Golden Lion AU Supplemental

[DOC_Agren]

Well done "explaining" COMSTAR.

So did I miss what happened to Anastasius Focht?

[AlphaMirage]

Read the end of Ian Davion, Golden Lion

[PsihoKekec]

Theodore Kurita takes security of his children very seriously and very personally.

[DOC_Agren]

Read the end of Ian Davion, Golden Lion

I had forgot that little bit

[AlphaMirage]

The Limits of Lyran Youth
For all its good traits there is something that the Lyran Commonwealth can never be, accommodating of iconoclasts and idealogues. The Commonwealth’s authoritarian political, legal, and corporate systems are as cold, callous, heavy, and eternal as a glacier. Like these glaciers they grind anything that rises above to dust and this has caused no end of civil strife. Strife which occasionally results in an Archon being overthrown with the latest being Katrina Steiner’s usurpation of her Uncle Alessandro only to have a coup attempted by her cousin Frederick who was later presumed killed by the DCMS during a raid on Dromini VI.

Although basic rights and equality are supposedly guaranteed by the Articles of Acceptance, this has never been universally applied to everyone as some people are just more equal than others. It wasn’t because they don’t share a border but more because they have common philosophies (and enemies) that for much of its history the Lyran Commonwealth’s best ally was the Capellan Confederation.

Since a military reflects its society, this applies to the LCAF as well, which manages to produce motivated if uninspired enlisted personnel. Promotion and status are, despite being said to be otherwise, linked to patronage far more than competence due to the aristocratic at times condescending nature of their officer corps. Lacking opportunity to advance many of them go freelance and become Mercenaries or Gladiators. This benefits the Lyrans as it allows a way for competent soldiers to stop being a tax and political liability and instead become an exportable product. Since they haven’t fought a major conflict since the Free Rasalhague Republic was founded in 3034 the actual LCAF under Archon Melissa Steiner is untested but their mercenaries have proven their competence time and again.

So, what happens to those that don’t want to follow but are lacking in martial prowess or political connections?

Many, particularly in the less developed Anti-Spinward provinces join COMSTAR. The Blessed Order somehow manages to be less oppressive than the Lyran state maintaining a meritocratic reputation, freer corporate structure, unlimited opportunity, and a chance for adventure with a side of theology and moral service. Surprisingly few of them are alarmed by the heavy presence of ROM within the Order as the LIC is equally zealous in enforcing order and just as notorious.

Those that can’t pass the Order’s tests look to other organizations through which they can express themselves and build a different system. This youth rebellion manifests in a steady succession of cults and either affiliation with or directly joining organized crime (individual crimes are harshly punished). Sometimes there is little difference, and they can be found together, if only for the tax benefits.

Organized crime operates through the ‘Free Zones’ that most Lyran worlds possess and have thoroughly colonized worlds such as Galatea, Sargasso, Reese Station, Blackjack, Dustball, and Kooken’s Pleasure Pit. Their immense resources give them a similar allure and comparable firepower to the Commonwealth’s legendary mercenaries to protect it. This release valve reduces the chance of rebellion and if troubles and vice remain contained within the ‘Free Zones’ planetary authorities will look the other way. However, the LCAF and LIC are regularly deployed to these areas to check organizations that might threaten stability.

An unending succession of cults or similar organizations find fertile ground in the puritanical and sometimes politically oppressive region of the Inner Sphere. Most of the time these are innocent enough with many neo-luddites, back to earth, satirists, hedonistic, pagan, or similar philosophies that intentionally subvert the corporate, particularly industrialist, and religious order. Provided they don’t interfere with business through monkeywrenching, investigative journalism, or labor activism these are allowed to exist but the decentralized and rebellious nature of them renders them unstable.

Among the most interesting of these is the One Star Faith (OSF) which despite languishing in obscurity since its founding in 2801 has rapidly expanded since their young and charismatic High Visionary Egan Telosa, started his ministry in 3032. Egan, linked to Archon Melissa Steiner and her friends, soon became a media sensation with staying power. His eyes were set on one target, the planet Elissa, in the Elysian fields, which he acquired security guarantees and settlement rights to from the Oberon Confederation for 100 million C-bills (with a third of it allegedly coming from Melissa herself although the Triad has never confirmed or denied it).

Many of the faithful immediately settled upon it to build a ‘utopia’ using their own private jumpship fleet and the wealth of their followers. Somehow the OSF convinced COMSTAR to establish a Class-B HPG on the formerly undeveloped world which was completed in 3046. Having access to an HPG and safe from prosecution by the authorities, the OSF grew immensely during the 3046-3052 period as it saturated every channel in the overgrown and well-developed Commonwealth media market. Having access to a private jumpship fleet expanded the OSF’s reach even further. These ships allowed it to reach and bring new followers (and supplies) in at an unprecedented rate to sustain their utopian plan.

The OSF has been accused of engaging in embezzlement, brainwashing, fraud, and other criminal activities. However, the social and legal backlash against the Lyran Lutheran Church and other Protestant factions was sharp and severe. The LLC and its affiliates have long levied similar criticisms and legal action against the Islamists of Dar Es Salaam, Buddhists of New Kyoto, and other religious minorities for common evangelization and their combined legal heft was enough to silence any further court action.

