Blood Rage
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| |
| Blood Rage | |
|---|---|
| Product information | |
| Type | Novella |
| Author | Craig A. Reed, Jr. |
| Pages | 136 |
| Cover Artwork | Tan Ho Sim (art) David Allen Kerber (design) |
| Interior Artwork | Alan Blackwell Aaron Harris Duane Loose Matt Plog Anthony Scroggins Franz Vohwinkel |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Catalyst Game Labs |
| Product code | CAT36892 |
| First published | 13 November 2023 (Backer) 24 January 2024 (Retail) |
| MSRP | $2.99 (EPUB) |
| Content | |
| Era | Jihad era |
| Timeline | 10—20 February 3070 |
| Series | Fortunes of War |
| Preceded by | Giving up the Ghost |
| Followed by | A Skulk of Foxes |
Blood Rage, subtitled Fortunes of War #2, is a novella by Craig A. Reed, Jr.. Announced in Shrapnel Issue 13, the narrative is focused on Hansen's Roughriders during the Jihad. The story is the second entry in the Fortunes of War fiction series announced by Catalyst Game Labs as unlockable stretch goals for the 2023 Mercenaries Crowdfunding Campaign. It was the $400,000 stretch goal, provided for free to Veteran backers and above and available for purchase for those in lower tiers. The title was released digitally for Mercenary campaign backers on 13 November 2023, prior to being offered for retail purchase as electronic EPUB format on 24 January 2024.
Contents
From the Back Cover[edit]
| “ | VENGEANCE SHALL BE THEIRS...
Three years after the massacre of their families on Bromhead, the hard-bitten mercenary unit Hansen's Roughriders have already exacted revenge against Taurian Concordat forces on the planet Lindsay. But that is only the beginning. When the Second Taurian Lancers—the unit responsible for the massacre—lands on Midale to conduct a supply raid, they run into Colonel Wolfgang Hansen and the entire Roughriders force—all out for blood. And underestimating the Roughriders may be the last mistake the Lancers make. Amid the savage fighting, a Federated Suns liaison officer uncovers evidence of a third party's involvement in the slaughter—and who may have been behind it. But will he be able to gather the necessary evidence—and eyewitnesses—before the rampaging Roughriders destroy everything in their path? |
” |
Plot Summary[edit]
On Midale, Aleksandr Knightsburg, the AFFS liaison for Hansen's Roughriders, felt depressed for having his position, so far away from the front. His DMI liaison explains him the importance of his place, to keep some control upon the Roughriders, broken and thirsty of revenge after the Bromhead Massacre. Then he was informed than the Second Taurian Lancers, the unit responsable of the Massacre, was approaching Midale. Onboard the Taurian DropShips, the Word of Blake liaison, Adept Moore, fears the Roughriders' actions and tries to warn the Colonel Murant, but both he and his niece, Rachel Best, refused to listen to her. In an interview with her uncle, Rachel speaks about the Massacre, but he pretends it was an exxageration, and refuses to talk more. After the Roughriders were informed of the Lancers' approach, they swore revenge, and Colonel Brubaker orders his men to take no prisoners. Also, in private, he asks their liaisons to be the voice of reason, and to save some taurians, if they can, from the Roughriders rage. The Word of Blake liaison in the Lancers was informed of the situation, and attempted to warn the colonel, but her words fell on deaf ears. After landing on Midale, the Lancers left their DropShips behind, and also their Blakist liaison. She later abandoned the area to join the Lancers, and right after, the Roughriders attacked the landing zone, crippling and capturing all the DropShips. The AFFS forces managed to save some taurians, preventing the mercenaries to executing them. The next day, the Roughriders fell upon the Lancers. In a stop, colonel Murant confessed to his niece than the Bromhead massacre was real, due to a mistake he commited. Soon after, the Roughriders catch them, and fell upon the taurians as a hammer. Slaughtering any Lancer they find, the survivors barely managed to escape, blowing a bridge to delay the pursuers. Adept Moore then reaches the Lancers and informs them about the DropShips' capture, and colonel Murant orders his forces to return to the landing zone, to retake their DropShips and escape. On the captured DropShips, a DMI officer founds evidence than the Word of Blake may have been ultimately responsable for the Bromhead Massacre, and when the taurians attack the landing zone, she tries to convince his people to capture some taurians, but with limited success. A handful of taurian 'Mechs, one fielded by Rachel, managed to breach the AFFS perimeter, but had no time to escape. Adept Moore covers the last Lancers' retreat to the mountains, but when she attemps to eject, a hidden explosive charge blows, killing her. In the landing zone, the Roughriders annihilated the Lancers, using artillery to crush the last survivors, without giving any quarter, though Rachel was captured by a DMI agent and hidden to prevent the Roughriders to execute her. Days after the battle, Knightsburg has an interview with Rachel Best, informing her she and the other taurian survivors will be sent to another planet, and Best informs him about Moore's identity.
Featured Characters[edit]
- Aleksander Knightburg
- Barney Sanders
- Carter Lorimer
- Kara Moore
- Natalia Foster
- Rachel Best
- William Murant
- Wolfgang Hansen