Editing Mason Dunne


{{Cleanup|reason=review needed|date=September 2023}}
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{{InfoBoxCharacter
| image               = 
| name                = Mason Dunne
| birthdate           = 6 June [[3101]]<ref name="MWDADPCp39>''MechWarrior: Dark Age - Dossiers and Pilot Cards'', p. 39: "Mason Dunne profile"</ref>
| died                = 
| othernames          = Sam Donelly
| affiliation         = [[The Republic of the Sphere]]
| rank                = 
| title               = [[Knight of the Republic|Knight]]
| position            = 
| profession          = [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarrior]]
| parents             = 
| siblings            = 
| spouse              = [[Janella Lakewood]] (lover)
| children            = 
}}


'''Mason Dunne''' was a thirty-second-century [[Ghost Knight]] of [[the Republic of the Sphere|The Republic of Sphere]].<ref>''Ghost War'', p. 94</ref>  
==History==
===Origins===
Mason grew up in a planet of the [[Federated Suns]], on one of the many estates owned by [[Victor Steiner-Davion]]. His family worked the land, so Mason piloted every type of IndustrialMech, from [[AgroMech]] to [[ForestryMech]]. When he had sixteen years, drove a ForestryMech into the heart of a forest fire to rescue some smokejumpers who had become trapped.
Due to his piloting expertise and apparent lack of fear, he came to the personal attention of Victor, who brought him to the Republic. There, he was given the opportunity to prove his worth in the Republic military and quickly was inducted into the Knights of the Sphere. Since then, he was given numerous assignments, all of which he has fulfilled in an exemplary fashion. Sometime, he began a romantic relationship with (then) Knight Lady [[Janella Lakewood]].<ref>''MWDA Uniques'', p. 32</ref>

His true identity was known by very few knights and paladins in the Republic. Knight Countess [[Consuela Dagmar]] was his immediate supervisor as a Ghost Knight and Victor Davion acted as his mentor. As a Ghost Knight, Mason changed identities to suit his mission. He was publicly known as a researcher in an obscure forestry office in the Interior Secretariat.<ref>''Ghost War'', p. 80</ref>

===Helen===
In August of [[3132]], Mason was on an undercover mission, arriving on the Republic world of [[Helen]] as a drifter by the name of Sam Donelly.  He became an IndustrialMech pilot for ARU logging company.  He discovered and penetrated a terrorist group known as the GGF (Gaia Guerrilla Front) in November of that year.  In the course of his actions, he encountered a gentleman named ''Mr. Handy'' who was the creator and leader of the GGF.  He had Mason's cell attack the local authorities' armory in order to acquire more munitions.  Before the attack could take place, someone betrayed the cell and notified the local authorities of the impending attack.  Mason was captured after a ''[[Centurion (BattleMech)|Centurion]]'' BattleMech destroyed his [[Carbine|ConstructionMech]].

Lady Lakewood "arrested" him and brought him to [[Terra]] for debriefing about what was going on in the Republic. There he learned about the extent of the unrest in the [[Republic of the Sphere]]. This was due to an unknown group that sabotaged and knocked out the majority of the [[HPG]] communication grid. This resulted in the creation of splinter groups such as [[Katana Tormark|Katana Tormark's]] [[Dragon's Fury]] and a power grab by CEO [[Jacob Bannson]].

During his time on [[Terra]], Dunne was notified that Mr. Handy, now known as "Gypsy", was attempting to recruit him as a MechWarrior pilot on the Republic world of [[Basalt]].  He was asked to travel there and resume his identity in order to stop whatever Mr. Handy had planned, with as little death and destruction as possible.

===Basalt Mission===
In January [[3133]], he arrived on [[Basalt]] and met with Gypsy. He was recruited into Gypsy's mercenary unit, which had been hired to overthrow the government. Gypsy had gathered a large battalion-sized military force with a mixed group of cashiered military personnel and mercenaries.  Dunne, as Sam, convinced his employer not to go with conventional tactics but to use LIT – low-intensity terrorism – instead. Mason stated that the population would be more easily swayed by showing the incompetence of the current government than by military conquest.

When the current leader's son made a power play to become planetary governor, Dunne realized that it was time to end the insurrection once and for all.

In March, Mason, with the assistance of Lady Lakewood and Public Safety Officer Niemeyer, baited Germayne to bring his mercenary force to an obscure old prison known as Obsidian Island. The bait was Germayne's rival and enemy, who was also trying to become governor of the planet.

Mason and Lady Lakewood arrived in their BattleMechs to tip the battle in favor of the Basalt Militia.  In the process of the battle, Mason Dunne and Janella Lakewood convinced one group of mercenaries that it would be in their best interest to join the Knights of the Sphere.  The Basalt Militia, the mercenaries, and the Knights, concentrated fire on Germayne and the rest of his force, ultimately resulting in his defeat.

In the aftermath of the battle, Mason allowed his "Sam Donelly" persona to die, only to resume it for his pursuit and capture of [[Cassandra Raines]] in January [[3135]].<ref name=3135PDAJp25-26/>

During this mission he piloted a ''Mad Cat III''.<ref>''Ghost War'', pp. 279-292</ref>

===IlClan Era===
Mason somehow survived the [[Battle of Terra (3151)|Battle of Terra]], joining [[Seychelles' Stonehearts]], a subunit of the [[Ghost Knights]] mercenary command. He was a moderating influence there, but after the fall of the Republic he became more and more disinterested in the work, largely due to losing contact with his partner, Janella Lakewood, who was captured by Clan Wolf warriors.<ref>''Shrapnel'', Issue #4, p. 99: ''Unit Digest: Seychelles' Stonehearts''</ref>

==BattleMechs==
Mason Dunne piloted a ''[[Mad Cat III]]'' that he named ''Ghost'', after Victor Steiner-Davion's old [[10th Lyran Guards|Tenth Lyran Guards]] RCT, nicknamed The Revenants; a revenant is a type of ghost.  He used ''Ghost'', a brand-new 'Mech which he was the first to pilot, in a combat mission to stop an uprising on Basalt in March [[3133]].<ref name="MWDADPCp39/>

==Notes==
Mason Dunne's name is mentioned in reporting a successful contact with [[Cassandra Raines]].<ref name=3135PDAJp25-26>''3135 PDA Journals'', pp. 25–26: "31 March 3135"</ref>

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Dark Age: 3135 PDA Journals]]''
* ''[[Ghost War]]'' (novel)
* ''[[MechWarrior: Dark Age - Dossiers and Pilot Cards]]''
* [[Shrapnel (magazine)#Issue 4|''Shrapnel'', Issue #4]]

[[Category:Republic of the Sphere Characters|Dunne, Mason]]
[[Category:Notable Mad Cat III Pilots|Dunne, Mason]]