Clan Wolf

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“ Here, with the Strana Mechty wolf, we see what may be the epitome of a warrior, cunning matched with instinct and stealth, joined with a final, terrifying attack. For this mighty creature, I name you. You are Clan Wolf. ”
-Nicholas Kerensky, 2810 [1]
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Clan Wolf
Faction Profile
Time period: 2807 – Present
Classification: Clan
Controlled systems: ?
Capital world: Tamar?
Ruler title: Khan
Military: Clan Wolf Touman
Secret Service: Clan Wolf Watch

Clan Wolf was not only one of the original twenty Clans founded by Nicholas Kerensky, it was given the distinct honor of carrying forth Kerensky's name and his genetic legacy. This status as caretaker of the Kerensky Bloodname also served as a source of conflict with other Clans, especially Clan Jade Falcon, which felt slighted by the ilKhan's decision. Named for the massive wolves of Strana Mechty, which grow to nearly twice the size of their ancestors on Terra, the Wolf Clan has been a dominant force in the Clans since it's inception. Responsible for the Annihilation of Clan Wolverine and the Absorption of Clan Widowmaker, Clan Wolf was also instrumental in the development of Battle Armor. The leader of the Warden faction in the Grand Council, the Clan was nevertheless forced to participate in the Clan Invasion of the Inner Sphere, where they proceeded to outshine all other Clans in the number of worlds conquered. Clan Wolf was nearly destroyed by it's hated enemy the Jade Falcons in the Refusal War that followed, but although the Clan survived it was split in two: a Crusader-minded Clan Wolf and Warden-minded Clan Wolf-in-Exile.

History

Origin

Clan Wolf was founded by Jerome Winson, an officer in the Star League Defense Force who served under General Aleksandr Kerensky during the Amaris Civil War. After Kerensky's family was rescued from Moscow during the final battle for Terra, Jerome became something of an older brother to Aleksandr's two sons, Andery and Nicholas. When Aleksandr proposed an Exodus from the Inner Sphere, Jerome was among those who chose to follow him.[2]

Jerome maintained a close association with the Kerensky family on the Pentagon Worlds, and as the threat of civil war threatened to consume the Star League-in-Exile he again chose to follow a Kerensky, this time Nicholas, when he called for another exodus. On Strana Mechty the bond between Jerome and Nicholas only grew stronger following the marriage of Jennifer Winson. Eventually Jerome was chosen to be the first Khan of the Wolf Clan, and under his leadership the Wolves became the first to be combat certified by Nicholas.[2]

Operation Klondike

Main article: Operation Klondike


Wolverines Annihilated

The ilKhan implemented a number of brutal measures in the months following the success of Operation Klondike, seeking to bring about a total reform of society and prevent any more devastating infighting, although these measures also brought about mounting criticisms from some of the other Clans. Chief among these critics was Clan Wolverine, whose opposition to the ilKhan crystallized in October 2823 when they were forced to give up a Brian Cache they claimed as theirs and theirs alone. Their actions, including ultimately the use of a nuclear weapon to destroy the genetic repository of Clan Snow Raven, gave the ilKhan all the evidence he needed to call for a Trial of Annihilation: the Grand Council voted unanimously on 11 October to approve the measure.[3][4]

Over the next few days all of the Clans bid for the right to carry out the Grand Council's decision, until eventually it came down to a contest between Clan Wolf and Clan Widowmaker. Already there was bitter enmity between these two Clans and, according to the Wolves, the Widowmakers deliberately drove the bidding down to dangerous levels before withdrawing. This meant that Clan Wolf would be outnumbered when they finally confronted the Wolverines, a fact which very much pleased Clan Widowmaker.[3][4]

