Ethan Moreau

Ethan Moreau (b. 27?? - died 2851) was a Star League Defense Force officer and Gunslinger who would stay behind on the Pentagon Worlds during Nicholas Kerensky's Second Exodus. After a show of great contrition he would be forgiven by the Ilkhan and allowed to join the Clans. He would rise to be the first Loremaster of Clan Goliath Scorpion, though he would never be allowed to have his genes added to the Clans' eugenics program. He would die in battle against the Fire Mandrills.

Biography

Star League Service

Ethan Moreau was a graduate of the Star League's Gunslinger Program, and as such was an extremely capable MechWarrior. He held the rank of Major during the Liberation of Terra, where he distinguished himself in battle, earning promotion to General and command of the elite 81st BattleMech Division, nicknamed The Devils of Devil's Rock.

The Exodus Road and Babylonian Honor

He would join Aleksandr Kerensky's Exodus from the Inner Sphere, loyal to the Great General and the ideas of the Star League. He was commander of the defenses on the Pentagon World of Babylon, a position he held when the rebellions broke out after the DeChavalier Massacre. With the death of Aleksandr Kerensky and the leadership of the Star League in Exile, Ethan Moreau ultimately refused to accompany Nicholas Kerensky on the Second Exodus. He would go on to tell the future ilKhan this in a heartfelt letter, and that he was tired of running away from war, as well as the many light-years of the Exodus Road in general. He felt that his honor bound him to service on Babylon and that he would try to keep the SLDF flame alive during the dark years of the Pentagon Civil War.

When rebels overran the 81st's headquarters only two weeks after Nicholas Kerensky's followers departed, Ethan Moreau was reported dead. But he did not die. He stayed and fought the rising tide of rebels who fought against each other mostly over old factional loyalties and divides brought with them from the Inner Sphere. Throughout the long years of civil war, he would rally the remnants of his force to fight against the two primary rebel factions. When the factions united just before the return of Kerensky's Children in 2821, his rebel group was swept into the deserts, scattered to fate.

Redemption and the Scorpion

Moreau wandered for many months through the deserts and wastes, his time spent in contemplation and introspection. After the conclusion of Operation Klondike, as the period called the Coursing began in 2822, he would be found by an Ice Hellion patrol. He was at the top of an obsidian spire, a rock formation common in the Babylonian badlands, screaming in delirium. In his wandering he had been stung multiple times by Babylonian goliath scorpions, a huge arachnid that inhabited the desert wastelands of Babylon. It's venom was highly toxic, often causing death and brain damage to survivors, but also having hallucinogenic properties. When they were finally close enough to hear him, they heard the words "Bring me to the ilKhan, I must see him!"

All of this was quite a shock to the warriors of the patrol. The fact that Nicholas Kerensky was officially called by the title ilKhan was not common knowledge. When he was brought before the ilKhan, he fell to his knees, and in the tones of the broken told Nicholas Kerensky of how he had perpetrated a great folly by staying behind when the call for the Second Exodus was issued. He begged forgiveness of his mistake and Nicholas Kerensky was moved to the point that he granted it. In doing so he also began a tradition called surkai, whereby a Clan member can admit his mistake and beg forgiveness or even punishment for it with little loss of honor.

Though the Ice Hellions would dismiss him as infirm and damaged by the scorpion venom, one Clan was interested in his abilities. Being one of the few survivors from the Gunslinger Program held advantages for Moreau. At the petition of Khan Cyrus Elam who wanted to use him as an instructor for his Clan's newest warriors, Ethan Moreau was inducted into {[Clan Goliath Scorpion]] in a ceremony that the ilKhan himself attended. This occasion became the basis for the modern Clan Ritual of Adoption, and has been observed ever since by the Clans. But it was not without a condition: Ethan Moreau would never be allowed to contribute to the Clan eugenics program.

Upon being adopted, Ethan Moreau was ordered to write down his ever recollection and thought about what had occurred during the long civil war. He also steeped himself in the study of Clan Law and tradition, as well as the writings of the ilKhan and his supporters. By 2824, he was named the first Loremaster of Clan Goliath Scorpion.

Bibliography

• Era Digest: Golden Century
• Field Manual: Warden Clans
• Historical: Operation Klondike
• The Clans: Warriors of Kerensky