Touring the Stars with Bertram Habeas
We began on Terra, millions of years ago. Today, mankind stretches out among the
become in our relentless push outward and onward? I’m Bertram Habeas, and
tonight, let’s find the answers to these many other fascinating questions together,
as we tour the stars!
Volume XVI: Turkina’s Chosen – Clan Jade Falcon Today
Fact Sheet: Clan Jade Falcon Occupation Zone
Founding Year: 3050
Capital (City, World): Hammarr, Sudeten
National Symbol: A jade falcon, clutching a katana, soaring against a blue and gray
rectangular field.
Location (Terra relative): Coreward, between Lyran Commonwealth and Clan Wolf
Total (Inhabited) Systems: 44
Estimated Population (3130): 145,200,000,000
Government: Clan (Caste-driven, Warrior-dominant hierarchy)
Ruler: Khan Jana Pryde
Dominant Language(s): English (official)
Dominant Religion(s): None
Unit of Currency: Kerensky (1 kerensky = 5.13 C-Bills)
The city of Borealtown, on the planet Wotan, is a sprawling metropolis located on a
large hill in the middle of the Boreal Heights. The view, on a clear day, is nothing short
of breathtaking, overlooking not only some of the finest examples of 31st-century
architecture, but an almost unspoiled valley below. Off to the east, on the shores of
the large Lake Borea, one can just barely make out the towers of Oslo, the city that is
home of the Jade Falcon Occupation Zone’s largest MiningMech producer, a Clan-
run factory once known as Wotan Mining Systems.
Today, Borealtown basks in the glow of its noon-day sun in eerie silence, the streets
empty, save for a few utility vehicles and the odd merchant or warrior caste
guardsman. Several sections of the city are little more than empty warehouses or
patches of rubble. The largest structure is an administrative building, a half-domed
complex over ten stories high, bearing the green broad-winged insignia of Clan Jade
Falcon. This structure can hold over two thousand Clansmen easily, but today, a mere
57 laborers, technicians, and administrators perform their daily duties within.
The signs that Borealtown was once the heart of the Jade Falcon empire remain just
evident enough to give a visitor the impression that he is standing in a ghost town. The
site of a brutal, final battle between the Jade Falcons and the Wolves during the
Refusal War, at which the Falcons ultimately claimed victory, this city was ravaged,
but the waste-conscious Clan saw to its renovation and revitalization. Once centrally
located in the Occupation Zone, the Hell’s Horses invasion and the aftermath of the
Jihad placed this world perilously close to one hostile border, and too far from the
others to coordinate defense. Forced to relocate, the Falcon leadership moved its
command centers to Sudeten.
Though this world no longer has the prominence it once did, the Falcons still station
heavy guard here. Like all Clans, sharing a handful of worlds with oft-hostile
neighbors for centuries has taught them to make the most of every square meter of
soil, no matter how inhospitable or mundane. In and around the cities of Borealtown
and Oslo, automated turrets lazily track every vehicle moving along the highways, and
Elemental foot soldiers make irregular patrols. Occasionally, a pair of Donar assault
helicopters fly overhead, backed up from time to time by a pair of Ares medium strike
tanks.
More recently, the shorelines of Lake Borea, north of Oslo, felt the tremors of a
BattleMech’s footfalls, when a mixed force of Jade Falcon troops squared off
against a Hell’s Horses vehicle Star. The prize of this Trial of Possession: the
contents of Oslo’s IndustrialMech warehouses. Though the battle was intense,
with no less than seventeen warriors killed or wounded from both sides, witnesses –
most of them Falcon technicians – say the action was just a shadow of the
greatness that once characterized Clan Trials.
“It was as if the warriors were merely actors upon a stage,� said Myomer
Specialist Rusl, who claims that he washed out of the Clan’s strict training
protocols. “They played at war, but there was no heart in it, for either side.
