Falcon's Sight: History of Clan Jade
Falcon
Listen, fledgling, to tales of glory - to the rise of a Clan from the ashes of empires, the honoring of Kerensky's vision and the punishment of enemies. Listen to a tale of battles and daring, treachery and deceit. Above all, listen to a tale of resilience and victory against the odds. This is the tale of the Jade Falcons.
Hatchling Years (2786-2821)
After the war against the Usurper Amaris and the treachery of the House Lords who destroyed the Star League, the Great Father Aleksandr Kerensky led the survivors of the Star League Defense Force out of the corrupt Inner Sphere in search of sanctuary. He sought to save his people from the divisiveness and ambition sweeping the Inner Sphere, and for many years after our ancestors arrived at the Pentagon worlds, - Arcadia, Babylon, Circe, Dagda and Eden - his dream was a reality. In 2901, however, the horrors of the past came back to haunt us all.
The Exodus and Aleksandr's reforms had not purged the Star League-in-Exile of its baser instincts, only forced them below the surface where they festered. The Pentagon erupted in violence, and the Great Father died before he could return order to the shattered society. Responsibility for the people fell to Aleksandr's son, Nicholas, who led his loyal followers to safety in the stars known as the Kerensky Cluster.
As war raged in the Pentagon, Nicholas showed the courage of his convictions and set about remodeling society to avoid a repeat of the chaos that had engulfed the Inner Sphere and the Pentagon Worlds. He created the caste system and divided the people into twenty Clans, each centered around a core of forty warriors, all loyal to his vision. The members of one such Clan were our forefathers - the Jade Falcons.
Elizabeth Hazen became our first Khan, overseeing the training and integration of the warriors selected by Nicholas to join Clan Jade Falcon. Hazen had a meritorious background even before the Exodus. During the Amaris occupation of Terra, she showed her resolve and courage in fighting the Usurper's troops, leading the guerilla unit known as the Ghosts of the Black Watch for more than a decade. Afterward, she quit the SLDF, but was alerted to the Exodus by her lover, General Aaron DeChevilier. She joined kerensky's command staff, recommissioned as a trusted major. When nine ships led by the Prinz Eugen rebelled against the Great Father during the journey, Hazen led the mission to recapture the mutineers. However, her resolve was sorely tested when she witnessed DeChevilier's death in a rebel ambush on Eden, closely followed by the loss of her commanding officer, the Great Father Aleksandr himself.
Yet Hazen was not the only superlative warrior among our founders. Ace pilot Daniel Mattlov, despite his bad health from wounds taken while fighting Amaris's troops in the Inner Sphere, refused to be excluded from Nicholas's new military. His determination, which sets and example for us all, earned him the right to participate in the Pentagon campaign as a MechWarrior. Mattlov's confidence, belief in his abilities and willingness to fight with whatever tools came to hand symbolizes the Jade Falcon drive and spirit.
A stern disciplinarian (a trait that prompts lesser Clans to belittle him), Carl Icaza is one of the cornerstones of the modern Clan military. A Former infantry commander and close friend of Nicholas Kerensky, Icaza worked with the Founder to shape the Clans, training the eight hundred chosen warriors in infantry battle tactics. It is a slur on the honor of this great man that other clans do not recognize his contribution. Only the Clan that he joined - ours - shows him due respect.
Lisa Buhallin, our Clan's fourth and final founder, was a scholar prior to the Amaris Coup, but fought with the Ghosts of the Black Watch during the long occupation of Terra. Though not confirmed by historical records, it is believed that Buhallin was a member of the Blackhearts, the Star League's Special Armed Services counterespionage and counterterrorism corps, her skills standing her in good stead during the occupation. Following the liberation of Terra, she was attached to kerensky's security staff, eventually testing out into the military of the Star League-in-Exile. Buhallin became the Falcon saKhan and Loremaster, as well as a close confidante of Nicholas Kerensky. Her scholastic background was particularly advantageous in turning kernsky's visions of Clan society into laws and regulations.
The accomplishments of our founders prove that the Jade Falcons have every right to claim our interpretation of Kerensky's vision as the true one. Our founders trained the Clan military and wrote Clan law. They carried out the orders and shared the confidence of the Great Father and the Founder. More than any other Clan, save perhaps the Wolves, the Falcons have shaped Clan society, and only we have remained true. Therefore, the Falcon way is innately superior to any other.
