Disclaimer: No, i still don't own the rights to Rizzoli and Isles, they belong to T. Geritsen, TNT, J. Nash and J. Tamaro. BattleTech belonged first to FASA, then WizKid, now to Topps. This story is only for personal entertainment of mine, no money is made by it. All ownership i claim is for the story itself and - naturally - all the mistakes you can find.

This first chapter is about some of the background. If you are not interested, I would suggest jumping over to chapter 2, there is where the story begins. Only one thing of those added. At the end of this chapter, there is a comparison from the ranks house Kurita use to the ones more common to most of us.

For all of you who jump forward: See you on the other side!

The Mechs I used are all from BattleTech, those more mentioned are not official variations, the Banshee and the Crusader Jane rides as well as the Warhammer Maura uses in the end were build by me a couple of years ago. A friend of mine made the variant that they got first of this baby as well as the one of the Battleaxe. The modification on the Wasps and Hornets were the same we used as we were playing at the board. Only that we found out that many other people used them too! J

Now to the short view into the universe our story plays:

Colonization of Space began in 2108 when the first Mission with a ship equipped with a hyperdrive succeeded. First, the so-called Terran Alliance tried to keep the lid on it but major companies financed illegal colonization, so after about 250 years, there were hundreds of worlds where humans lived. The space was then already divided by ruling houses. The Alliance died about this time and the Terran Hegemony replaced it.

Until about 2700s, there was a time now called the golden age, glorified for its advantages in science and

what it did for the conditions of live. This ended when Stefan Amaris the traitor killed the ruling family of the Camerons and took over. General Kerensky called in all troops and they retook the Star League. After that, there started the first quarrel between the ruling Lords of the different houses, Kerensky took over eighty percent of the Star League Defense Forces with him when he left the inner sphere. The first successor war began. Constantly war faring against each other, the level of technology dropped all over the inner sphere.

William Blake, last secretary of communication founded the order of ComStar and retook Earth, claimed it for the order, now ComStar has the monopoly for interstellar communication.

Beside the troops of the houses, there are lots of mercenary units, from the size of a lance up to several regiments. Well known are the Eridany Light Horse – originally a SDLF-Unit that stayed to defend mankind against itself, Wolfs Dragoons – they appeared out of nowhere about the year 3000 and fought for and against each of the houses, the Kell Hounds, the Grey Death Legion or the Waco Rangers to name only a few.

If you want to know more about the world of BattleTech, I would recommend you take a look at the web-side . There you will find more details to the history of the universe and the tech behind the BattleMechs. I want to tell a story about Rizzoli and Isles, so I don't go into detail very much but feel free!

By the way, I have no personal ties with I simply love them.

In the canon history of BattleTech, the ranks of the enlisted DCMS members were the English versions, Kanrei/Coordinator Theodore Kurita changed this later about 3039+ and I took the liberty to use them in a far earlier time.

Officer ranks:

Tai-shu Warlord (something special to house Kurita, not found in a common army)

Tai-sho General

Sho-sho Brigadier General

Tai-sa Colonel

Chu-sa Lieutenant Colonel

Sho-sa Major

Tai-I Captain

Chu-I Lieutenant

Enlisted ranks:

Sho-ko Sergeant Major

Kashira Talon Sergeant

Shujin Master Sergeant

Gunsho Sergeant

Go-cho Corporal

Gunjin Lance Corporal

Heishi Private

Hojuhei Recruit

But for now – let the story unfold!