I've been very remiss in posting these last two weeks, largely due to preparation for a BattleForce campaign I'll be running soon. The setting is the bleeding edge of the Clan Invasion in 3049, which has caused me to go back and re-read a great deal of the material from that era. The original Clan Invasion was a time of a terrifying unknown force ripping into the Inner Sphere, and mysteries abound everywhere as it was happening. Now looking back on it from the mid-to-late 3070's, most of those questions have been answered, but some still remain.
The greatest question during the Clan Invasion was that of the Clan Homeworlds. Where were they, how many were there, how well were they defended? At the forefront of this question was the Explorer Corps, a joint venture between ComStar and the Draconis Combine exploring the Deep Periphery. Indeed, it was an Explorer Corps vessel that is often cited at the direct cause of the Clan Invasion.
The official history of the ECV Outbound Light is perhaps given most concisely on page 9 of Explorer Corps. The Merchant-class Jumpship set out from Bone-Norman with 2 DropShips (Knox and Golden Hind) and 53 souls aboard under the command of Precentor Vincent DuPont in June 3046. Two years later, on 27 September 3048 (The Clans, Warriors of Kerensky, p. 17), Outbound Light emerged from hyperspace in Huntress, the capital of the Smoke Jaguar space. Khan Leo Showers ordered omnifighters from the JumpShip High Guard to take the ESV, and the crew was taken off.
That is where the undisputed history of the Outbound Light ends. Subsequently, Khan Showers would use the incident to precipitate Operational Revival, the invasion of the Inner Sphere. There has been, however, considerable question as to the disposition of the ship and her crew after their capture. For instance, the Jade Falcon Sourcebook and the Wolf Clan Sourcebook both mention Outbound Light, but neither addresses her or her crew's eventual fate. The same can be said of Invading Clans, as well as Crusader Clans and Warden Clans. Ditto both ComStar sourcebooks. So where do we hear about the aftermath?
The Battlespace Sourcebook, written by ComStar in 3056, indicates the crew had their memories wiped (p. 15), but implies that they were returned to ComStar. According to page 9 of Explorer Corps, no element of the Outbound Light's crew was returned to ComStar, and the ComStar agent writing the document says that the current theory was that they were taken as bondsmen. Explorer Corps appears to be the more recent document, dated 3059. Still later, The Clans, Warriors of Kerensky, dated 3062, indicates that to the best of the author's knowledge, the 7-man Explorer Corps team itself was returned, but the remaining 46 members of the ships crew have not been heard from since, and the assault on Huntress in 3060 turned up no trace of the vessel or her crew (p. 17.) After this late book, the FedCom Civil War era begins, and we hear nothing about the tiny Merchant and her unfortunate crew.
Ultimately, Outbound Light is mentioned in the Illuminati and Wolverine conspiracy reinterpretations of BattleTech history in Interstellar Players and The Blake Documents respectively, but neither can be given real credibility. We may never found out what happened to Outbound Light and her crew. In all likelihood, she was pressed into service with the Smoke Jaguar merchant caste, and was absorbed into some other Clan after their demise in 3060. Unlike Weir or Osis' Pride, Outbound Light is not a massive battlewagon that can shepherd a lost colony of people through space, nor a lost element that might have escaped to return someday and save the universe as we know it. If we ever have, or ever will, see her again, it will be as some renamed Clan merchantman, her pivotal role in BattleTech history a fading memory.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
ComStar Fleet, Revisited
With the release of StarCorps Dossiers earlier this week, we have learned that the ComStar fleet is in far worse shape than we previously thought. Not only was Case White devestating to the armada, but ComStar's two fleet bases at Luyten and Ross have been overrun, leaving ComStar with only five WarShips, and only two worthy of the name (StarCorps Dossiers, p. 210-211.) Only Invisible Truth and Bordeaux remain of the true WarShips, and somewhere along the line Dun Laoghaire was lost.
Unfortunately, this revelation invalidates some of the conclusions we drew previously about which vessels participated in Case White -- we now know that either 3 or 4 ComStar vessels were lost in non-Case White operations (perhaps during the losses of Luyten and Ross.)
Unfortunately, this revelation invalidates some of the conclusions we drew previously about which vessels participated in Case White -- we now know that either 3 or 4 ComStar vessels were lost in non-Case White operations (perhaps during the losses of Luyten and Ross.)
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Anette Leyland and Her Fifty Nukes
Leftenant General Anette Leyland. In the BattleTech canon, her name will always be associated with weapons of mass destruction. But who was she, and where was she between her disappearance with an entire FedCom RCT (or what was left of it), and the Jihad? To talk about Anette Leyland, we first have to cover the history of the Fifth FedCom RCT.
The Fifth was created in 3037 (War of 3039, p. 36) as one of the six FedCom RCT's. The unit's long history of unfortunate events started that year, when a DropShip en route to a training exercise crashed, killing fully a third of the Fifth's MechWarriors. Six week after, still understrength, the unit would be hit by FWL forces on Tsitang. Here began the cycle that would curse the RCT; its men believed the unit was cursed, and because of the belief, poor performance would follow the unit, re-affirming the belief (Field Manual:Federated Suns, p. 93.)
During the War of 3039, the Fifth was assigned to take Halstead Station, a mining world intended for use as a waystation for troops heading deeper into the Draconis Combine. The assignment was seen as something of an underhand pitch to a unit with battered morale, an easy win as it were. Indeed, with the support of elements of the Fighting Urukhai, the Fifth landed on 1 May 3039 and declared the planet secure on 5 May. After that, the Fifth, then under the command of Gneral Nial Slattery, dug in.
The green troops of the Fifth were still on guard duty in early August when the DCMS came back for its planet. The First and Seventh Sword of Light dropped on-world and inflicting massive casualties on the Fifth FedCom. Over a battalion of the the unit would desert during this engagement (going on to become the Black Outlaws,) while a relatively small component of the Fifth would manage to retreat off-world. (Wo3039, p. 83)
The unit would come under the command of James White in 3047, but White would prove to be a questionable commander. White would become addicted to a prescription narcotic, causing the High Command to encourage his XO to take over more and more of the day-to-day operations of the RCT. White, under the influence of the drug, would interpret this to be his executive officer attempting to usurp his position. That XO was Leftentant Anette Leyland.
