Akira Brahe

Akira Brahe
Personal
Born	3001
Died	30??
Affiliation	House Kurita, Kell Hounds
Family
Parents	Yorinaga Kurita (father) Sula Brahe (mother)
Spouse	Yukiko Ostlund
Children	Yorinaga Brahe Gustav Brahe

Akira Brahe (b. 3001 - noted to be terminally ill as of 3077) is the son of Sula Brahe and Yorinaga Kurita. A MechWarrior and officer with blood ties to House Kurita of the Draconis Combine, he would renounce his allegiance to House Kurita to become a member of the Kell Hounds mercenary unit.

Appearance

Akira was described as tall, with brown hair; he had a bronze complexion, a strong-boned face, and brown Asian eyes.

Character History

Early Life

Born as Akira Kurita, the young man was raised in the Rasalhague Military District of the Draconis Combine as the son of a high-ranking noble and a woman of Rasalhagian descent.

He attended preparation school up to age 15 where he was to attend the Sun Zhang Academy. However, he was expelled from school in 3016 when word of his father's disgrace in the infamous Phantom 'Mech incident on Mallory's World arrived.

Akira and his mother were sold into slavery by order of the Rasalhague Military District's lord Marcus Kurita, following the direction of Coordinator Takashi Kurita. His grandfather Gustav Brahe "rescued" him and his mother by purchasing them. After giving permission for Akira's mother to commit suicide, he officially adopted Akira as his son.

Akira was sent to Alshain where he got a job learning to pilot 'Mechs off the assembly line for the Alshain Weapons factory. He avoided contact with rebels and dissidents and instead concentrated on learning to pilot. After three years of piloting 'Mechs and learning to repair them, he was promoted to test-pilot fully operational 'Mechs. He was noted by factory designers to have a natural intuition for piloting 'Mechs.

After three years of test piloting for Alshain, yakuza forces raided the factory Akira worked at and stole some 'Mechs. Akira took the controls of a Grand Dragon, which had been prepared for a morning combat test. Though this was his first engagement, he expertly closed in on them through darkened alleys as they tried to escape with four Panthers. The yakuza thieves had little fighting skills, and Akira downed one of the stolen machines. The others tried to save their comrade, but were no match for him and were defeated. The ISF was shamed by the fact that they earlier rejected him as a MechWarrior, yet he successfully stopped four 'Mechs at once in his first engagement. The ISF decided to reward him with a promotion of sorts, by arranging his transfer into the Legion of Vega.

In service to the Draconis Combine Mustered Service and Genyosha

Akira was given a half-operational Dragon BattleMech and put into the 11th Legion of Vega, a dumping unit for troublemakers. He was placed into a mixed-blood Rasalhague lance. He and the lance were part of a raid sent to the Lyran Commonwealth world of Ryde, where he was given a suicidal order by his chu-i but disobeyed it because it made no tactical sense. As his chu-i died in the retreat from the raid, Akira was elected to replace him. Akira cut a deal with his fellow lancemates to work together to succeed; his lance had to salvage, scrounge or outright steal parts to bring their 'Mechs back to fully operational status. In the course of his career with the 11th, he managed to manipulate ISF informers and thus solidify his power base in the unit.

In October, 3027 Akira came to the attention of chu-sa Narimasa Asano and sho-sa Tarukito Niiro. They believed that Akira would be able to bring the Genyosha's company of Rasalhague-native MechWarriors together. Akira thus met with his father, Genyosha founder Yorinaga Kurita, for the first time in years, and told him he wanted to see the officers who secured his place in the Genyosha. He recited his accomplishments and history to his future commanding officer. Yorinaga asked Akira if he would obey a command to commit seppuku. Akira proudly removed his robe to reveal his bare chest and abdomen. He asked that his father would stand as his second if possible. Yorinaga, smiling at him, ordered Asano and Niiro to prepare a place for chu-sa Brahe. When alone, Yorinaga asked why Akira bore his mother's last name. Akira painfully explained that it was his adopted father's last name and his mother committed suicide; it was the only way to save him from following her to death. He was given command of the Rasalhague 'Mech company, becoming a formal member of the Genyosha.

