Editing Hendrik Grimm III

{{InfoBoxCharacter
| image               = 
| caption             = 
| name                = Hendrik Grimm III
| birthdate           = [[2977]]<ref name=bd>Described as 48 years old in the ''The Periphery (1st Ed.)'' sourcebook, p. 149; the sourcebook is implicitly dated 3025</ref>
| died                = 6 December [[3049]]<ref name=GS>''Grimm Sentence''</ref>
| othernames          = 
| affiliation         = [[House Grimm]]
| rank                = 
| title               = King
| position            = 
| profession          = Pirate King
| parents             = 
| siblings            = 
| spouse              = 
| children            = [[Ella Grimm]]<ref name=GS/><br/>[[Johann Grimm]]<ref name=GS/><br/>[[Karl Grimm]]<ref name=GS/><br/>(possibly also [[Hendrik Grimm IV]])
}}
'''Hendrik Grimm III''' was both the best-known and also the last ruler (King) of the [[Oberon Confederation]] before it was overrun by the [[Clans]], supposed actions attributed to [[Hendrik Grimm IV]] nonwithstanding. Hendrik III is widely regarded as the king who turned the pirate realm into a more or less legit periphery state.

==History==
===Early Life===
Born in [[2977]],<ref name=bd/> Hendrik Grimm III was a direct descendant of Colonel [[Hendrik Grimm]], a [[Lyran Commonwealth]] officer commanding the [[6th Lyran Regulars]] regiment which was battered by [[House Marik]] troops on [[Graham IV]]. Blaming their near destruction on poor leadership, he and the remains of his unit deserted [[House Steiner]] and settled on the Periphery world of [[Oberon VI]] at some time between [[2829]] and around [[2855]].<ref>''The Periphery (1st Ed.)'', p. 148</ref><ref>''House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)'', p. 56, "Tales of Grimm"</ref> The Grimm family has been ruling the world ever since.<ref>The Grimm family had been ruling over Oberon VI for "over 170 years" as of 3025, according to the Battledroids rulebook, p. 5; reproduced verbatim in the BattleTech 2nd Ed. rulebook</ref>

While the Oberon Confederation had existed in one form or another since [[2775]], it had long since faded away and existed largely on paper. [[Hendrik Grimm II]], the grandfather of Hendrik Grimm III, (re-)founded the Oberon Confederation as a mockery of a state in [[3012]] and turned Oberon into his pirate base.<ref name=P79>''The Periphery (2nd Ed.)'', p. 79</ref> However, rule over the Oberon Confederation fell to Hendrik III within the same year (3012), after an implied interim rule by Hendrik III's unnamed father who simply continued the brutal piracy business.<ref name=P149>''The Periphery (1st Ed.)'', p. 149</ref> 

===King of Oberon===
It was Hendrik III who, beginning in 3012, slowly turned the Oberon Confederation into a stable, self-sustaining mini-state that could be taken serious as a political entity (as opposed to a group of pirates).<ref name=P149/> He established diplomatic relations with the [[Draconis Combine]], the [[Lyran Commonwealth]] and the [[Elysian Fields]] among others and generally favored trade and mercenary work over piracy.<ref name=P149/> Still, his forces were feared for destroying any property they could not carry off when looting, and savagely mistreating their prisoners whom they often enslaved.

In [[3024]], a diplomatic mission by Lyran Commonwealth Viscount [[Olin Vogel]] sought to obtain troops from the Oberon Confederation to garrison [[Trellwan]], but a rogue faction within the Confederation subverted the mission and turned it into a sneak attack on the Lyran forces on the planet, on behalf of the Draconis Combine.<ref>''Decision at Thunder Rift''</ref>

By [[3025]], Hendrik III was leading a coalition of 12 other pirate kingdoms.<ref name=P149/> The Lyran Commonwealth courted his realm with money and spare parts, hoping to win his support against the Draconis Combine despite the Trellwan debacle.<ref>''House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)'', p. 96 - "Interstellar Relations - The Periphery"</ref>

In 3035 he oversaw a raid on [[Damian]], where he outmaneuvered [[Sorenson's Sabres]], a component of the [[5th Sword of Light]]. This raid netted three [[DropShip]]s of cargo.<ref>''Starterbook: Sword and Dragon'', p. 35</ref>

At some point in the mid-to-late 3040s,<ref>Hendrik Grimm III tells this story in late 3049; Morrison's Extractors, whom he framed to deflect suspicion away from his own forces, only came into being at an unspecified point in time around the mid-3040s.</ref> Hendrik III had been paid handsomely by the Draconis Combine for a covert mission to [[Arluna]] (carried out as ostensibly a smash-and-grab raid for some gold reserves) to bring exiles from there back to Combine space. Hendrik III secretly double-crossed the Combine by bringing only half of the exiles back, selling the other half to the [[Free Rasalhague Republic]] underworld for yet greater gain. As part of the cover-up, he spread false reports that he had died and Hendrik Grimm IV was now in command, thereby suggesting internal upheaval within the Oberon Confederation which would in turn lend credence to the misinformation that it had been [[Morrison's Extractors]], and not Hendrik III's forces, who had carried out the raid.<ref name=GS/>

===Clan Invasion===
[[Clan Wolf]] quickly overran the Oberon Confederation when the [[Clan Invasion]] came in in [[3049]], and Oberon VI was conquered in September of that year.

