Teach the Wicked
Teach the Wicked | |
|---|---|
| Short story by Phaedra Weldon | |
| Published in | BattleTech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction |
| Pages | 5 |
| Chronology | |
| Era | Jihad era |
| Timeline | 3 April 3073 |
{{#set:Era=Jihad era}}{{#set:Start date=3 April 3073}}{{#set:End date=3 April 3073}}
The short story Teach the Wicked was published in BattleTech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction.
Plot summary
Martian Cuirassiers Lieutenant John W. Traeger, caught in an explosion in a café on Hall, wakes up to find the area in devastation. Away from his unit for his wife's anniversary, he is almost alone but for the barista and a small child's teddy bear. He heads out into the chaos with both, soon finding the remains of destroyed 'Mechs: his unit's. The 52nd Shadow Division shattered his unit. Among the remains is the disabled Javelin of Traeger's fellow mercenary Cusak, complete with Cusak's 'insurance policy': explosives. The barista disappears, and Traeger takes some of the explosives.
After further wandering, Traeger finds the 52nd's leadership, Precentor Apollyon and Demi-Precentors Magna Rochart and Setiwah. He stuffs some of the explosives into the teddy bear, creating a powerful pressure-activated concealed bomb in case of capture, and prepares to gun down the Manei Domini ahead. They quickly capture him, taking him to the prisoner corrals for reeducation and conditioning, and he sees a familiar face: the young girl who owned the now bomb-stuffed bear.
Taking death as better than reeducation, with the Demi-Precentors nearby, Traeger hands the pressure-activated teddy bear bomb to the young girl and tells her that it could use a hug.
Featured characters
- Apollyon
- John W. Traeger
- Magna Rochart
- Setiwah
- Zane Cole (mentioned)
- Sarah Traeger (mentioned)
- Cusak (mentioned)