Commando City: A World at War Novel (World at War Online Book 7) (27 page)

“They're pulling away,” Anna commented over the link. “Looks like they've given up on us.”

“That means it's time,” Nora commented. She opened up her wrist menu and made a few button presses to activate the long-ranged radio. “Hunter, Hunter, this is Wolf 2. Enemy dive bombers have expended their payloads and are headed back to base. I say again, enemy dive bombers are headed back to base.”

“Copy that, Wolf 2,” Selene replied. “Did you take much damage?”

“It got a little hairy at times, but we made it through,” Nora said. “Good luck on your end.”

Their part in the scheme was over. Now, its success was completely in the hands of their forces to the west.

S
elene looked
down at her wrist menu and paced impatiently. Even though the signal had reach them she couldn't order the attack to begin immediately, otherwise the enemy would have a chance to warn the incoming pilots. No, she wanted to give the signal when the dive bombers were in the process of landing. If they timed it right they could catch the planes on the ground while they were still rearming.

But that meant waiting for the enemy to reach that point, and the seconds ticked by slowly. Miko and the rest of the scouts had determined it would take about ten minutes for the Ragnarok planes to reach the desired area, so they had a while longer to stand around before they could head in toward the airfields.

As soon as she gave the signal the three separate forces would spring into action, making a beeline for their objectives, labeled Nests 1-3. Barghest would tackle the southern airfield, Nest 1. Gavin would handle the northern airfield, Nest 3, with Alpha Wolf at his side. And she, with her composite group with the callsign Hunter, would tackle the central airfield, Nest 2.

The infantry would move in on foot, but the raiding force had plenty of support. Raven Flight had brought their full complement of helicopters to bear, toting fearsome firepower. The Hornets would go in first, using their superior agility to keep themselves out of danger while they took out critical antiaircraft emplacements. The Typhoons would follow, laden down with rockets, miniguns and other armaments. They might lack the agility of the Hornets, but they could carry far more firepower.

And then there was their trump card. After a bit of begging and pleading Zach had managed to secure three more Gazelles from Hephaestus Forge, which had been clandestinely dropped the night before from a pair of Colossus transports. Each attack force would be supported by one, giving them a little extra firepower. At the very least, it was something the enemy garrisons had to think about.

Selene looked down at her clock again. Eight minutes. Waiting was going to drive her crazy.

“
W
e all set
?” Zach asked Gavin as he made a last-minute check of the Gazelle. For once he didn't have to be in command and could simply fight on the line with the rest of his company.

“We're all set and ready to go. Just waiting,” Gavin confirmed. “Are you sure that you don't want to take command?”

“Why would I?”

Gavin shrugged. “Well, you're company commander and the senior officer, so that'd make sense. I wouldn't blame you if you did.”

“You're the one in charge,” Zach said, grasping at the machine gun to make sure it was positioned properly. “You're the one put in charge of Alpha Wolf, and you've been planning around that for a week. Why screw with that balance right now? It's the same reason why I didn't take over command of the entire operation. Besides, I have faith in you guys. It's not like you're amateurs.”

“Glad to hear that,” Gavin nodded. “Still… first time commanding a platoon in combat, and it has to be precisely timed. I'm so lucky.”

“Considering the type of missions we get any other first time would be just as bad. Maybe even worse.”

Gavin laughed. “Point there.”

Zach glanced down at his wrist menu. Three minutes until the signal went out, if all went according to plan.

“Well, I'm going to make sure everything in the Gazelle is ready,” Zach said before climbing into the commander's hatch.

“Have fun,” Gavin said. He walked off to join the rest of the platoon.

Zach synced his radio to the vehicle intercom. “Alright then. You guys on board?”

“I'm here,” Chris said from the driver's seat.

“Here as well,” Avery confirmed. Snipers weren't going to be as useful during a fast-moving fight, especially against hard targets, so Zach had elected to poach one for the gunner position. His long-range aiming skills would come in handy engaging targets through the cannon's scope.

