[Spaceships] [High-Tech] [Action] Cydonia Or Bust, TL8

[vicky_molokh]

Greetings, all!

This is mostly a thought experiment, based loosely on the mission of the same name from the strategic X-Com, with some changes.

Premise:

It is TL8, as in, modern time. Technology is modern, except that you are allowed to use non-divergent, non-superscience stuff found in G:Spaceships, up to TL8 (which might be considered optimistic, and can represent desperate willingness to use experimental stuff). You have funding on a national level from several states.

There is an underground enemy base on Cydonia, Mars. It is perhaps slightly more advanced technologically (TL9 caseless guns, somewhat better computers; think early TL9 or very late TL8), but is old, under-equipped (no impenetrable blast doors, no military-grade turrets etc.), extremely undermanned, and is defended by the equivalent of militia or green troops, and does not have any sources of backup. OTOH, humans get to use whatever SpecOps they choose (i.e. SEAL point levels). On the gripping hand, Martians are fully Mars-adapted - they can breathe Martian air, can have Area Knowledge etc.

You cannot use the One Way To Be Sure - nuking from orbit is not an option, and predator drones can't get in; you need to put boots on the ground and through the base, either seizing or destroying the command centre.

What funding would be required for such a mission, what loadouts would be used, what would the timeframe be, and what sorts of troop choice would there be? (I'm half-expecting a single ship fielding about the dozen best-of-the-best SpecOps, but things might turn out different.) Purely as a thought experiment - I'm not GMing anything like that.

Thanks in advance!