That said, when I talk about a professional level story.
I am referring to someone who has the ability (granted by CGL) to change the dynamics of the overall Battletech universe.
Not some company level unit on a backwater farming world that we will never see or hear from again after the story.
I am talking about Victor Davion, Anastasius Focht, Aiden Pryde level stories.
Stories that advance the plot or tell a origin story of a person or unit that is important to the Battletech universe.
I personally don't find day in the life of stories that interesting, or engaging in the Battletech universe.
Okay, that's not going to happen for several reasons:
First, there are short stories the magazine will be publishing, not novels. There's no room for major plot advancements or "change the dynamics of the overall Battletech universe" as you describe. Most of these stories will be "grunt-level" view of the action, with cannon characters mostly on the edges.
Second, most canon characters already have major plot arcs established for them, so they can't just pop up in a story without making sure it doesn't conflict with those plot arcs. Continuity is important, and it takes a talented writer to drop a story about a canon character into their arc without disturbing everything that comes before and after that. In all the BC stories I can think of, only one does that well -- Jason Hansa's "Irreplaceable." In all the Battletech short stories I've written, I've used major canon characters twice, both as supporting characters.
Third, there are trillions of people in the Inner Sphere, people who have their own stories to tell. It's a hell of a lot easier to tell John Smith's story than Hanse Davion's, because John Smith isn't locked into a character arc -- he can do or feel whatever the story needs him to do, within the confines of the Universal events. Major canon characters as you describe, drive the universe's stories and create the backdrop for thousands of stories to unfold.
Fourth, Major events are what the novels are for. The Clan invasion wouldn't have worked as just short stories, but the novels allowed scores of Clan Invasion-era short stories to be written, stories that couldn't be told in the novels. It deepens the Universe, and that has always been one of Battletech's strength. The lack of novels is the one thing that really hurts the Jihad era -- there is no major view of the events that once can read to see the "bird's-eye view" of things. The short stories only give the reader glimpses of what happened.
Yes, there are many characters who have a moment in the spotlight in a single story, but that's the nature of storytelling. Sometimes, a single story is all the character has, one that defines that character. And sometimes, that character doesn't walk away but decides to hang around for a little longer, sparking another story and another.; Not every character can be a ruler or a major hero, but not every character needs to be.
Craig
