The il(legitimate)- ilClanIntroductionOctober 3151
To: First Prince Julian Davion
Prince Julian,
I hope this report finds you rested and recovering well. While I understand your propensity at not having an artificial replacement fitted with the stigma of the Manei Domini still prevalent. I can, as an experienced female, confirm you cannot tell the difference. Better to be The Man instead of The Kahunasless Prince. Anyway, I digress.
The great experiment that was the Republic of the Sphere is completed and the result may as well be forty two. Stone turned out to be a complete waste of oxygen following his thawing, and if you ask me parts of him
didn’t, oops contraction, did not thaw properly and he was wearing his balls as earrings. With Tucker Harwell dead and the idiot not writing down how he got the Wyatt HPG working, continued efforts to find a solution to restart the HPG communication grid have failed and as a result ComStar has gone into receivership.
With the Republic all but gone, we now face the il- ilClan Supremacy. From what little reports we have had from the Ghost Knights, the il-ilClan Sovereignty, il-ilClan Omnipotence and il-ilClan Authority were all market tested by the new il-ilClan Merchant Chaste (ex-Clan Sea Fox) and poorly received by eight of ten worlds with a working HPG.
From what information we can gather, and I caveat that with the continued brokenness of the HPG communication grid there will be gaps in this report, the current state of the InnerSphere appears thus. The Lyran Commonwealth is all but gone following the invasion of Clan Wolf and the then Clan Hell’s Horse. All that remains is the Timbuktu Collective and extended Rim Territories. Of the Draconis Combine only Barlow’s End, Kaznejov and Tancredi Prefectures remain with the addition of the Draconis March and northern section of the Periphery March. The Ravens-in-Exile hold only the southern half of the Alliance worlds. The Capellans have taken over half the Capallan March and the southern half of the Periphery March and are holding a common boarder with Combine forces adding weight to speculation of a treaty between the two. I do not need to tell you the current situation the Federated Suns finds itself in.
Strangely, and I am not sure of this is a hangover of the Jihad; the Free Worlds League seems to have missed out on the kick to the crotch this time. If anything, the Duchy of Tamarind-Abbey has recovered worlds lost to the almost defunct Wolf Empire and absorbed the Marian Hegemony. The Regulans have been able to extend their empire into previous Republic worlds. For some reason, and I am unsure of the validity of reports of ‘the smell’, il-ilClan forces are moving Spinward and Rimward and avoiding the Free World’s League and Regulan forces.
On Terra now stands the il-ilClan, or Clan Cloud Horse Bear Raven Adder, with the Falcons consigned to the dustbin of history. Reports of the demise of the Stone Coyotes are still being verified and the question still being asked if the force was the ‘Stoned Coyotes’ given their penchant to stop at any world with a 7-11 or kebab shop.
What remains of the Clan Homeworlds is for anyone to guess and we still know jack about the missing Shadow Divisions, Clan Wolverine or the Green Ghosts.
Paladin Jenella Lakewood
How to use this book Not really sure to be honest. You could read it, use it as a coaster for your favourite fizzy drink, print it out and use it post numbers twos or just ignore it and continue to play ‘3025 – When time stood still’.
Anything you read in here is complete BS, but possibly true given it is loosely based on some strange abstract that was presented when the author was visited by an apparition of a bear. Whether prophesy is true, or a Regulan smelling red herring, you aren’t going to the find the answer in here. Actually, good luck finding anything of value.
One could write something along the unofficial lines that says; il-ilClan is a sourcebook for Battletech, not, that will not update you on the state of various InnerSphere and Homeworld factions following the possible invasion of the Homeworld clans, and contains lots of inaccuracies and dodgy references to whatever the author/s felt like dropping at the time. Of the five years in question, each year is divided into: part of a short story (maybe), a preview of events (again, maybe), a timeline (possible, but unlikely), contextual sidebars (quite possibly written by the point of view of someone sitting at the side of a bar). Actually, just accept whatever you get. It’s not like we read the forums, any responses you see are written by pre-programmed bots; hence how else can you explain the Roosterboy effect.
Enjoy!
3146 - The Year of the ShadowAnd so it began; the year of the shadow. Astronomers from across the InnerSphere were overly excited, like science nerds can be, for the year 3146 would see that greatest number of solar eclipses across inhabited worlds. And you thought there would be something foreboding, a sign or glimpse of something around the corner that would be Sphere shattering. Sorry, maybe in 3147.
