Werewolf: A World at War Novel (World at War Online Book 4) (7 page)

“Probably another week,” Selene said.

“Ah.”

“Disappointed?” Miko asked her.

“Hm? Oh, no.”

“Oh come on. You sound it,” Gavin commented. “Are you bummed that you can't be with us in all the action?”

Nora shrugged. “Yeah, I'd say that's it. Don't get me wrong, the mech suit is fun, but it's only fun when I get to use it. And we've been sitting on the sidelines for a while.”

“Hasn't Ragnarok been attacking?” Javy asked.

Nora nodded. “Yeah, but Knight Battalion has been handling everything. David said he doesn't want to risk the exoskeletons unless he has to. He's afraid we'll get caught out in the open by an air attack.”

“That's a fair point,” Xavier said.

“But it sucks,” Nora said. “We're sitting back at base, doing nothing while everyone else is slugging it out with the enemy. You've heard that Dragon and Rogue are preparing to take another district in Indianapolis, right?”

“Yup, that we have,” Zach said.

Nora put her hands up. “So, that's where it sucks for us. Rogue and Dragon are fighting the Indianapolis garrison. Knight is fighting Ragnarok. You guys are fighting up north, and you're going to be fighting Ragnarok soon enough as well. That leaves my unit behind, and we want some action.”

“But we can't risk the suits,” Selene said. “That's got to be maddening. I'm glad that it's you in charge of Hoplite, not me, because you're a lot more patient.”

Nora blew out a frustrated breath. “Yeah, I know. But it's not endless. We want something to do, and we need it soon.”

“I guess our ship boarding mission is going to be important for you as well, then,” Danny said. “We get then ship, then you have a relatively safe way to bring your exoskeletons up to the north.”

“Provided that command will let us bring them up there,” Javy said.

“They will,” Zach informed him. “Anna wants them there. We need the firepower in that area. Plus, if we have to cut and run we still have a way to get them to safety.”

“No one on the council is going to like that,” Selene said.”

“Do they like anything?” Gavin quipped.

“OK, you have a point there.”

“But meanwhile, we're doing nothing,” Nora said.

Selene looked over at Zach. “What, you haven't given her tactical data?”

“Not yet. I was getting to that,” Zach said sheepishly.

“What the heck? That will save us a whole lot of time, if they can do the tactical analysis of our recon findings,” Selene said.

“We can do it ourselves?” Zach offered apologetically.

“They also have a holographic map table at Lerna Bastion,” Danny pointed out. “That makes things a whole lot simpler.”

Nora perked up a bit. At least, here was something she could do to keep herself busy, outside of going over the logistics situation for the umpteenth time.

“OK, so if you guys send me the data, I'll do my best to piece together the information. Hopefully I can figure out a plan from it all, though I'm not guaranteeing anything.”

“Hah, says the person who pieced together the Eagle Creek attack,” Selene commented. “You have way too little faith in your abilities.”

“Well, we almost lost the battle too,” Nora said.

“You're welcome,” Miko added.

“Oh come on, no one was expecting an attack helicopter to appear out of nowhere,” Javy said.

“Right,” Selene agreed. “Even if we lost, it was a good plan. Good enough for me to put my faith in you again. Unless you come up with a real stinker, I'll follow it.”

“It might be good to get perspective from someone who's not in contact with the situation,” Xavier added. “Who knows, maybe she'll see something that we all missed.”

“And that will also give us more time to focus on the boarding raid,” Zach said. “That has to be our top priority now.”

Nora looked up at the clock hanging on the wall. “Where's Dr. Unger?”

“He
is
late,” Danny said, looking up at the clock as well. “Huh, that's odd. Normally he's exactly on time.”

Zach looked over as well. “Oh, wow, I didn't realize we'd been talking for so long.”

“About planning in the game, to boot,” Danny commented. “Usually we only spend a few minutes-”

The door suddenly opened, and Dr. Unger stepped through.

“Pardon my lateness,” he said.

Nora greeted him absentmindedly, but her thoughts stayed on Danny's last statement. He was right. They never did this much planning in the outside world. Normally their talk of World at War was restricted to simple conversation. But they had gone over an important plan for a considerable amount of time.

Was the line between world being slowly erased? Nora wasn't quite sure that she wanted to know the answer.

CHAPTER 7

Lonesome Crow

Cloudy, grey, overcast and cool. Lake Michigan was calm, but that was pretty much the only redeeming part about this day. Just like the weather in the outside world, the weather inside the virtual world was quite dreary.

Still, the water wasn't rough, and that was good enough for Zach. Black Wolf was going to have a hard enough time trying to pull off this attack, and they didn't need any more obstacles in their path.

He activated his radio. “Everyone, this is Wolf Lead. Get in place, and we'll begin the operation.”

“This is bold,” Lex commented from his spot near the stern of the boat.

“Bold is our style,” Zach replied. “Or crazy, people call us that too.”

“We have heard that,” Evy agreed. “Even up here in the middle of nowhere.”

