Miko zoomed the display in further from her own position. “Actually, we do now.”
“How'd we get that information?”
“The same way we get all our information. Someone looks to see what's there.”
“Who looked?”
“I did,” Miko said. “Climbed out through the wreckage onto the shore. There's no defenders there, probably because it's along an inner part of the shoreline. It drains out at a spot between two points stretching out into the lake, so I think they put troops at the end of both of those and put something like a net over the entrance. That would be more than enough to keep out divers like us.”
“But we have a route around it, so all their defenses don't matter anymore,” Liz said. “How far did you explore inland, though? You don't want to end up stumbling across anything just a few yards from the shore.”
“We'll have to do more, but I explored about fifty yards inland from the outflow entrance,” Miko said. “There's patrols through the area, but they're mostly just NPC guards. Nothing we can't handle.”
Nora frowned. “How bad is the climb out?”
“Not easy, but not impossible either,” Miko said. “But I think we want to keep our loads as light as possible, because carrying a lot of equipment isn't going to help our case.”
That was to be expected. Heavy machine guns, mortars and the like were completely out of the question, but that didn't matter much because Ghost Battalion never used them anyhow, instead preferring to travel light. But even equipment like sniper rifles, recoilless rifles and light machine guns might be too bulky to carry through an obstacle like that.
Besides, their objective was to take out a specific target, striking quickly and with little warning. They didn't have time to get bogged down in firefights, so light weaponry might be all they needed anyhow. That, and a lot of explosives. Nora had no idea what it might take to destroy the jamming device, and she didn't want Alpha Wolf to reach their objective only to find out they couldn't actually complete it with the equipment they had on hand. Everyone would have explosives, ensuring they could level anything they came across.
It certainly would be overkill, but nothing could be left to chance. Depriving the enemy of one of their most powerful assets on the eve of Hydra's counteroffensive could prove decisive in the coming battle.
“So, how much equipment are we going to be able to carry? Because we need to have enough of it to put up a fight if we're discovered, and at the very least we need explosives.”
“A lot of them, I'm guessing?” Liz said.
“Probably. If it's buried underground then I'm guessing they're also going to have a lot of security on it as well,” Nora said.
“I guess that's the price for having a reputation like ours. Everyone who's smart prepares for the worst.”
That didn't surprise her in the least. Ragnarok had been on the receiving end of many Ghost Battalion raids, whether by land, boat, diver, helicopter or something else. Of course they would be prepared for anything out of the ordinary.
Miko spoke up again. “If we're going to be carrying light loads then I suggest we stick to things like carbines and assault rifles. We're not going to need anything heavier for a fast moving assault.”
“Even troops like the snipers and the heavies?”
“Yeah, they're not going to have time to find spots to hole up if we're moving fast. And ideally we'll get the jump on the enemy, so suppressive fire won't be that big of a deal.”
“Right.” Nora looked over at Liz. “Are you having any thoughts about this? Anything we might be missing?”
“Do you have any way to communicate with the artillery?” she asked.
“We can use the long range cybernetic radio, but other than that no.”
“That should be enough. Your commando team could probably call in artillery strikes to help clear the way toward their objectives. It'll make up for your lack of heavy weapons, at least.”
“Won't that make them think something is up?” Miko said. “They'll probably start up the jammer, and then we can't guide the strikes where we need to.”
“Then we make it seem like the artillery strikes are business as usual. Have Bravehart bombard targets within the district. That's what they'd normally be doing before an offensive, right?”
Nora nodded. “OK, point taken. I'll talk to Bryce about that.”
“If we're running the operation soon we're going to have to step up the bombardments soon,” Miko pointed out. “When are they planning it for? A week from now? Two weeks?”
Nora opened up her wrist menu, trying to find the answer somewhere in her notes. “Well, looks like they want to do it within five to seven days.”
“That's cutting it pretty close,” Liz commented.
“I think they're getting impatient. We've been fighting Ragnarok for the district for almost two months, and we need to get some forward momentum soon. Otherwise, we might be fighting for Milwaukee for years.”
“That long, huh?” Liz said dryly.
“OK, that's probably exaggerating, but come on, it's not like we're going to make much progress if we're having to grind for a few feet of ground a day.”
“Better that than to get caught being overambitious. That could mean losing all the ground we've gained over the past few months.”
Nora agreed with that. While everyone wanted to win the battle and finally take hold of the Cudahy District, going off half-cocked was a good way to invite disaster. Hydra didn't have nearly enough superiority in any area. They didn't have numbers, even with the extra reinforcements from Redd Foxx. Their technology was about even with the enemy. They couldn't rely on air support from Raven Company. They had a considerable amount of heavy artillery, but then again, so did Ragnarok.
The only way to compensate for that was by careful planning, identifying the enemy's weak points and preparing contingency plans for when things went wrong. No plan would work flawlessly, as they had all come to learn many times, but it was easier to adjust a plan on the fly than it was to make everything up as they came to it.