Flight of the Bumblebee13 February 3146
Deposition of Captain Wilton Coenen by MRBC regarding loss of merchant Jumpship JS Buzzard:
“Please state your name for the record.”
“Captain Wilton Coenen.”
“And how long have you been a Jumpship Captain?”
“Just on thirteen years.”
“How did you come to work with the Kell Hounds?”
“We, the Buzzard, were hired by Grand Duke Martin Kell to extract them from the Falcon border.”
“What were your orders?”
“The Buzzard was to return to Arc-Royal with Callendre’s force.”
“Which did not happen?”
“No, as soon as Callendre was aboard she put a transmission through to the MRBC on Galatea and took a contract with the Free World’s League to liberate Menkalinan as part of a League task force.”
“So you left immediately for Free World’s League space?”
“We did, but our next recharge stop was extended due to EVA activities undertaken by the Hounds.”
“Repairs?”
“Neither. The two dropships the Hounds had captured were full of large modular armour sheets. The Hounds required space as their own dropships were overcrowded. The Hounds attached the armour plates to the lower sections of the jumpship. They then took the four dropships to a nearby asteroid and performed a low gravity transfer of equipment and personal.”
“The Jumpship could handle this armour?”
“It was contained within the K-F Booms, at worst the armour would be destroyed during the next jump.”
“Tell us about the attack on Menkalinan.”
“The Hounds volunteered to be the first on planet; the Buzzard was to jump to a pirate point which would put us in a near planetary orbit. The dropships were to be released as close to the planet as possible before a slingshot manoeuvre using Menkalinan’s moon would assist us to reach a Lagrange Point ready to depart if necessary.
“We jumped in and arrived closer to the planet than expected, the Buzzard actually skipped across the planet’s atmosphere as we released the dropships.”
“Really?” [Surprised tone in the voice]
“Yep, we actually ablated some of that armour we were carrying.”
“You still had the armour attached?” [Still surprised tone of voice]
“Yes.”
“The operation was a success?”
“One Hundred Percent! The Hounds dropped right on top of the command base and secured the landing zone for the rest of the taskforce.”
“What happened at Victoria?”
“Our next contract was with the Federated Suns and Callendre was only too happy to pay back a favour to Julian (Davion).
"We arrived at Frazer to meet up with the expeditionary force. From there the force moved to Victoria as part of a wider Federated Suns push for Menke, Jacson and Zanzibar. The fleet jumped in and we were ambushed by a Capallen defensive screen. Dropships made high speed burns for the planet and those jumpers that could executed an emergency jumps. Just as we began countdown preparations, Callendre ordered we jump closer in system to try and beat the defensive screen as we did at Menlalinan.
"So as ordered we calculated the jump.”
[Pause]
“And?”
“We miss calculated. The Buzzard arrived in the upper atmosphere of the planet. “
“And?”
“We fell like a stone. Looking out the viewport I thought we jumped straight into hell; armour ablating, booms being ripped from the ship and dropships tearing at their collars. I gave the general order to evacuate the ship. Somehow three dropships managed to free themselves from their docking collars while launching fighters. Having cleared the bridge I made it to the last escape pod with my XO. We launched to see the final few seconds of the Buzzards ‘flight’ before it slammed into the ground as a burning twisted wreck.
“If anyone tells you Callendre Kell is crazy, I would disagree, she is crazy with a capital C.”
“Calamity indeed”
Whatcha gonna do when they come for you? <Theme Music>
<Scene> Montage of mech battles, number of explosions and pirate pilots and infantry being arrested under watchful eyes of mercenary forces…
<Announcer> Pirates! On patrol with the men and women of mercenary task forces. Tonight; The Thumpers.
<Break to title screen> INN Special Event
<INN News Desk, middle age man wearing grey suit and thick rimmed galsses> “Good evening and welcome to an INN Special. Tonight we lift the lid on the corruption in reality holovision; specifically the company behind ‘Pirates’ and the Thumpers mercenary unit operating in the Filtvelt Coalition. I’m Ken C. Strait and this is an INN exclusive."