Nonetheless the Wolves began their assault on 25 October and for two days confronted the traitors on land, in the air and in space around Circe. Despite being outnumbered Clan Wolf succeeded in driving Clan Wolverine from their homeworld and for the next nineteen days continued to hunt the survivors as they fled across Clan space. In the end the Wolverines' warriors were completely wiped out, although the Wolf force had suffered heavy losses themselves with almost eighty percent killed. The next two months were spent completely dismantling the Wolverines' infrastructure, terminating all Wolverine sibkos and sterilizing the Clan's civilian survivors.[3][4]

When a final report was made on 22 January, 2824, the Wolf Clan Loremaster noted numerous discrepancies between official Wolverine records and battlefield kill tallies. While the majority of front-line warriors were accounted for, it appeared a number of second-line troops and some civilians were missing, along with a sizable cache of equipment. Ultimately these were rationalized as shoddy bookkeeping, although in truth the Grand Council suspected that part of Clan Wolverine had escaped.[3][4]

Golden Century

Banner of Clan Wolf.

Absorbing the Widowmakers

In the wake of the Wolverine Annihilation all of the Clans turned towards the task of rebuilding a society devastated by civil war. By 2830 industries were rebuild, food production rose to it's highest point and new colonies in the Kerensky Cluster were being founded, officially starting what the Clans would call the Golden Century. Clan Wolf itself became an economic powerhouse, thanks in part to their encouragement of their merchant caste to trade throughout Clan space. Unfortunately in the years since the Trial of Annihilation, the animosity between Clans Wolf and Widowmaker only continued to grow, each one declaring Trials of Possession against the other which often skirted the rules of honorable combat. This conflict eventually came to a head between the two in 2834.[5][6]

In order to meet their growing demand for raw resources, the merchants of Clan Wolf made an initial approach to the merchants of Clan Widowmaker for a year's worth of production from their bauxite mines on Dagda, bauxite being a vital component of Ferro-Aluminum Armor. While amiable to trading with them, the Widowmaker merchants were overruled by their Khans and the deal fell through. This forced the Wolves to declare a formal challenge for the bauxite and in the Trial of Possession which followed the Wolves were victorious. Angry at being forced to give away a valuable resource due to what they saw as their warrior caste's arrogance, the Widowmaker merchants took the drastic step of formally petitioning the Grand Council to censure their Khan, Cal Jorgensson, for his negligence. Fearing that the Wolf Khan Jerome Winson was behind this seditious petition Khan Jorgensson took drastic action: on 7 June mass arrests were carried out and the protest's ringleaders were executed.[5][6][7]

In the Grand Council Khan Jorgensson formally charged Khan Winson with agitating his merchants to revolt against his rule, a claim which the Wolf Khan vehemently denied. In his own counter-charge Khan Winson argued that Jorgensson's massacring of his own people shown not only that the Widowmaker Khan was unfit to lead his people, but so was his Clan's warrior caste, and demanded the right to Absorb the Widowmaker Clan. For nearly a week the matter was debated in the Grand Council, but in the end the vote was unanimous in favor of Clan Wolf. Not only had Jorgensson's actions genuinely shocked the other Clans, but Clan Widowmaker had made too many enemies and few strong allies. After the vote the Widowmakers called for a Trial of Refusal, and in the bidding that followed the Wolves fought hard to earn the right to refute their enemy's refusal.[5][6][7]

The battle took place 7 October at a neutral site, the Steitz Plains of Ironhold, capital world of the Jade Falcons. The forces opposed were nearly even at a Cluster each, although the Wolves had eleven Stars to the Widomakers' ten. Due to the serious nature of the fight and bitter history between the two Clans, the ilKhan himself and all of the Khans of the other Clans would serve as referees, while beyond the battlefield other Clan warriors watched eagerly through monitors and satellites. When the battle commenced the initial exchange between both sides was fierce, but eventually Khan Winson and Khan Jorgensson found each other and declared a Trial of Grievance. While the two warriors faced each other the battle around them died down as those present formed an impromptu Circle of Equals around the dueling Khans.[5][6][7]

Cal Jorgensson's 'Mech shooting ilKhan Nicholas Kerensky's Mech.