[PsihoKekec]

Looks like Commonwealth is a bit worse than OTL and will have a really bad time when clanners come.

[Gorgon]

It's cool to see a different take on the Lyrans than most fanfic takes. And the inclusions of the OSF is just icing on the cake. Makes me hope that your Clans don't come from the coreward periphery.

[AlphaMirage]

Scandal! The Anette and Somerset Steiner Story
To understand Anette Steiner, one needs to first understand the Somerset Borge-Steiners in general. Founded by Cohran Steiner, the son of Simon Borge-Steiner, this cadet line possesses an uneven past. Simon Borge-Steiner had in one of his most lucid moments stepped away from the Archonship in favor of his sister Tatyana because of his Dobrowski Depression A (DD-A). This genetic illness has haunted the Steiner bloodline since Katherine Steiner and Alistair Marsden causing carnage and creativity in equal measure among the Commonwealth’s ruling dynasty.

While never talked about openly Saint Dympha’s Asylum on Gallery is believed to have been the final residence for many of the Steiner line since the time of Margaret Olson. Unfortunately for Cohran’s granddaughter Carmilla this was not to be the case. Carmilla was as unlike from her brother Pete as one could be, he went to Somerset Military Academy to become a MechWarrior, while she attended Rewland College of Fine Arts on Tharkad.

A gifted artist, passionate poet, virtuoso musician, and beautiful woman Carmilla caused quite a stir among the stodgy, militant court of Alessandro Steiner. Her immense popularity ensured that she had abundant male and female attention with no shortage of insinuated or open scandalous arrangements. When her daughter Anette was born in 2995 no one was certain who the father was, perhaps including herself. Nevertheless, the little girl was brought up on Tharkad and along with her mother remained a popular fixture of Katrina Steiner’s court after she became Archon.

The final scandal was however when she was accused of leading her 16-year-old nephew Roman astray by her brother. Roman Steiner, then studying at The Nagelring on Tharkad, got a young baroness pregnant after a ball and was subsequently kicked out of the prestigious military academy for moral failings. Roman then had to marry the girl upsetting an already arranged match and the scandal put him in a difficult position. Suddenly Carmilla’s world collapsed around her as accusations flew from all angles and her scandalous history was dredged up. This along with undiagnosed DD-A was believed responsible for her suicide in 3015 and this in turn resulted in Pete's divorce from his wife, Estelle, in 3016.

To prevent a repeat incident her 20-year-old daughter Anette was convinced by Katrina to leave Rewland and go to Saint Dympha’s to process her mother’s suicide and seek treatment for her own DD-A. She returned and finished her studies in 3020 but rapidly fell into familiar patterns. Having known no other life Anette was a creature of the court and prisoner of her own passions like her mother often modulating between scandalous and self-destructive behaviors with the seasons.

The beginning of her fall came in 3022 after her first son Andrew was born, the father allegedly an already married man whom Anette had an ongoing affair with. Katrina Steiner was disheartened by this turn of events but sought to help the young girl and allowed her to remain on Tharkad.

Unfortunately, when she became pregnant with her second son, Adam in 3023, from the same man that was enough for the Archon. With her own daughter developing within the court Anette was banished to Somerset where she inherited her late Uncle’s title upon his death in 3024 at the hands of the DCMS in order remove her influence on the impressionable Melissa.

There are some that say that she might have been unsuccessful but that is a story for a different time.

[PsihoKekec]

Will be interesting to see how Adam and Andrew turned in this timeline.

[AlphaMirage]

Alessandro, the Godfather Archon
There are few more polarizing figures in recent politics than Alessandro Steiner, the 28th Archon of the Lyran Commonwealth. Coming into power in 2980 following the death of his father, Giovanni, a man with a keen head for numbers who had carefully shepherded the Commonwealth’s diminishing assets. Alessandro was equally keen to use those advantages and preserved forces to forward his military ambitions throwing the LCAF against the Draconis Combine and Free World’s League in equal measure with few astounding victories.

Unfortunately, his victories were few and the tides began to turn against the Archon in 3000. His expenditure of forces had left the Commonwealth’s borders poorly defended resulted in several raids against Hesperus II and its crucial industries during this time with little to show for it. To protect the borders Alessandro redeployed interior forces to the front but this left his interior open to further deep raids. League and Combine raids on interior worlds which had been stripped of their defenses increased. These raids eroded these crucial bulwarks of the Lyran war machine and further weakened its ability to resist.

The failure of CONCENTRATED WEAKNESS to protect the interior led to a sudden and drastic turn of events that culminated in a alleged but botched assassination attempt against his niece and commander of the 10th Lyran Guards, Katrina Steiner, in 3004. Katrina disappeared for a year before returning to Tharkad in 3006 after the FLWM had struck Coventry and Alessandro’s support was at its lowest. She quickly outmaneuvered her uncle by petitioning the Estates General to call for a no confidence vote on the Archon.

Alessandro was furious when they agreed and demanded that he step down. He pled for time to consider and looked to build support for a counterclaim during the three days allotted. He reluctantly but peacefully retired after 27 years as Archon on July 22, 3007 and Katrina was appointed his successor the following day.

