Editing Eric Amirault

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| name                = Eric Amirault
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| affiliation         = [[Clan Hell's Horses]]
| rank                = [[Khan of Clan Hell's Horses|Khan]]
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'''Eric Amirault''' was a [[Khan]] of [[Clan Hell's Horses]] during the [[Golden Century]]. He would be remembered for his role in bringing about modern [[Elemental]] Infantry, as well as his role in the demise of [[Clan Fire Mandrill]]'s [[Kindraa Smythe-Jewel]] in a joint venture with [[Clan Coyote]] and with help from [[Kindraa Payne]].<ref name=FM:CCp54,55>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', pp. 54–55: "Hell's Fury"</ref> 

==History==
Like so many other Clan warriors, little to no information has come to light regarding the life of Eric Amirault prior to his becoming a Khan of his [[Clan]].  His actions display a strong and far-seeing leader of hot temperament, but with a sense of fairness and justice. 

===Saga of the Elemental===
When [[Clan Wolf]] unveiled their new infantry Battle Armor to dramatic effect against the [[Clan Nova Cat|Nova Cats]] in [[2868]], the Khan of Clan Hell's Horses knew that his [[Touman]] would have to have it in order to remain the premier combined-arms force in the Clan sphere.  Khan Amirault would immediately issue a challenge for this armor.  He and his scientists also had bargaining chips of their own: Years of research culminating in what was essentially a supersoldier, built from the genetics up to be larger, stronger and capable of amazing battlefield feats due to an increased resistance to pain and all-around heartier physique. The Horses Khan already knew about the significance of a combination of both advances, and the Wolf Khan [[Alexis Ward]] would also instantly recognize the benefits.  Both Khans would be eager to gain in this matter.<ref name=FM:CCp54>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 54: "Golden Century"</ref>

The world of [[Tiber (Clan system)|Tiber]] in the [[Kerensky Cluster]] would be selected to host three contests between the two Clans, a world on which they each held enclaves.  Both Clans offered a share of their own materials as prize.  The winner of each contest would get one-third of the offered material of the losing Clan, ensuring sufficiently good odds for each Clan to secure at least a portion of the proffered booty.  The Wolf Clan would go on to win two of these [[Trial of Possession|Trials]],<ref>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 135: "Clan Wolf, Golden Century"</ref> but Khan Amirault would lead elements of the Horses' Eleventh and Twelfth 'Mechanized Cavalry [[cluster]]s to victory in the third trial, securing the coveted technology to manufacture the new Battle Armor.<ref name=FM:CCp54/>  

Khan Eric Amirault would be hailed as a hero in spite of losing two of the three Trials.  The losses mattered little compared to what they had gained.  The modern [[Elemental]] was soon born.  The Hell's Horses would put their scientists and technicians to immediate work, with mass production of the suits a far easier matter than waiting for ''[[sibko]]s'' to mature. Within a few years of this fortuitous event, the Hell's Horses would wield the greatest infantry forces in the Clan worlds.<ref name=FM:CCp54/>

===Smythe-Jewel Strikes Again===
Trouble would find the Horses two years later in [[2870]].  In what would seem a well-coordinated action, especially when innate divisiveness is taken into account, [[Clan Fire Mandrill]] [[Kindraa]]s [[Kindraa Payne|Payne]] and [[Kindraa Smythe-Jewel|Smythe-Jewel]] attacked Clan Horses.  Kindraa Smythe-Jewel commander [[Star Colonel]] [[William Smythe]] had won the right to bid for both Kindraa in their joint attempt to gain the secrets to the new Elemental.  Indications that Kindraa Payne's force was to be a large unit of elite troops were greatly exaggerated.  The Kindraa Payne unit was crushed and forced to withdraw.  The Smythe-Jewel force that was expected to be a smaller, second-line unit handily beat the Horse defenders, winning both genetic materials and the Battle Armor technology.<ref>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 39: "Striking from Solitude"</ref>

===Wild Horses and Rabid Coyotes===
Khan Eric Amirault was no fool, and knew right away that his Clan had been deceived by Kindraa Smythe-Jewel.  The angry Horse Khan would call for the [[Trial of Annihilation|Annihilation]] of [[Clan Fire Mandrill]]<ref>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 39: "Death of a Kindraa"</ref> in the [[Grand Council]] on the grounds of their dishonorable tactics, but it would be to no avail.  As he prepared his [[Beta Galaxy (Clan Hell's Horses)|Beta Galaxy]] for a strike against the Kindraa, he was stopped in his tracks by a preemptive ''[[batchall]]'' from [[Clan Coyote]] Khan [[Manfred Hollifield]].  But the Coyote's Khan did not come with the purpose of attacking the Horses - the two would find out quickly how much their respective [[Clan]]s had in common concerning the Smythe-Jewels.  Soon they would reach an agreement about how to best punish the treacherous Kindraa.<ref name=FM:CCp54,55/><ref name=FM:CCp55,56>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', pp. 55–56: "Hell's Fury"</ref>  

