Apparent Catastrophe
Sarna News
 | Apocryphal Product Although the subject of this article is an official BattleTech product, it does not meet the current criteria for Canon. Its content may or may not be canonical for the BattleTech universe, and for the purpose of the Sarna.net BattleTechWiki is considered apocryphal. |
| Novella/serialized Novel (part 2 of 4) by Michael A. Stackpole | |||
 | |||
| Publication | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Published | 28 March 2017 | ||
| Publisher | Harebrained Schemes | ||
| Illustrator(s) | Joel DuQue | ||
| Pages | 112 (PDF edition) | ||
| Chronology | |||
| Era | Succession Wars era | ||
| Timeline | 15 November 3000 — 23 December 3000 | ||
| Series | |||
| |||
Apparent Catastrophe is an original BattleTech novella penned by Michael A. Stackpole, the second of four parts of a serial novel. It was offered as a backer reward for Harebrained Schemes' successful BattleTech Video Game crowdfunding campaign, and was released in electronic format on 28 March 2017 to backers who had pledged at least 50 US$ to the project.
The title was eventually released for general sale by Catalyst Game Labs on 2 May 2025, with a new cover and adding an overall series title, The Crown Ascendancy, to the novel's title.
From the Back Cover[edit]
| “ | NO WAY OUT...
It was supposed to be an easy job. Walter de Mesnil, of the mercenary company Angleton's Angels, was assigned to watch over the heir of the planet Maldive on his way to ruling the planet. That is, until a fierce rebellion overthrew the government and imposed their own brutal regime. Still carrying out his mission, Walter, the heir, Ivan, and Ivan's sister Sophie are all captured and placed in a re-education camp, better known as a prison, to be converted into productive member of the new regime. But Walter has a few tricks up his sleeve, and comes up with a plan to not only get them out of the camp, but off-planet as well. The only thing standing in their way is the devious commissar of the camp, who has made it his mission to root out any traitors to the cause... no matter the cost...' |
” |
Canonicity[edit]
Originally written for the release of the HBS videogame, this series of novellas have long been apocryphal. In February 2025 the first installment of this series was released by CGL as a canonical product. At this time, future installments have yet to be released and and thus are still apocryphal, though they are expected to be officially published imminently. Until such a time unpublished installments and the characters and events there in must remain apocryphal.
Plot summary[edit]
 | This section needs a plot summary. |
Featured Characters[edit]
- Quintus Allard
- Calvin Galarza
- Ian Levine
- Abigail Litzau
- Ivan Litzau
- Sophie Litzau
- Walter de Mesnil
- Richard Oglethorpe
Featured Places[edit]
- Maldive (called "Maldives" in the first two novellas but referred to as "Maldive" afterwards; not to be confused with nearby Valdives)
Featured BattleTech[edit]
BattleMechs[edit]
DropShips[edit]
- DropShips of undetermined classes (Vulture's Egg)