Clan Coyote

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Clan Coyote
Faction Profile
Time period:	2807 – Present
Classification:	Clan
Controlled systems:	10 (2 at 100%)
Capital world:	Kirin; used to be Tamaron
Ruler title:	Khan
Military:	Clan Coyote Touman
Secret Service:	Clan Coyote Watch

Clan Coyote was one of the original twenty Clans founded by Nicholas Kerensky and take as their totem animal the coyotes found on Tamaron. Forged by Khan Dana Kufahl, a member of an anti-Amaris resistance movement on Terra called the "Spirit of the Coyotes", the Clan cultivates a tradition based on Native American mysticism and were the first to begin the practice of zellbrigen. Their most significant and revolutionary contribution to Clan society was the introduction of the OmniMech in 2854. Traditionally one of the strongest Clans and closest ally of Clan Wolf, recent events have weakened their position, although politically they remain staunch Wardens.

History

Formative Years

When Nicholas Kerensky led his Second Exodus from the Pentagon Worlds, Dana Kufahl was among those who followed him. She had been born on Terra in 2772 and grew up during the bloody reign of Stefan Amaris. Her parents were former members of the Terran Security Forces who joined a resistance cell that included SLDF survivors and Native American tribespeople. When they were killed in an ambush the tribe adopted and taught her their ways until the day of liberation finally came. She joined Aleksandr Kerensky on the initial Exodus from the Inner Sphere and attended the military academy on Dagda, where she met and fell in love with Andery Kerensky. The two served in the SLDF, with Kufahl part of an exploration team charting new worlds. It was on the recently-discovered world of Foster that Kufhal had her first vision: a knight in resplendent armor, suddenly consumed by a darkness that began to grow without end. The warning came too late though, as Aleksandr Kerensky was dead and civil war had begun by the time she contacted her ship.

On Strana Mechty Nicholas Kerensky chose Kufahl to be the first Khan of Clan Coyote with Kesar Jerricho as her saKhan. Gerek Tchernovkov, an armor officer of the 146th Royal BattleMech Division, was chosen by the Clan's own warriors to serve as their Pack Master, a position which evolved into that of Loremaster. Khan Kufahl took the Clan into the Broken Sea, a vast equatorial desert, where for three months she led them in tribal rituals in order to cleanse their soul. It was during this time that Kufahl and her warriors witnessed a portent that would shape the Clan for centuries to come, when a pack of wolves and coyotes worked together to bring down a herd of prey. Upon their return Dana related the episode to her lover Andrey and Nicholas, who quickly understood the significance of what she saw as well. The two Clans formed close ties with each other, fighting mock battles together and mingling openly outside of training, forming a bond that would last generations.

The Road to War

By the end of the Golden Century a great debate had begun within Clan society, between those who wished to return to the Inner Sphere as conquerors, or Crusaders, and those who wished to remain and protect it from outside threats, or Wardens. Within Clan Coyote opinion was split between the two camps and a political tug-of-war broke out which would last for two decades until 2967. In what became known as the Blood Scandal, Crusader-minded warriors conspired with saKhan Carson Graves and other warriors of Clan Star Adder to perform a coup d'etat against the Warden-minded Coyote leadership, but the plot was discovered by Coyote Khan Tatiana Steele before it could be carried out. The eight conspiring Bloodname Houses were effectively Annihilated with the execution of nearly two thousand warriors and their offspring, and saKhan Graves was handed over by the Star Adders to be executed and his genetic legacy destroyed as surkairede. However the Star Adders refused to hand over Graves' co-conspirators or their Bloodlines for similar punishment, an affront which became the basis for the ongoing feud between the Coyotes and Adders.

With their ranks cleansed of treason the Coyotes worked with the Wolves to form a powerful political bloc within the Grand Council to oppose the Jade Falcons, Smoke Jaguars and Star Adders in what became known as the Political Century. While the Wardens were successful in postponing the Crusaders' desire to conquer, including the Coyote-backed Dragoon Compromise which sent Wolf's Dragoons into the Inner Sphere, mounting pressure both politically and militarily began taking its toll. The Coyotes in particular became the target of the Crusaders, as well as the opportunistic Cloud Cobras, and after decades of constant fighting by 3045 their territory had been reduced to a quarter of its previous size. In an effort to regain lost territory and political clout within the Grand Council, Khan Robin Steele led several campaigns against Clan Snow Raven, but in the end the effort only served to weaken both Clans and leave them out of the inevitable invasion. When Smoke Jaguar Khan Leo Showers revealed the discovery of an Inner Sphere ship, the Outbound Light, within Clan space, the Crusaders were finally able to push through the Grand Council their motion to attack.

