Editing BattleTech: The Crescent Hawks' Inception/The Citadel

==The Citadel==
[[Image:CHI-Pacifica-Training-School.gif|right|280px|thumb|Pacifica Training School from the The Crescent Hawks' Inception computer game.]]

*You are standing in the [[House Steiner]] citadel, the center of [[Lyran Commonwealth]] operations on [[Pacifica]].  The sentry recognizes you as the son of the Captain of security forces, and informs Katrina that you wish to speak to her.  She agrees, and you are escorted into her plush offices.

''If no training missions have been completed yet:''

*Katrina:  “Hellooo, Jason.  How are you?  How is your training coming?  I see that you haven't completed a mission at the training center yet.  You know, you really should.  That's what you're here for, after all.”

*Katrina: “Well, must be off.  I have preparations to make for the wedding, you know.”

''If at least one training mission has been completed:'' 

*Katrina congratulates you on your efforts to graduate, and hopes that you will be as capable a [[MechWarrior]] as your father.  She cautions you not to neglect the other areas of your training, such as the combat classes offered here.

*Before you can get a word in edgewise, she is bombarded by a flurry of interruptions from her offices, and is swept away in a blizzard of paperwork.

''If Jason elects to visit the Citadel's museum:''

*Our first exhibit is a portrait of the Archon herself, [[Katrina Steiner]], Duchess of [[Tharkad]].  Katrina is here on Pacifica for a short while, on her way to the [[Federated Suns]] for the marriage of her daughter, Melissa.

*Here we have a picture of one of the many BattleMechs that help to protect our Commonwealth from the Liao, Marik, and Kurita invaders.  This example is a [[Locust]], a very common ‘Mech, armed with a medium laser and machine guns instead of hands.

*This is an extremely rare ‘Mech, a [[Phoenix Hawk LAM]].  This ‘Mech can convert from a normal ‘Mech to an [[aerospace fighter]], or a hybrid mode pictured here.  There are very few MechWarriors who can pilot these complex machines.  Perhaps the most skilled and famous is our own Security chief, [[Jeremiah Youngblood]].

*This is [[Edward Tellhim]], an extremely brilliant scientist responsible for much of the recovered technology we have today.  He is also somewhat eccentric, and retired somewhere north on Pacifica to be away from people.  Some rumors say that he is still alive, but he hasn't been seen in years.

*Depicted here is one of the [[Defiance Industries]] BattleMech factories on [[Hesperus II]].  This is one example of the Commonwealth's superiority in manufacturing and commerce among the [[Successor States]].

*Our last exhibit shows the Battle of [[Mallory's World]], 12 years ago.  Here, a lance of the Steiner mercenary unit [[Kell Hounds]] fought off a determined Kurita invasion.  The Hounds stayed hidden in the trees, where they were difficult to hit, while Jeremiah Youngblood used his LAM's superior maneuverability to drive the Dracos off.

==HPG Station==

''The following text displays when Jason enters the [[ComStar]] [[HPG]] station at the Pacifica Academy:''

*You are standing in the entry hall of an official ComStar hyperpulse generator station.  All around you, ComStar technicians attend to interplanetary communication equipment, while several [[Adept]]s, shrouded in robes and mystery, direct their efforts.  They ignore your attempts at communication, so you settle down to one of the small public-access computer terminals.

*The terminal's screen clears.  At its insistence, you place your eye over the retinal scanner to verify that you are, indeed, [[Jason Youngblood]].  After the terminal beeps confirmation, you blink a few times to re-dilate your pupil as your balance sheet prints out on the screen.

*Fred Swenson:  Hi, Jason, how are you?  I just stopped in her to buy me some of that [[Baker Pharmaceuticals|Baker]] stock.  I'll make a fortune if they don't go broke.  After I'm done here, I'm going over to the lounge.

==Barracks==

''The following text displays the first time Jason sleeps at the Barracks in the Pacifica Academy:''

*You drift off in a contented sleep…

*You awaken to the sound of sirens blaring warnings to all the cadets:  [[House Marik]] agents have infiltrated the Citadel and are holding [[Katrina Steiner|Katrina]] hostage!  They are demanding immediate Steiner evacuation of the planet.  

*All around you, your friends and fellow cadets are gathering their equipment and rushing for the Starport.  You grab your clothes and dress quickly, but you're not going to turn tail and run.  No, the only thing you're packing is a [[vibroblade]], and not in a suitcase.

*Katrina has provided a good living for your family, and you're not going to leave her to those Marik terrorists!  You slip out the window and make your way through the trees to the citadel…

*You peek over the low wall, right into the eyes of a Marik watchman!  He is as surprised as you are, but you're quicker, and he's now headless.  You drag the body behind a building and swap uniforms, but you loathe even touching this infidel.

*You walk through the front entrance of the citadel, grunting at the sentries posted there.  A Marik officer stops you in the main hall, questioning you about the blood that is covering your collar.  You explain that the blood is “JUST LIKE YOUR FILTHY MUD!” you scream as you plunge the vibroblade into his gut.  Footsteps are scrambling from around the corner before you, and you realize your cover is blown.

