No, Zach thought, it wouldn't. The boss had caught them by surprise. This time they were expecting it. And once it showed up, they would do everything in their power to kill it.
He looked up as Anna made her way into the building they were sheltering inside. Liz was with her.
“Good eye. This looks like a pretty good spot for a command post,” Anna said.
“Yeah, it does,” Zach said. “We're going to move forward to the main line.”
Anna nodded. “Alright. Gray and Jana are headed up their with their platoons. Liz is going to stick with me and help to direct traffic. I'll keep track of things, but consider yourself the field commander of the ranger company. My troops already know that they're to report straight to you.”
“Got that,” Zach said. “Good luck with the traffic control.”
“Thanks. I'm probably going to need it,” Anna said with a rueful smile.
“Alpha Wolf, Alpha Wolf, we have an enemy platoon coming in from the east. It's right in front of us,” Gavin said from his position at the right end of the line. He was tasked with holding down one of the flanks.
“Composition?” Selene asked.
“Mostly soldiers and heavies. It looks like there's an engineer with a flamethrower. I'll-”
“Alpha 1?” Selene asked. Gavin had suddenly stopped talking as the same instance that she heard the crack of a sniper rifle.
“Sorry,” he said again. “They did have a flamethrower, but he just got sniped.”
“Compliments of Miko,” Selene said.
“Well, I'm very appreciative,” Gavin responded. “Oh, that looks like it riled them up a bit. They're coming.”
“Tell me if you need help. Redd Foxx is starting to arrive,” Selene told him.
“We should be fine as we are, but if you can spare a squad we'll be golden.”
“Will do.” She switched channels. “Gray 1, can you shift a squad over to the right flank?”
“Roger that. I'll send Nick's squad over,” Gray replied.
Her radio beeped again. “Alpha Wolf.”
“Alpha Wolf, this is Alpha 3. There's an enemy platoon... No, make that two platoons moving down the center. They'll be on us in about a minute.”
“Sit tight Logan. Redd Foxx is moving up, and Sacred Sword should be here shortly. Who's your neighboring squad?”
“It's Javy.”
“OK, make sure to coordinate with them. Hold tight and help is coming.”
“Copy,” Logan replied.
Selene went back to directing traffic.
Danny already had his troops in place when the first wave hit. That was good, because the enemy was coming at them hard. He could see several squads in front of him, and clearly there were more. Two, maybe three platoons of infantry. And that wasn't the only problem.
“Bravo Wolf, we have a tank moving in on us,” Karen said in a firm but worried tone.
Danny had chosen to place himself on the third floor of a three story building. It gave him a high vantage point to observe enemy movements, and he was also afforded a degree of good cover. He brought up his binoculars and looked toward the area that she was indicating.
There was a tank. No, it wasn't, Danny realized as he took a closer look. It was smaller, and it wasn't tracked. Instead it was mounted on eight large wheels. An armored car would be a more accurate description, Danny thought to himself. It didn't look like it was heavily armored, but it's armament caught his attention. The vehicle had a turret, and mounted on the turret was a long autocannon. It roared to life and fired several shots at Karen's position.
Danny activated his radio. “Marco, you see that?” he asked the heavy that he had posted on the roof.
“Yeah, I see it.”
“Waste him.”
“Copy that,” Marco replied, and a few seconds later a well-aimed shot rocketed down toward the enemy vehicle. It blew apart in a shower of shrapnel and flame.
“That should take care of it,” Danny said to Karen.
“Copy, Bravo Wolf,” she responded. “I think that put them on the back foot. We'll...” she trailed off for a moment. “Bravo Wolf, I think they're preparing for an assault. We-”
Karen's words were cut off by a sudden barrage of fire. Danny was forced to duck down as hundreds of bullets slammed into the face of his building. He grabbed his machine gun.
