Date: October 1, 3027
Title: BattleTechnology 0102
Editor: William H. Keith, Jr.
Type: Magazine (Pacific Rim Publishing Company)
Synopsis: Written (mostly) from an in-universe perspective, BattleTechnology 0102 is brought to us by editor William H. Keith (author of the Gray Death Legion novels). In his opening editorial, he explains the magazine's various departments and issues a call for readers to send in articles.
Hiring Hall - Hassid Ricol: The Red Duke (William H. Keith, Jr.)
The Hiring Hall column evaluates the potential of Duke Hassid Ricol as an employer, noting that he has a nearly constant need for mercenaries of various types ("B" rating for "Need" on an A to Z scale), offers excellent compensation ("C" rating for "Pay"), but pairs that with hardship postings to hostile environments or remote garrisons ("T" rating for "Conditions"). The article notes that Duke Hassid Ricol treats his mercenaries much more fairly than is standard for the Draconis Combine.
Ricol holds the title of Archduke, with title to 14 worlds in the Rasalhague Military District, including Kufstein's World, the Edge, Verthandi, Chekaar, Basiliano, Dahlgren, New Caledonia, Harvest, and 5 other worlds seized from House Steiner between 2997 and 3027). He makes his ducal seat on Rodigo, in the city of Alexis. House Ricol was part of the original settlers on Rodigo in the late 2200s. General Henn Ricol became the first Duke of Rodigo in 2785, and Hassid became the 12th "Red Duke of Rodigo" in 3011. (The Red Duke moniker derives from the color of House Rodigo's crest, and has been an official title since the reign of Stefani Ricol, 3rd Duke of Rodigo.)
A flamboyant figure who has cultivated a reputation for both political and military skill, he has survived five assassination attempts since 3019, and many of his enemies have had convenient accidents, or simply vanished. He has an efficient network of spies and informers, and uses mercenaries more than other Combine nobles.
In 3024, he sent his troops to Trell I, posing as Oberon Confederation bandits, and drove out the Steiner mercenaries there, setting up the opportunity for "friendly" Combine forces to "rescue" the populace from the bandits. The plan failed due to resistance from the local militia (aided by mercenary survivors and Oberon defectors), which delayed the Combine takeover long enough for word to reach the Lyran garrison at Antares. This was followed by an uprising on Verthandi which forced Ricol to grant the world semi-autonomous status.
These setbacks have jeopardized his standing at the Court on Luthien. While observers expect him to act to settle the Verthandi matter, rumors hint that a secret project in Marik and Liao space may have his attention.
Ricol is presently seeking mercenaries to suppress unrest in his holdings, and seeking freelance spies and bounty hunters to keep him informed on what's happening elsewhere in the Inner Sphere. Mercenaries can expect offers of anti-rebel operations (ranging from fighting rebel forces, invading rebel worlds, besieging rebel cities, and riot duty/crowd control), defense against Steiner invasions, garrison duty, training cadre duty. Contract durations range from six to twelve months. Pay is handled through ComStar, but may also include landholds on rebellious worlds. Liaison officers will be attached during operations. Transportation will be provided by House Ricol once the unit arrives on Rodigo.
BattleTechnology gives Ricol a marginally favorable recommendation, noting that the pay and opportunity is substantially offset by the high casualty rates among his past employees, with rumors that some were hired with the intent of liquidating them for political gain.
BattleGear - Sidearms - Submachine Guns (William H. Keith, Jr.)
Due to the technological decline of the Inner Sphere, lasers have been largely supplanted by far simpler, yet still lethal weapons like the submachine gun, which can be built and maintained with a 20th century technology base.
The New Avalon Edition of the Galactic Consumer's Report, Volume 27, Number 5, lists the following models:
Bereiter Model 14 (M14) - a light-weight, concealable SMG used by MechWarriors, security forces, intelligence agents, bodyguards, anti-terrorist teams, marine boarders, and commando squads. The high rate of fire can burn through a clip in 2.5 seconds (though at full-auto "buzzsaw" mode, the recoil destroys accuracy and leads to jamming).
Imperator 2894A1 - rugged and reliable, the Imperator SMG is commonly used by military, special ops, and security forces. The weapon's chief feature is a sound suppressor, though this does reduce damage and armor-penetration.
Rugan SMG - Common in the Periphery or backwater Inner Sphere planets, due to the ease of manufacture and maintenance. They are generally manufactured locally under license from Rugan Enterprises of New Earth. It uses caseless rounds, allowing more rounds to be fitted into a magazine and reduces the chance of jamming, though sourcing caseless ammo from unlicensed sources may result in feed jams, misfires, and a reduction of the weapon's hitting power.
