Rasalhague Dominion IC Roleplaying Thread

[Dave Baughman]

Faction roleplaying thread

[JediBear]

"Part of the problem is that inheritance does not really work that way."

"What do you mean?" Rhea Devon asked the Scientist.

"Well -- how much do you know about the process? Never mind. I will try to keep it basic. Humans have twenty-three chromosome pairs. When a person is conceived, they inherit half of their chromosomes-- twenty three-- from their mother and half from their father. They do not come in a set, though. So half of your genes come from each member of the previous generation, simple enough, right?"

The retired Warrior and former Khan nodded. She thought she followed him so far.

"So you go back another generation, and you have twice as many contributors. Each of your grandparents contributed a quarter of your chromosomes -- a little over eleven out of the forty-six."

"I thought you said twenty-three?" Rhea was getting a little confused now.

"Twenty-three pairs. Forty-six in all."

Rhea nodded again.

"And so it is ultimately an exponential halving problem. One-half, one-quarter, one-eighth, one-sixteenth...at six generations, you have sixty-four contributors."

"So? I still do not see the problem."

"Again, there are only forty-six chromosomes in there. Which means that we can say with some certainty that not all of your contributors have...well..contributed."

"So you are telling me that even if we tested a Wolverine descendant, we might not be able to identify them?"

"That is correct. And that is not the only problem. Even our genetic science has not identified which Wolverine genes might have been the problem, and Wolverine gene frequencies are all over the map. Some are pretty common in the Inner Sphere anyway. There is very little that makes them unique or distinguishable. We can't distinguish between a Wolverine descendant and a Wolverine 'cousin,' except products of the breeding programme. They have been -- modified."

"Much as we have. So you are saying..."

"I can tell you with some confidence if someone came from the Wolverine breeding programme within maybe four or five generations. Beyond that, there is simply no way to identify or isolate Wolverine descent with any confidence."

"Well, that's it then, isn't it? The Oath is meaningless." That last with a sigh. She couldn't have said whether it was resignation or relief.

"With all due respect, sir. I would not say that."

"Why not?"

"While they may not be genetic descendants in any way our science might find meaningful, the Blood are conceptual descendants of the Wolverines. They are a cancer eating at the heart of the Inner Sphere. They are telling lies about the Founder. They are dividing the Clans and they mean to destroy us. Again, with all due respect, sir, it is long past time we did something about them -- we must somehow drag them out into the light and bring them, finally, to justice."

Rhea was a bit taken aback by the man's vehemence. He was no Warrior, after all. He had been born in the Inner Sphere, and so you could barely call him a Clanner. But it was clear enough that he was a convert.

"Thank you. You have clarified things greatly for me."

"You are welcome, sir. If I may, sir, I would take my leave. I have things to be about."

Rhea waved him out of her office, and sat in the dark long after he left, lost in contemplation.

[JediBear]

"Is this my Clan?" Athena Kabrinski demanded quietly from the assembled Warriors. A murmur rose in the hall, but noone challenged her. "I said is this my Clan?" Some scattered applause, louder murmurs.

"Is this my family, that has refused to aid the Grand Council against our ancient foes over some minor philosophical point? That sent a Not-Named sympathiser to the Grand Council and for years tolerated his actions? Are these my brothers and sisters who sat by and watched as a Trial of Posession was conducted for the Khanship? Posession? I had heard that many changes were made while I was away seeking after the murderer of my genemother, our esteemed late saKhan, but I had believed that we were still Ghost Bears. Still Clan. Am I wrong? Do we not swear, every one of us, to destroy the Not-Named where they can be found?"

"Well, they can be found here" She stabbed a finger toward a holographic map of the Inner Sphere, striking cleanly at Terra "And they can be found here and here and here" known locations of Hegemony and Star League formations. "Why have we not destroyed them? I have heard it said that they are powerful, that they control great numbers. I know that they have coerced the Traitor Lords into alliance with them. But how can we fail with the Clans of Kerensky at our back? In that august company, how can we fail even to try? Are we not Warriors? Are we not Children of Kerensky? Are we afraid?"

This last delivered with such force, such volume, such utter incredulity that there was a brief pause before thunderous applause broke out.

