The Valkyrie had almost regained its footing when the Javelin’s falling left leg struck it with a glancing blow. The impact barely scratched the paint job, but it was enough to unbalance the ’Mech. Despite all of Walter’s efforts, the Valkyrie stumbled back and sat abruptly on a half-crushed stoop.
The UrbanMech advanced, and Walter could do nothing to stop Bloodstone. The other pilot stopped almost entirely for dramatic effect. The autocannon’s muzzle had been pointed skyward to shoot the Javelin, so Bloodstone lowered it slowly and deliberately. Walter could hear the color analyst waxing eloquent about how this was one mercenary showing his foe either contempt or respect, perhaps both.
But before Bloodstone could trigger the UrbanMech’s autocannon, two red beams lanced into the ’Mech’s back. The armor over the ’Mech’s right side ablated, then the ferro-titanium shoulder joint glowed red and parted under the stress. The ’Mech’s right weapon pod rolled to the left and dropped to the ground, smoking.
Past the UrbanMech, the damaged Spider hove again into view. The autocannon had torn its right arm off and crushed the right side of its body, but the twin lasers mounted in the ’Mech’s chest remained untouched. While the others were battling to destroy each other, Steve Quarry had gamely brought his ’Mech back into the battle, and Bloodstone’s ’Mech had paid the price.
Walter got the Valkyrie upright again and fired past the UrbanMech. The autocannon shot nailed the Spider square in the left hip. The slugs stabbed through the armor and gnawed through the ferro-titanium femur. The leg buckled and twisted free, sending the Spider again crashing face first into the ground.
Before he went down, Quarry did get two more shots, this time at the Valkyrie. Both angry red beams consumed armor from the right arm and flank of Walter’s ’Mech, but they inflicted no serious damage. Despite the shifting weight, Walter kept the Valkyrie on its feet.
He swung the autocannon around to cover the UrbanMech. Bloodstone still had one small laser left and could slam his ’Mech into the Valkyrie—or try to. Walter would hit the Valkyrie’s jump jets and soar out of danger. He’d land far enough away from the other ’Mech that he could put the autocannon to good use. He might have to burn all the rest of his ammo to take the UrbanMech down, but unless Bloodstone got uncommonly lucky, he wasn’t going to emerge victorious over Walter.
Bloodstone turned the UrbanMech to present the devastated right flank to the Valkyrie.
Walter lowered the autocannon and smiled as the UrbanMech headed back off to its staging area. I won. Wen Xu-Tian is ruined.
His mouth soured. And the Collective will know where Ivan and Sophia now live.
Chapter Twelve
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Aftermath
Solaris VII (The Game World)
Rahneshire, Lyran Commonwealth
24 December 3001
Walter’s feet had barely hit the ferrocrete staging pad when Traeger forced him back against the Valkyrie. The shove would have sent Walter spilling to the ground, but jagged bits of leg armor caught in his cooling vest and kept him upright.
Traeger’s nostrils flared. “What the hell was that?”
Walter snarled. “Bet against me again?”
“What? No. Damn you, I had you winning on the nose.” Traeger tugged at the lapels of his orange and lime green suit coat. “What did I tell you from the very beginning? What?”
“Only take a dive when you told me to?”
“No. Yes, I did say that, but that’s not what I want you thinking about.” Traeger poked a finger against Walter’s breastbone. “I told you, anyone comes to you and says anything, you let me know. I told you I have people.”
“Your ranging fire here ain’t even close, Traeger.”
“Your Liao friend?”
Walter’s stomach knotted. “What do you know?”
Traeger’s eyes became slits. “I have people, remember. People who have been watching you and your friends. I see this guy. He’s rattled you. He has something on you, and I got to know what it is.”
Walter rubbed a hand over his brow. “You stupid bastard. You think you’ll shake me down like he did? That you’ll get the Windfall Warriors back? Man, that fight, I just killed that future. Good God, man, you’re always a day late and a C-bill short.”
“You know, time was when that would hurt me. Hurt me a lot.” Traeger folded his arms. “And time was when you would have been right, but you know, what you and the kid did really opened my eyes. Like the kid said, twenty-five percent of something is better than one hundred percent of nothing. You and him, your whole crew, they’re the something in that equation. So, with your friend, my getting involved with him was to protect you.”
Walter straightened up and unhitched himself from the Valkyrie. “So, how’s that working? My win ruins him.”
“No kidding. There are some really angry guys looking to collect on some loans.” Traeger half smiled. “But I learned from you and the kid. I bought his markers. I told his creditors that they should make an example of him. Next time you see blood and bones in the Graveyard, it ain’t going to be props, if you catch my drift.”
