Clan Fire Mandrill

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Clan Fire Mandrill
Faction Profile
Time period:	2807 – 3073
Classification:	Clan
Controlled systems:	?
Capital world:	Shadow
Ruler title:	Khan
Military:	Clan Fire Mandrill Touman
Secret Service:	Clan Fire Mandrill Watch

Clan Descripition

A fractured Crusader Clan, Clan Fire Mandrill is divided into a number of Kindraa (Kindred Associations) based upon Bloodnames. Unlike the Cloud Cobras, this fracturization has cost the Fire Mandrills much and they are often hard-pressed to deal with outsiders, due to their internal strife.

The Clan takes its name from a genetically altered mandrill, called genus mandrillus sphinx. These mandrill, introduced by the Star League-In-Exile to the Pentagon World of Eden, earned the respect of Nicholas Kerensky for their aggressive nature and loyalty to one another, making them ideal for adoption as a Clan totem animal.

History

Formation

When IlKhan Kerensky chose to form the twenty Clans, he selected former Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery Officer Raymond Sainze as senior Khan, and declared the much younger Laura Payne as his junior saKhan. Kerensky then imposed a forty warrior limit to the invasion forces to be used in Operation Klondike.

Due to Khan Sainze's samurai traditions, he pushed his ethics of individual performance and the desire for a personal victory on his fellow Fire Mandrills. However, his upbringings left him remarkably distant, preventing the formation of relationships with colleagues within the Clan Council. This sense of competition and lack of cohesion was the first sign of Fire Mandrill's division between the Bloodnamed warriors of the Clan's original Warrior Caste. The early splitting of Fire Mandrill warriors into cliques would lead to the Kindred Associates, later known as the Kindraa.

The Mandrills would conduct a series of pre-trials to determine the quantity of supplies and resources they would utilize in Operation Klondike. The Clan's cluster that would be used in the campaign were subsequently armed with BattleMechs.

Operation Klondike

The Fire Mandrills were assigned to assault the Pentagon world of Dagda, along with Clans Burrock, Goliath Scorpion and Widowmaker. However, ilKhan Nicholas Kerensky would initially put the invasion of the planet on hold due to a helium tank rupture on one of the Invasion Forces' JumpShips.

On July 30th 2821, the Dadga Task Force arrived on-planet. While Clan Goliath Scorpion and other forces assaulted Firebase Delta, the Fire Mandrills deployed to the other side of the planet, where they were safe from the massive SDS complex's weaponry. Despite this relative security, the planetary invasion did not go as planned for Clan Fire Mandrill. Initial landings were complicated due to navigation errors, which sent a number of binaries and critical campaign supplies spread beyond the mountains and along the coasts of the Continent of Salò.

With their logistics lost and troops scattered, the Fire Mandrill campaign quickly became mired. Only half of the supplies lost in the wilds of Mount Lucca were ever recovered, and though the resident forces of Salò were not as organized or well armed, the Fire Mandrill's lack of proper provisions and organization hampered their own success. Equipment quickly ceased to function due to a lack of proper repair components, and an ammunition deficiency became detrimental to survival. The Fire Mandrill support technicians were forced to jury-rig much of their touman's equipment. Despite setbacks and growing internal feuding, the Mandrills were eventually able to take the city state of Garda.

The majority of the resistance forces in the Fire Mandrill's operational area were left in a weakened state, making them little match for the Mandrill's high-tech firepower. However, as the campaign drew to an end in the Night Labyrinth, an area of vast canyons and rocky regions, the Clan's internal disputes grew critical. The operation to clean up the last of resistance units would have been simple if not for the growing tension between Khan Sainze and saKhan Paynes. Both rivals bid away advantages such as satellite recon and aerial surveillance in an attempt to out do one another, encumbering their own forces in the process. Under normal circumstances, this mop up process would have been completed in a matter of days. Instead, the final acts of the Mandrills operations took weeks.

During the post campaign debriefings, the Clan was later criticized by ilKhan Kerensky for its inner squabbling and wasting of critical resources.

Golden Century

Like their fellows, the Fire Mandrill's also expanded and improved upon the military technology of the Star League, but their fractious nature limited their efforts to a modestly enhanced version of the Flamer.

Wars of Reveaving and Destruction

When the next Grand Council was convened in late February, 3071, the severity of the Blakist assault upon Clan Wolf's capital Tamar spurred the Clans into electing a new ilKhan. The Star Adders and Steel Vipers suggested Garret Sainze for the post, not because they believed him fit for the role but simply to make their own candidate, Star Adder Khan Stanislov N'Buta, appear as a sane choice next to the fiery and headstrong Mandrill. Sainze won the ilKhanship anyway; his shocking victory was due to a single vote, that of Diamond Shark Khan Barbara Sennet, who wanted to prevent the 'Snake Alliance' from dominating the Grand Council.

Sainze's first (and as it turned out, last) motion as ilKhan was to address the issue of the Great Refusal. Furious at the foiling of their plans, the Adder Khans led their power bloc in voting to uphold the results; combined with abstentions from Clans concerned about arousing the Adders' wrath, the Great Refusal remained in place. Disgusted at the entire political circus taking place, Scorpion Khan Ariel Suvorov declared a Trial of Refusal against Sainze's election as ilKhan, declaring him an incompetent leader with delusions of glory.

