Commando City: A World at War Novel (World at War Online Book 7)

by Mitchell T. Jacobs

  “How complicated will it be?” Zach asked.

  “Shouldn't be too bad,” Yusuf told him. “It'll involve getting enough shock absorbent padding to go along with the parachutes, but that should be simple enough.”

  “Here's another thing. How easy will it be to drive?”

  “Some of you can drive Mules, right?” Paige said. “It's pretty much the same thing.”

  “Actually, I'd make it even simpler,” Yusuf said. “It's a 4×4, so we can just install a regular steering column. If you can drive a car, you can drive one of these. Anything else we can help you with?”

  “Nope, that was my biggest concern,” Zach told them. “Thanks guys. This is going to be a life saver.”

  “Don't mention it,” Yusuf nodded. “One thing though. Try not to go through too much equipment. We're trying to restock our supplies after the last offensive, and we don't want to fall behind.”

  Zach gave him a thumbs up. “We'll do our best. Thanks again.”

  He headed out of the development wing, past various Hephaestus engineers going about their business. Zach passed by a group taking apart the fuselage of one of the jets, scanning everything and carefully documenting the construction and pieces. Hydra always had new technology coming down the pipeline, and they were the reason why the rest of the alliance could count on it.

  But technology alone wasn't going to be enough to achieve victory. They needed the proper training to put it all to good use, and that seemed to be a bit of an issue at the moment. Danny's reports indicated that the paratroopers and their transport pilots still needed to work on their coordination and timing.

  They had a lot of work to do, and only a short period of time to do it in. While they didn't have an exact date for the start of the operation, Zach knew it would happen soon. They needed to maintain their momentum against Ragnarok. And then there were all of the responsibilities of the outside world calling to him...

  He just hoped that, when the time came, they're be ready to go.

  7

  Airborne

  Selene rolled as her feet touched the ground and came to a perfect stop. Once glance at her wrist menu map confirmed that she had landed on target, or close enough. The rest of her platoon was falling to the ground around her, right where they were supposed to be.

  It had taken them long enough, almost a week of training before they were able to land directly on their waypoint. There had been complete failures, mishaps, close calls, every type of setback they could thing of, but they steadily became more and more proficient. Now, once they had the timing right, landing was relatively smooth.

  That was in near perfect conditions without opposition, though. Ghost Battalion had been using the fields south of Indianapolis, due to their wide open spaces and the unlikelihood of any enemy spies being in the area. That cut down on accidents while they were getting their timing down, but it didn't properly simulate the environment they'd be dropping into. They'd have to land in relatively small areas surrounded by tall buildings, and that only accounted for part of the danger. It would be worse with enemy troops firing at them as they descended, even if the paratroopers were able to catch them by surprise.

  But they had a few more things to do before they dared to practice inside a contained environment. Getting infantry on the ground had become a straightforward process, but that was only half of the issue.

  “Alpha Wolf, Alpha Wolf, this is Hermes. We're approaching drop-off point. I say again, we're approaching drop-off point.”

  “Copy that, Hermes,” Selene replied, looking up into the sky. Sure enough, the Colossus lumbered into view, its ramp open.

  And then a large shape fell off the back, followed by another. A few seconds later, a series of large parachutes deployed.

  Hephaestus Company had managed to complete the new vehicle design in a surprisingly short time, producing a pair of working prototypes within three days. After testing and a little more tinkering, they were ready to test its ability to be air dropped.

  Selene watched them fall with a mix of anticipation and nerves. The Gazelle, as they had named the new design, would give them desperately needed fire support and staying power when they landed. It certainly couldn't stand up to something like an enemy tank, but it would be good enough providing an extra little punch to an infantry unit.

  On the other hand, this was their first real test of its airdrop capabilities, and for all they knew the prototypes would smash into a million pieces when they hit the ground. If that happened then it was back to the drawing board. If they were especially unlucky then they might not get enough time to create a new design. From the rumors being passed down the chain of command, the military council wanted to launch the attack as soon as possible. Every day they delayed gave Ragnarok more time to recover.

  She activated her radio. “Alpha Wolf Platoon, stand by to receive incoming Gazelles. Watch your step and don't get squashed underneath one.”

  “What, you don't think we're going to look out for that?” Ethan replied.

  “Just saying. I might have saved someone from dying in a horrible fashion.”

  The Gazelles dropped closer and closer, then touched down with a pair of audible thuds. Seconds later her platoon swarmed over them, removing the drop equipment and preparing them for battle.

  “Looks like everything's intact,” Gavin told her over the radio link. “We're going to fire them up to make sure.”

  “Copy that. Take it for a spin, fire the guns, things like that. We want to make sure it's actually useful once it hits the ground.”

  “Understood.”

  Selene watched as a makeshift crew climbed into each of the machines. Hephaestus had tried to minimize the number of troops manning each vehicle, managing to reduce it to three: a driver, a commander and a gunner. Having only three crew members meant that losses would severely weaken the vehicle's capabilities, but then again, the Gazelle wasn't build to stand up to anything bigger than a light autocannon. They would just have to be cautious, pairing them with infantry to protect them.

