False Prophets (on SB
and SV) is a BattleTech fanfic written by Acyl. The story (mostly) follows Erin Larkin, who graduated from Comstar's military training the day before waking up with memories of a life as a 21st century Battletech fan, and learning she has inherited the core of a mercenary unit from her father.
False Prophets provides examples of the following tropes:
- Army of Thieves and Whores: Janos Marik is so frustrated by Cranston Snord's ragtag band of misfits that he creates Carp's Commandos, a unit recruited out of the FWLM's military stockades, as a mirror image of them.
- Bastard Bastard: Kaisen Song, who prefers to call himself Kaisen Zou. It's not that his father didn't give him a fortune, but that's not enough for him.
- Cadre of Foreign Bodyguards: The Fighting Tigers form part of Martin Marik's security when he visits Solaris VII.
- Freudian Trio: Gabriela is the Id, Raj is the Superego, Erin is the Ego
- Heroic Bastard: Erin, quite literally.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Corian Zou
- Private Military Contractors: The Hujun, aka the Fighting Tigers of Dalian, make up the main cast.
- Punch-Clock Villain: Marcus Barton and Cranston Snord both fill this role for the Fighting Tigers, as mercs who happen to be fighting on the other side.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Adena Zou, Erin's niece, inherited an entire planet when she was 17 and is trying to do well by it.
- Self-Insert Fic: The primary viewpoint character, Erin Larkin, has the memories of the author.
- Spared by the Adaptation: Anton Marik and his nephew Gerald at least for a while. Also Martin Marik, who in canon died in 3018 for reasons that have never been explained. Here he survives whatever it was.
- Taught by Experience: The Fighting Tigers' plan for defending their homeworld is modelled on what they faced invading another world. Of course, they won, so their starting point is to look at every decision the defenders made and do the opposite.
- The Evil Prince: Corian Zou, Kaisen's partner in crime and a legitimate Zou...
- The Psycho Rangers: Through the later arcs.
- Big Bad: Maximilian Liao, Chancellor of the Capellan Confederation or, less formally, Celestial Wisdom.
- The Dragon: Anton Marik, who acts as frontman for most of Max Liao's schemes in the Free Worlds League.
- Evil Genius: Cranston Snord. Given the usual grey-on-grey morality, he's not especially evil. But definitely a genius.
- The Brute: Marcus Barton, of McCarron's Armored Cavalry. More than once he takes on the Fighting Tigers as part of Max's schemes. It never quite works out for him.
- Romano Liao. She is, after all, used to tie Anton to their cause by marrying his nephew.
- The Gadfly: Erin believes that Martin Marik is borderline flirting with her just to get the media in a frenzy about the Captain-General's heir being an item with a merc.
