Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction and is an unofficial sourcebook based on the Classic Battletech game. Classic Battletech is a property of WizKids LLC. All rights reserved. All artwork is the property of their respective artists. Writing & Development: Triptych Rank Insignias: Oriontwin Illustrations: Squigglysquid, Alex Iglesias, Solarmech, Tommy “Crayonred” Colon Dioramas and Miniatures: Heiko “Joker” Haublein Featured Artists: Jean “Moebius” Giraud, Christopher Foss, Jason Warren, D20 RPG (Copyright Wizards of the Coast- Kalman Andrasofszky, Daniel Falconer, Langdon Foss, Grafiksismik Inc, Matthew Hatton, Timothy II, David Johnson, Karl Kerschl, Warren, Mahy, Stephan Martiniere, Christian A. Piccolo, Joel Thomas, Chris Trevas, Francis Tsai, Ronald Wimberly.) WarShip Designs: Dr. Love Web Hosting: Galen “Captain Martius” Tucker, Helaman Special Thanks: www.battletechuniverse.org, www.classicbattletech.com, ComStar Historical Archives, www.mektek.net

SHADOW LORDS:

House Amaris Sourcebook

WOLFNET CLASSIFIED REPORT: OMEGA LEVEL CLEARANCE

From: Lieutenant Sheila Dumont, Wolfnet Analysis Department, Outreach To: Commander Jaime Wolf Date: 1 December, 3067 My sincerest apologies for the lateness of this report. When I had shown the uncompleted first draft to General Maeve Wolf back in October of this year, she immediately ordered me not to submit the report to you until it was completed and we had confirmed the information. Although the report is now pretty much complete, I am afraid that we have been unable to corroborate or confirm the revelations that are listed herein. Much of the information about the history of this dreaded faction had apparently come into our hands as a matter of chance: earlier during this year a man who was on his way to Temptown in Wolf City was accidentally struck by a speeding motorist. His injuries were severe and he ultimately died on his way to the hospital. When our local law enforcement units attempted to identify him they went up against a stone wall. The man had absolutely no positive identification; biometric analysis and subsequent filing of his records were sent to ComStar’s universal personal directory database but to no avail, there were apparently no prior records of this man as far his identity went. Suspecting that the deceased might have been an intelligence agent for a foreign power, I immediately authorized the dissemination of his belongings. The deceased clearly had forged identification papers as well as a few other personal items of no importance. One particular piece of evidence on the other hand, presented a chilling revelation that prompted me to investigate further. It was a datadisk that contained passages from a book titled “Vicissitudes” by a certain writer named “Meridian”. Although the name of the author is unknown to us, I have included a brief bio from the ComStar archives in regards to the Amaris Civil War on a certain MechWarrior who bears the same callsign. I am personally convinced that there is a connection here. The other sources that we have accessed and compiled this report on are our intercepted and decoded HPG transcripts from Word Of Blake. As you well know, ever since we have begun forming a coalition against these former ComStar fanatics in the Sarna March, Wolfnet has also stepped up surveillance tenfold. When we had archived all the intercepted transmissions from them, I had then run a pinpoint search with a number of keywords and phrases and that is how I

was able to retrieve a chilling analysis on this faction’s military and technical hardware. Quite a lot of these HPG transmissions also comes from Clan sources in regards to their newfound problems with the Dark or Bandit castes. I must further add that it seems that this new power is either in league or may even be controlling the Blakist cause due to their technical and military assistance with them. Although this last revelation has not been confirmed, it represents a terrifying prospect not just for our anti-Blakist coalition, but for the former member-states of the Star League as well. I pray to our beloved founders that I am not too late in submitting this report to you.

HISTORICAL OVERVIEW In order to see what lies in the future, one must return to the past. The past is the key to our ultimate destiny and one must study it carefully in order to see clearly what lies ahead. The past serves not only to anchor us in the present, but it is an oracle for what must be done in the future. The destiny of our people and our cause is now at a juncture, we must remember what has been wronged in order to fight for what is right. One must return to the beginning if one is to see the end. -From Vicissitudes, by Meridian

THE RIM WORLDS REPUBLIC Although most of the information regarding this Periphery nation was lost because of the complete destruction of the Hegemony Central Library during the SLDF retaking of Terra in 2779, bits and fragments remain to present a partial knowledge of this once great power. What is known is that the Rim Worlds Republic was once a Periphery nation located at the borders of the Lyran Alliance. Early records tell us that the most influential planet of the Republic was Apollo. First settled in 2250 by Hector Worthington Rowe and his band of misfits and malcontents, Rowe was a romantic who had a warped vision of ancient Greek myths and philosophy. A number of historians even state that Rowe might have been mentally deranged to the point of being psychotic,

based on these case files, it might very well be true. In accordance with his ideal of a utopian society, women were forced to choose either marriage with his henchmen or demoted to the status of slaves. One exception that Rowe did allow was that anyone with technical skills would be exempted from mundane, hard labor in order to concentrate on more important duties such as the construction and maintenance of heavy industry.

During Shiro Kurita’s formation of the Draconis Combine in 2330, many refugees, mostly artisans and technicians, began to colonize the worlds in the Rim Worlds region of space. With their technical expertise and exemption from hard labor, these future Rim Worlders opened the first University in the Periphery just four years later. A further wave of refugees from the Rasalhague district also added into the melting pot. The rulers of the Combine assumed that these refugees just vanished from the Inner-Sphere due to the fact that no one outside of Rim Worlds space knew that the Republic existed; the Rowe dynasty virtually controlled all JumpShip transports with an iron fist and forbade any contact with the outside. Although lacking in natural resources, the worlds along the Rim were blessed with an abundance of refugees with advanced technical skills and knowledge. This in turn made it easy for the first cities to develop and thrive. Within a few decades, the Rim Worlds economy grew in leaps and bounds as advances in biotechnology and heavy industry created several large cities, mostly in the world of Apollo. But beneath the façade of prosperity, there was enormous social unrest, especially among the Helots, who were treated as virtual slaves. In late 2338, the Rim Worlds Republic accidentally revealed itself to the Tamar Pact, which was on its way in forming part of the Lyran Commonwealth. All this time the Rim Worlds existence was in virtual secrecy but it had ultimately grown too large for it to be hidden away forever. Within several months, the hereditary ruler of the Republic,

Maxwell Rowe, made his first political visit to the Tamar Pact and signed a treaty of non-aggression and neutrality. Although he had managed to diffuse a potentially volatile situation, Maxwell Rowe did not realize that his actions would spell the end of his ancestor’s vision of a far-off utopia. In 2340, a massive social upheaval began when Maxwell Rowe’s daughter Arabella Rowe started a revolt to free the Helots that were kept in thrall for nearly one hundred years. Once deposed, Maxwell Rowe fled Apollo with a handful of his followers and disappeared into the unknown. Arabella Rowe then declared herself First Consul of the newly democratized Rim Worlds Republic and freed the Helots. Under the new leadership of First Consul Arabella Rowe, a new period of exploration and colonization began as the Republic tried to expand as close as possible to its predetermined borders with the newly formed Lyran Commonwealth. The reasons for this change in foreign policy were unclear but it might have been perhaps prudent for Rowe to desire a “buffer zone” between her realm and the massive Lyran state. A string of new colonies under the Rim Worlds banner would have added benefits in the long term. With the passing of Arabella Rowe in 2376, her son, Michael Durant became the new hereditary First Consul of the Republic. By this time the Rim Worlds consisted of 23 inhabited star systems, over 12 billion citizens and 2 million soldiers. The Durant family then ruled the Republic in a generally peaceful, unbroken succession until 2459, when Heather Durant, the last of the Durant dynasty, decided to pass on the reigns of succession to Lady Terens Amaris. THE AMARIS DYNASTY Once just nothing more than a minor family of nobles hailing from the Terran Hegemony, the first recorded mention of the Amaris family occurred when Lady Terens Amaris, a rising star in the diplomatic corps, was placed in charge of an investigation of a failed assassination against First Lord Jacob Cameron. Based on her background, Lady Terens Amaris was a former operative in the Hegemony Central Intelligence Bureau and she therefore had experience in covert, clandestine operations. Nothing conclusive came out of this incident but it does spread to light about the conspiracy theories in relation to the Amaris family. In 2463, a scant four years after proclaiming Lady Amaris as her successor for First Consul in the Rim Worlds Republic, Heather Durant died of an undiagnosed heart condition. Almost immediately, Lady Amaris began to consolidate her power, using everything from blackmail to bribery in order to entrench her family firmly in power. A number of delegates from the Republic Senate complained but mysteriously became sick and died or else met with horrific accidents that virtually crippled them and forced them to retire within the next few years. By 2488, the Republic had ceased to function as a democratic society and instead become a de-facto fiefdom of House Amaris.

A number of disturbing questions began to arise in 2499, when an unarmed exploration vessel was attacked and destroyed by what seemed to be a Rim Worlds WarShip in Lyran space. Onboard that ship was a future First Lord of the Star League, John Cameron. It wasn’t common knowledge for foreign powers to know the composition of crewmen in the SLDF fleet and yet a number of historians point out that Lady Amaris already began to organize one of the most ruthless and efficient spy networks ever created to the point that she could have easily learnt whether a member of the Cameron family was either part of a ship’s crew or their general whereabouts. Did the Republican WarShip act on her direct orders? This is a question that has not yet been answered.

Both a shrewd politician and a charming hostess when the situation demanded it, Lady Terens Amaris was an enigma. Not much is known about her past prior to her becoming a celebrated officer in the Hegemony’s Central Intelligence Bureau. Possessed of great intellect and character, Lady Amaris could alternately charm or cow anyone into submission. Her ambitions, to say the least, were no less than to see her family’s power and influence eclipse even that of the lofty dynasties of the Camerons and McKennas. Was this aspiration borne of jealousy or just pure greed? A number of other historians point out her failed attempt to win the heart of Jacob Cameron as the turning point in her otherwise uneventful life, that she had developed an intense hatred for the Cameron line after the future First Lord of the Star League spurned her. Whether any of this was ever true may probably be never known. All traces of the Amaris family’s histories, including their most intimate records, were personally destroyed by General Aleksandr Kerensky just before the SLDF exodus.

-Thelos Auburn, The Rise and Fall of House Amaris Lady Terens Amaris’ son and successor Gregory Amaris, nearly undid what her ambitious mother had worked so hard to gain. Unlike his mother, Gregory Amaris was not a crafty negotiator, in fact many complained about his gruff, tyrannical attitude towards his own citizens. As a politician, Gregory was prone to outbursts of temper and habitually miscalculated every time he tried to push forward an unpopular law. Whereas his mother would have used subtle political maneuvering to achieve her goals, Gregory Amaris used open threats to his opponent’s families and would stubbornly refuse to compromise on anything. All these matters came to a head in 2573, when Gregory Amaris (without any prior consultation from his advisers) unilaterally enacted the Universal Act of Loyalty, a law that required all Rim Worlders to swear loyalty to House Amaris and the Star League. The people of the Republic were marked by strong streaks of

individualism and a healthy contempt for authority and the attempted enforcement of this law was all too much. In response, many Rim Worlders supported the creation of an underground Rim Republican Army, dedicated to overthrowing the Amaris dynasty and restoring democracy across the Republic. In 2575, the Rim Provisional Government, the political wing of the outlawed Rim Republican Army, openly revolted against House Amaris during a strike at the Diplass BattleMech manufacturing facility on Apollo. Gregory Amaris then attempted to suppress the revolt using his personal House troops but was rapidly overwhelmed by superior numbers when some of his own troops sided with the demonstrators. With his inexperienced (and largely under-equipped) units in full retreat, Gregory then evacuated Apollo with his remaining troops and immediately called on the Star League to intervene on his side. In asking the Star League for help, Gregory Amaris used the trump card that he was cultivating all this time. Many analysts believed that this was the one thing that Gregory Amaris did right, in the past several years he was courting influential politicians and generals within the Star League should his own citizens ever turn against him. Now that his worst fears were realized, Gregory used his ace in the hole to regain his mother’s empire.

The Reunification War was a bloody affair not just for the Rim Worlds Republic but also for the other Periphery States who rebelled against the might of the Star League. Although the Rim Provisional government sparked the Periphery-wide revolt, the other Periphery powers had bided their time and built up their respective militaries to try and resist the SLDF and joined together in a loose coalition to wrest control of the Periphery from the Star League forever. The outcome, however, was never in doubt as the Periphery states each fell one by one and the war ended in their defeat in 2597. As the Rim Worlds Republic became a Territorial State of the Star League, Gregory Amaris returned to Apollo and had every member of the Rim Provisional Government executed. Just two years later however, Gregory Amaris was unceremoniously assassinated by a military junta from his own core of “loyal” troops. His son Richard Amaris succeeded him as President; apparently the junta felt that they could use the seemingly timid Richard as a figurehead in their new government in order to maintain a semblance of political stability. For the next five years, Richard Amaris ruled quietly until 2604, when his personal bodyguards made a coup of their own, deposing the junta and executing their leaders. Richard then once again ruled uneventfully until his death in 2619. His daughter Amanda Amaris ruled for just one year before being assassinated in a botched coup attempt. Amada’s brother Jeffrey briefly stepped in as President but soon abdicated in favor of his niece Selanta Amaris. Selanta then reigned for close to

two decades until she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer for which she underwent treatment in 2649. During that time she chose her cousin Tadeo Amaris to serve as Regent of the Republic during her absence. Unlike Richard and Selanta, Tadeo Amaris possessed an ambition that bordered close to that of his ancestor, Lady Terens Amaris. During his brief time as regent, Tadeo’s most important contribution was the reorganization of the House Amaris military. Tadeo had correctly come to the conclusion that his House troops were woefully under-equipped and was full of incompetent commanders who held onto their positions more from political influence to the Amaris clan than from having any real aptitude for warfare; morale in the Republican military was low and corruption was rife. Having served in both the Amaris military as a young officer as well as having been exposed to the SLDF command structure and doctrines under their Officer Exchange Program, Tadeo Amaris was a man perfectly suited to rearming the woefully under-equipped and ill-trained Rim Worlds military. With the absolute authority given to him by Selanta, Tadeo Amaris began purging the officer corps of the Rim Worlds military, weeding out incompetent commanders and promoted young, innovative officers into command positions. With his past experience as an observer in the SLDF, Tadeo also instituted a new doctrine for the Republican military, one suited to harnessing combined arms warfare. Within six months of his reforms, a special (and secret) military academy began construction in Apollo and was in operation a year later. After realizing that the majority of the citizens of the Republic were either apathetic or even antagonistic towards his family, Tadeo Amaris also began to woo disaffected members from the Great House militaries, even going to the point of attempting to recruit retired SLDF personnel to serve as advisors in his military reforms. Because of this, not only did the quality of his troops increase, but also the military’s loyalty to his family improved as well. Not content with the status quo, Tadeo Amaris also began secret negotiations with the Draconis Combine to grant him shipments of advanced military hardware in exchange for other goods. The leaders of the Combine, feeling that they needed a future ally that could strike along the rear of their Lyran enemies,

agreed and began to covertly ship war materiel as well as providing military advisors to the Republic in 2650. However, all did not go Tadeo’s way. In that very same year, Star League intelligence found out about the illegal shipments and First Lord of the Star League Michael Cameron ordered the immediate halt to these weapons shipments. It was at this moment that Tadeo’s weakness became apparent: he was not a shrewd politician but rather a military man. Instead of trying to diffuse the situation, Tadeo replied that he had done nothing wrong and would continue. In response, Lord Cameron ordered five SLDF regiments on maneuvers just outside Rim Worlds space in 2651. A panicked Tadeo Amaris then sent the bulk of his newly reformed regiments along the Lyran border. The situation remained tense until Tadeo seemingly complied with Cameron’s demands. In reality, Tadeo Amaris was still secretly receiving the arms shipments, but in a more covert way. He had learned an expensive lesson. Just four years later, Selanta Amaris returned as President of the Republic. Recognizing her cousin’s contributions to the revitalization of the Republic military, Selanta retained Tadeo as a trusted advisor so that he could continue his military reforms in secret. Tadeo gratefully accepted and continued his military improvement programs until his death in 2676. In 2687, Selanta Amaris died of the cancer that had seemingly returned. Selanta’s son and successor Bertram was then immediately assassinated by Gregor Siever, a distant relative whose ancestor was once Selanta’s Regent when she was an infant. Gregor’s brother Carl in turn killed him and then became the new President of the Republic. Carl Siever ruled as President until his guilty feelings over his bloody rise to power made him abdicate the position in deference to Selanta’s granddaughter Cynthia Amaris in 2692. Just as when the power of the Amaris family was ready to wane, a rapid turn of events thrust them into destiny’s stage once more. STEFAN AMARIS Like Shiva, he was both our creator and destroyer. He was our leader, our Fuhrer, our god. He carried within him both the seeds of our ascendancy and of our destruction. He could be both caring and malevolent. Was he but a manifestation of our Messianic complex or was he truly the one that we had lived our lives to be? A cruel enigma, one that will make us question till the day we die. -From Vicissitudes, by Meridian A prince being thus obliged to know well how to act as a beast must imitate the fox and the lion, for the lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must therefore be a fox to recognize traps, and a lion to frighten wolves. -Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince The Amaris succession was by no means assured when Cynthia Amaris became President of the Rim Worlds Republic in 2692. Quiet and aloof, Cynthia

seemed to be rather cold to the opposite sex and she stayed unmarried for almost a quarter-century. Although a lot of suitors made their way to the Republic during that time, all were rebuffed by her ice-cold demeanor and single-minded devotion to the state. Although she was not as shrewd a politician like her grandmother Selanta, Cynthia did possess an outward, charming beauty and innocence that endeared her to most of the citizens of the Republic. The Republic Ministry of Information made frequent holovids of her charismatic looks and unassuming demeanor that were shown regularly across the Republic. Cynthia also instituted several reforms such as partial freedom of the press that made her more popular than ever.