Rorynex Industries 3-mm Sliver SMG Model XXI (RM-3/XXI) - designed as a close assault weapon (for ranges less than 100 meters), this SMG fires caseless explosive slivers. It is lightweight and inexpensive, and thus popular with planetary militias. It also sees use with line infantry, special ops forces, MechWarriors, and security forces. The main problem is availability of the caseless ammo on less developed worlds.
Kogyo-Khorsakov Special Purpose Weapon, M-920 - Favored by Kurita special ops and security forces, including the Otomo, it can be silenced and can mount a bayonet.
Thorvald & Koch MP SMG - One of the finest SMGs in the Inner Sphere, it is produced on New Avalon, Tharkad, and Skye in limited numbers. It fires large rounds - either hollow-point or explosive. Its short bullpup configuration makes it ideal for close-quarters fighting where heavy firepower is needed. Davion and Steiner commandos favor it heavily.
MechTac - BattleTips - The David Ambush (William H. Keith, Jr.) (covered separately as a Short Story)
Black Luthien (William H. Keith, Jr.)
Written by in-universe author Roger van Nuys, this profile fleshes out the history and culture of Luthien. Before becoming the site of the new Combine capital in 2617, the world featured uninhabitable equatorial deserts, shallow seas, and steamy polar swamps where fewer than three million farmers harvested bamboo, rubber, Jukwood, and Tushani crustaceans.
Today, 70% of the land area and much of the shallow seacoasts are covered by industrial facilities and manufacturing centers - creating tremendous output, along with pollution that has most native species on the brink of extinction. These industrial zones are surrounded by "housing utopias" - vast slums with poor living conditions.
Tashiro Smith, with the Luthien Ministry of Information, presents an alternate perspective through the lens of Imperial City - rising out of reclaimed swampland, it is a cluster of magnificent palaces of teak, marble, quartz, ediobony, and granite amidst parks of imported sequoia, birch, and traverswood trees lining the Daimyo Canal. He notes it took five years to drain the swamps, with each building and monument a unique work of hard built mostly by hand. He asserts that the construction ignited an explosion of interest in old Japanese customs, traditions, art, and architecture which was spread across the Combine by Kokogaku ("National Learning") edicts. He views the extinction of the Tushani xenocrustaceans as a small price to pay for the gleaming glory of Imperial City.
Smith complains that the Combine's reputation has been besmirched by Davion propaganda, and cites the Galahad wargames as proof that the Combine has to endure a constant state of siege. Per Smith, the Combine's citizens see themselves as stubborn, courageous, and independent people surrounded by hostile outsiders.
A sidebar notes that House Davion launched GALAHAD '27 in August 3027, engaging in extensive "training and preparedness exercises" primarily along the Combine/Suns border. Many cross-border raids and other incidents have taken place during GALAHAD. Addressing Combine protests that House Davion wants to exterminate the Draconian people, Federated Suns representatives noted only that the Third Succession War has not ended.
The Nekekami (Thomas S. Gressman)
Tomo Ochiba, a professor of history at the University of Luthien, provides an in-depth profile of the Nekekami - the "spirit cats" of the Draconis Combine as part of a larger manuscript on the Nekekami he plans to publish later in 3027. He died of heart failure at age 39, apparently of natural causes, as this article was being published.
In 3026, House Kurita successfully raided the machine tool plant at Cantaba, on Lyons' southern continent, stealing millions of C-bills worth of industrial goods, using intel provided by an infiltrator who penetrated the Rangers' fortress and breached the headquarters vault - a chamber carved from solid rock and guarded by checkpoints and sentry stations. The infiltrator left behind a calling card - origami of a crouching black cat - the sign of the Nekekami.
The Nekekami is a blanket term for several family clans of professional spies and assassins who have been occasionally employed by House Kurita and other nobles. Though a small clan, their record of outstanding success in seemingly impossible missions has given rise to an unmatched reputation, as well as rumors that they can make themselves invisible, induce temporary comas to reduce the need for oxygen, and walk through walls.
The detailed information in this profile comes from an interview with a Nekekami informant who died "of natural causes" in his prison cell within hours of granting the interview.
