Shadows of Faith

Shadows of Faith
Product information
Type Short story/Serial (7 parts)
Author Loren L. Coleman
Pages 89
Publication information
Publisher BattleCorps
First published 31 March 2005–07 March 2006
Content
Era Jihad era
Timeline 12 September-28 November 3067

Originally conceived (and announced)[1] as an upcoming BattleTech novel in the "Classic" line for December 2008, Shadows of Faith (prefix: Tales of the Jihad), by Loren L. Coleman, was never published as a print novel. The unfinished novel was ultimately published on BattleCorps between 2005 and 2006 as a seven-part serial story. It describes the beginning of the Jihad era from the point of view of several core characters.

In an official BattleChat on 23 April 2011, then-Line Developer Herbert A. Beas II said that "For all intents and purposes, we are considering Shadows of Faith done. [...] SoF is, however, being considered an unfinished work. All the chapters written have, I think been put out. We have more or less chosen to proceed with fiction on the presumption that more chapters will not be forthcoming."

The unused cover art was shown in the BattleTech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction tome,[2] captioned as art "from the forthcoming publication Shadows of Faith".

Plot summary[edit]

Part 1[edit]

published 31 March 2005
The first two chapters of the rest of your BattleTech.

In the World Cathedral (which the Word of Blake erected over the ruins that once housed ComStar's First Circuit), the Word of Blake's Ruling Conclave convenes on 12 September 3067. Representing various subsects, the attendant Precentors are bent on outmaneuvering each other in the session. The Council agrees to take action against Wolf's Dragoons on Outreach. Cameron St. Jamais had not physically been in attendance, but taken part via realtime HPG link from the Mars Research Station. Afterwards, he is debriefed by a shadowy presence in the station (The Master).

On 18 October 3067, Captain Jason Williamson of the Dragoons' Home Guard is fighting in the ruins of Harlech on Outreach in the aftermath of the mercenary uprising and general assault against Wolf's Dragoons. "Condition Feral" is set, calling on all Wolf's Dragoons forces to attack with extreme prejudice any and all forces that are not bearing the Dragoons' crest, giving even allied forces only one single chance to stand down when faced. Jaime Wolf, the legendary commander of Wolf's Dragoons, has fallen in battle.

Part 2[edit]

published 24 May 2005
Join us for the second installment of the Tales of the Jihad. All Hallows Eve, a night of merriment and jest where some costumes are more appropriate than others...

During a costume ball reception on Arc-Royal on 31 October, Victor Steiner-Davion, Anastasius Focht, Phelan Kell and Morgan Kell discuss the outcome of the FedCom Civil War and their expectations for the future.

Part 3[edit]

published 19 July 2005
Loren L. Coleman brings us back to Outreach; a planet full of Mercs on the prowl.

Captain Jason Williamson and other surviving Dragoons meet in a dilapidated warehouse, which they have requisitioned to serve as impromptu Home Guard office, on 14 November 3067. By now Wolfnet has assembled a clearer picture of what has happened on Outreach: Several mercenary units were suborned by Word of Blake into attacking Wolf's Dragoons, and with the fighting in full swing the dregs of Temp Town, armed to the teeth as they were, joined the general chaos. The Dragoons are preparing a response including an attack against the Word of Blake stronghold on Mars, and Dragoon units from all over the Inner Sphere are pulled together and reorganized.

Part 4[edit]

published 06 October 2005
Tharkad, November 27th 3067 -- The Archon's formal reception.

Arriving at the Archon's Reception on Tharkad on 27 November 3067 together with Isis Marik, Victor Steiner-Davion is called away to a hidden communication booth in an antechamber for a message from the Invisible Truth that was not flagged as a priority message but concerns "an old friend of the family", a family code demanding immediate compliance. It is his brother, Archon Peter Steiner-Davion, who meets him for an informal family reunion and have some personal words. Peter apologizes for the troubles he caused Victor in the past also reaches out to Isis who agrees to call him Peter in private.

Part 5[edit]

published 24 December 2005
Pleas*ant*ry
  — 'plezntre

During the reception, Isis, Victor, Phelan Wolf, Ragnar Magnusson, Yvonne Steiner-Davion and others discuss the upcoming Star League conference and the various political agendas and plots going on.

Part 6[edit]

published 17 February 2006
The party is still going, but several guests leave for home to prepare for the conference tomorrow brings. Precentor William Blane and Thomas Marik however have much to discuss yet...

At the Free Worlds League embassy on Tharkad, the man held to be Thomas Marik who is also the apparent upcoming First Lord of the new Star League reminisces about the past thirty years with his friend William Blane, and how much the double has accomplished. "Marik" has recently given up his position as Primus-in-Exile of the Word of Blake to free the path for Blane. Marik and Blane agree that Anastasius Focht's actions in 3052 amounted to a military coup within ComStar, and the double feels the death of Primus Waterly freed him of any final reins ComStar held.

They also discuss the fact (discovered three years ago) that the real Thomas Marik and his affiliates within the Word of Blake have been skimming a staggering fifteen percent of the League's finances, enough to fund the Word's enterprises fifty percent over. The money seems to go into charity, upgrades to the Word's military, the Terran Defense Program, the WarShip fleet. Blane reports that he is still investigating, but Cameron St. Jamais is dogging his every step. He also discovered that the ancient core diagnostics programs of the hyperpulse generators in which the "ComStar Clock" is embedded never represented the fact that the Word of Blake was centered on Gibson instead of Terra, but curiously ComStar's diagnostics have shifted the focal point of their network to Tukayyid.

Part 7[edit]

published 07 March 2006
Loren brings us back to Outreach and the aftermath of Waco's assault.

On 28 November 3067, Jason Williamson is confronted in a bar by Tara Lucas who is on the verge of leaving for the attack on Mars with Zeta Battalion. They argue because Jason is unhappy with his orders to stay behind, and may not join the Mars attack. They part with Jason calling after Tara to "Give them hell", to which she responds that "They don't get off that easy."

Characters[edit]

Featured BattleTech[edit]

BattleMechs[edit]

Vehicles[edit]

Other[edit]

Notes[edit]

  • BattleCorps fiction files are normally named in a fashion abbreviating the title of the fiction in question (and the author). However, the individual PDF files of this story are named "WHITNG" instead, suggesting the original title might have referred to the upcoming Fourth Whitting Conference.

References[edit]

  1. In this announcement dated 27 June 2008
  2. BattleTech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction, p. 189