Goliath out of the Box

Goliath out of the Box
Short story by Randall N. Bills
Publication
Published23 October 2004
PublisherBattleCorps
illustrator(s)Chris Lewis
Pages8
Chronology
EraStar League era (Age of War)
Timeline2 April 2457
Series
Arrleft.svg 
Isolation's Weight
  Arrright.svg 
Occum's Choice

"Star League era (Age of War)" is not in the list (Pre–Star League era, Star League era, Succession Wars era, Clan Invasion era, Civil War era, Jihad era, Dark Age era, ilClan era, Clan Homeworlds era) of allowed values for the "Era" property.

Goliath out of the Box is a short story by Randall N. Bills that was first published online on BattleCorps on 23 October 2004 as the second installment in a loosely grouped series known as Highlander Chronicles.

Teaser Text[edit]

Randall N. Bills brings us a tale of 2457: the early days of the Northwind Highlanders. A great glimpse into the days before the Star League ruled.

Plot Summary[edit]

A reinforced tank company from the Second Kearny Highlanders is fleeing back to their landing zone after running into Hegemony Armed Forces Mackies during a raid on Ningpo. The Highlanders speculate that the Maskirovka intentionally withheld intel on the HAF garrison, hoping to see how the new Terran superweapon performs in the field. With Hegemony ECM jamming their communications, the mercenaries send their lone hovercraft ahead to the LZ, then turn back to make a stand against a pursuing Mackie, hoping the faster hovercraft can make it back to the DropShip and get offworld to let the rest of the Highlanders know that the Maskirovka betrayed them. The Mackie takes the Highlander tank company apart with ease.

Featured Characters[edit]

Featured Units[edit]

Featured Places[edit]

Featured BattleTech[edit]

BattleMechs[edit]

Vehicles[edit]

DropShips[edit]

Notes[edit]

  • The Suvorov heavy tanks haven't been given official statistics, but since they're being overtaken by a Mackie (3/5 movement), their movement profile is probably similar to that of the Behemoth (2/3).
  • The ECM employed by the Terran Hegemony to block Highlander transmissions must be a primitive prototype under game rules, since the Guardian ECM didn't debut until 2600. It may be the "Squealer I ECM" system featured on the Torrent heavy bomber, which had been fielded by the Terrans since the twenty-first century.