Desperate Thrill

Desperate Thrill
Story information
Author	Steven Mohan, Jr.
Pages	4
Type	Short story
Product	Strategic Operations
Content
Era	Civil War era
Timeline	6 August 3064

The short story Desperate Thrill was published in Strategic Operations and republished in Strategic Operations: Advanced Aerospace Rules.

Plot summary

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

Featured characters

• Joshua Hill
• Charles McKay
• Shelley Kinta
• Thomas Krajewska
• Richard Kilaka
• Old Tuck
• Molly

Featured BattleTech

Aerospace Fighters

• Stuka
• Shilone

BattleMechs

• Bandersnatch
• Hammer
• Archer

Conventional Fighters

• Boomerang

DropShips

• Leopard
• Mule
• Union (mentioned)

Featured units

• Coraines Militia
• 1st Alliance Air Wing (mentioned)

Featured places

• Coraines
• Jordan Wais (mentioned)