Werewolf: A World at War Novel (World at War Online Book 4)

by Mitchell T. Jacobs

  Anna looked over at him with a bemused look. Zach shared her confusion. How were they going to cover themselves without more troops at Lerna Bastion? There was no way they could hold off a determined attack without reinforcements.

  “I'd guess that you want a distraction from us?” Karen asked.

  “That's underway, actually,” Bryce said.

  “Did you not inform us of something?” Anna asked.

  David spoke up with a look on his face that worried Zach. “A rumor is being spread around Old Chicago that our alliance has captured Green Bay.”

  Zach tried to contain his shock. “And you're the ones that spread the rumor, is that right?”

  To his credit, David answered honestly. “Yes, we did.”

  Zach felt livid, but David had the good grace to at least look guilty. The rest of them sat there with stone faces.

  He finally knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of Hydra's ruthless ways. But in this case, he wasn't sure the decision was the right call.

  “Let me get this straight,” Zach said. “You spread a rumor that our alliance is in control of Green Bay right now. Doubtless, Ragnarok will put two and two together after all the raids on their mining groups. That means we're positioned to threaten their rear areas, and that's something they can't ignore. So they'll come after us. Is that what you're hoping for?”

  “Yes,” Gina said bluntly. “I'm sorry, but even if we put all of Ghost Battalion at the bastion, there's no guarantee you'd be able to hold off the Ragnarok attack. But if you draw their forces north that buys us extra time.”

  “You don't have to stay in Green Bay, either,” Bryce told them. “Once they've moved their forces north you can evacuate the city and return to Lerna Bastion.”

  “Evacuate,” Anna said with a cold fury in her voice. Zach had never seen her this angry before.

  “It's the most judicious course of action,” Bryce said. “I know you spent a lot of time and effort taking the city, but your goal was to provide a distraction. And you've done that. There's no shame in leaving.”

  “What about abandoning our allies?” Karen asked from her end. She was clearly angry as well.

  “We'll provide them passage to the south as well.”

  “We promised them the city,” Anna said. “Now we're just going to go back on our word? What kind of message does that send to the other companies?”

  “We'll do what we need to in order to survive the next month,” David said. “I don't like it either, but it's the only way.”

  “That's all I needed to hear,” Anna snapped. She stood up and walked out of the council chambers. Karen and Neil followed her. Robbie gave Zach a helpless glance.

  Zach himself stood up. “May I ask something?”

  “Yes,” David said, the guilty look still on his face.

  “What are the orders for Ghost Battalion?”

  “Ghost Battalion's orders are to draw Ragnarok forces into the north and then withdraw once they have been committed,” Bryce said. “Meanwhile, that will give our forces enough time to take the rest of Indianapolis.”

  “And we're to leave Thorn Company and Myrmidon Company to their fate, if they won't join us?” he asked.

  “If they won't, then they leave you no choice,” Gina said.

  Zach took a deep breath. “Then we refuse to follow our orders.”

  A murmur ran through the rest of the commanders.

  “It's for the best interests of the alliance,” Bryce said. “I know that-”

  Zach slammed his fist down on the table, and the room went silent.

  “Best for the alliance?” he asked. “I know what's best for the alliance. My company was one of the founding members. And do you know what this alliance was based on? It was founded on camaraderie. It was founded on different companies coming together to help each other against a common threat. We asked for members, not subjects. We offered incentives. We never used threats or force like Ragnarok. And now you want to go back on those principles?”

  Zach looked around at the rest of the commanders. Robbie had a satisfied grin on his face. The rest of them refused to meet his gaze.

  “We offered Thorn and Myrmidon Green Bay in exchange for their help. And now you want to just abandon them to their fate? I refuse. I'm not going to abandon our promises to them just because it suits us best. Ghost Battalion will hold Green Bay, and we'll fight to the death to hold it for our allies. Because that's what this alliance is about, and some of you had best start remembering that.”

  Chaos broke out, but he ignored it. Zach waved to Robbie and the pair of them walked out of the council chambers.

  “Well, that settles it, then,” Robbie said. “Looks like we're going to be in for the fight of our lives.”

  “Looks like it,” Zach said.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  “Yeah. What is it?”

  “I get that this is about the alliance's honor, but is there more to it than that?” Robbie inquired.

  Zach thought for a moment as they walked. “Let me ask you something. If this was the real world, would you abandon a friend that was in need? Or would you stand by them, thick or thin?”

  “I'd stand by them,” Robbie said. “Or, at least, I'd like to think I would.”

  Zach nodded. It was a good, honest answer. “Me too. So, why should it be any different in here?”

  Robbie grinned. “Sticking to your convictions, even when they might cost you. I can respect that.”

  “It might get us clobbered in here.”

  “Yeah, so what? I'm not playing this game to make nice. I want to fight Ragnarok, and if we're doing it to help someone, then so much the better.”

  Zach smiled. “It's good to know that I have someone backing me up.”

  “The entire battalion will be backing you up,” Robbie said.

  “I certainly hope so. And I might have brought the rest of the alliance down on our heads.”

