To the nascent Clans, Eden was Sodom and Gomorrah. It was here that the Exodus Civil Wars had begun. Where DeChavilier had been murdered and the Great Father had died. On the other Pentagon worlds the Clans fought to liberate the people and destroy their oppressors, to build a new society.
On Eden they sought revenge.
Demands for a role in the Eden assault were commonplace in the ilKhan’s office. Some measure of competition for the Eden slots was necessary to sate public opinion and to that end the ilKhan decreed that martial trials would determine participation in the assault, with an individual Star from each Clan competing for the honor.
The success of the Wolves over the Star Adders came as little surprise, nor did that of the Smoke Jaguars against the Coyotes but the Falcon victory over the Burrocks was a close-run thing (to the chagrin of their Khans). Most surprising, however, was the success of Clan Hell’s Horses whose unexpected victory over the Ghost Bears almost trigged a brawl between Khans Fletcher and Jorgensson.
The ilKhan was somewhat wary of the Jaguars’ capabilities, despite his brother assuring him they met all the criteria to be declared an operational part of the Clan touman, and assigned them a role that though challenging was deemed less risky: the pacification of several militaristic city-states in Western Yakut and on the smaller continents of Amur and Irkutsk. During the Amur campaign, the Jaguars made use of Hell’s Horses auxiliaries to secure captured territories and to marshal prisoners.
By the middle of August all of the Jaguar objectives had been completed—in fact they were a week ahead of schedule—and the price had been high. The Clan itself had suffered light casualties and moderate materiel losses, but had caused vast damage to the civilian infrastructure of the two continents. Many were left to fend for themselves and disease was rife in the occupied territories, but the Jaguars showed little compassion. “They should have surrendered after the first object lesson” was Khan Osis’ sole comment on the matter.
Pictured: a Binary of Clan Smoke Jaguar, accompanied by a Binary of Clan Hell's Horses support units, during the Amur campaign.
The Assault Star of the Jaguar Grenadiers was commanded by Star Captain Ginel Montizima in his Shogun SHG-2H, accompanied by a Stalker STK-3Fb, Awesome AWS-8Q, Atlas AS-7D, and the Awesome "Tonique", piloted by Tonique Ott. Ott had always been aware of the threat of attack from the air, and argued to have one of her 'Mech's PPCs (and several heat sinks) replaced with an Arrow IV launcher. Given the paucity of hostile aerospace forces on Eden, Ott was reduced to amusing herself busting bunkers and taking out concentrations of infantry.
The Battle Star was made up of two Guillotine GLT-3Ns, a Falcon FLC-4NB, Spider SRD-5V, and Hermes HER-1S
The Clan Hell's Horses Battle Star was composed of two points of Von Luckner tanks (one each LB-X and LRM versions), a point of Zephyr hovers, a point of Bulldogs, and a point of Thumper artillery tanks.
The infantry Support Star was supplied for controlling objectives and policing civilians. Two points of Laser infantry, a point of Flamer infantry, and two points of SRM infantry provided a variety of options. Transport was supplied by three organic SRM-equipped Heavy Wheeled APCs, and one standard Heavy Wheeled APC.
So, I'm getting to the bottom of my 'Mech mini collection, at last, 8-9 years after I started this gig. Just as well the KS wave 1 is on it's way!
So I had a mixed collection of 'Mechs, plus an equally mixed bag of vehicles - as well as some IWM ones, I had four LAV-25s and four Conqueror tanks from Skytrex' Action 200 line. And I was trying to figure out what to pain them as. And then someone suggested Operation Klondike! This enabled me to field another Smoke Jaguar unit, as well as the two I already have painted. So another tick for the Grand Plan!
But then, reading OpK, the following line jumped out at me:
During the Amur campaign, the Jaguars made use of Hell’s Horses auxiliaries to secure captured territories and to marshal prisoners.
And the solution was obvious - paint
two Binaries!
Research showed that the OpK units probably wore the colours now used by their respective Alpha Galaxies, so that was simple and within my skills.
The Awesome "Tonique"? Well, it's an old 25th Anniversary mini. I'd sacrificed the arm to make a custom mini for a good friend's son. And whacked the launcher from a DA Jaguar (IIRC) on in it's place. I did stat the thing up, and with the removal of enough heat sinks it works pretty well! I'd used this as a paint-test mini for years, so it was satisfying to see it get it's day in the sun at last.
I got a great deal of enjoyment out of painting these up; hopefully some of you will find some enjoyment in either the story elements (taken directly from OpK the book), or the minis.
Cheers,
W.
