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Line 40: Unbeknownst to the Gray Death Legion, right after they have left the planet conspirators including [[ComStar]] [[Precentor]] [[Emilio Rachan]] and Lord Garth [[Tiantan massacre|destroy Tiantan's domes]] with bombs, killing some twelve million people, then deploy [[BattleMech]]s and DropShips painted to resemble the Gray Death Legion. The Gray Death Legion DropShips in transit to the [[jump point]] are left in the dark about what happened, but the total radio silence from Sirius V and the odd behavior of the Marik forces deepens Carlyle's concerns. He orders their JumpShip to bring them back to their landhold at Helm instead of taking the detour to Marik. Unbeknownst to the Gray Death Legion, right after they have left the planet conspirators including [[ComStar]] [[Precentor]] [[Emilio Rachan]] and Lord Garth [[Tiantan massacre|destroy Tiantan's domes]] with bombs, killing some twelve million people, then deploy [[BattleMech]]s and DropShips painted to resemble the Gray Death Legion. The Gray Death Legion DropShips in transit to the [[jump point]] are left in the dark about what happened, but the total radio silence from Sirius V and the odd behavior of the Marik forces deepens Carlyle's concerns. He orders their JumpShip to bring them back to their landhold at Helm instead of taking the detour to Marik. − They arrive in the Helm system in the middle of an ongoing military operation against their holdings and dependents and manage to land near their base in the overall chaos. Carlyle learns from debriefing survivors in the ruins of Helmfast Castle that the attacking forces had immediately moved against the Gray Death Legion holdings with extreme prejudice. He secures an old map from the computer and uses it to find a refuge for the Legion's remnant in a valley. However, the battle is lost when Lieutenant [[Harris Graff]], a Marik agent among the Legion's MechWarriors (and the traitor who allowed for the demolition charges to be planted outside Tiantan), enters one DropShip under a pretense and captures it from within, subsequently threatening the other DropShip with destruction. During the resulting standoff, Carlyle's remaining men become uneasy about how hostile they are treated by the Marik forces. When the Marik forces break the ceasefire and stage a nighttime ambush, Carlyle escapes with a handful of troops and 'Mechs. + They arrive in the Helm system in the middle of an ongoing military operation against their holdings and dependents and manage to land near their base in the overall chaos. Carlyle learns from debriefing survivors in the ruins of Helmfast Castle that the attacking forces had immediately moved against the Gray Death Legion holdings with extreme prejudice. He secures an old map from the computer and uses it to find a refuge for the Legion's remnant in a valley. However, the battle is lost when Lieutenant [[Harris Graff]], a Marik agent among the Legion's MechWarriors (and the traitor who allowed for the demolition charges to be planted outside Tiantan), enters one DropShip under a pretense and captures it from within, subsequently threatening the other DropShip with destruction. During the resulting standoff, Carlyle's remaining men become uneasy about how hostile they are treated by the Marik forces. When the Marik forces break the cease-fire and stage a nightly ambush, Carlyle escapes with a handful of troops and 'Mechs. − With his personal tech Alard King Carlyle travels 400 km to the city of Helmdown to talk to contacts they have there and perhaps find out what is going on. However, the city is under lockdown, at least six DropShips are grounded at the starport, and both the [[House Steiner]] and the [[House Davion]] agencies Carlyle hoped to contact have been closed. He does manage to meet with both of the agents together and is confronted with the facts of the Tiantan massacre. Neither agent will help him though because they do not believe his claims of having been set up. King, secretly a spy for Duke [[Hassid Ricol]], meanwhile contacts a [[House Kurita]] agent and learns that during the [[Star League era]] a massive amount of military supplies vanished on Helm and may still be hidden on the planet, possibly somewhere on the Gray Death Legion's landhold. + With his personal tech Alard King Carlyle travels 400 kilometers to the city of Helmdown to talk to contacts they have there and perhaps find out what is going on. However, the city is under lockdown, at