List of BattleTech characters

The fictional universe of the BattleTech wargaming and science fiction franchise is populated with many significant recurring characters, a number of which appear both in novelizations and in game backstories. Some also factor into the plots of video games, television programs or other works in the franchise.

Inner Sphere

Characters who are primarily associated with the Inner Sphere.

Candace Allard-Liao

Oldest daughter of Maxmillian Liao, she was an accomplished MechWarrior before injuries forced her into less active roles. Eventually she met Davion spy Justin Xiang on Sian in 3027. In 3029 at the end of the Fourth Succession War, she escaped with the rescue mission sent for 'Xiang' (Allard), broke off the St. Ives Compact from the battered Confederation, and married Allard. Surviving the assassin that killed her husband, she secretly traveled to Sian while she was believed dead, to kill her sister Romano and place Sun-Tzu Liao on the throne, seeing him as the best option for the Confederation. She has led the Compact in its re-integration into the Capellan Confederation as the St. Ives Commonality, and is among the oldest major players in the Inner Sphere.

Daniel Allard

Half brother of Justin Allard Daniel graduated from the NAIS ([New Avalon Institute of Science]) military academy at age 18 and was accepted to the feared Kell Hound mercenary unit. He is credited with holding the unit together when Morgan Kell went into exile (a time known to the Hounds as "The Defection"). He later became the commander of the Kell Hounds.

Justin Allard

Full name: Justin Xiang Allard, Hanse Davion's Minister of Information. He's the son of Quintus Allard and for a time, a spy on Sian. He masqueraded as a traitor to the Federated Suns and went to Solaris VII, becoming Champion of the games there. Attracting the interest of the Capellan Confederation, he became an important figure in the Maskirovka and his information was largely responsible for the magnitude of the Federated Suns' victories over the Capellan Confederation in the Fourth Succession War. Falling in love with Chancellor Maximilian Liao's eldest daughter, Candace, they left Sian and Candace's holding in the St. Ives Commonality seceded from the Confederation. They had four children: Kai, Kuan-Yin, Cassandra, and Quintus. Taking over his father's job, Justin became Minister of Information, Intelligence and Operations, until his assassination by a Liao terrorist sent by Chancellor Romano Liao.

Kai Allard-Liao

The eldest child of Justin Allard and Candace Allard-Liao. He served with the 10th Lyran Guards during the Clan Invasion and engineered the destruction of the Falcon Guards on Twycross. Additionally, Kai became the most revered champion of Solaris VII, world-famous for its spectator-sport style BattleMech Tourneys.

Later he led the First St. Ives Lancers during Operation Bulldog, the main phase of the reformed Star Leagues military campaign to eradicate Clan Smoke Jaguar. After the end of the operation he joined Victor Steiner-Davion for the Great Refusal on Strana Mechty where he defeated Khan Vlad Ward of the Wolf Clan and achieved a draw against the Wolf Binary. He was released on his honor by his cousin Sun-Tzu Liao, following the St. Ives capitulation to the Capellan Confederation. At some point in 3067 he was rescued or possibly kidnapped by the Bounty Hunter and was sighted in the company of Duke George Hasek of the Federated Suns just prior to the Duke's assault against the Capellan Confederation. He was rescued by Death Commandos during the Capellan counter-attack. His subsequent actions currently remain unknown, however he was killed in the late 3113 on Liao during the Capellan Crusades against the Republic of the Sphere. He is considered one of the best MechWarrior of his age, comparable in skill with Natasha Kerensky or Phelan Kell.

Jerome Blake

As the last Minister of Communications for the Star League Blake reformed the Ministry of Communications into ComStar and preserved Terra from the firestorm of the Succession Wars. Jerome Blake expanded Comstar's goal of just preserving the Hyper Pulse Generator network to include preserving all knowledge and scientific discovery. Conrad Toyama would assassinate and succeed Jerome Blake and convert Comstar into a pseudo-religion or philosophy that hoarded knowledge for itself, waiting for humanity to utterly collapse, at which point ComStar will seize power and rebuild. His works are often quoted by ComStar adepts, especially cult-like members of the splinter group Word of Blake. Unfortunately, many (if not most) of the quotes attributed to Blake by ComStar are in fact said by other people, ranging from Shakespeare to Bob Dylan, in their attempts to deify Blake as a prophet and visionary and the source of all the wisdom of humanity.

The Bounty Hunter

A mysterious figure who appeared in the late 30th century, and wears a unique PA(L) (Power Armor - Light) suit. He/she initially only took contracts on notorious criminals, who were more often than not brought back dead. Always a MechWarrior, he/she usually pilots a Marauder which was originally Natasha Kerensky's. Further, Natasha's signature Warhammer is said to be the Bounty Hunter's original mech. More recently he has a Marauder II and a Mad Cat. His mechs are always painted a bright green with currency symbols painted on it. His/her mech is a feared sight on the battlefield. He/she has been active for close to a century leading to speculation that the Bounty Hunter PA(L) suit, 'Mech, and mythos are passed from parent to child or from person to person via the death of the former.

Within the game, the "Bounty Hunter" legend was the topic of an "A-Team" style vid show. This led to greater fame for the legendary character.

Outside of the fiction, the evolution of the character has become a controversial one.

Originally a mercenary MechWarrior/Gun-for-hire, the Bounty Hunter has been inevitably compared to Boba Fett of Star Wars and also the Dread Pirate Roberts. The introduction of powered body armor (PA) and the proliferation of this technology, leading to the Bounty Hunter's ownership of a PA(L) suit, has inadvertently served to reinforce the Boba/Jango Fett possibility among a number of fans.

Grayson Death Carlyle

Founder of the mercenary command known as the Gray Death Legion, forged from the remainders of his father's mercenary unit, Carlyle's Commandos which was destroyed in a treacherous sneak attack by periphery bandits in a scheme engineered by Hassid Ricol, the Red Duke. He is known for his innovative battlefield tactics, notably pioneering the use of anti-BattleMech infantry and guerilla tactics against larger, regular military forces. He died in 3065 of cancer. In 3028, on the eve of the Fourth Succession War, Carlyle's Gray Death Legion discovered the Star League Library Core on the planet Helm in the Free Worlds League. He was married to Lori Kalmar-Carlyle, his second in command, who also died in 3065. They had one child, their son Alexander Carlyle, who remained an active MechWarrior within the unit.

Archer Christifori

A Major General of the FedCom Civil War, Christifori began his military career in the Clan Wars under Victor Steiner-Davion, winning the Star League Medal of Honor for his bravery during a drop against Clan forces. He was only one of the two Task Force Bulldog warriors awarded this. He later fought for Victor during the FedCom Civil War. Christifori began his involvement in the war because of the death of his sister at the hands of a Katrina Loyalist. He formed his unit the Archer's Avengers (A2 for short) and successfully took Thorin and Muphrid in 3063 and later, after collaboration with the mercenary unit Snord's Irregulars, Odessa. In 3064-3065 Christifori also led Operation Audacity, Phelan Kell and his Clan Wolf-in-Exile and Adam Steiner and his forces. This operation was designed to check the untimely invasion of the Inner Sphere by Clan Jade Falcon during the FedCom Civil War. This was done by jumping deep into the Jade Falcon occupation zone and taking worlds behind their lines.

His trademark Battlemech is a modified Penetrator, making use of captured Clan Extended Range Large Laser technology that was salvaged from Clan space. Clan technology has consistently given him an advantage over many Inner Sphere pilots.

Plotlines also suggest that he is romantically involved with his XO Colonel Katya Chaffee, a native of Thorin and a victim of neural feedback damage.

Hanse Davion

Known also by his nickname of "The Fox", for his shrewd and cunning military and political strategies. The leader of House Davion in the initial setting, he was famous for several accomplishments. After a raid obtaining thousands of books in the early 31st century, he founded the New Avalon Institute of Science, the first new college of science in the Inner Sphere in centuries. In 3022, he signed the Federated Suns-Lyran Commonwealth (a.k.a. Fed Com) Accords with Katrina Steiner, laying the foundation for the union of the Federated Suns with the Lyran Commonwealth and his marriage to Katrina's daughter, Melissa.

