Part 792: Let's Read Warrior: En Garde - Part 2

Let’s Read Warrior: En Garde (part 2)

Book 1
Chapter 2
Kittery
Capellan March, Federated Suns
27 November 3026

We then learn offhand that Justin has been playing the Rice Card in order to spur his trainees to work harder since he’s more awesome then they are at everything, and then contemplates what excellent troops they’ll become some day. Everything is going swimmingly and then one of them detects something odd.

So Justin activates MagScan and spots an anomaly, which he goes to investigate himself. Then everyone gets attacked by Cicadas except Justin, who blunders into a Rifleman. Justin then shows off his command skills by putting the incredibly green Andrew Redburn in charge of the entire battalion so Justin can duel a `Mech he and the Stingers could evade with ease since they’re all fast light jumpers and the Rifleman isn’t. Meanwhile, Cicadas are springing up out of the ground. Somehow.


And then the pilot who detected the ambush in the first place takes two medium laser hits to the head and dies. Welp.

Stackpole’s pretty good at writing combat, so there’s not a lot to talk about here. Redburn then decides that Justin must be full of shit and ignores his orders not to blunder into the Rifleman and decides to hold the hill Justin is fighting behind. Meanwhile, Justin dances around the Rifleman and TACs one of the autocannons.

Two more of the trainees get killed by Stingers, with Stackpole naming and then killing off characters in pretty much the same sentence. Still, I can’t blame him, since giving us the names, descriptions, and sexual orientation of all thirty six trainees in the battalion would be something I’d expect to see straight out of the Felsic Current (along with all the pilots being secretly gay for each other, and a 15 year old female colonel who ‘giggle-squees’ and tackles Justin with her Wolverine or something).

We then learn that Craon is actually a pretty damned good pilot, who cripples a Cicada for the rest of his lance to kill and I’m actually tempted to conduct a battle involving 36 Stingers vs a smaller, heavier force. God help the thread. More faceless trainees die to simulate danger, but we all know nothing bad could ever happen directly to someone important in Battletech fiction. Unless their last name is Kurita. Or Pryde.

Elsewhere, in a blank white void (Justin was just over the hill that Redburn and the battalion are fighting on, but is magically out of visual and sensor range of everyone), Justin gets behind the Rifleman but it’s got swivel arms and takes him out with a single salvo because Justin Allard forgot they could do that.

The Cicadas then run away, and Redburn takes stock. Four or five dead, and a few wounded—not bad for taking on a pack of fast mediums that have you outgunned, even if you’ve got them outnumbered 3:1. After checking the number of the dead and feeling bad about it for about four seconds, Redburn and his ‘staff’ have a laugh at Robert Craon’s expense since the poor, shaken pilot who was running shepherd on everyone and who was just made personally responsible for the safety of everyone in his company at risk of his own career is shaking in his cockpit and wondering what he could’ve done to stop five-some people from being killed.


Fuckin’ cold, man. That’s the Inner Sphere for you, though. They then try to check up with Justin, but he doesn’t respond and OH NO there’s smoke coming from the other side of the hill. They find Justin’s Valkyrie, and he’s alive. Craon finds Justin first, unconscious, and then this happens.


Justin’s not here to Asshole at his subordinates, so Redburn’s got to do it for him.


Robert Craon. Not a bad guy. No, he’s just concerned because Justin Allard has just had his arm shot off; and will never pilot a `Mech again. In Battletech, in the 3020s? That’s a fate worse than death. Redburn acknowledges that yes, it would probably be better if Justin Allard had been killed.



Book 1
Chapter 3
Pacifica (Chara III)
Isle of Skye, Lyran Commonwealth
15 January 3027

The Kell Hounds are out Kell Hounding it up. Dan Allard, Justin Allard’s brother, smugs the hell out of his company. Where his brother is leading a Battalion for House Davion, Dan’s leading only twelve. In a fit of poetic irony it just being a really good light `Mech, Dan is also in a Valkyrie. We then learn that Pacifica is a shithole with a fourteen hour day/night cycle, is prone to massive planet-wide thunderstorms, and that the clocks are retarded here. This will be a major plot point for Book 1. We then learn that one of Dan’s pilots has upgraded from a Locust to a Wasp, and that ‘that monster’ makes her think she’s invincible.

Think about that for a moment.

`Mechs over 50 tons are supposed to be rare as hell.

Not a lot happens, since this is just an intro for the Kell Hounds. Dan has a pep talk with his Wasp pilot, and misconstrues her feelings towards another pilot (who cost got her old `Mech killed, then talked a Marauder pilot into capturing an enemy `Mech to replace the lost Locust). Turns out Dan is just not good at reading people, and instead of being upset, the Wasp pilot (who is a woman) is conflicted because she wants to fuck him (80’s!). This is perfectly ok, since the Kell Hounds aren’t military and

Dan then text-dumps about his father’s marriage to his first (Capellan) wife and this makes everything better somehow. Meg (the Wasp pilot) then brings up Dan’s half-brother, Justin, who just so happens to be in the Capellan March. They then laugh about how much Pacifica sucks. That’s the whole chapter.



Book 1
Chapter 4
Pacifica (Chara III)
Isle of Skye, Lyran Commonwealth
15 January 3027

The Kell Hounds’ commanding officers are having a poker game staff meeting poker game. We’re introduced to Patrick Kell, who is the nicest guy in the entire Battletech universe. No, seriously, I’d play poker with him. Patrick takes a personal interest in the ex-Locust current Wasp pilot, by which I mean he’s concerned and wants to make sure she’s adapting and willing to offer extra support if Dan thinks it’s necessary. It’s not because Dan Allard is lazy doesn’t really have a firm grasp of how his troops are doing is an excellent trainer / counselor.

Also, cards in the Inner Sphere the Lyran Commonwealth the Isle of Skye Pacifica apparently use the great houses as suites (except Liao, because Liao). They then get a message and Dan learns that Justin had his arm shot off two chapters ago. Patrick Kell offers to have Dan sent to New Avalon directly, at the Kell Hounds’ expense because he’s just that awesome a guy. Dan says ‘no, it’ll be ok’ then swears eternal vengeance upon whoever it was that hurt his older brother, then promptly forgets about it since he never looks into it further. I’m not joking, this ‘vengeance’ really is forgotten completely the next time we see Dan Allard.

Then the chapter ends.