“We can deal with it,” Yusuf said. “All we need to do is keep the southern corridor to Old Chicago open. Doesn't your territory around the fort go right up to the safe zone around the city?”
“It stops a mile before then,” Nora said.
“Still, that's not a very large stretch of land. We can send the stuff we sell in vehicles, and all we need to do is guard the road. Plus, if they cut our trade route then they have no way of getting overdrive.”
“Unless they've stockpiled,” Zach said.
“There's still enough independent companies that we can sell goods to,” Liz said. “It's not like we need all that much money to keep going. Our biggest thing at the moment is getting our hands on fusion batteries, and we have a pretty good stockpile of them right now.”
“We can sell our goods in NPC cities as well,” Yusuf said. “It won't get us nearly as much money as we need, but it will be enough to float us.”
“Hey, if it gives us a victory that might be good enough to get Ronin in the fold,” Aaron said. “And that's when it would get interesting.”
“Is our ultimate objective still to take a full size city?” Nora asked.
“It is. But we're not going to be able to do it with Ragnarok breathing down our necks,” David said. “This isn't going to be about crushing them. We don't have the strength to do that right now. This is going to be so we can buy ourselves some time to take a city. Once that happens, we should be golden.”
“We still might be able to take them,” C.J. said.
“They have almost two thousand members right now,” Bryce said. “There's no way we can take them out at the moment. Better to hurt them and give ourselves time to find our own city to use.”
“Alright, this might not be the greatest course of action, but it sounds like it might be the most fun,” Zach said. “How are we going to do this?”
They started to hash out the details of the plan. Marauder and Crimson Eagle would take a distraction force and head to the north of the base. Meanwhile, the armored company would travel through the forest and attack from the south. They would have additional support in the form of troops from Black Wolf and Redd Foxx mounted in extra Mules. Their force would overrun the base from the south and either destroy or loot anything of value. Once they had accomplished their mission they would retreat back through the forest, with Redd Foxx and Black Wolf providing the rear guard. If all went well they would be gone before Ragnarok had any time to respond.
“This is quite the gamble,” Nora commented.
“Would you rather we spent our time sitting back and discussing figures again?” David asked. He would be commanding their forces around Lerna Bastion in case Ragnarok launched an attack while they were away.
Nora shook her head with a smile. “Not at all. Besides, I'm with Black Wolf. Crazy is our game.”
CHAPTER 21
Feast for the Crows
Anna and Liz had been right. Once they had gotten deep into the forest it became a death trap. Several times their column had to fight off attacks from fen wolves and swarms of ryches. They beat them off without taking any losses, but Zach was shocked by how aggressive they were acting. Normally creatures would steer clear of vehicles, but these ones went after them regardless and wouldn't stop attacking until they were all dead.
“Fun times, huh?” Selene commented from her seat next to him. She swapped out her empty magazine for a fresh one. “Who knew there were places like this so close to us?”
Black Wolf was bringing up the rear of the column, riding in a pair of Mules. They had taken the brunt of several attacks, mostly consisting of packs of fen wolves. They had used up a considerable amount of ammunition, but at least they could afford to do so, since they weren't going to be a part of the main attack.
All of the companies participating in the attack were out in full force. Gina had overall command of the operation, going by the call sign Hydra Lead. Under her were the armored platoons under Connor, going by Bear Lead, Ironfist's Tyler, going by Fist Lead, Storm Hawk's Lee, going by Hawk Lead, and Archangel's Mike, going by Angel Lead. Similar to their setup for the attack on Lerna, each squad went by their company name and a number. Separate from all that were the assault guns, call signs Hammer 1 and Hammer 2. Redd Foxx was being led by Anna, call sign Fox Lead, and Liz, Fox 1. And Black Wolf was divided up into the new sections led by Selene and Danny, with Zach in overall command.
“I wonder if we could skin the wolves for their pelts?” Logan ventured as they shot the last few wolves that had come out for the latest attack.