During the reception to his wedding he launched the Fourth Succession War, and conquered much of the Capellan Confederation. He had five children: Victor Ian, Katherine Morgan (later adopted her maternal grandmother's name of Katrina), Peter Ardan, Arthur, and Yvonne.

In 3039 he turned the might of the united armies of the Federated Commonwealth against the Draconis Combine. However his assaults were undermined by ComStar's covert aid to the DCMS and a tactically brilliant counter-attack, directed by Theodore Kurita that led to the loss of critical logistical centers, most notably the BattleMech Factories on the planet Quentin. This disastrous turn of events brought the assault on the Combine to a premature halt, led to a stalemate between the Federated Commonwealth and the Draconis Combine and resulted in an unofficial cease-fire between both nations that lasted until 3062.

Publicly, Hanse claimed victory in the War of 3039, as the conflict became known. Indeed, he had succeeded in recapturing several worlds that had been lost to House Kurita in the First Succession War. However privately he admitted that he had been strategically beaten and showed a genuine respect for Theodore Kurita.

In 3050 Hanse again directed the Federated Commonwealth in battle. This time against the clan invasion. Later he took part in the Outreach summit that led to a détente ceasefire among the Successor States.

His respect for Theodore Kurita combined with strategic considerations led him to order the Kell Hounds and Wolf's Dragoons to Luthien, capital of the Draconis Combine, to bolster the world's defenses against the Clan assault. The Battle of Luthien ended in defeat for Clan Smoke Jaguar and Clan Nova Cat and saved the command integrity of the DCMS. That it was Hanse that ensured the survival of the Federated Suns' most hated enemy speaks tantamount to his visionary political and strategic acumen.

The constant pressure he was under during the clan invasion however, eventually proved too much. He died from a stress-related heart attack, after watching a mysterious message from ruler of the Capellan Confederation in 3052.

Ardan Sortek

Prince's Champion and close personal friend of Hanse Davion. Ardan discovered Maximillian Liao's plot to replace Hanse with a double in 3025.

Ceased to be Prince's Champion upon Hanse Davion's death in 3052, whereupon he was replaced by Galen Cox, reinstated after Cox's apparent death and finally replaced again by Simon Gallagher under Katherine Steiner-Davion's regime, being forced into exile alongside Prince Victor Steiner-Davion and Jerrard Cranston (Galen Cox' alter ego), all of whom served with the reborn Star League Defense Force for the next several years.

He became the primary opponent of Katherine's rule, alongside Dukes Eric Dresari, Morgan Kell, Petyr VanLees and Harrison Bradford, until the assassination of Arthur Steiner-Davion. Arthur's death drove Ardan and his cousin, Bishop Sortek (C.O. of the Davion Royal Guard) to openly revolt, sparking the Federated Commonwealth Civil War. He then became Precentor Martial Victor's second-in-command of the Allied Davion forces in the civil war.

Sortek died in late April 3067, while in his Templar OmniMech, saving Victor's life from a loyalist head-hunting attack during the final battle of New Avalon, the culminating battle of the civil war.

One of the first characters introduced in the second Battletech novel, The Sword and Dagger, he was also one of the last to die in the final novel of the original series, Endgame. Effectively, this makes him the longest running character in the original series of Battletech novels before the start of the Mechwarrior: Dark Age novel series.

Anastasius Focht

Focht's birth name was Frederick Steiner. A member of House Steiner, Frederick was used by the Duke of Summer, Aldo Lestrade, as a contender for the throne of the Lyran Commonwealth while Aldo pulled the strings. He was commander of the Tenth Lyran Guards during the Fourth Succession War and led a suicidal mission against the Draconis Combine on Dromini IV. Offering himself to Gunji-no-Kanrei Theodore Kurita, Frederick saved the lives of his men.

Though everyone thought him dead, Frederick Steiner joined ComStar under the name Anastasius Focht (Greek and German for "the reborn one who fought") and became their first Precentor Martial, head of the ComGuards (ComStar's military). Focht was dispatched by Primus Myndo Waterly in 3050 to be their liaison with the Clans. He quickly established a rapport with Khan Ulric Kerensky of the Wolf Clan. Upon discovering that the Clans sought to conquer Terra, home of ComStar, Focht gathered the ComGuards and issued a challenge for a proxy battle on Tukayyid, a world in the Free Rasalhague Republic in 3052. If ComStar won, the Clans would move no closer to Terra for the next fifteen years. If the Clans won, ComStar would surrender Terra, join the Clans, and administer the conquered worlds for them. Focht challenged the seven invading Clans and succeeded in defeating Clans Smoke Jaguar, Nova Cat, Steel Viper, and Diamond Shark; achieving draws with Clans Jade Falcon and Ghost Bear, though he was defeated by Clan Wolf. Winning five out of the seven battles meant that ComStar, and consequentially the Inner Sphere, won the battle. Focht then deposed the mad Primus Myndo Waterly and worked to reform ComStar. He worked to preserve the truce and keep the Successor States ready when 3067 came and the treaty expired.

In 3059, Focht led Operation Bulldog, which was a joint effort by the Successor States, under the auspices of the Star League, to annihilate Clan Smoke Jaguar. This invasion succeeded beyond all hope when the Jaguars were routed from the Inner Sphere and destroyed the Smoke Jaguars on their homeworld of Huntress. Upon returning to the Inner Sphere from his assault on the Clan homeworlds, however, Victor Steiner-Davion found that his throne had been usurped by his sister. Since Victor was available, Focht saw his opportunity to leave the ComGuard in capable hands. In 3061, Focht retired and named Victor as his successor.

Though he intended to write his memoirs, Focht was called out of retirement in 3063 to negotiate a peace settlement between the Capellan Confederation and the St. Ives Compact. Having done so, he once more attempted to fade to obscurity.

He did not have the opportunity to, however. In 3068, the Word of Blake launched their Jihad against the Inner Sphere that was primarily aimed at ComStar and their allies. Though the Blakists reserved a particular hatred for Focht, since he assassinated the Primus they considered a saint, their initial salvos ignored him. Thus, he was in a good position to rescue Primus Sharilar Mori from a Blakist siege against Tukayyid.

Morgan Hasek-Davion

Heir to Duke Michael Hasek-Davion ruler of the Capellan March, Morgan was later sent for by his cousin Hanse Davion to come to New Avalon and be his heir. This was little more than a political move to keep Morgan's father in check, but Morgan was honored just the same. As many people would later say "Morgan is a Davion to the core." He was chosen to lead a strike force to Kathil to repel a Liao attack and then led the survivors of that battle in a daring, deep strike to Sian, capital of the Capellan Confederation, to pull out the deep cover agent, Justin Allard. He later married and had a son named George Hasek with whom he decided to drop the Davion part of his surname saying "The schemes of my father die with me, starting with that name." He was appointed leader of Operation Serpent, the reborn Star League Defense Force's long-range decapitation strike against the Smoke Jaguar capital world of Huntress, until he was assassinated by unknown parties en route.

Morgan Kell

Founder of the Kell Hounds Mercenary unit along with brother Patrick Kell. Cousin of Arthur Luvon, the husband of Archon Katrina Steiner. Rescued the body of Prince Ian Davion. Later, in a battle on Mallory's World, he saved his unit by using the Phantom 'Mech skill in single combat against the commander of the Second Sword of Light. After that incident he reduced the Kell Hounds to a single battalion and went to a MechWarrior monastery, the St. Marinus House on the planet Zaniah. After the death of Patrick Kell at the hands of Yorinaga Kurita (the man that Morgan defeated years earlier) he re-formed the Kell Hounds and defeated Kurita. During the Clan invasion he lost his son Phelan to the Wolf Clan on The Rock and led the Kell Hounds on Luthien alongside the Wolf's Dragoons. After the Refusal War between the Wolves and Falcons he created the Arc-Royal Defense Cordon on the border area with Clan Jade Falcon. His son Phelan Kell returned as Khan of the Wolves-in-Exile (Warden Faction). Notable units in the Cordon are the 4th Skye Rangers, 17th Skye Rangers, the entire Wolf-in-Exile touman, Blue Star Irregulars, the Dioscuri, and the Kell Hounds.

