BattleTech

[Unicron]

I got a copy of Jihad Hot Spots: Terra recently and I'm waiting on Operation Klondike. I don't buy that many sourcebooks, but it depends on what's in them. JHST has some good information on the Word of Blake's CASPAR II automated space defense system. In the days of the old Star League, the Terran Hegemony designed a highly complex and advanced Reagan SDS to serve as an ultimate defense around Terra and the core worlds. The system included warships and small craft that were fully automated and tied into a sophisticated command computer, which was also tied into support and weapon structures on nearby planets and moons. Because the ships didn't need a human crew and its associated supplies, they could afford to be faster and more heavily armored than the typical fleet warships. The command computer was programmed with the knowledge of SLDF technology and tactics, and each sector could be controlled by only a small group of human operators. In this way, theoretically at least, it would be extremely difficult for any invasion to hit Terra or other key Hegemony worlds.

Stefan Amaris gained control of this system after his coup, and was able to inflict significant damage against General Kerensky's forces during the liberation of Terra. Improved ECM systems eventually enabled the SLDF to prevail, and much of the system was destroyed during the war. After the Word took Terra in 3058, they began restoring some of the ancient defenses to protect themselves against ComStar's fleet of warships. They also modified several derelict vessels into new drone command ships, and this system was effective in repelling the Case White assault which cost ComStar most of its fleet. While the CASPAR II system was never quite on the same scale as the old Reagan, it was equally effective. Its only major weakness was the single control and command center in Rio de Janeiro, whose capture led to the system finally being overrun by coalition forces.

[Unicron]

Been reading through The Wars of Reaving, which covers what happened to the Clans while the Jihad was going on (primarily those in the Pentagon and the Kerensky Cluster). It's been very interesting to read so far, and I hope when I finish I can post some updated information. Several Clans fell in a number of violent incidents that befell the Pentagon worlds, with Clan Steel Viper leading the movement to cleanse the perceived "taint" from the Inner Sphere that had supposedly infected the invader Clans. There was also the matter of how the fall of the second Star League affected whether the Clans would still abide by the Great Refusal that effectively ended the invasion, as it was clear that the new League was no longer capable of preventing it.

It's worth mentioning too that even though the Word of Blake was responsible for launching the Jihad, the war itself was not merely a matter of them versus everyone else. There were a number of smaller conflicts that occurred between the various factions, such as the Alshain incident between House Kurita and Clan Ghost Bear, and only some of these were in some way due to Blakist manipulation. The Snow Ravens took a heavy blow when they assaulted the major Kuritan planet of Galedon, after a portion of their fleet was destroyed with surviving evidence pointing to the Combine. The planet was already the site of conflict between local Kurita and Davion forces, and during this conflict it was learned that an ancient nerve toxin had been unwittingly released into the planet's ecosystem. The toxin dated from before the Combine joined the original Star League and was designed to be slow acting.

By the time the Ravens decided to invade Galedon, much of the population had already been subtly infected and the toxin was only then becoming active to cause fatalities. Three of the five warships involved in the strike had to be scuttled when the contagion spread to the Clan crews, and the debacle was made worse for the Ravens when they finally limped back to Clan space. House Kurita was not actually involved in the sabotage, but it was carried out by a faction opposed to the rising alliance between the Snow Ravens and the Outworlds Alliance. The Ravens subsequently destroyed said faction with some help from the Alliance government, but the damage was done.

[RJDiogenes]

Is it known who released the toxin, or how it happened? It sounds like some kind of accident.

[Unicron]

It seems likely that it was purely accidental, and that the toxin was released by one of the warring factions operating on Galedon. It's possible that it could have been leaking into the ecosystem much earlier, given its long incubation cycle, and that its threat only became apparent after the Ravens had secured prisoners aboard their warships. They hit a number of neighboring planets in the Galedon district before striking the capital planet itself, and ultimately destroyed about 60% of the world's population.

[RJDiogenes]

Whoa, that's horrible. Presumably that would amount to billions of deaths.

[Unicron]

Certainly thousands, in the case of Galedon. The Snow Ravens were already facing pressure on their holdings in the homeworlds, as were the Wolves, Jade Falcons and Ghost Bears. Part of the mentality that was effected by the Steel Viper accusation of "taint" was that most (if not all) of the home Clans wanted a chance to do what they were unable to do at the time of the invasion trials, and even some of the more moderate elements were eager to believe that issues with Clan society could be fixed in a a single large stroke. When the Grand Council finally voted that the Great Refusal was no longer binding in 3071 (after several prior failed motions, and due in no small part to the Vipers gaining the ilKhanship), interestingly enough the Ravens were among the Clans that voted for a new potential invasion, as were the Goliath Scorpions who were traditionally more Warden than Crusader.

[Unicron]

Okay, I decided to finally get around to posting some of the updates from the WoR supplement. Interesting stuff. As mentioned, the Steel Vipers carried a heavy chip on their shoulder after being forced out of their shared occupation zone with Clan Jade Falcon. Khan Perigord Zalman, and later his successor Brett Andrews, began postulating what became known in the Clan homeworlds as the Taint Doctrine. Specifically, they argued that the other Clans who took part in the invasion had become corrupted over the years spent occupying their portions of the Inner Sphere, and that the best solution was to essentially reset the Clan genetic system by reaving those legacies associated with Operation Revival. If a new invasion of the Inner Sphere were to be launched, the Clans could begin free of disgrace.