Hendrik III took to the field in a modified ''[[Atlas (BattleMech)|Atlas]]'' and tried to kill himself in the cockpit with a gunshot to his head after his forces suffered their final defeat at Kennedy Beach, fearing the unknown raiders were specifically seeking to capture him because of the double-cross at Arluna. Despite the wound, he was captured alive by [[Clan Wolf]] forces. Always distrustful of others, he did not believe the Clan's explanations about who they were, and presumed they might be a secret [[Com Guards]] force instead. Eventually, he divined from the questioning they were putting him through that the attackers were not actually interested in Oberon VI, but wanted to move on and conquer the [[Inner Sphere]]. He correctly predicted they would only leave a small garrison behind.<ref name=GS/>

Together with his sons [[Johann Grimm|Johann]] and [[Karl Grimm|Karl]], he staged a prison breakout from Grimfort within hours of the main Clan Wolf force having left the world, utilizing several secret contingency plans that he had prepared should someone try to usurp his rule. His sons were unhappy to find just how much information he had witheld from them, and Johann actively tried to convince his father to flee the planet. Hendrik III, however, was adamant that the invaders had to be crushed. Manning a company of vintage [[Rim Worlds Republic]] [['Mech]]s from his Zeta cache, Hendrik III and his followers attacked the Clan Wolf garrison but were defeated when Johann Grimm, convinced that they would be destroyed for good if they stood up to the Clan, turned on his father.<ref name=GS/>

Hendrik Grimm III was captured again, tried, and on 6 December 3049 was publicly sentenced to death at Grimfort. When he remarked that making an example of him was pointless because his people hated him anyways, Clan Wolf [[Star Commander]] [[Niamh]], who had passed his judgement, replied that he was wrong: It would be his son Karl who would be made an example of, whereas Hendrik III would be made a monument. She then proceeded to behead him with a sword.<ref name=GS/> His head was subsequently put on a pike and paraded through the city.<ref name=P79/>

==Appearance and manner==
In ca. 3019 his former lieutenant [[Redjack Ryan]] described him as a bloated drunkard and characterized him as an arrogant "aged, slightly confused befuddled grandfatherly type of a sop", but also a born recruiter and a veritable tiger when fighting in a 'Mech.<ref name=P149/>

Hendrik Grimm's appearance as of 3025 was described as bald and rather obese, giving the impression of a self-indulgent merchant with a booming voice and an infectious laugh.<ref name=P149/>

By the time he was a captive of Clan Wolf is implied that he had only one remaining eye, although from the context it is unclear when or how he would have lost his other eye (possibly from the self-inflicted gunshot wound). He also described himself as weighing nearly 160 kilos at the time. Yet despite his injury, age, and purported weight he still managed to run laps when ordered by his captors, though he found it very hard and felt he was failing whatever testing this was; his son Johann thought Hendrik III would end up being relegated to the laborer caste.<ref name=GS/>

==Legacy==
As of 3049, the three regiments of the [[Oberon Guards]] were reportedly commanded by Generals [[Hendrik Grimm IV]] ([[1st Oberon Guards|1st]]), [[Karl Grimm]] ([[2nd Oberon Guards|2nd]]) and [[Johann Grimm]] ([[3rd Oberon Guards|3rd]]), respectively.<ref>''20 Year Update'', p. 79</ref> After the defeat and occupation of the Oberon Confederation by the Clans, Johann Grimm was named as the commanding General of the independent "Oberon Guards (disarmed by Clans)" on Oberon VI in the Clan Wolf occupation zone in a report from [[3054]]<ref>''Objective Raids'', p. 49</ref> while no other mention can be found for the others, suggesting they may have been killed in the Clan invasion. It remains unclear if a Hendrik Grimm IV ever actually existed, or if the name was just used as a decoy, although various later reports treat Hendrik IV as a real person and attribute various accomplishments to him.

Hendrik Grimm III also had a daughter named [[Ella Grimm]] with whom Redjack Ryan had an affair before he parted ways with Grimm.<ref>''Unholy Union''</ref> Her fate is unknown. After escaping from Clan captivity, Hendrik III, who had suborned Oberon VI's local [[Precentor]] Rodrick to be more loyal to him than to [[ComStar]], sent his daughter a recorded message upon learning that the Clan invaders had repaired the world's [[Hyperpulse Generator]]. The content of the message remains unknown. When she received the message, Ella was somewhere in the Inner Sphere under the name "Ella Grimes".<ref name=GS/> 

==BattleMechs==
No specific BattleMech is associated with Hendrik Grimm III. As effectively a periphery bandit king, he would have used a range of different 'Mechs over time.

When Clan Wolf invaded Oberon VI, he fought in an ''Atlas'' that he had newly acquired not too long ago; its configuration was non-standard, presumably because of unspecified field repairs and modifications.

After having escaped from Clan captivity, Hendrik III piloted a vintage Rim Worlds Republic ''[[Warhammer]]'' in his last battle, which was downed.

==Trivia==
*Presented besides [[Redjack Ryan]] and [[Helmar Valasek]] as one of the periphery Pirate Kings in the rulebook of the original game, Hendrik Grimm III and his Oberon Confederation were part of the [[BattleTech]] universe right from the beginning, but played only a very minor role. They were effectively written out of the fiction through being conquered by the invading Clans.
*Alluded to as "King Overweight of Overbite" in [[Critter-TEK]].

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[20 Year Update]]''
* ''[[Battledroids]]'' rulebook
* ''[[BattleTech, 2nd Edition]]'' boardgame rulebook
* ''[[Decision at Thunder Rift]]''
* ''[[Grimm Sentence]]'' (short story)
* ''[[House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)]]''
* ''[[The Periphery (sourcebook)|The Periphery]]''
* ''[[The Periphery, 2nd Edition (sourcebook)|The Periphery, 2nd Edition]]''
* ''[[Objective Raids]]''
* ''[[Unholy Union]]''
* ''[[Starterbook: Sword and Dragon]]''

[[Category:Pirates|Grimm, Hendrik III]]
[[Category:Oberon Confederation Characters|Grimm, Hendrik III]]