Phelan Kell

Also known as Phelan Ward Khan of the Wolves-in-Exile and one of the best MechWarriors of the era alongside Kai-Allard Liao. He is the cousin of Victor Steiner-Davion. Son of Morgan Kell and Salome Ward-Kell, he was a mercenary brat with the Kell Hounds until he went to the Nagelring Military Academy. It was at the Nagelring where he experienced a life changing event and was expelled following a botched rescue of school children in a Glacier Reserve due to political mismanagement, and the death of his mentor. This instilled a distrust of politicians and the status quo in Phelan that would shape his decisions the rest of his life. Captured by Clan Wolf in 3049 while chasing pirates coreward of the Free Rasalhague Republic and Lyran Commonwealth, he was adopted into the Warrior Caste after saving Khan Ulric Kerensky after the Wolf Clan Flagship was rammed by a Free Rasalhague Republic pilot in her damaged aerospace fighter. Ironically the suicide pilot, Tyra Miraborg, was his former girlfriend seeking to exact revenge upon the Clans for Phelan, believed to be dead. During this time, he gained the enemy Vladimir of House Ward, partially because both were potential rivals for the Ward honorific surname. After his heroism at Tukayyid, he earned the Ward name after defeating Vlad, becoming, at that time, the only non genetically engineered person to hold one, and was elected saKhan of the Wolves at the age of twenty-two. During the Refusal War between Clans Wolf and Jade Falcon, he led a cross section of Clan Wolf to the Inner Sphere under Ulric's orders, forming Clan Wolf-in-Exile. He led a contingent during Operation Bulldog, and during the Federated Commonwealth Civil War, he fought off the Jade Falcons and supported Peter Steiner-Davion's claim on the Lyran Alliance.

Hohiro Kurita

Son of Theodore Kurita and Tomoe Sakade, scion of House Kurita and future Coordinator of the Draconis Combine.

Stationed on Turtle Bay with the Fourteenth Legion of Vega when Clan Smoke Jaguar struck the Combine in 3050. He was captured by the Jaguars, only to be freed by Sho-sa Shin Yodama and the local Yakuza. He was then posted with the elite Genyosha and bested the Smoke Jaguars on Wolcott. He later led the Genyosha as part of Prince Victor's relief force to the Lyran world of Coventry in 3058 which was then under assault by Clan Jade Falcon.

Took part in the training program on Outreach, where the Wolf Dragoons helped the Inner Sphere rulers to prepare themselves against the new clan attacks.

Hohiro was later appointed the Commanding-General of the Star League Defense Force(3062-3067). He maintained that post until the Star League's dissolution in November 3067.

Omiko Kurita

Daughter of Theodore Kurita and lover of Victor Ian Steiner-Davion. Assassinated during the Federated Commonwealth Civil War by the same assassin who killed Melissa Steiner-Davion and Ryan Steiner. Secretly gave birth to Victor's child before dying. Mother of Sir Kitsune (Fox) Kurita of the Republic of the Sphere. (Confirmed in the first MechWarrior: Dark Age novel, Ghost War.)

Takashi Kurita

Coordinator of the Draconis Combine: bitter enemy of Hanse Davion. Father of Theodore Kurita. Takashi was a strict conservative samurai and a firm believer in the Dictum Honorium. He strongly resisted his son Theodore's political and military reforms never truly accepting them. When Theodore succeeded in repulsing the Federated Commonwealth assault in 3039 he made his father a figurehead allowing him to retain his position as coordinator. In 3055 he prepared to duel his nemesis Jamie Wolf, but never took the field. He committed Seppuku after an attempt on his life by the head of the ISF, so that Theodore could assume the throne as Coordinator of the Draconis Combine.

Sunset, the Dragon weeps
Night to day, as winter; Spring
Sunrise, the Dragon roars

Theodore Kurita

Successor Lord of the Draconis Combine. Son of Coordinator Takashi Kurita, with whom he had a long power struggle until Takashi's suicide in the early 3050s. Theodore was responsible for many Combine military and political reforms, including the secession of the Free Rasalhague Republic from the Draconis Combine. Married to Tomoe Sakade. Father of Omi, Hohiro and Minoru Kurita, and Franklin Sakamoto. Elected the second First Lord of the reconstituted Star League in 3061.

Yorinaga Kurita

A distant cousin of Takashi Kurita, he defeated Hanse Davion's older brother, Ian, but was unable to capitalize on the victory due to the actions of Morgan Kell. After being defeated in 3016 by Morgan on Mallory's World, he retired to a monastery, where he waited until 3027 when Takashi gave him permission to commit Seppuku, provided he first formed an elite unit, the Genyosha, to destroy Morgan Kell and his Hounds. He committed ritual suicide at the end of the Fourth Succession War, after failing to kill Kell. He was one of the rare Mechwarriors said to possess the Phantom Mech ability. The Phantom Mech ability allows one to turn invisible to an enemy BattleMech's sensors and targeting equipment, despite standing in plain sight in the pilot's viewscreen, but this is dismissed by some skeptical characters within the novels as merely an embellishment to a story for dramatic reasons. The ability itself may be purchased on the Mechwarrior RPG.

Aldo Lestrade

A scheming Lyran noble in the 3025 period, his attempts to break the Lyran Commonwealth apart lead to an assassination attempt on Katrina Steiner and Melissa Steiner-Davion, thwarted by Melissa's double. This led to his and Frederick Steiner's downfall. He was killed by his illegitimate son, Clovis Holstein.

Maximilian Liao

Chancellor of the Capellan Confederation during its darkest days in the Fourth Succession War. Leader of a nation continually at war with House Davion and the Federated Suns after the dissolution of the Star League, Maximilian Liao almost managed to substitute a mind-wiped double for Prince Hanse Davion of the Federated Suns prior to 3025, during the Galtor Campaign. Only ingenuity on the part of Ardan Sortek and the security system on Hanse's BattleMaster 'Mech allowed Hanse to reclaim his identity and kingdom. Hanse used this act by Maximilian Liao to justify the Fourth Succession War. He succumbed to mental instability and eventually died in a mental institution after the war.

Romano Liao

Second daughter of Maximilian Liao, she took control of the Capellan Confederation after the Fourth Succession War, displacing her father. She was considered by many to be insane, and was the almost the image of the insane despot, putting people to death for no reason at all. After successfully having her brother-in-law Justin Allard assassinated, her sister Candace Allard-Liao assassinated her and placed Sun-Tzu Liao on the throne of the Confederation.

Sun-Tzu Liao

Son of the insane Romano Liao; he became Chancellor of the Capellan Confederation after the assassination of his mother. Shortly thereafter he became engaged to the daughter of Captain-General Thomas Marik of the Free Worlds League, Isis Marik. Fully aware that the engagement was purely political in nature and would eventually prove moot because of the circumstances of Isis' birth and Marik's attempts to bear another heir to his throne, he began looking elsewhere for allies/pawns he could use. Sun-Tzu also was partly responsible for the Marik-Liao Offensive of 3057 on the Federated Commonwealth after discovering the death of Marik's son and replacement with a double by Prince Victor Steiner-Davion. Years later when focus again shifted towards the threat of the Clans, Sun-Tzu impressively used both Victor Steiner-Davion and Katrina Steiner-Davion's mistrust against one another to attain the title of the first elected First Lord of the newly formed Star League. As such, he is often referred to by most Capellans as the "Defeater of the Clans" despite his role being largely ceremonial.

