Touring the Stars with Bertram Habeas
We began on Terra, millions of years ago. Today, mankind stretches out among the
stars of the Milky Way, touching thousands of worlds, as far from our home as Clan
space, more than 2,000 light-years distant. Yet who are we, really? What have we
become in our relentless push outward and onward? I’m Bertram Habeas, and tonight,
let’s find the answers to these and many other fascinating questions together, as we
tour the stars!
Volume XXIX: Profit, Progress, and Honor—Origins of Clan Sea Fox
First impressions can often be the most lasting.
When Kerensky’s descendants first appeared in 3050, they tore into the Inner Sphere
with a ferocity and brutal efficiency never seen before. Their armies rolled over those
of the Successor States, carving a wedge of worlds deep into the territories once
united by the Star League. For a couple of years, myths of monsters and powerful
aliens were the only rational explanations for who these invaders could be, though
their identity would soon become clear enough.
The misconception of the Clans rose from the power of their military, their use of
strange tactics and speech, and the vast superiority of their military technology, more
advanced even than the lost weapons of the Star League itself. As the people of the
Inner Sphere learned more of the invaders, they discovered a common history, and
came to realize that the Clans were as human as those Kerensky’s troops left behind.
But while those misconceptions died, others remained. One of the most eternal, of
course, was the concept that the Clans were born, raised, and died for a single
purpose: war.
Like all misconceptions, this belief was born of knowing only the basics about Clan
life, and from the very distinct first impression that only a horde of invading armies
can bring. It was believed that in Clan society, the warriors dominate, dedicating their
lives to perfecting the art of combat, while the civilians serve to make their weapons
stronger, faster, better. Today, however, is a different story. Today, we know that the
Clans are more than simple killing machines. Each has its own goals, desires, and
culture.
And none is so strikingly different from the norm as Clan Sea Fox.
was under this name that the Clan first came to be known to the armies of the Inner
Sphere in the early 3050s. Though the name has once more returned to its origins,
however, Clan Sea Fox has continued to adapt to new circumstances, evolving well
beyond today’s preconceptions of what it means to be Clan. But how did they get to
be where they are now? How does a Clan that embraces democracy and change
evolve?
Formed, like all Clans, around a core of loyal warriors united under the vision of two
Khans, Clan Sea Fox developed quickly around the progressive ideals of Karen
Nagasawa. An eloquent and philosophical warrior, Nagasawa’s words were credited
for winning over many converts to Nicholas Kerensky’s dream—including the Foxes’
first Khan, David Kalasa himself. Nagasawa was also a progressive thinker,
challenging the concept of the honor dueling practice known today as zellbrigen, even
before it became a matter of Clan martial policy, a factor that put her Clan at odds
with most of the others, but fostered a sense of battlefield cooperation. Under
Nagasawa’s lead (after Khan Kalasa died during the reclamation of the Pentagon
worlds), this spirit of cooperation was extended into the lower castes, offering greater
respect to them and encouraging them to expand the Clan’s material prosperity. The
Sea Foxes dove into the effort to expand their Clan, with the merchant and scientist
castes enjoying the benefits of their greater freedoms to explore new markets and
possibilities.
Thanks to the wider latitude granted them, the Sea Foxes earned distinction for their
innovations in science and commerce before and well into the Golden Century. Sea
Fox scientists perfected the iron womb technology still used today by the Clans, and
Sea Fox merchants—as adept at the game of information as at that of commodities—
developed the Chatterweb as an information-exchange network between all Clans.
Not all was profit and progress, however. What helped the Sea Fox prosper was an
affront to more conservative Clans. The merchant caste, its prominence rising beyond
dispute, seemed to call the shots when the Foxes did engage in Trials, guiding their
Clan to profit while the warriors appeared to do their bidding. This so offended Khan
Liam Howell of the Snow Raven Clan that he ordered his scientists to engineer a
predator powerful enough to wipe out the Sea Fox Clan’s totem on Strana Mechty.
This event, once uncovered, led to an extraordinary reaction from the Foxes. Rather
than be bound to a totem that was verging on extinction, and rather than engage in a
wasteful feud against the Clan whose Khan was responsible, the Sea Fox Clan simply
decided to change its name, in a rare election where even the civilian castes were
given a vote. In 2985, after fighting and winning a Trial of Refusal against the Grand
Council’s decision to block the name change, Clan Sea Fox became known by the
name of the predator that had all but wiped out their original totem, and Clan Diamond
Shark was born.
