The Few, The Lucky

The Few, The Lucky
Short story by Chris Hussey
Publication
Published	26 February 2009
Publisher	BattleCorps
illustrator(s)	Brent Evans
Pages	26
Chronology
Era	Jihad era
Timeline	15 November 3072 — 28 November 3072

The Few, The Lucky is a short story by Chris Hussey that was first published online on BattleCorps on 26 February 2009. It was later republished in print in the BattleCorps anthology Front Lines in 2016.

Teaser Text

“

Not everyone can escape when an invasion hits, but that doesn’t mean that you just lay down and take it, either. Every handbook notes a tactical withdrawal... but of course, sometimes they chase you.

”

Plot Summary

Following the Word of Blake's invasion of Galatea, the Last Knights mercenary unit under Captain Nevvin Kerris—whittled down from twenty-four 'Mechs plus infantry to a mere six 'Mechs as of 15 November 3072 including survivors from another destroyed mercenary command and later reinforced by more infantry and an Axman from yet another command, Gideon's Gangbusters—is under constant attack. Tired and low on supplies and ammunition they fend off one attack after another, and Kerris comes to believe that a particular enemy Toyama that has personally killed several of Kerris' people is toying with him for some reason, by not delivering killing blows when he could have.

An infantry sergeant relates a rumor about a merchant DropShip at the Mekling airpad, some four days' travel away. Kerris resolves to evacuate his command on that ship, which is practically their only hope of escape. En route, they come across a remote farm in the Fellis Fields area. Its owner, Wilkins, is rather unhappy that the fleeing Last Knights will draw Word of Blake attention to his farm now. He grudgingly reveals to be a veteran soldier owning a Templar (that he calls Steps Loudly) and joins Kerris' unit.

The Last Knights are picked off one by one in running encounters with pursuing Word of Blake forces. In the end, only Kerris and Wilkins manage to escape on the DropShip Lady Loon on 26 November, after a final encounter with the Toyama from which Kerris barely managed to disengage. Aboard the ship, he bitterly reflects about being the last surviving member of the Last Knights, and wonders why he is among the lucky ones to survive.

Featured Characters

• Captain Nevvin Kerris

Featured Units

• Last Knights
• Gideon's Gangbusters

Featured Places

• Galatea

Featured BattleTech

BattleMechs

• Apollo
• Axman
• Buccaneer
• Cestus
• Dervish
• Enfield
• Gurkha
• Hercules
• Lightray
• Nexus II
• Salamander
• Toyama
• White Flame
• Yeoman
• "Chicken Hawk", designation for unidentified 70-ton WoB OmniMech, implied to be Deva
• "Claw Daddy", designation for unidentified light WoB OmniMech, implied to be a Malak
• "Fiend", designation for unidentified WoB OmniMech that based on Heavy PPC and Plasma Rifle configurations could be Archangel, Grigori, or Seraph

Battle Armor

• Purifier Adaptive (implied from context)

DropShips

• Buccaneer-class cargo carrier DropShip, Lady Loon

JumpShips

• Unspecified JumpShip-class, The InBetween