In the FedCom Civil War, the Fifth would declare for Katherine, and set out from Chesterton to convert or disarm the First Bell Training Battalion on Axton. During the descent, White was killed in a DropShip accident, leaving the Fifth under the command of a junior officer. The rest of the RCT was called in, landing on 23 September 3063, which is when Leyland took full command. They pursued the First Bell inconclusively until the Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers landed, and put the Fifth back on the defensive. Leyland retreated into the rainforests of Axton, and through the monsoon season searched for and in late February of 3064 found a path through a mountain range to relatively safety from the Fusiliers' fury (FedCom Civil War, p. 75.)
Leyland held out hope of reinforcements, but by June of 3064, it was clear that nobody was coming. The Fusiliers had followed her over the mountains and were continuing to hurt her command. In mid-3064 however, she got the mysterious break she needed; a transmission bearing the High Command seal that gave her the location of an AFFC weapons cache. When the Fifth FedCom broke it open, they found a large amount of conventional munitions, and fifty nuclear devices.
On 17 June, the tactical situation finally compelled Leyland to employ the nuclear weapons. With two commands cut off, numbering thousands of her troops, she dropped two of the weapons on the First Bell and Fifth Syrtis. The First Bell was rendered combat ineffective, and the Fifth lost a large section of its force and fell into retreat, partially from the sheer shock of having been nuked.
The Fusilier's shock only lasted briefly, however, and the larger force came after Leyland with a vengeance. Leyland responded with more atomic weapons, dropping twelve more before she was able to raid the on-world aerospace factory and escape off-planet on 29 July, still with 38 nuclear weapons in tow (FedCom Civil War, p 94.) Jumping through uninhabited systems, the Fifth made it to Marlette on 24 November (FedCom Civil War, p. 125.)
The Fifth arrived to the Fifth Crucis Lancers trying to take the world from the loyalist Marlette Crucis March Militia. Despite some argument on the topic, the CMM accepted the Fifth F-C as an augmentation to its own defense. Shortly after, however, the Twentieth Avalon Hussars arrived and, while given token assistance to the Lancers, set to the task of destroying the Fifth F-C. Leyland waited 53 days before using atomics again, then detonated one as a warning, and when the Hussars continued to press, dispatched six more against the Twentieth. Only one weapon was delivered, and it failed to detonate. The remaining five were lost when their carrier aircraft were downed. On 11 March 3065, her airbase overrun, Leyland retreated off-world with four understrength Mech companies and 2 mixed battalions, and disappeared into the void (FCCW, p.125.)
The sidebar to the Marlette battle in FedCom Civil War is a DMI report on the disposition of Leyland's nuclear weapons. Fourteen were detonated on Axton, seven on Marlette with varying levels of success, and twenty-three more were recovered before being armed, totaling forty-four of the fifty weapons. It is largely supposed that Leyland took the last six with her wherever she went (FCCW, p. 125.)
After the Bombs
The Fifth FedCom isn't mentioned at all in Field Manual: Updates, except for a mention in the 20th Avalon Hussars' paragraph. We don't hear anything about them again until Jihad Hotspots: 3072, when somebody nukes the WoBS Red Angel and Pocket WarShip named Holy Dagger on 10 December 3072 (Jihad Hotspots: 3072, p. 102.) The attacking unit is allegedly the Fifth FedCom. Their arrival on New Avalon is apparently confirmed by John Davion in his dispatch to Yvonne Steiner-Davion of 14 Aug 3074, in which he indicates he is holding in reserve weapons delivered by the Fifth (Blake Documents, p. 35.)
Apparently much is forgiven after the Fifth breaks the Word of Blake blockade in 3072, as the Fifth FedCom would go on to help drive the Word off-planet and would be redeployed in a defensive posture in 3074. (Jihad Turning Points: New Avalon, p. 6) Leyland is still listed as their CO, so apparently she is not immediately executed upon making planetfall. Tanalizingly, John Davion's dispatch of 14 August includes the line "A summary of the events surrounding the arrival of the Fifth and the subsequent arrest and court martial of Field Marshal Kossacks are attached," although no such attachment is represented in any sourcebook thus far released.
So why would Field Marshal William Kossacks be court martialed? The immediate thought is that he must be the person in AFFS who gave Leyland the location of the fateful weapons cache in 3064. There are a number of problems with this theory, though: Field Marshal Kossacks, at the time was Fleet Admiral Kossacks, commander of the Second Davion Guards. When Leyland received her transmission, he was on Novaya Zemlya, a theatre away. He also was fighting for the wrong side; he was pro-Victor, while the Fifth was pro-Katherine.
The only truly questionable bit of trivia we know about "Wet Willie" Kossacks is that he surprised the faculty of Albion War College by graduating with honors; although its entirely possible for him to simply have done exceedingly well in one area while failing entirely in others, it generally is very difficult to graduate with honors from any institution if several of your instructors didn't give you the required marks (Field Manual: Federated Suns, p. 80.)
But how would Kossacks know about the cache in the first place? His only encounter with DMI would've been when he was vetted before entering Albion, and the subject of a hidden atomic weapons cache is unlikely to come up in an academy entrance interview (FM:FS, p. 37.)
Conclusion
Sadly, there still seems to be a mystery here: Who told Leyland were the nukes were? Was it Kossacks, sending a transmission from Novaya over the seal of the AFFC somehow? Was it Katherine, or somebody close to her, trying to sacrifice the Fifth FedCom, a miserable excuse for an RCT, in order to destroy one or more Allied units in nuclear fire? Could it have been the Word of Blake, having discovered the location of the depot, trying to escalate the FedCom Civil War into a full-blown nuclear war? Unfortunately, the information doesn't seen to be out there, yet. Perhaps one day we'll find out, but keep your eyes open for references to Anette Leyland and the Fifth FedCom in future publications.
The Fifth was created in 3037 (War of 3039, p. 36) as one of the six FedCom RCT's. The unit's long history of unfortunate events started that year, when a DropShip en route to a training exercise crashed, killing fully a third of the Fifth's MechWarriors. Six week after, still understrength, the unit would be hit by FWL forces on Tsitang. Here began the cycle that would curse the RCT; its men believed the unit was cursed, and because of the belief, poor performance would follow the unit, re-affirming the belief (Field Manual:Federated Suns, p. 93.)
During the War of 3039, the Fifth was assigned to take Halstead Station, a mining world intended for use as a waystation for troops heading deeper into the Draconis Combine. The assignment was seen as something of an underhand pitch to a unit with battered morale, an easy win as it were. Indeed, with the support of elements of the Fighting Urukhai, the Fifth landed on 1 May 3039 and declared the planet secure on 5 May. After that, the Fifth, then under the command of Gneral Nial Slattery, dug in.