Once restored to a position of prominence, the warrior-merchants of Clan Diamond
Shark began to push open the waiting markets in earnest. After the Clans’ final,
collective defeat at the Great Refusal, the Sharks, freed of the Clan-wide view of the
Inner Sphere as an enemy to be conquered and ruled, advanced their trade from
merely servicing the Clan-held territories to open negotiations with Inner Sphere
agencies. Even Clan-designed ’Mechs became available to the eternally hungry Inner
Sphere markets. It was the profits from this new venture that began the gradual
transformation of the Sharks.
In part two of our examination of this unusual Clan of warrior-merchants, we
continue our tour of the stars! I’m Bertram Habeas.
stars of the Milky Way, touching thousands of worlds, as far from our home as Clan
space, more than 2,000 light-years distant. Yet who are we, really? What have we
become in our relentless push outward and onward? I’m Bertram Habeas, and tonight,
let’s find the answers to these and many other fascinating questions together, as we
tour the stars!
Volume XXIX: Profit, Progress, and Honor—Origins of Clan Sea Fox
- Hark, children of the Clans, To the wisdom of Kerensky and your forebears.
Know what has come before Remember it as you strive toward the future.
—The Remembrance (all Clans), Passage 1, 1:1-4, attributed to Karen
Nagasawa
First impressions can often be the most lasting.
When Kerensky’s descendants first appeared in 3050, they tore into the Inner Sphere
with a ferocity and brutal efficiency never seen before. Their armies rolled over those
of the Successor States, carving a wedge of worlds deep into the territories once
united by the Star League. For a couple of years, myths of monsters and powerful
aliens were the only rational explanations for who these invaders could be, though
their identity would soon become clear enough.
The misconception of the Clans rose from the power of their military, their use of
strange tactics and speech, and the vast superiority of their military technology, more
advanced even than the lost weapons of the Star League itself. As the people of the
Inner Sphere learned more of the invaders, they discovered a common history, and
came to realize that the Clans were as human as those Kerensky’s troops left behind.
But while those misconceptions died, others remained. One of the most eternal, of
course, was the concept that the Clans were born, raised, and died for a single
purpose: war.
Like all misconceptions, this belief was born of knowing only the basics about Clan
life, and from the very distinct first impression that only a horde of invading armies
can bring. It was believed that in Clan society, the warriors dominate, dedicating their
lives to perfecting the art of combat, while the civilians serve to make their weapons
stronger, faster, better. Today, however, is a different story. Today, we know that the
Clans are more than simple killing machines. Each has its own goals, desires, and
culture.
And none is so strikingly different from the norm as Clan Sea Fox.
- Clan Diamond Shark occupies a unique position among the Clans. Within a
rigidly hierarchical blueprint for society, they have come closest to democracy;
among people convinced that military strength depends on tight control and
reverence for the chain of command, the Diamond Sharks have achieved
remarkable battlefield prowess through the kind of flexibility other Clans
disdain. Clan Diamond Shark is also the only Clan to have changed its name, a
startling shift for a society that values order and stability above virtually all
things. In changing its name, Clan Diamond Shark adapted to a unique set of
circumstances. Its ability to do so most clearly demonstrates this Clan’s
unorthodox nature . . .
—Commander Jaime Wolf, WolfNet Classified Report: Invading Clans—Clan
Diamond Shark, 3058 (Declassified 1 January, 3068)
was under this name that the Clan first came to be known to the armies of the Inner
Sphere in the early 3050s. Though the name has once more returned to its origins,
however, Clan Sea Fox has continued to adapt to new circumstances, evolving well
beyond today’s preconceptions of what it means to be Clan. But how did they get to
be where they are now? How does a Clan that embraces democracy and change
evolve?
Formed, like all Clans, around a core of loyal warriors united under the vision of two
Khans, Clan Sea Fox developed quickly around the progressive ideals of Karen
Nagasawa. An eloquent and philosophical warrior, Nagasawa’s words were credited
for winning over many converts to Nicholas Kerensky’s dream—including the Foxes’
first Khan, David Kalasa himself. Nagasawa was also a progressive thinker,
challenging the concept of the honor dueling practice known today as zellbrigen, even
before it became a matter of Clan martial policy, a factor that put her Clan at odds
with most of the others, but fostered a sense of battlefield cooperation. Under
Nagasawa’s lead (after Khan Kalasa died during the reclamation of the Pentagon
worlds), this spirit of cooperation was extended into the lower castes, offering greater
respect to them and encouraging them to expand the Clan’s material prosperity. The
Sea Foxes dove into the effort to expand their Clan, with the merchant and scientist
castes enjoying the benefits of their greater freedoms to explore new markets and
possibilities.