“What, are you thinking we wear a wolf pelt or something?” Joon asked.
“Yeah, why not? It'd give us a different look, at least.”
“Except we'd have to get out of the Mule to go get one, and do you really want to do that?” Gavin said from his position in the driver's seat. “Did you see how fast those things were moving?”
“You have to admit, that would look pretty cool,” Chris said.
“Maybe, but that would also kill our camouflage,” Selene said.
“The pelt probably has some sort of effect when it's worn,” Lyla said. She had been taking the time to expand her medic skills into trees like biochemistry and taxidermy. She had been able to find uses for things like chilus venom and ryche pelts, though there had been no significant breakthroughs yet.
“Yeah, but is that effect going to be worth getting our limbs chomped off?” Gavin asked.
“We never know unless we try,” Logan said.
“I'm not sitting here while you skin a corpse,” Leigh said.
“It could be a decent idea to explore later, but focus on our mission right now,” Selene said.
“The boss lady isn't any fun,” Chris said.
“I know, right?” Logan laughed.
“The boss lady is going to make you two walk if you're not careful,” Selene replied.
“We'll try not to run over your corpses on the way back,” Gavin added.
Everyone burst out laughing. The new recruits had begun to fit in well. There were more applications coming in, but they had decided to hold off on adding any new members until they could get the others acclimated. And by all standards it was going quite smoothly. Selene and Danny had divided the company up into two groups, which would become permanent formations.
Selene's group was Wolf 1, and she had taken Logan, Joon, Chris, Leigh, Lyla and Terra. She had also selected Miko, Gavin and Ethan to serve as the veteran backbone of the formation. Danny had taken command of Wolf 2, and had selected Scott, Colin, Avery, Andy, Jermaine and Joe, along with Xavier, Javy and Ryan as his veterans. Zach and Nora were paired together as Wolf Lead and would serve as the overall commanders of any operation. Eventually they hoped to add more troops to all of the sections, but for now the formation would serve them just fine.
The formations themselves were becoming very tight knit, and there was a friendly rivalry developing between Wolf 1 and Wolf 2. Part of that likely had to do with the rivalry between Selene and Danny that had always been there, but there was a competitive aspect that emanated from the others as well. Everyone wanted to have more kills, to take less losses, to find the most schematics and to be the best. And yet there was no real animosity there either. There was good natured taunting at times, but it was all in fun. They could rely on each other when the chips were down.
Zach's alert buzzed. “All units, this is Hydra Lead. We're pulling into position at the edge of the trees. Once everyone is in place we'll give the signal to launch the attack.”
The armored company would attack the rear of the base and simply roll over anything that got in their way. Redd Foxx and Black Wolf would provide cover at the rear and then cover their retreat.
Zach tuned his radio channel to the entire company. “Everyone loaded up and ready?”
The sound of reloading and a chorus of yeses filled the air. Zach could see the trees in front of them start to thin out. They were getting close to the end of the f
orest, though they still had some distance to go until they caught up with the lead elements. Their column had stretched for a quarter of a mile, and Black Wolf had slowed down at several points to keep the fen wolves off everyone else's backs.
“Zach, we're up in front with the attack force,” Anna's voice cut in on his radio. “We're going to launch the attack now so we don't get discovered. We'll provide the rearguard for now, and you can reinforce us once you get up here.”
“Sounds good,” Zach said. “We'll signal the others as well.”
“Alright, I'll relay that up to Gina,” Anna said. “See you in a few.”
Zach switched his channel. “C.J., Cody, you there?”
“Loud and clear,” Cody responded.
“We're ready to go. Code is Alpha Green,” Zach said.
“Time for us to do all the real work while you guys hog the glory,” C.J. commented.
“Hey, you're gonna get no argument from me,” Zach said. “I get to sit here as the rearguard and do nothing.”
“Hah, lucky.”
“We also get no experience and no loot from this either,” Zach said.