One cannot join the Nekekami - they must be born into the clan, though only a few from each generation are chosen for training as Nekekami warriors at age 10. From 10-14, they train physically, learn unarmed combat and how to use ancient weapons, and work to solve puzzles and riddles. They also learn stealth and psychology. At age 15, they train with projectile, melee and energy weapons, as well as poisons and explosives. They absorb a philosophy of accomplishing missions with a minimum of bloodshed, teaching "If a Nekekami draws steel, his mission has failed."
The Nekekami prefer to use their bare hands or ancient weapons. The longbow is a favorite, and all are skilled with the sword, knife, crossbow, and throwing blades. Though familizarized, the Nekekami regard lasers, missile launchers and flamers as "inelegant."
They are master poisoners, skilled with ferro-cyanide, strychnine, sodium meta-choline, Eniffian Gremlin Viper venom, and "The Dragon's Tears" - a few drops of which will drive the victim insane.
Though the clan lacks the resources of the ISF, they have demonstrated proficiency with highly sophisticated electronic lockpicks (though C-96 plastic explosive or highly corrosive acid will work for old fashioned mechanical locks).
Climbing claws and grappling hooks help the Nekekami scale seemingly sheer walls, while pulleys, harnesses, and ziplines allow them to cross between buildings. They are also skilled at HALO drops. Once inside a target facility, the Nekekami infiltrators have proven adept at memorizing the data they find, without the need for electronic recording devices.
The Nekekami are also skilled at sabotage, such as when they infiltrated an AFFS garrison on Conroe and disabled the leg actuators of the heavy BattleMechs there, leaving them helpless before a Kuritan follow-up attack. In September 3025, Davion techs on Talcott discovered a shaped charge of plastic explosive molded atop the fuel tank of a jet used by the Council President, which had apparently been put in place two years earlier when the plane was being built.
Once a mission is complete, the Nekekami are trained in escape and evasion. Cached equipment helps them swiftly traverse rough terrain, and small anti-personnel mines and other booby traps can be laid to discourage pursuit.
Being captured alive is a Nekekami's greatest disgrace. Once a Nekekami trainee attains Warrior status, they sever all ties with their family and are, by tradition, considered already dead. When capture seems imminent, Nekekami commit suicide using fast-acting nerve poisons sewn into their garments. Some captured unconscious/wounded were later able to use their body control to stop their own hearts.
Nekekami are mercenaries who command high prices. A single operative may charge 200,000 C-bills per mission. While they have never been officially connected with the Combine government on Luthien, they have also never hired out to employers outside the Combine. It is speculated that they are frequently employed in the palace intrigue within the Combine - dispatched by warlords, high-ranking nobles, and other factions to advance their own positions within the Combine's rigid hierarchy.
A Dagger's Death (covered separately as a Short Story)
BattleMechanics - BattleColors (William H. Keith, Jr.)
This article explains how to paint forest camos for a variety of climates, and notes worlds where each scheme would be particularly effective.
Green Woodland Camo #1 - a broken pattern of greens and browns designed to blend in with the leaves and brush - is recommended for the following:
Verthandi - The lowland forest in the Silvan Depression is dense, though the camo would need to be adapted to change the olive to blue-green or dark blue, since the local vegetation has evolved a blue-green chlorophyll analogue.
Tall Trees - Most of Tall Trees land area is covered by deep woods which stretch from sea to sea and nearly pole to pole. Low gravity allow Xenosequoias to grow to over a kilometer in height, with diameters of over 60 meters. The high level canopy blocks most of the sunlight before it reaches the ground, making surface vegetation sparse or non-existent.
Dehgolan - A jungle planet with a hot, fetid atmosphere, settlements are clustered on the shores of its seas to avoid the vicious predators of the Deep Jungle. BattleMechs are recommended for those who wish to return from an expedition. Fighting between Combine and Steiner forces in 3015 resulted in 60% casualties as damaged 'Mechs blundered into deep swamps or were destroyed by local wildlife.
Kesai VI is a desert world, but does have scattered forests and woodlands along the coasts of its small seas. Though desert camo is most appropriate in general, the garrison at the Shalmirat spaceport uses forest camo because of the surrounding woodlands, where the local chlorophyll variant gives the vegetation a yellow cast.
BattleMechanics - Technical Readout - Devastator (Dale L. Kemper)
A Star League-era upgrade of the older Demolisher tank, the DVE-5B Devastator "Mech Slayer" still exists in Successor State arsenals and wealthy planetary militias, despite the production run having only made slightly more than 500 before the collapse of the League.
Upgrades include a 240-rated fusion power plant, a Medium Laser, two Small Lasers and a Flamer for anti-infantry work, and an SRM-4. Armor and speed remain roughly the same compared to the Demolisher.
