Fang: A World at War Novel (World at War Online Book 3) (21 page)

“
That plays to Ghost Battalion's strengths, though,” Anna said. “We can use stealth to our advantage fare more easily in the dark.”

Zach nodded his agreement. “Alright, I think the night attack is a good idea as well. Is everyone satisfied by this?”

Everyone agreed.

“
Then we should get the commanders who are taking part in each attack together,” David said. “We have some planning to do.”

And Nora herself had a decision to make.

“
You wanted to talk?”

Nora looked up to see Miko and Selene walking up the steps to the top of the wall. She sat on the edge, looking toward the district to the south. The reckoning was coming soon.

“Yeah, I wanted to get your opinion on something,” Nora replied.

“
OK, shoot then,” Selene said. She leaned up against the battlements. Miko joined her to one side.

“
So, the offer that Zach gave me after you told him about my worries.”

Selene scowled. “I'm gonna break his arm.”

Nora laughed. “Please don't. He didn't tell me, anyhow. I deduced it myself.”

“
Told you she would,” Miko said.

Selene gave her a playful shove. “OK, so what about it?”

“I'm not sure what to do,” she said. “At first I wasn't a huge fan of where I was at. It didn't seem like I was having as much fun as I used to, because I wasn't with with my friends. But now I guess I feel a bit different.”

“
Maybe that's your answer?” Miko suggested. “The situation changed, so now you're more comfortable with where you're at.”

“
Are you feeling a better connection to everyone in Barghest?” Selene asked.

“
Yeah,” Nora said. “I think the last fight is what did it. I stopped worrying about how well they were trained or what they were doing and just went with the flow. I guess I was part of the experience instead of being an outsider critiquing it.”

“
So that's made you feel better?” Selene said.

“
Yeah.”

“
So what's the issue? I think it's pretty clear. Stay with your platoon. The only reason I would give you to move on is because you're not having fun, and you seem to have moved past that.”

“
It's not that simple right now,” Nora said.

“
Why not?” Miko asked her. “It sounds like it's simple enough to me.”

“
Well, it's not,” Nora said. “I'm going to be in charge of the mech suits, so that's going to be another thing on my mind. I was just getting comfortable being with Barghest as well, and now I have to move on.”

“
Just remember what you learned,” Selene said. “You just said it yourself. Stop worrying and go with the flow. Enjoy the process and see what comes next. And it works. That's how I enjoy myself.”

“
Right. But I'm not going to be able to lead the platoon for much longer. I have responsibilities in Black Wolf, and then there's the new unit that's going to be created. I have to be a part of that. So do I just step aside now?”

“
What do you think is the right choice?” Miko asked.

“
I don't know,” Nora admitted. “I want to stay with Barghest for now, in some way. But I don't know if that's my heart or my head talking.”

“
Just think about what you're saying for a second,” Selene said. “Your head or your heart? Remember, this is a game. Whatever you do, you need to make sure that you're having fun. There's no point being here if you're not doing that.”

“
It goes back to what we said,” Miko said. “Have fun, enjoy the ride and let it take you where it will. It's not about power levels, or the best numbers or anything like that. If you're spending so much time worrying about those things that it becomes work, what's the point?”

“
So you're saying I should stay?” Nora said.

“
The question you should be asking yourself is what's going to make you happy? What are you going to enjoy the most? Because that's what this is really all about,” Miko said. “Take that away and this is nothing more than a gilded prison.”

“
That's a rather profound statement, actually,” Nora said with a smile. “I think that a lot of people could stand to learn from that. Including me, apparently.”

“
This game is about the world being alive,” Selene said. “It's about the struggle we have to go through with our friends and comrades to survive and to advance. Once it turns into a matter of numbers, power gaming and calculation it ceases to be alive.”

“
And a world without any soul is a terrible place to be,” Nora added. “Thanks. It's a lot to think about.”

“
So you've made your decision?” Miko asked.

Nora smiled. “I think I have.”

