The Refusal War

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(The following information compiled by Clan Ghost Bear, claiming neutrality)

In the years following the Truce of Tukayyid, tensions continued to grow within the Clans. The so-called Crusaders increased their calls for a repudiation of
the truce and a resumption of the Inner Sphere invasion, while the Warden faction continued to counsel cooperation with the Inner Sphere powers. This conflict set Clan against Clan, and warrior against warrior within each Clan. The emergence of new generations of MechWarriors within the Clans fueled these tensions further. Most of these new warriors had come of age during the invasion of the Inner Sphere and had dreamed of winning glory in the battle for Terra. The truce had dashed those visions, however, and left these young warriors frustrated and bitter. Understandably, many became ardent supporters of the Crusaders' call for a renewed invasion. Such sentiments were strongest among the Wolf Clan's young members, because the Clan's low casualties on Tukayyid left few Bloodnames open to these new warriors and virtually denied them any opportunity to win glory or advancement. As a result, a number of Wolf "supremists" emerged. These warriors remained fiercely loyal to their Clan, but displayed barely contained hostility toward the Wolf Clan's Warden Khans.

Crusaders within the Wolf Clan carefully noted these growing sentiments, recognizing in them an opportunity to wrest control of the Clan from its Warden leaders and force the ilKhan to resume the invasion of the Inner Sphere. On June 10, 3057, these elements made their move. The Wolves' Crusader Loremaster, Dalk Carns, formally accused ilKhan Ulric Kerensky of high treason. The charges stemmed from an internal investigation instigated by the leader of the young Wolf supremists, Star Captain Vlad. According to the charges, ilKhan Ulric had colluded with ComStar leaders to engineer the defeat of the Clan forces on Tukayyid. That defeat led to the Truce of Tukayyid, which in turn would allow the Inner Sphere to rebuild their military forces and erect defenses before the invasion resumed.

Additionally, the ilKhan's accusers claimed that Ulric had elevated a known Inner Sphere agent - his bondsman and later ally, Phelan Ward - to the position of saKhan of the Wolf Clan. They claimed that Phelan had provided the ilKhan with inside information about Inner Sphere defenses that led to the Wolves' successes during the invasion. In return, the ilKhan had given Phelan a chance for a Bloodname and supported him in his bid to become a khan.

When the Wolf Clan Council met a month later to hear the charges, ilKhan Ulric denounced the accusations as groundless. He had been accused of collusion with ComStar before, he explained, and the Clan Grand Council had exonerated him. As for the charge regarding Khan Phelan, the ilKhan noted that Phelan had been taken as a bondsman in battle, just as many of those gathered in the council had been. Furthermore, Phelan had won his Bloodname in combat trials according to Clan tradition and his elevation to the position of saKhan had been approved by the Grand Council. The ilKhan seemed on the verge of convincing the Clan Council to drop the charges against him when Loremaster Carns challenged Ulric to answer a third charge - that he had willingly entered into a conspiracy to destroy a Clan's genetic heritage.

This surprise accusation sent a murmur of disbelief through the gathering. The destruction of genetic materials was the single most horrific crime that a Clan or Clansman could commit. Only once before in the Clans' history had such an accusation been raised, leading to the annihilation of an entire Clan. The ilKhan remained speechless for a moment, and Khan Phelan immediately demanded that the Loremaster explain himself or face a Trial of Refusal. Seeing that his bombshell would snatch victory from what had seemed certain defeat, the Loremaster cleared his throat and answered.

"Because of the Truce, we will have three generations of warriors who know nothing of warfare beyond exercises and the occasional raid. When the Truce ends, our command structure will be full of untested, untried, and inexperienced warriors. They will lead our young into combat and, as Ulric intends, they will die. They will perish, and the way of the Clans with them."
- Clan Wolf Loremaster Dalk Carns, before the Wolf Council

IlKhan Ulric's next action stunned his supporters, opponents, and the entire council. He directed the Loremaster to forward the charge to the Grand Council of all the Clans, and agreed to answer it at a formal hearing in one month. In hindsight, it is apparent that Ulric took this action for two reasons. First, transferring the proceedings to the Grand Council ensured that the charges would not split the Wolf Clan. Second, the transfer would gain him valuable time. Knowing that the charge would go to the Grand Council anyway, where his Crusader enemies held sway, the ilKhan used the intervening month to form his own plans and set them in motion.

 

On August 8, 3057, the Grand Council held session on the planet Tamar to hear charges of genocide against ilKhan Ulric Kerensky. All the gathered Khans knew the charges, and most had already decided on their verdict.

Khan Elias Crichell of Clan Jade Falcon claimed the right of prosecution. The most powerful of the ardent Crusader Clans, the Jade Falcons had established sufficient control on the worlds they occupied to let them shore up their forces in preparation for a swift drive toward Terra once the Truce of Tukayyid collapsed. While the other Clans contended with Inner Sphere raids and planetary rebellions, the Falcons quietly stockpiled munitions and equipment on the planet Quarell in preparation for renewed war. The Falcon Khans believed their warriors could slice through the troubled Federated Commonwealth and take Terra in less than a year, ensuring that Clan Jade Falcon would become the ilClan. To achieve all this, the Jade Falcon Khans needed to ensure that Ulric Kerensky would be found guilty and the Truce of Tukayyid repudiated.

In pursuit of this goal, Khan Crichell painted a damning - though inaccurate - portrait of a vast, sinister conspiracy between Ulric, Precentor Martial
Anastasius Focht of ComStar, and the two Wolf Clan Khans to re-establish a tainted version of the Star League with Victor Steiner-Davion of the Federated Commonwealth as its First Lord. He claimed that the Clans, including the young Crusaders who made up much of Clan Wolf, had been betrayed by Ulric, who intended to destroy them and the entire Clan way of life. Several Council members believed Crichell's wild speculations, and Khan Phelan Ward's attempt to refute them proved fruitless. Nineteen Khans declared Ulric guilty of treason; fifteen declared him innocent. The Council stripped him of his rank of ilKhan, demoting him to the rank of Star Colonel. In response, Ulric demanded a Trial of Refusal against Clan Jade Falcon.

The Falcons had anticipated any response but this. They had won a vital political victory and assumed that Ulric would not contest the verdict. The Falcons were posed to resume the invasion of the Inner Sphere, and the last thing they wanted was to squander warriors and BattleMechs on inter-Clan strife. Their initial reluctance to fight, however, evaporated at Ulric's insinuation that the Falcons wished to avoid a trial because they feared that they would lose. At this, the Falcons angrily agreed to face the Wolves in the bitter conflict that came to be known as the Refusal War.

After the Grand Council adjourned, Ulric Kerensky retreated to his command center on Tamar along with Wolf Khans Natasha Kerensky and Phelan Ward. Though they had lost one battle, they had a Trial of Refusal to win. As they planned their strategies for defeating the Jade Falcons, Ulric revealed his own scheme to use the Trial as a means of crippling the Crusaders' power, while ensuring the long-term survival of the Wardens whom he considered the best and truest members of the Wolf Clan.

