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Space Kablooey posted:oh no! what happens if my shoelaces come undone??? Both of you can reach 1316, but only Razor can reach 1415 to double up on the right arc if both of you want the Galleon.
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May 8, 2023 00:08
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Got it I'll go to 1415 then
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May 8, 2023 00:10
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I'm going to go fists of fury on the galleon unless it explodes before melee phase By this I mean as a henchman who misses all his punches
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May 8, 2023 00:25
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okay then any concerns with me starting to open up on the scorp? (Prime) doesn't actually have a great way of getting to the right side of the GAL
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May 8, 2023 01:57
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Captain Foo posted:okay then any concerns with me starting to open up on the scorp? (Prime) doesn't actually have a great way of getting to the right side of the GAL Nope, that's the plan more or less. Both of us get to the Scorpion on the left side in 1512 and 1513. I know I can get to 1513 over 7 Hexes, but maybe not 1512. Can you do 1512 at 7? I'll run the numbers tomorrow. 1512 is closer to the infantry, and I'd rather not have them plink my arm and cause it to fall off. We're already going to be paying for the engine hit on Mirage and my internal damage.
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May 8, 2023 04:00
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Amechwarrior posted:Nope, that's the plan more or less. Both of us get to the Scorpion on the left side in 1512 and 1513. I know I can get to 1513 over 7 Hexes, but maybe not 1512. Can you do 1512 at 7? I'll run the numbers tomorrow. I think I can get there looping through 0914 and 1014
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May 8, 2023 04:11
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Captain Foo posted:I think I can get there looping through 0914 and 1014 I can get to 1513 by doing the same maneuver through 1013 - 1214. We'll be moving in sync, just like a robot anime. This always ends well for the pilots! 
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May 8, 2023 06:12
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🎶 living in stereo
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May 8, 2023 16:03
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Scintilla posted:Great question! Unfortunately MegaMek doesn’t display paintwork too well, but the company is meant to have an alternating black / white pattern where half of the mech is white with black highlights and the other half is black with white highlights. It’s meant to symbolise the names of the two founders with both Sterling (silver / white) and Sable (black). Right now all lances are painted the same, but that might change in the future. I've been thinking about how to paint my figures, and since this thread got me to buy into the tabletop game, maybe I should use this.
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May 8, 2023 16:03
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Submitted to 1513, Alpha Strike the Scorpion. My actual path was far more involved than I thought. Had to go through 1013, 1014 and 1115 to get 7 hexes and end facing North. The Galleon gets a shot at my open left, but better than a getting a solid blow on my rear and possibly hitting off my ammo. I think it will have other, better targets anyway.
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May 9, 2023 02:00
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Submitted to 1512, alpha strike the scorpion
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May 9, 2023 03:45
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Submitted to 1415. Not risking a kick cause I'm already rolling poorly.
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May 9, 2023 21:42
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Alright, I finally have a stable internet connection, so I’m going to go ahead and start the promised Let’s Read. Let’s Read Wolves on the Border quote:LIFE, DEATH, HONOR, FEALTY Wolves on the Border is a Battletech novel by Robert N Charrette. It was first released in March 1989, making it one of the earliest Battletech novels to be released. It is regarded by many fans as one of the better works of fiction set in that universe, and whenever a newbie asks “Which Battletech novel should I read first?”, Wolves on the Border is usually pretty high on the list. As the blurb makes clear, the story is about the relationship between Wolf’s Dragoons and House Kurita, as narrated by their liaison officer, Minobu Tetsuhara. Minobu isn’t just a neutral observer, however, and his attempts to balance his ideas about honour with his duty to the Combine forms a key part of the narrative. Please note that this Let’s Read will include unmarked spoilers for the novel, as well as quotes directly from the text. The book has been out for over thirty years by now, and the events it covers are part of established and widely-known lore, so I’m not going to spoiler tag anything. If you get