Patriot's Stand

Patriot's Stand
Product information
Type	Novel
Author	Mike Moscoe
Pages	304
Cover Artwork	Ray Lundgren
Publication information
Publisher	Roc Books
First published	6 April 2004
ISBN-10	0451459709
ISBN-13	978-0451459701
Content
Era	Dark Age era
Series	MechWarrior: Dark Age Novels
Preceded by	Fortress of Lies
Followed by	Flight of the Falcon

Patriot's Stand, by Mike Moscoe, chronicles the attempted take-over of the planet Alkalurops.

From the back cover

“

Under assault and ill-equipped, Alkalurops has come apart since the loss of its communications grid and the inability of The Republic to reestablish it. But in a universe of powerful players, a leader has to grab power fast if she's going to survive... Grace O'Malley's people are valiantly making a stand against Loren Hanson's Roughriders, a band of mercenaries destroying everything in their path. Badly outnumbered, her forces need real BattleMechs operated by trained MechWarriors. And they're not going to be easy to afford, especially since the big mine owners refuse to offer any funds for planetary defense. But Grace will not surrender her homeland, no matter what the price. Even though the ragtag locals are putting a surprising good fight, Hanson remains confidant he can defeat them. What he doesn't count on is an opponent determined to write her planet's history in the scorched wreckage of the battlefield...

”

Summary

Initial Raid

The planet of Alkalurops has been under attack from an unknown force for a week, ever since the capital of Allabad fell silent. The planetary net has been screaming that the unknown attackers have 'Mechs that have been stomping through houses, their tanks shooting up shops, and infantry hijacking 'Mechs. Whenever a town has been hit, they inexplicably fall silent on the net. Now the blackout of the net is making its way towards Grace O'Malley's hometown of Falkirk. She has been able to get the men of her town and the neighboring Navajo tribes to join her in the defense with the old planetary saying "Alkalurops takes care of itself." With a little help from Mick, the town mechanic, who was able to put some modifications on the IndustrialMechs which include putting multiple rifles on the arm of a 'Mech to create a makeshift Gatling Gun as well as welding on additional armor to help keep the pilot alive. With six of the town's modified IndustrialMechs and around a dozen men with gopher rifles, Grace sets up what she believes to be an adequate ambush location and waits for the raiders to spring the trap.

Captain Loren J. Hanson is both enjoying and anxious about his first field command. Being the great-grandson of Gerhardt Hansen, the man who the Hansen's Roughriders were named after, he worked his way up the command through sweat and hard work and wants to one day take command of a battalion. The Roughriders were hired by an unknown party to raid Alkalurops and take as many BattleMechs and as many newer-looking IndustrialMechs with the contract holder claiming half of all that was ascertained. Though L.J. was not happy with this, due to him believing that it was not an honorable job for a mercenary to be a raider, he knew it was good for the Roughriders who would need the additional muscle due to the peaceful era before the Hyperpulse Generators were taken offline. While his detachment was moving towards the extraction point to get off planet, his target-acquisition screen points out that the locals have tried to set up an ambush. Feeling like it was going to be a cakewalk as well as a chance to acquire more 'Mechs, he sends his men forward to scare the locals away.

The commander of the Condor tank speeds ahead of the rest of the force wanting to be the man of the hour. Unbeknownst to the raiders, the entire battleground is littered with deep wide holes which the Navajos dug and then covered up with tarps to make it look like the grass around them. The Condor tank finds one of these holes by being led by the Navajo fighters, the tarp flies away and the tank does a nosedive into the hole and becomes stuck. The locals see what has happened and it gives them hope that they may be able to defeat the raiders. Hanson on the other hand goes on a brutal attack to finish this fight. As he begins to close in with his Koshi to finish off Grace who has been peppering him with twenty millimeter slugs from her gun, another modified IndustrialMech comes out and uses its flamethrower to push Hanson back into a retreat. In the process of falling back to regroup, his 'Mech's leg falls into another hole and nearly separates itself from the rest of the 'Mech. At this point, the Spider, which is piloted by a subordinate of Hanson, has been able to make the local infantry and most of the modified 'Mechs run back towards the hill in a full retreat. Upon seeing this, Grace believes that it is only a matter of time until the Koshi comes in for the kill; however, L.J. commands his men to retreat and get to the pick-up point. The reason is that a nearby town has come to help out Grace and her men to repel the raiders. They have brought along twelve unmodified IndustrialMechs which were enough to persuade Hanson that it would be safer to cut his losses than push on with the attack.

