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

by Mitchell T. Jacobs

  Ghost Battalion, even Raven Flight, had been using the wrong abbreviation for their helicopters until Blake had finally corrected them. It was ‘helo’, not ‘chopper’, according to him. They had immediately tried to adjust, mostly because Blake was an actual army helicopter pilot in the real world. There were still occasional slipups, but most of the time they still remembered.

  As for why they took all the time and effort to use correct terminology in a virtual reality, she couldn’t say. Maybe it was just a habit, to correct themselves when some flaw was pointed out, even when it didn’t matter at all.

  “He wants me to get a good feel for the new helos,” she continued. “Mostly so we have an idea of what we can do with them, and how we can train with them.”

  “Makes sense,” Blake agreed. “I’ll do what I can to field suggestions as well. It’ll definitely go a lot smoother if the crew and the transported troops can work together as a team.”

  “Definitely,” Selene nodded. No matter what kind of technology they gained, or how much the battalion expanded, they would always rely on the basics to carry the day.

  And the foremost among them all remained good teamwork.

  * * *

  Central City had certainly changed since the last time she had visited. Of course, that had been in the immediate aftermath of their battle for the district, and Ghost Battalion certainly hadn’t been gentle in their attempts to take the area. Artillery and mortar fire, flamethrowers, explosives, grenades, they had to use it all against the swarm of enemies in their path, and the already crumbling buildings had suffered their wrath.

  Some had remained standing, though, and Hephaestus Company used them well. They had initially set up shop in one of the abandoned warehouses, using a combination of equipment from other areas as well as machinery they scavenged from within the district itself. From there they could produce ammunition and weapons, along with trucks, armored vehicles, planes and the like.

  But the progress they had made since then astounded her. Hephaestus now had several factories within Central City, each with their own specialization. They had a munitions factory, a heavy machinery works for vehicles, a small arms factory and an arsenal for heavy artillery. Their need for vulcanite ore was fed by a host of miners outside the city, who shuttled in material by the truckload. Central City had its own internal rail line, allowing the fast movement of material and products between the various factories, warehouses and supply dumps.

  One central power station provided electricity for the entire district, producing more than enough to meet the daily demand. A team from Sacred Sword had discovered the design, and further scouting had revealed the element needed to power the plant. It lay in highly dangerous areas guarded by vicious wild beasts, but Hydra had more than enough troops who were capable of handling the terrors of the wilds. Many of them had to survive similar horrors in the early days, back when they had less troops, lighter armament and far less experience.

  “Kind of mind-bending, if you think about it,” Blake commented.

  “Hm?”

  “Look how far we come,” he elaborated. “Wasn’t that long ago that we were frantically trying to produce as much ammunition as possible, and we could barely afford to lose a vehicle or two.”

  “We’re still not out of those woods yet,” Selene said. “But yeah, I like these odds a lot better.”

  “Me too,” Blake agreed. “It’s good to have a cushion, at least. I prefer to be a lot more daring, and well, that sometimes doesn’t go over well with the maintenance crews when I get back to base. Especially when you’re short on parts and it takes weeks to get more.”

  Selene nodded. “We were lucky, getting our hands on an ammo press right off the bat. But still, ammunition was pretty tight in the early days. It’s good to not have to count bullets every time I have to shoot.”

  “Yeah, I’m glad those are gone.”

  “Plus, getting our hands on new toys is always good,” Selene said. “Bet you’re excited.”

  Blake nodded. “I am, but I wouldn’t really call it a toy, so to speak. If it can do what I think it can, the new helo is going to change a lot of things.”

  Selene nodded back. Apparently they were on the same page about those prospects.

  “Still,” she said, “getting a fleet of them up and running has to take a lot of time and money. Weren’t they still trying to replace Rogue Battalion’s losses until recently?”

  “Yeah. And they’re trying to get ahead, so they don’t end up crippled again if they end up losing half their vehicles like the last fight around Lerna,” Blake agreed.

  “Think they’ll be able to get enough off the assembly line in time for the attack on Milwaukee?” she asked.

  “Well, that would be nice, but that’s a pretty tall order. Plus, we have to have enough pilots to fly them as well.”

  “If anyone can pull off a miracle, it’s Hephaestus.”

  Blake nodded. “Yeah, they do have a habit of pulling cards out of their sleeves. I don’t want to rely on that too much, though. We can handle the sharp end just fine with what we have on hand right now.”

  “Right,” Selene agreed. She certainly wouldn’t mind having a few more options to choose from, though.

  * * *

  “And here it is,” Yusuf said as he and Paige lead them into the prototype wing of Hephaestus’s research complex.

  “That’s more like what I’m used to,” Blake said with a smile. “Pardon me saying so, but the Hornet always seemed a little dinky to me. I love the thing, but it always felt so small.”

  “It’ll be nice to actually ride in a cabin,” Selene commented, looking over the design.

  The new helicopter was almost twice the size of a Hornet, with room for a pilot and copilot in the cockpit, along with a sizable troop compartment behind, which could be accessed through sliding doors on either side. Like the Hornet, the two crewmembers sat side by side. Behind the troop compartment sat two engines, which would power a four-bladed rotor. Another four-bladed rotor was attached to the tail boom.

