Editing Warrior: Riposte

{{Otheruses|the novel|the Capellan Confederation's ill-fated operation during the Fourth Succession War|Operation RIPOSTE}}

{{InfoBoxProduct
| image               = Warrior - Riposte (original).jpg
| name                = 
| type                = Novel
| author              = [[Michael A. Stackpole]]
| development         = 
| primarywriting      = 
| pages               = 306 (original)<br />300 (anniversary edition & reprint)
| cover               = [[David English]] (original)<br />[[Doug Chaffee]] (anniversary edition & reprint)
| interiorart         = 
| illustrations       = 
| publisher           = [[FASA]] (original)<br />[[Roc Books]] (anniversary edition)<br />[[FanPro]] (reprint)
| productioncode      = 8609
| year                = October 1988 (original)<br />June 1998 (anniversary edition)<br />June 2003 (reprint)
| ISBN10              = 1-555600689
| ISBN13              = 978-0451457189
| MSRP                = $4.95
| content             = 
| era                 = [[Succession Wars era]]
| timeline            = 15 July [[3027]] - 14 February [[3029]]
| series              = [[The Warrior Trilogy]]
| precededby          = [[Warrior: En Garde]]
| followedby          = [[Warrior: Coupé]]
}}
'''''Warrior: Riposte''''', by [[Michael A. Stackpole]], is the second novel in [[The Warrior Trilogy]]. It describes the events leading up to and following the wedding between [[Hanse Davion]] and [[Melissa Steiner]], and the first stages of the [[Fourth Succession War]] including the [[Kell Hounds]]' ongoing feud with [[Yorinaga Kurita]].

==From the back cover (Original)==
{{quote|''For over 250 years, war, petty hatreds, and [[lostech|slowly failing technology]] have halted all attempts to unify the [[Inner Sphere]]. Five [[Successor States]], splintered remnants of the great [[Star League]], now struggle for control.''

''But all that will soon change when Hanse Davion and Melissa Steiner marry. As they cement an alliance between their powerful Houses, the balance of power among the Warlords of the Inner Sphere irrevocably changes. A new golden age of peace and prosperity may soon replace the hundreds of years of interstellar war.''

''A golden age is not part of [[Maximilian Liao]]'s plan. He has joined with [[Duke]] [[Michael Hasek-Davion]] and [[Justin Xiang]], a former [[House Davion|Davion]] officer, to set in motion a sinister plot to rip the [[Federated Suns]] asunder.''

''And in [[House Kurita|Kurita]] space, Yorinaga Kurita has suddenly reappeared to claim his place as one of the finest warriors of all time. Though many had thought him dead, Yorinaga is very much alive as he prepares his unit for their final confrontation with the Kell Hounds.''}}

==From the back cover (Reprint)==
{{quote|''Hanse Davion and Melissa Steiner have [[Federated Commonwealth|united]] the two Great Houses of the Inner Sphere in a marriage that suddenly upsets the balance of power among the stars. Though some hope this may bring an end to centuries of war, Maximilian Liao of the [[Capellan Confederation]] has enlisted the aid of two highly placed Davion traitors to destroy Hanse Davion and the Federated Suns from both within and without. But in the distant star chambers of the [[Capellan March]] and [[Draconis Combine]], the Warlords of Maximilian Liao are honoring a different and more deadly vow: to wage an unholy war that threatens to rip asunder the vulnerable worlds of the Federated Suns.''

''As Davion [['Mech]] commander [[Andrew Redburn]] and his mercenaries streak into battle, an explosive clash of metal and men signals the return of a formidable foe. Interstellar legend [[Yorinaga Kurita]] has returned to stake his claim as the most bloodthirsty warrior of all. For both men it is do-or-die combat that could ensure the triumph of a glorious new alliance&mdash;or result in its total annihilation...''}}

