Part 785: Let's Read: Main Event - Part 28

Let’s Read: Main Event (part 28)



Chapter 28
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 (Rose took a nap, Rose got a Charger)
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



Morgain arranges his `Mechs into a V as the Black Thorns advance and


Which immediately makes that true. Rose believes it, so it becomes gospel. Actually, it’s not, but only because Salander Morgain isn’t completely retarded.

He then re-orders his suicide charge—but not of the whole company, of Battle Lance only. ‘Cause, y’know, when taking on enemies with a weight advantage and inferior numbers, it’s best to attack them with a smaller, lighter-weight unit with fewer `Mechs than they have. Morgain has a Stalker, a BattleMaster, an Awesome, a Banshee 5S (piloted by our friend Mr. Bell ), and Morgain’s Marauder II (which doesn’t actually appear for a good five pages because he’s now apparently also a coward).

Rose immediately begins shooting up a BattleMaster (which outguns him since his Charger is, like all Chargers, total garbage). Fortunately, Rose’s shit luck turns into amazing capability and his LRMs hit the Battlemaster in the head. The BattleMaster shoots back and Rose then nearly falls over.

Meanwhile, the Awesome shoots up Hawg’s Zeus and the rest of the Black Thorns decide the attack plan is stupid and engage as well, focusing fire on the Stalker which promptly falls on its head. Rose, meanwhile, is left to fire his single LRM-20 at the BattleMaster and contribute basically fuck-all to the fight.

And by that, I mean he scores another cockpit hit and knocks the BattleMaster pilot unconscious, knocking it out of the fight because if he didn’t he wouldn’t be God’s gift to the universe. Rose then pauses mid-combat to contemplate how stupid looking the Stalker is and how helpless it looks as he walks up and pushes it over while it tries to stand up.

Then he falls over.

He fears the Banshee, but it’s doing fuck-all. Why?

… Well, because Antioch Bell is going to be a member of the Black Thorns, you see. He’s the only member of Morgain’s lance with a name, and he’s kinda not happy about this whole situation. Not to mention he got kicked out of the Lyran Guards because Morgain is a thieving shitheel.

Badicus O’Shea, meanwhile, being a real flawed person and not the second coming of Alexander Kerensky, is getting his ass kicked by Salander Morgain. Badicus is piloting a Shadow Hawk, remember, and Morgain?







Marauder II.

Dramatic reveal. Oh wait, I spoiled that already. It's really pretty meaningless, he doesn't even last as long as the Awesome did.

And Badicus is fighting him solo, because otherwise Morgain would’ve been busy murdering everyone else. Then Badicus takes a shot to the engine and has to shut down or Stackpole. Badicus punches out, and Morgain pauses to ready himself to smack some bitches with his `Mech.

Rose finally manages to free himself (he’d gotten stuck in the Stalker in a very literal sense, and lost his knee and foot actuators to a stupid and pointless charge attack) and goes running after the Marauder II (which severely outguns him, out-armors him, and now has greater maneuverability since two actuator hits reduce the Charger from a 4/6 to a 2/3). The Awesome has already punched out, meanwhile Ajax and Angus sit on the BattleMaster; and Rianna is nowhere to be seen (she contributes nothing this battle, I think the author forgot about her).

The Marauder II then double-taps its LBX-Autocannon (read: impossible) into the back of Hawg’s Zeus and kills the Gyro, since a 3v1 fight in his favor isn’t Rose’s style. 2v1 is much more like it. Oh, and for good measure, the Marauder II then blows off the leg of Esmeralda’s Crescens Warhammer, leaving Rose to fight it by himself.

Rose is about to lose, then the Banshee shows up and Deus Ex Machina’s the fight away by blowing off the Marauder’s head. Antioch Bell, secretly the Banshee pilot (and one of three characters I don’t hate) then shuts down and surrenders.

Then Rianna shows up, just in time to do nothing. At least they won’t have to fix her `Mech. Also, the chapter ends. Hope you enjoyed that fight, by the way, there isn’t one in the next chapter.