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	== From the back cover (1992 edition) ==		== From the back cover (1992 edition) ==
−	{{quote|''[[Galatea]]. The [[Mercenary's Star (hiring hall)|Mercenary's Star]]. Even the most down on their luck units can find work here. Leading the newly-formed [[Gray Death Legion]] is proving to be a hard task for [[Grayson Death Carlyle]], so when a good job comes their way, he is only too happy to take it. The job: train the local resistance on the planet [[Verthandi]] to resist their [[Draconis Combine]] masters.''	+	{{quote|''[[Galatea]]. The [[Mercenary's Star]]. Even the most down on their luck units can find work here. Leading the newly-formed [[Gray Death Legion]] is proving to be a hard task for [[Grayson Death Carlyle]], so when a good job comes their way, he is only too happy to take it. The job: train the local resistance on the planet [[Verthandi]] to resist their [[Draconis Combine]] masters.''
	''But things do not go well almost from the moment the Legion arrives at Verthandi. And Grayson may find that repeating his successes of the past may not be so easy this time.''}}		''But things do not go well almost from the moment the Legion arrives at Verthandi. And Grayson may find that repeating his successes of the past may not be so easy this time.''}}

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{{Otheruses|the novel|the mercenary "homeworld"|Mercenary's Star (hiring hall)}} {{InfoBoxProduct | image = Mercenary's Star.jpg | name = Mercenary's Star | type = Novel | author = [[William H. Keith, Jr.]] | development = | primarywriting = | pages = 367 (original)<br />416 (reprint) | cover = [[David R. Deitrick]] (original)<br />[[Boris Vallejo]] (reprint) | interiorart = [[Jane Aulisio]] (reprint) | illustrations = [[Duane Loose]] | publisher = [[FASA]] (original)<br />[[Roc Books]] (reprint) | productioncode = | year = June 1987 (original)<br />November 1992 (reprint) | ISBN10 = 0451451945 | ISBN13 = | MSRP = $3.95 | content = | era = [[Succession Wars era]] | timeline = 01 October [[3025]] - 30 August [[3026]]<ref>according to the novel's presentation in ''[[BattleTech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction]]'', p. 278; there are no timestamps within the novel itself</ref> | series = [[Saga of the Gray Death Legion]] | precededby = [[Decision at Thunder Rift]] | followedby = [[The Price of Glory]] }} '''''Mercenary's Star''''', by [[William H. Keith, Jr.]], is the second book of the [[Saga of the Gray Death Legion]]. It narrates the newly minted unit's first mercenary contract, supporting a struggling rebellion on the planet [[Verthandi]]. {{BCNovel|on 26 October 2010}} An unabridged audio book edition narrated by [[Tren Sparks]] was released on 12 February 2021 [https://www.audible.com.au/pd/BattleTech-Legends-Audiobook/B08W8N6SGH?qid=1613212852&sr=1-2&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_2&pf_rd_p=771c6463-05d7-4981-9b47-920dc34a70f1&pf_rd_r=20ETJ1XYEF237GAX0ACG]. == From the back cover (1992 edition) == {{quote|''[[Galatea]]. The [[Mercenary's Star]]. Even the most down on their luck units can find work here. Leading the newly-formed [[Gray Death Legion]] is proving to be a hard task for [[Grayson Death Carlyle]], so when a good job comes their way, he is only too happy to take it. The job: train the local resistance on the planet [[Verthandi]] to resist their [[Draconis Combine]] masters.'' ''But things do not go well almost from the moment the Legion arrives at Verthandi. And Grayson may find that repeating his successes of the past may not be so easy this time.''