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

by Mitchell T. Jacobs

  “But then, where it that balance?” Nora asked.

  “I would say that the balance is when whatever you're doing stops being any fun,” Anna said. “Having to work for something can be really satisfying, but if you don't feel any real satisfaction at the end of it, it's really not worth it. Especially if you're doing it for entertainment.”

  “Ah,” Nora said. “I guess it goes back to something I thought about months ago. The game has a soul in it because the people in it lend part of their souls to it. That's what makes the game come alive for me.”

  And that was what might be missing. Hydra was getting bigger, with more and more members, and the number of people she knew in the alliance was getting proportionally smaller and smaller. She knew of a lot the them, but she didn't actually know them, and that created a serious disconnect. Many times she didn't know what to expect, or barely even knew who the person was.

  And that was the company commanders, who she had interacted with at council meetings. Her knowledge of the rank and file of many of the new companies was even worse.

  Take Ghost Battalion for example. Nora knew all of Black Wolf, of course though she knew some better than others. She knew most of Redd Foxx as well, or at least their veteran troop strength, But after them her knowledge of the other people in her unit started dropping off. Nora was very hit or miss on Raven Company, and she barely knew anyone in Spectre.

  That was with her own battalion, with people she worked with on a regular basis. Off the top of her head she couldn't name a single person in companies like Lion, Viper or Viking. She was spotty on some of the companies that had been with the alliance for a while as well. She knew Marauder and Crimson Eagle to some extent, and Bravehart as well, but she was a bit fuzzy on the rest of the former Legion Pact members.

  So what was it they had? Hydra could hardly call itself a group of close-knit friends. True friendships ran deep in the alliance, but those were usually between individuals, or between a select few companies. The rest of them were just acquaintances that had joined together for a single cause.

  “So, are you thinking that Barghest Company is part of the problem?” Miko asked.

  “Wait, what?”

  “You said that that game has soul because of the people inside,” Miko elaborated. “But you can't really know that if you don't know the person who's giving a part of their soul, if you know what I mean.”

  “I'm sorry you've kind of lost me,” Nora said,

  “Yeah, me too,” Anna agreed.

  “OK, maybe this will make more sense, then. You said that the game gets its soul from the people playing, because they're contributing a part of themselves into the virtual world. But you wouldn't know it if you didn't know them personally. I mean, there's thousands of players up in the north, but can we really say that they're adding soul to the game that we're playing?”

  “There's the butterfly effect,” Liz pointed out. “Anything they do will have an influence over the entire world. So I would say yes, the do add some soul to the game.”

  “But does that even matter?” Miko asked. “The purpose of having soul in the virtual world is so that it doesn't feel cold and lifeless. Are the people miles and miles away going to have any real influence on that? The real soul in the game doesn't just come from people. It comes from your comrades. From your friends.”

  “That's... not the craziest thing I've ever heard,” Selene said. “And I think you're right.”

  “It's what we've been talking about,” Liz agreed. “Just us with our true companions going on an adventure.”

  “Maybe that's what's draining you?” Anna suggested. “Maybe the world is losing a lot of its luster because you're not experiencing it with your comrades.”

  “I'm not sure,” Nora admitted. She wasn't sure it was a healthy attitude, either.

  If she was losing interest because she felt disconnected from the members of Barghest Company, then why? Why was there such a distance between them? Why could she not just wait? After all, there was a good chance that she would get to know them and then regard them as her comrades. But right now, they were just faces that she didn't know well, people she needed to work with. There was no familiarity, no closeness, nothing of that sort.

  And that feeling in and of itself was chilling. What was the game doing to her psyche?

  CHAPTER 15

  Decisions, Decisions

  Zach had been surprised when Selene contacted him asking for a meeting. He had been even more surprised when she had asked that it be one on one, and that he turn off all communication to the outside while it was taking place.

  He had accepted her request, though not without a lot of curiosity. Selene was one of his oldest friends, and it wasn't like her to tiptoe around like this; usually, she would speak her mind. Something was up.

  There was a knock on the door of the small meeting room he had selected.

  “Come on in,” he said.

  Selene stepped in and shut the door behind her.

  Zach gestured for her to have a seat. The interior wasn't much, furnished with just a small table and three chairs, but it would serve its purpose well enough.

  “Alright, so why did you want this meeting?” Zach asked. “And why do you want all this secrecy? It's almost paranoid, and that's not like you at all.”

  Selene gave him a half smile. “I just don't want what I have to say getting back to certain people. So please make sure that it doesn't.”

  “Sure,” Zach agreed.

  “I mean it. If this gets out then I might have to hurt you.”

  “Hurt me?”

  “Yeah. Physically, in the real world, and badly,” Selene told him. “So don't let a word of this out.”

  “It kind of takes away from the threat when you have to add so many qualifiers to it,” Zach said with a chuckle.

  “Oh please, you won't be saying that if I do it to you,” Selene replied.

  “OK, back on topic. Why did you want this?”

  Selene leaned back in her chair and sighed. “I'm worried about Nora.”

  “Did she say something about it last night?” Zach asked. “She's been down for a little while, but I couldn't get a good answer when I asked her about it.”