least six DropShips are grounded at the starport, and both the [[House Steiner]] and the [[House Davion]] agencies Carlyle hoped to contact have been closed. He does manage to meet with both of the agents together and is confronted with the facts of the Tiantan massacre. Neither agent will help him though because they do not believe his claims of having been set up. King, secretly a spy for Duke [[Hassid Ricol]], meanwhile contacts a [[House Kurita]] agent and learns that during the [[Star League era]] a massive amount of military supplies vanished on Helm and may still be hidden on the planet, possibly somewhere on the Gray Death Legion's landhold. During a raid to destroy a Marik [[Mobile HQ]] the Legion happens to capture Graff, who admits to working for [[ComStar]] and more specifically, for Precentor Rachan. He confirms that the setup is about the old Star League storehouse and the immense weapons cache it holds: With Carlyle as the legal landholder (and potential proprietor of the supposed cache) branded outlaw, the fief would have been passed to Lord Garth of Irian who is in league with Precentor Rachan. During a raid to destroy a Marik [[Mobile HQ]] the Legion happens to capture Graff, who admits to working for [[ComStar]] and more specifically, for Precentor Rachan. He confirms that the setup is about the old Star League storehouse and the immense weapons cache it holds: With Carlyle as the legal landholder (and potential proprietor of the supposed cache) branded outlaw, the fief would have been passed to Lord Garth of Irian who is in league with Precentor Rachan. Line 54:
Line 54: The cache turns out to contain a [[Helm Memory Core|memory core]], plus very large amounts of mothballed military hardware, an invaluable treasure but worthless to the Legion in their current situation. Despite the useful transport system and repair facilities, the onslaught by an overall much larger force threatens to overwhelm the outnumbered and exhausted defenders. Anticipating defeat, Carlyle eventually orders King to make copies of the library core which he realizes is by far the most valuable content of the entire cache, and because the entire setup only makes sense if Precentor Rachan intends to suppress the find. The cache turns out to contain a [[Helm Memory Core|memory core]], plus very large amounts of mothballed military hardware, an invaluable treasure but worthless to the Legion in their current situation. Despite the useful transport system and repair facilities, the onslaught by an overall much larger force threatens to overwhelm the outnumbered and exhausted defenders. Anticipating defeat, Carlyle eventually orders King to make copies of the library core which he realizes is by far the most valuable content of the entire cache, and because the entire setup only makes sense if Precentor Rachan intends to suppress the find. − Precentor Rachan has meanwhile seized overall command from the bumbling Duke of Irian. Together with a group of six [[ComStar]] adepts whom he intends to kill later, he wants to secure the memory core for himself and then destroy the facility and orders [[Colonel]] [[Julian Langsdorf (31st c.)|Julian Langsdorf]], the commander of the Marik ground forces, to break through the rock in the Vermillon valley even while King is still copying the library core in the room on the other side, with an infantry detachment to guard the entrance. Amidst a firefight, Rachan and King have a shouting match where Rachan all but admits to being behind the Tiantan massacre and intending to keep the library hidden from the public. King escapes with a copy of the memory core. One Adept Larabee from Rachan's entourage is shocked enough by the revelations to inform Langsdorf, an upright soldier who had misgivings about the mission all along. On Larabee's testimony Langsdorf arrests Duke Garth and General Kleider. + Precentor Rachan has meanwhile seized overall command from the bumbling Duke of Irian. Together with a group of six [[ComStar]] adepts whom he intends to kill later, he wants to secure the memory core for himself and then destroy the facility and orders [[Colonel]] [[Julian Langsdorf]], the commander of the Marik ground forces, to break through the rock in the Vermillon valley even while King is still copying the library core in the room on the other side, with an infantry detachment to guard the entrance. Amidst a firefight, Rachan and King have a shouting match where Rachan all but admits to being behind the Tiantan massacre and