Author Topic: Chronological BattleTech Fiction Review - The Succession Wars - Part II  (Read 205709 times)

Kojak

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Young Fahad Arazad feels exhausted from the 55 degree Celsius temperatures and Matamoras' 1.46 standard gravity as he works to assemble a lattice shell that will provide them with shelter against the heat.

Seriously, what is going on with this temperature thing? This is not a habitable planet.

resculpting the terrain in ways that make it a mecca for Azami artists.

I see what you did there.


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trboturtle

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That brings up the question - how did the Azami get infected with bioweapons?  The only other factoids we know about the Azami history is that they were one of the latter groups to join the Exodus from Terra, and ended up with less hospitable worlds as colonies.  Also, the disease came from a period when bioweapons were unleashed in northern Africa during wars. 

I always read it that the planets Azami settled had the infections, not the Azami themselves. The Azami are immune because they have become resistant to the strains, but for an invader attacking an Azami world back then, it would be like smallpox in the American Indian population -- no resistance to the infection.

By this story, I would think there is a vaccine/cure for the viruses and there's no chance of a plague off-world. The Azami are not carriers, just resistent.

Craig
Author of 32 Battletech short stories including "The Lance Killer," "Hikagemono," "Negotiation," "The Clawing," "Salvage," "The Promise," "Reap What You Sow," "Family Ties," "The Blood of Man," "End of Message," "Heroes' Bridge," "Kurodenkou," "Thirteen," "My Father's Sword," "Evacuation," "Operation Red Lion," "A Matter of Honor," "State of Grace," "Operation Blue Tiger," "A Warrior's Fear," "Shadow Angels," "Murphy's Method," "End of the Road," (IAMTW 2019 Scribe Award nominee!), "Tales of the Cracked Canopy: Blind Arrogance," "Laws Are Silent," "No Tears," "Tales of the Cracked Canopy: Shadows of the Past," and "Three White Roses."
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Skyth

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I vaguely remember a note somewhere that there is a cure now...just there wasn't one when thr DCMS tried invading.

VhenRa

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IIRC there was a vaccine within a few decades of the Azami joining the combine.

Mendrugo

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The original House Kurita sourcebook, pp. 117-118 says:

Quote
Before their departure from Terra, their faith had been altered by two great events affecting Islamic Africa in the late 20th and early 21st centuries: the terrible viral epidemics that swept the continent from south to north, and the wave of Shi'ite Moslem evangelism from Iran. 

Terran viruses that lay latent in the Azami bloodstreams eventually wiped out the Draconis invaders.  Though this problem could have been overcome easily in subsequent campaigns, those campaigns never took place. 

The Kurita invaders - all of them - had succumbed to a virus that had a Human bloodstream in which to flourish since the great viral epidemics that swept Terran Africa in the 20th and 21st centuries.  The Azami, descendants of the few survivors, were themselves immune, but they carried the latent virus, which was released into the Kuritans from bodies on the battlefield and from Azami torture victims in Kurita camps.

So, to me, this implies that the Azami are all carriers, but inherited immunity.  The mention that the Combine could have dealt with the issue implies that vaccines could have been created, so the Azami may have been subsequently cured and are no longer carriers, but it's not explicitly stated there.  Handbook House Kurita updates the Azami backstory to place the viral epidemics solely in the 21st century, but doesn't repeat the story of the failed invasion or the blood-congealing disease outbreak.

Looking at the symptoms, it sounds like a variant of a bunyavirus, which causes fine damage to capillaries causing fluid, but not cells, to leak out, causing the blood to congeal and the victims' lungs to fill with fluid, though this specific symptom is associated only with the hantavirus strain of bunyavirus, which appeared in the southwest of the United States, rather than in Africa.
« Last Edit: 08 January 2020, 23:21:36 by Mendrugo »
"We have made of New Avalon a towering funeral pyre and wiped the Davion scourge from the universe.  Tikonov, Chesterton and Andurien are ours once more, and the cheers of the Capellan people nearly drown out the gnashing of our foes' teeth as they throw down their weapons in despair.  Now I am made First Lord of the Star League, and all shall bow down to me and pay homa...oooooo! Shiny thing!" - Maximillian Liao, "My Triumph", audio dictation, 3030.  Unpublished.

Mendrugo

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Seriously, what is going on with this temperature thing? This is not a habitable planet.

You are correct that 55 is too hot for unprotected personnel to operate, or at least to conduct combat operations in full kit without environment suits.  TacOps p. 62 says that conventional infantry platoons cannot be deployed outside a vehicle or building in temperatures that exceed 50 degrees C.  The driver on Wyatt comments that it made no sense to set up a colony site in the desert where it's so hot, and says he's from the much cooler northern region.  Perhaps the desert region on Matamoras is also unusually hot (like Death Valley in California), and the main colony sites are at higher elevations or closer to the poles.  Looking online, recommendations for people outside in 55 C temperatures are to reduce activity levels and stay hydrated, but the recommendations don't suggest 55 C is a lethal heat level.

I see what you did there.

That's actually from the planetary writeup in Handbook House Kurita.
"We have made of New Avalon a towering funeral pyre and wiped the Davion scourge from the universe.  Tikonov, Chesterton and Andurien are ours once more, and the cheers of the Capellan people nearly drown out the gnashing of our foes' teeth as they throw down their weapons in despair.  Now I am made First Lord of the Star League, and all shall bow down to me and pay homa...oooooo! Shiny thing!" - Maximillian Liao, "My Triumph", audio dictation, 3030.  Unpublished.

Mendrugo

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Date: June 21, 2998
 
Location: Hesperus II

Title: Endless War

Author: Randall N. Bills
 
Type: Short Story (MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries)

Synopsis: As an alarm siren wails, personnel swarm through a Defiance Industries 'Mech hangar.  Ryana, by contrast, remains calm and methodical as she proceeds to her Highlander, which she has named "Claidheamh-mor" or 'claymore'.  Tech Chief Olfson warns her that if she keeps using the 'highlander burial' tactic against enemies, he can't guarantee he'll be able to keep the ancient machine operating, since the LosTech spare parts either cost a fortune or can't be found.

Once in her 'Mech, she brings the systems online and heads out into battle.

Notes: Ryana's Highlander is a post-LosTech era refit, with an AC/10 replacing the long-since lost Gauss rifle - marking it as the 'HGN-733' refit.  Olfson notes that her 'Mech is a shadow of its former self (unconsciously reflecting the 400 points of BV lost by swapping the AC/10 for the Gauss).  This is essentially the theme of the Revised TRO:3025, where the Unseen were replaced with low-tech variants of some of the TRO:2750 designs, implying that while the gauss rifles, ER energy weapons and ultra autocannons may be long gone, many of the chassis remain, having been either made that way in new production runs or with field refits to keep them running after the good parts ran out.

While earlier installments have focused on technicians and traders, this is the first to focus on a MechWarrior.  Since it's part of introductory fiction for the MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries game, this scene goes into full detail on the appearance of the cockpit, the start-up routine (from medical monitors to neurohelmet connection to voice authorization). 

Ryana is revealed to have previously been with the Northwind Highlanders, having been adopted into the clans, and she still misses the blue tartan underneath the ELH's olive drab camo.  (She left on good terms and was even gifted one of the unit's Highlanders, which had been in the unit for nearly four centuries - making it one of the first off the production lines, since the design only debuted in 2592.)  Interestingly, the cover of the Northwind Highlanders scenario pack shows those 'Mechs in olive drab themselves, except for a tartan sash painted across the chest.  I'm not surprised that Randall made one of his characters a Highlander, since it was Randall himself who authored the Northwind Highlanders scenarios, as well as some Northwinder-themed BattleCorps stories.

This is the start of the Eleventh Battle of Hesperus II (the 10th having taken place the year before, when Colonel Katrina Steiner lead the 15th Lyran Guards to repel a Marik raid against a supply depot).  Four FLWM 'Mech regiments attacked while most of the Hesperus garrison was bogged down on Kalidasa.  Handbook: House Steiner records that Defiance Industries was only saved because the 21st Striker Regiment disobeyed orders from an incompetent leader, and that the near loss contributed to Archon Alessandro Steiner's downfall (though other sources say the straw that broke the camel's back was his Operation CONCENTRATED WEAKNESS, which launched in 3002).

Ryana refers to the 'Mech's limbs as her hands and feet's "true extensions."  She's one of the MechWarriors who feels like they're truly alive only in a 'Mech's cockpit.  Her backstory exposition indicates that she left the Highlanders of her own accord because she wanted to forge her own destiny, away from the "too-helping" arms of her adopted parents.  Freedom is a repeated theme in this series, both with Ryana and Chloe, and may be a meta-reference to the open-world format of MW5, which allows players to range freely across the Inner Sphere in search of contracts.
« Last Edit: 09 January 2020, 04:20:31 by Mendrugo »
"We have made of New Avalon a towering funeral pyre and wiped the Davion scourge from the universe.  Tikonov, Chesterton and Andurien are ours once more, and the cheers of the Capellan people nearly drown out the gnashing of our foes' teeth as they throw down their weapons in despair.  Now I am made First Lord of the Star League, and all shall bow down to me and pay homa...oooooo! Shiny thing!" - Maximillian Liao, "My Triumph", audio dictation, 3030.  Unpublished.

