Sarna News: Bad 'Mechs - Icestorm

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== From the back cover (translated from German) ==
 
== From the back cover (translated from German) ==
{{quote|''The invasion fleets from the [[Magistracy of Canopus]] descend on the [[Capellan Confederation]] at the same time as those from the [[Duchy of Andurien]]. A marriage between [[Emma Centrella]], [[Magestrix]] [[Kyalla Centrella]]'s only daughter, and [[Richard Humphreys (31st c.)|Richard Humphreys]], youngest son of Duchess [[Catherine Humphreys|Catherine]], would be an ideal match to strengthen the alliance between the two interstellar realms. However, both Emma and Richard have a mind of their own. Amidst the laser flashes of [[aerospace fighter]]s and the thundering guns of [[BattleMech]]s they fight for their freedom. Yet personal dreams count for little when lords order their troops to battle...''}}
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{{quote|''The invasion fleets from the [[Magistracy of Canopus]] descend on the [[Capellan Confederation]] at the same time as those from the [[Duchy of Andurien]]. A marriage between [[Emma Centrella]], [[Magestrix]] [[Kyalla Centrella]]'s only daughter, and [[Richard Humphreys]], youngest son of Duchess [[Catherine Humphreys|Catherine]], would be an ideal match to strengthen the alliance between the two interstellar realms. However, both Emma and Richard have a mind of their own. Amidst the laser flashes of [[aerospace fighter]]s and the thundering guns of [[BattleMech]]s they fight for their freedom. Yet personal dreams count for little when lords order their troops to battle...''}}
  
 
== Plot Summary ==
 
== Plot Summary ==
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However, Richard is very straightforward about the fact that he will never love Emma, and intends to reunite with the love of his life, [[Elala Cisne]]. (Elala got pregnant with their daughter when they were both still very young. They sought an illegal abortion but were found out; Dame Humphreys banished them into exile separately and now raises her grandchild [[Dalma Humphreys]] like her own child.) Emma finds herself drawn to Richard and hurt by what she perceives as being rejected. She embarks on maneuvers with the [[Ramilie's Raiders]] [[mercenary unit]] and has a tryst with [[Nicolas Ramilie]], a smart, tough and aggressive [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarrior]] who will one day inherit command of the invaluable mercenary unit from his father.
 
However, Richard is very straightforward about the fact that he will never love Emma, and intends to reunite with the love of his life, [[Elala Cisne]]. (Elala got pregnant with their daughter when they were both still very young. They sought an illegal abortion but were found out; Dame Humphreys banished them into exile separately and now raises her grandchild [[Dalma Humphreys]] like her own child.) Emma finds herself drawn to Richard and hurt by what she perceives as being rejected. She embarks on maneuvers with the [[Ramilie's Raiders]] [[mercenary unit]] and has a tryst with [[Nicolas Ramilie]], a smart, tough and aggressive [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarrior]] who will one day inherit command of the invaluable mercenary unit from his father.
  
Emma and Richard form a bond over their feelings that both of their lives are overshadowed by their respective mothers. Unwilling to be forced into a purely political marriage, they engineer a scandal to derail their engagement where Richard is "accidentally" caught red-handed by Emma (and several reporter teams with cameras) kissing a girl from her entourage. A derogatory comment directed at Emma makes Nicolas, who is not in on the act, punch Richard in response. Richard leaves with the prearranged statement that he shall leave on the next JumpShip.
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Emma and Richard form a bond over their feelings that both of their lives are overshadowed by their respective mothers. Unwilling to be forced into a purely political marriage, they engineer a scandal where Richard is "accidentally" caught red-handed by Emma (and several reporter teams with cameras) kissing a girl from her entourage. A derogatory comment directed at Emma makes Nicolas, who is not in on the act, punch Richard in response. Richard leaves with the prearranged statement that he shall leave on the next JumpShip.
  
The failed engagement causes a rift between Emma and her mother, the Magestrix Kyalla Centrella, to widen. Emma, now a [[Force Major]], is sent into de facto exile on the distant protectorate colony world of [[Detroit]] with her [[battalion]] of the [[2nd Canopian Cuirassiers]]. Much to her distaste, the Magistracy is supporting a brutal local king there, to gain a foothold on the valuable planet which is also wooed by the [[Capellan Confederation]]. Nicolas is later also posted to Detroit, and they take up their affair.
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The failed engagement causes a rift between Emma and her mother, the Magestrix Kyalla Centrella, to widen. Emma, now a [[Force Major]], is sent into de-facto exile on the distant protectorate colony world of [[Detroit]] with her [[battalion]] of the [[2nd Canopian Cuirassiers]]. Much to her distaste, the Magistracy is supporting a brutal local king there, to gain a foothold on the valuable planet which is also wooed by the [[Capellan Confederation]]. Nicolas is later also posted to Detroit, and they take up their affair.
  
