Part 807: Let's Read Warrior: En Garde - Part 17
Let’s Read Warrior: En Garde (part 17)Book 4
Chapter 51
A2341CA
Draconis Combine
26 May 3027
The Kell Hounds jumped into deep space, rendering them safe from the Draconis Combine’s assault. Uh-oh, that means they didn’t jump to Styx so Melissa is still in danger! Also, Dan Allard is freaking the hell out. It’s ok, Dan, we can’t all be Justin… but he really comes across as a pathetic whiner here. Then again, the rest of the Kell Hounds follow Patrick blindly even though he’s just been injured, so… I don’t know what to think about their status as ELITE MECHWARRIORS.
Anyway, Patrick then admits they’re in deep shit, so rather than recharging at the system’s K8 star (i.e.: 1.5 weeks rather than just 1 week), he’s going to just dump power from the JumpShip’s fusion reactors into its jump core.
Needless to say, everyone else begins to freak the fuck out because this is a BAD THING™.
Anyway Janos, one of the scientists the Kell Hounds just happen to have onboard, is apparently a Kearny-Fuchida Jump Drive wizard and text-dumps to the reader how JumpShips work. He thinks they can recharge the ship, but if they do it too quickly they’ll probably just… cease to exist. Or blow up. Or maybe be just fine. Turns out he’s actually just kinda guessing. He then points out that other people have tried this and—nobody knows if it works because they never reappear.
Hooray.
Patrick decides that throwing all his eggs in one theoretical and scientifically-unproven basket is a great idea. They plan to take 48 hours but House Kurita shows up and leaves them with only 19 so yeah. Chances are pretty good they’re all going to die, except they’re the Kell Hounds so we know they won’t.
Dan then has all his Mechwarriors check out their machines because ‘they’re in hostile territory.’
Dramatic cliffhanger!
Book 4
Chapter 52
Solaris VII (The Game World)
Rahneshire, Lyran Commonwealth
26 May 3027
Hey Justin. Here to create dramatic tension by distracting us from the other plots? Jealous that everyone but you gets a cliffhanger that we’ll have to resolve in just five chapters and an epilogue? Here to force a Solaris VII championship match cliffhanger so everyone will worry about you, the most important person in all the universe?
Yeah.
Justin takes Gray Noton’s Rifleman into the arena against Billy Wolfson’s Rifleman (this book loves Riflemans for some reason. I, however, love Riflemans because one of them nearly killed Justin Xiang). Anyway, Capet then admits to everyone that Hanse Davion is going to give him a `Mech regiment if he kills Justin Xiang in the arena and the chapter ends.
Justin Xiang: protagonist by default.
Dramatic cliffhanger!
Book 4
Chapter 53
A2341CA
Draconis Combine
26 May 3027
The Kell Hounds implement their stupid plan and jump to a totally secret I swear base deep in Kurita territory that Patrick Kell just happens to know about even though he’s totally not a member of a secret terrorist society at all I promise guys. WILL THEY SURVIVE?!
Yeah, they’re fine. Stackpole didn’t even bother with a dramatic cliffhanger here, they’re fine and they’re at Styx and OH SHIT HOUSE KURITA IS HERE! So the Kell Hounds, who have been running from every fight for the past ten chapters or so, engage a numerically superior enemy force on the surface of an airless rock where combat will be supremely lethal since they have the Element of Surprise.
Dramatic cliffhanger!
Book 3
Chapter 54
Styx
Dieron Military District, Draconis Combine
26 May 3027
The Kell Hounds engage the Genyosha in an epic fight of the century! Except not really, since the Genyosha threaten to kill everyone onboard the Silver Eagle if the Kell Hounds don’t turn over Melissa. Since the Kell Hounds don’t have Melissa, this may be a problem. Except we know it won’t be.
Dramatic cliffhanger!