Author's note: The 22nd Smoke Jaguar Freebirth Cluster was originally mentioned in the Battle of Luthien Scenario Pack. And... well... for those familiar with that old supplement, that might be all that's needed to be said. For those who aren't, the scenario pack is problematic to say the least relative to how the canon would ultimately develop. Unit names are different, Khans are different, it's a mess. In the most immediately relevant case, the Smoke Jaguars didn't use freeborn warriors, and wouldn't have a "Freebirth" cluster. The 22nd Freebirth never existed.
But that hasn't stopped me before... Ultimately, I wrote this entry to see if I could actually sell the idea of a briefly existing Smoke Jaguar Freeborn unit. It's up to the reader to decide if I succeeded.
The 22nd Freebirth Cluster was a short lived, extremely reluctant experiment by the Smoke Jaguars in utilizing freeborn personnel in their touman. It was also the brainchild and driving obsession of one of its warriors, Star Captain Erik Raddick (an abtakha formerly of Clan Wolf). Though honor-bound to serve his new clan to the best of his ability, Erik Raddick found it difficult to assimilate into the Smoke Jaguars, and his more liberal ideas and thoughts led him to frequent clashes with his fellow warriors both in and outside of the circle of equals. The Star Captain's refusal to learn his place stalemated his career, earned him powerful enemies, and promised a quick path into the Solahmas, forestalled only slightly by his formidable skill on the battlefield. And yet, he persisted in opening his mouth.
As the Smoke Jaguars began preparing for the invasion of the Inner Sphere, a number of the clan's more cautious officers expressed concern about the shear enormity of the task before them. While victory was not in doubt, the shear size of the territories the Clan would then have to garrison staggered the imagination, and was far beyond the practical capabilities of any clan, something that a few of the Jaguars' high command actually acknowledged. The obvious solution of expanding the breeding program was quickly implemented, but would not bear fruit for almost twenty years. With the Jaguars expecting to control vast territories long before then, a more short term solution would be needed.
Star Captain Erik Raddick, drawing on his past experiences as a Wolf, proposed the recruitment of freeborns into the Warrior caste to act as garrison troops. After winning an immediate trial of grievance from a fellow warrior, as well as a trial of refusal against his commanding officer, he was permitted to present this proposal to the Jaguar high command. Though the very suggestion was met by outrage by many within the Clan Council and the Jaguars' senior leadership, it was, surprisingly not, universal. Galaxy Commander Dorian Wirth showed cautious support of the proposal, though only under the strictest of restrictions. The ristar Brandon Howel likewise expressed support for a single, purely experimental unit to be formed to further explore the issue. Nonetheless, when put up to vote, the proposal was soundly defeated. True to form, Erik Raddick issued a challenge of refusal. Though he had no supporters and considered the odds against him insurmountable (better than fifty to one based on the vote), Star Captain Raddick insisted that his duty to the clan necessitated he act. The council session was suspended while bidding to defend the decision commenced, and to the surprise of many in the council chamber, came down to a single mechwarrior, Star Colonel Cordera Perez. The next day, after a five minute trial on the training fields outside Lootera, Star Captain Raddick defeated his opponent and secured his victory. The Freebirth Experiment would commence.
It's not known how Erik Raddick had gotten this far in his strange quest, much less why the Clan Council would let such a reviled issue come down to single combat between two warriors. And with the destruction of the Jaguars, it's likely we can never know. We can theorize, however. Though Erik Raddick was vocal in "bettering" his current clan by adopting some of the practices of his old clan, he was no real threat to the Smoke Jaguars as a whole. He was, however, a nuisance. It might be that his superiors felt the best way to deal with such a nuisance would be to let him fail on his own. If he'd been wiped out by overwhelming odds during his trial of refusal against the Clan Council, it might have ended the man, but not necessarily his message. With some, but very few, smoke jaguars receptive to his ideas, the leadership might have felt it best to give him his chance. And if he could overcome all the obstacles that would be placed before him, maybe, just maybe, he might be worth listening to. However, it's also possible that simple bravado on the part of those who didn't take him seriously is what really helped him along.
