Desperate Thrill

Desperate Thrill
Desperate Thrill
Short story by Steven Mohan Jr.
Publication
Published	2009
Published in	Strategic Operations
Publisher	Catalyst Game Labs
Pages	4
Chronology
Era	Civil War era
Timeline	6 August 3064

Desperate Thrill is a short story by Steven Mohan Jr. that was first published in Strategic Operations and later republished in Strategic Operations: Advanced Aerospace Rules.

Plot Summary

On 6 August 3064, Coraines is raided by pirates - a Leopard-class DropShip carrying BattleMechs in turquoise with a blood red battleaxe emblem, and a Mule-class to carry the loot. Supervisor Joshua Hill, a skilled pilot uneasy with war, leads a squadron of aerospace fighters of the Coraines Militia in defense of the planet.

Mid-battle, a glory-hungry rookie, Charles McKay, disobeys Hill's orders and breaks away to attack a powerful Archer, leading to the deaths of both McKay and fellow pilot Shelley Kinta. On the edge of defeat, Hill carries out a precise attack on a pirate Hammer, barely avoiding being shot down by the enemy's LRMs by guiding them into the pirate's own 'Mech. Having taken too much damage, the remaining pirates flee the planet.

In the aftermath, Hill's skilled flying earns him an offer to join the prestigious First Alliance Air Wing, but he declines, preferring instead to stay a farmer and militia member and to avoid getting caught up in the thrill of combat.