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{{Update Needed|[[Operation ICE STORM (novel)]]|[[BattleTech: Legends II]]}}

{{InfoBoxCharacter
| image = Conner_Rood.jpg
| caption = Conner Rood
| name = Conner Rood
| birthdate = [[3038]]<ref>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 190: "Conner Rood Profile"</ref><ref name=legendsp92>''BattleTech: Legends II'', p. 92</ref>
| died =
| othernames =
| affiliation = [[Escorpión Imperio]];<br>[[Clan Goliath Scorpion]];<br>[[Clan Ice Hellion]] (formerly)
| rank = [[Khan of Clan Goliath Scorpion|Khan]];<br>[[ReKhan of Valencia|reKhan of Valencia]]<ref name=SO:HKp3>''Spotlight On: Hellion Keshik'', p. 3</ref>
| title =
| position =
| profession = [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarrior]]
| parents =
| siblings =
| spouse =
| children =
}}

'''Conner Rood''' was a [[Trueborn|trueborn]] [[Clan]] [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarrior]] and [[saKhan]] (later briefly [[Khan]]) of [[Clan Ice Hellion]] until that Clan's [[Trial of Absorption|Absorption]] into [[Clan Goliath Scorpion]]. He later became the saKhan and then Khan of his new Clan and the [[Escorpión Imperio]].

==Character and Personality==
A young moderate Crusader among his trueborn brethren. He was noted for his intelligence and political views which made him popular among his subordinate [[Freeborn|freeborn]] warriors.

==History==
===Early Life===
Conner Rood was a ''[[ristar]]'' in his Clan.<ref>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 86: "Beta Galaxy - 121st Hellion Lancers - Conner Rood's status as ''ristar'' and unit he served with is listed"</ref> When he undertook his [[Trial of Position]], his skill and kills earned him rank of [[Star Captain]]. This rare feat got him noticed by his fellow Clanners. In time he gained his [[Bloodname]], along with fame for his accomplishments. His first command was a Cluster of [[Beta Galaxy (Clan Ice Hellion)|Beta Galaxy]]'s 121st Hellion Lancers. His personal [[Trinary]] was noted for its performance in engagements with other Clans. Rood's command style and political views gained him the trust of the warriors under his command.<ref>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 84: "Star Captain Conner Rood" - Profile gives brief background to character's early life</ref> He was soon considered a Khan in the making.

===saKhan of Clan Ice Hellion===
In [[3065]], Conner's career changed, with [[Raina Montose]]'s successful [[Trial of Grievance]] over [[Khan]] [[Asa Taney]]. Conner was chosen to become [[saKhan]] and Galaxy Commander of Beta Galaxy.

By [[3067]], Conner had rebuilt the ''esprit de corps'' of Beta Galaxy's warriors with help from his aide, [[Star Colonel]] [[Brendon Wick]]. However, Connor's efforts had been successful only due to the presence of two [[Flurry Cluster]]s among his Galaxy's numbers. The Flurry Clusters caused any victory won by the Galaxy to be tainted due to the presence of combat vehicles.<ref name=FMUp47>''Field Manual: Updates'', p. 47: "Ice Hellion Touman" - Beta Galaxy - Conner Rood's elevation and efforts since becoming saKhan and Galaxy Commander of Beta</ref>

===Inner Sphere Invasion of 3071-72===
In the early 3070s, Khan Montose devised a plan to invade [[Clan Jade Falcon]]'s [[Occupation Zone]] as part of her plan to create an OZ for the Ice Hellions at the cost of the Falcons. She mustered all their frontline combat Galaxies and divided them between herself and Conner. Rood was given command of three Galaxies for his Task Force, [[Delta Galaxy (Clan Ice Hellion)|Delta]], [[Zeta Galaxy (Clan Ice Hellion)|Zeta]], and his own Beta Galaxy. His forces were to secure the Periphery border, while she would secure industrial worlds to bolster their declining [[Clan Ice Hellion Touman|''touman'']] strength.