The green troops of the Fifth were still on guard duty in early August when the DCMS came back for its planet. The First and Seventh Sword of Light dropped on-world and inflicting massive casualties on the Fifth FedCom. Over a battalion of the the unit would desert during this engagement (going on to become the Black Outlaws,) while a relatively small component of the Fifth would manage to retreat off-world. (Wo3039, p. 83)
The unit would come under the command of James White in 3047, but White would prove to be a questionable commander. White would become addicted to a prescription narcotic, causing the High Command to encourage his XO to take over more and more of the day-to-day operations of the RCT. White, under the influence of the drug, would interpret this to be his executive officer attempting to usurp his position. That XO was Leftentant Anette Leyland.
In the FedCom Civil War, the Fifth would declare for Katherine, and set out from Chesterton to convert or disarm the First Bell Training Battalion on Axton. During the descent, White was killed in a DropShip accident, leaving the Fifth under the command of a junior officer. The rest of the RCT was called in, landing on 23 September 3063, which is when Leyland took full command. They pursued the First Bell inconclusively until the Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers landed, and put the Fifth back on the defensive. Leyland retreated into the rainforests of Axton, and through the monsoon season searched for and in late February of 3064 found a path through a mountain range to relatively safety from the Fusiliers' fury (FedCom Civil War, p. 75.)
Leyland held out hope of reinforcements, but by June of 3064, it was clear that nobody was coming. The Fusiliers had followed her over the mountains and were continuing to hurt her command. In mid-3064 however, she got the mysterious break she needed; a transmission bearing the High Command seal that gave her the location of an AFFC weapons cache. When the Fifth FedCom broke it open, they found a large amount of conventional munitions, and fifty nuclear devices.
On 17 June, the tactical situation finally compelled Leyland to employ the nuclear weapons. With two commands cut off, numbering thousands of her troops, she dropped two of the weapons on the First Bell and Fifth Syrtis. The First Bell was rendered combat ineffective, and the Fifth lost a large section of its force and fell into retreat, partially from the sheer shock of having been nuked.
The Fusilier's shock only lasted briefly, however, and the larger force came after Leyland with a vengeance. Leyland responded with more atomic weapons, dropping twelve more before she was able to raid the on-world aerospace factory and escape off-planet on 29 July, still with 38 nuclear weapons in tow (FedCom Civil War, p 94.) Jumping through uninhabited systems, the Fifth made it to Marlette on 24 November (FedCom Civil War, p. 125.)
The Fifth arrived to the Fifth Crucis Lancers trying to take the world from the loyalist Marlette Crucis March Militia. Despite some argument on the topic, the CMM accepted the Fifth F-C as an augmentation to its own defense. Shortly after, however, the Twentieth Avalon Hussars arrived and, while given token assistance to the Lancers, set to the task of destroying the Fifth F-C. Leyland waited 53 days before using atomics again, then detonated one as a warning, and when the Hussars continued to press, dispatched six more against the Twentieth. Only one weapon was delivered, and it failed to detonate. The remaining five were lost when their carrier aircraft were downed. On 11 March 3065, her airbase overrun, Leyland retreated off-world with four understrength Mech companies and 2 mixed battalions, and disappeared into the void (FCCW, p.125.)
The sidebar to the Marlette battle in FedCom Civil War is a DMI report on the disposition of Leyland's nuclear weapons. Fourteen were detonated on Axton, seven on Marlette with varying levels of success, and twenty-three more were recovered before being armed, totaling forty-four of the fifty weapons. It is largely supposed that Leyland took the last six with her wherever she went (FCCW, p. 125.)
After the Bombs
The Fifth FedCom isn't mentioned at all in Field Manual: Updates, except for a mention in the 20th Avalon Hussars' paragraph. We don't hear anything about them again until Jihad Hotspots: 3072, when somebody nukes the WoBS Red Angel and Pocket WarShip named Holy Dagger on 10 December 3072 (Jihad Hotspots: 3072, p. 102.) The attacking unit is allegedly the Fifth FedCom. Their arrival on New Avalon is apparently confirmed by John Davion in his dispatch to Yvonne Steiner-Davion of 14 Aug 3074, in which he indicates he is holding in reserve weapons delivered by the Fifth (Blake Documents, p. 35.)
Apparently much is forgiven after the Fifth breaks the Word of Blake blockade in 3072, as the Fifth FedCom would go on to help drive the Word off-planet and would be redeployed in a defensive posture in 3074. (Jihad Turning Points: New Avalon, p. 6) Leyland is still listed as their CO, so apparently she is not immediately executed upon making planetfall. Tanalizingly, John Davion's dispatch of 14 August includes the line "A summary of the events surrounding the arrival of the Fifth and the subsequent arrest and court martial of Field Marshal Kossacks are attached," although no such attachment is represented in any sourcebook thus far released.
So why would Field Marshal William Kossacks be court martialed? The immediate thought is that he must be the person in AFFS who gave Leyland the location of the fateful weapons cache in 3064. There are a number of problems with this theory, though: Field Marshal Kossacks, at the time was Fleet Admiral Kossacks, commander of the Second Davion Guards. When Leyland received her transmission, he was on Novaya Zemlya, a theatre away. He also was fighting for the wrong side; he was pro-Victor, while the Fifth was pro-Katherine.
The only truly questionable bit of trivia we know about "Wet Willie" Kossacks is that he surprised the faculty of Albion War College by graduating with honors; although its entirely possible for him to simply have done exceedingly well in one area while failing entirely in others, it generally is very difficult to graduate with honors from any institution if several of your instructors didn't give you the required marks (Field Manual: Federated Suns, p. 80.)
But how would Kossacks know about the cache in the first place? His only encounter with DMI would've been when he was vetted before entering Albion, and the subject of a hidden atomic weapons cache is unlikely to come up in an academy entrance interview (FM:FS, p. 37.)