In his final year as First Lord, Sun-Tzu decided that the time was ripe for the Confederation to reclaim its lost glory, and started a phenomenal movement known as "Xin Sheng" (New Birth) throughout the Confederation. Having gained the trust of Magistracy of Canopus by aiding them against the Toyama Faction of the Word of Blake and gaining the trust and affections of its young heiress, Naomi Centrella, Sun-Tzu instigated a war with the St. Ives Compact a Pro-Davion state ruled by his aunt Candance Allard-Liao by having an agent implanted within one of the Compact's prestige regiments, the Blackwind Lancers. The Lancers attacked a Confederation border world during the Chancellor's tour of bordering planets along with Isis. Isis was separated from Sun-Tzu only to be rescued by members of the Confederation's House Hiritsu. Declaring this attack an act of war, Sun-Tzu began his assault on the Compact along with his Canopian allies. Everything seemed to be working out just the way the Chancellor had planned.

However the war hardly went the way Sun-Tzu had imagined it, partly due to the Chancellor's refusal to concentrate solely on the St. Ives conflict. Rather, he chose to fight on two fronts with his forces reclaiming worlds in both the Chaos March and the St. Ives Compact.

In spite or anger, Sun-Tzu also broke off his ten-year engagement with Isis Marik, sending her away despite the fact that Isis did truly love him. Opposition also appeared in the form of Star League forces, Federated Commonwealth units, elements of the Com Guards, the Free Capella Movement led by his uncle Tormano, and the newly formed SLDF Nova Cats. It was clear that Victor Steiner-Davion acting as Precentor-Martial of the Com Guards and commander of SLDF was not about to let Sun-Tzu have his way. Also, the deadly deep strikes of the 1st St. Ives Lancers led by [Kai Allard-Liao] continued to hurt the Confederation. But these weren't the only problems that plagued the Chancellor. His greatest nightmare would nearly destroy the dreams of his newly reborn Confederation

The war resumed shortly after the Black May attacks and Kali's trial in the Star League but it became more erratic and brutal. Seeking to bring the war to a swift end, Sun-Tzu sought the aid of another Periphery state in the form of the Taurian Concordat whom bore a grudge against House Davion. With the promise of power and opportunities being offered by the Confederation, the Concordat agreed to form what Sun-Tzu named the "Trinity Alliance". Utilizing the resources of all three states, Sun-Tzu was finally able to deal the crushing blow to the Compact by taking the capital world of St. Ives, ending the bloodied two-year conflict that had claimed the lives of thousands of Capellans. The Confederation was whole again and more importantly, the Capellan people felt strong again, no longer the nation that Hanse Davion broke. Xin Sheng had finally been realized to its fullest.

Sun-Tzu would continue to be active in Inner Sphere politics, helping the Taurian Concordat gain membership to the Star League and prevent Katrina Steiner-Davion from becoming First Lord. During the FedCom Civil War, he pledged his support for Victor Steiner-Davion but this was simply a means for him to solidify his grip on a former Capellan world in FedCom territory, Tikonov. During the Word of Blake Jihad, Sun-Tzu led his Confederation in a war of survival against the Blakists, nearly alone, save for its only allies the Canopians before Devlin Stone came to aid them. He would apparently die on Liao shortly thereafter during "The Slaughter of Liao" or, as Capellans remember it, as "The Night of Screams" when he supposedly ascended to Godhood. Sun-Tzu is remembered as a dangerous enemy, a shrewd politician on par if not greater than Katrina Steiner. Unlike Victor Steiner-Davion, who was more respected for being active on the battlefield, Sun-Tzu was respected for his unpredictable cunning by his peers, able to play the role of a fool in one moment and an implacable foe in the next. He gave the Capellan people their pride back and rebuilt a nation on the verge of collapse and is forever remembered by Capellans as the Celestial Wisdom, Father of the Capellan State. He married the Canopian heir, Naomi Centrella, and was also the father of Daoshen Liao and Ilsa Centrella.

Janos Marik

Captain-General of the Free Worlds League in the 3025 era. Prosecuted war ineffectively during the Fourth Succession War, losing territory to the nascent Tikonov Free Republic (later absorbed into the Federated Commonwealth). He was assassinated in 3035 by his nephew Duncan.

Thomas Marik

Son of Janos Marik from his first wife, Hilda Lauber. Captain-General of the Free Worlds League from 3036 until it hopelessly fractured during the 3070s. A former ComStar acolyte, Thomas was rescued from Duncan Marik's bomb attack by ComStar; he apparently "returned" in 3036 to claim the Captain-Generalcy. Led the Free Worlds League to greater unity, economic prosperity and centralization than it had ever experienced, and in 3057 recovered worlds lost by Janos Marik some twenty years prior. However, [Federated Commonwealth agents have secretly proved that the current "Thomas Marik" is actually a double (one in a series of body-double plot twists in the BattleTech universe); novels have subsequently revealed that he is controlled by, or allied to, the Word of Blake. The true Thomas Marik's whereabouts are unknown, but he is widely speculated also to be a member, or possibly a pawn, of the Word of Blake. Recently as of Hotspots: 3070, it is now generally and believed that he is the shadowy figure known as the Master in the Word of Blake. In the Mechwarrior: Dark Age novel Surrender Your Dreams, it was revealed that Thomas Marik was in fact the Master, and engineered the Word of Blake Jihad.

Andrew Redburn

Redburn is what all Federated Suns officers aspire to be. He is the friend and 2nd in command of Justin Allard when he commanded the first Kittery training battalion, which famously was able to turn a Liao ambush into a rout with just a handful of raw recruits. Later in his career Redburn captures 6 Liao heavy mechs with just a lance of light and medium mechs and 4 anti-mech landmines. Redburn was then sent to Kathil to assist in the defence of that world with his friend Morgan Hasek-Davion. He also discovered the Davion spy on Sian, Justin Xiang/Allard. He later assisted in operation serpent striking deep at the Clan Smoke Jaguar homeworld of Huntress.

Tsen Shang

High-ranking figure in the Capellan Confederation's feared Maskirovka intelligence agency. Shang was on a crisis team with Justin Allard during the fourth secession war. As the consort of Romano Laio it is widely believed that he is the father of Sun-Tzu Liao. He was killed by Candace Liao along with Romano in revenge for Justin's death.

Frederick Steiner

See Anastasius Focht.

Katrina Steiner

Special note: Not Katherine Steiner-Davion; Katrina is Katherine's grandmother. (Katherine is Victor's sister)

A sickly child, Katrina Steiner surprised her doctors by going on to pilot a BattleMech at the age of 12. Graduating from the Nagelring academy in 2994 at just 18, she was posted to the 3rd Arcturan Lancers as an infantry officer and later went through various posting in different military branches. Her stated reason for this was to become well acquainted with all of them. Despite her meandering career path, by 3004 she had risen to the rank of Hauptmann-General.

She disappeared briefly in 3005 before reemerging on Tharkad a year later, seemingly changed and more hostile to her uncle, then Archon Alessandro Steiner.

This, combined with Alessandro's foolish military strategies, led directly to Katrina's coup d'etat against him in 3008 and her subsequent appointment as Archon of the Lyran Commonwealth.

In 3020, Archon Katrina hoped to bring about a diplomatic solution to the Succession Wars. This peace proposal was rejected by all the Successor States but marked a beginning of a cordial relationship with First Prince Hanse Davion and the Federated Suns. By 3022 Katrina and Hanse had signed an alliance treaty between their respective nations and the Archon had willingly betrothed her daughter, Melissa to the First Prince.

She died peacefully at the age of 63, in 3039.

Nondi Steiner

Younger sister of the original Katrina Steiner, Nondi lacked her sister's interest in politics and largely stayed out of the discord between Katrina and Alessandro in 3005.

She embarked on a military career, like her elder sister and also became a Hauptmann-General. However, she was a firm Lyran supremacist, highly skeptical of Katrina's peace proposals of the 3020s and hostile to the alliance with the Federated Suns.

