Editing Howl of the North Wind

{{ApocryphalArticle}}
{{InfoBoxProduct
| image               = Bt05cov.jpg
| name                = Howl of the North Wind (scene on magazine cover)
| type                = Short story
| author              = [[J. Andrew Keith]]
| development         = 
| primarywriting      = 
| pages               = 10
| cover               = 
| interiorart         = 
| illustrations       = [[William H. Keith]]
| publisher           = Pacific Rim
| productioncode      = 
| year                = 1988
| ISBN10              = 
| ISBN13              = 
| MSRP                = 
| content             = 
| era                 = [[Succession Wars era]]
| timeline            = 8 April [[3028]]
| series              = 
| precededby          = 
| followedby          = 
}}
'''''Howl of the North Wind''''' is a short story that featured prominently in ''[[BattleTechnology]]'' magazine, Issue 0203. The magazine cover was captioned as a scene from the story, and the issue also contained numerous tie-ins such as scenarios and other information (see Notes below). The entire issue is somewhat [[House Liao|Liao]]-centric.

==Plot Summary==
In April 3028, [[Capellan Confederation|Capellan]] high command dispatches a provisional [[battalion]] of 'Mechs from the 2nd Kearny Highlanders to [[Mira]]. The battalion's mission is to verify intelligence reports of a stockpile of equipment and supplies being assembled on that world by the [[AFFS|Davion military]].

After deploying from the ''[[Mule]]''-class [[DropShip]] ''[[Sun Tzu (Individual Mule-class DropShip)|Sun Tzu]]'' (modified into a makeshift 'Mech carrier), newly appointed [[Major]] Ian Fraser soon finds his command – made up of forty lightweight [[BattleMechs]] – trapped in marshy jungle terrain, between mercenary hover tanks to one side and heavy 'Mechs of the Crucis Lancers to the other.

Despite overwhelming odds, and having to leave many pilots and their damaged machines behind, Fraser is able to evacuate a portion of his command. As he prepares to leave the jungles of Mira, he swears that he will come back to avenge the men and women he has lost to the Federated Suns.

When the survivors return to Capellan territory, nobody in [[CCAF]] command will even believe their claims of having found a massive buildup of AFFS forces on Mira. Major Fraser is accused of incompetence, brought to court martial, and is then quickly cashiered. The story concludes with his bitter reflections about becoming the convenient scapegoat for Generals who remain safely at home while they send others out to fight and die.<ref>''BattleTechnology'', issue 0203, pp. 30-39: "Howl of the North Wind"</ref>

==Featured Characters==
* [[Colin Campbell]]
* [[Ian Fraser]]
* [[Cassandra Sinclair]]
* [[Fritz Voelker]]
*  [[Jock Armstrong]]

==Featured Places==
* [[Mira]]

==Featured Units==
* [[1st Crucis Lancers]]
* [[2nd Crucis Lancers]]
* [[2nd Kearny Highlanders]]

==Featured BattleTech==
===BattleMechs===
* ''[[Archer]]''
* ''[[Commando]]''
* ''[[Crusader]]''
* ''[[Javelin]]''
* ''[[Jenner]]''
* ''[[Panther]]''
* ''[[Phoenix Hawk]]''
* ''[[Stinger]]''
* ''[[Vindicator]]''
* ''[[Wasp]]''

===Vehicles===
*[[Drillson]] tank
*[[Saladin]] tank
*[[Saracen]] tank
*[[Scimitar]] tank

===DropShips===
*modified ''[[Mule]]'' (''[[Sun Tzu (Individual Mule-class DropShip)|Sun Tzu]]'')

==Notes==
* The issue featuring this story also included boardgame scenarios recreating situations from the story, a "Worldbook" series article for [[Mira]] (the planet on which the story is centered), in-character news items concerning the [[House Davion]] forces on Mira, a "Hiring Hall" series write-up on the [[2nd Kearny Highlanders]] regiment of the [[Northwind Highlanders]], "The Kearny Lament" (a bitter song from one of the surviving Highlanders).
* An "About the author" textbox concludes the story. It explains that the story is an excerpt from Fraser's book "To Obey: My Life with the Northwind Highlanders", written specifically as a defense against those who criticized him for his handling of the Mira raid. Fraser is described as unemployed, and living on [[Chesterton]] now. Among the in-character Want Ads on the last page, Fraser appears as a dispossessed [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarrior]] seeking employment for "anything legal; no Liao inquiries, please" from a Chesterton address.
* Fraser's battalion, which is described in detail in the four campaign scenarios presented, is notable as it contains eight ''[[Commando]]''s (a 'Mech used almost exclusively by the [[Lyran Commonwealth]]) and five ''[[Panther]]''s plus one ''[[Jenner]]'' ('Mechs associated with the [[Draconis Combine]] and notably rare elsewhere, although as a Liao unit the Highlanders might conceivably have obtained these through the [[Concord of Kapteyn]]).
* The presence of so many AFFS regiments concentrating on Mira is canonized in [[BattlePack: Fourth Succession War]] which specifically notes "the unprecedented gathering of more than eighty AFFS regiments on the world of Mira"

==References==
<references/>


[[Category:Short Stories]]
[[Category:Works by J. Andrew Keith]]