  “Well, we had a pretty long talk about stuff last night. About the alliance, about how we're feeling about its expansion. About what drew us into the game, and whether those reasons still exist.”

  Zach wasn't quite sure where she was going with this point. “So...” he asked, beckoning for more.

  “I think that you should withdraw Nora from Barghest Company,” Selene told him. “Reassign her back to Black Wolf. Or maybe ask Anna if she's need as a adjunct at battalion command.”

  “Why?” Zach asked.

  “She's putting on a brave face about it, but I don't think she likes it,” Selene explained. “To Nora, a lot of the appeal of the game is the camaraderie. You know, having adventures and accomplishing things with your comrades.”

  “Right, I understand that,” Zach said.

  “Well, I think that in her position, that part has faded. To her Barghest doesn't have the same feel as Black Wolf.”

  “Well, that's to be expected,” Zach said. “They are new to the alliance, after all.”

  “But I think it goes deeper than just their newness. I think there's a difference in social standing as well. Back when we were just a small company we were all learning together. We had commanders, but we were all equals. Now there's a gulf. She's spending most of her time teaching them instead of getting to know them. They're not comrades to her. They're subordinates.”

  “And you think that's really hurting her enjoyment of the game,” Zach said. “Do you feel this way?”

  “Maybe a bit, but I'm not really bothered by it,” Selene told him. “I'm happy as long as I have something to give me a challenge. I can do it with anyone beside me, or no one.”

  “It's a lot to consider,” he said. “I'm not sure that this is the best time to do it.
Switching up Barghest Company's leadership at a time like this might not be the best decision.”

  “But keeping her in place might not be the best decision either,” Selene said. “She's doing a reasonably good job commanding her platoon, all things considered, but still, she's not going to do a great job when she's not having fun.”

  “Great, when did I turn into human resources?” Zach said lightly, though in truth he was concerned. “What do you suggest?”

  “Moving her out of Barghest and back into Black Wolf would be my suggestion,” Selene told him. “I think she needs to be back with the people that she's most comfortable with.”

  “OK, so are you thinking that she takes her original place back?” Zach asked her.

  “Actually, I think being in command of a platoon has been good for her. She's been able to learn a lot of leadership skills that we'll need, especially if we end up expanding the company. I would suggest moving her into command of Alpha Wolf Platoon.”

  “And then I would slide out and resume my position as purely the company commander,” Zach finished. “That's all well and good from this end, but what about Barghest Company? Who's going to replace her?”

  “I think we have a candidate, actually,” Selene told him. “Allen, one of the squad leaders in her platoon. I think he has it in him to do the job.”

  “Does Karen think so?”

  “I haven't talked to her about this, so I don't know. But if you were to ask for Nora back, I think she would decide on him. At least, that's how I read it.”

  “OK, I'll see what I can do about it. Meanwhile, we're going into the abyss tomorrow,” Zach told her.

  “With the entire battalion?”

  “With the entire battalion,” he confirmed. “Think your guys are ready for something like this?”

  “Well, we won't know for sure, but I would say yes,” Selene told him. “We'll be ready.”

  “OK, good. Anything else?”

  Selene stood up. “Nope, that was all. I need to go get some stuff ready for tomorrow anyhow.”

  “Alright then. Thanks for the heads up,” Zach said.

  He sat for a moment after she left, thinking. Then he sent a message to Nora.

  “You needed to see me?” Nora asked as she entered the meeting room.

  “Yeah, I did. There's something I wanted to talk to you about,” Zach said to her.

  She took a seat. “OK, so what is it?”

  “I'm thinking of making a switch,” he told her. “Being in charge of Alpha Wolf Platoon is taking time away from my duties as company commander, so I think it's a good idea to move out of that spot. That means the platoon needs a new commander, and I want to switch you into that spot.”

  Nora frowned. “OK, which one of them blabbed?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Oh don't give me that,” Nora said. “One of them talked to you about what I said last night. The question is, which one?”

  “I'm sorry, but I'm not going to say,” Zach said. “I told them that I wouldn't.”

  “It was Selene, wasn't it? She's the only one out of those four that you're deathly afraid of.”

  “I'd keep it confidential for any one of them,” Zach told her.

  “But still, you're evading the question, so it's definitely her,” Nora said with a half smile. “So are you pulling me off the line? I won't object if you do.”

  “I'm giving you an option,” Zach told her. “The spot as Alpha Wolf's lieutenant is there if you want it. You can decide any time you want to, and we'll make the necessary adjustments.”

  Nora clicked her tongue. “That leaves Karen in a tough position, and I feel bad about that. And it switches up the leadership of Yellow Platoon right when they don't need it. Do they even have a replacement in mind yet?”

  “They do,” Zach said. “And anyhow, I don't see it as that big of a deal. It was always going to be like this. You, Selene and Miko are only temporary loaners to the company to get them going. You were always going to come back to us.”

  “Is right now a good time for that?” Nora asked.

  “That's your decision,” Zach replied.

  “That's a pretty tough decision,” Nora answered.

