Who: Zane Nova Cat
What: MechWarrior, Rho Galaxy
MechWarrior, 1st Dragoncat Cluster, Zeta Provisional Galaxy
When: circa 3040 (speculative) – 1 October 3062
Weapon of Choice: Jenner IIC 2
Pack Hunter (nicknamed Ebony Dragon)
The Abjuration of Clan Nova Cat from the Kerensky Cluster was, according to law and tradition, supposed to be a swift but fair allowance of exiles to leave the area, but was in practice a violent action to grab resources and beat up on an easy, disliked target. Given the haphazard nature of the move it is unsurprising that some Nova Cats arrived to the Inner Sphere a little late.
This is how we are introduced to Zane, half starved, half crazy, and probably suffering from some sort of traumatic stress disorder, not that the Clans seem to acknowledge such things, arriving on a barely functional ship at the edge of Nova Cat territory to the utter surprise of everyone.
He is an extremely angry man, and with reason, focused to the point of exclusion on how the Nova Cats have lost their way and are going down a path that will ultimately doom them. He decides to try to be constructive with this anger and conclusion, after a fashion. Certain that the Nova Cats are on the wrong path he dedicates himself to winning glory and position so as to better educate the other Nova Cats, and lead them to their perfect future as he envisions it.
There’s nothing terribly unique about this, it’s a recurrent theme within Battletech that a character will be unhappy with the political situation of his faction and resolve to change things by, well, winning glory and position so as to better educate them and lead them to the perfect future said character envisions.
It is particularly natural for Clan characters, possessed of a might makes right mentality that gives this course of action a certain appeal they would appreciate the directness and it’s a means that could well work in a society where being correct can boil down to who has more glory, honour or victory, however in this case plot gets in the way.
For Zane this takes several forms, he goes on a vision quest only to have to be accompanied by newly selected Freeborn Oathmaster Minoru Nova Cat, nee Kurita, he finally finds the BattleMech equivalent of the love of his life but it’s manufactured by the equally lost Wolves-in-Exile, he’s assigned to a unit intended to strengthen ties between the Nova Cats and Draconis Combine, and his best friend constantly needles and challenges his views.
Even his own mind/instincts/spirituality fights him, as evidenced by giving his ‘Mech a very Combine themed name.
Again, not unusual, protagonists are almost always on the back foot from the beginning of a story.
So far I make it sound as if Zane is just another typical science fiction protagonist, flavoured for the Battletech setting. The truth is that Zane is unique in a number of ways.
First of all he is a Trueborn Clan Warrior not assigned to an OmniMech. Given the size of most toumans this shouldn’t be unusual, new recruits are needed in all units, but for a protagonist this is odd, it is almost a given that they will be assigned the best equipment possible, hence an OmniMech, because, well, they’re the hero.
Forcing Zane into a standard, even Clantech, BattleMech allows for a number of different themes and plot elements to come together, it crystalizes his personal conflict, the most perfect, natural ‘Mech for him to pilot comes from the Abjured Wolves whom he hates as traitors to the true Clan Way he seeks to epitomize, and it shows what shape the Cats are in. Omnis are in short supply, can’t throw them out to everyone anymore.
It’s also a bit of a new toy parade. At a time when TRO 3060 was still new showing this, a Supernova, a Bishamon and Akuma in one novel is just dripping with some of the latest designs, whetting the appetites of players.
He is also unusual in that this is a light ‘Mech. Omni or not these things have relatively short lifespans on the battlefield in the game, and given the usual sort of adventures most characters get into anything short of a middleweight medium requires an absolute ace pilot to survive more than one battle.
Finally, he’s MechWarrior. Not the position, the rank. The lowest possible rank for a Clanner to enter service. Ok, aside from being the second half of an Aerospace Point or a simple Elemental in a Point, but you get my meaning. He’s no ristar Star Captain, an up and coming Star Commander or established Star Colonel.
Why?
He’s young, inexperienced and in for a severe learning curve, that’s the nature of the story he’s in.
The wrong path he believes the Nova Cats are on? From a reader perspective we’re supposed to see it as the right path. The Nova Cats giving token trials when challenged for Occupation Zone worlds by the Second Star League and ultimately joining said Star League places them on the side of the established good guys.
Add to that the lack of a Bloodname, though he is Trueborn, and what we have is the Clan equivalent of the common man. Zane’s is the view from the bottom up, not unknown but not typical in Battletech fiction at the time, particularly from a Clan perspective.
Quite aside from that it also means he lacks access to the resources that could have helped him figure out what was going on sooner or simply provide a wider world view faster. As it was he had intuition and just enough evidence to painfully convince his Star Colonel that the Alshain Avengers were up to no good.