Devastators are employed in planetary defense and open country assaults, but should avoid rough terrain, city fighting, or other areas involving restricted maneuvering. House Liao organizes its remaining tanks into "Guards of Honor" to lead parades.
The lack of spare parts is sidelining more and more Demolishers and Devastators, and both designs are likely to become extinct.
BattleMechanics - Combat Salvage - The Wolfman (William H. Keith, Jr.)
Valdis Ullman of the Legion of Vega took heavy damage to his Wolverine in 2986, during the 2nd Battle of Ryerson on Bergman's Planet. Unwilling to part with his family 'Mech and join the ranks of the Dispossessed, he worked with his Tech, Sharis Brand, to salvage parts from a Davion Rifleman. With a BattleMaster serving as a scaffold and astechs from a nearby base assisting, they grafted the Rifleman and Wolverine together - a pairing that quickly became known as a Wolfman.
The jury rigging resulted in numerous shortcomings (as is typical for a FrankenMech), but it gave Ullman a 'Mech to fight with in rearguard actions at Kestio and Oswald. When he died in 2988, the Wolfman was assigned to a Legion of Vega training cadre and is, at present, serving in the Labrea planetary militia.
Similar efforts to create the Wolfman configuration have been attempted four more times, but only two are still functional - one in Marik and one in Steiner space.
BattleTech Simulator - Ranged Combat: Maximum Range (William H. Keith, Jr.)
Framed as additional rules for FASA's simulations (FASA being an in-universe publisher of military training tools/games), this is Optional Rules Variant 0102-A: Ranged Combat - Maximum Range.
This article addresses the disparity between the in-game ranges (which often fall short of historical firearm performance) and the maximum potential range of the weapon, explaining that targeting system limitations limit weapons to their "effective range" rather than their "maximum range." (Which is still not the maximum distance the projectile will travel, but is the maximum distance at which there's even a remote chance of connecting with what you aimed at.)
This leads to the concept of "Extreme Range" - which adds a distance multiplier to be applied to the stock "Long Range" value, and given a +8 target modifier, which can be reduced through taking multiple turns to carefully aim, using sights, etc. Tables show multipliers to be applied to bows, pistols, and rifles.
The article notes these rules are likely to be used mostly when a sniper is involved in a scenario, such as bounty hunters trying to assassinate a target from a kilometer away.
William Keith does not recommend applying these rules to BattleTech except under very special circumstances. Given the +8 modifier, snipers will only hit if they are very good, very lucky, or carry very special equipment.
BattleTech Simulator - MechWarrior Weapons Update (William H. Keith, Jr.)
This table provides new range brackets for Extreme Range and Maximum Range, along with damage fall-off estimates at those ranges.
BattleTech Simulator - Nightshadow (William H. Keith, Jr.) (covered separately as an RPG Encounter)
BattleTech Simulator - Hide and Seek (William H. Keith, Jr.) (covered separately as a Scenario)
BattleTech Simulator - To Save the Dragon (William H. Keith, Jr.) (covered separately as a Scenario)
BattleTech Simulator - Dagger's Edge (William H. Keith, Jr.) (covered separately as a Scenario)
More Than Warriors - Untitled Poem (Thomas S. Gressman)
This poem is presented as rising from the essence of bushido - the way of the warrior.
The poem tells the tale of the descendant of samurai warriors from Iga, carrying his family's honor among the stars. The samurai expresses disappointment that there is no glory in battle, a warrior cannot see his foes, and honor dwells in few. Nonetheless, he rededicates himself to his duty and the service of his lord.
More Than Warriors - DropShip Thunder (William H. Keith, Jr. and Nina Barton)
A marching/drinking song of Combine origins, it tells the tale (in verse) of a planetary assault, shattering the enemy defenders, salvaging parts, and pushing for the victory that will earn them landholds.
A final refrain (added later, per the editor), points out that once they have landholds to defend, they'll be in the position of hopelessly defending those landholds against enemy DropShips thundering in.
More Than Warriors - Haiku (Heather L. Keith)
The BattleMech strides
Across war-molested plains
Arrogant and proud
Notes:
Hiring Hall - Hassid Ricol: The Red Duke (William H. Keith, Jr.)
While now considered apocryphal, the profile of Duke Ricol gave William Keith a chance to flesh out the backstory of his main antagonist in the Gray Death Legion trilogy. (Though, notably, there's no mention of his activities as "Ruby" in the Black Dragon cabal that tried to assassinate Takashi and install Theodore as Coordinator after marrying him into Rasalhague nobility, so that was apparently kept quiet enough that it stayed off BattleTechnology's radar.)