“Well have fun. We'll come bail you out when you get into trouble,” Cody ribbed.
“Oh, just go get yourselves shot already,” Zach said with a smile.
“Hah, got you riled up a bit. Raider Lead out,” Cody replied.
Zach brought up his map display and looked it over. “Anna, we're about two minutes from your position if we step on it.”
“Alright, but there's no rush,” she replied.
“Got that,” Zach said. He tuned his radio back to Black Wolf. “Gavin, Xavier, can we step on it a bit? We need to catch up to the main body.”
“Hold on tight, then,” Gavin said, just before the Mule lurched forward and sped up. Zach looked behind to see Xavier's Mule speeding up as well. Danny gave him a thumbs up from his position in the gunner's station, holding his trusty machine gun.
Zach looked back over Selene's section. They were ready. Despite their use of ammunition to fend off the wildlife attacks in the forest, they had more than enough left to fight a battle if needed. They had switched their camouflage pattern to a more suitable woodland color, a bark colored gray-green shade, with matching vests and webbing. It wasn't nearly as striking as their previous uniforms had been, but it would hide them better in these conditions. They were checking over their weapons and kit, making sure they had an accurate count of their ammunition and looking for any problems with their weapons. Zach took the time to make sure his carbine was properly loaded and in working order. The last thing he needed was for it to jam in the middle of a firefight.
“Once we get to the rearguard point, we're going to dismount,” Zach told everyone. “Keep your eye out for anything coming from the south, but we should be fine otherwise.”
“Copy that,” Danny replied.
Their pair of Mules emerged from the forest and headed toward the rendezvous point with Redd Foxx, located on a short ridge. The air was strangely quiet, though they could hear the faint sounds of gunfire and explosions filtering down from the north. It was probably from Crimson Eagle and Marauder launching their attacks at the main defenses.
He could see the armored company pressing ahead, heading for the main compound and its chain link fence. As Black Wolf ascended the ridge, Zach could see dozens of ATVs line up in neat rows in one of the courtyards. The sight of them all presented a tempting target.
“There aren't very many guards at this end,” Miko commented from her position in the back of the Mule. She looked through the scope of her rifle again. She had finally gotten her custom sniper rifle. It was base off of the basic bolt-action model, but had a different stock, an upgraded barrel, and it was fed with five rounds magazines instead of three round clips.
“Just as planned,” Selene shrugged.
“No, I count about fifteen player guards that I can see,” Miko said. “Isn't there supposed to be at least a platoon guarding the area?”
“So you think we might have just walked into a trap?” Selene asked.
“Where are the rest of them?” Miko shrugged.
Zach immediately got on the radio with Redd Foxx. “Fox Lead, this is Wolf Lead. Please respond.”
“Wolf Lead, this is Fox Lead. I hear you. What do you need?”
“Anna, Miko says that she can only see about fifteen player character guards down there. The rest are NPC troops. We might be walking into a trap.”
“If it's a trap, then I don't know where they're springing it from,” Anna replied. “We've scouted the area to the south for about two miles, and we have a picket line set up a mile to our south. We'll know if anything is coming.”
“Still, it would probably be prudent to get ourselves in a good position up here,” Liz said. “I'm going to have our troops dismount and start digging foxholes up here.”
“We'll join you as soon as we get there,” Zach said. “I'll spread the warning down the line to Gina.”
“Right. Redd Foxx out.”
Zach switched his channel. “Hydra Lead, this is Wolf Lead. My sniper advises that the base garrison is smaller than expected. We're wondering if they've got something planned and are digging in on the ridge.”
“Thanks for the warning, Wolf Lead. We'll keep our eyes open,” Gina replied.
Black Wolf pulled up to the top of the ridge and quickly dismounted, entrenching tools in hand. Redd Foxx was already hard at work digging themselves in. They were concentrating on getting positions for their heavy weapons prepared.
