Hendrik Grimm III

Hendrik Grimm III
Personal
Born	2977
Died	3039
Affiliation	Oberon Confederation
Profile
Profession	Pirate
Family
Children	Ella Grimm

Hendrik Grimm III of Oberon (ca. 2977 – 3049) was both the best-known and also the last ruler (King) of the Oberon Confederation before it was overrun by the Clans.

Character History

Early Life

Hendrik Grimm III was a direct descendant of Colonel Hendrik Grimm, a Lyran Commonwealth officer commanding the 65th 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. The Grimm family has been ruling the world ever since.

It was the grandfather of Hendrik Grimm III who founded the Oberon Confederation as a mockery of a state in 3012. Hendrik's father simply continued the brutal piracy business. 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). 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. 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.

By 3025, Hendrik III was leading a coalition of 12 other pirate kingdoms.

In 3035 he oversaw a raid on Damien, where he outmaneuvered Sorenson's Sabres, a component of the 5th Sword of Light. This raid netted three DropShips of cargo.

Appearance and manner

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.

His former lieutenant Redjack Ryan 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.

Death

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. While it is established that Hendrik Grimm III did not survive the downfall of his realm, the exact circumstances of his death remain unclear. While it was reported that he fought the invaders in his 'Mech and died by his own hand when the Oberon Guards were defeated, other sources claim he was captured alive and then executed; his head was said to have been put on a pike and paraded through the city afterwards.

Legacy

Hendrik Grimm III had a daughter named Ella with whom Redjack Ryan had an affair before he parted ways with Grimm. Her fate is unknown.

As of 3049, the three regiments of the Oberon Guards were commanded by Generals Hendrik Grimm IV (1st), Karl Grimm (2nd) and Johann Grimm (3rd), respectively, who were likely relatives (probably sons) of Hendrik Grimm III. After the defeat and occupation of the Oberon Confederation by the Clans, Johann Grimm was named as the commanding General of the "Oberon Guards (disarmed by Clans)" on Oberon VI in the Clan Wolf occupation zone in a report from 3054 while no other mention can be found for the others, suggesting they may have been killed in the Clan invasion.

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.

Bibliography

• BattleTech 2nd Edition boardgame rulebook
• House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), p. 58 (pdf file version)
• The Periphery, p. 148-149
• The Periphery, 2nd Edition, p. 79
• Objective Raids, p. 49
• 20 Year Update, p. 76
• Unholy Union
• Starterbook: Sword and Dragon