Carnage City: A World at War Novel (World at War Online Book 6) (18 page)

Danny nodded. “So, back to this thing,” he said. “Do you have something special planned for them?”

“City fighting, of course. The only other thing I'd use them for is as a tank destroyer from ambush, because I think faster tanks will be able to flank it too easily.”

“Right, but I mean, are you building them to go along with a specific operation?”

“Of course.”

“Of course? You can't just say that and not tell me anything about it?”

“What if Hydra Command will rip my limbs off if I tell anyone outside of the immediate circle?”

“That would suck,” Danny nodded. “OK, so could you at least give me some sort of hint? Something? Anything?”

“Well, figure it out for yourself,” Yusuf told him. “This is built for leveling strongpoints, especially during urban combat. What do you think is happening?”

Danny thought for a moment. “This is tying in with the final push to take the district, isn't it. Which means they're trying to launch the counterattack pretty soon.”

“I can neither confirm nor deny that statement,” Yusuf said with a smile.

Danny grinned back. “No, but you've given me a pretty good idea. Are you all set for unloading?”

“All set. We'll get these casings out of your way, and I'll see to it that a team gets over hear to build shell carts.”

Danny nodded and then turned toward the stairs. “Thanks Yusuf. I'm going to make sure my guys are still in one piece.”

“Take care.”

Danny got back on the radio. “Xavier, how are you coming?”

“Gosh, these guys are annoying,” came the reply.

“Is that good or bad?”

“Oh, we're fine. It's just that I had to waste a couple of shells flushing the enemy out of cover. They're leaving now. One tank killed. Not sure on how many infantry went down.”

“How many shells did you use?”

“Three anti-tank, eleven high explosive.”

“Good.” Just enough to appear like they were trying to conserve ammunition. After a few more days of this they'd be running low, or at least that's what the Ragnarok commander would think.

And when they launched their final attack, Black Wolf would have a nasty surprise waiting for them.

Z
ach had heard
plenty through the grapevine, but this was the first time any official news of a counterattack reached him. It had happened quickly too. One moment he was in the tower's command center, going over possible scenarios, and the next he had been summoned to a meeting of the various Hydra companies within the district.

He could understand why it had been done on such short notice. If Ragnarok got wind of a meeting they might launch an attack while the majority of upper command was occupied elsewhere. That didn't concern him much regrading his own troops, but some of the others might have more problems. Many of the companies in Hydra were based around on charismatic leader, and if they weren't present the entire unit suffered.

They would have to do something about that eventually, whether that meant encouraging them to expand their officer corps or if it meant they needed to make large-scale structural changes to the way they organized themselves. The battalion system had increased their effectiveness, and even more changes might have a positive effect.

That was well beyond the scope of their plans right now, though. If they were launching a counteroffensive they needed everyone in top fighting shape, and changing their organization at the last minute would only serve to undermine that.

Not that Black Wolf would be affected much, because they were in a unique position. Most of Ghost Battalion was capable of performing in a semiautonomous fashion, able to operate in anything from multiple companies to small fireteams. That was why they were so decentralized at the moment while the other battalions stayed together. They were built for small unit actions.

Of course, the flip side of that was the fact that they could end up stuck in the middle of a fight with no backup coming. Either that, or their backup would be from different units that they might not necessarily have a ton of rapport with. That was their situation now. Black Wolf had worked with both Dragon and Magic Battalions in the past, but not nearly as much as they had with companies like Sacred Sword, Redd Foxx or even ones like Grizzly or Hephaestus. Knowing tendencies and being able to predict their comrade's next moves was an important part of fighting together efficiently.

Zach didn't know why that concerned him so much. Black Wolf didn't have a complicated job to perform here. They had to hold the tower at all costs against an enemy assault from all directions. It would be a tall task, but nothing complicated. His company simply had to sit in place and keep shooting until they were either relieved or they were all killed.

Maybe it was because he still felt concern that the other battalions would be able to push Ragnarok back and lift the siege. The Hydra Alliance had already been thrown back twice from their forward lines, prolonging the Milwaukee campaign for weeks or even months. Could they overcome those setbacks and finally push their enemy out of the Cudahy District, or were they doomed to fight a grinding battle of attrition for far longer?

That wasn't for him to answer. Like it or not, Black Wolf was only one small unit in the sprawling alliance, and they couldn't beat an enemy this tough by themselves. No, their job was to hold the tower and its vital staging point while waiting for the others to launch their counterattack.