Liz saw him and signaled him over. “I think we should position the Mules so that they're protected behind the ridge. Make it so that only the gunner can see over the hill, and that should provide them with good cover. We don't want to end up with our transports getting destroyed.”
“That's what I was thinking as well.”
“Get your guys to move up, and I'll have the spotters put them in the correct positions.”
Zach activated his radio. “Xavier, Gavin, pull up along the ridge so that you're facing the south. Try to make it so that the only thing that's exposed is the gunner's station. Redd Foxx will help spot for you.”
Danny, Nora and Selene came jogging up. Anna came from the other side a moment later.
“This may be a bit paranoid, but better safe than sorry,” Anna said.
They turned around as they heard the sound of gunfire erupt behind them. The three Rams pushed forward and ran over the fence, machine guns blazing. Half of the Mules followed behind, crushing much of the fence and gunning down anyone who got in their way. There were a half dozen towers scattered around the base, but they proved of little use. Machine gun bullets pinged harmlessly off the hull of one of the Rams, before the offending tower was blown to pieces by a recoilless rifle round. Another one started firing off grenades, aiming for the Mules. The shots were getting uncomfortably close, but then the tower exploded. Hammer 1 had made its presence known.
“Man, they're getting clobbered,” Nora said.
“That's what happens when you leave your base unguarded from the rear,” Danny said.
Another tower blew up. Hammer 2 was inside the base perimeter now and started to shell the rows of ATVs. A half dozen were thrown into the air by the explosion. Hammer 1 blasted out the supports of another tower while the Rams pushed onward. Ragnarok was completely outmatched. They didn't have enough troops to defend the southern part of the base, and even if they did they were completely powerless against Hydra's well-trained armored company. All the time they had spent working together was finally paying off.
Anna activated her radio. “Raider Lead, Eagle Lead, this is Fox Lead. How's it going on your end?”
“Fox Lead, this is Raider Lead. Ragnarok is putting up a fight, but we're making steady progress,” Cody said. “How's it going on your end?”
“Ragnarok is putting up next to no resistance,” Anna said. “They're rolling over the base as we speak.”
�
��Great news,” Cody said. “Raider Lead out.”
“Good,” Anna said, turning back to watch the carnage with the rest of them. Grizzly, Archangel, Ironfist and Storm Hawk had dismounted from their transports and were sweeping through the base, but by now most of Ragnarok's troops were dead. The initial onslaught had taken out almost all of the garrison force, and every single one of the towers was gone. Their troops smashed their way through the last remnants of resistance.
But then Anna's alert went off. Liz's alert went off a split-second later. “Anna, Liz, you there?” a familiar voice asked.
“I hear you Will,” Anna answered.
“We've got a force approaching from the south, and they've got a lot of troops,” Will replied.
“Define what 'a lot' means,” Anna said.
“Somewhere between a hundred and two hundred,” Will replied. “They're on the move and they're coming in fast.”
“So they've sprung their trap, huh?” Liz said.
“Actually, I don't think this is a trap,” Will said. “They act like they've been surprised. It's like they're almost panicked. I think they were in the south when they heard the distress calls from the base, so they're booking it to try to get back in time.”
“Regardless, this isn't going to be pretty,” Anna said. “Keep tabs on them and report anything important.”
“They've have ATVs out in front. Be aware of that,” Will warned.
“Thanks Will. Stay alive,” Anna said.
The rest of them were already in motion. Nora was on the line with Gina. “Hydra Lead, we have Ragnarok troops coming up on our position, about a company in size. Be warned that they'll be on us in a few minutes.”
Danny and Selene had run off to join their own units. Liz was directing Redd Foxx's troops into place. And that left him.
“Raider Lead, Eagle Lead, be advised that we're coming under attack from Ragnarok troops to the rear,” Zach said. “We should be able to handle it fine, but stay alert.”
“Copy that Wolf Lead. Be aware that we're going to have company pretty soon,” C.J. replied.
“Shouldn't have opened your mouth about getting to do nothing,” Cody joked to lighten the mood.
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