Deception City: A World at War Novel (World at War Online Book 5) (12 page)

“Bravo 1, Bravo 2, you have an enemy unit heading toward you both,” Blake warned again over the radio. “Judging from the direction it looks like they’re going to go right between you. Might want to split in opposite directions. Bravo 2 to the east, Bravo 1 to the west.”

Danny opened up his wrist menu and looked down at the map. So far his platoon was making steady progress through the forest and were nearing the objective. He hadn’t heard any of them run into trouble, either. They were staying silent.

Of course, not having him along probably helped. Danny came along as an observer, not as an actual part of the unit. He would watch the squads to make sure they were ready, and correct any flaws he found. He knew Blake was also taking notes to review later. Bravo Wolf couldn’t afford to be sloppy on this front. Too much hung in the balance.

“The main attack should be starting soon,” Blake commented over the radio.

Danny looked down at his watch. “Yeah.”

“They’re in for a long battle.”

“They can handle it,” he replied.

Even so, he wondered how they were doing.

E
ven floating offshore
on the deck of a patrol ship, Zach could hear the rolling booms of the artillery bombardment swinging into full force. He watched as columns of dirt and debris appeared on the horizon, marking the impact of various types of shells. Small ones were 81mm mortars and 75mm artillery shells. The larger puffs came from the 120mm mortars, and the largest columns were thrown up by the 155s.

Ragnarok was probably very, very confused by now.

Ghost Battalion had struck first. Barghest Company attacked one of the landing beaches with everything at their disposal, raking the fortifications and defenders with all manner of ordinance. The mortar boats backed them up, along with the 155mm gun mounted on Poseidon, their patrol ship. As expected, enemy troops started moving toward the beach to fend off the potential amphibious assault.

That’s when the rest of the Hydra forces made their presence known. Bravehart Company laid into the enemy with everything at their disposal, blasting enemy strongpoints, supply depots, communications centers and troop concentrations. They hoped to take out large chunks of the enemy force as they moved through the streets, because it was easier to take out troops that were out in the open than ones hunkered down in cover.

Zach thought their hopes might be a bit optimistic, because Ragnarok knew how to protect themselves from an artillery bombardment. They’d certainly take casualties, but the vast majority would make it through. Even if they did, though, the massed shelling would still serve to pin them down, giving the attacking force more time to close the distance and come to grips with them.

He looked down at his wrist menu clock. Two minutes until the assault on the southern wall would begin. Zach wished them luck, because even with a gap in the wall and the initial bombardment, the defenders would be fighting tooth and nail to keep them out. Casualties would probably be very heavy.

But he had a feeling that Dragon wouldn’t want it any other way. They weren’t subtle by any stretch of the imagination, and preferred to go toe to toe with the enemy. And while that might cost them extra casualties, it would always serve to draw Ragnarok’s attention to the southern wall.

While that was happening, Ghost Battalion would move into position and strike. Black Wolf’s frogmen would land first and establish a foothold, followed by the rest of the battalion on their landing craft. Once they were ashore they would put pressure on the garrison, supporting the attack on the southern wall and hopefully linking up with them in short order.

“All commanders, Dragon’s attack on the southern wall will commence in one minute,” Anna announced over the radio.

Zach took a glance at the rest of the Black Wolf troops assembled on deck. Most of them were making last minute checks of their dive equipment. A few leaned up against the superstructure with their eyes closed, apparently trying to clear their minds before the mission.

“Ready?” he asked as he caught Selene’s eye.

“Of course,” she responded. “Can you keep up with us is the better question.”

“Ha, as if,” Zach replied with a smile.

Three squads would be going in, backed up by a command team made up of himself, Selene, Nora and Miko. Between the four of them they would handle the situation on the ground. Selene would command on the tactical level, directing her troops to their spots. Nora would communicate with the rest of Ghost Battalion, making shore their coordination remained solid. Miko could act as a forward scout or an assassin, taking out high priority targets such as commanders. And Zach would oversee the entire strategic situation, communicating and coordinating with all the battalions and companies on the battlefield.

“Everyone set?” Nora asked as she walked up.

“I already asked her that,” Zach said. “She said they’d leave us in the dust.”

“Hey, that’s not exactly what I said. I asked if you guys could keep up,” Selene replied.

