Nova Cat Totem:

The Dagda feline whose mane stands on end (like a sudden nova) whenever it is alarmed was the inspiration for this Clan name. Its mane is tipped with barbs containing a substance poisonous to most creatures. The nova cat is admired for its alert response to danger.

Nova Cat Demographics Affiliation:

Capital: Irece
Population: 876,600,000
Population growth rate: 3.1
Self-Sufficiency Index: 100 percent
Leaders:
Khan: Santin West
saKhan: Karl Devalis
Oathmaster: Minori Kurita Nova Cat
Scientist-General: Andrew Solvenia
Merchant Factor: Amber (Rosse)
Master Technician: Hamerick
Senior Laborer: Khartmanrick
Military:
Clusters: 35
WarShips: 24
Star League Clan Space Worlds:
Asgard (100 percent)
Avon (100 percent)
Caripare (100 percent)
Cyrenaica (100 percent)
Irece (100 percent)
Itabaiana (100 percent)
Juazeiro (100 percent)
Labrea (100 percent)
Mualang (100 percent)
Outer Volta (100 percent)
Port Arthur (100 percent)
Tarazed (100 percent)
Teniente (100 percent)
Yamarovka (100 percent)

The Irece Prefecture, new Home of the Nova Cats

    Spiritualistic, farseeing, deadly. The Nova Cats are unique amongst the warrior Clans. More philosophers and dreamers than warrior, these children of Kerensky differ from their brethren in that they rely heavily upon mystic visions which tell the future. While the other Clans scoff at the Nova Cats reliance of visions, it should be noted that a surprising number of these predictions have come true.

    The Nova Cat's first Khan, Phillip Drummond, is the only one succeeded in Clan history by his own child. Sandra Rosse rose quickly through the ranks. When it became apparent that her father's health was failing, Sandra challenged him to a Trial of Grievance and took his place as Khan. Following in her father's steps, Khan Sandra Rosse guided the Nova Cats to many victories and helped set the standards to which all Nova Cat warriors adhere to. Chief amongst her contributions was giving her Clan a spiritual way of life.

    During the Golden Century, the Nova Cats, along with the Diamond Sharks, amassed tremendous wealth speculating on Clan explorations and mining. Khan Sandra Rosse allowed the Nova Cat merchants the freedom to do their jobs as they saw fit. This action contributed greatly to the Cats' future success.

    In the intervening years since the Battle of Tukayyid, the Nova Cats have fought a number of pitched battles with both the Draconis Combine and the Smoke Jaguars. Notable battles during this period include the failed raid by the Black Summonerns in 3056, which cost the Cats a full Trinary of omnimechs and a DropShip. In summer of 3058, the Nova Cats were lured to the planet Wayland by members of the Northwind Highlanders and defeated the Smoke Jaguars new Tau Galaxy in a bloody battle reminscent of Tukayyid.

    It is also in this time period that Nova Cat Khans began a series of secret talks with the Draconis Combine. The two cultures, surprisingly, share a belief in mysticism and have cooperated on numerous occasions. In the years prior to Operation Bulldog, Khan Severen Leroux began having visions depicting a nova cat being devoured by a dragon. The events on Wayland gave credence to the implied warning. When Coordinator Kurita's ambassadors hinted at a possible invasion by Inner Sphere forces, Khan Leroux saw that as another sign. He ordered his emissaries to go along with the Combine's plans. In the weeks leading up to the invasion, Khan Leroux and Carns issued preemptive batchalls to the Combine leaders. These battles, heavily weighted in the new Star League's favor, would allow the Nova Cats to return to the Inner Sphere with no loss of honor. All troops who were captured would be granted warrior status and, where needed, assisted in the conquest of several Smoke Jaguar worlds.

