Clan Hell's Horses

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Clan Hell's Horses
Faction Profile
Time period:	2807 – Present
Classification:	Clan
Controlled systems:	53 (3151)
Capital world:	Csesztreg
Ruler title:	Khan
Military:	Clan Hell's Horses Touman
Secret Service:	Clan Hell's Horses Watch

Clan Hell's Horses is one of the original twenty Clans founded by Nicholas Kerensky, named for the Hell's Horses genetically engineered for the highland deserts of Circe. The Clan lives by the motto that "man comes before machine," a philosophy which values the individual soldier over whichever tool of warfare he uses. While this philosophy has resulted in some battlefield practices unique among the Clans, it also permeates other aspects of Clan Hell's Horses, such that all Clan members are treated as an integral part of the greater whole, regardless of their birth. Clan Hell's Horses are also famous for creating what would become Elementals, genetically enhanced infantry who have formed an important part of Clan warfare since their introduction.

Despite being led by Crusaders, the Clan did not take part in Operation Revival, though it later managed to secure a number of Inner Sphere worlds during the 3070s. As a result of this exodus and the Wars of Reaving, Clan Hell's Horses was sundered from the Clan Homeworlds, with those who remained becoming Clan Stone Lion.

The Clan remained a minor power from the post-Jihad years until the 3130s, when the rise of Malvina Hazen and Clan Wolf's migration deep into the Inner Sphere saw the Hell's Horses expand their territory and serve as increasingly unwilling allies to Clan Jade Falcon. By 3151 the Horses had ended their alliance with Hazen and asserted their status as an independent power in their own right, taking several planets from Clan Jade Falcon and the Rasalhague Dominion.

History

Founding

Clan Hell's Horses was founded by Lieutenant General John Fletcher, commander of the 35th Infantry Division of the Star League Defense Force. General Fletcher, a staunch loyalist of General Aleksandr Kerensky, took part in the invasion to liberate Terra from Stefan Amaris during the Amaris Civil War. Fletcher's loyalty to Kerensky and the ideals of the Star League would inspire him to join the First Exodus from the Inner Sphere in the wake of that terrible conflict and settle on the Pentagon Worlds to start anew.

However, old divisions among the population soon festered into a new civil war, and despite gathering together like-minded soldiers to restore order in Kerensky's name Fletcher was unable to prevent the outbreak of warfare. When Kerensky died Fletcher accompanied his son, Nicholas Kerensky, on the Second Exodus to the Kerensky Cluster where the Clans were formed.

For his loyalty, Fletcher was made Khan of Clan Hell's Horses, and he chose Colonel Patricia Cobb, one of his most able 'Mech battalion commanders from the Thirty-fifth, as his saKhan. Together they forged their Clan into one which placed its focus first and foremost on its warriors. For this reason they requested a smaller share of BattleMech forces in return for a larger share of conventional armor and approval to train additional infantry from decommissioned WarShip crews. In short order they were able to put together an impressive combined-arms army, bucking current military orthodoxy that saw the 'Mech as the supreme battlefield weapon. While their critics foresaw the Clan's demise, the Hell's Horses' performance would eventually cast aside the myth of 'Mech dominance.

Operation Klondike

During the trials for participating in the coveted Eden invasion part of Operation Klondike, the Hell's Horses won a surprise victory over Clan Ghost Bear. For the most part the Horses were assigned auxiliary or rear-area duties, until Khan Fletcher convinced Nicholas to assign his Clan an independent operation, the conquest of the Purgatory Peninsula. The peninsula, located in the western part of the continent of Irkutsk, was home to a collection of city-states locked in conflict. Of the city-states, the most important ones were Allah, Dante and Vesta.

While the city-states were no friends of each other, they did unite against the invaders and put together a combined force which outnumbered the Hell's Horses six to one. After suffering from a series of ambushes that destroyed several Clan scout 'Mechs, Fletcher began looking for flaws in the enemy's strategy and realized that they fixated on targeting 'Mechs above "inferior" tanks and infantry. He put this knowledge to good use in the Clan's counterinsurgency strategy by using their 'Mechs as bait to draw out the rebels so they could be smashed by conventional forces. By the end of the two-week campaign the Hell's Horses had completely smashed all resistance on the peninsula, proving the success of their unorthodox tactics and suffering fewer equipment losses than other Clans which preferred to slug it out 'Mech-to-'Mech. Vesta, the largest and last city to fall, would be renamed Hades and transformed into the Hell's Horses' capital.

Golden Century

Their peculiar philosophy led most of the other Clans to dismiss them - Ghost Bear Khan Hans Jorgensson called the Hell's Horses development of new tank designs "funny and sad at the same time". The Horses tended to keep to themselves until they learned of the Elemental infantry armor by Clan Wolf. Eager to obtain the Elemental armor, the Hell's Horses entered a series of trials with Clan Wolf where the armor was put up against the infantry breeding protocols that the Hell's Horses had discovered. These gigantic warriors would be known as 'Elementals'.

