The BattleMech, lord of the battlefield. The master of firepower and ruler of destruction. Truly the king of the hill. The hill no longer hosts the BattleMech. The hill has been conquered and the OmniMech now rains supreme over the hill of the Inner Sphere. Let any who dare try to take it from him. We dare to try. Millennia ago knights rode upon horseback clothed in suits of chain armor, galloping about delivering destruction to any foolish enough to oppose them. Those chainsuited knights soon fell to a new knight. Sheathed in burnished steel from head to toe, these new champions stalked the battlefield undefeated by any lesser knight. Centuries later the great war tanks of the second world war were the monarchs of the battlefield. Their great cannons, thick armor and iron willed crews struck terror in the hearts of any that opposed them. Yet like chain knights they to fell to a new king. The flying tankkillers like the old A/10 Thunderbolt soon held the battlefield in its menacing grip. These heavy machines of war carried the firepower of an army and could destroy a small city in minutes. The battle for the crown of war continued, eventually the tank-killer fell to the fusion powered fighters and tanks of the Terran Alliance. Finally the Terran Alliance's weapons fell to the first of the longest reigning monarch of the hill of war, the BattleMech. Over six hundred years has the 'Mech stood undefeated as king. No one ever imagined that something could topple the BattleMech reign as easily as the first Mackie toppled the fusion powered tanks of so long ago. And yet the OmniMech Sword of the Clans has swept through the Inner Sphere, dominating the very heart of our society in two short years. Morale crumbles, resolve just fades away as these giants supported by a new kind of knight, the Elemental, crush any resistance as the first atomics crushed Kurita's homeland in the 20th century. How can we win when even the great Wolf's Dragoons, heirs of the Clan, barely stand against the weakest Clan on Luthien? When these fears begin to grow, when the odds mount against us, and hope seems to be a thing of the Star League which spawned these tyrants we must look to our history and remember. Remember Prince Henri of France, greatest knight of the 15th century, whose sword was unbeatable and armor unbreachable. Remember that he was felled by a single arrow... The Battle of Agincourt 1422, six thousand French knights fell upon the tired army of King Henry V of England. Five hundred weary knights in simple chain to the thousands of steel plated knights of the French army fresh upon the field of battle. It mattered not that these English knights were backed by two thousand loyal troops. What was mere infantry to the massed French army. They were but harmless 2000 bits of fodder to the steel fury of France, 2000 Welsh longbowmen fodder bits. When the haze of battle cleared that,day half the French army lay dead upon the field while only 23 English had fallen. Yes it is true that a knight was the strongest and best protected warrior of his day, but he was not invincible. Tank-killers could level small cities and BattleMech can lay waste to whole planets. But remember one arrow, one shoulder rocket, one aerospace fighter can end any tyrant's reign. So too can we, the people, end the reign of the OmniMech and his kin. The Clans are here and mean to stay, so we must learn to accept and defeat these invaders. We of the Inner Sphere must look to the history they have spurned to find the seeds of their destruction. We must sow these seeds and nurture their growth for they are our greatest hope. On Twycross we won the day through the seeds of an ancient art. Kai Allard-Liao set of the charges in that pass at the sacrifice of his own 'Mech, but the gain was the annihilation of one of the Jade Falcon's best units. Even the rocks and hills of our planets are arrows with which we can fell this new armored warrior. The Clans choose to fight us in ritualistic Duels dripping with ceremony. "Well I say thee nay (no)!" as Henry V would have said. We must not bow to their tactics, we must make our own, and use them wherever and whenever needed. We are all warriors fighting forthe freedom of our lands. Our ancestors conquered the Inner Sphere; we can defeat those who would steal it from us. I speak to you not as a Davion to reader, but as citizen of the Inner Sphere to all its other citizens. Even if it is only for a short time let us set aside the centuries of bickering as Wolf's Dragoons and the Kell Hounds did on Luthien. In the spirit of unity let us bring together the many styles and tricks of the Inner Sphere into one book. Like the One Book of the church let us compile all we know, as people with a millennium of history, into one great tome of fighting knowledge. Let every soldier, 'Mech pilot, Aerojock, tanker, Tech and common man stand as equals in this fight to save our every planet or star we call "Home". If the mighty Com Star can throw aside its trappings to fight than can we not all throw aside the past to defend the Inner Sphere and the home of all mankind Terra? Remember that one arrow is like a single pebble in the machine,destroying it before any one is the wiser. PEOPLE of the Inner Sphere I say that we must be a trillion pebbles raining down upon the Clan invaders. let us show them our... Editors Note:The letter ends here. This is the last thing ever written by Eion McCleary, Professor Emeritus, New Avalon Institute of Science. On May 7th of this year Professor McCleary died of heart failure while writing this letter he simply title "A Plea". Professor McCleary was a member of the NAIS staff since the Institute opened. His driving personality will be missed by the staff and students of that institution. "No one feels the loss of one of this school's (NAIS) founding teachers as much as I do." Major-General Jeremiah Davion, Commander of NAIS told the press At BattleTechnology we solemnly raise a glass in honor of a man who gave us no less than forty articles over the last quarter century. From his CEF simulation program to the lost Star League letters of John Davion his contributions will be missed. Surely the home office will never be the same with out his annual visit and Three Card Drax games (Mr. Thorkillson, you still owe him 2500 C-bills!). The entire staff stands behind the things Eion wrote in his final letter. We plan to continue his fight for unity of at least those people who have nothing to lose. Mercenaries, we have a new Guild forming on Outreach; let us use it as a common ground to share our skills. Let us forge that great book of tactics he wanted. Battle Technology intends to expand its Outreach office to meet the demands of this new ERA, the complex will be christened the Eion McCleary Building. We wish we could do more for you, Eion, so give us time. Teacher, Scientist, Writer, Friend we will miss you Marcus Killegrew, BattIeTechnology In Memoriam: Eion McCleary PHD/MA/BA('Mech Engineering), PHD/ MA/BA( Military Tactics), PHD/ BA( History), MA/ BA(Physics), Ma/ BA( Human Culture), BA (Classical Literature.) Born October 7th 2967; Died May 7, 3052 Back to BattleTechnology 19 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