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WATCH YOUR SIX! Shrapnel: The Official BattleTech Magazine brings you more hard-hitting BattleMech action from the heavy-metal wars of the 31st century and beyond-but don't let your guard down! A loyal Republic of the Sphere MechWarrior must make a life-or-death decision when catastrophic news from Terra throws everything into chaos. A sheriff on a Periphery backwater planet investigates mysterious murders terrorizing a community. A desperate survivor of the Clan Invasion seeks revenge against the Jade Falcons while he still has the chance...In this issue, you'll travel to the Hanseatic League in the Deep Periphery, where the Scorpion Empire will stop at nothing to obtain a priceless Star League-era relic. Then witness the first Marauder built in the new millennium walk off the assembly line, face a so-called zombie 'Mech arisen from the grave, and discover how to effectively weaponize a BattleMech's operating system. No matter the situation, you can stay out of harm's way by reviewing a most-wanted list of criminals and assassins, a roster of the Marian Hegemony's Legion of the Dead, technical readouts, unit and planet digests, playable scenarios, a campaign set in the resource-poor wilds of the Third Succession War, and more-all by battle-hardened BattleTech authors and some new boot-camp graduates: Bryan YoungChris HusseyMarc FollinJaymie WagnerJames BixbyJ. D. NealJeremy A. ReynoldsDavid StierGeoff "Doc" SwiftÉtienne Charron-WillardJames KirtleyMatt LarsonLorcan NagleEric SalzmanZac SchwartzTom StanleyStephen ToropovChris Wheeler

A HERD DIVIDED... For the entirety of its existence, Clan Hell's Horses has been underestimated by its fellow Clans. The inclusion of tanks and infantry alongside their BattleMech forces has often unfairly forced the Horses into lopsided alliances with other Clans. As competing Clans race headlong to conquer Terra, the birthplace of humanity, the Horses must focus on survival rather than the glory of conquest. But many Horses want more, and they refuse to be shouldered aside as Clans Jade Falcon and Wolf reap the rewards of their campaign toward Terra. Star Captain Peter Cobb, a controversial rising star and military scholar, sees a new trail for the Hell's Horses to blaze. This path would put the Clan on a fiery trajectory to earn the victories and respect they rightfully deserve, and push the Clan toward a prosperous future. But few embrace his controversial ideas and, divided by distrust and ambition, the leadership of his Clan lacks the will to ensure that the Hell's Horses will be strong enough to survive the tumultuous conflicts ahead. Caught between the bloody agendas of two rival Khans-a political maneuverer and a bellicose warmonger-Peter must find a way to restore the soul of the Hell's Horses without sullying his honor, or risk dooming his entire Clan to extinction in the face of a rising power unlike any the Inner Sphere has ever seen...

SHE FOUND THE LOST PLANET... Intrepid interstellar explorer Brooke Stevens has seen many strange and unique sights in her lifetime, but this one may be the most incredible one of all. Tasked by the organization Interstellar Explorations to locate an entire world, she located the previously "lost" planet of Jardine. BUT WILL SHE LIVE TO TELL ANYONE ABOUT IT? Once there, however, she stumbles upon a powerful ComStar faction, the Word of Blake, that will do anything to keep Jardine's location a secret-including terminating any outsiders with knowledge of their concealed base. Now Brooke and what's left of her team-a taciturn tech and a native of Jardine whose tribe was wiped out by brutal Manei Domeni cyborgs-must brave the hazards of the jungle planet and journey to the heart of the Word of Blake's operations in hopes of finding a way off the planet...before their relentless enemies bury them on it...

TO REFORGE A NATION... The once-mighty Federated Suns has been weakened by years of conflict on both sides of its border. Its proud capitol, New Avalon, has been held by its mortal enemies, the Draconis Combine, for years, forcing First Prince Julian Davion to rule his fractious nation on the run. But at long last, the time to liberate New Avalon from the Dragon is at hand. And despite very different opinions as to how they retake the Davion family's seat of power, Julian and his Prince's Champion, Field Marshal Erik Sandoval, must work together to free the planet, the first step to rebuilding their proud nation. Yet liberating New Avalon is only the first step. While the First Prince attempts to hold the marches together and the Prince's Champion battles Draconis Combine forces on nearby worlds, new threats lurk around every corner. Facing dangers both at home and abroad, both men must fight to preserve the Davion throne while ensuring their own rivalry doesn't spark a brand-new conflict-one that could tear the Federated Suns apart all over again...

