I said I would do it, and so here we go.

Pont the first: IIRC from *Dragonsdawn*, a one of the reasons that many of the original Pernese colonists were willing to leave their lives behind and try to make a go at down-teched pastoralism on a resource-poor planet out beyond the edges of settled space was because a big chunk of them were veterans of a brutal interstellar war. Also, because it was Admiral Benden's idea, and after the leadership he showed during said war, they were willing to follow him anywhere.

Well, that sounds familiar. So the original colonists being a segment of the Exodus Fleet that misjumped to ~2,000 years into the past somewhere in the Deep Periphery makes sense. And really, who but the SLDF is going to have a sapient supercomputer and the ability to turn small psychic flying lizards into Dragons? I'm gonna leave out the dolphins, though.

You are perhaps asking, wait, if you are leaving out the dolphins, why are you including AIVAS? Well, because I want to not just have Peen exist in BT, I want it to be RELEVANT, and since it's a single, resource-poor largely pre-industrial world, that means I need to give them as many advantages as possible, and an advanced AI with all the knowledge of the Star League goes a long way towards that goal. For the same reason I am considering having Yokohama be a WarShip. Although it's been sitting in orbit without maintenance for 2500 years, it probably isn't in fighting shape even before they used it to move the Red Star (can you do that with KF Drives, BTW?). I also considered that they have basically a Brian Cache at Landing, but again over 2500 years with no maintenance, and also that might be a bit much

Anyways. It's noted that the Dragonrider playbook was adapted from space fighter tactics, and AIVAS still recognized them as such in the Ninth Pass, so theoretically Dragonriders can be retrained as ASF pilots. Although, I am not sure that's needful: I vividly remember an illustration in The Dragonlover's Guide To Pern that show Ramoth as being roughly the same size as a jumbo jet. Ramoth is, of course, the biggest dragon ever, but there's no indication that she has gigantism, so one presumes the other Golds, while smaller, are of roughly similar size, that the Bronzes are only somewhat smaller than that, and the Browns only slightly smaller than that. Who knows about the Blues and Greens? But anyways, something that big dropping on your head out of *between* (stupid phone not letting me italicize on Tumblr) is going to ruin pretty much any Mech's day, even if they weren't also able to breathe fire or yoink you off to *between*, and maybe do other TK tricks.

Ok, so. As you might imagine by what I have said thus far, I am figuring that, on the Pern side of things, the planet is rediscovered during All The Weyrs of Pern, or perhaps slightly after if we leave out AIVAS deactivating itself. Not sure what's a good time on the BT side, or by who or how, and no idea what comes next.

OK, so the lack of response to Battletech+Pern is worrisome, since it got more votes, but I’m gonna try anyways. Hopefully the fact that I’ve got more material will make the difference.

So, before I get into story details, for purposes of the story, I needed TFs to be able to wreck ‘Mechs. My justification is that they’re the product of vastly more advanced technology that sometimes crosses the line into Clarke-tech. More specifically, while TFs are stronger and more durable than a Mech of comparable size and weight, the difference isn’t that great and most Mechs are bigger than most TFs, and also there are a lot more Mechs thatn TFs. However, TFs are vastly faster and more agile (not having to worry about carrying a squishy organic inside helps), their more efficient energy systems mean they don’t overheat, storage dimensions not only allow for size-changing but also means they can store more ammo and don’t have to worry about said ammo exploding, etc. In addition, TF weapons tend to pack more punch, and also frequently have all sorts of exotic effects (glass gas, null rays, etc. etc.), many TFs have what amounts to superpowers (invisibility, duplication, Combining, etc), loads of them can fly, and of course they can Transform, which enhances their existing their mobility advantage, allows for surprise attacks, and also means they can store more weaponry in their frame since they can transform one weapon into another. In addition to the TFs themselves, they have better HPG and KF-drives (of course, they don’t call their drives that, but for our purposes we’re saying Transformers that’s what they use), and they also have SpaceBridges (this is Battletech, gotta use CamelCase! Which means we’re calling them AutoBots and DeceptiCons).

