I logged in before bed with the intent to do a bit more reconnaissance. I was immediately saddled with an urgent task- one which was implausible but I felt worth taking a look at considering the stakes:
Loading up a marksman rifle and an assault rifle, along with some other essentials, I drove down to the base the POWs were being held at, staying incognito and casually parking my truck, then did a little mountain climbing to gain a vantage point.
The prisoners were there, right out in the open- almost like bait in a trap. Everything in me wanted to make a go at it, but I was alone and it was readily obvious that there was not even the slimmest chance of successfully staying their impending execution.
What amounted for an understrength platoon of AAF infantry stood guard, several of which were patrolling the grounds of the AAF depot. I spotted two HMGs emplaced in the guard towers, along with a Lynx helicopter and a large cache of supplies and ammunition. Considering those odds, I could only lay in wait and feel helpless to save our captured comrades. 
Well, that’s not exactly true- I did a decent 360 look-around while I was up there and took some studious notes about the forces guarding that choice pair of Lynx’s parked at the soccer field-turned FARP due north of the depot. That sure looks like the easiest outpost to heist some from when the time comes, since I only count a handful of infantry and an HMG guarding two helos with the keys tucked into the sunvisors. Unless we stumble upon one broke down in the wild, that’d be the egg to crack, and a two-for-one type of deal.
Afterwards, I wanted a mission, and for my sins, Petros gave me one. Brought it up to me like room service. It was a real choice mission, and when it was over, I never wanted another. Actually it was another simple civilian supply mission, which I performed without encountering a single enemy.
On the way back, I decided that since I had a truck, and had seen @Victork2 successfully tow objects IRL (well, in pictures online but I believe him), I’d give it a try in Arma. Except unlike when he does it (I assume, or hope. Does anybody know for sure?) I didn’t originally own any of the things I towed, nor had I been contracted to do so, but none of that matters because land train:
I even stole people’s toys, somewhat like a kleptomaniac anti-santa:
(Antisanta, Antistasi, close enough)
Then I stumbled upon the real jewel, and ended up taking it and doubling back for the rest:
With that service truck, we should be able to repair our own vehicles at our garage. I feel bad for whomever’s tools we stole, but such is life. Returning to the
scene of the crime I found another flatbed truck and an SUV.
Agreed, so I did some thinking and walking around. And then some building. I put up the equivalent of an Arma Turing Test on the road north of our basecamp. I don’t think an AI vehicle could successfully navigate the obstacles, but since I couldn’t build anything like steel hedgehogs I’m not 100%. I am fairly sure a human driver can go between with ease, but when we start sending out AI minions to do our bidding the sandbags I set up will probably need to be reconsidered. If they annoy anyone, please deconstruct them at once. My main concern was an enemy APC driving right into our base.
Looking at the southern road, the really winding and awful route we’ve mostly been taking, it’s a godsend for us. Whoever picked our starting location, I applaud you. I’m not sure Arma’s AI can successfully drive all the way up that without plummeting into the valley below, and if they do, then they’ll never crawl their way back up it to bother us.
One thing I did was put up a makeshift listening OP on the last bend to the just south of our base, where the road makes a great sweeping horseshoe bend. There’s some sandbags for cover, and a nice vantage point on the road across part of the valley. If we get warning that we’re going to be hit, we can set up a heavy weapon there and have a chance to hit them long before they can ever physically reach us. (They can still do emotional damage to us, and I’ve heard that a Gorgon’s autocannon can be very traumatic to one’s self esteem.)
The other thing to consider is that there’s two very good slopes to set up ambushes further south on that same road, where we can fire down on them and potentially cause a vehicle to drive off the edge of the narrow road, where it would wind up down in the valley. This might be a great honey trap in the event our base is compromised in the future and they do send armor, we could easily collect it at our leisure, and barely get our hair mussed. Potentially. Depending on the breaks.
In all, I accomplished very little, and didn’t even kill anyone except myself once when I burned to death playing with tires and the game decided to channel Winnie Mandela.
(Arma logic: Road block=Pile of Tires. Okay, except that it doesn’t tell you that AS SOON as it gets done building it will SPONTANOUSLY IGNITE ITSELF
while you are on top of it! Just an FYI.
)
Also, Petros really hates that hilltop outpost that gave us fits the other night, and wanted me to just mosey on over there and clear it out, and destroy the radio tower while I’m at it. No thanks, not by myself.
