The Inner Sphere: Clan Nova Cat

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Background

In my dreams it comes to me, leaping from the dark corner of my mind that hides all the things I would rather forget. I try to ignore it, but it has the persistence of a million gnats. In vain, my subconscious throws up a defensive screen. I knows me in all my guises - warrior, lover, carouser - and it hungers for me.

I never see the shape of the cat. It never shows itself as the sleek, black-furred, ruthless predator I judge myself against each waking moment. It comes as the specter I most fear and as the object of my greatest desire. It rushes through my blood like adrenaline before combat, sweeping me high above my enemies. From my superior position I sneer down at those others' pathetic attempts at victory. Those others will never feel the intense, glorious sensations overwhelming my body and mind - the air smells impossibly crisp and clean, blades of grass caress my bare feet in a tantalizing embrace, I see each pinion of the brilliant emerald feathers of my rivals as they fall upon their foes. I have surpassed even the great birds.

None can assail me. Like Icarus I fly, higher and higher, until, like Icarus, I fall. The wind burns my cheeks, my eyes fill with water, the ground opens like a gaping black maw to swallow me - I fall back into my weak, cluttered mind. And another shape stirs in the dark corner of my subconscious...

-- From random mutterings recorded during a Clan Nova Cat MechWarrior's convalescence in a ComStar hospital while recovering from injuries received on Tukayyid.
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.

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.

While Khan Leroux spoke out against the subtle plan fostered by Clans Jade Falcon and Smoke Jaguar to use the bidding process to maneuver Clan Wolf into landing last on Tukayyid, in the end Clan Nova Cat played along - after all, the price of victory was continued glory and a renewed opportunity to win the position of ilClan for itself. Confident of success against the mostly green ComGuard forces, the Khans bid elements of their two remaining functional Galaxies to take their objectives, as well as bringing forward the fresh troops of Gamma Galaxy. Their bid won them the right to land third on Tukayyid.

In the Nova Cats' attempts to take the cities of Joje and Tost, they faced the veteran ComGuard Seventh Army, as well as divisions of the Twelfth Army stationed as reserves in the two cities. With Precentor Koselka's 278th Division detached from the Twelfth Army to battle Clan Wolf and the White Lions of the 349th Division facing Clan Jade Falcon, the remaining Twelfth Army units lacked any significant combat experience.

Khan Leroux chose to launch the campaign with the Clans' efficient and effective hover-drop maneuver, placing the combat DropShips in the lower atmosphere to allow OmniMechs and Elementals to make a short drop without the confining, heat-dissipating pods used for higher-atmosphere drops. Unfortunately for the Nova Cats, the aerospace fighters of the ComGuards' 417th Division had gained air superiority over the Clan drop zone. The 417th's strafing and bombing runs wrought havoc on Alpha Galaxy. In the most damaging attack, a kamikaze run by a ComGuard Hammerhead fighter destroyed the Galaxy Command DropShip, along with the 30 OmniMechs and six Stars of Elementals of the Fourth Nova Cat Lancers' Bravo and Delta Supernova Trinaries. SaKhan Lucian Carns immediately questioned Alpha Galaxy's ability to take Tost after sustaining such devastating losses, but Khan Leroux led his troops against the city as planned.

Gamma Galaxy and the remaining elements of Alpha Galaxy pushed past the 244th Division and rushed toward Joje, only to be stopped by the 417th and Ninth Divisions at the edge of the city's northernmost suburbs. The Ninth and 417th had, in fact, lured the Cats toward Joje, stalling the Clan offensive with a combination of vibrabomb fields, aerospace fighters and armor elements. The Nova Cats attempted to relieve the pressure by sending Beta Galaxy's 44th Nova Cat Cavaliers toward Tost, but reserve units from the Thirteenth and 431st Divisions crushed the Cavaliers along the road.

By the third day of the fighting, Clan Nova Cat found itself perilously low on ammunition, but their fierce attacks had weakened Joje's defenders and forced the Ninth and 417th Divisions to retreat in order to regroup. Harassed by the ComGuard 467th Division's attempts to cut the Clan force off from its landing zone, saKhan Carns ordered Gamma Galaxy to withdraw toward the drop zone accompanied by a handful of damaged OmniMechs from Beta Galaxy and asked the units to advertise their presence. Meanwhile, the rest of Beta Galaxy's 'Mechs hid themselves under the surface of Lake Losiije, the only easily recognizable landmark in the area.

As Carns had hoped, the unsuspecting 244th and 467th Divisions met at the lake in order to combine their weakened units and pursue the fleeing Clan force. As Precentors Slagle and Shykes tried to organize their troops on the shore, Beta Galaxy emerged from the water's depths and attacked. The Nova Cats shattered both divisions and captured several ComStar supply depots.

Fresh from a successful rout of the Nova Cats' Alpha Galaxy, Precentors Colombini and Landaker of the Ninth and 417th ordered an all-out attack against the Clan forces now controlling the Losiije Lake District. Before Beta and Gamma Galaxy could make use of their captured supplies, the Ninth, 417th, and 116th Divisions threw themselves against the Clan forces in a fierce counterattack, successfully recapturing the supply depots. Faced with this setback, Khan Leroux ordered his battered MechWarriors to withdraw to their DropShips. The ComGuards harassed the Nova Cats all the way back to their drop zone, whittling the Clan force down to a single Trinary of surviving OmniMechs from Beta Galaxy.

