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The Season at Rankar’s Deep—Week Seven
Welcome to this week’s Rankar’s Deep Report.
The match between Acca Haig and Tyler Boyer this week indicates how serious hostilities are between the Black Eagle and the Regulus Wrath Stables.
Boyer came into this week leading the Class Two division, after beating Star Rangers’ Steve Miller last week, while Calidia Raines lost to Broken Chains’ Cindy Santos. Acca Haig is at the bottom of the division and has only won two of her six matches.
Chief Referee Garret Foster told RDR that the League worried about the match and their fears were justified. Boyer’s Stinger entered with the Regulun Hussars’ emblem on its chest. Haig’s Panther, painted in FWL purple, had the Marik eagle prominently displayed on the torso. Neither gladiator spoke except to acknowledge their readiness. When the signal was given, both exploded into attack.
It quickly became obvious that both had modified their ’Mechs. Boyer’s lasers struck the Panther at longer than normal range, only to do little damage to the Black Eagle ’Mech’s glazed armor. Haig fired her PPC and the powerful beam nearly took Boyer’s head off.
The next twenty-two minutes were ugly, as it became clear that each warrior was out for blood. Unable to do serious damage to the Panther quickly, Boyer kept moving to avoid Haig’s ER PPC, which was clearly not the Panther’s normal weapon.
Boyer’s odds finally gave out when one of Haig’s PPC blasts vaporized his right leg. Boyer tried to fight on, but officials, fearing that things would get out of hand, quickly called the fight and awarded Haig the win. The Wraths have filed an official protest, which will be ruled on next week. We’ll stay on this.
Stay tuned for next week’s Rankar’s Deep Report!
This broadcast of the 3086 Rankar's Deep Report brought to you by Branson Breweries of Xolara. All fights are sanctioned by the Solaris Gaming Commission and the Lyran Alliance Gaming Board.
Banshees on Skye?
The McQuiston family were the first rulers of Skye, and originated with an impetuous young Scotsman seeking fortune in the Exodus. Ian McQuiston came from a family of traders and used his savvy to create a shipping monopoly that became a full-fledged government. His family died out but his legacy remains in the Lyran Commonwealth.
The McQuistons may have contributed something more to Skye than a government, though. A descendant of the chiefs of the Clan MacDonald of Skye, as genealogist Richard Kavanaugh confirms. “McQuiston's great-great-grand father Perry married the last daughter of one of the sub-branches of the Clan,” he told host Werner von Schattenberg. “That made the McQuiston family one of the few surviving families with any clan authority.”
And it was the chiefs of the Gaelic clans that were entitled to a funeral dirge by the banshees. McQuiston had no siblings on Terra so the clan authority traveled with him to his manor outside the Bannockburn Bogs on Skye. The first instance of an apparition, covered in the New Glasgow Gazette, mentioned a specter of a woman wailing at the death of McQuiston's first wife. The Banshees reappeared before Archon Marsden's coup, the Kurita invasion of 2407, and after the doomed marriage of Regina McQuiston. The McQuiston line died with Regina, but the Banshees have been sighted again when Skye comes under threat, most recently at the beginning of the Jihad.
Video from Skye of a recent apparition is causing a renewed interest in the phenomenon. The shadowy figure and its unearthly keening are striking and eerie. Does it signal further tragedy for the Lyran Alliance with the end of the Jihad in sight? Only time will tell.
Join us next week as we look at the dark secret of Coordinator Hohiro Kurita!
Shadows of Truth is an in-character entertainment journalism show, and as such anything stated is not considered canon unless otherwise supported in a published product.
NobleWatch: Count Proposes Budget Cuts
(Sharpsberg, Antietam, Federated Suns, April 10)
At the opening of Antietam Planetary Parliament’s yearly session, Count Philip Mallory laid out his vision of a post-Jihad Antietam
Antietam itself was spared from any Blakist attacks, though there were a few raids on Antietam’s asteroid belt mines. But the casualty rates among the Antietam soldiers serving in the AFFS were seventy percent.
In a twenty-minute speech, the count summed up Antietam’s current state, then started laying of his plans. There were a few eyebrows raised when the count strongly suggested to Parliament that this year’s planetary budget be cut fifteen percent, “…because of the shattered state of the Inner Sphere economy.” He stated that the Mallory family will be cutting their own budgets by fifteen percent and contribute five million pounds to local social and volunteer groups.
The count became tearful when he talked about the horrendous loss of so many young Antietam men and women. The count, a veteran of the Fourth Succession War, took several minutes to eulogize them, promising “that their sacrifice will be remembered as long as they are kept in our collective hearts.” He asked Parliament to find a strip of land that would be given over to a privately funded monument to those fallen soldiers.
The rest of the speech outlined the way to put Antietam on a solid financial keel, draw business to the planet, and ride the wave of the recovering Federated Suns economy.
Reaction on the floor of Parliament was mostly favorable. Sarah Matterason, MP-Springfield, said the speech, “was timely and shows great forethought.” But Giles Megan, MP-Downs End, called the speech, “Fearmongering of the worse kind.”
NobleWatch will keep you appraised of this matter as events warrant it.
NobleWatch is an in-character holovid news program, and may not represent canon events in the BattleTech universe. Any contradictions with existing sourcebooks should be ignored.
Beams & Bullets: Drones
Most of the Inner Sphere holds the idea of drones in contempt, if not outright fear. The Hegemony Casper system proved devastatingly effective, but unfortunately was turned against its creators when Amaris overthrew the Camerons. After that, Inner Sphere leaders seemed to shy away from any widespread use of automated and remote operated drones. But despite the belief that these were not in use at all, certain industrial and highly-specialized military drones were still in use during the Succession Wars, most notably those carried by the Hi-Scout Drone Carrier.
It was the Word of Blake and the Capellan Confederation that brought these systems back into play in a major way. The remote operating system can weigh up to and over three times what a typical cockpit and manual operating system takes up. This is not counting the operating system required on the carrier units—unlike true Casper AI system used by in the Star League, the hesitancy about friendly fire and hacking left current users unwilling to have a mobile autonomous system in use during combat.
This is almost a purely defensive system. This not to say a drone system cannot be used effectively on offense, but during those key moments at a jump point, launching the drones after getting over the disorientation of hyperspace leaves the carrier just as vulnerable as a normal fighter carrier. The quick destruction of the drone carrier will leave all those remote operated units useless, while at least manned fighters can shift to other transports. On the flip side, while defending a jump point the carrier can leave their drones floating, mostly underpowered without worry of life support in pre-positioned locations waiting to ambush an unsuspecting vessel.
Next week we look at the innards of most combat units, the engines and the gyros and recent upgrades they've been receiving!
Beams & Bullets is a weekly column discussing recent advances, adaptations, and tactics for some of the newest and most dangerous weaponry to appear in the Inner Sphere and Clan Occupation Zones. Check back every week for new insights to the beams, bullets, and gunsights you need to survive.
Strategos: Mallory’s World Pt 7
When the Second Sword of Light retreated from Colterville it had split into two parts to keep from being trapped by the more numerous and more swift-moving Fourth Davion Guards. But while this could keep the decisive battle from happening—the Dragon’s Bane couldn’t bring enough firepower to bear to overwhelm the heavier Steel Dragon, and the Second Sword couldn’t catch enough of the Fourth Guards to matter—it did nothing to end the battle.
Until the Twenty-fourth Dieron Regulars drove the Seventeenth Avalon Hussars back into Colterville.
With no one to watch the backfield, the Fourth Guards were forced to devote too many resources to holding their lines of supply. They halted their pursuit mission and withdrew into an evasion pattern, which allowed the Second Sword of Light to reconsolidate and begin an orchestrated push to isolate and destroy the Fourth Davion Guards. If the Dragon’s Bane was to have any hope of survival, more Davion troops would have to be brought to Mallory’s World—but all the AFFS regulars were too far away. The only troops conveniently nearby were the mercenary Kell Hounds, who arrived on 21 October.
Even the Kell Hounds—who would grow to claim a famed reputation the equal of any other mercenaries—weren’t enough. Next week, we go to Desolate Pass.
Strategos is a syndicated weekly holovid column distributed by INN. Host Mordecai Aristobulus is a Galatea-based historian and writer who works widely with various Inner Sphere presses, including Merc and the Donegal Broadcasting Company.