the urge to read the book yourself based on my commentary then please do so; you can get the eBook version for less than £1 on Amazon. Anyway, let’s get into it. Prologue The prologue begins on Dromini VI, a world on the border between the Draconis Combine and the Lyran Commonwealth. The date is September 3021, and Katrina Steiner has sent Wolf’s Dragoons to capture the planet. The text immediately introduces our protagonist, Minobu Tetsuhara. Tetsuhara is the Tai-i (Captain) of a Battlemech Recon Company, who has been sent to look for a company of Harassers that HQ has lost contact with. Minobu sees smoke in the distance and heads off to investigate. His lance is composed of three Panthers and an Ostscout, and we get a lovely description of the latter as they climb a ridge. quote:The fourth machine of the lance was an OTT-7J Ostscout. Though it too strode forward on two legs, no one was likely to mistake the ’Mech for a man at any distance. Its long legs connected to a squat, egg-shaped torso and twin antennae poked from behind the small dome of the cockpit. Its arms were sensor arrays, skinny, tapered housings that waved and circled as the ’Mech advanced, gathering data for the its specialized scouting computer. Brilliant stuff. It makes me imagine some kind of weird alien insect waving its feelers around. Alas, this description only refers to the original Unseen Ostscout; the Reseen version, while still interesting to look at, is quite a bit more human-like. After cresting the ridge Minobu discovers the source of the smoke; a single Dragoons Archer has wiped out the entire company of vehicles, albeit at a ruinous cost to itself. The text makes a point to mention that the Archer has suffered so much battle damage that its rank and unit markings have been burned away, making it impossible to identify. Minobu orders his lance forwards, and we get some introspection where he thinks about how advanced targeting systems are LosTech. quote:Though his target was well within the theoretical range of his Lord’s Light PPC, he knew the targeting system’s limitations too well. It was an irony of thirty-first century warfare that incredibly powerful weapons were used at ranges that warriors of a millennium ago would have considered ludicrously short. Targeting circuitry was among the technologies lost to almost three hundred years of warfare among the five Great Houses of the Successor States. This is the excuse Battletech uses to explain why mechs and combat vehicles always fight at such close ranges. The weapons themselves are easily capable of striking from beyond visual range, but the knowledge needed to produce the targeting systems that would let them do so with any accuracy has been lost. Yes, it’s a handwave. No, it doesn’t really make sense if you think about it for more than five seconds. It’s a gameplay concession, and there really isn’t any way around it. Anyway, the Archer attempts to engage Minobu’s lance, but overheats and shuts down before it can fire. Minobu, being a keen adherent of bushido, refuses to shoot a defenceless opponent and orders his lance to retreat. This does not go down well with his subordinate Jerry Akuma, and a brief argument about honour and duty ensues. Ultimately Akuma is forced to abide by Minobu’s decision, although he seethes about it mightily. quote:“Your precious bushido code was dead before man left old Terra. It has no place here. This is real life, and we are at war. I shall remember this. You have shamed me once too often.” This attitude shouldn’t surprise anyone; a man with a surname like Akuma can’t possibly be anything but a villain. Of course, Akuma’s pragmatism is tactically the correct choice, and from our perspective it’s quite easy to sympathise with his frustration. The Archer is a high-value target, being a heavy and reliable fire-support mech. Destroying it, or better, salvaging it would give local Combine forces a significant boost. Either way, the value of personal honour versus practicality is going to become a theme over the course of this trilogy, and cleaving to one or the other is going to cost several characters a great deal. The Archer’s pilot pops his hatch and watches as Minobu leads his lance away. Minobu activates his Panther’s external loudhailers, introducing himself and saluting the mechwarrior for his courage, noting that the man’s bulky neurohelmet hides his features. As the prologue draws to a close, we move on to Book One: Honor. Chapter One Chapter one begins a year and a half after the battle on Dromini VI. Minobu is at home at the Tetsuhara family estate on Awano. It transpires that, although the Combine managed to hold Dromini VI, Minobu was harshly punished for allowing the Archer to escape. quote:A month after the debacle, Minobu had been relieved of his command and stripped of his BattleMech. Those orders had come without explanation and from the highest source, the Coordinator’s office. They were signed by the Coordinator himself, Takashi Kurita, ruler of the Draconis Combine. A promotion had accompanied the new orders, but Minobu still felt shamed, haunted by the thought that he had betrayed the ideal, that he had not lived up to the code of bushido. If this mixture of punishment and reward seems strange, think about it this way. In sparing the Archer, Minobu upheld his own personal honour according to