Part 738: Let's Read Close Quarters - Part 6
Chapter 22Masamori, Hachiman
Galedon District, Draconis Combine
23 September 3056
Ninyu Kerai Indrahar is chilling in the mansion of the local planetary governor, Percival Uyehara Fillington III (eat the rich). He has the same duty vs. human sentiment (Giri vs. ninjo) debate that every Kurita character is by interstellar law required to contemplate or at least mention at least once per BattleTech novel. He is exactly like Cassie, insofar as Ninyu Kerai does not have an appreciation or art or nature or beautiful things. His art is violence and rather than it being his emotional outlet, it is simply how he communicates with the world around him. Ninyu Kerai Indrahar is not a human being.
He’s approached by another member of the ISF, Enrico Katsuyama (yes, a Hispanic Kurita). Katsuyama owns the 3000 year old stopwatch that appeared on the TV show 60 minutes, because he’s about to talk about propaganda and needs a prop children who grew up in the 90s would recognize.
Nerd.
He talks about the invention of media manipulation, while Ninyu Kerai Indrahar doubts that the stopwatch is actually 3,000 year old. Enrico is guileless enough that he doesn’t suspect it could be fake (his entire collection is implied to be fake
). Earl Percival Fillington III interrupts. He’s a “green” noble, recently come to power, and is in his early 30s. Poor Percy is so gullible he believes the news story that Hachiman Taro Enterprises has cracked HPG technology.
It would also bring in ROM (it doesn’t). Ninyu reveals that they’ve given permission for Word of Blake to handle “other matters” in exchange for leaving ComStar alone. Odds that they will leave ComStar alone: 0%, they’re the main secondary antagonist of the 17th Recon novels. We will see them again in Hearts of Chaos.
We cut to Don Carlos on the phone with his son. Gavilan Camacho is whining about the living conditions at the sportsplex where most of the Caballeros are staying.
Gabby is a Nagelring graduate, while Patsy went through the New Avalon Military Academy. Gabby is a garbage pilot while Patsy is amazing. Preeeeeety sure Gabby must’ve trained under Major Adam Steiner. And then we come to the real crux of the novel, a little throwaway paragraph that tells us who this novel is actually about
[Don Carlos] could never forgive Patsy for being better than Gavilan, and could never forgive Gavilan for not being Patsy. This is why he’s destroying himself, he sees Patsy’s sacrifice saving the entire regiment from the Smoke Jaguars not as heroism but as a suicide. Carlos gets a call from the Mirza and hangs up with his son, The Mirza warns him about the fake HPG story, and Don Carlos wonders if they can expect an attack from los ateos soon. “The Atheists,” Word of Blake.
The Mirza asks if any of the Caballeros will have problems killing Word of Blake, who are technically their Free Worlds League countrymen. Carlos reveals that there’s no conflict of interest, as he backed Duggan Marik in the civil war against Thomas and Duncan. Duggin and Janos (and later Thomas) were assassinated in a car bombing and Don Carlos left FWL service. The 17th fears Thomas Marik means to institute the Word of Blake as the Free Worlds League’s official state religion (he never does), and so most will fight the Wobbies to the death without concern.
Don Carlos increases security at HTE from one company to one battalion, and hangs up.
PTSD isn’t a known illness in the Inner Sphere. Don Carlos has it.
His wife La Dame Muerta brings him tea and gives him a neck massage. We have not met Marisol Cabrera in person before, all we have to go on are Cassie’s complaints. Marisol Cabrera is a conscientious and understanding woman who loves her husband a great deal. Her presence is what calms Don Carlos’s PTSD. Don Carlos seriously contemplates retiring, but he’d be leaving the regiment in the hands of Gavilan Camacho, and that frightens him more than the nightmares his daughter’s death has caused him.
Chapter 23
Masamori, Hachiman
Galedon District, Draconis Combine
15 October 3056
Word of Blake attacks through the subway tunnels, wearing HTE uniforms given to them by the ISF.
Wobbies all get gunned down in the subway by 17th Recon astechs on guard duty, but this isn’t there only attack. The 17th has carefully staggered their guard changes to not coincide with any of the Hachiman Taro Enterprises shift changes. We also learn something interesting: the 17th’s battalions have six companies rather than the typical three (the 17th Recon is an oversized regiment, with somewhere around 160 `Mechs at any given time). Bronco Company (Kali’s command) is on duty tonight.
Cassie is driving around on the most 90s anime of all vehicles, a Honda-Rheinmetall motorcycle (
). Cassie actually spares a moment to worry about Kali’s safety, something she hasn’t done for anyone since Patsy died. We cut to Kali, who is responding to a big hole the Wobbies have blown in the compound’s outer wall. A Caballero BattleMech has already taken an SRM to the cockpit and isn’t moving. The Wobbies are using SRM infantry which was, at the time the book was written, the most dangerous form of infantry by far.We get a brief glimpse into Kali’s mind. She suffers from depression so deeply seated that she actually hears voices telling her she’s stupid and a failure. She’s learned she needs to tune them out, but they will be a problem she will not solve in this book.