==Summary==
===Prologue===
In a meeting of [[ComStar]]'s [[First Circuit]] on Hilton Head Island on [[Terra]], [[Precentor]] [[Myndo Waterly]] is admonished for leaking information about the ''[[Silver Eagle]]'' to the [[ISF]], establishing that ComStar had a hand in precipitating the [[Silver Eagle affair]]. [[Primus of ComStar|Primus]] [[Julian Tiepolo]] feels Waterly's ill-advised and clumsy action threatened ComStar's image as a neutral party, though he does not condemn the action as such. In the end, however, the First Circuit votes to absolve Waterly of any wrongdoing, accepting her reasoning that ultimately no harm was done.
===Book I: Envelopment===
Planning his wedding to Melissa Steiner, Hanse Davion sends a personal invitaton to his archenemy Maximilian Liao (and implicitly, the heads of the other Successor States as well). In a political maneuver following a suggestion by [[Ardan Sortek]], he asks [[Morgan Hasek-Davion]] to be his best man. Morgan is residing at [[New Avalon]] as essentially a hostage: Hanse Davion is fully aware that his brother-in-law, Morgan's misguided father [[Michael Hasek-Davion]], is collaborating with House Liao but he cannot conclusively prove it without endangering his own spy network. Morgan wholeheartedly embraces the honor, and turns out loyal to House Davion as much as to House Hasek.

As a high-profile outcast from the [[Federated Suns]] and an intelligence expert, Justin Xiang has become a high-ranking intelligence analyst in the [[Capellan Confederation]] alongside his recruiter [[Tsen Shang]], the former Capellan spymaster on [[Solaris VII]]. In the byzantine machinations of [[House Liao]] the [[Chancellor]]'s younger daughter [[Romano Liao]] draws Tsen Shang into her camp while Justin Xiang finds he is growing close to the other daughter, [[Candace Liao]].

In his monastery retreat on [[Zaniah III]], [[Morgan Kell]] is devastated to learn of his brother [[Patrick Kell|Patrick]]'s death at the hands of [[Yorinaga Kurita]] (at the conclusion of the Silver Eagle affair). As his old nemesis has resurfaced, Morgan ends his exile and rebuilds the Kell Hounds [[mercenary unit]] back into a full regiment, with himself in command. Yorinaga Kurita meanwhile appoints his disowned son [[Akira Brahe]] to a position of company commander in the [[Genyosha]], the unit Yorinaga formed specifically to counter the Kell Hounds.

===Book II: Recovery===
Morgan Kell makes a grand entrance through a surprise appearance at the royal ball on [[Tharkad]] on 31 December [[3027]]. He gets a warm welcome from [[Archon]] [[Katrina Steiner]], with whom he privately reminisces about their past [[Red Corsair (3004)|Red Corsair]] adventures together with Katrina's late husband, Morgan's cousin [[Arthur Luvon]]. Morgan also butts heads with the treacherous and ambitious Dukes [[Frederick Steiner]] and [[Aldo Lestrade (31st c.)|Aldo Lestrade]] as well as [[Ryan Steiner]] and the deposed ex-Archon, [[Alessandro Steiner]]. Traveling with Morgan Kell is [[Dan Allard]] who meets and befriends [[Jeana Clay]] at the reception. For his performance on [[Styk]] in the [[Silver Eagle affair]] where he lost his ''[[Valkyrie]]'' and became [[dispossessed]], Dan Allard is awarded a brand-new ''[[Wolfhound]]'' and a position as company commander by the thankful Morgan Kell who is rebuilding the Kell Hounds back to regiment strength to oppose Yorinaga Kurita.

Chancellor [[Maximilian Liao]] decides to travel to the Steiner/Davion wedding with his intelligence experts in attendance. Romano Liao has picked Tsen Shang as her escort, Justin Xiang is picked by Candace Liao and Justin's aide [[Alexi Malenkov]] is assigned as an aide to Colonel [[Pavel Ridzik]].

===Book III: Doublé===
High society from all over the [[Inner Sphere]] has been invited to the Steiner/Davion wedding at Hilton Head Island on [[Terra]]. The wedding reception on 17 August 3028 sees a meet and greet of ancient enemies, with many undercurrents. [[Morgan Kell]] meets [[Scott Bradley]] and accepts [[Bradley's Bravos]] as the third Kell Hounds battalion, permitting them to display the Kell Hounds colors. [[Yorinaga Kurita]] appears in [[Coordinator]] [[Takashi Kurita]]'s entourage wearing the Genyosha insignia, thus publicly revealing the existence of the as-yet unknown new unit he commands. [[Dan Allard]] begins a relationship with [[Jeana Clay]] and meets his half-brother [[Justin Allard | Justin (Xiang) Allard]] for the first time in years, but Justin brusquely rejects him. [[Jaime Wolf]] makes a surprising appearance to deliver two ceremonial swords to Takashi Kurita, much to [[ComStar]]'s dismay who are at a loss how the mercenary could smuggle the weapons in.

