Viper Lore and Blueprint

Viper Lore and Blueprint
Product information
Type	Short story
Author	Randall Bills
Publication information
Publisher	Catalyst Game Labs
First published	26 April 2016
Content
Era	Succession Wars era
Timeline	13 March 3039
Series	MWO Hero 'Mech Lore

Viper Lore and Blueprint, by Randall Bills, is a short story published for MechWarrior Online.

Plot summary

Star Captain Dwillt Radick and his Sixteenth Battle Cluster of Clan Wolf are engaged in a Trial of Possession against Star Captain Nikkil's unknown unit of Clan Diamond Shark. Fought on Paxon in the polluted lowland lake south of Manufacturing Plant DSF-8, the Wolves declared a batchall for a production run of Stormcrow components. The victor of that Trial is unknown.

Canonicity

Although MechWarrior Online as such does not fall under the current criteria for Canon, the fiction going with the games' "Hero 'Mechs"—written largely by Randall Bills who at the time was also the incumbent BattleTech Line Developer at Catalyst Game Labs—was expressly declared fully canonical. At the same time, the Hero 'Mechs themselves and the configurations offered by MechWarrior Online were still not considered canon beyond what was expressly put down in the fiction pieces.

Featured BattleTech

'Mechs

• Kingfisher
• Viper
• Stormcrow (mentioned)

Featured planets

• Paxon

Notes

• This canon short story is posted on an archived copy of the MWO forums here.
• This story indicates that, as of March 3039, Dwillt Radick was still a ristar within Clan Wolf. It is likely this trial took place before the trial for Star Colonel Kael Pershaw's Bloodright on Glory, as depicted in Bloodname.