However, a number of people within the Republic worried about the potential right to succession since Cynthia was by now in her middle-age and she had yet to marry and bear a child to ultimately succeed her. Would there be once again a bloody war of succession within the Republic? Quite a few members of the royal court in Apollo even speculated that she would name a total outsider as heir-designate, just like Lady Durant did hundreds of years before. In 2716 all these fears were laid to rest when the matriarch of the Republic met a wealthy industrialist named Stefan Gorienko. Cynthia Amaris, her cold demeanor snapped by what looked to be love at first sight, was instantly smitten by the

super-rich Gorienko, who offered her the largest diamond ring in exchange for her hand in marriage. The courtship was swift and before long, the citizens of the Republic were overjoyed when Cynthia Amaris gave birth to a healthy baby boy a year later. Stefan Amaris was born in 2717 and became the couple’s only child. His mother Cynthia had birth complications due to her age and was unable to bear any more children. Named after his father, Stefan was an intense, quiet child who did not grow up with other children his age. Rather, he was attended to by a succession of nannies and tutors who became his only companions. The marriage between Stefan Gorienko and Cynthia Amaris soured after the birth of their only child and Gorienko soon left the family to engage in a number of exploratory ventures in the Deep Periphery. Stefan Gorienko’s survey vessel disappeared during a jump in 2721 and was presumed lost due to drive failure. When informed of the tragedy, Cynthia Amaris merely shrugged and went back to what she was doing, it seemed that she no longer had any feelings for her former husband. Her son Stefan did not learn of his father’s fate until he was sixteen and showed no emotions when he did. Based on the scant records that I had obtained on Stefan Amaris’ childhood, there is one incident that seemed to be a portent for the things to come. When Stefan was but eight years of age, he had managed to outrun his attendants and sneaked into the guards barracks located in the outskirts of the Amaris Palace in Apollo. The boy was quickly set upon by a guard dog that managed to wound the child in the leg before the dog’s handler was able to intervene. The boy showed no emotion whatsoever as his wound was treated and he was returned to the Palace. Several weeks later, all the dogs in that particular guard barracks were found dead, apparently having been fed rodent poison which was administered to their feed. The dog-handler that had saved Stefan Amaris was also poisoned via his own meals but managed to recover, although medical complications from the ingested toxin ravaged his body to the point that he had to be discharged from the military due to health reasons. -Thelos Auburn, The Rise and Fall of House Amaris Records and testimonies that shed light to Stefan Amaris in his early years point out to several conclusions. Although the boy did not show any physical aptitudes in regards to sports or the military arts, he was an excellent speaker and was advanced in both languages and literature for his age. An avid reader, Stefan devoured books on military history and philosophy. While other children his age were into knights, dragons and larger-than-life heroes, Stefan’s favorite works of literature included Sun-Tzu and Machiavelli. His particular favorite was The Prince, a treatise on how to acquire and maintain power by any means possible. When Stefan was presented an antique edition of this book on his twelfth birthday, it was the only recorded time that the lad had showed any emotions as tears of joy fell down his cheeks and he thanked his mother for giving him “the greatest gift a boy could have”. It was also the only time that he had ever shown

any affection to his mother. Cynthia Amaris viewed the boy as the symbol of her failed marriage to Stefan Gorienko and she treated her son with detachment and cold indifference. When Stefan Amaris became the de-facto ruler of the Republic upon her death many years later, he refused to call for a state funeral as befitted someone of her stature, even forbidding the utterance of her name whenever he was around. -The following is an excerpt from a recently unearthed Tri-Vid recording of Stefan Amaris’ annual psychological interviews. This particular incident occurred when the boy was ten years of age. INTERVIEWER: So, Stefan, what is your favorite animal? STEFAN: You are to address me as Lord. INTERVIEWER: Excuse me? STEFAN: Address me by my proper title. INTERVIEWER (laughs): I’m sorry. Lord Amaris, what is your favorite animal? STEFAN: I like… spiders. INTERVIEWER: Spiders? Why do you like spiders? Is it because they can spin beautiful webs? STEFAN: No. INTERVIEWER: Why then? STEFAN: I like spiders because they kill the weaker bugs. INTERVIEWER: Is it because these other bugs bother you? STEFAN: No, they don’t bother me. I like spiders because they are strong. My mother told me that I must be strong if I am to be ruler someday. So I look at spiders and I wish I could be one. INTERVIEWER: So you feel that a spider represents strength, then? STEFAN: Not just that. Spiders are also strong in their heart. INTERVIEWER: What do you mean?

STEFAN: Spiders are not just strong with their poisons and fangs, they are strong because they do not show any mercy and they are never scared. I wanna be just like a spider. Shortly after his eighteenth birthday, Stefan Amaris was enrolled in the Tadeo Amaris Military Academy on Apollo in 2735. Academic records show that while he was only an average student in regards to MechWarrior training, he scored superbly in grammar, literature and became the captain of the school’s debate team. Subjects like technical engineering and mathematics bored him and it was only through the influence of the government that his instructors relented to give him passing marks in those areas.

It is curious to note that even during his formative years as a young adult, Stefan Amaris was already beginning to make an impression on people around him. Cultivating an image of himself as a charming intellectual, Stefan Amaris was able to win a number of influential people on his side. On the other hand, Stefan also had a demonic side to his seemingly charismatic personality; anyone who would dare go up against him in any sort of competition or would openly defy him usually ended up severely crippled in a freak accident or would come down with an ailment that precluded them from finishing their term at the academy and so consequently had to drop out. One of his few close friends during these years was the youthful Baron Gunthar Von Strang, the future commander of the reviled Eighteenth Amaris Chasseurs. The two young men had similar outlooks in that both were predators to an acute degree, viewing other people not as human sets to be used and discarded or obstacles to be

overcome. beings but rather as either as

Quite a number of his casual acquaintances with the opposite sex occurred during this period as well. In the aftermath of the Republic’s destruction some fifty years later, a number of women who were his companions during that time were interviewed as part of a case study about his personality. Most of the female witnesses said that Stefan had a very affable personality that endeared him to many of them yet at the same time he still nurtured adolescent fantasies that, unlike most young men his age, he never outgrew. On occasion, he would confide his inner-feelings to his female companions, complaining that he was nothing more than a “bastard prince of a poor kingdom in the far-off, insignificant Periphery” and how he wished to have been born a Cameron so that he could rule over mankind’s farthest-reaches. He had heard infuriating accounts of his

ancestor Lady Terens Amaris and of her failed attempts to win over the First Lord’s love but was spurned because of her insignificant lineage. He would tell his former girlfriends of how he would become the greatest conqueror and king of all humankind since Alexander the Great. Even during this time he was the second-most powerful person in the Republic and so therefore no one dared to tell him that these childish fantasies should cease; instead, Stefan continued to inwardly nurture his innermost desires until it ultimately made him embark on a course of extreme tragedy for everyone in the Inner-Sphere. History is not made by masses of faceless people, but rather by a few, far-sighted individuals willing to risk all for everyone else’s sake. -From the graduation speech of Stefan Amaris at the Tadeo Amaris Military Academy, 2739. A few years after graduation from the academy, Stefan met his future wife Eva Von Strang in 2741, after being introduced via her elder brother Gunthar Von Strang. The Von Strangs were a wealthy family of nobles with sizable holdings across the Republic and having a vast family fortune in the mining of precious gems. Although many within the Republic viewed the Von Strang clan as potential competitors to House Amaris for the ultimate supremacy of the Republic, the Von Strangs retained their loyalty to the Amaris family through thick and thin. Even though it may have been viewed on the outside as a marriage of political convenience, Eva Amaris became a devoted wife, loyal to her husband even at the bitter end several decades later. During this time the aging President Cynthia Amaris began to delegate more and more responsibility for the Republic over to her son Stefan. With his charms and unabashed ambitions, Stefan rapidly learned the ways of politics as he began to cement his influence onto the Republic. In the winter of 2741, after great fanfare and ceremony, Stefan Amaris officially married Eva Von Strang. Although many nobles from across the Inner-Sphere attended the grand observance, not a single member of the Cameron nobility came. It was said that several days after the marriage, Stefan Amaris was overheard vowing to make the Camerons pay for the insult with “every last drop of their accursed blood”. First Lady Eva Amaris gave birth to her first son Roderick in 2742 and her second child Anais was born in 2744. Roderick Amaris ultimately graduated from the Tadeo Amaris Military Academy with high honors two decades later and went on to become a high-ranking officer in the vaunted Fourth Amaris Dragoons while still in his early twenties. Anais Amaris specialized in philosophy and sociology as an exchange student with the Hegemony in Terra’s Cambridge University. Whereas Roderick would ultimately die fighting during the tumultuous last days of his father’s ill-fated bid for empire, Anais would apparently survive and sow the seeds for the future return of the Amaris legacy.

THE FOUNDATIONS OF WAR It is with ambition that ultimately decides our respective destinies. It is not talent but will that changes the course of history. How many have dreamt to forge their immortality across the bridge of time yet fail through a lack of resolve? A little patience, preparation and utter tenacity creates a near-unbeatable combination. -From Vicissitudes, by Meridian.

A prince should therefore have no other aim or thought, nor take up any other thing for his study, but war and its organization and discipline, for that is the only art that is necessary to one who commands. -Niccolo Machiavelli, The P

rince

In spring of 2742, Cynthia

One of Stefan’s first projects that he personally involved himself into was the

Amaris suffered a stroke that would leave her near paralyzed. Although still holding the title of President of the Republic, Cynthia had already delegated most of her authority to her son Stefan and he was the de-facto ruler of the Rim Worlds at this point. As he continued to consolidate his grip on power, Stefan began to appoint men and women who were personally loyal only to him in the Rim Worlds military as well

as in the Republic senate. Opposition leaders were harassed and any who openly defied him would mysteriously be victimized by freak accidents or strange illnesses that would force them from their positions. Stefan then appointed someone with better loyalties to himself into that vacated position. revitalization of the Republic intelligence agencies. During the time of his ancestor, Lady Terens Amaris, the Republic internal security bureaus were the most ruthless and efficient intelligence organizations ever to be devised. The succeeding leaders of the Republic after Lady Amaris however, had slowly stripped away its power and allowed its various spy networks to decline to the point of being shadows of their former selves. Making an abrupt about-face with these policies, Stefan Amaris quadrupled the Intelligence budget for these

agencies every year starting in 2740 as well as completely reorganizing the myriad command structure to make the various agencies more supportive with each other. As the Republican spy network both improved in quality and quantity, the intelligence agencies felt more indebted to him and so placed their complete trust and loyalty to the future President of the Rim Worlds Republic. Within two years, Stefan Amaris then charged the newly revamped espionage agencies with two new missions, the first was to begin gathering military intelligence on the major Inner-Sphere powers, especially the mighty Terran Hegemony, second, to attempt any form of industrial espionage to increase the technical quality of the Republic’s military.

In response to several devastating pirate attacks within its territory, a Lyran unit

assess the Rim Worlds military machine.

raided the desolate Periphery world of Butte Hold in late 2742. There, the Lyrans discovered that the Draconis Combine had been illegally supplying various powers in the Periphery with advanced BattleMechs. Recriminations were swift and the Lyran Commonwealth threatened to go on a war footing against the Combine. The Rim Worlds Republic went largely unscathed from this scandal due to the fact that their excellent intelligence units were able to cover up the trail of transports leading to them. This incident aroused Stefan’s curiosity in regards to the shipments of military weapons that had been started by his ancestor, Tadeo Amaris. In early 2743, Stefan Amaris embarked on a fact-finding tour to

When his flagship, Worm Ouroboros, reached the hidden Rim Worlds militaryases in the desolate Chainelane Isles several months later, Stefan Amaris was

bpleasantly surprised and amazed at the wisdom of his ancestor, Tadeo. His great grand uncle had foreseen the possibility of war against the Inner-Sphere powers and so had decided to place the bulk of the Republic’s military industry in hidden bases within the Deep Periphery, away from the indefensible core worlds. The Chainelane Isles served as perfect cover: a desolate region of space, unclaimed by any major power and was home to pirates and assorted riff-raff. The largest Republican military base, hidden within a foreboding asteroid field and codenamed Knossos, had both weapons factories and shipyards. In fact, four Necronomicon-class pocket battleships were already near completion when Stefan made his first official visit there. These new pocket-battleships were constructed illegally, in violation of the arms limitation treaties that held in check the size of the Republic’s military. Massive warehouses of stockpiled BattleMechs and nuclear processing plants for the production of weapons-grade plutonium were also running at peak production. Needless to say, Stefan Amaris was extremely pleased and ordered the expansion of these facilities. Rather than using manpower intensive labor that would have required constant supply and eventual word of mouth that might have compromised the covert nature of these bases, Stefan Amaris used part of his deceased father’s massive inheritance to fund and deploy automated manufacturing technologies, thereby allowing only a

handful of trusted personnel to inhabit and know about the exact location of these hidden bases while still being able to manufacture military materiel at peak capacity. This doctrine allowed only a small, trusted core of people within the Republican military to know the exact locations of these bases, a factor that would prove monumental when the SLDF declared war and began to systematically destroy the Republic several decades later. TO: Stefan Amaris, Commander-in-chief, Rim Worlds Republic military

ROM: Dr. Harold Rohrs, Knossos Shipyards

the introduction of our new state f the art Necronomicon-class pocket battleships. As I heard you are an avid

FDATE: 18 May, 2743 RE: Your Query on WarShip Production Status It is with great pleasure that I announce to youoreader of history, we have decided to classify these new WarShips based on a designation used by the Nazi Empire in Terra’s distant past. The term pocket battleship essentially applies to a WarShip that can outgun any cruiser it comes up against as well as being able to outrun anything larger than itself. These new WarShips will serve our beloved Republican military well and can even stand up against the vaunted Star League naval fleet, should it ever come to that. With a displacement of nearly 900,000 tons, this fearsome class of ships bristles with naval lasers, PPCs, autocannons and has also eight missile launchers for Barracuda and Killer Whale missile systems, not to mention numerous smaller weapon pods for anti-fighter defense. These capital ships can also withstand a tremendous amount of damage because of their ferro-carbide construction and maximum armor allocation, giving them unprecedented life in the deadly battlefield of space. For emergencies, each ship is also equipped with a lithium-fusion battery for any unforeseen situation. It may surprise you that we already have two ships of this class in service; both the Lovecraft and the Derleth are currently undergoing covert shakedown cruises and should be completely operational by next month. Four other ships of this type are in their final stages of construction and should be deployed within six months. It would be my pleasure to offer you a personal, guided tour of our facilities if you have the time. Also, My most sincere thanks for the increase in our manufacturing budget as well as the implementation of the automation project that has been able to increase our production ten-fold. Hail Amaris!

In late 2743, Cynthia Amaris had finally succumbed to the ravages of sickness and age. Upon his ascension to the Presidency, Stefan Amaris made a short speech in which he highlighted the need for unity and cooperation with the Inner-Sphere powers, especially the Star League. This made many news pundits proclaim that he was the friendliest Periphery ruler to the Star League since his ancestor Gregory, yet he had retained the loyalty of his own citizens. This calculated move widened diplomatic and economic relations with the Terran Hegemony and resulted in an economic boom for the Republic. As his rule progressed many citizens of the Republic became curious because Stefan tended to shy away from the publicity that his mother reveled in. President Stefan Amaris preferred to work incognito and surrounded himself with military people,

although he displayed his trademark charm at the few public functions that he was seen in. Inwardly, Stefan Amaris was grooming himself to be a distinct ruler of the Republic, one who could be recognized anywhere. An avid student of history, Amaris carefully studied the techniques of the 20th century Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, who had altered his stance and shaved his moustache in such a way as to make him stand out from a crowd. To that end, Amaris stopped any sort of physical exercise and allowed his body to gain weight. His chin in particular sagged and gave him the appearance of being grossly overweight, despite the fact that he was only slightly obese. Amaris also decided to shave his head and wear his moustache in the style of the ancient Mongol conquerors like Genghis Khan. Although this made his overall appearance somewhat

grotesque, his charming smile and seemingly affable manner still managed to overcome most people’s fear and shock at his outer appearance. In 2744 Republican intelligence operatives scored a major coup, as they were able to acquire classified technical schematics and samples of the Star League’s most advanced weapons. Black market shipments of extended-range lasers and PPCs, LB-X and ULTRA autocannons, gauss rifles, double-heat sinks and even a stolen extra-light fusion engine was delivered to the newly created research and development base in the Chainelane Isles. There, the best Republican scientists as well as highly paid freelance technicians began the long, arduous process of reverse-engineering these new military innovations so that the Republic could mass-produce them rather than depending on the high-risk and costly trade on the black market. By 2750, the bulk of the Republican military were being issued field kits with which to upgrade their BattleMechs with these new weapons and equipment. Rather than having to build brand new ‘Mechs from the ground up that were equipped with this new technology, Stefan Amaris decreed that it would be less costly to upgrade existing ‘Mechs in the military’s inventory. Not only would this be cheaper, but also it would not arouse any suspicion that the Rim Worlds military was fielding advanced equipment available only to the Star League Defense Forces. PORTENTS OF DOOM It is an infallible rule that a prince who is not wise himself cannot be well advised, unless by chance he leaves himself entirely in the hands of one man who rules him in everything, and happens to be a very prudent man. -Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince In any study of Stefan Amaris, a number of questions immediately comes to mind. Did he have any feelings whatsoever for the young First Lord Richard Cameron when the boy looked to him as his only trusted friend or was his friendship with the future last Emperor of the Star League just a sham? More importantly, did Amaris himself have an intense, personal hatred for the Cameron bloodline in general? Judging from his angry outburst upon learning that the Camerons snubbed him on his wedding day or that he felt that the Star League had always regarded the Periphery nations as virtual slave states to be exploited would have given him enough motivations to do so. But based on his psychological profile and complete lack of empathy for other human beings, were the Camerons then just possibly nothing more than obstacles to be disposed of in his ultimate goal of absolute power? -Thelos Auburn, The Rise and Fall of House Amaris As mankind began to colonize distant planets across the stars, science had replaced religion and mysticism as the primary faith in human endeavors. But despite all the advances that science did make upon human life in general, there were still many unanswered questions about prophecies and whether there were

any preordained destinies that could be foretold prior to their occurrence. In 2742, a gunner in the SLDF Seventieth Infantry Division was struck deaf, dumb and blind from a bolt of lightning. After being hospitalized for five days, she seemingly regained her senses after doctors predicted that she might never be able to regain her mental faculties again. After babbling incoherently for several hours, she then confided to witnesses and stated that First Lord Simon Cameron would meet his death at the hands of an “assassin’s digging machine”. Three years prior to that, Lieutenant Saul Robstein of the 191st Royal BattleMech Division was also struck deaf and blind, then regained his senses and foretold that he had a vision that a ghost told him that Jocasta Cameron, the sister of former First Lord Jonathan Cameron, would die three years later. What was curious was that during the exact time that the unnamed gunner who foretold Lord Simon Cameron’s death was deprived of her senses was the very day that Jocasta Cameron died. Were these incidents just strange coincidences that ultimately colluded with history or was there a greater power at work? To this day, these questions have yet to be answered. The gunner’s name was not entered into the official records and so there was absolutely no follow-up research on these claims after the Amaris Civil War. Despite official claims that these times were the “Good Years”, a number of hidden wars and conflicts began during the 2750’s. Numerous border incidents occurred between the Great Houses who chafed under the arms limitation restrictions imposed to them by the Star League. The Periphery Territories also resented the increasing taxation by the member-states that several underground movements dedicated to overthrowing the Star League yoke began to get organized once again. The Inner-Sphere seemed like a powder keg just waiting to explode. First Lord Simon Cameron, the current ruler of the Star League, seemed to realize that things were beginning to get out of hand and so made plans to embark on a grand tour across the entire Star League. His advisors felt that this was a needed move in order to shore up political support at a time when confidence in a united humanity was at a low. It was not known as to when the exact date and time that Stefan Amaris decided to plan and execute his bid for absolute power by taking over the Star League, but the timing of Lord Cameron’s announcement of a “grand tour” was an opportune moment for him. The Republic’s armed forces had been expanding steadily in secret due to its hidden bases in the Chainelane Isles to the point where it was already the equal to the Great Houses in terms of both numbers and technological quality as its existing units were quietly being refitted with advanced Star League weaponry and many more units were formed and deployed in hidden bases within the Deep Periphery. Using the Republic’s efficient intelligence agencies to eliminate enemy spies and feeding false information to other foreign powers, Stefan Amaris now had the instrument with which to realize his long-held ambitions.

