BattleTech CGL-Era Fiction

[Xotl]

This is a thread to collect issues with a subset of BattleTech fiction.  Note the following caveats:

1) It does not cover Shrapnel.  That errata thread can be found here:
https://bg.battletech.com/forums/errata/shrapnel-the-official-battletech-magazine/
2) It does not cover anything by FASA, FanPro, or WizKids
3) It does not cover sourcebook fiction: report that in the thread devoted to the book it appears in
4) It is not for alternate takes on what should have happened, unless you can point to a clear canon contradiction in what did (note: the bar for this will be high, and posts failing to meet it will be deleted)

The ideal report concerns things like "Grand Duke Chutney is mentioned here, but in Source Y is actually on Planet X at this time" or "the mech is a Highlander on page X but a Locust on Page Y".  Obvious continuity stuff.  You don't have to propose a solution: you can if you feel you have a clear one, but it's fine just to note the issue.

Name the story title and the page number (if you have it--use the chapter number if you don't) as the very first part of your post.  If you discover multiple issues for a single work, edit them into a single post, in page/chapter order.  Please explain the issue with the story clearly.

Sample post:

Embers of War
Chapter 6:

Janos Marik has been dead for decades, and so could not have appeared here.

Thanks!

[GreekFire]

TITLE: Children of Kerensky
CHAPTER: 17

"Two JumpShips, six apparent WarShips of an unknown configuration, sir”
"Six Wolf Clan WarShips at the nadir jump point."
"“Only six WarShips? Why only six?”
"All enemy WarShips are accelerating, sir—faster than ships of their size
should be able to do.”
"“you have six little WarShips. We outnumber and outgun you."
"There was no way those ungainly-looking WarShips could even get close."
"Sköll and her sister WarShips were unlike any others in the Wolf Clan Navy"
"While each WarShip had lifeboats for the crew, the odds of survival were slim"
"These are not normal WarShips."

PROBLEM: The WarShips mentioned in each of these sentences are in fact DropShips made from modified Unions. They arrive docked to two JumpShips, and are labeled as such in the header for chapter 17 (PILEDRIVER-CLASS DROPSHIP CWS SKÖLL)

FIX: In each instance, replace the word "WarShip(s)" with "DropShip(s)"

"be ready for additional incoming Wolf Clan WarShips.”
--Remove the word "additional", as there were no Wolf WarShips present in this engagement.

"Labbé watched one of the Wolf vessels collided with one of his own WarShips"
--Remove the word "own", as there were no Wolf WarShips present in this engagement.

[GreekFire]

TITLE: Children of Kerensky
CHAPTER: 14 and 15

PROBLEM:
-Chapter 14 is noted as taking place on October 27th.
-Chapter 15 is noted as taking place on October 24th, and references the events of chapter 14 as taking place on the 21st.

FIX: Change the day on which chapter 14 takes place to October 21st.

[GreekFire]

TITLE: A Bonfire of Worlds
CHAPTER 3

SENTENCES: "He had once even hoped that he carried Vlad's genes. It had turned out not to be true, but he still looked to the example of the former Khan."

PROBLEM: Alaric, as of Children of Kerensky, has now been determined to have some of Vlad Ward's genes. This was determined to be essential for Alaric to compete for a Bloodname and generally live his life as a Clan warrior.

FIX: Delete the above two sentences.

[Ruger]

Children of Kerensky

Issue: At the start of Chapter 13, it is on October 20, 3150 that Alaric first arrived on New Earth. The chapter laters switches to Malvina on October 24, 3150 (still good).

Chapter 14 is set on October 27, 3150 (still good), and has a very important scene take place.

But then chapter 15 goes back to Alaric on New Earth, saying “Over the last few months, he had begun to stage advanced elements of Clan Wolf on New Earth.” My concern is that the date is given as October 24, 3150; which is after the date of the previous chapter and just four days (not a “few months”) after he was mentioned as arriving on planet. And the event from the previous chapter (which was supposed to take place three days after this according to the dates given) would appear to tie into the events discussed in this chapter.