}} == Summary == Desperate for virtually any contract, the Gray Death Legion eventually accepts a contract with one Citizen Devic Erudin from Verthandi, the third planet of the [[Norn]] system, a former [[Lyran Commonwealth]] planet that had to be surrendered to the Draconis Combine around [[3015]] and is now ruthlessly exploited by the Combine. A local guerrilla force has been fighting the Combine forces for the past decade, but the iron grip of the Combine's Governor General Nagumo on Verthandi is tightening. The Gray Death Legion is hired to break through the blockade, smuggle a consignment of arms and equipment to the rebels, and provide cadre duty for at least 900 hours in-system according to the initial contract. Most Gray Death Legion members have misgivings about the contract because if the mission fails they will be stranded on Verthandi as insurgents and at the mercy of the excessively cruel Draconis Combine. However, when given the option to back out, none of the mercenaries do. The unit sets out on the freighter [[DropShip]] ''[[Phobos (Individual Trojan-class DropShip)|Phobos]]'', disguised as a ''[[Union]]''-class military DropShip. Brought to Norn by [[Renfred Tor]]'s [[JumpShip]] ''[[Invidious (Individual Merchant-class JumpShip)|Invidious]]'', the ''Phobos'' assumes a false identity, but a spy on Galatea has already alerted the enemy authorities of their arrival. On 25 October 3025, the ''Phobos'' is intercepted by [[aerospace fighter]]s and DropShips from the base on Verthandi's moon, Verthandi Alpha. The freighter manages to break through, suffering severe damage and the loss of the Legion's two ''[[Chippewa]]'' fighters in the process. One of the ''Chippewa'' pilots, [[Sue Ellen Klein]], survives and is captured by Kurita forces. The ''Phobos'' crash-lands on a shore 200 km from its intended rendezvous with the rebel leadership, but makes contact with rebel forces and fends off a hasty attack by Combine troops. It is subsequently set afloat on the Azure Sea with a jury-rigged steam propulsion system, headed for what is hopefully a secure port 500 km away under the cover of night and a storm front to prevent its capture by the Combine forces. Realizing that their only chance to leave the planet again without being killed or captured by the merciless Combine forces is for the rebellion to succeed the Gray Death Legion begins training the "[[Free Verthandi Rangers]]," a disparate rebel army of BattleMechs, armed IndustrialMechs, infantry and support vehicles. However, the rebel leadership aims for a quick victory. Against Carlyle's advice, their Rangers soon launch an ill-fated attack against the capital city of Regis, hoping to decapitate the occupying forces' government. Although the Gray Death Legion was explicitly not hired to fight, Carlyle moves his 'Mechs to Regis on a hunch and, involving his unit in the fight against orders, manages to save some of the trapped Rangers and lead them back to their secret base on Fox Island. Almost against his will, he becomes their war leader following the death of the rebel general in the attack. The Combine forces dupe the captive Sue Ellen Klein into revealing the name of one of the Gray Death Legion's contacts, which in turn allows them to pinpoint their secret base. Nagumo orders a DEST raid against the base which costs the Rangers most of their equipment and support personnel, and most importantly, their support infrastructure. The bulk of the Rangers were away on a mission thus survive the attack. Under Carlyle's skilled leadership they begin a very successful guerrilla campaign against the Kurita occupation, and civil unrest spreads across Verthandi. Carlyle's troops manage to send a signal to the ''Invidious'' when it reappears at the jump point (as had been prearranged at the onset of the mission). Following Carlyle's message Renfred Tor returns to [[Galatea]] to organize support for the Free Verthandi