Thanks to the wider latitude granted them, the Sea Foxes earned distinction for their
innovations in science and commerce before and well into the Golden Century. Sea
Fox scientists perfected the iron womb technology still used today by the Clans, and
Sea Fox merchants—as adept at the game of information as at that of commodities—
developed the Chatterweb as an information-exchange network between all Clans.
- To be fair, all of the Clans were out to expand their power and influence, just
as the Sea Foxes, and all made a fine display of claiming the equal importance
of their various castes. But where some—like the [Hell’s] Horses with their
teamwork ethics, or the [Ghost] Bears’ sense of “family”—actually tried to
walk the walk, the Foxes did that and more. The merchant and scientist castes
weren’t merely allowed to push their limits, they were encouraged to do so.
After ilKhan [Nicholas] Kerensky’s death, the Sea Foxes aggressively sought
new colony options, entered into deals with fellow Clans for information and
materials, and kept a quiet ear and eye on all their neighbors through the
Chatterweb.
More than that, however —and possibly most critical—was the fact that the
Foxes became a “bargain first” Clan, whereas their neighbors believed in the
sanctity of the Trial of Possession. Rather than fight for the newer generation
of ’Mech designs, the Foxes bartered with Clan Coyote to assist them in
developing it. They exchanged partial rights to the vital supplies of HarJel with
the Horses to gain access to their super-infantry breeding protocols. And when
they did fight, the information gleaned from their Chatterweb made aggressive,
preemptive battle challenges possible, guaranteeing some degree of success—
as with their challenge to claim Elemental armor from the Wolves.
As a side benefit to this policy, the Sea Fox Clan came through the Golden
Century not only wealthy and strong, but also with very few lasting grudges
against its fellow Clansmen. This, of course, was deliberate as well—as a
general rule, merchants never want to alienate a potential customer.
—Sean Lasko, PhD, Professor of Clan Society and Politics, University of
Thorin
Not all was profit and progress, however. What helped the Sea Fox prosper was an
affront to more conservative Clans. The merchant caste, its prominence rising beyond
dispute, seemed to call the shots when the Foxes did engage in Trials, guiding their
Clan to profit while the warriors appeared to do their bidding. This so offended Khan
Liam Howell of the Snow Raven Clan that he ordered his scientists to engineer a
predator powerful enough to wipe out the Sea Fox Clan’s totem on Strana Mechty.
This event, once uncovered, led to an extraordinary reaction from the Foxes. Rather
than be bound to a totem that was verging on extinction, and rather than engage in a
wasteful feud against the Clan whose Khan was responsible, the Sea Fox Clan simply
decided to change its name, in a rare election where even the civilian castes were
given a vote. In 2985, after fighting and winning a Trial of Refusal against the Grand
Council’s decision to block the name change, Clan Sea Fox became known by the
name of the predator that had all but wiped out their original totem, and Clan Diamond
Shark was born.
- Ironically, the decades following their greatest step toward democracy and
change saw a more unwelcome change in the newly renamed Diamond Sharks.
Previously navigating a narrow line through the increasingly divisive Crusader
and Warden debate, the Sharks had avoided making enemies. But as the time
for a decision neared, this ambivalence won the Sharks fewer friends. It was
into this tense political standoff that Ian Hawker became Khan of the Sharks. A
reactionary conservative in a liberal Clan, it’s still a baffling puzzle as to how he
ever got elected to his post. Perhaps it was pressure from the merchants, who
saw his Crusader leanings as playing into their hands for a shot at new
markets. Or perhaps it was an outside influence. Whatever the cause, the
Sharks were firmly in the Crusader camp under Hawker’s command.
—Sean Lasko, PhD, Professor of Clan Society and Politics, University of
Thorin
Once restored to a position of prominence, the warrior-merchants of Clan Diamond
Shark began to push open the waiting markets in earnest. After the Clans’ final,
collective defeat at the Great Refusal, the Sharks, freed of the Clan-wide view of the
Inner Sphere as an enemy to be conquered and ruled, advanced their trade from
merely servicing the Clan-held territories to open negotiations with Inner Sphere
agencies. Even Clan-designed ’Mechs became available to the eternally hungry Inner
Sphere markets. It was the profits from this new venture that began the gradual
transformation of the Sharks.
In part two of our examination of this unusual Clan of warrior-merchants, we
continue our tour of the stars! I’m Bertram Habeas.
