Heir to the Dragon
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| Heir to the Dragon | |
|---|---|
| Product information | |
| Type | Novel |
| Author | Robert N. Charrette |
| Pages | 338 (original) 384 (reprint) |
| Cover Artwork | Jeff Laubenstein (original) Bruce Jensen (reprint) |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | FASA (original) Roc Books (reprint) |
| Product code | 8618 |
| First published | 1 August, 1989 (original) 1 September, 1996 (reprint) |
| ISBN-10 | 0451455274 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0451455277 |
| MSRP | 4.95 US$ |
| Content | |
| Era | Succession Wars era |
| Timeline | 3 February 3004 - 18 June 3040 |
Heir to the Dragon, by Robert N. Charrette, follows Theodore Kurita for twenty-two years as he learns to survive and thrive in the subtle and deadly courts of the Draconis Combine. The novel concludes the "classic" Succession Wars era of BattleTech and bridges the gap between the Fourth Succession War and the 3040s, shortly before the Clan Invasion era.
Contents
From the back cover (1989 edition)
| “ | A FLASH OF STEEL, a thin crimson line, and a foamy gurgle of confusion marked the beginning of Takashi's rule, and the passing of Theodore's grandfather. Theodore Kurita is the son of Takashi Kurita, and heir apparent to the Draconis Combine, one of the most powerful realms of the Inner Sphere. But the Draconis Combine has never been a place of smooth transitions. Historically, a Kurita proves himself a fit leader by a successful bid for power, political or... otherwise. Theodore's perilous journey to power is a twenty-year odyssey beginning with his graduation from Sun Zhang Military Academy. At each level of ascendancy, Theodore finds that keeping power is far more difficult than getting it, and failure lies in wait at every turn. Theodore's tactical knowledge is put to the test all too many times. His successes in impossible situations are dismissed as smoke and mirror trickery by some, but lauded as genius by others. Upon reaching the level of Lord of the Combine Military, his new power allows him to see the uncertain future of his people. Theodore must step carefully as he bargains for his future with ComStar, the mystic sect, and the Yakuza, an interstellar network of organized crime. All the while, maintaining an uneasy truce with the man whom he must one day depose... his father, Coordinator of the Draconis Combine! |
” |
Plot Summary
Prologue
Following the assassination of Coordinator Hohiro Kurita on late 3 February 3004, Hohiro's son and heir Takashi takes his own six-year-old son Theodore to see the slain man's body at the murder scene. To Takashi's satisfaction, young Theodore announces that he wants to kill the perpetrator. Takashi then gives him his first lesson and explains that to be Coordinator is to act through others, and to put justice above personal vengeance. He then orders the assassin (who was apprehended by guards) be shot on the spot. Internal Security Force assistant director Subhash Indrahar forms a bond with the confused and frightened Theodore.
Book 1: Bravery
On 17 May 3018, the night of his graduation from Wisdom of the Dragon school on Kagoshima, Theodore Kurita finds himself on the run from a group of ninjas in high-tech sneak suits after he overpowered the first would-be assailant in the appartment of his paramour Kathleen Palmer and took his sneak suit and sword, then ran into the industrial district. Here he is confronted by another ninja who wounds him at the hip in a brief fight and then retreats. Somewhat later, Theodore is finally cornered and it turns out the attack was a test of some sorts by his mentor and friend Subhash Indrahar, who sent operatives with non-lethal weaponry and is satisfied with Theodore's performance. Indrahar offers Theodore to join the secret Sons of the Dragon society, and Theodore agrees. However, Indrahar mentions that he sent six attackers while Theodore counted seven—the one who actually wounded Theodore is not among Indrahar's men.
On the same night, Adept Constance Kurita is informed by her great-aunt Florimel Kurita, Keeper of the House Honor, that she is to become her successor. An operative arrives and delivers Theodores's pouch that she cut from his belt, inadvertedly cutting him in the process.