Since he was not accused of any wrongdoing and had stepped down peacefully Katrina allowed him to transition to a private citizen, albeit one that moved into his most public mistress’, Baroness Eleanor von Silvon, mansion right next to the Triad. His proximity to the Triad allowed Katrina to keep an eye on him but it also kept him in the loop.

Alessandro may have faded into the background during his retirement, but he was still present in court and public life. He co-wrote several books with Telos Auburn and his daughters on the history of the Lyran Commonwealth. Regularly authored OpEds for newspapers on Tharkad and elsewhere. Published likely exaggerated ‘fiction’ about events that occurred during his time as Archon, several of which later became movies whose proceeds were left in a trust to his protege Ryan Steiner.

Although he never had any children of his own there are plenty of anecdotes of him taking his time to provide grandfatherly wisdom to Steiner youths, their Elders, or their friends if they came to him. He was also not shy and would be critical of them, both publicly and privately, when they misbehaved or fell short of his expectations.

While never put under formal house arrest Alessandro rarely ventured off Tharkad until his death in 3030 when his body was returned to Furillo and Lady von Silvon sold her mansion to the Federated Suns who turned into their embassy (after they debugged it, which took months). She retired to Elizabeth Island on Tharkad until her own death in 3035.

[AlphaMirage]

Raised by Wolves, Walter and The Somerset Steiner Boys
Almost as soon as she inherited her late Uncle’s titles Anette Steiner was besieged by potential suitors of every manner. Soldiers, mercenaries, businessmen, and even academics were regular guests to the humble Hollyfield estate on Somerset. While her cousin Lisa might have been closer to the throne and the Archon herself was on a whole other level the now Duchess was deemed more approachable due to the lack of a Nondi Steiner as a potential mother-in-law.

Anette’s exile from Tharkad and its vices, motherhood, and the rigors of her duty to the people of Somerset had apparently tamed her more impulsive nature. Most suitors were rejected outright and often quite forcefully by the young woman, much to their surprise given her reputation. Some lingered for a time providing a boost to the planet’s very small hospitality industry. Despite their rejection by the Duchess a few even made the planet their home finding its more placid surroundings a welcome relief from the more exhausting core.

That changed however when a former Rasalhague guerilla from Radstadt arrived in 3030.Walter Gustafsson had initially run afoul of the ISF in 3018 during a protest march and was imprisoned in the infamous Lotus Flower ‘Corrections’ Complex. He engineered an escape in 3020, joined the resistance, and worked with LCAF allied forces such as the Tyr Regiment to liberate the planet in 3029. Then he laid down his arms to take up the pen and brush again, becoming an advocate for Rasalhague independence within the Commonwealth. It was the pursuit of this goal that initially brought him to Somerset, but it would not be what kept him there for ten years.

What started as an innocent petition blossomed into a romance as the rebels found common cause and attraction in one another. While they never married for some reason, possibly related to the partners’ mutual independent streak, Walter remained on Somerset and in Andrew and Adam’s lives until he amicably departed in 3040. However, he would visit for extended periods whenever he wasn’t touring in support of the now Free Rasalhague Republic.

A memoir of his time in Lotus Flower Corrections Complex and as a Rasalhague resistance fighter, ‘Raised by Wolves,’ would become a best seller in 3044 but would be surpassed by 'The Song of Summer' a collection of poems and short stories that he and Anette wrote together during their time together in the 3030s but would only be published in 3046.

[AlphaMirage]

The Death of Natasha Kerensky
08/19/3048 | Remus Medical Center
Remus’ sparkled in Outreach’s sunlight as Jaime Wolf walked into the room with a bottle of Timbiqui Dark Special Reserve and pair of metal cups.
The MedTech stared at him then at the bottle, “She cannot have that.”
“Or what? It will make her terminal condition worse.
Can she even drink?”
“For now, but not for much longer, there are already signs of multiple system failure, but she is still cogent and aware for now.”
“Can I have the room then?”
“Of course, Colonel.”
“I am retired.”

She pointed toward the screened off section behind her, “So was Natasha.”
“Our histories have a way of catching up to us in the end.”

Jaime heard the door close and walked forward to put the bottle and cups on the end table. He pulled the screen closed and a chair to the bedside where Natasha Kerensky lay attached to multiple leads. The Black Widow’s once fierce looks had faded as the years increasingly took their toll and she lost interest in maintaining them. She had even stopped dyeing her hair red when she turned 70, which was also when the tremors started.
“I heard you refused further treatment Natasha.”
“I thought I should try fighting death unaugmented for once and not drag it out any longer.
Should I have called in my past bid?”
“Even our advanced medicine probably would not have helped your condition.
You should have hung up your neurohelmet sooner.”
“That is not the fate of a Trueborn of Clan Wolf and there was still so much work to be done preparing. I made my choice, and my only regret is that I will not be here when they arrive.”

Natasha reached out from beneath the blanket, “May I request something from you Colonel?”
He grasped her bony hand which seemed so fragile for how much damage it had done over the years, “Do not mourn me. Just give those dezgra bastards hell when they arrive.
For me and everyone else we’ve lost.”