She remained distant from the political machinations of the Federated Commonwealth but became enamored of Katherine Steiner-Davion's "Steiner First" attitude. She became General of the Armies following Katherine's secession of the Lyran half of the Federated Commonwealth, but remained blind to her great-niece's meglomaniacal actions, supporting her to the very end. She was killed at the age of 86 in single combat in Tharkad City by her great-nephew, Peter Steiner-Davion. (N.B. In one of the endings to the game MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries, the player takes part in the battle and can kill Nondi, though an after-battle narration says that regardless of who actually killed her, history gives Peter the credit.)

Melissa Steiner

Later: Melissa Steiner-Davion.

Daughter of Katrina Steiner and wife of Hanse Davion, Melissa Arthur Steiner-Davion became Archon of the Lyran half of the Federated Commonwealth. She was nearly universally beloved by friends, allies, and even enemies. The Lyran people in particular loved her dearly. Which is partially why at 7:21PM, on the 19th of June, 3055, on Tharkad during a banquet she was attending, her assassination, broadcast live across the Inner Sphere, shocked all; even reaching into Clan space, where Phelan Ward learned of Melissa's death, along with the death of his own mother and the maiming of his father via the same bombs. The actual bombs used for the assassination were constructed from four flower pots made of clay explosives, activated remotely and detonated by a water absorption timer. When the flowers were watered just before the banquet, the timer was set to go off during her speech. Documents and evidence collected by agents working for Victor Steiner-Davion over the years leading up to and during the FedCom Civil War implicate Melissa's own daughter, Victor's sister Katherine Steiner-Davion as the person behind the assassination.

Ryan Steiner

Second cousin to Melissa Steiner, he fomented secessionist sentiment in the Isle of Skye, a region of the Lyran Commonwealth (later Federated Commonwealth). He was implicated, along with Katherine Steiner-Davion, in Melissa Steiner-Davion's assassination and was in turn assassinated under orders from Victor Steiner-Davion in 3055.

Katherine (Katrina) Steiner(-Davion)

Full name: Katherine Morgan Steiner-Davion.

Previously known as: Archon-Princess Katherine Morgan Steiner-Davion.

Special note: Not Katrina Steiner; Katherine is Katrina's granddaughter, but has taken to calling herself Katrina to reap the benefits of her grandmother's reputation through association.

Implicated in her mother's assassination, Katherine sought to supplant her elder brother, Victor as the ruler of the Federated Commonwealth. Katherine eventually succeeded in assuming control of the Lyran half of the Federated Commonwealth during the Marik-Liao invasion of 3057, which she renamed the Lyran Alliance and proclaimed it separate from the Federated Commonwealth. She later took control of the Federated Suns' half of the FedCom when Victor Steiner-Davion left for the Clan homeworlds. She succeeded by misleading and then deposing her younger sister, Yvonne. She had finally attained her goal and proclaimed herself the Archon-Princess, even though she had technically only usurped her sister's regency.

This action led to the FedCom Civil War, when her brother Victor, having returned, sought to remove her from power following the assassination of Arthur Steiner-Davion and Victor's presumption of her guilt. After five years of fighting, Katherine and her loyalist forces surrendered to Victor's Allied forces on the 20 April 3067.

Following her removal from power Katherine was handed over to Khan Vlad Ward of Clan Wolf for his promise not to attack the Inner Sphere.

Though she was never married, Katherine had a biological son, Alaric Wolf in 3111 A.D. - a Clan Wolf trueborn and a genetic descendant of both Katherine and Victor (whose DNA she somehow managed to acquire) whom she raised to become her revenge against the Inner Sphere.

Peter Steiner-Davion

The younger brother of Victor and Katherine. Peter saw himself, like his father Hanse (before Hanse's elder brother Ian's death) before him, as nothing more than a warrior. After being the unwitting pawn in several plots by the Free Skye Movement and others (as recounted in the novel Assumption of Risk), Peter decided to go into self-imposed exile at the Saint Marinus House MechWarrior monastery as his cousin Morgan Kell did several decades earlier. He came out of exile during the events of the FedCom Civil War.

It was Peter along with elements of the Kell Hounds, the Clan Wolf-in-Exile, and several Allied units loyal to former Archon-Prince Victor, that captured the Lyran Alliance capital world of Tharkad. He also killed his great-aunt Nondi Steiner in single combat when she refused to surrender. At the conclusion of the civil war, Peter became Archon of the Lyran Alliance while his sister Yvonne became Princess-regent of the Federated Suns (after Victor renounced his claim to both thrones, and resumed his position as ComStar Precentor Martial).

Victor Steiner-Davion

Full name: Victor Ian Steiner-Davion.

Previously known as: Archon-Prince Victor Ian Steiner-Davion.

As the first child of Hanse Davion and Melissa Steiner, he was to inherit the most powerful realm of the Inner Sphere: the Federated Commonwealth.

During the initial invasion by the Clans, his unit the 12th Donegal Guards was destroyed on Trellwan (Trell 1) by the Jade Falcons and due to his status, he was ordered to withdraw against his wishes. Victor then took personal command of a battalion of the 10th Lyran Guards and rallied his forces, on the world of Twycross. Here, he awaited the inevitable Jade Falcon assault. The 1st Battle of Twycross became a hard fought and bloody affair, but the Federated Commonwealth forces achieved their first major victory when Kai Allard-Liao, then serving in the AFFC, single-handedly destroyed a Clan unit attempting a flanking maneuver that would have overrun the FedCom defenses.

After Twycross, Victor and the other heirs and rulers of the Inner Sphere were invited to Outreach by Jaime Wolf. Once there, the origins of the Clans were revealed, and tentative truces, non-aggression pacts, and military arms deals were made between the powers of the Inner Sphere to combat the Clan menace.

The Clan invasion began again in late 3051. Again the forces of the Inner Sphere found themselves forced to retreat. Victor, defending the world of Alyina, once more faced the Jade Falcons. Here they were again overrun, but Victor and the 10th were able to withdraw by invoking the Clan right of Hegira, or safe passage off the battlefield.

With the Clans stalled by the ongoing Battle of Tukayyid, Victor answered Omi Kurita's personal plea to rescue her brother Hohiro and his military unit fighting a losing battle on Teniente against Clan Nova Cat. Victor led the 10th Lyran into battle and successfully extracted Hohiro and his troops.

Just days after the Clan War ended, Hanse Davion died of an apparent heart attack, and shortly after that Melissa Steiner was killed in an assassination plotted by Victor's sister, Katherine Steiner-Davion (labelling herself Katrina to appeal to the Steiner half of the Federated Commonwealth). His ill-fated attempt to replace the recently cancer deceased Joshua Marik with a double infuriated Thomas Marik when it was discovered and led to a retaliatory assault by Free Worlds League and Capellan Confederation troops in 3057.

Katherine Steiner-Davion, though already privately implicated in her mother's assassination, used this opportunity and a rarely known clause within the Federated Commonwealth treaty to secede the Lyran half of the realm and abandon the nominally Lyran Sarna March to the FWL and CapCon assault.

One year later, in 3058, a Jade Falcon incursion into the Lyran Alliance prompted Katherine to request aid from all nations across the Inner Sphere, while secretly withholding crucial intelligence in the hope that her enemies, specifically Victor, would be killed in the ensuing slaughter.

Victor, however, became aware of the size of the Falcon forces on Coventry and, instead of fighting, negotiated 'Hegira' a peaceful withdrawal, by the Jade Falcons, in the town of Whitting. This unified response to a Clan assault laid the foundations for what became known as the Whitting Conference and the subsequent reformation of the Star League.

After the Whitting Conference, Victor led the armies of the Inner Sphere to destroy Clan Smoke Jaguar in Operation: Bulldog. The offensive was successful and Victor traveled to the Clan Homeworlds, where he declared and won a Trial of Refusal against the Clan invasion of the Inner Sphere. During this time period, his sister Katherine Steiner-Davion launched a bloodless coup d'état against his regent and younger sister, Yvonne, removing him from the throne of the Federated Commonwealth.

