Difference between revisions of "Binding Force"
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'''''Binding Force''''', by [[Loren L. Coleman]], is about the siege of planet [[Kaifeng]] and, more broadly, tests of loyalty for [[Warrior House]] [[[Warrior House Hiritsu|Hiritsu]].
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'''''Binding Force''''', by [[Loren L. Coleman]], provides a glimpse at the inner workings of a Capellan Warrior House against the backdrop of the invasion of [[Kaifeng]].
  
 
== From the back cover ==
 
== From the back cover ==
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{{quote|''[[Aris Sung]] is a rising young star in [[Warrior House Hiritsu|House Hiritsu]], noblest of the [[Warrior House]]s that have sworn allegiance to the [[Capellan Confederation]]. The [[Sarna Supremacy]], a newly formed power in the [[Chaos March]], is giving the Confederation some trouble—and Aris and his Hiritsu Comrades are chosen to give the Sarnans a harsh lesson in Capellan resolve. But there is far more to the mission than meets the eye—and unless Aris beats the odds in a race against time and treachery, all the [[Armor - FF - BattleMechs & Vehicles|ferro-fibrous armor]] in the galaxy won't be enough to save House Hiritsu from the high-explosive cross fire of intrigue and shifting loyalties...''}}
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{{quote|BLOOD, STEEL, AND HONOR<br>''[[Aris Sung]] is a rising young star in [[Warrior House Hiritsu|House Hiritsu]], noblest of the [[Warrior House]]s that have sworn allegiance to the [[Capellan Confederation]]. The [[Sarna Supremacy]], a newly formed power in the [[Chaos March]], is giving the Confederation some trouble&mdash;and Aris and his Hiritsu comrades are chosen to give the Sarnans a harsh lesson in Capellan resolve. But there is far more to the mission than meets the eye&mdash;and unless Aris beats the odds in a race against time and treachery, all the [[Armor - FF - BattleMechs & Vehicles|ferro-fibrous armor]] in the galaxy won't be enough to save House Hiritsu from the high-explosive cross fire of intrigue and shifting loyalties...''}}
  
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== Summary ==
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== Plot Summary ==
 +
===Prologue===
 +
During the New Year celebrations at the Forbidden Palace on [[Sian]] on 21 February [[3058]], [[Chancellor]] [[Sun-Tzu Liao]] summons [[House Master]] [[Ion Rush]] for a private discussion. Rush is anxious that the Chancellor might want to have him killed for his part in the assassination of his mother [[Romano Liao]], of which he is certain the Chancellor is aware. However, the Chancellor instead discusses the Confederation's strategic disposition with him and announces that he will send a Warrior House to invade the Sarna Supremacy, a troublesome state in the newly formed Chaos March that stands in the way of reclaiming old Capellan holdings.
 +
===First Interlude===
 +
On 24 April [[3047]], a 13-year-old Aris Sung has been arrested by Lance Leader [[Ty Wu Non]] for breaking into the House Hiritsu stronghold on [[Randar]] and stealing ''[[Crescent Moon]]'', the ceremonial katana, from the House Master's throne room. Having prepared for this moment for the past 18 months, he manages to impress House Master [[Virginia York]] enough to be accepted into House Hiritsu despite being over-age. Ty Wu Non, who has developed an intense dislike of the street urchin, is named his mentor.
 +
===Chapters 1 through 6===
 +
[[Kaifeng]] has been chosen for the invasion because it is a vital breadbasket world; the other two Sarna Supremacy worlds, [[Sarna]] and [[Sakhalin]], depend on its food exports, making Kaifeng the fulcrum to bring the Sarna Supremacy to its knees.<br>''Jodo Shinsa'', the [[Olympus]]-class recharge station at the zenith [[Jump Point]] of the Kaifeng system, registers the arrival of the [[Merchant]]-class [[JumpShip]] ''Liu'', which emerges with obvious battle damage. This turns out to be a ruse by House Hiritsu, and the station is captured before it can transmit a warning to the planet. However, Aris Sung has to damage its transmitter array in the process when it turns out that modifications to the station have sealed off their intended route to the comm center. The captured station staff are then coerced into cooperating after the transmitter has been repaired, to help cover up the ongoing invasion.
  
