CLAN JADE FALCON

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Word of Blake Jihad cont...

 

During the early stages of the Jihad, the Jade Falcons launched another attack on the Lyran Alliance; the first planet to be seized was Graus, captured on the 7th of October 3068. The Jade Falcons followed this up with attacks that conquered Black Earth, Blackjack, Blue Hole and Roadside by late January 3069. The Falcons would continue to take worlds from the Lyrans throughout 3069 and 3070, although Clan Wolf launched an invasion of their own, shadowing the Falcon's advances. The Wolves also snapped up three Falcon worlds during the first two weeks of March 3069: Bessarabia, Biotaand Cusset.[6] Despite losing these three worlds to the Wolves, the Falcons pressed on against the Lyrans, capturing Mkuranga and Pasig between the 10th and 14th of June 3069 and Deia on the 15th of August.[7] The Falcons launched an attack on Zanderij in the second week of June 3070, but the campaign wouldn't be a quick occupation; defending LAAF and Clan Wolf-in-Exile forces pushed the Falcons back off Zanderij on the 12th of August.[8] An attack on the heavily fortified world of Great X also didn't go the Falcon's way, turning instead into a grinding quagmire of a campaign.[9]

 

The Falcon campaign against the Lyrans slowed in 3071; after attacking Morges on the 8th of February, the Falcons found themselves the target of attacks from Clan Hell's Horses, who had been seizing Periphery worlds from Clan Wolf for some months. The Falcons attacked the Horses on Steelton in the second week in April, while also sending a small force to Arc-Royal under a flag of truce. The last ten days of April saw the Falcons invaded themselves, as Clan Ice Hellion launched a two-part invasion of the Falcon Occupation Zone that would tie up the Falcon touman for some months.[9]Intelligence obtained by Star Captain Brian Pryde from a contact within Clan Hell's Horses had indicated in January that ninety percent or more of the Clan Ice Hellion touman had been gathered together at Nouveaux Paris in the Deep Periphery over the course of 3070 in preparation for their invasion

 

On the 15th of May 3076 the Jade Falcon Khan, Marthe Pryde, was assassinated on Sudeten by unidentified agents.

saKhan Samantha Clees is immediately elevated to the rank of Khan, and canditates for saKhan are taken.

 

Diane Anu Pryde is successful and becomes the new saKhan

 

Wars of Reaving (3067-3100)

The power vacuum which began after the Great Refusal of 3060 resulted in major infighting between the Clans, which only worsened.

 

With the Nova Cats and Ghost Bears removed to the Inner Sphere and the Smoke Jaguars destroyed, several other Clans tried to seize upon the opportunity to acquire new territory. Clan Snow Raven tried to use the distraction to carve out territory in the Periphery but then merged with the Outworlds Alliance (becoming Raven Alliance in 3083). Clan Hell's Horses attacked the Ghost Bear Dominion but were repulsed. Meanwhile, sensing weakness the Steel Vipers turned on the Jade Falcons in 3061, who nonetheless managed to crush the Steel Vipers and outright drive them from the Inner Sphere and back to the Clan Homeworlds. Clan Hell's Horses then returned to the Inner Sphere in 3071, this time to invade the already weakened Jade Falcon and Wolf occupation zones. At the same time, Clan Ice Hellions also decided to simultaneously attempt to invade the Jade Falcon occupation zone, to take advantage of the chaos. The Ice Hellions were not formally allied with the Hell's Horses nor did they formally coordinate major offensives, but there was tacit agreement to invade different regions of Jade Falcon territory so that they didn't get in each other's way. As a testament to the supremacy of the Jade Falcons, as well as the sheer amount of resources that a long-established Invader Clan could bring against newly arrived Home Clans, the Jade Falcons actually managed to once again repulse the assaults. The Hell's Horses did manage to opportunistically snatch up several worlds and maintained a foothold in the Inner Sphere, but the Ice Hellions were practically annihilated. Only a small fraction of their forces limped back to the Clan Homeworlds, but their numbers were too low to be sustainable, so they were voluntarily Absorbed by Clan Goliath Scorpion. The post-Great Refusal incursions, coupled with driving the Steel Vipers and Ice Hellions back to the Inner Sphere, ultimately precipitated the Clan Civil War.