bushido. However, loyalty is another important aspect of bushido, and by allowing an enemy of the Combine to walk free, Minobu violated his oath of allegiance to the Coordinator. Yeah… bushido can get kind of messy, and following it as rigorously as Minobu does might not be the best idea. So, Minobu is now dispossessed. He attempts to deal with his depression by meditating while painting a vase, but his brother Fuhito unexpectedly interrupts him. The lapse causes Minobu to mess up his painting, but he doesn’t worry about it too much. Like Minobu himself, the vase is sturdy and strong, and can easily serve another purpose. The remainder of the chapter is mostly taken up by a long conversation between Minobu and Fuhito. Fuhito reveals that he has been accepted as a mechwarrior, which causes Minobu to angst about being dispossessed some more. Nevertheless, he insists that Fuhito inherit the Katana Kat, the Tetsuhara ancestral battlemech. A throwaway comment by Fuhito also reveals some interesting details about Combine society. quote:”You are a great warrior, maybe even the best in the family since old Jackson Hayes forsook his African heritage and took the name Tetsuhara.” Turns out, the Kuritans really don’t care about the colour of your skin. Minobu Tetsuhara is ethnically African, as is the rest of his family, but that hasn’t stopped them from rising through the Combine’s social hierarchy and even becoming samurai. The Japanese aspect is cultural rather than ethnic; in fact the Combine is one of the more diverse factions in Battletech. As long as you accept that the Coordinator is the rightful First Lord and are willing to banzai charge into a minefield on his behalf, the Kuritans really don’t care whether you’re black, white, Asian, or anything else. That kind of racism isn’t really a thing in the Combine. Sexism, on the other hand… Well, we’ll get to that a little later. The brothers’ talk reveals a few things about Minobu’s personality. He is totally wedded to the idea of being a samurai, and following his lord’s orders without question, even if he doesn’t understand them. His brother Fuhito is less committed, and the contrast subtly emphasises that while Minobu’s attitude might be admirable in some ways, it is also irrational. It’s a well written scene that points out Minobu’s flaws without beating the reader over the head with them. Eventually Minobu reveals to Fuhito that he has been reassigned to the Benjamin District, an area of space on the Combine-FedSuns border. He has been promoted to Chu-sa (Lieutenant-Colonel) and is now chief liaison to the Combine’s new allies – the famed mercenary company Wolf’s Dragoons. Dun-dun-duuuuun! After ruminating on the karmic implications of it all, Minobu and Fuhito part ways. Minobu returns to his room and retrieves the communique confirming his promotion and reassignment. In a fascinating scene, Minobu removes his new rank insignia and tests it with some of his work tools. quote:He pulled one from its backing, and it came out with no resistance. Using a work knife, he chipped at the thin green metal plating that covered it. The bars were of cheap material, and had nothing to hold them in place, which told him the promotion was only for show and not intended to be permanent. It’s very brief, but this is one of my favourite moments in the first book. It’s just so… Kuritan, for a sham promotion to be denoted by a sham rank insignia. It’s not just dickish, it’s poetically dickish. Minobu concludes that there must be a political motive behind it all, and bemoans the fact that he is still not being allowed to atone for his mistakes. The chapter ends with Minobu looking up and seeing storm clouds on the horizon, a clear metaphor for the events that are about to unfold in the near future. It’s a bit hackneyed, but the book was written in the eighties so I’m willing to forgive the cliche.
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May 10, 2023 20:39
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Jerry. Akuma.
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May 10, 2023 23:07
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Cooked Auto posted:Jerry. Akuma. I know, right? It’s like naming one of your protagonist’s associates Jimmy Satan. It would be more shocking if he wasn’t evil.
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May 11, 2023 09:18
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Ah, man, I haven't read any of the Battletech books but of the Shadowrun novels Charrette's were always the best (of an admittedly spotty bunch). Maybe now is the time to crack this one open.
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May 11, 2023 10:32
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A name as subtle as the flash of a PPC.
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May 11, 2023 12:39
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are there any other battletech novel authors that y'all would generally recommend? i'm guessing that stackpole will be, at minimum, competent and readable (i enjoyed his x-wing novels a bunch but haven't read them in a decade so maybe i am wrong)Scintilla posted:I know, right? It’s like naming one of your protagonist’s associates Jimmy Satan. It would be more shocking if he wasn’t evil. jimmy satan is a pillar of this community and i am sick of people disparaging him!!