Cleaning Up the Mess

Once the threat to Falkirk by the raiders was gone, the locals began the process of removing the Condor hovertank out of the pit in order to see what it was. Mick the mechanic wanted to check out the engine while someone else checked out the insides of the tank including the sensors that the tank uses. During his inspection, he noticed that the infrared scope that the tank uses measures its distance in kilometers, not meters. The locals realized that their ambush was pointless due to the raiders being able to see their positions well before the battle started.

Hours after the battle, once everyone returned to town, everyone who participated gave their recollection of the day's event. They gave their opinion that the next time raiders came that they would run for the hills and survive than have to go through that again. Others went on saying that the planetary militia should have done a better job protecting the citizens of the planet, with even more asking where was the Republic of the Sphere sponsored Legate and his BattleMech. Grace had enough and asked for a restroom break and was met with an overwhelming agreement with almost everyone heading to the bathrooms. Once the meeting room was empty save for a select few, Grace went on to ask the more serious questions about what their next move should be. Mick told the group that the tank had some nasty toys which you would only want working for you and not against. The rest of the small group do not want to go through that again, as dumb as they were. They know how to do their jobs but have no idea on how to fight a battle. Grace acknowledges that and agrees that if you don't know how to do something, you get someone else to do it or you get someone to train you on how to do it. It is agreed upon by the group to go to the capital of Allabad and demand the Legate to train the citizens of Alkalurops to do what they have always done, defend themselves.

Grace, Chato, and Jobe commence on their journey to the capital in order to show their support in the hope of hiring a mercenary group to come and defend their planet and train the citizens at the same time. On their way to the capital, they pass by a battleground with freshly laser-burned corpses and wounded militia men. The curious thing that they noted was that the soldiers still had their armor and weapons with them. Grace noted to the rest that the point of a raid is to acquire some of these supplies, why would they leave equipment that is usable. The rest ponder this and continue their journey to the capital.

Once at the capital, they find out that the Governor and the Legate have both been murdered and that the Ryoken II BattleMech has also been stolen. An emergency council meeting of town mayors has been called and to be held in order to discuss what to do in these troubling times. In the council room, it was discovered that the raiders used the disguise of an actual DropShip trading company in order to land at the port without arousing any suspicion. From there they rampaged for a week taking only the IndustrialMechs and not the other expensive equipment that they could sell to make some money. The floor was then opened up to anyone who had any ideas of what the planet could and should do.

After a couple days of discussion, Alfred Santorini steps up to the meeting and gives the planet a most generous offer. He is in the process of looking for a new planet to be the headquarters of the company he works for, Lenzo Computing Industries, which would bring millions of jobs to the planet. Alkalurops is currently at full employment for its population which means the only way to fill up those new jobs would be to allow mass immigration to their planet. When people started to realize this, the mayors from the bigger cities were excited with the thought of the influx of the extra cash they would be getting; while the mayors from the smaller cities were unhappy at the thought of the rising prices for the day to day necessities. There was a catch to his proposal. With agreeing to this transfer of the headquarters, the people of Alkalurops would also be agreeing to pledge loyalty to Jasek Kelswa-Steiner and his group of freedom fighters called the Stormhammers. In order to pay for the protection, the planet would also be agreeing to pay the Stormhammers thirty percent of their net off-world trade. Alfred went and chit-chatted with the mining corporation's representative and then left the room. Grace stood up and gave her counter-proposal of what the planet could do for itself. She told the representatives that her city was willing to give up ten percent of last year's profits in order to pay for a group of mercenaries to come and help defend and train the people of the planet in the modern military ways, and if the other towns could do the same they should be able to have enough to get the help that they need. She finishes her proposal with this, "Alkalurops takes care of its own."

Mercenaries for Hire

The following day the trio got on the next available DropShip to dock with the next available JumpShip that is heading towards the planet of Galatea, which is the closest planet with numerous mercenary companies. In order to pass the time while they wait to board the JumpShip, they studied up on old battles of Alkalurops, the tactics that were used, and they studied up on all the information they could get on BattleMechs. This information gave Grace doubt about the point in fighting. She read that the majority of the fights were won due to weather changing or that one side made a mistake which cost them. Grace became depressed the more and more she researched; how could a group of civilians with no military training ever hope to beat a well oiled war machine without pure dumb luck.