Discovery on Terra

In August 3028, Akira joined his father to Terra in the Coordinator's entourage to witness the wedding of Hanse Davion and Melissa Steiner. They traveled from Savannah, Georgia's spaceport to Hilton's Head Island, the headquarters of ComStar.

While on Terra, he took a tour of ComStar's facilities, and while on the tour he met a young woman named Riva Allard. The two quickly became friends while on the tour. During the tour they decided to do their own investigation of facilities. They noticed a smell, which Akira identified as 'Mech coolant. They were soon discovered, but they managed to fool the Acolytes that they were having a lovers' dispute. Riva smacked Akira into one four robed men; when he was pushed into one of the Acolyte, Akira discovered that one of them was wearing a MechWarrior's cooling vest under his robes. He decided to not tell Riva and said he needed to investigate further.

Late that night, Akira assembled a dismantled Katana from his luggage and drew a map of where he would be going. He then went to the seaside complex where he and Riva smelled the 'Mech coolant, climbed down into a vent that had been disguised as part of the rocky shore and discovered a massive cache hangar, with countless rows of BattleMechs of various size and shape, all of which were painted in gleaming white, and bearing the emblem of ComStar. Alarmed and shocked by the sight that ComStar was in possession of such a powerful army of 'Mechs, he quickly tried to return to the surface but was found and attacked by a ComStar patrol. However, his father, along with Colonels Morgan Kell and Jaime Wolf, arrived just in time to take out the ComStar patrol before they could raise alarm. Akira told his father Yorinaga:

“

Down there, I got a look beneath ComStar's facade. The Word of Blake is bound by steel...

”

The next day, Morgan Kell told Akira and Yorinaga that one of the men who attacked Akira had tattoos marking him as a periphery pirate. At his father's urging, Akira told Morgan Kell and Jaime Wolf what he had seen. When Wolf asked if there was 'Mechs construction going on, Akira responded that he had seen no equipment that indicated that were being assembled, but rather were being kept only for storage. Yorinaga announced he had not and would not inform the Coordinator of the situation. They all mutually agreed to keep quiet about the find.

Akira's father also spoke to Morgan Kell about having killed his brother Patrick Kell. The two men had a heated exchange about their shared "Phantom 'Mech ability", but since they spoke to each other in vague terms the exchange confused Akira. When he asked Colonel Wolf about it, Wolf replied that next time Mrgan and Yorinaga met in battle, they would fight to the death.

4th Succession War

In the 4th Succession War the Genyosha went to the Federated Suns world of Northwind to aid the Combine units there. They quickly realized that the Combine forces' leader, General Palmer Conti, had led his 5th Sword of Light and the 36th Dieron Regulars to attack the Kell Hounds' Third Battalion, Bradley's Bravos, in an attempt to steal glory from the Genyosha.

On January 11th, 3029, Akira's company engaged elements of Team Banzai's battalion, the Blue Blazers, in their attempt to attack Conti's command headquarters. Akira engaged the last of the enemy 'Mechs, a Phoenix Hawk; he was able to force the pilot to eject. Akira admired his work, and he found it strange that these warriors had fought so honorably. The unit he fought had sacrificed themselves to save their own people. This conflicted with what Akira had heard about mercenaries in the Combine ranks (which was that they were dishonorable, money grabbing warriors for hire). He later noticed Kuritan soldiers roughhousing a captured pilot. Akira then stopped the infantry unit's commander with his Orion from slaying the MechWarrior pilot he just had downed. He and his unit were recalled to the 5th's headquarters where they are confronted by General Conti and his ISF handler Hassan Faud who had been attempting to gain control over the Genyosha. Tai-sho Conti called for everyone to assemble for a talk regarding Akira's dispute about executing mercenary soldiers. Akira argued against the ISF agent and his agency's reasons, but Conti countered that the orders came from the Coordinator. The order was to discourage any mercenaries from fighting the DCMS. Faud gloated over Akira, and stated that he was surprised Akira was not willing to execute the Kell Hounds they had captured (Bradley's Bravos having just been rebranded as the Kell Hounds' third regiment on paper), telling Akira that they just received word that Genyosha's base on Nashira was totally destroyed by Kell Hounds' other units.