The Season at Rankar’s Deep—Week Eight
Welcome to this week’s Rankar’s Deep Report.
The Regulus’ Wrath’s protest of last week’s Acca Haig-Tyler Boyer match was rejected. In addition, both the Wrath and the Eagles were warned that any rules violation would result in point deductions, suspension, or expulsion from the League.
RDR takes a look at the Wrath’s matches this week. Three of the four matches were against Black Ronin Stable.
Despite Acca Haig’s win last week, she is still near the bottom of the division. This week, third-place Carlos Valdez was the opponent and both pilot Panthers.
From the start Valdez was quicker. His first PPC shot stripped the armor off of Haig’s right arm. Valdez continued to be methodical as he slowly took Haig apart. When a PPC blast destroyed the Regulus ’Mechs’ right torso, Haig conceded the match.
Tyrone Dyhr was in second place in the Class Two division, and he needed to win against Sandra Nakamura to keep pace with leader Anna Hung. Nakamura started out strong in the first few exchanges, but Dyhr used his Phoenix Hawk’s speed, mobility, and his large laser’s range advantage to stay away from Nakamura’s Ronin and slowly pick it apart. After sixteen minutes, Dhyr’s laser burned through the Ronin’s left leg and fused both the knee and foot actuators. Unable to move quickly, Nakamura acquiesced.
The third Wrath-Ronin matchup saw Rick Dekker against Calvin Frost. Both men sit in Division Four’s basement and needed the win.
The fight was brutally short. Frost used his Hachiwara’s supercharger to rapidly close on Dekker’s Rifleman. The Ronin’s combination of autocannon and vibroblade left the Wrath ’Mech a wreck and Frost the victor.
Anne Foster finished out the Wrath’s miserable week by losing to Neil Oldenwhite in a no-flash, ho-hum affair.
Stay tuned for next week’s Rankar’s Deep Report!
This broadcast of the 3086 Rankar's Deep Report brought to you by Branson Breweries of Xolara. All fights are sanctioned by the Solaris Gaming Commission and the Lyran Alliance Gaming Board.
The Cursed Blood of Hohiro Kurita!
The marriage of Theodore Kurita to Tomoe Sakade was justified by her descent from Duncan Cameron and Johanna Kurita, who were smuggled out of Terra by a benevolent Kuritan trading family and hidden to history. FedCom sources were quick to point out the absurdity of the story once it was publicized by Combine dissidents, and it is generally considered propaganda elsewhere in the Inner Sphere.
Why did Kurita invent such a fabrication to obscure the truth of Sakade's lineage? It is clear that no Cameron with a claim on the throne could possibly have escaped from Stefan Amaris, let alone in the circumstances claimed. But there was another possibility that host Werner von Schattenberg explores. The records of the Amaris occupation make it clear that the Usurper had many children, and one is known to have escaped. Could it be that another child of Amaris was smuggled out?
Minoru Kurita and Stefan Amaris acted like allies over the course of the Usurpation, and it is unlikely that any Kurita traders could have acted without the agreement of the Coordinator. Helping a branch of the despicable Amaris line survive would be in line with the actions of Minoru, who drove out the loyalist Eridani Light Horse and forbade General Kerensky to stage from his Combine. Taking in a child of Amaris would be among the least despicable acts of that Coordinator.
But we know that Hohiro's brother, named Minoru in “honor” of his ancestor, is a member of the Nova Cats. However the Nova Cats are no longer truly Clan. The unreasonable and violent reaction of a Nova Cat warrior interviewed by Werner proves that the Cats are also hiding the truth about the Kuritas.
Join us next week when we look at the Satanist connections of Katherine Steiner-Davion!
Shadows of Truth is an in-character entertainment journalism show, and as such anything stated is not considered canon unless otherwise supported in a published product.
NobleWatch: Report from the Red Carpet (Part 1)
(Tharkad City, Tharkad, Lyran Alliance, April 17)
Here in the rebuilding capital some of Tharkad’s surviving society gathered together for a Celebration Ball. The rebuilt Marsden Wing of the Archon’s Palace was the site. Attendance didn’t match pre-Jihad gatherings, as Tharkad’s nobility were targets during the Word’s occupation, and most off-world nobles are still trying to piece their realms together. Few reporters covered the event.
Still, a few notables did attend. Baroness Roberta DeVire and her daughters, Belinda and Felicia, were conspicuously present. Baron John DeVire’s widow, Roberta is the acknowledged doyen of the reemerging Tharkad social scene. Despite being near fifty, DeVire still turns men’s heads without effort. Both daughters are also beauties, and rumors have them linked with several eligible bachelors. Each of the women wore dresses in shimmering green.
Baron Foster Bellman of Forkas was one of the few off-world nobles who attended. Four of the baron’s sons and two of his daughters fought for the Alliance, three of them making the ultimate sacrifice. It was clear by the Baron’s somber dress that he still is in morning.
Among the new crop of Tharkad nobility attending was the new Baron Ansgar Shurasky and his lovely wife, Wilva. The baron, a hero of both the Federated Commonwealth Civil War and the Jihad, still looks pale and drawn from years of combat. He was wearing a LAAF dress uniform with his new rank of colonel and the Alliance Star around his neck. Wilva looked stunning in an off-the-shoulder Steiner-blue dress.
Also new to the noble scene is Baron Peter Krousenhammer, whose reporting on the Word’s occupation of Tharkad gathered awards from across the Alliance. He came directly from his new job as TBS’ chief correspondent, dressed in what has become his trademark dark suit and bow tie.
More from Tharkad later!
NobleWatch is an in-character holovid news program, and may not represent canon events in the BattleTech universe. Any contradictions with existing sourcebooks should be ignored.
Beams & Bullets: Engines and Gyros
Fusion engines and gyros are probably some of the most widely produced heavy military equipment. The reason for this is simple: every modern BattleMech needs them. Sure, fission, fuel cell or internal combustion engines could be used instead, but those are so inefficient that nobody wants to mount them if they don’t absolutely have to. Even vehicles that mount fusion engines are more effective in combat than their ICE brethren. So the question becomes, if this technology is so vital, why does it seem that other than in the Star League and the Clans, standard fusion and gyros were the only variation available?
It was not until right before the Federated Commonwealth Civil War that progress was made. Wolf’s Dragoons, looking for lighter mass but Clan durability, broke through with the versatile light engine. A sensible compromise, the Dragoons intended to keep this technology for themselves until Katherine Steiner-Davion’s Lyran Alliance stole the plans for it.
Like a pebble in an avalanche the developments continued to gain speed and weight. Now with lighter and sturdier materials available, both new engines and new gyros began appearing. Designers can choose if their designs needed lighter versions of their core systems to mount more equipment and weapons, or if they are engineered to need more space by using heavier but more compact engines and gyros. Even the inherit fragility of gyros, always an issue, now has the option of being built hardened to take more damage.
It may say a lot about the efficiency of these two components that no one felt the need to improve upon them for quite so long. Nonetheless, military formations should be thankful that options are now there. Join us next as we look at another new piece of controversial equipment, sub-capital weapons!
Beams & Bullets is a weekly column discussing recent advances, adaptations, and tactics for some of the newest and most dangerous weaponry to appear in the Inner Sphere and Clan Occupation Zones. Check back every week for new insights to the beams, bullets, and gunsights you need to survive.
Strategos: Mallory’s World Pt 6
Once the Fourth Davion Guards broke the siege of Colterville and took off in pursuit of the Second Sword of Light, the Seventeenth Avalon Hussars looked toward the Twenty-fourth Dieron Regulars with a sense of vengeance. Although they’d done proud work in resisting the advances of two veteran Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery regiments and their supports, they felt they had to prove themselves to their First Prince.
Of course, one wonders why they couldn’t have learned from the events of just a few weeks previously, but that is but one of the mysteries of history. General Drivers ordered the remnants of his regimental combat team and its transport assets and attacked the Twenty-fourth Dieron Regulars directly via combat drop, the very same tactic that had led to disaster earlier.
The Collector of Heads hadn’t been savaged in the breaking of the siege—the Second Sword had, not surprisingly, relegated them largely to a supporting role—and was prepared for the Seventeenth. Again General Drivers’ troops struck prepared Combine troops and were repulsed, and again they retreated toward Colterville. Only this time, they left the flank of the Fourth Davion Guards swinging in the breeze.
Which was the very thing the Steel Dragon had been waiting for.
