Gray Noton
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Gray Noton (b. ???? - d. 5 May 3027) was an early 31st Century MechWarrior, mercenary, information broker, and seven-time Solaris VII Champion. He was half Lyran and half Marik in nationality.[1] He was described as a "physically large muscular man, bald, with a bullneck".[2]
Character History
After winning his Solaris Championship in the Class 5 Arena, Gray and his Rifleman were given the nickname "Legend-Killer".[3] Shortly after earning his Championship, he became an information broker.
Noton was recruited by the Capellan Confederation in late November of 3026 to raid the former Liao world of Kittery, which was lost during the waning years of the Third Succession War. Leading a battalion of Cicadas, Noton had his forces surrounding the cadre and attempting to smash the unit. However, he was kept from participating in the battle by a MechWarrior piloting a Valkyrie. It kept him tied up for the battle and damaged his Rifleman, as his battalion was surprisingly repulsed by the well-trained cadets. He did manage to shoot down and salvage the Valkyrie. With long odds for victory, he and the remaining forces of his battalion withdrew from the planet.
Noton met with his Liao contact Tsen Shang on January 15 3027 in Thor's Shieldhall in Valhalla to be informed that he had fought and defeated Major Justin Allard, who had piloted the Valkyrie he encountered on Kittery. Privately, Noton was impressed by Allard's skill and regretted sparing his life once he heard that he was no longer able to pilot a BattleMech. Shang arranged Noton's payment for his mission by arranging a rigged fight between Davion champion Philip Capet and the Teng brothers (Fuh and Sze).
Noton later dealt with Baron von Summer, Enrico Lestrade, nephew of Aldo Lestrade, who contacted him to plan and execute the hijacking of a Monarch-class DropShip named the Silver Eagle. He also encountered Countess Kym Sorenson, almost thinking she was a MechWarrior. After the Countess left, Noton demanded more money from the Baron, hinting about the many risks of hijacking a DropShip.[4] "The reason for the hijacking was to disrupt plans for the upcoming Davion-Steiner alliance".
Capet, who had won thirteen fights in a row to that point, dared Gray to fight him. Noton simply replied that he did not care for Capet's ego or his hatred of Capellans, but that Capet had better stay away from him or he would come back to kill him.
In February, Enrico invited Noton to a stadium box where he was hosting a party. Noton was paid by Enrico with a 50,000 C-Bill betting ticket for Wolfson to beat Fuh Teng in a BattleMech game match. Noton, knowing the game was rigged, accepted the fee. He met Kym Sorenson at the party, which comprised of the Solaris Gaming Commission. This was where he met Justin Xiang, who had secretly replaced Fu Teng in his Vindicator and defeated Wolfson. Since Enrico invited the winner of the battle before the fight began, Noton came into contact with Xiang. Noton was upset by the win as he lost his 50,000 c-bill fee, but handled the encounter ably.
Tsen Shang discovered the body of Noton on the 5th of May in his office, his neck snapped.
Character Notes
Gray Noton is noted for being an excellent MechWarrior. It is possible that he holds the record for longest reign as Solaris Champion, at seven years. He piloted a Rifleman named "Legend-Killer". After his death, Justin Xiang used Legend-Killer in his champion match against Philip Capet.[5]
It is rumored that he secretly piloted a Rifleman II RFL-3N-2 he found in the Periphery. He allegedly used this 'Mech to become the Class 5 Solaris Champion before retiring.[6] However, there have been no in-universe indications of him actually piloting such a 'Mech (beyond the existence of the rumor), and in his appearance in the novel En Garde the text implies a regular Rifleman. The rumors being spread of him piloting a super Rifleman is assumed to be a canon rumor.[citation needed]
As an intelligence broker, he had connections with every major state's spy network on Solaris VII.[7]