Präludium
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 | Apocryphal Product Although the subject of this article is an official BattleTech product, it does not meet the current criteria for Canon. Its content may or may not be canonical for the BattleTech universe, and for the purpose of the Sarna.net BattleTechWiki is considered apocryphal. |
| |
| Präludium | |
|---|---|
| Product information | |
| Type | Novel |
| Author | Bernard Craw |
| Pages | 448 |
| Cover Artwork | Alex Pascenko |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Ulisses Spiele GmbH |
| Product code | US41020 |
| First published | 25 January 2012 |
| ISBN-10 | 3868891641 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-3868891645 |
| MSRP | 10,00 € (print) 7,99 € (epub) |
| Content | |
| Era | Succession Wars era |
| Timeline | 7 August 3015-29 September 3030 |
| Series | Classic BattleTech Novels The Andurien Wars |
| Preceded by | (Karma) |
| Followed by | Zorn |
Andurien-Kriege 1: Präludium ("Andurien Wars 1: Prelude"), by Bernard Craw, is the 20th of the German-language Classic BattleTech Novels published by Ulisses Spiele.
Written as an introduction into the Andurien Wars series, the novel is somewhat unusual in that it consists of loose and barely connected plotlines that primarily serve to provide character exposition for subsequent books in the series. Although Craw's previous novel, Karma, is not technically a part of the Andurien Wars series, Präludium is also a sequel (and for some characters also a prequel) to Karma, expanding on several storylines from that book.
An Epub version is available since 27 November 2012.
Contents
Canonicity
Written in German and exclusively published in that language so far, Präludium does not meet the current criteria for Canon in the BattleTech universe. As an official product published under a valid license, it should be regarded as apocryphal.
From the back cover (translated from German)
| “ | Catherine Humphreys is considered an angel: a cherub with a flaming sword. This is the prelude to the Andurien Wars. For decades, House Humphreys have been pursuing their goal like a bloodhound that cannot let go of its victim's trail. Society events within the League, diplomatic provocation and deliberate raids—any battlefield is good to harm the arch-enemy. The Andurians keep out of the firestorm of the Fourth Succession War. Smiling coldly, for they know: With the remains of the Capellan Confederation drifting like smoking ruins in space, the time has come to order the regiments of the Defenders of Andurien into action. But is the Confederation really a mortally wounded animal awaiting the killing stroke? For its Warrior Houses the humiliation of defeat is hard to bear, and in the shadows a unit is lurking that is darker than everything the Inner Sphere knows. There, Jen Xiao undergoes training to surpass all limits, to forge elite soldiers into high priests of death. |
” |
Plot Summary
The novel consists of several loosely connected scenes revolving around the lead-up to, and the immediate aftermath of, the Duchy of Andurien's secession from the Free Worlds League, their fledgling alliance with the Magistracy of Canopus and their declaration of war against the Capellan Confederation. The main plotlines are Jen Xiao's training to become a Death Commando, the actions of House Humphreys to enact Andurien's secession, and the continued rise of the Ash With cult. Protagonists from both sides of the conflict are introduced, and many characters from the previous novel Karma reappear.
Death Commando Training
On 7 August 3015, thirteen years prior to the events from Karma, several youths from the cavern city of Bram-Ze on Niomede-4 including young militia MechWarrior recruit Jen Xiao, his sister Goda and his future girlfriend Meh travel to the neighbouring underground city of Wa-L-Sum for a contest among local children that involves recovering pyrite from deserted (and off-limits) mining caves. In a chance encounter they witness servitor castemen being hunted down by troops and ultimately shot by a noblewoman as a hunting sport. Warrior House Fujita is in the process of brutally clearing out a settlement of unowned servitors, capturing suitable five-year old children for their training cadre and killing the others.
Following his heroic exploits in Karma, Jen is proposed as a candidate for the Death Commandos by Duke Tell and arrives on Grand Base on 3 May 3029 together with his servant Oala and her baby. Jen meets his instructors and fellow cadet Elisa Miwong, with whom he soon begins an affair.
Andurien Secession
During the Vidtape Finals festival on Thurrock in early 3029 a gossip reporter in the Miner X space habitat complex hosting the event happens to overhear a conversation between Dame Catherine Humphreys and Magestrix Kyalla Centrella that indicates an alliance has been forged between them. Caterine detects te reporter but then decides to let her go, reasoning that spreading some rumors may help to prepare her people for the upcoming secession.