Why tell the story from this comparatively reduced perspective?
He is a main character, but he is not ‘in the right’. Every story has an emotional or ethical direction and Zane starts out in opposition to that. Thus his growth is charted out.
It also means he has a lot of space to grow and develop as a person, and that he does profoundly, finding his views challenged constantly by everyone from his commanding officer to a technical ally who is an opponent who represents everything he hates but shares his perspective, to his best friend.
For all that Zane is a short term protagonist, purely one shot, unlike a number of others who pop up giving their opinions or being otherwise sighted in sourcebooks. He is very rarely mentioned after his death despite the impact he has on events.
Little time is wasted on his backstory, we know he was a part of the Homeworlds based Rho Galaxy but nothing else. We are not even told of his Bloodhouse, the vitally important pedigree among the Clans.
Note that this does not make him poorly written or an otherwise bad character, being short term means that his story is very much one of present events. We see his hopes, his dreams, his struggles, his challenges and his battles, this fleshes him out enough that in one book his death has enough emotional torque to still be stunning to the reader.
We get a true sense of great events unfolding as we read, though unfortunately they are events so far outside the scope of Zane’s little corner of the universe that they happen anyway, all he really does is pin down a small section of it. The magnitude of what is going on is simply greater than him, a recurring theme for Zane.
But that’s his purpose, to give us a glimpse into larger events. Would it have been better if he were a Star Colonel, with access to more information, more resources and greater options to act upon?
Not really. The plot Zane attempted to foil was one that was too large in scope for anyone short of a District Warlord or Khan, and a higher rank simply changes how he fights his battles, making some of it less personal. It would also make him less unique, since most fiction is told from the perspective of company commanders or higher,
As I said, Zane’s purpose is to provide perspective, not prevent events from happening. This is why he starts out with so many harsh, inflexible views, he has a lot of growing and discovering to do and the more of these there are, neatly interconnected to boot, the easier it is to give him character growth while uncovering a plot and ultimately providing perspective on events swirling around him.
Besides which, it would get boring if every major character was a Battalion or Cluster Commander or better.
Going back to another interesting unique point about Zane, those light ‘Mechs he piloted, aside from being new toys, so to speak, they’re also quite interesting in and of themselves, and show a neat consistency as he goes from one to the other.
The Jenner IIC 2 is called a long range support unit, but realistically it’s a versatile sniper. The ER Large Laser is the main gun, backed up by an LRM 5 that is a token weapon but still neat to have, with a Small Pulse Laser because it’s nice to be able to shoot at infantry. It is also, as a side note, the jumpiest ‘Mech in BattleTech until some recent designs like the Phoenix Hawk 7K, so the Jenner IIC 2 is a high mobility long range sniper.
If it sounds like I’m labouring the point it’s because I am, it’s the same sort of role the Pack Hunter is supposed to fulfil, with more sniper power even as it has less jump capacity.
The Pack Hunter, yes, new toy, is a plot element all the same. By putting Zane in a Wolf-in-Exile built machine he is, from his perspective, sullied. However the fit is so natural that he learns to overcome his prejudice towards its origins, marking the beginning of his personal growth.
And oddly enough while it is well known for being terrifyingly lightly armoured and Zane does die from a headshot, it’s a headshot by AC2 rounds. Lucky shot, weakened armour, call it what you will this means that it wouldn’t have mattered if he were in a Pack Hunter, a Nova Cat or an Atlas, plot demanded he die.
Sadly, in a lot of ways, the long term plot of the setting has somewhat proven Zane’s original, narrow views, correct. The Nova Cats, the main branch at least, made a poor choice in remaining in the Inner Sphere, specifically with the Draconis Combine, and they are now effectively extinct.
Conversely though, the ones who brought whole heartedly into the vision laid down by Severen Leroux to the point where they became a part of the Republic of the Sphere have survived, even prospered to a degree, even if it is as a province in the Free Worlds League in partnership with the Sea Foxes, a more convoluted fate is hard to imagine.
Again, however, that is a long term view completely outside the vision of any living character in the 3060s and Zane is a short term character. Literary convention dictates that narrow views must be challenged and eventually overcome, it is a form of character growth short hand.
Is this realistic? Somewhat, we are dealing with pulp fiction here which has to tell a story larger than its main character while still keeping said character interesting and engaging.
Overall Zane is a successful short term character who delivers a very different perspective, not just of events but of a faction that had little previous coverage.
Within the setting he is somewhat poorly used and abused by events as a part of character growth but that is what binds him to us in the end, adding dimensions just in time for us to feel his loss.
Next week, by request, Duke Hassid Ricol.