Zach stood up and made a final adjustment to the machine gun mount, bring it down slightly so he could fire it comfortably if needed. The Gazelle's cannon would do most of the work, but he needed a self-defense machine gun to protect against a possible infantry attack. Zach had elected to take an infantry machine gun, similar to the type that most heavies carried. It didn't have the stopping power of a .50 caliber gun, but it had a higher rate of fire and was more than enough to take out infantry. The job of taking out the planes would be left to the cannon and the heavy weapons teams.

He tensed a bit with anticipation, wondering how he'd fare his first time commanding a vehicle in combat. Even more than that, he relished the thought of being just another soldier on the battlefield, free from the chains of command. If he was going to transition out of the role he needed to see who else could handle the job, and this was Selene's time to make an impression.

Zach glanced down at his wrist clock again. Three minutes until it was go time. Once again Ghost Battalion had to spearhead a critical raid, and failure would be a significant setback. He doubted they'd get another golden opportunity like this, so they had to make the most of it.

Like it or not, Black Wolf had one objective: catch the enemy birds on the ground, and kill them in their nest.

T
he drone
of engines filled the air, and then a flock of shadows passed overhead. Selene watched them go by for a second, counting their sheer numbers. There had to be at least twenty, maybe more.

Their concealment in the forests protected them from being spotted from above, but the task force couldn't afford to dawdle. Every second wasted was another that the enemy ground crews could use to get the dive bombers in fighting shape, and if Ghost Battalion didn't move quickly enough the Ragnarok planes might be able to take off and escape in the middle of the fight.

Selene activated her radio. “All units, raid the nest. Raid the nest,” she signaled.

A series of acknowledgements followed, and a second later the task force started to move. Dozens of shapes suddenly appeared out of concealment in the undergrowth, toting all manner of weaponry needed for the coming fight. Redd Foxx might have the premier stealth troops in the battalion, but the rest of them weren't slouches either. Stragglers from Black Wolf, Spectre and Redd Foxx who had been killed during the battle for Shorewood moved forward in a practiced fashion, advancing rapidly but quietly.

That pleased her greatly. Selene had been worried that the various units wouldn't mesh properly, but right now there seemed to be no problems. Even the squads with troops from several different companies seemed to be working together well. Ghost Battalion's insistence on integration and flexibility seemed to be paying off.

Now, they just had to destroy the enemy birds on the ground. Right now they had two options besides the Gazelle. Their first was recoilless rifle rounds fired from a distance. The shells were capable of taking out a tank and didn't require the troops to get close, but their telltale backblast would bring all sorts of return fire down on them.

Their backup plan was explosive charges. Every trooper in the task force carried two, though only the explosives specialists could use them to the greatest effect. They could be concealed so the enemy wouldn't know who was carrying them, but her troops had to get up close to the planes to actually use them.

They could worry about that later, though. First priority was to suppress the airfield defenses so they could go about their work relatively unhindered. And they wouldn't have to do it alone. Selene heard the sound of more engines above, and a few seconds later a rush of air washed down over the forest. A half-dozen shapes zoomed overheard toward the airfield.

Ragnarok wasn't the only one with birds in the sky.

T
he Gazelle's
engine roared and the vehicle surged forward out of the undergrowth into the airfield clearing. Zach gripped his machine gun and prepared to fire, but the first sight that greeted him left him stunned for a moment.

Parts of the airfield were already in flames. Zach could see the shapes of antiaircraft guns, or rather, what was left of them, little more than blackened scrap metal at this point. He looked up just in time to see a Hornet make a pass at another gun that was blazing away at the sky, trying desperately to stop the rain of fire.

No such luck, though. Two shots later and the gun lay scattered in pieces, completely blown apart. More joined the fray, blasting heavily armored targets with their rockets and gunning down softer ones with their miniguns. Zach looked on at the carnage with completely awe for a moment. After spending so much time in Milwaukee without proper air support, it was easy to forget the kind of punishment Raven Flight could dish out.

But he couldn't just sit here and admire the scene. Even under devastating fire the remaining enemies started to regroup. Zach could see groups of enemy troops hurrying around the parked dive bombers, opening up the panels and switching out the fusion batteries. He had to admire their guts, at least. Out in the open with nowhere to run or hide and faced with a torrent of fire they continued to work to get their planes in the air, heedless of their own safety. Several fell, but more continued their work.