intending to keep the library hidden from the public. King escapes with a copy of the memory core. One Adept Larabee from Rachan's entourage is shocked enough by the revelations to inform Langsdorf, an upright soldier who had misgivings about the mission all along. On Larabee's testimony Langsdorf arrests Duke Garth and General Kleider. Blasting open the access doors to the cache has triggered an ancient safety mechanism that overloads the facility's huge reactor. Even as Langsdorf's forces are retreating and the Gray Death Legion is moving out with their own and Ricol's DropShips (to be carried on Ricol's [[JumpShip]]s), the entire facility self-destructs, killing Precentor Rachan in the process. Blasting open the access doors to the cache has triggered an ancient safety mechanism that overloads the facility's huge reactor. Even as Langsdorf's forces are retreating and the Gray Death Legion is moving out with their own and Ricol's DropShips (to be carried on Ricol's [[JumpShip]]s), the entire facility self-destructs, killing Precentor Rachan in the process. Line 69:
Line 69: * [[Hassid Ricol]] * [[Hassid Ricol]] * [[Jenton Moragen]] * [[Jenton Moragen]] − * [[Julian Langsdorf (31st c.)|Julian Langsdorf]] + * [[Julian Langsdorf]] * [[Lori Kalmar]] * [[Lori Kalmar]] * [[Tracy Maxwell Kent]] * [[Tracy Maxwell Kent]] Line 78:
Line 78: == Featured BattleTech == == Featured BattleTech == − {{columns-start|num=3}} ===BattleMechs=== ===BattleMechs=== * ''[[Archer]]'' * ''[[Archer]]'' Line 97:
Line 96: * ''[[Wasp]]'' * ''[[Wasp]]'' * ''[[Wolverine]]'' * ''[[Wolverine]]'' − {{column}}+ ===Vehicles=== ===Vehicles=== *[[Boomerang]] spotter plane *[[Boomerang]] spotter plane Line 113:
Line 112: ===JumpShips=== ===JumpShips=== − * ''[[Merchant|Merchant]]''-class (''[[Invidious (Individual Merchant-class JumpShip)|Invidious]]'') + * ''[[Merchant|Merchant]]''-class (''[[Invidious]]'') * Unspecified class: ''[[Huntress (Individual JumpShip)|Huntress]]'', ''[[Mizar (Individual JumpShip)|Mizar]]'', ''[[Rapacious (Individual JumpShip)|Rapacious]]'' * Unspecified class: ''[[Huntress (Individual JumpShip)|Huntress]]'', ''[[Mizar (Individual JumpShip)|Mizar]]'', ''[[Rapacious (Individual JumpShip)|Rapacious]]'' − {{columns-end}} ==Notes== ==Notes== − * No dates are provided in the novel, but the ''[[Gray Death Legion (scenario pack)|Gray Death Legion]]'' scenario pack established that the first battle with the Hammerstrike Company in the ruins of Durandel, immediately after landing on Helm, occurred on March 24 ("Thirst for Vengeance" scenario epigraph, p. 33 top header) and the final battles and the recovery of the memory core occurred on 1 April 3028 ("Betrayal at Helm" scenarios, p. 35 top header). + *No dates are provided in the novel, but the ''[[Gray Death Legion (scenario pack)|Gray Death Legion]]'' scenario pack established that the first battle with the Hammerstrike Company in the ruins of Durandel, immediately after landing on Helm, occurred on March 24 ("Thirst for Vengeance" scenario epigraph, p. 33 top header) and the final battles and the recovery of the memory core occurred on 1 April 3028 ("Betrayal at Helm" scenarios, p. 35 top header). − * The Gray Death Legion being hired specifically to conduct aggressive campaigns into [[Capellan Confederation]] space demonstrates that the [[Concord of Kapteyn]], which had been signed for over five years, did not cause much of a détente between Houses Marik and Liao after all. The scenario pack notes (in the unit history section on p. 7) that the unit was hired to keep the Confederation off-balance, and for over one standard year enacted a series of hit-and-run strikes against communication centers, fleet depots, 'Mech assembly plants, mines and industrial worlds. The write-up for Grayson Carlyle notes on p. 9 that the offensive took place (or began) in 3026. + *The Gray Death Legion being hired specifically to conduct aggressive campaigns into [[Capellan Confederation]] space demonstrates that the [[Concord of Kapteyn]], which had been signed for over five years, did not cause much of a detente between Houses Marik and Liao after all. The scenario pack notes (in the unit history section on p. 7) that the unit was hired to keep the Confederation off-balance, and for over one standard year enacted a series of hit-and-run strikes against communication centers, fleet depots, 'Mech assembly plants, mines and industrial worlds. The write-up for Grayson Carlyle notes on p. 9 that the offensive took place (or began) in 