the-clawtake

[the-clawtake]

Ahead of Jehan, the Clawtake's jump-capable units lifted off the ground on pillars of plasma, easily clearing the baffles that surrounded the Dropport like the curtain wall of an ancient castle; their effectiveness about the same as those fortifications would have had against his forces.

He grinned as he veered towards one of the gaps. Out on the ferrocrete between the launch pads, he could see the Sea Fox units steadily and systematically demolishing the few defenders and he grinned. Good. They had chosen not to follow Zellbrigen.

He had issued similar orders to his own command. The Word of Blake had lost all claim to honour in the eyes of the Ghost Bear with the Donner Bombing that killed Khan Jorgenssen, many decades prior.

Seeing that they had no need of his assistance, he turned his attention to the the main prize; Three big spheroid dropships dominated the drop-port, each one still connected to the auxiliary power units that fed them when on the ground.

By now, they'd be hastily warming up their fusion cores, but that took time for such a large vessel. There was an opening here, before engines and weapons were fully operational, and his 'Mech chimed a target lock as his reticle turned gold over the blocky shape of one of the large trucks.

He squeezed his triggers, and the big Kodiak shuddered as his Alpha Strike poured energy and ordnance into his target and he veered towards it.

@khanhannahlewis

Operation LATERAL

0430 hours

October 11, 3153 (D+5)

Helios

Star Colonel Astrid Tseng walked her Executioner across the snowy terrain of Helios. Beside her walked her lover, Major Isidora of the Star League Defense Force's 1st Royal Helios BattleMech Regiment. The Archangel assault 'Mech she piloted - if that was the right word for controlling a 'Mech via direct neural interface - had been painted the standard SLDF green, but with a stripe of white and red on the left torso, opposite the Cameron star on the right torso.

The other 'Mechs of her command - all ex-Manei Domini like Isidora - followed behind the pair as they trudged their way through the snowfall of the early morning, the constant aurora in the sky providing a scintillating and almost wondrous backdrop.

In the peripheral vision of her 'Mech's holographic 360-degree display, Astrid could see another column, roughly 500 meters to her right, the 'Mechs white, black, and purple paint marking them as the Clawtake Trinary under Star Colonel Jehan. Elementals in their battle armor were visible riding the 'Mechs like remoras attached to sharks.

Astrid had attempted to have a discussion with Jehan about who between them would have operational command, as both of them held the rank of Star Colonel within the Clans. However, it seemed that Jehan was under the assumption that all the Totem Warriors, including Astrid, were in fact SLDF - and since this was an SLDF operation, SLDF rank took precedence. Astrid had considering telling Jehan that, technically, as a mercenary on detached duty, she held no formal SLDF rank, thus leaving them with the question. But Jehan seemed resolute in thinking of Astrid as being in charge, and she did not want to confuse the younger warrior, who was by now on his -third? fourth? fifth? - concussion of the operation, so she accepted command and let the matter drop.

To her left, keeping pace with the other columns, was Star Commander Clarissa, her star, and detached combat vehicle, battle armor and infantry forces from the Combined Arms Mercenary Group.

In total, 54 'Mechs, several dozen battle armored infantry, a number of combat vehicles, and a few platoons of elite infantry were all pushing toward a manufacturing town and cargo dropport in the mountains northeast of Coen City.

Astrid pitied the Blakists. They did not stand a chance. She hoped they would be smart and surrender without much fight. But she knew better than to hope for that.

@clarissaexplainsbatchall

[the-clawtake]

2, 6, 47 for Jehan and Rauda

2. How loosely (or tightly) do you interpret the word "Friend" When Jehan was young, "Friend" was not a concept that had much bearing. There were his Ursari and his Sibkin, and everyone else was either competition or an enemy I had not had cause to fight yet. they have since expanded their horizons, but still use the term but rarely. Most of their relationships are with those they serve alongside, and thus are tighter than what is often classed as friendship. They would define it as "Anyone with whom I am pleased to socialize, but have no tighter bonds with."

Rauda had a more conventional Inner Sphere upbringing, but has a fairly tight definition of friend. She doesn't tend to trust easy, although some of Jehan's more easygoing approach has rubbed off on her.

6. What’s their favorite [insert anything] that they’ve never recommended to anyone before?

When it comes to recommendations, Jehan's favourite treat is flapjacks, but specifically the british style sort that are basically a brick of oats, sugar and butter baked together with dried fruit or candy. He's never recommended them to anyone, but they are on EVERY requisition order he files.

While Rauda's father had deeded her his Battlemech in his will, her guardian did not believe in women going into combat, and so she had to learn how to pilot on the downlow. Part of this included arcade sims, and she has a number of recommendations for Arcades and 'MechSim Centers on Vipaava, some of which are even still in business.