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May 11, 2023 13:25
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I see no one has noticed what the author pulled with Grieg Samsonov. Grieg Samsonov=Gregor Samsa AKA a cockroach
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May 11, 2023 14:18
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Jimmy Satan
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May 11, 2023 17:35
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this mf named jerry
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May 11, 2023 18:02
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Scintilla posted:I know, right? It’s like naming one of your protagonist’s associates Jimmy Satan. It would be more shocking if he wasn’t evil. You're right, Mr. Satan from DBZ is one of the most rich and nuanced characters in fiction. biosterous posted:are there any other battletech novel authors that y'all would generally recommend? i'm guessing that stackpole will be, at minimum, competent and readable (i enjoyed his x-wing novels a bunch but haven't read them in a decade so maybe i am wrong) All Stackpole has going for him is that he was writing the book that told you What Happened Next. Now that we're past that on the timeline you can save a lot of time and get the exact same amount of enjoyment out of just reading a timeline that tells you the key plot points. I have to give props to Michael J. Ciaravella, who wrote The Damocles Sanction. He told a story about the Federated Suns which actually interested me, which is a loving accomplishment since that has literally never happened before.
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May 11, 2023 20:23
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While we're talking Battletech books, there's a Humble Bundle for the next two weeks with a bunch of them.
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May 11, 2023 21:23
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Someone at CGL must be read the thread. 
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May 11, 2023 21:26
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I bought the bundle mostly for nostalgia. I've since read Main Event and its sequel DRT, and I'm halfway through Decision at Thunder Rift. One of the main characters of the first two books has her name changed from Rianna to Riannon with no explanation and the third book mentions Mechs being 30 meters tall. Quality fiction all around.
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May 11, 2023 23:21
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William Henry Hairytaint posted:I bought the bundle mostly for nostalgia. I've since read Main Event and its sequel DRT, and I'm halfway through Decision at Thunder Rift. Decision at Thunder Rift was the very first Battletech novel ever published, so it’s not surprising they didn’t have all the details worked out yet. The Black Thorns books have no such excuse and are just dire all round. Scintilla fucked around with this message at 23:26 on May 11, 2023 |
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May 11, 2023 23:24
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I'm enjoying rereading them even with the problems, but I've been a Battletech lover since I was 8. There's also plenty in this bundle I've never read, not really sure where to start after finishing the Gray Death books.
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May 11, 2023 23:43
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William Henry Hairytaint posted:I'm enjoying rereading them even with the problems, but I've been a Battletech lover since I was 8. There's also plenty in this bundle I've never read, not really sure where to start after finishing the Gray Death books. You can always try reading them by chronological order of the events featured in each novel, as seen here.
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May 12, 2023 01:29
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Thinking about buying the bundle and an e-reader lmao
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May 12, 2023 02:30
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if you've got an android phone, FullReader is pretty good. easy to customize the colours (hooray for light grey text on dark grey background!), lets you set reading brightness independent of the rest of your phone's brightness, free (if you're connected to the web there's a banner ad at the bottom of the app, but if you switch to fullscreen it covers it. also if you've got no connect there's no ad and it never nags you about it) i think i will pick up the bundle and try them in series-chronological order once i'm done my current book
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May 12, 2023 03:11
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I got the bundle and am probably going to start with books I don't own or remember reading first. Also, the HBS BATTLETECH game and DLC is on sale on Steam. I picked up Battletech: Legends a few days ago and I got to Nicolai Malthus. He ended up in Lyran prison for attempting to assault a court judge who refused his batchall. Poetic.
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May 12, 2023 06:08
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Definitely the best story in there. I don't think there was too much room to tell interesting stuff about most of the characters because so many of them have been thoroughly documented already, or in the case of the back of the book, have just barely been introduced.