In June [[3071]], saKhan Rood led his task force on a successful conquest of six Falcon worlds. On [[Bone-Norman]], while leading the [[Lithe Kill Keshik]], Rood engaged the Jade Falcon garrison in two weeks of hide-and-seek across the Hapsburg continent. Forced to use himself as bait to draw out the Falcon warriors, Rood nearly perished when his ''[[Kit Fox]]'' was attacked by a Star of ''[[Erinyes (ProtoMech)|Erinyes]]'' ProtoMechs led by Star Captain [[Kandari Falcon]]. Nonetheless the Hellions were able to claim victory, although the Falcon Guards would retake Bone-Norman just weeks later.<ref>''Technical Readout: 3075'', p. 150: "Erinyes, notable pilots"</ref><ref>''Touring the Stars: Bone-Norman'', p. 7</ref>

The successes of his Task Force's campaign continued for six months with few reversals. However, by November [[Clan Hell's Horses]] begun to aid the Falcons in their resurgent of their offensive against his Clan's efforts. Conner was forced to retreat to [[Lackhove]] due to the Falcons' reinforcements, leaving his Galaxy's command unit, the [[200th Attack (Clan Ice Hellion)|200th Attack Cluster]], in the process.

By early [[3072]], faced large quantity of Jade Falcon and Hell's Horses forces hunting down his task force. Conner orders his task force's survivors to pull back to [[Dark Nebula]], one his unit's first conquests. In March, Beta's survivors and his Galaxy's Naval Star clash with Falcons' [[Delta Galaxy (Clan Jade Falcon)|Delta Galaxy]] and Hell's Horses [[Theta Galaxy (Clan Hell's Horses)|Theta Galaxy]]. Rood's naval forces are heavy mauled, leaving him only [[Potemkin]], CIH ''Coterie'' left his command. Falcon saKhan [[Samantha Clees]] offers him and his command ''[[hegira]]'', which he accepts at later discourse of his Khan.<ref>''Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents'', pp. 28–30: "Operation Ice Storm" - saKhan actions and history during the conflict with Jade Falcons & Hell's Horses</ref>

===Post-Invasion and Jihad===
Rood had reportedly taken the ''Coterie'' with his Galaxy's three remaining Clusters and withdrawing to the [[Deep Periphery]]. Intelligence reports suggest his destination was [[Nouveaux Paris]], where his Clan had maintained a garrison outpost.

===Goliath Scorpion===
The few elements of the Hellions under the leadership of Connor Rood, the main body of their Clan's remnants, were able to make it back to Clan space with the [[WarShip]] ''[[Osis' Pride]]'' at the end of December 3072. The three [[Trinary|trinaries]] of the [[200th Attack (Clan Ice Hellion)|200th Attack Cluster]] represented a significant boost for the heavily depleted clan. The Hellion enclaves outside Hector had been stripped away through predation by the other clans, [[Bandit Caste]] forces, and the [[Society]] while the HPG network across the Homeworlds was inactive. However, even then the added Hellions could barely muster a full [[galaxy]].<ref name="WoRp98+HF">''The Wars of Reaving'', pp. 98–99: "The Hellion Fades"</ref>

As the Ice Hellions could not rebuild their clan, in [[3073]] Rood negotiated with the Khan of [[Clan Goliath Scorpion]] to have the surviving Ice Hellion elements merge with Clan Goliath Scorpion. Rood viewed this as the preferrable alternative to Clan Ice Hellion disappearing completely, but the offer was rejected. The Goliath Scorpions resented any implication that they might be in a weak enough state to need to merge with another clan. Rood was honest and open about the perilous state of the Hellions, so the Goliath Scorpions counter-offered to [[Trial of Absorption|absorb]] the Hellions in a fashion that limited the number of losses.<ref name="WORp127">''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 127: "Scorpion Gambit"</ref>

The proposal was agreed upon by both [[Clan Council|Clan Councils]], and following a ferocious but brief battle between a Star of forces from each clan in March [[3074]], the remaining Ice Hellion holdings and ''touman'' joined the Goliath Scorpions. Afterwards, Rood was elected to the post of ''SaKhan'' to replace [[Kelton Myers]], who had been killed during the trial.<ref name="WORp127" /><ref name=WoRp159>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 159</ref>

