Howl: A World at War Novel (4 page)

“Who's going first?” Xavier asked.

“
Who wants to go first is the better question,” Zach said.

Xavier, Gavin and Javy looked at each other. “Fine, I'll take my squad first,” Xavier said with mock indignation.

Selene spoke up. “Um, what are people without a squad going to do?”

“
We're forming a squad of our own,” Zach said. “Us five without squads, plus Robbie, Liz and Anna.”

“
You get two actual stealth experts? How's that even fair?” Javy asked.

“
We have six people who aren't stealth experts as well,” Zach offered.

“
Hey, hey, hey. Five people who aren't stealth experts,” Miko pointed out. “I'm perfectly fine.”

“
It's not like you can't screw up having stealth experts either,” Selene said. “Remember what happened when we were scouting Lerna?”

Zach groaned. “Is everyone going to keep bringing that up?”

Xavier laughed. “Thanks for reminding me. That's definitely a fair point.”

It could also end up being a serious problem, Danny thought to himself. They had a lot to work on.

You are KIA
.

“
Not again,” Danny groaned to himself. He was so glad that deaths in the battledome didn't count.

He sat up. The simulated forest in front of him suddenly disappeared. Liz was standing in front of him about thirty yards away, holding a compound bow in her left hand. Danny could see a quiver of arrows on her back.

“You're trying way too hard,” she commented.

“
Are you using me for target practice?” Danny asked incredulously.

She shrugged. “I need to get used to firing a bow, and this is the perfect time to do it. Kill two birds with one stone.” She slung the bow over her shoulder. “Like I said, your biggest problem is that you're trying to hard, and that's making you too tense. You're not moving as smoothly as you should be, and that means that you're more likely to make noise whether you realize it or not.”

“So how do I fix it?” Danny asked.

“
Practice,” Liz told him flatly. “A lot of practice, and a lot of getting killed while you learn. You should have seen our battledome records when we first started.”

Danny laid back down on the floor. “This is going to get really frustrating, isn't it?”

“Well, I'm having fun,” Liz offered with a laugh.

“
That's so comforting.”

“
You're also a heavy. You're never going to be as good at stealth as other classes. It's just the way the build works. Plus, stealth is different from silence. Remember that.”

Danny frowned and sat back up. “Aren't silence and stealth pretty much the same thing?”

Liz shook her head. “No, and silence can actually be harmful to stealth. Like in the middle of a gun battle, who's going to hear you step on a twig? It's better to just step on the twig if it allows you to move faster.”

“
That sounds really complicated,” Danny said.

“
Well, it is,” Liz told her. “It's an art form, just like shooting or driving. You need to have a feel as to when you can speed up and when you need to slow down. You have to know when you can take risks and when you need to be cautious.”

“
That seems like it's going to take a long time to master,” Danny said. “We really don't have the time.”

“
I really don't think you need to master it,” Liz said. “Anna wanted you in the ranger company for a specific reason. You know how to fight when outnumbered, and you know how to get out of tight situations. We'll handle the stealth work, and you act as the heavily armed backup.”

“
Why not have Sacred Sword, then?”

“
Because they're a front line company. And I personally think that we work best with you guys. Don't say that out loud, though.”

Danny nodded. “That's reasonable.”

Liz drew her bow again. “Let's go for another round. I'll give you five minutes. Disappear into the brush, and I'll try to hunt you. I'm not going to take it easy on you, however.”

“
Darn,” Danny said, though in truth he wasn't disappointed at all. He needed some way to get better, and training against an expert was certainly going to help.

“
Forest, same as last time,” Liz told him. “Battledome, activate,” she said. “Terrain, forest.”

The forest appeared again, though it was different, randomized from the last time they had fought. Danny faded into the brush, trying to move as quickly and as quietly as possible. He wanted to set up a position where he could ambush her.

About three minutes into the countdown he found it. There was a gnarled, twisted tree surrounded by brush and vines. It was perfect for him, providing a firing point with good concealment. He quickly got behind it, making sure to disturb everything as little as possible. Liz had a knack for spotting anything that was out of place.

