Battletech Visions Of Rebirth

THE DREAM DESTROYED... General Aleksandr Kerensky is dead. The Pentagon Worlds are in flames. The dream of a Star League-in-Exile is over, shattered by civil war. Amid the chaos, Nicholas Kerensky leads those who will follow him on a second exodus to the world of Strana Mechty. Yet unlike his father, Nicholas must choose a different path: He wants to do away with all that was, and create an entirely new order. However, the bounds of society that go back millennia cannot be shed so easily. Resistance must be overcome, and blood must be spilled before Nicholas' dream can be achieved. But without his brother Andery's help, the entire venture is doomed before it even begins. Brothers, however, don't always share the same goals. And as more aspects of civilization are purged in the relentless forging of this new society, Andery fears the worst of human nature will arise. Can he find a way forward and stay by his brother's side...or will Nicholas' ultimate vision be realized as everything Andery stands against?

THE DREAM DESTROYED… General Aleksandr Kerensky is dead. The Pentagon Worlds are in flames. The dream of a Star League-in-Exile is over, shattered by civil war. Amid the chaos, Nicholas Kerensky leads those who will follow him into a second exodus to the world of Strana Mechty. Yet unlike his father, Nicholas Kerensky must choose a different path: He wants to do away with all that was, and create an entirely new order. However, the bounds of society that go back millennia cannot be shed so easily. Resistance must be overcome, and blood must be spilled before Nicholas' dream can be achieved. But without his brother Andery's help, the entire venture is doomed before it even begins. Brothers, however, don't always share the same goals. And as more aspects of civilization are purged in the relentless forging of this new society, Andery fears the worst of human nature will arise. Can he find a way forward and stay by his brother’s side… or will Nicholas’ ultimate vision be realized as everything Andery stands against?

FLIGHT INTO THE UNKNOWN… 100 million dead. 500 million wounded. One billion homeless. The worst war in human history is over—and has left the Star League shattered. Jealousy and infighting from the five Great House Lords over who will be the next First Lord has the entire Inner Sphere already teetering on the brink of all-out conflict again. Against this grim backdrop, Aleksandr Kerensky, commanding general of the Star League Defense Force, faces a terrible choice. Stay, and see the mightiest military ever known subsumed into the Great Houses, lighting a conflagration that may burn even brighter than the terrible Amaris Coup. Or do the unthinkable… To save the Inner Sphere, Aleksander—along with his sons, Nicholas and Andery—must leave it behind. He marshals the largest fleet ever assembled to carry millions of people on thousands of JumpShips to head into the unknown. Exodus! But though the Great General strives to make a fresh start for his people far from the Inner Sphere, old habits and allegiances are difficult to leave behind. Soon the Kerenskys and their followers face threats both external and internal as they search the endless black for a new world upon which they can forge a Star League-in-Exile…or die trying.

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…

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…

A PACK DIVIDED… Clan Wolf has gone to claim Terra to fulfill the promise made by Aleksandr Kerensky centuries ago. But for those left behind, their story is a very different one… Star Captain Jacinda of Clan Wolf Is one such warrior. Stuck on Campbelton in the Wolf Empire due to injury, she commands a sibko training facility while stewing over her lost chance to go with the Wolf touman to attain glory in the campaign for Terra. But heroism comes in many forms, and when a new invader targets Campbelton, Jacinda is able to unleash her primal warrior nature, and defend the Wolf’s pups against all comers…