Chronological BattleTech Fiction Review - The Succession Wars

[Scotty]

Well, not killing Jaime led directly to the formation of the Ryuken, which lent significant help to Theodore's attempt to revitalize the DCMS.  It also led directly to Takashi's death via the fued with Jaime (even if not at Jaime's hand), which could be argued to be the most positive thing that happened to the DCMS in centuries. ^-^

[Mendrugo]

But if, as we've conjectured, the Dragoons would have worked for the Combine in any event, the Ryuken were still a possibility.  Theodore's reforms were not dependent on the Dragoons. 

[Frabby]

We're veering off-topic here. But I'll say that the formation of the Ryuken was on Takashi's direct orders when he realized that Samsonov had eroded the Combine's relationship with the Dragoons beyond the point where they could reasonably be expected to renew their contract. That had nothing at all to do with Theodore.
Also, while the Ryuken are five regiments to mirror the Dragoons, such experiments weren't too uncommon as shown by Yorinaga Kurita's mirror-image unit to the Kell Honds, the Genyosha.

[Mendrugo]

Date: May 21, 3017

Location: Shoreham

Title: Because It Matters

Author: Jason Schmetzer

Type: Short Story

Synopsis:  At the Irina Petrovskaya Memorial Training Grounds, the cadets of Echo Lance are assigned to engage with another cadet lance in a simulator battle.  For the two cadet lance leaders, it will serve as a final exam - with graduation and posting to a line regiment for the winner, and additional time in training for the loser.  Echo is headed by Cadet Leftenant Amanda Pushkin, whom Cadet Helmar Armstrong is covertly romancing.  Echo Lance is rounded out by Aubrey Keenan and Bennett Shotugama.  Their rival lance is commanded by Cadet Leftentant Andre Horace, a cadet of noble descent reviled by Echo Lance for his elitist attitude.

In the simulation, Echo Lance is assigned 'Mechs that mimic a standard DCMS lance - Panther, Hunchback, Clint, and Dragon.  Horace's lance is a Spider, Commando, Trebuchet, and Catapult.  Armstrong grouses about being in a slow Panther, feeling more comfortable in his usual Commando. 

Echo Lance overcomes their unfamiliarity with their rides and outmaneuvers Horace's lance, scoring a victory with a successful flanking attack.  After the exercise, Leftenant Egan debriefs the cadets, and Pushkin attributes her success to her lancemates' skills.  When the discussion turns to why Horace's lance did not withdraw when the battle turned against them, Pushkin says she would have done the same, because holding in place and dying while trying to win fit the objectives of the exercise.

Armstrong realizes that the point of the exercise was to be in a situation where the lives of the unit members matter less than the mission, to have something worth dying for.  He wonders how he will perform in a year, when it is his turn for such an exercise.

Notes:  These sorts of exercises have been referenced before in the BattleTech universe - their own "Kobiyashi Maru" exam to see how the cadet reacts to an unwinnable exercise.  The Nagelring calls their version the "La Mancha" scenario, and the only one to ever beat it is Victor Steiner-Davion (improving on the tactics Kai Allard-Liao used to score a draw).

And yet, I have to question the philosophy behind this exam in the resource-starved era of 3017, when "Life is Cheap, but BattleMechs are expensive."  All the source material from the late Third Succession War era indicates that standard practice is not to fight to the death, but to negotiate cease fires for repairs to be conducted mid battle, for battles to stop when one side senses they are losing ground, and to negotiate terms - ransom, peaceful withdrawal, etc. in order to preserve the irreplaceable BattleMech assets in hopes of getting the upper hand in a future engagement. 

Granted, the cadets make frequent references to getting posted on the Combine border to see some "anti-Snake" action, so perhaps these cadets are of the "Snake Stomper" mentality, looking to settle ancient grudges with the Combine, rather than the mercenary mindset outlined above.  A key part of Theodore Kurita's reforms was getting the DCMS troops to abandon the "fight to the death and die in place" mentality in favor of a more flexible "back off, and we'll get 'em tomorrow when we're on better ground" mindset.  Likewise, the "fight to the death regardless of the odds" tactic is described as "Hopeless Battle Syndrome" and is described as having hamstrung the CCAF in the wake of the 4th Succession War.  Given that context, it almost seems like Lt. Egan is rewarding the cadets for embracing Hopeless Battle Syndrome.  (Which is very much in keeping with the attitude of the Snake Stompers when fighting the 2nd Sword of Light - one runs up to a Drac 'Mech, hugs it, and detonates his fusion reactor, taking out both machines.)

The "Snake Lance" is a pretty standard layout for a Combine lance, especially given the Panther and Dragon.  The "stock lance" confuses me - the Catapult is a Capellan mainstay, the Trebuchet is a Marik alternative to the Archer, and the Commando is a Lyran favorite.  Does the "stock lance" mirror any of the plastic Lance Packs?  Otherwise, I would have expected more emphasis on AFFS designs like the Valkyrie, Centurion, and JagerMech, since those are far more likely what the cadets will be piloting once they are assigned to a line regiment, and Armstrong points out that the cadets develop an affinity for certain rides through familiarity.  Shoreham may well be where many Snake Stompers trained (though the merc unit takes anybody with a grudge against the Dracs).

[Mendrugo]

Date: April 4, 3017

Location: New Roland

Title: Forsaken

Author: Alan Brundage

Type: Short Story

Synopsis: Kyril Anvar and Hikaru Xu's mercenary lance, the Strange Warriors, serves as the garrison for Mikken's Outpost, a small mining town.  At a restaurant called the Orange Dancing Bear, they meet with Ashna Jordan, the New Roland government's mercenary liaison. 

Jordan notes that Anvar's contract authorizes him to go on raids, and she assigns his unit to make an intelligence gathering raid on the abandoned world of Ildanet, which may now serve as a secret Free Worlds League research post.  Despite misgivings (the last "raid" she sent him on cost his unit half his men), the promise of several months of transit at full combat pay, followed by a simple smash and grab operation, is sufficient to earn Anvar's agreement.

Anvar briefs the rest of his lance - Sarise Kwan, Joyce Michaels, Cole Declan, and Theodore Djeerdsma - all deserters from the FWL who'd backed Anton during the civil war and fled afterwards - on the operation.  He notes that, as mercs, they provide "plausible deniability" for the Confederation in case the operation goes poorly.

