Editing Karianna Schmitt

{{Update Needed|[[Twilight of the Clans]]}}
{{Cleanup|reason=review needed|date=September 2023}}
{{otheruses|the character|the WarShip bearing her name|Karianna Schmitt (Individual Carrack-class WarShip)}}

{{InfoBoxCharacter
| image               = Karianna Schmitt.png
| caption             = Karianna Schmitt
| name                = Karianna Schmitt
| birthdate           = [[3026]]
| died                = [[3075]]
| othernames          = 
| affiliation         = [[Clan Blood Spirit]]
| rank                = [[Khan of Clan Blood Spirit|Khan]]
| title               =
| position            =
| profession          = 
| parents             = 
| siblings            = 
| spouse              = 
| children            = 
}}
'''Karianna Schmitt''' was [[Khan of Clan Blood Spirit|Khan]] of [[Clan Blood Spirit]] during the [[Operation Revival]] era.  She served as Khan for many years afterward, until a catastrophic injury suffered in battle against [[Clan Ghost Bear]] forced her from office.  Schmitt recovered from her wounds over the course of the next three years, later continuing her career as a warrior in her struggling Clan.  The Blood Spirits elected her to the position of [[saKhan]] in the year of her death, which occurred over the world of [[New Kent]] during the [[Wars of Reaving]].<ref name=FMCCp28>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 28: "Khan Karianna Schmitt"</ref><ref name=TWORp193>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 193: "Karianna Schmitt"</ref>

==History==
Said to possess an eerie likeness of her great progenitor - Blood Spirit founding Khan [[Colleen Schmitt]] - Karianna Schmitt is described as being over six feet in height with long blonde hair.  Her face is described in terms of cold and ice, hiding a pronounced ruthless streak that is said to run deep even by the standards of her contemporaries.  Tactical brilliance and a short temper were also traits that she shared with her great ancestor, but her greater plans often failed, consequently leaving her [[Clan]] in increasingly worse strategic predicaments.  Karianna Schmitt also possessed the tremendous hate for the other Clans passed on to each new generation of Blood Spirits, and was convinced of the superiority of the Blood Spirits' ways over those of the rest of the Clans.  Driven by a powerful will that would one day see her rise from a near-death injury to return to her place as a warrior and a leader within the Blood Spirits, Schmitt was regarded by many to be her Clan's most dynamic Khan.<ref name=FMCCp28/><ref name=TWORp193/>

When she was a [[Star Captain]] she was subject to a [[Trial of Annihilation]] when she was accused of slaughtering civilians for personal glory. She won the fight and was vindicated of the accusation.<ref>''Era Digest: Golden Century'', p. 14: "Trial of Annihilation"</ref>

===Spirits, Burrocks and the Adders===
The Blood Spirits had for so long isolated themselves from the rest of Clan society that when [[Clan Star Adder]] brought charges of dealings with the [[Dark Caste]] against [[Clan Burrock]] in the [[Grand Council]] in [[3059]], the sudden appearance of both Blood Spirit Khans without direct orders that they must attend came as a shock to many.  Khan Schmitt and saKhan [[Daryl Keller]] would both cast their votes in support of the [[Trial of Absorption|Absorption]] of Clan Burrock, not wasting the chance to see their most hated enemies destroyed.  But when the Rights to Absorption were granted to [[Clan Star Adder]], the Blood Spirits once more felt betrayed by their Clan brethren.<ref name=FM:CCp25>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 25: "A Fateful Error" and "Future Plans"</ref><ref>''The Clans: Warriors of Kerensky'', p. 70: "Clan Blood Spirit, History"</ref>

Instead of standing back to observe while the powerful Star Adders Absorbed the Burrocks, Khan Schmitt took unilateral action at the urging of her [[Loremaster]], [[Bayle Campbell]], as well as others within her Clan.  Mobilizing over 70% of the [[Clan Blood Spirit Touman|Clan Blood Spirit ''touman'']], Khan Schmitt ordered attacks on [[Albion (Clan System)|Albion]], [[Dagda (Clan System)|Dagda]] and [[Priori]] (as well as attacks on two other planets), hoping to capitalize on the fighting and chaos of the Trial to make gains.  The plan relied upon a hatred that the Blood Spirits perceived between the Clans, counting on it to allow them to win any three-Clan battles.  Only in the crucible of battle would the flaws in this thinking become apparent.  The fighting on Priori ended with the death of saKhan Keller and the destruction of the Spirit's [[Beta Galaxy (Clan Blood Spirit)|Beta Galaxy]], with only a fraction of the units sent escaping off-world.  On Albion, the destruction was much worse.  Three more Blood Spirit Galaxies were destroyed, with Burrock and Adder forces ceasing their fight with each other for long enough to repel the Blood Spirit interlopers.<ref name=FM:CCp25/><ref>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', pp. 114–115: "The Burrock Absorption"</ref>