  “I think you’ll like this one a lot,” Yusuf said. According to Zach, he had taken a personal interest in this project.

  Selene was glad for that. She knew all of the Hephaestus engineers did good work, but Yusuf was their leader and had the most expertise. With him in charge of the project, the new design would certainly be top of the line.

  “I see that this has two engines,” Blake commented as he circled around the back of the aircraft. “Does that mean more speed?”

  “No,” Yusuf told him. “It can fly slightly faster than a Hornet, but cruising speed is about the same. But it has a lot more lifting power. I’d say about three times more.”

  “That’ll be useful,” Blake nodded.

  “How many troops can it carry?” Selene asked.

  “There’s room for ten in the back,” Paige told her. “I’m not entirely sure on how you guys operate, but you might want to have a dedicated crewmember or two in the back on missions. We can pintle mount weapons in the doorframes.”

  “Just like a proper transport helicopter,” Blake agreed. “I’d say that’s a good idea. We have to divide up by fireteams when we’re using Hornets, and you use eight member squads. So having two gunners along with a squad in transport might be our best bet.”

  “And the transports can carry their own covering fire with them,” Selene deduced.

  “Right. We still should use gunships, but this will increase the firepower we can bring to bear in an air assault by a lot.”

  “We’re working on a proper gunship variant, but that’s going to take some time,” Yusuf told them.

  “How long?” Selene asked.

  “It’s not a priority. More of a pet project of mine,” he replied. “It depends how much I have to work on the more important schematics. Plus, there’s a lot of changes that need to be made before it can be a proper gunship helicopter.”

  “Changes like what?”

  Yusuf l
ooked over at the front end of the helicopter. “The cockpit area needs to be entirely redesigned. It’s fine for a transport, but it’s way too broad for an attack helicopter.”

  “Going with tandem seating, then?” Blake asked.

  “Yeah, and that’s going to be difficult, trying to get a proper airframe with the free crafting system,” Yusuf said. “It can be done, but it’s so much easier with a schematic.”

  Selene looked back over at the helicopter. “So what about this model? When can we start producing it?”

  Paige opened up her wrist menu to look at something. “Well, we’re currently focusing on building more assault guns and APCs for the attack on Milwaukee. We’re anticipating an uptick in casualties, and we want to have replacements on hand.”

  Selene nodded. It was a fair assumption to make, because armored vehicles were very vulnerable in urban combat, even when screened by infantry. All it took was one anti-tank landmine, one enemy soldier at close range with an RPG, and their expensive, powerful machine would be nothing but scrap metal.

  Paige searched through her menu some more. “We’ll be able to clear up a production block for you, though some of the others might not like it. Dragon and Knight Battalions want assault guns as well, but that’s going to take some doing.”

  “So it’s down to who politics the best?” Selene asked.

  Yusuf shook his head. “We won’t let it get that far. Remember, we’re the ones that control the production. The military council gives us orders, but, well, we’re the only ones who can carry them out. And if we want to make changes…”

  “We’ll try to be as fair to everyone as possible,” Paige continued. “I know it might not be easy, but we’ll try to balance everyone’s needs.”

  “But that’s in the future,” Yusuf said. “We still need the complete the prototype tests.”

  Blake looked over at him. “Wait, you haven’t flown it yet?”

  “We’ve only completed it recently.”

  “Can you move it outside to one of the concrete lots?” Blake asked.

  “We’ll have to power it up first, but yeah, we can do that. You want to take it for a spin?” Yusuf said.

  “No time like the present,” Blake shrugged. “And since I’m already here, why not?”

  Paige closed her wrist menu and headed for a side door. “I’ll get the ground crew on it.”

  “And I’ll alert command that we’re doing a test flight,” Yusuf said, following close behind.

  “You finally get to play with your new toy,” Selene said after they had left.

  “Test run. It’s a test run,” Blake said.

  “Well, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.”

  He frowned. “Are you not coming with me?”

  “Well, you only need one pilot, right?” Selene asked.

  “Yeah, but there’s two seats,” Blake pointed out. “Come along with me. You’ll enjoy it. Besides, you can also learn how to fly a helo. Pilots shouldn’t be restricted to just Raven Company.”

  That rang true, especially after the elimination of classes. Players were now capable of holding multiple specializations, and having more skills meant far more flexibility in different situations. Besides, Selene had often wondered what it would be like to control her platoon from the air, flying above in an observation helicopter and being able to give orders while seeing the whole picture.

  “Put that way, I can’t really refuse, can I?” she said.

  Blake gave her a reassuring smile. “Nope. Although I don’t think you’ll regret it.”

  * * *

  “Wow. This has a lot more power than I thought,” Blake commented, speaking over the comms system. Even with the doors shut, the sounds from the rotors and both engines drowned out everything else.

  “It flies a lot smoother as well,” Selene observed.

  “That’s to be expected. There’s a lot more weight to counter the vibrations from the rotors,” Blake told her. “Now let’s see what this thing can do.”

  He moved the controls, and the helo started to rise into the sky. Blake made a few more adjustments, rapidly increasing their rate of ascent.