    The Inner Sphere's invasion of Smoke Jaguar space has cost the Nova Cats their entire occupation zone and dozens of Clusters. These troops however have a new home as members of the new Star League Defense Force. These troops now serve as peacekeepers while the Combine reasserts its control over its recaptured worlds. This allows the Combine to shift troops to the Ghost Bear/Combine border.

    With the defeat of the Smoke Jaguars in the Inner Sphere and on Huntress, the Clans found themselves with the unprecedented prospect of an Inner Sphere invasion of Strana Mechty. The Star League Defense Force soon challenged the Clans to a Trial of Refusal over the invasion. If the Inner Sphere won, the invasion was over and the invading Clans would retain the worlds they had conquered. If the Clans won, the invasion would resume. The Warden Clans refused to participate in the Trial, leaving the eight Crusader Clans to face the SLDF. As the Smoke Jaguars had only two Binaries of troops left, it was decided that each Crusader Clan would only commit two Binaries to the battle.

    The Nova Cats played an unusual role in the Trial of Refusal declared by Prince Victor Ian Steiner-Davion. When Ice Hellion Khan Asa Taney made clear his intentions to renew the invasion, Khans Leroux and Carns saw little choice but to side with the Star League. Khan Leroux's visions foretold of certain doom for the Inner Sphere if anyone but the Nova Cats battled the Ice Hellions at Lyod Glacier. The two Khans convinced Prince Victor of this and led their troops in a hard fought battle that saw the deaths of Khans Leroux and Carns as well as Khan Asa Taney.

    With their leaders dead, it is unknown at this time who will now lead the Nova Cats. Before his death, Khan Carns committed the entirety of Clan Nova Cat to the Star League. How the Nova Cats will serve the Star League is presently unknown.

Other Clans often point to the fact that Clan Nova Cat was the only Clan forged by a member of the Exodus who did not belong to the Star League Defense Force to explain that Clan's unconventional nature and sometimes disturbing customs. The freedom they allow their merchant caste, their emphasis and reliance on innovative economic measures, and their deeply spiritual nature set Clan Nova Cat dramatically apart from Nicholas Kerensky's other descendants. The beginnings of these policies can be traced directly to the founder of Clan Nova Cat, Phillip Drummond, and to the influence of Anna Rosse.

The Founders

Although our birth resembled that of most Clans, one of our contribuiting founders was not a member of the Star League Defense Force, a fact that has made us the object of derision for centuries. That same found joined our Merchant Caste. For some, these are events that cannot be overlooked.

The manner in which the Nova Cat walks as an adult was set down by Phillip Drummond and Anna Rosse. Though some in our Clan belittle Anna and heap praise on her daughter Sandra, one must remember that, unlike modern-day sibkos, a mother still had the upbringing of a daughter in those early years. Without Anna's guidance, Sandra would not have become our most beloved Khan.

Philip Drummond

When Stefan Amaris executed the First Lord and destroyed the Star League, Phillip Drummond felt bitterly betrayed. He had take great pride in the fact that his nation had stood by the Star League while the rest of the Periphery rebelled. When the true extent of Amaris' plot came to light, Drummond, like many men and women of the Rim World Republic military, fell into despair. In a single moment of clarity, Drummond's loyality was shattered beyond redemption, and he eagerly transferred his loyality to Aleksandr Kerensky, convinced that Kerensky was the one man in whom he still might believe.

Drummond demonstrated his resourcefulness, as well as his determination to punish the Usurper, by penetrating the security cordon around Kerensky's headquarters. Just as Drummond was about to be summarily executed as a suspected assassin, the general interceded, and Drummond offered to join the SLDF and share his knowledge of the Rim Worlds Republic's military defenses. Kerensky instinctively recongnized his sincerity and accepted him as a newly commissioned lieutenant.

Drummond, however, was denied an opportunity to fight and was landed a permanent assignment with the Intelligence Command. The SLDF warriors around him all believed him to be a spy or traitor. Only years of faithful service, along with providing unfailingly accurate information, grudgingly earned him the respect of his peers.