 

The Home Clans became so disgusted with the Invader Clans, as well as jealous of their powerful conquests, that they actively turned against them, formally declaring all Invader Clans Abjured in 3075 - many had already been individually Abjured by that time, but now even the Jade Falcons and Wolves were Abjured. Clan Star Adder destroyed the meager remnants of Clan Steel Viper that had been driven back to Clan space, and it was declared officially Annihilated. Meanwhile, the Home Clans invaded any territory still held by the forces of the Invader Clans in the Homeworlds, until they were driven completely from the Kerensky Cluster. Further, the Home Clans used this as an opportunity to clean house and settle old grudges.
Known as the "Wars of Reaving", these internal conflicts explain why the Home Clans did not simply combine with the Invader Clans to conquer the entire Inner Sphere during the Successor States' time of extreme weakness during the Word of Blake Jihad.

 

This period saw the rise to dominance of Clan Star Adder, which Absorbed one other Clan and Annihilated two others. Clan Burrock had long been feuding with Clan Blood Spirit, but when they realized that the Blood Spirits were on the verge of crushing them, they were voluntarily Absorbed by Clan Star Adder in 3059. This instantly gave the Star Adders the resources of two full Clans, which they used to Annihilate the Steel Viper remnants; they proceeded to fulfill their promise to the Burrocks and destroy the Blood Spirits in 3084. Clan Coyote, longtime rivals of Clan Star Adder, were badly crushed and subjected to decimations, but after the dust had settled they were at least allowed to continue to exist as a full Clan by the Star Adders. Clan Goliath Scorpion, which had absorbed the few Ice Hellion remnants, decided to remove itself from the Clan Homeworlds themselves and conquered the nearby Periphery state of Nueva Castille (located between Clan space and the Lyran Alliance), renaming it La Escorpion del Imperio (The Scorpion Empire). Nonetheless the Goliath Scorpions remain on civil terms with the other Home Clans and are still considered one of their number - they just felt that it was better to expand into new territory than fight over diminishing returns in the war-ravaged Pentagon Worlds. Lastly, while Clan Hell's Horses had been Abjured, this only applied to its forces which had actively traveled to the Inner Sphere to carve out a foothold from Jade Falcon territory.

 

Clan Hell's Horses had actually been deeply divided over whether to invade the Inner Sphere or not, and the side composed of conservative Home Clan-minded members stayed in the Clan Homeworlds. As a result, for the second time, a new Clan was created by splitting an old one in two.

 

The original Hell's Horses were considered Abjured, but the Home Clan-aligned faction back in the Kerensky Cluster was reformed into the new "Clan Stone Lion".
Clan Diamond Shark was among the Invader Clans that the Home Clans Abjured, despite the fact that it was only a reserve force that took part in minor actions in the Clan Ghost Bear invasion corridor. In 3100 it changed its name to Clan Sea Fox, which had actually been its original name during the Golden Century in the Kerensky Cluster (before the Sea Fox was driven to near-extinction by the Diamond Shark, which had been genetically engineered by their rivals Clan Snow Raven).
Of the original 20 Clans only 12 still remained, though 2 new Clans had been created by splitting off from others, which brought the number up to 14 Clans. Four had been Annihilated: Wolverine, Smoke Jaguar, Steel Viper, and Blood Spirit. Four had been

 