Proposed correction: The dates for chapter 13 have been in 3149. And the days given for chapters 14 and 15 should be switched with each other.

Ruger

[Frabby]

Hour of the Wolf

p. 379, "BattleTech eras" - Following on the 3081 - 3150 Dark Age era, the IlClan Era is given as "3051 - present".

3051 should read 3151.

[Kojak]

Highlander Covenant, Grey Watch Protocol

pg. 1, the opening scene on Sian in 3150, from the perspective of Lindsey Baxter, Sang-shao of the Fourth MAC:

Unfortunately, all of those pleasant memories were overshadowed by the memory of her last visit, when she had been ordered to report to the capital in the wake of the Battle of New Canton. The day everything changed.

She vividly remembered being summoned before the Strategios, the strategic planning committee of the Confederation, and futilely attempting to explain how one of the most respected units in the Capellan Confederation Armed Forces had been bested by units of the Republic of the Sphere. She had been lucky to return from that foray merely tarnished, having not been in command at the time of the defeat. The Strategios told her that her refusal to abandon the body of her commanding officer, Faith McCarron, had been one of the few admirable moments in that dark chapter of her unit’s history.

Her immediate superior, Donald Hopkins, had not been so lucky. She remembered her shock as a pair of Death Commandos dragged him from the chamber, his eyes wild as the Strategios decreed that he had not done enough to stem the tide of the Republic incursion, the he had failed the Chancellor and, by extension, the Confederation itself.

So is Lindsey in her 90s? Because Faith McCarron's death at the Battle of New Canton was in 3081, 69 years before this scene took place. There is, as far as I can tell, nothing in the text that indicates anything like this, and she's portrayed as an able Mechwarrior at the helm of a Pillager later on in the novel.

[Fat Guy]

Fang and Claw

Set in 3050, it predates the Cougar's introduction by 8 years. Yet Sarda pilots one.

Also, Clan names are used for all OmniMechs except the Dragonfly.

[GreekFire]

Fang and Claw

Set in 3050, it predates the Cougar's introduction by 8 years. Yet Sarda pilots one.

Just to expand on this, simply replacing all instances of Cougar with Adder will fix things.

[GreekFire]

Fang and Claw

--p.7 "He switched to the main lance channel..."
--p.10 "His lance began moving like a well-oiled machine..."

Replace lance with Star.

[GreekFire]

The Trickster/Proliferation Cycle

PROBLEM: Foster was first exclusively colonized by Clan Blood Spirit in, at the earliest, 2858, and was exclusively held by the Clan up until their dealings with Kindraa Smythe-Jewel in the mid 2860s. The Coyotes are noted as only having "established a presence on Foster." after the destruction of said Kindraa in 2872.

SOLUTION: Replace all instances of Foster, save those on pages 7-8, with another planet. As Grant's Station is noted as being a near-exclusive Coyote holding earlier in the text, it could be a fitting replacement.

[FaithBomb]

The Trickster, p.21:

"It unleashed its last volley of SRM's into his right arm and leg, quaking his Ostroc with each explosion."

The problem is that for this whole scene, the fight has been between a Warhammer IIC and a Lancelot, not an Ostroc.

[Nerroth]

Blood Will Tell
Chapter 8

As part of the discussion between Danai Centrella-Liao and Mina Liao regarding propagandizing the people of Castrovia, the Duchy of Andurien is referred to as being "a component state of the Free Worlds League"; part of the reason why an attack from that direction is deemed as being "ludicrous" is because the Warden-General* of the FWL "was Danai's good friend Nikol Marik".

Leaving questions of trust between Danai and Nikol aside, the data in Shattered Fortress indicates that the Duchy of Andurien remains apart from the reconstituted Free Worlds League as of 3151, nestled as it is in a marriage alliance with the Magistracy of Canopus... and, by extension, with the Capellan Confederation itself.

However, since the Oriente Protectorate is not much farther from Castrovia than the Duchy of Andurien happens to be, might it be worth adding an errata note replacing the references to Andurien with references to Oriente instead?


