Editing The Bitter Harvest
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Line 20: | timeline = 8 October [[3078]] | timeline = 8 October [[3078]] | series = [[Jihad Hot Spots: Terra]] tie-in | series = [[Jihad Hot Spots: Terra]] tie-in − | precededby = [[Those Who Stand High]] + | precededby = − | followedby = [[Lyran Fire]] + | followedby = [[The Running Man]] }} }} '''''The Bitter Harvest''''' is a short story by [[Christopher Purnell]] that was published online on [[BattleCorps]] on 30 November 2010. '''''The Bitter Harvest''''' is a short story by [[Christopher Purnell]] that was published online on [[BattleCorps]] on 30 November 2010. Line 35:
Line 35: Stansfield leads his team down Konvyes Kalman street, through an area renovated by the Terran Expansionist party in the [[twenty-third century]], over a bridge mined with [[vibrabomb]]s and on to his target - the Royal Material Arts Institute, a blocky ferrocrete structure modified to look a little like a fortress, having been the fancy of one or other member of [[House Cameron]]. Stansfield convinces the security guard at the building that he and his personnel are Blakists seizing the building to use in the defense against Coalition forces, and the security guard willingly concedes and has his personnel assist with evacuating the building and setting up Stansfield's heavy weapons - grumbling about how the "barbarians" have spent centuries destroying their own homes, and have now brought that destruction to Terra. Stansfield leads his team down Konvyes Kalman street, through an area renovated by the Terran Expansionist party in the [[twenty-third century]], over a bridge mined with [[vibrabomb]]s and on to his target - the Royal Material Arts Institute, a blocky ferrocrete structure modified to look a little like a fortress, having been the fancy of one or other member of [[House Cameron]]. Stansfield convinces the security guard at the building that he and his personnel are Blakists seizing the building to use in the defense against Coalition forces, and the security guard willingly concedes and has his personnel assist with evacuating the building and setting up Stansfield's heavy weapons - grumbling about how the "barbarians" have spent centuries destroying their own homes, and have now brought that destruction to Terra. − Stansfield's troops set up positions within the building, positioning heavy weapons teams and an artillery spotter, before their deception is uncovered by one of the younger security guards. This leads to a tense argument within the ranks of Stansfield's team, with some arguing for the guards to be executed - either for expediency and to protect the mission, or for revenge - while others argue that they should be spared, as they're civilians and it's important that those fighting for Stone don't become as bad as the Word. Stansfield sides with those arguing for the prisoners to be kept safe, stating that they'll be released in the morning. Some of the guards don't believe that they'll be left unharmed, and the senior guard begs profusely, arguing that all they know on Terra is what the Word has been telling them; Stansfield angrily lists some of the horrific actions the Blakists have been involved in, beginning with the death of his ten-year-old daughter on Alarion, before telling the guard that Terra is going to get a dose of the same treatment the Blakists have given others, as the Word will inevitably turn against Terra as well. + Stansfield's troops set up positions within the building, positioning heavy weapons teams and an artillery spotter, before their deception is uncovered by one of the younger security guards. This leads to a tense argument within the ranks of Stansfield's team, with some arguing for the guards to be executed - either for expediency and to protect the mission, or for revenge - while others argue that they should be spared, as they're civilians and it's important that those fighting for Stone don't become as bad as the Word. Stansfield sides with those arguing for the prisoners to be kept safe, stating that they'll be released in the morning. Some of the guards don't believe that they'll be left unharmed, and the senior guard begs profusely, arguing that all they know on Terra is what the Word has been telling them; Stansfield angrily lists some of the horrific actions the Blakists have been involved in, beginning with the death of his ten year-old daughter on Alarion, before telling the guard that Terra is going to get a dose of the same treatment the Blakists have given others, as the Word will inevitably turn against Terra as well. With the guards locked in a secure room, Stansfield has his men continue to prepare the building; all of them openly accept that they're on a suicide mission, but intend to sell their lives dearly. Having not encountered any [[Manei Domini]] in Budapest, and considering it unlikely that [[BattleMech]]s will be deployed against them, Stansfield coordinates the building defense, establishing fire positions and rigging a large part of the second floor with explosives, directly over the loading dock, so that he can drop a chunk of the building on troops looking to battle their way in through the loading