Conclusion
Sadly, there still seems to be a mystery here: Who told Leyland were the nukes were? Was it Kossacks, sending a transmission from Novaya over the seal of the AFFC somehow? Was it Katherine, or somebody close to her, trying to sacrifice the Fifth FedCom, a miserable excuse for an RCT, in order to destroy one or more Allied units in nuclear fire? Could it have been the Word of Blake, having discovered the location of the depot, trying to escalate the FedCom Civil War into a full-blown nuclear war? Unfortunately, the information doesn't seen to be out there, yet. Perhaps one day we'll find out, but keep your eyes open for references to Anette Leyland and the Fifth FedCom in future publications.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
The Magical, Mystical Fox-class Corvette
There is little question that the Federated Commonwealth's Fox-class corvette is the most-produced 31st century Inner Sphere (or any other region) WarShip. Started in 3051, the FCS Fox launched around 3058 (Technical Readout: 3057 Revised, page 118.) By the time of the FedCom Civil War in 3063, the Federated Suns half of the Commonwealth was in possession of 9 of these vessels, with a tenth having been lost at Huntress (Field Manual:Federated Suns, p. 25.) Also noted in the same place are five more on the slipways, ready to deploy through 3065. The Lyran Alliance had 3, with 3 more under construction, bringing the total original production run of the Fox-class to some 21 vessels.
So here's our class inventory as of 3063:
Completed:
FCS Fox
FCS Indomitable
FCS Intrepid
FCS Indefatigable
FCS Antrim
FCS Murmansk
FCS Brest
FCS New Syrtis
FCS Robinson
FCS Rostock
LAS Katrina Steiner
LAS Robert Marsden
LAS Angela Franks
Building:
FCS Kathil
FCS Bryceland
FCS Kentares
FCS Admiral Corinne Donnings
FCS Admiral Michael Saille
LAS Robert Kelswa
LAS Katherine Steiner
LAS Ian Mcquiston
We know a number these get chewed up by the FedCom Civil War, so who's left for Field Manual: Update? The Federated Suns is left with 12 of their 14, having apparently lost Fox and Kentares to enemy action. The Lyran Alliance still has six (Angela Franks was renamed to Arthur Steiner-Davion and destroyed, to be replaced by Melissa Steiner), although two that were under construction in at the beginning of 3063 (Ian Mcqustion and Katrina Steiner) are still under construction at the end of 3067. The real trick is that apparently Katrina Steiner and Katherine Steiner have traded names, although given the history of renaming Fox-class corvettes, this is perhaps not surprising.
The Missing Foxes
Things get more complicated when we start reading a few other sourcebooks. The destruction of the lead ship of the class, FCS Fox, is never discussed, which is somewhat surprising, but more so is the abrupt appearance of FCS Illustrious, a Fox-class corvette, over Hesperus II to engage the Simon Davion on 28 June 3065! In the company of Indefatigable, the mystery Fox covers the landing of 22nd Skye Rangers, and is promptly destroyed. Could Illustrious be the missing FCS Fox?
And then there's FCS Admiral Corinne Donnings. She makes the list in FM:U, but she's rather explicitly destroyed in the novel Endgame (p183). So where did this new FCS Admiral Corinne Donnings come from? In the same vein (and the same battle), Murmansk was on the Loyalist side, but according to page 170 of Fedcom Civil War, she jumped out-system after the battle and was not heard from again as of the time of printing. Interestingly, the FCCW account matches the casualty count from the novel, listing three ships lost (which we presume to be Alexander Davion, Kentares, and Donnings), and two surrendered (Lucien Davion and Antrim), with Murmansk running for the hills and Melissa Davion, Robinson, and Intrepid victorious. Now, FCCW carries an in-Universe date of 30 October 3067, and FM:U's Federated Suns section is dated 16 September 3067. The Battle of New Avalon took place in November of 3066. What's worse? Both the FedSuns section of Field Manual: Updates and the FedCom Civil War report were written by Rainer Wolfgram. He lists vessels active in Field Manual:Updates that he knows for a fact to be missing or destroyed. So we know that the Federated Suns had 10 corvettes, not 12.
Finally, we also know of one other Fox that was injured during the closing stages of the FedCom Civil War. On page 139 of the novel Endgame, an unnamed Fox assists the Yggdrasil in trying to hold back Werewolf and her armada. It fails badly, but is only disabled, not destroyed. Knowing that Katrina Steiner and Ian Mcquiston are incomplete, and Angela Franks/Arthur Steiner-Davion is missing (FCCW, p85), the mystery corvette can really only be Robert Kelswa, Robert Marsden, or Katherine Steiner. We know Marsden and Steiner were operating near Tikonov in early 3065 (FCCW, p126), so it makes sense for the mystery corvette to be Kelswa. Indeed, Field Manual: Updates p. 165 states that Kelswa was damaged at Tharkad.
And what of the Fox in the Jihad? In chronological order of their actions:
Galen Cox confirms the destruction of Angela Franks/Arthur Steiner Davion by Immortal Spirit (Blake Documents, p38.) We've believed this to be the case for a long time, but it was first explicitly confirmed in a Sourcebook here.
(6 February 3068) Katrina Steiner engages Percival at Skye (DotJ,p45)
(13 April 3069) Robert Kelswa is stolen from Alarion (JHS3070, p45)
(20 April 3069) Intrepid defends Galax (JHS3070, p43)
(6 February 3070) Melissa Steiner lost at Hesperus II (BD, p24)
(27 February 3070) Ian McQuiston abandons Donegal (JHS3070, p91, BD, p24)
(January 3072) Ian McQuiston is destroyed (Jihad Turning Points Tharkad, p5)
(13 August 3072) Admiral Michael Saille and Brest take Blakist ship at Markesan (JHS3072, p99)
(22 May 3075) Robert Marsden signals destruction of Implacable (JHS3076, p37)
(2 July 3075) Kathil destroyed over Brusett (JHS3076, p39 & 55)
(2 October 3076) “New Syrtis, Vendetta Battle it Out”, a headline in the background(JHS 3076, p87)
That gives us ten Fox-class corvettes we know were operating during the Jihad, and confirms the destruction of two (Kathil and Melissa Steiner) and strongly suggests the destruction or capture of another (Intrepid.)
We also know of several engagements that Fox-class corvettes were likely to have participated in. Dawn of the Jihad, page 25 describes a brief naval engagement over New Avalon between its defenders and the Word of Blake assault force. Given that Melissa Davion and had both been badly damaged there, and at least Melissa had been withdrawn to Galax for repairs, its probable that Fox-class corvettes were on watch that day. Reportedly, two FedSuns WarShips were lost (Dawn of the Jihad, p57), and we know Melissa Davion was at Galax, Simon Davion was at Kathil, and Lucien Davion resumed the defense of New Avalon in 3075, meaning both ships must have been Fox-class.
We know five of the Fed Suns corvettes survived the encounter, so that means that the two lost at New Avalon had to be in the set of Bryceland, Indomitable, Indefatigable, Antrim, Robinson (Murmansk was still missing.) Given that Antrim was severely damaged at New Avalon, we can probably narrow it to the other four.