The Hell's Horses won one of the three trials and so obtained the Elemental armor. Other Clans challenged the Hell's Horses for the breeding rights, among them Clan Fire Mandrill. In 2870, Kindraa Smythe-Jewel of the Fire Mandrills used deceptive bidding tactics to give the impression of a much smaller force and won the trial. Kindraa Payne would take the brunt of the Trial of Possession, while the Smythe-Jewels walked away with new Elemental breeding protocols and Battle Armor. The Horses' Khan Eric Amirault demanded a Trial of Annihilation but was denied by a Grand Council vote. As the Hell's Horses prepared to move against the Fire Mandrills, Clan Coyote's Khan Manfred Hollifield stepped in. They too had been cheated by Kindraa Smythe-Jewel in their bid for the OmniMech a few years prior.

Seeing the wisdom in joining together, the Hell's Horses arranged for a contract bid to include the Coyotes in the Hell's Horses trial against the Kindraa. The combined Hell's Horses-Coyote task force descended on the Smythe-Jewel enclave on Foster and challenged them to a Trial that saw the death of the Kindraa Smythe-Jewel. Half the genetic legacies and most of the battle salvage was taken by the Horses and the Coyotes took the enclave, the bondsmen, and the rest of the legacies, with small shares of each going to Kindraa Payne, which had joined in the final stages of the battle, trapping the last Smythe-Jewels as they attempted to flee. The Clans each parted with great respect for one another. This action did much to win the Hell's Horses a good measure of respect from the rest of the Clans as well.

For a time it looked as though the Hell's Horses might shift away from their combined-arms, heavy reliance on vehicle philosophy and more towards the use of BattleMechs. But all that changed when 'Mechworks Alpha on Tokasha, their primary 'Mech factory, was targeted by Clan Ghost Bear during a Trial of Possession. The Horses bid an entire Galaxy in its defense which the Bears matched. It was a fierce, pitched battle but seemed to favor the Hell's Horses until a stray shot slew the beloved Ghost Bear Khan Kilbourne Jorgensson. The outraged Ghost Bears tore into the Hell's Horses in a berserk fury, forcing them to withdraw.

Pre-Invasion

The loss of Metal Works Alpha and Kilbourne Jorgensson sparked a fierce feud between the Hell's Horses and Ghost Bears. When the Ghost Bears launched a Trial of Possession for Industriplex Alpha on Niles, the Hell's Horses' homeworld, another fierce battle ensued. Though the Horses emerged victorious they lost their Khan, Lair Seidman. He was replaced by Malavai Fletcher, an Elemental who was horribly injured in that battle.

Fletcher, a staunch Crusader, managed to appoint enough Crusaders in his Clan to leadership positions to push the Horses into the Crusader camp, despite the fact that many among the Horses' rank and file were Wardens. This political shift helped to make Operation Revival a reality after Comstar's Outbound Light appeared over the Smoke Jaguar world of Huntress in 3048. The Horses would be eliminated from the invasion early on, but this did not bother Khan Fletcher too much. His leadership during the invasion years kept his Clan out of much of the infighting in the Clan Homeworlds, instead keeping them focused on building their strength.

The Invasion

When Clan Ice Hellion's Khan Asa Taney formed his Home Clan Coalition in the wake of Tukayyid, Khan Fletcher stood by him, supporting the effort to renew the invasion. Though they would not get the invasion they wanted, the Harvest Trials presented their own opportunity.

Though the Horses did not win a place in the invasion, they did manage to find a way to obtain worlds in the Inner Sphere. When Khan Vladimir Ward of the Wolves started the Harvest Trials, Khan Fletcher convinced him to bid Hell's Horses units in contract bids (much as the Hell's Horses had done with the Coyotes) without first winning those units to the Wolves. Khan Ward agreed and ceded three worlds in the Clan Wolf Occupation Zone: Stanzach, Vorarlberg, and Engadin to Clan Hell's Horses.

During the Great Refusal on Strana Mechty, the Hell's Horses fought against and lost to the Free Rasalhague Republic's Third Drakøns.

During the numerous Trials of Possession that were launched following the Annihilation of the Smoke Jaguars, Abjuration of the Nova Cats, and relocation of the Ghost Bears, the Hell's Horses managed to seize large portions of Bearclaw, Hoard, and Tokasha, pitting them against forces from the Jade Falcons, Ice Hellions, and Snow Ravens. The Horses also managed to seize the last portion of Kirin making it an exclusive Hell's Horses possession. Consequently, the Horses' touman was able to grow strong and viable among those of the other Homeworld Clans. However, at this time the Horses' Watch noticed an increase in the tension between the Clan's Crusader officer corps and its Warden rank-and-file.

When Clan Cloud Cobra presented their first Babylon Diet, a massive religious conference involving both Clan and Spheroid religious delegates, to the Clan Council, the Hell's Horses voted in support of it. Ultimately, however, the Diet was of little consequence other than a political stumbling block for Clan Coyote.

