View source for Burrock Absorption

{{InfoBoxConflict
| conflict = Burrock Absorption
| partof = [[Clan Invasion]]
| image = 
| caption = Burrock Absorption
| date = February [[3059]]
| place = 
| planet = [[Albion (Clan System)|Albion]],<br>[[Arcadia (Clan System)|Arcadia]],<br>[[Dagda (Clan System)|Dagda]],<br>[[Hoard]],<br>[[Paxon]],<br>[[Priori]]
| territory = 
| faction1 = [[Clan Star Adder]]
| faction2 = [[Clan Burrock]]
| faction3 = [[Clan Blood Spirit]]
| commander1 = Khan [[Cassius N'Buta]]
| commander2 = Khan [[Jocelyn Siddiq]]
| commander3 = Khan [[Karianna Schmitt]]
| forces1= [[Clan Star Adder Touman|Star Adder ''touman'']]
| forces2= [[Clan Burrock Touman|Burrock ''touman'']]
| forces3= [[Clan Blood Spirit Touman|Blood Spirit ''touman'']]
| result = Clan Burrock absorbed by Clan Star Adder,<br>Clan Blood Spirit severely mauled
| environment = 
| conditions = Normal
}}

The '''Burrock Absorption''' was a three-way conflict between Clans [[Clan Blood Spirit|Blood Spirit]], [[Clan Burrock|Burrock]] and [[Clan Star Adder|Star Adder]] fought in February [[3059]].

Although it was expected to be a straightforward [[Trial of Absorption]] between Clans Star Adder and Burrock, interference by Clan Blood Spirit turned the conflict into a larger struggle. The outcome of the Trial left Clan Blood Spirit severely weakened while Clan Star Adder successfully absorbed Clan Burrock and became one of the most powerful of the [[Home Clan|Home Clans]].

==Origins of the Conflict==
The roots of the absorption, and the reasons for the Blood Spirit's interference in it, go back to the earliest days of the [[Clans]].

After the [[Trial of Annihilation|Annihilation]] of [[Clan Wolverine]], several other Clans, including Clan Burrock, saw Clan Blood Spirit's then-prevailing philosophy of freely extending help to all other Clans as deviating dangerously from the Way of the Clans. This feeling came to a head in a December [[2824]] meeting of the Grand Council where Khan [[Seth Van Houten]] of Clan Burrock called for the Annihilation of Clan Blood Spirit. Although the motion was defeated, Clan Burrock chose to demonstrate the Blood Spirits' military weakness by relentless raiding of Clan Blood Spirit holdings. Ultimately, this created a deep-seated hatred between the two Clans.<ref>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', pp. 21–23</ref>

Within Clan Burrock itself, the losses sustained by [[Clan Burrock Touman|their ''touman'']] during [[Operation Klondike]] left a legacy of bitterness within the Clan,<ref>''Historical: Operation Klondike'', p. 123: "Clan Burrock"</ref> and in the [[thirtieth century]] a thousand or more civilians and one or two [[Trinary|Trinaries]] of warriors defected to the [[Dark Caste]].<ref>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 115: "Clan Burrock" - source mentions a Trinary and "over a thousand" civilians defecting</ref><ref>''Field Manual: Warden Clans'', p. 21: Clan Cloud Cobra's history states that two 'Mech Trinaries and "several thousand" civilians forsook their Clan</ref> Both the Burrocks and Cloud Cobras were ordered by the [[Grand Council]] to hunt these renegades down, but while the Cobras followed their orders, the Burrock Khan deceived his allies and the Grand Council, allowing his wayward brethren to live. Over the next century and unbeknownst to most Burrocks, Clan Burrock's leaders would exploit the Dark Caste as an illicit source of labor and experimental test subjects, and as a means of bypassing merchant caste rules.<ref>''Field Manual: Warden Clans'', p. 21</ref><ref>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 29: "The Dark Caste"</ref>

Clan Burrock was able to successfully hide its ties to the Dark Caste for over a century. But in January [[3059]] a Star Adder [[Watch]] agent and lifelong fan of [[Clan Spaniel]] discovered within  several episodes hidden messages planted by Burrock producers. Her analysis uncovered links between this information and Bandit Caste attacks on merchant and [[Free Guilds|Free Guild]] shipping. This revelation, coupled with other evidence unearthed by his Clan, resulted in Adder Khan [[Cassius N'Buta]] bringing the matter to the [[Grand Council]].<ref name=CSS12-13>''Clan Spaniel Sourcebook'', p. 12-13</ref><ref name=CSS19-20>''Clan Spaniel Sourcebook'', p. 19-20</ref><ref name=FMCC114>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 114</ref>

==Absorption Call==
Khan N'Buta addressed the Grand Council in early [[3059]] and proposed the Absorption of Clan Burrock as a means of delivering the warriors and civilians of that Clan from their treasonous leadership, a motion backed by Clans Cloud Cobra and Blood Spirit (albeit for different reasons). The magnitude of the Burrocks' crimes were such that [[ilKhan]] [[Lincoln Osis]] called for an immediate vote on the matter, and in February 3059, the Clan Grand Council awarded the right to absorb Clan Burrock to Clan Star Adder.<ref name=FMCC114>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 114</ref>

