The Ties That Bind
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| The Ties That Bind | |
|---|---|
| Story information | |
| Author | Chris Hartford |
| Pages | 3 |
| Type | Short story |
| Product | Games Unplugged |
| Content | |
| Era | Civil War era |
| Universe Date | 22 October 3063 |
The Ties That Bind is a short story by Chris Hartford that was published in Issue 28 of Games Unplugged (pp. 36-38) in July 2003, with a brief introduction by then-Line Developer Randall N. Bills. It was the first BattleTech story to be included in this magazine, and was not published elsewhere.
Plot summary
On 22 October 3063 Alys Rousset-Marik confronts her "Uncle Tommy" at the Dormuth palace on Marik. "Thomas Marik" deals with the situation in a calm manner even though Alys immediately proceeds to hit him (instead of the expected greeting). She accuses him of effectively murdering her mother (Kristen Marik) and demands to know why he did nothing to help Kristen's Krushers when the unit was caught up in treachery, trapped and decimated in Lyran Alliance territory earlier that year, leading to the death of Alys' mother and Alys' two siblings, Ana and Janos.
"Thomas" argues that Kristen Marik knew the risks of her mercenary career and that, as Captain-General, he had no right to send the Free Worlds League Military into the Lyran Alliance at a whim, not even to save Kristen Marik; ultimately, he accuses her of only thinking about her family and not seeing the big picture—a trillion of League citizens whose lives the Captain-General has to protect. Alys breaks down in tears, but when Thomas remarks that he has to lead the people through these difficult times she accuses him of just being power-hungry. She pulls herself upright and leaves with the veiled threat that the League is a democracy and that Resolution 288 is only good for "the duration of the crisis".
Canonicity
BattleTech-related content from the Games Unplugged magazine, including this story, has been confirmed as fully canonical (see Games Unplugged#Canonicity).
Featured characters
- Thomas Marik
- Sherryl Halas
- Alys Rousset-Marik
- Bruno Antonov (adjutant to Thomas)
- Omi Kurita (mentioned)
- Victor Davion (mentioned)
- Jeremy Brett (mentioned)
- Isis Marik (mentioned)
- Kristen Marik (mentioned)
Featured places
Featured units
- Kristen's Krushers (mentioned)