area. The multinational nature of the Liberators is showcased during the discussion, with the volunteer personnel including ex-[[DCMS]] survivors from [[Dieron]], AFFS personnel, a Canopian, [[Clans]]men and others, all equally committed to defeating the Blakists. With the main push expected to begin at dawn, Stansfield's objective is to hold the building for twelve hours. With the guards locked in a secure room, Stansfield has his men continue to prepare the building; all of them openly accept that they're on a suicide mission, but intend to sell their lives dearly. Having not encountered any [[Manei Domini]] in Budapest, and considering it unlikely that [[BattleMech]]s will be deployed against them, Stansfield coordinates the building defense, establishing fire positions and rigging a large part of the second floor with explosives, directly over the loading dock, so that he can drop a chunk of the building on troops looking to battle their way in through the loading area. The multinational nature of the Liberators is showcased during the discussion, with the volunteer personnel including ex-[[DCMS]] survivors from [[Dieron]], AFFS personnel, a Canopian, [[Clans]]men and others, all equally committed to defeating the Blakists. With the main push expected to begin at dawn, Stansfield's objective is to hold the building for twelve hours. Line 43:
Line 43: The second attack begins with a Blakist SRM team blowing a hole in the front of the building, before being killed by one of Stansfield's machine gun teams; as the Blakists try and storm through the hole created by the missile, using massed smoke grenades as cover, they enter a killing ground defended by Corporal Shinji Ishida and his section, who kill large numbers of the enemy infantry. With another artillery barrage providing support outside the building, Ishida leads his men on a bayonet charge into the building entrance from behind their prepared barricades at the stairs, routing the surviving Blakist infantry. With agreement from Stansfield, Ishida and his men execute any survivors before taking up positions at the barricades again. The second attack begins with a Blakist SRM team blowing a hole in the front of the building, before being killed by one of Stansfield's machine gun teams; as the Blakists try and storm through the hole created by the missile, using massed smoke grenades as cover, they enter a killing ground defended by Corporal Shinji Ishida and his section, who kill large numbers of the enemy infantry. With another artillery barrage providing support outside the building, Ishida leads his men on a bayonet charge into the building entrance from behind their prepared barricades at the stairs, routing the surviving Blakist infantry. With agreement from Stansfield, Ishida and his men execute any survivors before taking up positions at the barricades again. − With the attack on the front of the building broken, Stansfield becomes aware that Corporal Yuan's team at the rear of the building have been under heavy attack for several minutes, spearheaded by Blakist troops equipped with [[Tornado]] power armor. As he makes contact with Yuan, he hears that the Blakists are using flamers to kill the support weapons team, and Yuan triggers the explosives to rain down chunks of the second floor onto the attackers. + With the attack on the front of the building broken, Stansfield becomes aware that Corporal Yuan's team at the rear of the building have been under heavy attack for several minutes, spearheaded by Blakist troops equipped with [[Tornado]] power armour. As he makes contact with Yuan, he hears that the Blakists are using flamers to kill the support weapons team, and Yuan triggers the explosives to rain down chunks of the second floor onto the attackers. Keeping to himself the news that the push across the Danube by the main body of the Liberators is going more slowly than anticipated, Stansfield knits his defenses back together, moving those injured personnel he has that are too wounded to fight into an upstairs storage area for safety, knowing that extraction is extremely unlikely. The storage area is revealed to be full of gold bullion, looted from worlds in at least three different states by someone in the Blakist ranks. Keeping to himself the news that the push across the Danube by the main body of the Liberators is going more slowly than anticipated, Stansfield knits his defenses back together, moving those injured personnel he has that are too wounded to fight into an upstairs storage area for safety, knowing that extraction is extremely unlikely. The storage area is revealed to be full of gold bullion, looted from worlds in at least three different states by someone in the Blakist ranks. − An hour after the last attack, the Blakists begin attacking the building again, this time using a pair of [[Pike (Combat Vehicle)|Pike]] support vehicles. Stansfield gets a brief respite when an unnamed Coalition [[VTOL]] appears and destroys one of the Blakist Pikes, but the assault continues; Stansfield's ammunition situation is becoming badly strained, with the support weapons teams having taken casualties from snipers before using the bulk of their high explosive recoilless