From the moment the charge of treason was brought against him, Ulric had known that the Crusaders among the Clans would find him guilty and repudiate the Truce of Tukayyid. The only way left to safeguard the Inner Sphere from a Crusader-led Clan onslaught was to break the Crusaders' power by forcing their strongest Clan to squander its fighting strength in inter-Clan warfare. At best, the Jade Falcons could only win a pyrrhic victory in the Refusal War; the swath of destruction cut through their ranks by Clan Wolf would cost them all hope of spearheading a renewed invasion of the Inner Sphere. The other Crusader Clans, beset by rebellions on occupied worlds and lacking the Falcons' military acumen, could do the Inner Sphere less harm. By virtually destroying the Jade Falcons and the Wolf Clan Crusaders, Ulric hoped to tear out the heart of the Crusader faction and protect the Inner Sphere, as he believed the Clans had been created to do.

To ensure Clan Wolf's long-term survival, Ulric ordered saKhan Phelan to lead the bulk of the Clan's Warden faction, along with Clan Wolf's genetic legacy and a third of its equipment, to a safe haven in the Inner Sphere. If the Trial of Refusal ended up destroying the rest of Clan Wolf along with Clan Jade Falcon, Khan Phelan was to rebuild the Wolf Clan and keep its glorious heritage alive. Though he preferred to fight alongside the two leaders he so deeply respected, Khan Phelan accepted his role. His forces would take part in a few early battles, then strike out toward the relative safety of the Kell Hounds' stronghold on Arc-Royal. Ulric also made one last, secret plan to ensure that his Clan would outlive him. To Star Captain Vlad, leader of the Wolf Supremists and a brilliant warrior, Ulric would entrust the welfare of any Wolf Crusaders who survived the Refusal War. Should Phelan be killed and his forces destroyed along with what they carried, Vlad was to rebuild Clan Wolf so that it could once again take its place among the children of Kerensky.

For their own parts, Natasha and Ulric planned a two-pronged assault on the Jade Falcons that would force them to split their strength. Ulric intended to bleed the Jade Falcons of troops and materiel on world after world, weakening them so that his final assault on the Falcon stronghold of Wotan would have the best possible chance of success. Ulric meant to kill the Jade Falcon Khans on Wotan and destroy enough Falcon warriors to effectively prevent the Clans from resuming the Inner Sphere invasion. Their plans laid, the Wolf and Jade Falcon Clans prepared for the first battle of the war that would decide their ultimate fates.

Colmar, Jade Falcon Occupation Zone.
24 September, 3057

Elias Crichell, Khan of Clan Jade Falcon, paced angrily. His meeting with the Wolf Clan on Tamar had not gone as he had expected. First he had been forced to pass through a gauntlet of hostile Wolf Clan warriors. Then the Wolf Khan Natasha Kerensky further humiliated and enraged Crichell by forcing him to perform the batchall with the traitor, Ulric Kerensky. According to tradition, Khans of the Clans negotiated the terms of battle only with their peers, never with warriors of lesser rank. This practice was observed most stringently when bidding for an important battle, and few battles held as much import for a Clansman as a Trial of Refusal and he, Khan Elias Crichell of Clan Jade Falcon, had found himself negotiating with a mere Star Colonel.

Crichell's greatest shock, however, came when he learned the Wolves' choice of battlefield for the Trial. Ulric declared the Wolves would engage the Jade Falcons on Comar, as expected - and at Dompaire, Sudeten, Zoetermeer, and other worlds of the Falcon occupation zone. The Wolves had also bid all their troops to do so.

"Ulric and his band of misfits seek to anger you, so that we will make a mistake and provide the Wolves an opportunity to claim a victory in the Trial," saKhan Vandervahn Chistu told Crichell. "The traitor's plan will backfire - I will make sure of that. We will turn this Trial of Refusal into a Trial of Absorption. After we have smashed the Galaxies of Wolves, we will claim all their properties, and the Jade Falcons will become the greatest and most powerful Clan ever!"

"I will leave it to you, then, saKhan Chistu, to develop our battle strategies," Crichell said. "And once we have defeated the treacherous Wolves and I am elected ilKhan, we will march toward Terra."

The bitter rivalry between the Wolves and Jade Falcons fueled fierce fighting in the battle on Colmar, a battle that set the tone for the entire Refusal War. The first shots were fired in the Marakaa Valley. Using the dry river bed for cover, the 352nd Wolf Assault Cluster had marched through the valley to the Jade Falcon position at Bright Basin. The steep walls of the valley forced the Falcon aerospace fighters to make their strafing runs directly into the front of the Wolf 'Mech column. As a result, the fighters had little effect and soon broke off their attacks rather than face fire from the Wolf 'Mechs.

The fleeing fighters left the BattleMechs of the 12th Falcon Regulars Cluster with no fighter cover when they appeared on the ridge line to the south. As the Falcons descended the steep slope to enter their weapons' firing range, they bunched up, presenting easy targets for the 352nd.

When the dust cleared, the 12th Falcon Regulars were no more. A scant 10 percent of the 12th's personnel survived, among them only six aerospace fighters. By comparison, the 352nd suffered only 17 percent casualties. Unfortunately, the Falcons managed to destroy half of the 352nd's aerospace fighters and Elementals and two-thirds of the Cluster's 'Mechs. The Wolves took no bondsmen from the survivors but did lay claim to all battlefield salvage. The fighting had been fierce and many of the 352nd's 'Mechs would never see battle again, but at long last the Wolf pups had cut their teeth.

After the battle, the remaining members of the 352nd formed up with the Wolf Spiders and marched on Doren, the capital of Colmar. There, Khan Natasha Kerensky's Elementals opened the planet's armories and armed the population. She declared the Colmar system free of the Jade Falcons and told the gathering crowds that she would take their grievances to the Jade Falcon Khan personally.

Sudeten, Jade Falcon Occupation Zone.
27 September, 3057

Khan Elias Crichell stalked around the briefing room. The news of the Wolf victory on Colmar rocked him to the core. As the new figures from the fighting on Sudeten scrolled across the holographic display in front of him, he cursed aloud. Ulric had hit Dompaire just two days ago and looked ready to strike at Zoetermeer within the week. Sweat began to bead on Crichell's forehead. The Wolves were cutting his forces to ribbons. Soon they would make their way to Wotan and Khan Crichell.

"Khan Crichell, do you wish me to send for a medic?" saKhan Vahn Chistu asked.

"No, saKhan, I do not want a medic," Crichell snapped. "I want answers. Why is your plan not working? Why are the Wolves slicing through our units as if they were not there? Answers, saKhan Chistu, I want answers - now!"

"Calm down, Khan Crichell. Everything is going as planned," Chistu replied. "The Wolves have achieved these victories against mere garrison troops. I will continue to litter their path with second-line and solahma units. This will force Natasha and Ulric to expend their front-line forces in a vain effort to weaken us. I will skin the Wolves layer by layer until I have cut them to the bone. Only then will they face our front-line forces and taste the true fury of the Falcon. You may rest easy, Khan Crichell. We are in no danger from the Wolves. Wotan is their unreachable star."