Naturally, the Falcons carried the day, but even the Horses seemed to regard the
challenge as a mere formality.�
“This is what decades of imposed peace bring the Clans,� said Marek, a third-
level Actuator Specialist employed at the same facility as Rusl. “We engage in
wasteful, empty Trials, as Spheroid barbarians watch and laugh, forgetting what it
was like in the days when the Falcon soared over all, when BattleMechs marched
across the plains of dozens of worlds, trampling all who would oppose them. The
Inner Sphere forgets just how nearly victory lay within our grasp.�
They are the words and thoughts of a frustrated people, a people trained for war, yet
hamstrung by peace. The familiar pressures of the citizens, the lower castes, to whom
Kerensky implied the warriors were beholden, once more rise up in anguish. Though it
is a voice colored by those native to the Inner Sphere itself, that voice once more cries
out against the Inner Sphere.
And it is a voice that is growing ever louder…
In the nearly empty city of Borealtown, people from all castes gather tonight, to
witness another Trial of Grievance. The combatants are one of the planet’s
warrior administrators and the local emissary, himself a warrior. The scene, we are
told, is played out almost weekly, and Wotan is not the only world where it goes on.
As the combatants grapple in their Circle of Equals, under the hot lights of the nearby
street lamps of a broad – yet mostly empty – parking lot, those in the back of the
surrounding mob can watch only through the closed-circuit holovid set up for the
occasion. The entire scene is reminiscent of a Lyran prize fight, but with a far more
informal feel.
In solemn tones, Star Captain Alis, the local emissary – her post regarded as an
affront to the younger, more hot-blooded warriors of her Clan – is the challenged.
The Grievance against her is one of politics, another subject that sickens the Clans,
but which all acknowledge as a necessary evil. As an ominous hush settles across the
crowd, her challenger, Star Commander Kynnet, proclaims his reasons for the Trail:
“I, Star Commander Kynnet, of the Borealton Garrison Star, do hereby declare this
to be my Trial of Grievance against the Spheroid-lover before me,â€� he snarls. â
€œIn clinging to your Wolf-like views of charity to the barbarians of the Inner Sphere,
and for her disgraceful lack of ambition, I shall prove that no aging, dezgra â
€˜emissary’ can speak for the honor of the Falcon! In this solemn matter, let none
interfere!�
Alis bears each insult in silence, though hatred burns her face ever-brighter shades of
red with each verbal lashing. As Kynnet finishes, the crowd roars its approval, then it
is her turn to speak:
“I, Star Captain Alis Jadefalcon, welcome the challenge of this surat-spawn,
Kynnet, in the name of the honor of Clan Jade Falcon,� she cries. “We are
Falcons, and the blood of Kerensky flows through us all! Let none of the feral claims
of this rabid vulture before you sway your hearts, and know that it is his own dishonor
which shall bring him to his knees this day! In this matter, none shall interfere!�
The cheer on Alis’ behalf is noticeably softer, punctuated only by both combatants
shouting “Seyla!� as they drop into defensive stances, eyes locked only
moments before the first warrior lunges, sword flashing in the light.
It is fought, some say, with more heart than the Horses’ attack earlier this month,
and in a blinding display of swordsmanship, Alis is dropped to one knee, her uniform
in tatters, blood flowing from a gash in her belly. But it is her final thrust that carries
the battle, nearly severing Kynnet’s sword arm even as he prepares the final blow.
Both warriors will be in the infirmary for days, but Alis has won.
The crowd, however, is not with Alis. Groans of disapproval fill the air as Kynnet
drops to the pavement. Though the rights of the Clan say Alis has won her Grievance
Trial, the issue remains a source of contention for warriors of every stripe. As the
pressure builds, one cannot help but wonder how many more Trials will warriors such
as Alis be forced to fight, while warriors like Kynnet continue to push for another
showdown against the Inner Sphere.