“You have my rede Natasha Kerensky.
Would you do me a favor as well? Can you tell them I am sorry.”

“They will be waiting for you. You tell them yourself, do I look like a messenger girl?”

[Gorgon]

What? People aging and dying normally? In MY BattleTeach!?

Seriously though, that's gonna change Clan Wolf's future quite a bit. I don't think I've seen "Natasha dies before the Clan Invasion" as an what-if, yet. Very interesting.

[PsihoKekec]

Too much neurohelmet use caused something akin to ALS?

[AlphaMirage]

Too much neurohelmet use caused something akin to ALS?

Causes it? No.
Neurohelmet use merely accelerates natural degenerative processes particularly neurological ones. Natasha died at 75 after a lifetime of accumulated injuries and exposures to toxins and disease from across the Inner Sphere after growing up a culture that didn't value longevity in their genetic protocols.

[AlphaMirage]

Timeline of the Clans
2823 - Wolverines Annihilated. Clan Snow Raven without a genetic repository after the destruction of Dehra Dun are Absorbed into Clan Ghost Bear
2824 - Nicholas Kerensky and Jennifer Winson are assassinated by unknown agents, presumably stay behind Wolverine sympathizers. Steel Viper Khan Elle Kinnison commits suicide in her grief over the loss of the ilKhan when she took it upon herself to ensure his safety. No mention is made of Jennifer in her suicide note.
In retribution all Clans, except Clan Mongoose, forcibly sterilize or kill any Wolverines they had Absorbed.
2834 - Clan Widowmaker mostly Annihilated by Wolf and Goliath Scorpion after the murder of ilKhan Jerome Winson during a Trial. Some Bloodheritages are saved by Clan Wolf as trophies of the deed.
2752 - Clan Mongoose absorbs Clan Ice Hellion after the Hellion Civil War, Moore bloodhouse Annihilated.
2768 - Clan Blood Spirit is Annihilated by Clan Burrock for ‘failing to follow the way of the clans’ after a long campaign that saw the Blood Spirits arm their civilian castes during Burrock raids against York.
2868 - Clan Smoke Jaguar is Absorbed into Clan Mongoose after the Battle of Circe following Clan Star Adder attempts to disrupt their rivals’ growth. Support from several Clan Fire Mandrill Kindraa with their own ‘axe to grind with the Adders’ and rapid rearmament of Jaguar Warriors foil their ambitions.
2870 - Clans Nova Cat and Sea Fox join into Clan Nova Fox to protect themselves from predation.
2872 - Clan Fire Mandrill is Annihilated after decades of dishonorable conduct and infighting, Land and Legacies are split between Clan Hell’s Horses and Clan Coyote
2932 - Clan Burrock is Annihilated by Clan Star Adder and Jade Falcon after they discover the Burrocks had been using and making deals with the Tanites and Dark Caste for material gain. Clan Jade Falcon claims the Tanite worlds while Clan Star Adder receives the Burrock’s other enclaves.
2947 - Clan Cloud Cobra is Annihilated for their role in the assassination of ilKhan Tchernokov to replace him with a Cloud Cobra. Their legacies and enclaves are claimed by four other Clans (Goliath Scorpion, Nova Fox, Coyote, and Ghost Bear).
2950 - The Warden and Crusader ideologies begin to form in the minds of the Trueborn. The Loremaster of the Clans reinstates the INTELSTAR program to learn about the state of the Inner Sphere through deep periphery cutouts.
2967 - Clan Coyote is embroiled in The Blood conspiracy (caused by Star Adder) and Absorbed into Clan Wolf with many bloodhouses Reaved in the process.

2985 - Clan Goliath Scorpion Seekers accidentally bring samples of a virulent plague to Roche. The planet is sterilized on orders of ilKhan Thomas Moreau, a Scorpion himself, by Clan Warships including Kerensky’s Pride. All Goliath Scorpion enclaves go into quarantine to ensure they haven’t been accidentally exposed. With their homeworld lost Goliath Scorpion enclaves and legacies are Absorbed into each other Clan. The ilKhan resigns and walks into the deserts of Dagda never to be seen again.

3000 – Mongoose, Ghost Bear, and Jade Falcon seek to invade the Inner Sphere and bring about the return of the Star League by force. Wolf, Star Adder, and Steel Viper urge caution. With the recent Scorpion plague on everyone’s minds they see a return to the Inner Sphere as risky in body, mind, and spirit and seek to continue Kerensky’s grand experiment in isolation. Hell’s Horses and Nova Fox abstain, unable to come to a consensus among their bloodnamed.

A compromise is reached where Clan Wolf volunteers to create a mostly freeborn unit of Warriors to conduct a deep recon mission and determine the potential risks and rewards of a return to the Inner Sphere. Clan Steel Viper, not fully trusting the Wolf Khan but knowing he wouldn’t allow a Crusader Clan access, insist they be trained and assessed by their Heartvenom Cluster, inherited from the Goliath Scorpions which still practices the old SLDF methods.