From a recent analysis of declassified files taken from the Rim Worlds Republic during its subsequent occupation and dismemberment by the SLDF years later, it seems clear now that the Republican intelligence community was able to crack several secret military codes, most notably the Star League military encrypted transmissions and the Taurian Defense Forces codes, these were now wide-open to monitoring by Republican intelligence analysts. This gave Amaris an early warning system should his enemies have ever found out about his true intentions as well as being able to know exactly where the First Lord would be making his tour as well as the composition of his security forces.

Although there have been no clear confirmations as to the events leading up to what happened when Lord Simon Cameron made a visit to the asteroid mining facilities on New Silesia in early 2751, a number of assumptions could be made. First, that Stefan Amaris knew before anyone outside of the SLDF High Command that Lord Cameron would be visiting the mining facilities there as well as to what his exact itinerary was. Secondly, with that prior knowledge, Amaris could have deployed a team of undercover operatives to possibly sabotage one of the digging machines in preparation for Lord Cameron’s visit. Thirdly, that Amaris could have sold the information about the First Lord’s itinerary and security arrangements to a third-party that was hostile to the Star League, such as the Taurians. Whatever the cause, Lord Simon Cameron was indeed killed in a freak industrial accident during an inspection of the mining facilities, confirming the unnamed SLDF gunner’s prophetic vision. A subsequent investigation concluded that there was no evidence of foul play and the case was closed. Although a number of conspiracy theories exist to this day, so far, unless new

evidence comes to light, the mystery behind the shocking death of Lord Simon Cameron may never be solved. As news of Simon Cameron’s death reverberated across the Inner-Sphere, a crisis of succession began as to who would be the next First Lord. Simon’s heir was his son Richard, who was only eight years old at that time. On the third of April of that year, the Star League council members confirmed the young boy as First Lord and then appointed General Aleksandr Kerensky, the supreme commander of the SLDF, as Regent and Lord Protector of the Realm until

Richard reached his eighteenth birthday. Although these acts seemed to stabilize the League politically once more, the Great Houses began to take immediate advantage of the Star League’s weakness by enacting a law to double the size of their respective militaries the very next year. The only council member who voted against the new edict was Stefan Amaris. Although lauded by many as a peacemaker and high moralist, Amaris was in fact, a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Several years before he had already more than doubled the size of his realm’s military in secret and so he was way ahead of the game. This act merely gained him political points among the powerless nobles and people of the Star League. In the year after that, in 2753, the Council convened once again in Terra and then passed another edict to increase taxation among the Periphery

states in order to help fund the massive increases in their military budgets despite vehement opposition by both General Kerensky and Stefan Amaris. Without a powerful First Lord to keep them in check, the Council Lords continued to undermine the unity of the Star League while trying to drastically increase their military might. Lacking any political experience and constantly being outmaneuvered by the more seasoned council lords, an exasperated General Kerensky decided to stay with his troops rather than trying to control a pack of “cutthroats”. Kerensky was a military man and he was sick and disgusted by the political chaos around him and so allowed the Council Lords almost free reign. Only Stefan Amaris opposed the machinations of the Great Houses in public as he was constantly outvoted. Inwardly, it really did not matter much to him for Amaris had already prepared for this eventuality. In fact, Stefan Amaris was

already gaining massive political clout among the disaffected, leaderless Star League nobility as they began to depend more on him to carry their message across. As the Periphery States began to seethe with discontent, Amaris continued to woo disaffected opposition leaders to his side. A number of Periphery nobles began to depend heavily on him to try to repeal the harsh tax laws but to no avail. Even though he did raise an occasional tinge of public protest to the other Council Lords, Amaris continued to play both sides as his political prestige continued to soar. The citizens of the Rim Worlds Republic glorified him as a great leader and peacemaker, counting themselves lucky to have a ruler as benevolent as him. Almost overnight, the already-weak local opposition against Amaris virtually disappeared as his people (and many others in the Periphery States) followed him blindly forward to a seemingly prosperous and peaceful future. The only person to resist his political machinations and personal charm was General Aleksandr Kerensky, who seemed to be able to see through Stefan’s cunning façade and remained coldly indifferent to him. The first and subsequent meetings between Stefan Amaris and General Aleksandr Kerensky did not achieve the purpose that the leader of the Rim Worlds Republic had hoped for. Amaris thought that he could use his charms to bring General Kerensky under his influence but the General sensed something that was not right behind those steely, cold gray eyes. It was almost as if Kerensky could tell that Amaris was hiding something with every gesture, every word and could therefore not be trusted. Stefan Amaris would try numerous times to break the chasm between them but was constantly rebuffed with an icy, professional courtesy. After a half-dozen attempts, Amaris finally gave up and instead began to woo the one person within the Star League who was most vulnerable to his machinations, Richard Cameron. -Thelos Auburn, The Rise and Fall of House Amaris Stefan Amaris first met the young Richard Cameron in the late summer of 2753, when the boy was ten years old. Due to security precautions, the forlorn youngster was not allowed any other playmates his age and had to grow up with adult attendants as his only companions as well as being restricted within Palace grounds. Lonely and sad, Richard Cameron nearly shed a tear when Amaris presented him with a small gift during their first meeting. Sensing a kindred spirit, Stefan Amaris postponed his other duties with the council and spent the next few days with Richard Cameron, talking and playing and generally having fun. Whereas his other adult companions would treat him as a child, Amaris treated Richard as an equal and so charmed the boy. As the years went by, Stefan Amaris would never fail to pay the young boy a visit and Richard would reciprocate by regularly corresponding with Amaris via HPG when they were separated by distance. Totally taken in by the Rim Worlds ruler, Richard would confide in him that Uncle Stefan was his only friend and when he became a man, Richard Cameron would appoint Amaris as his personal protector. The nobility of

the Star League noticed Amaris’ growing influence on the young boy and so they began to court him with trade deals and business proposals. Amaris gleefully accepted every offer as his realm’s economy and military might continued to grow. In 2755, 12-year old Richard Cameron attended the annual Star League council meeting for the first time. The Council Lords were surprised when Stefan Amaris sat at the young First Lord’s right side but rapidly regained their composure as they resumed their political dialogues. Richard Cameron was both shocked and hurt when the Council Lords virtually ignored him and was ready to cry and bolt from the room had it not been for the reassuring hand of Stefan Amaris. During the meeting, Lord Minoru Kurita proposed another doubling of all House militaries and pushed forward a new defense tax to be levied against the territorial Periphery States. Ignoring Richard Cameron’s protests, the Council Lords pushed it through. Finally allowed to have the final say in the meeting, Richard Cameron declared Stefan Amaris a Knight of the Star League and stated that he would immediately order General Kerensky to withdraw all remaining Star League troops out of Rim Worlds Republic territory. The young First Lord then left the room along with a smiling Amaris and left the other Council Lords in utter shock and disbelief. The portents of doom had one more prophecy to be fulfilled. Several days after the death of Simon Cameron, Sergeant Heinz Mann of the SLDF 290th Mechanized Infantry Division fell into a coma for eight days. Upon his subsequent recovery, he reported visions of dozens of dead Cameron family members, lying in pools of their own blood.

MERIDIAN Every tyrant in every age could not have succeeded without the help of a trusted enforcer who did most of the devil’s work for them. Lenin had Stalin and Trotsky, Capone had Nitti, Hitler had Roehm and then Himmler, and now Amaris has Meridian. -General Aaron DeChevilier during the SLDF liberation of Terra, 2779 Meridian was one of the great what ifs of history. Although he is now universally despised as a traitor of no equal that helped to bring down the Star League, it was a series of tragedies that had occurred in his life that ultimately motivated him to do what he did. Had the events of that fateful night not happened, would history have turned out very differently? -Thelos Aubrun, The Rise and Fall of House Amaris The man who would be called Meridian was born Christopher Fokker. Graduating with honors from Sandhurst Military Academy in Terra as well as successfully completing the SLDF ACMS (Advanced Combat and Maneuvering Skills) Project, Fokker was one of the brightest young officers that the SLDF had to offer. Having served with the 146th Royal BattleMech Division, Fokker was then chosen to become one of the few training officers for the SLDF’s GUNSLINGER Program. The GUNSLINGER program was a covert training unit that was formed in response to the “Hidden Wars” when the private armies of the Council Lords

would secretly challenge the SLDF soldiers to private duels to the death. After being consistently beaten by Urizen Kurita’s “ronin” (these were actually highly trained DEST commandos), the GUNSLINGER program was to submit carefully selected SLDF MechWarriors to intensive training using the most advanced simulators and the best instructors the SLDF could offer. As expected, Fokker excelled at this program and was made head instructor for the unit and it was at that program where he got the callsign of “Meridian”. It was near certain that Fokker was being groomed for a top slot in the SLDF High Command. A personal event however, would drastically alter the destiny of his life. It also was in the GUNSLINGER program that Major Fokker met a young MechWarrior named Tanya Kerensky, who happened to be a niece of the commanding general of the SLDF, Aleksandr Kerensky. The two fell in love, much to the chagrin of Tanya’s father, Colonel Oleg Kerensky. Colonel Kerensky did not approve of the young man’s “peasant” background and one night caught the young couple kissing in his house. Quickly drawing his dagger, the enraged Colonel Oleg charged at Christopher Fokker, who used his martial arts training to throw the Colonel to the floor. However, Oleg’s hand had slipped beneath his body and his own dagger thrust into his heart. Christopher Fokker had accidentally killed Tanya’s father. The young SLDF officer was then quickly placed on court-martial for murder and the trial was presided over by General Aleksandr Kerensky himself. After pleading that it was an accident, Fokker’s hopes turned to shock when the court found him guilty of killing a superior officer and sentenced to life imprisonment. That General Kerensky himself confirmed the sentence only added to his grief. During his third month in the prison, Fokker learned that Tanya had committed suicide while being three months pregnant with their child. As the months turned into years, Fokker’s anguish turned to rage at both General Kerensky and the Star League. He swore vengeance and would make them all pay for destroying his life and his family. In 2749, Christopher Fokker and a few accomplices engineered an amazing escape from the SLDF military prison in Terra. By 2751, he had made his way to the Rim Worlds Republic. Stefan Amaris himself welcomed the renegade SLDF officer and offered him a commission in his own military. Within two years, Fokker had gathered the best of the Republican officers and men and formed an elite commando unit, the Thirteenth Amaris Special Forces Group. Using the same training techniques he used for the GUNSLINGER and ACMS programs, Meridian (as Fokker was now called) turned a group of rag tag, inexperienced house soldiers into a unit that could rival the best of the SLDF. After being attached as a personal advisor to Stefan Amaris’ command staff, Meridian also began to implement new, updated doctrines and provided critical information in regards to SLDF tactics and weaknesses that the Republican military could use to its advantage should it ever go to war against the Star League.

2762 was a tumultuous year for the Star League. That year signified the end of General Kerensky’s Regency as Richard Cameron had at last turned eighteen and was fully vested in the powers of the First Lord of the Star League. When he then presided over the first Grand Council meeting of that year, Richard Cameron revealed Executive Order 156 to the Council Lords, ordering them to disband all House armies. Almost immediately there were howls of protest and derisions that he had not expected. Taken aback, the young First Lord was forced to rescind the order in humiliation. Only Stefan Amaris supported the initiative, as usual. As a final act of defiance, First Lord Cameron then decided to disband the High Council and rule only by decree. As the bitter parties went their separate ways, Richard realized that the Great Houses had grown too strong militarily even for the Star League to tackle alone. After learning of a secret Taurian Freedom Army build-up in 2763 because the Republican intelligence services had broken the Taurian’s codes, Stefan Amaris once again met General Aleksandr Kerensky in the Periphery and gave him the exact locations with which to find them. The resulting operation netted the SLDF nearly the entire leadership of the Taurian Freedom Army. Although General Kerensky still resented Amaris, First Lord Richard Cameron was now convinced that only the Rim Worlds Republic could be a trustworthy ally. The Taurians were not amused and labeled Amaris as a traitor who cared nothing for the Periphery’s causes. Meanwhile, things began to deteriorate even further among the other Periphery States as the forced taxations began to arouse anger and armed protests began to flare up. Through the advice of Amaris, Richard Cameron ordered General Kerensky to reinforce the SLDF troops in the Periphery and told the General to take charge personally. Kerensky then protested, saying that to reinforce the troops in the Periphery meant using up all of their reserves in the Hegemony. When Richard once again ordered him to proceed, Kerensky swallowed his pride and left for the Periphery, he was a professional soldier and he was tired of hanging around politicians. In the meantime, Amaris suggested to the trusting First Lord that his own Republican troops could help reinforce the Hegemony territories in case of further conflicts. Richard wholeheartedly agreed and in 2764, ordered shipments of advanced military equipment including the SLDF’s state of the art BattleMechs to be delivered to the Rim Worlds Republic as well as providing advisors with which to train the Republican forces in advanced military tactics. Already, the Republican military had been involved in several joint, large-scale military exercises alongside SLDF forces.

Despite their previous setbacks a few years before, the Taurians were more determined than ever to liberate their worlds from the Star League yoke. In 2765, they regrouped their resistance forces and openly seceded from the Star League. Within weeks, save for the Rim Worlds Republic, the entire Periphery rose up in armed revolt, throwing the SLDF garrisons on the defensive. First Lord Richard Cameron made an appeal to the Great Houses to help his forces put down the rebellion but was refused. As the battles raged, Lord Cameron ordered the bulk of the SLDF into action to subdue the Periphery rebels and then asked Stefan Amaris to garrison the Hegemony worlds with Republican troops in case of trouble with the Great Houses. This was the moment that Stefan Amaris had hoped for. Already, the Thirteenth Amaris SFG was covertly deployed on Terra. BRIEF EMPIRE That day had at last arrived. It was a bloody day, full of wickedness and ire. We tempted fate and she was kind to us that day. But in the end, the cause was already lost, we just didn’t realize it. -From Vicissitudes, by Meridian If Stefan Amaris wanted to fulfill his lifelong ambition of being the greatest conqueror man had ever seen, providence had at last given him that chance in late 2766. That year was a culmination of all his patience and preparations. It was his one moment of glory for all of his assets were now in place. It was

possible that he felt that he would probably not get another chance if he didn’t take it. The prize was there, all he had to do was to extend his hand and grasp the reins of power. And he did. -Thelos Auburn, The Rise and Fall of House Amaris

In early 2766, the elite Fourth Amaris Dragoons had been transferred to Terra. There, the units of Stefan Amaris took up garrison positions with the First Lord’s equally vaunted Royal Black Watch Regiment at the Court of the Star League. With most of the Terran Hegemony’s twenty-five Divisions engaged in offensive operations across the far-flung Periphery, only eight Divisions remained in Hegemony space and only two of these were BattleMech Divisions. By winter of that year, sixteen divisions of the Republican military had positioned themselves in the key planets of the Hegemony. Covert Rim Worlds intelligence operatives had also begun to infiltrate the Star League’s early warning control centers and the newly built automated Space Defense Systems. On the 26th of December, Stefan Amaris returned to Terra and issued his final orders. He named Mohammed Selim as his Regent in the Rim Worlds Republic territory and commanded his remaining troops there to go on a war footing. It was possible that Stefan Amaris may have foreseen a chance that he would fail as he instructed his oldest daughter Anais to gather her possessions and join his departing flagship. Anais Amaris protested but her father insisted, saying that she would be needed there. As the Republic WarShip Worm Ouroboros made the jump, some witnesses said that there were tears in Stefan Amaris’ eyes as he bid his daughter farewell. The very next day, the Amaris Coup began when the Republic military made surprise attacks on the Star League garrisons all across Hegemony space. In