“Fair question,” Nora shrugged. “It’s been a while since I’ve been a part of the infantry.”

“Too bad we don’t have Hoplite Platoon,” Selene commented.

Zach shook his head. “Way too risky for us to use them now, especially in an amphibious assault.”

Ghost Battalion still had a collection of armored, powered exoskeletons organized under the moniker Hoplite Platoon. They provided mobile firepower and good protection to the pilots in any type of terrain, but they weren’t invincible. Nora had lost her suit at the Battle of Green Bay, and Hydra lacked the ability to produce replacements.

As a result, command had decided to disband the unit. They still existed on paper, but the suits would stay at Indianapolis, only to be used as a last resort.

That was the problem with using advanced technology, Zach thought to himself. It might provide an advantage, but if you couldn’t replace it if it was damaged or destroyed, how much good could it really do in the long run? The larger alliances preferred less advanced but reliable and easy to resupply equipment for the exact same reason.

Nora looked back out over the waves. “Sounds like the bombardment’s over.”

Zach glanced at the shore. Sure enough, the telltale signs of shellfire had ceased. That could only mean one thing.

“All units, Dragon Battalion has launched their attack on the southern wall,” Anna alerted them. “We’ll keep you updated as to their progress.”

Zach looked at the other two. “Well, that sounds like out cue. Let’s do this.”

“Right behind you,” Selene said.

Nora nudged him. “You’re company commander. Maybe say something to the troops before we head out.”

Zach shrugged. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.”

He called them all to attention, a million ideas cycling through his mind. What was he going to say? What did he need to tell them? Black Wolf was one of the most veteran companies in the alliance, so he didn’t need to babysit or coddle them.

Zach decided to go with the pragmatic approach.

“Alpha Wolf,” he said. “We’re going to be first ashore against a heavily defended beach guarded by some of the best fighters in this world. Stick together, fight hard, and fight smart. Let’s go!”

Zach pulled down his mask, fixed it in place and leaped off the side of the ship.

T
he morning waters
of the lake were murky, exacerbated by the lack of light coming from the sun. Selene surfaced for a moment to find her bearings, then dove back under the waves for concealment. She opened up her wrist menu and looked at the compass. Then, with a wave of her hand, she took off in the direction of the shoreline, motioning for the rest of her platoon to follow.

They need to be careful. A small team had done some initial scouting of the terrain, so they knew the basic layout of the area, but they didn’t know every secret it might hold. What they did know was that groups of razormouths patrolled the bottom of the lake, hunting in packs that were capable of decimating a squad within seconds. These ones weren’t particularly aggressive, though, unlike the ones closer to shore. As long as the divers kept their distance, they would be fine.

But that meant swimming closer to the surface, which increase the risk of detection by sharp-eyed lookouts. Alpha Wolf needed to balance their depth, staying away from both the bottom and from coming too close to the surface.

Stealth would be critical. Selene didn’t even want to think about how difficult it would be to struggle ashore while under fire, unable to even shoot back until they managed to get their weapons out of their cases.

Anna had offered to send a pair of river craft with them to provide cover fire, but Zach declined. To him their presence would only serve to draw attention to the area, spoiling their chances of launching a surprise attack. Selene agreed with his decision, but still, the firepower would have been helpful.

No use agonizing over what they didn’t have, though. Alpha Wolf had the skills to accomplish their mission. All they needed to do was get ashore.

Selene glided through the water, propelling herself forward with controlled movements and steady kicks. Efficiency was the name of the game. Move too fast and they would be too tired once they reached shore to fight effectively. Move to slow and the timing of the whole operation would be thrown off. A brisk, steady pace gave them their best prospects.

A small school of fish swam in front of her, harmless creatures that paid them little mind. Selene continued forward, trying to disturb them as little as possible. They might be harmless, but their presence might attract other predators. Better to keep them calm than to disturb them and risk compromising the mission.

“Wolf Lead, Wolf 2, what’s your progress?” she heard Anna ask over the radio.

“Making steady progress,” Nora replied. “We’re about half way to shore.”

Selene took another glance at her wrist menu to confirm their direction and position. Being underwater provided concealment, but that cut both ways. There were few good landmarks underwater, and swimming at an angle that was even slightly wrong could mean a huge deviation at the other end. They could end up tens or even hundreds of yards away from their desired objective.

