“We'll have lost almost six months of progress. Everything leading up to that will have been a waste,” Zach said.
“Will it?” Nora asked. “Is the greatest thing what we've achieved, or what we did to get there? Because I know that if I stopped playing right now, the things I would remember wouldn't be the thing we built, or what level and skills I had. I'd remember the trying to clear the overdrive bunker. Or the battle for Lerna. That's what I enjoy most. Not just getting there, but how we get there. And plus, it wouldn't be all that bad. I have a group of good friends that I probably never would have met if it weren't for the adventures we had in there.”
“And we have each other,” Zach said.
“Yeah, I guess you'll do,” Nora said as she snuggled up beside him. “Take a look at that.”
Zach looked over through the window across from them to see the sun peeking up over the tree line, silhouetting the forest of tall pines. The lake below them was a beautiful pink-red color, illuminated by the rising sun.
“There's one sight that you'll only see in this world,” Nora said.
“Yes. And I'm glad we're here to see it,” Zach said.
The trail ahead was steep, just like the last two hills had been. Zach grunted and pushed himself up the slope, relying heavily on his walking stick to help himself up. They had traveled about half the trail, and it was getting harder and harder as they went. The first mile had been easy, a walk over what had essentially been flat land. The second mile was a bit more difficult, with the land starting to slope upward, but still plenty doable. But then it started to get rough in the third mile, and the rises became steeper and steeper. Now, part way through the fourth mile, the slopes of the hills they had to climb were suddenly very steep.
“You weren't kidding about this,” Zach said. Despite the cool weather he was sweating a lot.
“We're almost at the end of the upward part of the trail,” Nora said. “The rest of it is downhill.”
“That's good, because I don't think I could do another four miles like this,” Zach said.
“Oh come on, we have three more trails to walk,” Nora said. “And this isn't even the hardest one out here.”
“You're not having an easy time with this either,” Zach commented.
Nora wiped the sweat off her brow. “Yeah, exercising in a gym can only do so much for you. But I'm not going to quit. I do this every year, and this one's not going to be any different.”
“Every year?” Zach asked. They were nearing the top of the hill.
“Yeah. Since I was old enough to drive, I would come out here every spring and hike the four trails. It felt good, you know? I could get outside after the long winter and stretch my legs, breathe the fresh air. It's just something I'd miss otherwise living in the city.”
“Ugh, the last time I remember my legs burning like this was high school track,” Zach said.
“Did you not like track?”
“No, I loved it. Even with all the hard work, running just felt good. I ended up running the 2000 meter steeplechase my senior year. I guess for me it was just fun being able to push myself so hard and cross the finish line, even though I was running one of the hardest events.”
“Ah, so we're not so far apart on that view,” Nora said.
“Well, I also really don't like losing, so coming in last place would feel like a complete failure to me, regardless,” Zach said.
“I think too many things get turned into a competition,” Nora said. “Even if it isn't, people just seem to need to turn it into one, and I think that hurts how we view things a lot. There's a lot more to life than just coming in first place.”
“I hear that a lot,” Zach said. “But then people can never seem to come up with examples.”
Nora pulled him to one side as they reached the top of the hill. “Well, I have one for you,” she said. She led him through the trees and into a clearing. They were on the edge of a cliff, looking over the vast expanse of the lake beneath them. The water below was a shade of beautiful blue-green, surrounded by a sea of tall pines on the shore. The sun was out, and the warmth of its rays felt wonderful. A cool spring breeze blew by them.
“Think the climb was worth it?” Nora asked, taking a seat on a large rock behind them.
Zach joined her. “Point taken.” He leaned back and sighed. “It's tragic, really. You can go your whole life pushing, competing, trying to achieve something grand. And you can get more fulfillment in taking a walk somewhere for two hours than you can working the grind for twenty years.”
“I just think that everyone has a really screwed up perception about what's really meaningful,” Nora said. “Like, I got some really weird looks from people when I told them what my new job was.”
“Yeah, I can see why. It's not exactly what you would call traditional work,” Zach said.
“Yeah, but would I have gotten the same looks if I was the CEO of a successful company or something?”
“Well, you'd be respected because you would be putting a lot of work into running the company,” Zach pointed out.
“But that's just it. I'd be chained to my desk. I like where I'm at right now, because I have the time to experience all the small things in life. And I think that a lot of people are so focused on moving forward at all costs that they forget about them.”
Zach smiled. “This is probably the most existential vacation I've ever had.”
“Well, you're going to get that when you're dating me,” Nora said.
He took a deep breath of the clear air. “You know what? Forget about everything else. I'm more than happy to just stop and smell the roses right now.”
CHAPTER 20
Dive
“Oof. That's not good at all,” Nora said, looking at her phone. “Looks like the peace and quiet is over right now,” she said.
They had managed to hike all four of the trails around the lake, and still had time to hike the first trail another time. Zach had enjoyed himself immensely. It had felt good to be away from it all, away from the city and the chaos of the world. It had been so different being out in the middle of nowhere that the rest area they had stopped in felt like somewhat of a culture shock.
