Werewolf: A World at War Novel (World at War Online Book 4) (13 page)

“It will, but we're going to let the infantry scout it first,” Nora told him. “We don't want to lose any of the exoskeletons if we can help it.”

“So, power up?” Max asked.

Nora nodded and started moving toward her suit. “Get in and power up.”

“Hoplite Platoon just finished landing,” Anna said. She moved their counter on the map.

Zach surveyed the situation. “OK, so my guys breached the defenses with moderate casualties, and are pushing toward the south. Redd Foxx has landed, and Hoplite gives them some heavy support if they need it. So next is getting Spectre and Barghest onto the beaches.”

“We also need to keep Griffon firing at anything they can. That'll help us suppress part of the enemy positions.”

“I can take care of that,” Zach told her. “I'll have them focus on the east wall to keep the garrison busy while the rest of our force lands.”

“Not much else they can do without moving,” Anna agreed. “Have them use however much ammunition they need on their target. It's not like they're going to be able to use it anywhere else.”

Zach nodded. Their mortar squad was positioned outside the walls, far enough away to protect them from retaliation. That also meant their range was limited, but it had been enough to get Ghost Battalion ashore. Now, anything else they could contribute was just icing on the cake.

He contacted the mortar squad and relayed the orders. Then he switched channels and signaled all of the unit commanders on the ground.

“Alpha Wolf.”

“Bravo Wolf.”

“Hoplite Lead.”

“Fox 2.”

“This is Wolf Lead,” Zach replied. “The mortar squad is going to hit the walls to keep them busy while the rest of the battalion lands. Keep pushing forward while that happens, and don't stop. I'll make sure that your backs are covered.”

“Copy that,” they responded.

“Are you sure you don't want us to leave a small force here, at least?” Liz asked.

“Positive. Keep pushing so we can capture the district. We have Hoplite in the reserve area, if things go really wrong.”

“Nice to know that we're finally going to see some action,” Nora replied with some snark.

“Hey, you'll get your chance.”

“We better.”

“Alright. Head to your designated points. Wolf Lead, out.” Zach changed the channel again. “Black Lead, Spectre Lead, come in.”

“Copy,” Karen replied.

“I'm here as well,” Neil added.

“The mortars are going to hit the enemy trapped in the pocket on our left flank,” he informed them. “They should stay pinned down, but stay alert as you head through the area. Engage them if you have to, but focus on reinforcing Black Wolf and Redd Foxx. Thorn and Myrmidon can take care of the rest when they reach shore.”

“Got it,” Neil said. “Do we have all the antiaircraft guns accounted for?”

“We think so,” Zach told him. “Keep your eyes open, though, and radio us if you find one. We'll hit it with the main gun.”

“Redd Foxx and Black Wolf are going south, right?” Karen asked.

“That's correct.”

“Then I'm going to take Barghest in a sweep to the west and then south. Hopefully we can catch the enemy in a pincer movement.”

“Understood, but don't stray too far away from the rest of the force,” Zach told her. “Otherwise, it's going to be a lot harder to provide support.”

“Will do. Black Lead, out.”

“Spectre Lead, out.”

Zach looked back over at Anna. “Well, here goes nothing.”

“Same old, same old,” she commented. “A bunch of street fighting, with a boss waiting at the end of it all.”

“Yeah.”

“Do you wish you were on the ground?” Anna asked.

Zach shrugged. “I mean, yeah, I'd love to be in the thick of it, fighting. But I need to be here. There's too many moving parts that need to be coordinated, and I can't make you do it alone.”

“We could have used someone else,” Anna said.

“Who, exactly? Nora's in charge of Hoplite, and taking Liz strips Redd Foxx of both its top commanders.”

“Technically, you just did that with your own company.”

“Meh, Black Wolf doesn't really have a second in command. Depending on the day, it could be Nora, Selene, or Danny. So leaving it with them is fine.”

“Well, I'm glad you're here, at least,” Anna said. “This would be pretty hard to pull off by myself.”

Zach looked back down at the map. “Yeah. And we're not even doing the
really
hard job.”

Crack!

“Did you get him?” Selene asked.

Miko looked though her scope. “I got one of them.”

“What do you mean one of them?!” Selene exclaimed.

Miko started to train her sniper rifle again. “Like I said, I got one of the heavies on the roof. There's actually two of them up there.”

“Well, can you take him out?”

Crack!

“There, it's done,” Miko said.

Selene could see the results of her work. The torrent of enemy fire coming from the other side of the street had died down. Where there had been an impenetrable obstacle before, now there was a golden opportunity.

Selene toggled her radio. “Alpha Wolf, across the street by squad! Alpha 3 first, then 2, then 1. Let's move.”

“Do you need me anymore?” Miko asked.

“We could use you,” Selene said.

“That wasn't the question. Do you
need
me anymore?”

Selene sighed. “No, we should be fine.”

Miko nodded. “Right. I'm going to see if I can go lend some of the others a hand.”

“Good hunting.”

“Don't get yourself killed,” Miko replied, just before she faded into the shadows.

Selene shook her head as she looked away. Miko's ability to disappear was uncanny. And while it might be impressive for her, it was probably terrifying for the enemy. They had no idea when death was suddenly going to sneak out of the shadows to grab them, and that made them fearful.

Or at least, as fearful as virtual constructs could be. Selene wasn't sure that NPCs could feel fear, but if they didn't, they faked it well.

Humans inside the virtual world could feel fear, though. Even though they knew it was just a game, the fear of death was still present. Nobody wanted to run out into a hail of lead. Many times, that fear froze them.