3003 - The Wolf Dragoons mission begins with their first employer being First Prince Ian Davion of the Federated Suns.
3019 – Sensing that the Crusader ideology would not wait much longer to invade ilKhan Kerlin Ward tells Colonel Jaime Wolf and Natasha Kerensky to cut off contact with the Homeworlds and prepare the Inner Sphere for their return. He is to check back a decade later.
3020 – Clan Mongoose undercovers the ilKhan’s treasonous dealings with the Dragoons. Ghost Bear Khan Winson, formerly a Wolf, and Khan Martingale are disgusted, and both call for the Annihilation of the Ward Bloodhouse for treason. This motion is unanimously approved to purge the Clans of treasonous elements by quoting Nicholas Kerensky.
3020-3030 – The Annihilation of the Ward bloodhouse precipitates a full-blown civil war among the eight remaining Clans. Clan Wolf is Absorbed into the Star Adders and Hell’s Horses while the Jade Falcons are split between Nova Fox and Steel Vipers.

3030-3048 – The Clans engage in an immense military buildup to prepare themselves for a return to the Inner Sphere before they can launch an attack on the Homeworlds. All Clans, except the Steel Vipers, lower the standards to pass advanced (MechWarrior, Aerospace Pilot, Warship, etc…) training while allowing freeborn to join infantry, armored units, and serve as ship’s crews to grow their toumans.

Industrial efforts are streamlined and accelerated by the lack of internal conflict resulting in the loss of many distinct designs and compromises on what remains. This Rearmament Project is not without difficulty however and the presently ilKhan-less Clans compete with one another to gain leadership in order to build consensus.

3035 – Mongoose Khan Leo Showers kills longtime political rival Star Adder Khan Kimball N’Buta in a Trial of Grievance that he spins into a Trial of Position to become IlKhan, ceding his Khanship to his SaKhan Cassandra Martingale (Alpha Galaxy Commander Tensor Norizuchi becomes SaKhan afterward and the two vacillate between each other for the next fifteen years until Martingale's death). This political brinkmanship wins him the support of Nova Fox and Ghost Bear with grudging support by the Steel Vipers and Hell’s Horses.

3048 – Outbound Light arrives in the Huntress system and its crew is interrogated by the Mongoose Watch. They say that COMSTAR knows where they are and will come and get them. Their tech is close enough to the Clan’s own to concern the Council. Nova Fox Expeditionary Missions are sent down the Exodus Road to secure the route and begin establishing forward supply caches.

3050 – The Clans launch their assaults on the Coreward Deep Periphery taking over the Hanseatic League, Chainelaine Isles, Umayyad Caliphate, and Nueva Castille. These areas along with the old SLDF and present Explorer Corps base on Columbus will serve as the staging grounds for an invasion of the Inner Sphere. However, Columbus is left abandoned with a satellite sensor to determine how and with how much force COMSTAR responds.

3051 - The Clans begin the first wave of REVIVAL.

[namar13766]

So this ATL Council of Six has similarities to the OTL Post-Reaving Homeworld Clans.

[AlphaMirage]

So this ATL Council of Six has similarities to the OTL Post-Reaving Homeworld Clans.

Sort of, they are the top of the trash heap of Clans history. Unlike the OTL each of the six are quite capable of mauling or killing one another and knocking it down to a four-way or even triumvirate rather than simply meekly following the Star Adders who think they are in charge just because they own the Kerensky bloodname.

[Gorgon]

Sounds delicously disfunctional!

[PsihoKekec]

2824 - Nicholas Kerensky and Jennifer Winson are assassinated by unknown agents, presumably stay behind Wolverine sympathizers. Steel Viper Khan Elle Kinnison commits suicide in her grief over the loss of the ilKhan when she took it upon herself to ensure his safety. No mention is made of Jennifer in her suicide note.

Did Kinnison's attempt to kill Jennifer Winison accidentally killed Nicholas as well?

[AlphaMirage]

Did Kinnison's attempt to kill Jennifer Winison accidentally killed Nicholas as well?

OOC: It did, good job finding that easter egg

IC: Of course not, those Wolverines sought to the end the way of the Clans by all costs and those they left behind paid the price

[DOC_Agren]

2967 - Clan Coyote is embroiled in The Blood conspiracy (caused by Star Adder) and Absorbed into Clan Wolf with many bloodhouses Reaved in the process.

Still the Star Adders fail to gain to Absorption of the politically fractured Clan, that they set up

[AlphaMirage]

Still the Star Adders fail to gain to Absorption of the politically fractured Clan, that they set up

Wolf Clan OP, it was also more of a joiner to a close ally (and deny the Star Adders the opportunity) like the Nova Foxes.

[AlphaMirage]

Reflections of a Broken Mirror
From the Diary of Adam Steiner 10/24/3051

The Clanners think they are so smart. Yet Katya took my bait so willingly. Rhonda, Somerset’s INTER-LOGI representative has taken a liking to brandy and cognac which she enjoys while giving me very unguarded information while enjoying my humble abode. My biggest worry presently is that the Clans in their recklessness have damaged Weingarten’s vineyards because that would be a true tragedy to the Lyran Commonwealth and my potential grandson’s inheritance.