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May 12, 2023 17:23
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Let’s Read Wolves on the Border: Part Two Chapter Two The second chapter shifts perspective. For now we’ll be following Hamilton Atwyl, a Wolf’s Dragoons aerospace pilot. Hamilton and his squadron are currently hunting a Davion DropShip in the skies above Quentin IV, a planet in the Draconis March that the Dragoons are in the middle of raiding. Normally the two Lucifers and the accompanying Sparrowhawks of Hamilton’s squadron would be no match for a Union-class DropShip, but the larger vessel was damaged in a prior engagement and Hamilton has been tasked with finishing it off. Unfortunately, the planet’s stormy atmosphere makes flying difficult. Hamilton is also inexperienced; he mentions that this is his first mission as flight commander, and he’s still a bit uncomfortable about being in charge. This will cause a number of problems later in the chapter. We are then introduced to Hamilton’s wingmen; Gordon, Hall, Reischaur, and Morris. Of them all, Morris is the only one who gets any characterisation. She’s a quirky gal. quote:“After we’ve softened it up, it’s an open turkey shoot. Questions?” To be fair, it’s a big galaxy. It’s entirely possible that Morris has genuinely never encountered a turkey before. Hamilton’s narration mentions that this is her first mission, and that she has just graduated from the Dragoons Aerospace pilot program. She came top of her class, but Hamilton still worries about her. After all, enthusiasm and high scores do not always translate into battlefield success. Eventually Hamilton’s squadron locates the DropShip. Turns out it has already crash-landed, flattening most of a forest in the process. It seems like it’ll be an easy kill, but… quote:Just then, a startling twin flash of laser pulses split the sky, followed by the stuttering light of tracer fire from autocannons. The lead fighter of the left-hand pair crossed the streaks of light and disintegrated in a ball of fire. No sound reached Atwyl over the roar of his own engines. Reischaur was gone. Turns out a Davion Rifleman has survived the crash and is now doing what Riflemen do best. The ensuing fight is an absolute clusterfuck. Hamilton’s inexperience really shines through here; first he is mentally paralysed by the loss of his wingman, then he fails to prevent Morris from recklessly throwing herself at the Rifleman. She survives through sheer dumb luck, only to be shot down by a hidden infantry squad with portable SRM launchers. Hamilton vaporises the infantry with his Lucifer’s lasers, then performs his own suicidal run against the Rifleman. quote:Atwyl, lost in his fury, bore straight in. His craft’s armor was vaporized by the hellish energy of the ’Mech’s lasers and the pounding of its autocannon shells. He didn’t care. Flight after flight of missiles roared out from the Holly LRM launcher beneath his cockpit. His aim was poor, and most of the shots went wild, streaking past the BattleMech or striking the ground beside it. Instead of doing the sensible thing and aborting the attack, Hamilton repeatedly alpha-strikes the Rifleman, destroying it but overheating his Lucifer to the point where its engine shuts down. This recklessness means he now has no choice but to eject, but whoops! The Lucifer has no ejection system, so he’s hosed. The chapter ends with Hamilton moments away from crashing, desperately trying to lift the Lucifer’s nose to avoid becoming a lawn dart. Chapter Three The narrative returns to Minobu, who is on board the Combine DropShip Starblade approaching Quentin IV. He looks out at the planet through the bridge’s main viewscreen and notes how none of the cities on the night-side of the planet are under blackout, even in the midst of the raid. Raids and wars are just part and parcel of being a border world, to the point where the inhabitants simply carry on as usual. The narrative segues into a description of the Successor States and how the Inner Sphere came to be in its current state, providing readers who might be unfamiliar with the setting a brief rundown of the rivalries between the Great Houses. After musing about his duty to the Combine Minobu thinks about his upcoming meeting with Wolf’s Dragoons and their enigmatic leader, Jaime Wolf. He knows nothing about the man, or indeed if they even are a man at all. quote:Minobu had met or served with at least seven persons named Jaime, and only five had been male. While all Combine materials used the masculine pronoun when referring to Wolf, that was not proof of gender. Combine forces had suffered serious defeats when the Dragoons had been employed by the Lyran Commonwealth, the other Successor State bordering the Combine. Many Kurita officers could never accept that a female could function successfully as a military commander. If the Dragoons’ leader were a female, Combine officers might have concealed and denied that fact out of shame at being defeated by a woman. So yeah, Combine society is institutionally sexist. While the DCMS isn’t explicitly a male-only organisation, in practice it is a deeply patriarchal institution that heavily discriminates against women. There are exceptions to this, but female soldiers are rare until Theodore Kurita becomes Coordinator and drags the DCMS kicking and screaming into a slightly more liberal era. At this point in the timeline the Combine expects women to be wives, mothers and little else. Minobu then considers the history of Wolf’s Dragoons, noting how they appeared out of nowhere in Davion space in 3005. They have spent the intervening years fighting for each Great House in turn, and now they have finally signed on with House Kurita. Much is made of how mysterious they are, which is interesting since Wolves on the Border was written before FASA officially revealed that the Dragoons were actually a Clan recon force. Knowing that, it is fascinating to see just how many hints and bits of foreshadowing Charrette drops about their true identity, many of which would only become clear in hindsight. An officer then warns Minobu that two officers from the Sword of Light regiments are on their way to the bridge. The Sword of Light are a particularly fanatical and unpleasant bunch, being principally responsible for the Kentares Massacre, the greatest war crime in human history where over fifty million civilians were butchered. Minobu attempts to leave before the officers can arrive, but isn’t quick enough and winds up having to walk past them. quote:Sho-sa Brett Hawken of the First Sword of Light Regiment stopped as he drew abreast of Minobu. As expected, the two officers are a pair of raging pricks. Despite technically outranking them, Minobu is a dispossessed staff officer, while they hold combat postings in an extremely prestigious unit, so he has no choice but to sit back and take their abuse. Despite their attitude, Minobu reflects that some would consider both men to be exemplary samurai, showcasing how bushido means different things to different people. Scintilla fucked around with this message at 23:10 on May 13, 2023 |
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May 13, 2023 23:07
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There's a couple theories about the Dragoons' customs in WotB and how they predate the Clan reveals. One is that they're in there because FASA had the Clans planned out in advance. I personally don't buy this one; FASA has historically had pretty poor coordination. An author's work is generally contiguous with their own stuff and beyond that it's a real crapshoot. My guess is that Charette's editor told him "the Dragoons' origins are mysterious but they're definitely not from Around Here. Give them some unusual customs and phrases," and then the stuff from WotB was worked into later material.