Anna Rosse

Life for Anna Rosse was brutal and uncompromising from the time she was very young. When the hated Usurper invaded Terra, Rosse was only nine years old. Captured, she was being led to an internment camp when a resistance cell rescued her.

An all-women resistance cell in Greece took her in after two years on the run. This deeply spiritual group helped heal Rosse of her emotional scars, and she repaid them with sensible and intelligent suggestions on improving their communications networks and their methods of acquiring and distributing supplies. The leaders of her cell quickly realized her value and began to pass her on to other cells to aid in their effectiveness. As she grew older, her methods became common practice among most of the resistance cells in Europe and Asia. By the time of the Liberation of Terra by Kerensky's troops, she was stationed in Moscow.

Quietly hailed as a hero of the resistance, Anna Rosse met Captain Peter Karpov of the SLDF at one of the intial meetings between the resistance leaders and the liberators. The two were married within a year, and bother joined the Exodus. They departed the Inner Sphere aboard the Prinz Eugen.

All know of the history of that traitorous ship and crew. Defying the Great Father himself, the Prinze Eugen and eight other ships decided to return to the Inner Sphere. Only one solution was possible: Kerensky captured the nine ships and excuted their officers - including Karpov.

All Clans realize that this act saved us from destruction - look at what happened when the Inner Sphere finally did locate us. However, Karpov's death worsened Rosse's emotional problems, and she could not even find solace in Aleksandr Kernsky's General Order 137. When the SLDF finally arrived at five marginally inhabitable worlds - later dubbed the Pentagon worlds - she made her new home on the planet Circe. Living with two of her husband's cousins, she tried to start a new life. Remebering the spiritual strength of the resistance cell, she began her own healing process through a set of private rituals. What began as a mental technique to help her come to grips with everything she had lost blossomed into a way in which to view life. She came to understand the power of ritual and began to accept the truth of visions. It was during this time that she met Phillip Drummond.

Drummond had tested out of the SLDF during the controlled demobilization that followed the arrival on the Pentagon worlds and became a scientist. Rosse became a successful merchant, and in those first few peaceful years of colonization, they joined to create a family and gave birth to three children.

Death of Eden

The peaceful years did not last. Sedition, hatred, and old loyalties quickly found a place in the hearts of those who had traveled so far. Both scarred by the Amaris Civil War, Drummond and Rosse were horrified when rioting finally exploded and fled with other families into the wilds of Circe. However, their small community was attacked and two of their three children were killed. Though racked with grief, they both joined the forces that supported the planetary government.

The savagery of the fighting sickened them both, and they, along with their surviving daughter Sandra, readily followed Nicholas Kerensky's call for a second Exodus to the world of Strana Mechty.

Drummond easily tested out in the ranks of warriors of one of the new Clans Nicholas created, having polished his unused combat skills in the recent fighting on Circe. When Nicholas announced that each Clan would be led by two Khans chosen from among their ranks, Drummond rose to command the new Nova Cat Clan. Our Remembrance hints that Nicholas influenced this reward Drummond for his years of faithful service to hsi father and to reinforce the fact that, in the Clans, no previous loyalties mattered. If a man was worthy, he could rise to the highest levels in our society. This was echoed when Phelan Kell was captured during Operation Revival and rose to Khanship of Clan Wolf for this action, but we Nova Cats have always believed that the founder would have been pleased. Had not Phelan proved his worth as a warrior?

As the Clans continued to cement themselves and training began for their eventual return to the Pentagon worlds, Anna Rosse fell into the Merchant Caste. Though strictures against intercaste relationships were beginning to take shape, Drummond and Rosse continued their relationship in secret. For, like the founders of Clan Ghost Bear, they had a family that would eventually define us.

When the order finally came to return to the Pentagon worlds, Clan Nova Cat joined Clans Mongoose, Snow Raven and the Not-Named in retaking Circe. Though Operation Klondike would take a year to complete, the Clans finally conquered the Pentagon worlds. Our warriors uncanny ability to consistently target the weakest spot on an enemy unit's armor earned them almost legendary status.