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.

The Remembrance

The Remembrance is an ongoing heroic saga detailing Clans history from the time of the Exodus from the Inner Sphere to the present day. The Remembrance is continually expanded to include contemporary events. Each Clans has a slightly different version reflecting their own opinions and experiences. All Clans warriors can quote whole verses of this marvelous epic from memory, and it is common to see passages from the book lovingly painted on the sides of OmniMechs, fighters, and even battle armor.

The wise Nicholas spoke to them all
Through the haze of their anguish;
His passion flowed through the doubt,
His conviction tore at the fear
He was become the living legend.
Phillip listened and believed;
He would follow this great man
As he had followed the father
Into Exodus, and hope.

-- The Remembrance (Clan Nova Cat), Passage 14, Verse 1, Lines 1-9

And in her vision the wolf howled,
But the nova cat paced steadily on,
Undisturbed by the petty battles
Others fought, trying to cage it within the bars of
Thoughtless sameness. The nova cat gazed
Straight ahead, its heart and mind devoted to
The Ways of Seeing, devoted to a more perfect life.

-- The Remembrance (Clan Nova Cat), Passage 50, Verse 5, Lines 26-32

Front-Line Unit Summary

Clan Combined Command
CO: Khan Severen Leroux
Aide de Camp: Star Colonel Sheila Rosse

Clan Command (The Nova Cat Keshik)
Star Colonel Lois Drummond

Clan Nova Cat Naval Reserve
Star Commodore Jan Jorgensson

Alpha Galaxy (Victory Over Delusion)
CO: Galaxy Commander saKhan Lucian Carns
Aide: Oathmaster Biccon Winters

Fourth Nova Cat Guards (Hand of Fate)
Star Colonel Kothinur Gritas

449th Assault Cluster (Joys and Sorrows)
Star Colonel Thadeus Nostra

489th Assault Cluster (The Third Eye)
Star Colonel Evelyn Morris

Sigma Galaxy (Spiritual Vision)
CO: Galaxy Commander Brian Lossey

179th Striker Cluster (Circle of Power)
Star Colonel Santin West

44th Nova Cat Cavaliers (The Five Actions)
Star Colonel Istal Devalis

Delta Galaxy (Ways of Seeing)
CO: Galaxy Commander Karl Devalis

  • Galaxy Command (The Shiva Keshik)
    Star Captain Trent Leroux
      Alpha Command Star (10 Fighters)
      Bravo and Charlie Command Novas (5 OmniMechs, 5 Elemental Points each)

    4th Nova Cat Guards (The Oracles)
    Star Colonel Kelly Hardo

    • Command Trinary (Star Captain Lytton Winters)
      Alpha, Bravo and Charlie Command Stars (5 OmniMechs each)
    • Battle Trinary (Star Captain Wecken Rosse)
      Alpha, Bravo and Charlie Battle Stars (5 OmniMechs each)
    • 43rd Striker Trinary (Star Captain Padrick Drummond)
      Alpha, Bravo and Charlie Striker Stars (5 OmniMechs each)
    • Fighter Binary (Star Captain Marthe Leroux)
      Alpha and Bravo Fighter Stars (10 Fighters each)
    • Assault Supernova (Star Captain Toddu Devalis)
      Alpha, Beta, and Charlie Assault Novas (5 OmniMechs, 5 Elemental Points each)

    274th Battle Cluster (Vigilance of the Cat)
    Star Colonel Jullamon Lossey

    • Command Trinary (Star Captain Price Hardo)
      Alpha, Bravo and Charlie Command Stars (5 OmniMechs each)
    • First Battle Trinary (Star Captain Ester Gritas)
      Alpha, Bravo and Charlie Battle Stars (5 OmniMechs each)
    • Second Battle Trinary (Star Captain Payne Lenardon)
      Alpha, Bravo and Charlie Battle Stars (5 OmniMechs each)
    • 43rd Battle Binary (Star Captain Hanna Carns)
      Alpha and Bravo Battle Stars (5 OmniMechs each)
    • 48th Supernova Battle (Star Captain Lavern West)
      Alpha, Beta, and Charlie Battle Novas (5 OmniMechs, 5 Elemental Points each)
    • Fighter Trinary (Star Captain Maureen Leroux)
      Alpha, Bravo and Charlie Fighter Stars (10 Fighters each)

    119th Striker Cluster (Self Harmony)
    Star Colonel Thara Lossey

    • Command Trinary (Star Captain Linda Leroux)
      Alpha, Bravo and Charlie Fighter Stars (5 Fighters each)
    • Striker Star Trinary (Star Captain Gwenneth Carns)
      Alpha, Bravo and Charlie Striker Stars (5 OmniMechs each)
    • First Striker Trinary (Star Captain Janet Drummond)
      Alpha, Bravo and Charlie Striker Stars (5 OmniMechs each)
    • 88th Striker Trinary (Star Captain Wendy Devalis)
      Alpha, Bravo and Charlie Striker Stars (5 OmniMechs each)
    • Elemental Binary (Star Captain Hajni Rosse)
      Alpha and Bravo Charlie Elemental Stars (5 Elemental Points each)
    • 17th Striker Binary (Star Captain Julie Winters)
      Alpha and Bravo Striker Stars (5 OmniMechs each)

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    Will Day < wd@firstcircuit.net >
    John Dutka < jdutka@pcnet.com >
    Sep 23, 1996