Notes:  Anton's rebellion scattered a large number of the losing side's survivors across the Inner Sphere.  Renfred Tor backed Anton and had to flee all the way out to the Oberon Confederation after the Dragoons ended the revolt. 

This is 3017 - five years before the Kapteyn Accords.  Janos already really, really hates Max Liao for corrupting Anton and backing his coup attempt, causing the civil war and the death of his brother.  Is a raid on a research installation going to make the FWL hate House Liao any more intensely?  I guess it might be advantageous for them to pretend to be pirate raiders who stumbled across the facility, so SAFE won't know what the Maskirovka does or doesn't know. 

I really like stories about the small, Wilson's Hussars-style units that make up the dregs of the Inner Sphere mercenary trade.  You always hear that most merc units disband within the first year, but most of the page count is spent on the long-lasting fancy regiment+ units. 

[Mendrugo]

Date: May 21, 3017

Location: Borgan's Rift

Title: Forsaken

Author: Alan Brundage

Type: Short Story

Synopsis: Aboard the Strange Warriors' DropShip, Stellara Warrior, Anvar finds his troops acting fidgety during the long, covert voyage.  DropShip Captain Joyce Michaels reports the ship is ready for action.

In the 'Mech bay, he looks at the unit's rides - a Cicada, a Griffin, a Hunchback, and his own Orion - one of the Free Worlds League's signature 'Mechs.  Despite having backed Anton before fleeing into exile, he still considers himself a League patriot, and ponders the morality of raiding a League installation.  Ultimately, he decides that keeping to his contract is the only honorable thing to do, otherwise he and his command are just bandits.

Notes:  Most of the bandit kings and pirate bands of the Periphery started out as House military units or mercenaries that went rogue, turned bandit "temporarily" until the next gig came up, and then ultimately degenerated into piracy.  (Though, in one notable case, a MechWarrior turned pirate after being assigned to a haunted Marauder and going mad)

Antallos, Astrokaszy, and the Tortuga Domains serve as havens for mercenaries interested in alternative revenue streams.

Many mercenaries work for the highest bidder, but there are a number of commands who either have factional alignment or have picked out a Successor State as their arch enemy.  The Waco Rangers will never work for any House that hires Wolf's Dragoons.  The Snake Stompers will only take contracts to fight House Kurita.  The Kell Hounds really only ever work for the Federated Commonwealth.  So, Anvar is in good company with his reservations, but since he lacks a verigraph from the Chancellor saying "Deny this man nothing," he has to go against his patriotic impulses.

[Mendrugo]

Date: August 11, 3017

Location: Ildlandet

Title: Forsaken

Author: Alan Brundage

Type: Short Story

Synopsis: Anvar and his troops arrive at Ildlandet, a volcanic wasteland abandoned after a meteor strike, and land in the ruins of Mroz City, the colony's capital.

A trio of 'Mechs ambush them in the city streets, but the Strange Warriors take the Shadow Hawk and two Phoenix Hawks down.  The mercenaries' Hunchback comes out of the fight somewhat worse for wear. 

As they approach the target zone, hidden weapon emplacements pop up, but do only marginal damage before being destroyed.  Anvar exits his 'Mech and enters the League research station.  Inside, he kills a pair of guards and a scientist, then demands that two young assistants give him their data.  One complies, and he then knocks her unconscious.  The other runs, but Anvar shoots him in the leg. 

Taking the data, along with all the other data crystals in the room, Anvar exits to find his Orion toppled and the Cicada mangled.  Djeerdsma informs him that they've been attacked by a Marauder and a Thunderbolt.  Anvar gives him the data and sends him back to the DropShip, while he powers up the Orion and goes to assist Sarise's Hunchback against the new foes.  He damages the Thunderbolt's leg enough to break contact, and they race back to the DropShip.

When Anvar arrives, however, he sees the Hunchback destroyed on the tarmac, and finds the DropShip Stellara Warrior targeting him.  Ashna Jordan, who accompanied the unit on this mission as liaison, informs him that his people are dead, and that she's accepted a better offer to betray the Confederation.  The ship takes off without him, and as the two heavy 'Mechs converge on him, he hears her mocking salute "The Peace of Blake be with you."

Notes:  A very nice twist ending.  I did not see that coming, and especially not the ComStar angle (not in 3017, at least).  This would imply that Ashna Jordan had been paid off by ComStar as part of Operation HOLY SHROUD II, a late Third Succession War effort to quash technological advancement and restore mankind's trajectory into a low-tech dark age from which ComStar could uplift the survivors...under their benevolent guidance, of course.

I was surprised that there were so few people at the research station, and that the guards were able to be caught by surprise despite the noise and vibration of approaching 'Mechs.  Wouldn't the Hawks have radioed in a warning?

Ildlandet was a world that disappeared from the maps between the end of the 2nd Succession War and the end of the Third, per the maps in Handbook: House Marik.  This story fleshes out that disappearance as being the result of an asteroidal impact.  The Lyrans also lost a world to a massive planetkilling impact during the Succession Wars, and several more worlds took heavy damage or were wiped out altogether once the Word of Blake began using its planet-killing mass driver weapon during the Jihad.

In fact, it may have been that the scientists were researching the aftermath of the asteroid impact.  ComStar may have wanted their notes in support of the construction of their planet-killer technology - using the data to gauge how large a rock at what velocity would be needed to achieve the desired result.

[Frabby]

Naa... I think you're reading too much into the asteroid context here. Erinyes was commissioned by one "Kernoff", then not a ComGuard or ROM operative (or at least not openly), in the 3040s, and even that seems too early (and remains unexplained after I pointed it out) vis-a-vis Herb Beas' "Jihad explained" postings on how, when and why the WoB army was created.
As of 3017, even ComStar has long since stopped building WarShips and isn't aware of the upcoming Clan threat.

[Jaim Magnus]

The intent here was to go after high tech freezers (double heatsinks) and PPC schematics and research. It's possible there was other research going on, but probably nothing to do with asteroid weapons. I included Ildlandet because it was a fun description of an abandoned world I'd been wanting to use for some time.

[Mendrugo]

Date: 2789

Location: Lone Star

Title: Who Wants to Tell the Coordinator?