*Actually, as of 5 November 3148 (when Chapter 8 takes place), Nikol Marik was already the new Captain-General. According to Shattered Fortress, her mother's assassination had been on the 2nd of March that same year., with the vote to confirm her in her new role by Parliament taken in short order. Even given the poor state of interstellar communications across the Inner Sphere at this point in time, would the Capellans still not have learned of this change eight months later? (That said, Nikol did decide to retain the office of Warden-General even after acceding to the Captain-Generalcy...)

[Sartris]

Unsure if this is an omission or a rights issue.

Source: Every release that has a list of the the extant fiction in the back

Problem: Ideal War is missing from the list. This is a bit different than The Sword and the Dagger as the ebook for Ideal War is being sold along with all of the other Legends-branded fiction

Solution: Add Ideal War to the list

[darthgator]

"Redemption and Malice," page 6, last paragraph:

"...Rim Worlds Zeus,..."

The Zeus was introduced by the Lyran Commonwealth in 2787, and was used exclusively by them for several years. The Rim Worlds Republic was destroyed during the Amaris Civil War, which ended in 2780. There's no way the Rim Worlds Republic could have fielded a Zeus more than a decade before it was introduced. This should be replaced with a heavy or assault 'mech available to the RWR prior to / during the Amaris Civil War. The Dragoon would be an excellent choice.

[Lorcan Nagle]

The Price of Duty, Chapter 3

Word had broken that the Jade Falcon border looked empty. Across hundreds of light years of space, soldiers were hearing these rumors and thinking of worlds just across the border, some of them newly-lost to the Falcons, and some held by those invaders for centuries.

Change "for centuries" to "for a century", as the Clans have been in the Inner Sphere for a shade over 100 years at this point

[GreekFire]

TITLE: Hour of the Wolf
LOCATION: Interlude following Chapter 9

PROBLEM: Reference to Marik Militia regiments. The brigade does not exist during the events of Hour of the Wolf

FIX: Replace "Marik Militia" with "other" ("I can pull in the Oriente Hussars and a number of other regiments.")

[ShroudedSciuridae]

Title: Inner Sphere Heavy Lance
Location: Trevor Coyne-Mallory/Bodil Garrik Centurion pilot card

Issue: Garrik's Fifth Regulan Hussars image is used for both sides. The Alpha Strike cards have the correct images.

[ShroudedSciuridae]

A Rock and a Hard Place, Ch 6.

"Some of the parts had been of particular value to the Gray Death—a hip actuator that would fit Sharyl’s Shadow Hawk, for instance"

Hip actuators can't be replaced or repaired (CO p. 199). Replace with any other leg actuator. The scene where the damage was incurred, Ch. 4, doesn't specify hip damage so no rewrite is required there.

[hf22]

A Rock and a Hard Place, Ch 11.

"Theor “Whitey” Whittim turned his Orion and began firing his autocannon into the JagerMech"

GDL MechWarrior “Whitey” Whittim is elsewhere in the novella called "Jahan Whittim", for example in Chapter 11:

1. "Jahan Whittim was a young pilot, however, younger than most heavy ’Mech drivers, and lacking in combat experience."; or
2."“Whitey!” Kalmar yelled. “What’s happened? Talk to me!” There was no reply, and Kalmar wondered if young Jahan was dead."

Solution - Pick either Theor or Jahan as the character's first name, and amend for consistency.

[ShroudedSciuridae]

Visions of Rebirth, Interlude Three

Issue: Conflicting dates of Amaris' death. Most recent first:
Visions of Rebirth, Interlude Three, 25 November 2780
Liberation of Terra Vol. 2, pp. 108-109 & 124, 25 November 2779
Liberation of Terra Vol. 1, p. 60, 29 October 2779

Correction: Change the two incorrect versions.

