Life in the Big City
Sarna News
- A Tale of Two Cities redirects here.
| Life in the Big City | |
|---|---|
| Product information | |
| Type | Short story Rulebook fiction |
| Author | Tara Gallagher |
| Pages | 3 (print) 8 (PDF) |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | FASA |
| First published | 1986 |
| Content | |
| Era | Succession Wars era |
| Timeline | undated (3024 or later) |
Life in the Big City is a piece of short fiction by Tara Gallagher that was first published in the 1986 CityTech rulebook. While it was printed on the rulebook's last pages, there is also a brief introductory scene on p. 3 of the rulebook titled A Tale of Two Cities that is connected to it.
On 28 August 2006 Life in the Big City, minus the A Tale of Two Cities scene, was made available for download as an individual PDF puplication via BattleCorps.
Contents
[edit]
| “ | Generally, only MechWarriors are welcome in Maloof's. Technicians or infantry or support personnel spend their time elsewhere, so when a MechWarrior invites one to drink at Maloof's it is a mark of high respect. At the same time, they're somewhat conspicuous; so when they start telling a tale of life in the big city, others will listen... | ” |
Plot Summary[edit]
There is no proper plot or storyline; the fiction consists of loosely connected scenes of patrons celebrating and talking at Maloof's Tavern on Rahway II, a Federated Suns world reserved almost exclusively for MechWarrior R&R.
A Tale of Two Cities[edit]
Commander Stephen Burrows proposes a toast in Maloof's Tavern to the recent conquest of Pike IV and the soon-to-be-historic Battle for Weehawken.
Life in the Big City[edit]
Frank Krieger and Abbey Farber, known as "possibly the best technicians around" and called "two of the best Techs in the Inner Sphere", join the MechWarriors of the Burrow's Crashing Thunder mercenary regiment in celebration of their victory over House Kurita forces at Weehawken on Travis V. They draw glaring stares from fellow MechWarrior Williams, prompting another MechWarrior to narrate how they scrounged up spare parts for improvised repairs to his 'Mech (and others) on Torwind, resulting in 'Mechs with product advertisements on them from the truck trailers that were used to patch up the improvised armor. Williams' 'Mech had the line "Processed Chicken" running along both legs and the right torso.
Later they talk about Locust pilots and how all MechWarriors — including Locust pilots themselves — consider them to be the weirdest.
At another table nearby, MechWarriors from Kushnir's Battalion of the 42nd Armored Lightning Regiment mourn for John Judd, whose Phoenix Hawk was destroyed by an enemy BattleMaster that cornered it in a city on Pike IV with its jump jets out.
At yet another table, an aging battalion commander is turning his 'Mech over to his niece, and cautions her against fighting recklessly or underestimating infantry, lest she end up dispossessed.
Featured Places[edit]
- New Mendham (mentioned)
- Pike IV (mentioned)
- Rahway II
- Torwind (reference to an event "on Torwind"; unclear from the context if Torwind is a world)
- Travis V (mentioned)
Featured Units[edit]
Featured BattleTech[edit]
Notes[edit]
- No timestamp is provided for the story. However, given that CityTech, published in 1986, is a very early BattleTech product and that the concept of lostech plays a prominent role, the story can be assumed to be set during the Succession Wars era, in or around the "classic" year 3025. The victory on Travis V that is celebrated by the MechWarriors took place in the summer of 3024 according to Technical Readout: 3025 (Stalker entry).
- In the German edition of CityTech, this story was replaced by the story Black Cats Cross Your Path by Tara Gallagher and James Lanigan.
Bibliography[edit]
- CityTech rulebook, pp. 40-42, with additional scene titled "A Tale of Two Cities" on p. 3