Smoke Jaguar Totem:

Smoke jaguar is an altered Terran jaguar let loose in the jungles of Strana Mechty, so named because its fur looks like grayish smoke. Nicholas Kerensky held up the smoke jaguar as the epitome of unadulterated aggressiveness, citing as proof the animal's ferocity and its habit of springing on its prey from above.

Beginnings

The history of Clan Smoke Jaguar is certainly one of the most violent of the Clans. Named for a genetically altered Terran jaguar, this Crusader Clan is every bit as feral as its namesake. Driven to be the best warriors in the Clans, the Smoke Jaguars are relentless in their desire to be the ilClan.

Hard hitting and totally unforgiving of the weakness of others, the Smoke Jaguars quickly established themselves as the most brutal and aggressive of the Clans. First led by Khan Franklin Osis, the Smoke Jaguars set themselves to extremely standards for their warrior caste. Khan Osis's lust for battle led the Jaguars to many victories in the Clan's early days. His vision of the Jaguars being the ultimate warrior Clan inspired his troops to greater feats of prowess on the battlefield, virtually insuring their prominence amongst the Clans.

During the campaigns during the Exodus War, Khan Franklin Osis' savagery and sheer fighting prowess set the pattern for Clan Smoke Jaguars future. However, the warrior castes view that they are the epitome of the Clan society and all others are beneath them has caused numerous problems with the lower castes over the centuries. Only by declaring dozens of Trials of Possession for everything from genetic legacies to omnimech designs could the Smoke Jaguars maintain their viability as a Clan. The harsh discipline maintained by the warrior caste meant any transgression by the lower castes would be dealt with severely. This attitude has had numerous negative repercussions for the Jaguars.

When the first calls for invasion were issued, the Smoke Jaguars were at the forefront, demanding an immediate assault on the Inner Sphere. using data from the captured Com Star vessel, the Outbound Light, Smoke Jaguar Khan Leo Showers won a call for invasion and the post of ilKhan. In 3049, the Clans swept through the Periphery destroying all opposition in their way. Confident that the warriors faced so far were typical of the Inner Sphere, the Clans proceeded with the invasion.

The invasion of the Inner Sphere was a mixed blessing for the Smoke Jaguars. The elite Jaguar Clusters cut through the opposing DCMS troops like a hot knife, but were still stung by their inability to deal with Kurita partisans. This trait was no more apparent than on the planet Turtle Bay. The Jaguars had unknowingly captured Hohiro Kurita, son of Theodore Kurita, but lost him during a jail break. Later after several weeks of non-stop rioting, the local Jaguar commander unleashed his Warships full power on the city of Edo Bay, completely destroying it and killing nearly a million civilians. On Wolcott, the Jaguars met their first true defeat when Hohiro Kurita tricked the Jaguars into attacking at a place and time of his chosing. As a result, the Combine captured several OmniMechs and two dozen suits of Elemental armor.

The shock of this defeat paled in comparison when it was learned that ilKhan Leo Showers was killed during the battle of Radstadt. Though the Jaguars protested a return to the homeworlds to select a new ilKhan, they eventually went along. During the year the Clans spent back on the homeworlds, the Smoke Jaguar Khans and several others conspired to elect Ulric Kerensky ilKhan, thereby forcing him to do things their way. Ulric proved better than them by adding Clans Steel Viper and Nova Cat to the invasion force. Ulric's subsequent pairing of the hated Nova Cats with the Smoke Jaguars coupled with his order that the Jaguars must cede worlds to the Nova Cats so that they would have a secure supply line further enraged Khans Furey and Weaver.

Shortly after the return to the Inner Sphere, ilKhan Ulric approved a plan that shook the Successor States. Using their combined forces, the Nova Cats and Smoke Jaguars launched a major offensive against Luthien, the capitol of the Draconis Combine. The Combine forces were hopelessly outgunned by the Clans, but received a major boost that would turn the tide of the battle.

Hanse Davion, Prince of the Federated Commonwealth, had sworn to Theodore Kurita that no AFFC forces would invade Combine space for the duration of the hostilities. When Hanse learned that the Clans were planning to invade Luthien, he found himself stuck on Summonerns of a dilemna. He wouldn't break his word to Theodore, but found an alternate way of helping the Combine. Hanse ordered the elite mercenary Kell Hounds and Wolf's Dragoons regiments to Luthien to participate in the upcoming battle. The addition of these two elite mercenary units changed the tide of the war. Both the Hounds and the Dragoons had long, acrimonious relationships with the Combine and only reluctantly fought on Luthien.

