Remaining Unperceived
Remaining Unperceived | |
|---|---|
| Short story by Robert Charrette | |
| Published in | BattleTech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction |
| Pages | 5 |
| Chronology | |
| Era | Succession Wars era |
| Timeline | 28 November 3021 — 3022 |
{{#set:Era=Succession Wars era}}{{#set:Start date=28 November 3021}}{{#set:End date=3022}}
The short story Remaining Unperceived was published in BattleTech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction.
Plot summary
The bulk of the story is framed as a recorded report by Corporal Mickey Rearden months after the events of 28 November 3021. Rearden, a member of the AFFS, works security for the Hiakru-Weller Training Facility on Hoff alongside fellow guard Sol. After an extensive briefing about ninjas, the two patrol over what seems to be a quiet, cold night. The facility holds multiple targets of interest, including a prototype Hatchetman and a device called an 'oscillation overcompensator'.
The quiet night is interrupted by intruders, two stealth-suited infiltrators. The first killed Sol before fighting Rearden with her monomolecular-edged sword, and in a stroke of luck, Rearden killed her with her own sword. Her nearly-invisible unit flash revealed her to be a Draconis agent. While fleeing, though, Rearden loses his arm to the other infiltrator, falling unconscious. He would later wake up hospitalized.
Months later, Maskirovka asset Mickey Rearden and his handler listen to his report as part of a debriefing. Rearden's report earned him medals, a promotion, and a pension from the Federated Suns. He had accurately unmasked the successful theft of the overcompensator as a Draconis operation, but secretly he had been part of a Capellan plan to steal the same device. His duties for the Maskirovka are to continue.
Rearden, by his narration, never hears from his handler again.
Featured characters
- Aaron Sandoval (mentioned)
- Max Liao (mentioned)
- Mickey Rearden
- Sol
- Zerbinski (mentioned)
Featured BattleTech
BattleMechs
- Hatchetman (mentioned, not by name)