<INN Into theme and title screen>
Eraline, Sunday 22 September 3146: Piracy behind the Piracy
<Side desk shot, Ken C. Strait turns to camera> “As reported on INN, piracy has increased in the Filtvelt Coalition with the number of raids in the last twelve months doubling from the previous years. In the thick of the action and always ready to pounce has been the Thumpers mercenary unit conducting iron wall defences or spearhead offensive operations to help save the day and keep the Coalition safe from the vagabonds of the deep Periphery. Following a tip off from an anonymous informant, David Obber,
Eraline started a six month investigation to uncover the truth and instead filed this report. Our reporter; Celia Fate.”
<View inside Battlemech with sounds of actuators and servos operating. Celia Fate wearing an olive drab jumpsuit and helmet> <Shouting> “This is Celia Fate on Vaucluse, currently embedded with the First Filtvelt Citizen's Militia. We are on our way to a meeting between the Thumpers command staff and their production company, All Channel Media Empire. I am riding with Colonel Miller in his Battlemaster with a company of Battlemechs and three platoons of Mechanised Infantry.” <Pause> “Colonel Miller has just informed us we are at the Thumpers base of operations.”
<Celia Fate standing in front of an armoured personnel carrier with prisoners being loaded into the back. Celia has helmet removed revealing a mousy brown bob> “Without a shot being fired the Thumpers and their production company representatives have surrendered to the Militia forces. Of course the question, what has led to the events of tonight? For this we must go back to late April”
<Celia Fate sitting at INN news desk, wearing a navy suit and white blouse> “How far will people go for ratings? For INN; anywhere in the InnerSphere. For some, down the rabbit hole of corruption and corporate greed. The Thumpers had developed a profile throughout the Sphere through their reality holovid show ‘Pirates’. With success come new pressures to bear and All Channel Media Empire were found wanting. Thumpers anti-pirate activities were too successful and raiding within the Filtvelt Coalition was dropping off. Good news for authorities, bad news for a production company about to watch their cash cow dry up. All Channel Media Empire’s solution? Cash!
“Investigations found payments being made by All Channel Media Empire Productions to pirate groups. Agreements were for the pirates to raid the Coalition on their own operational timeline. All Channel Media Empire then payed local informants to provide the Thumpers with information on pending raids. This duplicity ensured the Thumpers were in the right place at the right time… “
The Thumpers were cleared of any wrong doing and the executives of All Channel Media Empire have been forced to produce ‘The InnerSphere has Talent’ - JLTried to go to heaven but went the other way …The OrbitStudent news from the Lloyd Marik-Stanley Aerospace School.
Semester 1 Wrap, June 3146.
The Politics of Pub CrawlsThe student society held the annual ‘Orbit Pub Crawl’ last week with the largest attendance from all year groups in the last ten years. Of those attending, 83% of eligible attendees earned their ‘Wings’, 56% of those eligible earned their ‘Command’ and Josh Yama, coming back for his 5th Orbit crawl earned the rank of ‘Captain General’. Well done Josh!
The highlight of the night was the arrival of the ‘Fleet’ at
The Dock and Jump bar, our 23rd bar of the night. Taking our usual tables a group was suddenly accosted by a male wearing a Wolf uniform and some serious bling and some seriously hot serious looking female. The male, who we later found out was saKan Garner Kerensky bluntly told a party of six to clear the table he wanted. One of our ‘Fleet’ without blinking an eyelid challenged the Garner to a Trial of Possession for the table. The means of combat: a drinking contest. The ‘Fleet’ quickly formed a circle of equals and the challenge began. After fourteen straight beers and 5 tequila slammers Garner promptly passed out and died from alcohol poisoning before medical staff arrived.
The ‘Fleet’ continued the crawl, taking Garner’s female friend with us, till we reached our final destination, the 30th bar
The Zenith and Nadir. The ‘Fleet’ continued to party on with the female, Anastasia Kerensky, and given she had the Kerensky name we presented her with the Wolves saKhan rank insignia that had been lifted from Garner before the medicos took him away.
The ‘Fleet’ disbanded at day break and we sent Anastasia back to the Wolf administration building. We later found out that Alaric Ward-Wolf- Steiner-Davion-Prince-Symbol was on planet and when he heard of the Pub Crawl he went directly to Anastasia to claim back the saKahn insignia via a Trial of Possession. As the Circle of Equals formed, Anastasia readied to battle Alaric Ward-Wolf- Steiner-Davion-Prince-Symbol, hangover and all. As the contest began, Anastasia let fly what has been described as the projectile vomit to end all projectile vomits. Alaric Ward-Wolf- Steiner-Davion-Prince-Symbol not wanting to dirty his sequined lined uniform jumped clear, landing just outside of the Circle of Equals. Anastasia was then accepted as Wolf saKhan before she ordered bacon and egg toasted sandwiches and pancakes.
