William C. Dietz Sam McCade 02 Imperial Bounty

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field, both sides launched heat-seeking missiles. First blood went to the
Rippers, as a Zombie bike blew up in an orange-red ball, and hurled hot
shrapnel in every direction.
Meanwhile a Zombie missile homed in on some poorly shielded hot-water pipes
and blew up. The initial explosion didn't kill anyone, but the resulting steam
and scalding hot water badly burned those sitting nearby. Now, as robo repair
units and medics hurried to help, there were two sources of excitement for the
bloodthirsty crowd.
The air teams made contact slightly north of Claudia's villa, soaring and
swooping as each tried to outmaneuver the other, their terse comments flooding
the PA system. The jumpers arrived second, and the ground team showed up last.
Now, with all members present, a pattern began to emerge.
Rockets expended, the ground teams dismounted to fight it out toe to toe,
three Rippers against the two remaining Zombies. Meanwhile, both squads of
jumpers concentrated on the opposing team's air squad, trying to take them out
of action as quickly as possible. Energy weapons flared, chemical weapons
boomed, blades flashed, and at least one mini-missile exploded, turning a
Ripper into red mist.
Suddenly a battle axe flashed, slicing through green body armor to bury itself
in a Ripper. As her scream filled the air, McCade knew it was the woman who'd
spoken for the green team, and felt a lump rise to block his throat. As she
fell, the fortunes of the Green Rippers seemed to fall with her. Two members
of their aerial squad tumbled out of the air, one after the other. Then they
lost a jumper. The two remaining green jumpers did their best to assist the
remaining airborne Ripper, but it was too late. Moments later, he too died,
the jumpers followed, and then the remaining members of the green ground
squad. The battle was over. The Zombies had won.
The crowd cheered, and the medics arrived to sort out the wounded from the
dead. McCade felt empty inside, watching with sick fascination as a medic put
a foot on the woman's body, and pried the bloody battle axe loose.
"So," Claudia said casually, picking up where they'd left off, "what's it gong
to be... death for you... or for my brother?" He noticed the excitement of the
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battle still colored Claudia's cheeks, and her breathing was quick and
shallow.
McCade pulled out a cigar and lit it without asking permission. Once he had it
going, he inhaled deeply.
The smoke came out with his next words. "I'm not a hired killer."
Claudia sneered. "A fine point, I would think. Frankly, the difference between
a bounty hunter and a hired killer escapes me. Nonetheless I suppose that's
your final word?"
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"I'm afraid so," McCade agreed calmly.
"Then good-bye, McCade." With that she stood and brought the stylus-shaped
microphone up to her mouth. A robocam had appeared to hover in front of her.
Thousands of Claudias filled thousands of holo tanks as the audience turned
their attention to her. "Ladies and gentlemen, citizens of the Empire, and my
fellow sentients, I, Princess Claudia, bring you a special treat." She paused,
turning to point a quivering finger at McCade. "The legal assassination of the
infamous bounty hunter, Sam McCade!"
Six
"HOLY SOL!" THE announcer swore to himself as he swung his feet down off the
console. This was going to be something special! He grinned in anticipation as
his fingers flew over the keyboard. A
hundred feet under the surface of the playing field, he was all alone in the
control room, except for a variety of robotechs which kept things running.
While he tended to be messy, the robotechs were relentlessly tidy, and more
than made up for his sloppiness. The control area gleamed, polished surfaces
reflecting the muted glow of a thousand indicator lights, cool air whispering
through the ducts overhead.
He sat on a raised dais, in front of a huge console, watching the thirty
monitors mounted above it. Each had a different shot, and represented a
different robocam. And the robocams were the least of his minions. There were
also the computers and a small army of specialized robots to do his bidding.
With their help he ran the enormous facility all by himself. And a boring job [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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