  Zach shrugged. “Well, I'll leave it up to you. What do you want to do?”

  “I don't know,” Nora said with some frustration in her voice.

  “OK then. We're going into the tunnels tomorrow to take care of the pit that you guys discovered. Stay in command until at least that's over, and then make your decision. Who knows, someone might distinguish themselves and be in line for a promotion.”

  “That would be convenient.”

  “Yeah, but that's the purpose of Barghest Company. They need to get better, and they need to use you guys as teachers, not crutches. Once they're able to stand on their own you should be back where you belong.”

  “Is there really only one place where we truly belong?” Nora asked.

  “Hey, you're part of the pack. You should be with us,” Zach said.

  She stood up. “I'll think about it.”

  “OK. Are we still on for tonight?”

  “Yup. There's a place I'd like to try, if that's alright with you,” she replied. “At six, right?”

  “Right, and that's fine with me,” Zach said. “Now just get your platoon ready for tomorrow and don't worry about things. They'll work themselves out.”

  “I will,” Nora said as she left.

  The floodlights clicked on, and Zach got his first good look at the pit below. It wasn't encouraging.

  “Wow,” Danny said from beside him. “That's a lot of tunnels to search.”

  “No kidding,” Zach agreed.

  He couldn't begin to count the number of tunnels branching off from the main chamber. They had all seen the photos, but in person it was an entirely different experience. The sheer vastness of this place was overwhelming.

  “I'm going to let your guys lead the way in,” Anna said from beside him. “Secure the floor area of the chamber and we'll go from there. We'' provide cover for you as you head down. Stick to the plan we made.”

  “OK then.” Zach activated his radio. “Black Wolf, we're in the lead. We're heading to the bottom of the chamber in order to secure it. It looks like there's two ways down, one on each side of the place. Alpha Wolf takes the left side. Gavin, you're first, then Ethan, then Logan. Danny will designate for Bravo Wolf.”

  “We're going to switch things up a bit,” Danny said. “Ryan, your squad is going to be in the lead. Xavier, you're next, followed by Javy.”

  “Once we're about half way down Redd Foxx will follow us and Spectre will go on overwatch. Then we'll repeat with Barghest. Stick to your designated levels unless otherwise ordered. Stay alert, and if you run across anything important, relay it back to battalion command.”

  Zach glanced over his shoulder at Gavin. “Ready?”

  “All set,” came the response.

  “Then let's move.”

  Zach watched Alpha 1 descend into the gloom, the beams of their gun lights flicking back and forth. He tensed with anticipation as they passed the first tunnel entrance. But there was nothing.

  “Let's go,” he told Ethan, and Alpha 2 started down into the darkness themselves. Zach went with them.

  They passed tunnel after tunnel and reached a ladder that descended to the next level. Luckily they could climb down without any real fear of an attack, since Gavin's squad had cleared the way. Zach could see them up ahead, checking the entrances to more tunnels.

  Climbing down a ladder was much harder than it first appeared to be. The ladder itself was solid, but it was metal and somewhat slippery to grip. Having a heavy kit didn't help matters. Zach was glad that he wasn't carrying a flamethrower today. His carbine and grenade launcher were awkward enough.

  He looked up to see Logan's squad start their descent. Things were going smoothly enough, or at least they weren't running into serious opposition like some of them feared. At any rate, it wouldn't stay
like that for long. Zach knew all too well that while the underground was often quiet, there was always some nasty surprise lurking around the corner.

  They reached the next level by way of a set of stairs. There were two more levels before they reached the bottom.

  “We have a full battalion here, and that might not be enough to deal with this place,” Ethan said.

  “I think we'll be fine,” Zach said, though he wondered if there was some truth to those words.

  Danny contacted him. “See anything yet on your side?”

  “Nothing. Could be just a tomb, for how quiet this place has been.”

  Danny groaned. “Don't call it that.”

  “What, 'cause you think you'll be joining the dead if I say it like that? I plan on living, thank you very much,” Zach replied.

  “Tell Ethan to stand as far away from you as possible, then,” Danny said. “Don't want to hit him with your bad karma.”

  Zach tried to keep himself from smiling. “Just keep looking, and don't get shot.”

  “Don't get eaten yourself.”

  “Haha,” Zach replied, and ended the communication. Alpha 2 continued to descend into the darkness.

  They reached the bottom without incident, though the silence was making Zach very uneasy. He had the suspicion that a whole host of enemies was going to suddenly appear out of the tunnels and would massacre anyone in the center of the chamber. But nothing came.

  “Something has to be down here, right?” Gavin asked as they squads took up positions around the bottom of the chamber. There were five tunnels branching off on this level.

  “I would think that this is where whatever Barghest Company was fighting came from,” Zach said, “but there's no way to be sure.”

  “Time to start searching the tunnels?” Danny asked.

  Zach nodded. “Right. Ethan, keep your squad in the chamber. You'll act as the reserve squad. The rest of you, pick a tunnel and head down it. Make sure that you don't kill each other by mistake if the tunnels suddenly intersect. If you run into trouble, alert me. I'll be in here with Alpha 2.”