When Nicholas gave the order to begin the liberation of the Pentagon worlds, the Falcons - led by Elizabeth hazen - performed admirably, seizing their objectives on Eden before aiding in subduing Dagda. During the campaign, the Founder stated that he would join the Clan that performed best overall, and Khan Hazen and her troops had every reason to expect that he honor would fall to the Jade Falcons. When Nicholas chose to tie himself to the Wolves, they were shocked. However, the Khans soon devised the probable reason. The Wolves had fought well, they argued, but perhaps lacked the foresight of the falcons and therefore required Kerensky's hand to guide them. So our ancestors reconciled themselves to the Founder's decision, but the cubs of Clan Wolf made great issue of it, prompting the rift between the two Clans that remained until recently.
Cleaning the Nest: The Culling and the Golden Century (2822-2950)
With the Pentagon reclaimed, our Clan set about its duties., integrating the liberated people into our numbers and teaching them Nicholas's path of enlightenment. the majority saw the merits of his approach, but some among the Falcons chose to question the wisdom of the ilKhan and the Clans. For almost a year debate raged, until in late 2822 the Falcon Khans moved against the dissenters. The punishment and execution of the offenders became known as "The Culling." This part of our history clearly demonstrates the Falcons' willingness to undertake hardship for the greater good. The Falcons excised the cancer growing within them. Other Clans did not, and a year later, one Clan - the Not Named - paid the ultimate price.
Since hte Cullin, the Falcons have remained loyal to Kerensky's vision, becoming what the weaker Clans call "tradionalists." Unlike other so-called traditionalists, such as the Smoke Jaguars, we did not succumb to corruption. Adversity has made the Falcon stronger, not broken us as it has the Jaguars.
As an example, take the alleged feud between the Wolf Clan and the Falcons. The Wolves claim that we take every opportunity to harass them, spurred on by our "jealousy" of their gaining Nicholas's patronage. Nothing could be further from the truth. More often than not, such incidents can be traced to Wolf perfidy, such as those that occurred between 2863 and 2870.
It is fitting that the two Clans with dog-like namesakes, the Wolves and Coyotes, should form a pack together like the curs they are - each lacks the courage to stand alone. When we seized OmniMech technology from the Coyotes in 2863, our use of a single Star of 'Mechs against their two demonstrated the contempt in which we hold them. Though badly damaged, our force escaped with a Coyote OmniMech, from which we retroengineered the modular technology. However, the Coyotes went whining to their Wolf allies, prompting the Wolves to challenge us for the technology their comrades would not give them.
When the Wolves developed Elemental battle armor in 2868, we launched a series of challenges to bring that technology into our Touman. After a long struggle, the Falcons were victorious. However, in petty revenge, the Wolves prompted the Coyotes and Fire Mandrills to raid us for the battlesuits, forcing our Clan to sustain major losses in the attempt to retain our hard-won isorla.
This clearly shows how far the Wolves strayed from Kerensky's vision. They have ever been dishonorable, and pay only lip service to the Founder's ideals. Had they been true to the teachings of Nicholas Kerensky, they would not have suffered their greatest losses to the Schism and Abjuration.
Some Clans view our strict adherence to caste and bloodline as a majore obstacle to our expansion during the GOlden Century. It is true that Falcoon progress was initially slow, and that our warriors were forced to take action against the lesser castes on several occasions. However, like true warriors, we took what we needed, and over the entire period became a military and cantile force to be reckoned with. Our reach extended throughout the Pentagon worlds and the Kerensky Cluster, making us feared and respected.
Taking Wing: Operation Revival and Beyond (3048-3057)
So powerful did we become that other Clans came to share our Crusader philosophy, whose core principle taught that we must impose our will on the Inner Sphere by force, punishing them for their betrayal of the Star League and then redeeming them by re-forming it as it should have been. The Falcons were the first to call for the invasion of the Inner Sphere in 2980, but the other Clans balked, lacking the confidence to test themselves even against a degenerate foe. Instead the Wolf-led Warden faction, whose espoused vague notions of "protecting" the Inner Sphere rather than dominating it, called for compromise. Despite many setbacks, however, the Falcons never ceased their efforts.
It therefore came as a shock when Leo Showers of Clan Smoke Jaguar presented a motion for invasion to the Grand Council in 3048. Supposedly our allies, the Jaguars concealed from us information they had gained from the capture of a ComStar vessel, the Outbound Light, choosing to further their own goals rather than those of the Crusader cause. However, recognizing our devotion to that cause and our battlefield prowess, ilKhan Showers granted us the Lyran invasion corridor while taking the Draconis theater for his Jaguars. The other two invading Clans - the Ghost Bears and the Wolves - were assigned the Rasalhague corridor, where they would face an inferior opponent and have little hope of glory.
