Blaine Lee Pardoe

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?

A PRIZE WORTH THE RISK... Despite years of effort, ComStar has been unable to repair the HPG interstellar communications grid. Now the Republic is taking a hands-on approach to fixing the problem. An active hyperpulse generator can turn its planet into a tempting target. So when ComStar appears close to reactivating the HPG on Wyatt, the Republic takes steps to counter any threats to the world-at a time when ComStar is determined to prove that it's once more a force to be reckoned with... Knight-Errant Alexi Holt is assigned to defend Wyatt for the Republic. But her greatest challenge is to protect Tucker Harwell-a genius possessing unmatched HPG skills-from the invaders who will certainly try to capture him. Both the Oriente Protectorate and Clan Spirit Cat have an interest in Wyatt. The first seeks to control the man who can fix an HPG, the other is looking for a safe haven. Unsavory characters will also step forward. After all, though a reactivated HPG makes Wyatt a target, Tucker Harwell is the biggest prize of all...

FIGHT FOR THE FUTURE Shrapnel: The Official BattleTech Magazine surges onward, waging wars that will decide the fate of the BattleMech-dominated future of the 31st century and beyond Follow a quest for quick cash that yields unusual Star League relics. Commiserate with an aging MechWarrior convinced he is cursed with the devil's luck-which is about to run out. Listen to the tale of how mercenary commander Ace Darwin obtained his iconic 'Mech-but how much of his story is true? Within these pages, you will visit Terra after the dawn of the ilClan era, venture into the postwar period of the Aurigan Coalition, and travel to the far-flung worlds of the Scorpion Empire in the Deep Periphery. Then you will dive into the intrigue and vice of Solaris VII in the beginning of a new, four-part serial novel. Choose your plan of attack with technical readouts, after-action reports, a deep dive into plasma technology, a treatise on covert-ops poisons, and a look at Free Worlds League politics, along with playable scenarios and more-all loaded into your autocannon by both BattleTech veterans and new voices from the Inner Sphere: Blaine Lee PardoeCraig A. Reed, Jr.E. Clark AveryJason SchmetzerJames BixbyM. W. HaydenMark HillDaniel IsbernerAlexander J. RothKen' HornerJames KirtleyWunji LauEric SalzmanJoel SteversonStephen Toropov

THE DAY THE STAR LEAGUE DIED Shrapnel: The Official BattleTech Magazine brings you more BattleMech action from the war-torn 31st century and beyond Celebrate Star League Day with tales of a long-abandoned 'Mech rediscovered and pressed into service, a quest for vengeance in enemy territory, the resurgence of old ghosts, and the threat of bitter betrayal in the face of long odds. Charge headlong into technical readouts, assassin conspiracies, in-depth equipment articles, playable holiday-themed scenarios, and more-all from BattleTech veterans, fan favorites, and new authors: Michael A. StackpoleLoren L. ColemanBlaine Lee PardoeBryan YoungBryn BillsCharles DalmasChris HusseyDaniel IsbernerAlex KaempenCraig A. Reed, Jr.Eric SalzmanLance ScarinciDavid SmithTom Stanley

JUMP BACK INTO THE COCKPIT Picking up the battle standard for BattleTech fiction, Shrapnel: The Official BattleTech Magazine continues the tradition of hard-hitting stories set in the war-torn interstellar future of the 31st century and beyond. Fire up your 'Mech's fusion reactor, secure your neurohelmet, and wade into battle with stories from the merciless front lines of the Clan Invasion and other eras, conspiracy theory articles, game scenarios, and more from veteran BattleTech authors, fan favorites, and some new recruits.Featuring: Michael A. StackpoleBlaine Lee PardoeKevin KillianyCraig A. Reed, Jr.Chris HusseyJason HansaLance ScarinciMichael J. CiaravellaPatrick WynneAaron Cahall

BROTHERS IN ARMS...At long last, the Clans' campaign for the Inner Sphere is about to come to a head. Alaric Wolf is preparing for his biggest moves yet...and is willing to enlist just about any force that can help him achieve his ultimate goal-the conquest of Terra.To do this, he sends one of his own on a very special mission. Marotta Kerensky is a Wolf warriors unlike any other-the perfect candidate for a mission unlike any other: convince the legendary Wolf's Dragoons to rejoin the Clan they originally came from.But when Marotta reaches the mercenary unit, he finds them unit quite different from the storied force of more than a century ago. The times have vastly changed since then, and the Dragoons have as well...or have they? Driven to accomplish his mission at any cost, Marotta allies with a Dragoons officer on a risky gambit that may help him deliver what his Khan wants...or tear Wolf's Dragoons apart forever.

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?