TO REFORGE A SHATTERED LEAGUE... A MechWarrior without peer, Thaddeus Marik has become the figurehead for a new community of worlds attempting to resurrect the Free Worlds League after the collapse of the Republic of the Sphere. After defeating a Lyran invasion on the planet of Savannah and negotiating a successful alliance with the Clan Protectorate Coalition, Marik must now ally himself with Jessica Halas-Hughes Marik if the new league is to have a chance. Having Marik and his forces at her side gives Jessica much-needed credibility and greater influence on Oriente. But old hatreds die hard, erupting in a war against enemies who will stop at nothing to destroy the founding of a new league...

A FUTURE FOR THE TAKING... As the last Bloodnamed Warrior left in the former Jade Falcon Occupation Zone, newly-elected Khan Jiyi Chistu has 'Mechs, but no MechWarriors-making it impossible to rebuild his Clan after the disaster on Terra. Meanwhile, despite being riven by the Dominion-wide vote on whether to join the new Star League or not, Star Colonel Emilio Hall's Ghost Bears have a planet full of talented sibkos ready to graduate. When word of these sibkos reaches Khan Chistu, he hatches a bold plan to take them, eager to rebuild the Jade Falcons. But with Star Colonel Emilio caught up in the politics of the Ghost Bear vote, will he even see Jiyi coming? Or will he lose the sibkos that represent the very future of his Clan? For both men and the Clans they hold dear, these dilemmas become nothing less than a question of survival...

BESET ON ALL SIDES... It is a time of trials for the Marik-Stewart Commonwealth. Besieged by enemies, their once-mighty forces are struggling to simply survive-as is their leader... Anson Marik is at his wit's end. His Lyran enemies-aided by the warriors of Clan Wolf-are pressing on the borders of the Commonwealth. His chief tactician wishes to resign in the middle of chaos. And his abilities as a leader are failing him-he finds himself unable to summon the legendary rage that focuses his mind-and the loss could not have come at a worse time. For his allied enemies are on the move, taking the Commonwealth apart planet by planet, forcing Marik to pull his forces back in a fighting retreat. And if Anson Marik cannot gather his strength to stop the invasion, his people will be doomed...

RIPE FOR THE TAKING... Dissatisfied with Archon Melissa Steiner's leadership of the Lyran Commonwealth, Vedet Brewer, Duke of Hesperus, overthrew her rule in 3143 and claimed the mantle for himself-only to be unceremoniously removed from the position two years later. Brewer and his troops fled to the far reaches of Lyran space to lick his wounds and reevaluate his future, wandering the Commonwealth in search of potential allies and opportunities. His travels finally led him and his First Hesperus Guards to one of his old haunts: Melissia, a former Lyran provincial capital, a world he has not returned to in two decades-the perfect place to put down new roots. But the Clan Jade Falcon occupiers have already departed, and in their absence, two opposing factions vie for dominance: one seeks a new future for Melissia, the other desperately clings to tradition and the old ways. All political avenues have failed, and a grinding war between commoners and aristocracy is their only discourse. For an opportunist like Brewer, there is a clear path forward, but a ghost from his past calls everything he knew into question, and players in the shadows will stop at nothing to keep him from interfering in their carefully laid plans for the planet. Can Brewer muster the strength and courage to take advantage of this crisis, and plant the seeds of a new power capable of standing in defiance of the Archon?

A RACE TO VICTORY... Terra. Birthplace of humankind. Cradle of the Inner Sphere. For centuries, it has been the Clans' ultimate prize. As prophesied by their founder, Nicholas Kerensky, the Clan that conquers Terra shall ascend above all others to become the ilClan, ruler over the rest of the Clans. And its leader shall become the ilKhan, and will lead the Inner Sphere into a new era. And now, nearly a century after the Clan Invasion, two Clans race to be the first to reach Terra. On one side is Alaric Ward, Khan of Clan Wolf, a brilliant warrior and complex mix of the best of the Clans and the Inner Sphere. He comes to save the Inner Sphere from itself, intending to construct a new empire among the stars. His main adversary is Chingis Khan Malvina Hazen, the brutal, ruthless leader of Clan Jade Falcon. Forged in a tradition where only the strong survive, she leads her touman not to save the Inner Sphere, but to raze it to ashes and rebuild it according to her own twisted vision. All that stands between them and a decisive victory that will reshape the Inner Sphere forever is the impenetrable barrier shielding Terra from invasion, not to mention the forces of the once-mighty Republic, which has no plans to surrender without a vicious fight...the only question is, who will reach Terra first?

