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| publisher          = [[Roc Books]]
 
| publisher          = [[Roc Books]]
 
| productioncode      =  
 
| productioncode      =  
| year                = 1 August 1995
+
| year                = 1 August, 1995
 
| ISBN10              = 0451453824
 
| ISBN10              = 0451453824
 
| ISBN13              = 978-0451453822
 
| ISBN13              = 978-0451453822
| MSRP                = $4.99
+
| MSRP                = 4.99
 
| content            =  
 
| content            =  
 
| era                = [[Clan Invasion era]]
 
| era                = [[Clan Invasion era]]
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== Plot Summary ==
 
== Plot Summary ==
Defending [[Glengarry]] against Skye separatists in the [[Second Skye Rebellion]], the weak on-planet Gray Death Legion rump forces under temporary leadership of Captain Alex Carlyle managed to repulse the initial landing and then two out of three nearly simultaneous landings by enemy troops. They then set out to engage the third enemy landing zone at Halidon, but in the face of strong enemy forces that battle became a rout, and Alex Carlyle subsequently led the Legion on a seven-month guerrilla campaign with sixty percent losses, until the Legion's line combat units returned to the planet and broke the siege.
+
Defending [[Glengarry]] against Skye separatists in the [[Second Skye Rebellion]], the weak on-planet Gray Death Legion rump forces under temporary leadership of Captain Alex Carlyle managed to repulse the initial landing and then two out of three nearly simultaneous landings by enemy troops. They then set out to engage the third enemy landing zone at Halidon, but in the face of strong enemy forces that battle became a rout, and Alex Carlyle subsequently led the Legion on a seven-month guerilla campaign with sixty percent losses, until the Legion's line combat units returned to the planet and broke the siege.
  
 
By 10 March [[3057]], four months after the end of the campaign, Alexander Carlyle is still having bad dreams about it, feeling his leadership performance was inadequate and the losses too high, especially the death of his close friend Davis Clay. His overall performance is sagging, his relationship with [[Caitlin DeVries]] is suffering, and his father, Colonel Grayson Carlyle, is considering pulling him off-duty.
 
By 10 March [[3057]], four months after the end of the campaign, Alexander Carlyle is still having bad dreams about it, feeling his leadership performance was inadequate and the losses too high, especially the death of his close friend Davis Clay. His overall performance is sagging, his relationship with [[Caitlin DeVries]] is suffering, and his father, Colonel Grayson Carlyle, is considering pulling him off-duty.
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McCall decides to visit Governor Wilmarth in his residence on Mount Alba the next day to discuss his brother. They meed Folker and encounter gruesome scenes at the governor's citadel where prisoners are tortured to death to make an example of them. The talks quickly degrade to the point where McCall and Carlyle have to fight their way out of the citadel, taking Folker hostage and freeing two prisoners in the process. They subsequently get their modified Nighthawk suits and stage a raid against the citadel on the same night to rescue Angus McCall from captivity. Thanks to the prisoners they rescued they are supported in this action by the Reivers, a local resistance movement under General Ambrose McBee that formed out of the original local militia (before they were gradually replaced by offworlders loyal to Wilmarth, a new militia called the Bloodspillers). The clandestine raid evolves into a firefight. Over the course of the battle over eighty prisoners including Angus McCall are freed, several guards are killed and several vehicles are wrecked, notably including an ''[[UrbanMech]]''. Eventually, the defenders bring two ''[[Victor]]''s to the battle. McCall manages to cripple one with a satchel charge, sending it falling down a cliff and cowing the other ''Victor'' to take a defensive stance and let the prisoners escape, but he is wounded in the process. Carlyle barely manages to rescue him.
 
McCall decides to visit Governor Wilmarth in his residence on Mount Alba the next day to discuss his brother. They meed Folker and encounter gruesome scenes at the governor's citadel where prisoners are tortured to death to make an example of them. The talks quickly degrade to the point where McCall and Carlyle have to fight their way out of the citadel, taking Folker hostage and freeing two prisoners in the process. They subsequently get their modified Nighthawk suits and stage a raid against the citadel on the same night to rescue Angus McCall from captivity. Thanks to the prisoners they rescued they are supported in this action by the Reivers, a local resistance movement under General Ambrose McBee that formed out of the original local militia (before they were gradually replaced by offworlders loyal to Wilmarth, a new militia called the Bloodspillers). The clandestine raid evolves into a firefight. Over the course of the battle over eighty prisoners including Angus McCall are freed, several guards are killed and several vehicles are wrecked, notably including an ''[[UrbanMech]]''. Eventually, the defenders bring two ''[[Victor]]''s to the battle. McCall manages to cripple one with a satchel charge, sending it falling down a cliff and cowing the other ''Victor'' to take a defensive stance and let the prisoners escape, but he is wounded in the process. Carlyle barely manages to rescue him.
  