Author: Michael Miller

Type: Adventure Seed

Synopsis:  As the Terran Hegemony began to fall apart in the aftermath of the Star League Civil War, Lone Star attempted to hold together the worlds in its region.  This drew the attention of the Draconis Combine, which sent an invasion force.  The Adventure Seed provides background information to play out the conflict between the DCMS raiders and the planetary militia, which primarily consisted of vintage Mackies, as well as information about the saboteurs subsequently sent to deploy bio agents in the polar ice caps after the Mackies mop the floor with the pride of the Combine.

Notes:  The Mackie was heavily used by Hegemony planetary militias, in an upgraded variant with an AC/20, two PPCs, and two medium lasers.  It just about doubles the firepower of the original Mackie, and has 19 tons of armor.  The Mackie entry that describes this upgrade notes that Kerensky could only find about 100 to take with him on the Exodus.  Lone Star was probably hoarding the rest.  The title of the Adventure Seed refers to the discussions among the Combine commanders regarding informing Minoru Kurita that his troops were repulsed by militia.  The one who drew the sort straw was never seen again.

The Combine bioweapon targets the genetically engineered flora that were used to tame the planet's climate and make it habitable.  The plague eliminated the biological air filtering infrastructure, forcing the planetary government to surrender to the Combine when they arrived and offered air filters in exchange for subservience.  When Lyran raiders later destroyed the atmospheric processors, the planet was pretty much done for.   

The Combine seems to have done the most work with bioweapons in the Inner Sphere (Word of Blake aside - and their bioweapon lab that had a planetary extinction 'whoopsie' was hidden in the Combine.), given that the Plague of Galedon was stored in a bunker in the Combine.  The Combine's technological specialty seems to be bioengineering.  They created all manner of bioweapons and plagues, attempted to create a "BioMech" (which appears to be a living creature operating a cybernetic exoskeleton), and modified a peaceful aquatic species into a murderous berserker monster that escaped into the sewers of Solaris City.

[Mendrugo]

Date: 2811

Location: Lone Star

Title: You Can't Fight If You're Thirsty

Author: Michael Miller

Type: Adventure Seed

Synopsis:  By 2811, the only thing of value left on Brownsville is a factory for water filters.  The Free Worlds League, which has lost all of its own factories, seeks to either capture or destroy the ones on Brownsville.  This Adventure seed sets up a League/Capellan battle for the water filters, adding in wrinkles such as a much larger planetary militia than SAFE expected (because...y'know...SAFE...) and the League's efforts to slip a "boomer" (a freighter converted to launch nuclear ordinance and sterilize worlds that can't be taken with conventional forces) through the orbital defenses. 

Notes:  The first wave of Touring the Stars products has had a heavy focus on worlds that went down in the First Succession War - a nice tie-in to the First Succession War sourcebook.  While the stakes for battles in 3025 may revolve around "If we lose, the enemy will capture a family of technicians!  Nooooooo!" the stakes in the First War revolve around planetary-scale nuclear armageddon if the defenders drop the ball. 

Looking at Handbook: House Marik, we see that the League wasn't completely bereft of water filtration equipment, since Curtiss Hydroponics "built up significant stockpiles of equipment and resources in advance of the Succession Wars" and survived all three Succession Wars intact. 

[Mendrugo]

Date: 2825

Location: Lone Star

Title: Satan's Mallet

Author: Michael Miller

Type: Adventure Seed

Synopsis:  Damage done during the Star League Civil War and the First Succession War destroyed the stationkeeping driver that kept the moon, Vespa, in a stable orbit.  Fifty years after the drive failed, the moon is beginning to graze the atmosphere, and will soon slam into the planet.  Thus, opportunistic looters descend on the dying world in hopes of making off with any remaining treasures before the impact.  Of course, there's not enough to go around, and this Adventure Seed sets the stage for running battles over museums and banks, encounters with groups of desperate survivors, plunging temperatures, and meteor showers by orbital debris knocked down by the erratic moon.

Notes:  The name of the moon, Vespa, is a reference to the movie Spaceballs (where the hero "Lone Star" rescues Princess Vespa from Dark Helmet.)  This adds new context to the name of the city of Swartzhof.  (Use the Schwartz, Lone Star!  Use the Schwartz!)  There's another cinematic reference, with Ice Station Zebra on the southern polar cap, and a literary one to "Lucifer's Hammer" - a story about the Earth being hit by an asteroid.

The setting is an excellent post apocalyptic battleground that gives a great excuse for getting into the scavenger-mentality of the Succession Wars - and this was back in the early years, when there was still some excellent stuff to be looted, rather than going on raids to steal lake water.

[Mendrugo]

The intent here was to go after high tech freezers (double heatsinks) and PPC schematics and research. It's possible there was other research going on, but probably nothing to do with asteroid weapons. I included Ildlandet because it was a fun description of an abandoned world I'd been wanting to use for some time.

Cool.  I hadn't realized that the FWL had much of an R&D operation going on in 3017 (though they did have interesting tech nobody else had - ranging from the DarkScan system that negated all night-fighting penalties, to the Rifleman variant with 4 AC/5s and almost no ammo).  I was wondering why they would have located a research center on such a remote location with almost no security, but perhaps earlier efforts on Atreus or other central worlds had fallen victim to Operation HOLY SHROUD II, so they were trying to see if isolation would work better.

It makes sense that the FWL would have been working to get Freezers, since they're pound for pound the most effective technology to upgrade 'Mech capabilities, and PPC research would address the League's chronic lack of those weapons.  (Though - was it because they couldn't produce enough to meet normal demand, or because they used so many with all those Awesomes?)

[Mendrugo]

Date: 3018-11

Location: Dis

Title: Snake Eyes

Author: Glen L. Mitchell

Type: Short Story

Synopsis:  Captain Martha K. Stanchek is a member of Force Seven, a combined arms regiment under contract with House Steiner, conducting hit-and-run raids into Combine space.  After ten months of raiding, they hit Dis, an uninhabited system with a white dwarf star suitable for rapid recharging, making it useful for interstellar transit.  Force Seven's assignment is to take out a data center on an inner-system moon that serves as the main traffic control node, along with the associated shipyards and drydocks. 

Martha pilots "Steel Goblin," an antique Phoenix Hawk.  Her lancemates include Turk (Jenner), Tompkins (Whitworth), and Descarz (Clint).  As their JumpShip enters the system roughly three hours from the target, sensors register twelve Combine military JumpShips massing in the station, apparently staging for an assault of their own.  Regardless, they go ahead with the op.