Zach nodded. “Well then, you're in for a pretty good show. And you get to see our brand of crazy up close and personal.”

The plan itself wasn't very complex. Black Wolf and Raven had nine river craft and six helicopters at their disposal. Two of the river craft would speed into Green Bay harbor to provoke the enemy ship, then lure it out into the open water. It would take deft maneuvering to avoid being hit by enemy gunfire, but Zach was confident in their abilities.

Once the ship had reached the open water the rest of the task force would go to work. Six of the river craft carried Black Wolf troops, and would run up alongside the enemy ship. From there, they would use grappling hooks and ropes to climb up onto the ship's deck. Meanwhile, two of the other river craft would circle, taking shots at targets of opportunity. They had troops aboard as well, borrowed from Barghest Company, and would act as the reserve if the main attack force took heavy casualties.

While all this was happening, Raven Flight would be circling above, strafing the decks, clearing out enemy strongpoints and providing the troops below with information. Simply knowing where the enemy was holed up would be a significant advantage in such a small battlefield.

No, the plan itself was simple. It was in the execution, where everything could go wrong. A lucky shot could take out one of their boats. Their boarding parties could be gunned down as they struggled to climb the sides of the ship. The boat crews themselves could maneuver wrong and be plowed over by the enemy ship. There could be armaments on board that they hadn't accounted for. Dozens, scores of things.

They would come out on top. Zach had absolutely no doubt about that. Even when they had been surprised and caught off guard, Black Wolf always seemed to find a solution, even if they had to resort to extreme levels of improvisation. But still, he felt a little nervous.

His feelings probably weren't helped by the presences of Evy and Lex. Anna had suggested that he bring them along, and Zach had agreed. He saw the wisdom in the decision. Black Wolf and Raven were about to pull off an attack that required an impressive amount of skill, and that would leave a great impression on outside observers.

Apparently Anna was still trying to convince them to join the alliance, and maybe this show of force would be the catalyst for that. But Zach doubted it. Thorn and Myrmidon Companies seemed too fiercely independent for that, and honestly, he wasn't bothered too much by that. The two companies were helping Hydra, after all, and that was what really mattered. Who really cared if they were part of the group or not?

His wrist alert went off. “Go ahead, Bravo Wolf.”

“We're at the entrance of the harbor,” Danny replied. “Ready to make our attack run on your signal.”

“Copy that.” He switched to the main channel. “Attention all units. Commence Operation Lonesome Crow. I say again, commence the operation!”

He turned back toward the other two commanders. “Here we go,” he commented.

Zach opened up his wrist menu and looked at the map. There would be little to do in the command boat unless things went extremely wrong. All he could really do was sit and watch.

To the south end of the map, two blinking dots moved further and further into the harbor.

“Ready for it?” Danny asked over the radio.

“Ready,” Ryan said, riding ahead of him in Neptune 5.

“Oh, heck yeah,” Javy said from his position in Neptune 4.

Danny grinned. “OK then, let's make some noise, people. Run up on the ship and rake it!”

The two craft tore through the surface of the lake, laden down with troops, armaments and plenty of ammunition. They could dish out a ton of hurt that was capable of killing most things in this world.

The ship wasn't one of them, and Danny held no illusions about their chances in a standup fight. The heaviest weapons his two craft carried were recoilless rifles, and he doubted they would do much more than bother the enemy ship.

But even if their weapons were harmless, they were still able to get the enemy to chase them. A stand up fight would be suicide, and boarding inside the harbor would be even worse suicide, but out on the open water they could use their speed advantage to its full effect.

First, though, they would have to get it out of the harbor without getting themselves killed. And that was probably going to be much easier said than done.

“They have new shore defenses,” Ryan reported over the radio. “Looks like they're autocannons of some kind, and they're covering the east to west approach. What do you want us to do?”

“Keep your distance,” Danny ordered. “We don't need to get too close. Just close enough to draw it out.”

He could see them now. Four emplacements filled with guns, mounted on the west side of the city. The ship itself patrolled the west end of the harbor, so they would have to pass by the guns. If they got too close they would be raked from their port side, and Danny wasn't optimistic that they would survive an attack like that.

They would need to stick to the north end of the harbor, moving just close enough to keep the enemy ship's attention. It would be difficult. One wrong move, and they were all going to be scrap.

“Can we call for some air support?” Javy suggested.

“Too risky for them,” Danny said. “Plus, deviating from the plan this early just seems alarmist. Let's do what we can before we start calling for backup.”

“Copy.”

BAM!

A jet of water shot up to their starboard side.

“They're firing,” Ryan said.

“So we noticed,” Danny responded.

He turned toward the ship just in time to see another flash.

BAM!

This shot went wide, but the pilot turned anyhow. The enemy would adjust their aim, and if the boat crews were lax they were probably going to get blown out of the water. They needed to retain the edge, even when it seemed like everything was going according to plan.

“It's following us,” Ryan said.

“Yeah, it's turning toward them,” Javy commented. “We might be in range in a minute if we keep moving toward them.”

