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Nicholas Kerensky

2024-12-08T06:27:06Z

103.137.12.189: /* Legacy */

{{Update Needed|[[Fall from Glory]]|[[Visions of Rebirth]]|[[Land of Dreams]]|[[Field Manual: Warden Clans]]}}
{{otheruses|the ilKhan|the battleship|Nicholas Kerensky (Individual Texas-class WarShip)}}

{{InfoBoxCharacter
| image = Nicholas Kerensky BTL.jpg
| name = Nicholas Kerensky
| birthdate = 4 May [[2764]]<ref name=H:OKp104>''Historical: Operation Klondike'', p. 104: "Nicholas Kerensky Profile"</ref>
| died = 7 October [[2834]]<ref name=OTP-WA>''Operational Turning Points: Widowmaker Absorption'', p. 1</ref>
| othernames =
| affiliation = [[Clan Wolf]]
| rank = First [[ilKhan]]
| title =
| position = Founder of the [[Clans]]
| profession = [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarrior]]
| parents = [[Aleksandr Kerensky]] (father) [[Katyusha Lumilova]] (mother)
| siblings = [[Andery Kerensky]]<ref name=TRO:3050Up208>''Technical Readout: 3050 Upgrade'', p. 208: "EXT-4D Exterminator - Notable MechWarriors"</ref>
| spouse = [[Jennifer Winson]]
| children =
}}
'''Nicholas Kerensky''' was the founder of the [[Clans]] and their first [[ilKhan]]. He was the elder son and designated heir of the legendary [[Aleksandr Kerensky]], Commanding General of the [[SLDF]].

Known and idolized as the "Great Father" of the Clans, Nicholas Kerensky is a revered, almost saintly figure in Clan history—much of which was forged, falsified, and warped by Nicholas Kerensky himself. In actual truth, he was a sociopath with a troubled childhood that had apparently left him emotionally scarred and with severe psychological issues; he may also have had a genetic disposition since his mother, too, had suffered from psychological issues.{{cn}}

Using deceit and propaganda as means of manipulation and positively embracing harsh dictatorial rule, he would stop at nothing to create what he felt was a perfect utopian society: The Clans.

==History==
===Family===
Nicholas' father was the revered General Aleksandr Kerensky, who passed away in [[2801]]. His mother was [[Katyusha Kerensky]]. Nicholas had a younger brother, [[Andery Kerensky]], who was later killed on [[Eden]] during [[Operation KLONDIKE]] in [[2821]] under unclear circumstances; some contemporaries felt Nicholas may have had a hand in his brother's death, either by recklessly putting him in danger or through outright plotting to kill him.

Nicholas married [[Jennifer Winson]], ironically at a point where he already actively worked to purge family bonds from his Clan society.

Due to his genetic legacy, Nicholas Kerensky has numerous descendants among [[Clan Wolf]] and [[Clan Wolf-in-Exile]]. His [[Kerensky, Nicholas (Bloodname)|Bloodname]] has never been [[Reaved]]. The Kerensky name and descendants from the Great Father are shared with a [[Kerensky, Andery (Bloodname)|second Bloodname]] derived from his brother Andery. Nicholas' most famous descendants are [[Natasha Kerensky]] and [[Ulric Kerensky]].

===Founder of the Clans===
Nicholas Kerensky was the man who formed the [[Clans]] between 11 June [[2807]]<ref>''Historical: Operation Klondike'', p. 103: "Timeline"</ref> and [[2810]]<ref>''The Clans: Warriors of Kerensky'', p. 30: "Comparative Timeline"</ref> from the remnants of the [[Star League Defense Force]]. When the warring factions on the [[Pentagon Worlds]] refused to follow Nicholas (then the Commander of the [[146th Royal BattleMech Division]]), he led the [[Second Exodus]] to the future Clan capital world of [[Strana Mechty]] and founded the original twenty Clans.