In the end, the Spirits fled back to [[York (Clan)|York]] after losing nearly five Galaxies in the failed offensive.  Khan Schmitt vowed to avenge herself upon the Adders for Absorbing their enemy, easily transferring her deep hatred for the Burrocks to the Star Adders.  She next called for a vote in the Blood Spirit [[Clan Council]] to further withdraw from Clan society.  The Spirits voted to release their holdings on the [[Pentagon Worlds|Pentagon World]] of [[Arcadia (Clan System)|Arcadia]], cutting all ties with the other Clans, and evicting [[Clan Jade Falcon]] and [[Clan Snow Raven]] from enclaves on York in the process.  The Blood Spirits chose to retain the [[ilChi]]s to [[Clan Fire Mandrill]] and the Snow Ravens, their trade agreement with [[Clan Diamond Shark]], and their enclave on [[Strana Mechty]], which Khan Schmitt was not prepared to leave solely in the hands of those whom she viewed as traitors to Kerensky's Vision.<ref name=FM:CCp25/><ref>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', pp. 35–36: "Tau Galaxy" and "Upsilon Galaxy"</ref>

===Great Refusal and Star Adder Woes===

{{Quote|''We will defeat this so-called Star League. I wonder, though, if our current ilKhan has the stomach for the fight. Perhaps we should depose him and elect Khan Wolf in his place.''

—Khan Karianna Schmitt, regarding ilKhan Lincoln Osis during his final days<ref>''Prince of Havoc'', ch. 3</ref>}}

In [[3060]], after the fall of [[Huntress]] to forces from the [[Second Star League]], Karianna Schmitt was in a partial state of disbelief at the grave turn of events.  Seeing [[Clan Smoke Jaguar]]'s loss as a sign of their inferiority and weakness, she was dismissive of the fighting abilities of their Inner Sphere opponents.  She also questioned the ability of [[ilKhan]] [[Lincoln Osis]] to further lead the Clans in war, though both Osis and [[Clan Wolf]] Khan [[Vlad Ward]] were adamantly against her opinion in the Grand Council.  Choosing to stand with the [[Crusader Clans|Crusaders]] in the [[Great Refusal]], a [[Binary]] of her forces faced off with a company from the [[Genyosha]], led by [[Hohiro Kurita (31st c.)|Hohiro Kurita]].  Though she and her forces fought ferociously in a close-quarters slugging match that had little use of ''[[zellbrigen]]'', her Blood Spirits lost that day in the Coldrill Valley, along with most of the Crusader Clan forces on [[Strana Mechty]].  It was another crushing blow to her psyche as a Clan warrior, haunting her for the rest of her life, and fueling her rage to the point of being a detriment to her otherwise peerless skills as a warrior.<ref name=POHc3-13>''Prince of Havoc'', chs. 3–13</ref><ref>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 225: "Karianna Schmitt"</ref>

Khan Schmitt would continue to reach out to potential allies as her Clan rebuilt its shattered ''[[touman]]'' in a new era.  After productive talks with [[Clan Cloud Cobra]], [[Carmen Zadok]], was assigned to the office of [[ilChi]] and ordered to attend to Blood Spirit/Cloud Cobra relations, signaling a new tentative ally - and possibly a new source of intelligence, according to rumor.  Within years, valuable research would be shared between the two Clans, mainly centering on the successful development of a [[ProtoMech]] warrior phenotype.<ref name=FM:Up40,41>''Field Manual: Updates'', pp. 40–41: "Clan Blood Spirit"</ref><ref>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 24: "Revenge Diet"</ref>