rifle rounds to kill the snipers and the bulk of their machine gun ammunition suppressing the Blakist infantry. + An hour after the last attack, the Blakists begin attacking the building again, this time using a pair of [[Pike]] support vehicles. Stansfield gets a brief respite when an unnamed Coalition [[VTOL]] appears and destroys one of the Blakist Pikes, but the assault continues; Stansfield's ammunition situation is becoming badly strained, with the support weapons teams having taken casualties from snipers before using the bulk of their high explosive recoilless rifle rounds to kill the snipers and the bulk of their machine gun ammunition suppressing the Blakist infantry. With the surviving Pike providing covering fire and their own machine gun teams doing their best to suppress Stansfield's men, the Blakists begin forcing their way into the building and inflicting increasing numbers of casualties on the Liberators. Some of Stansfield's recoilless rifles manage to destroy the second Pike, and a suicidal charge by Ishida gains them a little more time, but Stansfield's command is rapidly reduced to only a small number of effective personnel. The Blakists manage to gain a permanent foothold in the rear of the building, and with his support teams almost out of ammo and again being picked off by snipers, Stansfield withdraws his personnel from the roof of the building, preparing a last stand. With the surviving Pike providing covering fire and their own machine gun teams doing their best to suppress Stansfield's men, the Blakists begin forcing their way into the building and inflicting increasing numbers of casualties on the Liberators. Some of Stansfield's recoilless rifles manage to destroy the second Pike, and a suicidal charge by Ishida gains them a little more time, but Stansfield's command is rapidly reduced to only a small number of effective personnel. The Blakists manage to gain a permanent foothold in the rear of the building, and with his support teams almost out of ammo and again being picked off by snipers, Stansfield withdraws his personnel from the roof of the building, preparing a last stand. Line 60:
Line 60: === Combat Vehicles === === Combat Vehicles === * [[Long Tom Artillery]] * [[Long Tom Artillery]] − * [[Pike (Combat Vehicle)|Pike]] + * [[Pike]] == Featured Units == == Featured Units == Line 70:
Line 70: Yuan Zhenli and Roland Stansfield reappear as the main protagonists in the short story ''[[The Running Man]]'', set 20 years after ''The Bitter Harvest''. Yuan Zhenli and Roland Stansfield reappear as the main protagonists in the short story ''[[The Running Man]]'', set 20 years after ''The Bitter Harvest''. − [[Category:BattleCorps publications|Bitter Harvest, The]] + [[Category:BattleCorps publications]] − [[Category:Short Stories|Bitter Harvest, The]] + [[Category:Short Stories]] − [[Category:Works by Christopher Purnell|Bitter Harvest, The]] + [[Category:Works by Christoper Purnell]]
The edit can be undone. Please check the comparison below to verify that this is what you want to do, and then save the changes below to finish undoing the edit.
| Latest revision | Your text | ||
| Line 20: | Line 20: | ||
| timeline = 8 October [[3078]] | | timeline = 8 October [[3078]] | ||
| series = [[Jihad Hot Spots: Terra]] tie-in | | series = [[Jihad Hot Spots: Terra]] tie-in | ||
| − | | precededby = | + | | precededby = |
| − | | followedby = [[ | + | | followedby = [[The Running Man]] |
}} | }} | ||
'''''The Bitter Harvest''''' is a short story by [[Christopher Purnell]] that was published online on [[BattleCorps]] on 30 November 2010. | '''''The Bitter Harvest''''' is a short story by [[Christopher Purnell]] that was published online on [[BattleCorps]] on 30 November 2010. | ||
| Line 35: | Line 35: | ||
Stansfield leads his team down Konvyes Kalman street, through an area renovated by the Terran Expansionist party in the [[twenty-third century]], over a bridge mined with [[vibrabomb]]s and on to his target - the Royal Material Arts Institute, a blocky ferrocrete structure modified to look a little like a fortress, having been the fancy of one or other member of [[House Cameron]]. Stansfield convinces the security guard at the building that he and his personnel are Blakists seizing the building to use in the defense against Coalition forces, and the security guard willingly concedes and has his personnel assist with evacuating the building and setting up Stansfield's heavy weapons - grumbling about how the "barbarians" have spent centuries destroying their own homes, and have now brought that destruction to Terra. | Stansfield leads his team down Konvyes Kalman street, through an area renovated by the Terran Expansionist party in the [[twenty-third century]], over a bridge mined with [[vibrabomb]]s and on to his target - the Royal Material Arts Institute, a blocky ferrocrete structure modified to look a little like a fortress, having been the fancy of one or other member of [[House Cameron]]. Stansfield convinces the security guard at the building that he and his personnel are Blakists seizing the building to use in the defense against Coalition forces, and the security guard willingly concedes and has his personnel assist with evacuating the building and setting up Stansfield's heavy weapons - grumbling about how the "barbarians" have spent centuries destroying their own homes, and have now brought that destruction to Terra. | ||