Not long after they gained full control of Kirin, the Hell's Horses raided the Ghost Bear Occupation Zone (renamed the Ghost Bear Dominion) while the Ghost Bears were at war with the Draconis Combine. The Horses attacked from their Inner Sphere holdings that they had been gifted by Clan Wolf in 3064. However, after the war with the Combine ended, the Bears retaliated and seized all three of the Hell's Horses worlds, sending them back to Clan Space. Khan Malavai Fletcher's leadership was challenged and he was slain by James Cobb, a Warden, who assumed the Khanship.

In 3067, the Horses and Clan Wolf fought a Trial of Possession over Tiber, which degenerated into a melee when the Wolves broke zellbrigen. In response, the Horses called in the remainder of their initial bid and defeated the Wolves.

Two weeks later, the Grand Council met to discuss the collapse of the Second Star League - the Hell's Horses did not attend either in person or remotely, as their Khan James Cobb was preoccupied with covertly arranging for the Clan's relocation to the Inner Sphere by way of an invasion of the Wolves' Occupation Zone.

In December of 3067, Star Adder Khan Stanislov N'Buta uncovered James Cobb's plan to invade the Inner Sphere after reports from a successful Trial of Possession against the Hell's Horses for some supplies on Nouveaux Paris. Confronting Cobb with this information, N'Buta and the Horse Khan bargained that N'Buta would keep the Horses' secret in exchange for access to the manufacturing facilities on Nouveaux Paris. The two Khans also bargained that Clan Star Adder would attack Clan Wolf's territory in the Clan Homeworlds, in order to distract the Wolves from the Horses' operations - in return, the Horses would cede Hoard to Clan Star Adder.

Wars of Reaving and the Jihad

In 3068, as part of an intelligence-gathering mission, the Hell's Horses 91st Mechanised Assault Cluster trialed for and won the entire contents of the Ghost Bear Dominion Watch's database as well as three DropShips. As part of this successful operation, Horses Khan Cobb claimed Ghost Bear ristar Jake Kabrinski as a bondsman as part of a long-term plan to win an alliance with the Ghost Bear Dominion. The mission complete, Cobb returned to the Homeworlds and entreated Clan Snow Raven for the construction of a large mobile shipyard.

However, Cobb became concerned that his motives were becoming obvious when the saKhan of Clan Ice Hellion, Connor Rood, approached him for an alliance, suggesting that he knew what Cobb and the Horses were up to. Cobb attempted to delay any talks for an alliance, while ordering saKhan Tanya DeLaurel to attack Clan Wolf in the Homeworlds as a further misdirection. Unfortunately this attack did not end well for the Horses, and DeLaurel was forced to redeploy to counter opportunistic aggression by Kindraa Mick-Kline-Kreese-Sainze of Clan Fire Mandrill. The Hellions would end up supporting the Horses in this, and the joint force would fully repel the Mandrills by 3069.

In that same year, the Hell's Horses would determine that they would have to leave behind all materiel that could not be brought with them on their relocation to the Inner Sphere. Over the course of the next two years, the Clan would discreetly give away many of their Homeworlds holdings to Clans Coyote, Star Adder and Diamond Shark.

In 3070 Clan Hell's Horses would finally commence their migration to the Inner Sphere. Establishing an limited alliance with Clan Ice Hellion, the Horses attacked the Clan Wolf Occupation Zone and managed to secure multiple worlds from both the Wolves, as well as founding a new Omega Galaxy from Wolf abtakha who eagerly assimilated into the Horses. Omega Galaxy would go on to spearhead further incursions into Wolf territory, while Khan Cobb tasked Epsilon, Zeta, Eta and Iota Galaxies under the command of Loremaster Temuchin Amirault to defend the Horses' remaining territory in the Clan Homeworlds. Some officers of Iota Galaxy would attempt Trials of Grievance in protest of these orders, but none would succeed.

The following year of 3071 saw the next phase of expansion by the Hell's Horses - by April, the Horses had taken no less than twenty-nine worlds from Clan Wolf, including Steelton and Csesztreg, the world that would eventually become the capital of the Horses' Occupation Zone. (Despite this, the Horses still voted against the ilKhan Brett Andrews' motion to Annihilate the Wolves.) The Horses' offensive finally halted when the Wolves drew their "line of death" from Ferleiten to Ridderkerk and Zoetermeer, which the Horses would unsuccessfully poke in September of 3071.

