Editing History of Clan Fire Mandrill

[[Image:Clan Fire Mandrill.jpg|right|thumb|Clan Fire Mandrill Emblem]]

:''This article details the history of '''''Clan Fire Mandrill'''''. For more information, see [[Clan Fire Mandrill]].''
:''For the history of the Clans as a whole, see [[History of the Clans]].''

==Formation==
When [[IlKhan]] Kerensky chose to form the twenty Clans, he selected former [[Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery]] Officer [[Raymond Sainze]] as senior Khan, and declared the much younger [[Laura Payne]] as his junior [[saKhan]].
Kerensky then imposed a forty warrior limit to the invasion forces to be used in [[Operation KLONDIKE]].

Due to Khan Sainze's samurai traditions, he pushed his ethics of individual performance and the desire for a personal victory on his fellow Fire Mandrills. However, his upbringings left him remarkably distant, preventing the formation of relationships with colleagues within the Clan Council.  This sense of competition and lack of cohesion was the first sign of Fire Mandrill's division between the Bloodnamed warriors of the Clan's original Warrior Caste. The early splitting of Fire Mandrill warriors into [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clique cliques] would lead to the Kindred Associates, later known as the Kindraa.<ref>''The Clans: Warriors of Kerensky'', pp. 77–78: Clan Fire Mandrill/History - Fractioning and the first signs of Fractioning noted</ref><ref>''Historical: Operation Klondike'', p. 80: Clan Fire Mandrill Cluster - factionalism in Clan's first Cluster beginning signs to come</ref>

The Mandrills would conduct a series of pre-Trials to determine the quantity of supplies and resources they would utilize in [[Operation KLONDIKE]]. The Clan's Cluster that would be used in the campaign were subsequently armed with BattleMechs.

==Operation KLONDIKE==
The Fire Mandrills were assigned to assault the Pentagon world of [[Dagda (Clan System)|Dagda]], along with Clans [[Clan Burrock|Burrock]], [[Clan Goliath Scorpion|Goliath Scorpion]] and [[Clan Widowmaker|Widowmaker]]. However, [[ilKhan]] [[Nicholas Kerensky]] would initially put the invasion of the planet on hold due to a helium tank rupture on one of the Invasion Force's JumpShips.

On July 30th [[2821]], the Dagda Task Force arrived on-planet.  While [[Clan Goliath Scorpion]] and other forces assaulted [[Firebase Delta]], the Fire Mandrills deployed to the other side of the planet, where they were safe from the massive [[SDS]] complex's weaponry. Despite this relative security, the planetary invasion did not go as planned for Clan Fire Mandrill.  Initial landings were complicated due to navigation errors, which sent a number of [[Binary|Binaries]] and critical campaign supplies spread beyond the mountains and along the coasts of the continent of Salò.

With their logistics lost and troops scattered, the Fire Mandrill campaign quickly became mired.  Only half of the supplies lost in the wilds of Mount Lucca were ever recovered, and though the resident forces of Salò were not as organized or well-armed, the Fire Mandrills' lack of proper provisions and organization hampered their own success. Equipment quickly ceased to function due to a lack of proper repair components, and an ammunition deficiency became detrimental to survival.  The Fire Mandrill support technicians were forced to jury-rig much of [[Clan Fire Mandrill Touman|their ''touman'']]'s equipment.<ref>''Historical: Operation Klondike'', p. 81: Bloody Salò - Fire Mandrill early events in Operation Klondike</ref> Despite setbacks and growing internal feuding, the Mandrills were eventually able to take the city-state of Garda.<ref>''Historical: Operation Klondike'', p. 83: Secondary Targets: Garda and Tenno - Fire Mandrill takes the city-state of Garda</ref>

The majority of the resistance forces in the Fire Mandrills' operational area were left in a weakened state, making them little match for the Mandrills' high-tech firepower.  However, as the campaign drew to an end in the Night Labyrinth, an area of vast canyons and rocky regions, the Clan's internal disputes grew critical.  The operation to clean up the last of resistance units would have been simple if not for the growing tension between Khan Sainze and saKhan Payne.  Both rivals bid away advantages such as satellite recon and aerial surveillance in an attempt to outdo one another, encumbering their own forces in the process. Under normal circumstances, this mop-up process would have been completed in a matter of days. Instead, the final acts of the Mandrills' operations took weeks.