The Orbit Pub Crawl has changed the face of the Wolf command; best pub crawl ever!
With Anastasia as the new saKhan of the Wolf Empire, the Wolf Hunters have broken contract with the Lyrans and defected to the Wolves – JLBowling for Arc-Royal21 September 3146
Dear Khan,
I suggest you sit down before reading this; actually do not sit on your favourite chair. I recommend an empty room with no other personal present. Footage from the flight recorder is attached for your viewing before you destroy the noteputer you are holding.
We have taken Arc-Royal! I use the word ‘taken’ in the loosest form possible.
After securing Bountiful Harvest as part of our continued foray into Jade Falcon space, Beta Galaxy’s 666th Mechanised Assault command was task to head to Arc-Royal to collect the latest shipment of Battlemechs. On arrival to the system, fatigue on one of the docking collars caused it to fail locking the empty Overlord-C to the jumpship. Star Colonel Marguerite Grimheald went ahead on an Outpost Defender to make preparations on planet for when the Overlord could clear the jumpship.
On transit the dropship travelled through a meteor field with a number of rock fragments passing through the point defences damaging a number of systems. Arc-Royal was unaware of the ships arrival as the dropship’s communication array had been severely damaged. Once picked up by Arc-Royal satellites Grand Duke Martin Kell threw his welcome plans into action. This shipment would mark the 5000th Hellstar to be produced on Arc-Royal. The Grand Duke had planned a planetary party and had commissioned a commemorative vintage port and a rather strong cheese to be produced.
Approaching entry the dropship crew discovered damage to navigation and thruster systems. The crew prepared for a high velocity entry into Arc-Royals atmosphere. The Duke, when informed the dropship would overshoot Old Connaught’s spaceport, ordered the Welcoming and Installation Liaison (W.I.L.) party of vehicles and battlemechs out into the field where the dropship was expected to land. The area in question was covered in various sized pieces of gravel washed down from a nearby scree slope.
With a very low angle of approach (below five degrees) the dropship crew pushed the main engines to full thrust trying to bleed of as much velocity as possible. When the deceleration was too slow and the landing gear would not deploy the crew knew they were in real trouble. Seeing the welcoming committee positioned along their vector, the crew activated the weapons system to fire a warning shot. The weapon system overloaded blowing a number of circuits.
Watching the Outpost coming in, the Grand Duke reacted late in ordering the standing formation to clear the area. The dropship engines exhaust mixed with the gravel sandblasted the vehicles, destroying motive systems of hovercraft and wheeled vehicles and blinded the mechs in a cloud of dust. Then the ground shook. The Outpost, with the impact cushioned by the gravel, slid a short way before starting to roll and roll and roll. It bounced off disabled vehicles before hitting the battlemech formation.
Somehow the Defender finished up right and the crew, battered and bruised, tried to exit the dropship and survey the damage. It was at this time the weapon system activated and started firing at W.I.L. The Arrow IV and Cruise Missile systems deployed ready for firing, unbeknown to the crew and warriors. Unable to open the cargo bay doors, elemental trooper Hal instead tried to relay a message to the operational forces on the ground using the laser from his TAG system. Believing they were under attack and with the Grand Duke not responding to hails W.I.L. evacuated back to Old Connaught. Four hours later Beta troops finally managed to open the cargo doors and disembarked to see a number of dropships launching. The Outposts fighters were dispatched to try and make contact with the departing dropships but came under fire as they approached and the dropships were able to flee the surface.
Upon entry into Old Connaught, Star Colonel Marguerite Grimheald was presented with the delivery of Hellstars and the Arc-Royal flag as a sign of surrender of the planet to the Horses. Having taken possession of the planet Grimheald ordered the salvage of the vehicles and ten disabled battlemechs at the dropship ‘landing’ site.
Most Kell Hound dependants have fled the planet and appear to be heading for Callendre Kell’s current location. The retreating Clan Wolf-in-Exile force has been reported to be relocating to Melissa.
At this time I am still debating if this ‘assault’ will be added to the Codex’s of those involved or if a strike will be recorded instead.