Just as it appeared Jerome Winson was ready to defeat his opponent, a Star of Widowmaker 'Mechs jumped to their Khan's defense and attacked the Wolf Khan. Whether this was on their own volition or in response to orders was unknown but the flagrant violation of zellbrigen caused the other Khans, including the ilKhan himself in his personalized Atlas, to immediately intercede in Jerome's defense. What happened next according to Khan Jorgensson's later testimony was an accident, a result of his dazed state caused by the Wolf Khan's attacks and his warrior's unexpected actions. Seeing something stooping over his fallen 'Mech the Widowmaker Khan instinctively shot it square in the head with a Large Laser, too late realizing that it was the ilKhan's 'Mech he just hit. Combat came to an abrupt halt as technicians and medics rushed towards the ilKhan, but by the time they reached his 'Mech Nicholas Kerensky was already dead.[5][6][7]

The warriors of Clan Wolf were driven insane with rage and fell upon the surviving Widowmaker warriors. Only Khan Jorgensson was spared, just long enough for the briefest of trials to determine his guilt and be executed. Over the next three days and with the aid of the other Clans the Wolves managed to track down every last Widowmaker warrior, even those in the most remote outposts, and exacted their revenge.[5][6][7] The last of these battles took place on the Widowmaker capital of Roche, where the remaining warriors were pursued to the deserted city of Porthos. As the Wolf forces entered the city's downtown district, Widowmaker saKhan Kyle Vordermark sprung his trap: two Trinaries of Widowmaker 'Mechs appeared from their hiding places and surrounded the Wolf warriors, while through the external speakers of his own 'Mech saKhan Vordermark taunted the Wolves with their imminent demise.[8]

Luckily a group of Clan Goliath Scorpion warriors had been observing the battle, among them Khan Cyrus Elam and Loremaster Ethan Moreau. Driven by his surkairede to defend the kin of Nicholas, Loremaster Moreau charged his Black Knight into the city, followed quickly by the rest of the Goliath Scorpions. Their impromptu charge broke through the trap and both Scorpions and Wolves fought together against the Widowmakers. During the fighting both the Scorpion Khan and Widowmaker saKhan engaged in a heated duel with each other but were killed by an artillery barrage of unknown origin; this same barrage also destroyed two whole Stars of 'Mechs. The arrival of Clan Wolf reinforcements finally ended the battle, which also served to mark the official end of Clan Widowmaker's existence. Despite the timely arrival of the Goliath Scorpions in saving their forces the Wolves were initially outraged at the interference, although Khan Winson eventually accepted that Moreau's surkairede was an honor debt to his entire Clan and richly rewarded the Goliath Scorpions.[8]

Over the objections by the Jade Falcons the Grand Council unanimously granted the Wolves' demand to claim all Widowmaker resources, something which only further increased their power relative to the other Clans. Very few Widowmaker warriors survived to be Absorbed.[5][6][7] Jerome Winson was elected to take Nicholas' place as ilKhan of the Clans, although ironically with the Great Founder's death the position immediately began to lose some of it's prestige. While ilKhan Winson's authority in matters concerning all of the Clans was always respected, this was less so in matters considered strictly internal to a given Clan. This trend would continue with future ilKhans until eventually the position lapsed.[9]

An Age of Growth

Elemental Warrior with Enhanced Imaging tattoos

While all of the Clans benefited from one degree to another during the Golden Century, Clan Wolf remained in the forefront of new developments and economic expansion. This was thanks in part to the fact that the Wolves allowed their civilian castes a measure of freedom unseen in most other Clans, granting them the opportunity to explore and create.[10] While the feud with Clan Jade Falcon at times threatened the Wolves' dominance - carving out enclaves on Dagda and Glory to harass Wolf facilities there - the Falcons' rigid adherence to tradition curtailed their ability to grant the civilian castes even the limited freedoms necessary for large-scale colonization projects. This left Clan Wolf free to fully exploit new worlds discovered within the Kerensky Cluster and establish major industrial centers on Paxon and Tiber.[11][12]