They could pop their head up above the water to regain their bearings, but that might also reveal their position. Their only safe option was to rely on the compass and map. Selene checked frequently to make sure they weren’t deviating from the plan.

They had a long way to go.

“
L
ooking good
,” Zach commented over the private channel.

Nora had to agree. She had some doubts in the beginning while watching them train, but the week of preparation had definitely honed them. Ethan’s squad had been good to go from the beginning, but the other two needed some work. Gavin had his squad ready within a few days. Logan took longer, but it looked like his efforts were beginning to pay off. Alpha 3 maintained a perfect formation as they swam toward the shoreline.

“Training was a good idea,” Nora commented. “We should probably do more, once the battle’s over.”

“One step at a time.”

She continued swimming forward, watching the underwater world swirling around her. Nora had been diving in the real world once, on vacation with her family in the Caribbean. She had enjoyed the experience immensely, but this felt different. It wasn’t because they were in a combat situation. No, the environment itself felt completely different.

In contrast to the clear, warm Caribbean seas, Lake Michigan felt dark, cool and murky. She could see the immediate area around her, but something could be lurking in the distance, waiting to strike, and she’d never know. And that made her feel tiny, for some reason, just a small speck in the vastness of the open water.

“So, have you given the decision any more thought?” she asked, trying to focus her mind on something else.

“Hmm?”

“Deciding whether you want to accept the design job offer,” Nora elaborated.

“Oh, that.” Zach paused for a moment and kept swimming. “I haven’t given it a ton of thought yet, honestly.”

“Really?” Nora asked. “You haven’t thought about it at all? Because you were agonizing over it quite a bit the day you got an offer.”

“Well, we had all the preparations for the attack,” Zach offered.

“Yeah, but…,” she started to say, then trailed off.

“But what?”

Nora thought for a second, then decided to voice her thoughts. “Are you purposely putting it off to avoid having to make a decision?”

“Huh? What brought this on?”

“I’m asking because you seemed so worried about it in the first place, and then it suddenly just died off,” Nora told him. “That just seems strange to me.”

“OK, yeah, I guess I can understand that,” Zach told her.

“So… I know it’s an uncomfortable question, but am I hitting the mark with any of this?” Nora asked. “I don’t mean to pry, but I just found it odd that you were so worried about it and now you’re not even thinking about it.”

“No, I understand that,” Zach agreed as they continued swimming. “Well, I guess I have been putting it off, maybe. Not totally on purpose, but maybe my subconscious pushed it to the back of my mind.”

“We have been busy,” Nora agreed.

“So I guess maybe I’ve been putting it off because my mind doesn’t want to make a decision right now, even though I know I should,” Zach responded. “I mean, it’s not really a pressing issue at the moment, so it’s easy for me to put it in the back of my mind. If someone was hounding me I’d probably be thinking more about it.”

“I’m not trying to hound you about it, if that’s what you’re getting at,” Nora replied.

“Oh, no, that’s not what I meant,” Zach said. “It’s just that it doesn’t seem all that important to me right now, so I can avoid thinking about it if I don’t want to.” He paused for a moment. “That sounds really bad, doesn’t it?”

“I can see why you’d do it,” Nora told him. “But you’re going to have to decide eventually.”

“I know.”

“Any thoughts?”

“How am I supposed to have any when I haven’t thought about it?” Zach asked.

“You have to have something. Some sort of gut feeling about what you want to do.”

“I feel so conflicted, though,” Zach said. “How am I supposed to make a decision like that?”

“Well…”

“Hello? Anyone there?”

Nora suddenly realized that Selene had been calling them over the radio. “Wolf 2,” she replied.

“You guys OK?”

“Yeah, we just got talking. Sorry,” Nora replied. “What’s up?”

“We’re nearing the shoreline,” she said. “I’m going to have Gavin’s squad go in first.”

Nora looked ahead. Sure enough, Alpha Wolf had stopped and were holding position. One glance at the map confirmed they were near one of the piers.

“Do we have an all clear?” Zach asked.

“I don’t dare surface until we’re ready to go,” Selene said.

“Fair enough,” Zach agreed. “Go when you’re ready.”

“Roger.”

“Let’s go,” Zach told Nora over the private channel.

“Roger,” she replied. Now wasn’t the time to discuss outside matters. They needed to be focused for the mission ahead.