Black May

Black May was the name given to a series of nerve agent attacks orchestrated by the Thuggee Cult against various targets, mostly within the St. Ives Compact, during the brief Capellan-St. Ives War in May of 3062.

History

The attacks were orchestrated by Kali Liao, sister of the reigning Chancellor of the Capellan Confederation, Sun-Tzu Liao, as a means to bring a swift conclusion to the war. The plot was revealed by Kali to Sun-Tzu on the second of May, the day the attacks began. Realizing the implications of releasing a nerve agent during a war, Sun-Tzu Liao hurriedly informed Candace Liao, head of the St. Ives Compact, of what information the Maskirovka had extracted from Kali. The Thuggee had stolen fifteen canisters of nerve agent, enough to kill over five million people.

Specific attacks

The warning came too late to stop the first wave of attacks. Making use of the same nerve agent that had been used to kill an entire battalion of the Nightriders regiment of McCarron's Armored Cavalry on Wei, members of the Thuggee cult targeted political and military targets within the St. Ives Compact. The attack on St. Ives was to be launched by a JumpShip, the You dú Xin-Zàng, carrying a single DropShip and a lone old Lucifer fighter loaded with rockets containing the gas. However, during the final leg the ship suffered a misjump and was almost destroyed. The crew was killed or left half-dead. The You dú Xin-Zàng was boarded by a Compact rescue team led by Davion General Simone Devon, but when they found the Lucifer pilot still in his cockpit, he launched the rockets, killing the general and most of the other people aboard. Later, the Thuggee launched another six suicide attacks on the royal palace on St. Ives, using various vehicles, but all were destroyed before reaching their target.

An attack by Thuggee infiltrators in Warrior House Ijori was planned but ultimately thwarted. The Thuggee infiltrators received a shipment of Wei nerve gas canisters with the intent of attacking St. Ives. Fortunately, their plan was discovered by an infantry platoon leader who was able to warn the Ijori House leaders. This resulted in a battle inside the Ijori stronghold that ended when a young MechWarrior smashed a canister, killing himself and another fifty Ijori warriors, bringing the ill-fated plot to an end.

The Seventh FedCom RCT, one of the units defending the Compact, lost most of its senior officers in the attacks.

The attack on St. Loris was done by a DropShip launching gas rockets. The target was Cassandra Allard-Liao, who was leading a group of Khorsakov's Cossacks, but she was warned and saved by Tamas Rubinsky of the Rubinsky's Light Horse mercenary regiment. On Indicass, the target was a pavilion where Tormano Liao was to make a speech. A hovercar attacked the meeting, being destroyed by a Helios BattleMech piloted by Treyhang Liao, son of Tormano, but it was too late. The gas killed most of the people present, including Tormano and planetary governor Siddara. Treyhang, however, survived in his 'Mech. An attempt was even made on Isis Marik, who was departing the Confederation after being dismissed by Sun-Tzu, but a Capellan escort destroyer neutralized the Thuggee JumpShip as soon as it entered the Necromo system.

The "Black May" attacks continued periodically from 2 May until the beginning of June. In all, around 100,000 lives were lost to the Black May attacks; a small number when compared to the 1,000,000 initially estimated. Sun-Tzu's quick thinking saved thousands of lives, but the political fallout from the sinister attacks only fueled resistance in the Compact and mired Confederation progress in the Capellan-St. Ives War.

Notable casualties

• Colonel Samuel Raymond, commanding officer of Marcella's Armored Infantry, killed in a nerve gas attack on Brighton.
• Tormano Liao, the former head of Free Capella.
• Governor Gustavo Siddara
• General Simone Devon, a military liaison to the Compact from the Federated Commonwealth.
• Tamas Rubinsky, who survived extensive lung and neurological injuries but was left unable to pilot a BattleMech.

Consequences

As a direct result of the attacks, Kali Liao was imprisoned by her brother and sent to Atreus to stand before a war crimes tribunal composed of Captain-General Thomas Marik, Magestrix Emma Centrella, and a representative from the St. Ives Compact. Though she was acquitted on grounds of insanity, Sun-Tzu exiled her to Highspire and supposedly disbanded her cult of Thuggee followers. The casualties turned the war much more vicious, with both sides escalating their brutality. Ironically, the attacks did not end the Capellan war effort, just the opposite. Only after three years did St. Ives negotiate an end to the war.

Bibliography

• Field Manual: Capellan Confederation
• Field Manual: Federated Suns
• Field Manual: Updates
• Shrapnel Issue 14
• The Killing Fields (novel)