On the moon, the Combine garrison outnumbers Force Seven two to one.  Tompkins dies and Descarz is grievously burned when a laser penetrates her cockpit.  Force Seven retreats to its DropShip, which then burns for the JumpShip.  The Lyran task force which of which Force Seven was part is likewise in full retreat.  As a result of the brief engagement, Force Seven took 34% casualties

Notes:  The use of uninhabited systems to stage covert assaults isn't new.  The first Draconis Elite Strike Teams used uninhabited systems during their attempts to steal BattleMech technology.  Having an uninhabited system with infrastructure for facilitating rapid transit is also an established tactic - the Federated Suns has a network of recharge stations in uninhabited worlds to help troops reinforce neighboring PDZs without using major commercial jump points.  There's certainly no reason that only the Federated Suns would use that tactic.  However, one key difference is that the Federated Suns uses recharge stations while the Combine uses lunar domes.  This has the advantage of making the control centers more defensible, and there may be recharging facilities as well, since it mentions dry docks. 

The story text refers to the Combine fleet as "war ships," but since the Draconis Combine Admiralty only has regular JumpShips in 3018, I presume that's a reference to military JumpShips. 

The ostensible reason for setting up a transit hub in Dis is because of the rapid recharge time, due to the white dwarf star.  Looking at Pandora, a B7V cool blue-white dwarf star, its recharge time is 158 hours - approximately 6.5 days.  Not a huge speed advantage, but certainly better than the 210 hours you'd have at a cool red giant.  However, the stars with great recharging time tend to have terrible transit times (Pandora's transit time is 1,642 hours: 68 days).  The ships must be either be using pirate points (the Lyran strike force enters only three hours from the target moon), or the moon orbits an outer planet, and ships must jump in near the planet's orbit. 

[VhenRa]

After House Marik successfully launched some deep raids of its own, Alessandro's niece, Katrina, overthrew him with the support of the Estates General in 3007.

Deep raids of their own? I see your talent for understatement is quite British. Those FWL Deep Raids... hit Coventry. That deep strike, well, struck me. How long would that FWL force have been out of contact with home on that?

[Mendrugo]

I loved the quotes from the Coventry Citizens Regiment:

"Confirming Warbook!  Unit identity confirmed as Third Battalion, Fourth Regulan Hussars-"

"Fourth who!?"

"That's a Marik outfit!  Christ, what the hell is going on here!  How did a Marik unit get he-"

[Mendrugo]

Date: 3019-06

Location: Dis

Title: Snake Eyes

Author: Glen L. Mitchell

Type: Short Story

Synopsis:  Force Seven, having lost a third of its personnel, retreats to Stanion's World to refit and rebuild.  Ten days after Force Seven's arrival, bandits attack with six 'Mechs, a swarm of skimmers, and infantry.  During the fight, Descarz takes another cockpit hit (she must have the "Laser Magnet" perk) and dies, but the bandits are defeated.  When Martha opens up the cockpit, she sees Descarz's "lucky charm" hanging from the ceiling - dice with single pips on each face. 

Notes:  Given the description of Stanion's World as "as far from the Marik and Kurita border as possible," it's probably in the Main Street Theater, out on the Periphery border.  Whereas they described the repairs as taking only ten days, the transit out that far would have taken about seven months.  In theory, the facilities aboard the DropShip should have been able to take care of the repairs during the transit. 

It's not clear why they went out the back end of beyond to conduct their refit.  Perhaps the LCAF assigned them there to guard against bandits.  Wouldn't Galatea have been a closer and more appropriate venue for conducting repairs and recruiting new troops.  They complain that they have to fabricate many of their own parts, because most can't be found on the planet.  Also, where are they going to get new personnel on a small off-map agricultural world?  They mention that their Commonwealth contract had six months more to run during the Dis operation, and the transit to Stanion's World would have run out the clock on that - unless the time in transit doesn't count against the time in service. 

My guess is that the author didn't give any thought to interstellar transit times, and assumed more or less instantaneous transit to Stanion's World (though, if there is instantaneous interstellar transit, what's the point of having a system like Dis to coordinate local transit?

"A Time of War" actually has a trait to cover Descarz - "Unlucky," which works as the inverse of Edge, allowing the GM to reroll dice that come out in the character's favor.  The trait description notes that "Gamemasters should be careful not to abuse this Trait, especially when the outcome of a roll could mean the difference between life and death for the character," but short story authors are under no such compunction.

[Mendrugo]

Date: September 27, 3022

Location: Penobscot

Title: The David Ambush

Author: William H. Keith, Jr.

Type: Short Story

Synopsis:  Marik raiders under Colonel Marcus Galliani attack Penobscot City, which is garrisoned by Varrick's Vandals, a small but skilled mercenary force under Colonel Charles Varrick.  Lieutenant David Fletcher commands a recon lance consisting of his Panther, Brad Finnegan's UrbanMech, Paula Mason's Wasp, and Fred Jurgens' Stinger.  Already damaged from earlier fighting, they made a stand in the heart of the city, on Droman Avenue, preparing an ambush.

The first Marik unit to enter their kill zone is an AS7-D Atlas.  Despite the overwhelming firepower and armor of the huge assault 'Mech, Fletcher's lance attacks.  After several exchanges of fire, the recon lance is hurting, but manages to stagger the Atlas.  Fletcher uses this opportunity to order his troops to jump away and break contact.  Jurgens' Stinger is damaged, and has trouble, but the pilot insist he can handle it. 

The Atlas pursues, smashing through buildings.  The recon lance rallies and flanks the wounded assault 'Mech, bringing it down, though the Atlas takes out the UrbanMech by falling on it.  Heavily damaged, the recon lance is forced to withdraw as more Marik 'Mechs arrive.  The Vandals eventually concede the city, though they do take out 14 Marik 'Mechs, including Colonel Marcus Galliani, the Atlas pilot, leaving his command in disarray. 

The Vandals continue a guerrilla campaign in the forests and mountains until a Lyran relief force arrives in November, forcing the Marik regiment to make a hasty retreat.

Emotionally shattered by the campaign, Fletcher resigns from the Vandals in May 3023, blaming himself for firing the shot that toppled the Atlas onto the UrbanMech.  As of 3026, Fletcher is on Galatea, looking for work.