Mendrugo

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Date: July 7, 2998
 
Location: Hesperus II

Title: Endless War

Author: Randall N. Bills
 
Type: Short Story (MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries)

Synopsis: In the command center of the Defiance Industries plant on Hesperus II, LCAF Leutnant-General Wilhelm Mouttheim, a Lyran social-general, orders Colonel Charles Winston, CO of the ELH's 21st Striker Regiment, to deploy his forces in accordance with his orders.  Ryana interrupts, reporting that the initial attack consisted of at least a regiment of fast and skilled attackers.  Splitting up to chase such a force will deny the Defiance garrison its only advantage - numbers.

Mouttheim points out that the Defiance Industries plant makes Hesperus II the most important world in the Inner Sphere, and derides the Ryana's suggestion to let the Marik forces come to them.  Ryana points out that the LCAF made the decision to strip the garrison for a raid on Kalidasa, leaving the Light Horse to protect the world.  She asks why Mouttheim isn't trusting the mercenaries to do their jobs.

Angrily, Mouttheim notes that the contract places the ELH under his direct command when it comes to the immediate defense of the Defiance Industries facilities.  Since there are still attackers within 200 km of the factory, he orders the ELH to deploy all troops, including those based at the city of Tallowrand, to hunt down the raiders.  Colonel Winston acquiesces, while Ryana feels betrayed, and puzzled at a momentary look Winston gave her before beginning to issue operational orders.

Notes: Tallowrand was not marked on the planetary map included with Jihad Turning Points: Hesperus II, which only includes the capital of Maria's Elegy (where the main spaceport is located), Defiance Industries, and the city of Maldon, on the Tatyana Archipelago.  I wonder if Tallowrand gets blown off the map during this attack, after the ELH pulls its garrison away to beat the bushes for FWL raiders.  The city name comes from the writeup on p. 70 of the Mercenary's Handbook.

Command rights are a key element in mercenary contract negotiations, ranging from being fully subordinated to employer control, with the assigned liaison officer serving, in effect, as the unit CO, to being more or less autonomous - the employer sets the objective, and the unit's own leadership determines how, when, and where to carry out operations in support of that objective, and the liaison officer just lets the employer know what's going on.  Clearly, to get command autonomy requires substantial trust from the employer that the mercs know what they're doing, while ceding command rights to the employer requires that the mercenaries trust that the employer won't get them killed. 

Unfortunately, the LCAF has a lot of social generals clogging up the works, and while each thinks that he or she is the greatest military genius to ever emerge from the Nagelring, most are more conversant with shrimp forks than flanking maneuvers.

I'm surprised, though, that a unit with the prestige and lengthy history of the ELH wasn't able to get better terms.  I suppose there is the caveat that the LCAF only exercises command rights when enemy forces are within 200 km of the factory, which presumes that the ELH has been unable to intercept and destroy the foe outside of that perimeter, calling their independent command capabilities into question.
« Last Edit: 09 January 2020, 04:08:38 by Mendrugo »
"We have made of New Avalon a towering funeral pyre and wiped the Davion scourge from the universe.  Tikonov, Chesterton and Andurien are ours once more, and the cheers of the Capellan people nearly drown out the gnashing of our foes' teeth as they throw down their weapons in despair.  Now I am made First Lord of the Star League, and all shall bow down to me and pay homa...oooooo! Shiny thing!" - Maximillian Liao, "My Triumph", audio dictation, 3030.  Unpublished.

Mendrugo

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Date: July 21, 2998
 
Location: Hesperus II

Title: Endless War

Author: Randall N. Bills
 
Type: Short Story (MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries)

Synopsis: Ryana guides her Highlander in pursuit of Marik raiders.  While others in her group try to bracket the fleeing 'Mechs, she takes her slower Assault 'Mech on an oblique path across a high plateau, hoping to intercept the raiders.  She notes that the Marik recon teams have been driving the ELH mad for three days of cat and mouse engagements, inflicting damage out of proportion to their numbers and weight.

Her interception is successful, and she engages a raider lance, with help from a pursuing ELH Phoenix Hawk and Shadow Hawk - piloted by her lieutenants, Jacobson and Chloe.  Together, they down a Jenner, but the other three 'Mechs escape into the concealment of a nearby forest.

Notes: The original sources never name the attacking unit, but it appears to be a Marik Militia force, given that its paint scheme is described as "distinctive Marik purples."  My bet would be either on the 3rd Marik Militia, which had a grudge against the ELH dating from 2952, when the ELH killed its CO on Cavanaugh II; or on the 30th Marik Militia, which was stationed on the Commonwealth border and known for hit-and-run attacks.

Where are the trademarked ELH jumping 5SE Thunderbolts when you need them?  Those are specifically designed for raiding and reconnaissance.  (Though, truthfully, adding four jump jets isn't going to let a 65-tonner keep pace with a Jenner.)

Other sources have reported that Hesperan foliage lacks chlorophyll, instead boasting a bright purple hue.  That would actually make the olive drab of the ELH stand out, and let the Marik Militia blend in.  It's too bad this scene didn't address that by describing the color of the forest.

Nice to see that Chloe got that Grave Walker Shadow Hawk she had her eye on.
"We have made of New Avalon a towering funeral pyre and wiped the Davion scourge from the universe.  Tikonov, Chesterton and Andurien are ours once more, and the cheers of the Capellan people nearly drown out the gnashing of our foes' teeth as they throw down their weapons in despair.  Now I am made First Lord of the Star League, and all shall bow down to me and pay homa...oooooo! Shiny thing!" - Maximillian Liao, "My Triumph", audio dictation, 3030.  Unpublished.

Mendrugo

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Date: August 27, 2998
 
Location: Hesperus II

Title: Endless War

Author: Randall N. Bills
 
Type: Short Story (MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries)

Synopsis: Exhausted from the constant recon raids and worried by the news that four more Marik regiments are inbound, Ryana joins her lieutenant, Chloe Reed in the ELH base cafeteria.  As she walks up, Chloe is discussing a piece of LosTech with an unidentified civilian.  Ryana is concerned about the lack of security detail for a non-cleared civilian, and the fact that Chloe is ignoring her while obsessing over technology. 

The civilian stands and introduces himself as Sebastian Spears, representing a consortium of citizens trying to save mankind's art treasures and LosTech - a group going by the name Interstellar Expeditions.  Ryana says she's never heard of them, and he acknowledges that they don't advertise.  He'd heard of Chloe's LosTech expertise, and decided to stop off to chat, using his high-level connections to get permission from both Mouttheim and Colonel Winston.  He apologizes for not having asked Ryana's permission.

Ryana is stunned by the implication of how wealthy and well-connected Mr. Spears must be.  Chloe interrupts, suggesting the burnt out piece of electronics might be a phased-array sensor system.  Spears concurs - saying their techs thought so, too, but couldn't get it to activate.  Chloe says that most of the components are burned out, but she was able to send a signal through its subsystems to verify her assessment.  She notes that it's a product of later Star League-era technology, produced close to the end.

Pleased, Spears tells Chloe he's doubled her consulting fee, and stands to leave.  Chloe asks to know more about where it came from, but he reminds her that the terms of the consultation contract require secrecy. 

After he departs, the two women laugh over the ludicrous situation.

Notes: The DLK series phased array targeting and tracking system was used in 'Mechs with stealth technology, including the Exterminator and Spector.  It's not quite from "the end of the Star League era," having been developed in 2630, a good 140 years before the Amaris civil war.

Interstellar Expeditions is far more recent, having been founded only 24 years earlier, in 2974, when the Star Group merged with the Mutual Exploration Network, joining academics to a cohort of wealthy but enthusiastic amateurs.  The "wealthy" part certainly buys them access in the Lyran Commonwealth, as it helped the Star Group leave behind its increasingly unsavory reputation as "mercenary archaeologists" and "treasure hunters."
« Last Edit: 09 January 2020, 21:20:21 by Mendrugo »
"We have made of New Avalon a towering funeral pyre and wiped the Davion scourge from the universe.  Tikonov, Chesterton and Andurien are ours once more, and the cheers of the Capellan people nearly drown out the gnashing of our foes' teeth as they throw down their weapons in despair.  Now I am made First Lord of the Star League, and all shall bow down to me and pay homa...oooooo! Shiny thing!" - Maximillian Liao, "My Triumph", audio dictation, 3030.  Unpublished.

VhenRa

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It was also used on a number of more mainline late-SL era machines.

Nightstar and the Thunder Hawk.

Mendrugo

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It was also used on a number of more mainline late-SL era machines.

Nightstar and the Thunder Hawk.

True, and both of those are from the end of the Star League era.  Perhaps Chloe was able to discern that the unit came from a Thunder Hawk or a Nightstar, and meant that the tech wasn't from the late Star League era, but this particular unit was from then.
"We have made of New Avalon a towering funeral pyre and wiped the Davion scourge from the universe.  Tikonov, Chesterton and Andurien are ours once more, and the cheers of the Capellan people nearly drown out the gnashing of our foes' teeth as they throw down their weapons in despair.  Now I am made First Lord of the Star League, and all shall bow down to me and pay homa...oooooo! Shiny thing!" - Maximillian Liao, "My Triumph", audio dictation, 3030.  Unpublished.

Mendrugo

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Date: September 9, 2998
 
Location: Hesperus II

Title: Endless War

Author: Randall N. Bills
 
Type: Short Story (MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries)

Synopsis: At the Eridani Light Horse field command tent, garrison commander Leutnant-General Mouttheim berates ELH Colonel Winston over the comm-line and threatens to bring the Light Horse before the Mercenary Review Board for contract violation if they fail to launch an immediate advance against the Marik landing zone.  Once Mouttheim closes the connection, Ryana strenuously objects, given that the Light Horse would be outnumbered two to one.

