Miko walked over to her. “Well, you're getting there. But I think you're missing a few things,” she said as she pulled her up.
“What are you thinking?” Selene asked.
“For one, I noticed that you're spending a lot of your time moving so you can reach the target. You might want to use your assault rifle with a bayonet. That will give you a much better reach.”
Miko handed Selene's weapon over.
She nodded and clipped the bayonet on “OK, that's a good point. What's the second point?”
Miko drew her own knife. “You're fighting alone. There's no way you can take out this many opponents without someone watching your back. And isn't this completely unrealistic? You're always going to be fighting as part of a unit.”
Selene nodded. What a stupid error, she thought to herself. She had been so focused on trying to erase her failure that she forgot the most important part of their ethos: teamwork.
“If you want to have another go, I'm happy to fight alongside you,” Miko said. “Never know when I might need it.”
“Aren't you going to use something with a longer reach than a knife?” Selene asked her.
“I'm always going to be carrying my sniper rifle, and that's probably the worst weapon to try to use in close combat,” Miko said. “Plus, I'm almost always going to be far away from the front lines. If I have to fight like this then things have gone very badly.”
“OK, fair enough. Ready?”
“All set.”
“Simulation, start.”
Ten enemies appeared in front of them again.
“Be aggressive. I'll cover your back,” Miko said.
Selene grinned, gripped her assault rifle and charged forward. Her first enemy took the bayonet straight between the ribs. One.
She pulled it back and whipped the rifle around in an arc. The enemies trying to press closer were forced to back off. One took a deep slash across the chest. Two.
Another enemy came in with a knife in a downward slash. Selene sidestepped, knocking her enemy's arm aside as she moved. She followed up with a sweeping slash across the throat. Three.
Two more were standing further back. Selene had breathing room now. She switched her assault rifle to full auto and fired a burst at them. Four. Five.
Another enemy came rushing in from the right. She whipped the butt of her gun around, almost like an elbow strike, and smashed it into the side of her enemy's head. She finished off the staggered trooper with a bayonet thrust. Six.
She heard shots come from behind her, but there was no time to turn and look. An enemy came at her swinging a climbing axe. Selene brought her rifle up and blocked the downward swing. She kicked her enemy in the gut, causing it to stagger back. One pull of the trigger later and her opponent was down. Seven.
“One left,” Miko said from behind her. Selene turned around to see the last enemy fall, a knife buried in the side of its neck. The message flashed up on her HUD. Objective Completed.
Miko sheathed her knife and turned around with a grin on her face. “See, that was much better, wasn't it?”
“Yeah, I'd say so,” Selene agreed. “I feel a lot better after that.”
“Are you going to take the time to train the rest of your platoon?” Miko asked.
Selene shrugged. “I want to, though I'm not sure when we'll get the time. We're trying to step up the scouting in the city before we run out of time or resources.”
“Shouldn't that be less of a problem now that they can recon from the air?”
“Yeah, but we still have to explore stuff on the ground. Anna and Nora want to use air recon to figure out the places where we need to send ground teams in. It'll make us more efficient, but it still will take time.”
Miko nodded. “Yeah. And I have a feeling I'm going to get called on a lot in the north, since we have other options down there.”
“Yeah, I'm not sure what to think about that. On one hand, I hate losing. On the other hand I like challenges as well.”
“That's probably not the greatest combination,” Miko said. “I could see where it could get really frustrating.”
Selene nodded. “Yeah, but the south is going to be frustrating as well. There's very little room for error with the ground recon teams.”
“I don't envy you guys. Not one bit,” Miko said.
“Careful what you say, because you may end up being assigned to the south,” Selene said.
“No offense, but I really hope not.”
Selene nodded. “Know what? I really don't blame you.”
Nightfall. That meant they were ready for another recon mission, and Selene was going to lead her troops in tonight. They were going to observe the area north of the bridge that crossed the middle of the reservoir. There hadn't been much scouting of the area before, but they had some extra help. This time they had intelligence from choppers that had made low passes over the city.
The observation crews had spotted an area along the shore that was less defended than the rest of the area. It would give them the perfect place to land.
Two boats glided through the darkness, their engines on low power to muffle most of the noise. Tonight was going to be unusual. Selene had decided to take her entire platoon on the mission. It increased the risk of detection, but it also meant that they could cover more ground. Alpha 1 and Alpha 3 were split into their fireteams of four. They would be the ones scouting the city, observing troop concentrations, making note of enemy positions and trying to find weak points. Alpha 2 was going to dig in around the landing area. In the past it had been very difficult to extract troops trying to retreat under fire. Done this way they could give them cover as they fell back.
Jana's team had observed that the city was divided into districts, though from her perspective she couldn't tell how many. The scouting runs from Raven Company shed more light on the situation. Indianapolis was divided into nine districts, each separated from the other by walls. Each district had a capture point, which meant that they could take control of the city bit by bit. The problem was deciding where to strike first.