Aftermath of the Invasion

Like many other Clans, the Coyotes were forced to watch from the sidelines as Operation Revival begun with the Invading Clans smash into the Inner Sphere, taking world after world with seeming ease. As news began to trickle back of defeats at the hands of the "barbarians", however, the mood within Clan space began to change, until finally the disaster at the Battle of Tukayyid in 3052 put a hard stop to any ambitions of further conquest. It also led to the election of Sullivan Koga and Pazi Tchernovkov, hard-line Wardens, as the Coyotes' new Khan and SaKhan. Khan Koga in particular began a serious of reforms within the Coyotes' depleted military forces, over the objections of many within the Clan, to try and regain its former strength.

Clan Coyote sided with the Wolves when the Jade Falcons brought charges of treason against them in the Grand Council, but could only watch as the Refusal War split their closest ally in two. The Clan willing stood on the sidelines during the Burrock Absorption and the Star League assault on Clan Smoke Jaguar so that long-time adversaries could be weakened or destroyed. With the destruction of the Smoke Jaguars, the Coyotes seized what they could of their former enemy's remnants, all too cognizant of their weakened state and wishing to avoid protracted battles. Their assault on Huntress lasted just long enough to gain the Jaguars' ProtoMech technology before they quickly withdrew, while the campaign on Londerholm netted a portion of the planet but left them in constant struggle with Clan Ice Hellion. On Brim, the Coyotes found Clan Nova Cat had already been driven off the planet by their hated foes the Star Adders and Cloud Cobras but attacked regardless. Several weeks of fighting proved inconclusive as Star Adder reinforcements continued to pour in, and when the Cloud Cobras threatened to cut the attack force off Khan Koga finally ordered the Coyotes to withdraw. It was also during the Brim assault that the Coyotes' Loremaster Clarissa Jerricho led a multi-Clan task force against the Cloud Cobras' Diet on Babylon, hoping to eliminate that Clan's leadership, but the attack failed.

Two weeks after the disaster on Brim Khan Koga was killed in a follow-up attack on Huntress for additional Smoke Jaguar resources to assist in their ProtoMech development. In the resulting vacuum saKhan Silas Kufahl rose to lead the Clan, but as an outspoken critic of Koga's reform policies Kufahl had many enemies. Dozens of warriors challenged him in Trials of Grievance and Possession, challenges which left the Clan's leadership blind to outside threats, and in a surprise move Jade Falcon warriors successfully landed on Tamaron itself and seized the Landen 'Mech Production Complex in just a few days. In the resulting shock from such a bold move the disperate factions rallied around Galaxy Commander Raven Clearwater, a long-time opponent of Kufahl, who successfully drove off the Falcons in two short, decisive battles. Shortly thereafter Clearwater and Kufahl fought a Trial to end the bickering, and while Kufhal barely win the challenge Clearwater was elected saKhan the same day. The two would put aside their differences and work together to continue the reforms Koga began.

Culture

The traditions of Clan Coyote trace directly back to Dana Kufhal, who infused her Clan with the mystic wisdom she learned as a child and particular reference for its totem animal. While there is no requirement for Coyote warriors to partake in these ceremonies, those looking to climb up the chain of command willingly take part in them. These rituals were traditionally practiced only on Strana Mechty, however as the Coyote's territorial size increased combined with practicalities of space travel, the Clan's leadership was forced to allow them to be performed on any planet. This also prompted whole packs of coyotes to be transported to each Coyote world in order to properly carry out these rituals. Each one has its own purpose and meaning, though these too have evolved over the years, and many warriors can fulfill the requirements of multiple ceremonies even when only completing one.

Military

Main article: Clan Coyote Touman

Traditionally the Coyotes had one of the largest toumans of all the Clans and, as the developers of the OmniMech, fielded overwhelming numbers of these 'Mechs, even in second-line units. Preferences for heavy and assault-class machines gave Coyote units tremendous firepower at the cost of maneuverability, while the Clan's Khans maintained a "hands on" approach to command even at the Galaxy level. During major operations the saKhan personally led the units involved while the Khan observed and directed from a centralized command post; however for smaller engagements the Khans allowed subordinates to command as they saw fit, offering only advice and strategic support. Each Galaxy Commander was expected to lead these operations much as the Khans directed larger ones.

