Teach the Wicked
Sarna News
| Teach the Wicked | |
|---|---|
| Story information | |
| Author | Phaedra Weldon |
| Pages | 5 |
| Type | Short story |
| Product | BattleTech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction |
| Content | |
| Era | Jihad era |
| Timeline | 3 April 3073 |
The short story Teach The Wicked was published in BattleTech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction.
Contents
Plot summary
Martian Cuirassiers Lieutenant John W. Traeger, caught in an explosion in a cafe on Hall, wakes up to find the area in devastation. Away from his unit for his wife's anniversary, he is almost alone but for the barista and a small child's teddy bear. He heads out into the chaos with both, soon finding the remains of destroyed 'Mechs: his unit's. The 52nd Shadow Divison shattered his unit. Among the remains is the disabled Javelin of Traeger's fellow mercenary Cusak, complete with Cusak's 'insurance policy': explosives. The barista disappears, and Traeger takes some of the explosives.
After further wandering, Traeger finds the 52nd's leadership, Precentor Apollyon and Demi-Precentors Magna Rochart and Setiwah. He stuffs some of the explosives into the teddy bear, creating a powerful pressure-activated concealed bomb in case of capture, and prepares to gun down the Manei Domini ahead. They quickly capture him, taking him to the prisoner corrals for re-education and conditioning, and he sees a familiar face: the young girl who owned the now bomb-stuffed bear.
Taking death as better than re-education, with the Demi-Precentors nearby, Traeger hands the pressure-activated teddy bear bomb to the young girl and tells her that it could use a hug.
Featured characters
- Apollyon
- John W. Traeger
- Magna Rochart
- Setiwah
- Zane Cole (mentioned)
- Sarah Traeger (mentioned)
- Cusak (mentioned)