After failed attempt by Clan Jade Falcon to take Steelton in April of 3071, that world would eventually be wrested away from the Hell's Horses in September by their erstwhile allies in Clan Ice Hellion. The following month, Horses Khan Cobb and Falcon Khan Marthe Pryde agreed to cease hostilities between their two Clans and instead jointly attack the Ice Hellions. By February of 3072, the Horses had taken nine worlds from the Ice Hellions, and the matter was settled in March when a joint Jade Falcon-Hell's Horses force (including the Horses' Iota Galaxy, which had been partially relocated from the Homeworlds by this time) assaulted the Hellion's last remaining world of Vantaa and crushed the Hellion touman, slaying the Hellion Khan Raina Montose and leaving barely a Cluster's worth of Hellions alive to flee to the Periphery with their saKhan Connor Rood (who would eventually become the Khan of Clan Goliath Scorpion).

However, while the Hell's Horses were going from strength to strength in the Inner Sphere, the same could not be said of the portion of their civilian castes and touman remaining in the Clan Homeworlds. The Wars of Reaving and the machinations of The Society had consumed the Clan Homeworlds, and the Hell's Horses remaining there were isolated and cut off from their leadership which now resided in the Inner Sphere. The Horses' population in the Homeworlds were easy prey for other Clans, demonstrated in such incidents as the slaying of an entire planet's worth of Horses sibko by Clan Cloud Cobra on Niles in February of 3072, or when Clan Blood Spirit conquered Eden and absorbed the entire Hell's Horses population there in early 3073. Similarly, the Horses' territory in the Deep Periphery was under threat, and an attempt to liberate Nouveaux Paris from a Society coup ended in disaster when Eta Galaxy was badly mauled by a Clan Burrock ambush, losing nearly all but a Cluster.

The Hell's Horses in the Inner Sphere would have their own reckoning with the Society when the SLOT virus released by the Society's leader, Etienne, caused the widespread failure of HPG networks across Horses, Wolf and Jade Falcon territory in 3073. In May of that year, the Horses' Watch uncovered elements of the Clan's scientist caste colluding with members of the Society, and began a thorough purge of their own scientists.

In 3074, the Hell's Horses agreed a ten-year truce with Clan Jade Falcon, sealed by the exchange of some remaining members of the Horses' scientist caste for the Falcon worlds of Persistence and Winfield.

Eventually, the Horses would be successful in carving out their own occupation zone, becoming members of the Council of Six Clans. They would join the other Spheroid Clans in cutting off all relations with their homeworld brethren and join with Devlin Stone's coalition, lending it a Cluster of warriors.

In 3080, Clan Wolf would make several attempts at regaining some of their lost territory - the Wolves attacked four worlds, but were only able to briefly capture Harvest before the Horses retook it. However, the Horses would soon see the death of two of their Khans - Khan Cobb died in his sleep in mid-October of 3080, and his successor Khan DeLaurel was killed in action while defending Bruben from the Wolves in the following year. Jake Kabrinski, Cobb's right-hand man who had been instrumental in brokering good faith between the Horses and the Ghost Bear Dominion, was elected to the office of Khan in 3081.

Those Hell's Horses who survived the Wars of Reaving in the Homeworlds were accused by their brethren of being tainted due to the Horses' involvement with the exiled Wolves and Kell Hounds mercenary unit. Zeta Galaxy Commander Magnus DelVillar, the senior remaining Horses officer, countered these claims by pointing out that none of his warriors had actually been to the Inner Sphere themselves. After a hard fought Trial of Refusal, the Grand Council motion to Abjure the bulk of Clan Hell's Horses was upheld, as was the Absorption by Clan Star Adder of the 'untainted' Horses in the Homeworlds. However, Adder Khan Stanislov N'Buta was impressed enough with the Horses' conduct that he offered DelVillar an alternative, and in short order Clan Stone Lion was formed from those Horses remaining in the Clan Homeworlds.

Post-Jihad Era

The Horses found themselves facing a number of problems in the wake of the Jihad. While the Clan was buoyant following their successes and enjoyed a touman larger than that of the Wolves and broadly comparable in size to that of the Falcons, their warriors were heavily committed. Internally, elements of both the intelligence organization Mimir and the Motstånd terrorist network continued to make life difficult for the Horses domestically, while the Rasalhagian population of the Ghost Bear Dominion continued to press Clan Ghost Bear to attack the Horses occupation zone and reclaim ethnically Rasalhagian worlds. Adding to the external threat from the Ghost Bears was the desire on the part of the Jade Falcons to reclaim the worlds that the Horses had opportunistically snatched during the incursion into the Falcon occupation zone by the Ice Hellions.

Dark Age

Having firmly established their Occupation Zone - carved out of former Wolf, Jade Falcon and Ice Hellion territory - the Hell's Horses found themselves trapped between powerful neighbours. However, their relatively egalitarian interpretations of Clan society worked in their favour for integration of conquered worlds. In captured territory the Hell's Horses were content to adopt a 'hands-off' approach to integration. The Clan warrior caste ruled from so-called "DropShip cities", which were effectively urban sprawls constructed around the initial landing zones used by the Horses during their conquest. Satisfied mainly to leave the native populations to themselves as long as order was maintained and production quotas met, the Hell's Horses built a flourishing model of civilian integration second only to that found in the Rasalhague Dominion. The native populations, used to the hard regimes of the Wolves and Jade Falcons, largely welcomed the change. In some cases, however, years of repression by the natives' previous masters left them resentful of Clan administration, and some chose to exploit the greater leniency of the Hell's Horses to establish black markets for luxuries not available within the Clan way of life.

