The convoy skids to a stop at the battery site, concrete bunkers rising ahead and the launch rails turning toward the sea. Technicians dive into their consoles and switches, hands shaking as they race the clock.
Daniel North snaps into position with his heavy machine gun while Sgt. Douglas and the two ROC soldiers spread out along the bunker lip. Justin Forester crouches by the radio man, eyes locked on the firing data.
A whine swells overhead. Enemy paratrooper drones cut across the sky, and below them robot dogs and UGVs claw over the ridge in a wavering line.
Sgt. Douglas
Hold them off. Let those missiles get away clean.
Justin Forester
Four missiles, four chances. If this site falls now, the coast is open.
ROC Soldier 1 flinches at the ridge, then raises his rifle. ROC Soldier 2 braces beside him as the first enemy shapes come fully into view, closing fast on the battery.
The launch crew keeps working under fire, and the whole defense now hangs on one ugly fact, Daniel has to buy them time before the fourth missile leaves the rail.
✓ Quest Accepted
Hold off the attackers until the missiles launch
✓ Quest Accepted
Defend the anti-ship battery
“With High Command giving actual orders, have we not confirmed that High Command is actually trustworthy by now?”
NO (Unlikely, rolled 80)
Justin Forester
The voice on the radio is clear, but the cadence is identical to the loop we just cut. It is too perfect, too rhythmic, like a machine reading a script.
Sgt. Douglas
Do not trust the signal just because it sounds like home, North. We are still being fed lines.
“Daniel and the rest of the squad open up on the enemy drones, with some LAWs and 40mm grenades punctuating the automatic rifle fire and Daniel's machine gun fire.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Firearms, rolled +2)
Daniel North plants the heavy machine gun on the battery lip and opens up. The first burst tears into the lead drones as they crest the ridge, and one ground machine jerks sideways into the dust.
ROC soldiers slam 40mm grenades out ahead of him. The blasts bloom low and hard, forcing two more machines to break their line and tumble behind the slope.
Sgt. Douglas
Keep that lane hot, North. Do not let them settle.
Justin Forester
The battery is still green. If the launch crews stay alive, we get one shot at this.
Above the launch rails, technicians hunch and keep working. The rails grind farther toward the sea while incoming fire walks the ridge behind the enemy line.
A drone breaks through the smoke at low altitude, but Daniel cuts it apart before it can dive on the missile pits.
Sgt. Douglas
That is buying us time. Keep firing until those birds are gone.
“The first ASM is launched as Daniel cuts a CCP paratrooper in half, while other soldiers gun down further enemy troops and drones.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Firearms, rolled -2)
Daniel tracks the next target through the dust and smoke, then hammers the trigger. The CCP paratrooper jerks as the burst cuts him down beside the ridge lip.
The heavy gun bucks hard in Daniel’s grip, and the muzzle flash paints the shield gold. Hot brass skitters across the battery floor.
Behind him, one missile finally roars off the rail, climbing over the sea in a bright stab of flame.
Sgt. Douglas
Good. Keep them off the crews. We launch or we die here.
Justin Forester
The firing sequence is holding. If that signal is real, this is working.
A fresh burst of tracer answers from the ridge, and fragments from the fallen paratrooper bounce across the concrete near the gun nest.
The launch rails keep rotating seaward, but the next crewman ducks low under incoming fire, waiting on Daniel’s gun to lift the pressure.
Quest Complete
Hold off the attackers until the missiles launch
New Gift: Suppressive Fire Specialist
Quest Complete
Defend the anti-ship battery
New Gift: Emplaced Defense Expert
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A blast slams the ridge line, and the battery lights stutter. One of the technicians loses his footing, and the next crewman freezes with his hands on the launch controls, eyes fixed on Daniel’s gun for the opening he needs.
Sgt. Douglas
North, left ridge. If they pin the crew, that tube dies on the rail.
Justin Forester
The firing sequence is still live... but the timing is slipping.
Then a new shape moves through the smoke behind the battery, not a drone, not a paratrooper. A ROC soldier from the convoy stumbles in with blood on his sleeve, shouting that enemy troops have breached the tennis court perimeter and are coming up through the maintenance path. The launch crew turns at once, and the missile rail begins to stall mid-rotation.
“Daniel rushes to the maintenance tunnel "No cover in there, commie fucks!" He shouts as he starts unloading into the tunnel, gunning down the enemy flanking force while ASM 2 launches.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Firearms, rolled +2)
Daniel breaks from the gun shield and drives straight for the maintenance route, muzzle flashing into the smoke. The burst rips along the tunnel mouth and the first flanking shapes fold back into the dark.
Daniel North
No cover in there, commie fucks!
The launch crew flinches, then keeps working as ASM 2 climbs on the rail. Behind them, the stalled launcher shudders and starts to answer the controls.
Sgt. Douglas
Good, keep that mouth shut. North, hold the tunnel.
Justin Forester
If that rail finishes cycling, we might still get one clean shot.
Smoke pours through the breach at the tennis court maintenance path, and a second enemy rush breaks, pinned low by Daniel’s fire before it can reach the platform.
ROC Soldier 1
They are on the path, more than before. Keep them down!
The missile rail jerks free at last, lining up for the next launch while the tunnel mouth stays choked with falling silhouettes.
“As he fires, ASM 3 and finally 4 launch, and now the enemy falls back. The ROC defenders have held, all missiles away!”
SUCCESS (Legendary Firearms, rolled +0)
Daniel keeps the gun chattering into the tunnel mouth, and the pressure finally snaps. The last enemy shapes peel backward into smoke as ASM 3 screams off the rail.
Justin jerks his head up from the radio gear, eyes fixed on the launch sequence as the next round locks in.
ASM 4 follows hard after it. The missile rail stays true, the battery thunder rolling over the platform while the maintenance route goes quiet.
Sgt. Douglas
That’s it, keep it clear. Let it go!
ROC Soldier 1 stares into the thinning smoke, shoulders shaking with strain, but no one else comes through the breach.
Justin Forester
Launch is complete. We got them all away.
The rail settles after its final recoil. Across the platform, the maintenance path remains blocked only by smoke and falling ash, not by enemies.