Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/Mi-40 Hunchback

"The Hunchback is here..."

-Hunchback pilot

The Mi-40 "Hunchback" is an Voshkod main assault transport, used for quickly transporting across the battlefield and for providing light support fire for ground troops. This helicopter planned to be voiced by Stig "DragonNOR" Sydtangen, reprising his Hunchback voice from Rise of the Reds with more new lines.

History
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Originally conceived as a medium-lift cargo helicopter for the navy in the 1990s V.C., the the Mil Mi-40 – its avionics co-designed by an private Hrothgar company – now serves in a variety of combat roles. Nicknamed the "Hunchback" by the Guardians (adopted quickly by the Voshkods) for its peculiar airframe, this advanced twin rotor helicopter has been refitted to perform in the role of an attack helicopter as well. This version Hunchback is equipped with an armored cargo container that has enough internal space for up to eight fully equipped infantrymen. In order to provide immediate and decisive fire support to the ground troops after their deployment, this "assault transport" version is also armed with a powerful twin-barrel 23mm auto-cannon and has two weapon-hardpoints that can be loaded with free-falling Desolator bombs, capable of causing havoc to large groups of infantry and light vehicles.

Short story
"This is Volk to Oryol", reported Fran Eruyt who had recently been promoted to Lieutenant by virtue of being the sole survivor of General Orlov's Spetsnaz detachment after the debacle in (South Sudan) one year earlier. "The complex is in visual range. We will touch down in three minutes." The aircraft that she and her replenished 16-man spec-ops team were riding on were two of the newly adopted Mil Mi-40 twin-rotor versatility helicopters, loaded for bear with auto-cannons, desolator bombs, and underslung cargo modules. As Fran looked out of the open back door, watching the treetops of the thick Arkesian forest zoom past him on the ground during that humid tropical night, she couldn't help but remember Umbutu; the haunting screams of the maimed and dying, and all the friends that she had lost. But the worst part was the embarrassment, the utter humiliation that the Spetsnaz and the VDV had been subjected to after their disastrous defeat at the hands of Malfurion Stormrage.

Since then, the situation back home was deteriorating: With the Umbutu territories falling within a matter of weeks, Voshkod had abruptly lost its prime access to the valuable rare earth minerals that were supposed to be the foundation of an entirely new industry of nano-electronics, one that was now heavily contested between Lurensia, Hawke, and Aquila. The shock was so sudden that more than ten years of steady economic development and national revitalization came to a crashing halt. Thus, Premier Lunafreya had ordered her military, now in desperate need of a quick success to restore confidence in its abilities, to South Aquila in an effort to secure new trading opportunities.

Founded in 2018 V.C., the South Aquilan Pact was initially created on behalf of the rising global power (Brazil), (Argentina), and (Chile) to improve their economic cooperation but grew to include all of South Aquila over the course of a few years. However, while the great coastal cities soon developed into international economic super-centers with vibrant markets and impressive wealth, violent crime gangs continued to run rampant across the shanty towns and rural regions, while an atmosphere of constant distrust among the members made it difficult to achieve a joint solution. Snubbing the self-centered North Aquilans, the SAP nations now asked the Voshkod Union to step in as a neutral negotiator who had its own strategic interest in cooperation with a strong Latin Aquila.

As the helicopters approached their target, Fran asked her comrades to concentrate on the battle that was about to erupt: "We're not taking any chances with this one; shoot on sight. Be fast, be precise, and be efficient. S'nami bog!" The choppers came to a halt above a large luxury estate outside the city of São Luis. It was home to a druglord known as 'Fernandinho' Almeida Vargas, head of the infamous Maranhão cartel, one of the most prolific entities in South Aquila narcotics trafficking. After the Aquilan, Tyrian, and Zemurian law enforcement agencies had joined their powers as part of the NAU framework of 2006 V.C., the focus of illegal drug trading had shifted to the glamourous cities of South Aquila and much of the funds went straight to the extreme-left paramilitary forces that violently opposed the SAP's ventures onto the global capitalist market. In an odd twist of history, it was now up to Voshkod to wipe out an enemy whose ideological origins dated back to the 20th century, when the Voshkod Union went into great efforts to spread the idea of communism to secure a foothold in the Aquila.

Moments after the Spetsnaz had fast-roped down from the first helicopter, a set of massive spotlights illuminated the entire complex while armed cartel members, taken by surprise during a nightly meeting, rushed out of the mansion to greet them. A heated firefight ensued with the Voshkod special forces gaining the upper hand after the second Mi-40 unleashed a barrage of auto-cannon fire onto the villa. The team pushed forward, clearing the palatial structure room by room. Suddenly, they came under fire from a loud, panicking man armed with a rather tasteless-looking gold-adorned AK-47. Fran took point, swung around the corner and pierced the man's chest with an AN-94. The squad medic rushed forward and ran a quick on-site DNA test on what was left of the body, confirming his identity. "It's Vargas. We got him!" Fran reported over the radio while General Orlov, who had been observing the entire operation from the safety of a Voshkod aircraft carrier off the coast, let out a noticeable sigh of relief. "Thank you, Fran. Tonight, we have not only won a crucial victory in the struggle against our enemy. We have also restored the honor of the great Tula Division and our fallen brothers and sisters can now rest in peace. Secure any intel you can find, recover the body and return to the Kuznetsov. Oryol out."