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May 13, 2023 23:53
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Scintilla posted:Let’s Read Wolves on the Border: Part Two I know this is straight from a late-80s, early 90s book, but this is a big peeve of mine and I couldn't help it.
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May 13, 2023 23:59
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could function successfully as a military commander. If the Dragoons’ leader were a
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Defiance Industries posted:There's a couple theories about the Dragoons' customs in WotB and how they predate the Clan reveals. One is that they're in there because FASA had the Clans planned out in advance. I personally don't buy this one; FASA has historically had pretty poor coordination. An author's work is generally contiguous with their own stuff and beyond that it's a real crapshoot. My guess is that Charette's editor told him "the Dragoons' origins are mysterious but they're definitely not from Around Here. Give them some unusual customs and phrases," and then the stuff from WotB was worked into later material. that latter part where the characterization was worked back in to the source material is interesting
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May 14, 2023 00:00
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Defiance Industries posted:There's a couple theories about the Dragoons' customs in WotB and how they predate the Clan reveals. One is that they're in there because FASA had the Clans planned out in advance. I personally don't buy this one; FASA has historically had pretty poor coordination. An author's work is generally contiguous with their own stuff and beyond that it's a real crapshoot. My guess is that Charette's editor told him "the Dragoons' origins are mysterious but they're definitely not from Around Here. Give them some unusual customs and phrases," and then the stuff from WotB was worked into later material. That’s a fair point. Did FASA have a master plan to introduce the Clans later on and gave Charette specific guidance to assist with foreshadowing, or did they have only a vague outline that they later backfilled using some of Charette’s ideas? I suppose we’ll probably never know for sure, unless there’s an interview somewhere that explains it all.
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May 14, 2023 00:55
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Scintilla posted:That’s a fair point. Did FASA have a master plan to introduce the Clans later on and gave Charette specific guidance to assist with foreshadowing, or did they have only a vague outline that they later backfilled using some of Charette’s ideas? I suppose we’ll probably never know for sure, unless there’s an interview somewhere that explains it all. Doing some research, Wolves on The Border was released in '88, the Wolf's Dragoons sourcebook was released in '89, and the Clans made their big debut in Technical Readout 3050 in '90. TRO 3050 doesn't mention the Dragoons' Clan origins, but Wolf's Dragoons does include "descendants of Kerensky" as one of the most common theories as to their origin (along with "descendants of Amaris" and "idealists who managed to find a Castle Brian in the Periphery"). The pretty short timescale makes it plausible that it was, in fact, fully planned by FASA, and there's at least something in the sourcebook to support it.
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May 14, 2023 01:36
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"Dragoons = SLDF" and "SLDF comes back" are very obvious things from the early material. You don't give them a Kerensky as one of their main members and keep talking about how the SLDF left and noooooooobody knows where they went if you're just going to have them stay gone. I don't doubt that part was planned and was already being worked on while the book was written. I'm thinking more about the particular little cultural behaviors that Charette threads in there. That's the stuff I don't think was coordinated from above.
