“Well, I'm impressed,” Evy said. Selene was taking her on a tour of the defenses to get her up to speed.
“Thanks,” Selene said. “It was a lot of hard work. But between our laborers and Hephaestus, we were able to pull it off pretty quickly. It's not the best, but it'll do.”
“Heck, it's better than anything we could come up with,” Evy said. “I'm glad you're up here with us.”
“Glad to be here.”
“Umm,” she began.
Selene stopped and looked at her. “What?”
“I've heard it said that your command gave you the option of abandoning us, but you guys refused. Is that true?”
Selene thought about how she wanted to answer. “Uh, yeah, that's how it happened,” she admitted. “Strategically, the best option might have been to abandon the city. But politically, no. Besides, we told you that we'd help you take the city. We're not just going to leave you with a poisoned prize.”
“That's pretty noble of you, actually,” Evy said.
“I'd actually call it pragmatic,” Selene told her. “Abandoning you would be like one of the villains from the movies that shoots their informants instead of paying them. It's stupid, and no one will ever want to work for them again.”
“Well, that sounds a whole lot less noble,” Evy said with a smile. “I wouldn't use that on recruitment posters.”
Selene started to continue on, then stopped again. “There's another reason.”
“What's that?”
“We've tangled with Ragnarok before,” Selene said. “And we've been beaten in the past by them. Badly.”
“So you want a chance to redeem yourself?”
“You know about the Valkyries?”
Evy nodded. “Yeah, they're the elite. You've fought them, right?”
“Yeah, we have. The first time we got slaughtered. The second time we won, but they fell back before we could crush them.”
“So you want more.”
Selene nodded. “Yeah. We do. We want to fight the Valkryries, and we want to beat them. We want to crush them. That's why I want to be up here.”
“Then I'm glad you're on my side,” Evy said. “And we'll take the help, regardless of why.”
“Thanks,” Selene said.
All around her, she could feel the tension from her troops. They wanted revenge for their worst defeat. And they wanted to get it here.
CHAPTER 19
The Human Element
Waiting.
Nora had head that it was the worst part of warfare. Soldiers had to spend hours upon hours waiting for something to happen, fending off mind-numbing boredom all the while. That blandness was occasionally interrupted by the most intense and terrifying moments a person could experience.
She had read what it had meant, but she had never understood it until she had started playing World at War. Art imitated life, in this case, and much of the game was spent doing menial tasks, building or planning. For a game called World at War, the fighting seemed to be relatively scarce.
But there was one significant difference. Soldiers in the real world were stuck on their patrols, at their bases, waiting for something to happen. She had the luxury of logging off and doing something else.
Today, that something else was her cello. Nora might not need her music degree at the moment, but she wasn't going to let her skills languish. Throughout high school and college she had been considered on of the best musicians, and she wouldn't give up that spot if she could help it. Plus, music made her feel alive, and creating it only strengthened that feeling.
Her fingers played back and forth across the strings. There was no sense in doing something easy, especially at her skill level, so she had picked the hardest piece she could find. Nora winced inside as she messed up a section, but she kept playing. She would come back and practice it again later.
So here she was, sitting alone in her apartment, playing a cello and waiting. Waiting for the virtual world to pull her back in. Not that there was much else to to right now. Zach was away for the day, and everyone else was busy making the final preparations for the coming battle. Nora could have joined them, but she wanted a break. She was pretty sure that this would be the last time she would be able to play her cello for a while, especially if the battle dragged on for more than a week.
Nora stopped playing for a moment and shook her head at the absurdity of that notion. They would spend days, weeks even, fighting a ferocious battle inside a reality that most of the world knew nothing about. And no matter what side won or lost, the world would keep on turning.
But that was true for a lot of things, she thought to herself and resumed playing. There were so many things in this world that didn't make a lick of difference, but they added so much color and life to it. No one would die if an artist didn't paint a picture, but the world's culture would be poorer without it. Certainly, her life would be a lot more empty without music, even though she really didn't need it.
So maybe the fights in the virtual world did mean something. It gave them a goal to aspire toward, and it gave them a challenge to overcome. And in a social game like World at War, it gave them a team to belong to.
Maybe that's why the game appealed to so many people over a wide spectrum. No matter their differences, people wanted to be a part of something bigger than themselves. And it didn't matter that their place of belonging was a virtual reality. Did it hold any less value than being a fan of a sports team? Neither one mattered one bit in the long run, but millions upon millions flocked to them anyhow, to belong to a group.
And that could be a wonderful experience if people were willing to show their true selves. If they were just pretending, then everything in the community felt fake. But when they were genuine, it was a whole different story. The experiences they shared, the memories they made, all of them were real. There was nothing simulated or fake about them.
Nora counted herself lucky that she had found her way into a group of genuine people. They might put themselves in rough situations, but she would never trade the adventures they had experienced with each other. And she wouldn't trade away the people she experienced them with, either.
