Then the message flashed up in front of her, confirming her fears.
You are KIA.
“Oh, come on,” she muttered before blowing out a frustrated breath.
Dead before she even hit the ground. Hopefully the rest of the battalion would fare better.
* * *
Danny fell and rolled as his feet hit earth, attempting the maneuver that he and the others had practiced many times during training to prevent injury. As soon as he came to a stop he struggled out of his harness, then prepared his weapon for combat.
Unlike most times he was traveling light, using an assault rifle with a reinforced barrel as a light machine gun of sorts. It couldn't provide sustained fire like his normal weapon due to the fact it could only use thirty round magazines, but it was the best trade of weight to firepower they could manage.
The rest of Bravo Wolf formed up in short order.
“Xavier, Javy, Ryan, take a head count of your squads,” he ordered.
A few seconds later they confirmed that none of them had been killed during the ride down. What a difference a few hundred yards made, Danny thought to himself as he surveyed the area. Every single one of them had made it while Alpha Wolf was getting torn apart just a little further to the north.
“Advance north up the field. Let's try to expand the landing zone so that the follow on waves have an easier time. Xavier, you're on point.”
“Copy that,” came the reply, and within a few moments they were heading down the length of the airfield, guns at the ready.
Danny lagged behind by a few steps and got on the radio. “Wolf Lead, Wolf Lead, can you hear me? Wolf Lead, please respond.”
It felt odd to contact Nora using that callsign, but she was the one in charge of the company right now, so that title went along with the responsibility. He only hoped she had some sort of contingency plan in place, because right now he didn't even know if Alpha Wolf would be capable of fighting once they landed. They might have to fold themselves into Bravo Wolf if their casualties were bad enough.
No response. “Wolf Lead, Wolf Lead, are you there? This is Bravo Wolf, please respond.”
“Sorry Danny,” Nora said after a moment. “It's taken me a while to get used to the new callsign. What's up?”
“My platoon is on the ground, but Alpha Wolf's getting hit hard. Selene got killed before they even landed, and it sounds like they're getting pounded.”
“Understood. Try to establish contact with the survivors and get them organized. I'll leave it up to you whether you want to consolidate them into your platoon or keep them as a separate unit.”
“Copy that. We'll try to expand the landing zone so that Barghest has a better chance. Oh, and our landing zone is relatively clear. You might want to tell them that.”
“I will, but we might not be able to change much at this point.”
“Right. I'll be in touch. Bravo Wolf out.”
Danny switched channels. “Alpha Wolf, please respond. Gavin, Ethan, Logan, are any of you still alive? Alpha Wolf? Please respond.”
He just hoped he'd get some sort of answer.
* * *
“That's going to be a problem,” Anna said as Nora explained the situation to her.
“I know, but there's not much we can do about it right now,” Liz spoke up. “We're just going to have to take the casualties as part of taking the district.”
Maybe, but Black Wolf Company had been taking a pounding over the last few months, Nora reflected, and now they would have to pull a significant amount of their strength off the front lines to refit and retrain. The changes to the game's skill systems meant taking heavy casualties could severely deplete a unit's fighting ability for a long period of time.
Of course, that was true for the rest of the alliance as well, and Nora had the feeling that Ghost Battalion was buying time for the rest of the battalions to train and refit after the final battle for the Cudahy District. She didn't dare ask that question, though, for fear of starting a rumor that might end up causing problems. Everyone was a bit on edge after months and months of continuous fighting against Ragnarok, and the last thing they needed was more dissension.
Nora looked back down at the map table, trying to assess the situation. “Looks like they're advancing up the field at a steady pace. If what Danny says is true then they have a pretty large area for Barghest to drop into.”
“They're a minute out from the target area, so that should let them exploit the breach,” Liz commented, looking down at her wrist menu. “Once they're on the ground I'll signal the helicopter troops. If all goes as planned we'll have the field in no time.”
If all went as planned. The others sounded optimistic, but Nora had seen enough action inside Milwaukee to know that plans inside the city could be wrecked almost instantly. Too many bloody battles had made her cynical about their changes of coming out with dramatic victories like they had in the past. Instead, this was going to be a slow, brutal grind.
Nora activated her radio again. “Danny, Barghest is a minute out. How are you doing?”
* * *
Danny couldn't respond immediately. He ducked down as bullets streamed overhead, trying to stay behind whatever meagre cover he could find. Most of the airfield complex was situated underground, made up of fortified hangars and bunkers containing supplies, aircraft and munitions. The few buildings above ground had been completely flattened by the preliminary artillery bombardment, leaving little more than splinters and scrap metal.
That gave them wide-open areas to land in, but it meant pretty much everyone was a sitting duck. If he could take any comfort, it was that the enemy garrison faced a similar situation.
But still, laying belly down on the ground trying to make himself as small as possible certainly wasn't high on his list of things to do. He deployed the bipod on his gun and took aim at the enemy position ahead, then squeezed the trigger.
