Carnage City: A World at War Novel (World at War Online Book 6) (14 page)

Nora brought her own gun back up and fired a shot, then another.

“You’re getting close,” Yusuf told her.

“It’s going to take a little while to get used to this thing,” she replied.

Nora wasn’t a terrible shot by any means, but having to deal with a new weapon meant her marksmanship ability fell drastically. Part of the problem was the sights. She was used to having a red dot scope on her weapon that fired three round bursts, but this one only had iron sights. The gun did have rails, so mounting optics would be a piece of cake, but she didn’t have any on hand right now.

And the balance of the weapon threw her off as well. Like Paige had said, most of the weight was concentrated in the rear of the gun, while Nora was used to having it evenly distributed throughout the weapon. That made adapting on the fly fairly difficult, though given time Nora was sure she’d get used to it. She fired off the last of her ammo in an automatic burst and put the gun on safe.

“So, what do you think?” Yusuf asked.

“I like that it’s compact, but it has a lot of power too,” Karen said. She moved the gun in her hands. “It’s very easy to maneuver too.”

“It’s the perfect size for close-range fighting,” Nora said. “What’s the range on it, though?”

“About the same as a standard assault rifle. Dependent on aiming, of course. The effective range is a bit less, but it’s better than a carbine.”

“Most of our fights take place within a few hundred yards or less,” Karen pointed out. “Maximum range shouldn’t be much of a handicap.”

“No. The only thing that bothers me is that the gun is so different from the ones we’ve been using. It’s going to take some time to get used to them.”

“But if you can do it, would you used them?” Yusuf asked.

“Oh yeah, I think it’s a good weapon, from what I can tell.”

“That’s not all,” Paige added. “This isn’t just the only configuration. This system is modular, so with some different parts we can adapt it to different roles. There’s a 9mm submachine gun variant, a light machine gun, a designated marksman’s gun and a shotgun.”

“That many?” Nora asked, surprised.

“Yes, and they’re all based off the same weapon. The ones firing the same caliber just need to switch the barrels and a few other parts. The ones firing different calibers have to change the upper receiver, but that only takes a few minutes, and it’s better than making an entirely new gun.”

Karen spoke up. “Are we going to try to arm the entire alliance with them?”

“That’s the goal, but it’s not going to happen immediately,” Yusuf said. “Aside from the production problems, we haven’t tested them in combat, and we want to make sure we like the weapon before we put it into full-scale mass production.”

“Who’s going to test them?” Nora said, asking the obvious question.

“One of your companies. The military council agreed that Ghost Battalion should get first crack at them.”

“That’s rather generous of them.”

“Maybe,” Paige said. “But I get the feeling some of the others might want you to iron out the kinks first.”

Both Karen and Nora laughed.

“Figures,” Karen said with a smile.

Nora smiled as well. “We really can’t complain though. I guess that’s the price for getting our hands on the newest toys first. So, has it been decided who’s going to be testing them?”

“It’s between Black Wolf and Barghest,” Yusuf said. “We had a limited production run of one hundred rifles, along with conversion kits for the other variants. There’s twenty to thirty of each of them.”

“That many?” Nora asked. She had been expecting maybe enough to equip a squad or two, not an entire company.

“Yeah, even with a limit production run our assembly lines make things a lot more efficient.”

“At any rate, that number means we’re out of the running,” Karen said. “As much as I’d like to get my hands on them, there’s no way we can get them to my company in the field, let alone get them properly trained on them. Plus, there’s a good chance some might fall into enemy hands.”

“I guess that leaves us then,” Nora said.

Black Wolf would be well-suited for the job. Since they were assigned to a fixed position they would have time to practice with the new weapons, and there would be much less risk of losing them to the enemy. Ragnarok would have to force them out of their fortress for that to happen.

“See how you like them and take notes on what works and what doesn’t. We might be able to make a few changes if we go through a major production run,” Yusuf said.

Nora nodded. “I’ll make sure of it. When will we be getting them?”

“As soon as possible. They’re already being loaded onto the train as we speak, and we’ll ship them up to Waukegan through the naval route.”

Hephaestus efficiency at its finest, Nora thought to herself. She was satisfied, though. They had a new weapon, one that could help change the face of the battlefield in their favor. Now they just needed to master it.

T
he sound
of gunfire filled the air, even though there were no signs of conflict at the moment. Instead the noise came from the plethora of Black Wolf troops breaking in their new weapons.