The Hell's Horses also engaged in some scientific research and development. Continuing their legacy of genetic research since their discovery of the Elemental phenotype, the Horses' research into a new trueborn phenotype optimised for combat within a tank, the TankWarrior, saw limited success. This granted tank crews of the Hell's Horses a certain superiority over tank crews from other Clans. However, it was soon concluded that, even with their optimised physiology, TankWarrior crews scored only slightly better than the crews the Horses were already producing through existing training regimens. A unit of Hell's Horses TankWarriors were able to defeat Jade Falcon tank crews in a Trial of Possession on Waldorff, preventing the Falcons from claiming a Trinary belonging to the Horses, but the Horses Khan Teresia Cooper was killed during this trial - her death may have contributed to the lack of continuing interest in the TankWarrior program.

During the Dark Age, a tactical doctrine was developed by the Horses: the "Mongol Doctrine". The Doctrine, initially proposed during the 3080s by one Star Colonel Domnall Seidman, emphasised the rapid use of light vehicles and 'Mechs to engage in hit-and-run tactics, drawing foes into position for heavy and assault-class 'Mechs and vehicles to strike. This was practiced by the First Horde Cluster, a command granted to Seidman to test his new Doctrine. The Doctrine, as Seidman envisioned it, became popular among the Horses - however, a radical reinterpretation of the Mongol Doctrine used by Clan Jade Falcon, led by the infamous Galaxy Commander Malvina Hazen, focused less on the tactical use of light assets and instead on the psychological impact of subjecting enemies to maximum brutality in order to weaken their morale and that of their allies. This 'perversion' of the Mongol Doctrine enraged some Horses: in 3136, a Horse Galaxy commander, ristar Tristan Fletcher, traveled to the planet Skye, challenging Hazen to a Trial of Possession for the Mongol Doctrine. Both commanders fought in tanks, and Fletcher was defeated and slain by the Mad Falcon.

Some weeks later, a galaxy of Horses, the Fire Horse Galaxy led by Galaxy Commander Manas Amirault, joined Malvina's forces, helping her in the fight against Falcon Khan Jana Pryde. After defeating Pryde and taking her place, Malvina destroyed the Jade Falcon capital. Horrified by the evil of his ally and lover, Manas attempted to leave her, but she killed him in a Trial of Possession, taking his galaxy.

The same year when Clan Wolf left their occupation zone, the Horses managed to take twenty-two of their former worlds, including the old capital, Tamar, greatly expanding their occupation zone. In November 3139, Malvina Hazen's forces staged a Trial of Possession for the agricultural worlds of Romulus and Harvest, "accidentally" starting fires at great expenses to their lands, threatening the Horses' worlds with the prospect of famine, forcing the Horses' Khan to form an alliance with the Falcons, named the Golden Ordun. The Horses' Khan Gottfried Amirault, sent only parts of his Touman to fight with the Falcons, keeping their losses low, but helping them conquer a large swath of the Commonwealth.

In January of 3145, the Ordun was able to capture Hesperus II with little resistance from its Commonwealth defenders. However, a counteroffensive was launched by the Commonwealth's recent allies in Clan Wolf (whose new Khan, Alaric Ward, had just revealed his genetic mother to be Katherine Steiner-Davion). The Wolf counteroffensive turned into a two-month stalemate; after an attempt on Malvina Hazen's life left her alive but in a coma, and a Lyran relief force arrived in-system, the Ordun was forced to retreat. The Hell's Horses escaped with far fewer losses than the Jade Falcons - notably, however, the Hell's Horses saKhan Jeronimo Cobb was killed in action during the fighting on Hesperus II. As a result of the failure to take the planet and Hazen's inability to prevent the Horses' departure, the Horses' Khan dissolved the Ordun and the Clan returned to their Occupation Zone, having fully abandoned their erstwhile Jade Falcon allies by the end of the year. However, in the wake of their conquering of much of the former Clan Wolf Occupation Zone, the Hell's Horses had gained a number of hardware production facilities including the W-8 Facilities on Tamar on which Omega Keshik under the command of the new saKhan Fulk Lassenerra, as well as elements of Epsilon Galaxy, were deployed.

After successfully extracting themselves from the Golden Ordun and thereby annulling their alliance with Clan Jade Falcon, the next steps for the Hell's Horses were to reclaim the Mongol Doctrine from their former allies. In late 3146, saKhan Lassenerra devised a plan to do exactly that. The following year, the first phase of Lassenerra's plan (which would become known as Operation NOYAN) would begin. On the 7th of April 3147, the Hell's Horses began a series of attacks against the Rasalhague Dominion, using swarm attacks with light assets as per the 'untainted' Mongol Doctrine. Trials of Possession were declared and fought over St. John, New Oslo and Unzmarkt, with the Hell's Horses successfully conquering all three systems. Of particular distinction was the Twenty-Second Mechanised Assault Cluster's artillery star, which employed pairs of Hadur Fast Support Vehicles to achieve accurate artillery fire on the move by using target-designating LRM systems during the fighting on New Oslo.

