Erik Gray

This article is about the Solaris MechWarrior. For the armor officer who served with the The Furies, see Erik Gray (The Furies).
Erik Gray
Character Profile
Also known as The Gray Ghost
Affiliation Skye Tigers Stables
Silver Dragons Stables
Profession Arena Gladiator


Erik Gray was the major player behind the resistance to Operation SHOWTIME, the Word of Blake's invasion of Solaris VII during the Jihad. He was also one of the best known MechWarriors at that time.[1]

History[edit]

Erik Gray was a MechWarrior in Solaris who fought and lost against Kelley Metz in 3062. His fighting style was well received and he seemed on his way to success.

Unfortunately for him, he had not correctly negotiated with James Stroud of the Skye Tigers Stables, and he ended up on the bad side of a deal in which he was to receive experimental Enhanced Imaging implants from Inner Sphere Medics in order to be able to pilot the stable's Clan 'Mech. His luck was still with him and he was rescued by The Unnamed Soldier and his team in a raid to destroy that same OmniMech. During their escape he piloted the Man O' War and allowed them all to scape, after that helping to destroy it.[2]

A short time after this he contacted the Unnamed Soldier in the shooting range of the Kubler Street Gun Club in Silesia in order to get the better side of a contract he had been offered with the Eternal Flames, the only stable offering a MechWarrior combat slot at that time. With the Unnamed Soldier's help, he was able to get the best part of the deal, which allowed Gray to fight without restrictions and to win against Richard Smith[3], which he most probably won.[citation needed]

After those fights, we has able to get a contract with the Silver Dragons Stables and became the Stable's rising star.

Nothing is known of his actions on Solaris till the start of the Jihad in 3068, though during this time he had converted the Unnamed Soldier in his friend.

When the Jihad started, he was ranked 49th in the Solaris ranking.[4] He was able to recruit several MechWarriors of the DeLon Stables, alongside several from his stable at that time, the Silver Dragon Stables, to join his recently created Solaris Home Defense League under his leadership.

One of their first actions was the defense of Solaris City, this first Battle going well and blunting the WoB forces (the Twenty-fifth Division)[4], though in the end the SHDL needed to leave the city to escape from the WoB units.[4]

During that escape the SHDL was able to gain some advantage over the WoB forces when they encountered several unregistered 'Mechs that turned out to belong to several second league stables: Midnight Stables, Manticore Stables, Jacobite Stables and the Streholm Cooperative, all of them led by Shen Driscoll. A pact was agreed to based on share rights on video time in the transmissions being sent outside. That union was able to recover the initiative and break the WoB's back, aiding those units' escape and return to Solaris City.[5]

That same year, while defending Nowhere city and Blue Points Weapons he was injuried while fighting against Blakist forces, though the SHDL was still able to beat them.[6]

After that point, and thanks to the success he had gotten with the SHDL victories, Erik Gray was able to recruit more individual gladiators and finally also some corporate interests signed onto the alliance. Not everything was easy on the recruitment front, as he faced significant resistance from the Gambelli and Bertoli mob families and several yakuza groups who saw Gray's successes as a threat to their future plans. Nevertheless, with his backers he was able to lead the SHDL into carrying out larger operations designed to push back against the Word and force the occupiers to withdraw.

Using the power of the media, which still thrived on the planet despite Blakist censorship of interstellar communications, the SHDL pulled the public behind them in revolt. The Solarans turned the war against the occupiers into a form of sport, broadcasting the violent clashes with the same panache as gladiatorial matches. Several even individuals reworked the elaborate betting and gaming system to turn a profit from these battles. The SHDL forces and allies took on new life as trivid heroes, their exploits plastered across entertainment screens.

From January 3069 through March of 3071, the Word counterattacked with their own propaganda by parading captured gladiators and popular warriors into showcase arenas and executing them through lopsided contests. The Twenty-fifth Division spread out and struck suspected SHDL cell sites with overwhelming force. Collateral damage was high as the Blakists burned down anything they couldn't remove, salvage, or strip.

In May 3071, the SHDL hit back with force. As Gray's alliance attacked Blakist strongholds in Solaris City, the yakuza - in a rare alliance of convenience - secretly spread the word to citizens several days prior. The early warning saved the lives of countless Solarans as the assault began. Solaris City became a free-fire zone as units of every stripe targeted anything not broadcasting a prearranged IFF signal. Desperate to head off defeat, the Blakists withdrew from Montenegro and used DropShips to strafe the district. The SHDL responded by seizing the underdefended International Zone. Hundreds of impounded BattleMechs and equipment were discovered. Secondary attack forces, created when every nearby MechWarrior and wannabe claimed a war machine, emerged from the International Zone, and the carnage in Solaris City began anew.

By June 3071, the Word of Blake forces had withdrawn from Solaris City and destroyed the planetary HPG.

Though the SHDL claimed victory, the alliance fractured scant days later with Erik Gray unable to keep hold on them. Numerous firefights erupted as gladiators, fueled by the media's constant coverage, sought out rivals and settled grudges. Blakist forces took advantage of the fragmentation in mid-August by reclaiming the International Zone in a blitzkrieg assault. Knowing they couldn't hold the sector for long, Precentor Sariana Pryor staged artillery in the warehouse district. Under the cover of their guns and the continuing chaos, the Blakists slowly advanced through Solaris City.

The SHDL, fragmented into five smaller alliances, forced the Word of Blake back out of Solaris City and into the Reaches by mid-October 3071. A Blakist raiding force penetrated Nowhere and destroyed a key SHDL refit and construction base. Combined with the massive collateral damage caused by the constant heavy fighting, both sides were effectively stripped of major repair capabilities. The lack of parts and supplies forced both sides to deplete a once-thriving black market.

By December 3071, the Blakist forces on Solaris had withdrawn, too battered to continue. Three and a half years of fighting had resulted in millions of military and civilian casualties, rampant homelessness and poverty, and a shattered industrial base. The remaining SHDL numbered roughly two regiments. Less than a month later, the SHDL dissolved into a collection of warring gangs divided along old factional and stable lines to Erik Gray's dismay.

Details of his fate beyond the Jihad have not been published.

Tactics[edit]

Unknown.

BattleMechs[edit]

Erik Gray piloted several 'Mechs during the Jihad, among them an Emperor which had belonged to the WoB.

References[edit]

  1. A Face Full of Blades
  2. By The Numbers
  3. Job Security
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Scars
  5. Stalking the Legends
  6. Blood Price

Bibliography[edit]