Deception City: A World at War Novel (World at War Online Book 5) (21 page)

“Since when has that stopped them? They went after us pretty hard in the swamps around Green Bay.”

Nora had to concede that point. The terrain around Green Bay was impassible to heavy armor except for a few roads that could be easily plugged up. Ghost Battalion had forced Ragnarok to fight on their terms in a light infantry battle, but their enemy proved dogged and determined. They forced Ghost Battalion to retreat from their forward positions after a vicious, grueling battle and then smashed their way through the walls. Only the timely intervention of the invasion from the south saved them all.

So Ragnarok was both capable of and willing to attack through difficult terrain in order to gain an advantage. At the moment it seemed unlikely given the fierce fighting around Milwaukee and the Old Chicago corridor, but their enemy might want the element of surprise. History was filled with examples of surprise attacks directed through terrain that one side thought was impassible. Anyone not on their guard could quickly become the victim of a complete disaster.

They weren’t in danger of that, since several had already brought up the possibility and were working on plans to prevent that from happening. But how much could they really do at this point, with so many troops committed to the Milwaukee campaign? Ragnarok seemed to have the upper hand in this instance. Hydra could slow them down using the forests and rivers to their full advantage, but could they really stem the tide with their limited forces on hand? Nora didn’t like their odds at this point.

The clock was ticking. No one knew when or where the enemy might strike next, but the faster Hydra moved, the faster they’d have more forces to stem the tide of the coming onslaught. Nora had no doubt that if an attack was coming, Ragnarok would use overwhelming force.

“There’s the walls,” Liz noted.

Nora glanced out the window to see Indianapolis approaching in the distance. Only a little while longer until they reached Hydra HQ.

“Here goes nothing,” she commented. “I’d almost rather be getting shot at.”

Liz gave her a half smile. “Don’t say that. I have a feeling that’s going to happen as well. And soon.”

But how soon, Nora wondered?

“
C
an you hear me
?” Zach asked into the telephone receiver.

“Copy that, we can hear you,” Bryce said on the other end of the line. “Are all the lines connected?”

“They are for this cluster,” Zach told him. “Yours is the first check on the list.”

“I hear you. Let me know when you have them all up and running so I can mark that off.”

Zach hung up the receiver, then flipped one of the switches on the board in front of him and picked it up again. Once again, the connection worked perfectly.

That pleased him greatly. Zach had taken this as a personal project, designing the telephone system between the front lines and the rear areas within Milwaukee. Hephaestus Company could have done it, but he didn’t want to overstretch their capabilities. They had enough problems to deal with right now, with vehicle and ammunition production at the top of the list. If he could keep other issues out of their hair for the moment it would certainly help.

And anyhow, Zach was the perfect person to design a network like this. He had plenty of experience with communications systems, and specialization in engineering skills. When combined they gave him the technical knowhow as well as the practical ability to create something of this nature.

The system wouldn’t be comprehensive, because laying down wire to every single unit would be cost-prohibitive and take far too much time. Instead, they applied most of their resources to the most significant lines. Other sections wouldn’t be ignored, but they were given second and third tier equipment and structures.

Zach was currently testing the main lines from the forward field headquarters to the central HQ in the rear. This particular link had three redundant lines, each with their own separate field telephone. If one of them was knocked out, the others would still work. His teams had also take the time to bury these lines deep underground, giving them protection from shrapnel and shell fragments. A direct hit could still sever the lines, but it eliminated the chance of freak accidents occurring.

Zach could contact other companies and the artillery by use of another line, with cables branching out in almost every direction. All he needed to do was to pick up the phone, choose the line on the switchboard he had devised, and make the call. It saved them from needing a phone for each unit, saving them a considerable amount of money. Hydra was certainly wealthy, but their money supply wasn’t infinite either.

He finished testing the main line and moved on to the artillery battery links. Hydra had dramatically reorganized their command structure, forming up field HQs at certain sections of the line. Each company sized formation had their own HQ, but the smaller units were consolidated with others to streamline the process. For example, Spectre had been folded into Barghest for organization purposes, though they still retained their individuality and would become fully independent when the situation changed again.

The changes allowed them to operate more efficiently when communications were cut off. Before, Hydra had always relied on their radio being capable of linking them directly to headquarters. If they needed orders or clarification they could get it almost immediately. Company and battalion leaders still controlled the flow of battle, but they were usually called in as a matter of convenience. Squad and platoon leaders in the thick of the fighting could have their company and battalion officers perform essential communication with headquarters, thereby freeing them to focus on the tactical situation.

