Battletech No Substitute For Victory

TOO OLD TO FIGHT, TOO YOUNG TO DIE… For nearly a decade, the relentless warriors of Clan Jade Falcon have held the world of Jangso in the A Place system, using it as a training ground for their next generation of warriors. When the planet’s garrison departs to join other Falcon forces in the fight for Terra, the Clans’ ultimate prize, aging Star Commander Hasara is ordered to remain behind. Deemed too old to be worthy of going to Terra, he still embraces his honor, and vows to safeguard the planet and all of the cadets too young to join the fight. The Lyran Commonwealth, still stinging from losing Jangso to the Falcons, resolves to exploit their absence by taking back the planet before the Falcons can return. Armed with military intelligence and smuggled BattleMechs, Lyran natives on Jangso launch critical strikes at Hasara, his ex-MechWarrior partner, and the Falcon cadets under their wings, luring them into a trap. But the Lyrans have greatly underestimated the Falcons’ indomitable spirit and the lengths they will go to when driven to the brink of desperation. As Hasara wrestles with his own sense of honor, and faces dwindling morale and diminishing returns against troops seeking to exterminate him and his cadets, he must prove there is still enough fight left in his old bones to secure a victory for the future of his Clan.

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

A WORLD UNDER SIEGE… After repelling the Capellan Confederation’s brutal attempt to capture their planet’s working HPG, the people of Northwind had hoped to get a break from the growing conflict in the wake of the splintering of the Republic of the Sphere. But Capellan ruler Daoshen Liao has other plans for the beleaguered world, sending wave after wave of mercenaries to grind Northwind’s defenses into bloody dust. Standing against them is what is left of the legendary Northwind Highlanders, particularly the Grey Watch. Already heroes for driving the Capellans off-planet, the valiant warriors of the Watch are now fighting a campaign of attrition, hoping to beat back the rampaging mercenary hordes. But when a Knight of the Republic arrives with universe-changing news, the men and women of the Grey Watch must face a remade Inner Sphere and find their place in it…or perish.

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…

ANCIENT EVIL STALKS THE KURAI FOREST... The planet Dumaring in the Draconis Combine had been at peace for decades, until strange raids began against the populace’s livestock. A dutiful warrior and officer of the DCMS, Chu-i Uchida, was tasked with ending the attacks, but his hunt for bandits led him into the foreboding Kurai Forest. What he found in the dark wood would defy explanation and leave him a shadow of his former self. Now, only his son can regain his honor, clear his name, and find the truth…no matter how horrifying it may be...

SOMETHING LURKS IN THE SHADOWS… During the chaos of the Word of Blake’s Jihad, the MechWarriors of the Federated Suns will go to any lengths to defend their nation from the Blakists’ unholy terror—including making deals with the devil. But that devil might just be a literal one: an all-black Marauder, hidden for several decades, that carries an aura of dread that infects everyone who encounters it. Many blame it for causing unexplained disappearances, technical failures, and even madness. But what is the so-called Dark One? Is it merely a ghost story told to scare pirates on the edge of the Periphery, or does something truly evil live beneath its cold, blackened armor? This anthology collects the first three of Lance Scarinci’s stories about the Dark One, along with a brand-new fourth story exclusive to this volume.

A NEW ERA IS DAWNING… The Illician Lancers: a mercenary outfit with centuries of honorable tradition, yet somehow always missing the limelight. Especially recently, after their mission failure during the liberation of New Syrtis in 3147 tarnished their once-sterling reputation and left them languishing on the Capellan border. Can Colonel Luciana Araya Morales overcome the shame of those events and restore the Lancers to their former glory? Meanwhile, as Clan Wolf prepares for its invasion of the cradle of humanity, Ya’el Labov, saKhan of the Sea Fox Khanate, hunts for new opportunities in the currents wafting from Terra. Rumors that the Clan Wolf Khan is using mercenaries as part of his attack plan set the wily saKhan’s mind to spinning. How can he take advantage of this, and make Clan Sea Fox’s star rise even further? Two people with very different goals are about to embark on a shared mission that, if successful, will change much in the Inner Sphere. And if they are not, their alliance may be doomed to failure before it can even begin…