As the Blood Spirits' ''touman'' had recovered from the pounding it had received for interfering in the Burrock Absorption, Khan Schmitt ordered an assault on Arcadia, aimed at regaining the territories lost in their earlier voluntary withdrawal.  [[Omicron Provisional Galaxy (Clan Blood Spirit)|Omicron Galaxy]] was initially given the honor of this attack, but became bogged down when the Star Adder's [[Epsilon Galaxy (Clan Star Adder)|Epsilon Galaxy]] melted into the background to carry out hit-and-run tactics.  A year of fighting later, Khan Schmitt angrily assigned [[Upsilon Provisional Galaxy (Clan Blood Spirit)|Upsilon Galaxy]] to reinforce their position.  This distraction played into the patient hands of Star Adder Khan [[Cassius N'Buta]], who had sworn revenge for the loss of Adder warriors due to the Blood Spirit's interference in the Burrock Absorption.  With two Blood Spirit Galaxies tied up on Arcadia, he sent the young [[Galaxy Commander]] [[Stanislov N'Buta]] and the Adder's [[Beta Galaxy (Clan Star Adder)|Beta Galaxy]] to York in August of [[3064]], where they successfully took control of the southern portion of the continent of Boques.<ref name=FM:Up40,41/><ref>''Field Manual: Updates'', pp. 50–51: "Clan Star Adder"</ref><ref name=TWORp15>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 15: "Balance of Power"</ref>

===Dreams of Victory and Escape===
Though Khan Schmitt would rage at this loss and others, years of attacks were unable to dislodge the invaders from their foothold.  Khan Schmitt would continue to keep her forces as much on the offensive at possible.  During an engagement in space above York, a Star Adder [[Vincent (WarShip class)|Vincent Mk 32]] WarShip, the ''[[Vritra]]'', was surrounded and destroyed by the three [[WarShip]]s of the Blood Spirit fleet, a small but important victory for the Spirits.  In [[3067]], Khan Schmitt had ordered another attack on Arcadia, and had also arranged to strike the Adders on [[Tathis]] alongside forces from Clan Fire Mandrill.  The former secured a little more of their former enclave, while the later also did damage to the Star Adders, but at high cost to both attacking Clans.  In the years to come, the Spirits and Mandrills would partner with other Clans to form their own power bloc in the [[Grand Council]].<ref name=FM:Up40,41/><ref name=TWORp15/>

Importantly, it was during this time that two Blood Spirit merchant vessels broke off from their fleet for an important mission.  Both had been sent to explore several uncharted systems.  Around one star, dubbed [[Colleen]], two worlds were found in orbit.  Named Haven and Honor, these two planets had enough resources for a low level of self-sufficiency, and yet were beyond the view of the other Clans.  In quiet earnest, colonies on both planets were built up, in the hopes that they would one day help to tip the scales against the Star Adders on York.<ref>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 14: "Voyage of Desperate Discovery"</ref>

===Fighting Back===
In [[3069]], Khan Schmitt ordered her [[Blood Guard Keshik (Clan Blood Spirit)|Blood Guard Keshik]] to Arcadia to join with Omicron Galaxy for an assault on Star Adder holdings, while the latter Clan was distracted by actions against the Snow Ravens.  Ensuing Trials netted the Blood Spirits several industrial complexes filled with much-needed materials, which were then distributed to York, Haven and Honor.  Successes elsewhere rallied the forces on York, who were able to push the Star Adders onto a single enclave, though the CSA ''Stellar Serpent'' remained in low geosynchronous orbit over the site as a looming deterrent to any final push by the Blood Spirits.<ref>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 42: "Retribution"</ref>

Stalemated as things seemed on York, Khan Schmitt decided to launch a major assault on Albion, capturing nearly 40% of the planet and several more industrial complexes within a few months' time - including a large ''[[Chrysaor]]'' facility. Encouraged by these successes, Khan Schmitt and Alpha Galaxy jumped to Arcadia, seizing assets from Clan Steel Viper, including a ''[[Roc]]'' production site.<ref>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 45: "The Hellion Plan"</ref>  These gains would not last forever, as the Star Adders returned to Albion, seizing back a large portion of their former territory while defeating a combined force from the Blood Spirits and Clan Fire Mandrill's [[Kindraa Mick-Kreese|Kindraa Mick-Kreese-Kline]].<ref>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 49: "The Raven Absorption"</ref>

The news of the Raven's massacre on [[Galedon V]] troubled the Blood Spirits very little, weathering the resultant storms in the Grand Council well.  In [[3070]], Snow Raven saKhan [[Broderick Sukhanov]] approached the Spirits announcing that his Clan was leaving the [[Clan Homeworlds]].  The two parties worked out an exchange of Raven enclaves and hordes of lower castemen for several Blood Spirit [[JumpShip]]s and [[DropShip]]s.<ref name=TWORp54,55>''The Wars of Reaving'', pp. 54–55: "Fuel for the Blood Feud"</ref>