Enter Sandra Rosse

Following the Pentagon campaign, Khan Drummond realized he was losing his edge. A degenerative disease was slowly killing him, and Drummond despaired when he realized that he would soon lose his position. However, hope blossomed when he learned that his daughter, Sandra, had tested out in a Trail of Position as a Star Captain.

Sandra was a gifted warrior who had inherited the best of both worlds from her parents. A natural leader, with a conviction that many answers lay hidden in shrouds of mysticism, Sandra was on the verge of greatness. When Drummond confided his condition to her, she retreated to her private sanctuary in her mother's home. After three days of fast and meditation, she emerged with the answer buring in her mind. She had decided to replace her father as Khan.

Although she was already in a command position, she knew she needed a Bloodname. In honor of her mother, she chose to compete for the Rosse Bloodname. Though the same name, this Bloodname actually belonged to a second cousin of Anna's, Jason Rosse (Sandra's mother had never been a member of the warrior caste, so her surname was not enshrined as part of the eight hundred). Though irregular, the formal paths of the Trial of Bloodright had not yet been cemented, and a plea to the Grand Council granted her the right to compete for that name.

She won her Trial of Bloodright and became Sandra Rosse. Within a few months, having gained a following, she challenged Khan Drummond to a Trail of Grievance, charging he was no longer fit to be Khan. In the Circle of Equals, she then broke tradition and offered him the opportunity to voluntarily step down. For the second time in his life, Phillip Drummond walked away from everything he had known.

However, many Nova Cat warriors were outraged by what they saw as sentimentality and immediately challenged Sandra to a Trial of Grievance. She won every contest and so impressed the rest of our Clan with her combat skill and audacity that they accepted her as Khan.

The Nova Cat Reborn

Upon her assumption of the Khanship, Khan Rosse retreated to her sanctuary once again. Five days later, she emerged convinced that her visions had shown her a way that would lead the Nova Cats to a perfect society, beyond that designed by the Founder. Though many were perturbed when Khan Rosse announced that she was basing these decisions on visions, none challenged her right to do so. With her recent triumphs in the Trials of Grievance still fresh in our Clan's mind, her warriors reserved judgment.

She immediately began to enact sweeping changes. One of the farthest-reaching was to allow the Merchant Caste to fulfill their responsibilities as they saw fit. As the Clans moved into the Golden Century, this would provide ample dividends. However, her greatest contribution was to provide a more spiritual way of life. Her guidance opened our eyes to the fact that life is a path of choices and that every action we take can have consequences that may not appear for centuries. Our ability to see the long road is why we now walk the path of the Star League.

Convincd by her upbringing of the need for self-discipline, Khan Rosse created the office of Oathmaster to aid the Clan's spiritual strength and well-being, naming Lui Cheng to the position as one of her first offical acts. Though we have seen several Khans during our history who have not had the strength of vision to properly lead our Clan down the correct path - leaving this powerful role to the Oathmaster instead - it is a testament to the strength of our way that no Oathmaster has ever attempted to wrest the Khanship away from a standing Khan.

Nicholas Kerensky condemned her appointment for a warior to this position before the Grand Council, and Clan Wolf won the right to defend the Trial of Refusal the Founder called against Khan Rosse. The Trial was won, and a series of Trials of Position ensured for the Oathmaster position. Lucie Morris became the first offical Oathmaster. Kahn Rosse did not resent the founder for his actions, believing they simply emphasized the importance of this new position.

Though other Clans soon adopted versions of the Oathmaster post, it eventually evolved into an honor-guard position for any official Clan ceremony, adminstering all oaths.

