. The drop went smooth; all 4 Ultra-Borgs dropped at the same time.

Tiamat was the first to fire. He let loose 4 rounds from his Pulverizer Cannon straight down from about 200 meters up. The shells slammed into the ground, kicking up huge amounts of smoke and dust and destroying several enemy units. The 4 U-B's all fell right into the center of the enemy position, and opened fire. Bird of Prey unleasehed a spread of fire from his chain gun, smashing 5 enemy tanks before they could react. He then fired a pair of Stinger missiles into an enemy VTOL as it tried to take off, causing it to explode. Tiamat unfolded his Big Bertha cannon and got into firing position. After 3 shells were fired, half of the enemy defenses were toast. Folding the Big Bertha away, he stood and fired 2 more Pulverizer rounds into a damaged Cannon Fortress, causing it to collapse. Fenrir chased down and took out enemy units trying to get to the woodline. Necron came down right into the middle of 6 enemy units. Before he could get his machine gun ready, a scourge and two gauss tanks fired, inflicting but minor damage. He fired a sustained spread of 90mm heavy machine gun fire and emptied 300 rounds; all 6 enemies exploded. After just 2 minutes, all enemies were destroyed and the LZ was now secure. Necron, the group leader, gave orders. "Ok, spread out and cover the perimeter. HQ this is Team ALPHA; LZ secure, ready to proceed to phase II."

Back at HQ the commander received the report. "All transports, take off, moving on to Phase II!"

At the LZ, everyone's sensors picked up numerous incomming enemy units. Necron positioned himself behind a small ridge. "Tiamat, Fenrir; over here and get ready. Bird, you stay back and watch for VTOLs. Everyone, we have 5 minutes until the transports arrive; we have to hold them off for that long, at least."