Absorbed by other Clans: Widowmaker, Mongoose, Burrock, and Ice Hellion. The remaining Clans were divided between the Home and Invader factions. The Invader Clans outright formed their own new Clan council, and declared that it was the Home Clans who should be considered Abjured. The Invader Clans consisted of Jade Falcon, Wolf, Diamond Shark (renamed Sea Fox), Ghost Bear (as the Rasalhague Dominion), Snow Raven (as the Raven Alliance), and the Hell's Horses. The Home Clans consisted of Star Adder, Coyote, Cloud Cobra, Goliath Scorpion, Fire Mandrill, and Stone Lion (formed from the Home-aligned faction of Hell's Horses). Meanwhile, both the Home Clans and the Invader Clans still considered Wolf-in-Exile and Nova Cat to be Abjured, because they were officially Abjured from Clan society prior to the Wars of Reaving. The difference to the Invader Clans is that even those of them that merged with Inner Sphere states - the Ghost Bears and Snow Ravens - are technically dominant or at least fully integrated with the Inner Sphere states which they control. In contrast, the Nova Cats and Wolf-in-Exile do not "control" anything (unless granted), but are actively working for and subject to individual Successor States (the Nova Cats with the Draconis Combine, Wolf-in-Exile with the Lyran Alliance

 

Interlude prior to HPG Blackout

The Falcons took heavy damage during the Jihad; a total of 24 clusters of troops were lost, with the remaining forces reduced down to half strength, and while the foresight Marthe Pryde displayed in dispersing the various Falcon genetic legacies around the Falcon occupation zone saw them avoid a scourging at the hands of the Word of Blake akin to that of the Wolves, for unknown reasons the sibkos being produced in the early 3080s were smaller than average, leading to a shortage of warriors. This lack of strength prevented the Falcons from taking advantage of the reduced strength of the neighbouring Wolves, although some ineffective probes from the Lyran armed forces in 3080 drew a swift response from the Falcons

 

Dark Age (3132-onwards)

Falcon Incursion of the Republic

 

In March 3134, seeing an opportunity caused by the collapse of the HPG network, the Falcons made an incursion into the Republic of the Sphere. This expedition force consisted of Turkina Keshik, Deltaand Zeta Galaxies. The Expedition was lead by the political Jade Falcon radicals known as the "Mongols", following Turkina Keshik's "Mongol Doctrine". The expedition masqueraded their expedition under the guise of hunting the Clan splinter group, the Steel Wolves.

 

The invasion focused on Prefecture IX, where they captured a string of worlds in two Prefectures, including the single Lyran Commonwealth world of Chaffee. The Prefecture had been weakened by the uprising and subsequent defection of its own Prefecture military forces, principally the Stormhammers sprinter group. The Expedition Galaxies seperated, and were able to capture a number worlds until they reunited at Skye. In what was named the "1st Battle for Skye", the Falcon force utilized its assets, including its WarShip, the Emerald Talon, to cover the Expedition's landings in August. Once on the surface, the Jade Falcons' forces were tricked and out-maneuvered by the desperate Republican forces & its allies lead by Prefect Tara Campbell. forcing them to pull-back.

 

However, after months spent regrouping after this initial setback, Falcon forces resumed their battle for Skye in October. Allied Republican and splinter forces attempted to disrupt Falcon supply chains by liberating various worlds controlled by the Expedition forces. Meanwhile, the Expedition's military leader, "Khan" Malvina Hazen used nuclear weapons to disrupt the electronics within Skye's capital, forcing the defenders out of the city  In orbit, Jade Falcon's "Emerald Talon" was badly damaged and forced-off as reinforcements lead by the Lyran Commonwealth's WarShip, LAS Yggdrasil arrived.^[19] However, in late

 

December, despite their best efforts to regroup for a third strike, Falcon forces were able to overwhelm Skye's defenders and win control of the planet, forcing them to withdraw from the planet entirely

 

A Rending of Falcons: 
Jade Falcon civil war

 

A year after establishing Falcon's Reach, Malvina Hazen led the bulk of the Expedition back to Clan Jade Falcon's Occupation Zone. In September 3135 Hazen requested a Trial of Possession against Khan Jana Pryde for control of the Clan. However, Loremaster Julia Buhallin denied Malvina her trial, and Malvina in turn declared herself Khan and began attempts to claim the Expedition zone for herself. By December, Falcon forces had been fighting around the Occupation Zone, favoring Hazen in her success with Clan Hell's Horses allies.