*
              *              *

“
Well, here it is, just like you requested,” Paige said. “Free time well spent for me, I might add. This was a blast to work on.”

“
I'm glad to hear that,” Nora said. She looked up at the product of her work.

“
Presenting the Hoplite armored exoskeleton,” Paige said. “It's equipped with a Miltiades pattern loadout.”

“
Any reason for the name?” Nora asked her.

Paige shrugged. “Yusuf came up with it. We're named after a Greek god, so he figured that Hoplite would be a good name for the armor. After that, he decided to name the weapons loadouts after Greek generals.”

“Makes sense,” Nora said.

“
It's fearsome, that's for sure,” Paige said.

Nora agreed as she surveyed the suit. The basic layout was the same, with a few changes. The most notable was the change of weaponry. The mounts had indeed been modular, and Paige had fitted them out to her specifications. The cannon in the right arm had been removed for study, since they didn't have the ability to manufacture more ammunition for it yet. In its place they had added a prototype minigun, built from the schematic. The other arm carried a 20mm autocannon. It lacked the stopping power of the original cannon, but it had the best power to ammunition capacity they could find. It would do its job.

The exoskeleton itself had received a new paint job. Originally pure black, the shell was now a puzzle of greys, white and black, well suited for an urban environment.

“
Look good?” Paige asked.

Nora stopped as the right shoulder came into view. There, emblazoned in red and black was the snarling canine of Barghest Company.

“Yes,” she said. “Yes, it does.”

CHAPTER 21

Let Loose

“This is going to be tough no matter how you slice it,” David said as they mulled over the maps and charts.

“
No kidding,” Zach replied. “Our best bet is to infiltrate through the subway and then take the main gate. Once that's done you can push through to reinforce us.”

“
Can the exoskeleton fit into the subway?” David asked.

“
Yes,” Anna confirmed. “We tested that out. They fit. Barely, but they fit.”

“
OK, so at least you guys can bring armored support with you,” David said.

“
It's not going to be much,” Nora said. “I'm going to be the only suit.”

“
Huh? What about the others?” David asked.

“
We haven't even selected pilots for them,” Zach informed him. “There's not enough time to train them, and we don't want to waste them if we can help it.”

David looked back down at the map. “That's really going to cut down on your heavy support.”

“We can handle that fine,” Zach said. “It's more than we'd have anyhow. Plus, we'll still have recoilless rifles, and Spectre will be carrying heavy machine guns.”

David shrugged. “Hey, if you can do it then that's fine. So how are you going to work the assault?”

“Black Wolf and Barghest will assault the gate,” Anna detailed. “Meanwhile, Redd Foxx will push into the heart of the city to keep the pressure on the enemy. Once the gate is open your three companies will come back us up, and then we'll resume our drive toward the airfield. Raven will provide us with cover, and Spectre will act as a mobile reserve mounted in the transport choppers.”

“
Have we suppressed the enemy AA?” Neil asked.

“
Not around the airfield, but Bravehart has been taking potshots at the other ones scattered throughout the district,” Anna informed him. “As long as the choppers don't stray too close to the airfield they should be fine.”

“
We'll keep that in mind,” Robbie said.

“
Anyhow, as long as we're quick about it we should be fine,” Anna continued. “The response times from the garrison seem to be slower at night. I noticed that when we were scouting Eagle Creek. Even if the scouting teams were detected they didn't have much trouble getting away.”

“
So if we can press through the confusion we can use that to our advantage,” Zach said.

“
Still, we're going to be running up against tight timetables,” David said.

“
Which is why we need to move quickly,” Anna said.

Zach looked over at her. “Well, then the rangers were the proper choice for this assignment.”

“What time is the other force going to attack the Meridian District?” Liz asked.

“
They're going to attack on the evening of the same day,” Anna detailed. “Cody and Gina are hoping to crush the enemy within a few hours, which means the pressure will be on us. We might be able to call for reinforcements if they finish quickly enough, but it's more likely that they'll be to drained from their own attack.”

