tripletsâ warning boomed out of the PA into the dusty Oakland air, about ten of the teal-armored mercenaries ran out of the bottom of the YWCA building through several different exits. Some took off on surface pathsâthey could hardly be called roads anymoreâwhile others disappeared into nearby tunnels that had been discovered or dug in the debris by survivors of the quake. They probably figured that the Firehawks couldnât shoot them all, and that we had no ground troops on site to chase after them. And on both counts they were right. But they didnât count on what happened next.
From the side doors of each helicopter sprang four dark shapes, two on each side, which hung in descending order next to it for a moment, making it look like the big birds were sprouting wings. But it soon became apparent that these were not wings, but smaller birdsâthe remote-controlled flying machines called âfalconsâ that we had built with the Sabon antigravity technology and used to assist our peacers in surveillance and pursuit. As these falcons now dove toward the surface in different directions, it was clear that the triplets were controlling them wirelessly with their cyber brains, and sending them in pursuit of the fleeing mercs. We had âfalconersâ who could control the flying robots, but only one or two at a time. The triplets were each controlling four of the black birds, while also piloting their Firehawks.
Terrey switched the displays so that twelve screens with a view from every one of the falcons hung around us in the room. Now I was really experiencing sensory overload, and Iâm sure it was worse for Lynn, but our gazes darted among the screens nonetheless. This was just too good to miss.
The first falcon that reached a man running on the surface simply gassed him and left him lying unconscious (it did this by firing softshell pellets from its wings, which also contained killer and stopper rounds). But when another caught up with a merc in a rather big underground tunnel (the remains of a subway, perhaps?), it not only hit him with one of the gas pellets, but also hauled his body back up to the surface by shooting toward him an Immobilization and Retrieval Apparatus (IMRATS or more often RATS, for short). This device looked something like the back of an open wallet and was attached to the falcon by a plasteel cord that extended and retracted from the bird. The apparatus at the end, when contacting a human figure, would encircle the person and lock its ends together. Then it would contract, immobilizing the person and enabling him to be transported (usually without too much injury). By an interesting coincidence, the RATS was located on the bottom of the falcon, right about where a real bird would extend its claws to grasp its prey.
The falcons made short work of the fleeing mercs, with only a few incidentsâone was accidentally flown into a wall and knocked out; another was shot by a merc and had to be brought back to the helicopter. But the others found and acquired their targets impressively, and we all watched the last two arrests because Terrey deleted the other displays and made those larger on one side of the room.
One man had escaped the pursuing bird earlier by being clever enough to put on a little gas mask from his utility pack, so that when a pellet struck his arm and discharged, he was able to continue moving and disappear into a small debris tunnel. The falcon pursued, and the man crawled on all fours through the other end and back to the surface. Then he blocked that end of the tunnel with a big piece of debris before the falcon could emerge, and took off running across the surface again. Unfortunately for him, the menacing bird fired killer rounds at the debris to unclog the exit, then rose into the air and put him down with stoppers. These rounds were often referred to as âXsâ (pronounced âexesâ), because the plasteel contents expanded into
From the side doors of each helicopter sprang four dark shapes, two on each side, which hung in descending order next to it for a moment, making it look like the big birds were sprouting wings. But it soon became apparent that these were not wings, but smaller birdsâthe remote-controlled flying machines called âfalconsâ that we had built with the Sabon antigravity technology and used to assist our peacers in surveillance and pursuit. As these falcons now dove toward the surface in different directions, it was clear that the triplets were controlling them wirelessly with their cyber brains, and sending them in pursuit of the fleeing mercs. We had âfalconersâ who could control the flying robots, but only one or two at a time. The triplets were each controlling four of the black birds, while also piloting their Firehawks.
Terrey switched the displays so that twelve screens with a view from every one of the falcons hung around us in the room. Now I was really experiencing sensory overload, and Iâm sure it was worse for Lynn, but our gazes darted among the screens nonetheless. This was just too good to miss.
The first falcon that reached a man running on the surface simply gassed him and left him lying unconscious (it did this by firing softshell pellets from its wings, which also contained killer and stopper rounds). But when another caught up with a merc in a rather big underground tunnel (the remains of a subway, perhaps?), it not only hit him with one of the gas pellets, but also hauled his body back up to the surface by shooting toward him an Immobilization and Retrieval Apparatus (IMRATS or more often RATS, for short). This device looked something like the back of an open wallet and was attached to the falcon by a plasteel cord that extended and retracted from the bird. The apparatus at the end, when contacting a human figure, would encircle the person and lock its ends together. Then it would contract, immobilizing the person and enabling him to be transported (usually without too much injury). By an interesting coincidence, the RATS was located on the bottom of the falcon, right about where a real bird would extend its claws to grasp its prey.
The falcons made short work of the fleeing mercs, with only a few incidentsâone was accidentally flown into a wall and knocked out; another was shot by a merc and had to be brought back to the helicopter. But the others found and acquired their targets impressively, and we all watched the last two arrests because Terrey deleted the other displays and made those larger on one side of the room.
One man had escaped the pursuing bird earlier by being clever enough to put on a little gas mask from his utility pack, so that when a pellet struck his arm and discharged, he was able to continue moving and disappear into a small debris tunnel. The falcon pursued, and the man crawled on all fours through the other end and back to the surface. Then he blocked that end of the tunnel with a big piece of debris before the falcon could emerge, and took off running across the surface again. Unfortunately for him, the menacing bird fired killer rounds at the debris to unclog the exit, then rose into the air and put him down with stoppers. These rounds were often referred to as âXsâ (pronounced âexesâ), because the plasteel contents expanded into
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