We fought well and suffered no reversals until the Falcon Guard fell to the treachery on the second Battle of Twycross. More disgrace followed the death of ilKhan Showers at Radstadt in the Rasalhague corridor, after which the Warden Ulric Kerensky became ilKhan and chose to partner us with the hated Steel Vipers. This act tainted the remaining months of the war and colored our actions in the run-up to the Battle of Tukayyid.
While Falcon forces fought well in that deadly encounter, two units particularly excelled. The first was the Falcon Guards, led by Aidan Pryde; the other, the Second Falcon Jaegers under Marthe Pryde. These two units secured the Prezno River crossing at great cost to themselves, and spearheaded the drive into the town of Olalla. When our troops discovered the traps set by our duplicitous ComStar opponents, both units served as rearguard for the withdrawing Falcon Galaxies, with Marthe Pryde leading her unit against the ComGuards' 309th Division. The actions of these two warriors saved the Falcons on Tukayyid and won them a draw against ComStar, though Star Colonel Aidan Pryde did not live to see his final triumph. As one of our most respected warriors, Aidan's genes immediately entered the breeding program; the first sibkos containing offspring from them are already undergoing training on the Falcon world of Ironhold.
Self-serving and arrogant, the Steel Vipers' erratic nature has earned them our perpetual loathing. Having withdrawn early from the Battle of Tukayyid rather than fighting on to achieve a draw as did our Clan, the Viper Touman took advantage of its temporary respite to attack our Inner Sphere worlds. Following the Battle of Tukayyid our forces reorganized, moving from the three-Galaxy structure used during the offensive phase of the operation to a series of smaller task forces better suited for defense. However, despite the foresight of our Khans, we lost a number of worlds as the Vipers sought revenge for the loss of Hellgate in 3051. By 3055 we had fought them to a stand-still, with only the homeworld battles against the Snow Ravens preventing us from bringing our full might to bear against the upstart Vipers.
Stooping on the Wolf: The Refusal War (Fall 3057)
With the Vipers contained, our Khans began planning reprisals against our enemies. As Jade Falcon warriors prepared to move against the upstarts, the Khans fought a different war in the Grand Council. Together with the leaders of the other Crusader Clans, they forced the removal of Warden ilKhan Ulric Kerensky, hoping that his replacement - most likely one of our own Khans - would allow the abrogation of the Truce of Tukayyid and resumption of the invasion.
We expected Kerenky's call for a Trial of Refusal when judgement was passed against him, but we did not expect him to conduct it on such a vast scale. Rather than fighting personally, as any honorable warrior should, he persuaded the Wolf Khans - the quisling whelp Phelan Ward and the ancient hag Natasha Kerensky - to support his move, plunging the Clan of the Kerenskys into a bitter war with our own. For many weeks the fighting favored the Wolves, but in the end the Falcons triumphed, killing both Kerenskys after they overextended their forces. The whelp Ward showed his true colors by fleeing to the Inner Sphere with a portion of the Wolf Touman, allying with mercenary scum to defeat the force sent to apprehend him.
The cost of this war to our Clan was great. Nineteen Clusters were destroyed or shattered, of which only nine were later reconstituted. Few of the surviving Galaxies had any command integrity. The scale of disaster on Morges, which cost the Clan ten Clusters, was unprecedented, and as a result of the Falcon Khans struck the names of the two Galaxies and their constituent parts from the Clan's honor roll. From Omicron Galaxy, the fallen included the Fourth Striker, Fourth Talon, Fourth PGC, Fourteenth Regulars and Seventeenth Regulars; from Vau Galaxy, the fourth Falcon Velites, Eighty-ninth Striker, Ninty-fourth Striker, Peregrine Eyrie and Peregrine Solahma.
The political aftermath was equally bloody. By January of 3058, both Falcon Khans were dead: Khan Chistu killed by the new Wolf Khan, Vladimir Ward, in a Trial of Refusal over his Clan's Absorption by the Falcons, and Khan Crichell in a dispute over the ilKhanship with the same Wolf Khan.
Sharpening the Talons: Against the Alliance (3058)
Our new Khan and saKhan, Marthe Pryde and Samantha Cleese, inherited a grave situation. The Clan was dangerously weak, having lost almost half its warriors. The front-line units were particularly hard hit, resulting in many second-line troops being promoted to fill the gaps. An unprecedented number of cadets were graduated early to bulk out the forces, but unlike the even more desperate Wolves, we recruited minimally from the lower castes. What the new sibbies lacked was experience.
