It Was Like A Child's Game...
How many times has this scenario been played out? A brutal tyrant usurps the land. A prince is captured, but disguises himself as a common soldier. His faithful servant cannot free him without aid. In desperation the servant begs help from the Thieves' Guild. Although they are hardened rogues, the thieves still love their kingdom. (Shades of Gilbert and Sullivan!) They risk their lives to save the prince. He promises to return and free them; he and his loyal servant escape.
Sounds like the games we used to play after school with character sheets and a random number generator, doesn't it?
This spring it really happened. But somehow, it wasn't as much fun.
On the planet of Turtle Bay, the heir's son to House Kurita was captured with his troops. In fairness to Hohiro Kurita, let us mention that he was both dazed and wounded when he was taken prisoner. He had shown a shrewd grasp of smallunit harrying techniques; Turtle Bay and the Fourteenth Legion of Vega held Smoke Jaguar frontline troops throughout April and most of May.
Somehow he remained undetected in prison while his aide Shin Yodama somehow managed to contact and convince the Yakuza of the planetary capital of Edo to make a daring raid. Early in the month of May, a mass escape was planned from the grim prison of Kurishiiyama, on the Sawagashii River. Somehow, as freed prisoners joined the liberating force to battle Jaguar guards, Prince Hohiro was spirited away. Two days later he was on a JumpShip headed for Luthien.
Two of the questions we never asked ourselves as kids were - how cruel is the cruel tyrant? And what happens to the thieves who are left in his mercy?
The Smoke Jaguars are the most cruel of all the inexplicable Clans. They not only confiscated the 'Mechs from captured mercenaries, they shot the MechWarriors. In return for any incidents of unrest, they took their 'Mechs out and destroyed a city block, then another city block, then another ... until the perpetrator gave himself up. Then they shot him.
What happened to the Yakuza? What happened to the innocent population who had no knowledge of the raid?
On May31, 3050, the city of Edo was bombarded from orbit by Smoke Jaguar garrison troops. In an effort to crush resistance, the invaders broadcast the destruction systemwide as they mercilessly turned a city of three hundred thousand people into a lifeless mass of ruin. There were no survivors.
A Storybook Fable...
Trellwan is a planet of famous battles. Fans of the Grey Death Legion will remember that Grayson Death Carlyle first distinguished himself here at Thunder Rift. The several engagements fought here during the Second and Third Succession Wars were less noted in the bloody generalities of war, but students of military history have refought them on paper and on simulator for centuries. It is the sort of place where battlefield legends are made.
Victor Steiner Davion is the heir to the entirity of the Federated Commonwealth, but he was treated much like any other promising graduate. When Victor left The Nagelring, he was assigned to a Kommandan't's position with the Twelvth Donegal Guards. Most graduates begin as Leutnants, with only a lance to command. Many sources considered this nepotism. But the tradition is for the top 5-scorers to be so assigned. And the Heir- Designate's marks were among the top five. Proving himself worthy of this lofty first step seemed to be the worst of Victor's troubles. That and keeping his temper.
Two and a half millenia ago, a Terran King called Edward III stood grimly aside from the battlefield of Poitiers while his son the Black Prince led troops into battle to win his spurs. It was just as hard for this royal father as for Davion's First Prince to see his child in the tumult - and the danger - of battle without allowing himself to take a hand. Trellwan looked like the sort of place that the Draconis Combine might attempt to nibble. This assignment was meant to let the First Princes's son"win his spurs"' by risking his life leading troops in a small scale action.
In April of 3050, Trellwan was invaded by the Jade Falcons, and the story changed dramatically. In less than a week any hope of resisting them had been savaged. Kommandant Davion fought bravely; in fact, he is credited with some of the endgame strategy that kept the Falcons tied up a further week.
But Victor was not there to see it. The heir to the Federated Commonwealth was evacuated. It is reported that the evacuation took place by force. His unit, the Twelfth Donegal Guards, was obliterated. The only satisfaction they could have known was Victor's successful escape.
Don't get us wrong; BattleTechnology is pleased that two talented young commanders escaped to fight again. We just wish that real warfare was more like the legends.
One more account to be settled, brothers and sisters at arms!
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© Copyright 1992 by Pacific Rim Publishing.
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