  She heard a cranking noise, and then one of the engines roared to life. The first Gazelle sped off its landing pallet, turned left and then headed out into the open field. The second vehicle started its own engine and followed.

  “How's it looking?” she asked.

  “Looks like the guns are fine on the first one,” Gavin said. “They're not damaged, at least, and the sights are still aligned.”

  “Compliments of Hephaestus,” she nodded. They had specifically built them to withstand the shock of landing, which would be significant even with the parachutes and all the padding.

  It was a good thing too, because the last thing they needed to do in a combat zone was realigning the sights. Without them properly zeroed the main gun would be useless, but calibrating would take a significant amount of time and deprive them of critical firepower.

  She heard the sound of an autocannon firing, followed by some bursts of machine gun fire.

  “OK, cannon works fine. So does the machine gun,” Gavin said.

  Another series of shots rang out.

  “Our guns are working fine too,” Jermaine reported.

  “Good. That took what, five minutes to get them up and running? Nice job.”

  That would help their case, but Selene still remained nervous about the whole thing. They would be dropping into a hostile environment with almost no room for error, cut off from most support.

  And no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't shake the memory of being killed in her harness during the last drop.

  * * *

  “Ready?” Miko asked.

  “Ready,” Selene told her with a nod.

  They left their apartment and headed downstairs to the complex's gym. For all the hours they spent locked inside the virtual world, everyone in the case study group was in good physical condition.

  Part of that had to do with the demands of the study. Elysium Visions wanted good data, and that required having hea
lthy subjects to study. Just sitting around all day wouldn't give them an accurate reading, so steps were taken to ensure that they all remained healthy and fit. Each of them was required to exercise a certain amount of time every week.

  That suited her just fine. Selene had always been an athlete throughout high school and college, and the present was no different. Whether it was running, playing pickup basketball or something else, she enjoyed being active.

  And while she might not have a problem with it, Selene could also encourage some of the others who were less inclined to be active. Miko was one of them, but since they still roomed together they could also exercise together.

  “Treadmill again today?” Selene asked her.

  “Yeah, that or a stair climber,” Miko replied. “I think stretching my legs will be good enough. It's not like we've been playing a million games of basketball every week.”

  Most of their activities had been indoors due to the summer heat and mugginess. She normally wasn't one to pay much regard to that, but this year had been especially intense, enough to make breathing hard at times. At least when they were indoors they could exercise without having to stop every few minutes to catch their breath.

  “I'll probably work on cardio today too,” she said.

  “You're so much more focus than I am,” Miko said with a smile and a slight laugh. “Here I am just trying to get any kind of exercise I can, and you've got a routine. Still doing body sculpting?”

  “It's not body sculpting, it's just making sure that I'm getting everything exercised,” Selene told her. “I did it a lot when I was an athlete.”

  “Was?”

  “Well, technically I don't think I can be considered one, since I'm not a part of a team and I really don't do competitions now.”

  “Yeah, I'm pretty sure you'd try to kill anyone else trying to compete against you,” Miko commented with another smile. “I'm actually surprised that you're not running marathons or at least doing amateur sports.”

  “When would I have time for that, though? Yeah, I'd probably enjoy it, but we have all we can do to keep up with the study.”

  “Ah, that's true. The virtual world's probably occupying your competitive streak, right? Or at least the parts that don't get satisfied when you're trying to beat Danny in pickup basketball.”

  “Maybe,” Selene shrugged.

  “Maybe? You're the one that's pushing everyone through training.”

  “I'm not the only one,” she protested.

  “OK fine, you're not, and I see the point. But you're the one pushing the hardest. Now, I get why, but is there more to it? You seem to be a bit more on edge than usual.”

  “Than usual? What, you think I'm on edge normally?”

  Miko laughed. “Oh come on, what you think is normal might be what a lot of us think is on edge. And I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, but come on. Remember that most of the other people in the alliance have day jobs and are playing the game to have fun. Sure, we want to win, but there's a certain point where it stops being worth it and it just becomes another job. And who wants that?”

  “Yeah, I get that,” Selene said. “But losing because we're not prepared isn't any fun either. We have to be ready.”

  “Yup, and that's fine to think that. But try not to ruin everyone else's fun by being too gung-ho about it.”

  Selene glanced over at her. “What about you?”

  “Hm?”

  “I mean, since you're in the same boat as me and can spend a lot more time in there, does that change anything for you? Does that make you more competitive?”

  “Nah, I'm more of a self-motivator,” she said. “I like a challenge, to be sure, but I don't sweat it if we can't win. I just do my best and enjoy doing it. Sniping is pretty fun once you get the hang of it.”

  “So you like watching people run for cover?”

  “The novelty wears off when you're dealing with veterans,” Miko said. “They don't panic and lose their minds like the rookies do.”

  “That… that sounds pretty psychotic, actually,” Selene commented lightly. “And you're saying I'm the one who has the problem?”