Colonel Winston asks what Ryana would do instead.  Pulling up terrain tables on the holotank, she displays three routes through the Myoo mountains to the Defiance Industries factory complexes, which the ELH doesn't have the manpower to blockade.  She expects the FLWM forces to come en masse through the lowest pass, since it's the widest, where their superior numbers will make the most difference.  She advocates for putting a single company in the low pass as bait, making the Marik commander think the ELH has split its forces among the three passes.  That company will be covered by all of the ELH's artillery assets, targeting the walls of the pass to bring it down.  She anticipates that the ELH can then descend on the portion of the FWL forces trapped on the uphill side of the barrier and destroy them in detail, while the remaining FWL forces will be reluctant to try their luck on another of the passes, for fear of the trap repeating itself. 

Colonel Winston turns to Major Nigel and comments, "You were right."  He approves Ryana's plan and orders her to put it into effect, noting that she will be directing the battle as operations commander from the field command post.  Ryana wonders if having her plan accepted is worth missing out on the thrill of combat.

Notes: I wonder exactly where the Marik forces landed.  The Melrose Valley stretches from the Myoo Mountains in the east to the Tatyana Archipelago in the west.  The capital city of Maria's Elegy (a terraced, enclosed town) and the main spaceport are at the eastern end, at the foothills of the Myoo range (where the monorail begins circa 3060), while the city of Maldon lies at the river's mouth on the far western edge.  There's no indication of where the "easily defensible city of Tallowrand" might be located.  Perhaps it lay astride the river at the valley's center.  In any event, the passes are likely in the foothills of the Myoo mountains, so the field command tent appears to be located east of the passes.  That being the case, why are they out in the upper plateau of the Myoo, a short distance from the Defiance complex, rather than commanding the defense of the factory from the Hesperus Guards' command bunker? 

Also, other accounts of DefHes note that the factory complex is deep within the mountain for defense, and has the exterior liberally covered with heavy artillery emplacements.  Shouldn't those be sited to be able to target the passes?  With thick walls and heavy artillery at his disposal, no wonder Mouttheim feels comfortable sending the Light Horse out to assault the Marik landing zone.  In his mind, the mercs might just live up to their reputation and take down two of the Marik regiments before being wiped out, and then his artillery can shut down the passes and keep the Marik remnants fended off until some real Lyran troops return with 'Mechs comfortably in the 95-100 ton range (with a few Zeuses for scouting.)

As far as "all the artillery" goes, if the TO&E of the 21st Striker looks in 2998 like it did in 3025, they have the Command Company's Artillery Lance (4 Long Toms), and Boomer Company's Command Lance (3 Long Toms).
"We have made of New Avalon a towering funeral pyre and wiped the Davion scourge from the universe.  Tikonov, Chesterton and Andurien are ours once more, and the cheers of the Capellan people nearly drown out the gnashing of our foes' teeth as they throw down their weapons in despair.  Now I am made First Lord of the Star League, and all shall bow down to me and pay homa...oooooo! Shiny thing!" - Maximillian Liao, "My Triumph", audio dictation, 3030.  Unpublished.

Mendrugo

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Date: September 11, 2998
 
Location: Hesperus II

Title: Endless War

Author: Randall N. Bills
 
Type: Short Story (MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries)

Synopsis: The artillery barrage has the desired effect, dropping 350,000 metric tons of rock onto the company of BattleMechs caught below.  House-sized bouldes bounce down the pass, tossing the massed Marik BattleMechs aside like toys.  A mushroom cloud of debris rises above the pass as the avalanche settles.

Captain Ryana Campbell oversees the carnage in the field command tent's holotank on a signal relayed from a reconnaissance flight, 50 kilometers back from the pass.  The ELH "bait" unit moves forward to engage the forward elements of the Marik task force, now cut off from their main body.  Ryana sees Chloe, now breveted to Captain, leading the charge in her Shadow Hawk

Within an hour, the trapped Marik forces have suffered 50% casualties, and signal surrender, while the main body begins a dispirited retreat to their landing zones.  Ryana notes that, under inspired leadership, the Marik forces could rally, push, and damage the Hesperus production lines, but notes that inspired leadership and House Marik are a rare combination.

Having had her first taste of high level command, she realizes that she can protect the entire Light Horse from the command tent, whereas she could only protect her company from her 'Mech.  As an ops commander, she'll continue to carry out the motto of the Northwind Highlanders, her former home unit, "No one can harm us unpunished."

Notes: This scene clarifies that the field command tent is 50 km east of the lower pass.  They're probably not far from the DefHes main plant.

While the Marik forces are stuck on the western edge of the blockade, the ELH are stuck on the eastern side.  Had the attackers been the Draconis Combine, I expect they would have taken the opportunity to raze the city of Maria's Elegy, burn down the spaceport, and sack Maldon on the way out.  After all, the factories may be intact, but production will slow while DefHes has to bring in an entirely new civilian workforce and train them up.  Perhaps that was the fate of the city of Tallowrand.

Colonel Winston is still in command in 3025, at the age of 63, making him 36 in this scene.  Interestingly, he's described as "middle aged" in "Endless War."  He's described as "short and thin" in the Mercenary's Handbook, while Randall described him as 15 centimeters taller than Mouttheim and built like a tank.  If we're assuming this is the same character, it would seem that Winston lost a massive amount of body mass over the next three decades.  It's unlikely he got significantly shorter, so that implies that Mouttheim is in the company of Victor Steiner-Davion or Clovis Holstein, height-wise, being six inches shorter than the "short and thin" Winston.  With a dizzying array of medals on his chest, one suspects Mouttheim might be compensating for something... 

Interestingly, there's a fanfic story posted in 2016 on the SpaceBattles boards, set on Hesperus II in 3000 and featuring the Eridani Light Horse and a General Moutthiem (i and e reversed).  I wonder if Randall moonlights there as GundamChief, or if this is entirely coincidental?

I would presume that the rubble was eventually cleared from the lower pass to allow passage again.  Perhaps the construction of the monorail coincided with the clearing of the pass.
« Last Edit: 10 January 2020, 09:47:19 by Mendrugo »
"We have made of New Avalon a towering funeral pyre and wiped the Davion scourge from the universe.  Tikonov, Chesterton and Andurien are ours once more, and the cheers of the Capellan people nearly drown out the gnashing of our foes' teeth as they throw down their weapons in despair.  Now I am made First Lord of the Star League, and all shall bow down to me and pay homa...oooooo! Shiny thing!" - Maximillian Liao, "My Triumph", audio dictation, 3030.  Unpublished.

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Date: March 3, 2999
 
Location: Al Na'ir

Title: Dissimulate Wanderer

Author: Randall N. Bills
 
Type: Short Story (MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries)

Synopsis: After a long day of BattleMech maintenance, Fahad Arzad slaloms his hoverbike through traffic in the capital city of Al Na'ir, Homai-Zaki en route to his friend's home, where he meets Joseph, Omar, and Alita, already started in on an evening of smoking, drinking, and political discussions.  He notes the contrast between his friends' lifestyle and the ascetic practices of the Arkab Legions, who strictly adhere to Azami law - which forbids such things, and is glad he and his friends - a Rasalhagian, an Azami from an observant family, and a darker-skinned Azami from a non-observant family, can still have fun.

They discuss the rumors circulating about an assassination attempt on the Coordinator by a member of the Order of the Five Pillars.  Fahad wishes the assassins, whoever they were, had wiped out the entire Kurita line, so that the Azami could be left alone.  His friends fall silent in shock - but not at his words.  His father, Jabal, enters the room and tells him he has brought shame upon his family with his blasphemy. 

Fahad begins to argue, but Jabal cuts him off with a stern slap to the face.  Angrily, Fahad declares that the Azami have a right to freedom from House Kurita, to no longer shed the blood of the Arkab Legions to fight the Kuritans' wars.  Jabal slaps him again and corrects his son, noting that the Azami sent a delegation to House Kurita in 2516 and made a pact to preserve the Azami's autonomy in the face of Combine expansionism.  He affirms that it is an honor for the Azami to fulfill their obligations to House Kurita, and to ensure that their own actions and words remain true to their obligations. 

Jabal tells Fahad he will never again be permitted to see his friends, but will be on double and triple work shifts until he has atoned for his lapse.  Dejected, Fahad shuffles outside in his father's wake, the door slamming behind him.

Notes: I was under the impression that, since Al Na'ir has low atmospheric pressure and a tainted atmosphere, that the cities were all underground dome cities, with climate control.  Thus, I was surprised when Fahad's hoverbike kicked up dust when he parked it.  Normally, I associate dust on the streets with dirt blowing in from adjacent plowed agricultural lands or the dust being soot from industrial output.  Neither should be an issue in a domed city, since the soot could be vented externally, and croplands, such as they are, would likely be hydroponic, and not subject to strong winds, in any event.  Perhaps the interior of the dome is made of native rock (so it's a cavern city, moreso than a domed city), and tectonic activity or mining detritus results in dust being emitted into the main habitat area.  The hoverbike is definitely appropriate, since the factories on Al Na'ir are known for their output of military hovercraft.