When Clan Coyote unveiled the OmniMech in 2854, Clan Wolf knew that it would need this technology to maintain it's edge but that it's current research and development resources were already dedicated to another project and it could take years, even decades, to retool for OmniTechnology development. Fighting a Trial of Possession over the technology was also out of the question since the Coyotes were strong allies in the Grand Council. Fortune came to the Wolves' aid when the Coyotes informed the Clan that the Jade Falcons had just recently won the technology from them, and provided details on the specific unit which had fought in the Trial of Possession. Armed with this knowledge the Wolf Clan succeeded in intercepting the Jade Falcons and seizing from them copies of the OmniMech designs they had so recently won. The result was that Clan Wolf was only a few years behind Clan Coyote and on par with the rest of the Clans in terms of OmniMech technology.[12]

In thanks for their tip-off the Wolves also let the Coyotes in on the special project which was currently occupying their efforts. In 2842 Clan Goliath Scorpion unveiled new Exoskeleton designs, nicknamed "water elementals", for use in undersea mining operations. After witnessing them in action Wolf merchants offered the Goliath Scorpions access to almost all of Dagda's oceans in exchange for these new suits.[13] For the next couple of decades much of Clan Wolf's R&D efforts were dedicated to developing this technology to create new armored infantry. While environment-specific suits were prototyped, Wolf scientists eventually settled on a suit able to operate in a variety of environments, and their efforts were completed in late 2867. The final product was christened Elemental battle armor, so named because it could fight in any element, and in 2868 two Stars of these suits defeated a light Star of Clan Nova Cat OmniMechs in a Trial of Possession.[11][12]

Immediately following the Trial Clan Hell's Horses, which had been developing their eugenics program to produce genetically superior conventional infantry, demanded a Trial of Possession for this new technology. The Wolves were sufficiently impressed with the Hell's Horses' new super-soldiers and Wolf Khan Alexis Ward agreed to a series of three Trials with Horse Khan Eric Amirault on Tiber. Each Clan wagered examples their respective technology, a third of which was bid in each of the three Trials. The Wolves managed to win two of the three and so won glory by taking a larger portion of the Hell's Horses' wager, although their victory was somewhat diminished with Clan Jade Falcon swooped in shortly afterwards and stole examples of both battle armor and genetic super-soldiers. Clan Wolf posted a sarcastic congratulation of the Jade Falcons' daring raid on the Chatterweb, which was enough for Clan Fire Mandrill and Clan Coyote to do the same to them just two months later.[11][12]

Soon the tradition of mating these new battle suits with Elemental super-soldiers spread to the rest of the Clans, although not without a fight: the Wolves were successful in holding off many Trials of Possession for a number of years, forcing several of the Clans to scavenge the technology from each other. Clan Sea Fox was able to trade Elemental technology from the Wolves in exchange for HarJel, a self-sealing substance that was later incorporated into Elemental suits. Feeling they were owed something Clan Goliath Scorpions also traded for Elemental suits, giving the Wolves access to three of their most cherished Bloodheritages with the understanding Clan Wolf would only use them to breed for three cycles and never challenge the Scorpion's control of the associated Bloodnames. Clan Ice Hellion used subterfuge during their Trial, bidding conventional infantry and sneaking in new combat vehicles, and while successful their underhandedness earned them the enmity of the Wolves. Clan Smoke Jaguar tried repeatedly to win the technology from Clan Wolf, even if they could have had an easier time taking it from the other Clans, and the Wolves took great pleasure in repeatedly beating them in the Trials. Eventually after a final battle where Clan Wolf was heavily outnumbered yet won thanks to the debut of the Timber Wolf design, the Smoke Jaguars gave up and won the technology from the Sea Foxes.[12][14]