FIVE AGAINST ONE... It was supposed to be just another exercise-a Star of light 'Mechs against one assault 'Mech. Jackson is a ristar cadet in Clan Smoke Jaguar, renowned-and envied-for never losing a battle. The five cadets beneath him in the rankings plan to hand him his first defeat. But the training goes terribly wrong, and before the day is over, there are winners and losers-and one cadet will not survive the day. That training exercise sets in motion a chain of actions that encompasses both events that occurred decades earlier, and those yet to come. Now a full MechWarrior, Star Captain Jackson searches for answers-both about his past, and what had happened that fateful day. But what he learns are secrets that threaten to upend his entire life-and make him reconsider what it means to be a Smoke Jaguar...

THE INNER SPHERE UNDER ASSAULT...Since the failure of the interplanetary communications system, the decades-long peace brokered by the Republic of the Sphere has begun to splinter. Power-hungry factions-such as the Steel Wolves-are invading vulnerable worlds to establish their own rule.As a gateway to Terra, the planet of Northwind has strategic value-making it a fiercely-contested target for the emerging factions springing up across the Republic-and Duchess Tara Campbell will not allow her home to fall into enemy hands. Offering military assistance, the Republic sends Paladin Ezekiel Crow and his fully armed BattleMech to help defend Northwind.MechWarrior Anastasia Kerensky, she of the infamous Clan Bloodline, has set her sights on conquering Northwind-and what Anastasia wants, Anastasia usually gets. But first she must contend with the deadly politics of the Steel Wolves before she embarks on a conquest that could lead to the very heart of The Republic itself...

SEMPER FIDELISIn the year 3060, the reborn Star League has destroyed Clan Smoke Jaguar, conquered their home world Huntress, and scattered the few remaining Jaguar warriors to the winds. Now the League seeks to end the Clan invasion for good by using former Smoke Jaguars against their own people.Meanwhile, two bitter enemies seek to salvage a future for the last Jaguars in existence: Trent, who betrayed his wayward Clan to help them regain their honor, and Paul Moon, a disgraced warrior torn between his pledged loyalty to the Star League and a duty to the Smoke Jaguar civilization he was born to protect.But power-hungry predators lurk in Clan space, waiting for the right time to strike the vulnerable Star League forces. And to the victor will go the spoils: the priceless artifacts of a destroyed Clan and the sacred genetics of the final generation of Smoke Jaguar warriors.Trent and Paul Moon must fight tooth and nail against would-be conquerors to save the soul of the surviving Jaguar people before they are consigned to the annals of history. But will their divergent plans tear the survivors apart, or lead them toward freedom?

GHOSTS IN THE DARK... Jasper and Nadine Roux are cadets at the Ritza MechWarrior Academy; a dream come true for the orphaned siblings from the war-torn planet of Hoff. For the last six years, Emporia has been their home. Sponsored to the academy by the powerful Vogel House, both cadets are expected to excel in all tasks. Their dream becomes a nightmare when the Draconis Combine lands at their door. It's up to the siblings to stop a renegade Seventh Ghost Regiment warlord when he lays claim to a piece of the Inner Sphere-starting with the Federated Suns' planet of Emporia. The border world looks like easy prey, but this warrior of the Dragon is about to learn how wrong he is. After the few MechWarriors on the planet are taken hostage, the Sponsored and Blooded cadets of the Ritza Academy fight like they have nothing left to lose. It's a fight that will cost them more than they know...

A GALAXY AFLAME...The universe has gone dark. Interstellar communications has been lost across the Inner Sphere, threatening the corporate giant ComStar-and maybe civilization itself. Risking everything on a last chance for survival, Comstar has kidnapped the engineering genius Tucker Harwell, hoping he can unravel the mystery of the blackout. But Tucker isn't just working on why it happened...he's also trying to figure out who's behind it.Meanwhile, Khan Malvina Hazen solidifies her hold on a purified Clan Jade Falcon while hunting for the next enemy to crush under the talons of her brutal Mongol Doctrine. Hundreds of light-years away, Clan Wolf is carving out territory along the Lyran Commonwealth/Free Worlds League border-and Alaric Wolf is primed to make his moves in the halls of power.Plans years in the making begin to come together across hundreds of star systems, and secrets hidden for decades will finally be revealed while an empire goes up in flames...