Twisting in the Vacuum
Sarna News
| Twisting in the Vacuum | |
|---|---|
| Short story by Jason M. Hardy | |
| Publication | |
| Published | 1 August 2008 |
| Publisher | BattleCorps |
| Pages | 36 |
| Chronology | |
| Era | Jihad era |
| Timeline | 13 July 3069 — 4 February 3072 |
Twisting in the Vacuum is a short story by Jason M. Hardy that was first published online on BattleCorps on 1 August 2008. It was later republished in print in the fifth BattleCorps anthology Counterattack in 2014.
[edit]
| “ | In a unit full of secrets trust is a rare commodity. But it will take a full measure of trust from one, for all to follow. The question is, should he really be trusting them all? | ” |
Plot Summary[edit]
Marcel Webb's mercenary unit, the Star Seeds, famously managed to board and capture a Green Ghosts Overlord-class DropShip, the Silhouette, in the Tomans system on 13 July 3069. Although they have not shared all tactical details, the newly-minted unit gained quite a reputation through this action which also forged them together as a team. A subsequent (successful) mission in 3070 was the boarding of the Word of Blake DropShip True Blood in the Orestes system.
On 4 February 3072 Webb is in contract negotiations with a representative of the Lyran Alliance on Hamilton. The proposed mission is to capture a Clan Jade Falcon DropShip at Bountiful Harvest, but Webb and his acting XO Krantz are wary because of the unprofessional manner in which their Lyran contact is handling the negotiations.
Unsure about whether or not to accept the Lyran contract, Webb is confronted by Interstellar Expeditions agents who are in truth affiliated with the Order of the Five Pillars. They have tracked Webb, in fact a DEST deserter, down and call him by his true name Frederick Zhil. Webb returns to his unit after an inexplicable absence and informs his command staff that he has accepted a new, different contract to Arcturus, though he does not yet know the details of the job or the identity of their employer. They make him put his cards on the table and, satisfied that the mission will apparently go against the Word of Blake, decide to go with it.
What Webb does not know is that two of his officers—Krantz and Bennett—are actually Word of Blake plants monitoring the Star Seeds for the Word of Blake. Having learned of the upcoming assignment to Arcturus and the unit's outlook, they decide to continue their work from within to find out as much as possible.
Featured Characters[edit]
- Eddie Bennett
- Geri Krantz
- David Michaels
- Montague
- Stephen Peterson
- Steuben
- Conrad Vrane
- Frederick Zhil (Marcel Webb)
Featured Units[edit]
Featured Places[edit]
Featured BattleTech[edit]
Small Craft[edit]
DropShips[edit]
- Overlord-class 'Mech carrier DropShip, Silhouette
- Unspecified DropShip-class, Syssiphus - a Star Seeds DropShip that rammed the Silhouette, facilitating the boarding action; its name and type were stated in Mercenaries Supplemental Update, p. 109)
Notes[edit]
- Though effectively standalone, the story and its main plot points lead into the events of Turning Points: Arcturus.
- Mercenaries Supplemental Update mentions the Silhouette was captured on the return leg of a fracas between the Green Ghosts and Clan Jade Falcon on Tomans. This action should not be confused with the earlier Green Ghosts attack on Tomans on 1 August 3068 (with armored and unarmored infantry).