Clan Refusal War
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Clan Refusal War |
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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 "supremacist" 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 supremacist, 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."
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
ilKlan. 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 Supremacist 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.
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.
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.
"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.
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 under defended.
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.
"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 means 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 neurohelmeet. 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.
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.
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 wanted 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 Cluster 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.
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.
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 Galaxy 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.
"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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