Can it be? A Cat Rambo story I actually
liked? Not to say that Cat is a bad writer, obviously her resume says otherwise, and to date, all of her stories that I've read have been well written, but just didn't do it for me. This one did.
I do agree with the previously mentioned concerns about why Jane was so certain she was going to be killed. I mean, it did say:
Sure. Up here in the big leagues you didn’t break your arm. The scale of these suits was monumental and so were the risks. You didn’t walk away from an injury incurred in one of these.
But at the same time, it also said:
And that blow had come while wearing a suit in its thirteenth battle, fighting for a breakfast cereal they didn’t make anymore... Who was Herk to talk about such things? The biggest piece of bad luck possible had written itself across his face.
So Herk obviously survived a fall in a big mech, why couldn't she?
Also, the certainty that her family would be taken care of only works if there is some big payout for someone dying in a mech, but as far as I can recall, that wasn't mentioned at all. So I don't really get it.
As for the lack of mech-on-mech, I admit I'm a little sad it wasn't there, but since I was already imagining the many ways Jane was going to win the fight despite the sabotage, which would have been too predictable, I was pleasantly surprised at the resolute sacrifice at the end instead. And that particular piece of the story didn't need to be shown, we already knew what was going to happen. So I'm happy where it left off.
And, being an avid drinker of Mt. Dew and wielding a strong preference for Pepsi over Coke, I'm all for the titanic downfall of that big red and white bastard. Die you power hungry corporate monster! What makes you think the world is content with Coke, Diet Coke, and Sprite for their only options in most establishments? Your pathetic attempt to create your own Dew, Surge, was a colossal failure, why can't you just accept that and allow the real thing into your tight fisted little...
Ahem. Sorry about that. Obviously a little pent up aggression here...