===Operation KLONDIKE===
{{main|Operation KLONDIKE}}

When the [[Pentagon Civil War]] broke out, [[Aaron DeChavilier]] was deputy to [[Aleksandr Kerensky]]. DeChavilier led a regiment of troops to [[Eden]] and fell prey to a rebel ambush.<ref name=HOKp20>''Historical: Operation Klondike'', p. 20</ref> Less than a month later, Aleksandr Kerensky passed away. This left the leadership of the [[Star League-in-Exile]] in doubt: some followed [[Nicholas Kerensky]], while others chose to join one of the warring factions or created their own. Abandoning the [[Pentagon Worlds]], Nicholas led around a million people on the [[Second Exodus]].<ref name=HOKp22>''Historical: Operation Klondike'', p. 22</ref>

Six years of building and testing later, Kerensky announced the birth of the [[Clans]] and the goal of returning to the Pentagon Worlds.<ref name=HOKp27>''Historical: Operation Klondike'', p. 27</ref> Preparations took years, during which new technologies were researched and radical changes made to the fabric of the new society.<ref name=HOKp29-37>''Historical: Operation Klondike'', pp. 29–37</ref>

[[Operation SABLE SUN]] was launched to gather intelligence about the state of affairs in the Pentagon Worlds.<ref name=HOKp40>''Historical: Operation Klondike'', p. 40</ref> Using this information, Clan space forces jumped in and secured the jump points and naval caches and neutralized the hostile spacegoing vessels and stations in each system.<ref name=HOKp41-46>''Historical: Operation Klondike'', pp. 41–46</ref>

Each world was to be invaded simultaneously by four Clans on 2 July 2821. Technical problems with a [[JumpShip]] delayed the [[Dagda (Clan System)|Dagda]] operation until 22 July, however. Kerensky, now [[ilKhan]], sent orders via [[HPG]]<ref name=HOKp82>''Historical: Operation Klondike'', p. 82</ref> and also traveled to observe the different campaigns. On [[Circe]] he oversaw a good-natured competition between [[Clan Mongoose]] and [[Clan Nova Cat]],<ref name=HOKp77>''Historical: Operation Klondike'', p. 77</ref> and he visited the siege of [[The Chosen]] by [[Clan Goliath Scorpion]] on Dagda.<ref name=HOKp82>''Historical: Operation Klondike'', p. 82</ref> He took personal command of the invasion of [[Novy Moscva]] on [[Eden]], occupying his father's old command bunker.<ref name=HOKp95-96>''Historical: Operation Klondike'', pp. 95–96</ref> After Eden was secured, he led [[Clan Jade Falcon]] and [[Clan Wolf]] to finish the assault on Dagda, taking to the field in his ''[[Atlas (BattleMech)|Atlas]]'' in the siege of the [[Black Brian]].<ref name=HOKp86>''Historical: Operation Klondike'', p. 86</ref> On the day the Black Brian finally fell, he gathered the [[Grand Council of the Clans]] and declared Operation KLONDIKE concluded.<ref name=HOKp87>''Historical: Operation Klondike'', p. 87</ref>

===The Culling===
{{main|Clan Jade Falcon#The Culling}}
[[Clan Jade Falcon]] expected that the Kerensky [[Bloodnames]] would join with their Clan. Instead, the Kerensky names passed to [[Clan Wolf]]. Dissatisfaction with this decision grew into debates about Kerensky's agenda, and some even proposed secession. The Jade Falcon Khans executed the leaders of this movement and sent the others on punitive "exploration missions", quelling the discontent. But another problem arose very soon after, with a different Clan.<ref name=HOKp99>''Historical: Operation Klondike'', p. 99</ref>

===Wolverine Annihilation===

After the dust had settled from Operation KLONDIKE and the Clans had settled into a period of relative peace - notwithstanding the accepted various combat Trials of one kind or another between and within Clans. As this time of peace dragged on, Kerensky noticed that [[Clan Wolverine]] and its Khan [[Sarah McEvedy]] had made a habit of 'expanding their interpretations' of the ilKhan's directives, both on and off the battlefield (for instance, by ignoring the rules of ''zellbrigen'' against non-Clan enemies when it was tactically expedient to do so,<ref>''Betrayal of Ideals'', p. 8</ref> and by relaxing the boundaries of the Clan caste system in order to increase productivity).<ref>''Betrayal of Ideals'', p. 17</ref> The Wolverines were enjoying considerable social, economic, technological and military benefits as a result of their self-determined policies, to the extent that they were reliably winning combat Trials put to them by other Clans.<ref>''Betrayal of Ideals'', p. 22</ref> However, by departing from the ilKhan's teachings to such extents, they were embarrassing him as well as causing agitation in other Clans' lower castes.<ref>''Betrayal of Ideals'', p. 21</ref> In response to pressure from other Khans, particularly Khan [[Jason Karrige]] of [[Clan Widowmaker]], Kerensky agreed to establish an internal security organization in order to monitor the Clans' behaviors.<ref>''Betrayal of Ideals'', p. 28</ref> This organization would become known as the original [[Watch]].