Clan Blood Spirit had expected to have been given the right to absorb their longtime rivals, and were outraged by the Grand Council's decision. Encouraged by [[Loremaster]] [[Bayle Campbell]], the furious Spirit Khans chose to attack the Burrocks without Grand Council sanction.<ref name=FMCC25>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 25</ref>

==Burrock and Star Adder Deployments==
Clan Burrock bid their entire ''touman'' of three front-line and four second-line [[Galaxy|Galaxies]] into the Absorption, choosing to concentrate their forces on their capital world of [[Albion (Clan System)|Albion]] and summoning reinforcements from off-world. By the time the Absorption battles got underway, Burrock forces on Albion included their [[Alpha Galaxy (Clan Burrock)|Alpha]] and [[Kappa Galaxy (Clan Burrock)|Kappa]] Galaxies.

Clan Star Adder created a strategic plan that would fulfill their goal of absorbing the bulk of the Burrock Clan intact while eliminating the treasonous element within. The plan called for the decapitation of those in the Burrock leadership identified as having been involved in dealings with the Dark Caste - Khan [[Jocelyn Siddiq]], her [[saKhan]] and [[Galaxy Commander]] [[Seth Marghar]].<ref name=FMCC114>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 114</ref> Since the majority of Clan Burrock members had remained unaware of their Clan's dealings with the Bandit Caste, it was correctly anticipated by Clan Star Adder that once the Burrock leadership was removed, the remaining Burrock forces would put up only half-hearted resistance.

Clan Star Adder dropped three Galaxies on Albion, including [[Alpha Galaxy (Clan Star Adder)|Alpha]]<ref>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 123: "Alpha Galaxy: Old Blood and Guts"</ref> and [[Beta Galaxy (Clan Star Adder)|Beta]]. The [[Adder Command Keshik (Clan Star Adder)|Adder Command Keshik]] was also part of this task force. In addition, a [[Star]] of Adder [[WarShip|WarShips]] was assigned to this part of the operation.

[[Gamma Galaxy (Clan Star Adder)|Gamma]]<ref>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 124: "Gamma Galaxy: Blood Feud"</ref> and [[Delta Galaxy (Clan Star Adder)|Delta]]<ref name=FMCC125>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 125: "Delta Galaxy: Thunderstrike"</ref> Galaxies, supported by the newly organized [[Tau Provisional Galaxy (Clan Star Adder)|Tau Provisional Galaxy]]<ref>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 133: "Tau Provisional Galaxy"</ref> were assigned to assault [[Priori]].

[[Epsilon Galaxy (Clan Star Adder)|Epsilon Galaxy]] was ordered to take Burrock holdings on [[Dagda (Clan System)|Dagda]].<ref name=FMCC126>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 126: "Epsilon Galaxy: Night Terrors"</ref>

[[Xi Provisional Galaxy (Clan Star Adder)|Xi Provisional Galaxy]], already based in the [[Paxon]] system, was given the task of Absorbing the single Burrock Cluster that also maintained a garrison in-system.<ref name=FMCC137>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 137: "Xi Provisional Galaxy"</ref>

Finally, [[Sigma Provisional Galaxy (Clan Star Adder)|Sigma Provisional Galaxy]] was allocated to take the small Burrock holdings on [[Hoard]].<ref name=FMCC140>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 140: "Sigma Provisional Galaxy"</ref>

==Enter Clan Blood Spirit==
As the official Absorption Trial got underway, Clan Blood Spirit launched its own attack on Clan Burrock forces, committing some seventy percent of their ''touman'' to the conflict. Khans Schmitt and Keller expected the Trial to break down into a series of three-cornered contests that they could take advantage of. However, the Spirits had overlooked one important element in this plan: the Burrocks despised the Spirits with equal fervor, and so, with the exception of the action on Dagda,<ref name=FMCC114>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 114</ref> Burrock and Star Adder troops joined forces in the face of the new threat and defeated the Spirit units.<ref name=FMCC25>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 25</ref>

To Albion, the Blood Spirits assigned three Galaxies, including [[Alpha Galaxy (Clan Blood Spirit)|Alpha]].<ref name=FMCC31>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 31: "Alpha Galaxy: The Blooding"</ref>

On Priori, the Blood Spirit task force included [[Beta Galaxy (Clan Blood Spirit)|Beta]],<ref>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 30</ref> [[Delta Galaxy (Clan Blood Spirit)|Delta]],<ref name=FMCC31>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 31: "Alpha Galaxy: The Blooding"</ref> [[Kappa Galaxy (Clan Blood Spirit)|Kappa]] and [[Pi Galaxy (Clan Blood Spirit)|Pi]] Galaxies.<ref name=FMCC125>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 125: "Delta Galaxy: Thunderstrike"</ref>

==Battles of the Absorption Campaign==
===Albion===

A Star of Adder WarShips prevented Burrock reinforcements from reaching the planet, crippling their transports and leaving them stranded in space. The four Burrock Galaxies already on-world fought hard against the three Adder Galaxies, but Khan N'Buta's plan to decapitate the Burrocks succeeded; within two days both Burrock Khans and Galaxy Commander Seth Marghar were dead. The surviving senior Burrock officer, Star Colonel Carlos Hutchinson, then offered to face N'Buta in single combat to preserve the rest of the Burrock forces. Before the fight could take place, however, three of Clan Blood Spirit's Galaxies dropped onto Albion.

