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-- Attached file included as plaintext by Listar --
-- File: Mechassign.txt
Scene: Camera pans through a mech bay. A few people scurry here and there as
they work on the mech. We eventually stop in front of two mechs. On the
right is a Shadow Cat which currently had a dark skinned man in mech vest
and shorts exiting the cockpit. The man looks at the camera and waves.
Man: "Well, Hello there! You must be the people Jeremy was telling us about.
Hey, Ranma!"
He turns to mech beside him, a Wraith, as he yells.
Man: "Hey, they're here!!"
A hatch pops open on the mech, and everyone's favorite pig-tailed
mechwarrior steps through.
Ranma: "Yes?" (turns to camera) "Ah! I see you have arrived. Well, Jeremy
told us that some of you are new to
the universe of Battletech so we are here to give you a crash course in the
basics. I will handle the Clan
information and Janus will handle the Inner Sphere info."
Janus: (Nods as he turns to the camers) "Oh! Where are my manners, I'm
Mechwarrior Janus Evans of the
Nerima Maulers, and that " (Points to Ranma) "Is Ranma, formerly of the
Smoke Jaguar Clan. Say Ranma
where do you want to do this?"
Ranma: (With out a pause) "The mess hall."
Janus: (shakes his head) "What is it with you. You'er either eating,
fighting or sleeping."
Ranma: (Curious look) "And what is wrong with that?"
Janus: (Sighs) "Forget it. We'll do this in the mess hall."
Camera pulls back to show Janus using the Mech gantry while Ranma climbs
down his mech's front, then fades to black.
****
Camera opens in the mess hall. Ranma is tearing into a chicken dinner while
Janus watches on in disgust before turning
to the Camera.
Janus: "Seeing as he's busy decimating our food budget I'll start us off.
for those who do not know a
Battlemech is a 16 meter tall, walking war machine. These puppies have ruled
the battle
field for over 300 hundred years. A light mech can raze city blocks in
seconds. Nothing can
stand against a battlemech except maybe another mech."
Ranma: "What about Elementals, Aerofighters, SRM..."
Janus: "Hey, You'll get your turn. Anyway, battlemechs can carry a wide
variety of weapons like Gauss Rifles,
LRM, PPCs etc. I'm not gonna describe each to you, that will be made clear
as the story goes on. What you do need
to know about is where all this takes place, the Inner Sphere. The Inner
Sphere is a collection of over a thousand worlds colonized by mankind.
During the late 21st century man began movement into outer space. The
various areas of controlled space
were eventually brought under the rule of the Star League by a new weapon,
The Battlemech.
For many generations mankind expierenced a golden age of peace and
prosperity until the
ruling house was wiped out by a man named Steffan Amaris, Who tried to take
control of the
Star League. The Army of the Star league, under the command of General
Kerensky declared
war against Amaris . The various houses stayed out of the war and waited.
Eventually Amaris was defeated,
but each of the various lords then declared themselves the new First Lord
and a series of wars
broke out between them. Fearing that his people would be drawn in, Kerensky
lead them out of
the Inner Sphere with a promise to return when the Inner Sphere was in
danger."
Ranma: "A good move by The Great One."
Janus: (Stares at Ranma) "Oh yeah real good move. Now we have to contend
with your Clan buddies as
well as everything else."
Ranma: "Hey, I am a Warden!"
Janus: "Great job yall done. There is ONE invading Warden Clan for SEVEN
invading Crusader Clans. Face it, Kerensky screwed up."
Ranma: (Glares at him for a long moment) "Do you wish to settle this in a
circle of equals?"
Janus: (Color drains from his face) "No, not after what you did to Ukyo."
Ranma: (Growls) "Hey she came at me with..."
Janus: "Sssshhhh! They don't know about that yet!"
Ranma: (A bit sheepish) "Oh, right."
Janus: "Here, I'll say you guys messed up in making Kerensky's dream a
reality. How's that sound?"
Ranma: (Thinks for a moment then nods) "Fair enough."
Janus: "Anyways, For 300 years the various houses have been battling for
control, only the threat of the clans has
caused a loose alliance to form. Now, the Successor States are What is left
of the states once under the control of the Star league, they are now split
up into 6 major star empires. Each state has its own personality and
political system based off of old earth governments. However, each State is
ruled by a house whose memebers are the descendants of the the original
lords under the Star League. For now we will only be concerened with three
of the states. Just so you know I'll give a quick run down of those three
states. The Federated Commonwealth, a mix of 2 nations, the Lyran
Commonwealth ruled by the Steiners and the Federated Suns ruled by the
Davions. Joined by marriage around 3025 the new nation is a mix of American
and Germanic practices. I was born in the Lyran side on the planet Coventry.