| − | Stansfield's troops set up positions within the building, positioning heavy weapons teams and an artillery spotter, before their deception is uncovered by one of the younger security guards. This leads to a tense argument within the ranks of Stansfield's team, with some arguing for the guards to be executed - either for expediency and to protect the mission, or for revenge - while others argue that they should be spared, as they're civilians and it's important that those fighting for Stone don't become as bad as the Word. Stansfield sides with those arguing for the prisoners to be kept safe, stating that they'll be released in the morning. Some of the guards don't believe that they'll be left unharmed, and the senior guard begs profusely, arguing that all they know on Terra is what the Word has been telling them; Stansfield angrily lists some of the horrific actions the Blakists have been involved in, beginning with the death of his ten | + | Stansfield's troops set up positions within the building, positioning heavy weapons teams and an artillery spotter, before their deception is uncovered by one of the younger security guards. This leads to a tense argument within the ranks of Stansfield's team, with some arguing for the guards to be executed - either for expediency and to protect the mission, or for revenge - while others argue that they should be spared, as they're civilians and it's important that those fighting for Stone don't become as bad as the Word. Stansfield sides with those arguing for the prisoners to be kept safe, stating that they'll be released in the morning. Some of the guards don't believe that they'll be left unharmed, and the senior guard begs profusely, arguing that all they know on Terra is what the Word has been telling them; Stansfield angrily lists some of the horrific actions the Blakists have been involved in, beginning with the death of his ten year-old daughter on Alarion, before telling the guard that Terra is going to get a dose of the same treatment the Blakists have given others, as the Word will inevitably turn against Terra as well. |
With the guards locked in a secure room, Stansfield has his men continue to prepare the building; all of them openly accept that they're on a suicide mission, but intend to sell their lives dearly. Having not encountered any [[Manei Domini]] in Budapest, and considering it unlikely that [[BattleMech]]s will be deployed against them, Stansfield coordinates the building defense, establishing fire positions and rigging a large part of the second floor with explosives, directly over the loading dock, so that he can drop a chunk of the building on troops looking to battle their way in through the loading area. The multinational nature of the Liberators is showcased during the discussion, with the volunteer personnel including ex-[[DCMS]] survivors from [[Dieron]], AFFS personnel, a Canopian, [[Clans]]men and others, all equally committed to defeating the Blakists. With the main push expected to begin at dawn, Stansfield's objective is to hold the building for twelve hours. | With the guards locked in a secure room, Stansfield has his men continue to prepare the building; all of them openly accept that they're on a suicide mission, but intend to sell their lives dearly. Having not encountered any [[Manei Domini]] in Budapest, and considering it unlikely that [[BattleMech]]s will be deployed against them, Stansfield coordinates the building defense, establishing fire positions and rigging a large part of the second floor with explosives, directly over the loading dock, so that he can drop a chunk of the building on troops looking to battle their way in through the loading area. The multinational nature of the Liberators is showcased during the discussion, with the volunteer personnel including ex-[[DCMS]] survivors from [[Dieron]], AFFS personnel, a Canopian, [[Clans]]men and others, all equally committed to defeating the Blakists. With the main push expected to begin at dawn, Stansfield's objective is to hold the building for twelve hours. | ||
| Line 43: | Line 43: | ||
The second attack begins with a Blakist SRM team blowing a hole in the front of the building, before being killed by one of Stansfield's machine gun teams; as the Blakists try and storm through the hole created by the missile, using massed smoke grenades as cover, they enter a killing ground defended by Corporal Shinji Ishida and his section, who kill large numbers of the enemy infantry. With another artillery barrage providing support outside the building, Ishida leads his men on a bayonet charge into the building entrance from behind their prepared barricades at the stairs, routing the surviving Blakist infantry. With agreement from Stansfield, Ishida and his men execute any survivors before taking up positions at the barricades again. | The second attack begins with a Blakist SRM team blowing a hole in the front of the building, before being killed by one of Stansfield's machine gun teams; as the Blakists try and storm through the hole created by the missile, using massed smoke grenades as cover, they enter a killing ground defended by Corporal Shinji Ishida and his section, who kill large numbers of the enemy infantry. With another artillery barrage providing support outside the building, Ishida leads his men on a bayonet charge into the building entrance from behind their prepared barricades at the stairs, routing the surviving Blakist infantry. With agreement from Stansfield, Ishida and his men execute any survivors before taking up positions at the barricades again. | ||