No reason to make it easy on them, though. Zach aimed his machine gun at the nearest crew and prepared to open fire.

“Avery,” he said over the radio link, “light 'em up.”

“Copy that.”

Zach pulled the trigger of his own weapon, sending a stream of lead into the enemy and killing several. A split-second later his gun was drowned out by the chugging of the Gazelle's main cannon, spitting its autocannon shells into the dive bomber. Even from this distance Zach could see the holes forming around the engine block, and the plane started spewing ugly smoke. A second later another pair of shots damaged the prop and bent it completely out of shape.

Good enough to take it out of action. Zach shifted his aim and swept his machine gun in a slow arc, firing burst after burst into the gaggle of enemy planes. He couldn't see if his shots were having any effect on the planes, but the ground crews were an entirely different story. Despite their determination to do their jobs even under heavy fire, many of them had to duck behind parts of the planes for cover as their more unfortunate comrades fell riddled with bullets.

BAM!

A dive bomber lit up in a brilliant explosion, and a second later it was completely gone. Nothing remained except part of the engine, the tail and a small pile of flaming scrap in between. Zach smiled grimly at the sight. He had ordered the Gazelle to charge on ahead to bring the fight to the enemy, but now the rest of Alpha Wolf had caught up to them.

“Alpha Wolf, you behind me?” he asked. It was definitely odd to refer to anyone other than Selene by that moniker, he mused.

“What, didn't see the fireworks?” Gavin said. “We're here.”

“Keep it going.” He stopped firing for a moment and contacted the commander of the Raven contingent. “Brooke, how's it looking from your end?”

“One of our Hornets took some damage and had to abort. But we've got most of the AA defenses down and are working on getting the ground forces suppressed. We're out of rockets, though.”

“Understood. Do what you can with your miniguns,” Zach instructed. “And keep an eye out for enemy reinforcements.”

That was going to be their biggest problem. They had more than enough firepower to take out the enemy, but if the reserves showed up they would have to split it up, slowing their progress and possibly allowing the dive bombers enough time to switch out their batteries, launch and escape.

They had to be quick about this.

“Focus fire on the bombers, and make sure they're dead,” Zach said to Avery. “I'll handle the infantry.”

“Got it.”

BAM!

Another dive bomber went up in flames. Zach continued to rake the enemy with machine gun fire, cutting down more enemy ground crew.

“All units, be aware that we have more inbound troops coming from the far end of the field,” Gavin said over the radio. “They're in trucks.”

“What do you want me to do?” Avery asked.

Zach thought for a second. “Keep firing at the planes. That's the priority.”

He just wondered how long they could keep it up before they had to fight a pitched battle.

O
ne moment
there had been complete silence, and then the next Selene's composite unit came charging out of the forest, guns blazing. Antiaircraft guns blazed away at the Hornets darting around in the sky, but the incoming infantry unit caught the enemy completely on the back foot. Several emplacements were taken out with recoilless rifle shells before the defenders even had time to properly react. A few guns started to train toward them, threatening to mow them down in the middle of the open ground surrounding the airfield.

In their panic, though, the Ragnarok troopers holding the base had made a critical mistake. The diversion of some of their firepower gave Ghost critical seconds to react, and they took full advantage of the opportunity.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Three guns exploded in quick succession, victims of a series of strafing attacks by the Hornets. Freed from the worst of the enemy fire they quickly went to work gunning down anything and everything they could get in their sights.

“Need any more help?” Selene asked over the radio.

“Nah, we should be fine,” Blake answered. “Focus on the main objective.”

“Got it.” She switched channels. “All squads, focus on getting the dive bombers. Leave the infantry and the AA to Raven.”

BAM!

She had scarcely finished speaking when one of the parked planes went up in flames. Aircraft parts rocketed into the air and began raining down, some clattering off its neighbors. Several ground crew had to dive for cover to avoid the metal rain.

Selene urged the infantry screen forward, trying to provide as much protection to the heavy weapons teams as possible. If they could work without having bullets flying all around them they'd be much more effective.