The Cracked Canopy
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The Cracked Canopy is a popular MechWarrior Bar in Solaris City's International Zone.[1]
Overview[edit]
Located on the corner of Memorial Avenue and Defiance Street, the venue took up the entire bottom floor of a three-story building five blocks from the spaceport, and featured a cracked Catapult BattleMech canopy rumored to be from a Word of Blake 'Mech mounted over the main doors. It was an open, bright place, with light wood dominating the décor. Monitors are mounted at strategic locations allowing patrons to watch anything from 'Mech fights to soap operas.[1][2]
The Memory Wall[edit]
One of The Cracked Canopy's most notable features is the "Memory Wall" that displays mementos of glorious victories and defeats during the Jihad or the Clan Invasion, both on Solaris VII and elsewhere, of honorable loyalties and venomous betrayals, of lifelong friendships and lost loves, to serve as a remembrance of those lost, ensuring that the past will not be forgotten. Hanging or sitting on small shelves attached to the wall, each enshrined object has a story to tell and anybody is allowed to place an item on the wall as long as it is inorganic and non-Blakist.[1]
- Numerous framed photos of MechWarriors, other soldiers or groups of civilians.
- Plaques with engraved names.
- Many unit patches, including one from the Draconis Combine's First Sword of Light.[3]
- Various religious symbols.
- Various Armor pieces displaying insignia of various military units and Solaris Stables current and past, including a tattered banner of the original Blackstar Stables.[3]
- A broken katana hung next to a still intact claymore.
- A framed three paned picture featuring Manny Totske's Waco Rangers unit patch, a photo featuring Manny, Ariadne Sherbow, Parker LaBelle and Hector Shirotan and an armor piece engraved with "Waco Rangers. 3007-3058 - Blind Arrogance Killed Us."[1]
- A Kallon Industries autocannon shell in full casing, the name Justin Xiang stenciled on it with red crosshairs, supposedly from Philip Capet's Rifleman.[3]
- A plushy giraffe.[3]
- A second-place rugby trophy.[3]
- A drinking horn fashioned from the tusk of some impossibly large animal.[3]
- A limited-edition resin figure of Natasha Kerensky.[3]
- A Blue Star of Kerensky in a glass presentation case.[3]
- A right-hand MechWarrior's glove with ad astra per infernum embroidered at the cuff.[3]
- A metal toy Buccaneer from Ham, a MechWarrior survivor from Outreach.[4]
- A jack of spades, torn in half, illustrated with a Raven 'Mech.[3]
- The wedding ring of Roldán, husband of the Red Wraith.[5]
- A small piece of the Lumberman's Axe bar from the razed town of Scranton's Mill.[6]
- The knife used by Abel Mauser to kill Blakist Precentor Aaron Kutuzov, the destroyer of Scranton's Mill.[6]
- Leo's cut leather bondcord.[7]
- A fragment of Salutaris Rex "dinosaur" egg shell from Caph, left by the Silent Reapers' general Anori McFaris.[8]
- The Banshee's capsule given by her to Yuri Agamato containing a Thislte Flower that accompanied her message to Katana Tormark.[9]
Employees[edit]
- Leo - general manager who frequently speaks with patrons with items that end up on the "Memory Wall".[1]
- Sedge - Day bartender circa 3090.[1]
- Jonathan - Bartender which sometimes spoeaks with the patrons.[10]
- Ms. Silver - The Cracked Canopy's unseen owner.[1]
Notes[edit]
The Cracked Canopy was first introduced as a framing device for the Tales from the Cracked Canopy series in the Shrapnel magazine, a spiritual successor to the Tales of the Cobalt Coil from BattleTechnology magazine. The individual stories usually revolve around an item on the "Memory Wall" and its background story as narrated by the patron who donates the item to the wall, usually within a framework story narrated in the first person by bar manager Leo.
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Tales from the Cracked Canopy: Blind Arrogance
- ↑ Vengeance Games, Part 1, Section II
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 Tales from the Cracked Canopy: The Razor's Edge of Opportunity in Shrapnel, Issue 3, p. 105
- ↑ Tales from the Cracked Canopy: Giving Up in Shrapnel, Issue 2, p. 156
- ↑ The Red Wraith in Shrapnel, Issue 4, p. 116
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Shadows of the Past in Shrapnel, Issue 5, p. 152
- ↑ The Devil's Luck in Shrapnel, Issue 6, p. 101
- ↑ Silent Roar in Shrapnel, Issue 8, p. 101
- ↑ Tales of the Cracked Canopy: No Rest for the Accursed
- ↑ Tales of the Cracked Canopy: No Rest for the Accursed
Bibliography[edit]
- Tales from the Cracked Canopy: Blind Arrogance
- Tales from the Cracked Canopy: Giving Up
- Tales from the Cracked Canopy: Shadows of the Past
- Tales from the Cracked Canopy: Silent Roar
- Tales from the Cracked Canopy: The Devil's Luck
- Tales from the Cracked Canopy: The Razor's Edge of Opportunity
- Tales from the Cracked Canopy: The Red Wraith
- Tales from the Cracked Canopy: No Rest for the Accursed