BattleTech: The Price of Duty (A BattleTech Novella)
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- £2.49
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- £2.49
Publisher Description
A STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE…
Former hauptmann Ronan Carlyle is a man without a nation. After his former commanding officer declared herself governor-general of a reborn Tamar Pact, Ronan, a loyal Steiner officer, led a group of soldiers and techs including his sister, Isobel, back for Garrison for reassignment.
But on Garrison, his troubles multiply. The senior Lyran officer brands the 26th Arcturan loyalists traitors and cashiers them, stranding nearly 200 former LCAF soldiers, technicians, and crewmen on a Lyran world with no way off-planet.
Forced to scrounge up a way to survive, Ronan and Isobel hatch a plan to get the former LCAF members back to their homeworlds by salvaging 'Mechs. But when a Lyran scout battalion goes AWOL over an off-world mission squashed by their commanding officer, the LCAF is shocked to discover the Arcturan loyalists have built up the largest contingent of combat equipment outside the militia. Ronan's people need cash. They have skills. And there's history in his name…
Thus, the Gray Death Legion is reborn. First as a way to get funds for his people to leave. But they fight the Lyran unit—winning by use of unorthodox tactics—and discover they don't want to disband…instead, the reconstituted mercenary unit wants to find its next employer…
Customer Reviews
A good start at bringing back the legendary Grey Death Legion
Jason has done a good job at picking up William Keith Jr’s legacy and planted the seeds of what could be a well thought out resurrection of the Fan favorite Grey Death Legion in the IiClan era.
The short story does well to set the groundwork on how the legion returns from the dead a century after their unjust demise. Setting the foundation with a brother and sister duo whom are distinct from their forbearers and have the potential to be more interesting as we learn more about them, their past and where this new legion ends up.
As this is a short story I feel some areas could have used more. The jump from their military discharge to having mechs felt a little jarring and could have used a chapter or two to flesh it out more. The antagonist felt a little one dimensional and was a mechanism to get us where we needed to be more than a serious character.
That being said, I loved Isobel’s cheerful competence next to her brother’s more taciturn approach and felt her character was the main highlight. The interplay between the two and the fledgling mercenary company left me wanting more.
I wish the author has enough success to justify a full novel (perhaps even a trilogy in the spirit of the original novels) and continues to expand these characters from here however, the seeds left at the end of this story I feel may not be the right way to go unless some goes awry (in the greatest tradition of the Grey Death Legion), such as a cry for help and the return of a clan…
On a personal note, thank you for bringing back my favorite mercenary outfit. I read the original books over 20 years ago and still have them on my shelf. I look forward to getting your books in print so I can add them alongside the originals. A very worth addition.