Nora smiled as she played her cello. For the first time in a long time, she felt completely happy about playing World at War. There was no worry about what the virtual reality was doing to her mind. No feelings of isolation and loneliness from her friends. No concern about whether her avatar was a sham. Everything had evaporated in an instant. She felt completely at peace.
And win or lose, she would continue to enjoy the game, no matter what came her way. There was no sense in despairing if they lost, or even if their alliance was destroyed. The virtual world in front of them was vast, and there was a whole lot of space to have new adventures. Nora would enjoy every single one of them, whether it was with a large group, or with a few trusted comrades.
So this was the future, she thought to herself. A future where the lines between reality and virtual reality intersected and sometimes disappeared completely. There was no separating the two worlds anymore.
But then again, that had never been true. People liked to think that virtual reality and the real world were totally separate until now, but people had crossed over the line from the time that media came into existence. People immersed themselves in video games, or the TV shows they were watching, or the movies they attended. Even books were part of it all; becoming 'lost in a book' was a common occurrence, after all. So why were virtual reality games considered to be any different?
They weren't, really. They required more advanced technology than previous media, and they were more realistic per se, but they didn't break any new ground. They relied on the same thing that every good piece of media did; the human mind.
World at War was nothing but a collection of data until a human mind was added to the equation. The world would never come alive without the human minds inside experiencing it firsthand. It was the same for any media. Color was just the interpretation of differen
t wavelengths of light. Word were just marks on a piece of paper without someone who could read them. Nora's own beloved music was simply a bunch of vibrations in the air.
All of them meant nothing if the human element wasn't involved, and that was true for the virtual reality as well. Players made the world come alive when they experienced it as their true, genuine selves, and without that, the world would die like anything else.
Her phone went off. Nora stopped playing and checked it. There was a message from Anna for her on the World at War app.
It's going to start soon, it said.
Do you need me to log on? she answered.
The response came a few seconds later. That would be good.
Nora stood up and put her cello away, then went to find her neuro-helmet.
Anna was there to greet her as soon as she logged in. “Thanks for coming. Do you know where Zach is right now?”
“He was helping his sister's family move today,” Nora told her. “He'll be back on tomorrow, but for the time being he's out of commission.”
Anna frowned. “OK, that's not good. We've received a message from Ragnarok Company. From Lucas, specifically.”
Nora looked at her in surprise. “Huh?”
Why was Ragnarok' commander contacting them right now? What could he possibly have to gain by talking with them? Nora had a suspicion that there was something sinister going on behind the scenes. Otherwise, why would he even bother. From the few times she had met him, Lucas didn't seem to be the type to grandstand or gloat.
“He wants to talk with our company commanders up here, that's all,” Anna said. “I don't see any reason why not.”
“When does he want to do it?” Nora asked. She saw some of the others begin to file into the command center.
“Right now,” Anna said. “Do you see the problem we have?”
“So, do you have a Black Wolf commander?” Nora asked.
Anna shook her head. “Danny and Selene are both down at their respective positions, along with everyone else that's online right now. We're expecting an attack at any time. And now that Zach's gone...”
“That leaves me,” Nora said unhappily. “Alright, I'll stand in as company commander for the time being. I'm not going to do much talking if I can help it. I don't want to do anything to incur my actual commander's wrath.”
“Yes, I'm sure that your boyfriend is never going to let you hear the end of it,” Anna said with considerable sarcasm.
“OK, that was probably a weak excuse,” Nora agreed.
The rest of the company commanders filed in. Nora noticed that Evy was missing as well. That made sense; she was probably alongside Selene at the crossing.
“So, Lucas wants to talk?” Robbie asked.
“Is he aware that half of us here hate his guts?” Neil said.
Nora nodded. Both Neil and Karen had been bitter enemies of Ragnarok before they had even joined the alliance, and the others' opinion wasn't much better.
Anna shrugged. “We can talk to an enemy regardless of how much we hate them, if it gains us something.”
Nora looked over at her. “What does this gain them, is the question we should be asking.”
“So you think this might be a trap?” Karen asked.
“Not exactly, but why would they even bother talking to us if they have nothing to gain?” Nora asked. “Maybe they're fishing for information. You know, maybe they're hoping that one of us messes up and blurts something out.”
“That's a pretty tough gamble,” Lex said.
“With no real risk, though,” Anna pointed out. “I do think that might have some merit, so watch what you say. Or let me take the lead.”
“I'm fine with that,” Neil told her. I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't be able to stand talking to him anyhow.”
“Same here,” Karen said.
Anna looked around. “OK, I'm going to contact him over the radio frequency they requested now. Do not talk in the background. I don't want to give them anything they could use to their advantage, is that clear?”
Everyone agreed.
