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{{otheruses|the Civil War short story|the Gray Death Legion novel|A Rock and a Hard Place}}
{{InfoBoxFiction
| name = Rock in a Hard Place
| image =
| author = [[Kevin Killiany]]
| pub_date = 21 July 2005
| product =
| type = Short story
| publisher = [[BattleCorps]]
| illustrations = [[Robert Atkinson]]
| pages = 18
| era = [[Civil War era]]
| startdate = 30 March [[3067]]
| enddate =
| series =
| precededby =
| followedby =
}}
'''''Rock in a Hard Place''''' is a short story by [[Kevin Killiany]] that was first published online on [[BattleCorps]] on 21 July 2005.

== Teaser Text ==
{{quote|''Kevin Killiany takes us to Tharkad to give us hands-on instructions from an infantryman on how to take down a [['Mech]] the hard way.''}}

== Plot Summary ==
[[Roccamound Johansen]] is an infantry specialist and a member of the Third Assault Avatars, [[Twenty-first Rim Worlds Regiment]], [[Blue Star Irregulars]], and he and his unit have set up on one of the mountainsides near where the Twenty-first had identified a small arroyo as a suitable bolt hole for the regiment to use if things went bad. Unfortunately for Johansen and the other members of his unit, their opponents - the [[Eleventh Arcturan Guards]] - have a detachment that's set up in the vicinity, which means the [[LAAF]] may have found that bolt hole as well.

Observing a [[lance]] of Lyran 'Mechs moving around - an old-model ''[[Zeus]]'', an LRM-heavy variant of the ''[[Stalker]]'', an old ''[[Hunchback]]'' and a left-handed ''[[Nightsky]]'', Johansen and his team are disconcerted to see that the 'Mechs are in good repair, even if they're largely older models. Seeing the ''Nightsky'' move, Johanson's sergeant observes that the [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarrior]] is trained for zero-g work, and the two speculate that the Eleventh has rebuilt using forces from the [[Timbuktu Theater Militia]] - most likely the [[Alekseyevka Timbuktu Theater Militia]] - and are well positioned to make life difficult for the 'Mechs of the Twenty-first.

With the ''Nightsky'' moving out as spotter for the lance, Johanson and his men split up to try and sabotage or distract the 'Mechs - a squad of anti-'Mech infantry against a lance. Johanson's target is the ''Nightsky'', and he manages to use a grapnel to climb onto the 'Mech... but whilst he's trying to decide where to leave his explosive charge, the MechWarrior spots him and fires the [[small laser]] mounted behind the ''Nightsky''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s head at him, leaving Johanson clinging to the 'Mech after a desperate evasive move. As he tries to reposition to place his charge, the MechWarrior manages to knock him loose and moves off, leaving Johanson embarrassed but not injured.

With the ''Stalker'' starting to lay down indirect fire, the Twenty-first begin jamming as best they can, while Johanson's squad reposition to try and inflict some damage while a pair of Blue Star Irregulars' 'Mechs begin moving in to support them, headed up by a ''[[Cerberus (BattleMech)|Cerberus]]''. He and a squadmate attempt to immobilize the ''Hunchback'', one charge damaging the 'Mechs knee while Johanson manages to scale as far as the ''Hunchback''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s left hip, giving him a few moments to observe the battlefield and see his reinforcements - the ''Cerberus'', a ''[[Starslayer]]'' and a ''[[Jackal]]'', all damaged - moving to engage the Lyran 'Mechs, whilst beyond them the bulk of the Eleventh engaging the battered Twenty-first.

Johanson manages to secure his charges against the ''Hunchback'', but when he jumps clear, finds the ''Hunchback'' has backed up against the mountain for cover, and his jump has simply left him stuck to the rock face a couple of meters from the charges, with a clear view of the high-grade explosives about to detonate. As he scrambles for cover, the explosives go off, and Johanson is hit in the explosion.

Describing the events afterwards to the [[Twentieth Arcturan Guards]], who've beaten the Eleventh, Johanson talks about losing an arm and a leg in the explosion, and how his squadmate [[Fatima Crenshaw]] treated the amputations as best she could before the two ended up hiding under a canvas camouflage sheet from Arcturan Guard [[battle armor]] after the battle. Offered repatriation back to the Twenty-first, Johanson isn't convinced that they'll need a one-armed, one-legged infantryman, but having decided whilst high on morphine under the sheet that he'd marry Fatima, he requests that the Twentieth check to see if she's among the POWs on [[Tharkad]], and if she is, to let her know that he's available if she's interested.

== Featured Characters ==
* [[Roccamound Johansen]]
* Sergeant [[Janice Walters]]
* [[Fatima Crenshaw]]
* [[Alexandra Daya Atreus]] (implied)
* Colonel [[Hank Hatfield-McCoy]] (mentioned)

== Featured Units ==
* [[21st Rim Worlds|Twenty-first Rim Worlds Regiment]]
* [[11th Arcturan Guards|Eleventh Arcturan Guards]]
* [[20th Arcturan Guards|Twentieth Arcturan Guards]]
* [[Kell Hounds]] (mentioned)
* [[Alekseyevka Timbuktu Theater Militia| Alekseyevka TTM]] (mentioned)

== Featured Places ==
* [[Tharkad]]
* [[Timbuktu]] (mentioned)

== Featured BattleTech ==
=== BattleMechs ===
* [[Zeus|ZEU-6S ''Zeus'']]
* [[Zeus|ZEU-9S ''Zeus'']] (mentioned)
* [[Stalker|STK-3H ''Stalker'']]
* [[Stalker|STK-3F ''Stalker'']] (mentioned)
* [[Hunchback|HBK-4G ''Hunchback'']]
* [[Nightsky|NGS-4S-L ''Nightsky'']]
* [[Cerberus (BattleMech)|MR-5M ''Cerberus'']]
* ''[[Quickdraw]]'' (mentioned)
* ''[[Starslayer]]''
* ''[[Jackal]]''

[[Category:BattleCorps publications]]
[[Category:Short Stories]]
[[Category:Works by Kevin Killiany]]

Rock in a Hard Place - Revision history

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