The Great UrbanMech Uprising
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| The Great UrbanMech Uprising | |
|---|---|
| Story information | |
| Author | Eric Salzman |
| Pages | 12 |
| Type | Short Story |
| Product | Shrapnel Issue 8 |
| Content | |
| Era | Dark Age |
| Timeline | 3122 |
The Great UrbanMech Uprising is a short story by Eric Salzman that was published in the eighth issue of Shrapnel.
Plot summary[edit]
In the 3120s, the Solaris games operate under the guidance of Commissioner Cyrus Matherwood IV, who excludes 'Mechs that do not meet his aesthetic standards from major arena competitions, mandating that arena-worthy 'Mechs be fierce, aggressive, and menacing. One of the MechWarriors to run afoul of the Commissioner's unwritten guidelines is Rufus Jansen, pilot of the UM-R70 UrbanMech "Dark Angel." When Jansen comes to Matherwood's office to protest his exclusion from the Grand Tournament qualifiers, he is thrown out.
Jansen wins an arena battle in the Scrapyard at long odds and, having bet on himself, amasses a warchest for his campaign to change Matherwood's mind. A former Solaris City Police Department 'Mech Corps officer, he calls on his contacts in the police as well as among the other UrbanMech pilots active on Solaris VII (members of the "Urbie Derby" collective). They lay an ambush for Matherwood, destroying his car and forcing him to flee into the underground maintenance tunnels, where Jansen confronts the terrified commissioner and makes the case that UrbanMechs can indeed be "fierce, aggressive, and menacing" in the hands of the right pilots.
Jansen's crew continues to stage public demonstrations throughout Solaris City until Matherwood issues a public statement that all pilots with a qualifying win/loss record may compete in the arena events, regardless of what equipment they field, and characterizes the demonstrations as a promotional marketing event called the "Great UrbanMech Uprising."