Lawrence Dade
Sarna News
 | This article may be very hard to understand. Sometimes this can be due to issues with the translation to English. In particular, this page has multiple spelling, grammar, and sentence issues. |
Lawrence Dade | |
|---|---|
| Personal | |
| Also known as | The One-Arm Bandit |
| Born | 3004[1] |
| Affiliation | Federated Suns |
| Profile | |
| Rank | Captain[1] |
| Profession | MechWarrior |
Lawrence Dade, aka "Bandit" or "The One-Arm Bandit", was a captain in the Thirty-third Avalon Hussars before later becoming a mercenary and then a pirate.[1]
Contents
History[edit]
Federated Suns career[edit]
Dade was a Federated Suns MechWarrior. He served his first tour in the Capellan March Militia, where he received high marks and performance evaluations. Thanks to this, he was assigned to the Thirty-third Avalon Hussars, who were sent on an offensive operation, his first battle. This was the assault of Liao III during the invasion of the Capellan Confederation at the beginning of the Fourth Succession War, the day of his twenty-fourth birthday. He was piloting a Commando BattleMech, but he lost an arm on his 'Mech and was knocked down at the beginning of the combat by a Liao Rifleman.[1]
When he awakened, he found a squad of Liao infantry trying to open his cockpit. Dade managed to stand his Commando up, scattering the infantry. After recovering his 'Mech's arm, he searched for his target, a militia command post. There he surprised three empty 'Mechs, a Cyclops, a Cicada and a Vindicator, managing to down them all, preventing the pilots from boarding them, and taking the post; he held it until reinforcements arrived. After ending the battle, he was dubbed The One-Armed Bandit, and considered a hero. His superiors gave him the Cicada, a medal, and eventually promoted to captain.[1]
By 3032, Dade had become too arrogant and was returned to the CMM. On New Syrtis, he began drinking too much and fighting drunken brawls... until he killed a militia lieutenant, being dishonorably discharged and losing his 'Mech. He never drink alcohol again, but it was too late to save his career.
Career as Mercenary[edit]
Bandit, searching to became mercenary, traveled to Galatea, but being dispossessed, spent months searching for a job, making a living working for prostitutes and pimps. Finally, a small unit named the Hades Irregulars recruited him, giving him a barely functional Panther.
In 3036, the Irregulars traveled to a Periphery planet called Black Earth to protect a smelter. Soon they were attacked by an unnamed pirate gang much stronger than his unit. The Irregulars' leader was killed, and the rest were forced to flee. The Bandit's 'Mech, which, ironically, again lacked an arm, was pursued by a pirate Jenner and only managed to escape by downing a tree on top of it.[1]
Bandit and the other two 'Mech survivors, Wang and Adebayo, met up, waiting for the pirates to depart. Later, the mining company which had contracted them wasn't happy with them and canceled the contract, but later contracted them again to protect the smelter and perform construction work with their 'Mechs.
Two months later, the same pirate group attacked the planet again, and the Irregulars, as they weren't contracted, simply stayed out of the fight. A former Irregular, which had joined the pirates, contacted them and made them an offer to join their groups, as he had done. Only Bandit accepted, turning pirate.[1]
Career as Pirate[edit]
The pirates were a former mercenary group called Ralston's Raiders, led by a Colonel Ralston, with their base at a Periphery planet called Homebase, where they lived and cared from the population.[1]
In 3038, Bandit was forced to kill his lance commander, Lieutenant Marquez, to prevent him killing civilians during a raid. The loss of Marquez's Centurion delayed his 'Mech's purchase of an arm, but also made him the Raiders' executive officer.[1]
By 3049, the Bandit, who had finally obtained a new arm for his 'Mech but was still called the One-Arm Bandit, was returning from his third command of a raid, when Homebase was threatened by an unknown force led by Star Captain Ramsey Littleton; calling themselves Clan Jade Falcon, they contacted the Bandit.[1]
Bandit had the option to flee, but ultimately chose to protect his people, agreeing to fight the invaders with all that they had. Ramsey sent the Falcons' attacking force composition. Fearing something would go wrong, Bandit finished his journal and sent it to his JumpShip before descending to fight.[1]
Legacy[edit]
Dade's chronicle bounced around for years, until, in 3057, the Lyran historian Misha Auburn found it, verified it, and managed to identify the Bandit's real name nad prove its veridity. She suspected Dade's group was the first in the Periphery to be attacked during the Clan Invasion, and wanted to publish his memories in the Nagelring Journal of Military History, which would rescue him from the oblivion into which he and his people had fallen.[1]
BattleMech[edit]
Lawrence Dade's first 'Mech was a Commando, later a Cicada, and finally a Kuritan Panther.[1]
References[edit]
Bibliography[edit]
- Bad and Worse (short story)