47. Who have they forgotten about that remembers them very well?

As part of a very calculated move to keep Jehan from causing problems during the Great Refusal, he was assigned to clear out Pirate facilities along the projected route of the Ghost Bear Relocation. As far as he is concerned it was a string of relatively minor engagements only really notable because it was one of his first truly independent commands. As far as those pirates that escaped his assaults are concerned he is the face of merciless and savage destruction.

Rauda has no memory of meeting her adoptive Uncle. Her biological uncle and her fathers oathbrother did not get along. Kyrri Thorsson was a businessman who wanted only stability. His brother Haakon on the other hand, was a Rasalhague resistance fighter, and Haakon's Oathbrother, Donncheadhn Mac A Phearsain fought for Rasalhague because his native Skye had gotten a little hot for them. As such, when Haakon died and Kyrri wound up with custody, he forbade Donncheadhn from seeing his "niece". The freedom fighter turned Drakon found himself falling back before the Clans and wound up being amalgated into ComGuards in the run-up to the Jihad. And has never forgotten the little girl his oathbrother asked him to look out for.

[the-clawtake]

WEIRDLY SPECIFIC BUT HELPFUL CHARACTER BUILDING QUESTIONS

What’s the lie your character says most often?

How loosely or strictly do they use the word ‘friend’?

How often do they show their genuine emotions to others versus just the audience knowing?

What’s a hobby they used to have that they miss?

Can they cry on command? If so, what do they think about to make it happen?

What’s their favorite [insert anything] that they’ve never recommended to anyone before?

What would you (mun) yell in the middle of a crowd to find them? What would their best friend and/or romantic partner yell?

How loose is their use of the phrase ‘I love you’?

Do they give tough love or gentle love most often? Which do they prefer to receive?

What fact do they excitedly tell everyone about at every opportunity?

If someone was impersonating them, what would friends / family ask or do to tell the difference?

What’s something that makes them laugh every single time? Be specific!

When do they fake a smile? How often?

How do they put out a candle?

What’s the most obvious difference between their behavior at home, at work, at school, with friends, and when they’re alone?

What kinds of people do they have arguments with in their head?

What do they notice first in the mirror versus what most people first notice looking at them?

Who do they love truly, 100% unconditionally (if anyone)?

What would they do if stuck in a room with the person they’ve been avoiding?

Who do they like as a person but hate their work? Vice versa, whose work do they like but don’t like the person?

What common etiquette do they disagree with? Do they still follow it?

What simple activity that most people do / can do scares your character?

What do they feel guilty for that the other person(s) doesn’t / don’t even remember?

Did they take a cookie from the cookie jar? What kind of cookie was it?

What subject / topic do they know a lot about that’s completely useless to the direct plot?

How would they respond to being fired by a good boss?

What’s the worst gift they ever received? How did they respond?

What do they tell people they want? What do they actually want?

How do they respond when someone doesn’t believe them?

When they make a mistake and feel bad, does the guilt differ when it’s personal versus when it’s professional?

When do they feel the most guilt? How do they respond to it?

If they committed one petty crime / misdemeanor, what would it be? Why?

How do they greet someone they dislike / hate?

How do they greet someone they like / love?

What is the smallest, morally questionable choice they’ve made?

Who do they keep in their life for professional gain? Is it for malicious intent?

What’s a secret they haven’t told serious romantic partners and don’t plan to tell?

What hobby are they good at in private, but bad at in front of others? Why?

Would they rather be invited to an event to feel included or be excluded from an event if they were not genuinely wanted there?

How do they respond to a loose handshake? What goes through their head?

What phrases, pronunciations, or mannerisms did they pick up from someone / somewhere else?

If invited to a TED Talk, what topic would they present on? What would the title of their presentation be?

What do they commonly misinterpret because of their own upbringing / environment / biases? How do they respond when realizing the misunderstanding?

What language would be easiest for them to learn? Why?

What’s something unimportant / frivolous that they hate passionately?

Are they a listener or a talker? If they’re a listener, what makes them talk? If they’re a talker, what makes them listen?

Who have they forgotten about that remembers them very well?

Who would they say ‘yes’ to if invited to do something they abhorred / strongly didn’t want to do?

Would they eat something they find gross to be polite?

What belief / moral / personality trait do they stand by that you (mun) personally don’t agree with?

What’s a phrase they say a lot?

Do they act on their immediate emotions, or do they wait for the facts before acting?

Who would / do they believe without question?

What’s their instinct in a fight / flight / freeze / fawn situation?

What’s something they’re expected to enjoy based on their hobbies / profession that they actually dislike / hate?

