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Solved P.O.W. #3:

Of Skill and Masses
scenario generously contributed by ScHuLzE11

"Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs." ~Henry Ford

<<September 19, 1999>>

Well, today was better than most.

At least this time Bob was on your team.

Your memory goes back to a past skirmish when Bob destroyed your force of four guys and yourself, all well armed, with only his riotblast-modified XP90. You had not gotten a hit at him. He had dodged every one of your shots, while grinning and running and firing at you. All of your weapons were useless. Every possible shot was attempted and dodged.

You come back to the present. Unfortunately, the other team knew of Bob's incredible capabilities, and as such, you were given yourself with a CPS 1500, Bob with his XP 90, and some other good soldier- not yet an elite, per se, but nowhere near a green- armed with a CPS 1000.

The enemy team had nine people- granted, six of them were green, but they still knew how to pull a trigger. The greens were each armed with an XP 70. Two of the others on the enemy team had XP 105s and one of them had an XP 150.

You were on a medium-sized hill, green with two-foot tall grass. On all sides of the hill, forest loomed up, providing cover for your enemies, who were somewhere in there.

For your team, one shot kills. For their team, the shirt must be soaked.

Turning to your two soldiers, you give them the commands which could mean victory or defeat...

First of all, it is important to note that I am not sure whether it is actually possible to modify an XP 90 to fire a riot blast, and quite frankly, I doubt it (when the nozzle broke off of mine it refused to fire AT ALL); however, for purposes of this POW, we will assume that it is possible, because that's how it was written.

Now, I notie that we seem to have significantly heavier weapons; however, because they're necessary to kill the other team, this is really a disadvantage, as they will be much heavier, meaning that we (meaning myself and the unnamed soldier) won't be able to move around too much; my superhuman friend Bob, of course, should have no trouble moving about.

Now, if we stay up on the hill, we have no significant cover and although we'll have a range boost, since it is so hard to kill an opponent they'll be able to surround and charge us up the hill and should have no problem overwhelming us. Therefore, we cannot stay on the hill.

It would be best to get off as soon as possible, preferably without being seen, so based on all the information I have I will choose one direction to enter the woods and we'll all run down the slope. This direction will be chosen as the place they are least likely to be, based upon what I know of the enemy commander, any glimpses I saw of them entering the battlefield, and the density of the trees taking into account the fact that they may have chosen the least dense location simply to throw us off.

Bob, having the greatest agility, stamina and skill as well as the lighest weapon, will take point in our downhill plunge. I and the unnamed teammate will follow closely behind, but far enough back that we won't collide when we reach the bottom of the hill.

At this point, three things can happen, and I will address them in reverse order of liklihood:

1. We may run right smack into the entire enemy team. If this is the case, we will hopefully have surprise on our side for moving so quickly, and Bob will let loose with a riotblast aimed to sow as much chaos through the enemy ranks as possible, and hopefully deal a good amount of damage.
   
   Bob will now run away, while I and the unnamed teammate cover his retreat. If an opportunity for us all to get away presents itself, we take it. Otherwise, we make absolutely certain Bob gets away, and either of us (myself and the unnamed soldier) who cannot get away will deal as much damage as possible before being killed.
   
   Anyone who gets away will now be moving around in the forest, attempting to take potshots at enemy troops and then get away. If they cannot get away from an engagement, do as much damage as possible before being killed. If the enemy begins moving in formations designed to negate this tactic, improvise.
   
   If ALL of us get away, Bob takes the potshots and we cover his escape each time. If not all of us get away, we split up and work independently.
   
   This will either work, or it won't; I can't think of a better plan, though, so I'll just have to hope.
   
   
   
2. If the enemy team has split up and surrounded the hill, we will run into part of the enemy team on our way down. If this is the case, we should be able to drench them before they have much time to react. Bob's in front, and because his reputation preceeds him we may inspire flight in some of the enemies (although I wouldn't expect to see more than one or two), and his riot blast should be able to kill or severely wound anyone in one shot. The CPS follow-up should take care of them.
   
   At this point, it is exactly like if we ran into no one, except the enemy is down one or two men.
   
   
   
3. We may run down and not encounter anyone. At this point, we have neutralized their terrain advantage and they (hopefully) no longer know exactly where we are.
   
   Now, if we're lucky beyond all belief, they'll split up and look for us. If this appears to be the case, we'll attempt to ambush and kill each of the search parties.
   
   More likely, however, is that they'll stay together as they come and look for us. In this case, Bob takes potshots at the group and we cover his escape, as per the plan in #1.
   
   If they decide to defend some section of the woods against us, we punch through their perimeter with the superior range of the CPS weapons and Bob lunges in and starts wreaking havoc. Because of his great dodging ability, and because everyone will have to aim carefully to avoid hitting their own, he should do all right as long as we provide fire support. We fire the CPS weapons in short, controlled bursts and pump vigorously.
   
   The chief danger, of course, is that they may take up residence on the hill and defend it. Because we certainly don't have the ability to take the hill against superior numbers, range, and unfair rules, we will have to wait them out and force them to come down to us. No matter what happens, we can never assault them on the hill, because that would mean certain doom.

These plans are all far from certain victory, but they should give us at least reasonable odds at success. Bob, of course, is practically invincible and probably totally immune to the feeble attacks of the greens, and if he managed to take out my team of six, the other three shouldn't be a big problem.

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