Gottfried Amirault

Gottfried Amirault
Personal
Born	3083
Died	3152
Affiliation	Clan Hell's Horses
Profile
Rank	Khan

Gottfried Amirault was a Khan of Clan Hell's Horses during the thirty-second century. More of a politician than a warrior, he was able to maintain both his position and his Clan's strength for several years through cautious leadership. However, his opportunistic alliance with Malvina Hazen and then the failure of Operation STAMPEDE ultimately led to Amirault's downfall and death in 3152.

History

Early Years

Being an average warrior, Gottfried was able to pass his Trial of Position with a single kill. After his trial, he was assigned to hunt pirates that were hiding out in The Barrens; his time hunting pirates was a good post for him to acquire powerful allies. These allies helped Gottfried by getting him nominated in the Trial of Bloodright for the Amirault Bloodname. Though he was unsuccessful the first time, a few years later another Bloodright trial was started and Gottfried was able to come out victorious. As a Bloodnamed warrior, Gottfried continued making contacts and alliances with his peers which allowed him to be elected to the rank of saKhan. Five years after attaining the second highest rank within the Clan, Gottfried was elected as Khan of the Hell's Horses after the death of Teresia Cooper on Waldorff.

Khan

As Khan, he has pursued to uphold the status quo that the previous Khan has set in place; it has hurt his personal honor, but it has kept his Clan strong. In the relative calm of the Pax Republica, he found his political skills most successful than his unexceptional talents as warrior, avoiding major conflicts unless victory seemed assured. His fearful capitulation to Malvina Hazen cost him the respect of other Clan leaders and strained his Clan's internal support.

Gottfried believed that the alliance between the Hell's Horses and the Jade Falcons has been a travesty that he is wanting to get away from. Malvina's blunders in the invasion of the Lyran Commonwealth have given Gottfried what he desires, being able to extract his Clan from dealing with the Falcons.

The 17 August 3150, he was planning Operation STAMPEDE, and decided to attempt to recruit the ristar Star Captain Peter Cobb.

The 21 September, he had a loud discussion which Fulk, about Stampede's execution, which was cut short by Loremaster Sachiko Ravenwater. Two days later, during and officers' meeting, Peter Cobb suggested to obtain intel in a Trial with Clan Sea Fox, but Gottfried rejected his proposal.

In November, after a series of attacks in the Barrens, Gottfried authorized a reconnaissance in force there.

IlClan Era

After leading the Second Horde Cluster to claim the planet Shaula, Amirault wanted to test the Falcon's defenses, and as the Horde uncovered than the Falcon's garrison had only two 'Mechs, and that Malvina Hazen had moved her full touman to Terra, he rejected Fulk Lassenerra's call to launch a full-scale invasion into the Falcon's territories, instead decided to launch Operation Stampede, turning it into a race to Terra with all their Clan's Warship fleet, intending to challenge for ilClanship, with Fulk's Lassanerra's assistance. Peter Cobb objected to taking all the Horses' touman to Terra, so Gottfried, at the end, only took two Galaxies, ignoring Peter's warnings about the futility of the attempt.

But before arriving on Rigil Kentarus Gottfried was contacted by the Wolf Enzi Kerensky, who invited the Horses to Terra on behalf of Alaric Ward, after the ilClan Trial. Despite being enraged for Ward's conditions, he agreed.

After landing on Unity City in May 25, 3151 and meeting the newly-elected ilKhan, he accused Ward of the claim of denying his Clan the chance to fight on Terra. Ward told him that a true Clan would have found a way to Terra. Amirault responded by challenging him to a Circle of Equals, but Alaric simply said he' as ilKhan, had no equals as the Horses Khans stormed off. Later, Ravenwater scolded Gottfried for his actions, but he refused to change his decision. The same day, when Clan Wolf was recognized as ilClan, the Horses' Khans were the only ones to not recognize him, leaving the stage in protest.

Refusing to recognize Alaric as ilKhan and adopt a subordinate status, Amirault decided to convert Operation Stampede into an operation to seize the abandoned Jade Falcon holdings to strengthen his clan, but quickly proved to be lacking the talents of a true warrior, and his hesitancy costed him dearly, especially during the Battle of Sudeten (3152): refusing to honor the Clan Jade Falcon Remnants and believing in a quick and easy victory, instead he found the Horses fighting a guerrilla war, and Amirault's excessive prudence slowed the advance, and when the cost had become too high, he ordered his forces to retreat.

Death

The sting of these defeats cost Gottfried everything: In May 13, on Colmar, his Sakhan, Fulk Lassenerra blamed him for the defeats of Sudeten and Butler by presenting evidence that most of the Falcon's 'Mechs were in fact, holograms. After presenting the charges, the Clan Council supported Lassenerra's call to a Trial of Position, which both Khans fought on the island of Tolson Atoll. Gottfried fought valiantly, but underestimated Fulk, believing that his fighter was damaged. Fulk then fired a shot at Amirault's cockpit, killing him.

After the trial, a medical team confirmed Gottfried's death and retrieved his giftake from his body. Fulk became the new Horses' Khan afterwards.

BattleMech

Gottfried's 'Mech during his career from Sudeten and into his final, Trial was a Cygnus.

Gallery

• 

  Amirault at age 62

• 

  Amirault at age 69

Bibliography

• Elements of Treason: Honor
• Era Report: 3145
• Tamar Rising
• IlClan