Royal Flush
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 | Apocryphal Product Although the subject of this article is an official BattleTech product, it does not meet the current criteria for Canon. Its content may or may not be canonical for the BattleTech universe, and for the purpose of the Sarna.net BattleTechWiki is considered apocryphal. |
| |
| Royal Flush | |
|---|---|
| Product information | |
| Type | Novel |
| Author | Carolina Möbis |
| Pages | 320 |
| Cover Artwork | Karsten Schreurs |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Fantasy Productions GmbH |
| Product code | 31023 |
| First published | 2008 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-3890646206 |
| MSRP | 9,00 € |
| Content | |
| Era | Star League era |
| Timeline | 10 June-23 October 2602 |
| Series | Classic BattleTech Novels Great Game Zyklus #3 |
Royal Flush, by Carolina Möbis, is a German-language BattleTech novel published by FanPro in 2008 as the 18th entry in their line of new Classic BattleTech novels. It is also named the 3rd book in the Great Game cycle in the imprint, and thus is also part of the Das Goldene Zeitalter cycle.
Contents
From the back cover (translated from German)
| “ | When the Draconis March establishes its independence from the Federated Suns, the Draconis Combine already dreams of a new prefecture. MechWarrior Jack, meanwhile, dreams of fame and honor, pilot Hataka Tomomi of a lucky streak, and Tai-sa Hatsui Masato of a quick victory in the newly-formed Robinson Alliance. When the forces of the Draconis Combine and the Federated Suns clash on the small agrarian world of McGehee, not all dreams come true, and both sides soon feel compelled to force their luck, for there is more at stake than just one's life. | ” |
Plot Summary
The 17th Avalon Hussars are ordered to McGehee to secure the Federated Suns' Draconis March border. Because of some logistical error the are not provided with their requested supplies, and upon arriving a McGehee it turns out that their assigned AFFS base has not been used for decades and is much too small; the orders to enlarge the base never arrived. Worse, anti-Davion sentiments are widespread among the population and the larger part of the local milita refuses to cooperate, openly branding the AFFS troops "occupantion forces". On 20 August 2602 it is confirmed via courier JumpShip that Duke Thomas Sandoval had declared his Draconis March independent on 4 July already. The Star League has surprisingly reckognized the new 'Robinson Alliance', but House Davion nevertheless orders the Hussars to counter any uprisings in what they continue to call the Draconis March.
House Kurita decides to invade the Robinson Alliance before they formally join the Star League and thus, before the SLDF would come to their defense. On 18 October, they launch a surprise attack against McGehee from a Pirate Jump Point. During the fighting, an AFFS DropShip carrying ammunition (because the warehouses at the base were undersized and deemend unsafe) is rammed by an enemy aerospace fighter and crashes right into the base, destroying it. Only a disparate handful of AFFS troops survive. They join forces with the militia and begin a guerilla war against the Kurita occupants when most of the enemy regiment is re-deployed to conquer another continent. Eventually, they manage to steal the Kurita IFF codes and cripple their DropShip, then use the codes with their own DropShip (of the same type), recapture their JumpShip, and escape to report on the Kurita invasion.
Characters
House Davion characters
- Corporal William Butler - Capable sapper. Captured together with Jack Troisville, they form a bond of friendship.
- Captain R.K. Hendson - In command of the 27th Avalon Hussars' 3rd Batallion after Major Smith's death, he assumes command of the AFFS survivors. Sorin implies at one point that Hendson was not promoted because of an alcohol problem, but Hendson denies that.
- Corporal Marvin Sidrakis - Has to land his Chippewa in a field nera a civilian airfield after running out of fuel during the Kurita attack. Meets and befriends Arthur Banks, a local who can provide support.
- Captain Sorin - MechWarrior. His son served with the aerospace forces and was reportedly among the Kurita prisoners of war in the other vehicle that was not rescued; he is subsequently assumed to be dead. Sorin is increasingly aggressive and suicidal, and urges his friend Hendson to attack the Kurita forces outright. In the last battle, he sacrifices himself to allow Hendson and Troisville to disengage and escape.