Great place to visit."
Ranma: "I do not think they care about that."
Janus: (Grumbels) " The Draconis Combine is ruled by house Kurita. Their
System of government is based on Feudal Japan. However, there have been
changes in the government and fighting style due to the clan onslaught."
Ranma: (Chuckles) "Who found that out the hard way on Luthien."
Janus: "The Capellan Confederation is ruled by house Liao. Based on ancient
china. Now one major power that is not a state
is Com Star. After the first few wars between houses, it was found that they
had destroyed each others ability to communicate between star systems. The
various lords gave a man named Blake the task of rebuilding the destroyed
communications network.
He created Com Star to ensure that communication between the stars was
always possible, for a price of course.
Now any message that is sent across galactic space must go through Com Star.
This places a lot of power in their hands, they use this power to send or
not send messages to maintain the balance of power between the various
states. Most recently the
military arm of Com Star, The Com Guards, bought the I. S. a 15 year truce
with the Clans in 3049. Their goal now is to
prepare the I. S. for a renewed invasion when the time is up. Aside from the
clans, Com Star has the most advanced tech of
the major powers."
Ranma: "I was not at the battle for the truce but I have seen the ROMs and
heard first hand reports, the Com Guards are excellent warriors. Many dreams
of glory were slain by them on that day."
Janus: "They paid for that with a lot blood though."
Ranma: "True, but they did buy the I.S. the time it needs to learn to
effectively fight the clans."
Janus: "Anyways, The Word of Blake was created when many hardliners within
Com Star did not like the new benevolent bent it was taking and split. They
have taken refuge in the Free Worlds League and are preparing for the day
they can take control of the I. S. I beleive its your turn Ranma."
Ranma: (Nods) "Thank you. We...I mean the Clans are the Children of
Kerensky. They live by a Martial Code and
are determined to see a their version of his dream come true. The Clan that
reaches Terra will be
THE CLAN or Ilclan and rule all the others. Also they have superior weapons
and battlemechs compared to the
I. S., on average a 4 to 1 weight ratio is needed for the inner sphere to
have an advantage against the clans."
Janus: "It can be done with less but that's only for the best of commanders
to try."
Ranma: "There are two main factions within the Clans. The first are the
Wardens who Believe it is there job to protect the Inner Sphere from all
outside threats. I agree with this but my former clan did not. They were
firmly Crusader in their beliefs. The Crusaders believe it is their job to
conquer the Inner Sphere and rebuild the Star League. There are over 15
clans total but only 8 earned the right to invade the I.S. We will only be
concerened with three of these Clans. First is the
Jade Falcon. They are characterized as hide bound, with a stubborness
rivaled only by the characters of Rumiko Takahashi."
Janus: (Gives him a funny look) "How do you know about her?"
Ranma: "Kensuke Aida tried to get me into Manga, so he had me read a couple
from his collection."
Janus: "Ah!"
Ranma: "Most Falcons Prefer single combat in any battle. They will not
change their battle tactics or ways under any circumstance. The Wolf Clan
is the most tactically flexible of the Clans. They are also the only Warden
invading Clan. They seek to reach terra first so as to protect the Inner
Sphere from the less benevolent clans."
Janus: "You know, you'd have made a good Wolf Clan Warrior."
Ranma: "Everyone keeps telling me that. Finally we come to my old Clan the
Smoke Jaguare. In a word: Vicious. Known for horrendous brutality on and off
the battle field. They wiped out two cities with orbital bombardment because
the people rose up against them. Basically they are Battletechs answer to
the Empire."
Janus: "How do..."
Ranma: "Aida again."
Janus: "Ah!"
Ranma: "Most warriors in a Clan are Trueborn. This means they are born from
the clans eugenics program. They combine the genes of successful warriors to
produce the more and better warriors. Trueborns are grown in canisters
lovingly refered to as the "Iron Womb". I may self am a product of this. A
Freebirth is a person born of the natural union of two people. In other
words born through Sex. Natural birth is a moral sin in most clans. Within
the Clan no warrior uses contractions, ever.