The Wolverines continued to prosper, however, and a conspiracy of other Clans including Clans Widowmaker, [[Clan Coyote|Coyote]], [[Clan Fire Mandrill|Fire Mandrill]], [[Clan Smoke Jaguar|Smoke Jaguar]] and [[Clan Wolf|Wolf]] decided to commence their own espionage operations against Clan Wolverine. Aware that her Clan was being outmaneuvered, Khan McEvedy sanctioned the Wolverines' own espionage operations, but this decision backfired when Khan [[Lisa Buhallin]] of [[Clan Jade Falcon]] discovered a Wolverine spy amongst her own Clan personnel.<ref>''Betrayal of Ideals'', p. 71</ref>

This would not be the last time that Clans Wolverine and Jade Falcon clashed - a fact that Nicholas Kerensky used to his advantage in his eventual project to use Clan Wolverine as a target for his scheme to solidify his control over the Clans. When a hitherto-unknown [[Brian Cache]] was discovered on the border between Wolverine and Jade Falcon territory in mid-[[2823]], the Jade Falcons laid claim to the cache despite it technically lying within Wolverine territory.<ref>''Betrayal of Ideals'', p. 58</ref> After a perfunctory [[Trial of Possession]] ended in a decisive Wolverine victory, the matter was brought to the [[Grand Council]] - there it was discovered that the cache contained old, but functional, nuclear weapons of mass destruction. Kerensky ruled that the contents of the cache were too valuable to be owned by a single Clan and would be distributed equitably amongst all twenty.<ref>''Betrayal of Ideals'', p. 77</ref> When McEvedy protested the matter and called for a [[Trial of Refusal]], Clan Widowmaker won the bid to represent Kerensky's ruling - the Widowmakers defeated the Wolverines, slaying Wolverine [[saKhan]] [[Dwight Robertson]] in the process.<ref>''Betrayal of Ideals'', p. 87</ref>

Despite her defeat, McEvedy continued to resist the decision to redistribute the contents of the Brian Cache at the next meeting of the Grand Council, even bringing up the activities of Kerensky's Watch, but her accusations fell on deaf ears and she walked out of the meeting in protest, to Kerenky's anger.<ref>''Betrayal of Ideals'', p. 99</ref> At the meeting after that, McEvedy introduced her new saKhan, [[Franklin Hallis]], whose position Kerensky refused to recognize since he had not been elected through a formal combat Trial that the ilKhan had overseen - another breach of Clan customs that further sullied the Wolverines' reputation with the other Clans. McEvedy walked out of that meeting as well, suggesting that Clan Wolverine would no longer heed the rulings of Kerensky or the Grand Council,<ref>''Betrayal of Ideals'', pp. 113–115</ref> despite the warnings given to her by her friend [[Joyce Merrell]], saKhan of [[Clan Snow Raven]].

Later, Kerensky spoke privately to McEvedy, admitting that he was aware that the other Clans were conspiring against the Wolverines and confessing that the real reason he was allowing the Wolverines to be made into the enemy of the Grand Council was in order to prevent the Clans' stagnation and to give them a common enemy to restore their sense of purpose, while simultaneously making an example of a Clan that presumed to ignore or change the ilKhan's laws as they saw fit.<ref>''Betrayal of Ideals'', p. 120</ref>

At the next Grand Council meeting, the other Khans accused McEvedy of ordering her warriors to kill anyone who came to claim the spoils of the Brian Cache, as trials had already been held to portion out the cache's contents. McEvedy did not deny the charge, instead accusing Kerensky of sacrificing the Wolverines in order to solidify and preserve his autocratic control over Clan society. She then went on to formally and publicly declare that Clan Wolverine was seceding from the Grand Council and establishing itself as an independent power, ignoring Kerensky's protests. After McEvedy left the Grand Council chamber, Khan [[Franklin Osis]] of Clan Smoke Jaguar called for a [[Trial of Absorption]] against Clan Wolverine, which Kerensky upheld.<ref>''Betrayal of Ideals'', p. 128</ref>