More of his troops surged forward, firing occasional quick bursts as they stormed the enemy position. Their ferocity quickly overwhelmed the enemy, minimizing the damage done,
But attacking a defended position over open ground was a daunting prospect no matter how quickly they managed to do it, and Danny noted that several of the individuals on his channel had gone silent. At this rate they wouldn't have enough troops to sustain a proper offensive without help.
“Danny, are you there?”
“I'm here, but a little busy,” he replied. “Please tell me that there's reinforcements.”
“Like I said, Barghest is a minute out. More like thirty seconds.”
Danny nodded. It would be more than that, because it would take several minutes for them to drop and get assembled on the ground. Meanwhile, Black Wolf was going to have to shoulder the load for now.
“Be aware that we're down to about half of our normal strength,” he warned. “Next time let's not drop right over a hot zone, OK?”
“Not my call this time, but noted. Do what you can.”
Do what you can. What could he do at this point? The only thing that Danny imagined they could accomplish was to widen the safe area around the landing zone, allowing the rest of the battalion to come in relatively unmolested.
Once again, they were going to take the brunt of the casualties buying time for the rest of their force. He supposed that was the double-edged sword of being Ghost Battalion's assault specialists. They were highly regarded, so they were always at the forefront of any operation.
It was better than sitting back and waiting for the enemy to come at them, though, and Danny appreciated being able to dictate the pace of the battle. Now, to keep everything moving.
“Black Wolf, report. How are you doing on casualties?”
“Bravo 1. We're taken a couple,” Xavier said.
“Same here,” Javy spoke up.
“We're still at full strength,” Ryan said.
Gavin spoke up next. “My unit's fine. Do you want me to detach some of my troops to bulk up the other squads?”
/>
“No. Take the lead for now and try to form a perimeter. We need to hold off the enemy enough to let Barghest land.”
“Understood.”
Danny quickly glanced at his wrist menu for the time, then looked up into the sky. Sure enough, parachutes were beginning to open high above them and slightly to the south.
Alpha Wolf had been badly mauled as they fell into the drop zone. Logan's squad had lost several members, and only four members of Alpha 2 had hit the ground alive. Ethan himself had been killed in his harness as well, a victim of bad luck and circumstance. The survivors had been folded into Gavin's squad to make up for their losses. Ryan's unit had been allocated to cover the southern end of the landing zone, leaving Danny with a full strength platoon.
One platoon against an entire district's worth of enemies. He just hoped that Barghest could get on the ground and assembled fast, because if not they were going to be overwhelmed.
He activated his radio. “Lone Wolf, Lone Wolf, come in.”
“What's up?” Miko asked.
That was one thing in their favor. Miko had dropped in with Alpha Wolf and survived the killzone, and now she could provide them with valuable information as she ranged in front of their advance, pinpointing targets and taking out critical enemies, whether those were heavy weapons, officers or something else.
“How are we looking to the north?”
“Not great. There's a bunch of enemy infantry headed your way. Doesn't look like they're heavily armed, but there's several platoons, at least. No armor or artillery, though.”
That was good, because the last thing they needed to deal with was a tank.
“What about AA guns?”
“Doesn't look like they have anything heavier than machine guns.”
“Then that's our ticket. Stand by to guide some attack runs.” He switched radio channels. “Raven Flight, Raven Flight, this is Bravo Wolf. Please respond.”
“This is Raven 2. I hear you,” Blake's voice answered him.
“We need an attack run on a specific target. I'll patch you in to Miko's link.”
“Acknowledged. How many helos do you need? We still have to cover the landing zone.”
“We have a squad there as well. Give us two or four and we should be set.” Danny pressed a series of buttons in his wrist menu. “Miko, you still there?”
“I'm here.”
“Blake's in the channel with us. Guide them in on the enemy units coming at us.”
“Copy that.”
Danny logged himself out of that channel and opened up another one. “Black Lead, Black Lead, this is Bravo Wolf. Please respond.” He seemed to be saying that a lot today, he reflected.
“Go ahead,” Karen replied.
“How far are you from making your landing?”
“Just about a hundred feet or so.”
“Try to get assembled as soon as you can. We took a beating on the way down, and I'm pretty much fighting the entire district with just a platoon.”
“Got it. I called into command as soon as we jumped, so Spectre and Redd Foxx are on the way.”
That would give them enough strength to restart their push across the airfield. Danny hoped they would get here soon, because the longer it took the more time the enemy had to regroup and get into position.
Wooosh!
He felt a rush of air pass over him and looked up, just in time to see a quartet of Hornets zoom in overhead, guns blazing. Spent bullet casings started to rain down around him. One clanked off the top of his helmet, causing him to wince a bit.
“Good work,” Miko's voice cut in over his earpiece. “Danny, the enemy platoons scattered. You should be safe for a few minutes.”
“Got it. Hats off to Raven Flight,” he said.
A few more minutes. It didn't seem like much, but it would be enough to get the rest of their troops on the ground. And once that happened, he had no doubt they'd win.
