Deception City: A World at War Novel (World at War Online Book 5) Read Online Free PDF Page A

could probably convince most if not all of the others as well.
    “We’ll begin preliminary recon work over the next few days,” Anna said.
    Ghost Battalion’s officers looked at each other.
    “How did I know that was going to happen?” Neil of Spectre Company commented.
    “Because that’s how we roll?” Robbie offered.
    It was indeed. One of Hydra’s greatest strengths was planning, and that took a considerable amount of effort to achieve. It required precise, up to date information, and the task of gathering that fell to the recon elements of the alliance. They had air observation units, but most of the reconnaissance duties fell on Ghost Battalion, due to their infiltration skills.
    “I’m guessing we’re going to have another meeting after this,” Zach commented. “We’ll need to get a plan of action together.”
    And that plan depended on how they wanted to proceed. Ghost Battalion was capable of performing several mission profiles. They could stay stealthy and silent, merely observing and gathering information. They could perform reconnaissance in force, probing the enemy and looking for weak points in the defenses. They could raid, weakening the enemy and forcing them to dedicate resources to protect their rear area.
    And if push came to shove they could brawl on the front lines, though they lacked the sheer fury of Dragon Battalion, the armor of Rogue or the unflappable stalwartness of Knight. They could still fight with the best of them, though, even if it was their choice of last resort.
    But Nora had a feeling they wouldn’t be asked to do that much. No, with two Ghost Battalion members on the military council, command likely had plans for them utilizing their quick-strike and infiltration abilities.
    Business was certainly about to pick up.

3
    Hunter
    T he sounds of tools and construction filled the air. Various elements of the occupying force were hard at work performing maintenance, making modifications and customizing their equipment.
    Selene walked along the Racine docks, watching as the engineers went to work on their river craft.
    No, she remembered, engineers didn’t exist anymore under the new system. Anyone who wanted to perform maintenance could do so long as they had the proper experience and skills.
    That helped their logistical situation quite a bit. Under the old system maintenance fell on their engineer corps, which limited the amount of work they could actually do. Now they could fill in the void with other players. Everyone could learn at least enough to do their part, even if they weren’t the best at it. Hephaestus Company still remained head and shoulders above them all, but at least the others could help pull their weight.
    They needed it too, because Ghost Battalion used a lot of work-intensive equipment. Their river craft and helicopters were powerful resources to call upon in the midst of battle, but they required a significant amount of maintenance to keep them functioning properly. The last thing they needed was a mechanical problem or an engine failure in the middle of a fight.
    But maintenance work didn’t just cover repairs and replacements. Everyone knew they were in an arms race with Ragnarok Company, and they wanted to have the biggest, baddest guns at their disposal. Experiments, new ideas, all were welcome in the pursuit of that goal.
    Selene walked by a Hephaestus crew fitting a pair of twin autocannons to the bow turret of a river craft. They fired slower than a minigun or heavy machine gun, but their shells packed more of a punch, capable of taking out even light vehicles and some fortified positions.
    Hydra had plenty of new weapons to spare, but lacked the industrial ability to deploy them all. Many of the designs required resources they had no way to access at the moment. Others could be built, but their current utility remained questionable. And then there were those that would take far too many resources to deploy.
    Paige from Hephaestus Company had