During a guided tour of Hilton Head on the next day, [[Akira Brahe]] encounters three Acolytes whom he recognizes are wearing [[cooling vest]]s hidden under their robes, suggesting the ostensibly pacifistic ComStar order has their own [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarriors]]—brutes with what he recognizes to be [[periphery]] bandit tattoos. His interest piqued, he absconds from the tour and sneaks into an underground facility where he finds a vast number of pristine [[BattleMech]]s bearing the ComStar crest. On his way out he is attacked by guards and saved by [[Morgan Kell]], [[Jaime Wolf]] and [[Yorinaga Kurita]]. They are let in on Akira Brahe's discovery, but decide to keep it secret for the time being.

[[Romano Liao]] and [[Justin Xiang]] have a falling-out after an unsuccessful assassination attempt on [[Quintus Allard]] by one of her [[Thuggee]]s. Alexi Malenkov reports to Xiang and Shang that Pavel Ridzik had a tryst with the Chancellor's wife, [[Jasmine Liao]].

Following the formal wedding on 20 August, [[Hanse Davion]] announces to his wife and the assembled guests that he shall give his wife a vast prize—the Capellan Confederation. Thus begins the [[Fourth Succession War]].

{{Quote|''Wife, in honor of our marriage, in addition to this morsel I give you a vast prize. My love, I give you the Capellan Confederation!"''|[[Hanse Davion]] to [[Melissa Steiner-Davion]] at their wedding reception on [[Terra]], also sparking the [[Fourth Succession War]], August 20, [[3028]]}}

===Book IV: Remise===
On the very same day that [[Hanse Davion]] declared war on the Capellan Confederation during his own wedding ceremony, Davion troops are already assaulting Capellan worlds. [[Andrew Redburn]] is part of the assault force assigned to [[St. Andre]], and his Delta Company performs admirably here and elsewhere in the highly successful Davion offensive.

[[Myndo Waterly]] is concerned that the successful war will give Hanse Davion a power base to conquer or unite the entire Inner Sphere in the end, sidelining ComStar's own plans. She vehemently lobbies the [[First Circuit]] to intercede in the war, but they refuse; in the end it is decided that ComStar will react only if Davion forces attack [[Sarna]] (a world far beyond their reach at this time).

Meanwhile in the Confederation, [[Justin Xiang]], [[Tsen Shang]] and [[Alexi Malenkov]] try to counsel the increasingly irrational [[Maximilian Liao | Chancellor]]. Based in part on intelligence delivered by [[Michael Hasek-Davion]], they draw up defense plans including [[Operation RIPOSTE]], a strike at the Davion resupply depots for the next attack wave which is expected in February. Colonel [[Pavel Ridzik]] is meanwhile preparing to retake the lost worlds of his [[Tikonov Commonality]], but his strategic planning causes fear in [[Maximilian Liao]] that he might attempt a coup, and so he orders Ridzik be eliminated. The attempt on Ridzik's life is thwarted by Davion operatives, however, and only serves to alert Ridzik to Liao's paranoia. Ironically, this prompts him to create the [[Tikonov Free Republic]] and shift his allegiance from House Liao to a covert alliance with House Davion.

On [[Northwind]], the [[Genyosha]], together with the [[5th Sword of Light]] and the [[36th Dieron Regulars]], have attacked and bloodied Bradley's Bravos (the Kell Hounds's new third battalion) based on the misconception that they were Morgan Kell's original Kell Hounds. [[Team Banzai]] came to aid the Bravos. Only the unexpected homecoming of the [[Northwind Highlanders]], now in service to House Davion, saves the day for the Bravos and Team Banzai, who also suffered heavily; the unit's remainder is later redeployed to New Avalon for rest and refit. Adding insult to injury, [[Yorinaga Kurita]] and [[Akira Brahe]] are informed that while they were chasing ghosts on Northwind, the [[Kell Hounds]] raided and destroyed the Genyosha home base on [[Nashira]].

Operation RIPOSTE fails utterly. The supposed storehouses were in reality traps where Davion troops (again including [[Andrew Redburn]] and Delta Company) ambushed the Liao would-be attackers and vanquished them in what House Davion called [[Operation AMBUSH]]. When the Capellan ambassador on [[New Syrtis]] is expelled for espionage, Michael Hasek-Davion secretly travels with him to [[Sian]] to salvage his plans. However, an enraged [[Maximilian Liao]] is now convinced of his double-dealings. On the chancellor's orders, Duke Michael Hasek-Davion is shot by Justin Xiang.