While not all of the world in the "Duchy of Rodigo" are named (and two of those named - Chekaar and Dahlgren - aren't on the maps), looking at worlds around Rodigo that were Lyran in 2822 and Combine in 3025 (based on the maps of those eras), we can see the best candidates to flesh out the Duchy. Dahlgren and Chekaar can be assumed to be outpost worlds - hosting small industrial or military facilities, but without recognized civilian governments. See the attached map - confirmed Ricol holdings (pre-Mercenary's Star) are in yellow, probable holdings are in blue. The white worlds were all Combine holdings circa 2822, and the article expressly states that the additional 13 (beyond Rodigo) were all Lyran worlds taken since 2997.
The article's reference to a secret project in Marik/Liao space, of course, is a teaser for "The Price of Glory," where Ricol does a heel-face turn and saves Grayson's unit (in exchange for cache booty and a copy of the LosTech data core).
The mention of Antares as the Lyran world that received the call for help suggests that Keith intended "Drune II" to be in the Antares system. However, the maps show Antares to be about five times as far away from Trell I as Baker VII (which the German translation of "Decision at Thunder Rift" substitutes for Drune II) - making that the more likely location, given the turnaround time shown in the novel. I wonder how far the FASA crew got into the fiction before they realized they really had to nail down the interstellar geography?
BattleGear - Sidearms - Submachine Guns (William H. Keith, Jr.)
I found it hilarious that Rugan SMGs are listed as being manufactured "under license" on Butte Hold. I can just see Redjack Ryan signing the contract and handing over the royalties now...
Keith's description of the advantages of caseless ammunition notes that the propellant is completely stable, and can only be fired by its electric detonator, making it immune to "cook offs" when the weapon overheats. I wonder why they didn't use this propellant in the prototype caseless autocannons from the Tactical Handbook, since those were prone to ammunition explosions.
The Rorynex gun sounds more like a needler than an SMG, given the ammo characteristics. (A needler with explosive ammo.)
Black Luthien (William H. Keith, Jr.)
The back cover of this issue advertises the House sourcebooks, noting that the House Kurita sourcebook will be available soon. The Luthien profile, then, offers a preview of the Luthien profile there. (Keith presumably got advance text to make his entry fit.)
There are still some oddities, however - the map from Jihad Turning Points: Luthien shows Imperial City sitting on the equator, whereas this entry describes it rising out of the steamy polar swamps (the equator being uninhabitable desert).
It's interesting that Smith claims the promotion of Japanese culture was spontaneously inspired by Imperial City's architecture, since that would seem to discount the leading role that Coordinator Urizen Kurita II played in the Combine's cultural reformation during his 2620-2691 reign. "Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight" and the prelude chapter in "Far Country" also suggest there was a substantial Japanese cultural influence in the Combine dating back to the Age of War.
The Nekekami (Thomas S. Gressman)
The Nekekami haven't made many appearances outside of BattleTechnology, but they've definitely been adopted into the canon. Theodore Kurita pretends to be a Nekekami in "Heir to the Dragon," and is sent a potentially lethal warning by the spirit cats. Thomas Gressman brings them back out of the shadows in the Twilight of the Clans series, where they help apprehend the mole who assassinated Morgan Hasek-Davion, and also infiltrate the Smoke Jaguar command center on Huntress to disable the Clan's planetary defenses.
BattleTechnology made a running joke of their staff being assassinated and their offices being bombed in the aftermath of this article being published, ostensibly part of a campaign of revenge by the Nekekami - who also appear to have poisoned Professor Ochiba before his manuscript could be published.
It's interesting to see the different authors' takes on similar material. Gressman, here, has created a clan of principled ninjas who like to show off (with the origami) and try to avoid killing. Contrast that to the William Keith's also-Combine-based Saurimat (the death-cult offshoot, at least), which sought to deliver death to as many people as possible.
Interestingly, Helmar Valasek runs an "assassin for hire" business out of Santander V, with his "Santander's Killers" outfit. Given their position, geographically, the Combine would seem to be his primary (if not only) customer base (unless the farmers of the Elyssian Fields feel like hiring some assassins...) One wonders how their skill-set matches up against the Nekekami, and what makes a Kurita noble choose a spirit cat over a pirate assassin.