“Tell me you didn’t do that.”
“Your problems with him are over.”
Walter sagged back against the ’Mech’s leg. “No, he gave the info to ComStar. If he doesn’t check in, files go to Sian, or Maldive, or…”
“Or to me.” Traeger pulled a minidrive from his jacket pocket. “Here they are.”
“What? How?”
“Have you not listened, Wally?” The manager’s smile grew. “I told you, I have people. I own some guys in ComStar. How do you think I see to it that Snorri and Aniki get their fights added to export packages? It ain’t just my charm.”
Walter stared at the man, his thoughts running riot. “Do you… Did he tell you what’s in those files?”
“Wally, what the files tell me is that the pie I got twenty-five percent of just got a whole bunch bigger. No, look, I’m not talking renegotiation or doing what he did, see. Fact is, you and the kid have made me more money than I ever could have made on my own. I may be small-time, I may do some deals that are a bit dodgy, but you kept me in the game when you could have gotten rid of me. I owe you, and I do pay my debts.”
I shouldn’t, but I actually believe you. Walter scratched at the corner of his mouth. “What will you do with the files?”
Traeger tossed them to Walter. “It’s your bonus for winning.”
“Thank you.”
“Hey, thank you. You’re one of the best bets I ever made.” Traeger tossed an arm around Walter’s shoulder and guided him down the corridor toward the dressing room. “I’m looking forward to a lot more.”
“You get me the fights, I’ll win them.”
“We have a deal.” Traeger slapped a hand against Walter’s belly. “I got other business to attend to, kid. But good fight. You too there, doll.”
Traeger’s last comment had been directed at Camilla Heiniger, who had paused at the mouth of a connecting corridor. He slapped her on the shoulder as he sailed past.
“He’s right.” Walter gave the dark-haired woman a quick smile. “You did some damage out there.”
“And yet I was the first one out.” She shrugged. “My popularity will take a hit, but I deal some punishment in BattlePark City leagues, and I’ll be back here next year.”
Walter fell into step with her. “So, I got to ask, why go after me and not Bloodstone? Taking him out was the better play.”
“I wasn’t playing to win as much as to beat the odds. In there, taking out d’Artagnan was going to be easier than putting Porthos down.”
“Novel way of looking at things.”
“It’s entertainment, after all.” She shrugged and peeled off for her dressing room. “Next year I’ll know better.”
“See you there.” Walt
er turned right and pushed open the door to his own. Inside, Ivan greeted him with a smile, and Sophia opened her arms wide to hug him.
“Give me a sec…” He unlaced his cooling vest and pulled it off. He flipped it around to show them the torn-up back and sharp fragments of ’Mech armor, then tossed it aside. “Didn’t want you to get hurt.”
“I’m just glad you didn’t.” Sophia embraced him fully, ignoring the fact that he was still dripping with sweat. “All day I’ve had a premonition that something horrible was going to happen.”
You don’t know how close it came, Sophia. Walter held her tightly. “I wasn’t worried.”
“You should have been.” Ivan showed him a jagged graph on his tablet. “These were the micro bets on your battle. Every one of those low points was when it looked like you were snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.”
“What does that mean for our little enterprise?”
Ivan smiled. “I haven’t run full numbers yet, but I think it shortens our timeline by five years, maybe ten.”
“Good news indeed.” Walter smiled as a ComStar Acolyte entered the dressing room. “Wow, you guys are fast with the congratulatory messages.”
The Acolyte frowned, then looked at Sophia. “If I could have a word with you.”
Sophia shot Walter a glance, then shrugged and stepped out into the hallway with the Acolyte.
Ivan pulled up another graph on his tablet. “See the blue line here? That was Gray Noton’s ratings profile after his second season. The red, that’s your profile overlaid on it. You’re not pulling as much popularity as he is, but…”
“The slope is the same.”
“Right. One more season like this, and you’ll be in Solaris City full time.”
“We don’t have another season.” Sophia, her face ashen, slipped back into the dressing room. “We have no time at all.”
“Why? What is it?” Did Traeger miss something? Have the files gotten out? Walter pointed toward the door. “What did ComStar want?”
“It was news from Maldive. Bad news.” Sophia smeared a tear over her cheek. “The Collective—they have our sister. They’re putting her on trial for her life.”
About the Author
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Michael A. Stackpole is an award-winning writer, game designer, computer game designer, podcaster, screenwriter and graphic novelist who is best known for his New York Times bestselling novels I, Jedi and Rogue Squadron. He is currently the Distinguished Visiting Writer in Residence at the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at Arizona State University. When not writing or teaching, he spends too much time playing games and figuring out how to cook things that taste good.
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