During the post-campaign debriefings, the Clan was criticized by ilKhan Kerensky for its internal squabbling and waste of critical resources.<ref>''Historical: Operation Klondike'', p. 81: Bloody Salò - Rest of the Campaign on Dagda and their squabbling is criticized by ilKhan Kerensky</ref>

==Golden Century==
Like their fellows, the Fire Mandrills also expanded and improved upon the military technology of the Star League, but their fractious nature limited their efforts to a modestly enhanced version of the [[Flamer]].<ref name=EDGC-6>''Era Digest: Golden Century'', p. 6: "Out with the Old, In with the New"</ref>

This century saw the destruction of Kindraa Smythe-Jewel at the hands of [[Clan Hell's Horses]] and [[Clan Coyote]] in retribution for dishonorable bidding in a previous Trial.{{cn}}

==Political Century==
As the Golden Century drew to a close, the Fire Mandrills had lapsed into semi-isolation. They had little contact with other Clans and were mainly concerned with their own internal conflicts. When the Crusader and Warden movements developed among the Clans, the Fire Mandrills split along Kindraa lines. Crusader and Warden Kindraa soon came to blows as they sought to resolve their philosophical differences by defeating their rivals on the battlefield. Kindraa Sainze championed the Crusader cause and eventually rose to dominate the Clan, reducing the strength of the staunchest Warden Kindraa through a mixture of fighting and politics.{{cn}}

==Operation REVIVAL==
A majority of Mandrills were in the Crusader camp by the time that the Grand Council took the vote to invade the Inner Sphere, and so Clan Fire Mandrill voted in the affirmative. Due to their factionalism the Mandrills fought Trials among themselves to determine who would represent the Clan, shattering their own ''touman''. As a result they fared poorly when it came to the placement Trials arranged by the Grand Council, defeating [[Clan Ice Hellion]] but losing to [[Clan Coyote]] and [[Clan Star Adder]]. Not even placing well enough to earn a slot as a reserve Clan, the Fire Mandrills sat out [[Operation REVIVAL]] entirely.

During the 'Hellions' Fury' campaign launched by Clan Ice Hellion shortly after the invasion forces left for the Inner Sphere, the Hellions attacked Fire Mandrill enclaves on Foster, taking their targets by surprise and netting territory, resources and war matériel.<ref>''Operational Turning Points: REVIVAL Trials''</ref>

==Great Refusal and Aftermath==
The Fire Mandrills fought against the Capellan [[Red Lancers]] in the [[Great Refusal]]. The Binary that the Clan fielded was an ad hoc mixture of different Kindraa representatives and proved unable to coordinate effectively on the battlefield. The Red Lancers isolated one Star and destroyed it before moving on to the other.

For the first half of the 3060s Khan Amanda Carrol attempted to unite the fractious Kindraa, but deep divides between Wardens and Crusaders meant all her efforts came to nothing in the end. After a great deal of bitter infighting the Clan Council held a vote of no confidence in their Khan in 3066. Amanda Carrol stepped down and was replaced by Garret Sainze within a year.