So What's The Question?
The mystery surrounding the Fox-class lies in their number. We know or can derive a few facts about their construction. First, only two shipyards built the Fox-class; Galax (Handbook: House Davion) and Alarion (Handbook: House Steiner). Apparently Galax had sufficient facilities to simultaneously construct five, while Alarion could construct three at a time. In the 3063 Field Manuals, we have described to us a class of 21 ships, the names laid out at the top of this article. We know that Angela Franks was renamed to Arthur Steiner-Davion, and it seems Katherine Steiner and Katrina Steiner switched names sometime during the FedCom Civil War. If we presume that the mysterious Illustrious over Hesperus II was simply Fox herself under a different name, then we can account of all fifteen of the Federated Suns corvettes. But there's still one missing piece.
Field Manual: Updates springs one surprise on us, one that's not immediately apparent if you're just counting numbers of ships, but is very important; Melissa Steiner just appears out of the clear blue sky. She's not on the list of ships building, nor could any of the other vessels been renamed to be her. With the loss of the Arthur Steiner-Davion, the Lyran fleets should be down to five ships including those building in 3067, but they're not, so obviously seven Fox-class corvettes were produced in the Lyran Alliance before 3067.
While a secret shipyard is within the realm of possibility, it is a tremendously unlikely circumstance, especially considering the hammering the Lyrans would take in 3068. We might, though, explain her existence and the abrupt delays on Ian Mcquiston and Katherine/Katrina Steiner. The Steiner was estimated to launch in 3066, but it is possible that, for political reasons, she was renamed Melissa Steiner on the slipway, and a seventh Fox-class corvette was ordered and the name Katrina was bestowed upon that ship. Of course, Alarion was in Victor's hands from relatively early on, and while he might order a name change, it seems extremely unlikely he would compel the shipyard to build another corvette, it is possible the order came from the loyalist authority before he landed in 3064. Unfortunately, the Alarion invasion falls neatly between the events of Patriots and Tyrants and Storms of Fate, so the fiction is of no help to us here.
This theory provides some very strained logic in swapping ships around for no readily apparent reason, as well as the sudden ordering of another WarShip during a war in which they server only the most marginal of roles (FCCW, p171), but it seems the most likely of explanations for where Lyran Fox #7 might have come from.
So here's our class inventory as of 3063:
Completed:
FCS Fox
FCS Indomitable
FCS Intrepid
FCS Indefatigable
FCS Antrim
FCS Murmansk
FCS Brest
FCS New Syrtis
FCS Robinson
FCS Rostock
LAS Katrina Steiner
LAS Robert Marsden
LAS Angela Franks
Building:
FCS Kathil
FCS Bryceland
FCS Kentares
FCS Admiral Corinne Donnings
FCS Admiral Michael Saille
LAS Robert Kelswa
LAS Katherine Steiner
LAS Ian Mcquiston
We know a number these get chewed up by the FedCom Civil War, so who's left for Field Manual: Update? The Federated Suns is left with 12 of their 14, having apparently lost Fox and Kentares to enemy action. The Lyran Alliance still has six (Angela Franks was renamed to Arthur Steiner-Davion and destroyed, to be replaced by Melissa Steiner), although two that were under construction in at the beginning of 3063 (Ian Mcqustion and Katrina Steiner) are still under construction at the end of 3067. The real trick is that apparently Katrina Steiner and Katherine Steiner have traded names, although given the history of renaming Fox-class corvettes, this is perhaps not surprising.
The Missing Foxes
Things get more complicated when we start reading a few other sourcebooks. The destruction of the lead ship of the class, FCS Fox, is never discussed, which is somewhat surprising, but more so is the abrupt appearance of FCS Illustrious, a Fox-class corvette, over Hesperus II to engage the Simon Davion on 28 June 3065! In the company of Indefatigable, the mystery Fox covers the landing of 22nd Skye Rangers, and is promptly destroyed. Could Illustrious be the missing FCS Fox?
And then there's FCS Admiral Corinne Donnings. She makes the list in FM:U, but she's rather explicitly destroyed in the novel Endgame (p183). So where did this new FCS Admiral Corinne Donnings come from? In the same vein (and the same battle), Murmansk was on the Loyalist side, but according to page 170 of Fedcom Civil War, she jumped out-system after the battle and was not heard from again as of the time of printing. Interestingly, the FCCW account matches the casualty count from the novel, listing three ships lost (which we presume to be Alexander Davion, Kentares, and Donnings), and two surrendered (Lucien Davion and Antrim), with Murmansk running for the hills and Melissa Davion, Robinson, and Intrepid victorious. Now, FCCW carries an in-Universe date of 30 October 3067, and FM:U's Federated Suns section is dated 16 September 3067. The Battle of New Avalon took place in November of 3066. What's worse? Both the FedSuns section of Field Manual: Updates and the FedCom Civil War report were written by Rainer Wolfgram. He lists vessels active in Field Manual:Updates that he knows for a fact to be missing or destroyed. So we know that the Federated Suns had 10 corvettes, not 12.
Finally, we also know of one other Fox that was injured during the closing stages of the FedCom Civil War. On page 139 of the novel Endgame, an unnamed Fox assists the Yggdrasil in trying to hold back Werewolf and her armada. It fails badly, but is only disabled, not destroyed. Knowing that Katrina Steiner and Ian Mcquiston are incomplete, and Angela Franks/Arthur Steiner-Davion is missing (FCCW, p85), the mystery corvette can really only be Robert Kelswa, Robert Marsden, or Katherine Steiner. We know Marsden and Steiner were operating near Tikonov in early 3065 (FCCW, p126), so it makes sense for the mystery corvette to be Kelswa. Indeed, Field Manual: Updates p. 165 states that Kelswa was damaged at Tharkad.
And what of the Fox in the Jihad? In chronological order of their actions:
Galen Cox confirms the destruction of Angela Franks/Arthur Steiner Davion by Immortal Spirit (Blake Documents, p38.) We've believed this to be the case for a long time, but it was first explicitly confirmed in a Sourcebook here.