In terms of training, the Nekekami process bears a strong resemblance to the Capellan Warrior House model (though again, the Capellan focus would be less on finesse and origami, more on KILL KILL KILL).
BattleMechanics - BattleColors (William H. Keith, Jr.)
William Keith actually found a way to world-build in a column on how to paint woodland camo. Again, this comes well ahead of the publication of the House books with the first real planetary write-ups.
BattleMechanics - Technical Readout - Devastator (Dale L. Kemper)
These are the areas where the apocryphal articles start to run headlong into later canon. When written, all we had on the Demolisher was a silhouette in MW1E and some stats, along with the huge honkin' four-tread miniature that looked like it could eat LTN-G15s and crap THR-1Ls. The Devastator even canonically found its way into one of the Sorenson's Sabres scenarios.
However, looking at the Master Unit List, we see that the Demolisher was actually a post-Star League tank designed expressly to be a lower-tech option for worlds and factions that lacked the tech and industrial base to support 'Mechs. Rather than dying out, it's flourishing as 'Mechs get more scarce.
TRO:3039 formally established the Devastator as a canonical variant of the Demolisher, noting it as a third-generation upgrade first fielded in 3003.
Even with the upgrades, I still question the utility of putting this thing out in the open field. With a maximum effective range of 9 and a movement profile of 3/5, this 80-ton death machine is easy meat for any unit that can both outrun and outrange it (i.e. - anything with LRMs, a Large Laser, most autocannons, etc.). Close quarters - including cities - is where it shines.
BattleMechanics - Combat Salvage - The Wolfman (William H. Keith, Jr.)
A fun FrankenMech design, it follows on the model set by Shorty Sneede's thingamabob in Snord's Irregulars and the hybrid Hansen's Roughriders Riflehammer (Warman?) shown in MW1E's color plates.
Looking at the stats, it seems to actually be more effective than the standard Rifleman, being both faster, better armored, and able to use its full arsenal without instantly shutting down. A superior mobile skirmisher.
The only lore issues are the depiction of the Legion of Vega as having a training cadre. Assignment to the Legion is punishment for screwing up in another unit. Nobody enters a training program hoping to get into the Legion. It's a penal brigade - not much better than the old Chain Gang units. To boot, current canon has them only formed in 3011, so Valdis Ullman is 25 years too early to be in the Legion.
BattleTech Simulator - Ranged Combat: Maximum Range (William H. Keith, Jr.)
Even early on, it was clear that the ranges on BattleTech weaponry were more suited to Napoleonic clashes than sci-fi/modern technologies. Of course, if you gave everyone the weapon ranges that they felt approximated reality, the movement rates couldn't keep up, and battles would be resolved by functionally immobile bipedal weapons platforms hurling death at each other from opposite ends of a basketball court festooned with mapsheets. Personally, I'm fine with playability having taken the lead over realism.
More Than Warriors - Untitled Poem (Thomas S. Gressman)
The Combine military (at least prior to Theodore's reforms) seems to be a huge exercise in setting up impossible expectations and then crushing them, almost as an exercise to see who can handle the mental strain.
Look at the scenes at Theodore's academy in "Heir to the Dragon." Everyone pays strict attention to having the perfect form. They are told that they are the best of the best of the best - the ultimate samurai - and the tools of the Coordinator's inevitable victory. Then they go out on the front lines and find themselves being sacrificed meaninglessly to serve the ambitions of one warlord or another, or getting their teeth kicked in by honorless mercenary scum.
Honestly, the best thing Theodore ever did to bolster the psychological state of mind of his buso-sensei was slapping a kabuto on a Charger and proclaiming it the Hatamoto-class. Much easier to feel the bushido in such a 'Mech than in a lowly Panther.
More Than Warriors - DropShip Thunder (William H. Keith, Jr. and Nina Barton)
Nina Barton is listed as Associate Editor and Art Director. She also knew how to put William Keith's verses to music.
Given the theme of unending warfare, the final refrain seems quite appropriate.
More Than Warriors - Haiku (Heather L. Keith)
Handbook: House Kurita notes that most of its warriors lack an appreciation for art, and look down on those who practice it. Minobu Tetsuhara had a different kind of sensei, and felt a samurai could not be truly complete without art (thus the painting and other artistic pursuits). Thus the saying goes - all samurai serve the Coordinator, but not all who serve the Coordinator are samurai.
Since the haiku is written from a Combine perspective, I'm not sure if "arrogant and proud," as a descriptor for a 'Mech, is intended to be positive or negative. I can see some Combine troops who would appreciate arrogance and pride as good traits.