Tales from the Cracked Canopy

Tales from the Cracked Canopy is a BattleTech fiction series of essentially unconnected stories sharing a common framework, a spiritual successor to the popular "Tales of the Cobalt Coil" fiction format from BattleTechnology magazine (explicitly described as such in the editorial for the inaugural Shrapnel Issue 1). The name and format was originally suggested by Craig A. Reed, Jr. at an informal writers group for BattleCorps, but was never adopted for BattleCorps. Instead, the first "Cracked Canopy" story — Blind Arrogance by Craig A. Reed, Jr. — appeared in the inaugural issue in June 2020.

The stories revolve around the Cracked Canopy, a MechWarrior bar on Solaris VII which serves as a framing device. In the 3080s, after the Jihad era, the bar features a "Memory Wall". The individual stories usually revolve around an item on the Memory Wall and its background story as narrated by the patron who donates the item to the wall, usually within a framework story narrated in the first person by bar manager Leo.

Individual Short Stories

1. Blind Arrogance (in: Shrapnel Issue 1)
2. Giving Up (in: Shrapnel Issue 2)
3. The Razor's Edge of Opportunity (in: Shrapnel Issue 3)
4. The Red Wraith (in: Shrapnel Issue 4)
5. Shadows of the Past (in: Shrapnel Issue 5)
6. The Devil's Luck (in: Shrapnel Issue 6)
7. Silent Roar (in: Shrapnel Issue 8)
8. No Rest for the Accursed (in: Shrapnel Issue 13)