Ways of Seeing

Following these events, Khan Rosse wrote Ways of Seeing, a volume that contained her mother's and her own visions. Most of the rituals we practice today are directly connect to this volume, and it - along with her personal journal, in which she continued to record her visions - has become the cornerstone for the Forum of Law in the Oathmaster Grand Melee.

Though several Khans from other Clans objected to Khan Rosse's bizarre innovations, she simply pointed out the Founder's edicts against interfering with the spiritual life of any people. With no documented cases of outright un-Clanlike behavior, the Khans bided heir time, convinced that the Nova Cats would stumble.

However, that day never arrived. Far from hobbling our Clan, Khan Rosse gave us mental and emotional focus for our energy, which allowed us to keep pace with or surpass the achievements of the other Clans.

The Jaguar Conflict

As the Clans grew, many bitter feuds were born. However, the cause for the fued between the Nova Cats and the Smoke Jaguars - which would eventually lead to the destruction of the Smoke Jaguars - had a most unusual beginning. Shortly after becoming Khan, Sandra realized that she was attracted to Liam Ismiril, saKhan of Clan Smoke Jaguar - and that saKhan Ismiril shared her attraction. Though they enjoyed each other's company for some time, Khan Rosse eventually realized that she simply could not ignore the drastic differences in their philosophies.

After retreating to her sanctuary, she had a vision that convinced her that if she continued her relationship, it would lead to the destruction of her Clan. She immediately broke off contact with saKhan Ismiril, but a dead nova cat found in our breeding program's iron wobs let her know that she had earned the enmity of Clan Smoke Jaguar.

Drummond Returns

Without a doubt, Khan Ross's vision set us on the path to our current place in history. However, some of her decisions proved disastrous. When the Not-Named Clan claimed sole possession of their disputed Brian Cache, Khan Rosse supported them in the Grand Council. Following the Not-Named Clan's refusal to accept the results of their Trial of Refusal and their subsequent annihilation, Khan Winson of Clan Wolf personally challenged the Khans of each Clan that had supported the Not-Named Clan to a Trial of Grievance. Though Khan Rosse fought well, she was killed in the trial.

Upon hearing of Khan Rosse's death, a cured Phillip Drummond realized that he was the only one who could continue to foster the Nova Cats' newfound spirituality. Emerging victorious from a grueling series of Trials of Position, he spoke in front of the Clan Council. So eloguent were his words that the Council accepted him as Khan and he led Clan Nova Cat into the Golden Century, surviving to the age of 112. Even among the Nova Cats, who allow their warriors to remain in active service much longer the other Clans, this is an unprecendented record.

The Golden Century

The Golden Century proved very good for the Nova Cats. Driven by our Scientist and Merchant Castes, which had been given free rein, we quickly moved into a leading spot among the Clans. As other Clans created the OmniMechs and Elementals and perfected the iron womb technology, our scientists perfected extended-range lasers. Our Merchant Caste contacted Clan Sea Fox (later Diamond Shark), on of the Clans most actively exploiting the Kerensky Cluster around Strana Mechty, and proposed to fund and supply the Fox's exploration in return for a share in any resources found. This provided an endless flow of new resources and revenue. Even our Abjurement has only limited, not ended, that relationship.

Though Clans Widowmaker and Mongoose were absorbed during this time, our Clan continued on our path. Individual Galaxies formed animosity toward other Clans - notably the Cloud Cobras and Jade Falcons - but the Clan as a whole held only to our feud with the Jaguars. But as the Golden Century came to a close, a desire by some to return to the Inner Sphere polarized the Clans into the Warden - those who wanted to protect the Inner Sphere from outside aggression - and Crusader - those who wanted to conquer the Inner Sphere and re-establish the Star League - factions.

Operation Revivial

Though Clan Jade Falcon initially called for invasion in 2980, the Warden Clans managed to stall the return to the Inner Sphere for another sixty-eight years. But the appearance of the ComStar JumpShip Outbound Light dissolved all remaining resistance, and the return began.