“All Bravos, prepare to resist a general assault,” Danny said. They were going to have a lot of enemies coming at them in a moment. Not a few squads, not even a few platoons: a whole company was coming after them, judging by the volume of fire. This was going to get very hairy.
He switched channels. “Wolf Lead, how long until Sacred Sword gets here?” he asked. “We're coming under attack by a company size force, and we think they have armor support.”
“Sacred Sword is coming,” Zach said.
“ETA?”
“Soon,” Zach replied. “We're being hit all across the line. Dig in and do the best you can.”
“Copy that, Wolf Lead,” Danny said tersely. That was something he could do.
The fire stared to slacken. Xavier, Javy and Karen all signaled him, warning him of the impending infantry assault, but he ignored them. He knew very well what was coming.
Danny opened up a channel to his entire platoon. “Alright people, this is where we win or lose. Armor is top priority if it appears. So are RPG teams and flamethrowers. Crush 'em.”
He stood up and leaned out of the window, bringing his machine gun up to bear. An enemy platoon was starting to move across the boulevard.
Danny lined up his sights and pulled the trigger.
Danny and Selene were reliable commanders in the field. So were all the sergeants. That was good, because under the circumstances there was no way for them to exercise central command. They were too busy fighting to do anything else.
Nora had gotten on the roof of her building along with Avery, Logan's sniper. She figured that her rifle would be more useful from a higher vantage point.
She and Avery had formed up an improvised team, each covering a certain arc. When the situation warranted they would call the others attention to their area.
Both of them were able to lay down rapid, accurate fire. Nora had her burst assault rifle, while Avery was carrying a semiautomatic sniper rifle. It had lower range and accuracy compared to the standard bolt action gun, but it had a bigger magazine and could be fired quickly if needed.
“Platoon coming in to my side,” Avery said
Nora shifted her aim and focused on a machine gunner, setting her sights on his chest. Head shots would cause more damage, but at this range she wanted to be sure she could get a hit. They had plenty of ammunition for the time being, but their supply wasn't infinite. She pulled the trigger twice and the enemy heavy fell.
She aimed at an engineer with a grenade launcher next, but she fell, hit by someone firing from below. There were plenty more targets in front of them, though. Nora shot a soldier who had stood up to take a shot.
“Down! Down!” Avery said from beside her.
Nora threw herself behind cover on the roof, just before a bullet passed overhead with a loud crack. That was definitely from a marksman's rifle.
“Did you see where the sniper is?” she asked.
“I eyeballed him, but I'm not going to be able to get a good shot,” Avery said.
Nora activated her radio. “Wolf Lead, Wolf Lead, this is Wolf 2. We're pinned down. Be warned that the enemy in front of us has a sniper.”
“Already aware of that, Wolf 2. Lone Wolf is hunting him now. I'll let you know when you're clear.”
“Copy that,” Nora said. She gripped her rifle. “Try to see if you can spot him after the next shot,” she said.
“What are you planning?” Avery asked dubiously.
Nora didn't answer. She pushed herself up into a crouch and then moved along the length of the roof, staying in cover. Whatever the danger, she couldn't just sit here and wait. The rangers needed every g
un they could muster to hold off an attack of this ferocity.
She popped up, quickly took aim and hit an enemy assault trooper crossing the boulevard square in the chest. She ducked back down, but there was no crack. Maybe the sniper had moved, or maybe Miko had taken him out. She still wasn't in the position to take risks until she knew for sure. Nora moved again, popped up and opened fire.
The enemy attack was getting closer, pressing harder. There was little else to do right now. Nora would continue to fire until the enemy assault broke, or until she was shot.
“Target destroyed,” Ethan confirmed. From the roof of his squad's position he had manged to take out three enemy vehicles threatening the right flank with a recoilless rifle.
He might be the best anti-tank gunner in Black Wolf, Selene thought to herself. His actions had bought them some breathing space, but they weren't out of the woods yet. Not even close.