Events leading up to and after Operation Revival however saw the Coyotes take heavy loses, loses which would force a change in their attitude to freeborn warriors. Previously freeborns were almost unheard-of in line units, as the Clan was more than capable of replenishing loses with trueborn warriors and attitudes towards them bordered on contempt. With increases in both combat losses and sibko training-camp drop-outs, the Khans took the unprecedented move of ending the ban on freeborns serving in line units. The resulting uproar finally subsided when the freeborns proved adequate in battle and replenished the Coyote's depleted touman to capacity by 3061, though many truborns still looked down on them. By 3067 the touman had increased in strength, though it still paled in comparison to its height before the Invasion, and while still favoring heavy and assault machines efforts at diversity had seen the use more units of smaller and lighter size. However, even with the creation of superior conventional BattleMech designs like the Rabid Coyote, many warriors still refused to give up their OmniMechs.

Allies and enemies

The Coyotes were staunch allies of the Wolves until the Refusal War when the traditional Coyote-Wolf ties were weakened by the removal of the Warden Wolves to the Inner Sphere and the ascension of the Crusaders in the reborn Wolf Clan. They also maintain close relations with the Diamond Sharks and Ghost Bears, despite the latter's relocation to the Inner Sphere, and while differing in their political views the Coyotes still maintain respect and honor for the Hell's Horses, which the Horses return.

The Fire Mandrill still harbor a grudge over the destruction of Kindraa Smythe-Jewel, though Kindraa Payne enjoys good relations with the Coyotes, a fact which has transferred to their new-found allies the Blood Spirits. The Coyotes were also long-time enemies Smoke Jaguars before their destruction and the Jade Falcons. However they reserve the spot of most hated enemies for the Star Adders and Cloud Cobras, the former for their role in the Blood Scandal, the latter for the assassination of ilKhan Tchernovkov.

Rulers

Khans

• Dana Kufahl, 2807 - 2822
• Kesar Jerricho, 2822 - 2845
• Gerek Tchernovkov, 2845 - 28??
• Manfred Hollifield, 28?? - 28??
• Kevin McTighe, 28?? - ????
• Corian Tchernovkov, ???? - 2920
• Judas Levien, 29?? - 2949
• James Kielman, 2949 - 29??
• Tatiana Steele, 29?? - ????
• Terrence Kufahl, ???? - ????
• Robin Steele, 30?? - 30??
• Sullivan Koga, 3052 - 3067
• Silas Kufahl, 3067 - 3072
• Elliot McKibben, 3072 - 3074
• Leo Koga, ???? - current (3085)

saKhans

• Kesar Jerricho, 2807 - ????
• Gerek Tchernovkov, ???? - ????
• Katarina Steele, 28?? - ????
• James Kielman, ???? - 2949
• Gunnar Koga, 2976 - ????
• Pazi Tchernovkov, ???? - 3056
• Silas Kufahl, 3056 - 3067
• Raven Clearwater, 3067 - 3074
• Laura McTighe, ???? - current (3085)

Loremasters

• Gerek Tchernovkov, 28?? - 2822
• Silas Kufahl, 3053 - 3056
• Clarissa Jerricho, 3056 - ????
• Carl Heller, ???? - current (3085)

Era Specific Data

Coyote Demographics
Affiliation: Warden

Clan Space Worlds:
Babylon (27 percent)
Delios (36 percent)
Foster (40 percent)
Londerholm (32 percent)
Hoard (39 percent)
New Kent (19 percent)
Tamaron (100 percent)
Capital: Tamaron

Population (Clan Space): 73,360,000 (3060)
Population growth rate: 1.9 percent (60/41)
Self-Sufficiency Index: 91 percent

Leaders:
Khan: Sullivan Koga
saKhan: Silas Kufahl
Loremaster: Clarissa Jerricho
Scientist-Gneral: Ricarda (Remer)
Merchant Factor: Kavindra
Master Technician: Onyda
Senior Laborer: Hillard

Military:
Clusters: 35
WarShips: 12

Bibliography

• Historical: Operation Klondike
• The Wars of Reaving
• Field Manual: Update
• Field Manual: Warden Clans

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