Defiance Industries fucked around with this message at 02:38 on May 14, 2023 |
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May 14, 2023 02:35
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Let’s Read Wolves on the Border: Part Three Chapter Four We return to Hamilton Atwyl, who has miraculously managed to survive his Lucifer crash-landing. The text glosses over how he cheated death, which kind of makes me think that Charrette couldn’t really justify it either. The man is a pretty good author, but this is a clear case of plot armour. Hamilton wakes up lying on the ground, his surviving wingmen having already pried him out of the burning wreck of his Lucifer. There’s a bit of banter, but Hamilton sadly notes that his commander, Colonel Carmody, will definitely demote him for his foolish and reckless behaviour. This is more or less what he deserves given his severe lapses in judgement, lack of self-control, and recklessly getting his nearly 3,200,000 C-Bill Lucifer destroyed. For better or worse however, his wingmen thought his suicide run was super cool and have destroyed his Lucifer’s flight recorder, erasing the evidence of his incompetence. The text treats this like a triumph of camaraderie, not letting some stodgy top brass bust down a brave young pilot who was only showing protective loyalty to his men, but I don’t really buy it. Hamilton’s actions show he really isn’t fit for command, and a righteous bollocking followed by a demotion is probably the very least of what he deserves. Hamilton’s wingmen are eventually called away to help escort the main Dragoons force down out of orbit. After sitting around for a bit Hamilton witnesses the Dragoons capture and set down on a nearby spaceport. A procession of Leopard DropShips and Fury troop ships begin landing, while several Lances of battlemechs make a hot drop in order to destroy some gun emplacements. quote:The winds of the DropShips’ passage buffeted the mighty machines. Atwyl heard the jump command come over his comm unit. In unison, the ’Mechs hurled themselves clear of the ships, some firing jets from back units, others using the jets set into their legs. In either case, the terrible momentum was slowed. Hot drops: suicidal, but awesome. Another great scene follows where the Davion forces attempt a counterattack. quote:A Davion BattleMech lance appeared near the control tower, but the lead Fury cut down the first two ’Mechs with its particle beams and missiles. The third ’Mech, an ENF-4R Enforcer, went to ground while the fourth disappeared back behind the tower. The prone ’Mech opened fire, bringing its autocannon to bear on one of the Dragoons ’Mechs. Shell craters pocked the ferrocrete and ripped into the target ’Mech’s armor. The Dragoons ’MechJock held his fire. The Davion pilot probably never had time to wonder why as beams from the passing DropShips converged on the Enforcer’s position. As the only fusion-powered combat machine firing weapons on the tarmac, the Enforcer was an easy lock-on for the DropShips’ targeting systems. Limbs flew as its ammo storage blew. The Enforcer’s Federated autocannon fired the last shells in its chambered cassette round as the arm assembly spun through the air. I have to say I really like Charrette’s writing style. His description is utilitarian, yet still detailed enough to give the reader a clear picture of what is going on. He’s also very good at describing the motion of a scene and making events flow seamlessly from one action to the next. This is opposed to authors like Michael Stackpole, who tends to be overly verbose to the point where some scenes that should be tense lose their urgency due to how long it takes him to get to the point. Hamilton watches as the Dragoons mop up the remaining defenders. Jump infantry seize key buildings and the DropShips return to space. The lightning assault is a complete success, and the chapter ends with Hamilton’s communicator buzzing that Colonel Wolf is about to make his descent now that the landing zone is secure. This chapter is the last time we’ll see Hamilton. He has a couple of cameos in the future, but he’ll never be a viewpoint character again. His only real role is to give the readers a first-hand view of the Dragoons landing on Quentin IV, which we wouldn’t otherwise have got due to Minobu only landing after the raid is underway. Honestly, I can’t say I’ll miss him too much. Chapter Five We begin chapter five with Minobu and the Sworders in their bunks as the Starblade touches down at Batan Spaceport, the landing site the Dragoons just captured. They encounter some turbulence, and Minobu feels a pang of worry, but quickly concludes that he is not afraid of dying in a crash. quote:He closed his eyes, blotting out the small stateroom. Was it because this was the first time he had landed on an enemy-held planet without being in the cockpit of a ’Mech? Was it the lack of a ’Mech’s protective armor? Was it fear of death? No. Death held no fear for a true samurai. The old, old proverb of his spiritual ancestors said it best, “Death is a feather; duty is a mountain.” The same cannot be said for the Sworders. Terasu is openly terrified to the point where even Minobu feels pity for him. Hawken is coping slightly better, but still feels the need to pray for safety. Their fear isn’t entirely unwarranted; combat drops can be rough even when the landing is unopposed. Most Inner Sphere DropShips are centuries old and if their systems aren’t properly maintained the stresses of an atmospheric landing can easily cause a catastrophic failure. The DropShip eventually