Of course, Ghost Battalion was used to improvising, but that had always been within the context of a plan, created after extensive reconnaissance. The one time they had gone off course had been the attack into the Central City district of Indianapolis, and that fight had almost ended in complete disaster. Much of the battalion had been wiped out in the fighting, many due to an accident that resulted from the unfamiliarity with the area.
If at all possible they wanted to avoid a repeat of that event, and so they'd take every opportunity they could to secure information. Some of it might be useful, some of it not, but it was far better than going in blind.
Miko broke into her thoughts. “OK, so assuming that they want to pull this off in five days or so, what's our plan? Do we scout more, or do we leave things as they are?”
“We have to know the route to the target,” Nora said. “That means we're going to have to scout it, but we're going to have to be careful. We don't want them to know we're snooping around.”
“And how's that going to play into the artillery bombardment?”
Nora frowned. “Huh?”
“I'm sorry, I don't follow either,” Liz said.
“We're going to try to step up our artillery strikes to make it seem like business as usual if we have to call in some support,” Miko said. “Are we targeting specific spots? The area's where we'll be heading? The transit routes?”
“We'll probably want to clear any major obstacles in our path,” Nora said.
“And when are we going to do it? I don't want shells falling on my head when I'm out there scouting. Plus, if we're targeting roads that'll mean Ragnarok will try to repair them, and that means a lot more eyes in the area.”
And that would leave their scouting teams far more vulnerable to being spotted as well. That last part went unsaid, but Nora took the implication of Miko's words. She was right, though. They couldn't just have Bravehart firing off random sh
ots into enemy territory. They needed to come up with a plan to avoid any friendly fire incidents.
Besides, if Hydra's offensive would come soon afterward then they might as well destroy targets of opportunity during this operation. Strongpoints, ammunition dumps, command posts, critical intersections, the loss of those could severely curtail the enemy's ability to fight effectively, and Bravehart's heavy guns had the ability to reach out and destroy them.
“So, we'll come up with a list of targets,” Nora said. “We should probably send a schedule along with them, just to make sure we don't have any incidents.”
“One thing, though,” Liz said.
“What's that?”
“We can use the artillery to our advantage. Besides the obvious ways, I mean. If we call in strikes on certain spots away from the target areas we could probably draw Ragnarok's attention there. At the very least they'll have to send more of their repair crews there, and they might even have to send reinforcements to the area if they think it's preparation for an attack.”
Nora frowned. “That's true, but we're going to have to talk it over with Hydra Command before we actually do it. I don't want to end up doing something that'll hurt our chances at taking the district.”
They had to remember that they were just part of a much larger operation. Even though their mission was important, it wasn't the only thing going on, and they needed to consider the other situations. Making Rangarok move their troops out of Black Wolf's way wouldn't be a victory if they were in a spot to give Dragon or Magic serious trouble.
“At the very least, let's make sure we're doing things that will actually hurt Ragnarok, not just dumping shells on random targets,” Miko said. “I know we have a pretty good supply of ammunition, but we don't need to waste it. Hephaestus won't be happy.”
“I wouldn't imagine so,” Nora said
“And then they won't have time for other projects. You know how long it's been since I've asked Paige to look into building another custom rifle for me?”
Nora had to smile at that. “Oh come on, she's been pretty busy. What would you rather have, your new sniper rifle, or all those nice defenses you've been hiding behind for the past few weeks?”
“I'd like both, actually,” Miko replied cheekily.
“That wasn't an option.”
“Oh, I know. But that's part of the problem. Hephaestus is taking on a lot now, and we don't need to make more work for them. They've had a hard enough time getting new tech to us.”
“Speaking of that,” Liz said, “are you going to bring along your new rifles on the mission? It's almost certain that you'll lose some of them.”
Nora ran a hand through her hair. “I think so. It's going to happen at some point anyhow, and they can't replicate them without extensive study. Besides, they're lighter and more compact than normal guns, and we need that.”
“Every little bit helps,” Miko agreed.
Every little bit. And they'd need a lot of those little bits for their plan to succeed.
22
TRAINING GROUND
After Black Wolf being the only occupants for a long stretch of time, the addition of Redd Foxx to the mix meant the tower suddenly felt like it was bustling with activity. Even with a lull in the fighting the grounds were busy. The new units familiarized themselves with the area, exploring the trenches, finding good vantage points and learning how to operate the various machines contained within.
They also had to learn how to properly operate the guns, and so Danny had organized a few instructor teams to go over the basics with everyone. Hopefully Bravo Wolf would be the only ones who needed to know the skills, but if worst came to worst he wanted to be prepared.
“This can fire ten to fifteen rounds a minute. More if we're desperate, but we don't want to push it too much. Otherwise we might have ammunition blowing up in the breach,” Xavier was telling his group.
Danny walked through the floor, passing other groups learning the ropes of the anti-tank guns. It was fascinating to watch all the different methods on display. Xavier gave detailed explanations, making sure his charges knew how every piece on the gun worked. Javy, on the other hand, let his group get hands on with the gun, allowing them to look it over and get a feel for the weapon.
BAM!
