Command Circuit

In the BattleTech universe, the "Pony Express" concept refers to the delivery of messages via courier JumpShips instead of the established (and vastly more common) communication via Hyperpulse Generator. It is used as a substitute in cases where HPG communication is unavailable, either outside of the HPG grid or otherwise in cases where ComStar service was denied to the sender by ComStar, or was not desired by the sender.

The term "Pony Express" is sometimes also used synonymously for "Command Circuit". These are similar in that a chain of JumpShips is used, but a Command Circuit is used to expedite passengers or cargo, usually a DropShip, through hand-offs from one JumpShip to the next in a pre-arranged chain of JumpShips, instead of merely carrying a message.

Pony Express-style couriers were used by the Federated Suns and Lyran Commonwealth in the later stages of the Fourth Succession War following ComStar's interdiction, and even prior to the war courier vessels had been used to distribute sealed orders because ComStar was not entirely trusted.

Following the effective breakdown of HPG communications after the 3132 "Gray Monday" Blackout, Pony Express-style message delivery became the predominant form of interstellar communication.

Notes

• Author Ardath Mayhar claims to have invented the Pony Express concept for BattleTech.
• One named Pony Express vessel