To bolster the bluff that all of the Wolf forces would be attacking the Falcons, saKhan Phelan and his Delta Galaxy needed to attack at least one system in the Jade Falcon Occupation Zone before jumping for the Inner Sphere. That system was Sudeten.

The Falcons had beefed up their garrison on the planet to slow the Wolf advance, and so Khan Phelan's forces would be outnumbered almost two to one on the killing fields of the grassy world.

Khan Phelan compensated for his disadvantage by splitting his forces into two separate units. His lighter, faster 'Mechs laid an ambush for the Falcon defenders along the grassy, tree-covered hills of Sudeten's western plains, on the continent of Dargoth. The remaining Wolf 'Mechs headed toward the port city of Webster to harass the garrison forces stationed there and buy time for the trap to be set. Once those units were 100 kilometers outside of the city, Khan Phelan called in aerospace fighter support from his DropShips. Most of the fighting took place around the Webster magna-rail station, just outside the city limits.

After engaging the Falcon garrison at Webster, Khan Phelan ordered his attack force to retreat to the Dargoth Plains. Under the cover of Wolf aerospace fighters, Khan Phelan's 'Mechs continued to fire on the pursuing Falcon defenders and destroyed many of the Falcons' heavy and assault 'Mechs before they reached the plains. When the surviving Falcon units crested the first hills on Dargoth's grassy plains, they saw what appeared to be a disorganized army desperately trying to escape to their DropShips some fifteen miles away.

When suddenly, the hidden Wolf 'Mechs emerged from their hiding places on the tree-covered hills and the Falcons found themselves surrounded by enemy 'Mechs. Waves of Wolf aerospace fighters dropped their remaining bombs on the trapped Falcons. Battered by the bombing runs, the Falcon 'Mechs made easy targets for the fresh Wolf BattleMechs.

In the end, Khan Phelan's forces scored an impressive victory over the Falcons. Khan Phelan Ward and his forces killed or captured some 100 Falcon
'Mechs, nearly all that had been on the planet. Eighty-five percent of the Falcon MechWarriors and pilots were killed, the remainder injured. Meanwhile, the Wolves lost only 35 units.

After returning to the Wolf fleet, Khan Phelan attempted to persuade Khan Natasha to include his forces in further battles, using his victory to bolster his arguments. Despite his protests, Khan Natasha remained adamant that Khan Phelan follow Ulric's original plan and lead Delta Galaxy into the Inner Sphere. On October 5, 3057, Khan Phelan's JumpShip Werewolf left Clan space with a very special cargo - the complete genetic heritage and future of the Wolf Clan.

Zoetermeer, Jade Falcon Occupation Zone.
30 September, 3057.

"The crusaders may be your philosophical kin, but they are not Wolves. You hate the Inner Sphere because of our teachings. We are told that they are below us, yet on every front they have adapted and are now a match for most of the Clans. Perhaps before we assault them again we should study their ways of war, lest we run the risk of being defeated just as the Falcons - your philosophical leaders - were."
- Star Colonel Ulric Kerensky, addressing the 11th Wolf Regulars before the drop to Zoetermeer.

"Bravo Star is encountering resistance along its western flank, Star Captain." Vlad scanned his Timber Wolf's tactical display, and smiled grimly. Like the cowards they were, the stravag Jade Falcons were disappearing into the narrow alleys between the warehouses near Nalon Spaceport. Apparently they believed a few flimsy buildings would protect them from the wrath of the Wolf. Vlad and his unit intended to teach them otherwise.

As if to prove his point, Vlad lined up his sights on a fleeing Jade Falcon 'Mech and fired his pulse laser into the back of the machine, just as it reached the dubious shelter of a large warehouse. The enemy 'Mech shuddered and collapsed, bringing down the building's walls. A huge fireball erupted into the air as the explosion of the dying 'Mech set off the building's highly combustible contents. Vlad's smile disappeared. Cursing, he turned his Timber Wolf toward the enemy and barked out orders over his commlink. "Recon in force to coordinates 007-9a. Engage all Falcon units, but do not pursue the enemy into the warehouses. I repeat, do not pursue. If they want us dead, my Wolves, they will have to come and get us!"

On September 30, 3057, Star Colonel Ulric Kerensky led his newly created Tau Galaxy in an assault on the Jade Falcon planet of Zoetermeer. All of the young and impressionable warriors in Tau Galaxy were Crusaders by inclination, but they were also Wolves by blood, and were therefore bound by Clan honor and tradition to follow their former ilKhan in a fight to the death against their fellow Crusaders in Clan Jade Falcon. Star Captain Vladimir, a prominent Crusader chosen as Ulric's second-in-command, challenged the legitimacy of Ulric's orders along with many other young Wolves, but to no avail. Ulric had acted within his rights as a Star Colonel in placing the Wolf Crusaders under his own command and transferring warriors with Warden sympathies to the command of saKhan Phelan Ward. By setting Crusader against Crusader, Ulric hoped not cripple not only the Jade Falcon enemy, but the entire Crusader movement within the Clans.

Ulric chose his first target well. A week before the beginning of the Trial of Refusal, he had discovered that the Falcons were converting one of Zoetermeer's orbital chemical engineering facilities into a small factory for DropShip parts. An orbital repair facility so close to the truce line would allow the Falcons to attack deep inside the Inner Sphere without being hamstrung by a long wait for replacement DropShip parts from the Clan home worlds. The Falcons' 10th Provisional Garrison, assigned to defend the factory against Inner Sphere raiding parties, had stationed the bulk of its forces near the Nalon Spaceport in the seaside city of Salyn. A single Star of 'Mechs and two aerospace Stars remained to defend the orbital facility. Ulric planned a strategy that would allow him to destroy both the facility and the 10th Garrison Cluster.

Before opening the bidding for the Zoetermeer assault, Ulric ordered Star Commodore Radick to issue a batchall to the forces defending the orbital facility once the Wolf forces bid to attack the planet itself were engaged in battle. With the bulk of the Falcon forces fighting the Wolves, the troops defending the orbital facility would be left without reinforcements, and would prove easy pickings for Radick's warriors.

It took three elementals to life the ferro-steel girder that had trapped MechWarrior Bozarth's Viper. The MechWarrior was unconscious inside the partly crushed cockpit, but Bozarth had been lucky. He survived his first test by fire and would soon be able to pilot a BattleMech once again. Almost a third of the 11th Wolf Regulars had not fared so well.

The Wolves had won the day, but at a staggering cost. The 11th Regulars had lost more than 40 percent of their 'Mechs, the 21st Battle Cluster had suffered 32 percent casualties, and the 4th Striker Cluster had lost 39 percent of its troops. The technicians would need at least two weeks of constant work to bring the units back to an acceptable 70 percent readiness level. Star Colonel Ulric Kerensky's victory on the southern continent had proved less costly; the 2nd Wolf Cavaliers sustained only 15 percent equipment losses and 3 percent casualties.