Observations and conversations with Katya and the others have given me a very curious theory on who the true father of the Clans is. In my opinion neither Nicholas Kerensky nor his father Aleksandr are their inspiration but Stefan Amaris or rather the original Katya’s interpretation of him which she told to her sons in whatever small cabin in Siberia they hid themselves away from him in during Terra’s occupation. I say this because I have read all 20 volumes of historical records concerning Aleksandr Kerensky and his thoughts on his duty to the Star League, imperfect as they might be.

My hope is that if Katya is a quick reader, she will learn the truth quickly and if we can expose the fact that their entire founding ideology is based on their version of Satan, and that the Inner Sphere haven’t been preparing for a genocidal war against them (to the best of my knowledge, god I do hope we haven’t) that it may halt them.

Maybe this makes them question everything they have ever learned and return to quarreling amongst themselves. It is only Leo Showers, their supreme ruler, and their fear of consequences that drives them forward into the Commonwealth. At least that is my hope because if I am wrong, they have been preparing for a multi-generation war and we have grown weary of them.

On the Organization of the Clans
From the Diary of Adam Steiner

My further time with Rhonda has given me a very in depth view of the Clan’s organization which I am leveraging because they are without guile. Their civilian castes don’t have a Clan affiliation, they are effectively serfs within their Enclaves and can be bartered and sold like any other commodity via a Trial of Possession. Each of them is assigned a Grade, with 25 sub-divisions (marked by the edges on the Pentagons they wear like military rank badges) that are mostly for prestige and ‘Trust’ I suppose as their system is collectivist, mostly equal, and centrally controlled by computers and Khans. It is entirely cashless with ‘POGS’ (Purchase of Goods and Services) being mostly used for internal accounting rather than as a circulating currency.

Their Warriors find large rooms and luxuries strange and uncomfortable, accustomed apparently to spartan arrangements. If Rhonda is any indication, it seems that Merchants are likely the only ones with an appreciation for ‘finer’ things although I have yet to meet one of their Scientists, who supposedly occupy a higher Caste. Every Scientist I can think of is laser focused on their research to the detriment of their social graces or fashion sense.

There are some supposed Free Guilds, but these are mostly an easy way to integrate Hanseatic League colonists into the Clan Way. Forward operating bases and industrial facilities have been established within the region known as ‘The Chainelaine Islands’ formerly a pirate haven and apparently the Clans found their people ‘compliant’ and I suppose oppressive order is better than abusive, abject poverty and chaos. Patrolling Clan Warships between us and there means that it is unlikely that LCAF or the LCN could reach them with enough force to do anything to stop their resupply, but perhaps with assistance from the Rasalhague’s KF, the DCA or FLWN it could be done. My influence on Politics outside my world is absent however and that is frustrating. 

For the most part the Star Adders have had a light touch on my people, but I hear stories about the brutality of Clan Mongoose and callous cold-heartedness of the Steel Vipers. For the most part it seems that the other three Clans, Ghost Bear, Hell’s Horses, and Nova Fox are fairly ‘understanding’ wishing to focus on winning the war rather than oppressing their occupied lands, that comes later if at all.

Most of these occupying units are headed by Freeborns rather than Trueborns, the ‘product’ of some ghastly eugenics project ‘decanted’ from ectogenic pods rather than born of women and forced into boot camp as soon as they leave diapers. If Katya Kerensky is any indication of the Clan Trueborn than that is perhaps for the best as she was utterly incapable of operating outside a combat environment and sought her own Glory to the detriment of their fellows.

Unfortunately, most of their Touman, as they call their army, are freeborn like Katya’s subordinate Commander Presley who seemed a quiet and thoughtful fellow with a strong sense of purpose and preference for duty to the Clan rather than his own Glory. These Freeborn include members from their conquered territories and are volunteers which means they are more motivated and group focused rather than the ruthless survivors that survive Trueborn training.

[PsihoKekec]

So we could say that civilians have it even worse in this version of Clans? Because if Adam's observation is true, then they don't even have currency, but are only given what their superiors decide is needed for their survival, basically wartime Soviet Union - tuned up to 11.

[werehawk]

Actually I'd say rather than serfs take a look at the status of Spartan helots. The way the Spartans treated helots was downright nasty.

[AlphaMirage]

The Midnight Star
From the Dairy of Adam Steiner 12/01/3051
Somerset played host to a remarkable event over the past week, an honest to god Potemkin, one of the original Exodus Fleet, SLS Midnight Star of Clan Star Adder appeared at our Zenith Point along with a flotilla of Jumpships to conduct a transshipment of personnel and materiel.

I, as the ranking Warrior on world asked permission to board the ship to pick up the equipment I had requisitioned through Interconnected Logistics (INTER-LOGI) on Somerset Stormer, the only large dropship still on world. This was agreed to as it would free up more cargo volume on the Beacon dropship that was conducting prisoner transfers to our welcoming ‘penal colony’ and supplying Somerset with Technicians capable of repairing telecommunications and upgrading transport on world.

When I received permission, it was conditional that I engage in three racquetball bouts against Admiral Nathan Topi, the Ship’s Captain. He handily beat me but still acknowledged that I was good for a Spheroid. My Strikers, all now loyal ‘Abtaka’ (Abduct-Taken? This Clan combination word still eludes me) Warriors were even allowed to join me to receive basic training on their first bit of Clan gear.