In our next four-part series, our tour through history and cultures of the Inner Sphere
will take us back to the Successor States, to House Liao’s Capellan Confederation,
a controversial – yet intriguing House . Please join us as we continue our tour of the
stars! I’m Bertram Habeas.
become in our relentless push outward and onward? I’m Bertram Habeas, and
tonight, let’s find the answers to these many other fascinating questions together,
as we tour the stars!
Volume XVI: Turkina’s Chosen – Clan Jade Falcon Today
Fact Sheet: Clan Jade Falcon Occupation Zone
Founding Year: 3050
Capital (City, World): Hammarr, Sudeten
National Symbol: A jade falcon, clutching a katana, soaring against a blue and gray
rectangular field.
Location (Terra relative): Coreward, between Lyran Commonwealth and Clan Wolf
Total (Inhabited) Systems: 44
Estimated Population (3130): 145,200,000,000
Government: Clan (Caste-driven, Warrior-dominant hierarchy)
Ruler: Khan Jana Pryde
Dominant Language(s): English (official)
Dominant Religion(s): None
Unit of Currency: Kerensky (1 kerensky = 5.13 C-Bills)
The city of Borealtown, on the planet Wotan, is a sprawling metropolis located on a
large hill in the middle of the Boreal Heights. The view, on a clear day, is nothing short
of breathtaking, overlooking not only some of the finest examples of 31st-century
architecture, but an almost unspoiled valley below. Off to the east, on the shores of
the large Lake Borea, one can just barely make out the towers of Oslo, the city that is
home of the Jade Falcon Occupation Zone’s largest MiningMech producer, a Clan-
run factory once known as Wotan Mining Systems.
Today, Borealtown basks in the glow of its noon-day sun in eerie silence, the streets
empty, save for a few utility vehicles and the odd merchant or warrior caste
guardsman. Several sections of the city are little more than empty warehouses or
patches of rubble. The largest structure is an administrative building, a half-domed
complex over ten stories high, bearing the green broad-winged insignia of Clan Jade
Falcon. This structure can hold over two thousand Clansmen easily, but today, a mere
57 laborers, technicians, and administrators perform their daily duties within.
The signs that Borealtown was once the heart of the Jade Falcon empire remain just
evident enough to give a visitor the impression that he is standing in a ghost town. The
site of a brutal, final battle between the Jade Falcons and the Wolves during the
Refusal War, at which the Falcons ultimately claimed victory, this city was ravaged,
but the waste-conscious Clan saw to its renovation and revitalization. Once centrally
located in the Occupation Zone, the Hell’s Horses invasion and the aftermath of the
Jihad placed this world perilously close to one hostile border, and too far from the
others to coordinate defense. Forced to relocate, the Falcon leadership moved its
command centers to Sudeten.
Though this world no longer has the prominence it once did, the Falcons still station
heavy guard here. Like all Clans, sharing a handful of worlds with oft-hostile
neighbors for centuries has taught them to make the most of every square meter of
soil, no matter how inhospitable or mundane. In and around the cities of Borealtown
and Oslo, automated turrets lazily track every vehicle moving along the highways, and
Elemental foot soldiers make irregular patrols. Occasionally, a pair of Donar assault
helicopters fly overhead, backed up from time to time by a pair of Ares medium strike
tanks.
More recently, the shorelines of Lake Borea, north of Oslo, felt the tremors of a
BattleMech’s footfalls, when a mixed force of Jade Falcon troops squared off
against a Hell’s Horses vehicle Star. The prize of this Trial of Possession: the
contents of Oslo’s IndustrialMech warehouses. Though the battle was intense,
with no less than seventeen warriors killed or wounded from both sides, witnesses –
most of them Falcon technicians – say the action was just a shadow of the
greatness that once characterized Clan Trials.
“It was as if the warriors were merely actors upon a stage,� said Myomer
Specialist Rusl, who claims that he washed out of the Clan’s strict training
protocols. “They played at war, but there was no heart in it, for either side.