OK, story stuff. I usually like to imagine the Great War as a stalemate, but here I’m going to say that, mostly because Sentinel Prime was not good at war, by the time Optimus became Prime, the Cons had an overwhelming advantage, and Optimus was eventually forced to go into hiding, allowing the Cons to think the Bots were defeated. This is not the case, and he’s been honing them into a lean, mean Con-fighting machine, but they don't have the numbers to win in a straight-up fight and so are biding their time waiting for the right moment. Meanwhile, the Cons have been rampaging through the galaxy, conquering everything in sight. This has actually been fairly bad for them, as the brutal way they go about things means that their conquests tend to be either too wrecked to be much use (dead worlds don’t produce a lot of Energon) or are hotbeds of insurgency. Or were hotbeds of insurgency and then were wrecked. However,, between their poisonous ideology and the training and tactics Megatron used to achieve those initial overwhelming victories against Sentinel, the Cons have developed a toxic culture where even those who aren’t sadists or bloodthirsty maniacs or sadistic bloodthirsty maniacs are peer-pressured into acting as if they crave constant ultraviolence. And since no one’s been able to give them a good straight-up fight in ages, they inevitably end up fighting each other. Meanwhile, although Megatron is a powerful and skilled warrior, a brilliant tactician, and a charismatic master of demagoguery, he is absolute SCRAP as a leader, who gets his way through bullying and intimidation, so that the higher-ups are constantly intriguing against backstabbing each other. All of this has led to a massive drop in morale and a near-total collapse of discipline.

Which is why the Inner Sphere is a godsend. Megatron can’t take any aliens seriously as threats for ideological reasons, especially ones that are both squishy AND stubby, but Mechs mean that they can give his warriors a good enough fight to maybe whip them back into shape and give him a plausible way of getting rid of some of the particularly troublesome ones. And it’s big and populated enough that the Cons will be able to slaughter to their heart’s content and still have a sizable population of slave labor afterwards. So, for decades, the Cons have been infiltrating the IS, gathering intelligence; mostly about what targets should NOT be wrecked because again, Megatron doesn’t really take humans seriously as a potential threat.

And when the day comes (roundabouts 3065-6, late stage FedCom Civil War), the Cons strike like lightning, attacking every sector at once, crushing all opposition with superior technology and the element of surprise. This no doubt sounds familiar, but unlike the Clans before them, the Cons have no concern about honor or preserving civilian lives. The opposite, in fact. As they assault world after world, they unleash carnage on a scale not seen since the First Succession War, proudly broadcasting their atrocities for all to see.  In addition, while the Clans were restricted to a relatively small wedge of an invasion corridor, the Cons can SpaceBridge themselves anywhere in the Inner Sphere, not to mention the long-hidden spies revealing themselves and wreaking havoc. Megatron is well aware that the Inner Sphere is too big for his forces to maintain a blitzkrieg for very long, even with their numbers enhanced by mass-produced VehiCons and Drones, but he figures on terrifying the locals into submission before things reach that point.

And his plan is working. Until the AutoBots intervene, showing up on world after world to reinforce the beleaguered defenders and turn back DeceptiCon attacks, giving the people of the Inner Sphere some breathing room and showing that the invaders are not invincible. And then Optimus Prime contacts the leaders of every major faction, and offers an alliance…OK, so I am not quite sure where things go from there, but what I envision is not just the ‘Cons being driven from the Inner Sphere and a return to status quo antebellum. I imagine the AutoBots joining the Second Star League and proving to be the secret sauce that makes it work the way it was promised. I’m figuring on Optimus being declared First Lord on a permanent basis and leading the new SLDF on a crusade to liberate all the worlds Megatron has conquered, including Cybertron, ultimately raising the banner of the Star League above Darkmount itself. I admit to not being clear on how to get there, though.

I do have various fragments of ideas for things, but as I am not really familiar with the characters of BT, I don’t quite know how to make them all gel together, and I worry some of my ideas won’t work. Anyways, in no particular order, some of these (I reserve the right to post more).

-The Cons will be converting captured Mech factories into making Drones, the Bots will be sharing tech that enables the creations of…I’m tentatively calling them CyberMechs or AutoMechs, and there will be enough BattleMechs being given Sparks to create at least one team each of BattleCons and MechBots. No idea on details.

-During the period when the ‘Con blitzkrieg seemed unstoppable, Sun-Tzu Liao got…some kind of offer from Swindle, which being something of a weasel and also rather desperate, he agrees to. Not sure of the specifics, but the fact that he technically betrayed humanity is eventually used as a lever to get him to agree to the Prime Lord thing.

-After reluctantly agreeing to call a truce with her brother, and to ally with the AutoBots, Mad Kat, like everyone else allied to the Bots, is given intel on the ‘Con leadership and because she’s Mad Kat, decides to approach Starscream, offering to help him take out Megatron so he can rule the DeceptiCons and she can rule the Inner Sphere. Predictably, this eventually blows up in her face.

-I was initial thinking that Optimus sends a high-ranking ‘Bot to every major faction leader (not sure who gets sent to whom) inviting them to a meeting somewhere to discuss forming an alliance against the Cons, etc. Not sure who gets sent where, or where the meeting should take place. I considered the idea of having the meeting held via telepresence somehow, but I want to have the Steiner-Davions in the same room, and also Vlad Ward and Phelan Kell and etc., cuz I think it would be interesting.

