Battletech Shrapnel Issue 12

SIGN ON THE DOTTED LINE… Shrapnel: The Official BattleTech Magazine puts your loyalty to the test amid unrelenting BattleMech combat that spans the war-torn battlefields of the 31st century and beyond! The head of a security team must seek unusual allies to keep the First Prince of the Federated Suns safe from assassination. An aging Elemental warrior imparts lasting lessons to a young cadet when pirates threaten everything he holds dear. A young IndustrialMech pilot must use the only weapon he knows in the face of rampaging occupiers. In this issue, you’ll visit the Unwearied Second’s 1,000th birthday celebration, a gala attended by the upper crust of Lyran society. Then roll up your sleeves and dive into testing a dangerous but poweful experimental weapon system. Stand firm with the Nova Cats, who try to hold back the inevitable tide of destiny, and travel to the Mercenary’s Star to navigate through scams and con artists in order to find the right outfit to call home. Sign your contract and seek victory, with the help of mercenary-advice articles, technical readouts, unit digests, an in-depth look at the true nature of the “Death to Mercenaries” edict, and more—all by BattleTech veterans and new recruits: Tom Leveen Geoff “Doc” Swift Charles Gideon Robert Schubert James Bixby Alan Brundage Kelvin Casing Jason DeSouza James Kirtley Craig A. Reed, Jr. Alayna M. Weathers Alex Fauth Jason Hansa Ken’ Horner Chris Hussey Daniel Isberner Ben Klinefelter Matt Larson Wunji Lau Lorcan Nagle Eric Salzman Stephen Toropov

SIGN ON THE DOTTED LINE... Shrapnel: The Official BattleTech Magazine puts your loyalty to the test amid unrelenting BattleMech combat that spans the war-torn battlefields of the 31st century and beyond! The head of a security team must seek unusual allies to keep the First Prince of the Federated Suns safe from assassination. An aging Elemental warrior imparts lasting lessons to a young cadet when pirates threaten everything he holds dear. A young IndustrialMech pilot must use the only weapon he knows in the face of rampaging occupiers. In this issue, you'll visit the Unwearied Second's 1,000th birthday celebration, a gala attended by the upper crust of Lyran society. Then roll up your sleeves and dive into testing a dangerous but poweful experimental weapon system. Stand firm with the Nova Cats, who try to hold back the inevitable tide of destiny, and travel to the Mercenary's Star to navigate through scams and con artists in order to find the right outfit to call home. Sign your contract and seek victory, with the help of mercenary-advice articles, technical readouts, unit digests, an in-depth look at the true nature of the "Death to Mercenaries" edict, and more-all by BattleTech veterans and new recruits: Tom Leveen Geoff "Doc" Swift Charles Gideon Robert Schubert James Bixby Alan Brundage Kelvin Casing Jason DeSouza James Kirtley Craig A. Reed, Jr. Alayna M. Weathers Alex Fauth Jason Hansa Ken' Horner Chris Hussey Daniel Isberner Ben Klinefelter Matt Larson Wunji Lau Lorcan Nagle Eric Salzman Stephen Toropov

JUMP BACK INTO THE COCKPIT! Picking up the battle standard for BattleTech fiction, Shrapnel: The Official BattleTech Magazine continues the tradition of hard-hitting stories set in the war-torn interstellar future of the 31st century and beyond. Fire up your ’Mech’s fusion reactor, secure your neurohelmet, and wade into battle with stories from the merciless front lines of the Clan Invasion and other eras, conspiracy theory articles, game scenarios, and more from veteran BattleTech authors, fan favorites, and some new recruits. Featuring: Michael A. Stackpole • Blaine Lee Pardoe Kevin Killiany • Craig A. Reed, Jr. • Chris Hussey Jason Hansa • Lance Scarinci • Michael J. Ciaravella Patrick Wynne • Aaron Cahall