Zach nodded. Physical fatigue was a real obstacle in a virtual reality game with full immersion. Many times he had felt tired after logging off, even though he had spent hours just sitting.

“So we're pretty much on our own,” Neil said.

“
Which is the way it should be. We can win this on our own,” David said. “We have some... No, you know what? We have the best troops in the alliance, and we know what we're doing. We just have to execute properly.”

“
And there's the rub,” Liz said. “Night fighting is going to be confusing, no matter what.”

“
I think that our tunnel fighting experience will help us a lot,” Nora brought up. “Plus, being able to actually use night vision goggles up here.”

“
If only we had better equipment in the tunnels,” David said. “Of course, why would they give us the good goggles right now?”

“
So there's ones that will work in total darkness?”

David shrugged. “The ones I've used in real life picked up infrared light, so yeah, you could see some. Then again, this is a game where we have holographic menus and cybernetic implants in our eyes and we still can't manufacture a simple tank.”

“Give it time,” Nora said.

“
I half expect to see people riding around on horses while we have armored walkers,” David said.

“
Wouldn't surprise me,” Zach agreed. “Anyhow. Karen and I will organize the assault on the gate. Barghest Company has done well in our last few missions, so I think the task of being in the first wave should go to them.”

“
They're going to have Nora with them, right?” David asked.

Karen gave a smile. “Of course. She's one of ours, after all.”

Zach smiled too. “OK, once Barghest launches their attack Black Wolf will follow. Once we have the gate secure we'll signal Sacred Sword. After that it's just a matter of taking the rest of the district.”

“
If only it were that simple,” Karen said.

Neil agreed with her. “If only.”

Nora gave him an amused look. “Heh, and you've only been around for that last capture. Some of the others might have been worse.”

“
I dread to think what kind of boss they have cooked up for us this time,” Liz said. “Or maybe they'll go easy on us in this place.”

“
That's really not the impression I got from those designers,” Zach said. He had worked on the game's communications systems during development, so he knew most of the staff.

“
Then what would you class them as?” Liz asked.

“
Them? They seemed to take sadistic glee in devising really difficult bosses,” Zach said. “As you can probably tell.”

“
No kidding.”

“
We've managed to overcome all of the bosses so far,” David said. “We'll overcome this one.”

“
It's not the NPC enemies that I'm worried about,” Liz said.

“
Still concerned with Ragnarok?” Nora asked.

“
They have something up their sleeve,” Liz said.

“
That I agree with,” Zach said. “There's nothing we can do about it right now anyhow.”

“
Remember, they're in the same position we are,” Anna said. “While we might not know what they're doing, they don't know what we're doing. They don't know we have the rail line, they definitely don't know we have the exoskeletons, and they're probably not sure what we're up to.”

“
We can worry about them once this operation is done,” David said. “Until then let's stay on task.”

Sound advice, Zach thought.

The next two days were hectic. All of the commanders spent most of their time assembling their troops and gathering the necessary supplies for the attack. Everyone's kit needed to be in working order, and inspecting four hundred of them was a tall task. Most of the troops were veterans and didn't really need that kind of prodding, but they still needed to be sure. One fatal mistake could cost them dearly.

Supplies and gear weren't the only things that needed to be prepared. All of the vehicles, whether they were Mules, APCs, assault guns or choppers needed to have their callsigns designated to avoid any confusion in the heat of battle. Sacred Sword's Bulls would operate under the callsign 'Caliburn'. Raven Flight would retain their normal 'Raven' callsign, and Nora would receive the new unit designation 'Hoplite'.

Zach sure hoped that they were ready. Tomorrow could be a great triumph or an absolute disaster. Until the time came, though, there was no use worrying about it. Everyone needed some way to unwind so they were calm and collected.

Their method of choice for unwinding was basketball once again. The weather was getting colder, but it still was mild enough to play outdoors. Besides, the cool air would do them some good when they started to sweat.

