Welcome To The Wolfpack

by Toby Neighbors

  “Get those AAV’s high,” Dean ordered.

  He was watching the vid feed from the drones as they rose up into the night sky. Once they were well above the glow of light from the compound, they moved toward their objective. Dean could see that the wall was a made of tungsten steel, and flat roofed buildings had been constructed all around the inside of the wall. Soldiers in various types of armor were hurrying across the roof tops toward the section of wall directly in front of Dean’s platoon.

  “We can take out those soldiers,” Cat said.

  “And open up that wall too,” Harper said. “We have enough ordinance in our AAV’s for that.”

  “We’re still on mission,” Dean said. “Non-lethal ammo only. We don’t want to kill the soldiers, just get them out of the fight.”

  “There’s no way we can climb that wall,” Chancy said.

  Dean’s first instinct was to agree, but he knew he couldn’t do that. They had to get over the wall, he just hadn’t figure out how to do it yet.

  “Send one AAV to the far side of the compound. Attack the wall in a place with the greatest chance to avoid casualties.”

  “I’m on it,” Harper said.

  “Let’s move forward slowly,” Dean said. “I want to see what these guards are prepared to do.”

  The Heavy Armor soldiers walked slowly backward, relying on their utility cannon vid feed to show them where they were going. The massive titanium-hydrogen alloy shields covered most of their bodies and offered the rest of the platoon cover as they moved forward. The wall was nearly a block and half from their position and once they were only two hundred yards out Dean saw weapons being raised.

  “Halt, prepare for enemy fire,” he ordered.

  The HA line stopped moving and braced themselves. The impact resistant technology built into their armor would take most of the kinetic energy from anything hitting their shields, but if they were slammed hard enough the hulking warriors would have to hold the line themselves.

  Harper and Cat ducked inside the cover provided by the Heavy Armor, and Dean led everyone else in tight where they took a knee, watching the guards on the high wall via the AAV feeds and the HA vid from their utility cannons.

  “Captain, that wall is only about thirty five feet high,” Chavez said.

  “Ghost, are you in range?” Dean asked.

  The sniper had been flitting from shadow to shadow across the roof tops of the buildings that lined the street. He was nestled between two large, metal boxes that looked to Dean like air processing units. Via the sniper’s vid feed Dean could see across the sights of the utility rifle he was carrying in lieu of his large caliber sniper rifle which didn’t fire the non-lethal ammunition they were tasked with.

  “Sittin’ pretty, Captain.”

  “I’m going to give you a distraction, and then you take out as many as you can from your position.”

  “Affirmative.”

  “Harper, you ready with that AAV on the far side?”

  “I am, sir,” she replied.

  “Good, once it goes off, I want a three second volley from the HA only. Be ready to move forward at speed people. You are go for detonation, Harper.”

  The entire platoon seemed to hold their breath as they waited. Then, only a second or two later, Dean saw the explosions from the four bombs carried by Emily Harper’s Aerial Attack Vehicle. The sound reached the platoon a second later.

  “Light ‘em up!” Chavez ordered.

  The utility cannons chattered in response, shooting a wave of the tranquilizer flechettes that arced out over the space between the platoon and the wall. The combination of distance and elevation made the flechettes ineffective. Most sailed straight into the wall, but a few made it over, but Dean’s purpose wasn’t to take out the guards with the onslaught, only to provide cover for the more efficient fire from their sniper.

  Dean saw over a dozen of the guards race away from the section of wall facing the platoon. They were being drawn away by the explosions. Dean knew they would think his platoon was just a distraction while the real attack happened on the far side of the compound. Six more guards fell after being hit by fire from Ghost, who had a clear line of sight from his rooftop position.

  “Tallgrass, Chancy, advance to that wall. Everyone else prepare cover fire.”

  The HA line continued firing but at a much slower pace. Harper, Cat, Chavez, Dean added their own weapons to the onslaught. Eleanor Tallgrass raced forward, running in a zig-zag pattern to avoid enemy fire. There was none, mainly due to the fact that any time a guard stepped toward the wall Ghost shot them. The rest of the guards stood back, waiting for the barrage to end.