3067 saw the mergers of several Kindraa. Kindraa Mick-Kreese-Kline was formed in the aftermath of a disastrous campaign against Clan Star Adder. Two Mick-Kreese Clusters had joined their [[Clan Blood Spirit]] allies' [[Iota Galaxy (Clan Blood Spirit)|Iota Galaxy]] in an assault on Clan Star Adder enclaves on [[Tathis]]. In the midst of the fierce battle two additional Clusters from Kindraa Kline barged in uninvited, taking fire from all sides and reducing the Trial to a crazed melee. Both Kline Clusters were almost destroyed in the chaotic fighting, leaving their Kindraa strength at barely more than two Clusters. Too small to remain a viable combat formation — and with vengeful Star Adder forces nearby on Dagda — the remnants of Kindraa Kline reluctantly merged with Kindraa Mick-Kreese.

The other major merger was the formation of Kindraa Payne-Beyl-Grant. This was the result of the violent struggles between Warden and Crusader Kindraa, with Kindraa Sainze battering Kindraa Beyl-Grant and Payne so badly that these two Warden Kindraa joined together in order to resist the attacks and maintain a strong Warden bloc in their Clan.<ref>''Field Manual: Updates'', p. ??{{cn}}</ref>

This period saw the Fire Mandrills strengthening their ties with Clan Blood Spirit. The Spirits maintained links with every Kindraa and often acted as mediators and go-betweens, as well as jointly developing the ''[[Crimson Langur]]'' [[OmniMech]] and ''[[Delphyne]]'' [[ProtoMech]] with the Mandrills.<ref>''Technical Readout: 3067''</ref><ref>''Technical Readout: 3075'', p. ??{{cn}}</ref>

==Wars of Reaving and Destruction==

When the next Grand Council was convened in late February, 3071, the severity of the [[Word of Blake|Blakist]] assault upon [[Clan Wolf]]'s capital [[Tamar]] spurred the Clans into electing a new [[ilKhan]]. [[Clan Star Adder]] and [[Clan Steel Viper]] suggested Garret Sainze for the post, not because they believed him fit for the role but simply to make their own candidate, Star Adder Khan [[Stanislov N'Buta]], appear as a sane choice next to the fiery and headstrong Mandrill. Sainze won the ilKhanship anyway; his shocking victory was due to a single vote, that of Diamond Shark Khan [[Barbara Sennet]], who wanted to prevent the [[Snake Alliance]] from dominating the Grand Council.<ref>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 63</ref>

Sainze's first (and as it turned out, last) motion as ilKhan was to address the issue of the [[Great Refusal]]. Furious at the foiling of their plans, the Adder Khans led their power bloc in voting to uphold the results; combined with abstentions from Clans concerned about arousing the Adders' wrath, the Great Refusal remained in place. Disgusted at the entire political circus taking place, [[Clan Goliath Scorpion]] Khan [[Ariel Suvorov]] declared a [[Trial of Refusal]] against Sainze's election as ilKhan, declaring him an incompetent leader with delusions of glory.<ref>''The Wars of Reaving'', pp. 63–64</ref>

With no choice but to accept or lose what little respect he had left, Sainze met Suvorov's forces on Shadow. In a three-day campaign four Clusters from the Fire Mandrills battled a like number of Goliath Scorpions; by the end of the fighting Sainze had perished, along with most of his Kindraa's warriors.<ref>''The Wars of Reaving'', pp. 64, 191</ref>

After his demise, [[Clan Cloud Cobra]] issued a [[Trial of Reaving]] on Sainze's Bloodname, citing his failure as ilKhan and in defending his right to the post. In a narrow victory against the [[149th Cobra Guards (Clan Cloud Cobra)|149th Cobra Guards]] Khan [[Amanda Carrol]] and Kindraa Mick-Kreese-Kline-Sainze managed to defend Garret Sainze's legacy from Reaving.<ref>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 65</ref>

Clan Fire Mandrill arrived in a much-weakened state to the Grand Council in December 3071, with all Clans in attendance. Voting with Clans Blood Spirit, Goliath Scorpion, and Steel Viper, Khan Carrol voted to refute the Great Refusal. With only Clans Ice Hellion, Hell’s Horses, Ghost Bear, Coyote and Diamond Shark voting against it, the Great Refusal was finally declared null and void.<ref>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 77</ref>

