Liao Rejects Peace Proposal

Tharkad, District of Donegal, Lyran Commonwealth

Word arrived that Chancellor Maximilian Liao has rejected Archon Katrina Steiner's Peace Proposal of earlier this year. The message comes only two weeks after a similar message conveyed the interest of Prince Hanse Davion of the Federated Suns in the Peace Proposal.

Sources in the Commonwealth government say that the message from Capella condemns the Peace Proposal as a plot masterminded by Hanse Davion. It continues by calling the Archon a puppet of the Federated Suns and a traitor to the Commonwealth peoples. Our sources say the message continues for another page of "incoherent ramblings" before ending.

The rejection is not unexpected since the Federated Suns is a bitter enemy of the Capellan Confederation. It is rumored that the many losses by the Confederation at the hands of the Federated Suns has driven the Chancellor closer and closer to insanity.

Massive Explosion Shakes Solaris Badlands

Solaris, Rahneshire, Lyran Commonwealth

A massive explosion shook the badlands of Solaris last month. Although the explosion took place approximately three hundred kilometers northeast of Solaris City, it was felt by many people in the City.

"It was like a small earthquake," said one bystander. "I thought to myself that it was weird since Solaris City never gets any 'quakes."

Solaris officials sent an expedition to investigate. They report a large crater a kilometer wide and about two hundred meters deep. The official report claims that some sort of meteorite must have struck the planet.

Nobody knows how many people may have been hurt or killed. There are some outlaws and bandit groups that live in the impact area. No eyewitnesses to the event could be found by the Solaris investigators.

Bandit Attacks Continue in Trellshire

Trell I, Trellshire, Lyran Commonwealth

The numerous bandit raids that started a few months ago continue to plague Trellshire. Although attacks on Chahar Province worlds have abated, attacks on Trellshire worlds continue. The planets Steelton, Icar, Chateau, and Persistence were raided last month. On Icar and Chateau, the raiders clashed with regular battlemech troops stationed there. In both cases the raiders bloodied the troops and escaped with minimal damage.

The increased boldness of the bandits worries Leutnant-Colonel Davis Winfield of Winfield's Brigade. "Now they're attacking well garrisoned worlds," he said. "They're getting away with it too. We'll soon find their base and stomp them!"

There are some reports of bandits also raiding worlds of the Kirchbach Prefecture in the Draconis Combine. The reports are unconfirmed, as the Combine government has refused to answer our queries. Considering the close proximity of the Prefecture to Trellshire, it seems likely that the reports are true.

Spotlight On: Honors of War

It is a popular misconception that Battlemech units fight until there is only one side left standing. In fact, most operations involve a lot of maneuvering with few if any battles. Battlemechs are too valuable to be thrown away in a pointless fight. Consequently, one side will usually withdraw before combat loss grouping starts taking effect.

Mercenary units tend to surrender to each other when the outcome is inevitable. Most mercenary units can ransom their mechs for anywhere from five to twenty five percent of the mech's value. Combat against regular House troops is less certain, although most unit commanders will observe the mercenary custom of ransoming mechs. Combat against bandits and other renegade units are almost always with no quarter given or taken.