Nicole Kelswa

Nicole Kelswa
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Personal
AffiliationHouse Kelswa
Career
RankColonel[1]
ProfessionNoble

Nicole Kelswa was a Lyran Commonwealth noble and niece of the Duke of Tamar, Selvin Kelswa.[1]

History[edit]

Kirchbach[edit]

Following the events of the Fourth Succession War in which the Lyran Commonwealth reclaimed a number of worlds from the Draconis Combine, including multiple native Rasalhague systems, a new power struggle had emerged as the Lyran nobles with ancestral property claims were at odds with the Rasalhaguian citizens that had owned the same lands for generations under Kuritan rule. Nicole Kelswa was sent to Kirchbach to appease a number of nobles within her uncle's royal court to further cement his rule over the revitalized Tamar Pact.[1]

The former LCAF veterans-turned-mercenary Gotterdammerung Society were enlisted to forcibly evict the Rasalhaguians, something that didn't sit well with Christian Månsdottir and the First Tyr, who were Rasalhaguian themselves and helped the Lyrans liberate Kirchbach. Månsdottir came into the possession of the Blankenburg Beaters' IFF transponder codes and hired a mercenary unit to cripple the Society. Although they were primarily a mobile armor and artillery unit, Månsdottir's mercenaries were tasked with taking out their BattleMech assets on 1 July 3031, hopefully giving them enough of a black eye that they couldn't continue to harass the population. The IFF codes were effective and fooled both the Society and the Tyr Resistance Movement, who made an unexpected appearance.[1]

The mercenaries, now under the banner of the Tyr Resistance Movement, then attacked a facility belonging to the Kelswa Guard, recognizing them as the Society's base of operations and primary source of 'Mech support. Nicole Kelswa ordered the First Tyr to destroy the terrorists but Månsdottir delayed long enough for the base to be razed. Kelswa was furious and laid the blame squarely on him, petitioning her uncle to dismiss him from his command—which seemed likely in order to appease Tamar Pact nobles. Knowing this, the First Tyr ended up abandoning the Lyran Commonwealth and joining the resistance movement.[1]

Gunzburg[edit]

When the Free Rasalhague Republic was established in March 3034, Archon Katrina Steiner gifted the new nation a handful of worlds with direct ties to the Rasalhaguian people. However, the rampage caused by the Draconis Combine ronin lead many Lyran partisans to also refuse FRR sovereignty and seek to secure those Commonwealth worlds for themselves before they could be reclaimed by the ronin forces.[2]

Nicole Kelswa and the Gotterdammerung Society took the capital of Gunzburg on behalf of her uncle and the Tamar Pact. In order to minimize civilian casualties, the First Tyr attempted to draw them out of the major population centers by targeting their supply chain and logistical network. While successful, the Lyran forces remained entrenched in their strongholds and Kelswa retaliated by executing family members of those in the First Tyr. Resisting the urge for vengeance and not getting baited into Kelswa's trap, the First Tyr shifted their efforts to breaking the ronin 211th Mechanized Assault Command. But while the two parties were engaged with each other, the Gotterdammerung Society ambushed the First Tyr, dealing heavy losses after one of their mercenary detachments invoked their escape clause.[2]

With the remnants of the First Tyr in hiding, Nicole Kelswa turned her attention to defeating the ronin forces, landing a huge blow and forcing them to fall back to the Bavaria Mountains. She then mobilized the entirety of the Society and Kelswa Guard to move in on their position, looking to finish them off. Aware the First Tyr would be next if they waited, Månsdottir moved his forces to attack the Lyrans knowing their munitions would be stretched thin in a three-way fight. As the battle began to dissolve into chaos, Kelswa arrived to support her troops and try to eliminate the First Tyr herself, only to meet her end as the Tyr concentrated fire on her command 'Mech. The Kelswa Guards were all defeated, the 211th ronin surrendered, and the Gotterdammerung Society were in full retreat.[2]

BattleMech[edit]

Nicole Kelswa piloted an AS7-D Atlas.[2]

Behind the Scenes[edit]

Nicole Kelswa was voiced by Em Elridge.[3]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries, Rasalhague Missions: "False Promises"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries, Rasalhague Missions: "Gunzburg"
  3. MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries, closing credits

Bibliography[edit]