Two days later the Mandrills fought with the Grand Council's call for a [[Trial of Annihilation]] against Clan Wolf. This was due to their daring raid on [[Strana Mechty]]'s Kerensky Blood Chapel. Their involvement didn't have the desired effect, however, with their forces assaulting both McKenna and Clearwater Blood Chapels faring badly. Desperate for some sort of victory, Star Colonel [[Abraxas Mick]] ordered the [[Jungle Heat]] to make orbital strikes. These strikes razed both Blood Chapels but also hit the Ben-Shimon Blood Chapel, a Binary of nearby Star Adder troops, and caused even more fires to start. The Mandrills actions enraged the Star Adders and the Goliath Scorpions who destroyed the [[Jungle Heat]] and the Vipers to declare Mick-Kreese-Kline-Sainze Kindraa as a new target of Reaving. This Reaving was assigned to Clans Goliath Scorpion and Coyote to conduct.<ref name=TWORp82>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 82</ref>

In mid-December, the Fire Mandrills declared Trials of Reaving against the Snuka and Vong Bloodnames on [[Arcadia (Clan System)|Arcadia]]. However, the remainder of Kindraa Payne-Beyl-Grant’s ''touman'' were summarily destroyed by the [[4th Bear Regulars]] and saKhan [[Aletha Kabrinski]]’s Silveroot Keshik.<ref name=TWORp82 /> Later Kindraa Mattila-Carrol's [[64th Firestorm Cluster (Clan Fire Mandrill)|64th Firestorm Cluster]] and the [[14th Scorpion Grenadiers]] overwhelmed Clan Coyote on [[Glory (system)|Glory]], winning half of Clan Coyote's holdings there.

In January [[3072]], Clans Steel Viper and Goliath Scorpion arrived on [[Shadow]] to carry out the ilKhan assigned Reaving of Kindraa Mick-Kreese-Kline-Sainze, with the help of Clan Coyote's enclave on planet. The resulting defeat of saKhan [[Dakar Mick]] however was to be more of a surprise to all Clans. Not only did Clan Coyote's assault only last just 36 hours, it was due to the 3:1 odds and new ProtoMech designs. In addition as the Kindraa's warriors presented themselves to the Coyotes they reacted by slaughtering all in attendance, including the attendant Viper and Goliath Scorpion warriors. The Mandrills would be the first victim of [[The Society]].

After taking the last Ice Hellion enclaves on [[Barcella]] Clan Steel Viper seized [[Molten]], an important Kindraa Mattila-Carrol enclave. Much of the [[61st Firestorm Cluster]] died defending the site. Retreating, the Mandrills met up with the [[1st Fire Assault Cluster]] at [[Mockva]] and attacked [[Reston]]. They did not know, however, that it had been recently taken by Clan Blood Spirit's [[79th Blood Hussars]]. After several storage tanks near the Trial exploded, each side claiming the other had violated the Trial, and triggered a melee that Clan Blood Spirit emerged the victor of.<ref>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 110</ref>

The Fire Mandrills lost the [[301st Firebrand Cluster]] to the Dark Caste on [[Marshall]] in early December. Starving, as there had been no supplies arriving, they attempted to strike both Immesha and Ommesha in force. Thinking they would only fight the besieged Ice Hellions they ran straight into the guns of two Dark Caste Septs and were quickly disabled. With the only Mandrill forces on planet captured, the Dark Caste claimed their Enclave.

==References==
<references/>

==Bibliography==
* ''[[The Clans: Warriors of Kerensky]]''
* ''[[Era Digest: Golden Century]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Updates]]''
* ''[[Historical: Operation Klondike]]''
* ''[[Operational Turning Points: REVIVAL Trials]]''
* ''[[Technical Readout: 3067]]''
* ''[[The Wars of Reaving]]''


[[Category:History|Clan Fire Mandrill, History of]]