Strategos is a syndicated weekly holovid column distributed by INN. Host Mordecai Aristobulus is a Galatea-based historian and writer who works widely with various Inner Sphere presses, including Merc and the Donegal Broadcasting Company.
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Strategos: Mallory’s Word Pt 8
The Fourth Davion Guards RCT attempted to escape from the emboldened Second Sword of Light, but the Steel Dragon refused to relinquish their command of the initiative. Desperate to cut contact and gain some distance, the Dragon’s Bane cut through Desolate Pass—a narrowing that allowed only a single ’Mech through at a time. The First Prince himself, Ian Davion, held the pass as the last of the lighter Fourth Guards BattleMechs escaped through, buying them the time they needed with his life in a now-famous duel with Yorinaga Kurita.
The Kell Hounds recovered the First Prince’s body, but his sanity—indeed, his sense of duty to the Federated Suns—had fled long before.
Consider: as First Prince, Ian Davion had a responsibility to the realm as a whole, not just that contingent of citizens that made up the Fourth Davion Guards RCT. Certainly they were the closest, and the most immediate to his heart since he’d been fighting with them day and night for weeks. But his place was not to die between two pillars of rocks under the guns of a Combine samurai. His place was to lead. The Federated Suns is not some mythical wind-powered sailing ship, and Ian Davion was not a captain to go down with one.
In the end, he died a warrior’s death—a warrior, when the realm needed a soldier.
Strategos is a syndicated weekly holovid column distributed by INN. Host Mordecai Aristobulus is a Galatea-based historian and writer who works widely with various Inner Sphere presses, including Merc and the Donegal Broadcasting Company.
The Season at Rankar’s Deep—Week Nine
Welcome to the Rankar’s Deep Report
Starting this week, we look at each division and their leaders in what’s shaping up to be an exciting season here at the Deep.
The Class Two division has three rookies in it and two of them lead the division. The Kroner Kings’ Jean Cuvier has been on fire, winning six of his eight matches. The Black Ronins’ Carlos Valdez is two points behind Cuvier and is looking to push past him this week. Cindy Santos and Tyler Boyer are a point behind Valdez, with Boyer’s losses the last two weeks costing him vital points and a slide down the table.
Jean Cuvier’s went up against Acca Haig in a Week Three rematch. Cuvier beat Haig handily the first time, and was favored coming in. The match was tense from the start. Haig came out fast, getting the match’s first solid hits, but Cuvier recovered quickly and hammered Haig. The match was conducted at a frantic pace, Cuvier spending nearly as much time in the air as on the ground. Haig gamely hung on, using the Deep’s outcroppings to shield her from Cuvier’s pulse lasers. Despite Cuvier’s best efforts, Haig hung on and earned a time-expired draw.
Carlos Valdez also had a Week Three rematch. Cindy Santos, determined not to have a repeat performance, came out storming in her Copperhead. Valdez was unflustered, and won the first exchanges. Santos pressed even harder, but Valdez’s Panther was more then up to the task. In a twenty-minute fight, he shattered the Broken Chains’ chances of winning the match and the Copperhead’s right leg.
After this week’s results. Valdez and Cuvier are tied for first, with Tyler Boyer and a surging Lo Yen a point behind.
Stay tuned for next week’s Rankar’s Deep Report!
This broadcast of the 3086 Rankar's Deep Report brought to you by Branson Breweries of Xolara. All fights are sanctioned by the Solaris Gaming Commission and the Lyran Alliance Gaming Board.
The Infernal First Princess!
It is now common knowledge in enlightened circles that Katherine Steiner-Davion was responsible for the murder of her mother, Melissa Steiner. Reginald Starling's tireless work and leaks about the existence of a “black dossier” held by her brother Victor Steiner-Davion have settled the question of her guilt. But many still wonder how she became so evil as to commit such a wicked crime.
Investigative reporter George Kerry exposed the existence of the Hellfire and Brimstone Society on the campus of the NAIS almost from the moment of its inception. In an interview with Shadows of Truth he lays out Katherine's involvement. “She was definitely invited to Society functions on campus,” Kerry notes, citing an anonymous contemporary. “At such functions the Society celebrated a Black Mass where they held orgies and worshiped an idol created from Pyramid Beer kegs which they named Baphomet.”
As Werner pointed out, Baphomet was the name of the Satanic idol worshiped by the Knights Templar before their suppression by the Papacy. “The Society has an uncertain history,” Kerry noted, “and my sources claim it was brought to New Avalon by the first Terran colonists. Certainly every scion of the First Families of New Avalon is a member.”
The support of a social elite brought together in dark Satanic rites helps account for the ease of Katherine's occupation of New Avalon. But, as Satanism expert Johann Morgenstern revealed, a buy-in would have been required. “She would have had to make a sacrifice, and the dearer and more profane the better,” he told Werner. “The murder of Melissa Steiner has occult significance as a human sacrifice, which Reginald Starling called attention to in his Bloody Princess #12.”
Join us next week as we look at the ancient Rosicrucians!
Shadows of Truth is an in-character entertainment journalism show, and as such anything stated is not considered canon unless otherwise supported in a published product.
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NobleWatch: Report from the Red Carpet (Part 2)
(Tharkad City, Tharkad, Lyran Alliance, April 17)
We continue our look at the guests attending the first event of the post-Jihad social calendar. The Celebration Ball list of attendees was a mix of old-line survivors and the newly ennobled who earned their titles through Jihad-related efforts.
Tharkad fashion has been in disarray since the Word’s occupation. Only a few designers have gotten back to their jobs and limited funds, materials, and demand have taken their toll on the creative process. What has come out of the studios some fashion critics have called “Tharkad basic.” Simpler lines, materials and colors have made their way to those who wear the clothes everyone talks about.
An example of the new wave of fashion is Baroness Fredia Houseman, representative of Vendrell. The newest member of the Estates General’s Steering Committee, Houseman attended the Ball wearing a pale blue and gold dress, with little jewelry and makeup. The dress, by designer Levior Devore, was striking in its simplicity.
Actress Inga Jahne has also adopted the new style, showing up at the Ball in a Gloria Von Altbusser original. The royal blue backless had panels of green and white woven into the ankle-length dress.
But there are always those who buck the trend. Joanne Miles-Eddington, better known to her fans as JME, has always been one who throws convention out the wuindow. She showed up at the ball escorted by her current interest, Baron Hagle Rothham of Greenlaw. The singer wore a blood red, low-cut, knee-length kimono-style dress with the image of a large silver tiger stitched into the fabric. Whispers speculated whether or not she was wearing anything under the dress.
That concludes our two-part look at the fashion and people at the Celebration Ball.
NobleWatch will continue watching the fashion trends.
NobleWatch is an in-character holovid news program, and may not represent canon events in the BattleTech universe. Any contradictions with existing sourcebooks should be ignored.
Beams & Bullets: Sub-Capital Weapons
A creation seemingly out of the blue, sub-capital weapons were evidently a Blakist attempt to export Terra's SDS to its important Protectorate systems. Just like they did to other Inner Sphere powers, the technical specifications fell into the hands of others, and the ability to produce these have spread far and wide.
Smaller than standard capital weapons, the damage-to-weight ratio proves even more inefficient than their bigger brethren, easily outclassed by bays of standard weapons of equal weight. Units and fortresses able to mount standard capital weapons often still do so instead, making them much more effective than these systems. Only the smaller ships that can’t afford the mass of the original weapons systems seem to have a reason to mount these.
Inefficient as they may be, sub-capitals are proving to be popular in many circles. Almost every new assault DropShip and variant carries one or more, giving them a reach and a mobile orbital bombardment capability that previously only WarShips possessed. There is something to be said for no longer needing such an expensive (and once again rare) weapons platform to be able to provide strategic support for ground formations.
Another use of these seem to be for mobile structures. First seen in the Blakist Protectorate, their relatively light weight allowed better use of the feared Rattler and Wyrm facilities that caused heavy casualties of those attempting to take Terra's Castle Brians. Oriente has already put these to use, creating planet-based light SDS centered around sub-capital weapons, and reportedly Sian will have a similar setup in coming years. Whether they are good or bad, sub-capital weapons seem to be on track to stay.
Next week a even more obscure weapon system, mass drivers!