The Absorption then began, as each of the other Clans was eager to punish the Wolverines out of resentment for that Clan's earlier ascendency. The fighting was initially conducted with honor, but after a nuclear detonation destroyed the Wolverine capital city of [[Great Hope]], nearly killing Kerensky himself, he determined that McEvedy had destroyed her own capital city and killed thousands of her own citizens (this was supported by the fact that some of the nuclear warheads from the Brian Cache were missing and unaccounted for). In truth, Widowmaker Khan Karrige was responsible for the explosion, having ordered two of his warriors to steal the warheads and plant them in Great Hope in order to deceive Kerensky into believing that the Wolverines had obliterated the city.<ref>''Betrayal of Ideals'', p. 144</ref>

In response, Kerensky declared that Clan Wolverine was to be [[Trial of Annihilation|Annihilated]]. He ordered all traces of and references to Clan Wolverine to be destroyed, and when a refugee column of Wolverine survivors from Great Hope presented themselves to him as his loyal subjects, he had the Warrior Caste members executed and the rest chemically sterilized and given as ''isorla'' to other Clans. He also ordered the rubble of Great Hope bulldozed into the sea, claiming that the city "never existed."<ref>''Betrayal of Ideals'', p. 165</ref> Later during the protracted Trial of Annihilation, an accident caused the detonation of another nuclear weapon over the Clan Snow Raven capital of [[Dehra Dun]] - after McEvedy was captured by Clan forces, Kerensky personally told her that the Dehra Dun catastrophe would be blamed on Clan Wolverine.<ref>''Betrayal of Ideals'', p. 177</ref>

The remainder of Clan Wolverine fled, but the Grand Fleet of the Clans caught them at [[Barbados]] and they were defeated by Clan Wolf. Franklin Hallis, now Khan of the Wolverines, was cornered and summarily executed, but not before Kerensky allowed Hallis to personally kill Widowmaker Khan Karrige for his role in the Great Hope incident, which Kerensky had discovered the truth of from McEvedy.<ref>''Betrayal of Ideals'', pp. 209–210</ref>

On the way back from Barbados, Kerensky orchestrated a grand revision of history, manipulating and in many cases outright fabricating evidence in order to give the impression that the Wolverines were a dangerous menace to Clan society, that McEvedy was planning to assassinate Kerensky, and that the Wolverines were responsible for the destruction of Dehra Dun (Great Hope was purged from historical record, as Kerensky did not want the place to become a symbolic rallying point for resistance to his leadership.) Even afterwards, Kerensky slowly began to introduce some of the social reforms that the Wolverines had originally implemented, since they were proven to increase stability and productivity.<ref>''Betrayal of Ideals'', p. 215</ref> He also, with her consent, promised to Joyce Merrell that he would alter the records to show that she died during the Pentagon Civil War, preventing her from being associated with the demise of her close friend's Clan - Merrell knew the truth of Dehra Dun, and while she was unwilling to go against the ilKhan's revision of history, she felt such extreme regret over the cover-up that she suffered repeated and intense nightmares of Dehra Dun's destruction.<ref>''Betrayal of Ideals'', pp. 225–226</ref>

===Viper treachery===
Shortly after the founding of [[Clan Steel Viper]], the first [[Khan of Clan Steel Viper|Khan]] of that Clan, [[Ellie Kinnison]], hatched a mad plot to assassinate ilKhan Kerensky's wife, Jennifer Winson.<ref name=HOKp113>''Historical: Operation Klondike'', p. 113</ref> Kinnison, known to be mentally unstable and fanatically obsessed with Kerensky, reasoned that once Jennifer was dead, a grieving Nicholas would have no choice but to turn to Kinnison for comfort and love.

Kerensky and Winson decided to take a vacation on [[Arcadia (Clan System)|Arcadia]], but also intended to investigate accusations made against the Vipers, particularly Khan Kinnison's policies. When the ilKhan and his wife disembarked from their [[DropShip]], Viper [[saKhan of Clan Steel Viper|saKhan]] [[Steven Breen]], who had discovered his Khan's insane plan, opened fire on Kinnison, who had come to greet the ilKhan. During the resulting confusion, only Breen and Winson saw Kinnison draw her own sidearm and aim it at Winson. Breen's next shot killed Kinnison.