Back on York, the stalemate continued, as the Star Adders and the [[Snake Alliance]] had stretched their ''toumans'' to the limit against the Snow Ravens and the Diamond Sharks.  The Star Adders had fallen back to one defensive position guarded over by two low-orbiting [[WarShip]]s, the CSA ''Pompeii'' and ''Exodus Ranger''.  SaKhan [[Troy Boques]] argued that the Spirits should pull their forces from Haven and Honor to finish driving the Adders from York, though Khan Schmitt refused.  Boques challenged Khan Schmitt to a [[Trial of Refusal]] over the incident, but to no avail (Schmitt chose to allow Boques to keep his posting rather than sack him after her victory).  Khan Schmitt committed her Clan to several attacks on Albion and Arcadia, aiding the Ravens by way of distraction, as well as assisting her allies in Mandrill [[Kindraa Sainze (Clan Fire Mandrill)|Kindraa Sainze]], who were involved in the attacks on both worlds.  She would also order saKhan Boques and Loremaster Campbell to [[Barcella]] with [[Omega Galaxy (Clan Blood Spirit)|Omega Galaxy]], to assist the Fire Mandrills in defending a newly won Diamond Shark enclave.  Loremaster Campbell died while fighting the Ice Hellion attackers.  After consolidating their forces and electing a new Loremaster, [[Star Colonel]] [[Constans Cluff]], the Blood Spirits fell back to their newly acquired holdings on [[Brim]] and [[Circe]], both of which were negotiated from the Ravens.  The Star Adders soon arrived at Circe to find three Blood Spirit Galaxies - Omega, [[Sigma Provisional Galaxy (Clan Blood Spirit)|Sigma]] and [[Zeta]] (which was acquired from the Ravens as well in [[3068]]) awaiting them.  The fight for control of all former Raven enclaves on the Circe would last into [[3071]], when forces of Kindraa Mick-Kreese-Kline arrived on the scene.  Khan Schmitt protested Mandrill saKhan [[Samantha Kline]], denying the need for assistance, and citing that their involvement would only complicate the fighting on Circe.  Regardless of arguments, saKhan Kline made landfall, announcing a [[Trial of Possession]] for two Raven enclaves that the Adders had just won.  Star Adder [[Galaxy Commander]] [[Fletcher Daniels]] declared the original Trial broken (despite Spirit objections otherwise), labeling Spirit and Mandrill forces on planet as ''[[dezgra]]'' for purposes of combat.  Khan Schmitt escaped the planet with only a third of her forces intact.  Denied ''[[hegira]]'' by the Adder commander, only a handful of DropShips lifted off.<ref name=TWORp54,55/>

===The Reavings===
Khan Schmitt was at a loss for the apparent powerlessness of the Grand Council.<ref name=TWORp54,55/>  As the chaos in the Clan Homeworlds escalated, she would adapt.  Politics in the Homeworlds were rapidly changing.  Khan Schmitt voted to strike down the [[Great Refusal]], on the grounds that the [[Star League]] with which it was negotiated was no more, proving to many in the Clans to be nothing more than a sham institution formed on the whims of corrupt Spheroid leaders.  She voted for the election of Fire Mandrill Khan [[Garret Sainze]] to ilKhan, though her reaction to his prompt death in a [[Trial of Refusal]] called by [[Clan Goliath Scorpion]] regarding his election was not recorded.  The election of Steel Viper Khan [[Brett Andrews]] to the office of ilKhan only increased the swirling pace of chaotic events, especially after his proclamation regarding the [[Reaving]] of all [[Bloodname]]s tainted by exposure to the [[Inner Sphere]].<ref name=TWORp193/><ref>''The Wars of Reaving'', pp. 63–64: "Machinations and Manipulations"</ref><ref>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 78: "The Reaving of the Blood"</ref>