Now deposed, he retired to Luthien before joining ComStar and replacing the retiring Anastasius Focht as Precentor Martial. Seemingly content to remain out of Inner Sphere politics, Victor was thrust into conflict with his sister Katherine after the assassination of their younger brother Arthur in late 3062. Victor set aside his role as Precentor Martial and for the next five years led his supporters in the FedCom Civil War. Personal tragedy again struck him when Omi Kurita was assassinated on the orders of his sister. After defeating Katherine, he relinquished his claims to the thrones of two nations and returned to ComStar. Yvonne Steiner-Davion was made Regent of the Federated Suns and Peter was made Archon of the Lyran Alliance.

Not long after this, the Word of Blake launched their Jihad, bringing destruction to much of the Inner Sphere. Victor, as Precentor Martial of ComStar, was a leader in this conflict.

Eventually becoming a Paladin within the Republic of the Sphere, Victor went on to lead a full life within the Republic's borders. He was murdered on 26 November, 3134 on the orders of a cadre of Republic Senators, led by Geoffrey Mallowes of Skye, in Sante Fe on Terra after his discovery of a plot to take over the Republic. He was 104. He is survived by several children and grandchildren, including Kitsune Kurita, his illegitimate son with Omi Kurita, his sons with Isis Marik Gavin and Burton, as well as granddaughter Nessa Davion.

Yvonne Steiner-Davion

Yvonne Steiner-Davion was the fourth of Prince Hanse Davion and Archon Melissa Steiner's five children. As such, she was the fourth in line to the throne of the Federated Commonwealth. She attended and graduated from the New Avalon Institute of Science. She was always close to her older sister, Katherine, who often treated her like a dress-up doll.

When her oldest brother, Archon-Prince Victor, chose to lead the task force to the Clan homeworlds, he left Yvonne as his regent. Unfortunately for Yvonne, Katherine seized the opportunity and quietly stirred up discontent against Victor and Yvonne. The affairs of the Federated Commonwealth subsequently degraded to the extent that Yvonne practically begged Katherine to take over. She did so, becoming the leader of both realms of the fractured Federated Commonwealth. Yvonne then traveled to Luthien to meet her brother and inform him of what she knew. Initially, Victor allowed Katherine to stay on the throne, but eventually circumstances compelled him to take up arms against his oldest sister.

When the FedCom Civil War was over, Victor abdicated his throne and invested Yvonne as the leader of the Federated Suns. Technically she could not become the First Prince since she did not have the requisite military service, but she became the Regent for her as-yet unconceived child.

Galen Cox (Jerrard Cranston)

Originally a Lyran officer in the 12th Donegal Guards, Cox became Victor Steiner-Davion's Adjutant and close personal friend. He evacuated Victor against the Prince's will from the debacle on Trellwan (Trell I) and again served as Victor's adjutant in the 10th Lyran Guards. He fought under Victor's command in the fighting on Twycross, Alyina, and Teniente before being appointed Prince's Champion by Victor upon First Prince Hanse Davion's death in 3052.

On April 16, 3056, on Solaris VII, Katherine Steiner-Davion told him that the next time he saw her brother Victor, he should ask him for her hand in marriage. He was believed killed in a bomb assassination ordered by Ryan Steiner, on April 20 3056. In reality, MIIO agents had linked his fiancée, Katherine, to the bomb assassination of Melissa Steiner-Davion, and in turn discovered the warning passed on to her by a mole she had placed in Ryan Steiner's staff. MIIO agents were able to spirit him out of the building just before the explosion.

Cox re-emerged into public life several months later after undergoing cosmetic surgery to disguise his real identity. Under the alias of Jerrard Cranston, he became the new head of MIIO following the second retirement of Quintus Allard.

He accompanied Prince Victor into exile following Katherine's coup against Regent Yvonne Steiner-Davion. He was formally appointed Director of Intelligence for the Star League Defense Force later the same year.

At the conclusion of the Federated Commonwealth Civil War, his true identity was publicly revealed.

Devlin Stone

Little is known about the early life of Devlin Stone. ComStar had no records of his existence until the early 3070s, when he led an insurrection at a Word of Blake prison camp on the world of Kittery. It is in that prison camp that he came into contact with David Lear, son of Kai Allard-Liao. Through David, Devlin met many of the leaders of the Inner Sphere and some of the Clans. Stone prosecuted a hard-fought military campaign that culminated in the liberation of Terra in the 3080s. After the Word of Blake's Jihad was defeated, Stone struck a bargain with all of the Great Houses except the Capellan Confederation to cede control of some of their worlds nearest Terra so that Stone could create his own nation, the Republic of the Sphere. He proved that he had no problem using military force when he took the planets from the Capellans that they had refused to hand over.

Stone benevolently led the Republic of the Sphere as its Exarch until 3130, when he mysteriously disappeared, promising to return again should he be needed. Shortly thereafter, the HPG network was knocked out, leading to Sphere-wide chaos. Despite that, Stone has yet to reappear.

Julian Tiepolo

Tiepolo was Primus of ComStar in the initial setting before Myndo Waterly. He worked to introduce the Federated Commonwealth Accord and the Concord of Kapteyn so as to provoke the nations to continue their fighting. Near the end of the Fourth Succession War in 3029, Waterly called for his removal as Primus, but in same meeting he suffered a massive, fatal heart attack. This led to his replacement by Waterly.

Conrad Toyama

The successor to Jerome Blake as head of Comstar. He was responsible for creating the rituals and science-as-religion of Blake that would become the hallmarks of Comstar and their pursuit and hoarding of advanced knowledge. He assassinated his predecessor.

Myndo Waterly

Native of Draconis Combine, recruited into Comstar becoming Precentor of Draconis Combine, later she becomes the successor to Primus Julian Tiepolo after his death in 3029. During the war of 3039, she has Comstar secretly provide Draconis Combine with warehoused Star League era advanced BattleMechs to help fight the Federated Suns to stand still. Initially gains custody of Fredick Steiner (later Anastasius Focht) from them. Plotted takeover of the Inner Sphere in the ill-fated Operation Scorpion (3052); immediately after its failure she was assassinated by Precentor Martial Anastasius Focht. Waterly's death triggered the Comstar-Word of Blake schism.

Jaime Wolf

Co-founder of the mercenary unit Wolf's Dragoons with brother Joshua Wolf. A former member Clan Wolf, he was a freeborn warrior who, along with his brother Joshua and the infamous Natasha Kerensky, led a long-term reconnaissance mission for the Clans to determine the state of readiness of the Inner Sphere. Wolf served Anton Marik during the Marik Civil War, which cost him the life of his brother, his wife, and 2 of his sons. He later fought for House Kurita, but the treacherous actions of Warlord Grieg Samsonov turned him against the Draconis Combine and Takashi Kurita. Later, he signed on with Hanse Davion, who turned over the world of Outreach to the Dragoons for their service. Wolf later revealed his origins during the early years of the Clan Invasion and trained the Successor State heirs in anti-Clan tactics. Wolf also led his Dragoons to help repel the Smoke Jaguar-Nova Cat assault on Luthien. Wolf is generally regarded as a cautious warrior, and pilots a customized 70-ton Archer BattleMech painted blue and gold. Jaime Wolf was killed on 18 October 3067 during the attack on Outreach by rogue mercenaries hired by the Word of Blake and led by Colonel Wayne Waco.

Alpin Wolf

The grandson of Jaime Wolf, and the leader of the splinter faction during the brief civil war within the Wolf Dragoons. Killed by the future Maeve Wolf, who would take his name, after the war was done.

The Clans

Characters who are primarily associated with the Clans. Clan naming conventions differ from the more traditional of ones of the Inner Sphere; a Clansman is given only one name at the beginning of his or her life. No surnames are given; they must be earned through combat, later in life. They must be sponsored by a commanding officer in order to compete for a "bloodname," which surnames are called (This article therefore orders them by first name instead of last name.) For other terminology see: "Clans."