==Featured characters==
{{div col|colwidth=25em}}
* [[Daniel Allard]]
* [[Quintus Allard]]
* [[Narimasa Asano]]
* [[Akira Brahe]]
* [[Jeana Clay]]
* [[Palmer Conti]]
* [[Robert Craon]]
* [[Hanse Davion]]
* [[Walter de Mesnil]]
* [[Ulthar Everson]]
* [[Michael Hasek-Davion]]
* [[Morgan Hasek-Davion]]
* [[Sarah Hebert]]
* [[Franklin Hecht]]
* [[Clovis Holstein]]
* [[Danica Holstein]]
* [[Morgan Kell]]
* [[Serge Korigyn]]
* [[Takashi Kurita]]
* [[Yorinaga Kurita]]
* [[Aldo Lestrade (31st c.)|Aldo Lestrade]]
* [[Maximilian Liao]]
* [[Chandra Ling]]
* [[Alexi Malenkov]]
* [[Andrew Redburn]]
* [[Pavel Ridzik]]
* [[Victor Robertson]]
* [[Tsen Shang]]
* [[Kym Sorenson]]
* [[Ardan Sortek]]
* [[Katrina Steiner]]
* [[Melissa Steiner]]
* [[Janos Marik]]
* [[Julian Tiepolo]]
* [[Anton Vitios]]
* [[Myndo Waterly]]
* [[Jaime Wolf]]
* [[Justin Xiang]]
{{div col end}}

==Featured places==
{{div col|colwidth=25em}}
* [[Elgin]]
* [[New Avalon]]
* [[New Syrtis]]
* [[Northwind]]
* [[Sian]]
* [[St. Andre]]
* [[Terra]]
* [[Tharkad]]
* [[Zaniah]]
{{div col end}}

==Featured BattleTech==
===BattleMechs===
{{div col|colwidth=25em}}
*''[[Archer]]''
*''[[Centurion (BattleMech)|Centurion]]''
*''[[Cicada]]''
*''[[Firestarter (BattleMech)|Firestarter]]''
*''[[Goliath]]''
*''[[Grand Dragon]]''
*''[[Griffin]]''
*''[[Hatchetman]]''
*''[[Javelin]]''
*''[[Jenner]]''
*''[[Marauder]]''
*''[[Orion]]''
*''[[Panther]]''
*''[[Phoenix Hawk]]''
*''[[Raven]]''
*''[[Valkyrie]]''
*''[[Warhammer]]''
*''[[Wolfhound]]''
{{div col end}}

===DropShips===
*''[[Leopard (DropShip class)|Leopard]]'' (''[[Manannan MacLir]]'')
*''[[Overlord (DropShip class)|Overlord]]'' (''[[Firewalker (Individual Overlord-class DropShip)|Firewalker]]'', ''[[Lugh]]'')

===JumpShips===
*''[[Merchant]]'' (''[[Bifrost]]'')

==Notes==
* Like the other entries in the Warrior trilogy by Michael A. Stackpole, the book's first edition by FASA features a tongue-in-cheek "About the author" appendix of dubious canonicity in the end. It is written as a ComStar dossier dated 18 April 3028, in which Michael A. Stackpole, referring to his earlier write-up in the previous novels, describes himself as a delusional subject held in the "ComStar Reeducation Compound: Phoenix" who maintains despite therapy that he is a historical writer who was born in 1957. ComStar notes that his insights into ComStar's operations are troublesome; the report recommends to upgrade security and continue to study the subject.
* The wedding scene where Hanse Davion, at his own wedding, brazenly declares war on another Successor State with the head of that state in attendance is often cited as one of the most memetic and memorable scenes in all of BattleTech fiction; it is also featured on the book cover of the first edition.
* In another oft-quoted memetic scene that is somewhat comical, in the commotion following Hanse Davion's declaration of war on the Capellan Confederation Chancellor Maximilian Liao directs his entourage to grab the plates as "strategic intelligence" as he suddenly realizes the sublime significance of the plates their food was served on: each plate names a star system that Davion is implicitly planning to attack. (Other plates, too, named systems that were somehow significant to individual guests who got served these plates.)
* Jaime Wolf approaching Draconis Combine Coordinator Takashi Kurita during the wedding reception and throwing the late [[Minobu Tetsuhara]]'s ceremonial swords at the Coordinator's feet with a scathing address in fluent Japanese is somewhat mysterious and unexplained in this novel. It would turn out to be a foreshadowing of the climactic final scene of another [[BattleTech]] novel, ''[[Wolves on the Border]]'', that was published shortly after ''Warrior: Riposte''.