The members of House Humphreys meet in a secure location on Thurrock on 20 February 3029. Besides discussing the gossip reporter and preparing measures to control her if necessary, Catherine Humphreys also announces to the assembled family that she intends to bring back the only missing member, her estranged son Richard and make him fulfill his duty to the Duchy.
The Ash Witch Cult
On Niomede-4, a religious sect known as the Grays (for donning gray robes and using gray makeup) has spread. Based on Niomede's local Worm Cult, they rever the comatose body of Ju Tang, who assumed leadership of the Capellan militia during the recent raid by Andurien forces and miraculously survied a hit from a 'Mech laser. Treated on Principia, the Ducal seat of Duke Pao Tell of Sax, Ju Tang's body has undergone an inexplicable transformation; the Grays believe interpreting the meandering variable scars on her body holds divine messages, and interpreters attempt to divine their meaning. The cult has also adopted a custom of injecting silicate compounds taken from Niomede Worms despite sometimes severe adverse effects for health.
Former militia MechWarrior Niu Doun is finally tried on 18 February 3029 for his cowardly retreat from the battle line in the recent raid and for trumped-up charges of participation in a riot that damaged the Worm Temple. However, as a co-founder of the Ash Witch cult he is now widely considered a prophet and a sacred man. The assembled populance heeds his commands more than those of Diem Yü or the court, who realize that that the planned show trial may degrade into an uprising if Doun is convicted. During his trial, Niu Doun turns the tables on the prosecution and accuses her of having lost her way, then explains to the attending philosophical examinator how the cult will not challenge the Chancellor's authority. The trial culminates with the prosecutor publicly joining the Grays
Other scenes
On 5 January 3026, Magestrix Kyalla Centrella is approached by Prince Reguhn Selaj with a proposal to intensify cooperation between their respective Houses in the military and intelligence fields, as he percieves the Free Worlds League to be unraveling. She agrees to think about his proposal.
Colonel Askan Yü, militia colonel and younger brother of the planetary Diem of Niomede-4, is still smarting about Andurien BattleMechs mopped the floor with his poorly trained and led troops in the recent raid on Niomede. Hoping to bring the fight to the enemy in a personal vendetta, he includes himself with a Capellan tank regiment on medical leave to Scarborough in the Free Worlds League (medical aid provided on grounds of the Concord of Kapteyn). With the hated 4th Defenders of Andurien regiment on-planet, Yü plants a bomb at the hospital on 2 December 3028, hoping to incite an uprising of the Capellan troops residing on the world. The attempt is marginally successful, but BattleMechs including a Firestarter piloted by Lieutenant Carmilla Tzevasta successfully contain the uprising within a day. Yü dies in the fighting.
Following the recent raid on Niomede Flag Captain Pavel Padura is tranferred to the 6th Defenders of Andurien with the prospect of becoming a battalion commander, while his friend Walter Kemben (one of the officers who refused to break through the lostech airlocks of the city of Bram-Ze during the raid, regarding it as a war crime) has resigned and returned to the semiary, becoming a Catholic priest much to the chagrin of his daughter. However, Walter ends up as a military chaplain with the 6th Defenders regiment when the regiment is ordered to attack Grand Base.
Elements of the 4th Defenders of Andurien including Carmilla Tzevasta and famous Hermes II scout pilot Zahn "The Dreamer" Vinge raid an industrial complex on Palladaine in January 3029 but encounter stiff Capellan resistance. Carmilla is forced to abandon her trapped Firestarter but cannot live with the prospect of becoming dispossessed. Before the Capellans can salvage it, she recaptures it with the help of an infantry squad.
Featured Characters
Featured Systems
Featured BattleTech
BattleMechs
- Crusader
- Firestarter
- Hatchetman
- Hermes II
- Locust
- Orion
- Stalker
- Thunderbolt
- UrbanMech
- Vindicator
- Warhammer
Aerospace fighters
Vehicles
Notes
- Although it is not spelled out, the brutal purge of servitor castemen from their caves near Wa-L-Sum on Niomede-4 in 3015 presumably has to do with the secret research facility that was built there in that year and is at the center of the events described in the novel Karma.
- There is a passing reference to the events on Tamarind from the novel Früchte voll Bitterkeit (set in 2603, over four centuries prior). They are said to have inspired the Tamarind Flag Competition