Over the next two years, the Hell's Horses and Coyotes would move the pieces of their plan into position, under the cover of rumored ill-relations between the two [[Clan]]s.  In [[2870]], [[ilKhan]] [[Zenos Danforth]] died, once more vacating the high office as the Trials for the OmniMech that he had been elected to oversee also slowed down.  With Kindraa Smythe-Jewel slipping back to a more complacent stance, the time had come for revenge.<ref name=FM:CCp54,55/>  

In [[2872]], forces of both angry Clans appeared above the world of [[Foster]], the residence of the Smythe-Jewels.  Officially, this was a Clan Hell's Horses attack, and the Coyote forces were there in what would become known as "contract bidding" capacity.  The Coyote's [[100th_Assault_(Clan_Coyote)|100th Assault Cluster]] under the command of [[saKhan]] [[Katarina Steele]] along with several smaller support forces were part of the three Clusters bid for the attack, with the other half of forces being Hell's Horses. Realizing the Kindraa Payne also resided on Foster, a scathing  broad-channel ''[[Batchall#Batchall|batchall]]'' was issued by Khan Amirault so as to clarify the intent of the invaders to punish the treacherous Smythe-Jewels.<ref name=FM:CCp55,56/> 

{{Quote|'''''Honorless'' stravag ''of the Kindraa Smythe-Jewel of Clan Fire Mandrill! I, Khan Eric Amirault of the Hell's Horses, in the name of my Clan and Clan Coyote, hereby challenge your miserable warriors to a Trial of Possession!

--(Excerpt) '''Transcript from Khan Eric Amirault's ''batchall'' on Foster'''<ref>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 56: "Beginning of the End"</ref>}}

Waves of [[aerospace fighter]]s from Kindraa Smythe-Jewel along with their naval assets greeted the attackers.  But Khan Amirault had included two full [[Trinary|Trinaries]] of fighters from his own [[666th_Mechanized_Assault_(Clan_Hell's_Horses)|666th Mechanized Assault Cluster]] and [[11th_Mechanized_Cavalry_(Clan_Hell's_Horses)|Eleventh Mechanized Cavalry Cluster]].<ref name=FM:CCp55,56/>  The Attackers would make landfall soon, almost entirely intact.  The battle would rage for the next 26 hours, with Horse Armor hitting the Smythe-Jewel flanks while the Coyote Assault Cluster along with a combination Horse/Coyote unit smashed the center of the enemy lines.  After many hours of hard fighting, [[Star Colonel]] [[William Smythe]] would lead a last desperate assault against the 666th, killing Horse Star Colonel [[Ursula Mitchell]].  Not long after this, Star Colonel Smythe would meet his end against the combined Coyote/Horse unit, dying in a withering hail of weapons fire.  The Smythe-Jewel remnants attempted to flee, but between Horse Elementals swarming their 'Mechs and the arrival of forces from Kindraa Payne sent to ensure the death of their treacherous cousins (ostensibly to "guard their borders"), fleeing elements under ranking Smythe-Jewel officer [[Star Captain]] [[Tomas Jewel]] would also go down, signifying the end of the struggle.<ref name=FM:CCp39,40>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', pp. 39–40: "Death of a Kindraa"</ref><ref>''Field Manual: Warden Clans'', pp. 41–42: "Righteous Vengeance"</ref><ref>''Era Digest: Golden Century'', p. 9: "Bad Blood"</ref>

===Aftermath===
With the battle over, the Hell's Horses would take most of the salvage as ''[[isorla]]'', procuring the OmniMech design in the process.  They would take the best part of the Smythe, Jewel, and Grant [[List_of_Bloodnames|Bloodnames]], half of the genetic legacies stored in the Fire Mandrill facility, leaving the other half for the Coyotes as per their agreement.  The Coyotes would take most of the bondsmen and most of the remaining genetic legacies, as well as the Smythe-Jewel compound.  Any unclaimed legacies were allowed to be claimed by other Kindraa, along with a portion of the Smythe-Jewel holdings, which went to Kindraa Payne.  Khan Amirault would depart with his forces and also the goodwill of the Coyotes and the Paynes.<ref name=FM:CCp54,55/><ref name=FM:CCp55,56/><ref name=FM:CCp39,40/>

==Legacy==
The first ever use of contract bidding between Clans, in this case [[Clan Hell's Horses]] and Clan Coyote, in order to destroy the Smythe-Jewels without the need for costly trials against each other for the rights to attack, was a great success.  It would one day lead to other instances of inter-Clan cooperation.

As a major player in the development of the [[Elemental]], Khan Eric Amirault's place in history is quite well secured, as was his genetic line afterward.  Hailing from a [[Bloodname]] House that is known for its [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarriros]], the Amirault line would consistently breed outstanding officers for Clan Hell's Horses through the centuries.<ref>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 53: "Clan Hell's Horses Exclusive Bloodnames"</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Era Digest: Golden Century]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Crusader Clans]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Warden Clans]]''

[[Category: Clan Hell's Horses Characters|Amirault, Eric]]
[[Category: Khans|Amirault, Eric]]