  “Well, this climbs much faster,” he commented. “Add that onto the cargo capacity, and we have a winner.”

  “Good.”

  “And it’s stable. Easy to fly. Want to get some experience in?”

  Selene frowned. “Is this the right time?”

  “It’s a lot easier to handle than a Hornet. Don’t worry about it. I’ll be here to help you if you get into trouble.”

  Selene took a deep breath. “OK, then. Where do I start?”

  Blake leveled off the aircraft and started to relay instructions at first. Selene listened in implemented them, tentatively at first, and then with more confidence as the aircraft responded to her commands. His observation had been correct. The new helo was intuitive, easy to fly, simple to control. It responded to every command just the way she wanted.

  And Selene could appreciate the freedom of the skies from inside.

  8

  SPECIAL DELIVERY

  All clear. Two gunships circled overhead as four transport Hornets touched down and disgorged their payload. Two full squads of Black Wolf troops dismounted from their bench seats and formed up, grabbing extra gear as well. Once they were unloaded the helos took off again and headed for home. They would return when the troops on the ground called them back.

  Danny got on the radio to make sure everything was set, then ordered his unit to move out. His troops melted into the forest, heading for their destination.

  “Good to be out and about again,” Danny said as they walked.

  “Maybe for now,” Miko said from beside him. She had temporarily been attached to his section for the mission.

  “We won’t run into an enemy patrol. They’re too focused on the area around Green Bay and Milwaukee.”

  “Ragnarok might not be a problem, but nature might be,” Miko reminded him. “This looks like an area with fen wolves or ryches. Might want to be careful.”

  “That’s why we brought you along,” Danny said in a jovial tone. “Don’t you want to do some big game hunting?”

  “Sure, that would be fun, but don’t you think that’ll interfere with our mission?”

  Danny shrugged. “Hey, as long as we can do our jobs anything extra should be fine.”

  “Depends that that extra is. Could be a little diversion, or it could be some ridiculous boss monster, like the things we seemed to like stumbling across in the past.”

  Danny shrugged. “Want to scout ahead to make sure we don’t run into something like that? Toward the Madison end?”

  Miko nodded. “Right. Don’t forget I’m here with you guys,” she said.

  “Wouldn’t dream of it,” he replied, but by then he was talking to thin air. Miko had disappeared into the forest in a flash.

  In the old World at War, snipers often made the best stealth troops, due to their quiet movement and camouflage abilities. But even after the new update, Miko’s stealth abilities remained head and shoulders above the rest of Black Wolf, capable of matching even Redd Foxx’s best. Her ability to fade in and out of an area was uncanny. Even in areas with sparse cover she could move relatively unobserved. If she had some form on concealment, no one except the very best were capable of finding her.

  Danny appreciated those abilities, and was even more thankful she had been attached to his unit for the mission. Miko operated outside of the regular chain of command, still going by the callsign Lone Wolf. Company command liked to use her as their wildcard, able to scout, infiltrate and eliminate specific enemy targets. But she wasn’t just a loner. She knew how to operate as part of a larger unit, tailoring her skills to best suit the comrades she was working with. If they were in a major battle she could pick off officers, disrupting the enemy’s chain of command. If they had artillery she could act as an effective spotter.

  And if they were in the middle of nowhere, she could help screen the mai
n body, warning them of any possible dangers and suggesting how to avoid them.

  Danny checked in with the other two squads. “Xavier, Javy, how we coming?”

  “Fine here,” Xavier replied.

  “We’re good here as well,” Javy told him. “Looks like we’re nearing our target area.”

  Danny nodded. “Good to know. Let’s get that area secure, then get to work.”

  “Same plan as discussed?” Xavier asked.

  “Yup. Each of you, designate a fireteam to guard your end of the road. I sent Miko toward Madison, so that end should get some advanced warning if anyone comes our way. We’re not expecting anything, though.”

  “Never hurts to be sure,” Xavier commented, practical as always.

  “Right. See you guys at the highway.”

  Danny opened up his wrist menu and read through the mission parameters once more as he walked. Bravo Wolf had been assigned to interdiction duties for a while, raiding Ragnarok supply convoys far behind the front lines. They were well-suited for the job, having plenty of experience with this kind of mission over the course of several months. They knew how to set up deadly ambushes, knew how to stop a convoy, knew how to take out the most dangerous guards and leave the rest of the trucks at their mercy.

  But Ragnarok had not stood idle while Black Wolf went about their work. They had changed tactics in response to the frequent raids. In the past truck convoys had driven in a relatively loose line, but that left them extremely vulnerable to attack. Ambushing troops could pick off small sections of the convoy at a time, and the distance between vehicles mean they couldn’t effectively support each other, even if they had guards.

  As a result, Ragnarok Company began driving in a much tighter fashion, almost bumper to bumper in some cases. They also increased the guards assigned to each convoy, often including air cover, a tank at the front of the column, or both. As a result, Bravo Wolf’s effectiveness had decreased. They could still get their shots in, but their days of wiping out convoys with little to no losses on their side were over. Now, every time they ambushed they knew they were in for a hard fight against tough Ragnarok troops that expected an attack.