Silent Storm — Mission 7: Tactical Genius!

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On our way out of the mission area, we’re attacked by that one last soldier who was left alive outside the walls of the compound. He doesn’t do any harm, and the moment he’s out of the way, the rescued Compton miraculously comes to his senses again.

ss_portrait_jerzeyCaptain. Doctor become awake. I put him down?

ss_portrait_bogeyWhat?! Was he playing dead?

ss_portrait_viperPretend yer out cold ’til the bad guys are all outta the picture? Sounds like he went to the same school as you, boss.

I can have you court-martialed.

You ain’t my real dad.

After he’s squirmed his way out of Jerzey’s hold, Compton’s pretty happy to hear we’ve cleared out those renegade soldiers.

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You could tell me what you know regarding these tank suits and science weapons we keep hearing about.

ss_compton_portraitHow about I end this dialogue screen and vanish abruptly?

I’m afraid that won’t– Damn it, where did he go?

All that trouble we went to and Compton disappears immediately after we save him. We do get this report from the debriefing, at least.

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Good to know. I hope the location of this intelligence base was worth the price we paid for it…

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Back home, we hire another team member to fill our empty sixth slot — and get to planning our next move.

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Here’s the new friend we’ve picked up: Lt. Taras Petrenko, grenadier. He’s fought in four wars, has striking blue eyes, and loves long walks on the beach. Also, his hair is doing… something weird. He’s no Nessie, but he’ll have to do for now.

I don’t know about you, but I’m looking for some revenge, and crashing the party at that intelligence HQ sounds like the perfect way to get some.

We load Taras up with Nessie’s big ol’ sack of grenades, pass him one of Jerzey’s extra machine guns, and head on out.

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We’re literally walking straight into the middle of a German city. In broad daylight. Somehow, though, our inept leader is able to lead us directly to the town square without anyone knowing we’re here.

For a rundown of the mission area we’re looking at:

At the “north” end is our objective — the German headquarters. Points of entry at the front and on both sides.

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Between us and the objective, this expanse of open shooting galleries.

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We can approach either by the alley on the right side or through the park on the left. We could try blasting our way through the building for cover, but I really don’t want to get caught in close-quarters combat.

Finally, here’s our boys in the “south.”

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We split up from the start. I want a group to cover each of the staircases just north of us. Bogey, Vipes, and Jerzey head up the left path where their ranged specialty will be most useful.

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Doug and the new kid stay at the bottom of the right staircase and wait.

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(Sook heads southward to watch for anyone trying to flank us.)

As soon as we start advancing, enemies pop up everywhere. Doug spots four in the park and Viper catches sight of two snipers watching the streets from the base.

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Right after that, we notice a small patrol to the left of the building, coming our way. Nobody sees us yet, but it’d be stupid to try getting any closer. We’re in a great position to fend off an attack, so we might as well start shooting. The six of us can take on an entire German city, right?

Shockingly, the Germans don’t really like being shot at. They start firing back at us and move in from both directions.

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We take a little damage, but we dish out way more.

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They eventually start pouring out of the base’s front door and Bogey’s team has to pull back a bit.

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Jerzey’s been hit and blinded. Bogey brings his eyeballs back online just in time. The pursuing Germans drop down into this little alcove by the stairs and attack.

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And keep coming even after Jerzey turns it into a murderzone.

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Just to the east of all this, Doug and Taras are holding off another big group of soldiers. Taras rocks enough socks that they’re able to force their way up the stairs and into the park. The last two Germans in the squad are standing right next to each other, so Doug finishes them off with a stick of dynamite.

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BANG.

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Hold on. What?

There’s a single gunshot and Taras tumbles right on down the stairs. The shot came from one of the soldiers Doug just killed…

I’m not sure if this has always been the case or if the game’s making itself harder as we go, but it seems that when you kill a soldier who has his finger on the trigger, they have a chance of firing off a shot in their death throes, even though it’s not their turn to act. Which is what just happened. Taras was unlucky enough to catch the stray bullet.

He’ll be alright, though. He’s just out of commission for today.

Meanwhile, Sook takes out the single patrolman who comes from behind…

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…and then makes his way in a big loop around the south end of the map to sweep for enemies. There’s nothing to be found there or in the park, so we all converge on the street outside the enemy HQ where the last few soldiers are waiting for us.

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Looks like five left. The two snipers we saw at the very beginning, plus two guards at the main door. The last one has just emerged from the side door.

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They don’t stand a chance. We handle these two and move Sook and Doug in through the side entrance while the ranged guys mop up outside.

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On the inside, Doug gets a little distracted picking the lock on this chest, so Sook has to resort to brute-forcing his way through the locked door into the main hall.

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On the other side… nothing. In fact, there’s no one here. They’ve… left the inside of the base completely unguarded.

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Brilliant. It’s common knowledge among tacticians that if your base is being attacked, you send all your men outside to charge headfirst into the attacking force. Who needs a good defense?

Anyway, poor Doug’s still working on that box, but his lock picks are out of uses. The only thing left to do is shoot it open.

ss_portrait_dougSo uncivilized…

(It explodes, also.)

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Aside from things exploding, it’s nice and calm in here. We take the time to heal up before exploring any further into the building. Then Doug, Sook, and Jerzey scour the place.

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Our first objective is right here on the first floor.

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Doug doesn’t fare as well in the basement. All he finds there are chests full of worthless loot and one angry-looking German.

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The other document turns out to be on the second floor, which is just as devoid of enemies as the first was. But then there’s these two chests on the third floor slash attic.

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Of course, the chests are both locked and Doug has no picks left. But I can’t just leave without knowing what’s inside them!

Which leads me to make the dumbest decision I’ve made in this entire LP: back everyone up and toss a grenade at the chests! I’m sure they aren’t booby-trapped like the one downstairs was!

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(Click on the image to see it in all its animated glory.)

The 7% chance to hit probably should have tipped me off that this wasn’t the best plan.

ss_portrait_sookCaptain!

What the heck was that noise?

Lt. Ricketts has… blown himself up.

Ugh. And you say I’m the stupid one. Jerzey, p–

Pick up body. I always have to pick up body.

The loot’s been sent flying to the four corners of the Earth, but among the rubble Bogey does manage to find a semi-decent SMG that might replace the ones we’re using now.

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Can we get outta here before y’all make any more brilliant tactical decisions?

Right. Someone grab Taras on the way.

On to the next episode!
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