Lassenerra's bold actions raised concerns in the Clan Council of a retaliation from the Jade Falcons over the Horses' use of the Mongol Doctrine despite the Falcons having won the rights to its use in a Trial of Possession. Unfazed by the possibility, Lassenerra declared that Malvina Hazen was welcome to try and enforce her ownership of the Doctine if she dared. He then outlined his plans for Phase Two of Operation NOYAN - an incursion against the Jade Falcons themselves. On the 17th of June 3147, the Horses executed their attack on the Falcon border, striking Biota, Colmar and Leskovik. The former two worlds were soundly defeated through application of the traditional Mongol Doctrine, but the attack on Leskovik failed after the defending Eighteenth Falcon Regulars denied safcon to the attacking Seventy-First Mechanised Cavalry, shooting down a full quarter of the attacking forces and forcing the surviving Horses to retreat from the planet. Despite this isolated failure, the Clan Council declared Operation NOYAN a success and set about preparing themselves for Malvina Hazen's retaliation. However, the 'Chinggis Khan' was otherwise engaged, and the anticipated attack never came.

ilClan Era

Following the success of Operation NOYAN, the Hell's Horses Khans resolved to use the momentum from NOYAN for a further push into Jade Falcon territory. Many of the production facilities from former Wolf territory were restored to functionality, including HH Industriplex Alpha on Tamar which by 3150 was being used to produce the Gargoyle OmniMech. On the 4th of February 3151 the Second Horde Cluster attacked Shaula in Jade Falcon space, expecting strong resistance, but found the planet defended by only two Star League-era 'Mechs and a handful of tanks and conventional infantry. Easily defeating this skeleton crew, Khan Amirault uncovered information that the Jade Falcons were on their way to Terra en masse. The Horses' Khan had his own plan to conquer the cradle of humanity - however, since Khan Amirault did not know how to breach the defences of the Fortress Republic, they decided to take what they could from the Jade Falcon occupation zone with the newly declared Operation Stampede out of retaliation for their manipulation of the Hell's Horses and their Mongol Doctrine.

Initially devised as a plan for the Hell's Horses push on Terra, then mothballed after Malvina Hazen's claiming of the Mongol Doctrine, Operation Stampede was repurposed as a plan for attacking the Jade Falcon territory now left exposed by the Falcons' rush to Terra. Alpha, Delta and Epsilon Galaxies were dispatched to push coreward, quickly taking Rastaban - the Trial of Possession for which consisted of Hell's Horses Star Colonel David Fletcher lopsidedly defeating, hand-to-hand, the Star Commander in charge of law enforcement for the city of Castle Hill (there being nobody of higher rank on the planet to challenge). Perturbed by the empty depots and deserted military bases near Castle Hill, Fletcher surmised that the Jade Falcon warrior caste had totally abandoned the planet, leaving behind a few washouts and dezgra to keep order. Khan Amirault, sensing the opportunity to secure a large amount of near-undefended Jade Falcon territory, ordered an attack on nearby Domain.

After Clan Wolf's final victory in the ilClan Trial made Alaric Ward the ilKhan and Clan Wolf the ilClan, a delegation from the Hell's Horses arrived on Terra led by the Horses' Khan and saKhan. Angry at the Wolves for denying his clan the opportunity to fight on Terra, Amirault stated that he did not recognise Ward as ilKhan and claimed that the Wolves had unfairly denied the Hell's Horses a chance to become the ilClan, while at the same time 'inviting' Clan Jade Falcon to Terra to participate in the planet's conquest. Amirault then demanded a Trial of Refusal against Ward - Ward responded by pointing out that the Wolves were under no obligation to invite the Hell's Horses to Terra, nor had the Horses earnt the right to such a consideration. Ward then stated that there would be no Circle of Equals between himself and Amirault because, as ilKhan and First Lord of the Star League, he had no equal. Amirault, in response, declared that the Hell's Horses would not stand for such an offence and the Horses' delegation publicly declared their non-recognition of the new ilKhan's authority before the assembled Clan representatives during Ward's coronation as First Lord.

Culture

Clan Hell's Horses' philosophy of valuing the individual's role in the greater whole permeates all levels of society. While caste and birth prejudice still exists within the Clan, it is kept in check by ongoing efforts which extol cooperation among and within all Clan castes. This unity extends from the lowliest laborer toiling in the factories to the Khans themselves, and none are held in less esteem than is earned. Even freeborns and solahma warriors are given respect where other Clans would tolerate or mistreat them; only dezgra warriors are exempt from this rule.