The assault on the orbital facility was another Wolf victory. Star Commodore Radick's batchall took the 10th's commander completely by surprise. He had not included the facility in the original bidding because he had believed that the 10th itself was the Wolves' sole target. This oversight cost the Falcon commander his chance to reinforce the facility, and Radick's forces swiftly overwhelmed the three defending Falcon Stars.

Baker 3, Jade Falcon Occupation Zone.
9 October, 3057.

Outside the cockpit of Star Colonel Ramon Sender's Gargoyle, the waters of Baker 3's hot springs bubbled, but he did not notice. Other things occupied his mind - like the rising heat in his 'Mech, the precarious footing provided by the hardened layers of mud and lime underfoot, and the odd branches of petrified wood that broke off the long-submerged trees as the 341st Assault Cluster marched along the Baker River. Sender checked his heat display again. The computer painted a solid line that ran from green through yellow and just into the red area of the computer's screen. Sender cleared his mind. One way or another, none of it would matter in a minute.

Sender looked over to his left, where Khan Natasha Kerensky's Dire Wolf kept up with his Gargoyle stride for stride. Sender could no help but grin to
himself as his 'Mech's cockpit broke the surface of the river. It wasn't just the thought of being out of the boiling river that brought the smile to his unshaven face. It was the anticipation of combat and the adrenaline it sent pumping through his veins. In the distance he spotted the communications dish of the Falcon command center. In his excitement he almost missed the Falcon Kit Fox that had wheeled and stood watching as the 341st Assault Cluster began to rise out of the river, the hot metal skins of their 'Mechs emitting clouds of steam. Without thinking, Sender raised the Gargoyle's right arm. A bright blue flash arced from the 'Mech's arm and the head of the Kit Fox exploded. Then Sender opened a channel to Natasha. "You know he has broadcast a warning."

Natasha Kerensky answered the Star Colonel's concern by firing her Widow Maker's autocannon at a Falcon Adder that had just emerged from a clump of trees. The depleted uranium shells tore into the smaller 'Mech's torso, cut through its myomer muscle bundles, twisted and blackened the internal structure and fusion engine and neatly opened its back before splintering an oak tree that stood thirty meters behind the Adder. "I want them to come," Khan Natasha said. "I want all of them to feel how cold hell can be."

For years, Baker 3's hot springs and lush forests had made it a favorite recreation spot for merchants traveling through the area. These same geographical features that had been a source of pleasure for many would spell death for the Jade Falcons' Jade Eyrie Cluster, thanks to Khan Natasha Kerensky's daring battle plan.

The Wolf 341st Assault Cluster landed 60 miles south of the Falcon command center, at the edge of Lowa, Baker 3's southern continent. With the purple Ylrebmik Ocean at their backs, the Wolves split up. Half of the force made its way into Lowa's dense forest to seek out and destroy Jade Falcon patrols. Meanwhile, the remaining Wolf 'Mechs entered the hotspring fed waters of the Baker River and began a slow march along its bottom. With the super-heated water of the river masking the 'Mechs' heat signatures, Khan Natasha hoped to outflank the Falcons and surprise them.

The battle on Baker 3 proved yet another stunning success for the Wolf Clan. In the end, the Wolf forces suffered only 21 percent losses, while the Jade Falcons suffered 98 percent losses. Unfortunately for the Wolves, the Mechwarriors of every lost Wolf BattleMech were killed.

For the Falcons, the battle seemed lost almost from the start. Star Colonel Buhallin sent numerous patrols from the Falcon's 305th Assault Cluster to destroy the Wolf 'Mechs in Lowa's forest, but none had any discernible success against the Wolves, who employed hit-and-run tactics to great effect. The forest's dense vegetation severely limited the Falcons' ability to target the Wolves, and eventually the 'Mechs of the 305th - armed almost exclusively with ballistic weapons - found themselves low on ammunition. In growing frustration, Buhallin sent aerospace fighters after the Wolf 'Mechs, as well as more Falcon BattleMechs, until his forces were stretched across the continent and his command center woefully underdefended.

At that point, the second Wolf force emerged from points along the Baker River and struck at the Falcon command center and the undefended flank of the 305th. Fifty Falcon OmniMechs and twenty-seven fighters were destroyed by the Wolves that day. Only two Points of Falcon Elementals managed to make it back to their landing zone for extraction.

Devin, Jade Falcon Occupation Zone.
17 October, 3057.

"How can you believe the Wolves will attempt another attack? Look out your canopy. Even now our Elementals are rounding up their MechWarriors to be used as bondsmen. We have won, Star Captain. Let us return to the command center to report our victory to Star Colonel Hoyt."

Star Captain Matthew Von Jankmon stared into the swirling sandstorm. It was true that the Wolves had lost many BattleMechs to the Falcons' Charlie Trinary, but something felt wrong. The fighting had been fierce at first; then the Wolves seemed to lose their taste for combat. Some of their 'Mechs actually ran from the field. Yes, something was definitely wrong.

"Star Commander Trevor, you will take your Star to the northwest quadrant and post a watch for any enemy 'Mechs. Alert me before engaging any
opposition," Von Jankmon ordered.

"I will follow your orders, Star Captain, but you are overestimating the danger here. I am certain that our other units have achieved similar successes."

Von Jankmon was about to rebuke Trevor for this insubordination when a brilliant orange explosion filled his view-screen. He quickly glanced down at his radar display but saw only the same meaningless interference that had filled it since the electrical storms began. He looked up just in time to see a line of Wolf OmniMechs emerging from the swirling sands blowing around him. Von Jankmon thumbed the red button on his right joystick. A wave of heat filled his cockpit and set alarms screaming as all the weapons on his 'Mech fired in unison. The Timber Wolf in front of him staggered and crumpled under the onslaught, but Von Jankmon calculated that the heat in his 'Mech would not permit him to fire his weapons again for a full four seconds.

Pushing the machine's throttle forward, he twisted the 'Mech toward the north and set it running. Blue bolts of artificial lightning singed its left arm and opened a gaping wound in its rear right torso, and the Star Captain instinctively thrust the controls to the left. A flight of LRMs flashed past his cockpit and he turned to see the tattered and smoking Timberwolf approaching him. He triggered the red button once more, watching as twin blue beams carved into the 'Mech's torso and set off a blinding explosion.

When Khan Natasha Kerensky reached the Devin system, she reported her total losses so far at just under 32 percent for 'Mechs and equipment and 8 percent for personnel, but these figures did not reflect the true toll the campaign had taken on her forces. Many of the seriously injured had been sent to the Inner Sphere with saKhan Phelan Ward, and only battlefield salvage kept many of her 'Mechs operational. Moreover, the fighting of the past month had left many of her more experienced units severely fatigued.