Connor Rood succeeded [[Colin Yeh]] as Khan of Clan Goliath Scorpion in [[3086]]. He instructed Chi and Beta Galaxy to investigate reports of all Ice Hellion warriors in the Periphery that became lost after the Hellion's failed attempt to claim territory in the Inner Sphere. Over several years, many were found and the majority returned to clan society either being claimed as ''[[isorla]]'' or as part of Trials of Possession. The returned warriors were integrated into Beta Galaxy and increased Hellion influence in the clan (Beta Galaxy would be renamed Hellion Galaxy). The presence of the warriors also aided the clan's replenishment of depleted genetic stocks.
However, the integration was not without problems. ''SaKhan'' [[Henrika Suvorov]] was assassinated by Star Commander [[Kliff Wallace]], after she insulted him and the Hellion legacy. Rood issued a [[Trial of Grievance]] and killed Wallace in return, but ordered a ''giftake'' to be taken, to preserve Wallace's lineage.

Later, Galaxy Commander [[Mull Elam]] refused to be nominated ''SaKhan'' out of fear that they would be assassinated too. Rood decided to create a bodyguard unit for the ''SaKhan'', the ''Hellion Keshik'', composed of Beta's best warriors of all origins. He assembled the Scorpion's entire ''touman'' in [[Valencia]], delivering a fiery, invective-filled address against discrimination, while reminding all present than the Trial of Absorption was part of the Way of the Clans. He ended by promising a reckoning for those which choose safety over glory and offered five brand-new [[Hellion]] 'Mechs for the best members of the new ''keshik''. His efforts to integrate the competeing legacies in the clan fully succeeded, beginning a fiery competition to be part of the ''keshik''.<ref>''Spotlight On: Hellion ''keshik'', p. 2</ref>

Khan Rood also instituted a colonization program of worlds between the Imperio and the Hanseatic League. Meanwhile, Castilian and Umayyad civilians were given the means to attain status though Higher Education. Using clan influenced Trials of Worth, students competed for places in Universities with faculty staffed by the Scientist Caste. The program yielded great results and, within two decades, factories that had struggled to produce Succession Era equipment could manufacture Clantech.<ref name=OTP:HCp8>''Operational Turning Points: Hanseatic Crusade'', p. 8</ref> After the Hellion Keshik's heavy [[ProtoMech]] losses to pirates on [[Graystone]], Rood ordered the end to ProtoMech production, which began the phase out of ProtoMech use by the Scorpion ''touman''.

Rood retired in [[3108]], however, his career didn't end immediately. He was succeeded as Khan by [[Enrico Kirov]] who created the position of [[ReKhan of the Scorpion Empire|ReKhan]] and Rood was appointed the first [[ReKhan of Valencia]].<ref>''Spotlight On: Hellion Keshik'', p. 3</ref>

==Legacy==
At the end, Rood's reign as a Khan proved one very long and successful: the full integration of the Hellions into Clan Goliath Scorpion and modernization of the Imperio were his legacy. Enrico Kirov continued his work. He would rename [[Beta_Galaxy_(Escorpión_Imperio)|Beta Galaxy]] to "'''Hellion Galaxy'''" where many captured Hellion warriors ended up, along with most of those who would later earn former Hellion Bloodnames. That ensured the survival of the Hellions' tactics and culture among the Scorpions.<ref>''Operational Turning Points: Hanseatic Crusade'', p. 9</ref>

==BattleMechs==
Initially, Rood's 'Mech was a ''[[Kit Fox]]'' OmniMech, but after losing it to an Elemental ambush in [[Bone Norman]] was forced to replace it with a bigger ''[[Linebacker]]''.<ref>''Operation Ice Storm part 1'', ch. 6</ref><ref>''Technical Readout: 3075'', p. 150: "Erinyes" - Star Captain Kandari Falcon - Conner Rood's actions on Bone-Norman noted</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Field Manual: Crusader Clans]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Updates]]''
* ''[[Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents]]''
* ''[[Operational Turning Points: Hanseatic Crusade]]
* ''[[Spotlight On: Hellion Keshik]]''
* ''[[Technical Readout: 3075]]''
* ''[[Touring the Stars: Bone-Norman]]''
* ''[[The Wars of Reaving]]''

[[Category: Clan Ice Hellion Characters|Rood, Conner]]
[[Category:Clan Goliath Scorpion Characters|Rood, Conner]]

Connor Rood - Revision history

imported>Dmon at 09:47, 5 September 2024