Politicking is mostly shunned by the Hell's Horses, even at the Grand Council level where the Khans see their duty in leading their Clan as more important than backroom bargaining. As far as Clansmen go the Hell's Horses are seen as docile and unswervingly obedient to the chain of command, making their Clan far more stable than others where internal power plays are the norm, though this lack of personal initiative has hampered their efforts to expand beyond their already-considerable homeworld enclaves. Their use of contract warfare, allowing warriors of different units or even Clans to include each others' forces in a single bid, would seem to run counter to this idea, however the Hell's Horses view it as a strategic matter to ensure victories that go beyond the Clan's own concerns.

Post-Migration to the Inner Sphere

Following their migration into the Inner Sphere, the Horses managed to establish good relations with the native Spheroid populations of their worlds. Ruling with a lighter hand than the Wolves and Jade Falcons, the Horses tend to keep to their "DropShip cities" (semi-permanent camps) and turn a blind eye to the sizeable black market in Spheroid luxuries in exchange for their authority remaining unquestioned. While thus effectively separate societies, the Clan and its native Spheroid subjects work together as partners in keeping their 'nation' running smoothly. However this leniency has also been taken advantage of by disaffected natives, particularly in the former Wolf-controlled worlds.

Cooperation

The Horses' spirit of cooperation is a large part of the Clan. Warriors and lower-caste members work well together to accomplish their goals. As for warriors, freeborns and solahma can also work together on the field. Their spirit of cooperation is no more apparent in their ritual known as the Branding Ritual. In this ritual, warriors are required to work in groups of six while hunting for their totem animal on the world of Niles. Success in doing so will give the warriors the Mark of the Horse. Failure due to a lack of cooperation will result in being branded with the Mark of Hell, where people will be noted of their shame.

Trial of Renewal (August 22)

Before Founding Day happens, the Alpha and Omega Keshiks meet in mock combat against each other. This holiday goes with the shifting of other Keshiks on Strana Mechty. The event is broadcasted on Niles, where other clans may watch the trial ensue. The winner of the trial will be selected to lead their clan's delegation for Founding Day.

Military

Main article: Clan Hell's Horses Touman

Hell's Horses Warrior with tank

Clan Hell's Horses incorporate a number of unique features into their military doctrine which sets them apart from other Clans, most notably their use of conventional infantry and armor even in front-line units. Their model of combined-arms warfare means roughly two-thirds of all 'Mech Stars are part of a Nova formation, while all vehicle Stars contain an equal number of infantry Points. As a result their touman numbers fewer 'Mechs than normal but make up for it in a disproportionate amount of infantry and support.

The Clan is also unique for instituting the official ranks of Nova Commander and Nova Captain to command Novas and Supernovas. The existence of such ranks also means more positions for warriors to fight over in a Trial of Position and means many more warriors are found in the middle ranks than in other Clans.

Bloodnames

Founding Bloodnames:
Allychuk	Amirault	Anu	Bolt	Brown
Budõlin	Burns	Camejo	Cobb	Cooper
DeLaurel	Dudzinsky	Dwelley	Fletcher	Grimheald
Houan	Iler	Johnston	Kebede	Lassenerra
Liang	Mazzoni	Mendoza	Mitchell	Moiseyev
Murphy	Neely	O'Reilly	Peck	Priddy
Purchase	Ravenwater	Rickard	Robinson	Rowbotham
Seidman	Steding	Thompson	Weißenborn	Zuijdweg
Exclusive Bloodnames Post-Operation REVIVAL:
General	MechWarriors	Elementals	Aerospace Pilots	ProtoMech Pilots
Cobb	Amirault	Cooper	Bourjon
DeLaurel	Lassenerra	Fletcher	Dudzinsky
	Mitchell	Houan	Dwelley
	Ravenwater	Seidman	Johnston
Exclusive Bloodnames Post-Wars of Reaving:
General	MechWarriors	Elementals	Aerospace Pilots	ProtoMech Pilots
Cobb	Amirault	Cooper	Dudzinsky	Grimheald
DeLaurel	Mitchell*	Fletcher	Dwelley*	Johnston*
	Ravenwater	Houan*
		Seidman*
Shared Bloodnames Post-Wars of Reaving: (Column titles signify the other Clans with which the Bloodnames are shared)
Diamond Shark	Ghost Bear Dominion	Jade Falcon	Snow Raven	Wolf
Hawker	Hawker	Icaza	Lassenerra	Hawker
Vewas	Icaza	Mehta	Vewas	Lankenaux
	Lankenaux			Mehta

^* This signifies a Bloodname with a Bloodcount of five or less active Bloodrights
^x This signifies a Bloodname with genefather rights only