Terra, most of the Royal Black Watch Regiment was destroyed when a nuclear device (most probably placed there by operatives of the Thirteenth Amaris SFG) detonated in their staging areas near the Court of the Star League. As the Fourth Amaris Dragoons began to engage the 191st Royal BattleMech Division and reserve units, Stefan Amaris accompanied the Thirteenth Amaris SFG in a daring assault on the First Lord’s Palace. There were still over a company’s worth of Royal Black Watch troops guarding the immediate vicinity of the First Lord but the special forces units commanded by Meridian made short work of them. A few hours later, the totally surprised First Lord Richard Cameron was personally assassinated by Stefan Amaris as he began to round up all members of the Cameron family and proceeded to execute them in the Throne Room. That day, ninety-five of the Terran Hegemony’s 103 worlds fell to the Republican forces. It was a textbook example of victory by complete surprise. Stefan Amaris immediately began to consolidate his position. His military and intelligence operatives began to take control of the HPG stations as well as the Space Defense Systems all over the Hegemony. The dark prophecies of numerous dead Camerons lying in pools of their own blood became fulfilled. All was not lost however, as the future Jade Falcon Elizabeth Hazen survived along with a handful of survivors from the Royal Black Watch Regiment and formed a guerilla unit that managed to survive until the liberation of Terra in 2779. Also, a number of Cameron family members were able to escape Stefan Amaris’ genocidal purge of their bloodline by having the good fortune to be members of the SLDF units that were in the Periphery. But by the beginning of 2767, all Hegemony worlds had fallen to the Rim Worlds Republic military. In February of that year, as General Aleksandr Kerensky completed the conquest of New Vandenburg in the Taurian Concordat, he received an HPG message from Stefan Amaris proclaiming himself First Lord of the newly-styled Amaris Empire and requested the General’s allegiance. Much like how the Japanese viewed the Americans in World War II, Amaris apparently thought that at the very least, he could get away with a grudging acceptance from Kerensky that it would be very costly to invade the heavily fortified worlds of the former Hegemony, thus maintaining an uneasy peace between them and allowing Amaris to keep his conquests. In that regards, he had severely miscalculated the General’s tenacity and desire for justice. Kerensky immediately declared war against the Usurper and proceeded to assemble his troops for an invasion of the Rim Worlds Republic. With the failure to secure the loyalty of the SLDF, Amaris made a one last bid to the leaders of the Great Houses to help him in his resistance against the oncoming storm. Amaris had hoped that if at least one Great House would support him then he could form an alliance that would allow him to continue on as First Lord. All that came to no avail however, as each House Lord denied his requests for assistance. It was at that moment that Amaris thought that perhaps he now was truly alone. All he could do now was to fortify and defend his newly conquered holdings and hoped to survive the onslaught. If his Republican forces could inflict enough casualties upon the

invading SLDF, then perhaps, Kerensky might be inclined to give up the struggle. But in this regards, he once again underestimated the enemy’s desire to see things through.

In August of that year, the combined SLDF flotilla made its way to the outskirts of the Rim Worlds Republic and offered the scant Republican troops stationed there a chance for surrender. Loyal to the last, Regent Mohammed Selim refused. In 2770, the last defenders of Apollo fell and the Rim Worlds Republic was officially no more. The campaign to liberate the Hegemony began in 2772 and Terra itself fell to the SLDF in 2779. The fighting was intense and bloody as the SLDF took horrific losses but in the end, the outcome was never in doubt. After nearly coming close to personally killing General Kerensky, Meridian was felled by General Aaron DeChevilier. Baron Gunthar Von Strang died with his unit when it was destroyed by incoming SLDF forces as it tried to flee. Stefan Amaris himself, along with his family, was caught and executed by the vengeful General Kerensky. In the purges that followed, Kerensky ordered the SLDF to hunt down and kill anyone with even a taint of Amaris blood. In the aftermath of the Amaris Civil War, as the survivors began to pick up the pieces, it seemed that the name Amaris had passed on to history.

CHILDREN OF THE LOST And yet-had God not bowed us down, Not laid us low in dust, None would have sung of us or told our wrongs In stories men will listen to forever. -Euripides, The Trojan Women It was then that our long dark road lay ahead of us. The children of the lost cried out to their absent mothers and dead fathers. But the only response was silence. The stars stared back in the empty night, their indifferent shimmering a beacon of gloom. We were all alone, standing in but a small island, drifting across the seas of infinity. -From Vicissitudes, by Meridian In 2769, the Worm Ouroboros made its last supply run to Knossos Base. In addition to the cargo that was being unloaded, a number of dependents from the Rim Worlds nobility were also sent to the hidden Amaris base in the Chainelane Isles. Among them was Anais Amaris, Regent Mohammed Selim’s teenaged daughter Fatima and 10-year old Matthias Von Strang, the youngest son of Baron Gunthar Von Strang. Although the dependents had begged to stay with their families, Rim Worlds Republic Regent Mohammed Selim felt that they would be safer in Knossos rather than take their chances as the invading SLDF forces began their attacks on the Republic. Just before taking his own life as the vengeful SLDF units began their final assault on Apollo in 2070, Mohammed Selim was able to destroy all records pertaining to the existence and location of Knossos Base. The last orders from the Republic High Command was that all personnel in Knossos must cease in any attempt to contact the Republic and neither should they attempt to venture out of the Chainelane Isles lest they give away their

location. The final sentence in the written orders to the Knossos Base commander was that they should try to survive and wait until a ship from the Republic would come and return them home. When the Worm Ouroboros began its final jump sequence to try to link up with the Republican forces in Terra, there was still a tinge of hope that perhaps the SLDF would give up its campaign to take back the Hegemony worlds and a peace deal could somehow be arraigned. As the flagship of the Republic finally disappeared into the starry void, there was silence once again. Since the military at this time was completely loyal to the Amaris family, Anais Amaris was quickly elevated as commander of all Republican forces in the Chainelane Isles. Theorizing that the rescue ships might be delayed for a while, Anais decreed that the first issue was survival. There were three major hidden bases, the largest, Knossos held the shipyards and weapons factories; two smaller bases were codenamed Phaestos and Mallia, these smaller fortifications were supply depots that warehoused weapons and raw materials. With several thousand personnel and with the addition of several thousand more dependents, the issue of food and maintenance of life-support systems was now acute. Fortunately, a large majority of the base personnel were scientists and technicians and so projects to find ways to create edible foodstuffs became underway. Led by the brilliant geneticist Dr. Ivo Wong, a breakthrough in the creation of edible lichen and fungus that could grow in specially designed underground greenhouses that were drilled into the interiors of the surrounding asteroids began to come to fruition in 2774.

In 2780, the Knossos watch stations were alerted to an incoming JumpShip. As the base personnel scrambled into defensive positions, wistfully hoping that it was a Republican ship, their hopes were temporarily raised as the ship gave an

affirmative ID code when asked to relay the security protocols. As the people of the base cheered, the dawn of reality began to lower their expectations as the JumpShip loomed closer in their surveillance monitors. It was a Star Lord-class JumpShip belonging to the Republican navy and it bore horrendous damage all along its hull. Two heavily damaged Overlord DropShips hung limply on its hardpoints. As the staggered survivors were brought to the interior of the base and were debriefed, the full tragedy of Stefan Amaris’ empire began to unfold. Not only had the entire Rim Worlds Republic fallen to the might of the SLDF but all the Hegemony worlds were retaken and the Amaris family was slaughtered to the last child. As the grief and humiliation tore through all the survivors and the base population as well, several hundred civilians and soldiers committed suicide. Some of the more pragmatic men and women looked to Anais Amaris for leadership but the last surviving daughter of Stefan Amaris was too grief-stricken to command them. As she could barely keep her emotions in check, Anais ran into one of the laboratories in the inner-part of the base and ingested a harmful fungus that was deemed inedible. Almost immediately the young woman collapsed and fell into a deep coma. The medical personnel who examined her predicted that she would not last one week. For the next few days, utter confusion reigned across the base as people would shuffle about aimlessly on what to do next. As everyone’s shock and grief turned into despair, a large minority of the entire base population advocated a return to the Inner-Sphere and to take their chances there. As more confusion reigned across the three bases, Matthias Von Strang and Fatima Selim formed a coalition dedicated to obeying the last orders of the Republic High Command, the two young people argued that they must remain hidden from the rest of humanity and regroup. As hopelessness turned to desperation, conflicts began to arise between the two sides as the “returners” tried to commandeer the damaged JumpShip but were stopped by the others. As the petty conflicts began to turn violent, Matthias and Fatima personally stayed near the comatose Anais Amaris and vowed to protect her with their lives. For the next two weeks, armed enforcers from both sides began to claim even more powerful weapons from the cargo stores until the situation finally deteriorated into open warfare. The fighting in the three bases became bloody internal sieges as both sides turned into wild animals that would slaughter men, women and children in an orgy of blood and carnage. As the battles raged in a relentless war of attrition, Matthias and Fatima rallied their forces and led them ruthlessly until only a few hundred of the enemy “returners” survived and were captured. As the survivors surveyed the carnage, they realized just what horrors they had heaped upon themselves as both smaller bases had taken tremendous damage. Phaestos was virtually uninhabitable as someone sabotaged the life-support system and exposed everyone there to the deadly vacuum of space while Mallia’s fusion

reactor went into meltdown, irradiating the entire base with lethal radiation and destroying half of the precious underground fungi greenhouses. Knossos’ shipyards, including the Star-Lord Jumpship, were heavily damaged and could not be repaired with existing inventories. The conflict between those wanting to return and those wanting to stay had nearly annihilated them all. After taking stock of what they had, the future looked bleak. Of the ones who wished to return to the Periphery and the Inner-Sphere, there were only a few hundred left. Fatima and Matthias’ coalition numbered barely a thousand men, women and children. As a feeling of gloom began to permeate across Knossos, Fatima Selim would spend her days staying by the still-comatose Anais Amaris, kneeling and praying feverishly while Matthias Von Strang and his core group of former military personnel would keep watch over the prisoners. As the situation deteriorated to the point where everyone was surviving on subsistence levels, grumbling began even among the most loyal followers of Fatima and Matthias. As the weeks began to turn into months, a few began to openly question their command. As the voices of opposition grew louder, Fatima got up from her vigil and told them that she was merely waiting for the sleeping Anais Amaris to awaken and lead them, all they had to do was be patient. When one of Matthias’ lieutenants asked how long they had to wait, Fatima told them that length of time was a test of their loyalty. The longer it took, she said, the more powerful Anais would be when she awoke. In the morning of the fourth month after the inner-conflict between them started, Fatima Selim woke up to find the bed that Anais had been confined in was empty. As she hurriedly ran towards the door, it opened and in stepped the wide-awake Anais Amaris, wearing only her hospital gown, pale as a ghost and gaunt from a lack of nutrition. It was at that moment that Matthias Von Strang entered the room from a side door and was instantly floored by what he saw. Although she had been in a coma for nearly six months, Anais Amaris was able to stand on her own two feet and could walk stiffly. Awed by this seeming miracle, both Matthias and Fatima fell down on the floor, kneeling and prostrating in supplication. Anais sat on the side of the bed as her two most loyal followers told her of the near catastrophic inner-war that had occurred. Within an hour, Anais Amaris, flanked by Matthias and Fatima, walked over to where the general population of the base was and addressed both the prisoners and her loyal subjects. She claimed that while she was asleep, her father’s spirit had told her that she must lead what was left of their people to continue the fight against both the Star League and the Inner-Sphere. The exact words of the speech had not been recorded but it was said that everyone was so moved by her words and her miraculous recovery that they all dropped to their knees as their leader had finally returned to show them the way.

BIRTH OF THE HIDDEN SOCIETY Mother Anais, our matriarch, had returned to us. As the sleeper had awakened from the land of dreams and prophecy so had she returned with a vision. Her lucidity gave her power, her malediction gave her will. It was all but a test for us and we were determined to pass it, no matter what the cost. So she then decreed that we must abandon our former lives, and live a new one, one that held greater promise and the hope for a lasting peace among all mankind. -From Vicissitudes, by Meridian Once the political situation became stabilized, Mother Anais (as she was now called) began to form a completely new civilization. First, she laid out the social doctrines in a speech called “The Vow of the Rose”. In it, she stated that it would not be possible for them to return to the Periphery and the Inner-Sphere but rather, to stay were they were and to regain their strength so that they may one day return with enough power and military might to bring down the corrupt Great Houses once and for all. It is ironic that the Vow of the Rose was eerily similar in tone and content as General Kerensky’s Hidden Hope Doctrine that the coincidences are simply staggering. Like the Exodus survivors that eventually became the Clans, the survivors of House Amaris also began to refashion themselves into a new society. The surviving population of Knossos was so desperate for new leadership after months of fratricidal conflict that nearly led to their annihilation, that they immediately embraced her new reforms completely as she began to restructure their society into something totally and utterly alien. Like you, I too grieve for my loved ones who were lost. My father, the father to us all, was everything to me. Now he is gone and I shall miss him terribly. But I will remember his deeds and his cause will not be forgotten. We cannot return to either the Inner-Sphere or the Periphery. If our enemies discover who we are, they will hunt us down and murder us like dogs. We must live in the shadows. We must stay hidden and never reveal ourselves to anyone. Our symbol must be that of the rose, for in ancient times, the rose was a symbol of silence and secrecy. As in Greek mythology, when the god of love once offered a rose to the god of silence, to keep that god from disclosing the weaknesses of the other gods, so let it be that only if we live in our hidden society shall we be able to regain our strength, replenish our power. For there will be a day when we shall at last reveal ourselves and avenge those who had fallen. It will be a bright and

glorious day when we finally bring down the tyrannical soldiers of the Star League as well as the corrupt Houses of the Sphere and finally allow all of humanity to bask in a new society, one in which there will be no more war, no more conflict and no more tyranny. -Anais Amaris, The Vow of the Rose

As the first step in the creation of her new society, Anais Amaris reinstituted a class of people that had not existed since the days when the Rim Worlds Republic was first founded by the psychotic Hector Rowe. Anais decreed that all hard labor and mundane tasks be relegated to the newly created Helot subclass. The Helots would have the status of mere slaves as they would bear the brunt of the physical hardships in this new society. The former prisoners who were advocating a return to the Inner-Sphere became the backbone of these new Helots. It was at that point that the large majority of the new society would be Helots as each new child that would be born from the age-old union of man and woman would be born a Helot. These slaves had some certain rights but were completely subservient to the other castes; the Helots had no voting power other than being able to choose leaders within their subgroup. Helots also did not have any individualized human names; rather, each Helot was given a set of numbers and letters (For example: XHT-8311) to be used for individual identification rather than human names. In order to preserve the essential technical skills and knowledge that would enable her society to survive in this new, harsh reality, Mother Anais formed the Guilds. The Guilds were essentially storehouses of knowledge and would function as both schools to train new apprentices as well as organizations that could be harnessed as part of the foundations of the new

Hidden Society. These Guilds were eerily reminiscent of the specialized caste-based system of the Clans but differed in that people were not born into these Guilds, rather the Guilds had the option to recruit from the masses of Helots, thereby giving a chance for even the lowest strata of the Hidden Society a means to elevate themselves from virtual serfdom. This gave the most talented and ambitious Helots a chance to change their social status by becoming members of the Guilds. When a Helot became a member of a particular Guild, they would be allowed to choose a human name for themselves. Hence, becoming a Guild member held great prestige. The Guilds however, imposed a rigorous testing system and only accepted those worthy enough to learn their specialties.

The numerous Guilds each had their own specialty and were organized in those

rms. The largest and most influential Guilds included the Scientists Guild, the teTechnicians Guild, the Merchants Guild, the Artisans Guild and of course, the Warriors Guild. The powerful Warriors Guild in particular, had the responsibility of training apprentices for the new Amaris military and was subdivided into numerous smaller sub-guilds according to their respective specialties. Warrior sub-Guilds included MechWarrior, Land-Air ‘MechWarrior, Infantry/Battlesuit, Aerospace, Armor/Vehicle, Transport, JumpShip/DropShip and WarShip sub-Guilds. Needless to say, these Warrior Guilds held great power and prestige among the others due to their influence over the military.

Two other organizations were created to keep the population both loyal and olitically stable. The first was the new Amaris military. Named the Shadow

uch s the Shadow

the Inq

e veiled in secrecy and enforced by both e Shadow Corps and the Inquisition. It is known that the first Shadow Lords

pCorps, this new army would be the foundation for the eventual return of House Amaris to the Inner-Sphere and so would be built up slowly until it would reach its peak. Having the option to recruit from all the Guilds, especially the Warrior Guilds for its personnel, the Shadow Corps would begin to grow in leaps and bounds over the next two centuries. As the Inner-Sphere went into the endless cycles of the Succession Wars that eventually weakened them militarily, the Shadow Corps would begin to grow both in strength and technical quality. The second institution was called the Inquisition. Equally feared and respected as m

tential threats to it as well as gathering intelligence from he way for House Amaris’ return to the Inner-Sphere.

aCorps, uisition was tasked to ensure both internal stability within the Hidden Society by eliminating poexternal sources to pave tStructured by a handful of former Republican Intelligence operatives that had survived and remained personally loyal to Anais Amaris, this clandestine organization would surpass even that of ROM in sheer ruthlessness and efficiency in the centuries to come. At the apex of this newly formed society stood the Shadow Lords, the overseers of the Hidden People. Their rule would bth

were Fatima Selim and Matthias Von Strang, Anais’ most loyal lieutenants. In time, the exact order would be so secretive that not even the general population would know who the actual rulers were. It is highly probable that the successors to these first Shadow Lords chose their eventual replacements from the Shadow Corps or the Inquisition because these two institutions served as training ground for future leaders.