 

[Fan Fiction AU start]
Khan Jayna Pryde mustered the entire Jade Falcon Touman at Sudeten to root out Malvinas' forces. The Khans met in early April in an officiated Trial of Possession. In a brutal 'Mech battle, and in a close space combat after thier mechs had been disabled, Khan Jayna Pryde valiantly won and killed Malvina Hazen, thus ending one of the Darkest chapters of Falcon history.

 

Hailed as hero and saviour of the Clan and its Honour, she returned to the Capital Sudeten, and began, along side her new saKhan and Loremaster Julia Buhallin, supported by the Clan, most notably Erik Chistu's Galaxy, and "Reach" Galaxy garrison under the command of Galaxy Command Nortimo Helmer, she went about making sure a repeat of Malinva and her crimes against the Way of the Clans would never happen again, to rebuild and fortify the Clan, not just in a military sense, but social and economic.

 

Shoring up the Occupation Zone in line with the Jesse Discipline, to make sure what would soon become the "Clan Jade Falcon Dominion" would become self sufficient and well defended, before anymore expansions would be performed. Including allowing suitable freebirths of the lower castes to test into the Warrior Caste for armored infantry, police, tank, and military support, freeing up more troops to bolster the Border and train for eventual expansion.

 

[Extract from "A Return of Falcons" by James Pryde 

 

"Wings of Reflection"

 

Prologue…

Falcon’s Perch
Hammarr, Sudeten
Clan Jade Falcon Occupation Zone
6 April 3136

 The Khan of Clan Jade Falcon, climbed down from her repaired Turkina omnimech, known affectionately by the name she had given it, “Green-feather”. She took a deep breath, glad to be out of the city, and the air quality of it too. She had returned to her “throne” as the Lyran “Ambassadors” had coined it. She chuckled lightly. “Mental note to self, track down those two, as I have a special plan for them” she said, as she chuckled lightly again, reminded that despite her best efforts to find them, like rats they were excellent at being hidden. Fully with both feet on the ground now, she looked up at Green-feather, nodded with respect, nodded to the two Elementals beside her now, valiantly painted in Dark Green Falcon Camo. Then at Star Colonel Hastur Chistu in her Eyrie battlemech, and Galaxy Commander Erik Chistu in his Shrike. And finally at Loremaster Julia Buhallin as she stepped out of her APC, with full Falcon robes bearing. The “victory parade” had reached the Throne. The Elementals bowed, Jayna saluted the two mechwarriors, and motioned them off, towards a nearby guard outpost. Julia joined Jayna, as they walked toward the grand entrance of Falcon’s Perch, Green-feather was taken by a Tech to a nearby Mech bay, with the two Elementals in toe to guard.

“Glad to be back, quiaff ?” Julia said, in an almost subtly sarcastic tone. She thought that Jayna would not pick it up, as not being “politically” minded. “Aff” Jayna replied. “And if you take that tone again with me, those robes will not save you from a Trial, quiaff ?!” Jayna said sharply in a semi formal, semi playful manner. “Neg, need I remind the most prestigious Khan, that loremaster’s are above Trial.” Julia toyed back again. “I have missed you too” Jayna scoffed. As they walked the steps to the entry to Falcon’s Perch. “So, my Khan on a more serious note, where do we go from here ?” Julia said. Jayna replied “the Clan is stable for now, relatively speaking, a common foe is dead, but like Turkina and her Death from above, we must act quickly to take advantage of this, and truly iron out underlying problems before we can Return again to flight.”

Heading towards her personal office, that over looked a valley, and her favourite mountain hunting, hiking and camping grounds, Sudeten’s sun was dawning. She looked at her various art works, her easel holding a half finished art work of Falcons in a tree. A small Falcon statue in the middle of her antique wooded desk, that she had made by her self from the tree’s in the mountains, along with the table top that was passed down to Khan’s, by the Loremasters, which dated back directly to that of the Founder, Elizabeth Hazen as her war planning table during the Pentagon Wars, and the Exodus.