Upon this ship I encountered the first ‘Elemental’ I had seen. I am told that Star Adder Elementals are middling in size this man could barely fit into the Warship’s corridors, and it is a 1.5 megaton POTEMKIN. He must have been almost 230 centimeters and might have weighed 120-40 kilos. The fact that people can grow that large is astonishing and no doubt both a logistical burden and a point of pride to their Clans. They remind me of the Napoleonic Grenadiers of ancient Terra with uniforms to match.

Meanwhile Nathan was more comparable to me but much older, he was ‘over the hill’ in Clan terms at 53, a veteran of the Wolf Wars and conquest of the Hanseatic League. While struggling against his masterful backhand I managed to get enough War Stories to know why he ended up in charge of his own Fleet in a Ship. Midnight Star carries a full Star of Noruff assault ships, the Clan equivalent of the Avenger, and Carriers with a hundred strong Air Wing. This seemed like a suitable severe escort for such a ship but with only 8 of them still in existence the loss of even one could be disastrous.

The other fifteen ships were various smaller transports both cargo and military. These transports I discovered were here to drop off severely damaged military gear for repair and receive replacements. This I learned is how such small Clan units like the Cluster that attacked Somerset could function as independent units while lacking enough Technicians capable of repairing or servicing their equipment in the field.

Additionally, I was introduced to Star Commodore Karrah, the Clan equivalent of a Staff Officer, known as a Coregn (presumable Co-Reign) responsible for all the things that Trueborn Commanding Officers are ‘ill equipped’ to handle, like logistics and people. We shared what I was told was a standard Clan meal of braised fish and vegetables served with a small beer.

I was informed that the Upper Castes dislike bread or other cereal grains while they are staples for the Lower Castes along with yeast and preserves. Since most protein and fat are in the form of fish or shrimp we also started with something between miso soup and gumbo before the meal ended with fruit for dessert. She informed Rachel and I that our food was too sweet, and that Quillar and Cheeses were unpalatable to them. I am also pretty sure she was hitting on Rachel.

Following that I sought out the Scientists that ran the factory space within the Morning Star. Oddly as I approached their section the Technicians and Laborers that worked with me changed. When I inquired about why this was our guide, Axel, a young able Spaceman from the Hanseatic League told me that there are three cliques within Clan Society.

Merchants do much of the work running the Enclaves and oversee civilian Infrastructure under Patrol’s (Clan Military Police) aegis. Most of these folks seem to be easy going if odd and living in uninspired but material and space efficient housing. Inputs are transformed into Outputs and for the most part the Technicians and Laborers treat it like any other job. There is supposedly an Artisan Caste, but they seem to busy themselves with propaganda murals and statutes dedicated to heroes in the Remembrance.

Scientists are sequestered in research cities or groups within a larger enclave, this reminds me of Academia, where they pursue their research objectives. They are also responsible for the Clan Eugenic’s breeding project, overseeing the Iron Wombs, and ‘Creche’ infant phase of a trueborn’s training where the individual will be tested and educated in the ways of The Clan. Supposedly they are also responsible for the health, physical and genetic of all the castes, and sign off on all family units.

Axel also told me that the Clan’s Male Trueborn are given a vasectomy as issuing birth control to the women affects their physical performance and biochemistry reducing their health and fitness for combat. It is also a reasonable common procedure for the Freeborn but not universal or mandated but is available on the individuals Codex for prospective coupling partners. Also, many children are conceived via IVF rather than the old fashioned way.

The Warrior Caste supported by Merchant Quartermasters, Repair Technicians, and Miscellaneous Laborers populated by ‘test-downs’ that dropped out of training operate on the battlefield or within a naval ship’s crew. Also, there is something called the Watch which is described to me as a vicious intelligence and special forces command that is not limited by things like honor or rules. To me that sounds like a dangerous combination within this society but I suppose that is apt for a Warrior centric society.

[AlphaMirage]

Diary of Meto, Chainelaine Islander, Clan Soldier
Part 1 – The Sky-Clan
I was born on Corell in what I now know as 3025. My planet is a small, cold, and cruel world but it is habitable and beautiful in its own way. Our ways are difficult, but we are hardy folk. We herd sheep, grow grains, gather berries, fish freezing seas, and trap stoat or rabbit among the conifers. Our most dangerous predators are Lynx and Wolverines, more for their insatiable appetites for our stores than claws and teeth.

The Sky Clans arrived in the Chaine Cluster during my 24th Winter. Our people are not accustomed to visitors so the whole tribe turned out into the snow to see the fiery sphere they arrived in. We thought they were the White Robes that once sought to convert us to following the ways of their wise ancestor Jerome Blake and brought a gift of smokeless heat and fireless light to our chief’s tent.

These we not those men however, their clothes were brightly colored, vivid oranges and reds slick to the touch. The smallest of them, a woman, stood a head taller than our strongest hunter, each wielded lances of heat and light. Though our hunters had assembled in force the Sky-Clan was not intimidated by our bone and stone tipped darts. They offered our chief a richly decorated metal sword, beads of colored crystal, and a horde of gold rings and bracelets.

