Naturally, their task was to take out that obstacle, freeing the way for them to start bringing the fight back to the enemy. Once they had the strongpoint the Ghost units could use it as a forward operations base, giving them a safe haven from which to launch their assaults.
Danny had been skeptical about the whole thing at first. They were the only units launching an offensive action at the moment, and if Ragnarok decided to hit them when they were vulnerable they could end up with yet another disaster on their hands. But after a considerable amount of prodding from the upper command echelons he finally relented. They had to take some risks, and this was definitely a necessary one.
Besides, after weeks of nothing but skirmishing and reconnaissance his troops were growing restless, and a spell of combat would do them good. He had a platoon of Redd Foxx troops lead by Gray under his command, but Bravo Wolf would provide the main assault force.
He moved forward with Xavier's squad and found a pile of rubble to settle behind, then propped up his machine gun and started firing short bursts at various enemy targets.
That was the difference between his normal machine gun and the light weapon he carried now. Normally he'd be firing strings of bullets, trying to keep the enemy cowering behind cover through sheer weight of firepower. He couldn't do that with his current gun, though, because it only used thirty round magazines. Danny could get little more than a second of automatic fire before he needed to reload.
Instead he focused on sending tight bursts at the enemy, aiming to score kills instead of forcing them to keep their heads down. That was one thing his new weapon could do well. It might not be able to match the amount of lead a proper machine gun could throw out, but it could place its shots far more accurately.
Danny had noticed the difference the few times he had skirmished with the weapon. It took a little while to get used to, but once he did he had found that it could suppress the enemy as well as a belt-fed machine gun, so long as it was in the right hands. Veteran troops learned to ignore incoming suppressive fire unless it was landing right next to them, diminishing its effectiveness. He could be firing scores of rounds per burst, yet doing little because the shots weren't coming near his intended target.
But with the lighter gun he could place most of his bullets right where he wanted, so long as he kept the gun under control. With such short bursts that wasn't much of an issue, but the change had drastic effects. Enemy troopers frequently had to duck behind cover as bullets cracked by inches from their heads. Even though he might only be firing about a third of the ammunition he had when he used a belt-fed machine gun, the effect his shots were having was much, much higher.
He stopped firing for a second as he spotted something. “Allen, you're getting too far ahead of us. Try to reduce the distance you're going when you're doing the bounding advance.”
“Understood. Will do.”
Danny didn't doubt that he'd follow through. In fact, Allen's mistake was probably nothing more than unfamiliarity with the rest of the troops in Bravo Wolf. Having lost both Logan's and Ryan's squads during the fighting and needing reinforcements, adding Allen's orphaned squad seemed like a natural choice. Once it had been reinforced with a few more Barghest stragglers his platoon was now at full strength.
It wasn't as simple as adding a few more troops to their ranks, though. Neither side had worked this closely with the other before, so there was bound to be some confusion. If Nora or Selene was in charge it might have been smoother, but Danny hadn't interacted with Barghest a ton. Karen had been one of his squad leaders before she branched off, but he didn't know the rest of the company all that well.
Fortunes of war, though. They would have to win with what they had on hand, and Danny had no doubt they'd find some way to make it work. Ghost Battalion could improvise like no other, and their task wasn't terribly complicated either. All he needed to do was to keep an eye on things to ensure they ran smoothly.
“Bravo Wolf, we're attacking the northwest quadrant of the campus,” Gray said over the radio link. “Hopefully we can draw some of them away from the main thrust.”
“Just keep them busy,” Danny ordered. Redd Foxx could fight with the best of them, but Gray was more inclined toward stealth than open combat, sometimes to his detriment. Danny didn't want an assault stalling out in the middle of its push, so he had assigned his own troops to the task. Black Wolf would bull on ahead into the jaws of the enemy without a second thought.
He adjusted his aim and squeezed the trigger, sending several shots lacing through an enemy heavy trying to draw a bead on the advancing troops. More guards started flooding in from other parts of the complex, hefting all manner of small arms. This definitely wasn't going to be an easy fight, Danny thought ruefully.
But then everything changed in a second. NPC troops started falling, clearly shot. Judging from the direction they fell the gunfire was coming from the south. But what could be causing that? Ghost Battalion didn't have anyone in that area right now…
Danny felt an icy stab of shock as he realized what was going on. There could be only one explanation: Ragnarok.
How had they launched an attack on the hospital complex at the same time? Was this planned or happenstance? Either way, what was their goal in all of this?
It didn't matter. Javy's squad had stopped for a moment in the confusion, and if they didn't do something one of their enemies was going to lay some serious hurt on them.
“All units, keep advancing as planned,” Danny ordered over the radio link.
Xavier's voice cut in. “What about the Val-”
“Worry about them later. This changes nothing. Our objective is to take the hospital complex. Keep the pressure on.”
If they could manage it, that was. Danny wasn't quite sure how he was going to direct a battle against two separate enemy forces, especially when they were fighting amongst themselves as well. That might sound advantageous, but it would only add to the confusion.