Zach hoped they had more information than last meeting. They likely did, otherwise why would they even bother calling them all together?

“This is going to be exciting,” Nora commented dryly.

“Do I sense sarcasm?”

She shrugged. “Maybe a little bit, but I'm interested to see how they actually want to pull this off. Less speculation and theory, a little more substance. That's what I want.”

Zach nodded. Ideas were all well and good, but eventually they needed to have some way to put them into action. And Zach was curious as well. How were they going to take the fight to the enemy, especially when they had time to dig I? What tricks would they have up their sleeves. And most importantly in his mind, how were they going to deal with the enemy jamming? They could mitigate some of its effects on the defensive by use of field telephones, but that would be difficult when on the move during an offensive.

Nora spoke up again. “We're going to have to make sure their ideas are practical.”

“I'd assume they are,” Zach replied. “Cody might be gung-ho, but he's not stupid, and Bryce, Lex and Evy aren't the type to try something foolish.”

“Yeah, but what might seem foolish to us might make prefect sense to them.”

“Such as?”

“I'm just guessing, but using the transit tunnel as the main avenue of attack,” Nora said.

“What's wrong with that?”

“Using that as an element of the plan is fine,” Nora said. “Using it as the main element is not. If they send anything more than a company through they'll be critically weakening the other parts of the assault, and that's going to cause problems if they can't mop up resistance.”

“Ah, now I follow.”

Simply breaking through the enemy lines wouldn't be enough. That might be sufficient against NPC troops or second-rate players, but against Ragnarok they'd be asking for trouble. Unlike many of the others, Ragnarok troops would likely remain disciplined even if they were cut off from their units, much like Hydra would do. And while they might not be able to win on their own, they could help slow the offensive by launching attacks on the flanks of advancing units.

“I have a feeling they'll have something else in mind,” Zach said. “And who knows, maybe we can request another unit from outside the city to join us. Maybe Redd Foxx, since we know the enemy already committed their reserve here.”

“Maybe. But just in case, let's make sure they don't do something stupid.”

Zach thought for a moment. “Actually,” he began, “I think they might end up asking us for something.”

“And this something is...”

“Probably a raid of some sort?”

“And just how are we going to do anything outside of the immediate area of the tower?”

“Tunnel,” Zach pointed out.

“With what troops? We're not going to be able to spare very many.”

“I know that. If they ask we probably can't offer them any more than a squad, but if it's something that can turn the tide of the entire battle then I think we have to do it.”

“That leaves us very thin,” Nora warned.

Zach nodded. “I know. But we're going to have to take some sort of risk to win this fight, and this might be the time to do it. Besides, at least we'd be doing it while we're in a strong defensive position.”

“Last time that happened we almost got curbstomped.”

“Heh, ever the optimist I see. I thought I was the one that was supposed to be all pessimistic.”

“Maybe you're rubbing off on me.”

“Maybe,” Zach said with a slight smile.

Cudahy HQ was bustling with activity by the time they arrived. Officers from all sorts of companies were flocking into the building, along with the various support staff and messengers that normally were present.

Zach had always found it somewhat curious that some people seemed like the mundane aspects of World at War, whether that was logistics, planning, building or organizing. Of course, he couldn't say much, because he enjoyed some of them as well. Building and implementing the phone system they were currently using had been immensely satisfying, even if it had only been a matter of connecting switches and wires.

That was likely why the game appealed to so many people. There was action, drama, pulse-pounding situations that got your blood flowing, but there was also downtime, time to think, time to relax, tinker and build as well. He needed to remember that while he was on the next project, Zach thought to himself. A game couldn't just be about huge action sequences. They'd need something more relaxing as well, yet it had to remain engaging.

Zach and Nora were the last ones to filter into the meeting. Bryce greeted them with a wave and then turned to the rest.

“OK, that's everyone. Sorry for the short notice, but we didn't want to tip off the enemy. So, you can probably guess why you're all here.”

“Something dangerous, I'm guessing,” Lex spoke up. There were a few laughs.

Bryce smiled. “Yeah, something dangerous, although, aren't all these meeting about something like that? Anyhow, we're in the process of preparing our counterattack to push back Ragnarok's lines and finally take the rest of the district.”

“All at once?” Evy spoke up.

Cody nodded and chimed in. “Ideally, that's what we're aiming for.”