With no choice but to accept or lose what little respect he had left, Sainze met Suvorov's forces on Shadow. In a three-day campaign four Clusters from the Fire Mandrills battled a like number of Goliath Scorpions; by the end of the fighting Sainze had perished, along with most of his Kindraa's warriors.

After his demise, Clan Cloud Cobra issued a Trial of Reaving on Sainze's Bloodname, citing his failure as ilKhan and in defending his right to the post. In a narrow victory against the 149th Cobra Guards Khan Amanda Carrol and Kindraa Mick-Kline-Kreese-Sainze managed to defend Garret Sainze's legacy from Reaving.

Arriving in a much weaked state to the Grand Council in December 3071, with all Clans in attendance. Voting with the Blood Spirits, Goliath Scorpions, and Steel Vipers, Khan Carrol voted to refute the Great Refusal. With only Ice Hellions, Hell’s Horses, Ghost Bear, Coyote and Diamond Shark voting against it, the Great Refusal finally was null and void.

Two days later the Mandrill's fought with the Grand Council's call for a Trial of Annihilation against Clan Wolf. This was due to their daring raid on Strana Mechty's Kerensky Bloodchapel. However their involvement didn't have the desired effect, with their forces assaulting both McKenna and Clearwater Blood Chapels had fared badly and, desperate for some sort of victory, Star Colonel Abraxas Mick ordered the Jungle Heat to make orbital strikes. These strikes razed both Blood Chapels but also hit the Ben-Shimon Blood Chapel, Binary of nearby Star Adder troops, and caused even more fires to start. The Mandrill’s actions enraged the Adders and the Scorpions who destoryed the Jungle Heat and the Viper's to declare Mick-Kreese-Kline-Sainze Kindraa as a new target of Reaving. This Reaving was assigned the Scorpions and Coyotes to conduct.

In mid-December, the Fire Mandrill's declared Trials of Reaving against the Snuka and Vong Bloodnames on Arcadia. However the remainder of Kindraa Payne-Beyl-Grant’s touman were summarily destroyed by the 4th Bear Regulars and saKhan Aletha Kabrinski’s Silverroot Keshik. Later Kindraa Mattila-Carrol's 64th Firestrom Cluster and the 14th Scorpion Grenadiers overwhelmed the Coyotes on Glory, winning half of Coyote's holdings there.

In January 3072 Steel Viper and Goliath Scorpion arrived on Shadow to carry out with the Coyote's enclave on planet, the ilKhan assigned Reaving of Kindraa Mick-Kline-Kreese-Sainze. The resulting defeat of saKhan Dakar Mick however was to be more a surprise to all Clans. Not only did Coyote's assault only last just 36 hours, it was due to the 3-1 odds and new ProtoMech designs. In addition as the Kindraa's warriors presented themselves to the Coyotes they reacted by slaughtering all in attendance, including the attendant Viper and Scorpion warriors. The Mandrills would be the first victim of The Society.

After taking the last Ice Hellion enclaves on Barcella the Steel Vipers seized Molten, a important Kindraa Mattila-Carrol enclave. Much of the 61st Firestorm Cluster died defending the site. Retreating the Mandrills met up with the 1st Fire Assault Cluster at Mockva and attacked Reston. However they did not know that it had been recently taken by the Blood Spirits’ 79th Blood Hussars. After several storage tanks near the Trial exploded, each side claiming the other had violated the Trial, and triggered a melee that the Blood Spirits emerged the victor of. ref>The Wars of Reaving, p. 110</ref>

The Fire Mandrills lost the 301st Firebrand Cluster to the Dark Caste on Marshall in early December. Starving as there had been no supplies arriving they attempted to strike both Immesha and Ommesha in force. Thinking they would only fight the beseiged Ice Hellions they ran straight into the guns of two Dark Caste Septs and were quickly disabled. With the only Mandrill forces on planet captured, the Dark Caste claimed their Enclave.

Historical Demographics

3062

Affiliation: Crusader

Clan Space Worlds:
Atreus (65 percent)
Dagda (26 percent)
Foster (30 percent)
Huntress (16 percent)
Hoard (39 percent)
Marshall (13 percent)
Shadow (100 percent)

Capital: Shadow
Population (Clan Space): 81,719,000 (3060)
Population growth rate: 2.3 percent
Self-Sufficiency Index: 96 percent

Leaders:
Khan: Amanda Carrol
saKhan: Garret Sainze
Loremaster: Drew Tanaga
Scientist-General: Arkady (Crick)
Merchant Factor: Bianca
Master Technician: Lom
Senior Laborer: Todd

Military:
Clusters: 30
WarShips: 7

Touman

See Clan Fire Mandrill Touman.

The Kindraas are:

• Kindraa Smythe-Jewell (destroyed in 2872)
• Kindraa Sainze
• Kindraa Faraday-Tanaga
• Kindraa Payne
• Kindraa Mattila-Carrol
• Kindraa Beyl-Grant
• Kindraa Kline
• Kindraa Mick-Kreese (Goulet)

By 3067, the Kindraas had changed slightly:

• Kindraa Mick-Kreese-Kline, when a shattered Kindraa Kline reluctantly merged with Kindraa Mick-Kreese
• Kindraa Payne-Beyl-Grant, an alliance between Kindraas weakened by Kindraa Sainze

Bibliography

• Field Manual: Crusader Clans
• Historical: Operation Klondike
• The Clans: Warriors of Kerensky
• The Wars of Reaving