  “Cease fire,” Dean said, acutely aware that Chancy was still standing right next to him, safe behind the HA line.

  Demolitions Specialist Tallgrass was at the base of the wall, alone. Dean had cut the fire from his platoon to avoid hitting her with their flechettes as the bounced off the metal wall.

  “I need a hole in that wall,” Dean said.

  “It’s too strong to punch through with grenades,” Tallgrass said. “It’s made to reflect a blast.”

  “We could cut into the wall with our FLEW,” Harper suggested.

  “It would take too long to cut a hole big enough,” Dean said.

  “No sir, not a hole for us, a hole for the explosives.”

  Dean realized it was a brilliant idea. The Focused Light Energy Weapons were small, hand held pistols. More tool, than weapon, they could easily cut a small chunk of the steel away. The tungsten steel was made to reflect an explosive blast, but if the charges were inside the metal, it would yield to the blast.

  “Give your laser to Staff Sergeant Chavez,” Dean ordered. “We can’t risk losing those AAV’s.”

  “Yes, Captain,” Harper said, handing Chavez the hand held laser.

  “Plant that explosive at waist level, Staff Sergeant. Have Tallgrass pack it with everything she’s got.”

  “You got it, Jefe,” Chavez said.

  “Ghost, give us some cover fire, then find a new overwatch position,” Dean ordered.

  In reply Dean saw the sniper fire off a dozen rounds. When Dean’s attention returned to the ground Chavez was sprinting to the wall. The Swiss guard manning the tall battlement was relying on the barrier’s strength to protect them, and saw no need to risk their lives along the edge. Dean’s concern was that the guards would realize they were shooting non-lethal ammunition which would make them more aggressive.

  “Almost got it,” Chavez said.

  Dean checked the vid feeds from the AAVs. There was a lot of movement inside the compound. With only the emergency lights on, it was hard to make out exactly what was going on, but there were a lot of people inside the walled section of the city, and there were several massive buildings, palaces with so many rooms it would take his platoon all night to search just one of them. Luckily, no one seemed to be rushing to aid the guards on the wall facing Dean’s platoons.

  “Captain, I see security vehicles incoming,” Tallgrass said.

  She was in a covering position, watching for danger while Chavez cut a hole in the huge wall of steel.

  “Damn,” Chavez said. “This mother is thick.”

  “Get it done, Staff Sergeant,” Dean said. “We are running out of time.

  One glance at Tallgrass’ vid feed showed security vehicle lights closing on her position. He had to do something to hold back the security force until they could get inside the compound.

  “Duo, Eagle, Pincer,” Dean ordered. “I want HA set up against the buildings on either side of the road with weapons bearing east and west.”

  The Heavy Armor Specialists rushed into formation. D’Vris, Adkins, and Pimrey took up the station to Dean’s right, their utility cannons tracking the incoming security force. Harper went with them. The Triplets took a position on the opposite side of the street, watching for a flanking attack by the security officers.

  “Staff Sergeant?” Dean demanded.

&n
bsp; “I got it,” Chavez said. “Take over Tallgrass.”

  Dean finally turned to Chancy, who was starting to join the Triplets and Cat.

  “Corporal Chancy,” Dean said in a loud voice, but on a private channel that only the two of them could hear.

  “What?” Chancy demanded.

  Dean didn’t hesitate, he grabbed the Demo Specialist and slammed him into the nearest building, his TCU visor crashing hard into Chancy’s. The armor and his large pack kept the obstinate Corporal from being hurt, but the message was clear.

  “You will follow my commands, Corporal,” Dean said.

  “Get off me!” Chancy demanded.

  “Why didn’t you go with Sergeant Tallgrass? Are you a coward?”

  “No!” Chancy said, his voice betraying his fear. “I don’t have any explosives. She didn’t need my help.”

  “You think I don’t know that, Corporal? You’re about as helpful as a career politician. We’ve been carrying your ass from day one. That ends now. You shut you mouth, obey every order, and make sure you keep up, because if you don’t you’ll be left behind and I don’t think you’ll last as long as a rainbow in a hurricane without our help.”