The Hunt for the Kell Hounds

In late April, the vengeful Genyosha journeyed back to Nashira. Akira accompanied his father to the top of the base's only standing structure. From the top of the building, he looked over the ruined base, and some of the buildings that had not been flattened completely had been changed into odd structures. His father explained that the base had been made into an over-sized star map for the Genyosha to follow. The building they were standing on was to represent Terra. He then pointed out that the map was where worlds would be positioned in June, and that one of the piles of bricks stood for the Lyran world of Ryde. He then recited why he and Morgan were destined to fight, telling him of his battles in 3013 and later in 3016 with Morgan Kell and the background of these battles. Yorinaga's only goal now was to destroy the Kell Hounds for what they had done.

Yorinaga went on to explain that three years later, on Mallory's World, he met the Kell Hounds again on purpose. He led the 2nd Sword and the 36th Dieron Regulars in an effort to track down and kill the mercenaries. After finding Kell, the Colonel marched his 'Mech out from his defensive position and initiated a duel challenge according to bushido tradition. Yorinaga told Akira details of their battle; he said that Morgan's strange abilities developed at the last moments of the fight, but Yorinaga had not noticed at the time. Morgan then used the rules of the duel to defeat him. Yoringa explained his infamous haiku: it was a reflection of his discovery. He believed that Morgan Kell's method of defeating him was the mythical yellow bird. Yorinaga explained that his duel with Morgan Kell showed the Draconis Combine's restriction to bushido tradition would lead to the destruction of the Draconis Combine.

In June, the Genyosha arrived on Ryde to only find the Kell Hounds had not arrived. Yorinaga ordered the re-creation of the battlefield where Kell had fought him. Shortly afterward, Genyosha forces captured a militia scout; Akira forced the scout, who was a Lieutenant, to contact his headquarters and convince them to not attack the Genyosha. He then handed over a holovid tape to be sent via HPG to Morgan Kell regarding where they wanted to meet next: Nusakan.

In August, the Genyosha were called to a meeting on Moore by Prince Theodore Kurita. At the meeting, Theodore Kurita explained his plan to strike at heart of the Isle of the Skye region of the Lyran Commonwealth. With the rebellious Lyran noble Aldo Lestrade disarming the region, Theodore could take the entire Isle in one sweep. The attack would be launched from the Lyran world of Dromini VI, and Nekekami assassins which infiltrated the militia's security would allow for an easy victory.

On October 24, the Genyosha landed on Nusakan, where they found the 5th Sword of Light had arrived ahead of them and had been fighting the Kell Hounds for a grueling 20 hours. Akira was worried that Conti would steal Yorinaga's victory from him. However, his father stated that with Morgan Kell's skills, there was little chance of his defeat. He rushed in to save the Coordinator the embarrassment of losing an entire elite regiment. Akira became frustrated by the Coordinator's actions and the Combine's treatment of his father. He asked why they should care about the Coordinator's honor when he continued to dishonor them and tried to stop them from regaining their honor. His father then scolded him and stated that the one who defends the Dragon's honor is the Coordinator.

