Terry Ford

Terry Ford
Character Profile
Affiliation Illician Lancers
Rank MechWarrior
Position Order Master at Arms[1]
Profession MechWarrior
Spouse Alexandra Steward[1]
Children James Ford
Two Other Children[1]

MechWarrior Terry Ford was known as "the luckiest MechWarrior of the Inner Sphere" at the controls of his Charger, "Number Seven", until his rather unfortunate demise in the wake of the Fourth Succession War.

History[edit]

Personal Life[edit]

Ford was a ninth generation Illician Lancer, whose partner was Alexandra Steward, the daughter of a previous commander of the Lancers. He had three children with Steward, including their third child James Ford, who was later a Lieutenant Colonel and deputy commander of the Ninth Illician Rangers.[1]

Career[edit]

Serving with the Ninth Illician Rangers as of 3025, Ford achieved a large degree of notoriety for having seen considerable amount of combat action without suffering as much as a scratch, despite frequently getting into disastrous situations with his 'Mech and suffering hits which would have destroyed Atlases and Banshees.

Ford maintained a superstitious attitude, surrounded himself with lots of lucky charms and trinkets, and insisted that it would cost him his luck if he allowed somebody else to do maintenance on his BattleMech, the lucky Number Seven.[2][3][4]

Death and Legacy[edit]

Ford's luck finally ran out when the Illician Lancers were deployed in the Terran Corridor for a short time following the Fourth Succession War, coming under attack from Sorenson's Sabres in a retaliatory strike. Leaping from an embankment intent on performing a "Highlander Burial" on a Sorenson's Sabres Longbow, Ford was killed instantly when Number Seven's gyro overreacted and caused the 'Mech to crash face first into ground with tremendous force.[3][4]

Ford's Number Seven would be claimed by the Sabres, the near crippled 'Mech sent to Galedon V for an extensive refit, subsequently rebuilt from the ground up to the slower but more heavily armed CGR-1A9 variant (ID number: CGR1A0ALSX9). Assigned to Busosenshi Andrew Martin, despite the work performed on Ford's former 'Mech, Number Seven still suffered from no end of minor glitches and malfunctions. Ultimately the 'Mech would disappear from the Sabres' roster sometime after 3049, one rumor insisting that the pilot-less Number Seven "accidentally" fell out of a DropShip during a combat drop drill.[3][4][5]

BattleMech[edit]

Ford was known to pilot the lucky Number Seven, a modified CGR-1A1 Charger. As of ca. 3025 its small lasers were replaced with medium lasers, but the 'Mech never operated at optimal efficiency largely due to Ford's extremely limited technical skills combined with his insistence to let none other work on it, and the ever increasing damage to its actuators and other systems suffered during his lucky escapes.[2][3]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Mercenaries Supplemental, Page 42
  2. 2.0 2.1 Technical Readout: 3025, p. 106, "CGR-1A1 Charger - Notable 'Mechs and MechWarriors - MechWarrior Terry Ford"
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Technical Readout: 3039, p. 152 "CGR-1A1 Charger - Notable MechWarrior - MechWarrior Terry Ford"
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Starterbook: Sword and Dragon, p. 43, "Andrew Martin - MechWarrior Profile - 'Mech History"
  5. Starterbook: Sword and Dragon, p. 35, "Sorenson's Sabres - 3049"

Bibliography[edit]