He contacted Gray to get him up to speed. “Be advised that we've run into the Valkyries on our end. Looks like they had the same idea and are going for the complex.”
“Understood. What do you want me to do?”
“Keep going as planned and keep the pressure on. Just be aware that you might run into trouble.”
“Right. If you need to make a switch just give me the word.”
Danny hung back for a few seconds to gather his thoughts as the rest of the platoon continued to push forward, smashing through the defenders. The NPC garrison was dead meat at this point, caught between a vice of some of the best fighters in the world. But right now that might be the least of their concerns. Once the guards were down they'd still have to fight Ragnarok for possession of the hospital campus, and that could get bloody very quickly.
Should they withdraw and let the enemy take out the garrison force? At first glance that seemed like the best option, because it would mean the Valkyries would take all the casualties clearing out this place. But Danny could foresee this causing far more problems down the road. The buffer between the two companies would be eliminated, but the Valkyries would have a fortified position when Ghost's troops returned for the next fight.
That settled things. Pushing out the garrison was hard enough, and he didn't want to repeat the experience with the Valkyries as the defenders. They would take the campus now.
Danny estimated their forces were evenly matched. Ghost Battalion had about half their troops committed to the offensive, and the Valkyries had a little over a hundred troops within their ranks. Since he assumed they would defend their current holdings with at least a light force, that meant they could probably only bring fifty to sixty troops to the field.
That gave him some confidence. Even though their opponent was tough, he had confidence his own troops could match them. And since they were on relatively equal footing…
“Xavier, see that brick wall about fifty feet ahead of you?” Danny said
“I do.”
“T
ry to get your squad behind that. If you can that should give us a strong position to deal with both enemies. You're going to be on suppression duty if you can make it there, by the way.”
“Copy that. We'll get you your spot.”
Danny glanced around again, trying to establish the best way to counter the Ragnarok advance. It was much more difficult than usual, having to account for every single angle. In most cases they could count on having at least a small area of safety, but now they had to account for two different forces that might come from every direction, and that made things unpredictable. If they focused too much on one enemy the other might be able to flank them and lay down some serious hurt.
“Allen, cover Bravo 1's right flank. See if you can storm part of the hospital building to give them some relief.”
“Roger that, but I hope you don't want us to take the whole thing.”
Danny grinned. “Don't worry about it. Just get enough so Bravo 1's not getting shot up from the side.”
“Understood and will do.”
He contacted Gray next. “Have your troops move up and start storming the main hospital building. It looks like Ragnarok's focusing most of their attention here, so that should give you time to take the place.”
“Copy that.”
Danny knew Gray didn't like storm assaults, but they had little choice at this point. Fooling around with stealth would take too long, and time was of the essence. Sometimes the direct way was the best way.
Besides, he reflected as he shifted his attention back to the situation at hand, it wasn't like they were going up against Ragnarok. With smart planning and a bit of aggression they should be able to roll over the garrison troops without any issues.
“Xavier, I'm coming up to meet you,” he said.
“Copy that. Don't get your head shot off.”
Danny hurried out of cover and sprinted toward Xavier's position. A few bullets zipped around him, though nothing substantial came his way. Still, he wasn't going to take any chance and slid into cover as soon as he could. No sense in getting killed because he was too lackadaisical about protecting himself.
“Fun times,” Xavier commented as they met up. “Of course this would happen. Everywhere we go they seem to be one step ahead of us.”
“Yeah, but this might be the next best thing,” Danny said. He reloaded his machine gun and looked around for more targets. “If we went with the original plan we'd need to push them out of their defensive positions. I'll take fighting them on open ground over that any day.”
“Careful what you wish for,” Xavier commented with a slight smile. He lifted his own rifle and fired off a shot. “It's not like we've done very well against them out in the open.”
Danny laughed, but his words had some truth to them. No matter how many times they collided the Valkyries always seemed to have their number. Of course, there were always extenuating circumstances as well. Ghost Battalion usually had a specific mission to perform, and crushing the enemy was secondary to that at all times. And at least they usually accomplished those missions, albeit at a heavy price.
But right now that was their goal: to fight the enemy face-to-face and crush them in the heat of battle. And even though he didn't have the full complement of troops he would have liked, Danny relished the thought. No more screwing around, no more trying to defend objectives or grab random schematics with the enemy hot on their tail. This time they could go straight at the enemy and punch them in the mouth.
“Danny, we're in the western end of the main hospital building,” Gray reported over the radio link. “You owe me big time for this.”
Danny grinned as he fired off a burst at the enemy positions. “Why, afraid to get yourself a little action?”
“Huh, as if.”
“Keep the pressure on. We'll try to occupy the Valkyries while you get the main building.”
Even if they couldn't hold off the enemy forever, Bravo Wolf could buy the rest of the unit time to secure the main building and get themselves in position. Once they were entrenched it would be very difficult for the Valkyries to force them out.
Wooosh!