Naturally, the Falcons carried the day, but even the Horses seemed to regard the
challenge as a mere formality.�
“This is what decades of imposed peace bring the Clans,� said Marek, a third-
level Actuator Specialist employed at the same facility as Rusl. “We engage in
wasteful, empty Trials, as Spheroid barbarians watch and laugh, forgetting what it
was like in the days when the Falcon soared over all, when BattleMechs marched
across the plains of dozens of worlds, trampling all who would oppose them. The
Inner Sphere forgets just how nearly victory lay within our grasp.�
They are the words and thoughts of a frustrated people, a people trained for war, yet
hamstrung by peace. The familiar pressures of the citizens, the lower castes, to whom
Kerensky implied the warriors were beholden, once more rise up in anguish. Though it
is a voice colored by those native to the Inner Sphere itself, that voice once more cries
out against the Inner Sphere.
And it is a voice that is growing ever louder…
In the nearly empty city of Borealtown, people from all castes gather tonight, to
witness another Trial of Grievance. The combatants are one of the planet’s
warrior administrators and the local emissary, himself a warrior. The scene, we are
told, is played out almost weekly, and Wotan is not the only world where it goes on.
As the combatants grapple in their Circle of Equals, under the hot lights of the nearby
street lamps of a broad – yet mostly empty – parking lot, those in the back of the
surrounding mob can watch only through the closed-circuit holovid set up for the
occasion. The entire scene is reminiscent of a Lyran prize fight, but with a far more
informal feel.
In solemn tones, Star Captain Alis, the local emissary – her post regarded as an
affront to the younger, more hot-blooded warriors of her Clan – is the challenged.
The Grievance against her is one of politics, another subject that sickens the Clans,
but which all acknowledge as a necessary evil. As an ominous hush settles across the
crowd, her challenger, Star Commander Kynnet, proclaims his reasons for the Trail:
“I, Star Commander Kynnet, of the Borealton Garrison Star, do hereby declare this
to be my Trial of Grievance against the Spheroid-lover before me,â€� he snarls. â
€œIn clinging to your Wolf-like views of charity to the barbarians of the Inner Sphere,
and for her disgraceful lack of ambition, I shall prove that no aging, dezgra â
€˜emissary’ can speak for the honor of the Falcon! In this solemn matter, let none
interfere!�
Alis bears each insult in silence, though hatred burns her face ever-brighter shades of
red with each verbal lashing. As Kynnet finishes, the crowd roars its approval, then it
is her turn to speak:
“I, Star Captain Alis Jadefalcon, welcome the challenge of this surat-spawn,
Kynnet, in the name of the honor of Clan Jade Falcon,� she cries. “We are
Falcons, and the blood of Kerensky flows through us all! Let none of the feral claims
of this rabid vulture before you sway your hearts, and know that it is his own dishonor
which shall bring him to his knees this day! In this matter, none shall interfere!�
The cheer on Alis’ behalf is noticeably softer, punctuated only by both combatants
shouting “Seyla!� as they drop into defensive stances, eyes locked only
moments before the first warrior lunges, sword flashing in the light.
It is fought, some say, with more heart than the Horses’ attack earlier this month,
and in a blinding display of swordsmanship, Alis is dropped to one knee, her uniform
in tatters, blood flowing from a gash in her belly. But it is her final thrust that carries
the battle, nearly severing Kynnet’s sword arm even as he prepares the final blow.
Both warriors will be in the infirmary for days, but Alis has won.
The crowd, however, is not with Alis. Groans of disapproval fill the air as Kynnet
drops to the pavement. Though the rights of the Clan say Alis has won her Grievance
Trial, the issue remains a source of contention for warriors of every stripe. As the
pressure builds, one cannot help but wonder how many more Trials will warriors such
as Alis be forced to fight, while warriors like Kynnet continue to push for another
showdown against the Inner Sphere.
In our next four-part series, our tour through history and cultures of the Inner Sphere
will take us back to the Successor States, to House Liao’s Capellan Confederation,
a controversial – yet intriguing House . Please join us as we continue our tour of the
stars! I’m Bertram Habeas.