For his heroism, Steven Breen was elected as the second Khan of Clan Steel Viper. On ilKhan Kerensky's orders, Ellie Kinnison's name was stricken from all Clan records, and her genetic legacy was destroyed.<ref>''Invading Clans'', pp. 80–82</ref>

===Death===
Nicholas was killed on 7 October 2834 during the [[Clan Widowmaker]] [[Trial of Absorption]] in what was an apparent accident. Clan Widowmaker had called for a Trial of Refusal against their absorption by Clan Wolf, and during the fighting [[Cal Jorgensson]] wound up dueling Wolf Khan [[Jerome Winson]]. Winson was on the verge of winning when a Star of Widowmaker 'Mechs violated the [[Circle of Equals]]. Nicholas Kerensky attempted to step in, only for the cockpit of his ''[[Atlas II]]'' to be hit by a stray shot from Jorgensson's ''[[Highlander]]''. By the time Medtechs extracted him from the cockpit he was already dead.<ref name=HOKp101>''Historical: Operation Klondike'', p. 101</ref><ref name=OTP:WAp8>''Operational Turning Points: Widowmaker Absorption'', p. 8</ref>

==Legacy==
The death of the ilKhan enraged the warriors of Clan Wolf, who proceeded to wipe out the remaining Widowmaker warriors and absorbed the rest of their Clan. Jerome Wilson killed six of the stunned Widowmakers, including the ones which had violated the circle, before any reacted. Jorgensson was captured alive, ironically, and claimed the ilKhan's death was an accident, but after a fast trial, he was executed anyway.<ref>''Operational Turning Points: Widowmaker Absorption'', p. 2</ref>

Nicholas' ashes were interred on Strana Mechty's Kerensky's Bloodchapel, but a cenotaph featuring a bronze statue of his ''Atlas II'' was erected in the exact place of his death and, even after taking full control of Ironhold, the Jade Falcons, after losing a [[Trial of Refusal]] over visitation rights, began grudgingly allowing warriors of other Clans to visit the place and reflect on the Founder's final moments.<ref>''Operational Turning Points: Widowmaker Absorption'', p. 2</ref>

Two centuries later, in a museum in Strana Mechty dedicated to the Pentagon Wars was preserved a coolant vest of Nicholas Kerensky. As it was bloodstained, it may be assumed it was the one he was wearing when he was killed.<ref>''Forever Faithful'', p. 58</ref>
His diaries, relating to the Exodus and Clan's foundation, were held still by Clan Wolf in the thirty-first century.<ref>''The Clans: Warriors of Kerensky'', p. 6</ref>

In [[3025]], [[Strana Mechty Press]] would publish a written work titled ''[[Birth of a New Society: The Collected Writings of Nicholas Kerensky]]'', using his journals as sources.<ref name=IC47>''Invading Clans'', p. 47</ref><ref name=IC79>''Invading Clans'', p. 79</ref>

==BattleMechs==
Nicholas Kerensky was known to pilot an ''[[Atlas II]]'', which he named ''Unity'', and was piloting it during the Trial that resulted in his death. But in the battle of Barbados, during the Clan Wolverine Annihilation, he appears to have switched to a ''[[Highlander]]''.<ref>''Betrayal of Ideals'', p. 206</ref>

The ''Atlas II'', after his death, was put in a place of honor, the annex to the Great Hall of the Khans, watched by the [[Ebon Keshik]], and remained there as a sacred relic, despite numerous [[Trial of Possession|Trials of Possession]] by [[Clan Goliath Scorpion]] [[Seeker]]s desperate to add it to their [[Temple of the Nine Muses]].<ref>''BattleTech: Legends'', p. 71</ref> The Goliath Scorpions were successful in obtaining a twenty centimeter piece of head armor that was partially melted by the laser blast, "Unity" apparently having the damage repaired before becoming a display piece.<ref>''Fragments of History'', p. 3</ref>

==Quotes==
{{quote|We will purge our old ideals and ethics; those belong to the corrupt stars of the Inner Sphere, and will not serve as we begin anew. Now, while our minds are open and yearning for new insight, we must remold them and fill them with the truth of our destiny. For we are destined not only to be different from those we left behind, but also better. My father knew this, and saved us from the holocaust of the Inner Sphere. I accept it as truth, and have returned to lead you, the survivors of this most bitter trial.
|Nicholas Kerensky to his loyalists on Strana Mechty, 2802<ref>''Touring the Stars'', p. 11: "Trials and Glory" – Ways of the Wolf Clan</ref>}}

