Deus Ex Machina

Deus Ex Machina is the eighth Soviet mission in the expansionWestwood Studios, Command & Conquer: Red Alert - The Aftermath. Soviet mission 8: "Deus Ex Machina".. It is the last mission to feature the Soviet supersoldier, Volkov. The objective is to locate and reacquire Volkov, who has been captured by the Allies and is being studied by them.
==Walkthrough==
You are first tasked with destroying the Allied radar domes in the area. Build up your base while fending off Allied ground attacks, including a demolition truck which you should intercept with a single tank or some expendable rifle infantry before it can reach your base. Build an airfield along with a MiG, as well as a Sub Pen and Tech Center. When your Spy Plane is ready, send it to reveal the area near the northeast corner of the map. This should reveal the enemy's War Factory, as well as another demolition truck parked in front of it. Air defenses are fairly minimal, so use your MiG to destroy the truck, and the ensuing explosion will destroy the War Factory as well. The Allies won't replace their factory, so this should largely neutralize the threat posed by the enemy base.
Meanwhile, build up several submarines as well as missile subs. Send a few subs to the north and east, and sink any Allied ships you encounter. Follow up with missile subs to bombard shore targets, as well destroy the radar domes located on the islands. Another radar dome is located to the east which can be destroyed via missile sub, and another is in the main Allied base which will probably require a ground force to reach.
Once the main Allied base is dealt with and the last radar dome destroyed, Volkov's location will be revealed as being in a fake War Factory located south of the main Allied base. Send your ground forces to clear out the defenders (your missile subs can help as well). Several scientists will be dropped off at your base, and you will need to get at least one of them into the fake War Factory. Note that due to the game's script governing the scientists, should you place one of them into a Chinook helicopter, the helicopter will automatically take off and fly off the map. To prevent this, immediately tell the Chinook to land somewhere to interrupt its departure. Once you manage to get a scientist into the fake War Factory, Volkov will be reactivated under your control. Use him to help eliminate the remaining Allied forces, and the mission will end. (Note that if Volkov boards a Chinook, this will also cause the Chinook to fly away off the map, though this appears to be an intended part of the mission. If you want to keep Volkov on the field, don't let the Chinook leave!)
If you fail to regain control over Volkov, either by destroying or capturing the fake War Factory, or by running out of time, the mission doesn't end but you will now have to confront a berserk Volkov. By far the most effective way for dealing with him (as well as any other "superpowered" infantry found in the game) is with attack dogs, as they can still kill him in one hit despite all his hitpoints and armor. Volkov will most likely be fixated on another target and won't attack your dogs before they get into range, but you may want to have several dogs just in case.
==Notes==
* The concept of an overpowered "boss" unit was again used in the finale of Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun: Firestorm.
* Deus ex machina means "God from the machine" when translated from Latin, with the meaning of an intervention of a god or god-like character who would come from a conveniently placed machine in ancient dramas.
==References==
Category:Retaliation Soviet missions