Nora had brought her rifle with her from Indianapolis, which meant she had access to it while the rest were still being shipped to the front lines. That gave her more time to practice, so by the time the guns arrived she was somewhat of an expert. As a result, Nora had found herself acting as an instructor, bringing many of her comrades up to speed with the new weapon.

“Man, this is great,” Gavin commented as he fired off bursts from his gun. “It’s like firing a submachine gun, only with bigger bullets.”

“There’s a conversion kit to turn it into a submachine gun, actually,” Nora told him.

“That’s cool, though we might not need it. This is good enough for assaults.”

“Still, always good to have options,” Xavier said. He fired off a few shots of his own.

Nora spotted Miko sitting on a ruined wall, watching her comrades practice. “Not interested?” she asked.

Miko shook her head. “It’s an interesting gun, alright, but I’m not going to switch my sniping piece.”

Nora could understand that sentiment. Snipers tended to be notoriously picky about their weapons, prizing personalization and familiarity above all else. Plus, others weren’t immune to it either. Nora had been loath to give up her burst rifle, but the new gun was too good to pass up.

“Might be good to get training on a designated marksman piece,” Zach said.

“Meh, I’ll do it later.”

“That’s one good part of the system, though. Other than the shotgun and submachine gun, all the variants share the same ammunition,” Nora pointed out.

“Simplifies our supply chain. Plus, it’s just so darn cool,” Zach said with a smile.

“Can’t argue with that,” Nora said. It still needed to be tested in combat though.

She just hoped they’d be ready for it.

C
haos reigned
as soon as Zach entered the virtual world. One moment he had been in the real world getting a drink of water, and the next his phone went off. One glance told him he needed to log on right away.

Code Red.

That could only mean Ragnarok was launching a major assault at the moment, taking advantage of the weekend where they could bring the majority of their strength to bear. Of course, that cut both ways as well.

Zach immediately got on the radio and started calling for the rest of the Black Wolf officers. To his surprise, the links were actually functioning, though that probably wouldn’t last much longer.

“Nora, Selene, Danny, you there?”

“I’m up in the command post,” Nora said.

“I’m down in the trenches,” Selene replied.

“Here as well,” Danny said, from where his troops had been assigned to the tower and the anti-tank guns.

“What’s our status?” Zach asked as he sprinted for the stairs, headed for the command post as well. Getting up there from the fifth floor might take a while, but he didn’t want to occupy the elevator when there were better uses for it. Nora could handle things just fine until he got there anyhow.

“We’re armed, ready and in position,” Nora told him. “I just hope we got enough practice on the new guns.”

“We can always pull the old ones out of the armory if we need to,” Danny said.

Maybe, but that would cost them valuable time as well, and that could make all the difference. Given the choice, Zach preferred to fight well rather than resort to a fallback plan.

“Is the assault focused here, or are they launching a general offensive?” Zach asked.

“They’re hitting the entire line,” Nora said. “We’re not-”

And then the radio suddenly went dead. A second later, Zach heard a faint howling sound, audible even through the thick concrete walls surrounding the stairwell.

“And so it begins,” he muttered to himself as he continued to ascend.

A
lpha Wolf cowered
in their positions, hoping that they didn’t fall victim to a direct hit. Selene wasn’t sure how well the breastworks and trenches would fare in the rocket artillery bombardment. They could deal with small arms and light explosives like mortars and RPGs, but heavy rockets were an entirely different story.

She just hoped that her platoon wasn’t wiped out before they even had a chance to fire a shot.

To her surprise, though, no rockets fell on their positions. From her shelter in one of the small underground bunkers she could hear explosions going off overhead. Probably mortars, she thought to herself. Apparently they didn’t think that bombarding the tower with their heavy weaponry was worth the effort.

But the bombardment did have one effect. Even though the shells didn’t pack much punch, they still forced the defenders underground, because Alpha Wolf couldn’t afford to lose any troops before the real assault began.

Maybe that was the point, Selene mused sourly. The mortar fire might just be there to keep their heads down while the assault force approached. And while infantry would have to be careful to avoid being hit with friendly fire, there was one thing that could approach with near impunity.

She just hoped Danny’s troops could keep them at bay, because if they couldn’t this was going to be a very, very short fight.

“
E
nemy tank
, approaching up the boulevard!” Xavier’s voice rang out over the muffled sound of explosions coming from outside.