The Vipers' motion, not surprisingly, generated its share of controversy. They were always quick to claim that the Clan itself was supposedly not tainted, despite being one of the auxiliary invaders during Revival, and this claim was somewhat backed up by a string of impressive victories against other Clans. The Wolves, Jade Falcons, Snow Ravens, Diamond Sharks, Hell's Horses, and Ice Hellions had all decided to ultimately pull out of the Pentagon worlds, given the unstable political situation and the dwindling resources in the Kerensky Cluster. The Hellions were more interested in claiming territory for themselves, and their failed invasion of the Falcon zone would come back to bite them in the figurative rear.

With support from the Star Adders and Cloud Cobras, Clan Steel Viper began what has since been dubbed the Wars of Reaving as the Clans attempted to follow through on removing the "tainted" genetic legacies, and the violence escalated out of proportion to what Andrews had likely intended it to be. Clan Wolf managed to salvage the Kerensky genetic legacy at significant cost, while leading its enemies to believe that the Founders' legacy was destroyed.

While this conflict was afflicting the Pentagon, the Clans faced another enemy from an entirely unexpected direction: from within. For some decades, a secret cabal dubbed the Society had been building up resources among the scientist caste. It had cells within all of the Clans, though the single largest contingent was present within Clan Coyote. The Society's ultimate goal was to replace the supremacy of the warrior caste, which tended to bar any research that wasn't primarily military or otherwise useful, with the scientist caste and give the Clans a new direction. IlKhan Andrew's decision to begin the reaving created an unplanned escalation in the cabal's plans, and they began their revolt earlier than expected. The Society used several new units and a unique organizational system to disguise their identities, and also sometimes masqueraded as existing Coyote units. They were also responsible for a brief resurrection of Clan Burrock, appealing to hardline survivors of that Clan's absorption.

The Society revolt was ultimately unsuccessful, though they did an impressive amount of damage and unleashed a number of sophisticated viruses, both biological and technological, against Clan resources. The balance of power within the Clan homeworlds has been altered drastically by both conflicts.

The Steel Vipers were annihilated by their fellows in 3075-3076 after Andrews killed Khan N'Buta of Clan Star Adder, in a manner considered unfitting a Khan or ilKhan. Despite the so called "Snake Alliance," N'Buta made it clear that the Vipers would find it difficult to avoid the claim that the so called "taint" didn't include their own history within the Inner Sphere.

Clan Ice Hellion took heavy losses in its failed invasion, and ultimately agreed to be absorbed by Clan Goliath Scorpions. The Scorpions were later abjured when it was discovered they had included genetic material from the Eridani Light Horse, a famed IS mercenary regiment, in their eugenics program. They then proceeded to invade the Deep Periphery nation of Nueva Castille and essentially merge with the existing government, forming the Escorpion Imperio.

Clan Blood Spirit also took grievous losses during the wars and from depredations by the Star Adders. By 3085, the other Clans had created enclaves on two worlds which the Spirits had discovered but been unable to completely hide away; the Spirits were annihilated while attempted to protect their resources to the last. Clan Fire Mandrill was also essentially destroyed during the war, its kindraa being worn down by poor leadership and failed raids against other Clans.

There was one rather interesting turn of events during the chaos: the creation of an entirely new Clan, the Stone Lions. During the Horse withdrawal from the Pentagon, Zeta Galaxy fought a Trial of Refusal for the right to retain control of the few remaining resources in the Horses' name. The Star Adders won the Trial, but Khan N'Buta was so impressed with the galaxy's spirit that he announced the forging of a new Clan under the alliance and protection of the Adders. Clan Stone Lion is still the weakest of the surviving Clans, but is slowly building its strength.

Clan Star Adder is now the strongest force in the Clan homeworlds, with Hannibal Banacek having succeeded to the IlKhanship. The Great Refusal was overturned during Andrews' tenure, leaving the possibility open for a future conflict with the Inner Sphere, but for now the Clans are recovering from the wars and the Society revolt. Those Clans who have taken up permanent residence in the Inner Sphere - Ghost Bear, Wolf, Jade Falcon, Hell's Horses, Diamond Shark, and Snow Raven - are considered formally abjured by their brethren and have decided to avoid all contact with them in the short term. They have formed the Council of Six to address mutual interests, though the Nova Cats and exiled Wolves are not represented since they were abjured earlier by Clan laws.

[RJDiogenes]

Aw, I wish the Scientist Cabal had won. That would have been great.

[Unicron]

It's hard to say whether their leadership would have necessarily been better, though it seems they had some relatively reasonable motives. The field of genetics was the only area where the scientists had some leeway over the warrior caste, and Andrews' call for reaving legacies caused them to move before they would have preferred. The Clans are something of an odd paradox, in that they possess so many advancements and yet there are cultural elements that seem rather hidebound and backwards. The toumans are a good example of this, as the Clans only see battlemechs as the units truly worthy of honor and respect; all other units, even warships, are seen as existing only to support mechs and are considered inferior to some extent, and therefore the Clans don't utilize such units as best as they potentially could. Clan Hell's Horses and those Clans that tend to favor other arms (such as the Cobras and Ravens) are something of an exception, but not entirely.

[RJDiogenes]

Unfortunately, it's very believable that a culture would be scientifically advanced and socially backward.