But the veteran players had overcome that fear. To them, dying was just a part of the business of World at War. Cowering and hiding wasn't going to change that, and so, they were aggressive.

Black Wolf was one such unit.

Logan's squad broke cover first. They stormed across the street, heedless of the enemy bullets. There wasn't much for them to fear; Ethan's squad had positioned themselves well and laid down a barrage of cover fire. Then they charged as well.

Selene moved over toward Gavin, who was getting his troops into position for their attack. “Ready to go?”

“We're ready,” Gavin told her. “No quick way about this, huh? We're going to have to storm this place street by street.”

“I'm hoping that this is part of the enemy's main defensive line,” Selene told him. “If we punch through then we should have an easier time ahead.”

“And if they're clinging to every inch of ground?”

“Then we're going to have to fight them house to house. Why, do you want to just give up if that happens?”

Gavin snorted. “Nope, I'll pass. But we'll get bogged down.”

Selene nodded. “And that's why we brought so many troops.”

“Bravo Lead, come in.”

Danny perked up. “That you, Karen?”

“Yes, that'd be me.”

“Where are you guys at?”

“We're coming in from the northwest,” she said. “I think we're going to hit the enemy right on the left flank, relative to you.”

Danny chanced a glance out of the window next to him. The enemy force opposing them had dug themselves into a pair of apartment buildings, each three stories high. His platoon had been forced into cover and were duking it out from a distance. They weren't going to advance anytime soon unless they got help.

“Can you get across the street?” he asked.

“We can. I don't think they know we're here. But I want to make sure this has the greatest possible effect, so I wanted to coordinate the attack.”

“Much appreciated,” Danny replied. “Do you have our positions?”

“Command has been relaying them to us,” Karen told him. “Have you moved any in the past five minutes?”

“That'd be a negative.”

“Right. I'll move Barghest into position and attack. I'll signal you once we have their attention.”

“Thanks Karen. I'll relay that to my guys.”

“Tell Ryan not to get Bravo 3 killed.”

Danny laughed. “I'll tell him.”

He switched channels and gave out his orders. Danny didn't think that his platoon would have any trouble following them. Bravo Wolf could brawl with the best of them, and they weren't going to shy away from the killzone of the street in front of them. They had already survived the beach. What was one more obstacle like this one?

Danny leaned out the window and fired off a burst, trying to keep the enemy suppressed. There had to be at least a company opposing them. Either that, or the enemy had a lot of machine guns.

“We're launching our attack,” Karen cut in. The volume of fire grew even louder.

“Bravo Wolf, be ready to move at a moment's notice,” Danny said to the others.

“Who first?” Javy asked.

“Your squad can be first, since you asked,” Danny said. “Xavier follows, then Ryan.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“Well, don't speak up next time,” Xavier commented.

“OK, maybe next time we'll draw names from a hat,” Javy replied.

Karen cut in again. “Bravo Wolf, your way is clear.”

“Thanks Karen,” Danny said. He braced himself. “Bravo Wolf, let's move!”

“And we sit here doing nothing,” Terra said. She and the others were watching a column of Thorn Company troops moving toward the south. The pocket in the east had been collapsed and then annihilated.

“Give it time,” Nora said, though in truth she felt impatient herself.

“I think I'd rather be on the front lines now, fighting on foot,” Terra said. “The suits are great and all, if we were allowed to use them.”

Nora shrugged. “They're valuable. Too valuable to risk without a good cause.”

“And we sit here doing nothing because of that,” Max agreed. “Being trapped in the north by Ragnarok was more fun. At least we got to
do
something then.”

“Just wait unit we have a target,” Nora told them. “Then we can go wild.”

“Why don't we just head straight for the center capture point to provoke the boss?” Justin asked.

“Because we want to make sure we know what we're fighting,” Nora told him. “Rushing in without any information is a good way to get curb-stomped.”

“So we've got to wait for the infantry to make their breakthrough,” Max said. “Wouldn't it happen much faster if we helped them?”

“Again, it's a waste of energy, and we don't have enough fusion batteries,” Nora said, though doubtless they already knew.

It was because they were going stir-crazy, Nora thought to herself. All of them had been on the front lines for dozens of fights, and they wanted in on the action. One taste of battle, and you were hooked. Nora felt the pull herself, even though she was also used to operating behind the lines coordinating the action.

Was it bloodlust? Rage? Boredom? Whatever it was called, it unsettled Hoplite Platoon. Well, everyone except Will, that was. He had remained silent throughout the whole ordeal, though Nora couldn't exactly get a good read on his emotions. For all she knew, he was fit to burst.

“Hoplite, come in.”

Nora answered her radio. “Hoplite.”

“Nora, this is Danny. Bravo Wolf and Barghest have breached the enemy line. We're approaching the capture point, so you might want to move in our direction.”

“Do you know what's there?”

“No, but we'll be able to find out by the time you reach us,” Danny said. “I figured that you'd want a head start. It'll give you something to do.”

“Thanks,” Nora said. “Hoplite Lead, out.”

“Orders?” Will finally spoke up.

Nora nodded. “OK, suit up and follow my lead. We're heading down the western end of the district, following in the footsteps of Barghest Company. We're going to kill the enemy boss when it shows its face.”

She looked around and saw the anticipation on their faces. Finally, after weeks of boredom, they had a fight on their hands. And what a fight it was going to be. They might not know what they were up against, but bosses were always tough.