----- 3 Months Later -----
Date: February, 3015 [See Notes]
Location: Terra
Title: The Spider and the Wolf
Author: Gideon
Type: Graphic Novel (The Spider and the Wolf)
Synopsis: Precentor Vesar Kristofur debriefs the First Circuit about the events of Calloway VI and Wolf’s Dragoons in general at ComStar HQ on Earth. (Hilton Head, presumably) He notes that the Dragoons successfully retreated from Calloway VI, then describes their service to House Davion on Halloran V and New Aragon before disappearing in 3009 “beyond the Periphery,” only to return later in the year with a vast cargo of replacement ‘Mechs and spare parts, using JumpShip models not seen since the early 2800s.
Primus Tiepolo is stunned by the news of new ‘Mechs, parts and designs. The implications of the mercenaries having control of a heretofore unknown ‘Mech factory stagger him.
Kristofur continues, stating that the Dragoons bade Prince Andrew farewell in 3010 and switched to House Liao, battling Marik’s forces to a halt in 3012 and then sitting garrison in 3013. In mid-3014, the Dragoons joined Anton’s rebellion. Tiepolo notes that ComStar engineered Anton’s revolt to crash the Marik Eagle’s exchange rate against the C-Bill, with Kristofur taking advantage of Anton’s mental instability to manipulate him.
Kristofur claims to have discovered the key to the Dragoon suppliers – based on Natasha’s last name, he surmises that she must be descended from Aleksandr Kerensky, who left with “hundreds of scientists and technicians” and all the ‘MechWarriors still loyal to him, causing the Inner Sphere to collapse into the Succession Wars and resulting in scientific stagnation.
He believes the Dragoons are in league with Kerensky’s group – something that could threaten ComStar’s hold on the Successor States. He proposes launching a plan to force the Dragoons make another supply run sooner than they planned for, then follow them to their point of origin. Primus Tiepolo approves.
After the briefing concludes, Precentor Matten (not sure if it’s a first or last name) disparages Kristofur as arrogant, and warns Tiepolo of the consequences if Kristofur succeeds. Tiepolo dismisses the idea, saying that Kristofur lacks the subtlety to exploit such a victory. As he departs Hilton Head, Kristofur muses that, should his plan succeed, he’ll be well positioned to displace Tiepolo and reign as Primus Kristofur.
Notes: The dates in “The Spider and the Wolf,” when given, are wildly out of synch with the official ones in Historical: Brush Wars. Kristofur places the Dragoon defeat at Calloway VI “six months ago,” which would put this scene in May 3015. However, by May 3015, Anton is dead and his rebellion is over, so that just has to be chucked out. Subsequent scenes synch up with those in “The Memory of Pain” in late February, so this “ComStar plotting and scheming” interlude probably takes place in early February 3015.
If the art is accurate, Jaime Wolf was beardless and sporting a rather severe buzzcut when he arrived in the Inner Sphere in 3005. Of course…if the art is accurate, then Aleksandr Kerensky had a full head of hair, an eyepatch, and a penchant for raiding Liberace’s closet.
Interestingly, only Primus Tiepolo and two other Precentors are present to hear Kristofur’s deposition, so this wasn’t a full session of the First Circuit.
One wonders why two high-ranking ComStar officials would be touting the party line that Kerensky was responsible for the Inner Sphere’s technological decline, when both would be very well aware that ComStar’s own Operation HOLY SHROUD played a leading role in that process.
There’s so much wrong with this scene, and yet so much right. On the downside, the date can’t be correct, nobody’s wearing proper robes/hoods, the seating in the First Circuit chambers is clearly only designed for the Primus and two aides, not the full First Circuit. Plus, somehow Precentor ROM Kristofur has Prince Andrew running the Federated Suns, when he died of natural causes in 2999, leaving Ian running the show in 3010. And yet...despite not appearing to be connected to the proper chronology at any two consecutive points, Kristofur has hit upon the true origins of the Dragoons, 36 years before the "big reveal" on Outreach. (To all those who say that McEvedy's Folly and the Ebon Magistrate are too obvious ties to some of the last Wolverine leaders - Sarah McEvedy and Trish Ebon - and that nobody trying to hide their origins would use those names for anything, I give you...Natasha Kerensky.)
Tiepolo seems astounded that the Dragoons might be connected to Aleksandr Kerensky’s group. So…was Tiepolo not a dues-paying member of the ComStar cabal that (per canon rumor) met elements of Clan Wolverine and took them in? This is like the President in “Independence Day” not having been briefed on what really goes on at Area 51.
The First Circuit also seems overly impressed with new ‘Mech designs, considering that the MLN-1A Merlin debuted in 3010 from Mountain Wolf BattleMechs, and nobody at ComStar freaked out about that. More to the point, at least one Imp was in service on New Aragon in 3008 – before the supply run – so the Dragoons were fielding new ‘Mechs from the get go, not just since the resupply.
I wonder where the Dragoons went on their first supply run? If they were gone less than a year, that would imply that they either went to the place where they stashed their WarShips and loaded up, or that they had a command circuit lying in wait to spirit them back to the Clan Homeworlds for debriefing and resupply.
The internal politics of ComStar are interesting to watch play out. Tiepolo seems to be a frequent target for overthrow attempts – first with Kristofur and then with Waterly. It’s sort of like this is the Star Trek “Mirror Mirror” chain of command – “Tiepolo dies and we all move up in rank!” (Hmmm…maybe that’s why Aleksandr is sporting a goatee in this picture – he’s the Mirror Universe Aleksandr Kerensky! And, logically, beardless Jaime Wolf is also the Mirror Universe version.)