Cassie is convinced the attack on the north wall is a feint. It’s big and flashy and busy enough that it doesn’t look like a feint. She’s pretty sure the wall was breached by a van- or truck-carried fertilizer and fuel-oil suicide bomb.
The Oaklahoma City Bombing was in 1995, incidentally, nearly a year after this novel was written.
A Caballero JagerMech does one of the two things its designed for, firing its autocannons at infantry trying to storm the breach in the wall.
That is not bad logic. Cassie calls for Don Carlos but he’s not on the regimental comm. net yet. Colonel Gordon Baird answers, and since Cassie hates him she immediately burns a bridge mid-battle by asking if there’s anyone else she can speak to. Kali chimes in before Gordon can get too pissy, and Cassie immediately broadcasts in the clear to every member of the regiment that she thinks the northern breach is a diversion.
Cassie calls for Scout Platoon to head to the south wall, gets threatened by Gordo, but scout company complies anyway because all real soldiers hate intelligence officers.
We then cut to Don Carlos, who’s actually in his cockpit and listening in, but paralyzed by his PTSD. He’s trapped in flashbacks to the 17th Recon’s battle with the Smoke Jaguars on Jeronimo.
Patsy engaged the four other `Mechs of the Clan star to keep them from dueling her and prevent the others from rushing past her to attack the Caballeros DropShips. Patsy is killed in the process and even in his flashback Don Carlos breaks, grabs the Clan Star Commander’s Mad Cat by the arm, and shoots it in the cockpit with his BattleMaster’s PPC.
Don Carlos does not recover from his PTSD.
Chapter 24
Masamori, Hachiman
Galedon District, Draconis Combine
15 October 3056
The 9th Ghost Regiment gears up to help the 17th, but gets ordered to stand down by the planetary government. Lainie is pissed.
Cassie is at the south wall, and notices that there are a lot of HTE security where the fighting isn’t happening. On the spur of the moment, Cassie shoots the first patrol of Uncle Chandy’s guards she comes across with an assault rifle. Cassie is a mentally broken individual, she does not share her suspicions with anyone who can help her confirm them. She simply opens fire because it’s the quickest way to see whether or not she’s correct.
The people she shoots are wearing body armor, which HTE security forces do not. The ISF is better at infiltrating than the Word of Blake.
Gavilan Camacho immediately responds to the new crisis by assuming field command. Gabby immediately criticizes Don Carlos’s leadership, he thinks his father is a coward for “leading from the rear” rather than finding the most dangerous fight and leading by example. Gabby is a fucking idiot, if he’d gone to the NAMA he would’ve been a good friend of Victor Davion.
Instead he makes Gabby fight in a Shadow Hawk, a BattleMech known only for his mediocrity. Gabby is a shadow of his sister, and so his `Mech is a Shadow (Hawk) of her Phoenix Hawk. This is not subtle but it is easy to overlook, and it is the crux of the novel’s actual main plot.
Everything with Cassie is the distraction, a misdirection from the story of a grieving father struggling and failing to connect with his estranged, arrogant son. Cassie is the wheel that moves the story along, but Don Carlos is the 17th Recon Regiment and Gavilan Camacho is its future. As he is now, Gavilan Camacho is doomed to failure.
We cut to Archie and Mariska. Archie
Archie body slams another gunman, but gets kicked in the dick by a ninja. Zuma shoots the ninja in the face (which is unarmored, thanks to the security disguise). The other DEST ninja takes a little girl hostage. Zuma distracts her by putting his shotgun down long enough for unarmed-seeming Diana Vasquez to shoot the commando in the face.
This is the straw that breaks Mariska Savage, who is horrified that the Caballeros opened fire when the children were hostage.
This is the Caballero mindset. This is what it takes to be a semi-successful mercenary regiment in the Inner Sphere. It’s badass but it’s also terrifying, we’re meant to agree with Mariska’s view of the scene: this is not a good way to live.
A Phoenix Hawk shows up while Cassie is fighting at the wall, she’s able to identify it based on the way the pulse laser in the arm is fucking up due to a faulty installation. It gets shot up with inferno missiles and the pilot punches out, the DEST commandos shoot him in his parachute.
The scene cuts back to Lainie. She gets confirmation that the Ghosts are not allowed to help. The wording of the order is “no `Mechs are to move to aid the HTE compound.” Lainie is a badass.
Gabby is back up and in the fight, stomping on Wobbie infantry to avenge the Pixie pilot’s death. The only time he is not overshadowed by a Phoenix Hawk is after its pilot has been killed. This is more symbolism. The Caballeros win the battle of the HTE compound before the Lainie and her Ghosts can arrive to help them.