Khan Pryde's solution to this problem typifies Falcon audacity. We attacked the Lyran Alliance, staging a 120 light-year penetration of their territory and holding the world of Coventry for almost three months. Facing a number of elite Inner Sphere units, the new troops soon became blooded, but the Inner Sphere response was more formidable than expected. Faced with a threatened invasion of our Occupation Zone by the Wolf Clan, Khan Pryde prepared to fight her way out of the Alliance, but an insightful plan by the Inner Sphere commanders, Victor Stiener-Davion and Anastasius Focht, offered the Falcons hegira- honorable withdrawal - and allowed us to forestall the Wolf attack.
In the weeks that followed, the Khans ordered our Clan's OZ capital moved from the rear-echelon world of Wotan, tainted by the actions of Khans Chistu and Crichell, to Sudeten, home of the Falcon Guards. This removed one stain on our honor - that the Wolf capital was closter to Terra than ours. Practical considerations prevented a move to our most rimward possession, the planet Quarrel. Furthermore, placing the Falcon capitol only three jumps form the Wolf-held world of Tamar reminded Khan Valdimir Ward of his Clan's vulnerability should we ever choose to strike.
Power Games: Preparations for War (3059)
Upon returning to the homeworlds, the Clans elected a new ilKhan on 19 November, 3058. IlKhan Lincoln Osis immediately moved to resume the invasion of the Inner Sphere, but was persuaded of the need to review Clan military readiness and to resolve Trials before embarking on the operation. This report is the result.
Unusually, the interests of the Wolves and Falcons coincided, and détente presently exists between our Clans. When Khan Ward of the Wolves announced his decision to stage a series of Harvest Trials, by which he hoped to enlarge his own forces by co-opting units from other Clans, Khan Pryde moved to do the same. Both Khans made it clear that the chance of any homeworld Clan taking part in a renewed invasion were slim, and that the most likely way for their warriors to participate in the invasion was to be taken as isorla by a Clan already chosen. After this announcement, all the invading Clans were deluged by "[re-emptive batchalls" from homeworld units eager to test their mettle, thwarting Ice Hellion Khan Asa Taney's attempts to build a homeworld Clan coalition and shattering his hopes of becoming ilKhan.
Our Clan did well in the Harvest Trials, gathering troops from other Clans to boost our strength. Khan Pryde chose to devote considerable attention to the Snow Ravens, staging aggressive raids against Raven worlds and netting the equivalent of two Clusters of personnel. One Cluster, the Sixth Raven Stoop, bid itself against our Fifty-third Battle Cluster; after the defeat of the Sixth's commander, the entire unit joined the Falcon Touman. This strengthened the Falcon while further dishonoring our enemies among the Snow Ravens. Similarly, the Absorption of an Ice Hellion Trinary gave us further insight to that Clan's tactics.
Our only failures came with the Fire Mandrills and Blood Spirits. Our losses to the Mandrills were minimal, but the unClanlike lack of cooperation by abtakha warriors from that Clan has caused problems in the Falcon units to which they were assigned. In the case of the Blood Spirits, their withdrawal from Arcadia and concentration on their York enclave prompted them to move in force against our holdings there. The survivors form the Third Velites' Gamma Trinary withdrew from York and rejoined their parent unit on Eden rather than waste Falcon warrior blood in battle against and unworthy opponent over a small patch of ground.
Recently, as Inner Sphere forces assaulted the Smoke Jaguards, Khan Pryde and Khan Ward of the Wolves moved to block the independent admittance of any homeworld Clans to the renewed invasion, preventing attempts by ilkhan Osis to prop up his failing troops. The speed with which the Jaguars fell to the soldiers of the so-called Star League shows how degenerate they and become, and their collapse demonstrates their Clan's lack of viability.
Falcon Rising: Planning for the Future (3060)
With the Smoke Jaguars shattered by the loss of their Inner Sphere holdings, the Falcons are once against the pre-eminent Crusader Clan. Several of the homeworld Clans have contemplated challenging our supremacy, but none are so foolish as to try. Only the Wolves and Star Adders are worthy foes, but even the Adders' recently bolstered strength cannot match the Falcons. Having fought the Inner Sphere for a decade, and with almost forty worlds in our Inner Sphere Occupation Zone - as many as the entire Kerensky Cluster and Pentagon combined - even our temporary weak state is superior to their full strength. The resources gained from the occupation have made clear the distinctions between invading and homeworld Clans.
In the Inner Sphere, the situation with the Steel Vipers has also reached a turning point. Cowering in their nest ever since the Inner Sphere attacks on the Jaguars, that Clan is the literal viper at our bosom. We will not long allow them to remain so. The Falcons once more prepare for war, ready to decimate our enemies and take our place in the vanguard to liberate Terra from the corrupt, false new Star League.