Inter-Clan Relations

The Hell's Horses primary allies are Clan Wolf and Clan Coyote. Clan Hell's Horses was one of the first clans that befitted from Clan Wolf's Elemental Battle Armor, while Clan Wolf would prosper from the Hell's Horses super-soldier infantry phenotype for the Clan's gene-pool. As with Clan Coyote, their alliance would grow when the deceit of Clan Fire Mandrill's Kindraa Smythe-Jewel was exposed. It was found out that the Kindraa had used dishonorable tactics against the Hell's Horses and Coyotes to gain a hold of both the Elemental gene-type and Omnimech technology respectively. This would call for both clans to create an alliance to punish the Kindraa, ending in their destruction. Both clans gain the Smythe and Jewell bloodnames and grew into a long-lasting friendship between the two. Though the Coyotes and Hell's Horses have different philosophies, they still respect each other and call themselves "honored comrades". These relations would change in the mid 3070's after the clan civil war that separated the clans as a whole. The Horses would server all ties with the Home Clans (which the Coyotes were apart of), while the Coyotes would switch their friendship to Horses' counterparts, the Stone Lions.

When it comes to enemies, only two would claim the spot: Clan Fire Mandrill and Clan Ghost Bear. Clan Fire Mandrill views the Horses in full contempt for the death of Kindraa Smythe-Jewel (unaware of Kindraa Payne's involvement). This feud would last for generations until their destruction in the Wars of Reaving. As for the Ghost Bears, the Horses were responsible for the death of Ghost Bear Khan Kilbourne Jorgensson, which sent the Ghost Bears into a fury. Ever since then, the Horse-Bear feud would last until the early 3070's when the Hell's Horses and Ice Hellions invaded the Inner Sphere. They would broker a peace between the Ghost Bears to end all hostilities between the two clans.

During the Dark Age and ilClan eras, the Hell's Horses would become at first unwilling allies, and then outright enemies, to Clan Jade Falcon. Malvina Hazen's perceived corruption of the Horses' prized Mongol Doctrine, her slaying of the Horses' Galaxy Commander Tristan Fletcher, and her manipulation of the Horses' into forcing them to join her frenzied attacks against the Lyran Commonwealth and Clan Wolf during the later 3140s would give rise to significant emnity towards her and her Clan amongst the Horses. After she was wounded and put in a coma during the fighting on Hesperus II, the Horses took the opportunity to withdraw from their alliance, reverse Hazen's pollution of the Mongol Doctrine, and repeatedly conquer Jade Falcon worlds left behind by the Falcons' push towards Terra in 3151.

Rulers

Khans

• John Fletcher, 2807 - ????
• Eric Amirault, ???? - ???? (Khan in 2872)
• Elina Houan, ????
• Aaron Cobb, 2899 - 2921
• Darwin Lassenerra, 2921 - ????
• Lair Seidman, ???? - 3046, (Info in FM:CC together with M&M implies that the Battle of Niles took place in 3046.)
• Malavai Fletcher 3046 - 3065,,
• James Cobb, 3065 - 3080
• Jake Kabrinski, 3080 - ????
• Teresia Cooper, ???? - 3126
• Gottfried Amirault, 3126 - Current

saKhans

• Patricia Cobb, 2807 - ????
• Darwin Lassenerra, ???? - 2921
• Malavai Fletcher ???? - 3046
• Tanya DeLaurel, 3046 - ????
• Sasha Mitchell, ???? - ????
• Jeronimo Cobb, ???? - 3145
• Fulk Lassenerra, 3145 - Current

Era Specific Data

3062

Hell's Horses Demographics
Affiliation: Crusader

Clan Space Worlds:
Bearclaw (30 percent)
Eden (31 percent)
Hoard (10 percent)
Kirin (100 percent)
Strato Domingo (35 percent)
Niles (Clan planet) (100 percent)
Tiber (Clan planet) (50 percent)
Tokasha (13 percent)
Capital: Niles

Population (Clan Space): 95,317,000 (3060)
Population growth rate: 2.1 percent (71/50)
Self-Sufficiency Index: 93 percent

Leaders:
Khan: Malavai Fletcher
saKhan: Tanya DeLaurel
Loremaster: Helena Fletcher
Scientist-General: Mohamed (Kepler)
Merchant Factor: Sonja
Master Technician: Amanda
Senior Laborer: Jan

Military:
Clusters: 37
WarShips: 10

Bibliography

• Betrayal of Ideals
• A Bonfire of Worlds
• The Clans: Warriors of Kerensky
• Era Digest: Golden Century
• Era Report: 3145
• Field Manual: 3145
• Field Manual: Crusader Clans
• Field Manual: Updates
• Field Manual: Warden Clans
• Historical: Operation Klondike
• Hour of the Wolf
• ilClan (sourcebook)
• Masters and Minions: The StarCorps Dossiers
• MechWarrior's Guide to the Clans
• Objectives: The Clans
• Operational Turning Points: Hanseatic Crusade
• A Rending of Falcons
• Shattered Fortress
• Technical Readout: 3150
• Technical Readout: Golden Century
• Turning Points: Tokasha
• The Wars of Reaving