Difference between revisions of "Irreplaceable"

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==Teaser text==
 
==Teaser text==
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{{quote|''The [[Battle of Halstead Station]] was one of the defining incidents of [[Prince]] [[Hanse Davion]]'s rule in many ways... but none more important than personally.''}}
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{{quote|''The [[Battle of Halstead Station]] was one of the defining incidents of [[First Prince|Prince]] [[Hanse Davion]]'s rule in many ways... but none more important than personally.''}}
  
 
==Plot summary==
 
==Plot summary==

Revision as of 23:10, 8 March 2011

Template:InfoBoxBC

Irreplaceable, by Jason Hansa, was published online on BattleCorps in two parts on 05 and 09 October 2009, respectively. Set around the Battle of Halstead Station, it gives insights into what drove Hanse Davion, later known as the "Victor of Halstead Station", when he had just inherited the throne of the Federated Suns from his brother Ian and how bitter the victory was for him, setting the stage for the later evolution of his character.

Teaser text

“ The Battle of Halstead Station was one of the defining incidents of Prince Hanse Davion's rule in many ways... but none more important than personally. ”

Plot summary

Part I

On 12 November 3013, headstrong Major Dana Stephenson of the 34th Avalon Hussars, freshly returned from an uneventful six-month pirate hunting mission near the Outworlds Alliance, tries to throw a vaguely familiar man wearing no rank insignia out of the gym (which is reserved for majors and above) on Addicks. Amused, he does not reveal his rank or identity but agrees to meet her at the upcoming staff conference where an important operation is to be planned. Dana is in for a surprise when the man turns out to be Prince Hanse Davion himself.

While preparations are made on Addicks for a major attack of three Federated Suns regiments against the Draconis Combine world of Halstead Station to secure the Star League library that House Kurita is thought to have unearthed there, Hanse and Dana begin to date and start a relationship; Dana's friend Elaine Masters begins dating Hanse's friend Ardan Sortek. During a Christmas ball on 23 December 3013, Hanse proposes to Dana and presents her with an engagement ring for Christmas.

Part II

The assault on Halstead Station begins on 3 January 3014. The attackers only expected the 9th Dieron Regulars to defend the world, but unfortunately the 2nd Proserpina Hussars regiment is also present and engages the attacking 10th Deneb Light Cavalry and 34th Avalon Hussars in a running battle in the underground tunnels and caverns that make up the inhabited part of Halstead Station. The Davion Heavy Guards meanwhile manage to secure the depot from the 9th Dieron Regulars.

The stronger-than-anticipated enemy aerospace power is becoming a problem for the Federated Suns forces as their DropShips cannot safely land to pick them up again. Two weeks into the fight, three extraction attempts have failed. On day 19, the Davion forces attempt to trick the defenders but run afoul of the 2nd Sword of Light regiment - Takashi Kurita has personally arrived on Halstead Station. Major Elaine Masters is heavily wounded, losing an arm, and the Federated Suns lose almost two battalions of 'Mechs in the fight. Worse, they are running out of ammunition. Reinforcements under Marshal Yvonne Davion are approaching, though.

The Davion staff decides to split their forces. A battalion-sized BattleMech force, led by Dana who is promoted to Colonel, is to capture an ammunition factory to the east together with ammunition-dependant tanks, while the remainder of the 'Mechs and tanks with energy weapons move directly to the landing zone of the reinforcements where the other force, replenished on ammunition, will link up with them.

Their two forces are delayed and attacked. At the intended pickup site the battle degrades into a last stand on 30 February 3013. Dana's forces are cut off and vanquished. Dana's Enforcer is downed in full view of Hanse's BattleMaster. Only the belated arrival of friendly DropShips saves the day for the remaining Davion forces.

More than seven years later, on 22 June 3020, Hanse has a small figurine in his office crafted from ferroglass remains from Dana's cockpit after a holographic image Ardan took right after when Hanse proposed to Dana, also containing the engagement ring in the base. Hanse discusses the combat performance of the only recently re-built 34th Avalon Hussars (now under Major Dzuiba, with most of the command staff killed or injured) with Ardan, whose relationship with Elaine Masters has just failed, and decides to roll the flags of the 34th and 36th Avalon Hussars, combining them into the 42nd to give them a new start with less "history". The melancholic scene is interrupted by Olivia Fenlon, who reports that Katrina Steiner has personally issued a peace proposal...

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