There is really a cabal of conspirators behind the situation. High-ranking Lyran officers and nobles are manipulating Wilmarth through Folker as part of what they call [[Operation EXCALIBUR]], an attempt to gain control of [[Hesperus II]] and its [[BattleMech]] factories. Grayson Carlyle is being set up to either be suborned by the conspirators, or to move against them and lose his strategically important barony which will then fall to another of the conspirators. They feel it is a win-win situation.
+
There is really a cabal of conspirators behind the situation. High-ranking Lyran officers and nobles are manipulating Wilmarth through Folker as part of what they call Operation Excalibur, an attempt to gain control of [[Hesperus II]] and its [[BattleMech]] factories. Grayson Carlyle is being set up to either be suborned by the conspirators, or to move against them and lose his strategically important barony which will then fall to another of the conspirators. They feel it is a win-win situation.
  
 
On 7 April, the JumpShip ''[[Rubicon]]'' brings Grayson Carlyle and the Gray Death Legion's third battalion to the Caledonia system with orders to restore order. They are worried to find all frequencies dead or jammed. Major Folker has been awaiting their arrival at the [[jump point]] in a shuttle and meets with Grayson Carlyle aboard the ''Rubicon''. There, he shows him footage of the attack on Wilmarth's citadel, accusing Carlyle's men of working with the rebels. Folker rides down to the planet with the Legion and orders them to deploy 'Mechs against the civilian protesters in the capital. When Grayson Carlyle refuses the order, Folker has him arrested but is in turn arrested along with his adjudants when Carlyle is freed by his security detail. However, Folker manages to escape.
 
On 7 April, the JumpShip ''[[Rubicon]]'' brings Grayson Carlyle and the Gray Death Legion's third battalion to the Caledonia system with orders to restore order. They are worried to find all frequencies dead or jammed. Major Folker has been awaiting their arrival at the [[jump point]] in a shuttle and meets with Grayson Carlyle aboard the ''Rubicon''. There, he shows him footage of the attack on Wilmarth's citadel, accusing Carlyle's men of working with the rebels. Folker rides down to the planet with the Legion and orders them to deploy 'Mechs against the civilian protesters in the capital. When Grayson Carlyle refuses the order, Folker has him arrested but is in turn arrested along with his adjudants when Carlyle is freed by his security detail. However, Folker manages to escape.
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The novel ends with the Legion preparing to return to Glengarry, which is already besieged by [[FedCom]] troops demanding the Legion's surrender—the Legion is accused of having broken their contract by siding against Wilmarth, and their future hangs in the balance.
 
The novel ends with the Legion preparing to return to Glengarry, which is already besieged by [[FedCom]] troops demanding the Legion's surrender—the Legion is accused of having broken their contract by siding against Wilmarth, and their future hangs in the balance.
  
==Featured characters==
+
== Featured characters ==
{{div col|colwidth=25em}}
 
 
* [[Alexander Carlyle]]
 
* [[Alexander Carlyle]]
* [[Ambrose McBee]]
 
* [[Caitlin DeVries]]
 
* [[Davis McCall]]
 
* [[Ellen Jamison]]
 
* [[Felix Zellner]]
 
 
* [[Grayson Death Carlyle]]
 
* [[Grayson Death Carlyle]]
 
* [[Lori Kalmar-Carlyle]]
 
* [[Lori Kalmar-Carlyle]]
* [[Nelson Wilmarth]]
 
 
* [[Kellen Folker]]
 
* [[Kellen Folker]]
* [[Jaime Wolf]]
+
* [[Davis McCall]]
* [[James Seymour]]
+
* [[Davis Clay]]
* [[Thurman Vaughn]]
 
* [[Vinton Karst]]
 
* [[Walter Dupré]]
 
* [[Davis Clay (Gray Death Legion)|Davis Clay]]
 
* [[Vernon Artman]]
 
* [[Victor Steiner Davion]] (mentioned)
 
* [[Caesar Steiner]] (mentioned)
 
* [[Wilhelm von Bulow|von Bulow]] (mentioned)
 
{{div col end}}
 
  
==Featured places==
+
== Featured places ==
 
* [[Caledonia]]
 
* [[Caledonia]]
 
* [[Gladius (system)|Gladius]]
 
* [[Gladius (system)|Gladius]]
 
* [[Glengarry]]
 
* [[Glengarry]]
  
==Featured BattleTech==
+
== Featured BattleTech==
 
===BattleMechs===
 
===BattleMechs===
{{div col|colwidth=25em}}
 
 
*''[[Apollo (BattleMech)|Apollo]]''
 
*''[[Apollo (BattleMech)|Apollo]]''
 
*''[[Archer]]''
 
*''[[Archer]]''
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*''[[Locust]]''
 
*''[[Locust]]''
 
*''[[Marauder]]''
 
*''[[Marauder]]''
*''[[Mercury (BattleMech)|Mercury]]''
+
*''[[Mercury]]''
 
*''[[Shadow Hawk]]''
 