3026. − * While it is explicitly mentioned on pp. 17–18 that the ''Invidious'' and its two DropShips, "merchanters converted to troop transports", have become the Gray Death Legion's Transport Division, from this book onwards the Gray Death Legion's DropShips ''Phobos'' and ''Deimos'' are consistently described as ''[[Union]]''-class (pp. 29, 60, 78) whereas it had previously been established that they are refitted freighters outwardly resembling ''Union''-class vessels. (The original ''Phobos'' was confirmed to be a ''[[Danais]]''/''[[Trojan]]''-class vessel, strongly implying its sister ship ''Deimos'' was of the same class.) Both the ''Phobos'' and the ''Deimos'' are firing [[autocannons]] on p. 89, a weapon system not found on ''Danais''/''Trojan'' vessels but part of a ''Union'''s standard loadout. To explain this apparent inconsistency it can be assumed that two ''Union''-class DropShips also named ''Phobos'' and ''Deimos'' are serving with the Gray Death Legion as of the Sirius campaign in addition to the original refitted freighters (which are not deployed at Sirius, and may have remained at the staging point at [[Graham IV]]). + *While it is explicitly mentioned on pp. 17-18 that the ''Invidious'' and its two DropShips, "merchanters converted to troop transports", have become the Gray Death Legion's Transport Division, from this book onwards the Gray Death Legion's DropShips ''Phobos'' and ''Deimos'' are consistently described as ''[[Union]]''-class (pp. 29, 60, 78) whereas it had previously been established that they are refitted freighters outwardly resembling ''Union''-class vessels. (The original ''Phobos'' was confirmed to be a ''[[Danais]]''/''[[Trojan]]''-class vessel, strongly implying its sister ship ''Deimos'' was of the same class.) Both the ''Phobos'' and the ''Deimos'' are firing [[autocannons]] on p. 89, a weapon system not found on ''Danais''/''Trojan'' vessels but part of a ''Union'''s standard loadout. To explain this apparent inconsistency it can be assumed that two ''Union''-class DropShips also named ''Phobos'' and ''Deimos'' are serving with the Gray Death Legion as of the Sirius campaign in addition to the original refitted freighters (which are not deployed at Sirius, and may have remained at the staging point at [[Graham IV]]). − * Both DropShips are mentioned to approach Helm with 4 Gs of thrust. However, neither the ''Danais/Trojan'' class nor the ''Union'' class can produce this much thrust. In fact, of all commonplace contemporary spheroid DropShips only the ''[[Seeker]]'' has this much thrust. The number is thus likely in error. + *Both DropShips are mentioned to approach Helm with 4 Gs of thrust. However, neither the ''Danais/Trojan'' class nor the ''Union'' class can produce this much thrust. In fact, of all commonplace contemporary spheroid DropShips only the ''[[Seeker]]'' has this much thrust. The number is thus likely in error. − ''See Also: [[Home is the Regiment]]'' − − ==Foreign-Language Editions== − ===Czech=== − A Czech edition, translated by Viola Syrová, was published by [[ALTAR Publishing]] in 1996 as ''Cena slávy'' (ISBN 8085979098).<ref>WorldCat entry for [https://www.worldcat.org/title/37249696 ''Cena slávy'']</ref><ref>National Library of the Czech Republic entry for [https://aleph.nkp.cz/F/?func=direct&doc_number=000098796&local_base=NKC ''Cena slávy'']</ref> − − ===German=== − A German edition, translated by [[Reinhold H. Mai]], was published by [[Heyne]] in 1989 as ''Der Preis des Ruhms'' (ISBN 9783453038912).<ref>Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Catalog entry for [https://d-nb.info/891680764 first printing of ''Der Preis des Ruhms'']</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/946575657 tenth printing of ''Der Preis des Ruhms'']</ref> This was republished as an EPUB by [[Ulisses Medien & Spiel Distribution GmbH|Ulisses Spiele]] in 2017 as ''BattleTech Legenden 03 - Gray Death 3 : Der Preis des Ruhms'' (ISBN 9783957526076).<ref>Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Catalog entry for [https://d-nb.info/1133480020 ''BattleTech Legenden 03 - Gray Death 3 : Der Preis des Ruhms'']</ref> − − ===Hungarian=== − A Hungarian edition, translated by Novák Gábor, was published by [[Beholder]] in 2006 as ''A dicsőség ára''.<ref>Beholder product page for [http://beholder.hu/?m=bolt&cikk=6369 ''A dicsőség ára'']</ref> − − ===Japanese=== − A Japanese edition was published by 富士見書房 (Fujimi Shobo) in 1993 as two volumes: ''バトルテック. 5, 偽りの報酬'' (''Batorutekku. 