A Smaller Sacrifice
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A Smaller Sacrifice | |
|---|---|
| Short story by Christian Grainger | |
| Publication | |
| Published | 16 January 2008 |
| Publisher | BattleCorps |
| Pages | 9 |
| Chronology | |
| Era | Jihad era |
| Timeline | 15 March 3068 |
A Smaller Sacrifice is a short story by Christian Grainger that was first published online on BattleCorps on 16 January 2008.
In 2014, it was republished in print in the fifth BattleCorps anthology, Counterattack, under the title The Smaller Sacrifice.
Contents
[edit]
| “ | Every military action since the dawn of time has exacted a price from the civilian population nearest it, and ComStar's attack upon the Word of Blake-controlled Terra is no exception. Sometimes the cost is paid in coin, sometimes in life... and sometimes in love. | ” |
Plot Summary[edit]
In Texas, Terra, the ground fighting following Case WHITE has caused collateral damage which, together with the current ban on all civilian air or space traffic while hidden Com Guard forces are ferreted out, threaten to put William Fence's transport firm Striker Shipping out of business and bankrupt him.
By chance, William happens to find the enemy troops hidden in an old factory building nearby. Anxious to resolve the situation before it will ruin him, he reports their position to TerraSec. His wife is shocked, because this will result in combat very close by and also because she has little love for the Word of Blake for what they did to her brother. In the TerraSec attack on the Com Guards, the Com Guard BattleMech is indeed brought to battle directly at the apartment building in which William and his wife live. As she feared, the building suffers collateral damage and collapses. William is heavily injured and his wife is killed.
In the aftermath, William is thanked by the victorious Word of Blake TerraSec forces and gets special permits that will save his business. Word of Blake also promise to reimburse him for his losses.
Featured Characters[edit]
Featured Places[edit]
Featured BattleTech[edit]
BattleMechs[edit]
Notes[edit]
- The short story is apparently named after its closing words.