Still, several of her Clusters had not seen action yet and remained anxious to join the fray. The battle on Devin would provide ample opportunities for fighting - and dying. The Falcons had garrisoned the planet with the 2nd Falcon Jaegers and 1st Striker Cluster, both battle-tested, veteran units. Even the weather seemed to challenge MechWarriors. Severe electrical storms and high winds ravaged the desert planet, conditions that would render sensors almost useless. Shortly after the Wolf JumpShips entered the Devin system, a malfunctioning sail array delayed the attack force for three days, an omen that seemed to bode ill for the Wolves.

The sting of sand blowing against his face awoke Star Commander Trevor. His eyes shut tight against the abrasive grit, he felt along the outer edges of his neurohelmet. The viewplate had been smashed. He then remembered his head striking his BattleMech's instrument array. Reaching down to his chin, he unfastened the heavy headpiece and removed it. Sand ran like water down the sides of his face, and the MechWarrior realized he might have drowned in sand had he not awakened when he did.

As it dawned on the Star Commander that he could not feel his legs, he wondered whether such a death might have been desirable. Invalids were not much use in battle, and Clan society relegated such unfortunates to its lower castes. After a moment, the MechWarrior took a deep breath, shielded his eyes from the sand and looked down. The entire lower section of his cockpit was filled with sand. Beautiful black sand.

After bailing sand for twenty minutes, his blood began to circulate freely through his legs again, and the Star Commander was able to free himself from his command couch restraints. As he began to crawl from the downed 'Mech, he saw the remains of what had once been Charlie Trinary. Twisted, blackened BattleMechs and Elementals littered O'Tsung Plain. Thirty meters away lay a smoldering hulk he recognized as the remains of Star Captain Von Jankmon's Warhawk. At the edge of the wreckage, Trevor spotted the Star Captain's body, blistered with burns. Activating his distress beacon, Trevor began walking towards the north.

When he rejoined the Falcon forces, he learned they had won the battle on Devin. The Wolves had lost 47 percent of their 'Mechs and equipment and 22 percent of their personnel. Trevor found little to savor in the victory.

Evciler, Jade Falcon Occupation Zone.
17 October, 3057.

Heavy, wet snow covered the head and shoulders of every BattleMech in Star Commander Tomas's command. Hours ago, he and his MechWarriors had used their energy weapons to chisel waist-deep holes into the ice, in which their 'Mechs could hide. The blizzard had done the rest of the work, concealing the Falcon BattleMechs from even the sharpest eyes.

To keep himself alert, Tomas watched ice form intricate patterns on his 'Mechs cockpit screens. He had last spoken with Trinary Command seven hours ago, when they reported the Wolf vanguard five hours from his position. An hour's delay in such dreadful weather was to be expected, but as the second hour crawled by Tomas found himself vacillating between boredom and apprehension. Tomas bit his lip in frustration, desperately hoping that the enemy would show. Success in this operation would guarantee him a chance at a Bloodname; to gain that opportunity, he would wait until hell froze over if necessary.

Suddenly a red light blinked to life on the comm panel. Tomas flicked the comm switch. "This is Star Commander Tomas - report."

The reply made all traces of Thomas's boredom melt like snow near a bonfire. "Star Commander, I have detected a single BattleMech, currently three kilometers due south and approaching our position at 108 kilometers per hour. I have no visual, and my mag-scan cannot identify the machine."

A BattleMech moving that fast in a blizzard meant the MechWarrior was either brilliant or crazy. More than likely it was a scout for the main body of Wolf Clan forces. Tomas ordered his Star to power up and engage the enemy.

Angered by an unbroken string of Wolf Clan victories, saKhan Vandervahn Chistu had determined that the world of Evciler become a graveyard for Ulric Kerensky and the Wolves' Tau Galaxy. To meet the Wolf Clan forces, Chistu deployed the 73rd Striker Cluster, the 6th Provisional Assault Garrison, and the 51st and 9th Garrisons. If such an overwhelming array did not succeed in destroying the Wolves, it would at least bleed them dry.

The southern polar continent of Messian was in the middle of its twilight months, and saKhan Chisty used the half-light and wintry landscape to his forces' advantage. In preparation for the battle, Chistu ordered his troops to paint all their 'Mechs and Elemental armor a dirty blue-white that the Wolves would find almost impossible to see. To avoid ammunition-resupply problems, Chistu ordered all units configured to use energy weapons, supplemented only by long-range and short-range missiles. Finally, he ordered the Falcon forces to dig trenches and 'Mech pits in which to ensnare the advancing enemy. This time, saKhan Chistu was taking no chances.

Clan Wolf's forces dropped onto Evciler's southern continent in the light of a ghostly dawn. The shadowed terrain played tricks on the warriors' eyes, and the southern pole's intense magnetic field rendered most of their BattleMechs' electronic equipment useless. Not even their holographic infrared displays could help the Wolf MechWarriors much in finding their prey; the constant eruptions of volcanoes and geysers through the snow and ice confused infrared sensors. Against such odds, the Wolves could only hope that fortune would favor them.

The Jade Falcons' ambush at Semore Chasm took the Wolves by surprise. The hidden Falcon 'Mechs opened fire on the badly rattled Wolves from all sides, costing them several 'Mechs. Victory eluded the Falcons, however; the shallow pits in which they had hidden weakened the ice on which they stood. The heat of weapons fire melted the ice and snow, weakening it further until it cracked and sent several Falcon 'Mechs into the river below. The Falcons' sudden confusion gave the Wolf forces time to rally and mount a counterattack. Several Wolf MechWarriors began to fire at the ice near the pits, sending even more Jade Falcon BattleMechs and Elementals plunging into the icy river. The Star of Falcon 'Mechs still on its feet retreated southgward, pursued by the surviving 'Mechs of the 1st Wolf Cavalry.

The battle ended after another twenty minutes of heated fighting. Two Stars of Jade Falcon BattleMechs and four Points of Elementals littered the frozen landscape. The Wolves had lost eight 'Mechs in the ambush, but only the Jade Falcons' misfortune had kept the cost from rising higher. None of the Jade Falcon units that fell through the ice re-emerged from the river, prompting one Wolf MechWarrior to comment that some fates are worse than death.

Twycross, Steel Viper Occupation Zone.
7 December, 3057.

Star Colonel Ravill Pryde was an ugly man by any standard. His close-cropped hair exaggerated the ungainly appearance of his abnormally large head, and his high, sharp cheekbones formed two hollows that held a pair of small black eyes. The Star Colonel's large smile revealed a few extra teeth most humans do not possess, but Ravill Pryde's gaunt body remained the most striking element of his looks. Thick green-blue veins bulged under the skin of his long, bony arms, and it seemed as if a heavy wind could carry him off the ground. Thick tufts of black hair covered his pale white skin and protruded from every opening of his coolant vest. Yet despite his almost sickly appearance, the Falcon Guards commander possessed an inner strength and cunning unmatched in his Clan.