The battle of Luthien was, in some ways, a precursor of the future for the Jaguars. A total of five Clan Galaxy's, two Nova Cat and three Smoke Jaguar, landed on Luthien in December 3051. The Combine force, including the mercenaries, totalled roughly 1300 battlemechs. The Clans landed nearly 800 OmniMechs. The following three-day battle was remarkable for the savagery and no-holds barred mentality pervading it. The addition of the mercenary forces turned a sure defeat into a narrow victory. Less than a third of the combined Clan force withdrew from Luthien.

Utterly disappointed by their loss, the Smoke Jaguars took to raiding Nova Cat worlds and further restricting rights amongst the lower castes. To complicate matters more, the Jaguars were forced to slow their timetable while they recouped their losses. Time, however, was not on the Jaguars' side. In early 3052, ilKhan Ulric Kerensky met with Precentor Martial Anastasius Focht to determine the fate of the Inner Sphere. Focht proposed a proxy battle for Terra. If the Clans won, then Terra and ComStar would be theirs. If ComStar prevailed, the Clans would stop their advance for fifteen years. ComStar committed a force equaling fifty BattleMech regiments plus support units to the battle.

Word of Ulric's decision to battle ComStar shocked many within the Clans. The still-hurting Smoke Jaguars were outraged at the turn of events, but managed to convince the other invading Clans to leave the Wolves with the worst possible targets. Then, Khans Furey and Weaver managed to earn the Smoke Jaguars the right to land first.

The Battle for Tukayyid ranks as one of the biggest defeats in the history of the Smoke Jaguars. Khans Kinkaid Furey and Sara Weaver led their Galaxies in a all-out battle against the Com Guards, only to be beaten at every turn by their enemies. Outgunned and outmanned, the elite Jaguar Clusters fell one at time to the relentless fury of the Com Guard forces. Even after both Khans were killed in the fighting, elements of Alpha Galaxy continued to fight until they were forced offplanet. Only handful of Stars from Beta Galaxy and fewer from Alpha survived the debacle. Shortly after the battle ended, Lincoln Osis and Brandon Howell were chosen as Khan and saKhan.

Post-Tukayyid

In the intervening years since the Battle of Tukayyid, the Smoke Jaguars have been under relentless assault by both Inner Sphere and Clan forces. Nova Cat and Wolf raids have stoked the Jaguars intense hatred of those Clans. The Draconis Combine, meanwhile, has spent the last few years launching numerous raids against various Smoke Jaguar planets in the occupation zone.

Khan Lincoln Osis was able to quickly rebuild Beta and Delta Galaxies with reinforcements from the homeworlds. But, the two Galaxies have spent the last few years in almost constant combat as the DCMS and Clans Wolf and Nova Cat staged numerous raids on the Jaguars. No sooner would the Jaguars replenish and refit one Cluster than another Cluster would take heavy damage in a raid.

In an attempt to regain lost honor, Khan Lincoln Osis split his resources and ordered the reformation of Alpha Galaxy and the creation of Tau Galaxy. The reemergence of Alpha Galaxy and its centerpiece unit, the Sixth Jaguar Dragoons, was critical for Osis's personal honor. Tau Galaxy was formed to destroy Nova Cat forces in the Inner Sphere in reprisal for the recent losses the Jaguars had sustained at their hands.

Tau Galaxy was lost, however, when the Northwind Highlanders regiment, Stirling's Fusiliers, landed on the planet Wayland where Tau Galaxy was based in preparation to invade the Nova Cat worlds in the Inner Sphere. Tau Galaxy's three Clusters pursued the main body of the Fusiliers in a running battle across Wayland. Unbeknownst to the Jaguars, the Fusiliers had one trump card to play. The Fusiliers sent a small unit, disguised as Smoke Jaguars, to stage several attacks against the Nova Cats in a attempt to goad the Nova Cats into following them back to Wayland. After four such attacks, the Nova Cats Khans sent two Clusters to Wayland where they found Tau Galaxy engaged in a pitched battle with the remnants of Stirling's Fusiliers. In a fierce battle to the death, the Nova Cats destroyed the remaining elements of Tau Galaxy, but allowed the surviving Fusiliers to live. The loss of Tau Galaxy further deepened the hatred the Smoke Jaguars felt towards the Nova Cats.