Rangers. He contacts [[Salvor Steiner-Reese]], the Lyran ambassador, unaware that the Combine spy on Galatea was ordered to send assassins after him. Although initially reluctant, Steiner-Reese is convinced by the assassins' attack that Verthandi is obviously important enough for House Kurita to try and prevent Tor from obtaining Steiner-Reese's help. Meanwhile on Verthandi, the Gray Death Legion moves back into the abandoned Fox Island facility, assuming it to be the last place where the Combine will look for their base. Governor General Nagumo inadvertently sparks a full rebellion by arresting and executing high-ranking government officials for supporting the rebellion, after having learned their names from a captive. Nagumo's Lord, none other than [[Duke]] [[Hassid Ricol]], Carlyle's nemesis, arrives on-planet and is decidedly unhappy about the situation he finds. The cunning Duke divines that Carlyle's rebels would have reacquired the Fox Island base. However, Carlyle expected as much. When the Kurita forces attack, the base is heavily mined and fortified, but in reality just a decoy while the Free Verthandi Rangers use the opportunity to strike at the airfield near the University (and government center) to deny the Kurita troops their aerospace fighter support forthwith. Going against the plan, the Verthandi rebels storm the University tower when they perceive an opening in the enemy defense. The result is a rout for the Free Verthandi Rangers, and a falling-out between Carlyle and Verthandian Colonel [[Tollen Brasednewic]]. Duke Ricol decides to leave Nagumo in charge after the battle (for lack of a better alternative) and leaves the planet. The Kurita control is soon reduced to Regis and the starport area. Nagumo realizes the rebels are still dependent on raiding Combine supply depots, and prepares one to be a trap. Led by Carlyle, the raiding force narrowly escapes the trap but Lori Kalmar's ''[[Locust]]'' is destroyed and she is captured. Arguing that his executive officer could be tortured to reveal critical information to the enemy, Carlyle tries to organize an extraction raid against the University Tower (where the Kurita prisoners are held and tortured) but cannot bring Brasednewic to cooperate. Consequently, the Gray Death Legion embarks on the mission without the Verthandi Free Rangers. They sneak their BattleMechs and infantry onto the University perimeter through a secret tunnel and start a mass breakout of prisoners (including Devic Erudin). Sue Ellen Klein confronts and (it is implied) kills Nagumo. Carlyle literally rescues Kalmar from a torture chamber. As the battle in and around the university building degrades into chaos, they commandeer an enemy ''[[Marauder]]'' from the repair hangar but before long, the Gray Death Legion find themselves and the prisoners cut-off and besieged. They are saved by the arrival of the Free Verthandi Rangers, after Brasednewic had a change of heart. The entire city of Regis joins in the uprising, ejecting the Kurita troops. Over the next days, Combine forces from across the planet move to the starport, the only area they still hold, and a standoff ensues. Both the Lyran Commonwealth and Duke Ricol have sent relief fleets which arrive within a few days of each other, keeping each other in check. Ricol has little choice but to accept the peace agreement the ranking Draconis Combine officer had already signed. ==Featured Characters== {{div col|colwidth=25em}} * [[Carlin Adams]] * [[Tollen Brasednewic]] * [[Grayson Carlyle]] * [[Nadine Cheka]] * [[Li Chin]] * [[Delmar Clay]] * [[Collin Dace]] * [[Piter Debrowski]] * [[Garn Dober]] * [[Gunnar Ericksson]] * [[Devic Erudin]] * [[Olav Haraldssen]] * [[Carlotta Helgameyer]] * [[Lori Kalmar]] * [[Valdis Kevlavic]] * [[Hassan