- Leftenant Jaques "Jack" de Troisville - Spoiled rich son of the planetary governor of Bellevue. Failed to earn a medical degree and got into trouble because of parties and drugs; due to his father's connections he then received MechWarrior Academy training and a position as Leftenant in logistics which he hates. When his parents inform him that they have arranged a marriage for him, he coerces Leftenant-Colonel Ericksen to request him for the 27th Avalon Hussars to get away, arranging for some much-needed supplies and even a prototype Von Luckner tank for the unit in return. To his surprise, he is assigned to the infantry instead of the MechWarriors, however, and finds that he is despised or ignored throughout the unit. Survives the attack on McGehee and the DropShip crash into the base by William Butler who dragged him into a sewage canal. Rescued from captivity when their convoy is attacked enroute to the prison complex, Jack briefly serves as impromptu medic (because he has the best medical training among them) but cannot save MechWarrior Jonathan Jenkins. Because of his MechWarrior training he inherits Jenkins' damaged Thunderbolt and gradually evolves into a capable MechWarrior, slowly earning the respect of his fellow soldiers.
- Corporal Wallof - Veteran tank lance commander, notorious for disobeying rules. He and his crew (Cpl. Stetten) are assigned the prototype Von Luckner tank.
- Sergeant-Major Winfield - Grumpy sergeant. He is abducted by local insurgents on McGehee but recruits them for the AFFS cause in turn when House Kurita attacks.
House Kurita characters
- Tai-sho Joyce - 50-year-old veteran; his left eye is a cybernetic prothesis but almost indistinguishable from his other eye. Commands the five regiments of Kampfgruppe II, and is the nominal regimental commander of the 8th Galedon Regulars (which he puts under Masato's command). He sends a congratulation message after the fleeing AFFS troops shortly before they jump out, announcing a rematch.
- Tai-sa Hatsui Masato - Only 39 years old yet already promoted to second-in-command (and factual commander) of the 8th Galedon Regulars. A conservative career officer and strict follower of the code of bushido, he is unpopular among his subjugates because of his condescending attitude. Pilots a Black Knight. Implied to have been killed by Sorin.
- Chu-i Hataka Tomomi - Scion of a well-reputed but not overly powerful industrialist family, she fled from an arranged marriage and fell out with her family over it. Later rebuffs Masato's proposal of marriage. An accomplished aerospace figher pilot, she is shot down in her Sparrowhawk in the initial assault and is taken captive by the retreating AFFS troops. She is later forced at gunpoint to provide access into the Kurita HQ for an AFFS infantry team in an ill-fated attempt to steal the IFF codes. Inside the facility she raises a fire alarm, but also discovers a scathing report from an unknown officer about her unit. Re-joining her unit, she is also treated as a captive and, upon reporting on the report to Masato, realizes that he wrote the report. Masato suggests she should commit seppuku, but in the AFFS' final attack she is accidentially freed, escapes in a Lucifer and surrenders to the fleeing DropShip where she is taken aboard.
Featured worlds
Featured BattleTech
BattleMechs
- Archer
- Black Knight
- Catapult
- Clint
- Commando
- Dervish
- Excalibus
- Firestarter
- Griffin
- Guillotine
- [Hunchback]]
- Night Hawk
- Ostroc
- Phoenix Hawk
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Hawk
- Stinger
- Thorn
- Wasp
- Warhammer
Vehicles
- Galleon
- Hunter
- Manticore
- Maxim
- Von Luckner (prototype)
Aerospace Fighters
- [(Chippewa]]
- Ironsides
- Lucifer
- Sparrowhawk
- Seydlitz
- Stuka
DropShips
Canonicity
Written in German and exclusively published in that language so far, Royal Flush does not technically meet the current criteria for Canon in the BattleTech universe. As an official product published under a valid license, it should be regarded as apocryphal instead.
Known continuity problems
As Royal Flush was not translated or published in English, Catalyst Game Labs, the current license holder for the BattleTech IP, does not reckognize it as canonical and may not even be aware of the novel's exact content. Canonical publications have since contradicted certain aspects of the novel: