Book excerpt: UNCHARTED TERRITORY Shrapnel: The Official BattleTech Magazine is your map and compass for discovering heavy-hitting tales of BattleMech combat on the battlefields of the Hinterlands! Former Jade Falcon cadets who found a new home within the Kell Hounds are pushed to the breaking point of loyalty when ordered to hunt down Falcon holdouts. Plagued by raids and unrest, the Malthus syndicate seeks to end the rise of a charismatic and elusive Jade Falcon leader known only as the Talon. And a planetary noble desperate for protection will stop at nothing to keep the planet’s mercenary force on a permanent contract, even if that means they can never return home… In this issue, you’ll also travel beyond the Hinterlands region to help a Draconis Combine tea master undertake a treasure hunt for the fabled lost treasure of House Kurita. You’ll see rival mercenary units forced into close proximity on Small World erupt into a bitter feud with only one logical outcome: a prank war. And you’ll wander into a merciless blizzard in the Magistracy of Canopus, hoping to hunt down a pirate before the hunter becomes the hunted. The Hinterlands region of the Inner Sphere is packed full of surprises: shifting loyalties, shady characters, selfless heroes, and more. Get lost in the uncharted chaos of this region with articles forecasting the future of Duke Vedet Brewer’s Vesper Marches and the independent planet of Blue Hole, a playable campaign for Barcelona, planet digests, technical readouts, and more—all by veteran BattleTech authors and some new trailblazers: Russell Zimmerman Giles Gammage James Bixby Sam Barrett Alex Fairbanks James Hauser Ken’ Horner Bryan Young Alex Fauth James Kirtley Matt Larson Mike Miller Lorcan Nagle Luke Robertson Eric Salzman Zac Schwartz Tom Stanley Stephen Toropov