Beams & Bullets is a weekly column discussing recent advances, adaptations, and tactics for some of the newest and most dangerous weaponry to appear in the Inner Sphere and Clan Occupation Zones. Check back every week for new insights to the beams, bullets, and gunsights you need to survive.
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Strategos: Mallory’s World Pt 9
When the DropShip carrying the Prince Ian Davion’s body boosted for orbit and the waiting JumpShip, every soldier on Mallory’s World knew that they had failed their prince even as he died for them. General Drivers, still in command of the Avalon Hussars and having seniority over the surviving Brigade of Guards officers, took a bit of time to rebuild his command and consolidate the Kell Hounds and Dragon’s Bane into his plans. Newly-promoted Tai-sa Yorinaga Kurita had led the Second Sword of Light off-world, but the Second Legion of Vega had replaced them.
One wonders if any of the Kell Hound officers present when Drivers’ staff presented their plan for the attack on the Second Legion of Vega looked at a peer and asked “seriously?” The three Davion formations would use disinformation to trick the Kuritans into believing they were going to strike at the Twenty-fourth Dieron Regulars, but instead struck the Second Legion of Vega. The Seventeenth’s choice of tactic: a combat drop on top of the Legion.
This time, against the dregs that made up the Legion, it worked. By the end of the assault, the Second Legion of Vega had been effectively destroyed and the Davion morale on its way to restoration. General Drivers had finally won a victory worthy of being called such.
The Twenty-fourth, upon hearing the death cries of the Second Legion of Vega, wasted no time. They bolted for the now-abandoned defenses of Colterville.
Strategos is a syndicated weekly holovid column distributed by INN. Host Mordecai Aristobulus is a Galatea-based historian and writer who works widely with various Inner Sphere presses, including Merc and the Donegal Broadcasting Company.
The Season at Rankar’s Deep—Week Ten
Welcome to the Rankar’s Deep Report.
We look at the Class Three division this week. Red Jians’ Anna Hung is the only unbeaten MechWarrior in any of the divisions, a hard-fought draw with Soren Murphy her only non-win this year. Tyrone Dyhr would be leading any other division. Instead, he is four points behind Hung and trying to keep the gap from getting wider.
Hung’s opponent this week was People’s Will’s Wan-Choi Cole. Cole was 2-8 coming in, the worst record he’s ever had. His older-model Tsunami has been a problem all season, and word is that the Stable will dispose of it at season’s end.
Hung stayed cool throughout the match, using her Vindicator’s LRM/PPC combo to keep Cole on the defensive and wear him down. With ten minutes left, Cole decided to gamble and launched a death-from-above attack at Hung. Hung waited until Cole reached the jump’s apex, then pounded him with everything she had, punching through weakened armor, ripping the gyro apart and destroying two jump jets. Cole’s Tsunami slammed to the ground, and officials gave Hung the victory. Cole was stunned, but okay.
Tyrone Dyhr’s match was against Wyren Claw’s Hiroyuki Hojo. Hojo, at 6-4 and in fourth place, has been a tough opponent all season.
Dyhr used his speed and jumping advantage to literally run circles around Hojo, staying away from the Bushwhacker’s Mydron autocannon. Hojo did score several missiles hits, but Dyhr targeted Hojo’s legs, burning away most of the armor located there. Hojo retreated toward the Deep’s center, but Dyhr kept the pressure on, forcing Hojo to keep backpedaling. At sixteen minutes, Dyhr’s lasers blew Hojo’s left leg apart. Hojo was knocked unconscious in the fall, giving Dyhr the win, and Hojo a headache.
Stay tuned for next week’s Rankar’s Deep Report!
This broadcast of the 3086 Rankar's Deep Report brought to you by Branson Breweries of Xolara. All fights are sanctioned by the Solaris Gaming Commission and the Lyran Alliance Gaming Board.
Alchemist Masters of the Inner Sphere!
Scholars of the occult are familiar with the Rosicrucian Order, an esoteric sect that first surfaced during the 17th century with a mysterious manifesto and a call for enlightenment. The alchemists Francis Bacon and John Dee were among the members of the sect, whose secrets were hidden away in enigmatic code such as the infamous Voynich Manuscript. What such scholars have been reluctant to credit is that the Rosicrucians did not disappear but have continued to prosper and thrive behind a veil of secrecy thrown up by misguided propaganda about the Illuminati.
“The so-called Illuminati were an invention of the Rosicrucians to throw off their mortal enemy, the Roman Catholic Church,” historian and occult expert Christian Weishaupt explained to host Werner von Schattenberg. “There is no real evidence for the existence of any such hidden political society and it is facile to believe mere temporal power could bind such a shadowy organization. Some other tie is needed; the mystical knowledge of [Order founder] Rosenkreutz and the alchemical formulas of Bacon and Dee are what create the solidarity of the Rosicrucians.”
That the Rosicrucians survived can be proven with an examination of the secret societies touched by their influence. The Freemasons, the Order of the New Dawn, the Brotherhood of Trismegistus. and the Society of the Saints Cameron all bear Rosicrucian elements to their rituals and ordinances. The known association of the Comte de Saint-Germain with all four societies provides another link, as the most likely identity of the Comte is none other than Francis Bacon. Having demonstrated an immortality Elixir at the height of the Star League, and influenced Jerome Blake, who can tell how much power his Order wields behind the scenes?
Join us next week as we look at the shadow hanging over Marik!
Shadows of Truth is an in-character entertainment journalism show, and as such anything stated is not considered canon unless otherwise supported in a published product.
NobleWatch: Noble’s Divorce Hearing Turns into Brawl
(South Sutton, Saginaw, Federated Suns, April 24)
The Smallwood case took another turn this week as a preliminary hearing in the divorce case turned into a brawl in the courtroom.
As regular NobleWatch readers will remember, the divorce started as an attempted murder case brought against Baroness Linda Smallwood. She was found not guilty by a jury last month and, three days after the verdict, filed for divorce from Baron Baldwin Smallwood.
The last weeks have been a press duel. The baron took every opportunity to tear down his estranged wife, while the baroness has made fewer but more damning statements. She has released the names of the women the baron apparently has had affairs with, as well as a list of gifts he has given them. The baron has hotly denied the baroness’ charges, calling them “…cheap stunts designed to elicit sympathy!”
The hearing started civilly enough. Judge Tyman Korrel began with a request to both sides to avoid insulting or antagonizing the other party. But within ten minutes, both attorneys were verbally sniping at each other, causing the packed courtroom to mutter or mummer, depending on which side they were backing. Several times Judge Korrel was forced to admonish both sides and the crowd.
Soon a shoving match began between several audience members. The shoving turned to punches, and the courtroom exploded into a brawl. Extra police and bailiffs were called in, and after twenty minutes got things under control. Six participants in the brawl were hospitalized, and four people were arrested. Judge Korrel has placed both sides on notice that any more outbursts will result in both sides being arrested and spending the rest of the case in a jail cell.
NobleWatch will keep you appraised of this matter as events warrant it.
NobleWatch is an in-character holovid news program, and may not represent canon events in the BattleTech universe. Any contradictions with existing sourcebooks should be ignored.
Beams & Bullets: Mass Drivers
One of the many mysterious projects of the first Star League, mass drivers were rumored to be a project in the works by the Hegemony to strategically wipe out space stations and massive military fortifications. As with much of the Hegemony’s technological advances, this too was lost to the centuries of war.
The Word of Blake attempted to bring it back, with rumors of them mounting them on massive WarShips, cracking the planetary crust of a planet with a few well placed volleys. Specifications have this acting like a naval Gauss rifles on an even more epic scale, hurling solid masses at unheard of velocities to use kinetic energy to destroy anything in its trajectory.
These are apparently massive weapons. Only large WarShips seem to be able to mount one, and retrofitting one into a ship is a story for the scandalvids. We expect them all to be rumors, until one contemplates the destruction of the Azami world, Necromo and Taurus by supposed asteroids (though Taurus was hit by confirmed asteroids, another engineering feat for another time).
With the Blakists gone, and the lack of WarShips, this system is destined for the history books or bedtime stories to scare or awe young naval officers with its tale. We may never get the true details.
Next week, advances in BattleMech internal structure!
Beams & Bullets is a weekly column discussing recent advances, adaptations, and tactics for some of the newest and most dangerous weaponry to appear in the Inner Sphere and Clan Occupation Zones. Check back every week for new insights to the beams, bullets, and gunsights you need to survive.
