Battletech: Proliferation Cycle

THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE INVENTION OF THE BATTLEMECH... Break-Away is the first of six novellas detailing the struggle to create the next awesome weapon to rule the battlefield-the BattleMech. In the mid-25th century, factions of mankind are desperate to invent the next technological leap in warfare-a machine that would give each group an overwhelming advantage on the battlefield. And no one is more aware of the race to perfect this new machine than the leaders on Terra. But during the final trials to find the first pilot for the Terran prototype, the contest is infiltrated by a deadly enemy who wants to ensure that no one survives. It's up to the last remaining Terran candidate-and a scientist struggling to make a breakthrough on the human-machine interface that will control this new war machine-to save Terra's BattleMech program from those who wish to destroy it.

THE STRUGGLE FOR BATTLEMECH SUPREMACY CONTINUES... Fifteen years after the Terran Hegemony first fielded the Mackie, the very first BattleMech, the Great House has been running rampant over the other Houses in the Inner Sphere. Any who try to fight the Terrans and their death machines are utterly defeated. but there are other ways to level the battlefield... And the Lyran Commonwealth is about to employ one of the oldest strategies in the book: if you can't beat 'em, steal from 'em. A crack commando unit is assigned their most perilous mission yet: infiltrate a heavily-defended Terran world and steal the plans for the Terran BattleMechs. Besides the odds being stacked against the, the leader of this team has his own demon to deal with-one that stands twelve meters tall, and shakes the ground when it walks...

THERE'S MORE THAN ONE WAY TO ACQUIRE A BATTLEMECH... In the year 2456, the Great House of the Federated Suns is between the rock of the Terran Hegemony and its fielded BattleMechs, and the hard place of the Lyran Commonwealth, which has just acquired the plans to build its own walking war machines. Beset by enemies on all sides, what is Prince Simon Davion to do? Why, employ his most cunning weapon-a diplomatic envoy sent to Tharkad with the express purpose of gaining access to the stolen Battlemech plans. But when diplomatic niceties are unable to accomplish this goal, subterfuge and deception will have to win the day...

THEIR MISSION: ACQUIRE BATTLEMECH PLANS, NO MATTER THE COST... There are three ways to accomplish a difficult objective: Be first. Be smarter. Or cheat. The Intelligence Directorate of the Capellan Confederation, otherwise known as the Maskirovka, is well-versed in all three. But when the first two methods do not achieve the desired results, they have no problem resorting to the last one. And when the covert team gains the plans they are willing to die for, that resolve will be tested to the limit as they try to escape the Free Worlds League planet they have infiltrated, matching wits with one of the most feared intelligence officers the FWL has to offer...

IMBALANCE OF POWER… On the faraway Clan Homeworlds during the Golden Century, Nicholas Kerensky's vision of the Clans has blossomed into a thriving, varied culture where the warrior is esteemed above all…and MechWarriors, in their armored war machines, are at the pinnacle of Clan hierarchy. The eighteen Clans have existed in relative technological parity as well…until the day Clan Coyote fields a radical new 'Mech that gives them the edge on any battlefield-the OmniMech. Supremely customizable thanks to its modular design, the OmniMech threatens to upend the delicate balance of power among the Clans…and its secrets become a hotly contested prize. In the annual Trial of Possession for the OmniMech technology, the Jade Falcons have won the right to challenge the Coyotes first. But along with the upcoming 'Mech battle, a shadowy force is willing to do whatever is necessary to ensure that the Falcons succeed…even if it requires the sacrifice of cherished ideals…