“Something up?” Zach asked.
“Yeah, there's been a lot of messages going out on the World at War app,” Nora said. “There have been several code yellow warnings, and last night it went to a code red, though it said that there's no declaration of war yet.”
Zach frowned. “Then why declare a code red?
“Well, we could message them to find out.”
“Might be something to do while we're driving back,” Zach said. It was going to take them at least a few hours to get back home to Chicago.
“Well, that's your thing then, since I'm driving” she said. “Plus, you're company commander. It's your responsibility anyhow.”
“Oh boy,” Zach said.
They finished eating and went back out to the truck. Once he had climbed in Zach took his phone out and opened up the World at War app. He started to type out a message to Selene and Danny. What's with the code red? he asked.
“Back to the grind, then,” Nora said as she pulled out onto the highway.
“Are you not having fun?” Zach asked.
“Oh no, I'm having a lot of fun. It's just that you sometimes need to be able to get away from the chaotic, frantic pace of it all,” she said. “Plus it looks like things are about to get crazy, and I definitely want to be around to be a part of that,” Nora said.
Zach's phone buzzed. Selene had responded. We have almost all of the Legion Pact in Hydra right now, but they took a beating. Ragnarok was really heavily armed, and we might be next. The rest of the council decided that putting us all on high alert was the best thing to do.
What do you mean by really heavily armed? Zach messaged back.
“Anything interesting?” Nora asked.
“Well, Liz's predication came true. Most of the Legion Pact joined up, but Selene says that Ragna
rok was toting some really heavy firepower.”
“Such as?”
“She didn't really elaborate at all. I'm hoping that she might be able to tell me more.”
Another message came in on his phone. Zach opened it up. Reports from the Pact fighters say that they had belt fed automatic grenade launchers mounted on the back of ATVs. They also had RPG launchers. They're less powerful than our recoilless rifles, but they're also lighter and easier to aim.
“Belt fed automatic grenade launchers and RPGs,” Zach said. “That might put a damper on things.”
“Anyone inside a Mule screams big target for someone with an RPG,” Nora said. “There goes one of our trump cards.”
“I guess we're going to have to see once we get back,” Zach said. He pressed his head back into the seat and thought. How were they going to find a way to get out of this particular mess?
“Man, we leave for one week and everything goes to pieces,” Zach said.
“We more than doubled the number of troops at our disposal, so there,” David said.
The board room was much more crowded now. There were an additional eight companies with representatives on the council, so the once spacious room was now starting to get cramped. Currently, the representatives for Bravehart, Crimson Eagle, Band of Brothers and Marauder were present. Archangel, Ironfist and Storm Hawk were in the south with Grizzly training to become an armored cavalry company. Griffon was helping to provide protection for Hephaestus, who had started to make mining expeditions to feed the growing industry.
“This really doesn't look good,” Zach said. “Just how bad was Ragnarok's weaponry?”
“It was bad,” Cody said, fiddling with the collar of his uniform. Marauder had eschewed traditional camouflage and had chosen a red, black and gray pattern. That was essentially their dress pattern, however, and if they were going into combat they would change into a more suitable color.
“Just how bad?” Nora asked.
“The grenade launchers are really tough,” Cody said. “They use them to flush you out into the open because most cover isn't very effective against them. And once that happens, you're dead meat. And they can use their RPGs to take out strong points at range, and there's almost nothing we can do to counter that outside of using snipers.”
“Aren't they a lot less powerful than our recoilless rifles?” Nora asked.
“Yeah, but five or six shots will still do a number on a position. And they'll take out a watch tower in one shot.”
“That's going to be a real problem for our armored company,” Zach said.
“Well, we planned for it as soon as we found out,” Yusuf said. He sent him a codex entry. “We're still trying to get more of them built, but they'll help a lot.”
Zach looked over the codex entry. It was for a very heavily modified variant of the M14 Mule. The new model was called the M15 Ram. It was an enclosed version of the Mule, with much heavier armor on all sides. In order to compensate for the extra weight, the carrying capacity had been reduced. The Ram could carry eight troops, two less than the Mule, but it was going to be much less vulnerable to RPG hits.
“So we're switching to this?” Zach asked.
“For our front line squads. We'll still use Mules for transport and for getting people to the battlefield. And they should be fine as long as they don't have to engage in direct combat, but if we're going to fight head on then it's probably prudent to make sure our vehicles are heavily armored,” Yusuf explained.
“You said that Ragnarok was using ATVs?” Nora asked.
“Yes, we ran into problems with them,” Aaron of Band of Brothers said. He wore an all navy blue uniform. “They've grouped them into squadrons with around eight ATVs and use them to launch fast attacks on our flanks and rear. They've modified them so that they can carry a driver and a gunner, and they mount heavy weapons on the back.”