| − | With the attack on the front of the building broken, Stansfield becomes aware that Corporal Yuan's team at the rear of the building have been under heavy attack for several minutes, spearheaded by Blakist troops equipped with [[Tornado]] power | + | With the attack on the front of the building broken, Stansfield becomes aware that Corporal Yuan's team at the rear of the building have been under heavy attack for several minutes, spearheaded by Blakist troops equipped with [[Tornado]] power armour. As he makes contact with Yuan, he hears that the Blakists are using flamers to kill the support weapons team, and Yuan triggers the explosives to rain down chunks of the second floor onto the attackers. |
Keeping to himself the news that the push across the Danube by the main body of the Liberators is going more slowly than anticipated, Stansfield knits his defenses back together, moving those injured personnel he has that are too wounded to fight into an upstairs storage area for safety, knowing that extraction is extremely unlikely. The storage area is revealed to be full of gold bullion, looted from worlds in at least three different states by someone in the Blakist ranks. | Keeping to himself the news that the push across the Danube by the main body of the Liberators is going more slowly than anticipated, Stansfield knits his defenses back together, moving those injured personnel he has that are too wounded to fight into an upstairs storage area for safety, knowing that extraction is extremely unlikely. The storage area is revealed to be full of gold bullion, looted from worlds in at least three different states by someone in the Blakist ranks. | ||
| − | An hour after the last attack, the Blakists begin attacking the building again, this time using a pair of [[ | + | An hour after the last attack, the Blakists begin attacking the building again, this time using a pair of [[Pike]] support vehicles. Stansfield gets a brief respite when an unnamed Coalition [[VTOL]] appears and destroys one of the Blakist Pikes, but the assault continues; Stansfield's ammunition situation is becoming badly strained, with the support weapons teams having taken casualties from snipers before using the bulk of their high explosive recoilless rifle rounds to kill the snipers and the bulk of their machine gun ammunition suppressing the Blakist infantry. |
With the surviving Pike providing covering fire and their own machine gun teams doing their best to suppress Stansfield's men, the Blakists begin forcing their way into the building and inflicting increasing numbers of casualties on the Liberators. Some of Stansfield's recoilless rifles manage to destroy the second Pike, and a suicidal charge by Ishida gains them a little more time, but Stansfield's command is rapidly reduced to only a small number of effective personnel. The Blakists manage to gain a permanent foothold in the rear of the building, and with his support teams almost out of ammo and again being picked off by snipers, Stansfield withdraws his personnel from the roof of the building, preparing a last stand. | With the surviving Pike providing covering fire and their own machine gun teams doing their best to suppress Stansfield's men, the Blakists begin forcing their way into the building and inflicting increasing numbers of casualties on the Liberators. Some of Stansfield's recoilless rifles manage to destroy the second Pike, and a suicidal charge by Ishida gains them a little more time, but Stansfield's command is rapidly reduced to only a small number of effective personnel. The Blakists manage to gain a permanent foothold in the rear of the building, and with his support teams almost out of ammo and again being picked off by snipers, Stansfield withdraws his personnel from the roof of the building, preparing a last stand. | ||
| Line 60: | Line 60: | ||
=== Combat Vehicles === | === Combat Vehicles === | ||
* [[Long Tom Artillery]] | * [[Long Tom Artillery]] | ||
| − | * [[ | + | * [[Pike]] |
== Featured Units == | == Featured Units == | ||
| Line 70: | Line 70: | ||
Yuan Zhenli and Roland Stansfield reappear as the main protagonists in the short story ''[[The Running Man]]'', set 20 years after ''The Bitter Harvest''. | Yuan Zhenli and Roland Stansfield reappear as the main protagonists in the short story ''[[The Running Man]]'', set 20 years after ''The Bitter Harvest''. | ||
| − | [[Category:BattleCorps publications | + | [[Category:BattleCorps publications]] |
| − | [[Category:Short Stories | + | [[Category:Short Stories]] |
| − | [[Category:Works by | + | [[Category:Works by Christoper Purnell]] |