I wonder to what extent Jabal's intervention was in the name of family and societal honor, and how much was intentionally over the top chastisement to keep any ISF agents monitoring the conversation from murdering Fahad and his entire extended family?  Granted, the Capellan Confederation is more known for its thought police, but there must be swarms of ISF agents on Azami worlds, since their semi-autonomy makes them inherently the target of suspicion in the generally culturally homogeneous Combine.  Especially with city sizes limited by the underground construction, I wouldn't doubt that every living quarter is wired for sound, and selectively monitored by the ISF.  Heck, even the name - Internal Security Force - implies they spend most of their time watching their own citizens.  Though, I wonder if the Azami autonomy prohibits the ISF from operating on Azami worlds?  In that case, would the Azami have their own secret police? 

The Pact of 2516 granted the Azami full autonomy on their worlds, in exchange for full mineral rights, and the services of the Arkab Legions for defense of the Combine and cross-border attacks against their enemies.

Fahad mentions that he's only ever seen Jabal cry once - at the beauty of the rocks on Matamoras.  He resents that even his father's fury at his lifestyle hasn't brought any tears.  To me, this implies that Jabal only lets his softer emotions out for what he sees as the beauty of the works of Allah - as represented by the scouring winds of Matamoras.  Coming from Al Na'ir, it would make sense that his aesthetic sense would be oriented towards mineral beauty, since Al Na'ir has no native vegetation but does feature a wild array of crystalline growths and rock formations on its surface. 

Jabal clearly doesn't speak for all of the Azami.  Omar and Alita similarly rejected Azami traditions, and there was the whole Azami Brotherhood independence movement during the Jihad.  (I haven't read/played far enough to see if Fahad makes it out of MW5: Mercs alive, but he might just still kicking around in the Azami Brotherhood in the 3070s...though he'd be in his 90s by that point.)

Assassination attempts are relatively frequent for Coordinators.  Hohiro dies at the hands of one of his own bodyguards in 3004, Takashi survived several assassination attempts (one that locked him in a sabotaged 'Mech cockpit, one that disabled his DropShip in atmosphere, and one that involved his own ISF Director attempting to kill him during a kendo match, hiding a real sword under the wooden sparring blade, among others).  As usual, Theodore was an outlier - dying from a stroke rather than at an assassin's hand.  I'm guessing that the rumor mill's speculation that the O5P tried to assassinate the Coordinator was just blowing smoke, since Hohiro would've retaliated against the whole organization for such an attack...and an O5P monk certainly wouldn't be minding young Theodore in 3004.
"We have made of New Avalon a towering funeral pyre and wiped the Davion scourge from the universe.  Tikonov, Chesterton and Andurien are ours once more, and the cheers of the Capellan people nearly drown out the gnashing of our foes' teeth as they throw down their weapons in despair.  Now I am made First Lord of the Star League, and all shall bow down to me and pay homa...oooooo! Shiny thing!" - Maximillian Liao, "My Triumph", audio dictation, 3030.  Unpublished.

Mendrugo

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Date: 3000
 
Location: Holloway V

Title: End Run

Author: Alan Tucker
 
Type: Scenario (TCI Set #2 - Griffin and Locust)

Synopsis: On the small water-rich Draconis Combine world of Holloway V, the Combine has discovered three intact supply depots.  Reacting to the news, the Combine pulled together a scratch militia to defend the world while they dispatched a stronger BattleMech garrison force.  Unfortunately for the Combine, the 7th Crucis Lancers, returning from a deep raid, got there first.  They swatted aside the militia forces and forced the Planetary Defense Force's two AeroSpace fighters to retreat.  The surviving militia troops withdrew into the depots, where their techs had used the parts found inside to construct turrets, weapons emplacements, and remote detonated explosives. 

With the permanent garrison only days away, the 7th Lancers have to neutralize the command centers for the fixed defenses quickly, so they can loot the storehouses before DCMS reinforcements arrive.  The main body of the Lancers regiment launches a feint against the northern sector, but dispatches its scout lances on a seek and destroy mission.

Having scattered her 'Mech company to search for hidden enemy command posts, Captain Tsurami enters a small valley where her scanners detect fusion plants.  She spots a bunker hidden in some trees, guarded by a camouflaged Locust.  As she moves to engage the Locust, pop-up turrets emerge and open fire.  Nonetheless, Tsurami's Griffin punches through the defenses and steps on the bunker, crushing it like an egg.  However, the turrets continue firing, and are clearly not drawing their power from the ruined bunker.

The scenario pits a pristine GRF-1N Griffin atainst a LCT-1V Locust and three pop-up medium laser turrets (10 armor each, can only change facing one hex-side per turn), which may be placed anywhere as hidden units on two map sheets laid end to end.  To win, the Griffin needs to enter on the south side, reach the command bunker on the far end of the north side, spend one MP there, then exit off the south side again.

Historically, the Lancers successfully destroyed the command posts and gutted the depots before the DCMS garrison landed.

Notes: Holloway V does not appear on any official maps.  I have arbitrarily dated the scenario 3000, which allows for the world to have been damaged enough to be taken off the maps by 3025 (but, of course, would not explain its absence from the maps dating back to the Star League.)  The world may have been used as an SLDF outpost, but not formally settled (as a mining and farming colony) until the Third Succession War.  I can see the utility of the SLDF having supply depots on habitable but uninhabited worlds within the Combine's borders, since they faced by far the most hostility from the Combine (with a constant low-level conflict of unsanctioned 'ronin' duels directed at SLDF garrisons in what was referred to as "The First Hidden War.")  There are canon records of SLDF staging grounds and supply depots located on uninhabited worlds in the Draconis Rift (the irregular circle inside the Combine's borders that contains very few inhabited systems).

The assertion that espionage efforts led to the discovery of the three depots becoming common knowledge among all the Successor States before the DCMS could get a garrison there suggests either 1) every world, no matter how backwater, has active cells of Great House spies, and that the ISF team assigned to maintaining secrecy about the find on Holloway V was exceptionally incompetent; or 2) The ISF team on Holloway V reported the find up the chain, and ComStar ROM passed the intel surreptitiously to all the other states, since the last thing ComStar wanted was more tech falling into the hands of the Combine.  (Perhaps they hoped it would be destroyed in the fighting, since I'm sure they wouldn't have wanted it to fall into Davion hands either.)

#1 is possible.  We see in The Price of Glory that there are intelligence officers (the ambassadors) from each Great House on Helm, which is as backwater as they come circa 3028, given the low population and nuclear devastation.  However, I find #2 more likely.

The "bunker" predates any rules for buildings, so in this scenario, the Griffin just has to spend 1 MP to destroy it entirely.  Under modern rules, it would be classified as a Light or Medium building, with 54 or less CF, so that the Griffin could collapse the building by stepping on top of it.  The slow traverse of the turrets is an interesting game mechanic, and consistent with the description that these were kit-bashed out of centuries-old parts in a hurry, so their traverse mechanisms aren't as robust as the ones on a tank or a well-designed gun turret on an emplacement.

The scenario definitely favors the Griffin.  With the LRM-10 and PPC, the Griffin will get surprised by the turrets only the turn they emerge, and can quickly jump back out of range and pick the turrets off with long range fire.  The Locust doesn't have enough firepower to engage the Griffin head on, and doesn't have the armor to take much in the way of punishment.  The PPC will penetrate anywhere it hits except the Center Torso. 

For the Griffin, I would recommend a cautious approach (the scenario doesn't set a time limit).  When a turret pops up, weather the hit, then jump either out of range or, if that's not possible, jump to a facing towards which it cannot traverse in one turn.  Then pop it from the relative safety of its blind spot or from outside its effective range.  If there are no turrets currently up, take harassing shots at the Locust (though be mindful of your heat - this variant of the Griffin can run hot if you jump and fire continually).  Once the defenders are neutralized, move in and crush the bunker.

For the Locust, I would recommend placing the three turrets to cover the bunker - ideally on the ridge overlooking the bunker.  The Griffin will have to approach very close to that ridge to reach the bunker, and has to actually enter the space to eliminate the bunker.  (Due to scenario rules, for some reason, the Griffin can't just unload PPC blasts into it until it melts - stomping is mandatory.)  Then, when the Griffin enters the bunker space, have the turrets pop up en-masse and unload on the Griffin at point blank range.  Its ability to shoot back will be hampered by its minimum range modifiers.  Have the Locust dog the Griffin as it moves down the map, always using cover and speed to avoid incoming fire, and taking harassing shots when it can get close enough - definitely use any chance you get to take back shots when you win initiative.  If the dice roll your way, you may have thinned the armor enough that the massed laser fire can take it down at the bunker site.

While it would be possible to have the turrets pop up in a cluster to engage the Griffin further away from the target bunker, it's just too easy for the Griffin to get out of their way and destroy them safely from distance, so a last-minute ambush is, in my eyes, optimal.

At an industry trade show, while promoting the prototype BattleDroids game, FASA staff saw Twentieth Century Imports selling giant robot toy models (assembled from sprues) from the Dougram, Macross, and Crusher Joe and the Hunters series.  They signed a deal to buy a huge supply of TCI's stock.  Each BattleDroids box would contain two sprues for 'Mechs, and additional sets would include more sprues with additional 'Mechs.  These were cheap enough that, when doing demonstration games at conventions, they would break, burn, and melt the miniatures to reflect the damage being done to them - a real crowd-pleaser at the time.  The models are articulated at the joints, so they can be posed in several positions.