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:''The chapters about Aris Sung's back flashes are still missing.''
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During the brief interlude at the recharge station, House Master Virginia York is found murdered and [[Battalion Leader]] Ty Wu Non takes her place as leader of the attack forces. Aboard the Hiritsu JumpShip Tao-te he promotes Aris to company leader ''pro tem'' in his stead, but makes it clear to Aris that he does this so that any failure of the operation will fall upon Aris whose overall plan House Master York had previously decided to accept.
 +
===Second Interlude===
 +
Having put down a rebellion on [[Gei-Fu]], House Master York is present in the Hsien Park in the city of Yushui to personally oversee the execution of the rebel leadership on 8 March [[3051]]. 16-year-old Aris Sung is present as one of the Hiritsu infantrymen on guard duty. Suddenly a ''[[Stinger]]'', the last remaining rebel [[BattleMech]] on the planet, emerges from the nearby river where it had secretly advanced underwater, and attacks the assembled Hiritsu troopers. Using grapple rods from dead infantrymen around him, Aris Sung climbs up to the 'Mech's head and implies his medkit to be a satchel charge. The enemy [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarrior]] surrenders, and Virginia York subsequently assigns the captured ''Stinger'' to Aris, thereby promoting him to the ranks of the Hiritsu MechWarriors.
 +
===Chapters 7 through 18===
 +
While the four Hiritsu [[DropShip]]s move towards Kaifeng, strategy and tactics are discussed and there is some subtle bickering among the MechWarriors concerning the best approach. On 20 July, shortly before the DropShips enter the planet's atmosphere, they are surprisingly intercepted by [[Aerospace Fighter]]s who had been hidden behind Kaifeng's moon, Nochen. Faced with the possibility that the enemy is not as unaware of the attack as hoped, Aris makes some last-minute alterations to the battle plan. Somewhat later on the same day, his 'Mech company is engaged in combat in the Tarrahouse district and encounters a trap at Port Terminal 12 North. The well-prepared defenders ([[Jacob's Juggernauts]]) use numerous 'Mechs with heavy tank support, and the Hiritsu troops barely manage to withdraw across the river, losing MechWarrior [[Justin Loup]] and his ''[[Hatchetman]]'' in the process. After some field repairs, Aris decides to change the plan again and move directly into the city of Tarrahouse. When his subordinates object he reasons that the plan was to draw the defenders out of the city, which they have obviously achieved already.
  
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It is the year 3058, New Year's Eve by the Chinese calendar. Chancellor Sun-Tzu Liao takes this as a good omen, to resort to a more aggressive approach of the [[Capellan Confederation]] against the [[Chaos March]] states. He orders House Master [[Ion Rush]] to find a way to significantly weaken the [[Sarna Sovereignty]], the most stable state in the Chaos March. Ion Rush develops a simple plan: The planet Kaifeng exports large amounts of food to the other planets of the Sarna Sovereignty. If the Confederation would conquer that planet, the Sovereignty would not just loose a planet, but it would also have to buy the needed food from their state budget, maybe at the expense of their military budget.  
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They are ambushed again shortly afterwards at a bridge across the Jinxiang River by a [[Kaifeng SMM]] 'Mech company under Major [[Karl Bartlett]]. Seeing Bartlett's BJ-2O ''[[Blackjack Omni]]'', Aris realizes that they are up against regular Sarnese troops and orders a retreat. His own ''[[Wraith]]'' takes damage to its jump jets in mid-jump over the river and falls into the waters where Aris blacks out. After waking up he realizes that he is now behind enemy lines and remembers the ''Stinger'' on Gei-Fu.  He then begins to crawl his 'Mech underwater right into Lake Ch'u Yuan in a park area in Tarrahouse. In the city, Aris Sung meets and befriends [[Li Wynn]], a pickpocket and petty criminal.
  