Notes:  Penobscot is described as being the common name for Tremaine IV (implying that the local star is named Tremaine).  William Keith liked to use this convention - Verthandi is actually Norn II, for example.  The capital, Penobscot City, lies on the shores of Penobscot Bay.

Sooooooo...  A recon lance...with an UrbanMech...  Moving on...  Slowly... (Though, notably, the abstract combat resolution system in the Mercenary's Handbook gives all light 'Mechs a bonus to completing recon missions, regardless of speed.)

The focus of this battle is the matchup of the biggest, baddest 'Mech (circa 3022) and a light recon lance.  This is a callback to the TRO:3025 Atlas entry, which posits that an Atlas could defeat an entire battalion of Stingers singlehandedly. 

The track record for recon lances laying ambushes isn't great.  John Waco's recon lance tried to hold a pass against Zeta Battalion, with predictably fatal results.  It makes sense for the UrbanMech to be laying a trap, but the rest should be using their mobility to make flanking attacks against the Marik column and relay information on the Marik advance back to regimental HQ, so that the Vandals can route their own heavies and assaults to intercept their League counterparts.  To a certain extent, the Vandals' tactics reflect the Late Third Succession War preference for set piece battles and (as we saw in the training exercise) dying in place rather than retreating.  This is why the idea of fighting a mobile battle, not being tied to any fixed lines, was considered so revolutionary to the Inner Sphere forces during the Clan invasion. 

[Sharpnel]

Deep raids of their own? I see your talent for understatement is quite British. Those FWL Deep Raids... hit Coventry. That deep strike, well, struck me. How long would that FWL force have been out of contact with home on that?

3-4 months, minimum, and that's just on the way to Coventry.

[Mendrugo]

Date: September 27, 3022

Location: Penobscot

Title: Hide and Seek

Author: William H. Keith, Jr.

Type: Scenario

Synopsis:  Colonel Marcus Galliani (Atlas - P3/G2) pushes into the heart of Penobscot City, hoping to flush its mercenary defenders and send them running into the rest of his lance, which has circled around.  David Fletcher's recon lance consists of his Panther (P4/G3), an UrbanMech (P4/G3), a Wasp (P4/G3), and a Stinger (P3/G3).  The recon lance may begin the scenario as hidden units.

The recon lance wins if it takes out the Atlas.  Colonel Galliani wins if he can take out two of the Vandals. 

Notes:  Plugging the stats into HeavyMetal, we find that it's a pretty even matchup using Battle Value, with the Atlas having a score of 2,336, while the recon lance comes in at  2,234. 

At the time this was written, the ruleset consisted of BattleTech 2nd Edition and CityTech, so this scenario introduces hidden unit rules.  It doesn't include the ability for hidden units to fire while the enemy unit is moving.

The scenario also includes a lot of restrictions governing how the Atlas has to move.  It enters in hex 0114, may only walk down the hexes designated Droman Avenue, and wins if it reaches hex 0810 without being attacked at all.  It may move freely once the fight starts, but the first time it is fired upon, it must turn to face its attacker if fired on from the rear. 

Frankly, the rules allow for a very easy recon lance victory.  If they set up the ambush around the entry hex, the Atlas will be forced to stop in the first hex.  If the recon 'Mechs survive the firing phase, they can just push the Atlas off the board, it is considered destroyed.

If you're actually trying for a real fight, the recon lance should use their jump jets to jump into the Atlas' rear arc whenever they win the initiative, and jump back behind the cover of buildings whenever they lose initiative, taking kicks whenever they can get into the rear, right, or left arcs.  (You don't want to ever give the Atlas a chance to kick you back).

Galliani should keep his back to a building to prevent rear attacks and trust in armor to keep the 'Mech going while it relies on accuracy to land as many shots as possible.  You may be able to run down the UrbanMech, but it will still be able to hop from street to street, while the Atlas will have to go around or through, so watch out for it being used as bait to draw you into an exposed position.

[Wrangler]

About the warship comment. I found the reference is more about services a ship is in service of.  Jumpship is military service. Dropships usually are more referred as "warship " before resurrection actual warships.

[Mendrugo]

Date: October 16, 3023

Location: Tancredi IV

Title: Deadly Ambition

Author: Dennis Greene

Type: Short Story

Synopsis: Shadow Lance, an element of the Black Gorgons (a mercenary unit under contract to House Kurita), is inbound towards Tancredi IV.  After a five week transit aboard the Leopard-class DropShip Le'pard, David "Shadow" Deth and his lance members, Sergeant Amthor, Brian Liggman, and Brenda Gealgood, have been ordered by Captain Blackthorne to seize water purification equipment.  This is a punishment assignment, after Deth embarassed Blackthorne in front of the Kurita liaison on Capra by capturing six 'Mechs without firing a shot, rather than letting senior officers take the credit and glory. 

After briefing his fractious and insubordinate lance on the mission, Deth dismisses them.  He remains to talk with Wilma Jenkins, the Le'pard's captain.  He wonders why his lance has been sent so far for something as trivial as a water pump, noting that it would have been possible just to buy one, rather than dispatching 'Mechs to steal one.

Anticipating only light resistance (two 'Mechs at most), they are under orders to execute a combat drop to gain practice.  The drop is on target, but Liggman's Phoenix Hawk suffers a power failure and descends too quickly.  Deth adjusts his Shadow Hawk's descent trajectory and catches up to Liggman.  Grabbing hold, he stabilizes the Phoenix Hawk and helps it land safely, though the Phoenix Hawk's leg bends backwards during the hard landing. 

The lance regroups and advance on the waterworks.  The two guards, a Shadow Hawk and a Griffin, move up to engage Shadow Lance.  Suspecting an ambush, Deth has his lance scan before moving in.  They detect three additional contacts rising from concealment behind them - a Thunderbolt, a Shadow Hawk, and a Marauder, and a concealed turret rises from a hill.  The Marauder pilot introduces himself as the infamous "Bounty Hunter." 

Shadow Lance activates an ECM module to jam the Bounty Hunter's communications, and they charge the hill.  Infantry with inferno launchers emerge and attack, but are cut down by Amthor's Shadow Hawk while Deth cores the Thunderbolt's cockpit with his Shadow Hawk's lasers. 

