Ludwig Steiner
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Ludwig Steiner | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal | |
| Born | 3118[1] |
| Affiliation | House Steiner |
| Career | |
| Rank | General |
| Title(s) | Grand Duke of Furillo[2]
Margrave of Florida Theater |
| Profession | MechWarrior |
Ludwig Steiner was the commanding officer of the Lyran Irregulars and Grand Duke of Furillo during the late Dark Age. He became the Margrave of Florida Theater in 3151.
Contents
History[edit]
Childhood[edit]
Ludwig grew up dreaming of life in the LCAF, inspired by stories of his great-grandfather Reinhardt's valor during the FedCom Civil War and Jihad.[1] When he was a child, Ludwig's grandmother Claudia brought him with her to Kandersteg in 3128, where she participated in a ceremony marking the 1,000th anniversary of the Second Donegal Guards' founding.[3] He enrolled at the Nagelring, where upon graduation, his parents presented him with a Defiance fresh from Defiance Industries' plant on the family's homeworld of Furillo. The 'Mech was delivered personally by the president of DI Furillo.[1]
Early Career[edit]
Ludwig entered the LCAF at the start of Operation HAMMERFALL. He was not assigned to a prestigious unit like his heritage might suggest, but the Eighth Lyran Regulars. He distinguished himself in fighting against the forces of Tamarind-Abbey, scoring two kills after his lance commander was knocked unconscious. He earned himself a lance command of his own after Clan Wolf turned against the Lyrans, leading a withdrawal as well as two successful raids against the Clans.[1]
The chaotic political scene of the Commonwealth in the 3140s, with Vedet Brewer's coup, the death of Archon Melissa and Trillian taking the throne, left Ludwig's grandmother wanting her grandson closer to home, and so arranged to have Ludwig reassigned to the Twenty-sixth Arcturan Guards. The move would end up harming Ludwig's career, as his battalion commander launched an attack on Clan Jade Falcon forces on Pandora. While intelligence claimed the world was virtually undefended, the Fifth Falcon Talon Cluster was actually on the world. The battalion commander, caught by surprise, ordered the unit to focus fire by lances, which freed the Falcons to retaliate in kind. When the battalion commander was killed, Ludwig took control of the unit and requested hegira.[1]
The Falcons granted Ludwig's request, albeit only if the Lyrans left their 'Mechs behind. Only the few Clan-made 'Mechs were taken as islora, while the Falcons destroyed the others, including Ludwig's Defiance.[1]
When the Arcturan Guards returned to Lyran space, Ludwig was praised for saving two-thirds of the unit's MechWarriors, but reprimanded for losing all their equipment. As a consequence, he was reassigned to the Florida TTM.[1] The assignment was intended to be the end of Ludwig's career in the LCAF. However, when he arrived at his new duty station, he found a BattleMech waiting for him: a BNC-9S2 Banshee from the Defiance branch on Kwangjong-ni. The 'Mech came with a string attached: the BattleROM footage would be used in Defiance's marketing material.[4]
Buena Collective[edit]
The deal between Ludwig and Defiance would help turn Ludwig's career around. The advanced equipment on his new Banshee allowed him to cripple the motive systems of fast-moving raiders so the rest of his lance could take them out with ease. As his exploits on the Commonwealth's Periphery border were publicized through Defiance marketing, he came to the attention of Archon Trillian.[4] By 3146, he rose to the rank of Kommandant.[1]
Trillian decided to put trust in her cousin and transferred him from the TTM to command of the Lyran Irregulars. The unit was well-stocked with C3 equipment, capitalizing on the marksmanship Ludwig had displayed fighting bandits.[4]
In July 3147, Ludwig led a mixed force of LCAF soldiers comprising the Irregulars and elements of the Second Buena Guards and Carlisle Buena Province Militia to capture Valloire as part of the campaign to end the revolt of rogue Margrave Diego Widmer. The LCAF force force initially claimed a reservoir outside Valloire's Sisku City, but were dislodged after the Collective Guards brought double their number to bear. After a failed attempt to take the starport, launched relying on out-of-date force information from the LIC, Steiner led his troops in a retreat, circling around and capturing Sisku City. Valloire was back in Lyran hands as the Irregulars' raiding campaign drove the Collective forces offworld with a little over a lance of working 'Mechs.[5] Following this campaign, Ludwig was regarded as a national hero. He and the Lyran Irregulars spent the next several years working in support of the Lyran government.[6]