Pryde was determined to use all that strength and cunning to ensure a Falcon victory on Twycross. The planet held a special place of contempt in the hearts of all Jade Falcons, and it remained a source of special disgrace for the Falcon Guards. The warriors of the original Falcon Guards had been bested on the desert planet by a single Inner Sphere soldier; their own arrogance and hunger for glory had led them to ignore danger and embrace death here. Ravill Pryde did not fear death, but he did not desire it either. He was ordered to engage and destroy the Wolf Clan forces, and he intended to do just that. His forces would give no quarter and expect none in return. The bodies of Wolves would litter the sand of Twycross this time, and the Falcon Guards would finally shed their disgrace.

As expected, the fighting on Denizli had taken a heavy toll on Khan Natasha Kerensky's forces. The Wolf Khan had set a near-inhuman pace for her
warriors, and they had begun to show signs of fatigue. The Black Widow chose her next target in an attempt to speed the achievement of her overarching goal - destroying as many Falcon units as possible. By targeting Twycross, site of the Falcons' most humiliating defeat, Khan Natasha hoped to goad Falcon saKhan Chistu into committing a large force of front-line troops to battle.

However, Chistu refused to fall victim to her scheme. In a show of disdain for the aging Wolf Khan, he assigned the Fifth Talon, Sixth Provisional Garrison, and the 18th Falcon Regulars - all inexperienced garrison units - to Twycross. Chistu wante to do more than insult Natasha; he wanted to humiliate his opponent, and so he added the Falcon Guards to the list of troops. Their mere presence would show Khan Kerensky the seething contempt he held for her, and the shame of their predecessors' defeat might spur the Falcon Guards on to great success.

The battle on Twycross began on the Plain of Curtains, where fierce winds swept the shifting red sands and forced the Falcon and Wolf 'Mechs into close combat. The Wolves set up in a diamond formation, at the edge of the plain in front of the Great Gash. The 341st Assault Cluster stood in the front of the formation, the 3rd Battle Clyster and the 352nd Assault Cluster formed the sides, and Khan Natasha's 13th Wolf Guards formed the rear.

When the Falcon 6th Provision Garrison Cluster struck at the Wolves, the 341st quickly fell back, as instructed. That maneuver drew the pursuing 6th Provo into the diamond, and the 3rd Battle Cluster and the 352nd opened fire on the enemy's flanks, decimating the surprised Falcons. The Falcon's 5th Talon and the 18th Regulars approached more cautiously, however. As those units engaged the 341st, the Falcon Guards advanced to reinforce the attack. Heavy fighting ensued, and both sides took extensive casualties. Then the 341st broke off from the battle and passed into the Great Gash, quickly followed by the 3rd Battle Cluster and the 352nd. Meanwhile, the 13th Wolf Guards slowly retreated until they stood at the mouth of the Gash.

Khan Natasha had hoped to draw the Falcons into the Gash. She stationed the 11th Battle Cluster along the sides of the Gash and planned to ambush the Falcon 'Mechs as they marched into the valley. The Falcons did not fall for the bait, however. At that point, Khan Natasha ordered the Wolf units to evacuate Twycross, and she remained behind to challenge the Falcon commanders to individual combat. And so on December 7, 3057, Khan Natasha Kerensky of the Wolf Clan, the infamous Black Widow, died amid the blood-red sands of Twycross.

Wotan, Jade Falcon Occupation Zone.
10 October, 3057.

Aboard the DropShip Lobo Negro, Ulric Kerensky began the batchall against saKhan Chistu of the Jade Falcons. "I see that our arrival surprises you,
Vandervahn Chistu. Perhaps you should concede the planet now and save yourself the shame of defeat."

For a moment, Chistu looked at the holographic display in silence. Although the Falcon saKhan's countenance revealed little, Ulric thought he detected surprise - and perhaps even a touch of fear - behind Chistu's cold gray eyes. Then suddenly the saKhan's confidence seemed to return.

"Your threats are empty, old man," Chistu replied. "Not even the remnants of the dead Black Widow's pathetic forces can make you a match for my units on Wotan. You have inconvenienced me somewhat, mo more."

Ulric laughed. "We are five hours from planetfall, saKhan. I have a full Galaxy of BattleMechs and I intend to use every one of them to kill every Falcon I see. Can you match my bid, or must I slash my forces to meet whatever smattering of units you can scrape together?"

"I will meet you with an equal force, Ulric," Chistu growled. "And I want to see the fear on your face when you die - I challenge you to combat in a Circle of Equals!"

Ulric raised an eyebrow, momentarily caught off-guard. "As you will, Vahn. I accept your challenge."

"You will address me as saKhan Vandervahn Chistu, Star Colonel!" Chistu shouted at Ulric's holographic image. "I am your genetic superior by two
generations, I am Falcon, and I outrank you. I challenge you only to ensure personally that the taint of your genes be removed from Our Founder's name. You and your kind are an abomination, Ulric Kerensky, and I will see you dead!"

"A wise woman told me a secret once," Ulric replied. "She said that old age and experience will beat youth and ignorance every time. Today we put her words to the test, qiuaff?"

With a savage gesture, Chistu cut off the communication link. Safe from Ulric's sharp eyes, he sat back in his chair and smiled grimly. He had shown Ulric the enraged, shrieking Falcon that the Wolf commander had expected to see. If Ulric was foolish enough to believe the performance, the treacherous Wolf would pay dearly for his mistake.

Barealtown, Wotan. Jade Falcon Occupation Zone.
10 October, 3057.

On December 10, 3057, Star Colonel Ulric Kerensky and the Tau Battle Group entered the Butler system. Many Wolf officers - and their Falcon
counterparts, undoubtedly - were taken by surprise when the attack force then made a second jump to Wotan, where the Falcon Khans had made their headquarters.

An hour after the vanguard of the Wolf Clan Battle Group reached the Wotan system, the remnants of Khan Natasha Kerensky's units joined them. The combined strength of both groups gave Star Colonel Ulric Kerensky a little more than a Galxy of frontline 'Mechs with aerospace and Elemental support.

The Falcons fielded approximately the same number of units. These forces had taken fortified positions in Wotan's capital city, Borealtown, where they awaited the Wolf attackers.

The Battle for Borealtown proved one of the costliest engagements of the Refusal War for both the Wolf Clan and the Jade Falcon Clan. Although the sides were roughly even in terms of numbers, the Falcon defenders consisted of fresh, frontline troops, as opposed to the second-line and garrison units that had engaged the Wolves in most of the earlier fighting. Additionally, the Falcons had created numerous fortifications both outside and in the city of Borealtown itself. These proud Falcon MechWarriors were eager to avenge the humiliating losses the Wolves had inflicted on the Jade Falcon Clan in the earlier battles of the war. Additionally, the Falcon commanders were determined to defend the headquarters of the Jade Falcon Occupation Zone.

However, the battle-weary units of the Wolf attack force were highly motivated as well. Many sensed that the very future of their Clan might hinge on this battle, and they fought accordingly. In the end the Falcons held Borealtown, but neither side could truly claim victory. Both had suffered upwards of 80 percent casualties in he fierce urban combat, and many units that fought there would never recover.