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House Hiritsu is deployed for the task of conquering Kaifeng. But the planet is heavily guarded: one 'Mech battalion of regular troops and several mercenary companies. So Company Leader [[Aris Sung]] draws up a plan that works perfectly, if not for a traitor: They capture a commercial [[JumpShip]] and fake a havary at the [[charging station]] of Kaifeng. As the attention of the crew is diverted, Capellan infantries storm and capture the space station, before a warning to Kaifeng can be sent. Shortly after, the rest of the troops of House Hiritsu arrive aboard their regular Jump- and DropShips.
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In an administrative building near the ''Dainwu'', the Hiritsu [[Overlord]]-class DropShip landed at the (already secured) Beijing Aerodrome on Kaifeng, the Hiritsu commanders hold a strategy meeting two days later. Aris Sung is considered missing, and it is obvious that the Hiritsu attack had been anticipated by the defenders. Ty Wu Non reveals that the Capellan Confederation's nascent [[WarShip]] navy has enacted a blockade of Sarna and that no reinforcements will be arriving for the defenders. Tarrahouse is the last stronghold of the defenders. Honoring the population's chinese heritage, a cease-fire is announced for the Dragon Boat festival in three days; the Hiritsu officers hope that the defenders will somehow break the cease-fire and thereby lose their standing with the population.
  
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House Hiritsu repairs the damaged radio transmitter of the space station, so no one on Kaifeng would notice a break of routine. Later during that night Aris Sung finds House Master [[Virginia York]] dead in her bureau onboard the space station. Her throat is cut and her blood is splashed all over the walls and her desk. But Aris also notices bruises on her neck: She was strangled! The chief medic seals her corpse and it is sent directly to [[Randar]], with no information published about the circumstances of her death. [[Ty Wu Non]] becomes new House Master of House Hiritsu.
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On 23 July, Aris Sung is frustrated because he still could not relay a message to his House. He learns from Li Wynn about the cease-fire and that a Hiritsu attack is expected before it takes effect. He also learns that the Kaifeng SMM receives intelligence on the attackers' movements from a Hritsu traitor, and are preparing an ambush. One mercenary MechWarrior also takes money from the underground to kick in jewelry stores and banks during urban combat so that they can be robbed. When the Hiritsu attack comes, Aris manages to foil one of the defenders' traps and alerts a fellow Hiritsu 'Mech with molotov cocktails and Hiritsu infantry signals, warning his comrades about the trap. The Hiritsu forces disengage, but cannot evacuate Aris.
 +
===Third interlude===
  
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House Hiritsu quietly approaches Kaifeng, but just as they are about to arrive in the orbit they are assaulted by spacefighters which hid at Nochen, the moon of Kaifeng. House Hiritsu breaks through the fighters and drops it's troops. But how did the Kaifeng-militia know they were coming?
 
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The 2nd company under Aris Sung attacks the port of the city Tarrahause to stop the flow of agricultural products to the capital. But they are ambushed by mercenary forces. How did they know that the Hiritsu Company would concentrate on the port? The company retreats into the wilderness, losing one 'Mech including it's pilot. Aris Sung decides to scrap this part of his plan and to attack Tarrahause directly.
 
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The 2nd company marches towards Tarrahause. Just as they are about to cross a bridge, they are again ambushed, this time by regular Kaifeng-militia. Sung tries to jump to the other side of the river in his [[Wraith]], but is hit in mid-air. Aris sung looses consciousness and his 'Mech disappears in the waters. Demoralized, the rest of his company retreats again.
 
−
 
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In the meantime, the 3rd Hiritsu Company successfully conquered it's objectives on the southern continent and sends all available forces to the 1st company as reinforcements. The 1st Hiritsu Company secures a base at Beijing Airport, not far from the capital of Mahabodhi.
 
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As Aris Sung is "missing in action", [[Terry Chan]] is promoted new commander of the 2nd company. As Tarrahause has become the main obstacle to conquering Kaifeng, Ty Wu Non presents his next plan: The governor of Kaifeng has asked for a 72-hour ceasefire, so the population can celebrate a Chinese spring festival. And as the Capellan Confederation worships its Chinese heritage, House Hiritsu will officially accept this offer. But unofficially Ty Wu Non wants to provoke the Kaifeng forces into breaking the ceasefire. Hiritsu troops would attack Tarrahause about 1 hour before the ceasefire is in effect and when the defenders counter-attack, House Hiritsu would have every right to conquer the city.
 