That had worked for them in the past, but when closely examining the system Zach had found a significant number of deficiencies in the approach. Their methods of battlefield communications weren’t so much a system, rather being a nebula with no consistent organization. They had general methods they used, but they didn’t have designated protocols to follow.

And while that worked fine when everyone’s cybernetic radio was working, it quickly turned into complete chaos if they were ever shut down. Zach considered it a testament to the alliance’s improvisational skill that they had managed to rally and get the separate units talking to each other, but he also believed that it had been a very close call. He remained certain they wouldn’t survive a second time if they simply left things the way they were.

Over the past week he had worked on a system to direct the flow of communication’s traffic, organizing it so that it moved in a sensible and easy to control manner. Different levels of command now had specific roles to play. Company commanders handled issues on the tactical level in their designated zone, while battalion commanders coordinated the actions of several zones into a cohesive plan. Meanwhile, the main HQ controlled the flow of the entire battle, moving the various units where they were needed in respect to the big picture.

There were still kinks to be worked out. Zach wasn’t sure how to organize the artillery. For now he provided links between the company headquarters and the batteries, but the might need to move them to lower or higher levels of command as needed. He didn’t want the batteries being bombarded with calls for support, especially if they weren’t necessary, but he also didn’t want units playing telephone, trying to get a response while they were in dire need of fire support.

And the entire system needed to be tested under combat conditions. It was one think to have it working while it was completely quite out. It was quite another to have it function properly when the shells were falling and the casualties mounted. Zach had a feeling they’d get their opportunity soon, though he hoped it didn’t come too soon. They had a lot to get done before he felt they were completely ready.

“Having fun?” Gavin asked as he walked up.

“Actually, yeah,” Zach answered. He flipped one of the switches and checked the connection. As with the others, it worked flawlessly.

“Flipping switches on a control panel is fun?”

“Put that way, no, but putting together a project you’ve been working on for a while certainly is,” Zach replied. He flipped another switch and checked the line.

Gavin nodded. “OK, I can see what you mean by that. I’ve had plenty of those projects myself.”

Zach glanced over at him. “Done anything with them lately? The taxidermy skill still exists, right?”

“It does, though it’s fallen out of favor,” he replied. “I’m surprised we’re not using chilus plate more often.”

“We wouldn’t since we’re light infantry,” Zach pointed out. “I know the stuff is relatively light given its protective strengths, but it’s still pretty bulky.”

Gavin leaned up against the wall of the company headquarters. “Yeah, but I’m surprised that Dragon Battalion hasn’t made more use of them. Maybe it’s a mobility thing?”

Zach thought about that for a moment. “Could be,” he agreed. “Even in close combat, we still have room to maneuver. Now, if we were fighting in cramped tunnels where you could only have one or two people moving through at the same time, then that might be different.”

“We didn’t use it a ton in Indianapolis.”

“That’s because the subway tunnels were pretty wide,” Zach said. “I’m more thinking mineshafts, sewer tunnels, maintenance tunnels, that type of thing. Places where there’s no cover and no room to maneuver. That’s where the armor will do the most good.”

Gavin glanced toward the front lines with a far-off look in his eye. Their command post wasn’t much, just a collection of communications equipment and a makeshift armory in the middle of a ruined brick building, but it would serve.

“There’s probably other uses for the skill, but I really haven’t had time to check them out. I’d need to go hunting for different types of animal, and there’s just not any time. We’re either training, fighting or in transit. And I have all the other things I need to do because I’m a squad leader.”

“Yeah, downtime is in short supply around here,” Zach agreed. He had experienced similar problems himself, trying to find the time to do other things. There were bunkers to be raided, areas to explore, but they could do none of that while they remained locked in a war against Ragnarok.

“Maybe we should petition to get pulled off the line sporadically?” Gavin suggested. “Take us away from the main fighting for a bit, and let us go exploring somewhere else. Strike east or south and see what we can find.”

Zach frowned. “That costs us troops we need on the front lines, though.”

“But staying the way we are might be costing us in the long run,” Gavin pointed out. “Most of our advances came from us exploring and raiding. We’re not doing that anymore, and that might be causing us to fall behind.”

“Because of schematics,” Zach deduced. “Is that really true though? We have dozens, maybe even hundreds of schematics in the library at Central City.”