Danny jumped as he heard one of the guns go off. He glared in the direction of the noise.
Ryan looked back at him. “What?”
“Warn me next time you do that.”
Javy and some of the others laughed. “A little jumpy today, huh?” he commented.
“Maybe,” Danny said. “Anyhow, what are you shooting at? Just random spots?”
Ryan pointed out of the viewport in front of him. “See where the smoke is coming from?”
Danny peered out. “Yup, I see it.”
“There was a Ragnarok observation post there. I figured that I'd give my guys some target practice and take out something dangerous while we're at it.”
Danny nodded. “OK, but don't stir up too much trouble. We're already missing Alpha Wolf, and I don't want to provoke Ragnarok into launching an attack.”
“We'll be careful.”
“Good.”
With the situation on the fourth floor well in hand Danny headed to the lift and punched the button for the basement level. He opened up his wrist menu as he descended, going through the various notes and instructions left for him.
Zach and Nora were currently in Indianapolis, preparing for the inevitable attack on Ragnarok's positions in the Cudahy District. This time, they were going to bring the hammer and drive out the enemy for good. Significant forces had been seconded to them from Knight and Rogue Battalions, consisting of assault guns and even more heavy artillery. If the enemy wouldn't yield to their more subtle efforts, then Hydra was simply going to blast them out of the way.
The numbers were impressive enough when they looked them over. Hydra had two full strength battalions in the Cudahy District, reinforced with an armor company and supported by two companies of artillery. They had special forces, assault troops, fire support, pretty much anything they could want for a fight like this. The only thing they lacked was air superiority, but they could at least contest that and keep the enemy dive bombers off their backs.
But all that might been for naught if they couldn't properly coordinate their actions. Ragnarok's jamming technology would affect both sides, but the defenders would be hurt far less. Since they only had to sit and hold their positions against the incoming assault they required far less coordination and could rely on runners or static phone lines.
Hydra, on the other hand, had to have access to their cybernetic radios. If they ran into trouble they needed to be able to guide in accurate artillery fire. If they found a weak point in the enemy line they needed to exploit the opportunity. If they ran into something unexpected they needed to relay that information back to command.
None of that would happen if the radios were down, and if it happened while they were on the move they might as well be using carrier pigeons to talk to each other. Ragnarok's jamming device had to be destroyed for the Hydra Alliance to have any serious chance of winning the upcoming battle.
But that was only part of the issue, and Alpha Wolf's problem at that. Black Wolf still needed to hold the tower for a myriad of reasons. First, it provided the alliance with their furthest position inside the Cudahy District, and that allowed them to use it as a jumping off point. Second, it was stocked with ammunition which could be quickly brought up to replenish the front-line troops, saving a considerable amount of time and effort.
Third, and most importantly in Danny's mind, if the offensive failed they still needed to hold onto their gains, and the tower provided a strongpoint for that purpose. No one could move within the immediate radius of the structure without their notice, and Black Wolf would put hostiles under withering fire if they tried anything.
But could they hold it with just a company and a platoon? Danny couldn't help but feel that Ragn
arok wasn't finished with them yet. This place might be the most critical area of the district aside from the capture point, and he was quite surprised that the enemy hadn't taken even greater efforts to seize it back from them.
Then again, what could they do against something as powerful as this? Infantry and armor couldn't touch it, and even artillery and air raids barely left a scratch. And if the structure of the tower wasn't enough, the defenders made it even worse. Danny knew from experience that Black Wolf would fight tooth and nail to hold their positions, even in the face of overwhelming odds. They might lose, but Ragnarok would have to kill every single one of them to take this place.
But that wasn't much different from their own experience attacking this building, he mused as he stepped off the elevator into the basement level. In fact, that was probably what made confrontations between them so violent. Neither side would run, give up or falter in the face of their enemy, so battles quickly devolved into complete carnage.
“Getting a feel for things?” he asked as he approached Gray, Redd Foxx's de-facto third in command and the person currently in charge. Much like Danny, he had been selected through process of elimination, since Anna and Liz were also in Indianapolis.
Gray nodded and looked around the vast spaces of the basement, filled with ammunition, crates of spent casings and racks of weaponry.
“We've got quite the stockpile built up here,” he commented. “Enough to kill an army in one go.”
Danny grinned. “Yeah, if they were sporting about it and lined up for us to just shoot them. I don't think Ragnarok's going to be that accommodating for us, though.”
“Yup, we're going to have to force them out by assault. And that's not going to be easy. Ah well though, it might be fun.”
“What's your plan?” Danny asked.
Gray put both hands up and shrugged. “I don't know, I'm not the one in charge.”
“Well then, your best guess. Or maybe what you'd want to do if you were in charge.”
Gray cracked a smile. “I think I'll go with the second option.”
Danny could imagine why. He had worked with Gray long enough to know he wanted to be in command, but the current circumstances made that impossible. Anna was firmly entrenched in her position as company commander, and Liz was just as set.
Carnage City: A World at War Novel (World at War Online Book 6) Page 21