Each of the twelve TCI model sets came with assembly instructions, 'Mech stats, and a scenario pitting the two 'Mechs against each other.  TCI claimed 1986 copyright on the contents and packaging, while FASA claimed 1985 copyright on the BattleTech and Concepts.  Nitto corporation did the molding, and Tatsunoko Productions and Nippan Sunrise were credited with the intellectual property for the originating shows. 

No author is credited in this scenario booklet, but later ones in the series give writing credit to Alan Tucker, so I assume he did all of them.  It's unclear whether Alan Tucker was a FASA staffer writing the scenario, or if someone from TCI wrote the scenario.  Interestingly, the spelling conventions used are British ("defence" instead of "defense").
« Last Edit: 13 January 2020, 10:22:16 by Mendrugo »
"We have made of New Avalon a towering funeral pyre and wiped the Davion scourge from the universe.  Tikonov, Chesterton and Andurien are ours once more, and the cheers of the Capellan people nearly drown out the gnashing of our foes' teeth as they throw down their weapons in despair.  Now I am made First Lord of the Star League, and all shall bow down to me and pay homa...oooooo! Shiny thing!" - Maximillian Liao, "My Triumph", audio dictation, 3030.  Unpublished.

Mendrugo

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Date: 3001
 
Location: Unknown

Title: Quicksand

Author: Alan Tucker
 
Type: Scenario (TCI Set #6 - Rifleman and Warhammer)

Synopsis: Ben Slayton's unit has dropped onto New Eden city in a stealth night raid, catching the garrison unaware and massacring them at their barracks.  With the primary opposition neutralized, the raiders sweep through the streets of New Eden city to mop up the few surviving garrison 'Mechs.  As dawn breaks, Slayton's Warhammer chases a Rifleman out of the city into a swamp, and is just about to give up the pursuit when it turns to fight. 

Advancing towards the enemy, Slayton's 'Mech plunges into a concealed patch of quicksand, sinking up to its shoulders and unable to fire its weapons.  The Rifleman takes advantage of the Warhammer's predicament and peppers Slayton's ride with laser fire.  As the Warhammer crawls out of the slime, Slayton realizes he can't tell the difference between quicksand and solid ground.

The Rifleman pilot, DeGreve, has done practice maneuvers in these swamps, and lured the raider to the swamp to take advantage of the quicksand.  Historically, DeGreve used superior knowledge of the local terrain to immobilize the Warhammer and score a fatal head shot.

On two BattleTech maps laid end to end, the Rifleman player is allowed to secretly designate 20 as quicksand.  When a 'Mech enters that space, it automatically falls in, and cannot fire any weapons.  It receives partial cover while submerged.  The following turn, the 'Mech may fire any weapon but the PPCs.  The third turn, the 'Mech is placed in an adjacent hex and may operate normally.

Notes: The lack of a time limit makes this potentially challenging scenario merely a battle of two turrets.  The Rifleman's AC/5s and the Warhammer's PPCs have the same range profile.  All the Warhammer has to do is back up to the edge of the map and stand still.  If the Rifleman wants to engage, it has to come into range, and the Warhammer outguns the Rifleman at all ranges, and has more armor.  If Slayton had been given a time limit, that would have forced the Warhammer player to advance to try to pin the Rifleman in a corner, or risk the Rifleman just running out the clock. 

About the best thing the Rifleman can do is put quicksand barriers around every Woods space or every spot that could provide partial cover, and then trade fire from inside woods or behind a rock outcrop.  The scenario suggests the Rifleman can close to physical attack range, shove the Warhammer into an adjacent quicksand space, and then fall back, but the Warhammer's close-in weaponry still outclasses the Rifleman's, and the Rifleman is likely to take a 14-point kick to the shins (which would breach its 12 points of armor there) while trying to shove the Warhammer into the muck.  (Plus, looking at the design, the SRM-6 should always be able to fire unless the Warhammer is completely submerged, since it's on an elevated mount.)

The date of 3001 is arbitrary. 

There's no canon world with a city of New Eden on it, though the name suggests it was a colony founded by colonists seeking a new paradise.  It's probably not on the world of Eden, which is a Clan Pentagon world (unless this takes place on Eden during the Pentagon Civil War, with both sides being part of rival factions -  Levic Ascendancy, the McDonald Collective, the People's Congress or the Sarbat Khanate - but Eden is described as a dry world, so a swamp with quicksand would be rare). 

I could see it being on the worlds of Second Chance, Second Try, New Home, New Earth, New Hope, etc.  Or, it could be a Periphery independent being hit by bandits.  The fact that the garrison was taken completely by surprise and wiped out in their barracks suggests that the garrison faction has no deep space monitoring equipment, because even raiders appearing at a pirate point would take a few hours to get on the ground.
« Last Edit: 13 January 2020, 21:01:02 by Mendrugo »
"We have made of New Avalon a towering funeral pyre and wiped the Davion scourge from the universe.  Tikonov, Chesterton and Andurien are ours once more, and the cheers of the Capellan people nearly drown out the gnashing of our foes' teeth as they throw down their weapons in despair.  Now I am made First Lord of the Star League, and all shall bow down to me and pay homa...oooooo! Shiny thing!" - Maximillian Liao, "My Triumph", audio dictation, 3030.  Unpublished.

Mendrugo

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Date: August 3, 3001
 
Location: Al Na'ir

Title: Dissimulate Wanderer

Author: Randall N. Bills
 
Type: Short Story (MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries)

Synopsis: At the military HQ in Homai-Zaki, the entire Second Arkab Legion and their supporting armor and infantry regiments stand ready for inspection, led by the commander's Atlas.  Facing them are the command companies of the 8th and 15th Dieron Regulars, present for the official change of command ceremony - with the Legion and its support troops departing for Tannil and being replaced by the Regulars.  The Warlord of Dieron is in attendance as well, attended by troops from the Fifth Sword of Light.

Fahad watches the ceremony from the BattleMech assembly center on the southwest side of the complex.  The technical support staff will remain, permanently attached to the headquarters on Al Na'ir.  Fahad alternately wishes he were anywhere else but Al Na'ir, and that the Arkab Legions were engaged in battle against the DCMS troops.  He reflects on how he's managed to live within his father's tight restrictions, and still managed to see his friends and discuss the politics of freedom for the Azami every few months.

As the ceremony breaks up, the Warlord and his officers pass by where Fahad and his father's technical team are standing at attention.  Fahad hears the Warlord telling his aides that the Azami cannot be trusted, and that it was his suggestion to the Coordinator to move them off the strategic world of Al Na'ir and bring in more reliable troops. 

Fahad is outraged at the disrespect shown, given that the Arkab Legions have fought loyally for the Dragon for half a millennium.  Jabal gives him and the other techs a glance that communicated "you heard nothing."  He tells Fahad that what matters is actions.  Fahad resolves to tell his friends of the Warlord's arrogance the next time he sees his friends, in a few months.

Notes: There's nothing known of Tannil other than its status as the 2nd Arkab Legion's duty posting from 3025 onwards (now updated to 3001 onwards).  It's a jump back from the border, so probably less subject to regular raids, but still vulnerable to the occasional deep raid.  More importantly, it is a support staging point from which the Legion can reinforce numerous threatened border worlds. 

One of the things that struck me as I went through the MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries storyline is how frequent internal revolts against the central government were, both in the Combine and the Federated Suns (and presumably in other Successor States as well).  The Azami aren't the only people yearning to set their own course without the demands for blood and tribute from the central government. 

This is particularly true in the Combine.  From 2963 onwards, Coordinator Hohiro Kurita imposed a series of "reforms" known as the "Dragon Renewals," which systematically stripped resources and freedoms from the people of the Combine in an effort to maximize the realm's military and bend the realm to his will.  He eliminated health care for the lower classes, mandated Japanese as the sole official language (though that was dropped after mass protests), nationalized industries, and centralized military command decisions, stripping authority from the Warlords, and driving his troops brutally, inflicting terrible punishments for dereliction or cowardice.  He relented in 2999, authorizing massive festivals and celebrations to ring in the millennium (and showcase Takashi's elevation to head of the Otomo), but then clamped down even harder afterwards to "strip away the laziness caused by the celebrations."

Consider Jabal's attitude in the light of Hohiro's rule.  As an autonomous collection of worlds within the Combine, the "Dragon Renewals" wouldn't have hit the Azami as hard as they did the rest of the Combine.  The Arkab Legions weren't abused like the District Regulars were.  Azami social services would still be funded by the Azami self-rule government out of locally collected taxes.  Jabal must know how good, comparatively, the Azami have it, and doesn't want to risk rocking the boat and ending the protections that the Pact provides against Hohiro's rule.  If the Azami have to put up with arrogance and disrespect from outsiders in order to retain and enjoy their autonomy, it's a small price to pay to avoid the poverty and terror that pervade daily life outside the Azami enclaves.  I'm surprised, though, that Fahad's pal Joseph, from the Rasalhague Military District, hasn't put things in context for him - if Fahad thinks the Azami have it bad, he should spend a day in a Rasalhagian's boots.  (Ha - like they can afford boots...) 

The 5th Sword of Light is referred to as "the creme de la creme" of the entire DCMS.  Which makes them being used as mecha-mook punching bags for the Kell Hounds that much more ludicrous.
"We have made of New Avalon a towering funeral pyre and wiped the Davion scourge from the universe.  Tikonov, Chesterton and Andurien are ours once more, and the cheers of the Capellan people nearly drown out the gnashing of our foes' teeth as they throw down their weapons in despair.  Now I am made First Lord of the Star League, and all shall bow down to me and pay homa...oooooo! Shiny thing!" - Maximillian Liao, "My Triumph", audio dictation, 3030.  Unpublished.