Despite these devastating losses, the most important skirmish of the battle occurred on a much smaller scale. For even as the battle raged, Star Colonel Ulric Kerensky led a lone Star of Wolf OmniMechs into the heart of the city in search of Vandervahn Chistu, saKhan of Clan Jade Falcon.

SaKhan Vandervahn Chistu listened as the Falcon scouts reported the progress of Ulric and his Star. Everything was in place. Ulric seemed to have fallen for the trap and now nothing would be able to stop Chistu's plans. He thought back to the conversation he had with Khan Crichell just over an hour ago. Crichell thought that challenging Ulric had been a mistake. If Chistu were defeated, the Wolves would win the Trial of Refusal and everything the Falcons had fought for would be for naught, the aging Falcon Khan had said. The Grand Council might even elect a Wolf as ilKhan, Crichell had raved. As usual, Chistu calmed the older Khan and assured him that every precaution had been taken to ensure that Ulric could not win.

Chistu was shaken from his thoughts when a scout reported that Ulric's Star was making its way into the Magistracy's area. He quickly punched the buttons to the left of his communication console and focused his attention on the small monitor screen above his Executioner's instrument array. The monitor showed the running fights that were so common during urban engagements. 'Mechs darted in and out of streets and buildings, leaving destruction in their paths. He watched intently as the Wolf Star entered view. Ulric was as good a MechWarrior as the Clans produced - perhaps one of the best, but precautions had been taken. Precautions that would ensure victory for the Falcons.

Yes, soon the Refusal War would end and saKhan Vandervahn Chistu of the Jade Falcons would emerge as the ultimate victor. He would kill Ulric
Kerensky, leader of the Wolf Clan, leader of the Wardens, architect of the Truce of Tukayyid. All the glory Kerensky had gained would fall to Vandervahn Chistu, and the saKhan would become the logical choice to lead the Clans to victory on Terra.

As Wolf OmniFighters streaked out of their DropShips toward the city of Borealtown, the city seemed to come to life. Beams of ruby, emerald, and sapphire light stabbed into the sky, and soon the sound of explosions rocked the night. Within minutes small spots of bright orange flame appeared in the darkened city streets, marking the spots where the fighters' bombs had struck. In the rolling hills outside the darkened city, waves of Wolf DropShips landed and unleashed their cargo of 'Mechs.

Within minutes Wolf OmniMechs had reached the city and began to slug it out with the Falcon 'Mechs that hid behind the empty buildings and darted through the narrow avenues. In the middle of the chaos, a Star of Wolf 'Mechs circled one of their own and made their way into Borealtown.

The group of 'Mechs met little resistance as they made their way to the heart of the city. The area was built on the highest point in the city and provided a spectacular view of the once thriving metropolis, but the MechWarriors did not notice. Then they reached a ring of buildings and encountered a lone Jade Falcon Executioner. They had found their prey.

After performing the batchall with Ulric Kerensky, Chistu prepared his ambush. First, he separated two Stars of OmniMechs from the Clusters he had
stationed on Borealtown. Then, Falcon techs reconfigured the 'Mechs for use as missile batteries. The 'Mechs took positions in a plaza three blocks behind the Magistracy area where the two MechWarriors planned to duel. As soon as Ulric and the Wolf 'Mechs appeared, Chistu fed the hidden Falcon Stars telemetry on Ulric's position. Before the Wolves recognized Chistu's treachery, the hidden Falcon 'Mechs sent flights of LRM missiles at Ulric's Gargoyle, destroying the 'Mech and the adjacent Wolf 'Mechs. Then Chistu finished off the remaining Wolf 'Mechs.

Morges, Jade Falcon Occupation Zone.
13 October, 3057.

"War is never really won by anyone who participates in it. War simply rearranges the way things were and steals the promise of tomorrow from each side. To succeed at war you have to lose a part of your humanity. After you win enough wars, you have no humanity left because you lost a piece of it each time you killed someone."
- Excerpt from the private diary of Major Leon James of the Kell Hounds.

Inside his Wolfhound, saKhan Phelan Ward of the Wolf Clan watched the early morning sky lighten over Icegrief Pass. Howling winds buffeted his 'Mech, blowing clouds of snow and ice before them, but the knife-edged cold could not penetrate the cockpit. Soon the sun would rise and strike a thousand sparks from the snow-covered ground. The Jade Falcons would land before too much longer, and then battle must be joined.

A harsh voice crackled over Phelan's comm channel. "This is Star Colonel Angeline Mattlov of Clan Jade Falcon. I have a message for the freebirth called Phelan Ward."

Phelan flicked a switch and answered. "Have you come to your senses, Star Colonel, and decided to withdraw your forces without a fight? Such wisdom deserves mercy. I will allow you and your warriors to leave this system - without your 'Mechs, of course."

"Bold words, freebirth - but worth little. I have the honor to announce the death of the traitor, Star Colonel Ulric Kerensky. He died on Wotan, in a Circle of Equals, at the hands of our saKhan Vandervahn Chistu."

Suddenly cold, Phelan could muster no reply. After a moment of silence, Mattlov's gloating voice continued. "After the traitor's death, our forces destroyed the Wolves' command and control units. The few Wolf warriors who fled their utter defeat on Wotan will not reach you in time to reinforce your meager strength. You and your Wolves are lost, Phelan. Without the Black Widow and the Gray Wolf, you will fall as they did."

Natasha and Ulric. Both dead. Only I am left. Phelan closed his eyes and pushed his grief to the back of his mind. He suddenly wanted to laugh his defiance in Mattlov's face. She expected her bombshell to demoralize him and his troops. Instead, the knowledge of Ulric's sacrifice had the opposite effect. Unconsciously straightening in his command couch, Phelan answered the only way he could.

"Wrong as usual, old woman," he said. "We revere the spirits of Ulric and Natasha even more with their passing. So much did they trust in us that they gladly risked death to ensure that we could destroy you here. Once again you have underestimated us - and your Galaxy will pay the price for your folly."

 

On December 5, 3057, the Jade Falcon Omicron and Peregrine Galaxies arrived in the Morges system to exterminate the remaining warriors of the Wolf Clan. Much to their surprise, they found themselves facing not the two Wolf Galaxies they had expected, but one Wolf Galaxy and two regiments of the Kell Hounds, the famed Inner Sphere mercenary unit. Khan Phelan also bid his Sixteenth Battle Cluster and chose the southern polar continent of Morges as the site of the battle.

Furious at being forced to fight "a gang of dirty freebirths," Star Colonel Angeline Mattlov bid all the forces at her disposal: five front-line Clusters, five garrison Clusters, and even a solahma unit. The Jade Falcons dropped onto Morges on 13 December, into the teeth of Khan Phelan's fortified and entrenched combined-arms forces. The frozen landscape of Icegrief Pass became the first of many battlegrounds in a conflict that would decide the fate of Clans Wolf and Jade Falcon.

