Silent Storm — Mission 14: S2: Judgment Day

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Man, this trail of breadcrumbs is getting to be a bit much. We’ve taken Orlov captive, but the other Russian we had on our list, the scientist Sinitsyn, is still out there. Now there’s two new names: Lebedev, also in the Urals, and Berger… in Switzerland.

(There’s also Bauer, who we haven’t dealt with yet.)

But the bigger priority is this…

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We have panzerkleins!!!

Back at base, they’ve got a technician briefed and ready to repair and outfit our brand new tank armor. We stop in to say hi.

ss_portrait_bogeyhatHello. I’m Captain Yeromeyev with Special Operations SE2.

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Talkative guy…

What the devil is on your head, Captain?

It’s… a pilot hat. For piloting.

In that case, you had better give it up. You won’t be piloting one of the panzerkleins.

What!

She’s right. You’re our medic. How’d’ya expect t’ do yer medic-ing from in there?

I knew you’d all turn on me one day.

Now that we’ve got time to take a closer look, it turns out we’ve made off with three different kinds of panzerkleins. Two are armed with the explosive weapons we were being pelted with during the mission. That’s the grey and one of the orange suits. The difference in paint color? — who knows.

But that one seems like it should go to Doug, given his love for explosives.

I rather think the hat suits me, don’t you?

We’re fighting, Doug.

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It’s getting very difficult to fit all our gear in our inventories now that we need to carry panzerklein ammo as well, but we load Doug up with explosive rounds as best we can.

The third PK, as we discover, is a little different. Remember those beam weapons we found? It has two of those integrated into the suit. Not only that, but they each hold eight rounds as opposed to one. This suit makes those huge, cumbersome infantry weapons completely obsolete. We’ll still carry a couple with us just in case we ever get separated from the PK, though.

And the beam panzerklein goes to…

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Zinaida. We need Sook on foot so he can do his stealth thing. Gator’s machine gun and grenades would be useless inside a PK. And Viper’s too valuable as a marksman.

Besides, it makes sense to protect the brains of the team.

The third one — we’ll leave that in the hangar for now.

I strongly suggest a test run before we head back to the front.

Bauer, then? I suspect he thinks we’ve forgotten all about him.

…who’s Bauer?

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This is a mission we unlocked very early in the game, if I recall correctly. Shouldn’t be any trouble with our new toys.

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Somewhere in this building, Bauer’s sitting completely unaware of our approach.

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We’ll have to cross this wide open area to get there, since we begin the mission in this alleyway on the edge of the map:

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The building (a bank, I think) blocks our view of the headquarters. We send Sook ahead to scope things out.

Sure enough, a huge group is patrolling at the gate.

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And another is headed straight for our position.

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No problem! We’ll just send the PKs out to meet them!

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Well then.

Problem #1: Okay, so panzerkleins are pretty big and clunky. In this narrow passage, we don’t actually have enough room to maneuver them around our other guys.

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Instead, we’ve got to position Gator, Viper, and Bogey to hold the alley for now. Once we’re able to push out into the street, that’s when Doug can get some action. Zinaida heads around the other way to flank the enemy.

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Problem #2: Panzerkleins are slow. Holy cow — it’s going to take her a dozen turns to even get around the building…

Good news is that these are low-level soldiers.

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They miss all their shots and the three-man patrol is finished in just two turns.

Reinforcements move in from the gate immediately.

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But now Doug has enough room to squeeze out of the alley.

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Let’s see what this thing is capable of.

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A little inaccurate, but not a bad start.

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The Germans fire on Doug relentlessly. Every hit scores a whopping zero damage on him.

A little south, Zinaida has finally emerged from the alley — and run into another patrol.

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Three against one, huh? I think she’ll be fine.

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Hahaha oh my god. This isn’t even fair.

Meanwhile, Doug is still advancing on the helpless gate guards.

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Even their grenades can barely hurt him.

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A few turns later, he and Zinaida converge on the gate.

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I’ve pulled everyone else out of the combat area at this point. There’s no point in putting them in harm’s way when two panzerkleins can handle everything. And by handle I mean obliterate.

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Doug and Zinaida march their way straight into the complex, pausing only to fire off a shot now and then. They’re unstoppable.

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Their reign of terror finally comes to an end when we burst through the side of the building like some twisted Kool-Aid Man…

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…and grab the documents that I think just fell from the floor above.

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That’s the only objective for this mission. There’s plenty of soldiers left in the building, but I think the PKs have passed their test with flying colors. We’ll leave the remaining Germans alive and wondering what the heck hit them.

On to the next episode!
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