Operation Bulldog

In 3059, Khan Lincoln Osis was elected ilKhan and he immediately began planning the continuation of the invasion of the Inner Sphere. Wolf Khan Vladimir Ward and Jade Falcon Khan Marthe Pryde foiled this plan by forcing him to give the other Clans nine months to earn slots in the invasion force. Although deeply angered by their ploy, Osis had little choice but to acceed to their demands. ilKhan Osis also used this time to order the formation of several new front-line Clusters as well as increasing the flow of supplies to the Clusters already in position in the occupation zone.

In May 3059, the Smoke Jaguars were shocked to find that the Inner Sphere, under the banner of the Star League, launched an offensive into their occupation zone. The first wave targeted only five worlds, but all fell quickly under the SLDF's enormous firepower. The Jaguars fared little better in the second wave, losing eleven worlds but managing to cripple two SLDF regiments on Luzerne.

During the short lull between the second and third waves, the Jaguars launched a counteroffensive aimed at weakening the SLDF support structure and forcing it to pull units back to deal with the counteroffensive. The plan quickly fell apart when it became apparent that the targeted worlds were more than capable of defending themselves. Again, the Jaguars sustained heavy losses with little to show for the effort.

The third wave signalled the end of the Smoke Jaguar presence in the Inner Sphere. What few units that remained retreated after putting up token resistance. The fourth wave finished the Jaguars as those garrison Clusters stranded fought until forced to surrender or, in some cases, to the death. By the end of August 3059, the Jaguars were beaten and in retreat.

Battle for Huntress

In late 3060, an Inner Sphere task force, codenamed Serpent, struck at the Smoke Jaguar homeworld, Huntress. The Jaguar garrison commander, Benjamin Howell, had only two Provisional Galaxies to withstand the onslaught of ten elite Inner Sphere regiments. Both sides wreaked enormous damage upon another. Howell used the opportunity to unleash a deadly new war machine. Dubbed ProtoMechs, these miniature mechs were piloted by washed-out aerospace pilots using the new enhanced imaging system. The EI system coupled with the improved armor and weaponry allowed the ProtoMech pilots to wreak considerable damage on the Serpent forces before they were destroyed. After several days of almost non-stop combat, Task Force Serpent crushed the last of the Jaguar garrison forces.

Task Force Serpent's respite from battle was swept away when the remnants of the Smoke Jaguar Inner Sphere forces returned to Huntress for repairs and refitting. Shocked at finding their homeworld in the hands of Inner Sphere troops, the Smoke Jaguars, led by Galaxy Commander Hang Mehta, launched a brutal counterattack. With barely two Galaxies of troops, the Jaguars hammered mercilessly against the elite Serpent troops. Several days into the battle, ilKhan Lincoln Osis and his bodyguard unit arrived on Huntress to coordinate the counterattack. Both sides sustained losses in excess of sixty percent, with many pilots dead and hundreds of mechs lain strewn across the battlefields.

The Jaguars launched one final counterattack with their remaining forces. The battle was almost lost for the Inner Sphere if not for the skill and valor of the Eridani Light Horse. The ELH troops held the line but at a tremendous cost. Their leader, General Ariana Winston, was killed in the final moments of the battle. Winston's death marked the turning point for the campaign. Prince Victor Steiner-Davion, leading another task group to Huntress, arrived in-system just before the final battle began. The fresh troops he led quickly hunted down and eliminated all Jaguar resistance within a few days. Unfortunately for the Inner Sphere, ilKhan Lincoln Osis was able to escape with a handful of warriors to Strana Mechty.

War's End

Following the battle for Huntress, Prince Victor led the SLDF troops to Strana Mechty for a final battle with the Clans. The Grand Council accepted his challenge. The eight Crusader Clans would each send a binary of troops against an equivalent SLDF company.

ilKhan Lincoln Osis led his troops in battle against Prince Victor and the Tenth Lyran Guards. The Jaguars fought with all the ferocity of their namesake, but were ultimately crushed by the Guards. ilKhan Osis himself was killed in battle by Prince Victor.