The Season at Rankar’s Deep—Week Seven
Welcome to this week’s Rankar’s Deep Report.
The match between Acca Haig and Tyler Boyer this week indicates how serious hostilities are between the Black Eagle and the Regulus Wrath Stables.
Boyer came into this week leading the Class Two division, after beating Star Rangers’ Steve Miller last week, while Calidia Raines lost to Broken Chains’ Cindy Santos. Acca Haig is at the bottom of the division and has only won two of her six matches.
Chief Referee Garret Foster told RDR that the League worried about the match and their fears were justified. Boyer’s Stinger entered with the Regulun Hussars’ emblem on its chest. Haig’s Panther, painted in FWL purple, had the Marik eagle prominently displayed on the torso. Neither gladiator spoke except to acknowledge their readiness. When the signal was given, both exploded into attack.
It quickly became obvious that both had modified their ’Mechs. Boyer’s lasers struck the Panther at longer than normal range, only to do little damage to the Black Eagle ’Mech’s glazed armor. Haig fired her PPC and the powerful beam nearly took Boyer’s head off.
The next twenty-two minutes were ugly, as it became clear that each warrior was out for blood. Unable to do serious damage to the Panther quickly, Boyer kept moving to avoid Haig’s ER PPC, which was clearly not the Panther’s normal weapon.
Boyer’s odds finally gave out when one of Haig’s PPC blasts vaporized his right leg. Boyer tried to fight on, but officials, fearing that things would get out of hand, quickly called the fight and awarded Haig the win. The Wraths have filed an official protest, which will be ruled on next week. We’ll stay on this.
Stay tuned for next week’s Rankar’s Deep Report!
This broadcast of the 3086 Rankar's Deep Report brought to you by Branson Breweries of Xolara. All fights are sanctioned by the Solaris Gaming Commission and the Lyran Alliance Gaming Board.
Banshees on Skye?
The McQuiston family were the first rulers of Skye, and originated with an impetuous young Scotsman seeking fortune in the Exodus. Ian McQuiston came from a family of traders and used his savvy to create a shipping monopoly that became a full-fledged government. His family died out but his legacy remains in the Lyran Commonwealth.
The McQuistons may have contributed something more to Skye than a government, though. A descendant of the chiefs of the Clan MacDonald of Skye, as genealogist Richard Kavanaugh confirms. “McQuiston's great-great-grand father Perry married the last daughter of one of the sub-branches of the Clan,” he told host Werner von Schattenberg. “That made the McQuiston family one of the few surviving families with any clan authority.”
And it was the chiefs of the Gaelic clans that were entitled to a funeral dirge by the banshees. McQuiston had no siblings on Terra so the clan authority traveled with him to his manor outside the Bannockburn Bogs on Skye. The first instance of an apparition, covered in the New Glasgow Gazette, mentioned a specter of a woman wailing at the death of McQuiston's first wife. The Banshees reappeared before Archon Marsden's coup, the Kurita invasion of 2407, and after the doomed marriage of Regina McQuiston. The McQuiston line died with Regina, but the Banshees have been sighted again when Skye comes under threat, most recently at the beginning of the Jihad.
Video from Skye of a recent apparition is causing a renewed interest in the phenomenon. The shadowy figure and its unearthly keening are striking and eerie. Does it signal further tragedy for the Lyran Alliance with the end of the Jihad in sight? Only time will tell.
Join us next week as we look at the dark secret of Coordinator Hohiro Kurita!
Shadows of Truth is an in-character entertainment journalism show, and as such anything stated is not considered canon unless otherwise supported in a published product.
NobleWatch: Count Proposes Budget Cuts
(Sharpsberg, Antietam, Federated Suns, April 10)
At the opening of Antietam Planetary Parliament’s yearly session, Count Philip Mallory laid out his vision of a post-Jihad Antietam
Antietam itself was spared from any Blakist attacks, though there were a few raids on Antietam’s asteroid belt mines. But the casualty rates among the Antietam soldiers serving in the AFFS were seventy percent.
In a twenty-minute speech, the count summed up Antietam’s current state, then started laying of his plans. There were a few eyebrows raised when the count strongly suggested to Parliament that this year’s planetary budget be cut fifteen percent, “…because of the shattered state of the Inner Sphere economy.” He stated that the Mallory family will be cutting their own budgets by fifteen percent and contribute five million pounds to local social and volunteer groups.
The count became tearful when he talked about the horrendous loss of so many young Antietam men and women. The count, a veteran of the Fourth Succession War, took several minutes to eulogize them, promising “that their sacrifice will be remembered as long as they are kept in our collective hearts.” He asked Parliament to find a strip of land that would be given over to a privately funded monument to those fallen soldiers.
The rest of the speech outlined the way to put Antietam on a solid financial keel, draw business to the planet, and ride the wave of the recovering Federated Suns economy.
Reaction on the floor of Parliament was mostly favorable. Sarah Matterason, MP-Springfield, said the speech, “was timely and shows great forethought.” But Giles Megan, MP-Downs End, called the speech, “Fearmongering of the worse kind.”
NobleWatch will keep you appraised of this matter as events warrant it.
NobleWatch is an in-character holovid news program, and may not represent canon events in the BattleTech universe. Any contradictions with existing sourcebooks should be ignored.
Beams & Bullets: Drones
Most of the Inner Sphere holds the idea of drones in contempt, if not outright fear. The Hegemony Casper system proved devastatingly effective, but unfortunately was turned against its creators when Amaris overthrew the Camerons. After that, Inner Sphere leaders seemed to shy away from any widespread use of automated and remote operated drones. But despite the belief that these were not in use at all, certain industrial and highly-specialized military drones were still in use during the Succession Wars, most notably those carried by the Hi-Scout Drone Carrier.
It was the Word of Blake and the Capellan Confederation that brought these systems back into play in a major way. The remote operating system can weigh up to and over three times what a typical cockpit and manual operating system takes up. This is not counting the operating system required on the carrier units—unlike true Casper AI system used by in the Star League, the hesitancy about friendly fire and hacking left current users unwilling to have a mobile autonomous system in use during combat.
This is almost a purely defensive system. This not to say a drone system cannot be used effectively on offense, but during those key moments at a jump point, launching the drones after getting over the disorientation of hyperspace leaves the carrier just as vulnerable as a normal fighter carrier. The quick destruction of the drone carrier will leave all those remote operated units useless, while at least manned fighters can shift to other transports. On the flip side, while defending a jump point the carrier can leave their drones floating, mostly underpowered without worry of life support in pre-positioned locations waiting to ambush an unsuspecting vessel.
Next week we look at the innards of most combat units, the engines and the gyros and recent upgrades they've been receiving!
Beams & Bullets is a weekly column discussing recent advances, adaptations, and tactics for some of the newest and most dangerous weaponry to appear in the Inner Sphere and Clan Occupation Zones. Check back every week for new insights to the beams, bullets, and gunsights you need to survive.
Strategos: Mallory’s World Pt 7
When the Second Sword of Light retreated from Colterville it had split into two parts to keep from being trapped by the more numerous and more swift-moving Fourth Davion Guards. But while this could keep the decisive battle from happening—the Dragon’s Bane couldn’t bring enough firepower to bear to overwhelm the heavier Steel Dragon, and the Second Sword couldn’t catch enough of the Fourth Guards to matter—it did nothing to end the battle.
Until the Twenty-fourth Dieron Regulars drove the Seventeenth Avalon Hussars back into Colterville.
With no one to watch the backfield, the Fourth Guards were forced to devote too many resources to holding their lines of supply. They halted their pursuit mission and withdrew into an evasion pattern, which allowed the Second Sword of Light to reconsolidate and begin an orchestrated push to isolate and destroy the Fourth Davion Guards. If the Dragon’s Bane was to have any hope of survival, more Davion troops would have to be brought to Mallory’s World—but all the AFFS regulars were too far away. The only troops conveniently nearby were the mercenary Kell Hounds, who arrived on 21 October.
Even the Kell Hounds—who would grow to claim a famed reputation the equal of any other mercenaries—weren’t enough. Next week, we go to Desolate Pass.
Strategos is a syndicated weekly holovid column distributed by INN. Host Mordecai Aristobulus is a Galatea-based historian and writer who works widely with various Inner Sphere presses, including Merc and the Donegal Broadcasting Company.