Anna switched on the radio booster and opened up her wrist menu. There was probably a better, simpler way to do it, but Zach wasn't here, and he was their communications expert. Oh well. Their current method was adequate, at least.
“Ragnarok, this is Ghost Command, responding to your signal as requested. Please respond,” Anna said. “Ragnarok, come in. This is Ghost Command.”
Nothing.
“Ragnarok, this is Ghost Command. Come in.”
A voice crackled through a few seconds later. “Ghost Command, this is Ragnarok Prime. I hear your signal.”
“What did you want to talk to us about, Lucas?”
“We're aware that you're in possession of Green Bay at the moment,” he said.
Anna shrugged. “So we gathered.”
“I'd also point out that it poses an imminent threat to our resource stocks and mining areas,” Lucas said. “We can't let something like that go unchallenged.”
“And so?” she asked.
“We're assembling an attack force that's greater than your strength by several degrees. We're going to assault the city to remove the threat.”
“That's naturally what an attack force is for,” Anna replied.
Nora wondered where Lucas was going with this. What was the point in warning them that an attack was coming? Sure, they would spot it as soon as it tried to move, but now any chance of surprise had vanished.
Maybe they were trying to lure more Hydra forces into the north? If that was the case, then they were barking up the wrong tree. There were no more reinforcements to use. Or maybe it was something else?
“We are going to attack unless you surrender Green Bay to us,” Lucas told them.
The commanders exchanged looks around the table.
“You know that the answer's going to be no,” Anna said.
“Yeah, I did, but I figured that I should give you the option, at least,” Lucas said. “So with that out of the way, let's just make sure we have a good battle, OK? My troops are itching for a good fight.”
“Well, we'll give them one, at least,” Anna said. “Though you might not like the end result.”
“We'll see,” Lucas replied. “Thank you for your time.”
“Likewise,” Anna said, and cut the transmission.
“Well, that was odd,” Robbie commented.
“What was the point of that?” Neil said. “Just to mess with our heads?”
“Maybe,” Nora mused aloud. “Or maybe it's something else. It could be something he's doing because Ragnarok thinks it's honorable.”
“That doesn't sound like them,” Neil grumbled.
“They're not The Kings or Death's Head. They have their own honor, just like we have ours. That's why we're up here fighting, after all.”
Anna cut in. “Anyhow, what we do know is that the attack will be coming soon. Everyone, contact your troops and put them on alert. I know that we're not going to be able to have everyone logged on at the same time, but do your best.”
“Any particular orders for me since my company commander is out of commission for the time being?” Nora asked.
“Like you said, you're the acting company commander for the time being,” Anna told her. “Take charge and do whatever you need to do. You have plenty of command experience, and you'll be able to hold the crossings just fine.”
“That puts my exoskeleton out of commission, then,” Nora said. “There's no way I can command and pilot it at the same time.”
“Command is your top priority,” Anna said. “By the time we'd need the exoskeleton, Zach will be back here anyhow.”
“Got it,” Nora said. Someone buzzed her on her radio. “Wolf 2.”
“Wolf 2, this is Alpha Wolf,” Selene's voice said. Nora could hear gunfire in the background.
“Has it-”
“Yeah. Ragnarok launched a full scale attack over the crossing. We're holding,” Selene said.
/>
“Update me if anything changes. Wolf 2, out.” Nora looked over at Anna. “Well, that didn't take long.”
Anna paused for a moment, listening to her own radio. “Got it, Liz. Make them pay for every inch.” She looked over at Nora. “So it begins.”
For better or for worse, the gauntlet had been thrown.
CHAPTER 20
Storm Surge
Selene raised her assault rifle and fired. Her first shots caught an enemy soldier square in the chest, dropping him straight into the middle of the strip of dry land. The assault following behind him tripped over his body, and Selene killed him too, for good measure.
“Looks like they're falling back,” Logan said over the radio.
“Not like they have much choice,” Selene replied.
Ragnarok probably didn't know they were up here until the bullets started flying. Alpha Wolf had taken the time to camouflage their positions, and the sun was starting to set. Soon enough it would be dark, and that obscured the enemy's vision.
Dozens of enemy dead littered the crossing. Not only had they died, but they would impede any advance until they were cleared away.
Selene fired off another shot into the backs of the retreating Ragnarok forces. She didn't see if she hit anyone, but it really didn't matter much at this point. The first wave had been beaten back. But there was more coming behind it.
“All troops, withdraw to the bunkers,” Selene ordered. “Leave a few spotters in the pillboxes to warn us when they come back.”
Alpha Wolf and Thorn Company scrambled back through the trenches, trying to move as quickly as possible. The enemy was sure to bombard them within a few minutes, and none of them wanted to be caught out in the open.
Werewolf: A World at War Novel (World at War Online Book 4) Page 21