Deception City: A World at War Novel (World at War Online Book 5)

by Mitchell T. Jacobs

  But there were other ways to turn the tables back in their favor. Their ambush tactics were beginning to lose their effectiveness, but they also forced Ragnarok to behave in a specific way. Bravo Wolf could exploit those patterns to their advantage.

  Reconnaissance by airplane and by small ground teams had given them a wealth of information about the size, composition and timing of the supply convoys running between Madison and the Milwaukee offensive. Danny had spent quite a few hours going over the information with Liz and his squad leaders. Xavier had plotted out a convoy timetable, which gave them a clear picture of when Ragnarok resupplied their front line troops. Judging from the table, it happened fairly regularly. They also observed that Ragnarok drove on the right side of the highway, the same as they would in the real world.

  Danny had to smile when he saw that tidbit. Old habits died hard, apparently, even when they were in a world where none of those limits existed.

  Armed with that information, they devised a plan. Instead of waiting for a convoy to pass by, risking themselves in a combat situation like an ambush, they would instead plant booby traps to harm the trucks when they inevitably passed by.

  And this wasn’t going to be some dinky firework, or even a few discarded artillery shells strung together with wire and attached to a detonator. No, their trap would be much more fearsome.

  “Danny, we’ve secured our end of the site,” Javy called over the radio. “We’re setting our stuff up now.”

  Danny looked at the minimap in the corner of his HUD. “Good to hear. I’ll be right with you.”

  “Our end is secure as well,” Xavier chimed in. “I’m sending my guys to join up with Javy’s half of the team. I’ll call you if anything comes up.”

  “Roger.”

  “I’m not seeing anything on my end,” Miko spoke up. “There’s a few predators lurking around, but they’re avoiding me. Probably because I have a high hunter skill, so don’t take them for granted.”

  “Right,” Danny nodded. The hunter skill reduced the chance of being attacked by wildlife, while also increasing the amount and type of materials harvested from a slain animal. Hydra was mostly industrialized, but used a few natural materials like chilus chitin for body armor, which made hunters like Miko valuable.

  “Make sure we don’t have anything big coming our way,” Danny told her.

  “Already on it. Mostly because I won’t be around to see the expression on your face when it shows up.”

  “Haha. Have fun out there,” Danny said.

  He joined their group of explosives experts out on the highway. There were eight in total, three who had actual expertise, and five for the simpler tasks and labor.

  Danny found their leader. “Hey, Joe. What do you think?”

  “What do I think?” Joe asked, taking off his patrol cap and running a hand through his hair. “Well, this might be a little harder than we originally thought. They’ve maintained the road pretty well, so we can’t hide a bomb in an abandoned car or anything like that.”

  “What about burying it?”

  “That’s probably our best bet, but that’s going to be hard as well. I’m glad that the road is made of packed earth, because this would be next to impossible if it was solid pavement.”

  “We could lift the pavement,” Danny suggested.

  Joe shrugged. “Sure. And then it would be very noticeable, and anyone who knew what they were doing would spot it immediately. I’m imagining we want the element of surprise, right?”

  “That would be a good thing,” Danny nodded. “So, how are we going to play this?”

  Joe looked over at the stack of equipment sitting in the middle of the road. “We’re going to set a series of explosive devices along a quarter mile stretch of road. They’ll be triggered by a three stage switch system to go off at once.”

  “How are you going to manage that?” Danny asked, not quite wrapping his head around the logistics of the whole thing.

  “Basically, there’ll be three pressure plates. One at the front of the convoy, one at the middle, and one where the end should be. The explosives will be triggered when all three of them are depressed simultaneously.”

  “Hopefully taking out most of the convoy in the process,” Danny nodded. “OK, I get it now.”

  “It’s not a perfect solution, by any means, but it’s the best we could come up with considering what we could bring with us,” Joe told him.

  “And it just has to work once,” Danny said. “Once it does, they’ll have to waste time sweeping the routes.”

  “Right. Now we just have to do a lot of digging,” Joe said, reaching for a shovel.

  Danny grimaced. “I knew there was a downside.”

  * * *

  He might have been able to get out of it because of his status as platoon commander, but Danny wasn’t about to sit around and just watch everyone else work. He grabbed a shovel himself and followed orders, digging wherever the explosives experts directed him toward.

  It certainly wasn’t a walk in the park. The road may have been earth instead of pavement, but it had been packed down by constant pressure to a state that resembled brick more than dirt. Often he had to wait for someone else to break through the hard surface with a pickaxe before he could get a good shovelful of dirt. One time the head of the spade actually started to bend, and Danny had to force it back into place by standing on top of it.

  Still, they dug. Deeper, deeper, wider into the hardened earth of the highway. They needed to be able to hide enough explosives to wreck a truck, and the sites couldn’t be obvious to the naked eye. Forcing the convoy to stop would certainly cause significant delays, but it wouldn’t destroy any materiel, supplies or strike fear into the hearts of the enemy like mass carnage would.

  “Try to conceal the line along the edge of the road,” Joe said, directing two others who were laying wire underground. The lengths of cable would connect all of the pressure plates to the explosives, triggering them simultaneously once the proper conditions were met.

