ComStar

ComStar.jpg
ComStar
Faction Profile
Time period:	2788 - present
Classification:	Supranational institution
Controlled systems:	1 (possibly more)
Capital world:	Terra
Ruler title:	Primus
Military:	ComGuard
Secret Service:	ROM

This article is about the ComStar organization. For the book about it, see ComStar (sourcebook).

History

Founded in 2788 by Jerome Blake, ComStar guards and maintains the HyperPulse generator communications network and other valuable technologies developed during the era of the Star League, holding advanced technology that would otherwise have been lost during its collapse.

Blake recognized two great responsibilities in the wake of the collapse of the Star League: preserving as much of the currently available technological knowledge as possible, and preventing the Successor States from seizing the interstellar communications network and misusing it for their own destructive ends. In 2788, Blake took control of Terra and declared it a neutral world. He offered secure interstellar communication to all Successor States that would pledge to respect the neutrality of the HyperPulse generator stations and personnel. The Inner Sphere leaders recognized that open communications were crucial to their survival and agreed to Blake's demands marking the beginning of the order of ComStar. Blake created the First Circuit to administer ComStar's affairs and fostered a "secret brotherhood" mentality among ComStar's members in order to keep the secrets of the Star League safe.

After Blake's death in 2819, Conrad Toyama of Dieron took control of ComStar. He replaced its corporate structure with a rigid, religious hierarchy, and shrouded its activities in mystic rituals. Toyama declared himself Primus, the highest authority in ComStar, bequeathing that august title and its responsibilities to every leader of ComStar who followed him.

Initially, Primus Toyama's doctrine of religious mystery served Blake's original intent by fostering the belief that the sacred magic of HPG transmissions could only be wielded by ComStar adepts, ensuring that no Successor State would attempt to take control the Star League's technological legacy. One faction of ComStar gradually forgot the true meaning of Blake's intent, however, convinced that its mission lay in conquering humanity rather than protecting it. This faction reached the zenith of their power under Primus Myndo Waterly, who nearly succeeded in handing the Inner Sphere to the Clans. Only Precentor Martial Anastasius Focht's intervention prevented Myndo Waterly from propagating the collapse of the Inner Sphere. Focht ended her misguided rule by forcing her retirement from the primacy. Waterly's successor, Sharilar Mori, had launched a much-needed reform of the Order of Comstar. Under the leadership of Primus Mori and the Precentor Martial, ComStar returned to fulfilling its original purpose as guardians of Star League era technology, and to a slightly lesser extent, the Inner Sphere itself.

While the members of ComStar continue the original mission given to them by Jerome Blake, the splinter group known as the "Word of Blake," under the leadership of the so-called "Primus-in-Exile," Thomas Marik, use a more radical interpretation of the teachings of Jerome Blake as a justification for a jihad against the houses of the Inner Sphere, with the intent of conquering Terra. Since their separation from the main body, they have continued to be an enemy of ComStar.

When the Clan Invasion occurred in 3049-3051, one of the leaders of ComStar, Anastasius Focht, proposed a deal to the ilKhan of the opposing Clan forces, Ulric Kerensky, in which the invading Clans would fight the forces of ComStar on the remote Rasalhaguese planet of Tukayyid. To fight the Clans, Focht revealed the existence of the ComGuard, the elite, near mythical military branch of ComStar that had been hidden since the fall of the Star League.

The ComGuard forces clashed with the invading Clans on Tukayyid, and used their tactics and knowledge of clan weaknesses to attain an almost absolute victory against all but one of the opposing clans. Humiliated, ilKhan Kerensky was forced to accept a 15 year truce with the Inner Sphere.

Following the revealing of the ComGuard, ComStar became an even more predominant force in the Inner Sphere. The ComGuard were deployed all across the Inner Sphere to act as guards of HPGs on wartorn planets, and also were called on to act as Second Star League peacekeepers following the Whitting Conference of 3058. In this guise, ComGuard forces went with Prince Victor Steiner-Davion to the Clan homeworld of Strana Mechty, where they participated in the Great Refusal, during which they were defeated by Clan Jade Falcon.

Hierarchy

ComStar's chief rank is its Primus, who serves as the political leader of the Order (The Primus also used to serve as the spiritual leader as well). The position of Primus was set up during the immediate post-Star League era by Jerome Blake, who intended for the Primus to serve as a protector of humanity in the fractured era that he predicted would come following the breakup of the Star League.

The Primus is elected by the First Circuit, which is composed of the Precentors of the capital worlds of each of the Successor States, (for example, Precentor Tharkad is a member of the First Circuit). Each Precentor on the Circuit serves as the manager of all HPG stations within their respective realm. The First Circuit was also created by Jerome Blake to elect the Primus from amongst its own members; to ensure a relatively impartial selection. Members of the Circuit are appointed by the Primus, with the advice of the other members of the Circuit and the Precentor Martial.

In a parallel position to the Primus lies the ComStar Precentor Martial, who serves as the head of the ComGuard, the until-recently hidden military branch of ComStar. The Precentor Martial is appointed by the Primus.

Below the ruling triumvirate lie many lower ranks. The most numerous of these is the Precentor, of which there are thousands across the Inner Sphere. Each Precentor is responsible for managing the affairs of a single HPG station if they are in the civilian branch of the Order, or, if they are in the ComGuard, serve as commanders of a regiment.

One note is that, although the rank of Precentor applies to many different people, the actual seniority and right to give orders differs with the seniority of the Precentor in question. For example, all members of the First Circuit have the rank of Precentor, but control whole realms of HPGs instead of mere singular HPGs.

Below the rank of Precentor lie many other, lower ranks. Directly below is the rank of Demi-Precentor, who lead either a battallion of ComGuard or are second-in-command of an HPG.

Notes

• The original BTW version of this article was found on the former BattleTech 3056 MUSE and written by an unknown author.

• Timeline