As was our custom the chief invited them to the longhouses we had erected alongside the banks of a frozen sea. The heater was unnecessary for we all gathered to hear the Sky-Clan’s emissaries. They identified themselves as descendants of the Star League, the same one spoken of in legend that could tame vast rivers and travel across the stars in great ships without equal.

Travelers from Paran had told us that the Star League had never fallen but it had not touched our tiny world during its time, so it mattered not. Now they had returned and were asking us to join them. Our Chief explained that we were simple folk with little to offer a great interstellar empire.

Their emissary this ‘Steel Viper’ woman spoke as our Shamans do, in rhyme, myth, and story explained that the Clans only sought what we were willing to offer. They in turn could offer the same to any who wished it provided the Chief approved. They promised those who joined them in their revival of this empire would return as heroes greatly rewarded for their service and as gifts for their community.

This appealed to many of our young hunters without wives like me that craved adventure in exotic lands. I joined and left my thumb print and name on their ‘silicon tablet’ receiving a metal armlet in return engraved with my name, my Codex. They distributed copies of their ‘Remembrance’ in our letters for us to read for we would be tested on it upon their return in the summer.

Many dark nights were spent memorizing the epic that demonstrated the way and legend of the Clans through the virtue and vice of its heroes, the Bloodnamed, Trueborn of no woman, whose existence was solely to serve the Clan of their birth or adoption. Discussions among ourselves concerned what might be or if we would be ready when they returned to take us with them.

When they returned the Shaman and a monstrous Warrior, an Elemental one of whom we had only read about in the Remembrance, tested us in body, mind, and spirit dismissing those without vigor in all things. With our Chief’s permission and gifts from our kin we departed into the sky, each of us terrified but entranced as we lifted off into the stars, toward adventure and our destiny.

[PsihoKekec]

That sounds like recruitment on a feral world in WH40K

[AlphaMirage]

That sounds like recruitment on a feral world in WH40K

Clans are Clans, teaching people technology is a lot easier than forcing them to adher to your ways.

Part 2 – A Reincarnation of Empire

The SLS Sarrak, a Seeker Class Dropship, was our vessel off-world leaving behind a small contingent of Scientists and Technicians within the ruins of Antok. The Waking City was where our Ancestors were abandoned by a forgotten Empire before forming the eight Tribes, it remained a taboo place for evil machines dwelled there. It was odd to see other tribes, rivals and allies both near and far, wearing our same issued uniforms. There was yet enough difference in hair, jewelry, and tattoos that we could recognize one another but they like I stayed silent about it in front of our Clan Trainers. Others joined us from other worlds as the Sarrak ventured throughout the Chaine Cluster attached to a Hunter Jumpship from Clan Ghost Bear.

Along the way we were introduced and put under the supervision of our instructors, the Paranese Free Compact Cadre. As fellow descendants of the Star League they had accepted the return of Kerensky’s Exiles and put themselves to the task of training and integrating the Chainelaine Islands into their empire. They spoke a dialect of ours and taught us Standard as the Clans speak it among other things.

Our wonder at the Clan’s machines only grew as the PF2C explained how they worked. That the Clans could harness the power of stars, speak with distant worlds as one could those beside themselves, and thrive in the empty void of interstellar space was as astonishing as if they told us they were gods themselves. Such power could only be entrusted with the most virtuous of Chiefs, and ilKhan Leo Showers could not be anything but that in our eyes.

From the first moment on Paran I was awestruck, vast orchards of fruit bearing trees, endless fields of golden grain, and lakes so full of fish they leapt for space. Surely this was paradise. Our training grounds were located beside a vast lake that echoed with thunder from the cannons and from which giant machines walked as easily as a man across a field. The PF2C operated under the supervision of representatives from each of the six Clans of Kerensky who inspected us closely.

More people had joined those aboard the Sarrak from across the Chainelaine Islands until the ‘Class’ exceeded ten hundred. We were told that only two hundred would be accepted in the Touman, but the others would find their purpose elsewhere in service to the Clans. I was selected as a Decad leader by my peers. This was an unexpected and burdensome honor as I not only needed to excel at the individual challenges our trainers chose but be responsible for the others.

My first challenge was from a Rondanian, their people had long predated upon Corell and the other Cluster worlds. They called us primitives and the brute that formed their Decad leader, Brice, was wont to pummel my men in isolation and his own men.
On the eve before one of the primary selection trials I challenged him to a Trial of Grievance before the Oathmaster. While he was not bound to accept my challenge the fact that I had done so before an Elder and his own arrogance in his skills meant he accepted. I broke his arm in three places and leg in one within the Pankration Pit that served as our Circle of Equals. He sought but was denied a delay in the following day’s Trial.

The wise elder left him with a proverb, “On the battlefield, one does not receive second chances. You will compete in the Trial tomorrow, or you will fail to advance.”

His Decad dropped out for without their leader they were nothing. My Decad placed Prime although I was injured from the bout with Brice. They were willing to extend themselves knowing that I had done the same for them. We would leave our Training Grounds months later after learning all we could. It would not prepare us for what we saw on the battleground.