THE JARNFOLK AND CLAN WOLVERINE

At last, at long last, the framework had been laid out. We now had the plans and society. All we had to do now was to

plement it.

al situation stabilized, Mother Anais commissioned several projects d expand the secretive bases in the Chainelane

les. As clean-up operations began to restore life support systems to the two

e Deep Periphery for hundreds of years. Extremely secretive and insular to utsiders, the JarnFolk were in a sense, gypsies that would travel the stars and

the means to begin the creation of a perfect im-From Vicissitudes, by Meridian As the internto begin in order to both repair anIslesser bases, Anais ordered the insignia of the Rim Worlds Republic to be removed from the Star Lord-class JumpShip. Once the ship was repaired, it would be used to venture out of the Chainelane Isles for intelligence gathering. Although the long road to recovery had started, there were still serious deficiencies in raw materials to be self-sufficient. A solution however, came from a most unlikely source.

The JarnFolk had been a semi-nomadic people that traveled regularly across thotrade occasionally with other Periphery cultures. In 2785, As General Kerensky issued his Hidden Hope Doctrine to the Exodus fleet and the Succession Wars in the Inner-Sphere began, a JarnFolk JumpShip ventured within the asteroid fields in close proximity to Knossos Base and began to repair its damaged jump sail. Curiously, this wasn’t the first time that a JarnFolk vessel had strayed close to

the hidden Amaris bases, there were numerous incidents of close calls when the people of Knossos nearly intercepted these space gypsies but patience ultimately prevailed over the years. On the other hand, this was the first time that a JarnFolk vessel actually stayed for more than a few hours as it was clearly in need of repairs. After consulting with her closest advisors, Mother Anais decreed that it would be beneficial in the long run to try to initiate contact with these JarnFolk. To that end,

e partially repaired (and repainted) Overlord-class DropShips left Knossos and

aintenance work on their ships. The asteroid fields also contained a high

ad been preserved and all ere content within this new, united society (Of course, any dissenters were

thproceeded to head directly for the JarnFolk vessel while emitting friendly messages. After a tense standoff, the JarnFolk reluctantly welcomed these unexpected inhabitants of the asteroid field. After helping in the repair of the JarnFolk vessel, the people of Knossos were overjoyed when the JarnFolk concluded a trade agreement with them. In exchange for weapons and the use of the shipyards, the JarnFolk would provide them with other raw materials with which to rebuild their damaged bases. A clause in the trading agreement also stipulated that neither side would reveal each other’s existence to any outsiders. Within a year after concluding the trade agreement, JarnFolk vessels would regularly make scheduled stops at the shipyards of Knossos for trade andmconcentration of Germanium; an essential component for the K-F jump drives. As mining operations began, the JarnFolk began to depend more and more on Knossos for their supply. Although the Hidden Society never told the JarnFolk about their true origins, it was quite possible that these gypsies of space knew who they were due to the fact that the coincidence of repairing their JumpShip so close to Knossos seemed a little too good to be true. By the 29th Century, the three hidden bases in the Chainelane Isles had already begun to thrive. The power of the Amaris bloodline hwquickly identified and promptly eliminated by the Inquisition.). In 2811, Mother Anais decreed that the Hidden Society would start to make their first forays back to the Inner-Sphere in order to gather intelligence. Several new JumpShips that were disguised as Periphery merchant vessels had already been constructed and would serve to ferry agents of the Inquisition as well as to trade with the Inner-Sphere for more materiel anonymously. Several years later, intelligence operatives of the Inquisition honed their skills and began to report back on the numerous wars that had engulfed the Inner-Sphere, much to the glee of the Hidden Society. If the Great Houses could destroy themselves, so much the better. Mother Anais also wondered about the eventual fate of the SLDF Exodus. Did these Star League exiles meet an untimely end or would they return to resurrect the Star League sometime in the future? That was a question that would plague her mind until the encounter with a lone, lost JumpShip decades later.

If the Hidden Society wanted something of value from the

ther cultures, they either

. Eeell, the Hidden Society’s eugenics program would differ in that there would be

otraded for them (without revealing who they were) or simply took them. In 2818, several corvette-class WarShips were constructed at the Knossos shipyards. These small WarShips were then used as raiding vessels with which the Hidden Society could take anything they want. The only restrictions placed on the raiders was to avoid any conflict with their JarnFolk allies, everything else was fair game. Within several years, these WarShips were able to capture several merchant JumpShips and enslaved the captured crewmen, thereby increasing the Helot population. Despite occasional raids into the Periphery with which to kidnap men, women and children in order to integrate them into the Helot subclass, the population of the Hidden Society was still critically short of manpower. In order to alleviate the manpoweugenics program be created

er shortages, Mother Anais then decreed that a rily similar to what the Clans would be doing as

wtwo types of genetically engineered humans that were to be developed. The first type was to use spliced DNA from the best host samples to create soldiers while the second breed was to be cloned directly from human hosts that had proven themselves to be extraordinary in either skills or loyalty to House Amaris. The aging Dr. Ivo Wong immediately volunteered to head this project; decades before, his grandfather had pioneered advanced cloning technology in the Star League but was banned from further research there; now with the absolute power vested him, Dr. Wong now proceeded with his lifelong dream of creating perfect clones. Within a few years, a breakthrough had occurred as the Hidden Society pioneered its own artificial womb technology and began to create humans scientifically. The first category of humans was labeled Splicers from the term “gene-splicing” while the second breed was labeled Replicants. The latter

were identical clones made from their original hosts but with slight modifications to prevent genetic degradation.

As time went on, three distinct types of human beings began to xist within the Hidden Society.

en Society und a previously uncharted,

eThe first were called the Naturals, these humans were the product of the age-old union of man and woman; every human that was born a Natural would always start life as a Helot. The second breed were called Splicers, their characteristics were very similar to that of Clan Trueborns, having been the product of spliced genes as well as being birthed artificially. The third class of humans was called Replicants, direct copies of their original human hosts; these identical clones were given memory implants that gave them the skills and talents from their former lives and were mentally conditioned for absolute loyalty to the Amaris cause. Unlike the Naturals, the Splicers and Replicants were bio-engineered to be used as soldiers and assassins: those that failed their harsh training regimens were promptly disposed of- there were no living failures among them. It was also during this time that the scouts of the Hiddforogue planetoid floating in the vast gulfs between the Chainelane Isles and Nueva Castile in the Deep Periphery. Rogue planets were strange anomalies that defied conventional scientific thinking. While most planets would be

born and confined within the range of nearby stars, rogue planets would drift across the vast emptiness of space almost undetected. It was by sheer luck that an Amaris JumpShip was able to spot it. After marking its location and probable stellar drift in their star charts, the JumpShip crew immediately returned to Knossos and relayed the discovery to the Shadow Lords. Within several weeks, a planetary expedition was organized by the Hidden Society and dispatched to find this rogue planet. The resulting information from this expedition yielded that the planetoid had a thin atmosphere and was practically lifeless. There were however, large concentrations of useable minerals that could be mined from the solid bedrock. It was then decreed that huge, underground cities would be constructed to house the growing Helot population and the Guilds would build mining facilities and factories for heavy industry there. By 2822, the first underground city was established on the newly christened world of Sanctuary. Due to the low level of cosmic radiation because of the lack of nearby stars, it would take months for JumpShips to recharge their batteries whenever they would make the journey to Sanctuary. By 2841 however, the Hidden Society was able to set up automated recharge stations located in nearby uncharted star systems to lower transit time to Sanctuary; these recharge stations were disguised as asteroids so that any passing ship would not take notice of them. As time passed, the population of the Hidden Society grew.

The children of Amaris had their first realization of the fate of the SLDF Exodus when one of their raider corvettes intercepted and disabled a fleeing JumpShip that was hopelessly off-course in late 2823. As the crew of the JumpShip were taken prisoner and interrogated, the full magnitude of Amaris’ legacy was revealed. Not only did General Aleksandr Kerensky and his followers abandon the Inner-Sphere to war with itself, but his son Nicholas formed a completely alien society, one that was not too far removed from Mother Anais’ own creation. As the Inquisition searched through the JumpShip and the attached DropShips,

they were able to retrieve a number of carefully hidden memory cores that contained schematics on everything from BattleMech construction to new Terra-forming techniques. The captured group included scientists, technicians and merchants from a certain Clan Wolverine; these prisoners were immediately subjected to a number of mental brainwashing techniques to make them totally subservient to the Amaris cause so that as much cultural and technical knowledge could be accessed from them. Although most of these prisoners later died, a number of important technological discoveries were gleamed from their minds as well as from the successful retrieval of their JumpShip’s memory core. After having served her people for over five decades, Mother Anais Amaris died

EELERS

If these Clans of Kerensky consider themselves to be like the Mongol hordes,

eridian

Dangerous is wrath concealed. Hatred proclaimed doth lose its chance of

As the Clans began what they termed their “Golden Century”, The Hidden

peacefully in her sleep in 2826. She had pledged her celibacy when she became the leader of the Hidden Society and decreed that she would be the last Amaris that would be born through natural means. Henceforth, she prophesized, all future leaders of the cause would be born as either Splicers or Replicants. As the people of the Hidden Society wept upon hearing the news of her passing, her coffin was paraded across the bases until it was finally delivered to an underground tomb in Sanctuary. There, the people could see a half-dozen hooded individuals who referred to themselves as the Shadow Lords proclaim that their war against the children of the Star League and the corrupt Great Houses would begin in earnest. F an unstoppable army of warriors, then we shall be the embodiment of the ninja- silent, swift and deadly. -From Vicissitudes, by M wrecking vengeance. -Seneca Society was busy as well. The concealed, underground cities of Sanctuary had grown into a half-dozen thriving metropolises while Knossos base was now running at peak capacity in the production of war materiel. Using the navigational records from the captured Clan Wolverine JumpShip, the agents of the Inquisition were able to locate the relative area of the Clan homeworlds. Although the children of Amaris wanted so much to destroy their age-old adversaries, they knew that they lacked the military strength to do so. A strategy had to be created in order to learn more about their enemy without revealing themselves. The solution was soon to be found and it lay within Clan society itself.

The Clans of Kerensky were a caste-based society that was dominated by warriors. In this rigid culture there were invariably a number of dissidents that could not fit into the strict caste rules or were in violation of their principles. Within the next few decades of the Clan’s Golden Century, a subculture of outcasts began to develop. These were known as the Dark or Bandit castes and these misfits of Clan society were hunted down mercilessly by their former Clans. Forced into exile and preyed upon by warriors from all Clans for sheer sport, the Dark caste would flee in stolen DropShips and JumpShips and would try to seek refuge within the Caliban Nebula, a massive, gaseous veil that shielded Clan space from the prying eyes of the Inner-Sphere. With their aims amounting to nothing more than sheer survival, these Bandit castes would in turn engage in piracy and would raid Clan enclaves in order to obtain bare essentials. At first, the Shadow Lords had contemplated in wiping out the Bandit castes that hid in the Caliban Nebula as a means of training for the expanding Shadow Corps but then realized that they could very well turn this facet of Clan society into their advantage. After trapping and eliminating one particular Dark caste unit, the Shadow Corps then mimicked that very unit that they had destroyed in order to learn more about these Clan outcasts. To that end, the fake Dark caste unit made contact with other Clan bandits in the area and claimed that they had managed to salvage useful war and transportation materiel. In exchange for supplying the various other Clan bandit units, they would be given any new technology that the Dark castes were able to steal from their occasional raids against the Clan enclaves. Not knowing any better, the other Dark caste units agreed and began to form a loose alliance among themselves, little knowing that they were playing into the hands of their ancient enemies. This strategy became so successful throughout the next century that it became a virtual rite of passage for new Amaris military recruits to disguise themselves as Dark caste bandits and engage in hit and run raids to capture Clan war materiel as well as the abduction of Clan scientists and technicians. By 2887, the first Amaris OmniMech prototypes rolled off the newly retooled ‘Mech assembly lines in Knossos. As time passed, both the Scientist and Technician Guilds were able to reverse-engineer nearly all of the most advanced Clan military technology available.

While the Shadow Corps began to grow in terms of experience and technological quality, the Inquisition was equally busy. In 2811, the first undercover operatives of the Inquisition had already begun to report on the chaos that had engulfed the Inner-Sphere as the Great Houses fought endless wars against one another in an apparent bid for dominance. Despite their delight at hearing that the corrupt Houses had turned on each other like jackals, the Shadow Lords were even more intrigued as their intelligence operatives reported on the birth of a new, technological-based faction called ComStar. Organized by former Star League technicians, ComStar was pledged to protect the Inner-Sphere’s HPG stations as well as to preserve technological knowledge that was fast disappearing as the Successor States battled each other towards oblivion. As ComStar began to organize their own intelligence bureau called ROM, the Inquisition was able to place key operatives in the highest levels of ROM’s hierarchy, thus enabling the Hidden Society to have complete access to the intelligence operations of ComStar but it also allowed them to operate using an extra layer of cover and anonymity that was to prove strategically decisive in the years to come. Because of the Inquisition’s infiltration of ROM and a number of coincidences involving Blake’s successor Conrad Toyama, a number of interesting but unconfirmed hypothesis have since aJerome Blake, the legendary founder of ComStar, fell ill in early 2819 and ultimately died later in that year. Conrad Toyama was the last person to see Blake alive and it was he who ultimately succeeded Blake as the Prime Administrator of ComStar. Upon his ascension, Toyama then immediately began to transform ComStar into a quasi-religious order based on the literal worship of technology. Given the influence of the Amaris Inquisition over ROM, it is highly plausible that the Shadow Lords may have “helped” Toyama in becoming Blake’s successor and in a way, heavily influenced ComStar’s transformation into an order of “fanatics”. Although this theory is somewhat far-fetched, strange coincidences in future events concerning the eventual schism of the order and the creation of the Word of Blake reactionaries would give it some credence.

risen. What is known is that

One of the many innovations that made the Inquisition so effective was a new process of infiltration called Supersedure. It basically meant that a specific target could be eliminated and replaced by an identical “double”, one who could pass off as the targeted victim and carry on with their lives as if nothing had happened. This doppelganger would be in fact, an agent of the Inquisition and could operate as a clandestine intelligence source and could even influence the decision making process of the organizations that they belonged to and in addition, would be virtually immune from suspicion of any kind. With advanced biometric modifications that could fool even the most reliable detection tests, the Inquisition

had a practically foolproof way of inserting their operatives into the highest levels of their enemies’ organizations. While it was never confirmed that Toyama was an agent of the Inquisition, his successor, Raymond Karpov, had a high probability of having been at the receiving end of the Inquisition’s Supersedure program. Upon Toyama’s death and his assumption as the new Primus of ComStar in 2837, Karpov immediately issued orders for ROM to begin assassinations of Inner-Sphere scientists that were making any progress in recovering technology that was lost during the fall of the first Star League. Could this have been a long-term strategy dictated by the Shadow Lords so that the Inner-Sphere could remain technologically backward so that a possible future invasion by House Amaris would be made easier? Up to the time of this writing, this question has yet to be answered. And, as in all cultures, the Hidden Society began to develop their own myths and legends surrounding the creation of their society as symbols of hope for the future. While Stefan Amaris was despised as the Usurper in Inner-Sphere history books, the poets and artists of the Hidden Society began to literally portray him as a benevolent leader that tried his best to free the oppressed but because of corruption and ignorance by the Inner-Sphere, he was betrayed and killed. To his people, he was

not a tyrant but rather a freedom fighter, one who gave up his life to free the people of the Inner-Sphere from the bloody tyranny of the Star League. The

Hidden Society believed that the image of Amaris as a brutal dictator who wanted everything for himself was false and his mystique became that of a martyr who was ultimately put to death for defying the fascistic Star League. In time, both Stefan Amaris and his daughter Anais were soon elevated to the status of demigods in the culture of the Hidden Society. Songs and poetry were composed in praise of their achievements. Religious movements began to spring up among the Helot population that Stefan Amaris would come back from the dead and lead them all back to a triumphant return to the Inner-Sphere. As they revered Amaris’ name, so too did the Hidden Society begin to foster their hatreds at the Great Houses, for it was their greed and corruption that allowed the brutal SLDF to win against the Rim Worlds Republic. A special enmity was reserved for the Clans, the Hidden Society envisioned the Clans as the very descendants of the hated General Kerensky himself and his children would be all banished to the lake of boiling fire. WAR OF THE ASSASSINS If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? -William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice The day of reckoning was almost upon us. How even the mighty would tremble should they realize that we had not just returned, but we were already here. -From Vicissitudes, by Meridian Despite its many successes, the Inquisition’s spy network within ComStar nearly unraveled in 2901. In that year, the First Primus of ComStar was killed in a hoverlimo accident and his successor, Dwight Kurstin, may have had something to do with his death. As the Inquisition reeled from the loss of its main impostor in ComStar, Primus Kurstin attempted to dissolve the First Circuit and hired mercenary troops to hunt down its members. Only his timely assassination by an agent of the Inquisition saved the Hidden Society from being compromised to the Inner-Sphere because Kurstin had managed to uncover a vast conspiracy within ComStar and was on the verge of revealing it.