The Kell Hounds pounded the Falcons at Icegrief Pass, thanks to a concerted effort by the mercenaries that cost the Falcons the entire 4th Talon Cluster. During the savage fighting, several Falcon Mechwarriors ejected from their 'Mechs, only to be caught in a barrage of laser fire from their Inner Sphere opponents. Once again, the Hounds showed the Jade Falcons the folly of underestimating the MechWarriors of the Inner Sphere.

 

Khan Phelan Ward glanced down at the map displayed on his Nova's secondary monitor. According to the map, he and the 4th Wolf Guards were practically on top of the Jade Falcons, though he could see nothing through the raging blizzard outside. Chill, 70-kph winds buffeted his 'Mech and tossed clouds of snow and ice into the frigid air. Phelan took some comfort in the knowledge that the Falcons would find it just as hard to spot the Wolf 'Mechs.

"All units, begin magnetic-resonance scanning," Phelan ordered his troops. "And remember, we can make the cold work for us. At these temperatures, you can run hotter than normal, so when you see the enemy, keep shooting."

Suddenly, Phelan's MRI scanners registered a vaguely humanoid shape ahead. His targeting computer identified the object as a Hellhound. Phelan lined up the crosshairs on it and fired, vaporizing the armor covering the Falcon 'Mech's left torso. He grinned as he prepared to fire again. With a little luck, the Jade Falcons' stockpile of munitions and spare parts would soon belong to the Wolf Clan.

After their defeat at Icegrief Pass, the Jade Falcons fought all the harder against their Wolf Clan enemies. After several long days of conflict, the concerted effort of the 4th Falcon Velites, the 89th Striker cluster, and the Peregrine Eyrie Cluster drove the Wolves' 279th and 16th Battle Clusters from their positions at Carson Rift. Intent on obliterating the Wolf forces, the Falcons had configured their 'Mechs to use ballistic instead of energy weapons for maximum destructive effect; this decision gave the Wolf forces one chance to turn the tables.

The beleaguered Wolf 'Mechs slowly pulled back through the raging blizzard to their second-line defensive positions. As they did so, they forced the Falcons to expend as much ammunition as possible so that they would have to resupply from their landing base at Broken Hope. When the Kell Hounds intercepted Star Colonel Angeline Mattlov's order to form a resupply convoy between Broken Hope and Carson Rift, Khan Phelan and his 4th Wolf Guards swung into action. They raced to take Broken Hope and cut off the Falcons' resupply line, thereby leaving the Falcon units easy targets for the rest of the Wolf Clan forces. Only a single garrison Cluster from Peregrine Galaxy stood in their way.

The Wolf assault on Broken Hope caught the Jade Falcon defenders by surprise. Although they fought well, the second-line Falcon garrison troops proved no match for the Wolf attackers. As soon as the garrison commander realized this, he called Star Colonel Mattlov for reinforcements.

The Star Colonel dispatched the Falcon Velites and 4th Striker Clusters to relieve the garrison then ordered the rest of her troops to pull back from their current positions at Carson Rift and regroup at the Bay of Broken Hope, six kilometers away from the supply depot. Realizing that her forces would soon be outgunned, Angeline Mattlov had chosen to make her last stand on the shore of the icy bay. Mattlov knew the Wolves might drive the Falcons from Morges, but she was determined to make them pay a very high price for any victory.

 

"I am not particularly proud of what happened at Broken Hope on that cold morning. I do not think that any of our pilots, MechWarriors, or commanders are proud either. And none of us expressed any happiness at our victory - for the deaths of warriors is never a cause for celebration. Certainly, we were relieved that the threat to Clan Wolf had been eliminated. But none of the usual high spirits that usually accompany a victory were present that day. Instead, a sense of weariness, a sense of loss, seemed to hang over our victory.

The outcome of the battle was far from certain as our forces gathered among the rolling, windswept hills twenty kilometers east of the Bay of Broken Hope. Ice and snow lay undisturbed on the mammoth green hulls of the Jade Falcon DropShips, and Khan Phelan must have realized that the battered force had no intention of withdrawing. He must have realized that the Falcons were determined that the fate of the Wolf Clan would be decided in the frozen, forgotten wastelands of Morges. I believe that is why he gave the orders that he did."
- Excerpt from the diary of Pilot Vyktor, Clan Wolf.

Ten days of fighting in the frozen wastes of Australarctica had taken a heavy toll on both the Jade Falcons and the Wolves. Two Galaxies of Falcons had dropped onto the planet - five front-line Clusters and four garrison Clusters. Now only three front-line Clusters and two of the Falcons' garrison Clusters remained operational. Additionally, severe ammunition shortages had reduced the effectiveness of all Falcon combat units and left two of the Falcon Clusters operating at half their capability, but the fighting had significantly weakened the Wolf forces, also. Six Stars of 'Mechs had been destroyed or rendered inoperable, and three Elemental points had perished as well. The Kell Hounds had lost five BattleMech lances.

Despite their losses, both sides remained fully capable of destroying one another, and neither side could afford to pull out of the battle. The Falcon forces represented that Clan's only intact units remaining - and the Jade Falcons' only hope for destroying the Wolves on the battlefield. For the Wolves, the stakes were even higher. Khan Phelan's forces carried the genetic legacy of the Wolf Clan, and so a defeat could spell the permanent end of the Clan.

Both commanders realized that the fighting would leave one of the forces destroyed, and quite possibly both. For a brief period, an uneasy calm fell over the battlefield, as if both commanders were reluctant to resume the battle. Then the roar of aerospace fighters broke the stillness.

As the MechWarriors of Clan Wolf watched from their protected positions in the hills. Wolf aerospace fighters swarmed through the frigid air. Using missiles, lasers, and PPCs, the fighters unleashed a hellish rain of death down onto the Falcon forces. Flight after flight of Falcon aerospace fighters scrambled from their DropShips to defend the Falcon 'Mechs, but almost immediately they ran into waves of Kell Hound fighters. Within minutes, a tangled mass of fighters filled the skies over Broken Hope, twisting and turning amid the angry, stabbing beams of PPCs and lasers and the burning dots of tracers. As the Falcon fighters tried in vain to destroy the mercenary fighters, the Wolf aerospace wings continued their strafing runs, streaking over the Falcon command center then disappearing into the jagged hills, then returning to inflict further damage on their targets. Soon large clouds of steam, smoke, flame, and shrapnel filled the air, creating a black fog that obscured the Falcon positions. Open commlink channels crackled with the terse commands of aerospace pilots and the cries of wounded and dying MechWarriors.

When the last Falcon aerospace fighter fell from the sky, the Wolf fighters ceased their onslaught and Khan Phelan led the 'Mechs of the Wolves and Kell Hounds toward the Falcon positions. There they found a scene of overwhelming devastation. The twisted forms of blackened 'Mechs littered the ground, and small fires seemed to burn everywhere, attracting small groups of Falcon MechWarriors huddling against the cold.

It was ended. The Jade Falcons, who had come to Morges to destroy the Wolves, had themselves been destroyed. The brutal campaign called the Refusal War was over, and the Wolf Clan had triumphed.


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