Frabby

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Holloway V does not appear on any official maps. I have arbitrarily dated the scenario 3000, which allows for the world to have been damaged enough to be taken off the maps by 3025 (but, of course, would not explain its absence from the maps dating back to the Star League.)

As per this official ruling from Øystein, "as a general rule, any "missing" Great House world mentioned post-3020s is deemed to be a secondary system some place, or an alternative name to a world".
While admittedly this is only a general rule and also technically only applies to post-3020, I tend to apply this as a default. Consequently, I'd either place Holloway V in the periphery or postulate that it is on the starmaps under another, better known name.

As for dating, I similarly tend to use 3025 or slightly pior as the default year for any undated early BattleTech material on general principle.
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Mendrugo

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As per this official ruling from Øystein, "as a general rule, any "missing" Great House world mentioned post-3020s is deemed to be a secondary system some place, or an alternative name to a world".
While admittedly this is only a general rule and also technically only applies to post-3020, I tend to apply this as a default. Consequently, I'd either place Holloway V in the periphery or postulate that it is on the starmaps under another, better known name.

As for dating, I similarly tend to use 3025 or slightly pior as the default year for any undated early BattleTech material on general principle.

Given the setup, Holloway V has to be near the Combine/FedSuns border, since the Lancers were able to quickly divert to it while returning from a deep raid into the Combine.

After the events of the Second Hidden War and Operation SMOTHER, it makes a lot of sense for there to be SLDF depots along the border, given the history of trouble between the two states.

The naming convention makes it hard for it to be in an existing system - it should, by rights, be the fifth world in the Holloway star system. 

Outpost worlds are a definite possibility - the old sourcebooks are rife with unmapped places like Newbraska, Dogg, Rahway II, Dragon’s Field, Derby, and Longbow Mountain.  In my head-canon, those are outposts - lacking a civilian government.  There might be raw material extraction operations there, but no real domestic economy, local politics, or native-born population.  The populace consists of workers brought in to mine, or farm, or service mercs on R&R, or staff a staging depot, but lacks the political structures that would get it on ComStar’s radar.

Or, it could have had a political structure but appeared, then failed, between the start and end of the Third Succession War, so it wouldn’t show up on the maps thus far available.

I put it in 3000 so that either a mayfly duration failed colony-to-be or outpost world explanation works.  Using 3025 would eliminate the “failed colony” option.
« Last Edit: 13 January 2020, 09:36:05 by Mendrugo »
"We have made of New Avalon a towering funeral pyre and wiped the Davion scourge from the universe.  Tikonov, Chesterton and Andurien are ours once more, and the cheers of the Capellan people nearly drown out the gnashing of our foes' teeth as they throw down their weapons in despair.  Now I am made First Lord of the Star League, and all shall bow down to me and pay homa...oooooo! Shiny thing!" - Maximillian Liao, "My Triumph", audio dictation, 3030.  Unpublished.

Mendrugo

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Date: April 23, 3022
 
Location: New London

Title: Operation MAD HOUSE

Author: Alan Tucker
 
Type: Scenario (TCI Set #3 - Thunderbolt and BattleMaster)

Synopsis: House Marik staged a battalion drop against the Federated Suns agricultural world of New London, which appeared to lack any strategic significance.  The LCCC planning staff who launched the operation were executed afterwards.

While the world of New London was garrisoned only by the few personal guards of its Baron, the system was hosting wargame exercises between four Union DropShips and a large number of aerospace fighters when the Marik battalion arrived aboard two DropShips.  The Marik fighter escorts were outnumbered ten to one, and the Unions destroyed the Marik Overlord as it was dropping its 'Mechs, leaving battalion commander Major McFarlen as the sole survivor. 

The other Marik DropShip, the Leopard-class Anarchist, attempted to recover the survivors, but McFarlen landed 20 km east of the drop site in a damaged BattleMaster.  Between him and rescue stands one of the Baron's guards, Lt. Soulflec, in a Thunderbolt.

Soulflec's goal is to destroy the BattleMaster, while McFarlen's is to maneuver past the Thunderbolt and exit off the far edge of the map.  Historically, McFarlen never made it back to the pick-up site.

Notes: In terms of the scenario, it's a pretty straightforward breakthrough scenario.  The BattleMaster has been damaged to make it equal with the 20-ton lighter Thunderbolt.  Both are 4/6, which is good.  If the escaping side is too mobile, breakthrough scenarios lose their challenge.  The Thunderbolt should try to engage at range as much as possible, since it has the Large Laser and LRMs, while the BattleMaster only has the PPC.  Once things get into close quarters (9 or fewer hexes), the BattleMaster's laser and SRM batteries come into play, massively outgunning the Thunderbolt's close quarter weapons.  The BattleMaster has better skill, so it can afford to run and gun.

Where things get weird is the setup.  As usual for the early products, the world in question doesn't technically exist in canon.  While there is a canon city of New London (the capital of Skye), this is explicitly described as an agricultural world in the Federated Suns.  It's not out of the question for the Free Worlds League to raid across the Capellan Confederation into the Federated Suns, but it is highly unusual.  Hornet's Nest, in 3022, featured a Marik-financed mercenary raid on the Davion world of Demeter.  So, perhaps the raid on New London was part of the same operation that called for a raid on Demeter.  The rationale is lampshaded as inexplicable, and can't even be described as a token strike against the "enemy of my enemy" by the FWL as part of the newly signed Kapteyn Accords, because those weren't signed until after the Demeter raid. 

The world of New London can be described as a secondary world in an established system, with a small agricultural colony there that feeds the larger world in the system.  Perhaps, given the timing, New London is in the Demeter system.  In that case, the raid on Demeter came off okay, but the raid on New London was intercepted by AFFS space forces engaged in war games.

It's an odd statement to make that this was one of the few decisive Naval battles ever fought during the Succession Wars.  Especially given all the decisive naval battles of the First and Second Succession Wars, and the Great Lee Turkey Shoot.
« Last Edit: 14 January 2020, 01:31:50 by Mendrugo »
"We have made of New Avalon a towering funeral pyre and wiped the Davion scourge from the universe.  Tikonov, Chesterton and Andurien are ours once more, and the cheers of the Capellan people nearly drown out the gnashing of our foes' teeth as they throw down their weapons in despair.  Now I am made First Lord of the Star League, and all shall bow down to me and pay homa...oooooo! Shiny thing!" - Maximillian Liao, "My Triumph", audio dictation, 3030.  Unpublished.

Frabby

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At least this time we have some hint regarding the timeframe. After the 3002 debacle at Solaris VII Willis Crawford was famously the first Marik officer to be executed following a court martial in over a century. We're therefore looking at a "decisive naval engagement" from the 3rd SW era and it must have taken place later than 3002.
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Mendrugo

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If the Marik fighters were truly outnumbered 10-to-1, that puts the AFFS fighter contingent at 60, equating to three Wings (AFFS uses 20 fighters per wing), or an Aero Regiment.

The only question is why they were attached to four Unions.  You'd think there'd be Vengeances or a pile of Leopard CVs involved.  Perhaps the fighters were ground-based on New London for the purpose of the exercise (though a wing doing hostile intercept training exercises, for true verisimilitude, should be deploying from DropShips), or perhaps the Unions were retrofitted as fighter-carriers (Union CV?). 
"We have made of New Avalon a towering funeral pyre and wiped the Davion scourge from the universe.  Tikonov, Chesterton and Andurien are ours once more, and the cheers of the Capellan people nearly drown out the gnashing of our foes' teeth as they throw down their weapons in despair.  Now I am made First Lord of the Star League, and all shall bow down to me and pay homa...oooooo! Shiny thing!" - Maximillian Liao, "My Triumph", audio dictation, 3030.  Unpublished.

Liam's Ghost

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A potential (though also potentially inelegant) solution to these planets that don't appear on the map might be that the  name of the planet is simply different from its parent star, and the canon maps chart star systems, not individual worlds.

Not even necessarily because there are other planets in the system, but just because the people who made it their home chose another name than the astronomers who named their star. Whether the star's name (like Rigil Kentaurus, Altair, or the like) or the planet's name (like Hesperus II) goes on the chart might just come down to habit (We've been calling it Vega since before we knew there were planets around it, damnit!), reputation (Coventry has brand recognition, Coventry III sounds like when the series hits its low point), or luck (I heard Demeter and New London, but the Star League Bureau of Planets only gave me one spot for a name, so I flipped a coin).
Good news is the lab boys say the symptoms of asbestos poisoning show an immediate latency of 44.6 years. So if you're thirty or over you're laughing. Worst case scenario you miss out on a few rounds of canasta, plus you've forwarded the cause of science by three centuries. I punch those numbers into my calculator, it makes a happy face.

(indirect accessory to the) Slayer of Monitors!

Mendrugo

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A potential (though also potentially inelegant) solution to these planets that don't appear on the map might be that the  name of the planet is simply different from its parent star, and the canon maps chart star systems, not individual worlds.

Not even necessarily because there are other planets in the system, but just because the people who made it their home chose another name than the astronomers who named their star. Whether the star's name (like Rigil Kentaurus, Altair, or the like) or the planet's name (like Hesperus II) goes on the chart might just come down to habit (We've been calling it Vega since before we knew there were planets around it, damnit!), reputation (Coventry has brand recognition, Coventry III sounds like when the series hits its low point), or luck (I heard Demeter and New London, but the Star League Bureau of Planets only gave me one spot for a name, so I flipped a coin).