  Robbie shook his head. “I don't think so.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “Because you touched a nerve,” Robbie said. “What's the point of the alliance, if we're not going to stick to our founding principles? We're here to fight against a common enemy, not to use people as puppets.”

  Zach frowned. “I guess that makes me a hypocrite for using Ronin as a pawn all those times.”

  “Mmm. But what changed?”

  “I don't think I should have a free pass to abandon my morality just because this is a game,” Zach said. “Others might disagree with me, but that's just how I feel.”

  “So you can't take the burden of being so deceitful?”

  “Yeah, something like that. I'm just tired of it right now. I'm tired of playing one part in the virtual world and one part in the real world when they're one and the same person.”

  “That's something I can respect,” Robbie said. “Now let's go find the others. We have a lot of planning to do.”

  “We do,” Zach agreed.

  They were going to be hurt. They were probably going to lose badly as well. But right now, he wouldn't have it any other way.

  CHAPTER 17

  The Coming Storm

  “So, Ragnarok knows we're here?” Liz asked. “That's not exactly a comforting notion.”

  “It's even worse knowing that your own side sold you out,” Anna said.

  Danny leaned over the map in the middle of the command center and studied it. “Still, I can see why they did it. That draws a lot of them north.”

  “Yeah, but they wanted us to abandon Thorn and Myrmidon to their fate,” Anna said.

  He shrugged. “And I can see the merit in that as well, though I really don't like that either. But we're going to stay and fight, is that right?”

  “Command really doesn't like it, but I got a signal from them,” Anna told him. “As far as they're concerned, as long as we keep Ragnarok busy they're fine with it. They'll provide us with the support we need.”

  Danny looked a
round at the rest of the assembled officers. “I'd say that ammo is our top priority. We're going to need a lot of it, right?”

  “I'd agree with that,” Selene said. Gray, Karen and Jana also backed him up on that account.

  Neil leaned over the map as well. “I don't think we can hold them off from the walls. They'll bring too many troops, and they'll have artillery and air support with them. No matter how hard we fight, they'll be able to force a break in our lines with those resources.”

  “So, what do you suggest?” Anna asked.

  Neil tapped the map. “The area around the city is either swamp or thick forest. That's perfect for our style of fighting. I don't think we can stop them cold, but we can delay them and sap their strength.”

  Karen nodded. “That might also take away their armor advantage. There's only a couple of routes up here that are safe for tanks, so we can hit them at the choke points.”

  “But they still have air support and light infantry,” Selene said. “That's going to make it really tough on us.”

  “We're not going to be able to make up a perfect battle plan,” Anna said. “Our battalion is too specialized for that. We'll need to do our best to play to our strengths and mask our weaknesses. Terrain seems to be our best bet, and I'd rather take our chances with Ragnarok's infantry and not their armor.”

  “How vigorously do we defend our positions?” Gray asked. “Do we hold them until they're completely untenable, or do we fall back once we feel we've inflicted enough damage on them?”

  “So, the question is are we acting as line infantry or skirmishers?” Danny said.

  “I'd say we need to preserve our strength,” Liz said. “We need to find a balance between hurting the enemy and taking too many casualties ourselves.”

  “Then I think we need to do a lot more reconnaissance of the surrounding area,” Neil said. “We should study every bit of terrain we can find. If we know the lay of the land, we'll have a significant advantage.”

  “We'll commit a number of troops to that,” Anna agreed. “We also need to shore up the wall defenses after the battles.”

  Paige spoke up from her spot in the corner. “My team will see what we can do, but our resources are limited. We might need help from your rank and file engineers.”

  “If you need it, just ask for it,” Anna told her. “We're probably not going to live through this without it.”

  “Our biggest problem is going to be antiaircraft defense,” Robbie said. “I don't know how big Ragnarok's air force is, but it more than we have.”

  “Can we install more antiaircraft guns, at least?” Selene asked.

  “We'll need to get our hands on the actual guns, which means they need to be shipped up from Central City,” Paige said. “Luckily there's plenty off ammunition left over, but it would have been easier if we capture the guns that were already here.”

  “Can you make them?” Danny asked.

  “Here? We barely get enough ore as it is to run one ammo press,” Paige said. “We're going to have to rely on supplies coming from the south.”

  “Which means relying on the water route,” Anna said, “and the only large ship we have right now is Charon.”

  “Plus, there's no telling how safe it will be,” Robbie said. “Now that Ragnarok knows we're up here, they might extend patrols over the lake.”

  “I thought the eastern end of the lake was out of their range?” Neil asked.

  “From their current airbases. But they're smart enough to put two and two together, which means they might capture or build bases closer to the coast.”

  “If they do, we're in trouble,” Liz said.

  Anna shrugged. “There's not much we can do about it, anyhow. We have enough ammunition for several days of sustained fighting right now, so it's not like we're in a dire situation.”

  “But this might drag on for weeks,” Selene pointed out. “And I'd imagine that it's going to be a lot harder to resupply the longer this goes on.”

  “Well, Charon is going to make a run to the south tonight,” Anna said. “We'll make a list of the most important supplies and we'll bring those up first.”

