Backroads at Night
Sarna News
| Backroads at Night | |
|---|---|
| Product information | |
| Type | Short story |
| Author | Jason M. Hardy |
| Pages | 24 |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | BattleCorps |
| First published | 13 February 2007 |
| Content | |
| Era | Jihad era |
| Timeline | 15 March 3068 |
| Series | Case White (series) |
| Preceded by | Stars in the Time of Dreaming |
| Followed by | By the Sword |
Backroads at Night is a short story by Jason M. Hardy that was published online on BattleCorps on 13 February 2007 as the fourth installment in the Case White series. It was later also published in print in the fourth BattleCorps anthology, Fire for Effect, in 2013.
Although it is technically a stand-alone story, the protagonist later reappears in the story The Good Fight.
[edit]
| “ | Sorrin Buell, ComStar MechWarrior, is in trouble. Most of his unit is dead, and his Falconer is badly damaged. And he's hundreds of kilometers from his target. In the middle of Blakist territory, he still wants to hit his objective—alone, without his unit. Which leaves him only one option if he doesn't want to be caught: to traverse the backroads of Germany at night... | ” |
Plot summary[edit]
Sorrin Buell's unit was largely destroyed upon landing on Terra, but he escaped in his damaged Falconer until it breaks down near Bremen, Germany, after moving through Belgium and the Netherlands in the night. He is found and apprehended by undercover resistance fighters who repair his 'Mech. Buell is also reunited with fellow warrior Lane Glover who commandeered a Darter scout car after losing his own vehicle. The resistance helps them to move to Riga and join the fight there.
Buell comes to realize that to obtain spare parts for his 'Mech the resistance must have tapped into Word of Blake military sources, which implies they will soon be found out and suffer the consequences. He is also informed by them about conspicious software and settings on the Darter and that its spotting gear had been used expertly to spot for missiles. Buell realizes that it was Glover who had directed the Arrow IV artillery on their landing forces with such deadly accuracy. As they set out towards Riga, he tells it to Glover's face and, when Glover defiantly admits it, shoots him before moving out.