5, Itsuwari no hōshū'') (ISBN 4829141735) <ref>WorldCat entry for [https://www.worldcat.org/title/673675325 ''バトルテック. 5, 偽りの報酬'']</ref> and ''バトルテック. 6, 栄光のグレイ・デス軍団'' − (''Batorutekku. 6, Eikō no gureidesu gundan'') (ISBN 4829141743).<ref>WorldCat entry for [https://www.worldcat.org/title/674375413 ''バトルテック. 6, 栄光のグレイ・デス軍団'']</ref> − − ===Russian=== − A Russian edition, translated by Y. Chernyakhovskaya, was published by [[Армада]] (Armada) in 1995 as ''Цена славы'' (ISBN 5763201027). <ref> Science Fiction Lab Book description for [http://fantlab.ru/edition28084 Цена славы]</ref><ref> National Library of Russia description for [https://webservices.nlr.ru/util/?method=recordFormat&vid=07NLR_VU1&sysid=005412386&format=037&base=NLR01 Цена славы]</ref> A reprint was published in 2002 (ISBN 5309003061) by [[Армада-пресс]] (Armada-Press) as part of a different series produced in collaboration with [[Дрофа]] (Drofa). <ref> Science Fiction Lab Book description for [http://fantlab.ru/edition12513 Цена славы]</ref><ref> National Library of Russia description for [https://webservices.nlr.ru/util/?method=recordFormat&vid=07NLR_VU1&sysid=000253761&format=037&base=NLR01 Цена славы]</ref> An additional edition, this time using a translation by A. Vetrova, was published by [[Hobby World]] in 2019 (ISBN 9785907170193). <ref> Science Fiction Lab Book description for [http://fantlab.ru/edition263668 Цена славы]</ref><ref> Hobby Games product page for [https://hobbygames.ru/battletech-cena-slavi Цена славы]</ref> == Covers == == Covers == Line 145:
Line 125: Image:The Price of Glory.jpg|Original 1987 cover. Art by [[David R. Deitrick]]. Image:The Price of Glory.jpg|Original 1987 cover. Art by [[David R. Deitrick]]. Image:The Price of Glory (reprint).jpg|1993 reprint. Art by [[Boris Vallejo]]. Image:The Price of Glory (reprint).jpg|1993 reprint. Art by [[Boris Vallejo]]. − Image:Cena slávy.jpg|1996 Czech edition.+ Image:Der_Preis_des_Ruhms.jpg|Original 1989 german book cover. Art by [[FASA]], design by [[Atelier Ingrid Schütz, München]]. − Image:Der_Preis_des_Ruhms.jpg|1989 German edition. Art by [[FASA]], design by [[Atelier Ingrid Schütz, München]]. − Image:BattleTech Legenden 03 - Gray Death 3 - Der Preis des Ruhms.jpg|2017 German edition (reprint). − Image:A dicsőség ára - A Szürke Halál Légió - 2006.jpg|2006 Hungarian edition. − Image:バトルテック 5.jpg|1993 Japanese edition, volume one. − Image:バトルテック 6.jpg|1993 Japanese edition, volume two. − Image:Цена славы.jpg|1995 Russian edition. − Image:Цена славы-2002.jpg|2002 Russian edition (reprint). − Image:Цена славы-2019.jpg|2019 Russian edition. </gallery> </gallery> − − =References= − <references/> [[Category:Novels|Price of Glory, The]] [[Category:Novels|Price of Glory, The]] Line 163:
Line 132: [[Category:BattleCorps publications]] [[Category:BattleCorps publications]] [[Category:Works by William H. Keith, Jr.|Price of Glory, The]] [[Category:Works by William H. Keith, Jr.|Price of Glory, The]] − [[Category:Czech Editions|Price of Glory, The]]+ [[Category:German edition|Price of Glory, The]] − [[Category:German Editions|Price of Glory, The]] − [[Category:Hungarian Editions|Price of Glory, The]] − [[Category:Japanese Editions|Price of Glory, The]] − [[Category:Russian Editions|Price of Glory, The]]
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Unbeknownst to the Gray Death Legion, right after they have left the planet conspirators including [[ComStar]] [[Precentor]] [[Emilio Rachan]] and Lord Garth [[Tiantan massacre|destroy Tiantan's domes]] with bombs, killing some twelve million people, then deploy [[BattleMech]]s and DropShips painted to resemble the Gray Death Legion. The Gray Death Legion DropShips in transit to the [[jump point]] are left in the dark about what happened, but the total radio silence from Sirius V and the odd behavior of the Marik forces deepens Carlyle's concerns. He orders their JumpShip to bring them back to their landhold at Helm instead of taking the detour to Marik. | Unbeknownst to the Gray Death Legion, right after they have left the planet conspirators including [[ComStar]] [[Precentor]] [[Emilio Rachan]] and Lord Garth [[Tiantan massacre|destroy Tiantan's domes]] with bombs, killing some twelve million people, then deploy [[BattleMech]]s and DropShips painted to resemble the Gray Death Legion. The Gray Death Legion DropShips in transit to the [[jump point]] are left in the dark about what happened, but the total radio silence from Sirius V and the odd behavior of the Marik forces deepens Carlyle's concerns. He orders their JumpShip to bring them back to their landhold at Helm instead of taking the detour to Marik. | ||