{{quote|True warriors do not follow paths, they make them. It is not just their desire, it is their nature.
|Nicholas Kerensky{{cn}}}}

{{quote|Combat begins long before armed forces clash on the battlefield.
|Nicholas Kerensky<ref name=FMCC12>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 12</ref>}}

{{quote|A warrior never stops learning, never stops pushing to be the best, and never takes anything for granted.
|Nicholas Kerensky<ref>''Elements of Treason: Honor'', ch. 2</ref>}}

{{quote|Our victories here have proved the rightness of the Way of the Clans; let it always be so among those of the True Faith. Let these few words always announce our coming and portend our victory.|Nicholas Kerensky, Speaking on ''Clan Liberation Day'', May 26, 2822}}

{{quote|''The darkness is behind us, the light is ahead.'' 
''Strive toward it, for it is the way."'' 
''Said our Founder, Nicholas.'' 
''"Be ever vigilant'' 
''and rely on your strengths:'' 
''Faith, which preserves us;'' 
''Knowledge, which gives us power;'' 
''Understanding, which lets us know our foes;'' 
''Courage, which lets us face the darkness without fear.''|The Remembrance (Clan Wolf), Passage 10, Verse 9, Lines 1-10}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Nicholas Kerensky WCSB.jpg|Nicholas Kerensky from ''[[Wolf Clan Sourcebook|Wolf Clan SB]]''
Nicholas Kerensky OpKlondike.jpg|Kerensky at age 57 from ''[[Historical: Operation Klondike|Hist:Op Klondike]]
Nicholas Kerensky BTL.jpg|Kerensky from ''[[BattleTech: Legends|BT:Legends]]''
Atlas II (Unity) BTLegends.jpg|Kerensky's ''Atlas II'' ''Unity'' from ''BT:Legends''
Nicholas Kerensky Death.JPG|Destruction of Kerensky's 'Mech by Khan Cal Jorgensson
</gallery>

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
{{div col|colwidth=25em}}
* ''[[BattleTech: Legends]]''
* ''[[Betrayal of Ideals]]'' (novel)
* ''[[The Clans: Warriors of Kerensky]]''
* ''[[Dark Age: Touring the Stars (3130)]]''
* ''[[Elements of Treason: Honor]]'' (novella)
* ''[[The Founding of the Clans]]'' trilogy:
** ''[[Fall from Glory]]'' (German: ''Clangründer: Abkehr'') (novella)
** ''[[Visions of Rebirth]]'' (German: ''Clangründer: Traum'') (novella)
** ''[[Forging of Blood]]'' (German: ''Clangründer: Bande'') (novella)
* ''[[Fragments of History]]''
* ''[[Historical: Operation Klondike]]''
* ''[[Invading Clans (sourcebook)|Invading Clans]]''
* ''[[Jade Falcon Sourcebook]]''
* ''[[Operational Turning Points: Widowmaker Absorption]]''
* ''[[Wolf Clan Sourcebook]]''
{{div col end}}

[[Category:ilKhans|Kerensky, Nicholas]]
[[Category:Khans|Kerensky, Nicholas]]
[[Category:Clan Wolf Characters|Kerensky, Nicholas]]
[[Category:Notable Atlas Pilots|Kerensky, Nicholas]]
[[Category:In-Universe Authors|Kerensky, Nicholas]]

Londerholm Revolt

2024-12-08T01:51:30Z

103.137.12.189: /* Legacy */

'''The Londerholm Revolt''' took place in [[2912]] on the planet [[Londerholm]] and other holdings of [[Clan Smoke Jaguar]].<ref name=ICp51-52>''Invading Clans'', p. 51-52 - "The Londerholm Revolt"</ref> Already suffering from decades of shortsighted and oppressive rule by the Smoke Jaguar warrior caste, a famine on Londerholm prompted a rebellion by local Jaguar laborer caste members; discontent elsewhere resulted in revolts by other Jaguar merchants and laborers. The dissidents were swiftly crushed by the Jaguar warrior caste, but the damage wrought left the Clan weakened in the long run.<ref name=ICp50-51>''Invading Clans'', p. 50-51 - "Golden Century"</ref> The crackdown alarmed merchants across the Clans, and as a result helped bring about [[Operation Revival]].<ref name=CSSp14-17>''Clan Spaniel Sourcebook'', pp. 14-17</ref>