The Season at Rankar’s Deep—Week Eight
Welcome to this week’s Rankar’s Deep Report.
The Regulus’ Wrath’s protest of last week’s Acca Haig-Tyler Boyer match was rejected. In addition, both the Wrath and the Eagles were warned that any rules violation would result in point deductions, suspension, or expulsion from the League.
RDR takes a look at the Wrath’s matches this week. Three of the four matches were against Black Ronin Stable.
Despite Acca Haig’s win last week, she is still near the bottom of the division. This week, third-place Carlos Valdez was the opponent and both pilot Panthers.
From the start Valdez was quicker. His first PPC shot stripped the armor off of Haig’s right arm. Valdez continued to be methodical as he slowly took Haig apart. When a PPC blast destroyed the Regulus ’Mechs’ right torso, Haig conceded the match.
Tyrone Dyhr was in second place in the Class Two division, and he needed to win against Sandra Nakamura to keep pace with leader Anna Hung. Nakamura started out strong in the first few exchanges, but Dyhr used his Phoenix Hawk’s speed, mobility, and his large laser’s range advantage to stay away from Nakamura’s Ronin and slowly pick it apart. After sixteen minutes, Dhyr’s laser burned through the Ronin’s left leg and fused both the knee and foot actuators. Unable to move quickly, Nakamura acquiesced.
The third Wrath-Ronin matchup saw Rick Dekker against Calvin Frost. Both men sit in Division Four’s basement and needed the win.
The fight was brutally short. Frost used his Hachiwara’s supercharger to rapidly close on Dekker’s Rifleman. The Ronin’s combination of autocannon and vibroblade left the Wrath ’Mech a wreck and Frost the victor.
Anne Foster finished out the Wrath’s miserable week by losing to Neil Oldenwhite in a no-flash, ho-hum affair.
Stay tuned for next week’s Rankar’s Deep Report!
This broadcast of the 3086 Rankar's Deep Report brought to you by Branson Breweries of Xolara. All fights are sanctioned by the Solaris Gaming Commission and the Lyran Alliance Gaming Board.
The Cursed Blood of Hohiro Kurita!
The marriage of Theodore Kurita to Tomoe Sakade was justified by her descent from Duncan Cameron and Johanna Kurita, who were smuggled out of Terra by a benevolent Kuritan trading family and hidden to history. FedCom sources were quick to point out the absurdity of the story once it was publicized by Combine dissidents, and it is generally considered propaganda elsewhere in the Inner Sphere.
Why did Kurita invent such a fabrication to obscure the truth of Sakade's lineage? It is clear that no Cameron with a claim on the throne could possibly have escaped from Stefan Amaris, let alone in the circumstances claimed. But there was another possibility that host Werner von Schattenberg explores. The records of the Amaris occupation make it clear that the Usurper had many children, and one is known to have escaped. Could it be that another child of Amaris was smuggled out?
Minoru Kurita and Stefan Amaris acted like allies over the course of the Usurpation, and it is unlikely that any Kurita traders could have acted without the agreement of the Coordinator. Helping a branch of the despicable Amaris line survive would be in line with the actions of Minoru, who drove out the loyalist Eridani Light Horse and forbade General Kerensky to stage from his Combine. Taking in a child of Amaris would be among the least despicable acts of that Coordinator.
But we know that Hohiro's brother, named Minoru in “honor” of his ancestor, is a member of the Nova Cats. However the Nova Cats are no longer truly Clan. The unreasonable and violent reaction of a Nova Cat warrior interviewed by Werner proves that the Cats are also hiding the truth about the Kuritas.
Join us next week when we look at the Satanist connections of Katherine Steiner-Davion!
Shadows of Truth is an in-character entertainment journalism show, and as such anything stated is not considered canon unless otherwise supported in a published product.
NobleWatch: Report from the Red Carpet (Part 1)
(Tharkad City, Tharkad, Lyran Alliance, April 17)
Here in the rebuilding capital some of Tharkad’s surviving society gathered together for a Celebration Ball. The rebuilt Marsden Wing of the Archon’s Palace was the site. Attendance didn’t match pre-Jihad gatherings, as Tharkad’s nobility were targets during the Word’s occupation, and most off-world nobles are still trying to piece their realms together. Few reporters covered the event.
Still, a few notables did attend. Baroness Roberta DeVire and her daughters, Belinda and Felicia, were conspicuously present. Baron John DeVire’s widow, Roberta is the acknowledged doyen of the reemerging Tharkad social scene. Despite being near fifty, DeVire still turns men’s heads without effort. Both daughters are also beauties, and rumors have them linked with several eligible bachelors. Each of the women wore dresses in shimmering green.
Baron Foster Bellman of Forkas was one of the few off-world nobles who attended. Four of the baron’s sons and two of his daughters fought for the Alliance, three of them making the ultimate sacrifice. It was clear by the Baron’s somber dress that he still is in morning.
Among the new crop of Tharkad nobility attending was the new Baron Ansgar Shurasky and his lovely wife, Wilva. The baron, a hero of both the Federated Commonwealth Civil War and the Jihad, still looks pale and drawn from years of combat. He was wearing a LAAF dress uniform with his new rank of colonel and the Alliance Star around his neck. Wilva looked stunning in an off-the-shoulder Steiner-blue dress.
Also new to the noble scene is Baron Peter Krousenhammer, whose reporting on the Word’s occupation of Tharkad gathered awards from across the Alliance. He came directly from his new job as TBS’ chief correspondent, dressed in what has become his trademark dark suit and bow tie.
More from Tharkad later!
NobleWatch is an in-character holovid news program, and may not represent canon events in the BattleTech universe. Any contradictions with existing sourcebooks should be ignored.
Beams & Bullets: Engines and Gyros
Fusion engines and gyros are probably some of the most widely produced heavy military equipment. The reason for this is simple: every modern BattleMech needs them. Sure, fission, fuel cell or internal combustion engines could be used instead, but those are so inefficient that nobody wants to mount them if they don’t absolutely have to. Even vehicles that mount fusion engines are more effective in combat than their ICE brethren. So the question becomes, if this technology is so vital, why does it seem that other than in the Star League and the Clans, standard fusion and gyros were the only variation available?
It was not until right before the Federated Commonwealth Civil War that progress was made. Wolf’s Dragoons, looking for lighter mass but Clan durability, broke through with the versatile light engine. A sensible compromise, the Dragoons intended to keep this technology for themselves until Katherine Steiner-Davion’s Lyran Alliance stole the plans for it.
Like a pebble in an avalanche the developments continued to gain speed and weight. Now with lighter and sturdier materials available, both new engines and new gyros began appearing. Designers can choose if their designs needed lighter versions of their core systems to mount more equipment and weapons, or if they are engineered to need more space by using heavier but more compact engines and gyros. Even the inherit fragility of gyros, always an issue, now has the option of being built hardened to take more damage.
It may say a lot about the efficiency of these two components that no one felt the need to improve upon them for quite so long. Nonetheless, military formations should be thankful that options are now there. Join us next as we look at another new piece of controversial equipment, sub-capital weapons!
Beams & Bullets is a weekly column discussing recent advances, adaptations, and tactics for some of the newest and most dangerous weaponry to appear in the Inner Sphere and Clan Occupation Zones. Check back every week for new insights to the beams, bullets, and gunsights you need to survive.
Strategos: Mallory’s World Pt 6
Once the Fourth Davion Guards broke the siege of Colterville and took off in pursuit of the Second Sword of Light, the Seventeenth Avalon Hussars looked toward the Twenty-fourth Dieron Regulars with a sense of vengeance. Although they’d done proud work in resisting the advances of two veteran Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery regiments and their supports, they felt they had to prove themselves to their First Prince.
Of course, one wonders why they couldn’t have learned from the events of just a few weeks previously, but that is but one of the mysteries of history. General Drivers ordered the remnants of his regimental combat team and its transport assets and attacked the Twenty-fourth Dieron Regulars directly via combat drop, the very same tactic that had led to disaster earlier.
The Collector of Heads hadn’t been savaged in the breaking of the siege—the Second Sword had, not surprisingly, relegated them largely to a supporting role—and was prepared for the Seventeenth. Again General Drivers’ troops struck prepared Combine troops and were repulsed, and again they retreated toward Colterville. Only this time, they left the flank of the Fourth Davion Guards swinging in the breeze.
Which was the very thing the Steel Dragon had been waiting for.