(6 February 3068) Katrina Steiner engages Percival at Skye (DotJ,p45)
(13 April 3069) Robert Kelswa is stolen from Alarion (JHS3070, p45)
(20 April 3069) Intrepid defends Galax (JHS3070, p43)
(6 February 3070) Melissa Steiner lost at Hesperus II (BD, p24)
(27 February 3070) Ian McQuiston abandons Donegal (JHS3070, p91, BD, p24)
(January 3072) Ian McQuiston is destroyed (Jihad Turning Points Tharkad, p5)
(13 August 3072) Admiral Michael Saille and Brest take Blakist ship at Markesan (JHS3072, p99)
(22 May 3075) Robert Marsden signals destruction of Implacable (JHS3076, p37)
(2 July 3075) Kathil destroyed over Brusett (JHS3076, p39 & 55)
(2 October 3076) “New Syrtis, Vendetta Battle it Out”, a headline in the background(JHS 3076, p87)
That gives us ten Fox-class corvettes we know were operating during the Jihad, and confirms the destruction of two (Kathil and Melissa Steiner) and strongly suggests the destruction or capture of another (Intrepid.)
We also know of several engagements that Fox-class corvettes were likely to have participated in. Dawn of the Jihad, page 25 describes a brief naval engagement over New Avalon between its defenders and the Word of Blake assault force. Given that Melissa Davion and had both been badly damaged there, and at least Melissa had been withdrawn to Galax for repairs, its probable that Fox-class corvettes were on watch that day. Reportedly, two FedSuns WarShips were lost (Dawn of the Jihad, p57), and we know Melissa Davion was at Galax, Simon Davion was at Kathil, and Lucien Davion resumed the defense of New Avalon in 3075, meaning both ships must have been Fox-class.
We know five of the Fed Suns corvettes survived the encounter, so that means that the two lost at New Avalon had to be in the set of Bryceland, Indomitable, Indefatigable, Antrim, Robinson (Murmansk was still missing.) Given that Antrim was severely damaged at New Avalon, we can probably narrow it to the other four.
So What's The Question?
The mystery surrounding the Fox-class lies in their number. We know or can derive a few facts about their construction. First, only two shipyards built the Fox-class; Galax (Handbook: House Davion) and Alarion (Handbook: House Steiner). Apparently Galax had sufficient facilities to simultaneously construct five, while Alarion could construct three at a time. In the 3063 Field Manuals, we have described to us a class of 21 ships, the names laid out at the top of this article. We know that Angela Franks was renamed to Arthur Steiner-Davion, and it seems Katherine Steiner and Katrina Steiner switched names sometime during the FedCom Civil War. If we presume that the mysterious Illustrious over Hesperus II was simply Fox herself under a different name, then we can account of all fifteen of the Federated Suns corvettes. But there's still one missing piece.
Field Manual: Updates springs one surprise on us, one that's not immediately apparent if you're just counting numbers of ships, but is very important; Melissa Steiner just appears out of the clear blue sky. She's not on the list of ships building, nor could any of the other vessels been renamed to be her. With the loss of the Arthur Steiner-Davion, the Lyran fleets should be down to five ships including those building in 3067, but they're not, so obviously seven Fox-class corvettes were produced in the Lyran Alliance before 3067.
While a secret shipyard is within the realm of possibility, it is a tremendously unlikely circumstance, especially considering the hammering the Lyrans would take in 3068. We might, though, explain her existence and the abrupt delays on Ian Mcquiston and Katherine/Katrina Steiner. The Steiner was estimated to launch in 3066, but it is possible that, for political reasons, she was renamed Melissa Steiner on the slipway, and a seventh Fox-class corvette was ordered and the name Katrina was bestowed upon that ship. Of course, Alarion was in Victor's hands from relatively early on, and while he might order a name change, it seems extremely unlikely he would compel the shipyard to build another corvette, it is possible the order came from the loyalist authority before he landed in 3064. Unfortunately, the Alarion invasion falls neatly between the events of Patriots and Tyrants and Storms of Fate, so the fiction is of no help to us here.
This theory provides some very strained logic in swapping ships around for no readily apparent reason, as well as the sudden ordering of another WarShip during a war in which they server only the most marginal of roles (FCCW, p171), but it seems the most likely of explanations for where Lyran Fox #7 might have come from.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
The ComStar Fleet
One of the greatest revelations of the Clan Invasion was that not only did ComStar have the ComGuard, an elite army of troops, but it also had a fleet of WarShips the likes of which hadn't been seen for two Succession Wars. By the end of the FedCom Civil War (3067), 34 ships of the fleet are still active. They are (in alphabetical order, with class in parantheses):
Alarcity (Vincent)
Anastasius Focht (Suffren)
Avenging Sword (Aegis)
Blake's Strength (Black Lion)
Blake's Vengenance (Sovetskii Soyuz)
Blake's Vision (Lola III)
Bordeaux (Dante)
Brandenburg Crusader (Essex)
Cleansing Fire (Congress)
Deathblow (Essex)
Defender of Versailles (Essex)
Determination (Vincent)
Divine Wisdom (Lola III)
Dover (Faslane)
Dun Laoghaire (Faslane)
Enlightened Path (Volga)
Fire Fang (Whirlwind)
Fortsmouth (Faslane)
Galamorgan (Faslane)
Hammerstrike (Essex)
Hollings York (Congress)
Holy Martyrdom (Lola III)
Invisible Truth (Cameron)
Manchester (Suffren)
Montpellier (Dante)
Narbonee (Dante)
Plymouth (Faslane)
Ranger (Lola III)
Resilence (Vincent)
Righteous Fury (Aegis)
Roslare (Faslane)
Strength Through Adversity (Lola III)
Swift Justice (Aegis)
Vision of Truth (Potemkin)
Of these, two (Hammerstrike and Blake's Vengenance) were lost at Tukkayid on 30 January 3068 to a Word of Blake attack lead by Deliverance and Blake's Sword ( p87). In March of that year, most of the fleet participated in Case White, the attempt to retake Earth. Although casualty reports vary, we have a pretty clear indication (Dawn of the Jihad, p90, Case White: Alpha, p5) that 20 or 21 ComGuard ships jumped into Terra on 9 March. By all account, none returned. So who do we know went in? We know the following ships were there:
From Dawn of the Jihad, p90:
Divine Wisdom (Lola III)
Holy Martyrdom (Lola III)
Strength Through Adversity (Lola III)
Ranger (Lola III)
Vision of Truth (Potemkin)
Righteous Fury (Aegis)
Swift Justice (Aegis)
Blake's Strength (Black Lion)
Defender of Versailles (Essex)
Deathblow (Essex)
From Dawn of the Jihad, p91:
Blake's Strength (Black Lion)
Vision of Truth (Potemkin)
Avenging Sword (Aegis)
Narbonee (Dante)
From Case White: Alpha, p5:
Avenging Sword (Aegis)
Hollings York (Congress)
From Case White: Breaking of Chemical Bonds and Case White: Stars in the Time of Dreaming:
Vision of Truth (Potemkin)
All told, we can confirm 13 of the 20-21 ships that participated. Striking those 13 from the list, we're left with 19 ships, six of which are Faslane-class Yardships, not combatants. Actually, make that 4 -- we know from Jihad Hotspots 3070 p. 128 that Portsmouth and Roslare were destroyed in December of 3068. So we're down to 17 ships, 7-8 of which were also lost in Case White. Who do we know were not lost?