He sighed inwardly as he settled in. In many ways he felt that he was inferior to her, even through he was a player with plenty of accomplishments. He was considered to be one of the expert heavies, handy with a launcher or deadly with a machine gun. He could cover as well as anyone, and could put fear into the hearts of the enemy with a few calculated bursts. But matching up against Liz just showed him how vulnerable he was. She could move through tree and brush like smoke, with nary a disturbance, and be on top of him in a flash. All his ability was no good against someone of her skill. It seemed like she was overpowered.

No, that wasn't it, Danny thought to himself. She was plenty vulnerable if she was caught out in the open. She could blunder into a minefield without noticing, and in a straight fight she didn't have the staying power of a soldier or a heavy like him.

Teamwork. That was what this game was all about. You lived or you died as a team, with no exceptions. Even so-called loners like Miko knew very well that they operated as part of a larger force, and they responded accordingly. Teams could cover weaknesses and augment strengths. That was probably why he felt so vulnerable right now.

Something was moving in front of him, about sixty yards away through the trees. It was definitely humanoid in shape, and they had put no other NPCs in this simulation. It was Liz.

Danny looked down the sights of his machine gun. One well aimed burst would shred her, and he finally would have a win to his name. He would need to time it perfectly, though. She was moving from cover to cover very efficiently, leaving him with just a small window to hit her.

He had wondered what it was like to be facing Redd Foxx from the other side, and now he knew. Danny was very glad that they would be working together. But he was going to take this victory. He aimed and moved his finger toward the trigger. He timed out her movements so he could make the perfect shot. Liz ducked behind a tree. Danny gripped the trigger and wait for her to emerge...

Nothing.

Danny kept looking down his sights, confused. She should have emerged from behind the tree by now. There was no way that she could see him; his hiding spot provided far too much cover. Where was she.

He felt the hair on his neck stand up, a second before the blade of a knife was suddenly at his throat.

“Oh come on!” he exclaimed.

“
This was a good spot,” Liz commented. “You probably would have gotten a lot of people.” She sheathed her knife. “Battledome, I forfeit.”

“
You're letting me win? You know how humiliating that is?” Danny said.

“
I think it's fair,” Liz shrugged. “You would have caught most people.”

“
I wanted to catch you,” Danny said. “We're going another round, and so help me if you forfeit.”

Liz smiled back at him. “Suit yourself.”

CHAPTER 4

Ranger

“How much further do you think we need to go before we're ready to take on the ranger challenge?” Nora asked. She thought that she was doing well, though she wasn't exactly sure how well.

“
From what I hear, you're getting there,” Anna said. “Selene is picking up on it really fast, and Gwen and Will think you two are getting much better as well. What are you thinking about Danny, Liz?”

“
He's doing well. He just needed a little encouragement,” Liz said.

“
Do I even want to know what encouragement means?” Zach asked.

Nora poked him. “You're horrible.”

Liz gave him a well-deserved scowl. “It's not like that. I gave him a win by forfeit.”

Zach laughed. “Oh, that must have gone over well.”

“It got him motivated,” Liz said.

“
And that's what we need, among other things. There's a lot to get done, though,” Anna said.

The rest of the council had approved the plans for the ranger company, but there were still many obstacles to overcome before it was functional. Everyone had to pass the ranger challenge, since there was no point in forming the company if it was full of players that couldn't make the cut. They needed to build their vehicles, and once they were built they needed to train the crews and the troops themselves on how to operate from them. And lastly, they needed their leaders to organize all the moving parts into one well-oil machine.

Dr. Unger had been right about emergent mechanics, Nora thought. Combat ability was important in World at War, but just as critical was the ability to make all the separate parts of an organization move together. That was where they came in.

Nora knew that she was a competent soldier, though she wasn't nearly as good as many of the others. She could hold her own on the battlefield, but her real skill was in logistics and command. Many players never thought past their next battle, and that was fine with her. But someone needed to provide them with ammunition for their guns and money to buy equipment, and that's where she had come in. Black Wolf Company had become rich because of her idea to create an overdrive monopoly, and that wealth had spread to the Hydra Alliance as well. No company could function without money, and they had plenty.

But logistics was only one half of the puzzle; the other half was command. Your troops could have the best equipment and be well seasoned, but without an effective command structure they wouldn't be nearly as effective. Nora had often heard others talking about coordination and teamwork, but command went beyond that. Command gave separate elements direction and a single purpose. It was like building a clock; if the gears weren't properly aligned it wouldn't work right, if it worked at all. The front line troops would win the battle, but it was the job of the commander to put them in the best position in order to do that.