Loremaster Sachiko Ravenwater, 1st Horde ClusterRolling, rolling, rollingKhan Fetladral,
Never have we seen to eye to eye. With current events now could be the perfect time to look at
going in a new direction as a combined force. The Wolves have always lamented the loss of warriors
to Clan politics and ideological beliefs. Now is the perfect time to put past grudges behind us and
give all Wolves the chance to reside in the newly formed Wolf Empire.
You may balk at what I propose here but now is a perfect chance, the only chance, for us to rise
up and claim what is ours by right of our birth. For too long our brethren have lived apart and I say
never again. It is time we reunite and bring the all Wolves into the den and the warmth; and this is
going to sound strange, of our united purpose and spirit. The InnerSphere will fear and bow down
to us as we look the Republic in the eye and make them see our collective resolve that we will never
let Terra fall to any other clan except ours. It is time for the Wolves as the progeny of Kerensky, as
you may agree, to claim what is rightfully ours and fulfil the wishes of out founders. To see clans bow
down before us as the ilClan will be our ultimate prize. If not, they will face the power of Clan Wolf,
never again to scorn or deride us.
Going forward we will be stronger as one, a pack loyal to all the members around them. We go
to the cradle of humanity as the protectors, not the overlords, and raise humanity up. Others may
run in fear and cower in the dark recesses of the known universe. I say let them as we make those
around us appreciate the sacrifice we have made on their behalf to restore the Star League. Ponder,
and I hope you do, how together we as the Wolves, all the Wolves can achieve this. We cannot
desert our family, exiled or not, to become the playthings of the Falcons or Horses.
You will find coordinates of a rendezvous point encoded in this message.
------
Message to Clan Wolf-in-Exile from Khan Alaric Ward-Wolf- Steiner-Davion-Prince-Symbol of the Wolf Empire, 5 October 3146
Reports indicate that WiE forces were ambushed by Wolf Empire forces and destroyed on their arrival. – JL
You gotta know when to hold‘em …Following the success and gains made by Kurita forces in the second and third quarters of 3146 against Federated Suns worlds, Yori Kurita decreed that November 3146 would be a national celebration of ‘Kicking Davion Butts’ with reserves of Saki to be released from the Royal brewery. As part of the celebrations Yori had successfully negotiated with All Channel Media Empire to film the first episode of the 3146 season of
‘The InnerSphere has Talent’ on Luthien.
The news was met with must enthusiasm as ‘performers’ across the Combine polished their acts ready for auditions. Karaoke Bars across the nation recorded their highest volume of trading in the three weeks after the Coordinator’s announcement had time to spread throughout the Combine. With the last refresh of Karaoke machines occurring just before the black-out, late 20th Century Country and Western was still all the rage. Armed with that information and a recent find by Interstellar Expeditions, All Channel Media Empire started promoting the greatest live event to ever happen on reality holovision.
With cameras rolling on the night of nights, All Channel Media Empire, pre-recorded the live episode of the
‘InnerSphere has Talent’. Predictably there was the assorted ‘Cowboys’ and ‘Cowgirls’ signing Country and Western songs including;
‘All My Exes Live In Texas’,
‘Get Your Tongue Outta My Mouth 'Cause I'm Kissing You Goodbye’,
‘I Changed Her Oil, She Changed My Life’,
‘I Wanted You To Leave Until You Left Me’,
‘Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?’.
Other acts included the Sword Juggling Swords of Light who juggled three metre long swords in their Spiders, the Ghost Regiment Illusionists who no one actually saw and the Legion of Vega acrobatic ensemble that successfully created a 15 mech pyramid with their Wendigo B’s. The joke was on them though when the pyramid collapsed creating an avalanche that luckily only killed those in the first seven rows on the right hand side of the theatre.
For all the excitement, including the death of one judge during the Swords of Light performance, All Channel Media Empire left the pièce de résistance till last. To capitalise on the Combines love of Country and Western the headline act was announced as the one and only Willie Nelson. Instead of a Country and Western crooner with the six string guitar and long braided hair a tall, gangly fellow, with long permed hair and accordion took to the stage. Later investigations found that the initials on the cryogenic tube which I.E. had located read W. Al. and not W.N. as first thought. Mr W Al. sang songs such as
‘Davion idiot’,
‘Trigger Happy’ and
‘Smells like Sun-Tzu’ to a standing ovation.
Mr W. Al is now in the Free Worlds League as part of his ‘The Wall’ tour. - JL
