View source for The Pirate Hunt

{{InfoBoxFiction
| image               = 
| name                = 
| type                = Short story
| author              = [[Dan C. Duval]]
| development         = 
| primarywriting      = 
| pages               = 11
| cover               = 
| interiorart         = 
| illustrations       = [[Brad McDevitt]]
| publisher           = [[BattleCorps]]
| productioncode      = 
| year                = 21 December 2004
| ISBN10              = 
| ISBN13              = 
| MSRP                = 
| content             = 
| era                 = [[Civil War era]]
| timeline            = 8 April [[3067]]
| series              = 
| precededby          = 
| followedby          = 
}}
'''''The Pirate Hunt''''' is a short story by [[Dan C. Duval]] that was published online on [[BattleCorps]] on 21 December 2004. It was also included in the 2010 print anthology ''[[First Strike (anthology)|First Strike]]'', as "Pirate Hunt".

Because of a fact-checking/continuity problem (see ''Notes'' below), it is unclear if the story really takes place on [[Mica V]] as indicated in the epigraph.

==Teaser text==
{{quote|''When you grow up in certain parts of the [[Periphery]], you fight pirates, you deal with pirates, or you are forever afraid of the next pirate raid. But how can the circle be broken? Or, can it? Dan Duval explores the idea of this never-ending conflict.''}}

==Plot summary==
The story follows [[Outworlds Alliance]] [[Sergeant#Outworlds Alliance|Guardian]] (equivalent to an [[Inner Sphere]] sergeant) McGraw of the [[Alliance Military Corps]] as his [[infantry]] unit combat-drops onto a small cluster of barns on a periphery world, believing them to be a pirate nest. McGraw suffered his first pirate raid before he even went to school, and witnessed how his mother shot a pirate when he kicked in the door. He still remembers how the dying man's legs twitched. Since then, "Andrea and the kids" (implied to have been McGraw's family) have also been killed by pirates.

On the ground, the dilapidated barns appear largely deserted save for a fat woman and several children. While searching the area, McGraw kicks in a door and is shot in the throat, never knowing what hit him. Mortally wounded, he wonders if his legs are twitching too as the unit's medic tries to save his life.

==Featured BattleTech==
*[[Mark VII Landing Craft]]
*''[[Seydlitz]]'' aerospace fighters

==Notes==
*The story gained some notoriety for a fact-checking/continuity problem: Set on [[Mica V]], it describes the planet as something of a jungle world where landing craft from orbit can easily land near an open rural area with several large barn buildings, whereas other sources consistently describe Mica V as a barren planet with domed cities. The author admitted to not having been aware of this, having just picked a periphery world from the maps to set his story on.{{cn}}
*Similarly, there is a notion about pirates having taken out "New Dallas" but given that the story is set near the Outworlds Alliance this is unlikely to refer to the [[New Dallas]] system.
*The print edition in the BattleCorps Anthology seems to be an older revision. It still contains notes from the editor and some spelling mistakes.

[[Category:BattleCorps publications|Pirate Hunt, The]]
[[Category:Short Stories|Pirate Hunt, The]]
[[Category:Works by Dan C. Duval|Pirate Hunt, The]]