Nora wasn't an accomplished commander by any stretch of the imagination; like her battlefield skills she was competent but unspectacular. She was a good organizer, however, and would work well as a second in command. The leader would choose strategy, and she would work to see that it was carried out. That was how she and Zach had formed an effective command team.

That was in the heat of battle though. There were plenty of other ways that a commander could help their troops, and proper organization was one of them. That was why they were meeting now.

The Rangers would be formed into four platoons, with two from Black Wolf and two from Redd Foxx. Danny and Selene would have command over the Black Wolf platoons, while Gray and Liz would be in command of the Redd Foxx ones. Zach would be in charge of Selene and Danny, while Anna would have command over Gray and Liz. But what was most interesting to her was the organization at the top. In addition to her command of Redd Foxx, Anna had been selected to be the commander of the Ranger company.

It had been a natural choice. Anna was well-versed in commanding forces operating behind the front lines. Zach, who was the only other real choice, pushed for her to take the commander's role. Nora had agreed with that, but there was something else that surprised her. She had been selected to work as Anna's second in command.

Zach had suggested it, and the idea had shocked her for a moment. She had always assumed that she would be continuing as normal, serving as his second within the command structure they had been using for months. It made sense though, and she was more than happy to do what she could to help Anna. Nora was less enthused about the prospects of having to take command in the field if Anna was killed in action, but it was a distant worry at the moment. Her overall command would only really come into play if the whole company was deployed at once. Otherwise, command would be on the shoulders of the squad and platoon leaders.

“Are we going to assign specific vehicles to specific squads?” Zach asked. They would need to consult any final decision with Robbie since he wasn't here right now, but they could get a plan in place.

“
I'm not sure we would need to,” Nora said. “Everyone should be able to operate with any crew just fine.”

“
But familiarity is always a good thing,” Liz pointed out. “Like, for instance, the helicopter crews. If we assigned them to specific squads then they could learn their tendencies and how the like to operate. That might be an edge that could help us out at some point.”

“
I think that idea has some merit, but they also need to be flexible. There's going to be some times when we're going to have to mix and match crews,” Nora said. “Of course, I'm also not going to be one of the front liners, so I'm not sure how much my opinion should count.”

“
Maybe we should test it?” Liz offered.

Anna nodded. “That makes sense. We could try a couple of ways to see whether the squads like one or the other better.”

“We're going to have a limited amount of helicopters, anyhow. They kind of complicated to build, but the worst part is that they go through fusion batteries like crazy,” Nora said. “There's no way we can supply both ourselves and the armored cavalry.”

“
And they take priority,” Anna said. It was true. Their armored cavalry was their best weapon, and they needed it to be in top fighting shape.

“
Is that really going to be a problem?” Zach asked. “I mean, we're not going to do many actions that have more than a platoon. If we are using the full company then we might as well use Mules to get there.”

“
What if we're doing stuff behind enemy lines? Like a large raid, for instance?” Liz asked.

“
Then we're not going to be able to do that,” Zach shrugged.

That was yet another obstacle in command and logistics. The economy in World at War operated on scarcity. Even with their vast wealth and resources, Hydra simply did not have the money to buy everything they needed. The need for ammunition was the factor that hamstrung everyone. Without ammunition you were dead in the water, and that meant you always had to buy it.

Hydra had the advantage of Hephaestus Forge. It gave them the ability to produce all the basic ammunition they needed, but the forge also required a huge number of fusion batteries to run. The ammunition presses and the furnaces didn't power themselves, after all.

Nora leaned back in her chair and ran a hand across her scalp. Anna was right. They had a lot to do.

Thunk
.

The first guard fell without a sound, an arrow sticking out of the base of his neck. The second one barely had time to start turning before Nora was on him. She stabbed him through the side of the neck and cradled his body as he fell. Not a sound. Perfect. She turned and signaled the rest of her squad forward.

It had taken more than a week of intensive practice, but they were finally ready to take on the ranger challenge. Everyone else had managed to pass, though some had to try two or three times before they had succeeded. They were the last ones.