With the death of Lincoln Osis, the Smoke Jaguar Clan effectively ceased to exist. Its holdings on Huntress were either destroyed or under SLDF control and its entire fighting arm crushed by the SLDF. The SLDF declared parts of Huntress a neutral zone and Victor Steiner-Davion appointed Colonel Paul Masters, commander of the Knights of the Inner Sphere, as the Inner Sphere's first ambassador to the Clans.

Battle of Huntress (3059-3060 A.D.)

 
At the same conference on Tharkad where the Star League was reformed and Sun-Tzu Liao was named First Lord, the leaders of the Inner Sphere made several momentous military decisions. Foremost was the decision that the only way to prove that the Inner Sphere was the military equal of the Clans was to do what only the Clans themselves had ever done - utterly destroy a Clan. Three choices were made available, the three invading Clans that were now Crusaders: Clan Wolf, the Jade Falcons and the Smoke Jaguars. The Nova Cats, though originally Crusaders, had recently made overtures to the Draconis Combine to essentially become part of that House, eliminating them from consideration. Both Clans Wolf and Jade Falcon were recovering from an internal war and would be viewed by the Clans as weak targets. Because the goal was to prove the Inner Sphere the peers of the Clans, they refused to risk being accused of defeating only a weak opponent - and so only the Smoke Jaguars were left. By destroying the most powerful of the Crusader Clans, the Star League predicted that the Crusader cause would be so weakened that the invasion of the Inner Sphere, supported mainly by the Crusaders, could be ended for good. Individual Clans might still prey on the Inner Sphere, but a unified Clan invasion would no longer be a threat.

Plans were quickly drawn up to launch assaults in waves on the Smoke Jaguar Occupation Zone from bases in the Draconis Combine. The news that the Nova Cats would give up many of their worlds with little fighting lent support to the plan. Just as the military leaders began to map out their strategy, however, shocking news arrived from ComStar: a Smoke Jaguar MechWarrior had defected to ComStar, and brought with him the path to the Jaguar's homeworld of Huntress: the Exodus Road.

The Star League immediately shifted gears, drafting additional plans that called for a long-range strike at Huntress to destroy the Smoke Jaguars simultaneously at home and in the Inner Sphere. An assault group was assembled, made up of units from all the Star League member-states, code-named Task Force Serpent and placed under overall command of Marshal Morgan Hasek-Davion of the Federated Commonwealth. Though it included many diverse types of units, some with political hatreds of their compatriots, the planners judged Task Force Serpent fully capable of accomplishing its mission.

Task Force Serpent:

From ComStar came the Second Division, a formidable unit including many Tukayyid veterans. By far the most important contribution from ComStar, however, were the four WarShips they added to the effort: a Cameron class cruiser, a design rare even during the early Succession Wars; a Lola class; and two Essex class WarShips fully capable of handing the Smoke Jaguars a painful naval defeat.

The Federated Commonwealth sent two units, the first of which was the First Kathil Uhlans, Marshal Hasek-Davion's old unit. One of the best Commonwealth not already involved in the attacks in the Occupation Zone (the operation code-named Operation Bulldog), the Uhlans were fanatically loyal to Hasek-Davion and their prince, and stood ready to sacrifice their lives to ensure peace with the Clans. The second unit was made up of two teams of MI6 commandos, special-forces troops nicknamed the "Rabid Foxes." The Foxes were equipped with battle armor, making them particularly useful. Finally, Prince Steiner-Davion assigned two of his Fox class corvettes to the task force, adding even more to the assault force's naval might.

In contrast to these worthy contributions, the Capellan Confederation sent Kingston's Legionnaires, a regular regiment of questionable honor. Many at the conference felt that First Lord Liao was sending only token troops in order to claim he supported the effort, but that if he truly believed in the operation he would have sent one of his Warrior Houses or better veteran units. Sun-Tzu claimed that the bulk of his troops were tied-up in the so-called Chaos March efforts, but this considered nothing but a weak excuse. Katherine Steiner, who many assumed agreed with the First Lord regarding the futility of the attack against the Clans, hid her feelings better by sending the elite Eleventh Lyran Guards to join the Task Force.