Following the victory of Erik Raddick, Khan Showers reluctantly approved the formation of a new cluster, to be designated the 22nd Garrison Cluster (this was later changed to the 22nd Freebirth Cluster to make the unit's place in the touman abundantly clear). To staff the cluster required creating an entirely new training command tasked with identifying those freeborn with the requisite abilities and training them for warrior status. Selection in itself was a hurdle due to the strict restrictions placed by the Clan Council. Freeborn warriors born of Trueborns gained first priority, but only if their truborn parents had had a successful career as warriors. Freeborns who were born of trueborns who had failed their warrior training were deemed the product of failed genes and were rated as even below freeborn candidates with no trueborn heritage, with the vast majority being rejected outright. These standards, combined with the brutal (abusive even by Jaguar standards) training candidates faced, meant the cluster would be perpetually short staffed, particularly its elemental trinary, which never operated at full strength. The Freeborn training program also did not turn out officers. A freeborn warrior might be able to gain command of an infantry or elemental point, but all positions of Star Commander or above were to be filled by "proper" trueborn warriors, which were transfered into the cluster from the training command or Solahma units, often after losing a trial of refusal over their new orders. The only officer who did not contest their placement was Erik Raddick, who accepted command of the cluster and the associated promotion to Star Colonel with his usual tact and grace, promising to show the clan the value of Freeborn Warriors.
The 22nd Freebirth Cluster was declared active just days before the election of Leo Showers to IlKhan and the order to prepare for invasion, but it was far from battle worthy. Material and personnel shortages plagued the unit, as did low morale spurned by the mutual resentment between the freeborn troops and their bitter trueborn officers. Though Star Colonel Raddick attempted to keep his unit together, there was little he could do with the unit shunted into the periphery while the rest of the Clan gained honor in the inner sphere. Despite being posted to an outpost with virtually no chance of real combat, attrition still took its toll as its warriors turned on each other in frustration. Orders from the Khan to take up garrison posting in the inner sphere improved some spirits, but even that was short lived, as the realities of garrisoning the unruly populace of an Inner Sphere world only furthered the internal stress the cluster faced. Star Colonel Raddick knew he needed something to unify his warriors, to get them to see value in themselves and each other. His warriors needed combat. Real combat.
So, with his same brazen swagger, he requested permission for his cluster to join the pending assault on Luthien, and immediately demanded a trial of refusal when he was denied. Once again, and for one last time, Erik Raddick's battlefield luck won through, with his command star beating three points from Beta Galaxy in honorable combat. Raddick did not live to see his victory, however, as he was killed during the trial. Command of the unit passed to Star Captain Edna of binary striker(there was no time to arrange a proper trial for command, and the promotion was considered provisional).
Still, the promise of not just actual combat, but combat on the throne world of the Jaguar's adversary, galvanized the cluster, and brought it together as a unit, just as the late Star Colonel Raddick had hoped. Though they fully expected to act as reserve troops, the 22nd Freebirth Cluster descended into Luthien's atmosphere in high spirits, hungry for a chance to prove themselves, and they certainly got that when they were assigned to sieze the Arisaka Munitions complex near Aomori. Unfortunately, they failed. Ambushed and out maneuvered by the local militia, the cluster found itself trapped and surrounded along the Shaidan river and gradually worn down until Star Captain Edna saw no choice but to surrender. No members of the unit were returned to their parent clan, and the cluster was stricken from Smoke Jaugar rolls and the "Freebirth Experiment" ended.
Unit Compostion (Battle of Luthien)
Nominally, the 22nd Freebirth fielded a binary and trinary of battlemechs, supported by a trinary of elementals and a binary of conventional infantry. Trinary battle (originally commanded by Star Colonel Raddick) was short three mechs following the unit's successful trial of refusal, and the elemental trinary was short an entire star (primarily due to shortages in elemental armor, excess personnel were transfered to the conventional binary). The conventional infantry binary was short two points of troops, but had been converted from foot troops to mechanized infantry (using recovered inner sphere vehicles). Equipment shortages remained chronic, with much of the unit's best equipment transfered to make up losses in other formations. By the battle of Luthien, as much as half of trinary battle was composed of salvaged inner sphere equipment (and much of the rest was Star League grade). Binary Striker was in significantly better shape, though this was because Star Captain Edna had concentrated the best equipment in her personal unit.