Strategos is a syndicated weekly holovid column distributed by INN. Host Mordecai Aristobulus is a Galatea-based historian and writer who works widely with various Inner Sphere presses, including Merc and the Donegal Broadcasting Company.
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Strategos: Mallory’s Word Pt 8
The Fourth Davion Guards RCT attempted to escape from the emboldened Second Sword of Light, but the Steel Dragon refused to relinquish their command of the initiative. Desperate to cut contact and gain some distance, the Dragon’s Bane cut through Desolate Pass—a narrowing that allowed only a single ’Mech through at a time. The First Prince himself, Ian Davion, held the pass as the last of the lighter Fourth Guards BattleMechs escaped through, buying them the time they needed with his life in a now-famous duel with Yorinaga Kurita.
The Kell Hounds recovered the First Prince’s body, but his sanity—indeed, his sense of duty to the Federated Suns—had fled long before.
Consider: as First Prince, Ian Davion had a responsibility to the realm as a whole, not just that contingent of citizens that made up the Fourth Davion Guards RCT. Certainly they were the closest, and the most immediate to his heart since he’d been fighting with them day and night for weeks. But his place was not to die between two pillars of rocks under the guns of a Combine samurai. His place was to lead. The Federated Suns is not some mythical wind-powered sailing ship, and Ian Davion was not a captain to go down with one.
In the end, he died a warrior’s death—a warrior, when the realm needed a soldier.
Strategos is a syndicated weekly holovid column distributed by INN. Host Mordecai Aristobulus is a Galatea-based historian and writer who works widely with various Inner Sphere presses, including Merc and the Donegal Broadcasting Company.
The Season at Rankar’s Deep—Week Nine
Welcome to the Rankar’s Deep Report
Starting this week, we look at each division and their leaders in what’s shaping up to be an exciting season here at the Deep.
The Class Two division has three rookies in it and two of them lead the division. The Kroner Kings’ Jean Cuvier has been on fire, winning six of his eight matches. The Black Ronins’ Carlos Valdez is two points behind Cuvier and is looking to push past him this week. Cindy Santos and Tyler Boyer are a point behind Valdez, with Boyer’s losses the last two weeks costing him vital points and a slide down the table.
Jean Cuvier’s went up against Acca Haig in a Week Three rematch. Cuvier beat Haig handily the first time, and was favored coming in. The match was tense from the start. Haig came out fast, getting the match’s first solid hits, but Cuvier recovered quickly and hammered Haig. The match was conducted at a frantic pace, Cuvier spending nearly as much time in the air as on the ground. Haig gamely hung on, using the Deep’s outcroppings to shield her from Cuvier’s pulse lasers. Despite Cuvier’s best efforts, Haig hung on and earned a time-expired draw.
Carlos Valdez also had a Week Three rematch. Cindy Santos, determined not to have a repeat performance, came out storming in her Copperhead. Valdez was unflustered, and won the first exchanges. Santos pressed even harder, but Valdez’s Panther was more then up to the task. In a twenty-minute fight, he shattered the Broken Chains’ chances of winning the match and the Copperhead’s right leg.
After this week’s results. Valdez and Cuvier are tied for first, with Tyler Boyer and a surging Lo Yen a point behind.
Stay tuned for next week’s Rankar’s Deep Report!
This broadcast of the 3086 Rankar's Deep Report brought to you by Branson Breweries of Xolara. All fights are sanctioned by the Solaris Gaming Commission and the Lyran Alliance Gaming Board.
The Infernal First Princess!
It is now common knowledge in enlightened circles that Katherine Steiner-Davion was responsible for the murder of her mother, Melissa Steiner. Reginald Starling's tireless work and leaks about the existence of a “black dossier” held by her brother Victor Steiner-Davion have settled the question of her guilt. But many still wonder how she became so evil as to commit such a wicked crime.
Investigative reporter George Kerry exposed the existence of the Hellfire and Brimstone Society on the campus of the NAIS almost from the moment of its inception. In an interview with Shadows of Truth he lays out Katherine's involvement. “She was definitely invited to Society functions on campus,” Kerry notes, citing an anonymous contemporary. “At such functions the Society celebrated a Black Mass where they held orgies and worshiped an idol created from Pyramid Beer kegs which they named Baphomet.”
As Werner pointed out, Baphomet was the name of the Satanic idol worshiped by the Knights Templar before their suppression by the Papacy. “The Society has an uncertain history,” Kerry noted, “and my sources claim it was brought to New Avalon by the first Terran colonists. Certainly every scion of the First Families of New Avalon is a member.”
The support of a social elite brought together in dark Satanic rites helps account for the ease of Katherine's occupation of New Avalon. But, as Satanism expert Johann Morgenstern revealed, a buy-in would have been required. “She would have had to make a sacrifice, and the dearer and more profane the better,” he told Werner. “The murder of Melissa Steiner has occult significance as a human sacrifice, which Reginald Starling called attention to in his Bloody Princess #12.”
Join us next week as we look at the ancient Rosicrucians!
Shadows of Truth is an in-character entertainment journalism show, and as such anything stated is not considered canon unless otherwise supported in a published product.
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NobleWatch: Report from the Red Carpet (Part 2)
(Tharkad City, Tharkad, Lyran Alliance, April 17)
We continue our look at the guests attending the first event of the post-Jihad social calendar. The Celebration Ball list of attendees was a mix of old-line survivors and the newly ennobled who earned their titles through Jihad-related efforts.
Tharkad fashion has been in disarray since the Word’s occupation. Only a few designers have gotten back to their jobs and limited funds, materials, and demand have taken their toll on the creative process. What has come out of the studios some fashion critics have called “Tharkad basic.” Simpler lines, materials and colors have made their way to those who wear the clothes everyone talks about.
An example of the new wave of fashion is Baroness Fredia Houseman, representative of Vendrell. The newest member of the Estates General’s Steering Committee, Houseman attended the Ball wearing a pale blue and gold dress, with little jewelry and makeup. The dress, by designer Levior Devore, was striking in its simplicity.
Actress Inga Jahne has also adopted the new style, showing up at the Ball in a Gloria Von Altbusser original. The royal blue backless had panels of green and white woven into the ankle-length dress.
But there are always those who buck the trend. Joanne Miles-Eddington, better known to her fans as JME, has always been one who throws convention out the wuindow. She showed up at the ball escorted by her current interest, Baron Hagle Rothham of Greenlaw. The singer wore a blood red, low-cut, knee-length kimono-style dress with the image of a large silver tiger stitched into the fabric. Whispers speculated whether or not she was wearing anything under the dress.
That concludes our two-part look at the fashion and people at the Celebration Ball.
NobleWatch will continue watching the fashion trends.
NobleWatch is an in-character holovid news program, and may not represent canon events in the BattleTech universe. Any contradictions with existing sourcebooks should be ignored.
Beams & Bullets: Sub-Capital Weapons
A creation seemingly out of the blue, sub-capital weapons were evidently a Blakist attempt to export Terra's SDS to its important Protectorate systems. Just like they did to other Inner Sphere powers, the technical specifications fell into the hands of others, and the ability to produce these have spread far and wide.
Smaller than standard capital weapons, the damage-to-weight ratio proves even more inefficient than their bigger brethren, easily outclassed by bays of standard weapons of equal weight. Units and fortresses able to mount standard capital weapons often still do so instead, making them much more effective than these systems. Only the smaller ships that can’t afford the mass of the original weapons systems seem to have a reason to mount these.
Inefficient as they may be, sub-capitals are proving to be popular in many circles. Almost every new assault DropShip and variant carries one or more, giving them a reach and a mobile orbital bombardment capability that previously only WarShips possessed. There is something to be said for no longer needing such an expensive (and once again rare) weapons platform to be able to provide strategic support for ground formations.
Another use of these seem to be for mobile structures. First seen in the Blakist Protectorate, their relatively light weight allowed better use of the feared Rattler and Wyrm facilities that caused heavy casualties of those attempting to take Terra's Castle Brians. Oriente has already put these to use, creating planet-based light SDS centered around sub-capital weapons, and reportedly Sian will have a similar setup in coming years. Whether they are good or bad, sub-capital weapons seem to be on track to stay.
Next week a even more obscure weapon system, mass drivers!