As Strana Mechty was enveloped in flames from the orgy of violence taking place on the surface, Khan Schmitt saw another opportunity emerge.  [[Clan Ghost Bear]]'s final remnants in the Homeworlds were hastily gathering everything they could on Arcadia.  Late in [[3071]], Khan Schmitt arrived at Arcadia with Alpha Galaxy and two [[WarShip]]s, the CBS ''Rocinante'' and the CBS ''Stooping Kite'', and arrogantly attempted to coerce the Ghost Bears into handing over their enclaves to them.  When Ghost Bear saKhan [[Aletha Kabrinski]] tersely refused her and cut off communications, Khan Schmitt ordered the ''Stooping Kite'' to attack a loaded JumpShip in an attempt to "persuade" the Ghost Bears into rethinking the Blood Spirit's offer.  Thousands of civilians died.  The reaction that they provoked from the Bears was overwhelming.  The ''Rocinante'', which was in a low orbit, threatening bombardment of the surface, was swarmed by every spaceworthy vehicle available and quickly destroyed.  Khan Schmitt was on the bridge of the ''Rocinante'' when an explosion tore through it.  Surviving the attack with a broken back, she was later rescued from the wreckage.<ref name=TWORp193/><ref>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 83: "Wolf at the Door"</ref>

===Twilight Years===
The recovery process was slow and painful for Karianna Schmitt.  Three years passed as her body healed from the injuries sustained over Arcadia. During this time, she was replaced as Khan of the Blood Spirits by Troy Boques, with Constance Cluff serving as his saKhan.  [[Star Colonel]] Schmitt observed that her Clan was suffering the least of all the Clans during the chaos that was overwhelming the [[Clan Homeworlds]], and advised her Khans that this alone would make York a target for attack by the other Clans.<ref name=TWORp193/><ref name=TWORp104,105>''The Wars of Reaving'', pp. 104–105: "The Fall of York"</ref>

After taking stock of their own situation and pulling their ''touman'' together, the Star Adders indeed struck at York.  Citing the Blood Spirit role in destroying the Star Adder enclave on Strana Mechty, as well as the death of their saKhan, [[Dante Truscott]], the Adders arrived at the York system in [[3072]] in force.  After crippling the CBS ''Exsanguine'', a sizable Adder fleet drove hard at York, headed towards their small enclave.  As the DropShips landed, their true purpose was revealed: All Star Adder forces on York fled to the landing zones, boarded their vessels and left the planet. An [[Orbital Bombardment]] was then begun, which would last for the next twenty-two days.  The planet was left on the very edge of habitability, with a nuclear winter setting in due to dust raised in the bombardment.<ref name=TWORp104,105/>

As events came to a head, ilKhan Brett Andrews and his Steel Vipers became the final targets in the Wars of Reaving.  After Khan N'Buta of the Star Adders brought accusations against the Vipers for being the final source of Inner Sphere taint, the ilKhan murdered him in full view of the Grand Council.  This act was the portent of the Viper's downfall, as Andrews was stripped of office and authority, and subsequently died at the hands of the Adder saKhan, [[Hannibal Banacek]].  A Trial of Annihilation was quickly called and passed, which was later opened for all Clans.  The Blood Spirits would take part in this event, and on the Steel Viper capital world of [[New Kent]], Schmitt (having since been elected to the post of saKhan) and her [[258th Crimson Guards (Clan Blood Spirit)|258th Crimson Guards]] were shot out of the sky as their DropShips descended to the surface, killing nearly all on board, including saKhan Schmitt.<ref>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 149: "The Taint is Among Us"</ref><ref>''The Wars of Reaving'', pp. 149–150: "Viper's End"</ref><ref>''The Wars of Reaving'', pp. 150–151: "Focused Aggression"</ref>

==Legacy==
The fortunes of Karianna Schmitt were a mirror to those of her Clan.  As she rose and fell, so did the Blood Spirits.  With her near-fatal injury, the reality facing her Clan during the darkest days of the Wars of Reaving came to the fore.  As she recovered, her Clan also seemed to rebound, though any hope felt was dashed when York was destroyed.  With her death, her Clan continued its downward slide until it too would finally be Annihilated by the Star Adders during the decade to come.<ref name=TWORp193/><ref name=TWORp155>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 155: "Founder's Future, Clan Blood Spirit"</ref>

==BattleMechs==
During the Great Refusal, Karianna Schmitt piloted a ''[[Blood Kite]]''.<ref name=POHc3-13 />

==References==
<references/>

==Bibliography==
* ''[[The Clans: Warriors of Kerensky]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Crusader Clans]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Updates]]''
* ''[[Prince of Havoc]]''
* ''[[The Wars of Reaving]]''

[[Category:Clan Blood Spirit Characters|Schmitt, Karianna]]
[[Category:SaKhans|Schmitt, Kariana]]
[[Category:Khans|Schmitt, Karianna]]