As Oathmaster, I tried desperately to warn my Khans of the impending danger I had seen in a vision. Though Khans Severn Leroux and Lucian Carns were perennial Nova Cat warriors and more than worthy to hold their positions, the glory of returning to our lost paradise blinded their eyes, and we joined the rest of the Clans in the fighting to inf a place in the invasion. Though the Nova Cats were denied a place in the initial invasion, we fought well enough to be placed alongside the Steel Vipers as next in line and even participated in limited early actions.

However the Keshik of the Nova Cat Clan served as the escort to Precentor Martial Anastasius Focht as he traveled to the Dire Wolf, the flagship of Clan Wolf. As soon as I saw the Precentor Matial, I realized I was witnessing my vision in the flesh and pinned him to the ground. I attempted to convey to our Clan that we were taking our destruction unto our bosom, but my Khan would not listen. I even challenged saKhan Carns to a Trial of Grievance but lost, and so I was forced to sit by and watch my vision become reality.

When ilKhan Leo Showers was killed and Ulric Kerensky of Clan Wolf was elected as ilKhan, he activated our Clan. However, we paid a price for joining the invasion by having to share the invasion corridor with the hated Smoke Jaguars. Though we invaded sixteen worlds between November of 3051 until March of 3052 - Tarnby, Bjarred, Sawyer, Chupadero, Jeanette, Chourchevel, Irece, Avon, Luthien, Ltabaiana, Juazerio, Mualang, Teniente, Caripare, Cyrenaica and Kanowit - it was on Luthien that we received our most humiliating defeat. With the Smoke Jaguars, we deployed Alpha and Delta Galaxies to take the world. However with sixteen elite line regiments massed against us, we were brutally attacked and forced to retreat.

Of course, that paled in comparison with the proxy battle for Terra on the world of Tukayyid. Though the Nova Cats managed to inflict the severest damage on the Com Guard of any Clan, it was a Pyrrhic victory, as our forces ultimately lifted off world in defeat.

Tukayyid

When ilKhan Kerensky met with the Khans of the other invading Clans to discuss the plan that would come to be known as the Truce of Tukayyid, he found it a hard sell. The Jade Falcon and Ghost Bear Khans opposed this premature conclusion to the invasion, though they certainly recognized the advantage to battling for Terra on a proxy planet to avoid unnecessary collateral damage. Khans Osis and Weaver of Clan Smoke Jaguar bitterly resented the implication that the Clans could not complete the job they had begun and took offense at the mere idea of striking a bargain with an enemy proven dishonorable and contemptible. The Nova Cat Khans, always conscious of the price that any battle demanded in the coin of warriors and materiel, carefully considered the idea of the truce and accepted its value. When they asked Oathmaster Winters to seek confirmation of their decision in a vision, she could only describe again the tragic scene of the white mist enveloping all the Clans, claiming that it had been her recurring vision in answer to every question asked during the past year. The Khans impatiently dismissed her refusal to accept ilKhan Showers' death as the fulfillment of that prophesy and voted yes for Tukayyid.

Having failed to capture either of their target cities, the Nova Cats were judged to have lost to the ComGuards despite the fact that they inflicted the most severe losses on their opponents of any other battle on Tukayyid. Oathmaster Biccon Winters had been right to interpret her vision literally. The white mist trailing behind each Clan was the ComStar liaisons assigned to each occupation zone, and it was the army of white 'Mechs belonging to the ComGuard that handed Clan Nova Cat its final defeat.

3058 Update

The waning power of the Wolves and the Jade Falcons has created a power vacuum among the invading Clans, leading to further instability as other Clans in the invasion force jockey for power. At present, the Ghost Bears seem the most likely to lead a renewed invasion. The Bears have bolstered their troops with reinforcements from the Clan homeworlds, a development that poses a grave threat to the Draconis Combine worlds that lie above the truce line.

The Nova Cats now live in the Irece Prefecture.