Beams & Bullets is a weekly column discussing recent advances, adaptations, and tactics for some of the newest and most dangerous weaponry to appear in the Inner Sphere and Clan Occupation Zones. Check back every week for new insights to the beams, bullets, and gunsights you need to survive.
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Strategos: Mallory’s World Pt 9
When the DropShip carrying the Prince Ian Davion’s body boosted for orbit and the waiting JumpShip, every soldier on Mallory’s World knew that they had failed their prince even as he died for them. General Drivers, still in command of the Avalon Hussars and having seniority over the surviving Brigade of Guards officers, took a bit of time to rebuild his command and consolidate the Kell Hounds and Dragon’s Bane into his plans. Newly-promoted Tai-sa Yorinaga Kurita had led the Second Sword of Light off-world, but the Second Legion of Vega had replaced them.
One wonders if any of the Kell Hound officers present when Drivers’ staff presented their plan for the attack on the Second Legion of Vega looked at a peer and asked “seriously?” The three Davion formations would use disinformation to trick the Kuritans into believing they were going to strike at the Twenty-fourth Dieron Regulars, but instead struck the Second Legion of Vega. The Seventeenth’s choice of tactic: a combat drop on top of the Legion.
This time, against the dregs that made up the Legion, it worked. By the end of the assault, the Second Legion of Vega had been effectively destroyed and the Davion morale on its way to restoration. General Drivers had finally won a victory worthy of being called such.
The Twenty-fourth, upon hearing the death cries of the Second Legion of Vega, wasted no time. They bolted for the now-abandoned defenses of Colterville.
Strategos is a syndicated weekly holovid column distributed by INN. Host Mordecai Aristobulus is a Galatea-based historian and writer who works widely with various Inner Sphere presses, including Merc and the Donegal Broadcasting Company.
The Season at Rankar’s Deep—Week Ten
Welcome to the Rankar’s Deep Report.
We look at the Class Three division this week. Red Jians’ Anna Hung is the only unbeaten MechWarrior in any of the divisions, a hard-fought draw with Soren Murphy her only non-win this year. Tyrone Dyhr would be leading any other division. Instead, he is four points behind Hung and trying to keep the gap from getting wider.
Hung’s opponent this week was People’s Will’s Wan-Choi Cole. Cole was 2-8 coming in, the worst record he’s ever had. His older-model Tsunami has been a problem all season, and word is that the Stable will dispose of it at season’s end.
Hung stayed cool throughout the match, using her Vindicator’s LRM/PPC combo to keep Cole on the defensive and wear him down. With ten minutes left, Cole decided to gamble and launched a death-from-above attack at Hung. Hung waited until Cole reached the jump’s apex, then pounded him with everything she had, punching through weakened armor, ripping the gyro apart and destroying two jump jets. Cole’s Tsunami slammed to the ground, and officials gave Hung the victory. Cole was stunned, but okay.
Tyrone Dyhr’s match was against Wyren Claw’s Hiroyuki Hojo. Hojo, at 6-4 and in fourth place, has been a tough opponent all season.
Dyhr used his speed and jumping advantage to literally run circles around Hojo, staying away from the Bushwhacker’s Mydron autocannon. Hojo did score several missiles hits, but Dyhr targeted Hojo’s legs, burning away most of the armor located there. Hojo retreated toward the Deep’s center, but Dyhr kept the pressure on, forcing Hojo to keep backpedaling. At sixteen minutes, Dyhr’s lasers blew Hojo’s left leg apart. Hojo was knocked unconscious in the fall, giving Dyhr the win, and Hojo a headache.
Stay tuned for next week’s Rankar’s Deep Report!
This broadcast of the 3086 Rankar's Deep Report brought to you by Branson Breweries of Xolara. All fights are sanctioned by the Solaris Gaming Commission and the Lyran Alliance Gaming Board.
Alchemist Masters of the Inner Sphere!
Scholars of the occult are familiar with the Rosicrucian Order, an esoteric sect that first surfaced during the 17th century with a mysterious manifesto and a call for enlightenment. The alchemists Francis Bacon and John Dee were among the members of the sect, whose secrets were hidden away in enigmatic code such as the infamous Voynich Manuscript. What such scholars have been reluctant to credit is that the Rosicrucians did not disappear but have continued to prosper and thrive behind a veil of secrecy thrown up by misguided propaganda about the Illuminati.
“The so-called Illuminati were an invention of the Rosicrucians to throw off their mortal enemy, the Roman Catholic Church,” historian and occult expert Christian Weishaupt explained to host Werner von Schattenberg. “There is no real evidence for the existence of any such hidden political society and it is facile to believe mere temporal power could bind such a shadowy organization. Some other tie is needed; the mystical knowledge of [Order founder] Rosenkreutz and the alchemical formulas of Bacon and Dee are what create the solidarity of the Rosicrucians.”
That the Rosicrucians survived can be proven with an examination of the secret societies touched by their influence. The Freemasons, the Order of the New Dawn, the Brotherhood of Trismegistus. and the Society of the Saints Cameron all bear Rosicrucian elements to their rituals and ordinances. The known association of the Comte de Saint-Germain with all four societies provides another link, as the most likely identity of the Comte is none other than Francis Bacon. Having demonstrated an immortality Elixir at the height of the Star League, and influenced Jerome Blake, who can tell how much power his Order wields behind the scenes?
Join us next week as we look at the shadow hanging over Marik!
Shadows of Truth is an in-character entertainment journalism show, and as such anything stated is not considered canon unless otherwise supported in a published product.
NobleWatch: Noble’s Divorce Hearing Turns into Brawl
(South Sutton, Saginaw, Federated Suns, April 24)
The Smallwood case took another turn this week as a preliminary hearing in the divorce case turned into a brawl in the courtroom.
As regular NobleWatch readers will remember, the divorce started as an attempted murder case brought against Baroness Linda Smallwood. She was found not guilty by a jury last month and, three days after the verdict, filed for divorce from Baron Baldwin Smallwood.
The last weeks have been a press duel. The baron took every opportunity to tear down his estranged wife, while the baroness has made fewer but more damning statements. She has released the names of the women the baron apparently has had affairs with, as well as a list of gifts he has given them. The baron has hotly denied the baroness’ charges, calling them “…cheap stunts designed to elicit sympathy!”
The hearing started civilly enough. Judge Tyman Korrel began with a request to both sides to avoid insulting or antagonizing the other party. But within ten minutes, both attorneys were verbally sniping at each other, causing the packed courtroom to mutter or mummer, depending on which side they were backing. Several times Judge Korrel was forced to admonish both sides and the crowd.
Soon a shoving match began between several audience members. The shoving turned to punches, and the courtroom exploded into a brawl. Extra police and bailiffs were called in, and after twenty minutes got things under control. Six participants in the brawl were hospitalized, and four people were arrested. Judge Korrel has placed both sides on notice that any more outbursts will result in both sides being arrested and spending the rest of the case in a jail cell.
NobleWatch will keep you appraised of this matter as events warrant it.
NobleWatch is an in-character holovid news program, and may not represent canon events in the BattleTech universe. Any contradictions with existing sourcebooks should be ignored.
Beams & Bullets: Mass Drivers
One of the many mysterious projects of the first Star League, mass drivers were rumored to be a project in the works by the Hegemony to strategically wipe out space stations and massive military fortifications. As with much of the Hegemony’s technological advances, this too was lost to the centuries of war.
The Word of Blake attempted to bring it back, with rumors of them mounting them on massive WarShips, cracking the planetary crust of a planet with a few well placed volleys. Specifications have this acting like a naval Gauss rifles on an even more epic scale, hurling solid masses at unheard of velocities to use kinetic energy to destroy anything in its trajectory.
These are apparently massive weapons. Only large WarShips seem to be able to mount one, and retrofitting one into a ship is a story for the scandalvids. We expect them all to be rumors, until one contemplates the destruction of the Azami world, Necromo and Taurus by supposed asteroids (though Taurus was hit by confirmed asteroids, another engineering feat for another time).
With the Blakists gone, and the lack of WarShips, this system is destined for the history books or bedtime stories to scare or awe young naval officers with its tale. We may never get the true details.
Next week, advances in BattleMech internal structure!
Beams & Bullets is a weekly column discussing recent advances, adaptations, and tactics for some of the newest and most dangerous weaponry to appear in the Inner Sphere and Clan Occupation Zones. Check back every week for new insights to the beams, bullets, and gunsights you need to survive.