Danny shook his head. “No, we have its attention. Move to the second phase of the plan. Keep baiting it, and stay alive.”

“Copy,” the both replied.

Danny switched channels. “Wolf Lead, Raven 1, Alpha Wolf. We're headed out with the target in tow. I say again, the target is following us.”

BAM!

Another shell hit, this time close enough to shower them with water. Danny glanced back apprehensively. They had its attention. Now it was simply a matter of staying alive.

“All Alphas, report in with your status,” Selene said.

“Alpha 1, ready,” Gavin said.

“Alpha 2, ready,” Ethan said over the radio, though she could see him speaking in front of her as well.

“Alpha 3, ready,” Logan finished.

She nodded approvingly. “OK, Raven will get us up close. It's our job to get off and up the side as quickly as possible. The first ones up, secure the deck. Don't worry about unit cohesion or stuff like that. Take the top deck, and we'll sort the rest out later.”

“Roger,” came the response.

Alpha Wolf would be the first unit onto the enemy ship. Bravo Wolf would follow close behind them, but for all intents and purposes the task of securing the ship would fall to her platoon.

She could tell that they were nervous. None of them were confident they could pull it off without taking massive casualties, and that concerned her. Both Gavin and Logan had voiced objections, mostly pertaining to how they were going to board the enemy ship.

They worried that the ropes would be too difficult to climb quickly, which would allow the enemy on board to get into position to literally thrown them back into the lake. Selene had pointed out that Raven would be covering them from above, but the nerves still remained. Would they hurt her troops' performance in the battle? Selene didn't think so, but the possibility lingered nonetheless. And she wanted to do everything possible to dispel them beforehand.

“OK people, let's not make this any more complicated than it need to be. Get the grappling hooks up, climb at a good pace, and once you're on deck, do what you do best.”

That seemed to help a bit, judging from the faces around her, but it still lingered. Selene wasn't sure that it would go away until the battle was joined.

But at least they weren't being shot at right now.

BAM!

“They're getting good,” Javy said.

“No kidding,” Danny said, wiping the water from his eyeglasses.

His boats could outrun the enemy ship any time they wanted, but that would spoil their entire plan. They needed to stay within range of the enemy vessel, allowing it to take potshots at them while they slowly lured it into the open waters.

And even with their speed advantage, the shells were creeping closer and close to their target.

Surprisingly, the enemy ship wasn't very heavily armed. It had a 3 inch gun mounted on the bow, 4 autocannon mounts clustered around the bridge and a dozen machine guns located at various spots, but it wasn't quite the wall of lead that they had been dreading. More importantly, Raven could probably take them out with fast strafing runs.

But still, the ship was extremely dangerous, and Danny wasn't about to take any chances with his troops. He noted how well the enemy gunners were adjusting, and that could doom them in an instant if they weren't careful.

“Maybe it's time for us to call in an attack run from Raven Flight?” Javy suggested.

“Maybe,” Danny agreed. He got on the line with Robbie. “Raven 1, can you send a pair to make a fast run on the enemy ship?”

“We're gonna have to wait on that, Bravo Wolf,” Robbie answered. “You're still in range of antiaircraft defenses on shore, if there are any, and we can't risk them.”

“Copy that. We'll make due,” Danny said.

“We'll make a run as soon as we can,” Robbie said.

“Thanks.” He switched his channel. “Well, we're on our own. Just keep dodging.”

BAM!

Water sprayed over him.

“Famous last words,” Ryan commented.

“They haven't hit us yet,” Danny said.

Hopefully that trend would continue.

Nora leaned over the map table, watching the two dots moving steadily northward. In a few minutes, the whole mess of dots at the northern end of the map display would go into action.

“How are they doing?” David asked as he walked up.

Nora looked at him and shrugged. “I have no idea, really. I haven't been monitoring their radio traffic at all.”

“Any casualties?”

“All of the boats and choppers are still operating. I can't say as to the individuals, though.”

“Honestly, I thought you'd be doing some of the tactical analysis for Redd Foxx right now,” he said.

Nora shook her head. “Maybe I should be, but I can't really focus on that when the rest of them are in the middle of a battle.”

“How do you feel, not being able to be a part of it?” David asked.

“It sucks!” Terra said from her end of the command center.

Nora smiled and nodded. “Yeah, it really does. No offense, but being stuck here isn't the same as being on another one of our crazy adventures with Black Wolf.”

David laughed. “I can't blame you there. We lack the same breed of insanity that you guys seem so fond of.”

“It would help if we could spend some time fighting,” Terra interjected again.

“Everyone in Hoplite feels that way,” Nora said. “Granted, the mech suits are fun, but how fun can they really be when we never get to use them? Honestly, I'd rather be able to be in on the action with just my rifle and my boots on the ground.”

David grimaced. “Fair enough, but there's not much we can do about it right now. We don't want to risk the suits, because Ragnarok is trying to kill them. We've run into teams with five or six anti-tank heavies, and I think they're waiting for you to show up.”