In a desert valley lay the carnage left over from the battle that continued to play out on Nusakan's equatorial desert. As Akira moved further into a bowl-like depression, he saw operational units of the Kell Hounds and the 5th Sword standing on opposite edges watching a one-on-one duel. Fighting in the depression was the Sword's commander tai-sho Conti in his Banshee, duelling the Kell Hounds' 3rd Battalion commander Scott Bradley in his Victor. With both 'Mechs severely mauled, Bradley ripped the cockpit from the Banshee', but Conti ejected from it just in time. Akira was amazed that mere mercenaries, whom Coordinator had ordered to death, had fought so hard to honor those who had been killed.

After the Hound's victory, Akira watched his father's 'Mech approach in the now-cleared area. Just then, Morgan Kell entered the area in his Archer, and the two bowed to each other and began a duel to the death. Akira listened to exchange between the two, and Colonel Kell told Yorinaga that his ability was a curse. It had made him invincible on the battlefield, but it was a burden that he had tried to run from. He offered for Yoringa to walk away from this and to return to exile. Yorinaga refused because it would dishonor him, telling Kell that the way of the warrior is to be the best they possibly can be. Kell replied that it would only lead to death, and that death honors no one, and kell also announced that he would not kill Yorinaga Kurita. Akira watched as his father fired his PPCs at Kell's Archer as he closed in on him. In an attempt to keep his primary weaponry in range, Yoringa and Kell's Mechs danced around wildly. Yorinaga fired his entire 'Mech's arsenal into Morgan's Archer, causing it stumble to one knee. After countless, withering attacks, Kell stood his 'Mech up and bowed to Yorinaga. Akira's father started to bow his 'Mech, but it seized from excess heat (from firing all weapons in the hot desert). Over the radio, Akira listened to Kell ask Yorinaga for his forgiveness of him acting like a coward in their battle (by refusing to fire). He believed that if he had fired his weaponry they both would have died. Akira heard the sincerity in his father's voice as he apologized that only now he saw that the way of the sword is not the way. He stated that there is no shame to lose to a better warrior, and their shared ability was not the apex of being a warrior. He saw now that Kell's actions of winning without having to fight was the ultimate apex of the warrior.

Later that day, Akira assisted his father in his seppuku ceremony. Before the ceremony, Akira told the crowd that his father had not been treated fairly by the Combine, especially by the Coordinator himself. He then pointed to tai-sho Palmer Conti as an example of the corruption that now grips the Combine. He also explained how the Genyosha were given meager tasks instead of being treated as an elite unit. He even claimed that tere was more honor in Kell's actions than in the Coordinator's. With that speech, he resigned from the Genyosha and pledged his honor to Colonel Kell if he would take him. Chu-sa Asano stepped up and proclaimed that he also felt the same way, but he would wait for the Coordinator's problems to end. He told the Genyosha troops that they may leave as well to follow Akira without fear. Akira's Rasalhague Company members followed him and joined the Kell Hounds; Colonel Kell welcomed Akira to the unit.

Kell Hounds

The exact posting Akira assumed after joining the Kell Hounds is unknown. He served with the Kell Hounds for at least twenty years.

In 3051 he was one of the Kell Hounds officers sent to Luthien to defend against the incoming Clan assault. There, he met again with Theodore Kurita and his former superior Narimasa Asano, who were both were happy to meet him as an ally and not across a battlefield as they had feared..

During the Jihad, in June of 3069, Clan Jade Falcon invaded Lyran space, fighting the Hounds on Graceland. After longtime Kell Hounds officer Daniel Allard was killed by the Falcon commander, Taman Malthus, Akira took command of the Hounds, recovered Allard's body and withdrew from the planet with the remnants of their forces.

Notes

• Akira was noted for piloting an Orion BattleMech during his service with House Kurita throughout the 4th Succession War. He was a gifted BattleMech pilot, capable of putting the Panther 'Mechs he tested on Alshain through moves that the factory line engineers could not believe were possible.

Bibliography

• Masters and Minions: The StarCorps Dossiers
• Mercenary's Handbook: 3055
• Warrior: Coupé
• Warrior: Riposte