Part 788: Let's Read: Main Event - Part 31
Let’s Read: Main Event (part 31)Chapter 31
The Cedars, Borghese
19 July 3055
Days elapsed since book start: 343¼
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: 1
Chapters spent on Northwind: 5
Chapters spent on Solaris: 10
Chapters spent on Outreach: 4
Chapters spent on Borghese: 13
It took four days in the field with inadequate repair facilities to get every `Mech fully functional in time for the CLIMAX with [INSERT CLAN BLOODNAMED WARRIOR HERE]. The pilot of the BattleMaster refuses to give up his machine (his personal property, incidentally), but Rose refuses to let him have it letting us add ‘thief’ to the list of things Jeremiah Rose won’t shy from in order to be an asshole to people.
They couldn’t get the BattleMaster to work since it was still keyed to the original pilot, so Rose asks Ajax to torture the information out of the pilot. He doesn’t do that, but it’s implied that he does. Ajax, being not an imbecile, most likely just used his status as ‘sneaky Capellan murderer’ to scare the information out of the pilot whose life he saved.
They jury rig a cockpit for the Marauder II out of the remains of the Stalker, Awesome, and Zeus. I’m sure that won’t have any negative impact on the Marauder’s performance (it doesn’t). It’s then learned that the Clan forces consist of one Trinary of `Mechs and a second Trinary of Elementals, so Rose’s estimate of one-to-two Trinaries was correct.
Rose then commits the planetary militia as a distraction force, allowing them to return to Houston under a heavy Clan escort. They will all most likely be slaughtered en-masse once the fighting begins, but they’re not actually members of the Black Thorns so fuck them.
The then walk into the city and immediately come under attack from a pair of Dasher (Fire Moth)s. They proceed to kick Rianna’s ass, even though a solid hit from anything should be enough to knock out a Fire Moth. The author then commits the cardinal sin of not understanding how light works.
Main Event posted:
[Rose] carefully aligned the crosshairs of the targeting computer, then fired. By the time the lasers reached the OmniMech’s position, however, the Dasher was no longer there.
LASERS DO NOT WORK THAT WAY.
Also, for a 0/2 pilot with pulse lasers and a targeting computer, Jeremiah Rose’s hit rate is still something like 12%. He only hits with his LRMs. Rose then straight-arms a Fire Moth and kills it.
Angus kills the other because he’s actually semi-capable (he dies by the end of the chapter). Rose then tells Ajax to turn off his Guardian ECM for some inexplicable reason. I… there’s no advantage to doing that, you stupid fuck! I can only imagine Ajax replies with a ‘Yes, sir!’ and promptly ignores the order.
The Black Thorns move into the city, and they detect three incoming assaults. Brilliant tactician that he is, Rose orders Angus to jump his Valkyrie to the top of a parking garage to identify Clan positions. Angus spots three Warhawks then takes a Clan ER PPC to the head and dies instantly.
Ajax then announces another `Mech incoming, one that weighs a hundred tons. Rose then jumps on the radio to beg his girlfriend for help. Then the chapter ends.