| − | They arrive in the Helm system in the middle of an ongoing military operation against their holdings and dependents and manage to land near their base in the overall chaos. Carlyle learns from debriefing survivors in the ruins of Helmfast Castle that the attacking forces had immediately moved against the Gray Death Legion holdings with extreme prejudice. He secures an old map from the computer and uses it to find a refuge for the Legion's remnant in a valley. However, the battle is lost when Lieutenant [[Harris Graff]], a Marik agent among the Legion's MechWarriors (and the traitor who allowed for the demolition charges to be planted outside Tiantan), enters one DropShip under a pretense and captures it from within, subsequently threatening the other DropShip with destruction. During the resulting standoff, Carlyle's remaining men become uneasy about how hostile they are treated by the Marik forces. When the Marik forces break the | + | They arrive in the Helm system in the middle of an ongoing military operation against their holdings and dependents and manage to land near their base in the overall chaos. Carlyle learns from debriefing survivors in the ruins of Helmfast Castle that the attacking forces had immediately moved against the Gray Death Legion holdings with extreme prejudice. He secures an old map from the computer and uses it to find a refuge for the Legion's remnant in a valley. However, the battle is lost when Lieutenant [[Harris Graff]], a Marik agent among the Legion's MechWarriors (and the traitor who allowed for the demolition charges to be planted outside Tiantan), enters one DropShip under a pretense and captures it from within, subsequently threatening the other DropShip with destruction. During the resulting standoff, Carlyle's remaining men become uneasy about how hostile they are treated by the Marik forces. When the Marik forces break the cease-fire and stage a nightly ambush, Carlyle escapes with a handful of troops and 'Mechs. |
| − | With his personal tech Alard King Carlyle travels 400 | + | With his personal tech Alard King Carlyle travels 400 kilometers to the city of Helmdown to talk to contacts they have there and perhaps find out what is going on. However, the city is under lockdown, at least six DropShips are grounded at the starport, and both the [[House Steiner]] and the [[House Davion]] agencies Carlyle hoped to contact have been closed. He does manage to meet with both of the agents together and is confronted with the facts of the Tiantan massacre. Neither agent will help him though because they do not believe his claims of having been set up. King, secretly a spy for Duke [[Hassid Ricol]], meanwhile contacts a [[House Kurita]] agent and learns that during the [[Star League era]] a massive amount of military supplies vanished on Helm and may still be hidden on the planet, possibly somewhere on the Gray Death Legion's landhold. |
During a raid to destroy a Marik [[Mobile HQ]] the Legion happens to capture Graff, who admits to working for [[ComStar]] and more specifically, for Precentor Rachan. He confirms that the setup is about the old Star League storehouse and the immense weapons cache it holds: With Carlyle as the legal landholder (and potential proprietor of the supposed cache) branded outlaw, the fief would have been passed to Lord Garth of Irian who is in league with Precentor Rachan. | During a raid to destroy a Marik [[Mobile HQ]] the Legion happens to capture Graff, who admits to working for [[ComStar]] and more specifically, for Precentor Rachan. He confirms that the setup is about the old Star League storehouse and the immense weapons cache it holds: With Carlyle as the legal landholder (and potential proprietor of the supposed cache) branded outlaw, the fief would have been passed to Lord Garth of Irian who is in league with Precentor Rachan. | ||
| Line 54: | Line 54: | ||