  He released the angry Corporal and turned back to give his attention to the platoon just as the HA utility cannons fired a volley of tranq-darts at the security forces, who were set up behind their small vehicles for cover.

  “Charges are in place,” Tallgrass said, as she and Chavez sprinted for cover together. “Ready for detonation.”

  Gunshots rang out at that exact moment from the security force and Chavez grunted, staggered for a few steps then dashed to safety in the alley where Dean was waiting.

  “Staff Sergeant,” Dean said.

  “I’m fine,” Chavez said, even though Dean didn’t believe him.

  “Tallgrass blow that charge,” Dean said. “Fire in the hole!”

  The explosion that followed Dean’s order shook the ground and sent shrapnel from the wall racing out. Dean, Chancy, Tallgrass, and Chavez ducked together, and were still pelted with bits of hot metal from the blast, but no one was injured. Dean looked up expectantly, and had to wait for the smoke to clear to see the result.

  More gunshots rang out, the lead bullets pinging off the HA shields. Dean was impatient but there was nothing he could do to speed up the dissipation of the smoke.

  “Enemies inbound,” Cat said. “We have flankers moving through the dark.”

  “Open fire,” Dean said, as he brought up Cat’s vid feed on his TCU display. She had wisely switched to low light amplification and saw nearly a dozen men with assault rifles sneaking toward the platoon from the opposite direction of their security counterparts.

  More utility rifles chattered, their reports sounded anemic and weak in comparison to the gun shots being fired at them. Even Ghost was shooting. He had moved to a new spot on the building roof, and was trying to hold back the Swiss Guard who were drawn to the wall by the blast.

  “Damn!” Sergeant Tallgrass said.

  Dean turned and through the haze of smoke he could just make out the jagged edges of the hole their detonation had made in the tungsten metal wall. It looked horrible, the silvery metal blackened and torn, but the blast had not penetrated all the way through.

  “What now?” Chavez said.

  “I have an idea,” Dean said. “Platoon fall back.”

  “This better work,” the Staff Sergeant said, raising his utility rifle and firing several rounds into the bed of the transport truck behind Dean. “We’re surrounded on all sides, Captain.”

  “Let’s just hope whatever is on the other side of that wall isn’t worse than what’s out here,” Dean replied.

  Chapter 22

  “Cat, can you Kamikaze one AAV straight into that hole?” Dean asked.

  “Yes, Captain,” she said.

  Move back to the transport,” Dean ordered. “HA form a tight Concave line.”

  “What about those security officers?” Chavez asked.

  “If they get in the way, they suffer the consequences,” Dean said.

  They ran back toward the large truck, Chavez continuing to fire into the hole they had cut in the canvas cover of the transport, just to detere anyone planning on crawling through. Then they all took a knee as the HA formed a defensive line that arched around the platoon. Dean saw the vid feed on his TCU. The drone was diving toward the hole.

  “Brace!” he ordered.

  The explosion from the AAV was even more massive than the detonation of charges set by Sergeant Tallgrass, only this time the force of the blast was focused into the compound. Dean didn’t wait for the dust to settle, it had billowed out of the hole, along with smoke and debris, making the perfect cover for his platoon.

  “Everyone into the hole!” Dean ordered. “Move!”

  “Let’s go! Let’s go! Let’s go!” Staff Sergeant Chavez shouted.

  Dean’s TCU pinged a warning as the group sprinted toward the wall. He wasn’t sure what the ominous sounding warning meant, and he hoped they weren’t dashing straight into a trap, or worse still, a gap in the wall that didn’t go all the way through. He couldn’t worry about it in that moment, everything depended on getting into the Pope’s compound before the security officers and Swiss Guard got their bearings back and began firing at them.

  Eleanor Tallgrass was the first one into the hole, which was the size of a large doorway. She hurried through and came into a smoke filled room.

  “The blast penetrated straight through,” she informed the platoon, who were hurrying along after her.

  Dean and Chavez were the last ones through the wall, and Dean breathed a sigh of relief that no more bullets were fired at them as they infiltrated the compound.