As the Bounty Hunter presses his attack against Deth, Brenda Gealgood refuses to engage, fearing she will be killed.  Deth threatens to fire on her himself if she doesn't join the fight.  As this drama unfolds, a Schrek emerges from the waterworks.  Deth orders Brenda to fight the tank, which she does, albeit with minimal accuracy or impact.

Desperate, Deth offers the Bounty Hunters a 950,000 C-Bill bribe for a cease fire.  The Griffin from the waterworks responds affirmatively, and warns them about a minefield on the road.  The Bounty Hunter threatens to kill the traitorous Griffin, and jumps after him.  Unfortunately for the Bounty Hunter, his jets fail in mid-arc, and the 'Mech crashes to the ground (knocking the Griffin over in the process).  The remaining two Bounty Hunter 'Mechs surrender, and they salvage the Shadow Hawk and the Bounty Hunter's Marauder.  There is blood all over the crushed cockpit, but no sign of the Bounty Hunter's body.  They find the traitorous Griffin pilot unconscious, and dispossessed with the destruction of his 'Mech. 

Deth learns from the captives that a bounty of six hundred thousand C-Bills had been placed on his lance, with an extra two hundred thousand for Deth's body.  Captain Blackthorne had posted the bounty, and assigned Brenda to back up the assassins.  With no reason to return to the Black Gorgons, Deth and his men maroon Brenda on a habitable planetoid and form a new mercenary lance - Death's Shadows. 

Notes:  Wow.  The Bounty Hunter is given such a fearsome reputation, but he gets his head handed to him in most of his early appearances.  He beats Natasha Kerensky...off camera...and steals her Marauder.  He shows up again on Le Blanc in 3025, and on Benet III in 3027, both times piloting a standard, non-jumping Marauder.  However, on Le Blanc, his ambush of the Black Widow company fails, and on Benet III, he's been betrayed, and makes a temporary alliance with Natasha for mutual survival.  In none of these scenarios does he come across as the nightmarish ultimate warrior who dominated the Succession Wars.  This iteration of BattleTech's Dread Pirate Roberts gets replaced by Michi Noketsuna by 3028.  Vic Travers takes over in 3030, and "Walt Urizeman" takes over in 3067. 

A bounty of 600,000 C-Bills seems a bit low, considering that the Thunderbolt alone has a market value of 5.4 million C-Bills.  Why didn't Brenda just poison the others on the DropShip?  If you're posting bounties with your employer liaison in attendance, you can't really claim you're being terribly covert about the process or be trying to achieve plausible deniability. 

There's a mention in passing that the Bounty Hunter hired his supporting crew from Hendrik.  Presumably, this refers to Hendrik Grimm of the Oberon Confederation, who made a deal with the Lyran Commonwealth to send troops to garrison Trellwan.  This would indicate that Grimm is making extra cash on the side by hiring out his troops.  Still, if it puts a 4 million C-Bill Griffin at risk for a potential 100,000 C-Bill payout (with months and months of transit involved as well - since Tancredi IV lies halfway across the Inner Sphere from Oberon VI).  Perhaps this particular mook was originally from the Oberon Guards, but was picked up on Galatea or Le Blanc. 

One other point of interest from this story is the modifications made to Deth's Shadow Hawk.  On the surface, it sounds a lot like a standard "Shadow Hawk-K" refit, with a PPC replacing the AC/5, but Deth mentions having rigged up a modular weapon system.  This sounds a lot like the Mercury's quick release laser system, and a precursor to OmniMech pods.  He mentions that he'd like to provide his innovations to the Lyran Commonwealth or, if Michael Hasek-Davon is removed from the picture, to House Davion. 

(There's substantial confusion about what the 'Mechs are.  In the body of the text, Deth's "SCR-1A Screaming Hawk" described as a Shadow Hawk, with a note that it has some similarities to the Shadow Hawk LAM.  In the design readout, the Screaming Hawk is listed at 55 tons (like a Shadow Hawk), but described as being based on the versatile Phoenix Hawk LAM.  (Additional confusion results from the lance names - it's described as Shadow Lance, but Deth's callsign is "Hawk One," implying it may have been intended to be "Hawk Lance.")

[Mendrugo]

About the warship comment. I found the reference is more about services a ship is in service of.  Jumpship is military service. Dropships usually are more referred as "warship " before resurrection actual warships.

You have a point, but this passage mentioned they were recharging, so that has to be JumpShips.  (When this was written, TRO:2750 hadn't yet come out, so the authors weren't really thinking about combat JumpShips with transit drives). 

[Mendrugo]

Date: October 16, 3023

Location: Tancredi IV

Title: Deth Meets Death

Author: Dennis Greene

Type: Scenario

Synopsis:  In this companion scenario to "Deadly Ambition," Shadow Lance is ambushed by the Bounty Hunter and his Oberon bandits. 

Shadow Lance:
Screaming Hawk (P3/G2)
Phoenix Hawk (P6/G4) (starts with ten damage to each leg)
Shadow Hawk K (P4/G4)
Phoenix Hawk (P4/G8) (Brenda)

Bounty Hunter:
Marauder (P4/G3) (Remove AC/5, add 4 jump jets, a rear-firing Medium Laser, and four heat sinks.  The JJs fail on a 4 or less on 2D6 each time they are used).
Shadow Hawk (P4/G5)
Thunderbolt (P5/G4)
Shadow Hawk (P5/G5)
Griffin-M1 (P5/G6)  (Marven Plak - highly amenable to bribery)
Schrek (P5/G5)
Gun Emplacement (G5) (2 Large Lasers, 1 LRM 20)
Infantry Platoon (SRM - Inferno)

The playing field is vast, by scenario standards, featuring a 4x2 map setup, so there's plenty of room to maneuver.  Deth's lance wins if it takes out the Marauder and the Thunderbolt.  After two Bounty Hunter 'Mechs are taken down, the rest roll a 1d6 once per turn (once per unit).  On a 6, it surrenders.  The entire road is mined with 20 point mines that do 10 to each leg when they go off.  Each road hex may explode three times.  As soon as one of the Shadow Lance 'Mechs is destroyed, Brenda's Phoenix Hawk goes over to the Bounty Hunter side.  The Bounty Hunter side automatically loses if it destroys Brenda's 'Mech.

