Grieg Samsonov

Property "Update Needed From" (as page type) with input value "The Galtor Campaign]], Wolves on the Border, [[Wolf Pack" contains invalid characters or is incomplete and therefore can cause unexpected results during a query or annotation process.

Grieg Samsonov
Personal
Born	2970
Died	3030
Affiliation	Draconis Combine
Profile
Rank	Warlord of the Galedon Military District
Title(s)	Knight of the Dragon

Grieg Samsonov was an early 31st Century Draconis Combine MechWarrior, Military Officer, Politician, and Warlord of the Galedon Military District.

Character Description

Samsonov was know for being a tall and handsome man, despite signs of age from wrinkles and a sagging jowl. Notable traits include having a very good sense of judgment and an aptitude for interrogation. Combined with a direct and often emotionally charged attitude, personal interactions with him could easily become difficult for anyone he disagreed with or disapproved of.

History

Early Life

Grieg was born and raised from a poor family on Tinaca. Despite their low status, the Samsonovs underwent state-sponsored education as schooling was guaranteed for all Draconis citizens. During this period, Grieg used his deductive abilities to discover a local ISF agent placed there. Soon afterwards, and unbeknownst to this agent, he would utilize the spy's resources to set himself on career to become a MechWarrior.

Career as Military Officer

While attending Wisdom of the Dragon, he learned a reasonable degree of leadership skills while excelling in administrative abilities. After graduating, he began his service in the DCMS and became involved in its political dealings. Using his administrative skills, Grieg worked within the military bureaucracy to keep whatever command he was assigned to well supplied, making him an extremely valuable officer as most Combine units at the time suffered from logistical dysfunction. His success earned the enmity of other officers, especially those of higher rank whom he regularly outperformed.

He eventually ascended to become commanding officer of the 19th Galedon Regulars. While in command, his unit conducted a successful series of raids against border worlds of the Federated Suns during the later years of the Third Succession War. Targeting Elidere, McGehee, Errai, and Kesai IV, his unit did not always win, but it usually did better than any other DCMS regiments in the area.

Warlord of the Galedon Military District

In 3018, Coordinator Takashi Kurita asked Samsonov to become the new Warlord of the Galedon Military District. He accepted the post and, as his military reign progressed, he increasingly gained both wealth and prestige. However, since the position was one of true politics and less so of actual military operations, he also became more petty. Furthermore, his antics would more often include subterfuge to further his goals, often at the cost of others.

During the Galtor III campaign, it was discovered that Samsonov was blackmailing mercenary companies within his district. These manipulations would cause significant problems during the fighting as they fueled a general distrust for the Combine Military among mercenary units. A notable consequence of this was Warlord Yoriyoshi's troops coming to suffer hardships due to their mercenary support regularly loading up with Combine-furnished supplies ahead of his house troops.

By 3025 there had been many scandals in the Hachiman government, some of which pointed to Warlord Samsonov. These eventually triggered an ISF response that included several agents being sent to infiltrate the planetary government.

Arguably, his greatest political endeavor took place from 3023 to 3028 with his conspiracy against the Wolf's Dragoons mercenary unit during their five-year contract with House Kurita.

The Dragoon Conspiracy

Initially, Samsonov was directed by the Coordinator to cause just enough discredit to the Dragoons to justify a decreased performance rating with the Mercenary Review Board. With reduced marketability among the other Houses, the likelihood of the Dragoons being hired elsewhere would become uncertain and possibly force a renewal of their contract to the Combine for a longer timeframe.

Ultimately, this plan would not only fail but backfire due to the nature of Samsonov’s methods. Under the premise of enforcing policy, he sent representatives to embed themselves with the Dragoons to report on contract fulfillment, often with intrusive and overbearing implications. Samsonov would also administratively adjust and increasingly restrict Dragoon resourcing. Eventually, he sent officers personally loyal to him to engage in espionage and sabotage against Dragoon operations.

Throughout all of this, he would openly voice his disdain for mercenaries, berate Dragoon leadership for incompetence, and regularly express his intent to have all Dragoon regiments placed under his direct control. His ire would also be directed at anyone who formed a positive relationship with the Dragoons, including the DCMS Mercenary Liaison Officer, Minobu Tetsuhara. Indeed, Minobu’s professionalism was often key to Dragoon success, which only served to hamper Samsonov’s efforts.

Eventually, tensions would reach a boiling point that caused the Dragoons to consolidate on the frozen world of Misery, where they would await their contract’s expiration (April 23rd, 3028) and any Draconis forces seeking retribution. In an effort to cover his failure to merely discredit the Dragoons, Samsonov would send the now Tai-Sho Tetsuhara to lead a punitive campaign against the mercenaries, culminating in the Battle of Misery. The battle would end in failure and cost the Combine substantial losses to several experienced DCMS units including Tetsuhara himself.

Demise

Grieg Samsonov was eventually killed in 3030 by Michi Noketsuna, a former aide and protege of Tetsuhara, at the direction of Coordinator Takashi Kurita. It was at the wedding of Hanse Davion and Melissa Steiner on Terra that the Coordinator publicly endured a humiliating rebuke from Colonel Jaime Wolf for the pointless fighting on Misery and the loss of Tai-Sho Tetsuhara. Because of this, Takashi declared Samsonov a rogue and ordered his head delivered to him on a platter.

Under the guise of the Bounty Hunter, and accompanied by ex-Dragoon officers Dechan Fraser and Jenette Rand, Noketsuna proceeded to carry out his orders. Samsonov was pursued into the Periphery before being caught and then beheaded by Noketsuna himself.

BattleMech

• Samsonov was a noted Atlas pilot, and used a personally modified version of that 'Mech during the Galtor Campaign.

Notes

• Samsonov had what warriors call the "sixth sense", an unnatural ability to anticipate approaching danger. This was the reason he was able to get away with so much without being caught.
• Samsonov had a natural aptitude for interrogation, which he uses on most everyone.

Bibliography

• Historical Turning Points: Galtor
• House Kurita (The Draconis Combine)