Hejira

Hejira
Vessel Profile
TypeDropShip
ClassLeopard

History[edit]

The Hejira was a Leopard-class DropShip from the Federated Commonwealth.

When Trellwan was overrun by Clan Jade Falcon in April of 3050, crushing the defending 12th Donegal Guards, Victor Steiner-Davion—then in command of the 12th's second battalion—was ordered by General Jeremy Hawksworth to board the Hejira and evacuate the doomed world. Victor refused to abandon his men, and had to be knocked out by his aide Galen Cox to be brought aboard and lifted to safety.[1][2] The Hejira subsequently docked with the JumpShip Strongbow to leave the Trell system.

According to what may be a fictionalized account of what happened in the sense of a canon rumor,[2] promulgated by BattleTech: The Animated Series (which canonically is a holovid show by Tharkad Broadcasting Company "loosely based on real events"), the Strongbow jumped to the Butler system but suffered a Kearny-Fuchida Drive breakdown that would take weeks to repair. When the 1st Somerset Strikers under Major Adam Steiner arrived at the same jump point on the JumpShip Katana shortly afterwards, Victor Steiner-Davion took the Hejira over to the Katana and demanded to be carried back to Trellwan. He hoped to use the Elemental battlesuits that the Strikers had acquired to infiltrate the Clan attackers and destroy them from within, and offered the Strikers the support of his unit for their mission to liberate Somerset once the invaders on Trellwan had been beaten back. However, Adam Steiner refused as the Katana had received orders to deliver the prince to the secure Sudeten system instead. The Hejira remained docked with the Katana while the latter recharged its jump drive. During the wait, the Hejira's captain, Gray Stevens, unsuccessfully attempted to murder Victor Steiner-Davion on behalf of an unnamed faction that would "prefer a more worthy successor to the throne". It was also discovered that either the Hejira or Victor Steiner-Davion's BattleMech had been programmed to self-destruct upon landing on Trellwan.[2]

The actual travel route of the Katana strongly suggests, however, that it moved from Butler to Waldorff,[3] while Sudeten would have meant a detour of many weeks or months. If the aforementioned events really transpired, the Hejira was presumably still handed off to another JumpShip either in the Butler system or after their jump to Waldorff.

In any case, Victor Steiner-Davion was rerouted to Sudeten following his evacuation from Trellwan,[4] and by 12 July 3050 had arrived on the planet.[5]

References[edit]

  1. Blood Legacy, chapter 17
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 BattleTech: The Animated Series, Episode 6: "Protect and Survive", 1st Somerset Strikers sourcebook, pp. 27-29
  3. 1st Somerset Strikers sourcebook, p. 10
  4. Lethal Heritage, chapter 20
  5. Lethal Heritage, chapter 27

Bibliography[edit]