Margrave[edit]
Archon Trillian left the position of Margrave of Timbuktu Theater vacant after the defeat and execution of Widmer in 3148. But on 27 March, 3151, Trillian reversed the policy and promoted Ludwig to the post, relocating the theater headquarters to Florida following Timbuktu's secession.[7] Despite the numerous promotions it would entail, Ludwig was a popular choice for the post. While Trillian's political opponents also applauded the promotion, they were quick to suggest that the posting might be a poisoned chalice.[6] Ludwig set to work reorganizing theater borders, working with the Margrave of York Province to place all worlds along the Free Worlds League border under his command. Leaders within the Duchy of Tamarind-Abbey were put on edge by the appointment of new commander on their border, especially one in the line of succession.[7] Ludwig also relocated his theater headquarters from Florida to Buena.[6]
One of Ludwig's first moves was to send his old unit, the Eighth Lyran Regulars, towards the League border. SAFE reported them on Finsterwalde in late April of 3151, leaving the League anticipating an invasion with few forces to offer timely relief.[7]
On 15 May, 3151, the Regulars crossed the border into League space, aiming to retake Bolan after it had fallen back into Marik hands five years prior. Despite the Marik forces initially believing the attack to be an objective raid, Ludwig had tasked the Regulars with taking the world back. To help achieve that goal, the Regulars had come bearing gifts of potable water and purification systems to demonstrate their goodwill to the locals of the arid planet. Much of the local population sided with the Lyrans, aiding their operations or even actively interfering with League operations. After a month of cat-and-mouse fighting and with no reinforcements coming, the Eighth Free Worlds Guards departed Bolan on 16 June, returning it to Lyran control.[8] The Regulars then moved on to retake Medzev and Drosendorf from Wolf control.[9]
Seeking to capitalize on the momentum from this successful campaign, Ludwig sent the First Buena Volunteers and several support regiments of armor to retake Sapienza, [[[Firenze]] and Kladnitsa from the Timbuktu Collective. The campaign ran from August to October 3151, ending in a withdrawal by Collective forces and a return of the worlds to Commonwealth control. [9]
Ludwig's next target was the world of Dixie, another former regional headquarters — this time in the Wolf Empire. In January 3152, FWLM forces discovered the Eighth Lyran Regulars had sent a battalion there to probe its defenses and attempted to beat the Commonwealth to the punch by hiring a mercenary unit named Hooke's Billmen to take the planet. They never reported back and were considered lost until March, when a SAFE agent on Dixie said that the Billmen had cited a contract loophole that allowed them to claim the world for the Lyran Commonwealth instead. They were replaced on Dixie by a battalion of the First Buena Jaegers before the League could mobilize to hunt them down.[10]
In the wake of these successes, some media pundits had begun pushing for Ludwig to replace his cousin Trillian as Archon,[9] echoing similar warnings his great-great-grandfather Caesar had given Trillian's grandfather Peter.[11]
BattleMech[edit]
Initially, Ludwig piloted a Defiance purchased for him by his parents. After losing the 'Mech in a raid gone wrong, he received a BNC-9S2 Banshee from Defiance Industries, ostensibly as a long-term loan from the company.[1] As his BattleROMs being used in company marketing helped save his career, Ludwig named the 'Mech "Redemption".[4]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 BattleTech: Legends II, p. 128
- ↑ Directors/Developers AMA @ 25:46 - Ray Arrastia says Ludwig is current title holder
- ↑ One Thousand
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 BattleTech: Legends II, p. 129
- ↑ Shattered Fortress, p. 42
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 ilClan (sourcebook), p. 112
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Empire Alone, pp. 23-24: "A New Margrave"
- ↑ Empire Alone, pp. 33-34: "A Goodwill Gesture"
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 ilKhan's Eyes Only, p. 144
- ↑ Empire Alone, pp. 63-64: "Read the Fine Print"
- ↑ Field Manual: Update, p. 144 - "Others may also seek to place Adam one step higher, regardless of his own desires."