  “Form up!” Dean ordered. “Cheveron, Talon, Beak, Venom, Engage!”

  The HA Specialist formed a hard V shape, and everyone else took attack positions just behind them.

  “Harper, leave an MSV right here in this opening,” Dean told the Fast Attack Specialist. “We move forward slowly people.”

  Their battle armor filtered out the dust and smoke, but their vision was restricted. Dean’s radar was useless in the swirling debris, leaving the platoon no choice but to move forward and hope for the best. They were in what appeared to be a storage room. Dean saw bits of cloth, books, and shards of ornate looking church decorations. Most of it appeared to be cheaply manufactured, although they were painted gold or silver. There were boxes, tall shelves, and old fashioned filing cabinets.

  “Looks clear, Captain,” Sergeant D’Vris said.

  “Let’s find a way out of this room,” Dean ordered. “We’ve given up the element of surprise, so stay alert. They’ll be coming at us hard soon enough.”

  As if the words were prophetic, a squad of strangely garbed Swiss Guards came rushing into the room. They had on metal armor and wore colorful uniforms with billowing sleeves and triangular shaped hats festooned with feathers. They carried long halberds which seemed almost comical as the two groups of soldiers came within sight of one another. Dean and his platoon didn’t move, but just stood staring at the Swiss Guard until they pulled short barreled military grade assault rifles from inside their armor.

  “Fire!” Dean ordered.

  Chavez, Harper, and Tallgrass opened up with their utility rifles, but the flechettes didn’t penetrate the old fashion metal armor. The Swiss Guard soldiers who were hit in their extremities fell to their knees, but the tranquilizer took time to work through their circulatory systems. Even though they were groggy, they joined their comrades in opening fire.

  The Heavy Armor Specialists were prepared, their big shields took a wave of machine gun fire, as the rest of the platoon ducked back down to avoid the hail of bullets. The HA line brought their own utility cannons to bear, blazing out a barrage of tranq-darts that couldn’t be avoided.

  “Keep moving!” Dean ordered, as they last of the guardsmen dropped to the ground.

  They made it to the door of t
he storage building, which had both a regular man door, and a hanger style overhead door.

  “Static, Eagle, Pincer, Venom, Engage!” Dean ordered. “Ghost, raise that overhead door.”

  The HA Specialists formed a straight line with overlapping shields. Everyone else moved up to where they could peer over the edge of the shield wall. Almost as soon as the door opened the platoon was assaulted with enemy fire. The thin, metal door did nothing to stop the barrage of bullets flooding the storage opening. Dean was reminded of his training with the Heavy Armor Specialists at Coronado. As he dropped down with D’Vris and Adkins staring at him with shocked surprise at the ferocity of the attack.

  “Bring your cannons to bear!” Dean ordered.

  A look at the vid feed from the HA shoulder mounted utility canons showed a wide plaza between the storage building and what looked like the palace of a king. Unlike the open, airy architure of buildings on earth, the huge mansion was gothic, made of heavy stone with tall arched windows, fanciful decorative flourish carved into the walls, and statues of angels lining the rooftop which had a mixture of domes and arches. Around the palace was a whitewashed, waist high wall, with towering sculptures spread evenly every few feet.

  Filling the plaza were nearly a hundred solders with a wide array of weapons. Most were in strong defensive positions behind the wall, but others were in the open. Those who were exposed fell first, and the targeting computers aided the HA Specialists as they fought back against the overwhelming force of the Swiss Guard.

  The vid feed from the AAV’s showed more guards rushing to join the attack.

  “Hold the line!” Dean said in a commanding voice. “This what we’re trained for. They can’t hurt us if we hold fast.”

  “Wish we could lob some grenades out there,” Chavez said.

  “Or rain hell down from above,” Harper added.

  “Give me two bombs at this location,” Dean said, highlighting a building on the far side of the compound. “Maybe we can draw some of them off.”

  “Captain, permission to go up top?” Ghost asked. He was pointing toward a metal staircase against the far wall of the storage building they were in.