Battletech No Greater Honor

TRADITIONS RUN DEEP… Most mercenary units fly flags on two flagpoles at their headquarters: one with their unit’s flag, and other bearing the flag of their current employer. However, the Third Regimental Combat Team—a.k.a. the Eridani Light Horse—leaves one flagpole bare, as a reminder of the death of the Star League, and the other pole flies the Light Horse’s unit and regimental flags at half-mast. What triumphs and tragedies shaped the Eridani Light Horse and its traditions? What drove them to become a force to be reckoned with, an elite mercenary unit with one of the longest histories and the deepest traditions in the Inner Sphere? Now, collected for the first time, nine of BattleTech’s finest authors bring the legacy of this storied unit to life like never before. Witness the Eridani Light Horse’s origins in the Star League, and follow their evolution all the way through the Succession Wars and the Clan Invasion to their downfall during the Dark Age and their resurrection in the uncertain future of the ilClan era. Featuring stories from: Joel Steverson Craig A. Reed, Jr. Chris Hussey Randall N. Bills Jason Hansa Daniel Isberner Alan Brundage Jason Schmetzer Michael J. Ciaravella

CONTRACTS MAKE STRANGE ALLIES… For new mercenary groups just starting out, one of the primary rules is “Follow the money.” Even when it’s being paid by the same people who forced you to become a mercenary unit in the first place. Ronan and Isobel Carlyle are experiencing this right now, having accepted a contract from the newly-formed Tamar Pact, the cluster of planets that recently seceded from the Lyran Commonwealth—and got the once loyal-Carlyle siblings cashiered as turncoats. Now the Pact wants the Legion’s help with one of their newer planets, Crimond. But murky mission parameters and an unhelpful liaison officer leaves Ronan and Bel wondering who’s a friend and who’s a foe. And when the Legion splits up to handle two different missions, Bel finds herself an entire continent away, on a mission to scout an abandoned Star League base. But she soon discovers the base—and the nearby community—is anything but abandoned…and if she doesn’t act fast, she and her GDL commandos will receive a welcome they won’t walk away from…

IMBALANCE OF POWER… On the faraway Clan Homeworlds during the Golden Century, Nicholas Kerensky’s vision of the Clans has blossomed into a thriving, varied culture where the warrior is esteemed above all…and MechWarriors, in their armored war machines, are at the pinnacle of Clan hierarchy. The eighteen Clans have existed in relative technological parity as well…until the day Clan Coyote fields a radical new ’Mech that gives them the edge on any battlefield—the OmniMech. Supremely customizable thanks to its modular design, the OmniMech threatens to upend the delicate balance of power among the Clans…and its secrets become a hotly contested prize. In the annual Trial of Possession for the OmniMech technology, the Jade Falcons have won the right to challenge the Coyotes first. But along with the upcoming ’Mech battle, a shadowy force is willing to do whatever is necessary to ensure that the Falcons succeed…even if it requires the sacrifice of cherished ideals…

ALL IN THE FAMILY… For more than a year, “divine leader” Daoshen Liao has relentlessly pushed his Capellan Confederation forces in their invasion of the Republic. Now the time has come for the next stage of his conquest—a conquest that will begin not with an enemy, but with his own family... Raised among royalty in the Magistracy of Canopus, where the superiority of women is a cultural axiom, Danai Liao-Centrella possesses all the confidence necessary for her to ascend through the Confederation ranks, despite having to contend with the constant machinations of her maniacal brother, Daoshen. But when her latest mission ends in defeat and personal disgrace, Danai will face the greatest challenge of life. Chancellor Daoshen rewards her failure by giving her a battalion of her own and a brand-new battlefield. And Danai is about to learn that in service to the state, even family comes second to safeguarding the Capellan Confederation…

FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL… Beset on all sides, Jiyi Chistu, Khan of Clan Jade Falcon, is struggling to keep his place in the crumbling Jade Falcon Occupation Zone. When Clan Hell’s Horses arrive on Sudeten to claim the planet, Jiyi is forced to defend it with everything he has in a battle that could mean the end of his people. But he cannot just hold his territory. Being cut off from the rest of the Inner Sphere is as much a death for his Clan as annihilation. To take the planets surrounding Sudeten and bring home the errant Jade Falcon warriors he so desperately needs, Jiyi dispatches a unit, including Alexis, a young, idealistic Falcon warrior, to bolster the Clan. Both Jiyi and Alexis will have to find new ways to adapt to their ever-changing reality, as Alexis learns what it means to be known as a Jade Falcon, and Jiyi is visited by an unexpected Falcon from the past…one who could spell doom for his entire Clan…

UNCOVERING THE SECRETS OF A LOST WORLD… Interstellar explorer and freelance treasure hunter Dr. Brooklyn Stevens has made the find of a lifetime—an entire planet thought lost for centuries. Jardine was supposedly wiped off the maps of the Inner Sphere during the hard-fought Succession Wars, but the verdant forested world she and her adventuring partner just crash-landed on tells a much different story. And so do its inhabitants. Dr. Stevens and her partner soon find themselves between two very different groups: one whose members are an unholy amalgamation of man and machine, the other a hardy group that lives off the land. Both groups are soon after Stevens and her knowledge about Jardine—one side to protect the planet from those that would seek to reclaim it, the other intent on killing anyone who knows of its existence. Caught between both sides, Brooklyn must uncover the mysteries of Jardine…and stay alive long enough to tell the universe about it…

IN A TIME OF PEACE… For generations, the Republic of the Sphere has known a Golden Age of peace. Mighty BattleMechs, once kings of the battlefields, now aid the reconstruction of war-torn worlds. But when terrorists destroy the interstellar communications net, each planet is thrust into isolation. Suddenly old hatreds resurface, and a people who have never known war face the prospect of it firsthand… A MYSTERIOUS NEW THREAT ARISES… Sam Donelly is one of the best LumberMech jockeys on the planet, wielding his 'Mech's fifteen-foot chainsaw with the grace and precision of a surgeon. Caught in a skirmish with revolutionaries, he soon finds himself a rebel recruit. But Sam is no mere lumberjack, and if his true identity is discovered, the repercussions could be disastrous not only for Sam, but for the entire Republic…