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CLAN GOLIATH SCORPION CHI GALAXY:  THE ICE SCORPIONS

A Clan Falls

To describe Operation Ice Storm (the Clan Ice Hellion assault on worlds of the Clan Jade Falcon Occupation Zone in the Inner Sphere) a failure does not adequetely protray the calamity that befall that Clan.  Indeed few words can paint the picture of just how the Hellions suffered following this ill conceived and rashly planned offensive . . . although catastrophe comes close.

At the conclusion of their campaign (planned as a swift assault that would secure a swath of Inner Sphere worlds for their own enclaves), the Hellions had lost more than sixteen Clusters of troops, along with eight WarShips and the Clan's Khan!

From the ashes of this debacle, a mere three Clusters (none of whom were at full strength) and a single WarShip began the long journey back to the Homeworlds in defeat and disgrace.  Under the command of saKhan Connor Rood, this disillusioned and despondent force (their OmniMechs and BattleMechs, OmniFighters and Aerospace Fighters, Battle Armor and Combat Vehicles having been taken by Clan Jade Falcon and Clan Hell's Horses as isorla in return for the rite of hegira), attempted to make their way back home.

But in the Homeworlds, tensions and conflict awaited the handful of survivors.  And with just three Clusters of second-line Warriors (plus an undetermined number of third-rate Flurry Clusters and police garrison elements) and a mere four WarShips (the largest of which were two Lola III-class Destroyers!), the Hellion holdings were coming under attack by Clans eager to seize their territory and resources.

By the spring of 3072, Ice Hellion possessions in the Homeworlds had been reduced to just their capital world of Hector . . . and the three Clusters left behind to defend their enclaves had (despite pressing sibkin and freeborn into service) shrunk to two . . . both well understrength.  To make matters worse, the Fredasa-class corvette Hellion's Pride and the Carrack-class transport Maker had been lost in action attempting to defend their territory . . . and both of their remaining Lola III-class destroyers (Impaler and Radiant) had taken severe damage.

But saKhan Connor Rood and the survivors of Operation Ice Storm had no idea what was happening in the Homeworlds.  The newly reforged Clan Burrock (in combination with the Dark Caste and the recently revealed Society) had severed the HPG links between the Clan Homeworlds and Inner Sphere . . . but not until after they learned that the remnants of Clan Ice Hellion were returning home.

Clan Burrock's Zeta Galaxy, supported by a Star of WarShips (most hurriedly removed from Clan Naval Caches, the remainder having been seized from Clans Cloud Cobra and Star Adder) was dispatched to ensure that the Hellion survivors would die before they returned to Hector.

This was the situation when the Hellion convoy (consisting of the Potemkin-class troop cruiser Coterie and a mere five JumpShips) arrived at Waypoint DS-822 in April of 3072.  But what neither the Hellions nor the Burrocks knew was that Clan Goliath Scorpion was on the move.

Having activated their plans to abandon the Homeworlds months earlier, the Scorpions had quietly and quickly assembled their Touman and their merchant Fleet and left the Clan Homeworlds behind.  And at DS-822, the Scorpions were surprised when the handful of Hellion survivors began to arrive in system.

saKhan Rood was shocked by the presence of seventeen Scorpion WarShips and one hundred eighty-two JumpShips resting around the Zenith Jump Point, recharging their Kearny-Fuchida Drives.  But even as he ordered his convoy to prepare for a second emergency Jump to evade the Scorpions, he was contacted by Khan Nelson Elam.

The two leaders spoke for nearly an hour . . . and in a rare show of compassion among the Clans, Khan Elam offered to aid the Hellions by providing assistance in repairing their damaged vessels, and offering them medical supplies, food, and fuel.  Stunned by the offer, saKhan Rood accepted, recognizing that his Warriors were in no condition to turn down any reasonable acts of charity.

As the two leaders began to speak, Connor Rood learned of what had transpired in the Homeworlds during his absence . . . and he realized that his Clan (what little remained) was on the verge of Annihilation.  Nelson Elam knew this as well . . . for the Scorpions had deployed a string of their own HPG buoys in their wake and they were monitoring the situation in the Homeworlds listening for any signs of pursuit.

Many leaders would have given in to despair, but Connor Rood was not one of them.  He was determined to press on to Hector and attempt to salvage something--anything!--of his Clan.  The two Khans prepared to part ways . . . when Clan Burrock jumped insystem, launching fighters and DropShips immediately upon emergence.

The commander of Clan Burrock Zeta Galaxy (Naman Hutchinson) believed that the destruction of the Hellions would be a simple matter; he had instructed Zeta Galaxy to launch all available assault DropShips and fighters to attack the Hellions immediately following the jump into DS-822.  Those orders were followed, even before the Burrock sensors had stabilized . . . to reveal the presence of the missing Scorpions!