Future Paths

Rightly ashamed of their blindness and arrogance, the Nova Cat Khans turned to me following Tukayyid for a vision of the path that would lead us back to glory. I spent long days in ritual and fast and returned to inform the Clans that we should attempt to open talks with the Draconis Combine. Though my Khans were shocked, the proof of the truth of my visions lying in shattered Nova Cat 'Mechs on Tukayyid weighed heavily, and they listened to my words.

Although we occasionally raided against the hated Jaguars, our Clan concentrated on rebuilding its shattered Touman, establishing a rapport with the populations on our Inner Sphere worlds, and continuing a dialogue with the Draconis Combine. When Operation Bulldog begain in 3058, several of our Clusters became abtakha to the invading forces - adopted as warriors - after which they fought as members of the SLDF against the Jaguars.

When Prince Victor Steiner-Davion challenged the Crusader Clans to a Trial of Refusal against the invasion, our Khans sided with Star League, fighting against Clan Ice Hellion on Strana Mechty. We even took MechWarrior Trent as a bondsman - he who had betrayed the Jaguars and given the coordinates for the Exodus Road to the Inner Sphere. In what has beocame known as the Great Refusal, both Severne Leroux and Lucian Carns died so that the Star League would triumph. Trent's 'Mech was destroyed, but his body was not found.

As we have known for centuries, the worthiest path is always fraught with peril, and our return to the Star League has had grave consequences. With in a week of the Great Refusal we were Abjured, and the other Clans fell on us. Though our warriors fought valiantly, we could not hold against their combined might. Only through the supreme heroism of the warriors from Upsilon, Rho, and Kappa Galaxies, along with the surprising aid of Clans Diamond Shark and Snow Raven, we were able to relocate the few survivors of our Civilian Caste to the Inner Sphere. Less then three full Clusters of our Clan Space warriors joined us in the Inner Sphere.

And our path is not yet done. Though we understand that most Combine citizens still view us as the enemy, our actions demonstrated our fidelity toward the new Star League. Did not both our Khans sacrifice their lives and our Clan accept Abjurement by our brethren to come back to the Star League? If that is not enough, the clashes between our forces and that of the DCMS show that we were the aggressors in only one battle. Our restraint in the face of such provocation should cement what is already before your eyes. Though we find the situation lamentable, we recognize the wisdom in Coordinator Theodore Kurita in his formation of the Irece Prefecture several months past. Though it is our hope that his separation of the Nova Cat and the DCMS units will give them time to accept us, it is a firm reminder that we have a long road ahead of us. Even more disturbing is that among our own ranks, there are those who can not clearly see the way and may yet cause dissension.

But my visions are strong, and always, the Nova Cat will survive.

The 'defection' of Nova Cat units to the SLDF during Operation Bulldog, and their Khan's decision to side with the SLDF in the Great Refusal, earned the Nova Cats the enmity of the other Clans, Warden as well as Crusader. As a result, the Clan was abjured within days of the Great Refusal. Many Clans moved against their Clan Space enclaves, forcing the Cats to stage a hurried withdrawal to join their brethren in the Inner Sphere. Most of their assets were absorbed by other Clans.

The bulk of their Touman is located in the Inner Sphere, their former holdings (now reclaimed by the Draconis Combine) are a 'special administrative district' under the joint authority of the Combine and the Nova Cat Clan Council.

Viewed as traitors by many of the other Clans, several Clans moved against the Nova Cats before the expiry of the one-month deadline making their position untenable. However, the Nova Cats lacked the preparation of the Ghost Bears and could not simply evacuate their people overnight. They were faced with a choice: immediate withdrawal to the Inner Sphere, abandoning their civilian castes, or fighting a delaying action beyond the original deadline to allow as many as possible time to escape. They chose the latter, knowing that it would likely mean the death of their few remaining warriors in Clan Space.