Notes:  How you play this scenario depends on how much advance knowledge the players have of the various traitor triggers.  If the Deth player knows about the special victory conditions applicable to Brenda, then it's a simple matter to abuse it.  Hang back with the other three and send Brenda in unsupported to knock out the bunker (her terrible gunnery will be mitigated by the immobile unit bonus and, surprise surprise, the bunker won't shoot back).  While the Bounty Hunter and his mooks are chasing Deth and company, force Brenda to massacre the Schrek and the infantry as well, then throw her at the Bounty Hunter's group.  The rest of Shadow Lance should concentrate their fire on the Bandit Shadow Hawks, which have less armor and can't jump very far for dodging bonuses.  Once those two are down, the rest of the bandits start checking for cease fire, so you can try to play keep away with the Marauder and Thunderbolt until the fight goes out of them.

The tactics remain largely the same if you don't know that one of your lance is a turncoat, but instead of sending her in to kill off the support troops, you should have your lance stay as far from the bunker as possible (out of sight, out of range, etc. - a definitely possibility on this large board) and concentrate your fire while moving as much as possible.  The Bandit gunnery is horrid, so they shouldn't connect much. 

For the Bounty Hunter, I'd recommend standing still near the bunker.  You have LRMs and PPCs.  Force Deth to come to you, and minimize your to-hit penalties.  With massed firepower thrown down range any time any of the Shadow Lance loyalists show their heads, you should start to see some critical hits in short order.  If they rush you, you've got them (with the infantry firepower added in).  If they send in Brenda, pull the infantry back inside the waterworks building and have the rest of your forces move away from her at top speed, always moving back towards the rest of Shadow Lance.  Unless it provides a massive tactical advantage, the Bounty Hunter should never fire off his jump jets - too much risk of catastrophic failure. 

[trboturtle]

Pulling from Battletechology?

Craig

[Mendrugo]

I'm including the comics, BattleTechnology, the video games, and any other BattleTech storyline from an official licensee.  (No fanfic, but everything else is fair game)

[BrokenMnemonic]

Tancredi is a bit of an odd world. In Historical: Reunification War, it's depicted in 2581 as an Outworlds Alliance system, and described in the text as a lightly-populated world that had long wavered in allegience between the FedSuns and the Outworlds Alliance. According to the House handbooks, Tancredi IV was the capital world of the Draconis March of the Federated Suns up until 2533, when Alexander Davion chased down Laura Davion and her remaining forces there towards the end of the Davion Civil War; according to Field Reports 2765: Federated Suns, Tancredi was the home of the Tancredi War College from the early 2500s onwards, a college that developed a reputation good enough to rival Albion and NAMA; it was also home to the Tancredi Warriors Brigade, who Alexander renamed the Tancredi Loyalists because of their loyalty to him during the Civil War. The Loyalists continued to serve with distinction in the AFFS thereafter, with their manning drawn almost entirely from Tancredi War College graduates.

[Mendrugo]

Date: January 2, 3026

Location: Towne

Title: After the Big Boys

Author: Dale L. Kemper, Blaine Lee Pardoe, Anthony Pryor, and John Theison

Type: Scenario

Synopsis: In early 3026, the 5th Sword of Light laid siege to the city of Barwa, which was defended by a massive Long Tom artillery piece.  Rather than risk heavy casualties in a frontal assault against the gun and its escorts, Daniel Sorenson baited the cannon into wasting ammunition for ten hours, then broadcast a message declaring his intent to have fighters bomb the city, followed by an assault with a full battalion. 

The defenders panicked, and pulled the irreplaceable mobile Long Tom out of the city to be relocated to the city of Cathica.  Unfortunately for the AFFS, Sorenson had anticipated this move and had sent Sorenson's Sabres' Pursuit Lance around to set an ambush for the cannon on the Cathica road. 

The Sabres attack the Long Tom convoy with an Archer (missing substantial amounts of armor), a Phoenix Hawk LAM, a Hermes III, a Wasp, and a Stinger. 

The 3rd Davion Garrison Force (the "Emerald Marauders") sends a Catapult, Jenner, Locust, and Spider to escort the Mobile Long Tom, which is accompanied by three J-27 Ordnance Transports.  The Sabres win by destroying every AFFS unit except the artillery.  If the artillery is destroyed, the Sabres can only achieve a marginal victory.  The AFFS wins a decisive victory by moving the Long Tom off the north edge of the map. 

Historically, the Sabres successfully captured the Long Tom.

Notes:  This was clearly written in parallel with TRO:3025.  Interestingly, it refers to that book as "Technical Manual 3025," either suggesting a typo, or that the series was originally intended to be named "Technical Manual," rather than "Technical Readout."   

As with the earlier attack on the train, the presence of a LAM makes it pretty much impossible for the Emerald Marauders to score a decisive victory, since the P-Hawk LAM can easily use AirMech mode to drop in right next to the Long Tom and use close-attacks and kicks to render it immobile, or destroy it. 

The J-27 Ordnance Transports will explode and cause splash damage if shot.  If either side is careless, it's always worth taking a shot to see if you can get some free hits - especially since the damage is 2D6 to one random location, and the potential victims are either Light 'Mechs or a heavily damaged Heavy. 

For the Sabres, if the J-27s come anywhere near you, blow them to smithereens the first chance you get.  The last thing you need is a wheeled bomb driving into your midst.  Don't worry about the Long Tom escaping on its own.  You have a LAM and it moves 3 at flank speed and has to stay on the road.  Its main gun is silenced while in transit, so it just has four machine guns for self defense.  Focus instead on swarming the Catapult, then turning your attentions on the Emerald Marauder Light 'Mechs.  They'll be hard to catch, given their mobility, but you need to kill them all to win.

The Emerald Marauders realistically have little chance to score a victory, but they can deny the Combine the capture.  If the Sabres are sloppy, you may be able to get the odds in your favor by detonating a J-27 near one or more attackers.  You can't count on that, however, so what you want to do is keep your Light 'Mechs moving at top speed, using the terrain to screen you from the Sabres.  If you can dodge them long enough, the Sabres will be forced to destroy the slowly escaping Long Tom to prevent your victory.  While the Lights jump and hide, keep the Catapult close the Long Tom, with the 5/8 J-27s positioned to be able to race in and get next to any enemy 'Mech that approaches.  If the Sabres hang back, empty your LRM racks into them - especially that thin-skinned damaged Archer.  If the Sabres rush in, send in the J-27 bombs, unleash your lasers, and don't be afraid to kick (13 points per kick).  Also keep your Lights close enough to join the main fray while the Catapult is still functioning, forcing the Sabres to split their focus or get hit by rear attacks.

