Craig A Reed

A DARK WAR FOR THE THRONE... Yori Kurita, the Dragon, Coordinator of the Draconis Combine, rules her nation with an even hand and is reveling in her victories over the hated Federated Suns. Though the Dragon's troops occupy the Suns' capital for the first time in history, her own reign rests on a shaky foundation. Due to her checkered ancestry, many detractors call her a puppet ruler, a pretender to House Kurita's throne, and some will stop at nothing to end her rule and take back the Combine-including eliminating anyone who gets too close to the truth. Russell Blaylock, a detective for the Civilian Guidance Corps, has seen plenty of murder cases throughout his distinguished career. When his investigation of a murder with ties to the Palace puts him in the crosshairs of the Internal Security Force and their shadowy war of brinksmanship with agents from the rival Order of the Five Pillars, he soon draws the attention of the Coordinator herself. In a quest for the truth, Yori reactivates a long-dormant bureau, the Office of Special Investigations, and tasks Blaylock and his team of investigators and security with solving this case before the conspirators' deadly plans can be carried out. But the Combine's capital brims with visitors for the celebration of the Coordinator's anniversary, Yori's well-equipped, well-prepared enemies could be anyone, anywhere, and they could strike when least expected. Can Blaylock and his team hunt them down before they eliminate the Coordinator and bring the Combine to its knees?

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...

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?

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