That was different from the ATV tactics that Hydra used. They used their ATVs as a means of transportation, to get troops where they needed to go on the battlefield. While they were capable of firing from the back of them if needed, Hydra troops usually dismounted and fought on foot. They had concentrated most of their mobile firepower into their armored vehicles, which were much better protected and armed, but also much slower.
“That's probably not going to stand up well to a fortress, or to an armored platoon,” David said. “They're a glass cannon. They're extremely powerful on the attack, but catch them in a slugging match and they're in trouble.”
“They use them very precisely, though. They'll pin you in place with their regular troops, then hit your weakest spot with their fast attack squadrons. And they're no slouches either. I'm guessing that they put their elite troops into them,” Bryce said.
“We might need to make our own ATV squadrons to counter that,” C.J., Crimson Eagle's commander, suggested.
“I think we can counter them without having to train squadrons like that,” Liz said. “Most of us can drive ATVs at this point, and it's more of a matter of getting the troops in place to counter them.”
“They're going to be really dangerous to armored units, though,” C.J. said. “It's going to be very easy for them to get in close and then hit them in their blind spots with grenades and rockets.”
“Our armored cavalry units have outriders,” David pointed out. “It's not the greatest force, but they'll have to get past the outer ring of ATV troops, and by the time that happens the troops in the APCs will have dismounted and would be ready to fight.”
“Those are still pretty dangerous,” Zach said. “Having a fast moving attack force means that they'll be able to dictate when and where they fight, which gives them the initiative.”
“Yeah, but we have limited options as to how we can deal with them,” David said. “We'll just have to buckle down and fight them as best as we can.”
“Unless we can catch them napping,” Anna mused.
“Just how are we going to do that?” Zach asked.
“Storage space in Old Chicago is really expensive. That means they're storing their ATVs somewhere outside the city.”
“So you're suggesting that we find out where they are and raid the compound, I'm guessing?” Zach asked.
“Actually, we know where they are,” Liz said. “Ragnarok has three major bases outside of Old Chicago. One is to the north, which they used for their fight against the Legion Pact. One's to the west of the city, which they're using against Ronin. And the third one is to the southwest. That's going to be the important one. The majority of their ATVs are stored there.”
“They have extremely tough defenses,” Bryce said. “We scouted the area as well, but it was going to be impossible for us to do anything against it.”
“What do they have?” Nora asked.
“They have a complex of bunkers and watchtowers that are equipped with heavy machine guns and grenade launchers. You'll need to have assault teams to take out the bunkers, and it's going to be a tough prospect regardless. Plus, if you don't do it quickly you'll have half of Ragnarok bearing down on you from the north.”
“So is the raid idea even possible?” Nora asked.
“Not from what I know,” Bryce said.
“And you'd be correct. There's no way we can take it with an attack from the north. But the defenses don't go all the way around. They're very sparse to the south,” Liz said.
“So we attack from the south then?” Nora said.
“There's no way to get there, though. The forest blocks off anything but light infantry for dozens of miles,” David said.
“Actually, that's not true either,” Anna said. “We've been scouting through the western forest. It stretches for miles, and it's hard country to traverse, but we think we might have a way for vehicles to get through.”
“Wouldn't Ragnarok know about it?” Zach asked.
Liz shook her head. “From personal experience, that place is a death trap. The monsters in that forest are pretty high level, and they're strong. We r
an into a lot of Ragnarok corpses at their end of the forest, and it looks like they've been staying away.”
“How did you manage to scout the place, if it's so dangerous?” Aaron asked.
“Liberal heavy weapons use,” Anna said. “And we learned to stay together. Small scouting parties are extremely vulnerable.”
“So what's your plan of attack?” Zach asked.
Anna took out a large map and spread it across the table. “Alright, we're here, and the objective is here,” she said, pointing to two marks on the map. “About a mile south of here there's a thinner part of the forest. It goes all the way through to the other side, but it's extremely dangerous. We found a new species called fen wolves, and they are nasty. But troops in vehicles are almost completely immune to them. The only danger is for people in opened top vehicles, or in ATVs.”
“Our plan is to use Hydra's armored company to launch an attack through the forest,” Liz said. “We'll get in behind their defenses, then destroy their base from the south. After we achieve our objectives, we pull back into the forest and head for home.”
“Is the armored company ready to go?” Zach asked.
“We're short on Rams, but we should be fine regardless,” Yusuf said. “We'll have a third of the company mounted in Rams and the other two thirds riding in Mules and on ATVs. And we also have two Bulls to work with.”
“This kills the element of surprise we'd get if we saved our armored company for later,” David said.
“It also destroys one of their best strategic assets,” Anna said. “They're not going to be able to replace the destroyed ATVs easily. That's going to put a severe strain on their ability to fight us with good weapons. And it might push them to the point that they'll have to choose between having their ATV squadrons or being able to afford bullets.”
“Here's another question. If we go to war, then are we going to be able to make money?” Zach asked. “We won't be able to sell stuff in the Old Chicago markets easily.”
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