The challenge was to eliminate a target at the center of the forest and then escape without any losses. The woods was crawling with patrols, and they had no idea what kind of target they were attacking, save for the fact that it needed to be blown up with charges. Their skills would be tested to their limits.

They had divided up into two teams. The first consisted of her, Miko, Selene and Liz. They would scout ahead and identify where the enemy patrols were. The second team had Zach, Robbie, Anna and Danny and would provide fire support once they ran into trouble. Their plan was to reconnoiter the area around their target, then hit it hard and fast. If there was a good opportunity to infiltrate they would take it, but otherwise it was far too much of a risk to try to sneak in. They would attack, hoping the shock of the initial assault would catch the enemy off guard. Once they had destroyed their target they would fall back and leave the area.

Selene and Miko moved up ahead of her. They were using silent weapons to avoid drawing attention to themselves, so the only one that could use a ranged weapon right now was Liz. Normally it wouldn't be much of a problem; even though weapons would make a lot of noise, the trees would serve to muffle and distort it, so it would be more difficult to tell where it was coming from. The problem was that they didn't know how far the enemy had spaced their patrols, and they didn't want several descending on them at once. Their recon work would help them to determine that.

Nora had been chosen to be in the vanguard team, but she still felt like she was inadequate. Liz and Miko were experts, and even Selene seemed to be much better than her at stealth. Liz and Anna had insisted she be in the vanguard, though she wondered whether it was because the others weren't quite up to par. Danny was passable, though still definitely the worst, and Robbie and Zach were only marginally better. But that still didn't explain why Anna wasn't in the first team.

Maybe it was because they felt that Redd Foxx needed to adapt as well. They would be working with players that didn't have the stealth skills they possessed, and they needed to learn how to adapt to those changes. Not all of those changes were bad, either. What Black Wolf lacked in stealth they made up for in firepower and battle craft. They would add a formidable backbone to the ranger company, and they were all grateful for that.

Anna had told her that she was especially happy about the changes. It would allow her troops to be far more aggressive because they would have heavily armed backup infiltrating alongside them. Other companies such as Sacred Sword had to trail behind because they would give away Redd Foxx's position, which could cost them precious seconds. But her scouts would be moving up beside their support now.

No, that wasn't right, Nora thought to herself. They were
all
her troops now, and she was Anna's second. She had to get used to that before they went out in the field.

Nora and Liz moved forward as Selene signaled them to move. That was a good sign. They had run into two patrols, but they were a good distance apart from one another. That meant they couldn't provide a lot of support to each other, and the vanguard team could pick them off before anyone was the wiser. On the other hand, it also meant that they needed to keep moving. If an enemy patrol stumbled on the rear team they were done for. If Zach was shot then they didn't have anyone to trigger the explosives.

No sight. No scent. No sound.

That was Redd Foxx's mantra, and it was a solid piece of wisdom. Nora often repeated it to herself as she moved, and she wasn't the only one. She knew that Miko did it as well, and she was pretty sure that Selene had also picked up on the practice. It was good to remember it as they pushed forward. They needed to pay attention to every move, because anything could give them away. The sight of a moving shape, the scent of burning powder or sweat, the sound of a snapping twig, any single one of them could spell doom.

No sight. No scent. No sound.

It wasn't simply a skill, however. There was no specific process for being stealthy. It was an art form, not a science, and you had to feel what you were doing. Everything had to be natural, smooth. That was what Gwen had emphasized during her training, and it was still something she struggled with a bit. She was
trying
to be stealthy. Instead, she should just
be
stealthy.

Nervousness and tenseness had no place. Nora moved from shadow to shadow, flowing like liquid. It wasn't like she completely vanished. She simply melted into the background of the forest, too insignificant to take notice of.

Liz held out her arm in front of her and signaled a stop. Nora took up a position behind a large tree and surveyed the area in front of them. Sure enough, there were four enemies in front of them. Two were soldiers, one was an engineer and one was an assault.

Liz waved Miko and Selene up to their position. She opened up her menu and pressed a few buttons. Symbols appeared over the heads of each of their enemies, made visible by their HUDs. It was a feature that had been in the game from the beginning but they hadn't taken advantage of until now. Locations, objects and persons in the game would could be market with a symbol which would show up for certain people once they were within visual range. In this case, the symbols were visible for their team only. There were four of them in all, and they signified who they were supposed to shoot.