 
A year later, in September 3030, the 2nd Cuirassiers are ordered on extensive maneuvers. Aboard the [[DropShip]], a saboteur's bomb—planted into a leg of Nicolas' ''[[Hammerhands]]'' by a technician—ruptures a vacuum tunnel and nearly kills Nicolas. After being saved by Emma, he shoots the saboteur's knee with his sidearm, almost amputating the leg. Emma is called away to the command center on the JumpShip where a recorded message from her mother informs her that the Magistracy is attacking the Capellan Confederation together with the Duchy of Andurien; the maneuvers were actually a mobilization.
 
A year later, in September 3030, the 2nd Cuirassiers are ordered on extensive maneuvers. Aboard the [[DropShip]], a saboteur's bomb—planted into a leg of Nicolas' ''[[Hammerhands]]'' by a technician—ruptures a vacuum tunnel and nearly kills Nicolas. After being saved by Emma, he shoots the saboteur's knee with his sidearm, almost amputating the leg. Emma is called away to the command center on the JumpShip where a recorded message from her mother informs her that the Magistracy is attacking the Capellan Confederation together with the Duchy of Andurien; the maneuvers were actually a mobilization.
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Ixo Lin (in his role as local cult leader) finally arranges a meeting between Richard and Elala. It turns out that Elala, after a decade in exile, has turned her back on Andurien and has embraced Capellan citizenship; she is also married to a big Capellan now who is so overweight that Richard thinks of him as a fat Buddha statue. Elala rejects Richard and calls their daughter a mistake, pulling the rug out from under him.
 
Ixo Lin (in his role as local cult leader) finally arranges a meeting between Richard and Elala. It turns out that Elala, after a decade in exile, has turned her back on Andurien and has embraced Capellan citizenship; she is also married to a big Capellan now who is so overweight that Richard thinks of him as a fat Buddha statue. Elala rejects Richard and calls their daughter a mistake, pulling the rug out from under him.
  
Richard subsequently eludes his bodyguards and vanishes. Nicolas, who began an affair with Anastasia out of spite over Emma's care for Richard, flat out blackmails Emma into marrying him with [[BattleROM]] footage from her underwater fight on Repulse and her administration's costly actions on Andarmax in support of Richard. He also informs her that he tipped Ixo Lin off to Richard's true identity. The cultists are taking Richard with them to the ''[[Diamond (Individual JumpShip)|Diamond]]'', a JumpShip bound for [[Principia]]. Emma immediately informs Anastasia of her charge's situation, and together with Loraine they make for the jump point to confront the cultists aboard their DropShip. When they face Lin and the cultists and demand Richard's return, Elala opens fire with a gun. In her untrained hands the gun mortally wounds Anastasia but also starts a fire that threatens to kill all aboard. Emma and Loraine overpower the cultists and rescue a drugged and indifferent Richard, returning him to a hospital on the Andarmax moon of Heinlein.
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Richard subsequently eludes his bodyguards and vanishes. Nicolas, who began an affair with Anastasia out of spite over Emma's care for Richard, flat out blackmails Emma into marrying him with [[BattleROM]] footage from her underwater fight on Repulse and her administration's costly actions on Andarmax in support of Richard. He also informs her that he tipped Ixo Lin off to Richard's true identity. The cultists are taking Richard with them to the ''[[Diamond]]'', a JumpShip bound for [[Principia]]. Emma immediately informs Anastasia of her charge's situation, and together with Loraine they make for the jump point to confront the cultists aboard their DropShip. When they face Lin and the cultists and demand Richard's return, Elala opens fire with a gun. In her untrained hands the gun mortally wounds Anastasia and starts a fire. Emma and Loraine overpower the cultists and rescue a drugged and indifferent Richard, returning him to a hospital on the Andarmax moon of Heinlein.
  
On 22 March 3031 Emma visits a recovering Richard in the hospital one last time, informing him of the deaths of both Anastasia (who died from Elala's gunshot) and his sister [[Mildred Humphreys]] (who was assassinated while leading Andurien troops on [[Grand Base]]). Richard has to return to the Duchy of Andurien, and Emma offers to send Elala with him. But since Elala wants to return to the Confederation with her husband, Richard asks Emma to let them go. Emma offers to return the fan, but Richard asks her to keep it to "remember an old friend". (The epigraph preceding this chapter quotes Emma Centrella as Magestrix in [[3068]], reminiscing about how Andarmax played a defining role in her decision to push medical science ahead in the Magistracy because, although the system was largely spared the horrors of war, she witnessed a special person suffer there. She would not say who it was.)
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On 22 March 3031 Emma visits Richard in the hospital one last time, informing him of the deaths of both Anastasia and his sister [[Mildred Humphreys]] (who was assassinated leading Andurien troops on [[Grand Base]]). Richard has to return to the Duchy of Andurien, and Emma offers to send Elala with him. But since Elala wants to return to the Confederation with her husband, Richard asks Emma to let them go. Emma offers to return the fan, but Richard asks her to keep it to "remember an old friend". (The epigraph preceding this chapter quotes Emma Centrella as Magestrix in [[3068]], reminiscing about how Andarmax played a defining role in her decision to push medical science ahead in the Magistracy because, although the system was largely spared the horrors of war, she witnessed a special person suffer there. She would not say who it was.)
  