A buzz of murmurs and quiet conversation greeted that statement. Zach remained somewhat skeptical that they could actually pull it off. They'd have to force Ragnarok out of their current positions. Even thought they weren't nearly as formidable as their previous lines due to the fact that they had much less time to prepare, the amount of buildings and rubble meant that the enemy could improvise fortifications quite easily. In order to win Hydra would need to puncture the enemy line in several places, then break through and exploit those gaps. Once they were through they needed to keep up the pressure.

None of that would be easy. Ragnarok would certainly have a reserve in place to plug any holes in the line. They had artillery and air support as well, that could lay down heavy fire support almost anywhere needed in the district.

If Hydra wanted to win this fight they needed a trump card, an ace in the hole. But what would it be? They couldn't rely on sheer numbers, because even if they redeployed all available units they'd still lack the three to one ratio of attackers to defenders. Would the concentrate on just a few points? Unlikely, because that would allow Ragnarok to concentrate their reserve as well. A raid on the shoreline? That wouldn't be possible without bringing in other units, and Ragnarok was definitely on guard for that after all the previous stunts Ghost Battalion had pulled.

And then there was the problem of the enemy jamming device. Hydra was capable of pulling off amazing feats on the offensive, but that required tight communication between the various units. That was all well and good when they had their cybernetic radios, but if they were cut their plan quickly fell apart. While lower level units were capable of acting on their own initiative, they often didn't work toward the larger goal without constant oversight.

He raised his hand. “I assume we have some sort of plan other than a straight-out attack?”

Cody and Bryce both nodded.

“Yes,” Bryce said. “We're going to conduct a large-scale attack throughout the district.” He opened his holographic menu and activated the projector. “We'll be attacking from several locations at once.”

Cody pointed to the map in front of them. “As you can see here, we'll have two main thrusts, one coming from Dragon Battalion's lines, and another from Magic Battalion's positions. There will be several secondary attacks as well, coming from some of the smaller units. Their objective is to keep various points in the enemy line occupied while the main forces break through.”

Bryce spoke up again. “We're going to have some new formations for the fight. Grizzly has loaned us a unit outfitted with new assault guns armed with 155mm cannons. They're slow and not particularly wieldy, but they'll flatten pretty much anything they set their sights on.”

Zach glanced over to see Connor, Grizzly's second in command, waving at them all.

“We'll be operating at the main breakthrough points,” he said cheerfully. “Hopefully we'll be able to smash our way through in short order.”

Someone from Magic that Zach didn't recognize spoke up. “Those units are in addition to the ones we already have right?”

“Yes,” Cody confirmed. “We'll have several platoons of assault guns, enough to deploy some to secondary fronts in the district if needed.”

Lex looked over the plan on the map. “OK, so if I'm reading this right you're planning on having one company force their way through the line with heavy artillery and armor support. After that the breach will be exploited by a followup company.”

“Right,” Bryce said. “Much as I'd like us to crush them without a problem, realistically we have to consider the fact that the initial assault units are going to take heavy casualties, and they can't be relied upon to widen the breach. That's why we have a reserve to pick up where they leave off.”

Zach nodded. It made perfect sense to him, balancing aggression with caution. They couldn't afford to tread too lightly, lest they miss a golden opportunity, but they couldn't be too aggressive either and leave themselves wide open for a counterattack and a beating.

“One thing,” Nora said, finally speaking up. “It says that there's another secondary thrust coming from our positions in the tower. Where is that coming from, exactly? And it also has a note that we'll be conducting interdiction missions as needed.”

“Yes, it does,” Bryce said. “To answer your first question, Redd Foxx will be redeploying to the district from the west. They'll be using the tunnel route as a launching pad for their assault.”

“And the second?”

“The enemy jamming device,” Cody said. “We think we know where it is, but they've buried it in a basement somewhere. We could drop all the 155 shells on it we wanted, and it wouldn't leave a scratch. And we need that thing dead.”

Zach suddenly had a sinking feeling in his stomach. So did Nora, by the look on her face.

“Let me guess,” he said. “You need a commando raid to take it out before the attack can begin?”

“That's correct.”

“Then we're going to need reinforcements. There's no way we can hold the tower with less troops than we already have on hand.”

“OK, we'll look into that,” Bryce said. “But for now we'll need you to devise some sort of commando raid.”

Zach was about to reply when his wrist alert went off with a message from Danny. He quickly opened it up and took a glance.

Under heavy attack
, it read.

He suppressed the urge to groan. This just kept getting better and better.