FIGHT FOR THE FUTURE! Shrapnel: The Official BattleTech Magazine surges onward, waging wars that will decide the fate of the BattleMech-dominated future of the 31st century and beyond! Follow a quest for quick cash that yields unusual Star League relics. Commiserate with an aging MechWarrior convinced he is cursed with the devil’s luck—which is about to run out. Listen to the tale of how mercenary commander Ace Darwin obtained his iconic ’Mech—but how much of his story is true? Within these pages, you will visit Terra after the dawn of the ilClan era, venture into the postwar period of the Aurigan Coalition, and travel to the far-flung worlds of the Scorpion Empire in the Deep Periphery. Then you will dive into the intrigue and vice of Solaris VII in the beginning of a new, four-part serial novel. Choose your plan of attack with technical readouts, after-action reports, a deep dive into plasma technology, a treatise on covert-ops poisons, and a look at Free Worlds League politics, along with playable scenarios and more—all loaded into your autocannon by both BattleTech veterans and new voices from the Inner Sphere: Blaine Lee Pardoe Craig A. Reed, Jr. E. Clark Avery Jason Schmetzer James Bixby M. W. Hayden Mark Hill Daniel Isberner Alexander J. Roth Ken’ Horner James Kirtley Wunji Lau Eric Salzman Joel Steverson Stephen Toropov

WIN OR FALL… For Douglas, Jade Falcon Elemental cadet, there is no choice—he must succeed in becoming a warrior or die trying. Unfortunately, he is perilously close to falling—right out of his sibko. Consistently at the bottom of his class, everyone around him—from his trainers to his fellow sibkin—believes he will not survive his Trial of Position, and should quit before he is killed. But Douglas knows he is destined to be a Jade Falcon warrior. And when he meets a man with a checkered past who promises to show him the true ways of the warrior, Douglas embarks on a dangerous path that might bring him the victory he craves…or utterly destroy him in a brutal trial where sudden death is everywhere…

NEVER SURRENDER… Shrapnel: The Official BattleTech Magazine brings you more heavy-hitting action and heroism in the war-torn BattleMech-dominated future of the 31st century and beyond! A young Periphery volunteer struggles against marauding pirates who have long overstayed their welcome. A small-but-growing mercenary unit faces off against a formidable foe capable of destroying their dreams. A Star League MechWarrior wrestles with an exciting career opportunity on the eve of the war that will change the face of the Inner Sphere forever. Experience the costly Jade Falcon assault on Arc-Royal, return to an idyllic paradise haunted by a specter of the past, and follow a Clan Wolf bondsman’s quest to reunite with his son. Then lurk in the shadows with more cloak-and-dagger plots in the continuation of the four-part serial novel set on the game world of Solaris VII. Arm yourself with technical readouts, playable scenarios, an in-depth look at the weaponization of gift giving in the Draconis Combine, a glimpse into Clan Sea Fox’s customer service, an article on the importance of battlefield salvage, and more—all from elite BattleTech authors and recruits who have earned their stripes: Craig A. Reed, Jr. Tom Leveen Bryan Young Julian Michael Carver E. Stephenson Auerbach Charles Gideon J. D. Neal Curtis O. Thompson Aaron Cahall Étienne Charron-Willard Matthew Cross Jim Hauser Wunji Lau Eric Salzman Paul Sjardijn Tom Stanley Joel Steverson Chris Wheeler

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…

THE FINAL ENGAGEMENT… The minions of Maximilian Liao are about to deliver a crippling blow to the forces of Prince Hanse Davion—discovering a way to use Hanse’s own technology against him. Half a galaxy away, assassins stalk Hanse's wife, Melissa Steiner, and her mother, Archon Katrina Steiner, in the passageways of their own palace. Invasion is imminent. The only ’Mech force capable of stopping that invasion—the Kell Hounds mercenary unit—is trapped in a game of search and destroy with the most fearsome Kurita unit ever created. Even if they come back in time...how many would make it? In a world where ten-meter-tall war machines are the soul of battle, assassins are state policy, and a spy’s loyalty is always for sale, the only thing certain is death. Who can you trust? And in the bitter end, how will you be betrayed?