Face in the Viewport

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Face in the Viewport
Story information
Author Robert Thurston
Pages 5
Type Short story
Product BattleTech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction
Content
Era Clan Invasion era
Timeline 19 October 3069

"Face in the Viewport" is a short story by Robert Thurston about Clan Jade Falcon warrior Horse. It is featured in the BattleTech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction anthology.

Plot Summary[edit]

Horse, once a Star Commander, has become solahma, a veteran so old the Clan gave him the choice to decommission or become cannon fodder. As a true MechWarrior, he chose battle, even if it would be without a 'Mech. Badly injured and dazed, he stumbles upon a working Elemental battlesuit in the middle of a smoky battlefield. The Elemental inside it had died, but Horse is able to pull his large body out of the armor and then climb in himself. The suit's automated medipack and HarJel relieve his pain and stop his bleeding. Meanwhile, he remembers the bitterness of Joanna, who like him is now solahma and had charged off into battle looking for a warrior's death that never seems to come. He also thinks about his friend Aidan Pryde and their times together, and how he still hears Aidan's voice decades later.

Hidden in the armor, Horse avoids an enemy soldier that dishonors the body of the Elemental he had taken out of the suit. Slowly his disorientation starts to recede, though it never clears. Heading back to the battle he comes across another Jade Falcon warrior who calls him an inspiration as Horse had earned lines in The Remembrance. In the tenebrous front line they become separated and Horse finds himself surrounded by four enemy fighters. He kills all four, his actions instinctual, letting him feel like a warrior again if even for a moment. He trudges back into the smoke, hoping to find the soldier that abused the Elemental's body, so that he can kill one more monster before he finally gains a warrior's death.

Notes[edit]

  • The short story implies that both Horse and Joanna are killed in action, either in the immediate battle or shortly thereafter.
  • There are no BattleMechs in the story.

Featured Characters[edit]

Featured Systems[edit]