*''[[Shadow Hawk]]''
 
*''[[Stalker]]''
 
*''[[Stalker]]''
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*''[[Zeus]]''
 
*''[[Zeus]]''
 
*CK-3 ''[[CherryPicker]]'' AgroMech, modified to carry improvised weapons
 
*CK-3 ''[[CherryPicker]]'' AgroMech, modified to carry improvised weapons
{{div col end}}
 
 
 
===Aerospace fighters===
 
===Aerospace fighters===
*''[[Corsair (Aerospace Fighter class)|Corsair]]''
+
*''[[Corsair]]''
 
 
 
===Vehicles===
 
===Vehicles===
*[[Pegasus (Combat Vehicle - Hovertank)|Pegasus]] hovertank
+
*[[Pegasus]] hovertank
 
 
 
===DropShips===
 
===DropShips===
*''[[Union (DropShip class)|Union]]'' (''[[Endeavor (Individual Union-class DropShip)|Endeavor]]'', ''[[Defiant (Individual Union-class DropShip)|Defiant]]'', ''[[Valiant (Individual Union-class DropShip)|Valiant]]'')
+
*''[[Union]]'' (''[[Endeavor (Union)|Endeavor]]'', ''[[Defiant]]'', ''[[Valiant (Union)|Valiant]]'')
 
*unspecified DropShips ''[[Skye Song]]'', ''[[Tagalong]]''
 
*unspecified DropShips ''[[Skye Song]]'', ''[[Tagalong]]''
 
 
===JumpShips===
 
===JumpShips===
 
*''[[Monolith]]'' (''[[Rubicon]]'')
 
*''[[Monolith]]'' (''[[Rubicon]]'')
*unspecified JumpShips ''[[Altair (Individual JumpShip)|Altair]]'', ''[[Neptune (Individual JumpShip)|Neptune]]'', ''[[Shoshone]]''
+
*unspecified JumpShips ''[[Altair (Vessel)|Altair]]'', ''[[Neptune (Vessel)|Neptune]]'', ''[[Shoshone]]''
  
 
===Other===
 
===Other===
* [[Bluestreak|Defiance Bluestreak]] monocycle
 
 
*[[ST-46]]-class shuttle/[[small craft]]
 
*[[ST-46]]-class shuttle/[[small craft]]
 
*Mk. XXI [[Nighthawk]] [[Power Armor (Light)]], modified for scouting purposes
 
*Mk. XXI [[Nighthawk]] [[Power Armor (Light)]], modified for scouting purposes
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==Notes==
 
==Notes==
 
*The world of Caledonia is repeatedly referred to as "Caledon".
 
*The world of Caledonia is repeatedly referred to as "Caledon".
*[[SRM]] and [[LRM]] numbers appear to be reversed throughout the novel; Alex Carlyle's [[Archer]] fires 12-round LRM cassettes while the [[Pegasus (Combat Vehicle - Hovertank)|Pegasus]] fires 5-pack SRM volleys.
 
 
==Foreign-Language Editions==
 
===German===
 
A German edition, translated by [[Reinhold H. Mai]], was published by [[Heyne]] in 1996 as ''Pflichtübung'' (ISBN 9783453094390).<ref>Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Catalog entry for [https://d-nb.info/947349502 ''Pflichtübung'']</ref>  This was republished as an EPUB by [[Ulisses Medien & Spiel Distribution GmbH|Ulisses Spiele]] in 2019 as ''BattleTech Legenden 29 : Pflichtübung'' (ISBN 9783963310911).<ref>Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Catalog entry for [https://d-nb.info/1177687135 ''BattleTech Legenden 29 : Pflichtübung'']</ref>
 
 
===Russian===
 
A Russian edition, translated by T. Musatova, was published by [[Армада]] (Armada) in 1997 as ''Тактика долга'' (ISBN 576320395X). <ref> Science Fiction Lab Book description for [http://fantlab.ru/edition12514 Тактика долга]</ref><ref> National Library of Russia description for [https://webservices.nlr.ru/util/?method=recordFormat&vid=07NLR_VU1&sysid=000000536&format=037&base=NLR01 Тактика долга]</ref>
 
  
 
==Covers==
 
==Covers==
 
<gallery>
 
<gallery>
Image:Pflichtübung.jpg|1996 German edition.
+
Image:Pflichtübung.jpg|German book cover
Image:BattleTech Legenden 29 - Pflichtübung.jpg|2019 German edition (reprint).
 
Image:Тактика долга.jpg|1997 Russian edition.
 
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
 
=References=
 
<references/>
 
 
  
 
[[Category:Novels]]
 
[[Category:Novels]]
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[[Category:BattleCorps publications]]
 
[[Category:BattleCorps publications]]
 
[[Category:Works by William H. Keith, Jr.]]
 
[[Category:Works by William H. Keith, Jr.]]
[[Category:German Editions]]
 
[[Category:Russian Editions]]
 

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