 
In the epilogue, Emma joins the fighting on [[Drozan]] in the ongoing war, reflecting on the lessons she learned. She decides to marry Nicolas out of responsibility to her nation, to tie his valuable unit to her service and also because he offers her a degree of stability in her life. She also decides to learn what she can from her mother and become a yet better Magestrix in her time, with special attention to education and medicine, a thought somehow tied to Richard's fan.
 
In the epilogue, Emma joins the fighting on [[Drozan]] in the ongoing war, reflecting on the lessons she learned. She decides to marry Nicolas out of responsibility to her nation, to tie his valuable unit to her service and also because he offers her a degree of stability in her life. She also decides to learn what she can from her mother and become a yet better Magestrix in her time, with special attention to education and medicine, a thought somehow tied to Richard's fan.
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*[[Elala Cisne]]
 
*[[Elala Cisne]]
 
*[[Catherine Humphreys]]
 
*[[Catherine Humphreys]]
*[[Richard Humphreys (31st c.)|Richard Humphreys]]
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*[[Richard Humphreys]]
 
*Ixo Lin
 
*Ixo Lin
 
*[[Nicolas Ramilie]]
 
*[[Nicolas Ramilie]]
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==Featured BattleTech==
 
==Featured BattleTech==
 
===BattleMechs===
 
===BattleMechs===
{{div col|colwidth=25em}}
 
 
*''[[Charger]]''
 
*''[[Charger]]''
 
*''[[Cyclops]]''
 
*''[[Cyclops]]''
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*''[[Wasp]]''
 
*''[[Wasp]]''
 
*unnamed [[AgroMech]]s with cattle prods and lasso throwers, imported to Sadurni from [[Galisteo]]
 
*unnamed [[AgroMech]]s with cattle prods and lasso throwers, imported to Sadurni from [[Galisteo]]
{{div col end}}
 
 
 
===Aerospace fighters===
 
===Aerospace fighters===
 
*F-77 ''[[Deathstalker]]''
 
*F-77 ''[[Deathstalker]]''
 
*F-90 ''[[Riever]]''
 
*F-90 ''[[Riever]]''
 
*''[[Thrush]]''
 
*''[[Thrush]]''
 
 
===Vehicles===
 
===Vehicles===
 
*unspecified amphibious cargo vehicles
 
*unspecified amphibious cargo vehicles
 
*unspecified miniature attack submarine
 
*unspecified miniature attack submarine
 
*unspecified 100-ton attack submarine
 
*unspecified 100-ton attack submarine
 
 
===DropShips===
 
===DropShips===
*''[[Buccaneer (DropShip class)|Buccaneer]]''
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*''[[Buccaneer (DropShip)|Buccaneer]]''
 
*''[[Monarch]]'' (''[[Baroness (Individual Monarch-class DropShip)|Baroness]]'')
 
*''[[Monarch]]'' (''[[Baroness (Individual Monarch-class DropShip)|Baroness]]'')
*''[[Union (DropShip class)|Union]]''
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*''[[Union]]''
 
*unspecified gas tanker DropShip, apparently spheroid and heavily modified with bolted-on cargo, "resembling a pineapple with some parts cut out"
 
*unspecified gas tanker DropShip, apparently spheroid and heavily modified with bolted-on cargo, "resembling a pineapple with some parts cut out"
 
 
===JumpShips===
 
===JumpShips===
 
*''[[Invader]]'' (''[[Diver]]'')
 
*''[[Invader]]'' (''[[Diver]]'')
 
*''[[Merchant]]'' (''[[Rana]]'')
 
*''[[Merchant]]'' (''[[Rana]]'')
*unspecified JumpShips ''[[Diamond (Individual JumpShip)|Diamond]]'', ''[[Rabbit]]''
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*unspecified JumpShips ''[[Diamond]]'', ''[[Rabbit]]''
  
 
==Notes==
 
==Notes==
 
*The cover depicts Emma spinning through the hangar in the aftermath of the bomb explosion aboard the DropShip.
 
*The cover depicts Emma spinning through the hangar in the aftermath of the bomb explosion aboard the DropShip.
  
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==References==
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<references/>
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[[Category:Books]]
 
[[Category:Novels]]
 
[[Category:Novels]]
[[Category:German-Language Products]]
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[[Category:German language products]]
 
[[Category:Works by Bernard Craw]]
 
[[Category:Works by Bernard Craw]]

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