Ali Khaled]] * [[Sue Ellen Klein]] * [[Isoru Kodo]] * [[Syneson Lon]] * [[Ilse Martinez]] * [[Davis McCall]] * [[Vincent Mills]] * [[Rolf Montido]] * [[Masayoshi Nagumo]] * [[Harriman Olssen]] * [[Karl Olssen]] * [[Rodney Pallonby]] * [[Jeffrie Sherman]] * [[Raoul da Silva]] * [[Olin Sonovarro]] * [[Salvor Steiner-Reese]] * [[Kestrel Syrnan]] * [[Janice Taylor]] * [[James Thorvald]] * [[Renfred Tor]] * [[Vikki Trexxen]] * [[Jenni Vikna]] * [[Janon Vlade]] * [[Jaleg Yorulis]] {{div col end}} ==Featured places== * [[Galatea]] * [[Verthandi]] ==Featured BattleTech== ===BattleMechs=== {{div col|colwidth=25em}} * ''[[Archer]]'' * ''[[Assassin]]'' * ''[[Centurion (BattleMech)|Centurion]]'' * ''[[Commando]]'' * ''[[Crusader]]'' * ''[[Dervish]]'' * ''[[Griffin]]'' * ''[[Hermes II]]'' * ''[[Jenner]]'' * ''[[Locust]] * ''[[Marauder]]'' * ''[[Orion]]'' * ''[[Panther]]'' * ''[[Phoenix Hawk]]'' * ''[[Rifleman]]'' * ''[[Shadow Hawk]]'' * ''[[Stinger]]'' * ''[[Trebuchet]]'' * ''[[Vulcan (BattleMech)|Vulcan]]'' * ''[[Warhammer]]'' * ''[[Wasp]]'' * ''[[Wolverine]]'' {{div col end}} ===Aerospace Fighters=== * ''[[Chippewa]]'' * ''[[Shilone]]'' * ''[[Slayer]]'' ===DropShips=== * ''[[Leopard (DropShip class)|Leopard]]-class'' (''[[Xao]]'', ''[[Subotai]]'') * ''[[Trojan]]-class'' (''[[Deimos (Individual DropShip)|Deimos]]'', ''[[Phobos (Individual Trojan-class DropShip)|Phobos]]'') ===JumpShips=== * ''[[Merchant]]-class'' (''[[Invidious (Individual Merchant-class JumpShip)|Invidious]]'') ===Other=== * unspecified [[IndustrialMech]]s (variously referred to as AgroMechs, HarvestMechs, LoggerMechs, and PickerMechs) including quadrupedal 60-ton LoggerMechs (''[[Heavy Forester]]''), some refitted to carry weapons * [[Galleon]] tanks * [[Mobile HQ]] * [[Calaveri 10 mm Auto-Pistol|Calaveri 10 mm Automatic Pistol]] * [[Magna 5 mm Laser Rifle]] ==Featured units== *[[3rd Strike Regiment (Draconis Combine)|Third Strike Regiment]] *[[5th Fleet (Draconis Combine)|Draconis Combine Fifth Fleet]] *[[First Tamar Fleet]] *[[Free Verthandi Rangers]] *[[DEST 4]] *[[Gray Death Legion]] ==Foreign-Language Editions== ===Czech=== A Czech edition, translated by Robert Hoffmann, was published by [[ALTAR Publishing]] in 1996 as ''Žoldnéřova hvězda'' (ISBN 8085979047).<ref>WorldCat entry for ''[https://www.worldcat.org/title/37250688 Žoldnéřova hvězda]''</ref><ref>National Library of the Czech Republic entry for [https://aleph.nkp.cz/F/?func=direct&doc_number=000102943&local_base=NKC ''Žoldnéřova hvězda'']</ref> ===German=== A German edition, translated by [[Reinhold H. Mai]], was published by [[Heyne]] in 1989 as ''Der Söldnerstern'' (ISBN 9783453038905).<ref>Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Catalog entry for [https://d-nb.info/891680756 first printing of Heyne edition]</ref> The book had several printings, including a tenth printing in 1996 under the same ISBN.<ref>Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Catalog entry for [https://d-nb.info/946809135 Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Catalog for tenth printing of Heyne edition]</ref> A reprint by [[Fantasy Productions]] was announced for 2006 and an ISBN reserved (ISBN 9783890644660), but such does not appear to have been published.<ref>Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Catalog search for [https://portal.dnb.de/opac/simpleSearch?query=Der+S%C3%B6ldnerstern&cqlMode=true announced FanPro reprint]</ref><ref>Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Catalog entry for [https://d-nb.info/976380404 FanPro reprint]</ref> This was republished as an EPUB by [[Ulisses Medien & Spiel Distribution GmbH|Ulisses Spiele]] in 2017 as ''BattleTech Legenden 02 - Gray Death 2 : Der Söldnerstern'' (ISBN 9783957526069).