−
 
−
Aris Sung still lives. And he has realized that he could easily enter Tarrahause with his 'Mech: by staying underwater. Aris Sung goes into Tarrahause and leaves his mech underwater in the city lake. Then he decides to mix unto the population to gain intelligence. He makes friends with [[Li Wynn]], a teenage criminal. And Li Wynn invites him to a robbery: Hiritsu 'Mechs will attack the following night, at this time, in that district of the city. They will be awaited by Kaifeng-defenders. And in the ongoing chaos Li, Aris and others could easily rob a jeweler or a bank. Aris asks Li, how he knows that House Hiritsu would attack. He answers, that's easy: He knows it from a soldier and the Kaifeng-militia knows it from a traitor in House Hiritsu.
 
−
 
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Close to midnight, the attack of House Hiritsu is about to start, the defenders are waiting, and so are Aris and the criminals. They split up and Aris exchanges his tools for several Molotov cocktails. When the fighting starts, he marks several Kaifeng 'Mechs with Molotov cocktails, so they are easier to see for the Hiritsu warriors. Next he openly approaches one the Hiritsu 'Mechs and gives standardized Hiritsu hand-signals: "Enemy 'Mechs and DropShip ahead. Retreat." The Hiritsu 'Mech pilot realizes the trap, but has to retreat, before he can pick up Aris.
 
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Ty Wu Non is glad to hear that Aris is alive. (He is Aris' mentor, though he never really liked him.) Maybe he knows why the Kaifeng-militia can constantly lure House Hiritsu into traps? Someone has to sneak into Tarrahause as a civilian and find Aris Sung. Terry Chan says, she would go, as it's her fault that Sung was separated from his company. Ty Wu Non wonders why, because she never liked Aris Sung either and would also loose command of the 2nd company if Sung returned. But he grants her wish.
 
−
 
−
Meanwhile Aris Sung tries to find out, who the traitor is. The next night he goes into a night club, where members of the Kaifeng militia regularly hang out. He overhears one [[Major]] [[Karl Bartlett]] worrying, that House Hiritsu will break the ceasefire and directly attack the festivities. Sung is perplex. House Hiritsu would never do that. Why is Bartlett missling his own soldiers? All of a sudden Terry Chan appears with a loud "Aris Sung! How are you doing?" and a long kiss, rubbing her body at his. They leave the nightclub as if they are a couple, but Bartlett awaits them at the sidewalk. Aris Sung is shocked as Terry Chan identifies herself with a code sentence as an ally of Bartlett. She is the traitor!
 
−
 
−
Li Wynn watches the scene from a distance and knows, trouble is brewing. Aris Sung is handcuffed and stuffed into the trunk of a car. Li Wynn sneaks behind the steering wheel and hears Bartlett mentioning, that two Kaifeng 'Mechs will be painted like Hiritsu 'Mechs and then attack the Dragonboat Festival in Tarrahause. That would force the military command of Kaifeng to change course to a more aggressive approach against House Hiritsu. Li Wynn realizes that Aris belongs to House Hiritsu, but that he also has always acted as a friend. Li Wynn starts the car and he and Aris are off.
 
−
 
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The next day Aris and Li hang out at the Dragonboat Festival at the lake of Tarrahause. Aris does not want all these innocents to die and that means he has to get into his 'Mech and that means, he has to get somehow to the middle of the lake. Li Wynn manages to place them both as rowers on a raceboat. In the midst of the race, suddenly two 'Mechs, a [[Blackjack]] and a [[Raven]], appear at the promenade and open fire into several cars and buildings. Aris jumps out of the boat and dives to his 'Mech. He jumps with his Wraith into battle and the two Kaifeng 'Mech pilots are shocked, that they are interrupted. The plan was to cause as much destruction as possible without killing too many civilians. And now this! Aris Sung destroys the two Kaifeng 'Mechs and then jumps back into the lake, leaving Tarrahause the way he came in: underwater in the river.
 
−
 
−
Terry Chan reports to Ty Wu Non, that she could not find Aris Sung. But as he was engaged in a fight in Tarrahause, he is probably waging his own private war. Ty Wu Non gives orders to all House troops that Aris Sung is considered a renegade and has to be arrested.
 
