Jihad – the Experiment
NOTE to all US Government cyberpolice – this is about a game, not current events. Thanks for playing!
So anyway.
Over the last 10 days I helped our intrepid BattleTech Line Developer crash-edit several of the chapters for the upcoming Jihad Hot Spots: Terra universe plot book. I did it partially because I outlined the sucker way back in October, along with creating a detailed account of Operation SCOUR and the subsequent Terran invasion, and partially because I wanted to see how our fellow writers in the CGL BT stable did in handling what is a momentous event in the universe’s current plot arc.
I’ll keep my thoughts on that quiet.
Anyway, after turning in the last section this past Monday, I realized I could only amp up the excitement of the coming book AND conduct an experiment all in one fell swoop.
I’m by no means a social media giant; I’ve been on Twitter since 2008 and haven’t even crested 200 followers; my Facebook membership is held low, as is my LinkedIN profile. I don’t tweet through CGL’s Twitter account – in part by choice – and so much of the BT commentary I make tends to fly under the radar, as do most of my posts on BT’s official forums. This blog isn’t followed all that much either – my weekly page view rate is pathetically low – and so my only “claim” to any sort of internet notoriety is actually my Flickr account, which sees a tremendous amount of activity across all of my subject sets.
So my purpose here is twofold:
a.) to give out some hints on a “daily” (I use this loosely – more like, M-F) basis on the contents of the upcoming JHS:T book, and
b.) to see how much of it actually gets out into the fanbase simply through these two avenues, with little pumpage from me.
You won’t find me creating a thread on BT’s forums or anything. Just on Twitter, with a repeat of it here, on this page. (The purpose for that is simply because my Twitter account is private; I pick and choose who gets to read my Twitter spewage, plus it keeps the spambots away.)
I’ll drop a Twitter-certified quote – one that fits the 140 character limit – on a regular basis during the work week, around 1 pm EST. I’ll then post it here as well. I’ll do this until the PDF releases – when that happens, I can’t tell you because I don’t even know.
I’m doing this mainly to just have some fun regarding a project I’m immensely proud of. Masters & Minions: The Star Corps Dossiers was my first “proud papa” moment; JHS:Terra is fast overcoming that.
Hope you enjoy. Feel free to comment as you choose – and don’t worry, if you spread it on your own accord, cool by me.
Selected quotes from Jihad Hot Spots: Terra. (These are post-edit, pre-layout and may be subject to minor changes before publication.)
“In an unprecedented move, Coalition Command has allowed the Kanrei to assign Tai-shu Isoroku Kurita as his second-in-command.”
“Stone, the Drake urges you: take action to end the threat these Jaguars represent! If not, then the Dragon will.”
“The Davion contribution is minimal—the Marlette Crucis March Militia—providing a force that’s probably good for little more than garrison duty.”
“‘They’re just Dracs; nobody important.’ These were the words spoken by Leftenant-General Lucas Hoffman of the Nineteenth Arcturan Guards just days ago as he climbed into his Barghest on the way to the Styx DropPort.”
“…That is one of the last communications received from the Battle Corps Legion, in what appears to be a recon raid gone horribly wrong.”
“In response, House Fujita unleashed atomic weapons against the Fifth Lyran’s base camp.”
“Thousands slaughtered on Bharat! Coalition forces act out Stone’s Death Orders as artillery wipes out refugee camp.”
“Topping the list are the survivors of the Kell Hounds and the Com Guard’s First Army; less than a quarter of either force has survived the fighting so far.”
“It is clear that in order to win political battles within the growing Coalition, one needs to cultivate the favor—and avoid the sharp rebuke—of Diplomat Lin Murikami.”
“Reportedly, the situation on Korramabad is fast becoming a nightmare for the citizens, specifically the two million or so Azami citizens inhabiting the continent of Herkilon.”
“The Titan Yards are presumed to be heavily defended with aerospace and small ship support, and we suspect at least two of the lost WarShips from Case White may have been repaired.”
“However, their sacrifices allowed the Great Bear and the Lair of Mighty Wyrms to close in on the main aerospace docks and open up an avenue of attack for our fighters.”
“An old city, Bratislava wasn’t ideally suited for ‘Mech and armor combat and many of the clashes during that bloody night were close-order infantry engagements, with grenades, bayonets and automatic rifles being the most practical tools for clearing city blocks.”
“The Wolves-in- Exile and the Nova Cats, the Seventh Donegal and the Horses, and the Liberators will all hit separate locks and push into the dome as fast as possible.”
“The amount of material in this thing is amazing,” he said. “Stuff that could advance the Inner Sphere into a new golden renaissance of information.”
“China could have all the economic benefits it sought in the ACPS, and with considerable power over the Alliance. It accepted.”
“Something that took a small fleet of Word ships to achieve at Dieron, a single converted ore processing station achieved over Titan.”
“During the initial incursion, we lost the Werewolf and the Fylgia. The Cats also lost one of their Carracks.”
“Being produced in more numbers than the Shadow Divisions could crew, Cameron St. Jamais demanded they be provided to his forces for use in defending the ever-increasingly imperiled Protectorate.”
“The Alliance, for all its internal political problems—David’s positive this whole Archonette policy is going to haunt Adam for a long, long time—they’ve been extremely supportive of the Coalition.”
“After pushing hard at a more endurable one-and-a-half gravities, FedSuns Group III arrived roughly a day later and made a daring combat drop behind the Nanking PM’s lines.”
“The fighting in numerous habitats was literally room-to-room, with Clan Elemental, Gnome and Golem battle armor assaulting Blakist strong points with abandon.”
“Every House calls the Coalition troops liberators; the Terrans and people of the Protectorate call them invaders, barbarians, and worse.”
“The Dragau’s chief notoriety, however, is the destruction of the Wolf’s Dragoon Mars task force.”
“The road was reinforced and extended around the northern portion of the Tower, allowing the Rattler mobile fortresses to easily exit via the two sally ports and withdraw into the safety of the facility when counterattacked by artillery or capital weapons fire.”
“It’s not that we don’t trust Titus; contrary to popular belief, the troops have a lot of faith in the man. But this campaign has no focus—it hasn’t had it from the start.”