Nicole Hoskins

Nicole Hoskins
Personal
Born	3035
Died	December 3072
Affiliation	Clan Steel Viper
Career
Rank	saKhan
Profession	MechWarrior

Nicole Hoskins was a warrior of Clan Steel Viper who served as her Clan's saKhan during the mid-thirty-first century.

History

Too young to serve in Operation REVIVAL, Nicole first drew notice when she won the rank of Star Captain during her Trial of Position. Serving in the Ninety-third Assault Cluster in Delta Galaxy, she earned her Bloodname in 3055 and won command of the Ninety-third two years later.

Her superior, Galaxy Commander Gunther Andrews, shortchanged her Cluster essential supplies in a bid to undermine an officer he deemed an upstart. Following the Ninety-third's defeat against Clan Snow Raven in 3059—as a direct result of Andrews' sabotage—Hoskins challenged and defeated Andrews for command of Delta Galaxy. In 3065 or 3066 Hoskins' ristar career peaked when, in the aftermath of the naval defeat over Lum that cost the life of Khan Perigard Zalman, she was elected saKhan of her Clan. Displaying a cold and calculating outlook, Hoskins sometimes clashed with the new Khan Brett Andrews, but they both implemented a new naval build-up at New Kent's shipyards.

The Wars of Reaving

In November 3069, Hoskins vehemently criticized the Jade Falcons in the Grand Council, both over a recent engagement in which the use of Inner Sphere tactics such as artillery barrages was employed against a Steel Viper Cluster on Marshall, and more generally the Invading Clans discarding of Clan honor in favor of expediency and dezgra Spheroid tactics. Khan Vladimir Ward of the Wolves supported the Viper Khans' motion to have the Falcons declared dezgra and expelled from the Homeworlds, but riled Hoskins when he reminded the Council of the Vipers' own involvement with the Inner Sphere, insinuating that the Vipers too were "tainted." Hoskins angrily refuted Ward's argument, claiming that the Vipers had fought honorably then and had been free of Spheroid 'taint' for a decade. She then helped oversee the Steel Vipers' swift and bloody expulsion of the Falcons from the Homeworlds.

Four months later saKhan Hoskins' next act in the Grand Council was to join Clan Star Adder's Khans in condemning Clan Snow Raven's bombardment of Galedon V. As they were rebuking the Ravens with an eye to repeating what the Vipers had done to the Falcons, Hoskins cut in with a strident demand for Clan Steel Viper to be granted the honor of Absorbing the dezgra Clan, causing the irate Adder Khans to oppose the motion and cause its failure.

Londerholm and death

As the Wars of Reaving raged Hoskins led the Steel Viper assault on Clan Ice Hellion's territory on Londerholm in September 3072. Easily taking four Hellion enclaves, Hoskins and her forces were stymied at Sprague when the 'Ice Hellion' garrison set off a chemical weapon in Hoskins' bivouac. Discovering afterwards that the defenders had in fact been from the Society, the Vipers were next hit by a Coyote force. Hoskins was wounded in the fighting but the Vipers destroyed the attackers and claimed few bondsmen. Determining from these prisoners that Londerholm's garrisoning warriors were "tainted," Hoskins oversaw the Reaving of any Coyote or Hellion civilians who refused to surrender to the Vipers; over two hundred thousand civilians were estimated to have been killed.

In December 3072, Hoskins was struck down by a mysterious illness that left her severely ill for several days before she finally died, the first of thousands of Viper warriors and civilians to fall to a Society-engineered blood virus targeting her Bloodhouse and two others.

Bibliography

• Field Manual: Updates
• Field Manual: Warden Clans
• The Wars of Reaving