Aidan Pryde

From the Ramon Mattlov- Tania Pryde Sibko, Aidan was defeated in his Trial of Position to become a warrior and was given an unprecedented chance to win a second Trial by disguising himself as a freeborn warrior. He eventually ended the charade and entered a Trial of Bloodright to win a chance for the Pryde bloodname. Triumphant, but tainted due to his freeborn connections, he was made commander of a unit as tainted as him, the Falcon Guards, who were all but declared dezgra after their defeat on Twycross. Under his Command, the Falcon Guards on Tukayyid were at the vanguard of the Jade Falcons attacks, his unit's tactical skill combined with his leadership inflicted so much damage on ComStars forces that he turned a certain defeat into a draw for his Clan. During the retreat of the Falcons, the Guards served as the rear guard to buy enough time for the Falcons to withdraw and then he in turn served as the rear guard for the Falcon Guards to withdraw, taking down an entire company of Com Star mechs in his final engagement. His total kills for the campaign were unknown, but numerous.

Both his honor and that of the Falcon Guards was redeemed in the Tukayyid campaign and he became an unquestioned hero in the Clan, with his genes being used immediately in the Clan breeding program instead of being subjected to the customary waiting period. His freeborn daughter, Diana, was saved by his sacrifice on Tukayyid, though he only knew her as such at the very end of his life. He attained further honor posthumously, as Diana became Diana Pryde, the second freeborn with a bloodname.

Aleksandr Kerensky

The Star League general who liberated Terra from the rule of the usurper Amaris. Afterwards he led the majority of the SLDF (The Star League Defense Force) beyond the Periphery of the Inner Sphere, to eventually create the Clans.

Aleksandr attended Tharkad University. His exploits there eventually landed him a spot in the Nagelring. His rapid ascent through the ranks, as well as his own personal charisma and integrity, made him well-loved and famous among his troops and throughout the Star League. Aleksandr Kerensky was the leader of the army of the Star League until its collapse in 2784. After the fall of the Star League, which he and his armies labored mightily to prevent, fed up with disputes between the various houses composing the Star League, he took 80% of the Star League Defense Forces (SLDF) (composed of the best Battlemechs in the galaxy) and led them on an Exodus out into the Deep Periphery, far out of reach of the Inner Sphere, in order to prevent further bloodshed that he knew the Great Houses would use the SLDF for if allowed their way. Upon his death, his son, Nicholas Kerensky created the original Clans out of the SLDF forces which had accompanied them, whose destiny it was to fulfill his dream of someday returning to the Inner Sphere and reuniting it under one rulership, although their only method would be through force. A point of interest is that Kerensky piloted an Orion BattleMech, while his son Nicholas preferred the heavier Atlas. Kerensky also designed several BattleMechs in his time including the still incomplete Titan design that served as the basis for the Blakist Titan II as well as a few second-line Clan BattleMechs

Lincoln Osis

Smoke Jaguar Elemental who became Khan of his Clan during the invasion and later became the ilKhan of the Clans. He was considered perhaps the finest Elemental the Smoke Jaguars or even perhaps the Clans themselves had ever produced, standing as tall outside his armor as the average elemental did inside his. He had a reputation as something of a tactical genius, during the invasion an Elemental binary under his command took a planet with less than a dozen shots being fired. On Tukayyid it was only due to his skill that his command managed to escape even slightly intact from the overwhelming ComStar forces as the rest of his clan were mauled, entire units being wiped out.

After the battle, he supported the repudiation of the truce with the Inner Sphere. His clan however was in no shape to take the battle to the enemy. The cumulative losses from the failed invasion of Luthien, the Battle of Tukayyid, battles with other clans and unrelenting special forces raids by DCMS units working with local resistance units steadily grew. No sooner would a new Trinary be brought on line, then another would be blasted by a quick strike unit. Ultimately, the Smoke Jaguars under his leadership never recovered to anything like their pre-invasion levels of strength, making them the ideal target for the wrath of the Inner Sphere.

As much as the totem animal of his clan however, the newly appointed ilKhan wished to go on the offensive in answer to the constant raids with the rest of the clans, however the Khans of the Wolf and Jade Falcon clans forced a political battle between the 'home clans' and 'invading clans' which would delay the invasion for close to a year. The simple reason was that the more time the Inner Sphere had to weaken/prepare for the Smoke Jaguars, the better the chances they would be destroyed and the better the chance for either of them to ascend to the post of ilKhan.

However, neither Osis nor the rest of the clan Khans ever anticipated that it would in fact be the Inner Sphere who struck first.

The Inner Sphere banded together under the aegis of the Star League to take the fight to the Clans. Assisted by the Nova Cats, the clan sharing the Smoke Jaguar invasion path who would now betray them, the collective military power was unleashed on the Smoke Jaguars. Osis however proved strategically incapable of dealing with the forces unleashed by his enemies and was caught flat footed at every turn. His delay in informing the Clans Grand Council about the assault also left him politically isolated, his enemies pointing out that he was still acting as a Khan of the Smoke Jaguars rather than the Khan of the Khans, leading to the rest of the Clans refusing to offer any aid in this war.

Without help from the rest of the Clans, the weakened Smoke Jaguars were no match for the combined fury of the Inner Sphere, their occupation zone falling in a matter of months. Osis ordered all surviving units and ships to pull back to Clan space and their homeworld, only to find an elite Inner Sphere strike force, Task Force Serpent, had arrived before them and razed the military/industrial complex to the ground. Osis once again demanded troops, pointing out that with the Inner Sphere in Clan Space, everything had changed, but once again his political enemies stopped any such aid from coming to him. With his bodyguard unit, a few dozen other warriors and the remains of his inner sphere force, he attempted to reclaim his homeworld, held by an elite mix of forces from the Inner Sphere.

The battle was one of the most bloody and vicious enterprises to take place even in perpetual war of the Battletech universe. Against all odds, Task Force Serpent destroyed the final Galaxy of warriors remaining to the Smoke Jaguars. Osis himself was badly injured in an honor duel with an Inner Sphere 'Spirit Cat' (essentially the modern Draconis Combine Ninja) and evacuated back to Strana Mechty, his homeworld falling for the last time shortly afterwards to Inner Sphere reinforcements led by Victor Steiner Davion.

Once again he came before the Grand Council on Strana Mechty, effectively the leader of a dead Clan, demanding that they band together and oppose this threat. This time he had much more success, but was persuaded to wait for the Inner Sphere to come to them, which they did. The Inner Sphere offered a challenge; if they won a battle against the invading Clans, then the invasion would stop forever. If they lost, the invasion was back on again. Osis led the last dozen or so warriors of his clan against an equal unit of the 10th Lyran guards led by Victor Davion. His forces were hammered and finally destroyed by the Inner Sphere force, leaving Osis himself to face Victor. Osis offered to fight unaugmented against the Prince, who climbed out of his Mech with a Katana, a gift to him from the Draconis Combine. He refused to kill the Elemental, saying that his clan was dead and his life as a warrior was over before turning away.

Unable to accept this, Osis rose up from where he had fallen to his knees, presumably to attack Victor, who whirled around with his sword and decapitated the Elemental. The last of the Smoke Jaguar clan had died.

Marthe Pryde

Growing up in the same sibko as Aidan Pryde, she won her Trial of Position by turning on Aidan and defeating him. While they were young they were extremely close, but for years after they had become adults she professed a complete disdain for Aidan Pryde as a failure, although she later admitted she admired his unwillingness to bow out of the warrior's life. During the Tukayyid campaign, she fought alongside his cluster with her own and became increasingly impressed by her Sibkin's ability to inspire loyalty and self-worth in his subordinates, fighting on the cutting edge of the campaign along with him, surviving the battle and coming out showered in glory.