* * *
Nora watched as the final unit markers appeared on the map table. Within a minute Redd Foxx and Spectre had disgorged from their helicopters and were spreading out in all directions, preparing to take the rest of the airport district. Once they managed to take the gate connecting to Cudahy an armored platoon from Grizzly would join the fray, adding to their firepower.
“Looks like we have the battle well in hand,” Anna commented.
“Yes we do,” Nora agreed.
It might not have been pretty or particularly elegant, but Black Wolf had accomplished their goals. Hydra would have another district by the end of the day, and after months and months of slow fighting they'd finally have a quick advance. They could start to put pressure on Ragnarok's air superiority, and depending on what they found inside the district they might be able to completely turn the tables on their enemy.
She just hoped they'd have enough time to properly regroup before the next battle, because their casualties were enormous.
They might be advancing at a far more rapid pace, but this city was still a meat grinder.
2
Jetsetting
“Nice place you've got here,” Zach commented as he surveyed the captured district.
“Yeah. You see what we can manage when you're not here?” Danny said.
“Sorry, I had to do work,” Zach said. “And it was time sensitive.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Danny said with a grin. “Guess you're the only unlucky one that has to live in the real world now.”
“I'm also getting paid a lot more, so there,” Zach shrugged.
“What were you working on?”
“Can't tell you that. Disclosures and everything.”
“Figures. So, is this going to be a problem from now on? We're going to have to operate without our company commander?”
Zach frowned, trying to think of the best way to phrase his response. “It might be, and we might need to look into other solutions,” he said. “I might need to step aside as company commander if it gets too hectic, but that's speculation right now. I don't actually know how busy I'm going to be.”
“Right. Any thoughts on who gets to be commander?”
“You and Selene can duke it out. Or maybe I'll give you both performance reviews?”
“Hah, that means I already have a leg up. At least I was able to get on the ground and fight.”
“Be fair, that was more luck than skill.”
Danny's handling of the situation on the ground certainly wasn't all luck, though. Faced with heavy losses from the beginning and with little outside help he had managed to rally the company and expand the landing zone, saving the rest of the battalion countless casualties as they dropped.
It had cost them too. According to Nora Black Wolf had lost two thirds of their troops during the battle, and they would need time to get back up to strength. That meant retraining their skills in other areas away from the front. It weakened the main effort, but it would also be a change of pace from their normal activities. Black Wolf had hardly performed operations south of Old Chicago since the alliance had captured Indianapolis, and he knew many of his troops wanted to do something different. This was a game, after all, and monotony wasn't entertaining in the least.
“Have you cleared out the entire district?” he asked.
“Barghest is still sweeping the underground bunkers, but almost all of them are clear,” Danny told him. “This place wasn't very heavily defended. I guess we can thank Ragnarok for that little gift.”
Zach nodded. Ragnarok had attempted to take the district with a small force but came under heavy fire from the enemy garrison and was forced to withdraw. Most of their veteran troops had been needed at the front lines, fighting in the Cudahy District and along the front stretching south of Madison. They couldn't afford to waste time with a sideshow, and when they failed there was no point in continuing.
Their loss was Hydra's gain, though, and Zach was happy to take the break. Ragnarok's air force remained troublesome, restricting their aerial movements outside the ci
ty. They still could perform operations with their helicopters, but they had to be very, very careful. Otherwise, the enemy could easy get the jump on them, and if that happened they stood to take heavy losses.
But with the capture of the airfield they might be able to turn the tables on the enemy a bit. One of the Hydra Alliance's biggest problems was the fact that they didn't have effective air cover. They had a sizable unit, Perseus Flight, but they flew the standard Gale fighters, fast and agile but unable to take much punishment. Worse, their range was a bit lacking, and Hydra's airfields were located south of Old Chicago. Even if they could get their entire air force overhead they could only stay there for a limited amount of time.
In contrast, Ragnarok was operating close to their bases around Madison and could loiter over the battlefield for much longer. And to make matters worse, their planes were based on a schematic found outside of the hub city, which meant they were much more powerful. Hydra still hadn't been able to fully diagnose their capabilities, but they were tough, fast, sturdy and packed a significant punch.
Worse, the enemy pilots had been honing their skill for months. Dive bombing was one of their best skills, allowing them to place bombs on target with pinpoint accuracy. It remained practical for now because neither side had access to good antiaircraft weaponry at the moment. How long that would last was anyone's guess.
Zach was currently working on another project at Elysium Visions, World at War Online's designers, but he still had his ear to the ground and knew another expansion was coming in the future. Just like the last update, it would probably radically change the way they fought. Air combat would certainly make a radical shift. But for now, none of that mattered.
“Have we found anything useful? Any schematics? Equipment? Anything we can use?”
“I'm not the one to ask about that,” Danny told him. “Plus, I'm not going to screw around with stuff we just found either. What happens if we break it? I'd rather have the Hephaestus engineers take a look at it first.”
Commando City: A World at War Novel (World at War Online Book 7) Page 2