==Background==
The civilian castes of Clan Smoke Jaguar had gotten somewhat used to the callous belligerence expressed towards them by the warrior caste, but only through methods that would one day put them under the guns of their warrior masters. Smoke Jaguar warriors have historically viewed their lower castes as a burden, an arrogant point of view that has often caused harm to their entire Clan on many levels - levels that are usually beneath their warriors' concern.<ref name=ICp50-51/> The Jaguar warrior caste would receive the lion's share of all foodstuffs produced, leaving many of their citizens to starve in certain instances. Smoke Jaguar warriors likewise disallowed their merchants from taking part in ventures that could have made great returns for their Clan, believing that economics had little or nothing to do with their [[Clan|Clan's]] way of life.<ref name=ICp50-51/>
<ref name=ICp48,49>''Invading Clans'', p. 48, 49 - "Making of a Khan"</ref>

With no true recourse for their plight - the Smoke Jaguar [[Clan Council]] was of little avail to the lower castes - the lower castes who supported the warriors would have to resort to holding out on those same warriors, a perilous situation at best. It would be circumstances like these that forced the merchant caste into a position where they would have to set aside a portion of Londerholm's food supplies to get the lower castes by on a basic subsistence level. This situation would last for several years until inevitable disaster finally struck.<ref name=ICp50-51/>

==The Famine==
In [[2912]] on the Jaguar breadbasket world of [[Londerholm]], a blight would kill almost all of their crop of a root vegetable (called the [[cholach]]) that the lower castes survived on in lieu of the grains and livestock that they grew and shipped largely to their warriors under the strict supervision of the [[Clan Council]]. When representatives of the laborer caste petitioned the warriors to ask for a larger portion of the food supplies in order to survive, their plea for help was rejected for selfishly daring to beg the warriors for their food.<ref name=ICp51-52/>

==Revolt on Londerholm==
The citizens of Londerholm would take matters into their own hands by not allowing a transport filled with foodstuffs to leave the port city of Vostok. A furious Smoke Jaguar [[Khan]] [[Ian Moon]] would react by dispatching the [[181st_Battle_(Clan_Smoke_Jaguar)|181st Battle Cluster]] to take charge of every spaceport on the planet. After the departure of the final shipments of foodstuffs, the [[Cluster]] leveled the city of Vostok as an object lesson to the lower castemen regarding the rights of the warrior caste.<ref name=ICp51-52/>

The Jaguar warriors proceeded to slaughter lower caste members to alleviate the food shortage. Neighboring Clans who needed workers themselves dispatched warriors to Trial for these people, but far from welcoming this less brutal alternative the Jaguars viewed it as interference with their Clan's sovereignty and resisted ferociously. In one notable action a Star of [[Clan Wolf]] MechWarriors held off four times their number as their kin escaped with the population of an entire town. The enraged Jaguars killed all the Wolf warriors but the fallen defenders were enshrined in the Wolf ''[[Remembrance]]'' and breeding program.<ref>''Technical Readout: Golden Century'', p. 36</ref>

In seizing the port of Vostok, the merchant ship manifests fell under the scrutiny of the warrior caste. Upon discovering the merchants' history of skimming profits from the Clan's economic ventures, Khan Moon announced that the merchant caste would receive no profits from the grain shipments, and further punished them by declaring that the merchant caste would make restitution to the Clan Council by handing over half of their wealth. This amount would be determined by chosen members of the Warrior caste. When an explanation for this crippling punishment was demanded by representatives of the merchant caste, the Clan Council simply replied that they were being punished for stealing and inciting the laborer caste of Londerholm to rebel.<ref name=ICp51-52/>

==Desperate Revolution==
[[Smoke Jaguar]] merchant caste members across the [[Kerensky Cluster]] revolted against the draconian measures taken by their warrior caste. On [[Atreus (Clan System)|Atreus]], merchants centered around the trade of gemstones refused the landing of two [[Trinary|Trinaries]] of the [[1st Jaguar Cavaliers (Clan_Smoke_Jaguar)|First Jaguar Caviliers]]. This would not stop them from doing so anyway, leveling the city in the ensuing massacre. The lower castes begged for forgiveness from their protectors, citing the words of the Great Kerenskys regarding their warrior's duty to the lower castes. Instead of shaming his warriors by denouncing their unsanctioned attack on the city, the Smoke Jaguar khan commended their actions and ordered every merchant and their families executed for revolting against the authority of the warrior caste.<ref name=ICp51-52/>