“Type?” Danny asked.

Xavier peered through his binoculars again. “Looks like it’s a regular one. I don’t see any fuel tanks on it.”

“OK, that’s secondary priority if a flame tank shows up.”

“Doesn’t look like there’s any more just-” Xavier paused for a moment. “Wait, there’s another one coming up the boulevard. Looks like it’s another regular tank.”

Danny didn’t have to wonder what they were doing for long. An explosion suddenly rocked the outside of the building, followed by another. The sturdy concrete held, but the force of the impacts was still noticeable.

The phone line next to him rang.

“Danny,” Nora said, “looks like they’re targeting your level.”

“So I noticed.”

“Kill them before they do any more damage.”

The guns on the tanks might not be able to penetrate the concrete, but one lucky shot through the windows could lead to disaster. Danny guessed that was that they were after, trying to kill the anti-tank guns before the flame tanks moved in to finish off the infantry dug in around the base of the tower.

“Xavier, have your crews target the tanks!” Danny shouted, wondering if he’d be heard over the chaos of battle. Times like these were when he really missed the radio.

“Already on it,” came the reply.

Danny jogged to one of the smaller viewports for a better view. A second later, both pieces fired.

He saw the first tank take a shot right between the turret and hull. It ground to a halt, spewing ugly black smoke. The turret hatch flipped open, and someone scrambled out. A second later the tank blew up in a spectacular fireball.

The second vehicle took a hit to the front right drive sprocket, crippling it but not taking it out of action.

BAM!

Another shell rocked the tower.

“Xavier-”

“On it,” came the terse reply. Danny really couldn’t blame him either. Even with their strong position, even with new weaponry, training and confidence, there was a sense of tension in the air. Ragnarok was gunning for them, and one mistake could cost them dearly.

But they could be counted on to not make the same mistake twice, Danny reflected as he watched another shot go through the second tank. That’s what would carry them through.

“
T
ook
you long enough to get up here,” Nora commented as she watched Zach straggle into the tower’s command center.

“I probably should have taken the elevator,” he groaned. “Oh well. We need it for other things.”

Nora looked down over the holographic map table set up in front of her. Somehow she had managed to convince Hydra Command to install one of them here. Only Lerna Bastion and Hydra HQ in Indianapolis had one: the other commands had to make do with regular paper maps and their wrist menus.

On the other hand, given their power supplies installed in the basement, this really was the best place for them to put something like this. Otherwise, it would be consuming fusion batteries at a distressing rate.

“What’s the situation?” Zach asked.

“We’re getting slammed across the district,” Nora said. She zoomed in on another part of the battlefield. “Magic Battalion is getting it pretty bad, but the worst of it is falling around our sector. We have four separate forces going after Crimson Eagle and Marauder, and a few smaller ones hitting the other parts of the line to keep us occupied.”

“Going for the throat early.”

Nora nodded. Aside from Black Wolf, Marauder and Crimson Eagle were the best Hydra units currently operating in the city, having a combination of the most troops as well as extensive experience in urban combat environments. Taking them out early in the battle could dramatically tip the scales in Ragnarok’s favor.

“Can we do anything to help them?”

“Other than having the artillery take some potshots at them there’s not much we can do right now. We’ve got our own attack to deal with, and they’ve got plenty of support as it is. Besides, they can take care of themselves.”

Zach walked over to the map table and looked down. “If both pincers attacking Dragon Battalion break through, we’re going to be completely cut off,” he pointed out.

“Then we’d better make sure we’re not pushed out of this positions.”

Zach walked back over to one of the phone lines. “Feed me coordinates. I’m going to get our mortars firing.”

Nora nodded. At least they had the map table, which could network with everyone and had enough power to override the jamming. It didn’t completely solve their communication problems, but at least they could figure out what was going on.

“Once you’re done, get on the line with Dragon Battalion HQ,” she said. “We need to make sure they’re not flying blind.”

“On it.”

The jamming was a real pain, Nora thought to herself. She wished someone would just blow the thing sky high.

But until then they would have to improvise countermeasures.

E
nemy infantry incoming
. The word spread down the line quickly, and Alpha Wolf sprang into action. Once the bombardment finally stopped her platoon took up their positions just in time to see a host of Ragnarok troops making their way toward the base of the tower. Selene noted they were using cover effectively, but they weren’t immune to gunfire by any means.