  “Eh, not really. Just saying that you might want to watch what you're doing, especially since you're in a leadership position. Otherwise you might upset a lot of people. If this is their off time, then do they really want someone constantly pushing their buttons? Even if it is to get better?”

  “Point taken,” Selene replied. “I just hated the feeling of getting killed before I got on the ground. I mean, fine, kill me in battle. At least then I'm able to shoot back. But getting shot while I'm parachuting? I might as well be a target dummy then. And wouldn't others feel the same way?”

  “They probably would,” Miko said. “But whether they'd want to push themselves that hard in their free time is another thing entirely. Just keep that in mind. We don't want to run a bunch of people out of our company.”

  “Jeeze, do you really think I'm that bad?”

  “It's just a friendly observation. And maybe I'm overstating things. But just keep that in mind.”

  “OK, I will. And I appreciate your concern. So, anyhow, treadmill?” Selene said as they reached the gym doors.

  Miko nodded. “Treadmill sounds good.”

  * * *

  They got their marching orders later that day.

  Ghost Battalion's officers met up at Lerna Bastion, in one of the command centers dug deep into the earth. The once prominent base had become somewhat of a backwater now that the fighting had shifted north, though it still remained an important staging area and transport hub.

  Anna stood in front of the assembled commander, who were grouped in a semicircle around a holographic map table. Originally meant to control a battle being fought in the immediate area around the bastion, it was now mostly utilized for planning and reconnaissance analysis.

  “We have our target,” she said, pressing a few buttons. The display zoomed into an aerial view of the district.

  It wasn't one continuous view of the area, Selene guessed, because the general maps of the world every player possessed didn't show things like individual buildings, smaller streets and detailed elevation. These particular images weren't the best, but she could pick out enough to get an accurate reading of the ground they'd be dealing with.

  “Our assault on the Shorewood District is going happen first,” Anna told them. “The name for the operation is Argonaut, and it's aimed at getting on the ground before the airspace above the city gets too crowded.”

  She made another adjustment to the display. “As you all can see, the district is pretty crowded, which means there's not going to be a ton of places we can drop. There's also the Milwaukee River running down the center of the district, and I don't know about the rest of you, but I really don't want to drown.”

  That elicited a few smiles and nervous laughs from the rest.

  “Anyhow, there's two sections of the city we can drop into. I'll turn it over to the person who's actually from Milwaukee, since she can give you more details than I can.”

  Liz stepped forward. “Alright, like Anna said there's two sections we can drop into. The first would be the area around Kilbourn Park, but that's on the other side of the river from where we want to be.”

  She moved the view to the southeast. “I think the best spot to make a landing is here, at the area around Veterans Park. The area is wide open, and we come down right next to the marina. That gives us an open supply route right out of the gate.”

  “And this is the Shorewood District?” Allen commented, who was from Milwaukee as well. “That's pretty far south to be considered actually being a part of the district.”

  “Well, they based the locations on real world locations and took their names for simplicity. They aren't exact copies,” Zach spoke up. “Besides, Cudahy technically isn't even a part of Milwaukee in the real world. It was just there.”

  “Just felt I had to point that out,” Allen said with a smile.

>   Liz cleared her throat. “Anyhow. We'll have our transports come in over the lake, make a southward turn and then perform the drop when they're flying north to south. That should give us the most open space possible.”

  “That also exposes them to AA fire for much longer,” Karen pointed out.

  “I know, but coming in right toward the drop zone means there's going to be a lot less space, and that means a lot less margin for error.”

  “I agree with that,” Anna said. “Besides, the reconnaissance photos indicate that there's four main points where the enemy forces are concentrated.” She stepped forward to the display and grabbed a stylus. “Here, around the University, down here at the hospital, here at Grover Heights, and here at Halyard Park.”

  “I don't see any names marked there,” Danny said.

  “They're just a label we used,” Liz said. “What would be there in the real world. Accounting for scaling and things like that, of course.”

  “At any rate, that means if we're careful about our flight paths we shouldn't run into any trouble,” Anna cut in. “That gives us the best landing zone, a supply route and a decent margin for error.”

  “We just have to be sure we can pull it off,” Selene noted.

  “Yes, that is our one challenge.”

  And the only way to overcome that was more training.

  8

  Dress Rehersal

  Weeks of preparation and many practice drops had led up to this point. Ghost Battalion's troops had repeatedly honed their skills, making themselves capable of landing within a small, confined area with little room for error. They could do it in the wide open fields south of Indianapolis. Now, it was time to make sure they could pull it off in an urban area.

  Nora leaned against the side of the Colossus, feeling the hum of the engines vibrating the fuselage. In a few minutes her section would be dropping into the Eagle Creek District for their final practice run.

  She turned her gaze toward the pair of Gazelles sitting in the hold, strapped onto their pallets with parachutes at the ready. The command section had hitched a ride on this particular transport, since the others were full with troops from the various platoons that made up the battalion. This plane didn't have a lot of extra space, but it was enough for a few more passengers.