lands, and the First Officer pops in to inform them all that the landing ramps are down and they are free to disembark. He has to do this because the Starblade’s intercom system has failed. See what I said above; they are lucky that the intercom is the only thing that broke during the descent. The Sworders belittle Minobu and insist that he be the last to leave. Minobu maintains his zen while the two officers bicker childishly over precedence. After they leave Minobu puts on his dress uniform and heads outside. quote:The walk through the corridor to the ramp was short, but Minobu was perspiring by the time he reached the exit. Even in the short time the Starblade had been open to the atmosphere, the arid planet had conquered the old DropShip’s air-cooling capability. Minobu’s sweat evaporated in the first, unfiltered blast of the hot, dry air of Quentin IV, and he could almost feel the water being drawn from his skin. Have I mentioned how much I like Charrette’s description? Every sentence either advances the scene or conveys new information, even though he’s technically only describing how hot Minobu is feeling. As Minobu enters Batan he notices an Overlord DropShip over by the control tower. Due to its size and the battlemechs guarding it, Minobu identifies it as Colonel Wolf’s command ship. The Sworders reach the same conclusion and start walking towards it. Minobu starts to follow them, but aha! He spots a large communications cable leading from the ship to the control tower. Realising that this is where Colonel Wolf actually is, he makes his way over there instead. After travelling through the building Minobu eventually reaches Colonel Wolf’s command centre. He is about to introduce himself, but oh no, there are five people in the room with a Colonel’s rank insignia! quote:Understanding dawned on Minobu. He had spent over twenty years threading his way through the mazes of protocol and the labyrinths of status that underlay the Draconis Combine. This was an old game. One that was older than the Successor States, older than the Star League, older even than man’s first departure from the cradle of Terra. That homeless mercenaries would set up such a test was unexpected, and hinted at an unsuspected sense of propriety and proportion. Minobu realises that this is a test – he must identify Jamie Wolf or suffer a loss of face that will give the Dragoons an advantage in their future dealings. His options are: -A tall blonde woman with tied back hair who is pacing back and forth. -A thin man sitting at a table studying reports. -A short, muscular man with grey streaks in his hair who is clearly listening to and watching everyone else. -A similarly short woman with dark hair who looks young at first glance but has deep crows-feet around her eyes. -A huge man who remains seated but watches the rest of the room intently. Minobu waits for a moment, then introduces himself to number three, the short muscular man. As expected, he gets it right first try. Jamie Wolf asks what gave him away, and Minobu responds thusly. quote:“It was obvious.” Minobu’s voice was calm, almost casual. “Yours is the only ki in the room strong enough for the command you hold.” Normally this sort of thing would prompt cries of “Space Magic!”, but if you read the description carefully it’s clear that Minobu’s deduction is based on hard evidence. Out of all the Colonels present, Jaime is the only one described as having a focus and presence that encompasses the whole room. All the rest are described as being distracted or preoccupied in some way or another. Minobu describes it as ki, but you can easily substitute that word for ‘authority’ or ‘leadership’. After Jamie Wolf introduces himself and his officers the Sworders finally show up. They generally act like dicks and rudely demand that Jamie brief them on the current situation. Jaime acquiesces without a fuss, even bowing to the Sworders, which surprises Minobu considering their differences in rank. He concludes that Jaime is playing on their arrogance, which is a pretty sure bet considering some of the other things he does in the future. Jaime claims that the holoprojector isn’t operational and gives his briefing verbally. The Sworders seem excessively concerned about security, and eventually excuse themselves to inspect the spaceport, which Minobu thinks is odd. He further notes that the Sword of Light units are honour guards who rarely see action outside Luthien, and wonders if a batch of new recruits are about to be blooded. As Minobu is pondering the situation word comes through that the Batan city administrator has arrived. Jaime’s officers quickly jump into action, surprising Minobu with their discipline and focus. Jaime orders that the holoprojector be turned on, revealing his earlier claim that it was damaged to be a fabrication. Jaime is impatient to get the meeting over with so that they can greet their guest. Minobu realises he is not talking about the administrator of Batan and asks who Jamie is actually meeting with. quote:Wolf’s brow furrowed for a brief moment. “Didn’t they tell you? Your Coordinator wants to be a soldier again.” Dun-dun-duuuuun! Now Minobu realises why the Sworders were so concerned about security. The Coordinator himself is dropping by for a visit, and the two officers were too petty to tell Minobu about it. The chapter ends with Minobu bewildered, wondering why the leader of the Combine is gracing Quentin IV with his presence.
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May 16, 2023 20:40
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