−
 
−
Knowing the patrol-routines of House Hiritsu, Aris Sung has little problem infiltrating the Hiritsu headquarter at night. Nevertheless he has to force the guard at Ty Wu Nons bureau at gunpoint to ask Ty Wu Non to open the door. Ty Wu Non appears with a gun. Aris Sung gives him his gun and then declares, that he is ready to report on the events in Tarrahause. Ty Wu Non orders the guard to take care of all traces Aris Sung left during his infiltration and to keep quiet about this matter.
 
−
 
−
Aris Sung reports, that Terry Chan is the traitor and that she works with one Major Karl Bartlett from the Kaifeng-militia. He reports also, that [[Lieutenant-General]] [[Cynthia Fallon]], the commander of the Kaifeng-militia, is not fully aware of Bartlett's actions. Ty Wu Non doesn't want to believe all this, but Aris offers him an idea for an easy test.
 
−
 
−
Ty Wu Non gathers all officers in the headquarter and presents a new attack plan: He will offer General Fallon the possibility of final field-battle and she will have to accept or she will loose her reputation among the population. When Fallon would lead her troops towards Beijing, she would have to follow a street alongside a river. And Hiritsu troops would crush her with a flank attack from underwater. Who will transmit the plan to the rest of the Hiritsu officers for their comments? To Ty Wu Non's deep disappointment Terry Chan volunteered.
 
−
 
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She went to the radio transmitter with a chip containing the plan. There she prepared a transmission on a frequency she knew Bartlett's aides were listening to. The transmission contained a draw-up of the plan and several 'Mech designs, at which the Kaifeng-militia should not fire. She tried to send, but it didn't work. Again. Nothing. Suddenly Aris Sung and Ty Wu Non appeared and arrested Terry Chan. Aris identified five traitors, including Terry Chan, by their 'Mech designs. Terry Chan was astonished: There should have been six 'Mech designs! Why did he leave one of her fellows off the hook? Never mind. At least someone would continue her work.
 
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In the end, Aris sent her transmission anyway. Ty Wu Non declared, that he intentionally created this plan as a trap for the Kaifeng forces. There will be a flank attack, but from the woods, not from the river. And Terry Chan and the other traitors would serve as bait!
 
−
 
−
Both sides positioned their forces for the final battle: General Fallon led the Kaifeng-militia and the mercenaries along the predicted route. Terry Chan and the four others were positioned underwater. They opposed Ty Wu Non, but they considered themselves still loyal to the House as a whole. The rest of the House waited in the woods.
 
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When Fallon's forces arrived, Terry and the others came over the dam and tried to inflict as much damage as possible. The defenders thought that this was the deciding moment and focused all their attention on the river. In that moment, the Hiritsu main force activated their 'Mechs and opened fire on the weak backs of the defenders. The defenders lost several 'Mechs in the initial salvo and House Hiritsu brought the rest down with it's superior MechWarrior skills. The five traitors died during the battle.
 
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Kaifeng was conquered. House Hiritsu arranged a festivity, in which Kaifeng would be declared part of the Capellan Confederation. Aris Sung knew that there was one last thing to do: He found company-leader [[Thomas Lindell]] alone in an abandoned room and confronted him being the murderer of Virginia York. Thomas Lindell stayed cool. Aris Sung accused him, that he killed Virginia York for personal motives because he knew, that Ty Wu Non would become next House Master and not Lindell. Lindell calmly replied: "And that's a reason to strangle her?" That is what Aris Sung had waited for: Only Sung, the chief medic and the murderer knew, that York had been strangled before her throat was cut. Aris Sung killed Lindell with a strike of his ceremonial sword.
 
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With Kaifeng lost for the Sarna Sovereignty, Sun-Tzu Liao ordered to cease further actions against it. Time was working for him.
 