From the St. Ives Compact came the veteran Second St. Ives Lancers. The Compact initially offered to send the First Lancers, Kai Allard-Liao's unit, but it was deemed more important to keep Kai visible in the Inner Sphere. The Free Rasalhague Republic also sent a veteran unit, the Fourth Drakøns, from their small military. Experienced at fighting the Clans, the Drakøns wanted revenge for the invasion and didn't care which Clan they exacted it on.

The Draconis Combine sent three Draconis Elite Strike Teams, all equipped with Kage battle armor. The Combine sent no Battlemechs, because so many of their units were involved in Operation Bulldog, but Coordinator Theodore Kurita did send a Kyushu class frigate to complete the task force's naval contingent. The Coordinator also seconded to the task force a team of nekekami, or spirit cats, warriors who had much in common with feudal Japan's ninja. Kurita placed the nekekami at the disposal of Marshal Hasek-Davion, though their identities were kept secret from him.

Included as the Task Force's conscience was Captain-General Thomas Marik's Knights of the Inner Sphere, accompanied by the elite Order of the Silver Cross air wing. The Knights were included to keep the task force from getting so caught up in destroying the Smoke Jaguars that they forgot about decency and honor.

The Task Force also included a regiment of mercenaries: McLeod's Regiment of the Northwind Highlanders and their infantry support, the First Gurkhas. Another portion of the Highlanders, the Royal Black Watch, also went along, not for pay but as the spiritual descendants of the original Black Watch, the bodyguards of the First Lord. This generation of the Black Watch went to prove to First Lord Liao that they were worthy to be the First Lord's bodyguards once again. No longer mercenary, they were again Star League troops.

The final contingent of the Task Force were also ex-mercenary Star League troops. The Eridani Light Horse, a unit that had refused to go on the Exodus with Aleksandr Kerensky, had kept the traditions alive in their hearts and actions. As soon as the Star League was reestablished, the Light Horse presented themselves for inclusion in its military and were accepted. The overall commander of the regiment, General Ariana Winston, was named second-in-command of Task Force Serpent.

Beyond the Periphery:

The task force went first to the Federated Commonwealth world of Defiance, where they trained against each other and ComStar's Invader Galaxy, honing the skills needed to defeat the Smoke Jaguars. On 1 May 3059, Task Force Serpent left Defiance and began their mission. Intelligence organizations circulated misleading reports concerning the size of the force, downplaying the actual troop count. If any Clan Watch agents caught word of the flotilla, they would likely underestimate its strength. Serpent's route would take them through the Federated Commonwealth and the Outworlds Alliance before reaching the Deep Periphery, and eventually, Huntress. The route was a long one, curving away from the Exodus Road to avoid any Clan contact en route that might risk alerting the homeworlds.

The first contact the task force had with anyone in the Deep Periphery was on 16 November, when DropShips drawing water from a lake were attacked by bandit 'Mechs. The bandits were easily defeated, but a number of them were captured, bringing a previously unaddressed issue to the fore: what to do with them? The task force required secrecy, so leaving them on their planet was out of the question, as they could inform the Clans of what they had seen. There was not enough extra food and water to keep them prisoner, and simply executing them was inhuman. Eventually, Marshal Hasek-Davion decided to give the prisoners the option of remaining on-ship as laborers. Those who refused would be marooned on a habitable planet in another system, except for the leaders, who would be court-martialed and executed.

The execution of the pirate leaders had an incredible backlash, nearly alienating both the Eridani Light Horse and the Knights of the Inner Sphere. The task force eventually reached an uneasy peace with the two units, but relations remained strained. The issue came to a head on 15 December when the task force unexpectedly encountered a Ghost Bear flotilla. After a fierce naval battle dubbed "Trafalgar," the SLDF defeated the Ghost Bears and laid claim to an intact Whirlwind class WarShip, along with three hundred warriors and more than one thousand civilians. Forced once again to decide the fate of prisoners, Marshal Hasek-Davion this time ordered all prisoners who gave their bond-oath to be accepted as bondsmen, and all others to be marooned. Even the Light Horse and the Knights accepted this solution, and the issue of prisoners was not raised again.