The furious Adders hurled themselves against the interlopers, with the Burrocks joining them. The joint Adder/Burrock forces smashed the Blood Spirits, and after five days of fighting only two Spirit Clusters survived to retreat off-world. N'Buta and Hutchinson then proceeded to duel one another for most of a day. In the end, N'Buta was victorious, and Albion and everything that remained of Clan Burrock was firmly under Clan Star Adder's control.<ref name=FMCC114>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 114</ref>

===Arcadia===

In retaliation for the Blood Spirit attacks elsewhere, the Star Adders' [[Mu Provisional Galaxy (Clan Star Adder)|Mu Provisional Galaxy]] assaulted the Spirit enclave on Arcadia. Mu Galaxy and the Spirits' [[Omega Galaxy (Clan Blood Spirit)|Omega Galaxy]] battled one another for a week and a half, with neither side gaining the upper hand. By the end of the fighting both units had been reduced to less than a Cluster.<ref>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 132: "Omega Galaxy: The Sanguine Reavers"</ref>

===Dagda===

Expecting an easy victory, the Adders' Epsilon Galaxy instead found that two of the three Burrock Clusters on Dagda steadfastly obeyed their Khans' orders to hold at all cost. Then the Blood Spirits' Delta Galaxy made their own surprise assault upon Dagda. The Adders eventually triumphed, but only after the gutted Epsilon Galaxy was reinforced with the Adders own Delta Galaxy.<ref name=FMCC126>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 126: "Epsilon Galaxy: Night Terrors"</ref>

===Hoard===

The Adders' Sigma Provisional Galaxy dealt with the small Burrock force on Hoard swiftly. The Burrock Galaxy Commander there felt so disgraced by her Clan's dishonor that she bid herself against the entire Adder force to prevent any of her warriors dying in defense of their Clan.<ref>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 115</ref> The fighting ended in a single day, with no losses on either side.<ref name=FMCC140>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 140: "Sigma Provisional Galaxy"</ref>

===Paxon===

Xi Provisional Galaxy defeated the sole Burrock Cluster on Paxon in an unusual fashion: a game of golf on the airless moon. The Burrock commander, Star Colonel Hoyt Marghar, had been unaware of his Clan's crimes, and so agreed to face Galaxy Commander Malachi Reisch in a golf match. Reisch won the game and Marghar's unit became the first Burrock force to be integrated wholesale into the [[Clan Star Adder Touman|Star Adder ''touman'']].<ref name=FMCC137>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 137: "Xi Provisional Galaxy"</ref>

===Priori===

The Star Adders' Gamma and Delta Galaxies found themselves fighting alongside the Burrocks they had come to absorb, with the newly organized Tau Provisional Galaxy arriving to reinforce them. Delta Galaxy lost only one Cluster in the fighting, but Gamma Galaxy was mauled, losing over half of its strength before the Spirits were finally driven off.

==Outcome and Aftermath==
Mostly because of Clan Blood Spirit's interference, Clan Burrock lost four full Galaxies and Clan Star Adder lost almost three Galaxies, while the Spirits lost nearly five Galaxies. The two surviving Clans disbanded or reassigned multiple units in the wake of these losses.<ref>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', various Galaxy descriptions from the Blood Spirit and Star Adder chapters</ref>

The remnants of Clan Burrock were swiftly incorporated into Clan Star Adder, however. Significant portions of the surviving Burrock ''touman'' were quickly made ''[[abtakha]]'' to compensate for the casualties caused by Blood Spirit interference. Thus, despite suffering heavy losses the Absorption made Clan Star Adder one of the strongest of the Home Clans, with a significant increase in the size of its territory and ''touman''.

Clan Blood Spirit on the other hand lost well over fifty percent of [[Clan Blood Spirit Touman|its ''touman'']], and gained nothing. The Spirits consolidated their forces on [[York (Clan System)|York]], becoming even more isolationist. Their interference in the Burrock Absorption earned the Blood Spirits the enmity of Clan Star Adder; the furious Adders would adopt the Burrocks' feud and in the future punish the Spirits at every opportunity. In the end, its ill-advised intervention cost Clan Blood Spirit its very existence, as the Adders would prove to be a more deadly enemy than the Burrocks, and by [[3084]] would succeed in wiping out the Blood Spirits completely.<ref>''The Wars of Reaving'', pp. 155–156</ref>

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Clan Spaniel Sourcebook]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Crusader Clans]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Warden Clans]]''
* ''[[Historical: Operation Klondike]]''
* ''[[The Wars of Reaving]]''


[[Category:Clan Homeworlds Era Military Operations|Burrock Absorption]]