  
 
== Featured characters ==
 
== Featured characters ==
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== Featured places ==
 
== Featured places ==
 +
* [[Gei-Fu]]
 
* [[Kaifeng]]
 
* [[Kaifeng]]
 
* [[Randar]]
 
* [[Randar]]
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== Featured Units ==
 
== Featured Units ==
 
* [[Warrior House Hiritsu|House Hiritsu]]
 
* [[Warrior House Hiritsu|House Hiritsu]]
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* Kaifeng SMM
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* [[Kaifeng SMM]]
 
* [[Jacob's Juggernauts]]
 
* [[Jacob's Juggernauts]]
 
* [[Ace Darwin's WhipIts]]
 
* [[Ace Darwin's WhipIts]]
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* ''[[Battle Hawk]]''
 
* ''[[Battle Hawk]]''
 
* ''[[Blackjack (BattleMech)|Blackjack]]''
 
* ''[[Blackjack (BattleMech)|Blackjack]]''
 +
* ''[[Blackjack Omni]]''
 
* ''[[Cataphract]]''
 
* ''[[Cataphract]]''
 
* ''[[Charger]]''
 
* ''[[Charger]]''
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* ''[[Merchant]]''
 
* ''[[Merchant]]''
 
===Other===
 
===Other===
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* ''[[Olympus]]''-class space station
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* ''[[Olympus]]''-class space station (modified, with several decks of long-term storage lockers)
  
 
[[Category:Novels]]
 
[[Category:Novels]]
 
[[Category:Classic BattleTech novels]]
 
[[Category:Classic BattleTech novels]]
 
[[Category:Works by Loren L. Coleman]]
 
[[Category:Works by Loren L. Coleman]]

Revision as of 15:09, 25 June 2009

Template:InfoBoxNovel

Binding Force, by Loren L. Coleman, provides a glimpse at the inner workings of a Capellan Warrior House against the backdrop of the invasion of Kaifeng.

From the back cover

“ BLOOD, STEEL, AND HONOR
Aris Sung is a rising young star in House Hiritsu, noblest of the Warrior Houses that have sworn allegiance to the Capellan Confederation. The Sarna Supremacy, a newly formed power in the Chaos March, is giving the Confederation some trouble—and Aris and his Hiritsu comrades are chosen to give the Sarnans a harsh lesson in Capellan resolve. But there is far more to the mission than meets the eye—and unless Aris beats the odds in a race against time and treachery, all the ferro-fibrous armor in the galaxy won't be enough to save House Hiritsu from the high-explosive cross fire of intrigue and shifting loyalties... 		”

Plot Summary

Prologue

During the New Year celebrations at the Forbidden Palace on Sian on 21 February 3058, Chancellor Sun-Tzu Liao summons House Master Ion Rush for a private discussion. Rush is anxious that the Chancellor might want to have him killed for his part in the assassination of his mother Romano Liao, of which he is certain the Chancellor is aware. However, the Chancellor instead discusses the Confederation's strategic disposition with him and announces that he will send a Warrior House to invade the Sarna Supremacy, a troublesome state in the newly formed Chaos March that stands in the way of reclaiming old Capellan holdings.

First Interlude

On 24 April 3047, a 13-year-old Aris Sung has been arrested by Lance Leader Ty Wu Non for breaking into the House Hiritsu stronghold on Randar and stealing Crescent Moon, the ceremonial katana, from the House Master's throne room. Having prepared for this moment for the past 18 months, he manages to impress House Master Virginia York enough to be accepted into House Hiritsu despite being over-age. Ty Wu Non, who has developed an intense dislike of the street urchin, is named his mentor.

Chapters 1 through 6

Kaifeng has been chosen for the invasion because it is a vital breadbasket world; the other two Sarna Supremacy worlds, Sarna and Sakhalin, depend on its food exports, making Kaifeng the fulcrum to bring the Sarna Supremacy to its knees.
Jodo Shinsa, the Olympus-class recharge station at the zenith Jump Point of the Kaifeng system, registers the arrival of the Merchant-class JumpShip Liu, which emerges with obvious battle damage. This turns out to be a ruse by House Hiritsu, and the station is captured before it can transmit a warning to the planet. However, Aris Sung has to damage its transmitter array in the process when it turns out that modifications to the station have sealed off their intended route to the comm center. The captured station staff are then coerced into cooperating after the transmitter has been repaired, to help cover up the ongoing invasion.

During the brief interlude at the recharge station, House Master Virginia York is found murdered and Battalion Leader Ty Wu Non takes her place as leader of the attack forces. Aboard the Hiritsu JumpShip Tao-te he promotes Aris to company leader pro tem in his stead, but makes it clear to Aris that he does this so that any failure of the operation will fall upon Aris whose overall plan House Master York had previously decided to accept.