In a separate incident on the world of [[Albion (Clan System)|Albion]] - which was held jointly by the Smoke Jaguars, [[Clan Coyote]] and [[Clan Burrock]] - the lower caste civilians revolted upon hearing the news of their slaughtered castemen on Londerholm. When the Jaguar garrison began punishing the populace for their rebellion, the citizens would plea for help from the other Clans on Albion. Sensing an opportunity to make significant gains for his Clan at the expense of a foe, Coyote [[Galaxy Commander]] [[David Christofferson]] quickly readied his troops and launched a [[Trial of Possession]] against the Smoke Jaguar enclave. His second line units would deal a humiliating blow to the [[OmniMech]] equipped [[25th Jaguar Dragoons (Clan Smoke Jaguar)|Twenty-fifth Jaguar Dragoons]]. Claiming the entire colony, its population, the entire Cluster and everything else that they possessed, Christofferson then assigned his new Smoke Jaguar [[bondsmen]] to the laborer caste, allowing them the opportunity to reap what they had sown.<ref name=FM:WCp55>''Field Manual: Warden Clans'', p. 55 - "Omicron Galaxy"</ref>

==Aftermath==
With the rebellions crushed, Khan [[Ian Moon]] stripped the lower castes of their meager rights, placing all political power with the Smoke Jaguar warrior caste. The Khans of several other Clans raised objections in the [[Grand Council]] regarding the harsh treatment of his civilians, but Khan Moon argued that if any Clans interfered in this internal dispute within Clan Smoke Jaguar it would set a precedent other Clans might come to regret. Acknowledging the logic of this, the objecting Khans took the matter no further.<ref name=ICp51-52/>

==Legacy==
After the Smoke Jaguars put down the revolt, they would reign unchallenged by their civilian populace for well over a century. However, the mass-execution of their merchant caste civilians would hurt [[Clan Smoke Jaguar]] as a whole for decades to come, regardless of their warriors' lack of acknowledgement or even understanding of how economics affected their Clan.<ref>''The Clans: Warriors of Kerensky'', p. 16 - "Golden Century"</ref> However, one Inner Sphere analyst noted that the massive death toll did reduce the laborer and merchants' food requirements to manageable levels; her conclusion - perhaps cynical or tongue-in-cheek - was that the Jaguar warrior caste thus displayed better economic understanding than they were normally given credit for.<ref>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 27, "Life on the Knife Edge"</ref>

The Jaguars' response to the revolt caused alarm well beyond their own civilian castes. Merchants across several Clans took notice, and a number of conclaves began secretly collaborating to mitigate their warriors' constant interference in economic growth and avoid further destruction in the [[Clan Homeworlds]]. In the 2950s, these conspirators found an opportunity, and backed the then-minor [[Crusader Clans|Crusader]] movement with an extensive propaganda campaign. A wide range of programming, from documentaries about the Star League to the highly successful ''[[The Adventures of Clan Spaniel]]'', encouraged Clanners of all ages for decades to come to focus outward on retaking Terra — and not inwards on their own merchants, as on Londerholm.<ref name=CSSp14-17/>

In later years the Smoke Jaguar warrior caste came to regard the Londerholm Revolt as an event to be unacknowledged where possible. The city of Vostok was not rebuilt and its ruins became viewed with more than a little superstitious reverence.<ref name=otp38>''Operational Turning Points: REVIVAL Trials'', p. 38</ref>

==See also==
*[[Clan Smoke Jaguar]]
*[[Ian Moon]]
*[[Londerholm]]
*[[Atreus (Clan System)|Atreus]]
*[[Albion (Clan System)|Albion]]
*[[David Christofferson]]

==References==
<references/>

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Clan Spaniel Sourcebook]]''
* ''[[The Clans: Warriors of Kerensky]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Warden Clans]]''
* ''[[Invading Clans]]''
* ''[[Operational Turning Points: REVIVAL Trials]]''
* ''[[Technical Readout: Golden Century]]''
* ''[[The Wars of Reaving]]''

[[Category: Rebellions]]
[[Category: Political Events]]