Once the DropShip docked with the first JumpShip that came in system, nine days later the jumpship was fully charged again and they made the jump to Galatea. After a confrontation with a jewel thief on board the JumpShip, Grace finds that Alfred is traveling on the same ship. He took quarters in the captain's room and stayed cooped up in the room to get some work of his that he wanted to get done. Alfred showed his anger towards Grace who he blames for wasting his time and money traveling to her world when she got the council to refuse his offer and agree to go along with her crazy plan of finding mercenaries. With that he turns around and they part ways.

When they landed at Galaport they rode an underground walkway towards the central terminal where they saw the place packed with people going in every direction. They saw the place packed with recruiters for a plethora of different companies. They saw the insignia for the Bannson's Raiders, the 21st Centauri Lancers, the Northwind Highlanders, the Eridani Light Horse, and many more which they didn't recognize. They kept their search going until they reached the end of the line and came across a pair of recruiters who spoke to them first telling them that only the best make it this far. He tells them that his unit is the Roughriders, unbeknownst to Grace and her companions, but this is the same unit that raided her home world. Grace believes that this would be a good starting mercenary group to see if they would come defend her planet. When they arrive at the Roughriders' camp, the newly promoted Major L.J. Hanson is ordered to talk to the group since he has the most knowledge of the planet. While the Major and Grace were talking to one another, Loren realizes that it was Grace who was piloting the MiningMech who he was facing in the Gleann Mor Valley. Hanson's adjutant, after a lengthy talk about her combat experience, produces a cost analysis of what a battalion-sized force would run her at the going rate; he believes that is the size that would be needed to adequately defend her planet. Grace looks at the sheet and is speechless at what the price comes out to. She tells him that the price is too much for them to be able to afford. Loren apologizes but says that there is nothing that he can do to lower the cost. Due to this, they part ways.

During this whole time, both Chato and Jobe have been carrying jewelry and sapphires around in a bag since they have no better place to stash their assets. A group of thugs realize what they are carrying must be valuable so they stage an ambush in order to steal what they are carrying. The two groups scuffle with one another and the tide of the fight turns against the group from Alkalurops. They are rescued by two unexpected helpers, Danny O'Bannon, an ex-Highlander mercenary MechWarrior, and Benjork Lone Cat, a deserter from Clan Nova Cat who is also a MechWarrior. Grace offers her thanks to the two and they talk about what each group is doing. Danny and Benjork have become the city's underground police force since the real cops do nothing to protect people. The topic changes to Grace's mission of finding a mercenary group to help defend her planet from any future attacks. Danny and Benjork inform the others of a safer place to stay where they won't have to worry about getting attacked or robbed and wish them good luck in their search.

Over the next few days, they search out a few other mercenary encampments and get the same result as the day at the Roughriders. None of the mercenaries want to train civilians as well as they charge just as much which Grace is unable to afford. Their hopes deflating, they head to a bar to try to raise their spirits. They notice that Danny is there sitting next to Benjork who is sitting with his eyes closed. Danny comes over to the group and explains that Ben isn't sleeping in the booth, he is "dreaming." The ex-Highlander goes on to ask how the searching is going. When he is told that every mercenary that they talked to did not want to train militia. Danny tells them the reason for that is the battlefield has changed drastically in the last few hundred years and they train daily with each other and feel comfortable fighting together and not with a bunch of "temps." Danny and Ben unofficially agree to become the teachers that they want due to their want of doing something more than being street cops. The two soldiers begin to convince other individuals that Ben saw in his dream as they entered the bar to join them to go train and fight with the people of Alkalurops. They are able to recruit: Victoria and Sean who are both MechWarrior pilots, George Stillwell who fights in tanks, Betsy Ross who is a specialist in infantry combat, a lady named Syn who is also a MechWarrior, and a mechanic named Sven who is said to be a master at repairing and configuring 'Mechs.

Featured characters

• Grace O'Malley
• Major Loren J. Hanson
• Alfred Santorini

Featured worlds

• Alkalurops
• Galatea

Featured units

• Hansen's Roughriders

Featured BattleTech

'Mechs

• Arbalest
• Atlas
• Black Hawk
• Centurion
• Jupiter
• Koshi
• Legionnaire
• Mackie
• Ryoken II
• Spider
• converted AgroMech
• converted LoaderMech
• converted MiningMech (Dark Age)

Combat Vehicles

• Condor
• Flatbed Truck
• Jeep
• unspecified command vehicle
• unspecified medical vehicle
• unspecified track vehicle
• unspecified repair vehicle
• unspecified hoverbikes

Battle Armor

• Gnome
• Cavalier

Jumpships

• unspecified Jumpships

DropShips

• unspecified DropShips