Second Interlude

Having put down a rebellion on Gei-Fu, House Master York is present in the Hsien Park in the city of Yushui to personally oversee the execution of the rebel leadership on 8 March 3051. 16-year-old Aris Sung is present as one of the Hiritsu infantrymen on guard duty. Suddenly a Stinger, the last remaining rebel BattleMech on the planet, emerges from the nearby river where it had secretly advanced underwater, and attacks the assembled Hiritsu troopers. Using grapple rods from dead infantrymen around him, Aris Sung climbs up to the 'Mech's head and implies his medkit to be a satchel charge. The enemy MechWarrior surrenders, and Virginia York subsequently assigns the captured Stinger to Aris, thereby promoting him to the ranks of the Hiritsu MechWarriors.

Chapters 7 through 18

While the four Hiritsu DropShips move towards Kaifeng, strategy and tactics are discussed and there is some subtle bickering among the MechWarriors concerning the best approach. On 20 July, shortly before the DropShips enter the planet's atmosphere, they are surprisingly intercepted by Aerospace Fighters who had been hidden behind Kaifeng's moon, Nochen. Faced with the possibility that the enemy is not as unaware of the attack as hoped, Aris makes some last-minute alterations to the battle plan. Somewhat later on the same day, his 'Mech company is engaged in combat in the Tarrahouse district and encounters a trap at Port Terminal 12 North. The well-prepared defenders (Jacob's Juggernauts) use numerous 'Mechs with heavy tank support, and the Hiritsu troops barely manage to withdraw across the river, losing MechWarrior Justin Loup and his Hatchetman in the process. After some field repairs, Aris decides to change the plan again and move directly into the city of Tarrahouse. When his subordinates object he reasons that the plan was to draw the defenders out of the city, which they have obviously achieved already.

They are ambushed again shortly afterwards at a bridge across the Jinxiang River by a Kaifeng SMM 'Mech company under Major Karl Bartlett. Seeing Bartlett's BJ-2O Blackjack Omni, Aris realizes that they are up against regular Sarnese troops and orders a retreat. His own Wraith takes damage to its jump jets in mid-jump over the river and falls into the waters where Aris blacks out. After waking up he realizes that he is now behind enemy lines and remembers the Stinger on Gei-Fu. He then begins to crawl his 'Mech underwater right into Lake Ch'u Yuan in a park area in Tarrahouse. In the city, Aris Sung meets and befriends Li Wynn, a pickpocket and petty criminal.

In an administrative building near the Dainwu, the Hiritsu Overlord-class DropShip landed at the (already secured) Beijing Aerodrome on Kaifeng, the Hiritsu commanders hold a strategy meeting two days later. Aris Sung is considered missing, and it is obvious that the Hiritsu attack had been anticipated by the defenders. Ty Wu Non reveals that the Capellan Confederation's nascent WarShip navy has enacted a blockade of Sarna and that no reinforcements will be arriving for the defenders. Tarrahouse is the last stronghold of the defenders. Honoring the population's chinese heritage, a cease-fire is announced for the Dragon Boat festival in three days; the Hiritsu officers hope that the defenders will somehow break the cease-fire and thereby lose their standing with the population.

On 23 July, Aris Sung is frustrated because he still could not relay a message to his House. He learns from Li Wynn about the cease-fire and that a Hiritsu attack is expected before it takes effect. He also learns that the Kaifeng SMM receives intelligence on the attackers' movements from a Hritsu traitor, and are preparing an ambush. One mercenary MechWarrior also takes money from the underground to kick in jewelry stores and banks during urban combat so that they can be robbed. When the Hiritsu attack comes, Aris manages to foil one of the defenders' traps and alerts a fellow Hiritsu 'Mech with molotov cocktails and Hiritsu infantry signals, warning his comrades about the trap. The Hiritsu forces disengage, but cannot evacuate Aris.

Third interlude

Featured characters

Featured places

Featured Units

Featured BattleTech

BattleMechs

Vehicles

AeroSpace Fighters

DropShips

JumpShips

Other

  • Olympus-class space station (modified, with several decks of long-term storage lockers)

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