An enemy platoon was still pressing on the flank. Selene had tried to rally as much support as she could spare, but she still had to hold her own section of line. Miko was gone, hunting a sniper around Logan's position. Gray and Gavin were going to have to hold out a bit longer.
“Alpha Wolf, we have another platoon coming down on us. We could really use some support,” Gavin said.
“Understood, but we're still waiting for it,” she responded. What was taking them so long? They had a golden opportunity here, and they were squandering it.
They had been lucky that they had been able to take the beach so fast. If they had been caught there by a force this size they would have been slaughtered. Here, in a strong defensive position, they could hold out for a while, but they couldn't do it forever. Logan's squad had already lost two, and Gavin and Gray were starting to take casualties as well.
“Another one,” Ethan said over the radio link. “Should be easy enough. The wrecks are restricting its movement.”
“Don't expose yourself too much. We can't afford to lose you,” Selene said.
She leaned out of the window in front of her and put a semi-auto shot through the head of an advancing NPC soldier. More shots forced her back before she could fire again.
By her estimation they had about fifteen minutes before they were overrun. Their backup had better get here fast.
“Buck Lead, Buck Lead, this is Wolf Lead. Buck Lead, please respond.”
“Go ahead Wolf Lead,” Bryce answered.
Zach ducked as an autocannon shot ripped through the wall above him. Another came through, then another. Then they stopped. Someone must have killed the enemy vehicle.
“Buck Lead, my troops are under attack by an enemy force of about 200-300 troops, backed up by armor support. We need backup now.”
“Sacred Sword is in the process of landing,” Bryce said.
“Then tell them to step on it!” Zach snapped. “We can't hold out much longer.”
“Copy that Wolf Lead.”
Zach grimaced. They weren't kidding when they had said that the troops here would be tougher. Even with his veteran troops, they had about fifteen minutes before the enemy burst through their line and took back the beach. Once that happened the operation was over.
“Wolf Lead, Wolf Lead, come in.”
Zach perked up as he heard the voice. “Sword Lead, I read you.”
“We're moving up, Wolf Lead,” David said. “I'm sending Morgan's platoon to the right flank. They'll help to jump start Marauder's push toward the gate. Staci's platoon will cover the other areas. Where do you need support?”
“Everywhere,” Zach said. “I think we can hold out in the center, but the flanks are taking the greatest beating.”
“Copy that. I'll send her over to the left flank and I'll put Gio's squad in the center once he gets here.”
“Any estimate on time?” Zach asked.
“They're coming across now,” David said. “Anna sent half your boats back to pick them up. The transports are headed back to grab Crimson Eagle and Band of Brothers as well.”
“Good news. Thanks David,” Zach said. He breathed a sigh of relief. They still had a battle to fight, but the danger had passed. That had been close. Too close.
They had come just in time. The right flank was starting to falter when Sacred Sword had suddenly appeared behind them, moving up to reinforce them. They brought Marauder with them, and the enemy assault buckled and then broke as they launched a ferocious counterattack. The pressed on toward the gate in the ensuing confusion.
Selene took a deep breath and sat back against the wall. The enemy had fallen back, discouraged by their stubborn resistance. The first phase was over. They had their beachhead. Now they had to take the city.
CHAPTER 21
One in a Million
“Good job, you guys,” Anna said. “You probably fought the toughest battle.”
“How's the push for the gate going?” Zach asked. He and Nora had moved back to the beach during the lull in the fighting. Crimson Eagle and the rest of Sacred Sword had moved up to reinforce the front line. Band of Brothers had spread out to the south, covering Marauder from the rear as they assaulted the gate.
“They're clearing out the last pockets of resistance, but the gates are open and the armored company is crossing the bridge right now.”
“Good.”
Zach turned and looked back at the beach. Supplies were being unloaded from a pair of transports. Part of Griffon Company had crossed as well, bringing their 81mm mortars to provide fire support. The artillery on the other side of the reservoir was thundering as well, taking aim at enemy positions and the antiaircraft defenses. Once they were down Raven Flight would have free reign over the district.
