Khan Elias Crichell faced two potentially damaging political situations during the invasion. One was the Falcon defeat on Twycross. Recognizing the loss of confidence inherent in this failure, Khan Crichell convinced the Council that the shame of the defeat was great enough to affect all Malthus Bloodheritages, thus ensuring that Khan Malthus would be stripped of his rank and sent back toClan space in digrace. He then chose Vandervahn Chistu as his new junior Khan, another ambitious military genius.. The invasion continued almost without interruption. Many of the Clans aligned with the Falcons reconsidered their positions in view of Twycross, and it took all of Khan Crichell's political skills to keep the inasion plans on track. Clan Snow Raven broke off negotiations with the Falcons, and Khan Crichell began again to curry their favcor. Crichells' preputation as ap olitical genius grew.

Khan Chistu's first proposal as Khan was to re-form the Falcon Guards. The Guards had alaways been one of the most feared unit, not only in Clan Jade Falcon, but in all of CLan space. Chistu's plan reducd the Falcons to little more than a dezgraunit, a change in status that would outrage aevery Jade Falcon warrior. Though he bore no ill will toward Aidan Pryde, Khan Crichell presided ofver the trial held to determine whether Ter Roshak, Joanna, and Aidan were guilty of treason by deliberately staging a second chance for Aidan to qualify as a warrior. Aidan won a Trial of Refusal when the Council voted him guilty, and went on to win his Bloodname and become a skilled warrior and leader. Crichell considered Aidan unworthy to command the Falcon Guards. Crichell privately canvassed his Star Colonels and Star COmmanders to get a feel for the general attitudfe toward re-forming th Guards. Then he asked Chistu to explain his rationale for chagning the Guards' status. Chistu calaimed that no self-respecing warrior woud want to belong to the Guard after it s disgrance on Twycross, thereby offending most of the Star Commanders. Assigning Aidan Pryde as a commander added to the insult. Khan Crichell allowed Khan CHistu to implement his plan, but made his disapproval subtly clear. As it turned out, Khan Chistu's plan was a good one.

Few Clan leaders could manipulate events or situytations to his advantave better than Khan Elias Crichell. He was not known for military aggrtessiveness, but surrounded himself with skilled tacticains and commanders. Crichell kept Clan Jade Falcon well supplied with equipment and new warriors, and Chistu handled the military operations. To Crichell, Victory and honor for Clan Jade Falcon ware all that meatters, be it in the political arena or on the battlefield.

Though he has never been credited with tactical genius, he compensated for this flaw by surrounding himself with the best and brightest warriors in his Clan. An adroit politician, Khan Crichell managed to share the credit for these warriors' successes while distancing himself from their failures. Crichell's age was testimony to his survival skills; he was well into his sixties, and his days of piloting a BattleMech were virtually over. He relied on  his saKhan, Vandervahn Chistu, to carry the Falcon banner into battle for the last several years.

Suspecting that Chistu had ambitions to supplant him, Khan Crichell supported Star Captain Vlad of the Wolf Clan in his Trial of Grievance against the saKhan. Upon Chistu's death, Khan Crichell maneuvered to make Vlad his ally by granting him a Bloodname and partly repudiating the Rite of Abjuration that Chistu had demanded. Khan Crichell declared that, rather than being absorbed by Clan Jade Falcon, the Wolf supremist survivors of the Refusal War should become Clan Jade Wolf. Khan Crichell hoped that this piece of politicking would remove at least one potential threat to the survival of the weakened Jade Falcon Clan.