Part 784: Let's Read: Main Event - Part 26 & 27
Let’s Read: Main Event (part 26 / 27)Chapter 26
Houston, Borghese
14 June 3055
Days elapsed since book start: 308¼
Mercenaries recruited since book start: 6
Mercenaries recruited off-screen: 1
Things accomplished since book start: 1 (
Protagonists introduced since book start: 8
Protagonists mentioned but not yet introduced: 1
Antagonists introduced since book start: 3
Antagonists defeated since book start: 0
Chapters spent on Northwind: 5
Chapters spent on Solaris: 10
Chapters spent on Outreach: 4
Chapters spent on Borghese: 13
This chapter opens on Salander Morgain, who gives a pro-Clan speech. He’s a good talker, but apparently he was kicked out of the AFFC for being a black marketer, so Rose is right about him being a smug asshole (go figure, the Mary Sue’s ‘gut instincts’ about someone are correct). Anyway, Rose gets pissed and shuts off the television he’s using to watch Morgain’s pro-Clan idiocy. The speech is transparent and poorly written, and therefore immediately wins the hearts of the populace. Borghese is now ripe for a Clan invasion.
Morgain then claims that the Black Thorns shot up their own compound, burned their own belongings, and killed their own staff. They’ve also had McCloud declared a pirate since she blasted off without permission and without paying for her goods. Except McCloud is still on the planet (she’s been riding with Hawg, not Jeremiah) and Rose has an “AH-HA!” moment that’s quickly quashed because they’re still getting their asses kicked politically and Crenshaw has clearly sent the Bristol somewhere to do something.
Like, y’know, politely asking the Jade Falcons to come take over the planet and remove him from office (they certainly wouldn’t let him keep it).
Cooke then warns Rose that Morgain is coming and won’t be pulling any punches (and also Rose is outgunned since IIRC Morgain pilots a Marauder II). Then the chapter ends after having gone precisely nowhere.
Chapter 27
The Cedars, Borghese
14 July 3055
Days elapsed since book start: 338¼
Mercenaries recruited since book start: 6
Mercenaries recruited off-screen: 1
Things accomplished since book start: 1 (
Protagonists introduced since book start: 8
Protagonists mentioned but not yet introduced: 1
Antagonists introduced since book start: 3
Antagonists defeated since book start: 0
Chapters spent on Northwind: 5
Chapters spent on Solaris: 10
Chapters spent on Outreach: 4
Chapters spent on Borghese: 13
“Rose Smash Puny Humans!”
Rose leads the Black Thorns into the woods so they can hide out like proper
We then learn that Rose and McCloud are back on speaking terms, although he quietly suspects she’s upset about the theft of her dropship and blames him for its loss. We also learn that the political situation is now even worse than before, but I don’t really give a shit beyond Zenos Cooke being one of the few semi-likeable characters in the novel (if you discount his request for Rose to fake a Clan invasion).
Anyway, we are then reintroduced to Badicus O’Shea, who is crossing a river but OH NO the Planetary Militia has an unarmed scout hovertank and detects them. Badicus O’Shea was in a position to kill it, but doesn’t.
Rose jumps down his throat on the Comms, but Badicus announces that he refuses to fire on an unarmed tank even though it puts everyone at risk; since he helped trained that tank crew. Rose doesn’t explode at him, and actually delivers a reasonable if understandably upset response.
… Reasonable until he pretty much places the blame for any future badness that happens to the Black Thorns squarely on Badicus’ shoulders.
Having successfully placed blame away from his immaculate godhead, Rose then decides that they can’t run forever since the Militia will catch up eventually. Coming to a decision, he formulates a cunning plan and announces it to everyone and dear lord is it ever stupid.
Main Event posted:
“We can only run for so long. Sooner or later we’re going to have to engage the militia and Salander Morgain’s `Mechs. That means fighting, and killing. We can’t let that happen, so here is what we are going to do.
“Pursuit [Lance], keep us away from them for as long as possible. The longer we can stay away, the longer we have for Cooke to try to help us some way back in Houston. That means nearly constant movement, little sleep, and no room for error. We stick together and make them hunt us down. When they finally manage to corner us, we surrender and take our chances in Houston.”
So… work yourselves to exhaustion, then give up. He then has the gall to ask if anyone has any questions.
Y’know? I do have a question. Why are you in charge again?
Ajax: “PoptartsNinja, That is very good question. I am murderous sneaky Chinese stereotype and yet I have a more compelling character than Jeremiah Rose. Also, my plan is better. ‘Wait in ambush: kill everyone that isn’t us.’”
They stay on the run for eight fucking days, sleeping about two hours at a stretch and—y’know what? Planets are a big goddamned place, OK? Even if the continent is smaller than Australia, there’s still a hundred billion places you could hide a company of Battlemechs. If the 17th Recon could escape—under fire from five Draconis Combine regiments—and hide an entire BattleMech Regiment on fucking Towne then Jeremiah Rose can hide ten `Mechs in a goddamned forest.
Oh, and the Black Thorns repeatedly come under LRM fire from Infantry during this time. Infantry which are a thousand times less mobile than the Battlemechs they’re hunting. The militia also accidentally start the forest on fire, and have to divert to try to put it out.
On the eighth day, they’re approached by Salander Morgain. Oh, and announces that the Bristol is back and that Chairman Cooke has been assassinated. Oh, and the Jade Falcons are here since the Bristol was off fetching them. So, rather than following his ‘surrender’ plan, Jeremiah Rose orders his exhausted troops into a suicide charge.
And then the chapter ends.