<ref>Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Catalog entry for [https://d-nb.info/1133480012 Ulisses Spiele edition]</ref> ===Hungarian=== A Hungarian edition, translated by Novák Gábor, was published by [[Beholder]] in 2005 as ''Zsoldoscsillag''.<ref>Beholder product page for [http://beholder.hu/?m=bolt&cikk=6368 ''Zsoldoscsillag'']</ref> ===Japanese=== A Japanese edition was published by 富士見書房 (Fujimi Shobo) in 1992 as two volumes: ''バトルテック. 3, 傭兵たちの星'' (''Batorutekku. 3, Yōhei-tachi no hoshi'') (ISBN 4829141719)<ref>WorldCat entry for [https://www.worldcat.org/title/674592826 ''バトルテック. 3, 傭兵たちの星'']</ref> and ''バトルテック. 4, レジス奪回作戦'' (''Batorutekku. 4, Rejisu dakkai sakusen'') (ISBN 4829141727).<ref>WorldCat entry for [https://www.worldcat.org/title/675133973 ''バトルテック. 4, レジス奪回作戦'']</ref> ===Portuguese=== A Portuguese edition, translated by Alberto de Pais Salvação, was published by [[Publicações Europa-América]] in 1993 as two volumes: ''A Estrela do Mercenário I'' (ISBN 9721035181) and ''A Estrela do Mercenário II'' (ISBN 9721035785).<ref>Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal Catalog entry for [http://id.bnportugal.gov.pt/bib/catbnp/816230 ''A Estrela do Mercenário'']</ref> ===Russian=== A Russian edition, translated by V. Bykovsky and K. Zverev, was published by [[Армада]] (Armada) in 1995 as ''Звезда наемников'' (ISBN 5763200829). <ref> Science Fiction Lab Book description for [http://fantlab.ru/edition39167 Звезда наемников]</ref><ref> National Library of Russia description for [https://webservices.nlr.ru/util/?method=recordFormat&vid=07NLR_VU1&sysid=005412385&format=037&base=NLR01 Звезда наемников (1995)]</ref> A reprint was published in 2002 (ISBN 5710762970) by [[Дрофа]] (Drofa) as part of a different series produced in collaboration with [[Армада-пресс]] (Armada-Press). <ref> Science Fiction Lab Book description for [http://fantlab.ru/edition12512 Звезда наемников]</ref><ref> National Library of Russia description for [https://webservices.nlr.ru/util/?method=recordFormat&vid=07NLR_VU1&sysid=000553239&format=037&base=NLR01 Звезда наемников (2002)]</ref> An additional edition, this time using a translation by A. Vetrova, was published by [[Hobby World]] in 2019 as ''Звезда наемника'' (ISBN 9785907170186). <ref> Science Fiction Lab Book description for [http://fantlab.ru/edition263667 Звезда наемника]</ref><ref> Hobby Games product page for [https://hobbygames.ru/battletech-zvezda-naemnika Звезда наемника]</ref> == Covers == <gallery> Image:Mercenary's Star.jpg|Original 1987 cover. Image:Mercenary's Star (reprint).jpg|1992 reprint. Art by [[Boris Vallejo]]. Image:Žoldnéřova hvězda.jpg|1996 Czech edition. Image:Der Söldnerstern.jpg|1987 German edition. Art by [[FASA]], design by [[Atelier Ingrid Schütz, München]]. Image:BattleTech Legenden 02 - Gray Death 2 - Der Söldnerstern.jpg|2017 German edition (reprint). Image:Zsoldoscsillag - A Szürke Halál Légió - 2005.jpg|2005 Hungarian edition. Image:バトルテック 3.jpg|1992 Japanese edition, volume one. Image:バトルテック 4.jpg|1992 Japanese edition, volume two. Image:A Estrela do Mercenário I.jpg|1993 Portuguese edition, volume one. Image:A Estrela do Mercenário II.jpg|1993 Portuguese edition, volume two. Image:Звезда наемников.jpg|1995 Russian edition. Image:Звезда наемников-2002.jpg|2002 Russian edition (reprint). Image:Звезда наемника-2019.jpg|2019 Russian edition. </gallery> == References == <references/> [[Category:Novels]] [[Category:Classic BattleTech novels]] [[Category:BattleCorps publications]] [[Category:Works by William H. Keith, Jr.]] [[Category:Czech Editions]] [[Category:German Editions]] [[Category:Hungarian Editions]] [[Category:Japanese Editions]] [[Category:Portuguese Editions]] [[Category:Russian Editions]]

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