The standard model for the starmap labels is for the notation on the map to be for the primary colony in that system, rather than to be named after the star.  Thus, though Verthandi is technically Norn II, the label on the map is Verthandi.  Even though there are other inhabited bodies in the Hesperus system (a mining colony and a penal colony), the main colony is on Hesperus II, so that gets the label.  On the other hand, the Sirius system featured three inhabited bodies, with the primary being Sirius IV (until the dome there got blown up) and then being Sirius VIa.  Yet, rather than the label being "Sirius VIa," they just call it the Sirius system.  In the Periphery, both Niops and Mica show each colony in the system as a separate circle in a tight cluster, but no other multi-colony systems are thusly represented.

If an apocryphal world has a non-numbered name, I would presume that it's a secondary settlement in an existing system, where the map label ignores its existence.  If an apocryphal world has a numbered name, I would assume that it's a minor world in an existing system that is named after the star, while the primary colony has earned another more distinctive name.  Or, that it's a minor outpost without a civilian government (like Dogg, in "I Am Jade Falcon," which was used as a military storage depot, but didn't have a permanent population and so was left off the maps).  One entry in MechWarrior 2E's section on nobility pointed out that one FedSuns noble, for example, technically controlled 17 systems, but only one had a significant settlement in it.  The rest were uninhabited, or only home to mining outposts.
« Last Edit: 14 January 2020, 03:03:57 by Mendrugo »
"We have made of New Avalon a towering funeral pyre and wiped the Davion scourge from the universe.  Tikonov, Chesterton and Andurien are ours once more, and the cheers of the Capellan people nearly drown out the gnashing of our foes' teeth as they throw down their weapons in despair.  Now I am made First Lord of the Star League, and all shall bow down to me and pay homa...oooooo! Shiny thing!" - Maximillian Liao, "My Triumph", audio dictation, 3030.  Unpublished.

Mendrugo

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Date: February 25, 3002
 
Location: Al Na'ir

Title: Dissimulate Wanderer

Author: Randall N. Bills
 
Type: Short Story (MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries)

Synopsis: Sabotaged components cause a massive explosion at the Yori 'Mech Works assembly plant, resulting in damage that wouldn't be fully repaired until 3009, the resignation of the CEO and members of the board, and the Warlord of Dieron's loss of face.  Those consequences are all years in the future.

In the immediate aftermath of the explosion, Jabal bursts into Fahad's room and demands he tell him he was not involved.  Fahad fails to play innocent, and Jabal tells him he is ashamed of Fahad's lies.  He prays that no evidence of Fahad's sabotage is discovered, lest the ISF come for their family, or the whole of the Dragon take vengeance upon the Azami people.  To avoid those consequences, Jabal says, he will tell nobody.  However, from this moment onwards, Fahad is cast out - from the family, and from the Azami.  He is now "altayih" - a wanderer. 

Fahad quietly packs and departs.  He'd expected severing ties to have hurt more.

Notes: This answers my earlier question - is the ISF present on Azami worlds, or does their autonomy shield them from the Eyes of the Dragon?  Monitoring does not appear to be ubiquitous, since Fahad was able to make comments like "Boy do I wish the Coordinator was dead" without ISF ninjas crashing through the window, katana in hand.

Jabal's fears are well grounded, given how much the rest of the Combine was suffering at this point now that the year of celebration was over and Coordinator Hohiro was back in crack-down mode.  Odds are that the Azami don't have offworld news sources of their own, and rely on the same Voice of the Dragon propaganda broadcasts everyone else sees.  Like many in totalitarian societies, they may have developed a skill at reading between the lines to figure out the truth by dint of what is not said.

When somebody is declared "altayih," I wonder how that status is communicated in the community?  Jabal certainly can't say why, lest he draw ISF attention.  Perhaps this happens often enough that everyone will just nod solemnly and move on.  Or will Jabal formally register Fahad's new status with the central Azami government? 

Right now, when the Dragon is strong and harsh, Fahad is cast out for daring to strike a blow against its infrastructure.  However, decades later, when the Azami worlds were in crisis during the Jihad, and the Dragon proved too weak and distracted to provide assistance, the Azami Brotherhood temporarily seceded from the Combine.  Fahad was just ahead of his time.
"We have made of New Avalon a towering funeral pyre and wiped the Davion scourge from the universe.  Tikonov, Chesterton and Andurien are ours once more, and the cheers of the Capellan people nearly drown out the gnashing of our foes' teeth as they throw down their weapons in despair.  Now I am made First Lord of the Star League, and all shall bow down to me and pay homa...oooooo! Shiny thing!" - Maximillian Liao, "My Triumph", audio dictation, 3030.  Unpublished.

Liam's Ghost

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The standard model for the starmap labels is for the notation on the map to be for the primary colony in that system, rather than to be named after the star.  Thus, though Verthandi is technically Norn II, the label on the map is Verthandi.  Even though there are other inhabited bodies in the Hesperus system (a mining colony and a penal colony), the main colony is on Hesperus II, so that gets the label.  On the other hand, the Sirius system featured three inhabited bodies, with the primary being Sirius IV (until the dome there got blown up) and then being Sirius VIa.  Yet, rather than the label being "Sirius VIa," they just call it the Sirius system.  In the Periphery, both Niops and Mica show each colony in the system as a separate circle in a tight cluster, but no other multi-colony systems are thusly represented.

I'm not entirely convinced that's the standard practice. Lots of systems on the map carry the names of just their stars. which we know because the names for those stars are real world names for the stars that date back centuries. I find it hard to believe that people were in the habit of naming their new homes after the stars they happened to be orbiting around without bothering for any differentiation.

I would assume the practice of conflating the two would actually come from outsiders and chart makers, simply to avoid confusion over things they don't care about. Jump navigators don't care so much what a planet is called, because they use the stars as aiming points.
Good news is the lab boys say the symptoms of asbestos poisoning show an immediate latency of 44.6 years. So if you're thirty or over you're laughing. Worst case scenario you miss out on a few rounds of canasta, plus you've forwarded the cause of science by three centuries. I punch those numbers into my calculator, it makes a happy face.

(indirect accessory to the) Slayer of Monitors!

Mendrugo

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Date: June 17, 3002
 
Location: Maldive

Title: Unlimited Honor

Author: Michael A. Stackpole
 
Type: Novella (HBS BattleTech)

Synopsis: At the Collective Center in Rivergaard, Steadfast Court waits outside the First Proctor's office, reflecting how she'd used her psychology training to help Ian Levine remake Litzau University into the Golden Prosperity Reeducation Camp, and how she'd risen in stature after his murder and the subsequent purge of corrupt proctors, though, per the ideals of the revolution, she does not expect praise, since having any one person be better than another reflects counter-revolutionary hierarchical thinking.

The First Proctor, a gray-haired woman, welcomes Steadfast and tells her that her efforts to denounce her peers and those in supervisory positions has been noted, paired with the suggestion that one responsible for so many purges might herself be a counterrevolutionary.  The First Proctor questions Steadfast's adoption of that name over her birth name of Bethany, but notes that she only joined the movement after it was launched.  Although the First Proctor says that Steadfast's work at Golden Prosperity is exemplary, she cautions that her pursuit of purity may hinder practicality.  She notes that Steadfast denounced state-run holovid broadcasts of Solaris VII fights and other lowbrow entertainments, and counsels her that the 'Mech battles can provide a shared, tribalistic experience and appeals to the emotions of the masses.

The First Proctor adds that the content shown on Maldive has been heavily edited by servants of the Revolution to control storylines and outcomes in service of the goals of the Revolution.  Plus, she adds, the interactive toys based on the matches have dialogue that supports the ideals of the Revolution, and families who work hard and save to buy the toys support the Revolution with their labor.  She advises Steadfast to focus on the bigger picture, and accept that some small things need to be overlooked from time to time.

Steadfast worries that such laxity could harm the purity of the Revolution and invite corruption and betrayal.  The First Proctor says she admires her zeal and charges her with a secret project - leaving Golden Prosperity and taking on the job of breaking the will of Abigail Litzau.

Notes: This scene serves as a status update following the Solaris VII interlude (the Collective controls the cities and has established trade ties with some Inner Sphere governments, the Resistance is still operating in the countryside, and the Revolution has entered a 1984-esque phase of focusing on thought-control and re-education.)  It's not clear what the two groups have been doing to battle each other, nor where the general rank and file stand, but the implication is that the Collective is attempting to win hearts and minds through propaganda and youth indoctrination.  I wouldn't expect the anti-Collective forces to be terribly good at guerrilla warfare, since they're largely composed of the former elites (the First Families) and their retainers, and would by training and outlook focus more on stand-up 'Mech battles. 

The scene establishes Steadfast as a fanatical true-believer in the utopian egalitarian ideals of the Collective, who is more than happy to use the Collective's utopian ideals as a benchmark for how herself and all others should behave.  The First Proctor is set up as a far more pragmatic individual who realizes she's been handed a rabid dog and is now relocating that dangerous animal to somewhere where it will stop chewing up and spitting out other key members of the Collective's hierarchy in the name of purity.  Her comment about Steadfast not having been involved in the Collective's planning stages suggest either there are elements of the plan that Steadfast doesn't know, or that the Collective leadership isn't as committed to the ideals they've promulgated as Steadfast herself is.