A spear of flame shot out of one of the windows in the hospital campus, drenching a few of the enemy in flames and forcing many others to scramble for safety. Danny couldn't quite contain his glee as he watched them run for their lives. Flamethrowers had a much further range than most people thought at first, and there was nowhere to hide from them. The burning fuel would wrap around cover and reach into crevices, and the only way to avoid it was to get out of range.
“Good work Allen,” Danny said.
“Thanks. We thought that might give them something to think about.”
“Be careful though,” Danny warned. “Now that they know you have a flamethrower in there they probably want to take it out. Have the operator keep moving so he doesn't get sniped.”
“Roger that.”
Danny peered out of cover again and fired off another burst, catching an enemy soldier in the chest. She sprawled backward onto the pavement, dead before she hit the ground.
The sensation continued to thrill him. Danny reveled in being able to actually hurt the enemy instead of just suppressing them. He knew his earlier roles had been vital, but this change of pace thrilled him. He shifted his aim, trying to find more targets to take down…
Something flashed in front of him in the distance. Danny's first instinct was to drop down into cover, but his body seemed to move on its own. He squeezed the trigger again and sent a long burst streaking toward a spot further to the south, next to a large decorative fountain. Chunks of masonry shattered under the impact of his shots, but .
It took him a second to realize that he had seen the glint of sunlight off a scope. That could only mean one thing: sniper. Danny might have just escaped death by a split-second.
Had he managed to kill him? Danny didn't feel like sticking his head up to find out. Instead, he got on the radio.
“Bravo Wolf, anyone with a recoilless rifle target the statue at the far end of the hospital campus. We have a sniper in the area.”
It might be overkill and not even necessary, but Danny wasn't going to take any chances. A well-trained sniper could throw any plan into complete confusion, and he wanted to end that possibility as soon as possible.
BAM!
Seconds later an explosion rose above the sound of gunfire. Danny decided to take a chance and took a peek toward the sniper's former position.
The fountain lay in ruins, completely pulverized by the sheer force of the blast. Anything sheltering behind it would be stone dead at this point, killed by the concussive force or shredded by the hail of flying concrete.
“Did we get it?” Javy asked over the radio.
“Well, I haven't gotten my head shot off yet, so I think we did,” Danny replied.
He quickly reloaded his gun and resumed firing, concentrating on the Valkyrie force that seemed to be stalling out. The NPC troops in the area were all but annihilated at this point, leaving the two alliances to brawl once again. But contrary to what he normally faced, the enemy seemed to be hesitating.
That struck Danny as being quite odd, since the Valkyries were known for their aggressive actions. He had expected them to charge in and engage in close-quarters combat like their previous fights, but they seemed to be hanging back. Did they know something that he didn't? Or was their commander unsure about pressing forward now that the situation had changed so drastically?
Whatever the case, he was going to take it.
“Allen, keep up the cover fire. Xavier, Javy, move up! They're hanging back, so let's press them.”
“Getting a little bold, aren't we?” Javy said.
“Do you really want to sit back here and trade potshots with them, or do you want to win.”
“Eh, put that way I can't argue.”
Gunfire zipped toward the enemy positions from the southeast end of the hospital, and the two squads on the ground broke cover. Danny was about to j
oin them when his wrist alert went off.
“Looks like we're clear in here,” Gray said. “We just found Allen.”
“Good. Help them lay down some cover fire while we charge.”
Danny hefted his gun and moved out of cover. The sound of gunfire continued to echo around him, but it seemed to be dying off a bit in front. At this point he expected the Valkyries to put up a furious defense, trying to keep their positions within the hospital campus, but it didn't seem like that was happening.
In fact, for all intents and purposes it looked like they might be drawing down their forces. Danny could see shapes moving away toward the south as the volume of gunfire continued to drop by the second.
“Keep up the advance,” he ordered. Another thought entered his mind. “Make sure to watch out for traps, though.”
“Wouldn't put it past them to leave a couple of mines behind,” Xavier agreed. “We'll be careful.”
The advance started to slow, but it didn't matter at this point. The gunfire coming from the enemy died out completely, and then his troops stopped firing as well. A deafening silence fell over the campus.
“Looks like they're running for it,” Javy observed. His troops were the first to reach the enemy's former positions.
Danny slowed to a walk and lowered his weapon. No, running didn't seem like the right way to describe this. The enemy commander probably deemed the situation unwinnable and decided to withdraw to prevent unnecessary casualties.
“Danny, what are your orders?” Xavier asked.
“Spread out and make sure we cleared out all of the NPC garrison. We want to make sure we have this place secure. After that? See what kind of supplies you can find stored here.”
He shook his head as the rest of his troops went about their orders. They had taken their objective, crushing one enemy force and driving off the other in the process. And yet, Danny felt a twinge of disappointment.
It was the way they won, he thought to himself. They finally had a change to come to grips with their most bitter rivals, and they left the battlefield before his troops could fight it out. It left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Commando City: A World at War Novel (World at War Online Book 7) Page 21