[Cache]

Strong as Steel (ELH part 10)

14 April 3151 (four paragraphs prior to 1 May 3151)
Spelling Error: Hanson's Roughriders
Correction: Hansen's Roughriders

[ShroudedSciuridae]

Sleight of Hand (BattleCorps Fiction)

Issue: Story is dated 27 July 3057, but the invasion of Callison began with jumps in system 16-20 September 3057 (Shattered Sphere, p. 74). Callison is GSV sun (Dark Age: Republic Worlds, p. 178) with a 7.47 day transit time (Campaign Operations, p. 100).

Correction: Move this story date forward exactly two months to September 27.

This issue might be reflected forthcoming Operation Guerrero sourcebook, the only reason I'm putting in a seventeen year old correction

[hf22]

Strong as Steel (ELH part 10)

1. The Executive Officer of the 11th Recon Battalion is referred to as Alexa Newman, Alexa Newsom and Alexa Neuman.

Solution - Pick a spelling of the character's last name, and amend for consistency.

2. Captain Daniel “Bear” Blonsky of the 11th Recon Battalion is also given the last name of Bonderevsky.

Solution - Pick a spelling of the character's last name, and amend for consistency.

3. Colonel Eric Tappan is also given the last name of Talbin.

Solution - Pick a spelling of the character's last name, and amend for consistency.

[ShroudedSciuridae]

No Substitute for Victory, Chapter 26

"…ragged and faded green uniforms were splattered with blood, mostly from a vein that had…sprayed them both…”

Replace vein with artery. While venous insufficiency could cause limited spray from a vein this would indicate serious underlying conditions far over and above the malnutrition and gangrene here.

Chapter 29

"Guice stirred and opened her mouth, ready to protest, but he placed his hand on his knee and she held her comment back."

Replace with "placed his hand on her knee"

[ShroudedSciuridae]

Elements of Treason: Duty, epub version

Issue: Chapter 19 occurs in Arcturus, Tamar Pact.  Chapter 20 reverts to Clan Jade Falcon Occupation Zone, Chapter 21 is back to Tamar Pact

Solution: Change Chapter 20 to Tamar Pact

[Lorcan Nagle]

Blood Will Tell, PoD edition, page 231.

"You Grace," Gwendolyn Vaughan replied

"You" should be "Your"

[Middcore]

I posted about this in Ask the Writers months ago and got no response so I kind of feel it has to end up here, unless someone can point out a solution I have racked my brain failing to find.



A Rock and a Hard Place - novel by William H. Keith, Amazon ebook version, multiple chapters but starting in chapter 2.

Issue: Multiple Gray Death Legion personnel who died in previous fiction appear alive and well in this book.

The first one is Francine Roget. In chapter 2, Grayson is training her. Later she accompanies him, piloting a Panther, in his mission to Wheel. However, back in In The Price of Glory, Francine Roget dies during the imbroglio on Helm. To be precise, Grayson watches a Marik Thunderbolt approach her position, raise its fist, then lower it, and hears Roget scream. The only time she is mentioned after that, it is in the context of people who died because of the treachery of "Harris Graff."

Sylvia Trevor is mentioned in the same sentence in TPoG about those who died because of Graff... and yet also is there in the Wheel Station fight in ARaaHP, getting first mentioned as alive and well in chapter 14.

There are no dates in The Price of Glory, but the GDL scenario pack puts it in March-April 3028. The events in ARaaHP take place in August 3028, and the events on Helm are explicitly described in ARaaHP as taking place in the past.

Edit: Clarified time when the events on Helm take place based on info from the GDL scenario pack.

[Diplominator]

Title: Redemption Rites
Epilogue, page 403 of kindle edition


Don't want to spoil a major plot point, but if Alaric got his Bloodname in August 3143, then his offspring aren't 9 in July 3152. Not even rounding up, unless iron wombs have a massively accelerated gestation time or those kids were created before Alaric got his Bloodname.

[Talvin]

No Substitute for Victory
Prologue: Gustaf Firebaugh
Chapter 2: Gustaf Firebaugh
Chapter 5: Gustav Firebaugh (twice)
Chapter 25: Gustav Firebaugh
Gustaf was there first, Gustav wins on # of uses 3-2, tied for # of chapters they appear in.