She subsequently rose through the ranks to become Khan of her Clan after Khans Vandervahn Chistu and Elias Crichell were killed for dishonorable conduct after the refusal war between Clan Wolf and Clan Jade Falcon, which had left her Clan in a critically weak state. Determined to bring the Falcons back to the strength of their traditional routes, she rebuilt her forces using warriors mass-produced by her predecessor then launched an invasion of the Lyran Alliance, targeting the world of Coventry. Her strategic goal was to season her green troops in combat against the best of the Inner Sphere and quickly restore her Clan's strength but she appeared trapped when a combined Inner Sphere task force from the successor states that evenly matched her own strength reinforced the defenders of Coventry. A battle to mutual assured destruction was not her goal and the situation was not helped when Khan Vladimir Ward of Clan Wolf sent her a message that he was about to take several undefended Jade Falcon planets away from her. Unable to defeat the Inner Sphere forces yet unable to withdraw without losing all honor, Marthe Pryde was offered an out when Victor Davion invoked a clan custom that let a defeated party withdraw with honor intact, as technically in the last engagement between the forces the Falcons had lost.

With her order of battle replenished with seasoned warriors and the rest of the Clans seeing a strong resurgent Jade Falcon Clan, not a weak easy target, Pryde withdrew her invasion forces back to Clan space and entered into an uneasy alliance with Vladimir Ward of Clan Wolf.

Unfortunately for her, the Clans' invasion of the Inner Sphere was halted when the Inner Sphere challenged the invasion and won in a trial of refusal against the Clans.

Natasha Kerensky

Natasha Kerensky is a bio-engineered Warrior from Clan Wolf, although her DNA contains some genetic material from Clan Widowmaker (which had been previously absorbed by Clan Wolf). She joined Wolf's Dragoons during their intelligence mission, where she quickly rose through the ranks and created a more or less independent sub-unit of her own with a special reputation, the Black Widow Company. During the Marik civil war, her husband was taken hostage and killed. At the beginning of the Clan invasion, she left the Dragoons to advise the Clans to retreat. Upon Ulric Kerensky's elevation to ilKhan, she was named senior Khan of the Wolves, despite a dispute about her legal status. She died in late 3057 during single combat against the Jade Falcon warrior Joanna on the planet Twycross. She is also known by her nicknames of "The Black Widow" and the "First Lady of Death." She is renowned across the Inner Sphere as the best and deadliest MechWarrior of the 31st century, with the possible exception of Kai Allard-Liao.

She is often portrayed as being exceptionally talented, spirited, and beautiful. She commands an often errant, but always successful elite branch, of an elite group. At various stages, she has relationships with several major characters. She often makes major contributions to large-scale events, and is a well known character within the universe.

Nicholas Kerensky

Son of Aleksandr Kerensky, and the man who formed the Clans from the remnants of the Star League Defense Force. Nicholas led the original 800 loyal warriors into the Second Exodus from a civil war gripping the Pentagon worlds to the future Clan Capital world of Strana Mechty. There Nicholas would use the intercene warfare of the Pentagon worlds as the catalyst and motivation to completely reform society and abandon any former ties to the old Inner Sphere, their government, and their lifestyles. His people would build and train for twenty years on Strana Mechty, and form into 20 Clans based on animal motifs, martial law, and a strict five-caste political system. Eventually these 20 Clans launched Operation Klondike to conquer the Pentagon Worlds from the barely functional rebel factions and their shell shocked and war-weary people. These desperate survivors would hail Nicholas as their savior. The people of the Pentagon worlds whole-heartedly converted to his Clan system of government, and would begin to artificially breed warriors for the ruling warrior caste in laboratories using the DNA of the original 800 warriors that followed Nicholas to Strana Mechty. Nicholas was killed years later during the Clan Widowmaker Absorption Trials by the Widowmaker Khan Carl Jorgennsen.

Phelan Ward

See Phelan Kell.

Ulric Kerensky

A staunch Warden, Ulric was Khan of the Wolves when the Clan invasion of the Inner Sphere was initiated. He was the only Khan to oppose the invasion and did not partake in the boasting and overly confident predictions of an easy victory. His foresight was proven correct when the Clans met with stiffer resistance than they anticipated. Ulric's cunning made sure the Wolves did not suffer the same fate. Determining that the only way to stop the violently arrogant Crusaders was to outdo them and put as many worlds as possible under Clan Wolf's benign protection, he led Clan Wolf on a quick-paced invasion that culminated with the seizure of key worlds such as Radstadt, Skondia, and Rasalhague. When the Clans war leader ilKhan Leo Showers was killed at Radstadt, Ulric was elected ilKahn over all the Clans by the Crusaders in an attempt to control and sideline him. They failed. Ulric used his political savvy to add three additional Clans to the invasion, each hostile to one the original Clans of the invasion force. He circumvented the attempt by Crusaders of his own Wolf Clan to get one of their own posted as Wolf Khan, directed many rival Clans to attack targets actually beyond their foresight and skill to conquer, and negotiated the Battle of Tukayyid with Precentor Martial Anastasius Focht of ComStar. Thus, Ulric cleverly used the arrogance and shortsightedness of the Crusaders against them to cause each to make mistakes and fail. In the Battle of Tukayyid, Ulric surmised correctly that the other Khans would not heed his warnings, and all but the Wolves failed to overcome their foes and win their objectives. The Wolves triumphed. Ulric held the clans to their Truce for seven years before a cynical charge of treason and genocide was leveled against him by the Crusaders. Stripped of his position as ilKhan, Ulric's Trial of Refusal against the Jade Falcons ravaged them and blunted the renewal of the invasion. Ulric Kerensky was killed on Wotan by Jade Falcon saKhan Vandervahn Chistu in a cowardly and dishonorable ambush that violated Clan Law.

Vladimir Ward

A member of House Ward and a staunch Crusader, Vlad captured Phelan Kell on The Rock only to discover that Phelan had a claim to the House of Ward. Phelan and Vlad fought each other during a Trial of Bloodright for a Ward Bloodname. Vlad lost. Embittered, Vlad attempted to dismantle the Truce of Tukkayid and ultimately Ulric's authority by joining a Crusader attempt to slander him. Ironically, during the Refusal War, Vlad became awed by and respectful of Ulric even though he was a Warden. Enraged by Chistu's cowardly murder of Ulric, Vlad goaded him into a Trial of Grievance where he killed the scheming Jade Falcon. As a reward, Khan Elias Crichell undid Chistu's declaration that the Wolves had been absorbed and created Clan Jade Wolf. Vlad won a Ward bloodname and became Khan of the new Wolves. He challenged Crichell in the Grand Council when he was elected ilKhan and slew him. Vlad re-created Clan Wolf and has since bided his time, rebuilding their strength. His actions during the Great Refusal made sure the Wolves were not bound by it. His Wolves are now the only Crusader Clan legally able to renew the war, once the Truce of Tukayyid runs out.

Periphery

Brenda Calderon

Distant kin to Jeffrey Calderon, Brenda's lineage has never been considered in line for the Protectorship. If her name has earned her anything, it has been a reasonable amount of distrust that her accomplishments and advancements are from favoritism. In fact, this is far from the case. Brenda Calderon has overcome much in the way of prejudice due to her family name, earning the position of corps marshal at the youngest age ever.

Well into her retirement years, Brenda Calderon held onto her position as senior marshal at Jeffrey's request. Known to disagree with Protector Grover Shraplen and fearing that traditionalists might try to champion her as a replacement, Brenda Calderon has resigned her position and established herself on her well-earned New Vandenberg estates. Her position there, surrounded by I Corps, causes Protector Shraplen some concern.

Janice Calderon

Once the heir to the Concordat, Janice Calderon contracted Brisbane Virus, a degenerative nerve disease, when she was eighteen. While remaining mobile with a wheelchair she continued to fight the disease while acting as senior advisor to her brother Jeffrey. In 3055, she traveled to the Magistracy of Canopus to undertake a promising experimental treatment. The procedure has helped somewhat, but requires constant re-treatments that have forced her to remain on Canopus.

Rumors have circulated lately that the Federated Suns NAIS University has found not only a cure for Brisbane Virus, but also a procedure for reversing damage to the nerves. This might enable Janice, now only forty-four, to recover some of her strength and retake the Protectorship. Unfortunately, relations between the Canopians and House Davion are strained by their alliance with the Capellan Confederation. Protector Shraplen has so far refused to readmit the Federated Suns ambassador.

Notes

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