Steadfast is written as a stock revolutionary convert, who has cast aside her old life without hesitation and embraced the tenets of the NewThink with fanatical devotion.  She would fit seamlessly into the guillotine phase of the French Revolution, the early Soviet period of post-revolutionary consolidation, or an Amway convention.  As such, with this being a Stackpole novel, we're unlikely to see much in the way of additional character development from Steadfast/Bethany - who will instead play the role of "completely unrelatable antagonist character whose downfall the audience will cheer when she gets her rightful comeuppance from the heroes."  Honestly, she was written as such a purist and fanatic that I was half convinced, when the First Proctor said that some small infractions should be overlooked, that Steadfast was going to lunge out of her chair and snap the older woman's neck, then declare herself First Proctor, unwilling to tolerate deviation from utopian ideals from anyone.

The fact that she acquiesces suggests that Steadfast does, in fact, recognize a hierarchy.  Heck, she references denouncing supervisors for not punishing their subordinates, and then denouncing the supervisors to their supervisors.  She notes that she has a staff of dozens at the re-education center, but doesn't question that she's giving the orders and they're carrying them out.  Were she a true egalitarian, she'd have to question why she's giving orders and they're taking them. 

I feel sure that the mention of the holovids from Solaris VII getting edited for the Collective's purposes suggests a set-up for the crew from Solaris VII coming home vilified.
"We have made of New Avalon a towering funeral pyre and wiped the Davion scourge from the universe.  Tikonov, Chesterton and Andurien are ours once more, and the cheers of the Capellan people nearly drown out the gnashing of our foes' teeth as they throw down their weapons in despair.  Now I am made First Lord of the Star League, and all shall bow down to me and pay homa...oooooo! Shiny thing!" - Maximillian Liao, "My Triumph", audio dictation, 3030.  Unpublished.

Mendrugo

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Date: June 19, 3002
 
Location: Maldive

Title: Unlimited Honor

Author: Michael A. Stackpole
 
Type: Novella (HBS BattleTech)

Synopsis: Chairman Stephan Andrich, head of the Andrich Foundation receives Ciena Keele, a representative from the Barringtons, at his luxurious ancestral home, outside of the city of Richland, both of which had been built with the proceeds from House Andrich's arms manufacturing business, founded by the House progenitor, Anselm Andrich. 

The two go outside to chat as they walk, in hopes of foiling any surveillance by Collective agents.  Andrich comments that he was surprised to receive a meeting request from the Barringtons, given their close relationship with the Collective - manufacturing toys based on Solaris VII broadcasts.  Keele responds that the Barringtons are well aware that no revolution that advocates giving power to the people has ever survived, whereas the industrial-feudal system that concentrates power in the hands of the elites is a mainstay of human civilization.  She says Barringtons' analysis of the Collective predicts a collapse of the revolution, followed by a cycle of bloody revenge against those seen to have collaborated.  Barringtons wants friends among the opposition who can provide protection.

Keele tells Andrich that, per her analysis, the optimal return to stability on Maldive involves a Litzau restoration.  Andrich is skeptical, since all but Abigail are dead or fled offworld, and Abigail has been captured and tried for treason and crimes against humanity.  Keele agrees, but notes that Andrich is descended from the Litzau line, and only seven cousins stand between him and the Chair - only four if Ivan, Sophia, and Abigail are assumed to be dead or otherwise out of the running.  She adds that those four have either signed away their rights or are in hiding.  While Abigail's shares (and heritage) would fall to Richard Oglethorpe, their marriage was done without official records, and Oglethorpe has been a shell of his former self since Abigail's capture, and paranoid about traitors.

Given the options, Keele continues, Andrich is stable, has the proper pedigree, and has access to far more 'Mechs, spare parts, and munitions than his Andrich Uhlans will ever use.  She explains that the Collective hasn't attacked them because it doesn't realize they're holding 50% of their output back, sending only 30% to the Collective, and assesses the Uhlans as unskilled, and therefore no threat.  Keele says that she has a good use for the stockpiled equipment - having brought in mercenary MechWarriors as "guest workers" - describing them as technical consultants for their Solaris VII licensed toys and games. 

Keele proposes having Andrich lead an assault on Rivergaard with her mercenaries and his equipment, executing a Litzau restoration.  In exchange, Barringtons would get permission to continue manufacturing on Maldive and preferable tax status for exports into the Capellan and FWL markets.  She leaves him with a prospectus for a new educational game, simulating a counterrevolution.  She invites his input.  Andrich suggests such a product might be a huge success.

Notes: In the introductory novella for this series, when the Dhivi were introduced, one character noted that when you get two Dhivi together, you create at least three conspiracies.  Stackpole is showcasing that trait here.

It appears that many of the non-assimilated elites still on Maldive are assuming positions of guarded neutrality, providing resources to both sides.  They don't want to directly oppose the Collective, lest they get lumped in with the Resistance and subjected to a frontal assault against their holdings, but they don't want the Resistance to lose, lest the unopposed Collective turn its eyes towards their luxury estates and wealth.  So, they play for time while pitting both factions against each other. 

The offer Keele is proposing seems far too good to be true, so I'm guessing she's up to something.  Perhaps she's a stalking horse for the Collective - trying to get the Andrich Uhlans out of their strongpoints and on the offensive so that the Collective can crush them and take full control of their munitions plants.  Or perhaps she's an agent of the MIIO or Maskirovka, trying to bring the independent world into one of the neighboring Successor States' grasp.   (Sure thing - Litzau Restoration...only now you pay 20% of your tax revenue, off the top, to Sian.)

The bit about the "technical consultants for games" being undercover mercenaries is fun - since it's essentially meta-portraying FASA/Catalyst as a shadowy organization whose "writers" and "playtesters" are actually secret black-ops commandos.  And then passing the operational plans for the attack on the Collective as an educational game was another fun bit...though given the attention the Collective seems to give to indoctrination and propaganda, they'd see that as a highly suspicious item and at the very least order its destruction.  The explanation "it's only a game scenario," wouldn't get the conspirators off the hook, since they'd be asked "And why weren't you making educational games that award bonus points for identifying WrongThink and sending counter-revolutionaries to the re-education center?"  (And both Steve Jackson and Herb Beas can attest to the utter lack of humor displayed by government agents when they get suspicious about a game.  Heck, I got my mail stolen by the Romanian secret police for two years because the map from the Succession Wars game resembled the shape of Romania, and they thought I was planning an invasion.)
« Last Edit: 15 January 2020, 07:01:28 by Mendrugo »
"We have made of New Avalon a towering funeral pyre and wiped the Davion scourge from the universe.  Tikonov, Chesterton and Andurien are ours once more, and the cheers of the Capellan people nearly drown out the gnashing of our foes' teeth as they throw down their weapons in despair.  Now I am made First Lord of the Star League, and all shall bow down to me and pay homa...oooooo! Shiny thing!" - Maximillian Liao, "My Triumph", audio dictation, 3030.  Unpublished.

Mendrugo

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Date: June 21, 3002
 
Location: Maldive

Title: Unlimited Honor

Author: Michael A. Stackpole
 
Type: Novella (HBS BattleTech)

Synopsis: At the Martyrs' Memorial (formerly the Litzau Summer Home), Proctor Steadfast Court reviews the gardens where the Rivergaard Rangers had herded captive revolutionaries together and buried them in mass graves, according to Collective propaganda.  Revolutionary artists have commemorated the Collective dead with statues of angels in torment surrounding a tall and pure proctor - their only source of hope. 

Court meets with Proctor Mann, the facilities supervisor, to brief him on her mission support needs.  She asks for a crew of "no questions asked" operatives wearing full-face helmets.  Mann offers some people who Court previously "trained" at Golden Prosperity.  Mann notes that he was under her "care" for a month in the Punishment Cadre after Ian Levine's death, and has that "training" to thank for his current position, having recommitted himself to the Revolution.

Court suggests that Mann would be a good asset in her work with Abigail Litzau, since his "redemption through suffering" could convince her that coming over to the Collective as a way to escape further torment is a viable option.

Notes: Truth is the first casualty of any war.  Looking back at the scenes in Heir Apparent and Apparent Catastrophe, the Collective was using the gardens to bury their victims, and then the Rivergaard Rangers attacked and killed the Collective revolutionaries who'd been putting people in mass graves.  The garden holds bodies from both sides of the conflict, burned beyond recognition.

Oh dear.  Court is requesting a troop of henchmen she's previously tortured with full-face helmets to hide their expressions.  Likelihood that the heroes will be infiltrating/suborning her retinue...now approaching 100%.  It's like Stackpole decided to have her run down the Evil Overlord checklist, but not avoid the standard pitfalls.

Given Mann's personal history with Court, I'm also expecting him to backstab her and get personal revenge when the opportunity arises.  I haven't yet read to the end (I want to have honest reactions to the plot twists), but if I'm reading the tea leaves right, and if I know Stackpole's standard set-ups, Court could teach a master class in being hoist by her own petard. 
"We have made of New Avalon a towering funeral pyre and wiped the Davion scourge from the universe.  Tikonov, Chesterton and Andurien are ours once more, and the cheers of the Capellan people nearly drown out the gnashing of our foes' teeth as they throw down their weapons in despair.  Now I am made First Lord of the Star League, and all shall bow down to me and pay homa...oooooo! Shiny thing!" - Maximillian Liao, "My Triumph", audio dictation, 3030.  Unpublished.