==Foreign-Language Editions==
===French===
A French edition, translated by Henriette Trillaud, was published by [[Fleuve Noir]] in 1996 as ''Guerrier: Riposte!'' (ISBN 2265057266).<ref>Bibliothèque nationale de France Catalogue Général entry for [http://ark.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb35812939n ''Guerrier: Riposte!'']</ref>

===German===
A German edition, translated by [[Reinhold H. Mai]], was published by [[Heyne]] in 1990 as ''Riposte'' (ISBN 9783453043107).<ref>Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Catalog entry for [https://d-nb.info/910089027 first printing of Heyne edition of ''Riposte'']</ref>  The book had several printings, including an eighth printing in 1995 under the same ISBN.<ref>Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Catalog entry for [https://d-nb.info/946282986 eighth printing of Heyne edition of ''Riposte'']</ref>  This was republished by [[Fantasy Productions]] in 2005 (ISBN 9783890645469).<ref>Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Catalog entry for [https://d-nb.info/975397346 Fantasy Productions edition of ''Riposte'']</ref>  This was republished as an EPUB by [[Ulisses Medien & Spiel Distribution GmbH|Ulisses Spiele]] in 2020 as ''BattleTech Legenden 6 : Warrior 2 - Riposte'' (ISBN 9783963314544).<ref>Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Catalog entry for [https://d-nb.info/1206098163 ''BattleTech Legenden 6 : Warrior 2 - Riposte'']</ref>

===Hungrian===
A Hungarian edition, translated by Novák Gábor, was published by [[Beholder]] in 2001 as ''Harcos: Riposte''.<ref>Beholder product page for [http://beholder.hu/?m=bolt&cikk=146 ''Harcos: Riposte'']</ref>

===Russian===
A Russian edition, translated by N. Nekrasova, was published by [[Hobby World]] in 2020 as ''Оружие к бою'' (ISBN 9785907170339). <ref> Science Fiction Lab Book description for [http://fantlab.ru/edition288276 Ответный удар]</ref> <ref> Hobby Games product page for [https://hobbygames.ru/battletech-otvetnij-udar Ответный удар]</ref>

===Spanish===
A Spanish edition, translated by Jaime de Marcos Andreu, was published by [[Timun Mas]] in 1990 as [[List of BattleTech Print Novels in Spanish#La gran alianza|''La gran alianza'']].

== Covers ==
<gallery>
File:Warrior - Riposte (original).jpg|Original 1988 cover. Art by [[David English]].
File:Warrior - Riposte (anniversary).jpg|1998 anniversary edition. Art by [[Doug Chaffee]].
File:Warrior Riposte-BT Legends cover.jpg|2018 reprint (30th anniversary edition). Art by [[Marco Mazzoni]]
File:Guerrier - Riposte.jpg|French edition.
File:Riposte.jpg|1990 German edition.
File:Riposte_German2.jpg|2005 German edition (reprint). Art by [[Franz Vohwinkel]].
File:Harcos Riposte - 2001.jpg|2001 Hungarian edition.
Image:Ответный удар.jpg|2020 Russian edition.
File:SpanishBattletech-La Gran Alianza.jpg|1990 Spanish hardcover edition. Art by [[Ciruelo Cabral]]  
File:SpanishBattletech Softcover-La Gran Alianza.jpg|1998 Spanish reprint softcover edition.
</gallery>

==Related Images==
<gallery>
Image:Warrior En Garde Advert Dragon 137.png|1988 one-page advert for Warrior: En Garde and Warrior: Riposte
</gallery>

=References=
<references/>


[[Category:Novels]]
[[Category:Classic BattleTech novels]]
[[Category:Works by Michael A. Stackpole]]
[[Category:French Editions]]
[[Category:German Editions]]
[[Category:Hungarian Editions]]
[[Category:Russian Editions]]
[[Category:Spanish Editions]]