  Danny leaned on his shovel and wiped his brow. It was a unique game, one that made you feel like you were sweating from exertion. But that was part of the thrill at the same time. A virtual world, almost like a parallel dimension, that mirrored conditions in the real world without the consequences. They could experience thrills that they could never dream of in real life due to the danger they posed.

  Even if that meant the tradeoff was performing mundane tasks in between the thrills. Danny didn’t mind it, and neither did any of the others. It helped build the action into a crescendo, instead of simply drowning them in explosions and carnage. Even that would get dull after a while, if that was all the experience. But when they could contrast it to calmer situations, the fights seemed all the more exciting.

  “This is really complicated,” Danny commented. “Are you sure this is going to work?”

  Joe nodded. “We worked with the entire engineer corps of Ghost Battalion, along with advisors from Hephaestus Company. Remember the bomb that Zach used to kill the boss at Lerna Bastion?”

  Danny was surprised he did, because Joe hadn’t been a part of Black Wolf when that happened. He wasn’t in much better position to judge, though, because he hadn’t seen the bomb in action either. He had helped plant it, providing covering fire from the rooftops, but then the boss had found him. The self-propelled antiaircraft gun cut him down without mercy, shooting him through the other side of a thick wall.

  But they had won, and apparently the bomb contributed greatly to the outcome. Not bad, for something Zach had cooked up on the fly out of desperation. Still…

  “Weren’t there issues with that bomb?” Danny asked.

  “Yeah,” Joe confirmed. “And he knew it. He used recoilless rifle shells wired together, and most of them didn’t go off. It didn’t have enough explosive power to kill the boss, even from below. But keep in mind it was an improvised weapon.”

  “Yeah, it definitely was,” Danny nodded.

  �
��And we’ve had time to look at the design, study it and figure out a way to improve it. First off, we’re using proper explosives, shaped to direct the blast straight up. Second, we have actual detonators, so we know all the explosives we plant will go off. Third, we don’t have to sit around watching and waiting to set the bombs off. The pressure switches will do that for us.”

  “Yeah, but all the wiring has to complicate things,” Danny said.

  “We’re making sure it works,” Joe said. “See the lines they’re putting in the ground? They’re doubled, so that if one fails the other will still trigger the explosion. I want to make sure this thing goes off. It’ll save us a whole lot of trouble later.”

  “Because of the intimidation factor?” Danny asked.

  “Yeah, because of that. We send the next convoy sky high, they’ll be jumping at every pebble they see on the road.”

  They were on the same page, then. The real prize wasn’t the destruction of a supply convoy, although that would be a significant bonus. No, the real value of the trap they were laying was to intimidate Ragnarok, forcing them to spend valuable time and resources defending themselves against the possibility of other bombs. It didn’t matter whether there were bombs along every inch of highway or none at all, because they would have to search regardless.

  And they couldn’t cover the huge expanse, either, without taking valuable troops off the front lines. Either Ghost Battalion would have free reign over Ragnarok’s supply lines, or they would have to withdraw significant portions of their strength from the main combat areas. That was, if they didn’t try to use some of the other options at their disposal.

  “Wonder if they’ll try to use the Valkyries to patrol this area, once they figure out we’re planting bombs along the highway,” Danny mused out loud.

  “Either that or using air patrols,” Joe suggested.

  Neither option would be pleasant. Even among Ragnarok’s veteran troops, they Valkyries remained the most fearsome. They could do it all: scouting, infiltrations, defense, shock assaults and any other mission they might be called upon to perform.

  Their forte remained straight combat, especially storm assaults, and Black Wolf had suffered their fury several times. Their first confrontation ended in disaster, with almost the entire company slaughtered in hand-to-hand combat. Their second fight produced better results, but Black Wolf had still come out the worse for wear. They had resisted a frontal assault by the skin of their teeth, killing many but losing many of their own as well.

  And air patrols might not seem to be intimidating, but they could be damaging in their own right. No one had effective man portable antiaircraft weapons, which meant light infantry were at the mercy of a fighter bomber. The best they could do was to fire their machine guns and hope for some lucky hits.

  Even without the danger from bombs and bullets, enemy planes could call in reinforcements, and Ragnarok had several rapid deployment units. They lacked the sheer speed and versatility of Ghost Battalion’s helicopter transports, but the ATV squadrons could still get to places quickly and spoil their plans.

  But that was why this bomb was so important, and why they were spending so much time and effort getting it right. If they could kill a convoy with it, they could plant the seed in their enemy’s mind and use smaller bombs to keep them on their toes. Even if those killed only a truck or two, they would be a stark reminder that something deadly could be lurking just below the surface.

  Fear was a deadly enemy and an even deadlier tool when utilized properly. Danny wasn’t certain they could make Ragnarok cower, but they could at least make them wary. Even the smallest bit of hesitation could be enough to turn the tables.

  Such an underhanded, vicious game, he thought to himself with an inner smile. World at War’s nature had been discussed at length during their interview sessions with Elysium Visions. President Starvos had pointed out that World at War wasn’t merely focused on combat, but included significant political and psychological elements as well. Battles were often dictated by backroom politics, and could be swung by intimidation, arrogance or heroics as much as tactics or strategy.

