Joanna

Joanna was a 31st Century trueborn Clan Jade Falcon warrior who is notable for killing Khan Natasha Kerensky of Clan Wolf on Twycross in 3057, and for being the only survivor from the Falcon Guards when they were destroyed on that same world in 3050, by Kai Allard-Liao. Joanna is also notable for training the sibko that produced both Star Colonel Aidan Pryde and Khan Marthe Pryde.

Personal History

Falconer

Joanna was a falconer under Ter Roshak on Ironhold and was instrumental in the training of many sibkos, including the Ramon Mattlov-Tania Pryde sibko that produced several of the Jade Falcon's most renowned warriors. When Aidan Pryde failed his Trial of Position and then disappeared after his reassignment to the Technician caste, Joanna was ordered by Ter Roshak to retrieve him and was heavily involved in his "rebirth" as a Clan warrior.

When her role in the deceit of Aidan's second Trial came to light, she testified in her own defense and later fought the Trial of Refusal with Aidan and Ter Roshak, winning against heavy odds. She also was a member of Aidan's Bloodname training council.

Falcon Guards

Later, Joanna was promoted to the rank of Star Captain, but after the debacle on Twycross she was forced to retest and demoted to Star Commander. Aidan Pryde specifically requested her to re-join the reconstituted Falcon Guards and he used her talent as a falconer to whip the demoralized unit into shape. She succeeded superbly, and though Aidan gave her a field promotion to Star Captain, it would not stick due to her age and overall history.

Work for the Jade Falcon Watch

After the Battle of Tukayyid the Falcon Guard got a new commander, Star Colonel Ravill Pryde, whom she hated at first sight. After she accidentally killed a green warrior in a Circle of Equals and failed a mock Trial of Position, Ravill Pryde sent her to a Solahma unit. Kael Pershaw, head of Jade Falcon Watch then asked Joanna to spy for him in that unit. Unwillingly, she agreed, bargaining a return to the Falcon Guard after that assignment. While in the Solahma unit, Joanna revealed a dark plot of the scientist caste and could later return to the Falcon Guard.

After returning to the Falcon Guard just in time for the Refusal War, Joanna managed to kill Natasha Kerensky by incinerating the cockpit of Natasha's Dire Wolf with the flame of her jump jets, by this securing herself two lines in the Remembrance.

End of the career

In the year 3060, Marthe Pryde asked Joanna to train Diana in her bid for the Pryde bloodname. Diana succeeded in her bid for the bloodname thanks to Joanna's and Horse's tutelage. When the Jade Falcons kicked the Steel Vipers out of their occupation zone, Joanna was injured in the combat. She was last heard from as a trainer training the sibko derived from Aidan Pryde's genes.

In 3069, Joanna and Horse apparently saw action on Marshall in the Kerensky Cluster, though not in battlemechs. The exact opponents they fought and even the circumstances are unknown, however it is common in clan tradition to use aged warriors as cannon fodder in battle, using them as unarmored infantry with little chance to survive. Despite this, there is no actual mention of her death.

References

• Jade Falcon Sourcebook p. 59

Bibliography

• BattleTech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction - Face in the Viewport
• Bloodname (novel)
• Bred for War - Novel
• Falcon Guard (novel)
• Falcon Rising - Novel
• I Am Jade Falcon - Novel
• Jade Falcon Sourcebook
• Way of the Clans