On Barcella, the Nova Cat Capital, the Ice Hellions and Jade Falcons tore into the Nova Cat defenders almost as soon as they were abjured. However, help came from an unexpected source - Clan Diamond Shark. Always on the lookout for profit, the Sharks offered to assist the Nova Cat evacuation, providing ships and troops under contract. This alliance slowed the Crusader assault, but did not halt it. Seeing the situation was hopeless the Cats granted most of the remaining assets to the Sharks and withdrew. They had managed to extract almost ten percent of their population. Their departure did not resolve the matter as none of the three remaining Clans agreed with the status quo and trials between the Sharks, Hellions and Falcons continue.

On Bearclaw, the Nova Cats made contact with the Snow Ravens who had recently occupied the Ghost Bear territories. In exchange for the support of the Raven's extensive navy, the Cats agreed to gift them their Bearclaw enclave and territories on Circe. However, they reckoned without the Hell's Horses. The Horses' long running feud with the Ghost Bears prompted them to challenge for control of Bearclaw, and gaining a foothold, they also moved against the Nova Cat enclave, prompting a brief three way battle. Small-scale trials continued for several months and by the time the Nova Cats finally withdrew in September, the Horses held almost a third of the planet.

Only on Circe did the Nova Cats have the opportunity to withdraw unmolested. Clan Snow Raven had already moved to consolidate their hold on the former Smoke Jaguar assets, an action that brought them into conflict with the Wolves. The fighting effectively prevented the Wolves from moving on the Nova Cats, while the Raven fleet discouraged other Clans from attempting to intervene. When the smoke finally cleared the world was divided roughly 70/30 between the Ravens and Wolves. However, Khan Ward shows every inclination of continuing the challenges against the "upstart scavengers".

On Brim the Nova Cats stood alone against the Star Adders and Cloud Cobras. The attacking clans were surprisingly generous and after several brutal clashes early in the campaign, allowed the Nova Cats to withdraw. Although only five percent of the civilian population were evacuated, those that remained were guaranteed good treatment by their new masters. The generosity of the two Clans was not without good reason. By doing so they took control of Brim before other Clans could intervene, although Clan Coyote - foolishly - tried to intervene. Rather than finding demoralized Nova Cat forces guarding their target, they ran headlong into the Star Adders, who took great pleasure in teaching the Coyotes the error of their ways. When Clan Cloud Cobra joined the fray, the Coyotes realized they could not win and withdrew.

On Gatekeeper the fighting was similarly bloody. The Jade Falcon's 53rd Battle Cluster engaged the Nova Cat defenders. With the Falcons regarding the Cats as dezgra, they used their numerical advantage to good effect. Ordinarily the Cats would have fought a fighting withdrawal, but to do so would have allowed the Falcons to claim the major population centers. The Cats stood and fought. And died. As with Brim, few escaped.

The Diamond Sharks and Nova Cats reached an accommodation on Delios, allowing the Cats to withdraw much of their scientific and military equipment, in exchange for granting the Sharks control of their enclave. So far, no Clan has challenged the Diamond Shark's possession of the enclave, but it seems unlikely they will remain undisturbed. Clan Coyote, already holding territory on the world, appears to be making preparations.

On Hoard the situation soon became chaotic. The Ice Hellions, Star Adders, Wolves and Hells Horses vied for the Nova Cat assets, resulting in a degree of confusion that the Cats used to their advantage. With the claims of the attackers overlapping in many areas, more trials were fought between them that against the Nova Cats. Clan's Wolf and Hell's Horses, who lacked a base on the world and had to fight for a foothold, took the highest losses. Working under contract to the Wolves, the commander of the Hell's Horses Steelhorse Cluster, Star Colonel Douglas Mitchell, must surely have wondered at the wisdom of the assault. Yet by mid October his Clan controlled ten-percent of the planet, their share of the spoils. Although most of the Nova Cat warriors on Hoard died in the fighting, almost a quarter of their civilians were able to withdraw.