Another near run-in with bad luck occurred in 2947, When Primus York attempted to dissolve ROM and replace its functions with that of the ComGuards. Only a timely assassination of the Primus by another inquisitor prevented the Hidden Society’s spy network from dissolving. With this bit of success, the Inquisition also managed to infiltrate the newly created Explorer Corps in order to prevent ComStar from locating its hidden bases in the Chainelane Isles. By influencing the Explorer Corps to search in other areas, the Hidden Society managed to continue its clandestine existence. In 3001, the Inquisition was also able to influence ComStar’s First Circuit to fund and arm pirate groups in the Periphery. Soon, the “bandit kingdoms” began to gather strength in what was

once the territory of the now-defunct Rim Worlds Republic in order to harass and raid the nearby worlds of the Successor States, much to the Hidden Society’s satisfaction. In another strange twist to its manipulation of both Inner-Sphere and Clan societies, the Shadow Lords were able to leak the DNA and biological characteristics of the aquasaurid, a marine predator native to Apollo that served as a basis for the Rim Worlds Republic insignia, to the Clan chatterweb. Clan Snow Raven scientists used the information to create a superior species of shark which their Khan unleashed to decimate the sea fox, Clan Sea Fox’s totem animal. Hoping that the Sea Foxes would be absorbed by the other Clans, the Shadow Lords were shocked when the plan backfired as Clan Sea Fox successfully changed their name to Clan Diamond Shark in 2985. As Wolf’s Dragoons began to make its way to the Inner-Sphere to serve as a scout unit for the Clans in 3005, the Inquisition suffered another setback when its agents failed to infiltrate the unit. Despite many tries, the operatives of the Hidden Society failed to penetrate the inner-workings of the Dragoons and their insular organization. Irked by what seemed to be repeated failures in trying to infiltrate the secret Clan unit, the Inquisition decided to activate their sleeper agent Vesar Kristofur and use his influence over Anton Marik, the brother of the Free Worlds League Captain-General Janos Marik, to stage a revolt and use Wolf’s Dragoons as the lynchpin in his bid for power. Kristofur thought that at the very least, the Dragoons would be destroyed and he would be able to reveal the truth about their origins. The Dragoons however, refused to fold even when the rebellion began to lose steam and killed Anton Marik when he abducted and executed several Dragoon dependents (including Commander Jaime Wolf’s brother Joshua). As Vesar Kristofur was sent to a ComStar reeducation camp for his failure, he never did reveal his own origins as that of an agent for the Inquisition, much to the Hidden Society’s relief. As the Clans prepared to invade the Inner-Sphere in 3049, the Hidden Society was already well aware of Operation Revival through its contacts in the Inquisition. The Shadow Lords decreed that the Hidden Society should not intervene militarily and would only monitor the situation using its assets in ComStar’s ROM. During the Jade Falcon invasion of Von Strang’s World in the Lyran border, the Shadow Corps openly agitated for an immediate intervention but was ordered to desist by the Shadow Lords. Although it deeply pained the Hidden Society to resist the urge of helping their distant brethren who were still loyal to the Amaris cause, the Shadow Lords realized that to reveal themselves then while the Clans were rampaging across the Inner-Sphere was to invite disaster and wisely stayed on the sidelines. In the climactic battle of Tukayyid in 3052, the Inquisition was allowed to leak vital military intelligence to ROM in order to help bring about a ComStar victory. During the resulting schism of ComStar, the Inquisition began to focus its resources on the newly formed Word of Blake when ComStar started to reform itself to a more secular institution. It is highly probable that Primus Myndo Waterly may have been an agent of the

Inquisition for it seemed that she was attempting to initiate a plan that could bring the thoroughly infiltrated ComStar complete control over the Inner-Sphere but was stopped by her own Precentor-Martial, Anastasius Focht. Was Operation Scorpion an attempt by the Shadow Lords to seize control of the Inner-Sphere through ComStar once the Clans were defeated? Based on these assumptions, it is to assume that the possibility was highly likely.

But probably the Inquisition’s greatest achievement was the successful infiltration of a doppelganger who became the de-facto ruler of the Free Worlds League. In 3035, a bomb by an unknown assassin killed the Captain-General of the Free Worlds League, Janos Marik. Although it was assumed that his son Thomas was killed as well, Janos’ son reappeared one year later and successfully claimed the title of supreme leader of the Free Worlds League. Although the FWL was considered a weak state due to its constant internal strife, Thomas Marik immediately enacted a number of reforms and managed to achieve both an economic and military turnaround that bordered on the miraculous. As FWL factories began to churn up massive amounts of war materiel for the other Successor States during the Clan Invasion, Captain-General Marik also began to woo the newly formed Word of Blake reactionaries to use the territory of the FWL as a safe haven against their former organization ComStar when the quasi-religious order suffered a schism. With the promise of sanctuary while their ComStar enemies were too preoccupied with the Clan

threat, the Blakists were able to consolidate their forces and launched a successful invasion of Terra in 3058. A number of disturbing questions once again arises as to the true nature of Thomas Marik: if the current Captain-General of the FWL is indeed a fake, then what happened to the real Thomas Marik? Was it a reactionary element within ComStar that approved of the fake double to supplant the leadership of the FWL or was it the Shadow Lords themselves who masterminded it? Most importantly, what is the true purpose and goals of the group that initiated the insertion of the doppelganger? It is extremely important that we need to find out what the true purpose of this whole affair before it is too late. In June of 3055, an explosive device detonated at a charity event in Tharkad and claimed the life of the Federated Commonwealth’s beloved Archon Melissa Steiner-Davion and seriously wounded Grand Duke Morgan Kell. A year after that, Ryan Steiner, leader of the Skye separatist movement, was shot dead by an unknown assassin. These pivotal killings marked the beginning of the end for the once-mighty Federated Commonwealth, the grand alliance between the Lyran Commonwealth and the Federated Suns. Not soon after that, both realms separated and ultimately went to war against each other as Melissa’s offspring Victor and Katrina each tried to vie for supreme power. The powers behind the killings that ultimately sparked the FedCom Civil War were never exposed and a number of conspiracy theories exist to this day, mostly centered on either the exiled Katrina Steiner-Davion or her brother Victor as the culprits. But with these new findings, it is quite possible that the Shadow Lords may have had a role to play due to the fact that a powerful realm like the Federated Commonwealth would have ultimately re-united humanity by sheer force of arms under the control of the Steiner-Davion family and it was quite obvious that the Hidden Society would never allow that to happen. Unfortunately, because of the lack of any evidence, perhaps the final answer as to who was responsible for those murders might never be exposed. Although the Hidden Society had a hands-off policy in regards to hampering the Clan forces during their invasion of the Inner-Sphere, they increased combat support to the Bandit castes that continued to raid the Clan homeworlds. Many Clan second-line forces were actually stunned when they came under attack by well-equipped Dark caste units. One of the Clans, the Burrocks, was successfully infiltrated by doppelgangers of the Inquisition to the point that the Burrocks themselves were feeding intelligence to the Dark castes on other Clans as well as funneling military equipment in an apparent attempt to use the Clan Bandits as their pawns. Unbeknownst to the Burrocks, they were playing right into the hands of the Shadow Lords as the operatives of the Inquisition leaked their contacts with the Bandit castes to the other Clans which ultimately led to the Burrock’s absorption by Clan Star Adder in 3059. Although the Burrock’s touman was captured largely intact and absorbed into the Star Adders, the Inquisition was able to secretly capture large segments of the Burrock labor, scientist and technician castes that were overlooked during the absorption. The Shadow

Corps had also staged numerous successful raids, most notably against the Ice Hellions (an operation in which they managed to kill Khan Stephen Tyler and seriously wound saKhan Danielle Lienet) that gained their shadow units an enormous amount of combat experience.

Although these successes seemed to serve as enthusiasm that theirs was a superior society, the Shadow Lords were clearly angered when the Second Star League was formed in 3058. Of all their enemies, none was more hated than the very symbol of the eight-pointed Cameron star. Despite the scant consolation that the Clans were still mostly hostile to this new Star League, the pain of House Amaris’ past defeats clearly made their blood boil. As they seethed with indignation, it was quite obvious that the rulers of the new House Amaris began to plan for ways to ultimately bring down their most hated adversary in the bloodiest ways possible. THE UNSEEN ENEMY Of all the emotions that one consumes at the buffet of life, none is more succulent or tasty as that of revenge. Whether served ice cold or burning hot, the satisfaction of achieving vengeance is so utterly delectable. -From Vicissitudes, by Meridian

If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared. -Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince In October of 3067, the Jade Falcon garrison on the planet Winfield was instantly alerted by an HPG message from an apparent unit of the Wolf Clan that challenged them for the possession of the remaining dependents of the defunct Lyran unit Winfield’s Regiment. In 3050, the Jade Falcons attacked Winfield but were nearly defeated by Leftenant General Davis Winfield and his elite unit. After giving them a tough fight, Winfield’s Regiment evacuated the planet only to be caught in a second strike that destroyed the regiment several weeks later on the planet Butler. Most of Winfield’s Regiment were relegated to the status of bondsmen and became manual laborers as the planet itself

became part of the Jade Falcon Occupation Zone. The Jade Falcon’s Eighth Talon Cluster was originally surprised at how these Wolf Clan raiders were able to penetrate the Falcon early-warning aerospace net without detection but were able to recover and bid themselves down to a trinary that would meet the invaders near the Jade Falcon base. As the Falcons stood by for several hours while awaiting their enemy, they soon lost contact with their aerospace support as well as the local HPG station. Because the Jade Falcons hesitated, their base came under immediate attack by unknown aerospace fighters a few minutes later. While the Flacons began to man their anti-aircraft defenses, the entire base was consumed in a nuclear fireball that obliterated most of the Eighth Talon Cluster along with their support units. The remaining Jade Falcons were instantly attacked by what seemed to be a new generation of Land-Air ‘Mechs equipped with Clan technology. Within minutes, the battle was over as the remaining Falcons were massacred. Several days later, Jade Falcon

reinforcements made planetfall and took stock of the situation while their units prepared for an all-out war against the Wolf Clan. The subsequent investigation however, revealed that the raiders could not have been from the Wolves after all. It was known that the Falcons did not detect any Wolf Clan ships near the star system nor would the Wolves even resort to the dishonorable use of nuclear weapons. But what ultimately made the Falcons conclude that the raiders were not from any Clan nor any Inner-Sphere unit was the raiders use of highly advanced Land-Air ‘Mechs, of a type never before seen. The Jade Falcons then tried their best to suppress the entire incident as they quietly began to rebuild the destroyed Eighth Talon Cluster while continuing their investigations. As of this writing it is still unknown whether the Falcons have made any progress in identifying and/or locating those mysterious raiders. What is known is that Winfield’s Regiment were in fact, the direct descendants of a Rim Worlds Republic unit that had fought in the Amaris Civil War. They were then known as the Twenty-Third Republic Light Lancers. Nicknamed the Stealths, the Lancers survived the battles for the Terran Hegemony relatively intact and became mercenaries that worked for House Steiner during the Succession Wars. With their superb expertise in hit-and-run attacks, the Stealths became so revered among the Lyrans that they were eventually retired with full honors and the Winfield family (The hereditary commanders of the Stealths) was granted their own planet that was renamed in their honor. After the incident with the raiders, it was clear that the surviving dependents of Winfield’s Regiment had apparently been evacuated and that their eventual fate remains a mystery to this day. Based on the previous evidence, it is safe to assume that the Shadow Lords apparently had some need to retrieve these survivors. What those reasons are we still do not know as of this time. Another disturbing piece of evidence about this faction comes from a recently declassified Explorer Corps report that was leaked to Wolfnet in late 3066. In 3064, while charting the outer borders of the Chainelane Isles in the Deep Periphery, the Star Seeker, a Magellan-Class explorer ship, stumbled upon what seemed to be a massive fleet of unknown vessels. As the Explorer Corps ship tried to flee it came under attack by never-before seen aerospace fighters as well as a class of WarShips thought to be extinct since the Amaris Civil War. Within minutes, the Star Seeker was destroyed although a single DropShip was able to detach itself from the stricken Explorer Corps vessel before it exploded and managed to hide in a nearby asteroid field. After a harrowing ordeal lasting several months, the survivors were chanced upon by a Rim Collection merchant JumpShip and brought back to Lyran space.

The subsequent debriefing by both Lyran military and ComStar personnel revealed an unconfirmed nightmare of gigantic proportions. The stunned survivors described seeing almost fifty WarShips followed by about forty JumpShips and being screened by hundreds of aerospace fighters. Subsequent analysis of the enemy ship types that were recorded by the survivors revealed that the enemy WarShips clearly had Clan naval weapons and their hull types was consistent with that of the vaunted Necronomicon class of ships that were once deployed with the now vanished Rim World Republic during the Amaris Civil War. Although both the Lyrans and ComStar tried to hide the information from the general public, some of the survivors went public with their experiences although the subsequent tracking of these individuals for a follow-up analysis revealed that each survivor of that expedition later died in various accidents months later. Wolfnet operatives tried to track down copies of the purported vidtapes that recorded these phantom ships but were

unable to locate them in the ComStar archives. Where all the evidence ended up in is now a complete mystery to us. FROM: General Maeve Wolf TO: Commander Jaime Wolf Date: December 1, 3067. Based on the scant information that we received, this is the extent of the historical knowledge that we have about this secret society. The rest of this report deals with new military hardware that we have crosschecked from a

number of other sources such as ComStar and the Clans as well as analysis of the organizations that comprise this dreaded faction. Because of the lack of concrete evidence, most of this information is based purely on theory and conjecture and some parts may be inaccurate or even false. The only sure way we can truly prove these allegations is that we mount a heavily armed expedition to search the Chainelane Isles for the purported hidden base there. Unfortunately, because the Second Star League has dissolved itself, we cannot expect any support from the former member-states and neither can we shift our military assets from the Sarna March to deal with this possible new threat. Already the Word of Blake is blocking our efforts in that region and if we transfer any of our intelligence units for the Deep Periphery, we will be weakened considerably on that front. A disturbing consequence of this report is that if this so called Hidden Society is either in league with or possibly controlling the Blakist faction then that would present a truly horrific possibility for us. Already we have been hearing reports of a clandestine WOB project called “Erinyes” in the area of the Chainelane Isles, the very location of that supposed base but due to the present circumstances, we are unable to deal with it. I would adamantly request that we hold a high-level meeting with Precentor-Martial Victor Steiner-Davion about this as soon as possible. There is a feeling at the back of my mind that we may already be too late but we cannot give up hope.

SOCIOPOLITICAL AND MILITARY STRUCTURE THE HELOTS I fear- I brave, I see- I dream, I learn- I grow, I feel- I act, I want- I make. -From a Helot Child’s Book of Verses. Based on the previous reports, one might think that the life of a Helot is full of nothing more than decades of toil in the service of a most harsh empire but based on a number of personal accounts, it seems that most view their lives with a quiet contentment and an optimism for the future. Part of this social satisfaction seems to stem from a mystical/religious belief Society will be richly rewarded when House Amaris makes its triumphant return back to reclaim the worlds of the former Terran Hegemony. Another factor that keeps the Helots from openly revolting is that there is a chance for even the lowliest members of the Hidden Society to better themselves by becoming members of the Guilds. It is a common saying among the Helots that if one is not content to living the life of a slave, one must therefore prepare oneself for the great Testing in order to be accepted into the Guilds, if one fails the test and stays a Helot, then it is the fault of the individual and that person will have no one to blame but him/herself. Since every Natural is born a Helot, that child is considered to be born among equals and can then better themselves upon admission to the Guilds. Helot parents who have had a child accepted into any of the Guilds are afforded great prestige among their own and are looked upon as a source of pride. Once a Natural is born, that child is tested to see if there are any defects. If a defect is found, then the child is quietly put to death and is forgotten. If the child passes the test then he/she is assigned a name composed of letters and numbers and is then accepted as part of the family. Parents who wish to see their child accepted into the Guilds often hire tutors to give them that extra edge once the great Testing begins.

that all members of the Hidden

Once a Helot reaches a certain age, that person is afforded the title of elder and is considered a representative of all the Helots. The elders usually are contracted by the Guilds to organize the many Helot sub-specialists into specific tasks for heavy labor. The Helots are mostly free to govern themselves though no one is allowed to own possessions, every item in a Helot household is the property of the Hidden Society as a whole. The punishments for petty crimes among themselves are usually meted out by a council of elders who then decide on the appropriate means of justice. High crimes such as murder and sedition are usually handled by either the Shadow Corps or the Inquisition and if the accused is found guilty, then the sentence is almost always death. Abuses by the Guilds or the military that are committed upon the Helot class are usually arbitrated by Helot elders who sometimes plead for justice to the Shadow Lords. Although no one in the Helot subclass has ever claimed to have seen a Shadow Lord in person, these enigmatic rulers of the Hidden Society are praised and worshipped as demigods. Prayers are regularly invoked to these mysterious rulers and a number of festivals commemorating their reign occur several times in the year. Rumors that the Shadow Lords disguise themselves and actually walk among the Helots are rife. Helot mothers would regularly tell their children that if they misbehave, then the feared Inquisitor will take them away forever but if they are good, then they will be blessed by a benevolent Shadow Lord and possibly granted immortality. It is quite curious to note that the Helots have somewhat embraced the worship of the Shadow Lords as a form of religion unto itself. With the eugenics program, a Helot can actually aspire to become immortal through a process of selection as he/she learns new skills when they are accepted to the Guilds and then possibly move on to the military or the Inquisition. Once that is achieved, a soldier or inquisitor that has done tremendous deeds for the benefit of the Hidden Society might very well be bestowed with the ultimate reward for loyal service: replication. Replicants are revered as immortal beings that have the ability to be reborn into countless new lives; hence, they could live forever. Naturals and Splicers both aspire to become Replicants for it is believed that these exact clones are almost always Shadow Lords. THE GUILDS In your first lesson as an Apprentice, know this: knowledge is infinite, but your mind has limits. You must learn your own boundaries in order to know where your true strength is. Work on bettering your weaknesses and you shall become whole. Look to adversity as an opportunity rather than failure. Channel your will and no obstacle shall stand in your way. -The Guild Handbook The Guilds form the core of the Hidden Society’s industry and economy. Essentially great storehouses of technical and scientific knowledge, the Guilds manufacture the goods that the Hidden Society uses. Once a Helot passes a

series of rigorous tests, he/she is then assigned to a specific Guild, depending on where his/her skills and talents lie. New recruits are ranked as Apprentices and are allowed to choose their own names and can discard their previous identification numbers. Although the prestige is great, life as a Guildsman can be hard due to the constant pressures and competition. Guild membership bestows a number of advantages, namely being allowed to have an individual name as well as having the right to own possessions. Although each Guild considers itself as equals to one another, there are a number of very prestigious guilds that tend to have more power over the others. The Scientists Guild holds great sway over the many lesser sub-guilds due to influence over the discovery and advancement of new technologies, especially for the military. Scientists of the Hidden Society tend to be experts in the art of reverse engineering captured enemy technology as well as being master geneticists and most tend to specialize within these two general types. However, a number of breakthroughs in the research on dark matter as well as electromagnetic energy fields have been hinted at. The Technicians Guild also holds great sway as they work closely with the Scientists to both repair and maintain current technological levels within both the military and the Hidden Society in general. Despite the fact that the Hidden Society seems to have access to every technological innovation from both the Clans and the Inner-Sphere powers, their production lines are limited and so they must therefore concentrate on only a few