*You duck into a closet and, with perfectly-executed gymnastic flair, you leap to grab a light fixture, slice a hole in the roof with the white-hot vibroblade, and escape inside.

*Drawing upon your photographic memory, you visualize the floorplan to the citadel.  You stealthily make your way to Katrina's office, where they are most certainly holding her.  You peer through the vent, and see Katrina tied up in a chair, slap marks covering her left cheek.  You have arrived just in time to see the grungy leader of the Marik invaders rear back his hand and…

*He stops and grabs his ears, as you do also, because of the loud siren sounding.  Then a voice comes through:  “[[Jason Youngblood]], report to the [[MechWarrior]] Training Center.  Jason Youngblood…:

*You sit bolt upright in bed and realize it was all a dream.  Rubbing your eyes, you climb out of bed and get dressed again.

''If Jason returns to the Barracks after obtaining the holodisc from Rex Pearce:''

*You stand in the ruins of your old quarters at the now-destroyed Citadel.  Most of what you owned has been ruined, but the holodisk player remains miraculously untouched.  Rex waits outside so you can view the disk in privacy.

*At first, only static comes on the screen.  You can hear the holoviewer's tracking mechanism trying to compensate for scratches on the holodisk.  Then, your father's face pops up onto the screen.  He is in mid-sentence when the audio track starts working also.

*“…to the [[Lyran Commonwealth|Commonwealth]] and the Crescent Hawks in particular.  I've watched you train, and I know that you will succeed in this assignment.  Since you're watching me on this disk now, then I must already be dead.  It's up to you to see that my work here is completed.”

*“As Rex must have told you by now, I have been searching Pacifica for a rumored [[Star League]] cache of ‘Mech repair parts.  I have been looking for it for most of the 12 years we have been stationed here.  I'm fairly sure I know approximately where it is now, and that's why I am making this holo for you.”

*“I know that there's a good chance that if I locate the cache, I may not live long enough to report its location.  Some people don't want to see many of the old [[Kell Hounds]] last very long.  So I am giving you the keys to locating and entering it in case I am prevented from fulfilling my mission.”

*“I figure that the ideal way to safeguard the cache is to entrust access to it to both my son and my best friend.  Jason, this cache is extremely valuable.  We know it contains ‘Mech repair parts, but some of the evidence I've come across in my 12-year search indicates it may be more than that.”

*“It may contain documentation and library tapes that could restore some of the technology we've lost in the [[Succession Wars]].  If I don't locate it, then you must.  Follow Rex, and trust him.  When you get to the cache, uxxedsd.d.dke 32fffrhntg t”

*The holodisk player tries repeatedly to recover the information off the disk, but the damage is too extensive.  Without the password, you'll never be able to access the cache!  You go back to where Rex is waiting and explain the situation.

*Rex tells you that, just before the raid on the citadel, Jeremiah had called in with a brief message.  He said that he had found ‘it,' but didn't explain what ‘it' was.  Clearly, he must have meant the cache.  But before he could tell Katrina where the cache was, the signal was lost.

*Rex continues, saying that we can only suppose that Jeremiah was attacked before he could finish his message.  The only thing they could tell for sure is that the signal originated in the northwest, but the raid on the citadel destroyed the tracking equipment, so they can't tell for sure where the signal came from.

*Rex suggests that before you go tromping across the landscape trying to find the cache, you should gather up some more Crescent Hawk agents.  He says that whoever was able to overcome [[Jeremiah Youngblood]] must be extremely dangerous.

==MechWarrior Training Center==

''The following text displays when Jason's training mission is interrupted by a DCMS attack:''

*Those are [[Kurita]] ‘Mechs!  You can see the Dragon symbol on them!  You look around and see the Citadel has been destroyed.  They broke down the southeast wall!

''The following text displays if Jason's [[BattleMech]] is destroyed by the Kurita [[Jenner]] lance:''

*Kuritan ‘Mechs have made a lightning raid on Pacifica!  They have destroyed the Citadel.  One of the Kuritan ''Jenner'' ‘Mechs tries to crush you in your ‘Mech's cockpit, but you barely escape before the deadly blow can cut you down. You manage to hide in the trees.  Some of the remnant of the [[Lyran Guards|Lyran Guard]] engage the ‘Mechs.  Your comrades are wiped out, but in the distraction you manage to escape.

''The following text displays whether or not Jason's 'Mech was destroyed:''

*Your friends from the Citadel (the ones who are still alive) are scattering, trying to avoid their executioners.  You overhear scraps of shouted conversation…

*“Who are they?!  What do they want?!”

*“Kuritan invaders!  They've destroyed our army!”

*“Where was Jeremiah?”

*“I don't know!  Nobody's seen him.  He's probably dead!”

*You stand numb for a moment, contemplating what you've just overheard.  An explosion behind you jars you back to reality, and you make up your mind as to your course of action.  Since the Citadel is overrun, there is no reason for you to hang around here.  You realize that your only chance is to try to make it to the Starport, meet up with anyone you may know, try to find out if your father is still alive, and get a ride off this planet before it's too late.

[[Category: Crescent Hawks' Inception Transcript]]