Bill Wilkes
Sarna News
| Bill Wilkes | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal | |
| Alias(es) | Wildman[1][2] |
| Born | 2975[1] |
| Affiliation | Federated Suns |
| Career | |
| Title(s) | Captain[1] |
| Profession | MechWarrior |
Cheating death hundreds of times, Bill Wilkes was a notable House Davion MechWarrior made famous for his ambush tactics during the final decades of the Third Succession War.[1][2]
History[edit]
Holding the rank of subaltern, Bill Wilkes was posted to a recon lance, with his first combat action being what was meant to be a simple intelligence gathering raid on Fellanin II. While his lance commander ordered a spread formation while cautiously approaching the on alert Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery installation, a bored and reckless Wilkes would choose to jump over a rock formation rather than go around it on foot, immediately triggering the Combine defenders to send tanks and hovercraft to investigate. Turning and fleeing, Wilkes would continue time and again to jump over obstacles throughout the night, constantly drawing the attention of the Combine forces and leading them astray while allowing the rest of the lance to reach the base and obtain the sought after intel with ease. When Wilkes returned to the DropShip and his angered commander having prepared disciplinary paper work, he asked "Hi, there, sir, did my distraction work?" and prompting his now amused Lieutenant to crumple the paperwork.[1][2]
This reckless behavior a preview of the future, Bill Wilkes would rise to command of the Wilkes Recon Lance in the Fourth Deneb Light Cavalry. While disliked by many for being a swaggering egoist, Wilkes was also grudgingly admired for his famous ambushes in his Javelin named Hi There!. One of most notable of these ambushes devised by Wilkes was the so-called Battle of Waterhole Number Nine during the Second Battle of Cylene II in December 3002. Hiding under 30 meters of water in a moderately sized recreational lake in standby mode to hide their heat signatures; consisting mostly of Javelins with their SRM-6 racks hurried swapped out for SRT-6 torpedo launchers, Wilkes' recon lance waited as the rest of their unit pulled back. As the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery assault 'Mechs entered Waterhole Number Nine to begin attacking the Davion defensive line some 400 meters away, the Fourth's recon lance fired at point-blank range underwater at the unaware Kurita 'Mechs just as land forces counterattacked. The ambush was a dazzling success with the Combine forces routed, taking heavy losses that contributed to their eventual withdrawal from Cylene II shortly after.[1][2][3]
Driven to achieve the same level of glory from his success on Cylene, by 3025 Wilkes' rashness and recklessness only increased as ill-advised comments about his superiors and drunken brawls with civilians resulted in his demotion back down to leftenant. In the field, Wilkes led his lances far beyond their assigned recon duties, seeking combat more than intel and hurling himself into the fray even when outnumbered and outgunned. Though his rash actions resulted in the death of many of his lance-mates, his high tempo recon operations always managed to collect notable information on enemy deployments, a record of success that drew an endless stream of eager MechWarriors seeking action and knowing they'd see it under him. In time Wilkes would demand people call him "Wildman," a nickname few disagreed was not totally apt.[1][2]
Refusing to let age slow him, "Wildman" Bill Wilkes' last major combat action would be on Aldebaran during the Fourth Succession War. With Warrior House Ijori's Second Battalion's endless ambushes and lighting VTOL attacks hampering the Fourth Deneb and Redfield Renegades invasion of the Capellan Confederation world's southern continent, an incensed Wilkes had enough and set out without permission or support with his recon lance on a long patrol. Wilkes stumbled upon an lance of Ijori 'Mechs guarding the landing field for a lance of the despised VTOLs, able to launch three volleys of short range missiles towards the fuel and munitions for the VTOLs before the Capellan troops realized he was there.[1]
As the landing field burst into flames that killed the chopper crews, the panicked Ijori lance fled as "Wildman" Wilkes chased after as the rest of his lance scrambled to keep up with him. Wilkes' deep strike would prove to be the beginning of the end for Ijori's defense of Aldebaran. Finally achieving a similar level of fame and glory as the long ago Second Battle of Cylene, Wilkes was again promoted for his actions, but ultimately recognizing the nature of his own character Wilkes promptly retired after the Fourth Succession War concluded before his "Wildman" antics would get him into trouble and demoted again.[1]
BattleMech[edit]
For his entire carrier with the AFFS, "Wildman" Bill Wilkes piloted a Javelin he named "Hi, There!" following his first combat action on Fellanin II.[1][2]
Notes[edit]
- An apocryphal version of Hi There! appears in the video game MechWarrior Online Legends.[4]