core industries, most notably military. This may explain why the House Amaris military deploys only a few standard BattleMech types and make heavy use of OmniMechs. Their weapon component lines also seem somewhat limited in that their ‘Mech variants almost always pack the same combination of weapons. Therefore, their few types of war-machines are designed for maximum versatility and built to withstand the rigors of heavy battle; needless to say, this design philosophy gives their military a lethal edge in combat. What is known is that the Guilds produce very little in way of consumer goods, preferring instead to concentrate their limited heavy industry in the production of military components. The few civilian commodities that they do manufacture are primarily for basic survival such as foodstuff, clothing and environmental adaptations. The Hidden Society has therefore very few luxury goods available to its citizens and those few that are produced are highly cherished. The Guilds in a way, try to alleviate the lack of luxury goods by trading some of their high technology to unsuspecting powers in the Periphery, most notably with the JarnFolk, to gain these valued goods. THE INQUISITION By way of deception thou shall make war. -Motto of the Israeli Mossad, 20th Century. The primary tasks of the Inquisition are varied and by no means easy; these goals include: safeguarding the clandestine existence of the Hidden Society from the rest of humanity, intelligence gathering on all other factions in Periphery, Clan and Inner-Sphere space, and the elimination of all potential enemies through non-conventional means. Even the much-vaunted military is subservient to these tasks and the agents of the Inquisition have command precedence

pertaining over those matters. The Inquisition follows a number of simple precepts in achieving these goals: infiltration, misinformation, and assassination. Like the military, it is known that the Inquisition recruits from all subclasses in the Hidden Society, possibly even from the Shadow Lords. This allows the agents of the Inquisition a tremendous amount of flexibility in achieving their mission parameters. But what is probably the Inquisition’s biggest advantage is their anonymity: one’s enemies cannot expect to mount a defense against you if they are unaware of your existence. This very fact, coupled with intense training, experience and fanaticism, makes the Inquisition a most efficient and deadly organization, one that has the potential to sow chaos across known space. But even this advantage carries a price: the Inquisition’s total manpower is small, being only able to influence a few enemy factions at any given time. From an analysis of their history, it seems apparent that the Inquisition has focused their assets on two major factions: ComStar and the Clan Bandit Castes. Since ComStar’s schism, the Inquisition has now apparently shifted its resources to infiltrating the Blakist faction of ROM while maintaining a minimal level of interference among the other major factions. The Inquisition’s anonymity allows them to maintain a large support network composed of paid informants and independent mercenaries without fear of discovery and subsequent annihilation. It is highly probable that allies such as Word of Blake’s ROM as well as hired mercenaries may not even be aware as to who actually controls them. Infiltration techniques such as Supersedure and the use of Replicants allows the Inquisition to place their operatives at will in any enemy organization. The Helots themselves live in perpetual fear and tell stories of traitorous mothers who met their deaths when their own children were supersedured with young agents from the Inquisition and who ultimately exposed them. While the Helots revered the mysterious Shadow Lords, they equally feared the reach of the powerful Inquisition. There has never been a recorded instance of renegades that were able to flee from the Hidden Society; all disloyal people were apparently killed before they could make good their escape. It is known that the Inquisition works closely with the military in matters of internal security: every JumpShip and DropShip that the Hidden Society uses has at least one inquisitor and a small contingent of military troops to ensure that no one will ever or could ever defect to an enemy faction. SHADOW CORPS The exact numbers of the House Amaris military machine is not known but if one bases an estimate from the total population of the Hidden Society itself, the probable numbers may thankfully be small. On the flipside however, it is rumored that this new military is extremely lethal due to their advanced technology and fanatical cause.

What is known is that although the Shadow Corps has a distinctive rank structure, their organizational hierarchy can mutate depending upon the situation. It is rumored that the soldiers of the Shadow Corps can base their military structure on either the Clan five point-based or the Inner Sphere’s four-three system or even ComStar/WOB’s six-point structure. This factor allows for unprecedented flexibility but also limits their numbers somewhat due to the intense training required. It is highly probable that during WOB’s successful invasion of Terra in 3058, Shadow Corps advisors may have either trained the Blakist Militias to mimic the Twenty-First Centauri Lancers and/or participated with the Shadow Lancers in Operation Odysseus. If these intelligence reports were ever confirmed, then the terrifying possibility of being attacked by units that are not what they seem would be a very dangerous possibility to anyone in the future.

Another strange report is the conflicting evidence that the Shadow Corps themselves have their own, unique organizational structure that they use if they feel a need to reveal themselves. What is known is that the smallest unit is called

a Cell; each Cell comprises either three or four BattleMechs. Three or Four Cells then comprise a Coven, it was reported on the Talos Campaign that these mysterious raiders operated in groups of twelve ‘Mechs, sometimes supplemented by a thirteenth ‘Mech. Several Covens then comprise a Cabal, the overall numbers of a Cabal are unknown but it may either be equal to an Inner-Sphere regiment or a Clan Galaxy.

Even more troubling is the size of the Shadow Corps’ WarShip fleet. Several unconfirmed reports based on the sightings of previously unknown WarShip types are beginning to abound in the Deep Periphery. If the rumored alliance between this faction and the Blakists are confirmed, then this combined force may have a WarShip fleet superior in size and quality to any Inner-Sphere or Clan faction. If this faction does in fact exist, then they would have had over two hundred years of uninterrupted technological advancement and military production and this build-up of units may be the next logical step.

Rumors of the House Amaris military having access to advanced BattleArmor may also be true due to the fact that Republican Intelligence agents were able to get access to the blueprints and plans for the First Star League’s Nighthawk

BattleArmor during the Amaris Coup. A redesigned power suit based on the latest Clan weaponry and Inner-Sphere stealth technology may very well be a frightening possibility.

UNCONFIRMED MILITARY HARDWARE DATE: 17 October 3067 TO: Precentor Martial Victor Steiner-Davion FROM: Adept Dennis Surban RE: Rumored New Faction BattleMechs, WarShips and BattleArmor Based on our intelligence reports from the ill-fated Talos expedition and recent intercepted intelligence from both the Blakists and the Clans, we have compiled a small but important technical readout in regards to this unconfirmed faction. I regret to inform you that due to the constant defections and full-scale intelligence operations against the Blakist reactionaries, we are so far unable to confirm or deny the existence of this dangerous new power. My immediate suggestion is to forward this report to our allies, most notably Commander Wolf’s Wolfnet intel service, and perhaps find a way to corroborate these assorted rumors and hearsay. Only through determined cooperation with our remaining allies can we stem the tide against the upcoming chaos that may very well engulf us all. Given the sophistication and lethality of these machines, we can only assume that this faction has got some significant manufacturing capability and has access to the most advance technologies that are in possession of every other faction known to exist; how it has been able to acquire these advantages is a complete mystery to us. What is most worrying is that this unknown power has been supplying both the Clan Bandit Castes and Word of Blake reactionaries to the point where the threat has now become acute. But as to their true goals, we have absolutely no clue at this point. Gravedigger Omni-Mech 65-Tons (Clan Technology) Chassis: Unknown Power Plant: Unknown 390 XL (Clan) Cruising Speed: 64.5 Maximum Speed: 96.75 Jump Jets: none Jump Capacity: none Armor: Unknown Armament: 8 ER Medium Lasers Manufacturer: Unknown Primary Factory: Unknown Communications System: Unknown with Guardian ECM Suite Targeting and Tracking System: Unknown with Beagle Active Probe, Special Targeting Computer

Overview: Like its sister Omni-Mech, the Inquisitor, the Gravedigger was first reported to the Inner-Sphere intelligence community during the failed SLDF expedition to the distant Periphery world of Talos in late 3066. The second most numerous 'Mech belonging to several new and mysterious units, the Gravedigger is also as much an enigma as the units that it belongs to. To date, no one has captured an intact Gravedigger or Inquisitor. It seems that there is apparently a self-destruct mechanism of some sort that resides in these strange new BattleMechs. Intel reports seem to show that the moment the 'Mech was disabled (either by losing a leg, destruction of the cockpit or an engine breach) there was an immediate, secondary lull before the 'Mech itself went into a catastrophic self-implosion which destroyed its engine core and subsequently caused a minor nuclear shockwave. Although the forensic reports state that the technology used to manufacture these 'Mechs were Clan-based, nothing else of any significance has been gleamed from the after-battle reports. To this day, we still do not know what organization deploys these 'Mechs, where they are manufactured, the pilots that operate them, and for what strategic purpose they are for other than for sheer destruction. Recent Clan reports also corroborate our assessment that there is an apparent connection with several Dark Caste units that are equipped with these new BattleMechs. What is strange is that the Dark Caste raiders who have targeted several Clan homeworlds including the catastrophic theft of genetic materiel from the Strana Mechty codex depository in early 3064 is that the raiders themselves have become extremely well-equipped. Recent declassified Clan intel reports state that the raiders not only had aerospace support from a new, previously unknown Omni-Fighter that uses a Clan-version of the newly-developed Capellan stealth armor technology but they also had extensive WarShip support. In fact, the Clan flagship (A McKenna-class battleship) had to retreat because of extensive battle damage from that engagement. Two possible conclusions are as follows: first, that the Dark Caste has somehow not only acquired WarShip capabilities, but they may have also begun to produce Omni-Mechs at some unknown location or secondly, that a power exists, unknown to the best intel reports from both the Inner-Sphere and the Clans, and this third force has begun to make its presence felt. Only time will tell if these rumors are indeed true. With excellent speed for its weight class but having somewhat less weapons, the Gravedigger is baffling to our Blessed Order because of its unknown operational purpose. The primary variant seems to be modeled after the Clan Black Hawk, with eight ER medium lasers and the heat-sinks to use them. Both the Primary and A variants are equipped with a targeting computer giving it unmatched accuracy. The A variant seems to be designed more for long-range support and the Primary is apparently for medium to close ranges. Both variants are also equipped with numerous electronic systems suggesting that it may be a

recon vehicle of some sort. The B variant is clearly a fire-support version with its dual ATM pods while a C variant seems to provide highly accurate medium to short-ranged firepower. A recent Clan analysis report which was recently unearthed by ROM seems to imply that this 'Mech is strictly used as a support role. One Clan theory has surmised that it is designed as a "hunter-killer" for lighter enemy 'Mechs while it leaves the bigger prey to its more capable sister 'Mech, the Inquisitor. Whatever the case, all four configurations have been spotted together in every unit, implying the fact that each variant is used together to achieve its mission parameters.

Gravedigger (Primary) 65-Tons (Clan Technology) Technology Base: - Mixed (Clan Chassis) - Level 3 (Omni-Mech) Equipment Mass Internal Structure: - (C) EndoSteel 3.5 Engine: 390 XL (Clan) 23 Walking MP: 6 Running MP: 9 Jumping MP: 0 Heat Sinks: 18(36) - (C) Double 8 Gyro: 4 Cockpit: 3 Armor Factor: 211 - (C) Ferro-Fibrous 11

Internal Armor Structure Value Head 3 9 Center Torso 21 32 Center Torso(rear) 10 R/L Torso 15 23 R/L Torso(rear) 7 R/L Arm 10 20 R/L Leg 15 30 Weapons and Ammo Location Critical Tonnage (C) [Pod] ER Medium Laser LA 1 1 (C) [Pod] ER Medium Laser LA 1 1 (C) [Pod] ER Medium Laser LA 1 1 (C) [Pod] ER Medium Laser LA 1 1 Targeting Computer RT 2 2 (C) [Pod] ER Medium Laser RA 1 1 (C) [Pod] ER Medium Laser RA 1 1 (C) [Pod] ER Medium Laser RA 1 1 (C) [Pod] ER Medium Laser RA 1 1 (C) [Pod] ECM Suite CT 1 1 (C) [Pod] Light TAG CT 1 0.5 (C) [Pod] Active Probe H 1 1 Gravedigger (A-Variant) 65-Tons Technology Base: - Mixed (Clan Chassis) - Level 3 (Omni-Mech) Equipment Mass Internal Structure: - (C) EndoSteel 3.5 Engine: 390 XL (Clan) 23 Walking MP: 6 Running MP: 9 Jumping MP: 0 Heat Sinks: 17(34) - (C) Double 7 Gyro: 4 Cockpit: 3 Armor Factor: 211 - (C) Ferro-Fibrous 11 Internal Armor Structure Value Head 3 9 Center Torso 21 32 Center Torso(rear) 10 R/L Torso 15 23 R/L Torso(rear) 7 R/L Arm 10 20

R/L Leg 15 30 Weapons and Ammo Location Critical Tonnage (C) [Pod] ER Large Laser LA 1 4 (C) [Pod] ER Medium Laser LA 1 1 Targeting Computer RT 2 2 (C) [Pod] ER Large Laser RA 1 4 (C) [Pod] ER Medium Laser RA 1 1 (C) [Pod] ECM Suite CT 1 1 (C) [Pod] Light Active Probe H 1 0.5 Gravedigger (B-Variant) 65-Tons Technology Base: - Mixed (Clan Chassis) - Level 3 (Omni-Mech) Equipment Mass Internal Structure: - (C) EndoSteel 3.5 Engine: 390 XL (Clan) 23 Walking MP: 6 Running MP: 9 Jumping MP: 0 Heat Sinks: 11(22) - (C) Double 1 Gyro: 4 Cockpit: 3 Armor Factor: 211 - (C) Ferro-Fibrous 11 Internal Armor Structure Value Head 3 9 Center Torso 21 32 Center Torso(rear) 10 R/L Torso 15 23 R/L Torso(rear) 7 R/L Arm 10 20 R/L Leg 15 30 Weapons and Ammo Location Critical Tonnage (C) [Pod] ATM-9 LA 4 5 (C) [Pod] ER Medium Laser LA 1 1 (C) [Pod] ATM-9 ER Ammo LT 2 2 (C) [Pod] ATM-9 HE Ammo LT 1 1 (C) [Pod] ATM-9 ER Ammo RT 1 1 (C) [Pod] ATM-9 HE Ammo RT 2 2 (C) [Pod] ATM-9 RA 4 5 (C) [Pod] ER Medium Laser RA 1 1 (C) [Pod] ECM Suite CT 1 1 (C) [Pod] Light TAG H 1 0.5

Gravedigger (C-Variant) 65-Tons Technology Base: - Mixed (Clan Chassis) - Level 3 (Omni-Mech) Equipment Mass Internal Structure: - (C) EndoSteel 3.5 Engine: 390 XL (Clan) 23 Walking MP: 6 Running MP: 9 Jumping MP: 0 Heat Sinks: 12(24) - (C) Double 2 Gyro: 4 Cockpit: 3 Armor Factor: 211 - (C) Ferro-Fibrous 11 Internal Armor Structure Value Head 3 9 Center Torso 21 32 Center Torso(rear) 10 R/L Torso 15 23 R/L Torso(rear) 7 R/L Arm 10 20 R/L Leg 15 30 Weapons and Ammo Location Critical Tonnage (C) [Pod] Large Pulse Laser LA 2 6 Targeting Computer RT 3 3 (C) [Pod] Large Pulse Laser RA 2 6 (C) [Pod] ECM Suite CT 1 1 (C) [Pod] Medium Pulse Laser CT 1 2 (C) [Pod] Light Active Probe H 1 0.5 Inquisitor (Primary) 85-Ton Omni-Mech Chassis: Unknown Power Plant: Unknown 340 XL (Clan) Cruising Speed: 43 Maximum Speed: 64.5 Jump Jets: none Jump Capacity: none Armor: Unknown with CASE Armament: 2 ER PPCs 1 Gauss Rifle 2 ER Medium Lasers

2 Medium Pulse Lasers Manufacturer: Unknown Primary Factory: Unknown Communications System: Unknown Targeting and Tracking System: Unknown with Special Targeting Computer Overview: In late 3066, a Star League task force comprised of the newly formed SLDF Third Royal BattleMech Division and Stilicho's Stilettos, a Periphery-based mercenary unit, was dispatched to a distant world located past the outer edge of the Lyran Alliance in order to investigate recent anomalous readings on the planet's surface as well as receiving reports that it was used as a staging area by unknown raiders. Not long after landing the bulk of their units, the task force's aerospace and JumpShip contingent came under attack by what seemed to be Caspar Drone Warships and annihilated. Not long after that, unknown 'Mechs of several types immediately attacked the ground forces and obliterated them. Only a handful of survivors lived and were evacuated several weeks later. Needless to say, this was the Inner-Sphere's first brush with a 'Mech called the Inquisitor. What is even more curious is that Clan records actually point out to many similar incidents involving the Dark or Bandit castes. Virtually shunned and persecuted by the Clans, the Dark castes were seemingly able to hold their own when it came to some recent confrontations due to the fact that these Clan renegades were supported by previously unknown units equipped with Clan technology. A number of other incidents, including the apparent capture of a large batch of Smoke Jaguar scientists on Huntress by these similarly equipped units after that Clan was destroyed has raised even more questions than answers. The few concrete facts that are known is that these new BattleMechs have Clan-based technology yet there have been instances that a number of Inner-Sphere technological innovations have also been used such as the newly developed stealth armor. The only conclusion that our Blessed Order can surmise is that whatever power produces and deploys these deadly new Omni-Mechs has got both access to Clan and Inner-Sphere technology. What is even more disturbing is that the unknown units that deploy these new Omni-Mechs have the old insignia of the defunct Rim Worlds Republic painted on them. The only theories that we have surmised is that either a small, well-equipped pirate gang has appropriated the ancient symbol of House Amaris as part of a sick joke or that remnants of the Rim Worlds Republic did in fact survive the Amaris Civil War and have now returned with a vengeance. If the latter theory proves to be true, it will be dark days ahead for both the Clans and the Great Houses of the Inner-Sphere. Based on compiled battle records, this new Omni-Mech, dubbed the "Inquisitor", is a fearsome machine and is also the most numerous type of 'Mech

that has been deployed with these mysterious units. It is apparent that a lot of work has been done in its outward appearance to make it look as intimidating as possible. With good mobility for its weight class and an impressive arsenal of weapons tied into a state-of-the-art targeting computer, the Inquisitor can destroy anything in comes up against with apparent ease. An close-range A variant has been observed that carries a frightening Inner-Sphere melee weapon: the mace. there were a few recorded incidents that opposing 'Mechs were bludgeoned to death by these ferocious machines after being outmaneuvered and cornered. A B variant has also been observed; equipped with an arsenal of ATMs, this variant probably serves as an indirect-missile support for the Primary and A variants.