“Yeah, but have you noticed something about them?” Gavin asked. “They’re plenty useful, but they’re nothing game changing. Nothing like the overdrive formula, or the river craft, or the helicopter schematics we’ve found on other raids.”

“So what you’re saying is that there’s an upper-end limit to how useful the individual schematics in a cache might be?” Zach asked.

“Not in so many words, but yeah,” Gavin agreed. “I think there’s diminishing returns based on the number of them we discover at once.”

“And you think we can get more game changers if we go back to exploring?”

“I think that’s a lot more likely than on our current course,” Gavin told him. “People have said that Ragnarok probably found their jammer in Madison, but did they? That seems like something they’d get from a raid, not from a stockpile in a city.”

“The implication being that they’re still raiding,” Zach said. “Where are they getting the troops for that, though? They have a lot of ground to cover just to fight us.”

“That still doesn’t make it impossible to detach a squad or two for those kind of duties,” Gavin pointed out. “Why aren’t we doing the same?”

Why indeed, though Zach felt there were several holdups. Their best raiding squads also contained some of the best fighters that the Hydra Alliance needed on the front lines if they wanted to win the war against Ragnarok. Black Wolf had performed several successful raids, but most of their experienced members were officers and couldn’t be withdrawn. Redd Foxx and Sacred Sword also had extensive raiding experience, but again, they were needed at the front.

But maybe there was another solution. If they were keeping troops in reserve, they could always deploy small units from that section to explore and raid bunkers. That required Liz and Nora to be successful in their persuasion attempts, and Zach remained uncertain they would be able to pull it off. For as much strategic sense as it made, handing over Green Bay to the enemy would definitely stick in the throat of some people, and he could see conflict arising from that.

“I’m hoping that we can get replaced by Magic Battalion,” Zach told Gavin. “Once that happens we have a whole lot of flexibility, probably enough to deploy teams anywhere they’re needed. Who’s to say that command won’t decide that searching for more schematics isn’t a priority?”

“I kind of just wish it could happen now, you know?” Gavin said. “We’re missing out on one of the things that made the game fun.”

“And it takes away opportunities for you to use certain skills, right?” Zach asked. “I’m sure you’d like to use your hunting skills, being a bio major and all.”

“Yeah, they do connect somewhat, but that’s not the most important thing. I just want to see some action that’s not at the other end of another player’s gun, you know?”

Zach frowned. “So the fact that parts of the raiding and exploring relate to your college major has nothing to do with it?” he asked. “I’d have thought you’d want to use some of the stuff you learned for that. It’s how I was able to come up with this phone system.”

“Well,” Gavin said, “I like biology, and studying it is fun. I’ve enjoyed it a lot, and it’s given me a bunch of useful information that I’ve used within the game. But it’s not like a career calling or anything.”

“Aren’t you going to use it some way?” Zach asked, somewhat bemused. “I mean, if you weren’t being paid for the study, what would you be doing?”

Gavin shrugged. “Honestly, I never thought that far ahead. Research? Education? I don’t know. Maybe I wouldn’t even use it. Actually, that’s just what happened. Something else completely unrelated came along, and I chose that.”

“And you don’t regret that?” Zach asked. “Not spending all that time and effort getting your degree, to not even use it?”

“It worked out?” Gavin shrugged. “I don’t know, that’s just the way it happened. I’m not one to think about those sort of things.”

Zach nodded. “I get it. It’s just, well, I’m not someone who can spend a long time on something, only to completely give up on it and go in a different direction.”

“You need return on your investment, is what you’re saying,” Gavin postulated.

“Yeah, that.”

But was that really true? Here he was, inside the virtual world hiding from the question he needed to answer outside in the real one. Should he take the job he had been offered, or should he stay where he was? That question continued to gnaw at him, and despite his feelings, he was avoiding having to answer it until he absolutely have to.

Could he really just throw away all the time, effort and aggravation he had spent learning the skills that would be put to use, just because another opportunity had come along? If he needed return on his investment so badly, then why was he hesitating about making a decision so much? Could there be something else holding him back, something he didn’t fully realize?

Zach suppressed the thoughts for now, but sooner or later he was going to have to deal with them. But how was he going to decide?

“Anyhow,” he spoke, trying to get back to the situation at hand, “I’ll make sure that gets back to the military council. Now that you bring it up, I think preparing small raiding teams is the right way to go. But we’ll have to hold out until it becomes a practical option first.”

“I get that,” Gavin said, “but at least there’s a light at the end of the tunnel right now.”