The cache turns out to contain a [[Helm Memory Core|memory core]], plus very large amounts of mothballed military hardware, an invaluable treasure but worthless to the Legion in their current situation. Despite the useful transport system and repair facilities, the onslaught by an overall much larger force threatens to overwhelm the outnumbered and exhausted defenders. Anticipating defeat, Carlyle eventually orders King to make copies of the library core which he realizes is by far the most valuable content of the entire cache, and because the entire setup only makes sense if Precentor Rachan intends to suppress the find. | The cache turns out to contain a [[Helm Memory Core|memory core]], plus very large amounts of mothballed military hardware, an invaluable treasure but worthless to the Legion in their current situation. Despite the useful transport system and repair facilities, the onslaught by an overall much larger force threatens to overwhelm the outnumbered and exhausted defenders. Anticipating defeat, Carlyle eventually orders King to make copies of the library core which he realizes is by far the most valuable content of the entire cache, and because the entire setup only makes sense if Precentor Rachan intends to suppress the find. | ||
| − | Precentor Rachan has meanwhile seized overall command from the bumbling Duke of Irian. Together with a group of six [[ComStar]] adepts whom he intends to kill later, he wants to secure the memory core for himself and then destroy the facility and orders [[Colonel]] [[ | + | Precentor Rachan has meanwhile seized overall command from the bumbling Duke of Irian. Together with a group of six [[ComStar]] adepts whom he intends to kill later, he wants to secure the memory core for himself and then destroy the facility and orders [[Colonel]] [[Julian Langsdorf]], the commander of the Marik ground forces, to break through the rock in the Vermillon valley even while King is still copying the library core in the room on the other side, with an infantry detachment to guard the entrance. Amidst a firefight, Rachan and King have a shouting match where Rachan all but admits to being behind the Tiantan massacre and intending to keep the library hidden from the public. King escapes with a copy of the memory core. One Adept Larabee from Rachan's entourage is shocked enough by the revelations to inform Langsdorf, an upright soldier who had misgivings about the mission all along. On Larabee's testimony Langsdorf arrests Duke Garth and General Kleider. |
Blasting open the access doors to the cache has triggered an ancient safety mechanism that overloads the facility's huge reactor. Even as Langsdorf's forces are retreating and the Gray Death Legion is moving out with their own and Ricol's DropShips (to be carried on Ricol's [[JumpShip]]s), the entire facility self-destructs, killing Precentor Rachan in the process. | Blasting open the access doors to the cache has triggered an ancient safety mechanism that overloads the facility's huge reactor. Even as Langsdorf's forces are retreating and the Gray Death Legion is moving out with their own and Ricol's DropShips (to be carried on Ricol's [[JumpShip]]s), the entire facility self-destructs, killing Precentor Rachan in the process. | ||
| Line 69: | Line 69: | ||
* [[Hassid Ricol]] | * [[Hassid Ricol]] | ||
* [[Jenton Moragen]] | * [[Jenton Moragen]] | ||
| − | * [[ | + | * [[Julian Langsdorf]] |
* [[Lori Kalmar]] | * [[Lori Kalmar]] | ||
* [[Tracy Maxwell Kent]] | * [[Tracy Maxwell Kent]] | ||
| Line 78: | Line 78: | ||
== Featured BattleTech == | == Featured BattleTech == | ||
| − | |||
===BattleMechs=== | ===BattleMechs=== | ||
* ''[[Archer]]'' | * ''[[Archer]]'' | ||
| Line 97: | Line 96: | ||
* ''[[Wasp]]'' | * ''[[Wasp]]'' | ||
* ''[[Wolverine]]'' | * ''[[Wolverine]]'' | ||
| − | + | ||
===Vehicles=== | ===Vehicles=== | ||
*[[Boomerang]] spotter plane | *[[Boomerang]] spotter plane | ||
| Line 113: | Line 112: | ||
===JumpShips=== | ===JumpShips=== | ||
| − | * ''[[Merchant|Merchant]]''-class (''[[ | + | * ''[[Merchant|Merchant]]''-class (''[[Invidious]]'') |
* Unspecified class: ''[[Huntress (Individual JumpShip)|Huntress]]'', ''[[Mizar (Individual JumpShip)|Mizar]]'', ''[[Rapacious (Individual JumpShip)|Rapacious]]'' | * Unspecified class: ''[[Huntress (Individual JumpShip)|Huntress]]'', ''[[Mizar (Individual JumpShip)|Mizar]]'', ''[[Rapacious (Individual JumpShip)|Rapacious]]'' | ||
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==Notes== | ==Notes== | ||
| − | * No dates are provided in the novel, but the ''[[Gray Death Legion (scenario pack)|Gray Death Legion]]'' scenario pack established that the first battle with the Hammerstrike Company in the ruins of Durandel, immediately after landing on Helm, occurred on March 24 ("Thirst for Vengeance" scenario epigraph, p. 33 top header) and the final battles and the recovery of the memory core occurred on 1 April 3028 ("Betrayal at Helm" scenarios, p. 35 top header). | + | *No dates are provided in the novel, but the ''[[Gray Death Legion (scenario pack)|Gray Death Legion]]'' scenario pack established that the first battle with the Hammerstrike Company in the ruins of Durandel, immediately after landing on Helm, occurred on March 24 ("Thirst for Vengeance" scenario epigraph, p. 33 top header) and the final battles and the recovery of the memory core occurred on 1 April 3028 ("Betrayal at Helm" scenarios, p. 35 top header). |
