Hendrik Grimm III

Hendrik Grimm III of Oberon was both the best-known and also the last ruler of the Oberon Confederation before it was overrun by the Clans.

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 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 later simply continued the brutal piracy business. It was Hendrik III who turned the Oberon Confederation into a stable, self-sustaining ministate that could be taken serious as a political entity (as opposed to a bunch of pirates). He established diplomatic relations with the Draconis Combine, the Lyran Commonwealth and the Elysian Fields among others and generally favoured trade and mercenary work over piracy. By 3025, Hendrik III was leading a coalition of 12 other pirate kingdoms and had cautiously entered a temporary alliance with House Kurita where he had dealings with Duke Hassid Ricol, the infamous Red Duke of the Draconis Combine.

It is unclear when Hendrik III assumed leadership of the Oberon Confederation, but he was already established as a leader when Redjack Ryan went renegade in 3017.

Clan Wolf quickly overran the Oberon Confederation when the Clan Invasion came in in 3049; 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 and executed.

As of 3054, one General Johann Grimm was reported to be commanding the "Oberon Guards (disarmed by Clans)" on Oberon VI which is still part of the Clan Wolf occupation zone. Johann Grimm is likely a descendant of Hendrik Grimm III, but no more information is available.

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.