Political Century

Operation Revival

Clan Wolf proved themselves expert warriors: they annihilated Clan Wolverine and absorbed Clan Widowmaker, long before their successes in the invasion of the Inner Sphere. They also created Elemental body armor, though it would take assistance from Clan Hell's Horses to perfect the Elemental phenotype and HarJel from the Diamond Sharks before Elemental suits reached their current form. They led the Warden Clans in the Grand Council and were the only Clan to oppose the Clan Invasion in 3050. Clan Wolf proposed sending a reconnaissance force to gather intelligence before the Invasion, a force that eventually became known as the Wolf's Dragoons, arguably the best mercenary unit in the Inner Sphere, and crucial in stopping the Clan's invasion.

Although they lost a Trial of Refusal against the motion to invade the Inner Sphere and were selected for the invasion force as punishment for voting against the pro-invasion majority, the Wolves decided to beat the Crusaders at their own game. They participated in it nonetheless and soon outdid all other Clans in seizing more worlds and at a faster pace than any other Clan. Their holdings were mostly taken from the Free Rasalhague Republic and the Lyran half of the Federated Commonwealth. Their capture of Rasalhague cemented their leadership in the Invasion and the Wolf Khan, Ulric Kerensky, became the leader of the Clans, an ilKhan, after their successes (and the death in battle of the previous ilKhan, Leo Showers). Ulric negotiated with Precentor Martial Anastasius Focht of ComStar resulting in the proxy battle for Terra (the Clans' goal) on Tukayyid in 3052. During the Battle of Tukayyid, Clan Wolf was one of only two Clans to prevail against the defending ComStar forces (the other victor being Clan Ghost Bear who were awarded a "marginal" victory). Nevertheless, the Wolves were the ones who helped convince the other clans to adhere to the terms when the Trial was lost, leading to the treaty that halted the invasion with a 15-year truce.

In 3057, Clan Jade Falcon sought to remove Ulric and continue the invasion. When the Council tried Ulric for treason and voted him out of office, Clan Wolf all but destroyed itself in preventing the Jade Falcons from breaking the truce by instigating a Trial of Refusal on a scale never before seen outside of a Trial of Annihilation. This particular Trial of Refusal would be forever referred to as the "Refusal War" against the Jade Falcons.

To ensure the Clan's survival, Ulric ordered Phelan Kell (also known as Phelan Ward) to take a contingent of warriors and a cross-section of the other castes to the Inner Sphere while he and Natasha Kerensky sought to break the Falcons. Eventually, the Falcons were victorious, but they could not touch the part of the Wolf Clan that left Clan-controlled space and went into self-imposed exile to the Inner Sphere. Ward's Warden Wolves settled on planet Arc-Royal in the Lyran Alliance and guarded the border against any Clan incursions.

An initially successful Jade Falcon attempt to Absorb the remaining Wolves was effectively made moot with the creation of the Clan Jade Wolf, an offshoot of Clan Jade Falcon, made up of captured Wolf warriors who were "absorbed" into the Jade Falcons. The Jade Wolves later changed their name by dropping the "Jade" part and simply going by "Wolf", effectively usurping the name of the original, or pre-Refusal War, Clan Wolf. These Wolves (also known as Crusader Wolves) rebuilt their strength and have declared themselves the only Crusader Clan not bound by the Crusaders' defeat during the Great Refusal.

Ever since then, the two halves of what was once a single Wolf Clan have lived separate lives. The Crusader Wolves sought to regain their strength, raiding the Clan Smoke Jaguar. Vlad Ward entered into a short-term alliance with Falcon Khan Marthe Pryde to ensure the survival of both Clans.

As with the original incarnation of Clan Wolf, the Crusader Wolves consider the planet Tamar as their capital. It was the scouring of Tamar that made the Clans realize that they too would come under attack by the Word of Blake and had to fight back. During the Word of Blake Jihad the Wolves leapt across Jade Falcon borders to assist worlds under attack.