Just three of the five Burrock WarShips (the Cameron-class Tremor, the Kimagure-class Admiral Russell Nga, and the Lola III-class Rebirth) were equipped with lithium-fusion batteries.  And over 80% of the JumpShips carrying Zeta Galaxy had also been removed from Clan mothballs and there had been no time to provide those vessels with the massive (and expensive in both resources and time) banks of LFBs.

Hoping beyond all reason that the surprise of his attack would hold the Scorpions at bay, Hutchinson ordered the Burrocks to press home the attack on the all but defenseless Hellions.

But Nelson Elam (Khan of Clan Goliath Scorpion) chose to intervene.  Driven into a fury by the lack of a proper batchall by the Burrocks (and that identification only stroked his anger at their un-Clan actions!), the Khan ordered the Scorpion WarShips into action to defend the Hellions.  In addition to launching every fighter and assault DropShip he his Touman had available to support them.

The Battle of DS-822 was a slaughter . . . though not the one that the Burrocks had originally envisioned.  Only one Hellion JumpShip was destroyed and the Potemkin-class Coterie suffered moderate damage.  But, in return the Scorpion Black Fleet, supported by the fighters and assault DropShips of thirty-two Clusters of Scorpion front and second-line Warriors fell upon the Burrocks like the very hammer of God.

saKhan Hutchinson died aboard the Tremor when his flagship was taken under fire by the Scorpion battleships Lei Kung and Atropos.  The Mako-class Stone Crab simply was not sturdy enough to stand against a Galaxy's worth of OmniFighters as they bored in on attack runs.  Both the Rebirth and the Admiral Russell Nga were crippled as they enchanged fire with no fewer than fifteen Scorpion WarShips, while the Riga-class Hetherington came under attack by two dozen Warden-class assault DropShips and withered under that hailstorm of weapons fire, emerging from the explosions as a gutted, powerless hulk bleeding atmosphere into the void.

The Burrock JumpShips and DropShips of Zeta Galaxy--ignored in the initial exchange of weapons fire--realized their mission to destroy the Hellions was over and before the Scorpions could turn their weapons on them, the vessels equipped with lithium-fusion batteries jumped away to safety.  The ones not so equipped tried pouring power into their K/F Drives for an emergency jump . . . fewer than one-in-ten did so successfully.

The Burrocks were not alone in suffering damage and death that day, but the Scorpion losses were far lighter and primarily confined to OmniFighters, although several dozen Wardens were damaged, along with six WarShips.

In the wake of the Battle of DS-822, Khan Elam and saKhan Rood searched through the wreckage of the survivors . . . but rather than give the few that were found the honor of being taken as abtakha, or even as mere isorla condemed to be assigned to a lower caste, they were instead executed as Dark Caste Bandits.

Scorpion and Hellion techs surveyed the three surviving Burrock WarShips (Admiral Russel Nga, Rebirth, and Hetherington), but only the Hetherington retained an intact Kearny-Fuchida drive core.  The majority of the damage to that once proud SLDF Frigate would require a shipyard to make right, but the Technicians were confident that with only two or three weeks of hard work, the Riga-class WarShip (manned by a skeleton crew and without any functioning weapon systems) could be recovered.

This incident convinced saKhan Connor Rood that returning home would be only delaying the inevitable Annihilation of his Clan.  As Scorpion and Hellion technicians worked to restore the Hetherington to the point where she could join the Scorpion Exodus under her own power, Rood began to hold a series of meetings with Khan Elam.  Having learned that the Scorpions were leaving the Clan Homeworlds for a realm of their own in what was known as the Circinus Federation, Rood asked that the Hellions might be allowed to accompany the Scorpions.

But Elam responded instead with a counter:  he offered Absorb the surviving Hellions into Clan Goliath Scorpion, making all of the remaining Hellion Warriors into abtakha.

Rood was taken aback by this offer, for it would still mean the effective death of his Clan.  But given the circumstances, he had to at least consider it . . . and he gave Elam a most Clan-like answer.

A Trial would be conducted.  If the Hellions won, the Scorpions would allow them travel alongside them and assist them in setting up their own enclave as an independent Clan.  But, if the Scorpions won, the Hellions would be absorbed and pass into history.

Elam accepted this offer and four days later, both leaders met in one of the repressurized cargo bays of Hetherington for the Trial.  Despite his youth (or perhaps because of his youth!), Rood was quickly defeated by Khan Elam in unarmed combat . . . but Nelson Elam did not kill the former Hellion saKhan.

Instead, when his victory was certain and he could have easily killed the all but helpless Rood, Elam offered his opponent hegira and the rank of Galaxy Commander to Chi Galaxy . . . which Elam announced would be the formation that all of the former Hellion Warriors would be assigned.

