Star Lord by Donald G. Phillips

Author:Donald G. Phillips [Phillips, Donald G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2011-04-12T16:58:44+00:00

13

Galaport

Galatea

Skye March, Federated Commonwealth

15 May 3057

Dawn adjusted the sensor tabs on her neurohelmet for what seemed like the tenth time and made sure she still had good contact The neurohelmet which provided a neural interface between the 'Mech pilot and the BattleMech's gyro, was the key to piloting a 'Mech. The pilot used his or her own sense of balance to adjust the balance of the 'Mech, lending the machine what often seemed like human movements.

She looked around the cockpit with a sense of frustration. Dawn had been weaned on Clan battle technology, which was significantly more advanced than even the best the Inner Sphere could boast. She could not help having misgivings about the fact that some components of this ancient Shadow Hawk were technologically behind the Inner Sphere's current capabilities. This neurohelmet, for one thing, was nearly twice the weight and size of the kind used by the Steel Vipers.

And that was only the beginning. Though this was no OmniMech, Dawn thought the 'Mech could and should have been better than it was. It had ferro-fibrous armor, which would let it withstand a lot more than most 'Mechs its age, but its weapons array was a shambles. Apparently the weapons had been heavily modified at least several times by previous warriors who'd piloted the machine. Its last refit had gained it some of the more contemporary systems, but Dawn was used to the Clan's more powerful and penetrating pulse lasers, which this machine sadly lacked. That didn't mean the Shadow Hawk's essentially long-firing beam weapons were not deadly, just that they didn't offer nearly the firepower. Perhaps her biggest concern was that some of the 'Mech's heat sinks were so old and decrepit that they barely worked.

Among the Clans, the technician in charge of maintaining this 'Mech would have been punished severely. As for the 'Mech, it would probably have been consigned to a solahma unit of over-the-hill warriors or even dismantled for parts. Dawn had to remind herself sternly that she was not of the Clans now and that this equipment was all that was available to her now. In some ways it made her wonder that the barbarians of the Inner Sphere had managed to hold off the Clan invasion as well as they did.

She had complained to Mordoc, but the stablemaster had simply thrown up his hands. The Minutemen were out of money, he said, which was why he had such high hopes for her. Every one of them, including Mordoc, had bet his or her last C-bills on her victory. He also said that even though she considered the Shadow Hawk to be hopeless, the rest of the Minutemen had been mightily impressed when they saw how skillfully she piloted it in practice.

Her teammates were aware that Dawn was of the Clans, but Mordoc had not passed that information on to their opponents, Carmody's Cavaliers. All he'd let slip was that this new warrior was also fighting in the Games for the first time. It was a blatant deception, but one Dawn understood.

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