VICTORY AT ANY COST...Jump into your BattleMech cockpit, fire up your fusion engine, and charge into the fray with two BattleTech novellas from Philip A. Lee and bestselling writer Blaine Lee Pardoe.A Splinter of Hope Violent expansion of the Capellan Confederation and the Draconis Combine has cost recently crowned First Prince Julian Davion both his mentor and countless Federated Suns worlds. To rally his people, he funnels the fires of justice into an ambitious yet risky campaign to retake a vital system: New Syrtis, the occupied capital of the Capellan March. However, the Capellan people have fought dearly for their prize and will do anything in their power to hold onto it. Will Julian's gamble preserve the future of the Federated Suns, or is the invasion doomed before it even begins?The Anvil Khan Malvina Hazen of Clan Jade Falcon is known throughout the Inner Sphere as a merciless, bloodthirsty tyrant. The next target for her scorched-earth, take-no-prisoners tactics is the Lyran Commonwealth world of Coventry: a persistent stain on the Jade Falcons' history. But not all Falcons follow Malvina's lead. Ordered to take Coventry at any cost, Galaxy Commander Stephanie Chistu wishes to see her Clan victorious, but no victory is worth the Jade Falcons losing their very soul. To stand up to tyranny and find an honorable path forward for her Clan, she must balance the razor's edge between duty and honor-or die trying.

THE TRUE FATE OF CLAN WOLVERINE...Every member of modern Clan society knows of the Not-Named Clan, the one that was erased from history for perpetrating acts of heresy against the Way of the Clans. But what truly happened to Clan Wolverine?Long before the Clans invaded the Inner Sphere in 3049, their ancestors escaped the brutal Succession Wars by braving uncharted space and forming a new society, only to plunge back into the ravages of war. The year is 2822. The Pentagon Civil War is long over, and Operation Klondike saw ilKhan Nicholas Kerensky's twenty Clans victorious over the petty warlords who had conquered the Pentagon worlds. But with no true enemies left to fight, the nascent Clans have lost their laser-sharp focus, and begun straying from the ilKhan's vision.Khan Sarah McEvedy, leader of the progressive Clan Wolverine, sees the dangerous path the ilKhan is steering his Clans onto, but she cannot follow them without compromising her beliefs or her honor. Unsure whom to trust among the scheming Clans, she must navigate the political waters of the Grand Council with caution and resolve, or suffer the deadly consequences. As her enemies seek to engineer her Clan into the ultimate scapegoat, Khan McEvedy must do everything she can to ensure her Clan survives, or they will all be hunted down and destroyed.Written by BattleTech veteran Blaine Lee Pardoe, Betrayal of Ideals tells the complete story of the true history of Clan Wolverine.

Legend has it that Scotland's most heinous crimes were committed by Sawney Bean and his murderous clan of cannibals-an incestuous cave dwelling tribe thought to have preyed on hundreds of travellers on the coast of Galloway in the sixteenth century. The Beans' appetite for human flesh has since accrued international infamy, and is even supposed to have incited a royal manhunt by King James I of England. The Beans have, over the centuries, carved out a secure place in Scottish folklore. Sawney Bean: Dissecting the Legend of the Scottish Cannibal is the first major non-fictional investigation of a tale that has permeated accounts of Scotland's history, and Scottish cultural practices today. Blaine L. Pardoe uses a wide range of carefully researched material to examine every aspect of the myth, while tracking its oscillating journey between fact and fiction. Readers will glean from his writing some fascinating insights into the burgeoning literary formats, anti- Scottish prejudice, and sensationalist culture of early modern Britain.

Weston Birch (Bert) Hall carved out his place in history with an almost devilish delight. Much of what has been written about him, including his own two autobiographies, has proven over the years to be more fiction than reality. He was labelled numerous times in his career: rogue, scoundrel, card cheat, forger, human cannonball, World War 1 pilot, criminal, bigamist, deserter, filmmaker, author, soldier of fortune, hero, Chinese General, arms smuggler, Foreign Legionnaire, salesman, aerial racer, aviation pioneer, father, and entrepreneur. Oddly enough, these titles were all true. Bert Hall's fantastic life and status as the bad boy of the Lafayette Escadrille have often eclipsed the truth. Turning to primary sources in archives around the world, many that have been overlooked for decades, this book makes the first attempt to reconstruct the life of Bert Hall. For the first time aficionados of World War 1 aviation and aviation history will get a glimpse into the life of a man who lived in extraordinary times and took advantage of them. While Bert's autobiographies were penned mostly to create a myth around his life, they often were based on kernels of truth. This book finds those kernels and paints the real-life picture of an amazing man who lived in incredible times. As the elder man of the Lafayette Escadrille, Bert was basically run out of the squadron by his colleagues. That should have been the end of his story. In reality, it was just the beginning. In an age where the world was fascinated by aviators, Bert became a real-life comic book character - a mercenary of the skies! Within two years, the Lafayette Escadrille, a squadron or rogues, playboys and misfits has claimed an incredible 900 kills and produced 72 aces!