Connor Rood accepted the offer, providing that the Scorpions would allow them to use their HPG bouys to contact the handful of Warriors remaining in the Homeworlds and instruct them to follow the Scorpions and eventually rejoin the remainder of their Clan as newly inducted Scorpions.  And Elam agreed.

A Galaxy is Born

As the Scorpions resumed their long voyage towards Circinus, Khan Elam and Galaxy Commander Rood worked to integrate the former Hellions into their new Clan.  While the Hellions had been forced to hand over their OmniMechs, BattleMechs, OmniFighters, Aerospace Fighters, and Battle Armor to the Falcons and Horses, they did retain a good number of their troop carrier DropShips. 

Elam opened the Scorpion Strategic Reserve Depot and provided the Warriors of the newly formed Chi Galaxy (consisting of two full-strength Clusters and one that was understrength) with equipment and material.  The OmniMechs of the SRD were not what the Hellions were used to, however, and complaints from within the ranks of Chi Galaxy began to be voiced.

But Galaxy Commander Rood came down hard upon any Warriors that voiced their greviances too loudly, asking his Warriors if they believed any other Clan would have freely given newly acquired abtakha such front-line equipment and war machines!

"The Scorpions did not expect to Absorb us," he lectured his Warriors time and time again.  "What they have available is what they have shared.  And each of you should be grateful that you remain a Warrior and that your Blood Names will live, even if our former Clan will not."

For his part, Khan Elam remained aloof from the discussion and debate, trusting Rood to bring his Warriors to understand and accept their situation . . . although he did continue to keep a watchful eye on his new brethren.

But Elam had another idea that might serve to cement the loyalty of the former Hellions to his Clan.  Assembling his finest Scientists and Technicians, he directed them to design schematics and provide simulations for converting three of the Clan's OmniMech designs (the 45-ton Hooded Eagle, the 50-ton Sand Devil, and the 60-ton Desert Tiger) into OmniMechs more suited to the former Hellion lust for speed.

While such extensive modifications could not be produced in transit, over the course of the next year, the Scientists and Technicians managed to redesign the base chassis of each of these OmniMechs into new designs that incorporated Myomer Acceleration Signal Circuitry.

By the time that the Scorpion Exodus arrived on the borders of the Circinus Federation in the summer of 3073, the designs were complete.  And on the eve of the Scorpion Invasion of those worlds, Khan Elam revealed the designs to Galaxy Commander Rood and the Warriors of Chi Galaxy . . . pledging that once the factories on Circinus were assembled, these OmniMechs would be the first ones produced and distributed to the Ice Scorpions.

Even the most conservative Crusader among the former Hellions was stunned by the extent of what Elam had done.  While still not ideal for the tactics of their former Clan, it showed that the Khan (their Khan) was taking their concerns seriously.  And even the most obstinate former Hellion was forced to admit that few other Clans would have given their concerns notice . . . much less order new OmniMechs produced to address those concerns!

The conquest of the Circinus Federation was quick and within six months the remaining assets of the Hellion Touman (the destroyers Impaler and Radiant--both Lola III-class--and enough Warriors to build a fourth Cluster at full strength while bringing the remaining existing Cluster up to its full strength) had arrived.

And by 3075, the first production runs of Hellwasp, Boreal Wildcat, and Snow Leopard OmniMechs were being delivered to Chi Galaxy.  These new OmniMechs replaced those already being used by the Ice Scorpions and the SRD was slowly rebuilt as their current OmniMechs were returned to storage against some future crisis.

The WarShips Coterie, Destiny (the former CBS Hetherington), Impaler, and Radiant were temporarily mothballed until the Scorpion engineers completed work (with the aid and assistance of Clan Diamond Shark) on a shipyard complex in the Circinus system.  However, the Clan does plan on eventually restoring and upgrading those vessels to the same standards as the remainder of the Black Fleet and returning them to active duty.

Other tasks have taken priority, however, including producing enough new Scorpion-class Troop Carrier DropShips and Warden-class Assault DropShips to provide Chi Galaxy with dedicated transport that has not been improvised from standard Clan DropShip designs.

Although tensions between the former Hellions of Chi Galaxy and the "real" Scorpions of the remainder of the Touman remain high (at times), so far the assimilation of these Crusaders has gone quite well.  Scorpion scientists have begun developing new sibkos using the DNA taken from the former Hellions and Khan Elam has promised the Ice Scorpions that their Blood Houses will continue . . . but as Scorpions.

Only time will tell, however, if the Absorption and assimilation of Clan Ice Hellion into Clan Goliath Scorpion will be a success or if the Ice Scorpions will follow the actions of Burrock Warriors in rebelling against their new Clan.