Changing of the Guard:

The War Back Home:

Back in the Inner Sphere, Operation Bulldog was a phenomenal success. The Smoke Jaguars had been pushed off world after world far sooner than expected, their units severely mauled in nearly every engagement. Prince Steiner-Davion advanced the timetable of the assault and concluded the entire operation in four months - far less time than computer simulations had predicted for the first wave alone. The surviving Smoke Jaguars fled towards Huntress, unaware that the Star League had also designated their homeworld as a target, with Prince Steiner-Davion and the bulk of Operation Bulldog's units in pursuit. Without the need for stealth, both forces traveled a far straighter and faster route than Task Force Serpent. The Task force units remained completely unaware of the three forces approaching Huntress.

The Conquest Continues:

During the initial assault, the commander of the defense, Galaxy Commander Rossou Howell, managed to withdraw a small force and hide in a jungle, biding his time before counterattacking. That time quickly arrived when his unit ran low on food and supplies, prompting a raid against the Northwind Highlander's base. Howell sent a token percentage of his force to assault the Highlander DropShips, but held back their fastest units. Alarmed by the threat to their DropShips, the Highlanders rushed to defend them, all but abandoning their base. The fast-moving attack units took advantage of this opening to rush in and appropriate the needed supplies. The DropShip attack, nothing more than a feint, ended as soon as the supplies were secured and Galaxy Commander Howell and his forces faded back into the night.

On 19 March, the Jaguar forces fleeing the Inner Sphere, the equivalent of two Galaxies, arrived in the Huntress system. The Jaguar transports quickly released their DropShips and the Clan reinforcements made their way to Huntress. Even as they burned toward the planet, a fierce naval battle began. The retreating forces included two Vincent Mark 42 corvettes and a Liberator class cruiser, a vessel armed mainly with anti-fighter weapons but carrying enough anti-ship firepower to destroy any ship in the Task Force fleet. The Star League flotilla eventually won a desperate victory, at the cost of much of its firepower. The Invisible Truth and the Ranger were both damaged but battle-ready, as were the captured Ghost Bear Whirlwind and the Haruna. The Antrim took serious damage that could not be repaired in the field, and the Emerald's damage was so severe that they abandoned it. The most horrifying encounter of the battle by far resulted in the death of the Starlight. It's controls locked, the Starlight rammed a Smoke Jaguar Vincent Mk 42, entangling the two ships. Seconds later, the Vincent's magazines went up, destroying both WarShips in a tremendous explosion.

Warned by Commodore Alain Beresick that the Clan forces were on their way, the Serpent ground forces began preparing for their arrival. To avoid the divide-and-conquer tactics that had worked so well for their own invasion, General Winston separated her forces into three large groups. The Eridani Light Horse, along with the Com Guard troops and the Second St. Ives Lancers, defended the genetic repository and Mount Szabo in Lootera, both sites sacred to the Jaguars. The Kathil Uhlans, Northwind Highlanders and Knights of the Inner Sphere were posted to the southwest near Lake Osis, an area featuring plentiful fall-back points if the fighting went against the Star League troops. The Fourth Drakons, Kingstons Legionnaires and the Lyran Guards were transferred to the Lunar Range on the continent Abysmal, to act as reinforcements for the other two groups should they become necessary.

The arrival of the Clan DropShips also brought a message to General Winston from Star Colonel Paul Moon, the Smoke Jaguar officer in charge of the reinforcements. Rather than a batchall, it was simply a challenge to meet him on the plains west of Lootera - and General Winston accepted. The battle opened with a salve of artillery fire from the SLDF army to the north, an attacked that included improved-smoke rounds. These rounds produced a much denser smoke than normal and contained pods built to jam probes and other electronics, which gave the SLDF a momentary advantage. Then the Jaguars slammed into the SLDF lines, possessed by a berserk fury. Eventually, however, they were thrown back and withdrew to their DropShips.

A contingent of the Clan reinforcements also attacked the army stationed to the south, launching frenzied attack after attack in an attempt to eridicate the Inner Sphere blight from their homeworld. The Smoke Jaguar forces received a boost with the arrival of saKhan Brandon Howell, in addition to the Jaguar's Heart, a group of MechWarriors called out of retirement by Lincoln Osis to help defend Huntress. The Khan's forces had arrived mere days before, jumping in at a pirate point to avoid the SLDF navy. The addition of saKhan Howell's forces forced the southern army to withdraw into the Dhuan Swamp to regroup, where they surveyed the butcher's bill. The Highlanders were more or less intact, but the Knights were down to only one-quarter strength, and the Uhlans to about one-third. Andrew Redburn, the southern army commander, ordered a withdrawal further into the swamp.