-Thought; both sets of Wolves join the anti-Decepticon coalition, and the feuding between them causes friction. Eventually, Grimlock bullies them into agreeing to settle it via a Trial between Phelan and Vlad. The winning side earns the right to be Clan Wolf, the losers ultimately end up becoming Clan DinoBot. No idea who should win or if this is any way plausible.

-Speaking of Clanners, some of the Homeworld Clans are reluctant to join the fight, even though protecting the Inner Sphere from outside threats is theoretically why the Clans exist. So, Ultra Magnus (I’m thinking something akin to the Transformers Prime version as voiced by Michael Ironside, although I’m imagining him having something like the Magnus Hammer from Transformers Animated) challenges their Khans and saKhans to a Batchall, offering his body for their Scientists to dissect as a prize if they win. If he wins…I’m not sure if they have to just help fight the Con, fully join the Second Star League, or accept Autobot command. Regardless he wins quite handily. Not sure who he has to fight, either.

-At some point, HeadMaster (and TargetMaster, and PowerMaster) tech is invented. If anyone has ideas for who should volunteer for which and be binary-bonded with whom, I’m all ears, though I do have a generic idea. To wit, at this point the ComStar schism has happened but the Wobbies haven’t lost their shit and started doing all the atrocities. I’m imagining that, given their technophilia, a lot of them agree to be binary bonded, and enough AutoBot ideology bleeds through from their partners that it causes a schism within the WoB, with a bunch of them seeing Optimus as a messianic figure and turning on the others, so the whole organization is quietly purged of its most batshit and/or evil elements and ends up on the side of the angels, albeit coming there from a weird angle. Also, means another faction stumping for the Prime Lord plan.

-Note that some of the bigger Bots and Cons will be becoming DropShips. Or at least, they will look like DropShips; they are actually Jump-capable, and possibly also some of the ones that become ASFs. Metroplex and Trypticon will become WarShips; I envision the Ark and Nemesis as also being WarShips. Possibly also the Axalon and DarkSyde.

So, this one is a bit different.

I started profiling Pulp Heroes and their supporting casts, and asked people to come up with BT-ified versions. Well, initially I asked what Mech they would use, but for many, things got very detailed.

Some of these (notably the ones I discussed in the poll months ago) got beyond this, but there are plenty who didn't. So, what I am going to do is start posting what the folks on the forumboard came up with, and see:

What you think of what was come up.

See if y'all have ideas to refine, enhance, or improve what they came up

Come up with ideas for stuff to do with these BT-ized versions of the characters.

And with all that taken care of, let's start with one of the most important, iconic, and archetypical Pulp Heroes...Doc Savage (and his aides)

(profiles via forumposter Starfox05)

Doc:

Doc Savage was project of the Society to produce the ultimate human - the pinnacle of genetic engineering, mating nature and nurture. A genius in a perfect body, raised from birth with all the knowledge available to humanity. Destined to lead the Society to victory. He's as tall as an Elemental, as quick as a 'Mechwarrior. Unfortunately - for the Society - he was so smart and eager to learn, he did study privately in addition to what his tutors taught him, and soon discovered knowledge they were not meant to teach him - amongst them philosophies and teachings abandoned by the Clans long ago. As he was a scientist through and through - questioning everything and never accepting anything on blind faith. So, he saw through the Society's stated aims, realised how wrong they were, and decided to abandon them to help humanity. Having ditched the Clan way for the same reasons, he gathered a few prisoners/experimental subjects he liberated and guards/tutors he turned as well as his young "cousin", a female version of him sharing most of his genes, stole a dropship and jumpship from the society and all the tech and supplies he could manage, and made his way to the Inner Sphere. He can pilot, repair, modify and construct anything - tank, 'Mech, Aerospacefighter, Battle Armour, dropship or jumpship. If he has to fight, he fights to disable, and he likes to switch and customise his ride, usually an Executioner OmniMech he heavily modified, to the task at hand. Unlike most Clan Warriors, he likes melee combat, often using his 'Mech's mass to wreck lighter enemies without harming the pilot, and often uses experimental weapons and even construction tools in any battle as well as the environment. Even though he and his group are nominally mercenaries (and hid their origin once they reached the Periphery) they often work pro bono, relying on selling new technology and Doc's services as a polymath to finance their excursions, in addition to a Germanium Mine he received from a grateful periphery planet's population whose water filters and fusion generators he restored and improved. He has started to acquire a small fleet of merchants whose jumpships and dropship he repaired for them, and who pay him back by a share of their profits. He and his group live on a special dropship, a former Collossus, that he modified into a flying base and research lab.

