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The green light ignited. Justin lumbered his humanoid Centurionforward and did exactly what he knew his foe was doing. As he punched several buttons on his command console, a schematic of a Griffin drew itself in shades of red and gold. Know your enemy as yourself
Justin studied the display and reviewed his foe's strengths and weaknesses. Armstrong's Griffin sported LRMs fired from a launch pod on the 'Mech's right shoulder. That PPC in its right hand could mean trouble.The Griffin ,Justin read, also carried more armor than the Centurion.That accounted, in part, for its five-ton weight advantage over the Centurion.Highly regarded as a distance-hitter on the battlefield, the Griffin was a formidable foe.
Justin switched his 'Mech's main sca
How will Armstrong evaluate theCenturion? Justin narrowed his eyes and stepped over a barricade of twisted girders and fire-blackened ferrocrete. He'll recall that the Luxor autoca
Justin smiled to himself. In fact, we’ll probably spar at range, and he’ll hope my Luxor autoca
Justin picked the Centurion'spath through metal debris like a child working his way through a rusty junkyard. Through the cable hanging from his left wrist, he guided the 'Mech's huge left hand. Closing its fingers on small chunks of ferrocrete, he moved them out of the way. Unmindful of the arena cameras, he cleared himself a little space and hunkered down in his Centurion.
Justin watched for the director's green light on his dash. He remembered his pregame production briefing. If both combatants had settled in to ambush one other, which would make for a boring fight, the producer would flicker the light three times. That meant both MechWarriors had to get moving or else the production company would withhold the combatant's portion of royalties for the fight. Justin waited, but the light never ignited.
I did not think Armstrong would dare attempt an ambush. Aren't I the treacherous Capellan traitor who has defeated Wolfson and killed two other Federated Suns expatriots? Already the media mentions how Philip Capet and I have met before, and they suggest that none of the Federats here on Solaris will be able to stop me except for Capet himself.Justin shook his head, then shut his eyes against the burning sting of sweat. Fools. Utter fools.
He licked his lips and tasted the salty sweat, marveling at how the Tharkan Broadcast Company controlled the fights and their presentation. As a TBC representative had told him, three or four TBC JumpShips were getting the broadcast beamed out to them a minute or two before the public saw it. They would jump out to begin the distribution of the game tapes throughout most of the I
Within a month, the TBC man had said, the fight will have played on every Steiner world and half the worlds of Davion, Marik, and Liao. Justin laughed to himself as he recalled the man assuring him that they'd crack the Kurita market soon. Sure,he thought, and Takashi Kurita sleeps with a teddy bear!
Justin looked up and adjusted his sca
I can imagine the a
Justin reached out with his right hand and firmly grasped the targeting joystick jutting up from the command chair's arm. The red button on top triggered his autoca
The gold crosshairs on his viewscreen hovered at the right edge of his forward view. Though the sensors and neurohelmet provided him with full, 360-degree vision, almost undetectable lines broke the circle into parts corresponding to his firing arcs. If he tried to target something outside a weapon's arc, the crosshairs would lose all intensity.
Do I wait until he has walked past me and then hit him from behind? Do I attack straight on and give him a chance? That would be the honorable thing.Justin narrowed his eyes. The man belongs to Hanse Davion. He deserves no honor.
Slowly, and with a stealth ridiculous for such a large machine, the Griffin inched into sight. Humanoid, with two fully manipulable hands, it looked much like a jump trooper dressed in bulky space armor. Its pistol-like PPC rested casually in its right hand. The LRM launch canister riding on its right shoulder moved up and down in fits and starts as Armstrong sighted it on probable targets ahead.
Justin laughed. This was the first time he'd ever seen a 'Mech swagger! He reached out and flicked his external speakers on.
"It's over before it begins, Armstrong!" Justin brought the Centurionto its feet, and extended the autoca
The Griffin opened its arms wide. "Take your best shot, yellow dog." For the cameras, Armstrong made the Griffin shake its head, as though in pity. "I'll let you die fast, Xiang."
Justin's thumb stabbed down on the fire button. The Pontiac Autoca
Badly shaken, Armstrong triggered all his weapons. Fire shot from the missile canister as each LRM took flight. Six of them hit and tore armor from the Centurion'sright side. The errant rockets detonated behind the Centurion,scattering scrap metal and shattering ferrocrete blocks in fiery explosions.
Armstrong then snapped his PPC into line with the Centurion'schest. The charging coils glowed for a second, giving Justin enough time to switch the sca
Justin redirected the autoca