[Mendrugo]

Date: January 10, 3026

Location: Liao

Title: Think Like a Liao

Author: Susan Putney

Type: Short Story

Synopsis: House Liao presides over a New Year's celebration on Liao, welcoming the Year of the Tiger.  Maximilian Laio is joined by his wife Elizabeth, his daughters Candace and Romano, and his son Tormana (see notes).  A parade has been going past in review since noon, featuring BattleMechs in the colors of House LuSann, Eridani stallions, and block-long paper dragons.  Tormana is eager to be away from the pomp and circumstance, and be back in the field with the First Ariana Fusiliers.  One of the things making him eager to be away is the presence of his father, the Chancellor, who took the time to present him with an itemized list of his shortcomings when the family gathered on New Year's Eve.

Following the parade, much to Tormana's disgruntlement, the royal family staffs a reception line at the Liao palace, with the elite of the Confederation passing in review in holiday costumes.  Tormana is dressed as a "Japanese corporate warrior of the 21st century," (a bathrobe, obi, and katana).  Tormana manages to deeply offend Michael Hasek-Davion's personal representative, industrialist Edgar Bentley, by accusing the FedSuns mercenaries "Sharp's Cavaliers" of atrocities (staking civilians to the ground and stepping on them with BattleMechs) and cowardice.  Romano explains that Bentley's son commands Sharp's second regiment, the Stompers. 

Tormana attempts to slip out of the reception before Candace makes him dance, but he is accosted by Maskirovka Director Chandra Ling, who chides him for trying to escape, since he's the most eligible bachelor on the planet.  Tormana dismisses that claim, noting he's a disinherited younger son and a Mandrinn exiled from his holdings.  His tone grows harder as he asserts that he isn't a bachelor either - he still considers himself married to Hanya No Cha.  Ling sighs, and comments how strange it was that she just "disappeared."  She warns him that his father, the Chancellor, wants a son who knows his place, rather than one who criticizes his policies and insults his guests.  She informs him that Max plans to reconcile and appoint him the Duke of Bandora. 

Tormana rejects the entreaty, saying he will neither reject his wife nor sweet-talk war criminals.  He angrily declares that he has no stomach for Liao-style politics and scheming.  He much prefers the straight-forward honest life in the military, and takes pride in being a good officer and taking care of his men.  Ling warns that this offer is his last chance, but Tormana does not relent, and storms out of the reception.

Notes: In this story, as in many other early references to the character, Max Liao's son is called Tormana.  The last reference to "Tormana Liao" is in the 3056-dated "Hot Spots" book.  The earliest reference to "Tormano Liao" is on December 19, 3055, in "Assumption of Risk," so 3055-3056 seems to be around when the official spelling changed.  I have no idea whether this was a conscious editorial decision or a typo that propagated, like the Kaznejov -> Kaznejoy change.

It appears that the Chinese Lunar Calendar undergoes some significant changes after the departure from Terra.  Using a calculation tool to look up 3026, it would be the Year of the Pig on Earth (and that not until February 10, not January 10), but it's the Year of the Tiger on Liao.  So, would worlds that no longer look to Terra still use the Terran lunar calendar?  They still use the Terran Julian calendar, but the Year of the Tiger won't be until 3030 on Earth.  (The Federated Suns still seems to go according to the Terran Lunar calendar, since they name Operation RAT after 3028 being the Year of the Rat.)  (Most likely, Michael Stackpole did a better job of working the math out than Susan Putney, but there's still the possibility that the Liaos decided to re-do the calendar to reflect the lunar phases on Liao, Sian, or Capella - which would be consistent with their Liao-centric cosmology.)  It's also interesting that the New Year's parties have a strong element of Halloween, assuming the costumes are part of the holiday, rather than it just being a costume party in honor of the holiday.

This is a magnificent character portrait of Tormana/o Liao, and Susan Putney does a fantastic job of setting up the basis for the father/son conflict.  Max, of course, is no stranger to generational conflict, having orchestrated the coup that overthrew his own father and brought him to the Chancellorship.  One might suspect that Max may be paranoid that his son could be plotting to follow in his footsteps.  Tormana may prefer a simple military life now, but he certainly grows into his Liao heritage of scheming and manipulation through his work with Free Capella, though it all blows up in his face when he tries his manipulations on Peter Steiner-Davion and Kai Allard-Liao.  He regains his stride when he becomes an advisor to Katrina Steiner, but is generally outdone at every turn by Sun-Tzu. 

Hanya No Cha is rescued from Brazen Heart by the Federated Suns during the 4th Succession War, and is reunited with Tormano/a after his surrender.  They had a close relationship with Hanse Davion, and established homes on New Avalon, Liao, St. Ives, and Brazen Heart.  Hanya helped Tormano/a set up a network of agents in the Capellan Confederation to undermine Romano's regime (Free Capella).  They have two children - a boy and a girl - and she is very active in social causes championed by Melissa Steiner-Davion.  She became depressed and inconsolable after Melissa was assassinated.  The 20 Year Update's description of Brazen Heart as her homeworld, and noting that they went back and built a vacation home there, becomes somewhat odd in the context of the writeup in Handbook: House Liao, which describes it as the moon of Brighton with a breathable atmosphere, but no nutritive plant life, and home to a major prison facility, whose influential prisoners spent their lives mining copper by hand.

Chandra Ling is, I feel, a character that was severely underutilized.  Whereas Subhash Indrahar and Quintus Allard got a lot of page time in the Warrior Trilogy, Chandra Ling gets cut out of all the key intelligence operations by Max's "crisis team" of Alexei Malenkov (MIIO agent Alex Mallory), Justin Xiang (Davion mole Justin Allard), and Tsen Shang (Romano's puppet).  I can appreciate that Michael Stackpole already had Subhash Indrahar to work with in the Warrior Trilogy, and didn't want to just repeat his scenes with Subhash-in-a-dress, but this scene hints at the potential her character had.  This is, in fact, her only speaking scene in the entire BattleTech canon. 

[Frabby]

I seem to recall a few cameos of Chandra Ling with a speaking role in the Warrior trilogy, but that aside you're spot on.