View source for Life in the Big City

{{Redirect|A Tale of Two Cities|text=As it is part of this short story}}
{{InfoBoxFiction
| name               = 
| image              = 
| author             = [[Tara Gallagher]]
| pub_date           = 1986
| product            = [[CityTech]]
| type               = Short story
| publisher          = [[FASA]]
| illustrations      = 
| pages              = 8
| era                = [[Succession Wars era]]
| startdate          = {{ca}} [[3024]]
| enddate            = 
| series             = 
| precededby         = 
| followedby         = 
}}
'''''Life in the Big City''''' is a vignette-style piece of short fiction by [[Tara Gallagher]] that was first published in the 1986 ''[[CityTech]]'' rulebook. While it was printed on the rulebook's last pages, there is also a brief introductory scene on p. 3 of the rulebook titled '''''A Tale of Two Cities''''' that is connected to it.

On 28 August 2006 ''Life in the Big City'', minus the ''A Tale of Two Cities'' scene, was made available for download as an individual [[w:PDF|PDF]] publication via [[BattleCorps]].

==Teaser text (BattleCorps re-release)==
{{quote|''Generally, only [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarriors]] are welcome in Maloof's. Technicians or infantry or support personnel spend their time elsewhere, so when a MechWarrior invites one to drink at Maloof's it is a mark of high respect. At the same time, they're somewhat conspicuous; so when they start telling a tale of life in the big city, others will listen...''}}

==Plot Summary==
There is no proper plot or storyline; the fiction consists of loosely connected scenes of patrons celebrating and talking at Maloof's Tavern on [[Rahway II]], a [[Federated Suns]] world reserved almost exclusively for [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarrior]] R&R.

===A Tale of Two Cities===
Commander [[Stephen Burrows]] proposes a toast in Maloof's Tavern to the recent conquest of [[Pike IV]] and the soon-to-be-historic Battle for Weehawken.

===Life in the Big City===
[[Frank Krieger]] and [[Abbey Farber]], known as "possibly the best technicians around" and called "two of the best Techs in the [[Inner Sphere]]", join the MechWarriors of the [[Burrow's Crashing Thunder]] [[mercenary]] regiment in celebration of their victory over [[House Kurita]] forces at Weehawken on [[Travis V]]. They draw glaring stares from MechWarrior Williams, prompting another MechWarrior to narrate how they scrounged up spare parts for improvised repairs to his 'Mech (and others) on Torwind, resulting in 'Mechs with product advertisements on them from the truck trailers that were used to patch up the improvised armor. Williams' 'Mech had the line "Processed Chicken" running along both legs and the right torso.<br />Later they talk about ''[[Locust]]'' pilots and how all MechWarriors — including ''Locust'' pilots themselves — consider them to be the weirdest.

At another table nearby, MechWarriors from Kushnir's Battalion of the [[42nd Armored Lightning Regiment]] mourn for [[John Judd]], whose ''[[Phoenix Hawk]]'' was destroyed by an enemy ''[[BattleMaster]]'' that cornered it in a city on Pike IV with its [[jump jet]]s out.

At yet another table, an aging battalion commander is turning his 'Mech over to his niece, and cautions her against fighting recklessly or underestimating infantry, lest she end up [[dispossessed]].

==Featured Places==
*[[New Mendham]] (mentioned)
*[[Pike IV]] (mentioned)
*[[Rahway II]]
*Torwind (reference to an event "on Torwind"; unclear from the context if Torwind is a world)
*[[Travis V]] (mentioned)

==Featured Units==
*[[42nd Armored Lightning Regiment]]
*[[Burrow's Crashing Thunder Regiment]]

==Featured BattleTech==
*''[[BattleMaster]]''
*''[[Locust]]''
*''[[Phoenix Hawk]]''
*''[[Rifleman]]''
*''[[Thunderbolt]]''
*''[[Warhammer]]''
*''[[Wolverine]]''

==Notes==
*No timestamp is provided for the story. However, given that ''CityTech'', published in 1986, is a very early [[BattleTech]] product and that the concept of [[lostech]] plays a prominent role, the story can be assumed to be set during the [[Succession Wars era]], in or around the "classic" year [[3025]]. The victory on Travis V that is celebrated by the MechWarriors took place in the summer of [[3024]] according to ''[[Technical Readout: 3025]]'' (''[[Stalker]]'' entry).
*In the German edition of ''CityTech'', this story was replaced by the story ''[[Black Cats Cross Your Path]]'' by Tara Gallagher and [[James Lanigan]].

==Bibliography==
*''[[CityTech]]'' rulebook, pp. 40-42, with additional scene titled "A Tale of Two Cities" on p. 3

[[Category:BattleCorps publications]]
[[Category:Short Stories]]
[[Category:Works by Tara Gallagher]]