A Blow to Morale:

Meanwhile, the northern army came under attack again. Ignoring the rest of the SLDF force, the Smoke Jaguars concentrated on the spaceport, which was defended by the Com Guard. The Light Horse took advantage of the Jaguars' singlemindedness to attack their vulnerable flank. Unfortunately for the northern army, the Smoke Jaguars withdrew directly into the St. Ives Lancers, sending the Lancers running. The Jaguars capitalized on the situation and set off a general rout among the defenders. By the end of the battle, the Smoke Jaguars had regained control of the capitol city of Lootera.

The southern army suffered much the same fate. Pursuing Clan 'Mechs set off a general rout that ended with more than half the southern army killed, crippled or scattered. The Royal Black Watch acted as rearguard for the fleeing troops, and soon reported renewed attacks by the Clan force. The Uhlans were also under attack, and only the Knights reinforcing them saved the unit and drove the Jaguars back.

The ilKhan had finally made his presence known in Lootera, adding the Jaguar's Den Command Trinary to the troops there. SLDF scouts immediately informed General Winston of the ilKhan's presence. Winston decided to conduct a surprise assault on his location using a raid-in-force that very night. The raid went poorly for the SLDF troops; the Jaguars easily repulsed them and forced them to withdraw in the the Jaguar's Fangs mountains. Osis then decided to return to Lootera to assume overall command of the Huntress defense.

Deep Into the Jaguar's Fangs:

General Winston took her troops deep into the mountains, and brought the Drakons and Legionnaires over to support the northern army. The southern army was to continue retreating through the swamps as well, and were sent the Lyran Guards as reinforcements. Eventually, the Jaguars flanked the SLDF troops, traveling through a secret mountain pass to destroy the invaders' base camp. The Clan forces caused incredible damage: the DCMS had only two troopers left and the St. Ives Lancers could boast only one functioning BattleMech. Of the remaining forces, those in the best shape were at half-strength; the majority were far worse off than that. When the Smoke Jaguars made another push, the northern army nearly collapsed in the fierce fighting. General Winston died in this battle, just minutes before news of reinforcements reached the beleaguered army. A contingent of elite forces led by Victor Steiner-Davion spelled the end for the Smoke Jaguars, already defeated except in their pride.

Ten days later, the conquest of Huntress was over. Little remained of Task Force Serpent. Nearly all units had suffered 80 percent losses. For the men and women of Task Force Serpent, the nightmare was over. They had done their job and done it well, and now it was time to rest. The next step would be handled by Prince Steiner-Davion and his forces.

On To Strana Mechty:

Having proven themselves worthy by defeating the Jaguars, the Inner Sphere forces were now set to challenge the Clans as a whole to a Trial of Refusal for the original invasion. If the Inner Sphere won, the vote to launch Operation Revival would be overturned and the invasion would cease. The worlds each Clan had taken thus far in the Inner Sphere, however, would not change hands unless the previous owners felt it necessary to take them by force. If the Clans won, the Truce of Tukayyid would be repudiated and the Clans would be free to continue the invasion. Prince Steiner-Davion traveled to Strana Mechty and issued the challenge to the Khans of the Clans, and the Clans accepted.

The Inner Sphere decided to field one company from each nation of the SLDF to fight the bodyguard Binary and Khan of each Clan, though the Nova Cats elected to fight on the SLDF side. Choosing to consider the invasion a Crusader matter, the Warden Clans declined to participate, leaving the Crusader Clans, Smoke Jaguar, Ice Hellion, Jade Falcon, Blood Spirit, Fire Mandrill, Star Adder, Hell's Horses and Wolf, to fight the Refusal. Whichever side won more battles would win the Trial. Prince Victor Steiner-Davion killed ilKhan Lincoln Osis in hand-to-hand combat during the Trial, and both Nova Cat Khans also died. When the dust settled, the Inner Sphere had won the Trial, restoring peace. Leaving Paul Masters as liaison to the Clans, Prince Steiner-Davion set out on his journey back to the Inner Sphere...