| − | * The Gray Death Legion being hired specifically to conduct aggressive campaigns into [[Capellan Confederation]] space demonstrates that the [[Concord of Kapteyn]], which had been signed for over five years, did not cause much of a | + | *The Gray Death Legion being hired specifically to conduct aggressive campaigns into [[Capellan Confederation]] space demonstrates that the [[Concord of Kapteyn]], which had been signed for over five years, did not cause much of a detente between Houses Marik and Liao after all. The scenario pack notes (in the unit history section on p. 7) that the unit was hired to keep the Confederation off-balance, and for over one standard year enacted a series of hit-and-run strikes against communication centers, fleet depots, 'Mech assembly plants, mines and industrial worlds. The write-up for Grayson Carlyle notes on p. 9 that the offensive took place (or began) in 3026. |
| − | * While it is explicitly mentioned on pp. | + | *While it is explicitly mentioned on pp. 17-18 that the ''Invidious'' and its two DropShips, "merchanters converted to troop transports", have become the Gray Death Legion's Transport Division, from this book onwards the Gray Death Legion's DropShips ''Phobos'' and ''Deimos'' are consistently described as ''[[Union]]''-class (pp. 29, 60, 78) whereas it had previously been established that they are refitted freighters outwardly resembling ''Union''-class vessels. (The original ''Phobos'' was confirmed to be a ''[[Danais]]''/''[[Trojan]]''-class vessel, strongly implying its sister ship ''Deimos'' was of the same class.) Both the ''Phobos'' and the ''Deimos'' are firing [[autocannons]] on p. 89, a weapon system not found on ''Danais''/''Trojan'' vessels but part of a ''Union'''s standard loadout. To explain this apparent inconsistency it can be assumed that two ''Union''-class DropShips also named ''Phobos'' and ''Deimos'' are serving with the Gray Death Legion as of the Sirius campaign in addition to the original refitted freighters (which are not deployed at Sirius, and may have remained at the staging point at [[Graham IV]]). |
| − | * Both DropShips are mentioned to approach Helm with 4 Gs of thrust. However, neither the ''Danais/Trojan'' class nor the ''Union'' class can produce this much thrust. In fact, of all commonplace contemporary spheroid DropShips only the ''[[Seeker]]'' has this much thrust. The number is thus likely in error. | + | *Both DropShips are mentioned to approach Helm with 4 Gs of thrust. However, neither the ''Danais/Trojan'' class nor the ''Union'' class can produce this much thrust. In fact, of all commonplace contemporary spheroid DropShips only the ''[[Seeker]]'' has this much thrust. The number is thus likely in error. |
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== Covers == | == Covers == | ||
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Image:The Price of Glory.jpg|Original 1987 cover. Art by [[David R. Deitrick]]. | Image:The Price of Glory.jpg|Original 1987 cover. Art by [[David R. Deitrick]]. | ||
Image:The Price of Glory (reprint).jpg|1993 reprint. Art by [[Boris Vallejo]]. | Image:The Price of Glory (reprint).jpg|1993 reprint. Art by [[Boris Vallejo]]. | ||
| − | + | Image:Der_Preis_des_Ruhms.jpg|Original 1989 german book cover. Art by [[FASA]], design by [[Atelier Ingrid Schütz, München]]. | |
| − | Image:Der_Preis_des_Ruhms.jpg|1989 | ||
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</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
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[[Category:Novels|Price of Glory, The]] | [[Category:Novels|Price of Glory, The]] | ||
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[[Category:BattleCorps publications]] | [[Category:BattleCorps publications]] | ||
[[Category:Works by William H. Keith, Jr.|Price of Glory, The]] | [[Category:Works by William H. Keith, Jr.|Price of Glory, The]] | ||
| − | + | [[Category:German edition|Price of Glory, The]] | |
| − | [[Category:German | ||
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