Ham:

A former Star Colonel who failed to die in battle or earn a bloodname, [Ham] was an eccentric Diamond Shark, keeping both a pet and an antique blade ready during his career. He was targetted by the society for his skill at logistics and was kidnapped when he was transferred to solahma unit so they could pick his brain for military tactics. He has an old rivalry with [Monk] dating back to a few clashes during trials. He pilots a Lancelot, the last 'Mech assigned to him by his Clan.

Monk:

[Monk], another talented warrior who never got a bloodname (though he tried numerous times), and he switched to the scientist caste when he aged out, and was recruited by the Society after starting an affair with one of their members. He soon fell out with the Society's leadership, though hid his true thoughts, and managed to teach Doc not merely science but also a few other tricks and unarmed fighting.

Johnny:

Another of Doc's original tutors, [Johnny] was responsible for most of his scientific training, after suffering the loss of an eye and having trouble with the implant that replaced. He was not very respected in the Society since he didn't specialise but kept "widening his horizons" as he called it - and since he often paid more attention to history and the past as a former Goliath Scorpion than the Society found tolerable.

Long Tom (admission, the entire reason for this series of projects was cuz of him):

[Long Tom} was a Naga-pilot turned bondsman turned tech, and mostly ended up in the Society's hand because they wanted to find out if his peculiar appearance and excellent health could be useful for their experiments. He went along with the others when Doc broke out and has been working on restoring a Long Tom artillery piece they picked up on a border planet (and modifying it so he doesn't need crew to use it).

Renny:

An Elemental working for the Society and serving as a link to the Dark Caste, Renny committed many crimes for which he is ashamed before he had a change of heart helping Doc. If Doc had not convinced him to atone by helping others, he would have killed himself long ago.

Pat:

Patricia was meant to be Doc's counterpart, and she has the skills, smarts and drive to prove it. What she doesn't have is his experience - she is younger than him and still learning, and sometimes a bit too eager for her own good. She pilots a Gargoyle if she takes the field, sporting a prototype rotary autocannon with six barrels.

And as a bonus, the closest thing Doc has to a nemesis...

John Sunlight:

A survivor of the Society, John managed to escape and determined to lead humanity to salvation whether it wants to be saved or not. Armed with the knowledge of his old organisation he plans to rebuild the Star League in his image, so to speak. He blames Doc for abandoning the Society and for wasting his talents helping others instead of leading them as the genetically superior specimen he should, in John's opinion.

Trying something a bit different here, for starters, posting first the poll, and THEN the rambling explanation. Also a slightly different format than I usually do with the choices, being a bit more limited, let me know what you think.

(admission of ulterior motive, hoping to gets some fandom cross-pollination happening)

Somewhat rambling explanation below.

So even though I have two BattleTech Crossover projects ongoing on this platform that are are basically completely stalled, I have decided to start a third, while also doing it on Spacebattles.com, because I'm ridiculous. Although, this one is kinda different, being as much a game as a proper Worldbuilding/Storybuilding project. Anyways, because I like making polls, would prefer to have some sort of evidence that I am not merely howling into the void, and also because I have somehow convinced myself, despite no evidence whatsoever, that this is a good way of drumming up interest,

Anyways, those of you who are familiar with my blog have probably picked up that I am a big fan of Pulp Heroes (although my definition is eccentric and a bit broader than some). Those of you who are not familiar with my blog, welcome, I hope this sparks joy. (are we still saying that?) Anyways, I have decided to see if a long-time hyperfixation and a newer interest can be smushed together.

So. The idea is that I will periodically throw out the name or names, and some descriptive text/wiki links/etc. of a Pulp Hero or group of Pulp Heroes or a Pulp hero and their supporting cast, or several unrelated Pulp Heroes, whatever. And y'all will (hopefully) Reblog or Reply with your thoughts on how best to (to quote SBer Starfox5) "catch the "spirit/essence" of the characters, translated into a Battletech Mercenary context." Ideally, we'd fully BattleTech-ifiy 'em but I will settle for "what 'Mech would they use?"

Me being me, the first thing I started doing when I got into BattleTech lore was start storybuilding crossovers. I have two ideas that I have done quite a bit of work on, but have hit a wall, as I am either unconfident of my knowledge or unable to settle on an answer that the various questions I have come up with. Also, honestly, storybuilding is usually more fun when it's collaborative.

One is a crossover with Transformers. The other is a crossover with Dragonriders of Pern.

Obviously, both of these involve things that, by general agreement, are verboten in BT canon, so before I endeavor to invest in writing either one up, I want to know what the odds are of getting a useful result so...

Shadow Division Godos

Series: Zoids

Completed: May 1, 2009

Materials: Godos kit