During the Trial of Great Refusal, Clan Wolf fought alongside the surviving Smoke Jaguars, gaining a draw against the 1st St. Ives Lancers.

Post-Jihad Era

The Wolves found themselves facing a crisis of confidence in the early 3080s; the Clan needed to make a show of strength to intimidate their neighbours and project an attitude of strength, but the strength of the Wolf touman had been badly reduced by the Jihad. The Wolves had been using a mixture of confidence and skill to avoid challenges that would expose their weakness for almost fifteen years, but the Wolf touman mustered just sixty percent of the strength in 3081 that it had managed to field in 3067, and the Wolf occupation zone was now surrounded by enemies. Actions against Clan Hell's Horses in recent years had gone badly and with the sibko programme decimated the Wolves were forced to accept more freeborn into the touman while stripping second-line clusters of OmniMechs and advanced technology to keep the front line clusters in top form.[15]

Society

Clan Wolf is also noted for their lack of formality (another thing that greatly annoys the Falcons). While they respect their traditions, they adapt to the situation, they make up their own mind, and don't rush in and think later - a trait that has proven valuable during their invasion of the Inner Sphere, where Clans found that technological edge and mastery of one on one combat is not always enough to guarantee a win.

The Clan Wolf emblem is a red wolf head on top of a red plaque, with six golden stars. The five stars symbolize the clans, and the sixth star symbolizes their founder, Kerensky.

Touman

See Clan Wolf Touman.

Rulers

Khans

Ulric Kerensky
Natasha Kerensky
Vladimir Ward

saKhans

Garth Radick
Phelan Ward

Bloodnames

General Bloodnames :

Fetladral
Kerensky
Conners (former Clan Widowmaker Bloodname)

MechWarriors :

Carns
Radick
Sender (former Clan Widowmaker Bloodname)
Vickers (former Clan Widowmaker Bloodname)
Ward

Elementals

Shaw
Sradac
Tutuola

Pilots

Ch'in
Leroux (former Clan Widowmaker Bloodname)
Mehta
Rhyde (former Clan Widowmaker Bloodname)

Era Specific Data

3054

Wolf Demographics
Affiliation:Warden

Clan Space Worlds:
Capital: Strana Mechty
Circe (30 percent)
Dagda (14 percent)
Eden (35 percent)
Glory (55 percent)
Grant's Station (45 percent)
Hoard (11 percent)
Paxon (38 percent)
Roche (17 percent)
Tiber (50 percent)
Tranquil (100 percent)

Population (Clan Space): 101,849,000 (3060)
Population growth rate: 2.3 percent (56/33)
Self-Sufficiency Index: 87 percent

Leaders:
Khan: Vlad Ward
saKhan: Marialle Radick
Loremaster: Katya Kerensky
Scientist-General: Rudi (Sinclair)
Merchant Factor: Michael
Master Technician: Nymar
Senior Laborer: Bork

Military:
Clusters: 24
WarShips: 13

Historical Map Gallery

  • Clan Wolf Occupation Zone in April 3052

References

  1. ↑ Official entry on Classic BattleTech's webpage
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Historical: Operation Klondike, p. 106
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Wolf Clan Sourcebook, p. 12
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 The Clans: Warriors of Kerensky, p. 12-13
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 Wolf Clan Sourcebook, p. 22
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 The Clans: Warriors of Kerensky, p. 14
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Era Digest: Golden Century, p. 4
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Field Manual: Warden Clans, p. 103
  9. ↑ The Clans: Warriors of Kerensky, p. 16
  10. ↑ Era Digest: Golden Century, p. 5
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Wolf Clan Sourcebook, p. 23
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 Field Manual: Crusader Clan, p. 135
  13. ↑ Field Manual: Warden Clans, p. 104
  14. ↑ Field Manual: Crusader Clan, p. 136
  15. ↑ Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 111, "Clan Wolf"

External links

Bibliography

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