Hydra's strength was its armored units. No matter how skilled the ranger or artillery companies were, the armored forces would always be the alliance's trump card. If they wanted to win the battle then they would have to use them to their full potential.
The problem was that there was no good way to get them inside the city. The walls around Indianapolis were too thick to knock down with what they had on hand. There were areas of the city that weren't covered by walls, but they bordered bodies of water, and Hydra didn't have the ability to transport large vehicles over them.
Anna had thought the bridge might be a possibility, and Selene had to agree with her assessment. It crossed the reservoir and was easily big enough for APCs and assault guns to cross. They had surveyed it and found that it wasn't rigged to blow. Nora had been more pessimistic about their chances, though. She had argued that the bridge was going to be a death trap, funneling their vehicles in where they would be sitting ducks.
After several hours of discussion they had come up with a plan that suited everyone. The bridge was definitely going to be a useful piece in the upcoming battle. Selene had suggested launching the initial assault by boat and helicopter on the shoreline spearheaded by the ranger company, since they had the most experience in those type of attacks. Once they had secured the beachhead they would send more troops in by boat to help with the followup attack. Their goal would be to take the gate and outer walls, allowing the armored company to cross the bridge once they were captured.
That was going to be their plan. Now they had to find out if it was feasible.
The landing area was deserted. The three craft motored up to the beach and unloaded their troops. They moved quickly to secure the area.
“Ethan, set up shop in that house in front of us,” Selene ordered. Besides providing security for their extraction point, Alpha 2 was going to coordinate the actions of the scout teams inside the city. The had brought
along a boosted radio set that allowed them all to talk over greater ranges. They could also relay requests back over the reservoir to their main HQ. There was a pair of choppers on standby if they needed the cover fire.
Selene moved up with Alpha 2 and helped to get them situated. “Alpha 1, Alpha 3, Scout 1, Scout 3, can you hear us?” she asked through the radio. All teams responded yes.
She settled down next to the radio set. “Alright, let's get this done.”
“I think my idea is possible,” Selene said the next day when they were gathered for a meeting. The scouting mission had gone off without a hitch. The maps that Raven had provided them were crude, but they were also very helpful. Logan's team was able to get very close to the gate without being spotted.
“Do you think we're going to be able to storm the gate?” Nora asked.
Selene nodded. “Logan scouted the area. The walls are going to be really tough from the front, but if we can get in behind them then they should be easy enough. I think it's a good idea if we get specialized assault squads from Sacred Sword, Marauder or Crimson Eagle. They should be equipped to fight up close and personal while they're taking the gate. They're heavily defended, but they lose most of their advantages if we're behind the wall.”
“It seems odd that they're not defending the shoreline,” Gray said.
“Maybe they're covering it with artillery? Or maybe they have troops that will move up there once an attack starts?” Nora suggested.
“That shouldn't matter if we're quick about it,” Selene said. “All we need to do is to take and hold the beach. Once we do that we can land our troops and then make a quick push for the gate.”
Anna looked over the contents of her report again. “What I'm more concerned about is the number of enemy troops that you think are present. You say between eight hundred and a thousand? That's pretty high, especially when they're the ones defending And from what I've heard, they're a cut above anything we've faced.”
“I think we can deal with them if we use our artillery and air support,” Selene said.
She saw Anna frown as she shifted through the data in the holographic map projector. “You say you saw antiaircraft guns there? That's going to be a problem. We're going to have to make sure that we pinpoint where every single one of them is and then take them out. Otherwise, our air support might be grounded.”
“I wonder why they're not firing on us when we overfly the city?” Gray said. “You'd think that they would want to stop recon flights.”
“Maybe they're programmed that way?” Nora suggested.
“Whatever the case, we can be sure that they're going to start firing if we start attacking. And our choppers have almost no way to defend themselves.”
“Hmm. If we took them out early, would they be rebuilt?” Selene asked.
“Artillery is out of the question right now. That will just bring counter fire from the guns up on the walls,” Anna said.
“I know that's not an option, and airstrikes probably aren't one either,” Selene said. “But what if we sent raiding teams in to destroy them? Like, maybe a few days before the battle?”
“Dangerous work,” Anna said.
“Sounds like fun,” Gray said with a grin. At least she had someone on board.
“Do we know if that will even work?” Nora asked.
Selene shrugged. “We'll never know unless we try.”
“Maybe we try a test run?” Anna suggested, “We can destroy one of the guns to see how long it takes to be replaced.”
“I'll take a team to do it,” Gray said. “I seem to be turning into the crash dummy anyhow.”
“Well, since you're offering,” Selene shrugged. “If we're going to do this we might have to push it through the council. We'll need to have our troops trained for the assault, at the very least.”
Nora ran a hand through her hair. “That might end up being a problem. We'll have to weaken our front line garrisons, and that means Ragnarok will be able to attack us again.”
“Is Ronin enough of a threat to them?” Gray asked.