“We're going to be part of the push into the city,” Anna said. “Our role is to be the vanguard. We find and engage the enemy. If they're too tough, then we call for backup.”
“What's the plan for the armored company?” Nora asked.
“They're going to wait for us to engage before they move. Gina's hoping that our attack draws in a lot of enemy forces. Once that happens, they'll sweep in and hit the from the rear.”
“Isn't that going to be tough to pull off inside a city?” Zach asked. “I mean, there's only a certain number of ways they can get places.”
“That's what their infantry is for,” Anna shrugged. “It may work, it may not work. But regardless, they should have enough troops to achieve a breakthrough even if they can't perform a flanking maneuver.”
“Understood,” Zach said.
Liz had been on the radio the entire time they had been talking. She finally spoke up. “Good news. They're going to lend us a couple of assault guns. Gina told Ursa Major and Kodiak to detach, and they're going to move up with us.”
That was good news indeed, especially with the presence of enemy armor inside the city. The rangers would have two assault guns, and Sacred Sword had a pair as well. They would be invaluable for taking out enemy strong points and destroying vehicles.
“How long until we begin the next attack?” Zach asked.
Anna looked down at her wrist menu. “About ten minutes.”
Ursa Major and Kodiak rumbled forward, and Selene felt her confidence building. She was sure that her troops would be capable of doing whatever was asked of them, but this kind of support would put them over the top. Now they had some serious firepower to back them up if they got into trouble.
Their whole force here was formidable, truth be told. Between Redd Foxx, Sacred Sword, Crimson Eagle and Black Wolf they had almost three hundred troops present, backed up by four assault guns, mortars from Griffon and air support from Raven Flight. The batteries on the other side of the reservoir were in the process of destroying the last of the antiaircraft defenses. Speaking of which, they had heavier artillery support to call on if they needed it as well.
Still, this wasn't going to be easy, not by any means. Then enemy inside the district was well-armed, well-trained and intelligent. They weren't on equal footing with human players, but their numbers an
d equipment could make up from that difference, and they weren't dumb by any means. After all, the rangers had barely held on by the skin of their teeth.
Her radio buzzed. Anna was on the other end of the line, broadcasting a general alert.
“All rangers are to move forward through the streets. Black Wolf will take the right flank, and Redd Foxx will take the left flank. Each section is going to have the support of an assault gun. Kodiak will go with Redd Foxx, and Ursa Major will support Black Wolf. You are to act as the vanguard force. Find, engage and destroy the enemy. If they're too tough, hold them in place until support from the infantry arrives.”
Selene adjusted her channel. “Hammer 1, Hammer 1, do you read me?”
“I read you loud and clear,” said Connor, Ursa Major's commander.
“Good. Glad to be advancing with you again.”
“Feeling's mutual, Alpha Wolf.”
Selene switched channels again and reported directly to Anna. “Fox Lead, we're launching our attack now.”
“Copy, Alpha Wolf. Good luck.”
Once their orders had been given there was little discussion to be had. This was a textbook case that they had practiced many times, and no one bothered to confer with the others. Everyone knew what to do.
Selene's platoon would take the lead in front of the assault gun, walking about thirty yards in front of it. That would mean they were still in range of its support, but they also were far enough ahead to intercept anti-tank teams that were trying to destroy it.
Bravo Platoon would trail the assault gun, providing protection for it from the rear. If the forward platoons ran into a tough spot they could also advance forward to lend them aid.
Ursa Major itself would be used to take out enemies holed up in fortified structures, and to take out enemy armor if that ran into it.
As an added bonus, they weren't walking blind. Raven 5 and Raven 6 were hovering above. They could provide air support, but their real value was their ability to track enemy movements, unobstructed by the buildings in the streets below.
Howl: A World at War Novel Page 24