If they’re scared, who do they want comfort from? Does this answer change depending on the type of fear?

What’s a simple daily activity / motion that they mess up often?

How many hobbies have they attempted to have over their lifetime? Is there a common theme?

[the-clawtake]

By sheer coincidence. My unit's parade scheme is apparently in the colours of the "Asexual" flag. This has earned us a position in every Pride Parade we are on planet for.

In the Clans, one's gender identity, expression, and sexuality are topics that are, in general, seen as a personal matter, with no legal restrictions or social stigmas attached to them.

In the days prior to the invasion of Inner Sphere, there was no such thing as "Pride Month" in the Clans, for the above reasons. I have however noted that in the century of time some of the Clans have spent in the Inner Sphere, it has become more and common for members of those Clans to be more outspoken about these matters on a public level. Partly this was driven by attempts to integrate into the Inner Sphere territories, and partly due to the simple expedience of numerous generations of Clanners now growing up inside the Inner Sphere, and the more public Spheroid culture around these issues influencing their views and ideas. I for one find this to be a positive change.

The tradition of Pride Month has thus caught on among many Spheroid Clans. Wolf, Snow Raven, and Ghost Bear celebrate it openly (usually as part of wider celebrations within the Wolf Empire, Raven Alliance, and Rasalhague Dominion), as does Sea Fox. Jade Falcon celebrates it once more as well (the practice was heavily discouraged by Malvina Hazen - another reason to hate her). Smoke Jaguar has celebrated it as part of wider Star League celebrations, and I do know it was at least somewhat observed by members of the Fidelis, if somewhat more privately than most. As for Hell's Horses, I cannot say with certainty, but I imagine it is at least tolerated.

What this all means, however, is that because among the Clans there is still no generally excepted period in which to overtly make visible the (many) of us that do not fit the heterocisnormative mould (there is, for example, a very good argument to be made that by social convention, most alloromantic members of the Clan warrior caste would be counted as polyamorous) - beyond ramping up the celebration during Spheroid Pride Month - but rather that such members of our society are always visible and valued:

Every month is Pride Month for the Clans.

[the-clawtake]

Hey Anon. If you want me to keep politics out of my hobbies you will be needing to fight a Trial of Refusal.

But I have no concern over receiving your batchall, for anyone who is not willing to attach their name to their opinions lacks anything resembling courage.

I'm only saying this for your sake, but objectively, it's not a smart idea to bring politics into normal hobbies. You might lose supporters of your blog just because of your political stance, and that would be terrible since you're so amazing!! It's only a suggestion, but I really reccomend not bringing politics into anything.

[the-clawtake]

That reminds me. I need to check on my case of Håkarl C-rations.

Thoughts on the Kontio? I ran one in a simulation earlier today and it does satisfy a certain primal urge.

I think Ramiel Bekker played a little too much 40K at some point during his sibko years.

It seems a capable enough 'Mech, with the exception of its reputation rendering it a priority target. It does have nearly the maximum amount of armor for its weight, but that is still not much.

I have seen refits that add a Void Signature System in place of the stealth armor. Those are interesting. But overall to me, the Kontio largely seems to be another of Ramiel's odd pet projects - definitely the second most successful of them, mind, after the Stormwolf, and compared to the likes of the Amarok, Callisto battle armor, and the Crucible.

[the-clawtake]

It is worth noting that the studio that manages Solaris Champion has historically been rated with both the MRB and MRBC and have been courting a similar rating with Clan Sea Fox' mercenary bonding service.

ENTIRELY to give them a legitimate reason to acquire Battlemech specifications.

Indeed I am aware of several organizations that have used it as an alternative to more official simulator or training equipment.

This has been on my mind: I know the Clans preserved old sporting traditions in the Homeworlds (the Ghost Bears with American football being the famous example, of course, but any team sport is good for teaching team coordination and upkeeping fitness)...were there any new sports invented during those years? Or did that not really rate as a priority for the Clans?

Among the Clans themselves, neg. Admittedly my lens of Clan culture was always through the warrior caste, but I do not recall seeing evidence of much sports innovation. That is not to say that we did not inherit some of the new sports that cropped up in the long time since the 20th century to now.

E-sports are popular among most castes, with Solaris Champion (aff, that one - the semi-simulationist combined arms game with the notorious history of classified document leaks) being the most popular among the warrior castes of the Spheroid Clans. The arguments...

Clan spacers have made the game of Yahn Sun something of a way of life.

And of course the Elemental caste's preferred rules for basketball are just slightly modified Skye rules.

[the-clawtake]

Ultimate Frisbee, Augmented.

Do you have any idea how much skill it takes to throw a battlemech-scale Frisbee?