Inquisitor Omni-Mech 85-Tons Technology Base: - Mixed (Clan Chassis) - Level 3 (Omni-Mech) Equipment Mass Internal Structure: - (C) EndoSteel 4.5 Engine: 340 XL (Clan) 13.5 Walking MP: 4

Running MP: 6 Jumping MP: 0 Heat Sinks: 18(36) - (C) Double 8 Gyro: 4 Cockpit: 3 Armor Factor: 263 - (C) Ferro-Fibrous 14 Internal Armor Structure Value Head 3 9 Center Torso 27 41 Center Torso(rear) 13 R/L Torso 18 27 R/L Torso(rear) 9 R/L Arm 14 28 R/L Leg 18 36 Weapons and Ammo Location Critical Tonnage (C) [Pod] ER PPC LA 2 6 (C) [Pod] ER PPC LA 2 6 Targeting Computer LT 6 6 (C) [Pod] Medium Pulse Laser RT 1 2 (C) [Pod] Gauss Rifle RA 6 12 (C) [Pod] Gauss Rifle Ammo RA 2 2 (C) [Pod] ER Medium Laser CT 1 1 (C) [Pod] ER Medium Laser CT 1 1 (C) [Pod] Medium Pulse Laser H 1 2 Inquisitor (A-Variant) 85-Tons Technology Base: - Mixed (Clan Chassis) - Level 3 (Omni-Mech) Equipment Mass Internal Structure: - (C) EndoSteel 4.5 Engine: 340 XL (Clan) 13.5 Walking MP: 4 Running MP: 6 Jumping MP: 4 Heat Sinks: 17(34) - (C) Double 7 Gyro: 4 Cockpit: 3 Armor Factor: 263 - (C) Ferro-Fibrous 14 Internal Armor Structure Value Head 3 9 Center Torso 27 41

Center Torso(rear) 13 R/L Torso 18 27 R/L Torso(rear) 9 R/L Arm 14 28 R/L Leg 18 36 Weapons and Ammo Location Critical Tonnage (C) [Pod] Large Pulse Laser LA 2 6 (C) [Pod] Large Pulse Laser LA 2 6 (C) [Pod] Large Pulse Laser LT 2 6 Targeting Computer LT 5 5 Jump Jet LL 2 1 Jump Jet RL 2 1 (C) [Pod] Large Pulse Laser RT 2 6 Mace RA 6 6 Inquisitor (B-Variant) 85-Ton Technology Base: - Mixed (Clan Chassis) - Level 3 (Omni-Mech) Equipment Mass Internal Structure: - (C) EndoSteel 4.5 Engine: 340 XL (Clan) 13.5 Walking MP: 4 Running MP: 6 Jumping MP: 0 Heat Sinks: 17(34) - (C) Double 7 Gyro: 4 Cockpit: 3 Armor Factor: 263 - (C) Ferro-Fibrous 14 Internal Armor Structure Value Head 3 9 Center Torso 27 41 Center Torso(rear) 13 R/L Torso 18 27 R/L Torso(rear) 9 R/L Arm 14 28 R/L Leg 18 36 Weapons and Ammo Location Critical Tonnage (C) [Pod] ATM-12 LA 5 7 (C) [Pod] ER PPC LA 2 6 (C) [Pod] ATM-12 ER Ammo LT 3 3 (C) [Pod] ATM-12 HE Ammo LT 3 3 (C) [Pod] ATM-12 RT 5 7

(C) [Pod] ATM-12 RA 5 7 (C) [Pod] ER PPC RA 2 6 Nephilim LAM 55-Ton Land-Air ‘Mech Chassis: Unknown Power Plant: Unknown 275 XL (Clan) Cruising Speed: 53.75 Maximum Speed: 86 Jump Jets: Unknown Jump Capacity: 150 meters Armor: Unknown Armament: 2 ER Large Lasers 2 ER Medium Lasers Manufacturer: Unknown Primary Factory: Unknown Communications System: Unknown with Guardian ECM Suite Targeting and Tracking System: Unknown with Special Targeting Computer Overview: This deadly new Land-Air 'Mech is apparently the product of a technologically advanced faction previously unknown to either the Inner-Sphere or the Clans. What is apparent to our Blessed Order is that the power that fields this versatile machine apparently has access to both the best of Clan and Inner-Sphere tech. The LAM has practically disappeared from today's battlefield with the exception of a few, poorly-maintained museum pieces but with the recent sightings of this powerful new type, the playing field of war has been turned on its head once again. With an array of Clan energy weapons as its main arsenal, the Nephilim seems perfectly suited as a raider par excellence, its ability to transform into an Aerospace fighter allows it to outmaneuver heavier opponents that could be sent against it. Although it neither excels as a pure BattleMech nor is it truly effective when compared with Clan OmniFighters, the Nephilim's versatility gives it an added dimension in the present day battlefield. With a LAM's mobility combined with stealth armor, the Nephilim could arrive in-system virtually undetected, cause maximum havoc and then leave without a trace. Since most Inner-Sphere militaries and practically every Clan warrior has had insufficient training with which to counter any attacks made by Land-Air ‘Mechs much less one that is equipped with the latest state-of-the-art technology, The Nephilim could very well become a serious threat due to its previously mentioned versatility and adaptability.

Nephilim LAM 55-Ton Land-Air ‘Mech Technology Base: - Mixed (Clan Chassis) - Level 3 (Land-Air Mech) Equipment Mass Internal Structure: - (C) EndoSteel 3 Engine: 275 XL (Clan) 8 Walking MP: 5 Running MP: 8 Jumping MP: 5 Heat Sinks: 15(30) - (C) Double 5 Gyro: 3 Cockpit: 3 Armor Factor: 185 - Stealth 12 Internal Armor Structure Value Head 3 9 Center Torso 18 27 Center Torso(rear) 9 R/L Torso 13 20 R/L Torso(rear) 6 R/L Arm 9 18 R/L Leg 13 26

Weapons and Ammo Location Critical Tonnage (C) ER Medium Laser LA 1 1 (C) ER Large Laser LT 1 4 Jump Jet LT 2 0.5 Targeting Computer LT 2 2 (C) ER Large Laser RT 1 4 Jump Jet RT 2 0.5 (C) ER Medium Laser RA 1 1 (C) ECM Suite CT 1 1 Jump Jet CT 1 0.5 Necronomicon-Class Pocket Battleship (RWR) Tech: Inner Sphere / 2680 Vessel Type: WarShip Rules: Level 2, Custom design Rules Set: AeroTech2 Mass: 890,000 tons K-F Drive System: (Unknown) Power Plant: Standard Safe Thrust: 4 Maximum Thrust: 6 Armor Type: Lamellor Ferro-carbide Armament: 4 Killer Whale 80 Large Laser 12 NAC/30 4 Barracuda 12 NL45 16 AMS 16 NAC/25 4 NAC/35 Overview: When the SLDF declared war against the Rim Worlds Republic in August of 2767, the SLDF High Command believed that taking the Republican worlds would be an easy feat due to their overwhelming numbers and firepower. As the Rim Worlds Invasion began, the SLDF naval flotillas were stunned when a new class of WarShip, previously unknown to Star League Intelligence, began to wreck havoc and managed to destroy several important convoys that were destined for the invasion of the Rim Worlds Republic. The so called Necronomicon-Class Pocket Battleships had actually been built in secret (in violation of the arms control treaties at that time) and were designed

purely to take on the might of the vaunted SLDF Navy using stolen technology from the Star League itself. Although there were only less than a dozen of these ships that were ever encountered by the SLDF forces during the campaign, these pocket battleships scored an impressive array of kills against every Star League naval vessel they went up against and was the biggest factor in prolonging the Rim Worlds invasion. Heavily armored and designed to outrun the massive SLDF battleships that were sent against them, the Necronomicons could easily outgun anything smaller. In the first few months of the campaign, the SLDF took horrendous losses and had to rely on massive convoys with escort ships to safeguard their lines of supply. SLDF analysts had predicted a Republican collapse in their core worlds within three months of the start of the campaign but because of the lethal Necronomicons, the operation took three long years to complete. Ultimately, sheer numbers prevailed and the last of these deadly pocket battleships were reportedly destroyed during the final push on the Rim Worlds capital planet of Apollo in 2770. Just as this powerful class of ship seemed to fade into history, an incident that occurred within the Deep Periphery in 3064 has indicated otherwise. A handful of survivors (who then met mysterious deaths several years later) recorded an encounter with a fleet of unknown WarShips with an uncannily similar hull design that destroyed their Explorer Corps JumpShip with apparent ease. The survivors all insisted that it was the exact same type of ship albeit refitted with Clan technology and there were dozens of them. Based on their IFF transponder signals, the survivors dubbed the new type of vessel the "Demonicon". Although our Blessed Order has been searching for the existing copies of their recordings and subsequent debriefing reports in the last few months, our archives have curiously turned up empty. It is possible that WOB operatives within our Order may have either stolen or destroyed the vidtapes and since all the surviving witnesses are now deceased, we may never know the full story. Nevertheless, all Explorer Corps vessels have been instructed to follow up on any possible leads of this sort, should they arise.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Class/Model/Name: Necronomicon-Class Pocket Batleship(RWR) Mass: 890,000 tons Equipment: Mass Power Plant, Drive & Control: 213,600.00 Thrust: Safe Thrust: 4 Maximum Thrust: 6 Kearny-Fuchida Hyperdrive: Compact (Integrity = 18) 402,725.00 Lithium Fusion Battery 8,900.00 Jump Sail (Detachable): (Integrity = 5) 74.00 Structural Integrity: 70 62,300.00 Total Heat Sinks: 2,328 Double 1,630.00 Fuel & Fuel Pumps: 5,100.00 Bridge, Controls, Radar, Computer & Attitude Thrusters: 2,225.00 Fire Control Computers: .00 Food & Water: (90 days supply) 171.50 Armor Type: Lamellor Ferro-carbide (1,288 total armor pts) 1,246.00 Capital Scale Armor Pts Location: L / R Fore: 239 Fore-Left/Right: 214/214 Aft-Left/Right: 214/214 Aft: 193 DropShip Capacity: 8 Docking Hardpoints 8,000.00 Grav Decks #1 - 2: (150-meter diameter) 200.00 Life Boats: 64 (7 tons each) 448.00

Crew and Passengers: 63 Officers (63 minimum) 630.00 250 Crew (160 minimum) 1,750.00 68 Gunners (68 minimum) 476.00 Weapons and Equipment Loc SRV MRV LRV ERV Heat Mass ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4 Killer Whale(40 msls) Nose 16 16 16 16 80 2,600.00 10 Large Laser Nose 8(80) 8(80) -- -- 80 50.00 2 NAC/30(20 rounds) Nose 60 60 60 -- 200 7,016.00 2 NAC/30(20 rounds) Nose 60 60 60 -- 200 7,016.00 2 NAC/30(20 rounds) FL/R 60 60 60 -- 400 14,032.00 1 Barracuda(10 msls) FL/R 2 2 2 2 20 780.00 3 NL45 FL/R 14 14 14 14 420 5,400.00 10 Large Laser FL/R 8(80) 8(80) -- -- 160 100.00 4 AMS(144 rounds) FL/R -- -- -- -- 8 28.00 2 NAC/25(20 rounds) L/RBS 50 50 50 -- 340 12,024.00 2 NAC/25(20 rounds) L/RBS 50 50 50 -- 340 12,024.00 2 NAC/25(20 rounds) L/RBS 50 50 50 -- 340 12,024.00 2 NAC/25(20 rounds) L/RBS 50 50 50 -- 340 12,024.00 10 Large Laser L/RBS 8(80) 8(80) -- -- 160 100.00 2 NAC/30(20 rounds) AL/R 60 60 60 -- 400 14,032.00 1 Barracuda(10 msls) AL/R 2 2 2 2 20 780.00 3 NL45 AL/R 14 14 14 14 420 5,400.00 10 Large Laser AL/R 8(80) 8(80) -- -- 160 100.00 4 AMS(144 rounds) AL/R -- -- -- -- 8 28.00 10 Large Laser Aft 8(80) 8(80) -- -- 80 50.00 2 NAC/35(20 rounds) Aft 70 70 -- -- 240 8,020.00 2 NAC/35(20 rounds) Aft 70 70 -- -- 240 8,020.00 1 Lot Spare Parts (5.00%) 44,500.00 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ TOTALS: Heat: 4,656 875,623.50 Tons Left: 14,376.50 Calculated Factors: Total Cost: 24,960,230,000 C-Bills Battle Value: 250,653 Cost per BV: 99,580.81 Weapon Value: 110,913 (Ratio = .44) Damage Factors: SRV = 9,602; MRV = 9,434; LRV = 7,079; ERV = 2,358 Maintenance: Maintenance Point Value (MPV) = 591,453 (69,311 Structure, 272,922 Life Support, 249,220 Weapons) Support Points (SP) = 434,859 (74% of MPV) BattleForce2: Not applicable

MECHWARRIOR SECTION

The House Amaris Sourcebook is designed to give players and gamemasters a wealth of new possibilities in the Classic BattleTech universe. Since the sourcebook covers the history of the Rim Worlds Republic from it’s founding all the way to the beginnings of the Blakist Jihad, role-playing groups are free to use any aspect of the timeline to create unforgettable adventures. Since the minute details of the RWR are very scant, the GM is free to create any material not covered in the sourcebook. Alternatively, the GM may alter or delete any source material after the Amaris Civil War if he/she prefers to go by historical canon. The choice is yours! CAMPAIGN OPTIONS: HISTORICAL GAME The House Amaris Sourcebook covers the entire existence of the Rim Worlds Republic from 2250 to 2779 and allows players virtual free reign as far as reliving

campaigns from this time period. With over 500 years of history, players can recreate everything from the founding of the Republic by Hector Rowe and his band of psychotics to becoming part of the SLDF as they retake the worlds of the Terran Hegemony from the clutches of Stefan the Usurper. Players can be part of the Rim Worlds military as they fight off incessant pirate raids during its early years to becoming one of Stefan Amaris’ loyal soldiers as they try to stave off the onslaught of General Kerensky and attempt to change history. Gamemasters may even allow players to participate as a unit belonging to one of the Great Houses that fought on the side of the Star League during the brutal Reunification War, or the other way around! Since very little is known of this era, the gamemaster is free to create long lost ‘Mechs, vehicles and equipment as part of the once-mighty Rim Worlds military machine. Although some players may balk at playing the doomed soldiers of the Rim Worlds, there is a certain romantic poignancy in playing a lost faction. Of course, if the players secretly harbor a desire to get back at the dastardly Stefan Amaris, being part of the vaunted SLDF during the Amaris Civil War will surely allow them to vent their frustrations on one of the most hated personalities of the BattleTech universe. In high-level campaigns of this sort, the main question that the gamemaster must establish early on will be whether history is immutable: will the players, if they garner enough prestige, be able to alter the course of history? This type of campaign will require a gamemaster that has a thorough knowledge of pivotal events that take place during the time of the setting and be able to apply them in a dramatic fashion on a personal level. Being able to see both the big picture as they relate to the more intimate scenes will be a must. If done well, endless variations of this sort may be replayed over and over again- and with different results each time! PLAYERS AS PART OF THE HIDDEN SOCIETY If the group so chooses, the players could even be part of the reborn House Amaris as they begin their campaign of revenge against both the Inner-Sphere powers as well as the Clans. The campaign flavor will be one of intense intrigue as the players could be either part of the sinister Inquisition or the small but highly lethal Shadow Corps as they wage their war of deception against virtually every other faction. Players may very well enjoy being part of a secret society that no one is aware of until it is too late. If the players want to try the role of the bad guy, this would be a perfect campaign setting. This setting requires a gamemaster with plenty of versatility, being able to visualize a strange culture very similar to that of Plato’s Republic: a class-based system of the ruling intelligentsia, warriors, commoners and slaves. Will the players be loyal members of the Hidden Society, rooting out traitors and renegades while trying to maintain their anonymity as they travel across the Inner-Sphere or will they be rebels who hope to transform the secret society into something more benevolent?

SHADOW LORDS AS VILLAINS Probably one of the most entertaining campaigns that a gamemaster could devise is one in which the players would be fighting an unknown and very powerful enemy; imagine the shock on their faces when they realize that House Amaris was not destroyed after all, rather they had indeed survived and now plan a horrific revenge against the descendants of their ancient enemies! This sourcebook allows the gamemaster to tailor-fit House Amaris as the ultimate villains of the BattleTech universe. The Hidden Society could be used as a convenient plot device on any sort of conspiracy theories that the official BattleTech timeline has not addressed. From the mystery of the fate of Clan Wolverine to the actual identity of the Bounty Hunter, the Shadow Lords would make excellent plug-ins. Players could start out as any faction from a Clan unit tasked to solve the riddle of the always elusive Bandit Castes to an Inner-Sphere House unit whose mission is to solve a murder of a prominent noble or even as devil may care mercenaries who stumble upon a vast conspiracy. With the Shadow Lords able to clone prominent men and women from across the pages of history and using them as assassins, the players will be hard-pressed to find the truth even as their very lives are in danger from the ruthless spy network of the Inquisition. A campaign such as this one requires meticulous planning on the part of the gamemaster for the entire structure of the campaign would resemble that of an onion; as the players unravel each layer, more hidden truths would be revealed at every stage. Although the gamemaster must work hard to parcel out the revelations of House Amaris bit by bit, the players will definitely get a kick out of the realization of their true enemy at the climax of the campaign.