Battletech #22 - Close Quarters by Victor Milán

Author:Victor Milán [Milán, Victor]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Fiction, General, Games, Role Playing & Fantasy
ISBN: 9780451453785
Publisher: Roc
Published: 1994-09-01T05:00:00+00:00

21

Masamori, Hachiman

Galedon Diistrict, Draconis Combine

22 September 3056

Cassie was walking across the black dirt of the HTE Sportsplex outside Masamori, flattened to the consistency of cement by the passage of 'Mech feet, when her peripheral vision caught something flying at her face from the right.

It was too late even to draw Blood-drinker. All she could do was wheel into a twisted pentjak stance, hands open and raised to defend.

A red plastic ball covered in blue and yellow polka dots flew into her hands.

"Hi, Cassie!" a little square brown girl in a pink smock and jet black pigtails called. "Nice catch!"

She grinned. "Thanks, Nopalita. How's it going, gang?"

The dozen or so children from the day-care group crowded around, bouncing up and down and hugging Cassie. Little ones loved Cassie. She wasn't afraid to play with them.

"Gotta run now," she said shortly, disengaging herself from the pack. She waved to Diana, another of their favorites, who spent most of her free time working the Regiment's day-care center—and headed off for the rec hall.

Even before she got there Cassie could hear the shouts and cheers over the musicbox caterwauling that ancient favorite, El Camino Real de Guanajuato. It sounded as if something more spirited was going on than the usual debates of the merits of singing-vaquero star Tino Espinosa over Johnny Tchang, the martial-arts holo god who'd defected to the Federated Commonwealth from the Capellan Confederation in '49, just before the Clan invasion erupted.

She stepped inside to find the Ping-Pong table stacked against a wall and a space cleared where two men, stripped to the waist, faced each other with knives. The holo set was playing in the corner, a kickboxing match from Luthien that was being ignored as comprehensively as the musicbox. Archie Westin, boy reporter, was hopping around the fight's perimeter like a nervous terrier.

"Ah, Leftenant Suthorn!" he said, spying her. He bounced to her side. "You've got to do something!"

"Why me?" Cassie said, watching the combatants circle each other. One was Macho, weaving a slim-bladed knife out in front of him. The other was a Kiowa from Captain Santo's Infante Company who went by the name Metalhead. He was a great big man, with a round dark face, hawk nose, and something of a gut, who was currently holding out a huge-ass Bowie, blade up. "Father Doctor Bob and Lady K both have rank on me."

The Jesuit was standing to one side with hands stuck in his pockets and a slightly glum expression. Kali MacDougall stood at the edge of the combat ground with her back to the wall, holding a pool cue in her hands.

"They're no bloody help," Westin said, distressed. "Captain MacDougall is actually officiating."

Cassie nodded at Mariska Savage, who was ducking and weaving like a boxer, working the angles with her holocorder. "At least your faithful camerawoman is getting it all down on disk. Be a good show for the folks back home; you haven't had much exciting to show them since the mock battle."

"Good afternoon, Cassie," Father Garcia said, materializing on her other side.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.