Down & Out in Temp Town
Sarna News
Down & Out in Temp Town is a 3-page BattleTech short story by Scott Jenkins. It was published in the 1993 Update Flyer and also in Life Support, Issue #5 (translated into German on 4 pages).
Plot summary
Narrating in the first person while seated at a bar, the unnamed protagonist is a down-on-his-luck mercenary MechWarrior who inherited "Mary Anne", his Wolverine, from his father who was a mercenary as well until he was killed in battle. Over his mother's objections the protagonist eleted not to sell Mary Anne but to follow in his father's footsteps, hiring out from Outreach. After a successful career of ten years, Mary Anne was severely damaged while pirate hunting in the Capellan Confederation and his companion Skeets' Rifleman was equally mauled. Skeets accepted the Capellan offer to fix up her Rifleman but found herself company stored for it while the protagonist returned to Outreach where he was unable to procure a contract with his badly damaged 'Mech, stranding him in his current situation.
Just as the protagonist tells the bartender that he has finally decided to sell his 'Mech, Skeets unexpectedly appears and tells him of a top secret but highly lucrative contract offer with fifty percent paid up front, enough to repair Mary Anne. The protagonist is sceptical when Skeets mentions the contract is not offered through the hiring hall, but she explains that Theodore Kurita is personally hiring mercenaries for service with ComStar's Explorer Corps and an eventual strike at Strana Mechty. At this, the protagonist orders another round of drinks in celebration and affirms that he will participate in the contract.