Invisible Truth arrived to the Case White party late and got away. Bordeaux rescued Primus Mori off of Tukkayid on 1 August 3068. That takes two off our list of potential Case White victims.
Interestingly, three former ComStar ships turn up in 3076: Righteous Fury, Fire Fang, and Hollings York are gunned down at Dyev by a combine Ghost Bear/Snow Raven taskforce while flying Word of Blake colors(Jihad Hotspots 3076, p. 88). We know Hollings York and Righteous Fury were at Case White. Even more remarkable, though, is that Hollings York was reported destroyed by the Word of Blake to their own commanders (Case White: Alpha, p 5), meaning we can't assume even those ships listed as destroyed at Case White might not be resurrected by the Word. The only real exception to this is Vision of Truth, which is indicated to have disintegrated on re-entry to Terra's atmosphere (Case White: Stars in the Time of Dreaming, p17), which would make any attempted salvage rather impractical. Also, if we take a leap with this particular pattern, we can conclude that Fire Fang was also included in the Case White exercise, and was captured by the Word of Blake then.
Speaking of ship formations, let's see what we can gleam from the ComStar organizational structures. We know that ComStar's fleet is broken into five divisions: The First Fleet, The Second Fleet, The First Independent Squadron, and the Second Independent Squadron, and finally two YardShips assigned to the Columbus garrison (Field Manual: ComStar, p. 44.)
Thus, we know the ComStar fleet inventory is current a subset of these:
ComStar First Fleet
Invisible Truth (Cameron)
Bordeaux (Dante)
Montpellier (Dante)
Anastasius Focht (Suffren)
Alarcity (Vincent)
ComStar Second Fleet
Determination (Vincent)
Resilence (Vincent)
Manchester (Suffren)
Blake's Vision (Lola III)
Enlightened Path (Volga)
YardShips
Dover (Faslane)
Plymouth (Faslane)
Dun Laoghaire (Faslane)
Galamorgan (Faslane)
Look for future posts on the ComStar fleet as more information becomes available.
Alarcity (Vincent)
Anastasius Focht (Suffren)
Avenging Sword (Aegis)
Blake's Strength (Black Lion)
Blake's Vengenance (Sovetskii Soyuz)
Blake's Vision (Lola III)
Bordeaux (Dante)
Brandenburg Crusader (Essex)
Cleansing Fire (Congress)
Deathblow (Essex)
Defender of Versailles (Essex)
Determination (Vincent)
Divine Wisdom (Lola III)
Dover (Faslane)
Dun Laoghaire (Faslane)
Enlightened Path (Volga)
Fire Fang (Whirlwind)
Fortsmouth (Faslane)
Galamorgan (Faslane)
Hammerstrike (Essex)
Hollings York (Congress)
Holy Martyrdom (Lola III)
Invisible Truth (Cameron)
Manchester (Suffren)
Montpellier (Dante)
Narbonee (Dante)
Plymouth (Faslane)
Ranger (Lola III)
Resilence (Vincent)
Righteous Fury (Aegis)
Roslare (Faslane)
Strength Through Adversity (Lola III)
Swift Justice (Aegis)
Vision of Truth (Potemkin)
Of these, two (Hammerstrike and Blake's Vengenance) were lost at Tukkayid on 30 January 3068 to a Word of Blake attack lead by Deliverance and Blake's Sword ( p87). In March of that year, most of the fleet participated in Case White, the attempt to retake Earth. Although casualty reports vary, we have a pretty clear indication (Dawn of the Jihad, p90, Case White: Alpha, p5) that 20 or 21 ComGuard ships jumped into Terra on 9 March. By all account, none returned. So who do we know went in? We know the following ships were there:
From Dawn of the Jihad, p90:
Divine Wisdom (Lola III)
Holy Martyrdom (Lola III)
Strength Through Adversity (Lola III)
Ranger (Lola III)
Vision of Truth (Potemkin)
Righteous Fury (Aegis)
Swift Justice (Aegis)
Blake's Strength (Black Lion)
Defender of Versailles (Essex)
Deathblow (Essex)
From Dawn of the Jihad, p91:
Blake's Strength (Black Lion)
Vision of Truth (Potemkin)
Avenging Sword (Aegis)
Narbonee (Dante)
From Case White: Alpha, p5:
Avenging Sword (Aegis)
Hollings York (Congress)
From Case White: Breaking of Chemical Bonds and Case White: Stars in the Time of Dreaming:
Vision of Truth (Potemkin)
All told, we can confirm 13 of the 20-21 ships that participated. Striking those 13 from the list, we're left with 19 ships, six of which are Faslane-class Yardships, not combatants. Actually, make that 4 -- we know from Jihad Hotspots 3070 p. 128 that Portsmouth and Roslare were destroyed in December of 3068. So we're down to 17 ships, 7-8 of which were also lost in Case White. Who do we know were not lost?
Invisible Truth arrived to the Case White party late and got away. Bordeaux rescued Primus Mori off of Tukkayid on 1 August 3068. That takes two off our list of potential Case White victims.
Interestingly, three former ComStar ships turn up in 3076: Righteous Fury, Fire Fang, and Hollings York are gunned down at Dyev by a combine Ghost Bear/Snow Raven taskforce while flying Word of Blake colors(Jihad Hotspots 3076, p. 88). We know Hollings York and Righteous Fury were at Case White. Even more remarkable, though, is that Hollings York was reported destroyed by the Word of Blake to their own commanders (Case White: Alpha, p 5), meaning we can't assume even those ships listed as destroyed at Case White might not be resurrected by the Word. The only real exception to this is Vision of Truth, which is indicated to have disintegrated on re-entry to Terra's atmosphere (Case White: Stars in the Time of Dreaming, p17), which would make any attempted salvage rather impractical. Also, if we take a leap with this particular pattern, we can conclude that Fire Fang was also included in the Case White exercise, and was captured by the Word of Blake then.
