Black Cats Cross Your Path
Sarna News
Black Cats Cross Your Path is a BattleTech short story by Tara Gallagher and James Lanigan.
It was published in the 1988 anthology Shrapnel and in the MechWarrior, Second Edition RPG rulebook. The German edition of CityTech also features this short story in the rulebook, instead of Life In The Big City as in the original.
The exact time frame of the story is indeterminate as no dates are provided. From the context of the book it can be assumed to take place between 3015 and 3025.
Plot summary
The story is narrated in the first person by "Big Bill Flynn", a soldier with the Black Cats, an all-infantry mercenary unit. Defend the city of Lawrence on an unnamed world against a rather unprofessional BattleMech company posing as the Black Widow Company, they lure two unspecified 50-ton 'Mechs into an industrial bakery complex where the 'Mechs slip on lard which is then ignited by a trooper with a flame thrower. This causes the ammunition on the 'Mechs to explode, destroying them.
Featured Characters
- Big Bill Flynn
- Sergeant Elisabeth "Boots" Hills, aka "Boot Hill"
- Lou Lingg