At two hundred yards Alpha Wolf met the enemy advance with a blistering, accurate barrage of semiautomatic gunfire, picking off those unlucky enough to be exposed. Their enemy continued to advance, though their numbers were beginning to fall rapidly. Black Wolf’s practice had begun to pay off.

Selene felt more and more appreciation for her new rifle as she pumped shots into the enemy ranks. Once she was used to the firing characteristics the bullpup rifle was fairly easy to handle. It had the maneuverability of a smaller gun, while keeping the range of a longer assault rifle. If they were using carbines they might have a hard time engaging at this distance, but with the bullpup they could do it with no sweat.

The enemy kept coming, though, and Alpha Wolf couldn’t stop them. There was too much cover in the buildings surrounding the tower, and Ragnarok took full advantage of that.

Selene couldn’t coordinate her platoon’s actions either, and was reduced to fighting within a very limited point of view. The lack of cybernetic radios hurt them badly. While she trusted her squad leaders to keep things together, she still didn’t like not being able to coordinate them under one cohesive plan.

And worst of all, she couldn’t coordinate with Bravo Wolf in the tower. Their height would allow them to spot any enemy movement and relay it down to the troops in the breastworks, but there was no telephone line between the tower and the outer works. They’d probably need to change that.

An explosion rocked the enemy ranks, sending several bodies flying through the air. Selene felt a bit of grim satisfaction. At least Danny and the rest seemed to realize their predicament.

She just hoped they could respond effectively.

“
K
eep firing
,” Danny ordered, looking through his binoculars at the enemy advancing on their positions. “Alpha Wolf’s not getting all of them, and we have the height to stop them.”

“Got it,” Xavier said.

The anti-tank guns barked again, sending a pair of high explosive shells into the enemy ranks. Danny surveyed the damage as they hit. Ragnarok’s good formation and discipline meant that few were hit by the blasts, but it forced them into cover and slowed their advance. Right now, that was all they could ask for.

He heard gunfire coming from the floor above, likely from Ryan and Javy’s squads, raining down bullets at their Ragnarok foes below. Their height gave them a significant advantage, allowing them to see every single enemy movement and target the most dangerous ones.

He only wished he could properly coordinate with the rest of them. The phone lines helped, but he could only talk to one person at a time. That meant he couldn’t coordinate large groups at once, which severely limited their effectiveness, and he couldn’t even talk with Alpha Wolf.

Zach and Nora could coordinate most of the action from their place in the command center, but the lack of radio made Danny feel like he was fighting with blinders on. He could only make educated guesses about what the others were doing and compensate accordingly. If he guessed wrong then everything could come crashing down around them.

Now he understood why so many military leaders had made blunders in situations where the solution seemed obvious. The fog of war muddle everything, especially when good communication was hard to come by.

“Danny, we’ve got another tank creeping up on us,” Xavier said. “Standard kind like the last one.”

Danny frowned. “Gosh, they’re persistent. That’s five they’ve sent against us since we’ve captured place, and they have to know we can take the out from a distance.”

“Still means we have to divide our fire.”

Danny had to concede that point. Any anti-tank guns that were concentrating on a single target weren’t firing high-explosives at the advancing infantry units. That was teamwork at its finest.

Even if that teamwork meant making oneself a target with little hope of survival.

“Put one of the guns on it and keep the other one firing at the infantry. We can’t allow them to close.”

Xavier gave him a thumbs up and turned around to give out the orders.

Danny went back to searching for targets through his binoculars. Like it or not, until the radio came back online he would have to fight inside his own little box.

“
Y
ou’re sure of that
?”

“The phone went dead two minutes ago, but before that they were reporting several penetrations in the line,” Cody said.

Zach glanced over at the holographic map table in the center of the room. That information fit with what the display was showing. Marauder’s lines had broken in three places, with Ragnarok troops pouring through the breaches. That meant the area around their left flank was in serious danger.

“Can you stabilize a line further back?” Zach asked.

There was no response.

“Cody?”

“Yeah, sorry about that. I just got word that Crimson Eagle’s being forced to fall back as well. They’ve broken through in the section between them and Lion.”

Zach looked over at the map table again. The thrust of the enemy advance looked to be taking its toll. Hydra forces were falling back across the district, almost helpless in the face of the onslaught. Even Bravehart’s formidable artillery couldn’t stem the tide.