Speaking of ship formations, let's see what we can gleam from the ComStar organizational structures. We know that ComStar's fleet is broken into five divisions: The First Fleet, The Second Fleet, The First Independent Squadron, and the Second Independent Squadron, and finally two YardShips assigned to the Columbus garrison (Field Manual: ComStar, p. 44.)
- The First Fleet is based at Luyten 68-28, and has 10 WarShips and 2 YardShips. We know that at least 1 surviving ship (Bordeaux) and 5 participating ships (not to mention Invisible Truth) were assigned to this formation. We therefore can't draw any good conclusions as the unit assignment as a whole.
- The Second Fleet is based at Ross 248, and has 9 WarShips and 2 YardShips. We know two of these ships (Ranger and Defender of Versailles) participated in Case White, and we can't rule out any of the other 7.
- The First Independent Squadron has five WarShips, and is based at Tukkayid. Two of these ships were lost during the 31 January 3068 raid, and Righteous Fury and Swift Justice were known to have participated in Case White. Therefore, only Cleansing Fire remains unaccounted for in this Squadron.
- The Second Independent Squadron has only four WarShips. Of these, we know Hollings York, Avenging Sword, and Deathblow were all at Case White. Only Brandenburg Crusader is unaccounted for.
- Finally, the Columbus Garrison is supposed to include two Faslanes, Roslare and Galamorgan. The Columbus Distress Call in JHS3070, though, pretty clearly indicated it was Roslare and Portsmouth that were destroyed there. It is possible that Portsmouth (nominally party of the First Fleet) swapped out for Galamorgan at some point
Thus, we know the ComStar fleet inventory is current a subset of these:
ComStar First Fleet
Invisible Truth (Cameron)
Bordeaux (Dante)
Montpellier (Dante)
Anastasius Focht (Suffren)
Alarcity (Vincent)
ComStar Second Fleet
Determination (Vincent)
Resilence (Vincent)
Manchester (Suffren)
Blake's Vision (Lola III)
Enlightened Path (Volga)
YardShips
Dover (Faslane)
Plymouth (Faslane)
Dun Laoghaire (Faslane)
Galamorgan (Faslane)
Look for future posts on the ComStar fleet as more information becomes available.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Chasing the Third Transfer
The BattleTech Universe, now 25 years old, has long been a particularly complicated and fascinating world in the vast history of science fiction. Breaking from our history in the 1980's, the current timeline reaches some 1130 years forward, and contains wonderful examples of characters, events, plots, and conspiracies to fascinate any reader. Perhaps the most remarkable element of the BattleTech universe is the way in which it is delivered; in a piece-meal, rolling timeline that never gives away everything at once.
Our sources for information on the timeline (at least the 'canon' timeline, something I may get to discussing later) are two-fold: Sourcebooks and Fiction. Sourcebooks are written as in-universe publications. The characters who represent the authors and the intended reader vary, from highly sensitive intelligence reports to news summaries prepared for the general public. Releasing source information this way provides two very valuable advantages: First, there's no need to provide more information than the in-character author would have, and secondly, its possible for the in-character author to be wrong.
From a writer's perspective, this is absolutely win-win. Not everything needs to be fleshed-out, but even if something is irrevocably stated as fact, it is possible that it could later be overturned by some in-universe clarification coming to light. Indeed, this has happened numerous times, although it is sometimes very difficult to tell which subsequent changes were intentionally put in by the writers to mislead the reader into believing something that is not true about the universe, and which are legitimate retcons to the universe based on some future inconsistency that arose. That difficulty, though, I like to think is the point.
The second type of released information is Fiction. This category envelopes all the novels and short works of fiction that have been written about the universe, but are not in-universe documents. These works are, as near as can be, unquestionable gospel. If an event happened in a Fiction work, it happened in-universe, and nothing will subsequently contradict it. Events given in Fiction are therefore sometimes ambiguous, or not as clear as they first appear. Sometimes, later works will cast previous events in a Fiction in a new light, radically changing the interpretation of events and actions described.
I'm writing this Blog now because for me half the fun of the BattleTech universe is trying to stay ahead of the writers; trying to work out what's really going on using the meager clues they give us in the source material, and trying to assemble the whole picture out of as few pieces as possible. Wherever possible, I will try to be rigorous in citing passages and clearly outlining my logic as I draw conclusions. If you catch me in a logical fallacy, be sure to call me on it in a comment (although you don't need to if somebody already has; I don't need to be told too many times!) Often there will not be enough information to make a definitive conclusion on a particular matter, and in those cases I will simply advance what I think is the strongest theory.
I hope you find this Blog as interesting to read as I find it to write. Let's see what we can figure out.
Our sources for information on the timeline (at least the 'canon' timeline, something I may get to discussing later) are two-fold: Sourcebooks and Fiction. Sourcebooks are written as in-universe publications. The characters who represent the authors and the intended reader vary, from highly sensitive intelligence reports to news summaries prepared for the general public. Releasing source information this way provides two very valuable advantages: First, there's no need to provide more information than the in-character author would have, and secondly, its possible for the in-character author to be wrong.
From a writer's perspective, this is absolutely win-win. Not everything needs to be fleshed-out, but even if something is irrevocably stated as fact, it is possible that it could later be overturned by some in-universe clarification coming to light. Indeed, this has happened numerous times, although it is sometimes very difficult to tell which subsequent changes were intentionally put in by the writers to mislead the reader into believing something that is not true about the universe, and which are legitimate retcons to the universe based on some future inconsistency that arose. That difficulty, though, I like to think is the point.
The second type of released information is Fiction. This category envelopes all the novels and short works of fiction that have been written about the universe, but are not in-universe documents. These works are, as near as can be, unquestionable gospel. If an event happened in a Fiction work, it happened in-universe, and nothing will subsequently contradict it. Events given in Fiction are therefore sometimes ambiguous, or not as clear as they first appear. Sometimes, later works will cast previous events in a Fiction in a new light, radically changing the interpretation of events and actions described.
I'm writing this Blog now because for me half the fun of the BattleTech universe is trying to stay ahead of the writers; trying to work out what's really going on using the meager clues they give us in the source material, and trying to assemble the whole picture out of as few pieces as possible. Wherever possible, I will try to be rigorous in citing passages and clearly outlining my logic as I draw conclusions. If you catch me in a logical fallacy, be sure to call me on it in a comment (although you don't need to if somebody already has; I don't need to be told too many times!) Often there will not be enough information to make a definitive conclusion on a particular matter, and in those cases I will simply advance what I think is the strongest theory.
I hope you find this Blog as interesting to read as I find it to write. Let's see what we can figure out.
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