  That suited him just fine. Danny was currently finishing his doctorate in philosophy, and found the whole thing fascinating. Here they were in a world completely shaped by the player base, a place that could be molded to fit any number of philosophies. He could identify many coming to the forefront. Machiavelli, Nietzsche, Clausewitz, Hobbes, even Kant to some degree. Everyone had their way in this new world.

  But still one set of set of rules reigned supreme above all else: kill or be killed. The large alliances, the most successful groups in this world were the ones that could ruthlessly exploit their advantages, whether they were technological, military, political or economic. They could manipulate human emotions to their advantage. Fear, hope, anger, determination, those were all tools in the arsenal of every war machine.

  “Looks like we’re getting set,” Joe said.

  Danny nodded. “Let’s finish this off and get out of here,” he told the others.

  He went back to work, resuming his thoughts. The most successful in this world were the most ruthless. And when two sides with those characteristics collided, there could be only one outcome.

  Carnage.

  9

  GAMBIT

  Even with only a limited selection of attendees, the council room was crowded. They had more room at Hydra Headquarters in Indianapolis, but Nora understood the decision to host the meeting here at Lerna Bastion. Most of the battalion commanders would have to travel a long way to get there, a significant amount of time even with the railway. But meeting at the bastion cut that obstacle down considerably.

  And it wasn’t like they were crammed in like sardines. They had enough room to comfortably sit around the large conference table, and the size of the room meant everyone could hear each other without shouting. Still, it felt cramped to her, although that might have been due to the increase in attendees.

  The meeting had been called by the military council, incorporating every battalion command as well. After weeks of preparation, they finally had a concrete plan for the next offensive against Ragnarok.

  Black Wolf had played a significant role during that time performing, interdiction and reconnaissance missions. Their raids on Ragnarok’s supply lines, in particular, had caused a great deal of damage. Tons of equipment and ammunition had been destroyed by ambushes and roadside bombs, forcing their enemy to patrol their supply routes to cut down on their losses.

  Meanwhile, the other battalions had been putting pressure on Ragnarok in their areas as well. Knight Battalion fought along the borders of Hydra, Ronin and Ragnarok territory, putting pressure on the extreme flank and holding one side of their enemy’s tenuous corridor to Old Chicago. Dragon Battalion pressed the northeastern end of the corridor, and maintained the closest front to Milwaukee. Rogue Battalion hadn’t been assigned to any particular front, but their armored units remained Hydra’s best offensive force, and Ragnarok had to account for them.

  And the newly formed Magic Battalion held the area around Green Bay. They were proving to be a thorn in the enemy’s side, raiding their resource producing areas and providing another possible route of attack that had to be accounted for.

  Looking over the current situation, Ragnarok Company looked to be in an unenviable position. They still had the numbers advantage, but its effectiveness had been dramatically lessened. They had to cover three possible avenues of attack, along with guarding their rear areas, and that caused a significant drain on their manpower resources. Right now, they were definitely on the defensive.

  The Hydra Alliance still retained the initiative, and that gave them several options. They could make a straight thrust for Madison, launching their invasion from Knight Battalion’s holdings. They could squeeze the Old Chicago corridor from both sides, which would force Ragnarok into a battle. They couldn’t afford to lose their lifeline, which meant Hydra knew they would come out and fight.
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  Hydra could also launch attacks from Green Bay, although that possibility was restricted by the amount of supplies they could bring in by water. They only had two ships on Lake Michigan, which meant they probably couldn’t supply more than a few extra companies.

  Their fourth and final option would be an attack on Milwaukee, snatching it from their enemy’s grasp and establishing another port from which they could operate. The city also contained a considerable amount of industrial assets, which could add even more fuel to their fire.

  Whoever gained control of the city would have the upper hand, because they could leverage the resources into influence and power. That made this choice the only practical one. The Hydra Alliance would invade Milwaukee from the south, pouring their efforts toward the capture of the city. Now, they needed to hammer out just how they were going to do it.

  David stood up and called the meeting to order. “Hello, everyone, and thanks for coming. We’re in the last stages of finalizing our plans for our next offensive operation against Ragnarok. We’ll be presenting them to you to see what the rest of you think.”

  “Bear in mind that, after a ton of discussion, we think this is the best course of action,” Cody said. “If we have to make drastic changes to the plan, then we’ll have to scrap the operation until further notice.”

  Anna stood up next. “Alright, Ghost Battalion has performed a significant amount of reconnaissance along the front, assisted by Dragon Battalion. Shoutout to Crimson Eagle, by the way. They’ve been a great help.”

  “Our pleasure,” C.J. nodded.

  “Anyhow, we’ve determined that Ragnarok holds three of the seven districts in the city, all in the south.”

  “Wouldn’t it have made more sense for them to come in from the north or the west instead?” Evy, captain of Thorn Company, said. “It seems like they’re taking the long way around, and what for?”

  Anna nodded. “That seemed odd to me at first, but there might be a simple explanation. If they could get the southern districts, they could cut us off from the rest of the city.”