Now we've all heard the one about the golf, or the American football game, but what's the strangest form of Trial you've ever received or been witness to?

(I mean, somebody at your post and your age doesn't get there without seeing the Circle plenty, there's got to be some oddballs in there.)

That I have been witness to? Underwater basket weaving. It was highly interesting and surprisingly competitive.

That I have received? That would be the competitive sex toy Trial. Which I won. :)

[the-clawtake]

If we had wanted to call the Kodiak an Atlas IIC, we would have done so. Even if they do fulfill very similar roles.

Personally I would rather the Kodiak. But I am given to a fast brawling style of combat for which the Atlas is less optimized.

She may not be dainty but she's a 'mech with serious mass and pedigree class: General Hazen, any thoughts to share on the heavyweight queen of the Star League, Fear Herself, the Atlas?

The design was requested and designed by the Great Father himself - that alone means that it began its service as a solid design, and one that has not changed too far from that general role and design since (barring some more niche variants like the K series - do not let Theodora hear me call the Atlas K series niche...). It is very telling, I think, that the Clans never produced an Atlas IIC (though my colleagues in the Rasalhague Dominion / Ghost Bear - aff, Jehan, I mean you as well - may submit the Kodiak as being essentially that, and I do not disagree that it is quite similar), and used it in upgraded C form during the Invasion. Indeed, an Atlas C was present among the forces of my own Clan at the battle of Tukayyid.

The closest the Clans ever came to such a design was arguably Nicholas Kerensky's personal Atlas, which was essentially fully rebuilt into as close to an Atlas IIC as possible.

I have piloted many Atlases over the years. One of my best friends, Kamea Arano piloted one, and her children and grandchildren - of whom I am proud to be called godmother - still pilot the very same machine to this day, over a century and a quarter later. Three other good friends of mine, the late Anastasius Focht of ComStar, the late Devlin Stone of the Republic, and the now Star League Minister for Military Procurement, the former Exarch Jonah Levin, were all Atlas pilots, and all damned good ones at that.

Also, my wife is an Atlas pilot. So, in that sense, I am almost obligated to like it.

But, marital obligations of 'Mech preference aside, the fact that an Atlas still holds up as a perfect credible and dangerous threat on the battlefields of the 32nd century is more than enough reason to call it one of my favorites.

[the-clawtake]

A Kit Nasir Moodboard

[the-clawtake]

A Star Captain Lilith Hall Moodboard

[the-clawtake]

I have piloted a Kodiak for longer than most Warriors in the Touman have been alive. There is no comparison.

Kodiak vs Black Knight (FINAL)

Lore for the 'Mechs can be found here:

[the-clawtake]

Okay. Look. Yes, I have eaten Ghost Bear. It was on my Clawing, okay. We had to eat something while we headed back to extraction, and so long as you avoid the liver it is safe enough.

Usually.

Vignette from the...

...year 3151:

Somewhere in the Dominion, a confused Wolf trueborn attempts to explain to a frankly slightly more confused Rasalhaguer freeborn that they do not eat wolves. They have no idea how wolf meat tastes, much less compared to bears. The Rasalhaguer suspects a fast one is being pulled on them and continues cautiously prying for the real answer. A Ghost Bear trueborn sitting within earshot is keeping a perfect poker face throughout.

[the-clawtake]

Do I look like a spheroid? The correct version is "You are not."

[the-clawtake]

Eh. I'm sure she had it coming. Either of them.

No. 1 worst thing to hear from a Spheroid piloting a Fire Moth for the first time, Go.

I'll go first, my answers' "It can't be that fast, can it?"

[the-clawtake]

"Hold my beer."

No. 1 worst thing to hear from a Spheroid piloting a Fire Moth for the first time, Go.

I'll go first, my answers' "It can't be that fast, can it?"

[the-clawtake]

At least you avoided RISC Hyper Lasers.

To introduce you to Tai-sho Li, no, i'm not kidding that was the rank and name of the dude piloting it, the Li Dok To was a Victor that had its autocannon removed for TEN MEDIUM LASERS. Heat scale alone means this thing gets barbeque'd on an alpha strike, never mind terrain conditions.

He was apparently very active during the Fourth Succession war. I'm pretty sure that replacing a large gun for a lot of small or medium lasers is now referred to as "Li Dok To-ing" a mech/vehicle, that's how scary this disco machine is.

Sigh... *mumbling* Double heat sinks could fix her...

Double heat sinks and Clan ER medium lasers would make for quite the interesting 'Mech.

That said, I am imagining the poor techs sobbing as they have to carve up the right forearm to fit all those lasers, and I imagine the final product looked... cancerous at best.