Battletech #51 - Illusions Of Victory by Loren L. Coleman

Author:Loren L. Coleman [Coleman, Loren L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Fiction, General, High Tech, Military, Fantasy games, Science fiction; Military
ISBN: 9780451457905
Publisher: Roc
Published: 2000-05-08T05:00:00+00:00

13

Green Mansion, Black Hills

Solaris City, Solaris VII

Freedom Theater, Lyran Alliance

16 August 3062

Security cameras set atop the high wall surrounding Green Mansion panned back and forth, surveying the streets for trouble. Remarkably, the roadways were mostly clear. The neighborhood was too far away from the city proper, and the mobs had not yet moved against this high-end residential district of the Black Hills. For those who wanted to try it, a Blackjack stationed at the corner of St. Hellions Avenue and April Street would discourage looting or other mischief while also watching for hostile 'Mechs. The local tunnel system had been blocked off by intentionally collapsing the arterioles, making above-ground movement the only way to approach. The one security concern came from the nearby border shared with Cathay, but the Free Cappella faction, always friendly to House Davion, still controlled the far side of that border.

Which left Drew Hasek-Davion's personal estates in the middle of one of the few relatively safe areas of Solaris City.

Megan Church sidled along one of the five-meter-high walls, listening for any hint of danger over the rasp of her leather jacket sliding along rough stonework. In her right hand she carried a one-meter-long shaft. A loop was attached to one end, and the head consisted of a hard ball covered by a special plastic wrap. Hugging the wall put her below the cameras' line of sight, though she could just see their lenses peeking over the rim, their asynchronous movement creating brief gaps in their coverage. It would be enough.

If the Blackjack pilot had noticed the instrument she carried, he'd have burned her down at once just to be safe. The device was a grapple rod, an infantry tool for scaling up the leg of a BattleMech to plant satchel charges in knee and hip joints. Except for this and a few other devices, MechWarriors were fully insulated from the threat of any mere foot soldier. Fortunately the Blackjack was facing the opposite direction, and Megan had no plans to get any closer than she stood just now. The grapple rod had many uses off a battlefield as well.

Watching the uneven camera motion, she peeled away the plastic coating from the head of the grapple rod, careful not to touch the special adherent that coated the hard ball. When both cameras crisscrossed their line of sight directly over her and panned away, she quickly stepped out, took aim over the wall, and thumbed the activation stud on the shaft. The ball shot away on a small compressed-air charge, flying ten meters before coming to the end of its wire tether. Wrapping over the wall, the ball fell against the other side, where its industrial-strength adherent glued it fast to the stonework. She pressed another button, and with a high-pitched whirring the motor built into the shaft began to reel in the wire.

Placing one foot in the stirrup, Megan rode the grapple rod up the side of the wall. Once she neared the top, it was a

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