Blue Waters

This article is about the short story. For other uses, see Blue Water.


Blue Waters
Product information
Type Short story (2 parts)
Author Steven Mohan Jr.
Pages 41
Publication information
Publisher BattleCorps
First published 6 May 2008 (part 1)
13 May 2008 (part 2)
Content
Era Jihad era
Timeline 30 June-3 July 3069

Blue Waters is a short story by Steven Mohan Jr. that was published online on BattleCorps in two parts in May 2008. It was also published in print in the fifth BattleCorps print anthology, Counterattack, in 2014.

Plot summary[edit]

Part 1[edit]

published 6 May 2008
The Periphery Star Guard has had a long and fruitful association with Interstellar Expeditions, and their current contract is no exception. Deep in the shoals of the Periphery, alone on a forgotten world, they must be extra vigilant.

Part 2[edit]

published 13 May 2008
Far away from any help, with her unit spread across the atolls of Monthey, Colonel Annapoulis must make do with what she can against whatever force appears to challenge her.

As of 30 June 3069, the Periphery Star Guard, after disastrous deployments on Poulsbo and Khon Kaen that cost the mercenary unit some two thirds of its strength, are supporting a dig supervised by the Interstellar Expeditions researcher Dr. Richard Wallace in the periphery. Dr. Wallace is convinced that the wreckage of a Union-class DropShip on the otherwise deserted planet Blue Water (since discovered to be the ancient Rim Worlds Republic planet Monthey, though most keep referring to it as Blue Water) belonged to the mysterious Minnesota Tribe.

Periphery Star Guard Colonel Janice Annapoulis does not get along well with Dr. Wallace. She uses every opportunity to train her unit in new battle tactics (including naval battles), declaring the exercises as patrols, while Dr. Wallace feels they are neglecting their security duty in embarking on maneuvers. A mysterious stranger with Polynesian features, initially mistaken as Dr. Wallace's aide, introduces himself as Maka Launa during an argument. He is derisively critical of Dr. Wallace behind his back, and tells Annapoulis in passing that he is not working for Dr. Wallace. Only later does Annapoulis learn that Maka Launa is really not Dr. Wallace's aide, but a Dig Gypsy—one of a group of adventurers and hobby archaeologists who are allowed to privately travel along with Interstellar Expeditions teams for a large fee. Alarmed, Annapoulis tries to find him in the gypsy camp and is given a data cube that he left specifically for her. The data turns out to be "Jihad Hot Spots".

On 3 July, a scheduled supply DropShip arrives but it unexpectedly launches an attack on the research base. Annapoulis thinks that Dr. Wallace must have a spy on his team, as he had previously said he was close to retrieving the DropShip's memory core.

The Periphery Star Guard forces, although outmatched, mount a spirited but ultimately unsuccessful defense, suffering heavy losses. The memory core is stolen by the mystery attackers.

In the aftermath, Dr. Wallace accuses Annapoulis of incompetence and tries to lay the blame at her feet. She angrily retorts that the recovered artifacts clearly suggests the wrecked DropShip was not from the Minnesota Tribe after all, but a Lyran Commonwealth vessel, and thus more or less worthless. After Dr. Wallace has left, Maka Launa approaches Annapoulis again and freely admits that he expected the attack, but claims he has nothing to do with the attackers. He then makes the angry and frustrated Colonel, who may nor may not continue to work for Interstellar Expeditions, an offer on behalf of his (unspecified) master.

Featured BattleTech[edit]

Vehicles[edit]

Notes[edit]