You almost had a new editor this time, folks. One of the things our publisher Arvid Thorkillson hates most is spending money. When he saw my editorial two issues ago in which I told the Known Sphere that I didn't care how much it cost to get hard facts about the Clans I am told that his face turned red and his eyes bulged Thiiiis Muuuch! I was promising to get rid of his money in amounts more suitable to mending holes in a roadway than to actually (shudder) spending. The only factor that soothed him was that he didn't think anyone would be able to get hard facts, so he wasn't going to be out of pocket. I know you-all better than that. You see, mercs are well used to being scared till there's no more brown stuff in them and still thinking of the bottom line. The line where they sum up the C-bills. So I've been getting audio transcriptions and vid diaries and scrawled pieces of plaswrite and even chicken scratches on paper. And you know what? That's the only information we've been able to get! House news briefings have essentially told us "We lost these planets this week - we think - and the situation is grave. Don't panic. Donate blood, buy bonds, and stay out of our way." Right. We toured several fronts, got ourselves kicked off of Sudeten for trying to help ourselves to too much information, sent out staffers to interview returning troops -- the usual stuff that news services rely on. But you folks made the difference. In this issue we have Champions of a Lost Cause, an account of what we are coming to think of as the First Wave of Clans Invasions. We have an account of the Marshdale Conference between the Second and Third Waves, The Enemy of My Enemy, which has actually been passed by Kurita censors (they made us hold onto it for three months, but it's still timely). We have suggested tactics for use against the Clans from one M P Hoare. (A Letter to the Archon.) As a courtesy to the graduating class of the Tamar College of War, we publish their choice for best assault 'Mech. Many of this class won't be at graduation. A cadre taking a specialist course at the Blackjack Academy participated in the defense of Blackjack, fighting gallantly, but losing half of their number. Three cadets turned the tables on reporter Jake Halloway, who was trying to interview them about the fight for Blackjack, and insisted on showing him their choice then & there. And the Rampage is impressive! We've also got a pair of good light 'Mechs for you, some updates on tanks, and Marcus Killegrew's attempt to make sense of the new technique of dual cockpits. You folks made the difference -- and you didn't do it solely to Preserve the Inner Sphere or To Save the Future of Mankind. You did it because it pays. Some of you are fighting to keep somebody or a home world safe; some of you are fighting just to be stubborn, or because your buddies are. All of you on the frontlines are fighting to keep alive, to survive from day to day. But you still believe in a tomorrow. If you didn't, you wouldn't care to earn C-bills to spend month after next. You wouldn't send us these long letters of speculation. You wouldn't petition the FedCom High Command to get us reinstated as reporters. Your greed is a sign that you expect to survive this thing. And best of all, Thorkillson hasn't fired me yet. You see, the only thing he likes better than counting money is a hot story! --Hilary Ayer, Thun, Free Republic of Rasalhague, December 3050 Back to BattleTechnology 16 Table of Contents Back to BattleTechnology List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1992 by Pacific Rim Publishing. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com