Nora shrugged. “It's hard to say. From what I've heard from Zach and Danny they're not especially forthcoming about their strength. We think that they have enough to at least make Ragnarok cautious, but we're not completely sure.”
That was going to be the biggest problem. Right now Hydra had to split their forces between north and south. If they wanted to launch a successful attack then they were going to need to use almost all their strength. That would mean their northern holdings were going to be very threatened if Ragnarok figured out what they were doing and launched an attack.
Most of their northern holdings weren't all that important; they were just outposts and points for launching attacks. The only critical areas they had to protect were the ones around Lerna Bastion, but they would also be undermanned during the attack.
Risks needed to be taken, though.
That was the lifeblood of Black Wolf, the first company to be founded in the Old Chicago region. Other companies had taken weeks to come into being. They had been founded on the first day thanks to an insane plan that Zach had hatched. Her, Zach, Danny and Miko against a force four times their size that was in a fortified position. No matter. They had been aggressive, and it had paid off.
It went even further than that. They weren't the first ones to discover a schematics, but they had been the first to tackle and especially difficult bunker. It cost them half their number, but they had come away with the formula for overdrive.
The risk-taking had even extended to the beginnings of the Hydra Alliance. Black Wolf, Redd Foxx and Sacred Sword had believed they could take a town, even when they had no idea what they were up against. Their enthusiasm had been infectious, enough to convince Grizzly to join them. They had Lerna Bastion right now because of that. So why were they so cautious right now?
Maybe it was because they were a major power in the region right now, and they felt like they had more to lose if they failed. They had taken most of their risks trying to gain an advantage. Now that they had one, they were adverse to doing anything that might jeopardize it.
Then again, their advantage was little more than a paper tiger at this point, Selene thought. Hydra had no way to get any bigger at this point. If they added more members then they would put more strain on their logistics system, and that meant their technological advantages would be gone. And even if they doubled in size they would still be smaller than Ragnarok Company.
As much as they didn't want to admit it, they were still second best, still trying to gain that advantage. The people that thought Lerna Bastion was that advantage were wrong. It had weathered an assault from Ragnarok before, but Ragnarok was growing stronger every day. Right now they were like a turtle, safe and sound inside their shell. Eventually, though, someone was going to come along that could crack that shell, and then where would they be?
The more things changed, the more they stayed the same, Selene thought to herself. Their choice was to either make a gamble, or to die a slow death as Ragnarok squeezed the life out of them. She knew which one she would choose.
“Ronin isn't going to be able to anything other than staying on the defensive,” Nora was saying. “They don't have the troops to do much else.”
“Sure, we know that, but do they?” Anna asked. “They don't have to win. They just have to distract Ragnarok long enough for us to take the city. Or at least most of it. It could even be good for us if they ended up losing, as long as they don't get immediately crushed. We can absorb their members once they're forced to disband.”
“Don't let any of the others hear that,” Gray commented. Over half their companies had come from an alliance known as the Legion Pact. Ragnarok had crushed them, which suited Hydra fine. They had swooped in like vultures, picking the bones of the Pact and bringing their members into the fold.
“Anyhow, we're not in the best position to judge Ronin's abilities. We should lean on Danny and Zach for that kind of information,�
� Nora said.
“Do we really want to trust them to do what we want them to?” Selene asked. Ronin had great fighting ability on the tactical level. It was the strategic level that bothered her. Levi and the rest of the leadership might be too ambitious for their own good.
“We can rely on Levi being a stubborn ox,” Anna said. “Once we figure out how to put it in his head that taking the battle to Ragnarok is a good idea, we should be golden.”
Selene leaned forward over the map table and smiled. “Man, we are playing this nasty. Manipulation, psychological warfare and the like.”
“Hey, if they're open to it I don't see why not,” Anna said. “Besides, it's not like a monopoly or hoarding are any better.”
“Whatever we decide, we need to do it relatively soon,” Nora said. “If we're going to shift our forces south then we need to make sure that Ronin is up to the job of contesting the north. If we're going to use the strategy that Selene came up with we need to get it past the council and we need to make sure that everyone's prepared for their roles. I'm most concerned about the assault teams.”
“David always has his troops in order,” Gray said. “As for Marauder, just point them at the thing you want dead and it'll happen.”
Selene looked over the map again. “We have a lot of recon work to do as well.”
“At least the recon aircraft is getting close to completion,” Nora said.
“That will help,” Selene nodded. They would need every bit of it they could get.
CHAPTER 13
Sleight of Hand
The message from Hydra command was clear. They were to do everything possible to shore up Ronin's position in the north so they could threaten Ragnarok. That meant raids, recon and whatever other aid they could render. That also meant a lot more coordination with Ronin forces.
Danny was glad that most of their interaction was with White Tiger. Tafari was fairly easygoing and was well aware of the situation. As much as they wanted to stand on their own two feet, their alliance didn't have the technology and manpower to do so. Any help was welcome, no matter the source.
Howl: A World at War Novel Page 14