Meanwhile on Kirchbach in the unruly Rasalhague Military District, a group of conspirators using gemstone codenames meets their new associate "Ruby"—the Red Duke Hassid Ricol. Ruby refuses to commit to the group's goals but indicates they have a common agenda before he leaves again. Group leader Diamond takes this to mean Ruby is now an informal member.
On the next day's graduation ceremony, Theodore learns that he graduated top of his class—deservedly, in his opinion. However, his father dismisses the honor and posits that Theodore received preferential treatment because of his heritage. Theodore is further embittered by being assigned a DRG-1N Dragon BattleMech by his father. It is a highly symbolic 'Mech, but Theodore feels slighted because it is on the lower end of the heavy 'Mech category. He is overjoyed when Florimel Kurita presents him with an ON-1K Orion as his personal 'Mech, incidentially the refurbished original Orion once piloted by Aleksandr Kerensky himself.
Eager for his son to be married and produce heirs, Coordinator Takashi Kurita has arranged a political marriage to Anastasi Sjovold, daughter to the Rasalhague District's governor, Jarl Ottar Sjovold, in mid-3019. Notably, the wedding will take place in the Rasalhague District. Theodore arrives on Rasalhague on 20 September 3019 with his lance's XO and secret lover Tomoe Sakade, who is rather unhappy with the situation. Two days later, Coordinator Takashi Kurita arrives on Tai-sho Ivan Sorenson's Leopard-class DropShip Startreader. However, the ship is sabotaged by a sleeper agent and rigged to crash into the starport's command center. A message from Warlord Marcus Kurita called Theodore Kurita and attending Duke Hassid Ricol to the command center shortly before the crash. Ottar Sjovold manages to extract Theodore (and Ricol who included himself) just before the ship crashes. Sjovold admits that he was in on the plot and saved Theodore from Warlord Marcus Kurita's double-cross to ingratiate himself with his prospective son-in-law and future Coordinator. When Theodore rebuffs Sjovold, Ricol assaults and kills Sjovold, indicating a narrow blade near Sjovold's body had been meant for Theodore and thus demonstrating his loyalty.
Unexpectedly, Takashi Kurita has escaped the assassination plot by riding shotgun as Ivan Sorenson launched his Grasshopper from the stricken DropShip's 'Mech bay. In the aftermath, Sorenson is made Warlord of the Rasalhague District and Takashi orders mass executions of all who are even loosely connected to the conspirators (implicitly including Anastasi Sjovold). Marcus Kurita is "promoted" to Chief of Strategies for the DCMS and recalled to Luthien where Takashi can keep him on a short leash. Defiant after his pleas to spare the naive and innocent Anastasi fell on deaf ears with his father, Theodore makes a spur-of-the-moment decision to secretly marry Tomoe Sakade. As he proposes to her, she tells him that she is an operative for the Order of the Five Pillars and that she was the one who cut him on the night before his graduation. They get married before a buddhist monk.
In October 3024 Florimel Kurita steps down and Constance Kurita succeeds her as head of the O5P. The order has supported Theodore's and Tomoe's marriage and kept it secret, including the birth of a son, while Theodore is transferred from one combat unit in the DCMS to the next in a flurry. When Theodore rudely rejects another arranged marriage in December 3024, Takashi Kurita sends him into de-facto exile by promoting him to command the Legion of Vega, the dregs of the DCMS.
Featured characters
- Dechan Fraser
- Subhash Indrahar
- Ninyu Kerai
- Constance Kurita
- Florimel Kurita
- Jasmine Kurita
- Takashi Kurita
- Theodore Kurita
- Kathleen Palmer
- Hassid Ricol
- Tomoe Sakade
- Frederick Steiner
Featured places
Featured BattleTech
BattleMechs
Aerospace fighters
Vehicles
DropShips
- Leopard (Startreader)
- unspecified DropShip Mukade
JumpShips
Other
Covers
Original 1989 cover. Art by Jeff Laubenstein.
1996 reprint. Art by Bruce Jensen.
1991 German edition. Art by Jeff Laubenstein.
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