The ball came flying right at him. A year ago he would have fumbled the catch, but by now he had much better hands. Zach plucked the ball out of the air and got off a jumper. It wasn't his best shot, but it went in for a basket.

“Couldn't throw it a little slower, could you?” he asked Selene as they ran back down the court.

“
Sure, if you wanted to have Xavier cut you off,” she replied.

“
Hey, we're up by five points. I don't think we can really complain,” Javy said.

“
Not for long,” Danny called back at them.

“
We'll see about that,” Selene said. She stepped forward to cover him.

Zach took up a position to cover Gavin, Javy took on Xavier and Miko matched up against Nora. The middle was going to be the problem. Xavier was the tallest out of them all, and he knew how to use his height to its full advantage. Javy was good, but giving up several inches to his opponent made his job difficult. A well placed pass could reach Xavier with little fear of it being intercepted.

They would have to cut the passes off at the source. Selene did just that. Danny tried to lob the ball over her head, but she timed her jump perfectly and knocked it down. There was a mad scramble for the ball. Zach and Nora reached it at the same time and made a grab for it. Both of them started to wrestle for control, but then the ball squirted away. Quick as lightning, Javy managed to scoop it up and charge down the court. He hit an easy layup.

“
Up by seven!” he shouted gleefully. “Great work team!”

“
Yeah, yeah, keep talking,” Xavier said, walking back to get the ball in a nonchalant fashion. He suddenly snatched it and charged down the court, dodging through the defenders as he did so. He finished off his run with a hard dunk.

“
Nice defense,” Danny said.

“
OK, could we not taunt them until we're winning? Or at least tied? Because we're getting owned right now,” Nora said.

“
Aw, where's the fun in that?” Danny asked.

Miko grabbed the ball and headed down the court, shadowed by Nora. Zach took up a position on the outside of the arc and headed to the left, trying to get open. Selene headed toward the basket, and Javy moved over toward the right.

The pass came right for him. Zach leaped up and tried to catch it...

But Gavin tapped it with his fingertips. It careened into the paint, and once again there was a scramble for the ball. Danny got there first and gained control, then threw a laser to Nora who was sprinting back down the court. Miko wasn't even close to her, and Nora easily made a layup at the other end.

“Coming back,” Gavin said with some satisfaction.

“
Full team effort,” Danny added.

“
We're not giving up the lead,” Selene insisted.

“
Ohho, someone's not happy,” Danny ribbed her.

“
Says the person that's still losing.”

“
For now.”

“
And later,” she retorted.

“
We'll have to see about that now, won't we.”

Selene responded by turning around and snatching a pass from Miko out of the air. She drove toward the basket and made an ankle breaking move that sent Danny stumbling by. Yet another layup sank into the basket.

“Oh, I'm sorry, what were you saying?” Selene asked.

“
Yeah, yeah,” Danny replied. He grabbed the ball and tossed it over to Gavin.

Zach went with him step for step, but try as he might he couldn't dislodge the ball. Gavin tossed a pass over to Nora. She grabbed it and quickly flipped it over to Danny, just managing to get it past Selene's outstretched arms. Danny threw a hard high pass toward Xavier under the hoop. Xavier went up for the ball...

And Javy knocked him aside with a hard body check, trying to reach for the ball as well. It went out of bounds.

“
That's definitely a foul,” Danny said.

“
Eh, can't really argue that,” Selene agreed.

“
Sorry about that,” Javy said.

“
No problem,” Xavier responded to him amicably. “But you're getting the ball.”

“
I thought so,” Javy said. He jogged off and grabbed it.

Xavier stood at the foul line and promptly sank both shots.

“Getting close,” Danny said.

“
Still winning,” Selene replied.

“
Yeah, but we're hanging around, at least,” Nora said.

“
What's the score?” Gavin asked.

“
I think that it's 42-39, if I'm keeping track of it right,” Miko said. “Correct me if I'm wrong.”