A few cuss words if you wish to tick a clanner off Stravag, freebirth,
surat." (Turns to Janus who nods)
Janus: (Standing up) "Well that takes care of everything that will not be
covered in the following chapters.
There are a ton of B-tech sites out there if you wish to know and some
really good books too."
Ranma: (Stretchging) "Say, how about a quick match. I'll show you how to do
that take down I did on...that I did recently."
Janus: (Shrugs) "Sure, why not."
Camera fades to black as they leave the mess hall.
Jeremy: What follows is for people who are curious about the mech
assignments. Read no further if you do not care to know that.
Mechwarriors and assignments
Nerima Maulers
Reinforced Command Lance, Hammer Company
Mission Designation: Heavy Assault
Commanding Officer Captain Soun Tendo
Mech: Cyclops
Lieutenant Akane Tendo
Mech: GUN-1ERD Gunslinger
Mechwarrior nameless
Mech:PTR-4D Penatrator
Mechwarrior Ryoga Hibiki
Mech: AS7-K Atlas
Mechwarrior Ukyou Kuonji
Mech: NGS-4s Nightsky
Scout Lance
Lieutenant Nabiki Tendo
Mech: NARC Raven
Bondsman Ranma
Mech: TR1 Wraith
Mechwarrior nameless
Mech: ALM-7D FireBall
Mechwarrior namelessr
Mech: ALM-7D FireBall
Mechwarrior Shinji Ikari
Mech: OW-10 Owens 35 tons. Main armament: 4SRMs. Jump jets, C3 and NARC
Artillery Support Lance
Lieutenant Asuka Langley
Mech: PPR-5S Salamander.
Mechwarrior Rei Ayanami
Mech: Catapult with Arrow IV refits.
Mechwarrior Hiroshi
Mech: Archer
Mechwarrior Daisuke
Mech: Archer
Command Lance, Gundam Company
Mission Designation: Medium Assault
Captain Heero Yuy
Mech: CES-3R Caesar
Was in the Lyran Alliance during the clan invasion. Saw some action against
the clans as a part
of Victor's Revants. Has an unexplainable dislike of Prince Victor's sister,
Katrina Steiner
Lieutenant Duo Maxwell
Mech: EXT-4D Exterminator (Scthy painted on the right shoulder)
>From the Fed. side of the alliance. Also saw action in Victor's Revants.
Mechwarrior Quatre Raberba Winner
>From the Free Worlds League. Dreams of becoming a part of the Knights Of
the Inner Sphere. Has a few ties to Word of Blake, though he dosen't know it
:)
Mech: HUR-WO-R4L Huron Warrior
Mechwarrior nameless
Mech: HMR-3M Hammer
Mechwarrior nameless
Mech: ANV-3M Anvil
Assualt Lance
Lieutenant Trowa Barton
Mech: T-IT-N10M Grand Titian
Mechwarrior nameless
Mech: ON1-M Orion
Mechwarrior nameless
Mech: AWS-9M Awesome
Mechwarrior nameless
Mech: HGN-732 Highlander
Strike Lance
Lieutenant Chang Wufei (Twin Dragons painted on the torso)
Mech: CTF-3D Cataphract
Left the Cappellan confederation after becoming digusted with house Liao's
refusal to see
the clans as a threat.
Mechwarrior nameless
Mech: CN9-D Centurion
Mechwarrior nameless
Mech: ENF-5D Enforcer
Mechwarrior nameless
Mech: BJ-2 Blackjack
Mechwarrior Janus Evans
Mech: Shadow Cat
Others
Major Cologne
Mech: HOP-4D Hoplite
Captain Shampoo
Mech: JMS-DD Jagermech
Mousse
Mech: DV-7D Dervish
Kuno
Mech: HTM-27T Hatamoto-chi
Okay, these are pretty much the final mech assignments. If you have any
complaints as to the
mech feel free to send them in. I will take them all under advisment. The
reason for some of mech and unit assignments
are obvious. Others I cannot reveal as they are a part of the story. I can
say that I chose the eva children simply because
they fit a few roles I was going to use anyways. Also They provided some new
oppurtunitys for Ranma's development.
Ranma is still Akane's Bondsman, however Nabiki's Lance needed someone to
watch their back. And I belive Ranma
would enjoy playing guardian angel. It also prevents Akane and Ryoga from
'accidentally' shooting him in the back on
mission.