  “Spare parts and antiaircraft guns,” Paige said. “That's going to be our biggest problem.”

  “Has everyone been maintaining their weapons?” Anna asked.

  “Don't we always?” Neil replied.

  “Just making sure. The last thing we need is for a bunch of them to break at the same time. Especially if it's in the middle of a battle.”

  “What about the river?” Selene asked.

  “What about it?” Liz said.

  “There's a break in the wall there,” she pointed out. “That seems like it'll be a target once Ragnarok gets here.”

  “We surveyed the river,” Robbie said. “There's a pair of chains that stretch between the two parts of the wall. They'll snag anything that tries to pass over them.”

  “What about shallow draft boats?”

  “Anything with a motor is going to get caught, and if they're rowing they're sitting ducks for anyone up on the wall,” Robbie told her. “I don't think that will be much of a problem.”

  “Are your guys going to be much good?” Danny asked.

  Robbie shrugged. “Well, it's not going to be easy, that's for sure. We can help transport you while you're outside the walls, but the fire support we can provide is going to be limited. Our choppers are going to be especially vulnerable to Ragnarok fighters.”

  “What about the river craft?”

  “They're probably going to be the most useful thing we have. We can pick up and drop off squads anywhere there's enough water.”

  “That might help us get to spots that the enemy's not expecting,” Liz said.

  “Hit and run. That's what we do best, right?” Robbie said. “And I know we're not going to be much, but we do have weapons and we can fight on foot if we need to.”

  “Hopefully it doesn't come to that,” Selene said.

  Robbie nodded. “Yeah, I'm hoping that the most.”

  Danny looked over the map again. “OK, so our goal is to trap them in the forests and swamps where they can't maneuver, then cut them down piece by piece.”

  “Or, at least till their light infantry shows up,” Liz said. “After that it might not be wise to stand and fight.”

  “Do we give up on raiding their mining parties?”

  “We really don't have a choice,” Anna said. “Any troops we pull away from the city will weaken their defenses a whole lot more than they'll hurt Ragnarok.”

  “But they'll have to pull back some of their troops to defend their mining parties,” Danny pointed out. “That might help even out the battle in the city.”

  “Not as much as having those troops here behind the walls,” Anna said. “The ratio of attackers needed to defeat defenders in a fortified position is three to one right?”

  Blake spoke up. “At minimum. In a heavily fortified position the ratio might be more like five to one.”

  “So it's not going to balance out unless they're going to take a huge amount of troops away from the front,” Anna summarized. “Which I really don't see happening.”

  “OK, then my suggestion probably wasn't a good one.” Danny said. “Forget I said anything about it.”

  “Hey, no worries. That's why we're planning everything out now,” Anna said.

  “Can we expect any reinforcements?” Neil asked.

  Anna shook her head. “For the time being, no. Almost all of our troops are being committed to the Indianapolis operation. It's one big gamble, at this point. We have no reserve to speak of right now.”

  “And once they take the district?”

  “We might have something,” Danny cut in.

  Anna looked over at him. “Do you know something I don't know?”

  Danny grinned back. “I've been talking with Tafari. He's been in Levi's ear lately, and they're open to a joint attack with us.”

  “With what?” Anna asked. “Like I sa
id, they're going to be occupied taking the last district.”

  Danny nodded. “Right. But if we can hold off Ragnarok long enough, that will give them enough time to take the rest of the city and then redeploy. And once that happens, they have a nice fat target that's lightly guarded. They'll have help from Ragnarok on their flank as well.”

  “So we're the bait in the trap, then,” Liz said.

  “Awfully risky,” Selene commented.

  “But it give us the chance at the greatest reward,” Danny said. “Plus, we're going to get slammed anyhow. We might as well make it count for something.”

  “We'll need to get it by the military council first, and then we'll need to get a plan together,” Anna said. “We still have to get our own stuff in order up here.”

  “Do you mind designating me as the go between, since I seem to be in that position already?” Danny asked her.

  Anna shrugged. “Not at all. I'll pair Liz with you, in fact. Karen, do you mind designating your military council authority to Danny for the time being?”

  “I'm fine with that,” Karen said. “I don't imagine that we'll be going south any time soon.”

  Anna nodded. “We won't, but those two will. I'll message the rest of the council and let them know what's going on. Make sure you're on Charon when it leaves tonight. Head to Hydra Headquarters and get a plan together. Make sure that it's foolproof.”

  “Anything else you want us to do while we're down there?” Liz asked. “Supplies, perhaps?”

  “If you have extra time then sure, but your first priority is to make sure that we have some sort of help coming.”

  Danny grinned. “Alright, sounds like a plan. I'll try to get in touch with Tafari as well.”

  “Thanks. Make sure that Zach and Nora know what's going on as well,” Anna told him.

  “Roger that,” Danny replied. “Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some people I need to contact.”

  “So where were they?” Liz asked.

  Danny leaned on the railing and watch the dark water pass by them. The scattered lights of Green Bay receded into the night.

  “They were having dinner with Nora's parents, or something like that tonight,” Danny told her.

  “Ah, they're at that point.”