"Now I have heard that were we to side with the Grand Council we would be guilty of crimes -- genocide and butchery being chief among them. But we need be no party to these. Are we jealous of what they have achieved? What have they achieved? An alliance based on fear? A temple to lies? Brothers and sisters, I am not afraid, nor am I jealous. I am disgusted. I am infuriated. And I am compelled. I am compelled by two hundred years of history. I am compelled by a sacred rede handed down in our family for countless generations. Most of all, I am compelled to the defense of our traditions, our way of life, and our charges in the Rasalhague Dominion. I am compelled to action, and there can be no lesser remedy to the threat we face than its complete annihilation."

Quieter cheers, overtaken by jeers. This, then, was an unpopular opinion with the rank and file. She pressed on.

"But this need not be a Ritual of Annihilation like what the Not-Named's Propagandists speak of -- with the murder or sterlisation of innocents. We do not struggle against genes -- we struggle against men, evil men who would try to destroy what we have built here and in the homeworlds. We struggle against armies. These armies we can destroy. These men we can destroy. An Annihilation can be completed without the wholesale slaughter of innocents if we only take the reasonable step of limiting it to the guilty."

They were on board now. The sounds of grim approval resonated through the Hall.

"So this is what I propose. The Grand Council's original edict of Annihilation will be set aside. It failed the moment any of the Not-Named reproduced, and has become obsolete and useless regardless of whether it was made in error. We will swear out a new edict of Annihilation, targeting only those who call themselves the Blood. We will declare unrestrained War against those who shelter them. We will advance this new edict in the Grand Council as a replacement for the old. We will offer Surkai to the Grand Council and the ilKhan for the untoward actions of our former Khans. We will demand of the ilKhan a reasonable plan of action and if he gives us one we will follow it. If he does not give us such a plan, we will see the ilKhan removed and replaced until an ilKhan is elected who is worthy of the post."

"It is time to be Ghost Bears again. It is time to be Clan again. Warriors, who stands with me?"

[tassa_kay]

Dominion Hall
Silverdale, Alshain
Rasalhague Dominion

An HPG-delivered message, originating from some point in the Periphery coreward of the Draconis Combine, had been routed through several worlds before it had finally found its intended destination: the capital of Clan Ghost Bear and their new Rasalhague Dominion.

The message, once played, would display the holographic form of Khan Adrianna Schmitt of Clan Blood Spirit: beautiful, blonde, and bad.  The woman, attired in the full dress uniform of her Clan, addressed the Khans of Clan Ghost Bear directly... 2whoever they might be at the moment.

Khans,

Your Clan and our own have not often seen eye-to-eye, but neither have we ever stood as enemies in the entirety of our history as Clans of Kerensky.  And though my predecessor made the decision to stand with these so-called Annihilationists in the Grand Council, I do not condone that course of action, or the dishonor and shame that our former Khan led us to at Schwartz.

I would not ask for your assistance if I did not deem it necessary, but I believe that the actions of our former Khan may risk the safety of our people at the hands of the wrathful and dishonorable Draconis Combine.  They are mad with rage, and will surely not show us any honor whatsoever as they prepare to engage in the same barbaric behavior that brought us to this juncture to begin with.

These people are your enemy as much as they are my own, Khans.  Help us to deal with the Draconis Combine, and show the other Clans that unity and cooperation can happen without the need to dispose of one's honor.  Stand with us that we might send a message to all who would stand between the Bear and their rightful target.

[JediBear]

"In short, Hunter Tseng, if you do not step down, I will have to take some action to remove you. You are a valulable asset to our Clan, but you were a part of the administration that let everything go so far astray, and I can not let you continue as one of our Khans."

"And you intend to take the post yourself." It was a statement, not a question.

"There will be a vote, Hunter. If my fellow Warriors wish me to take up that mantle, I shall, but I shall not take it by force."

"Very well, Athena Kabrinski. Politics do not suit me so well as you might think. I will sign this letter of resignation and turn my full attentions to being a Galaxy Commander once again. I hope you find the Grand Council to your liking."

[JediBear]

Hyperpulse Transmission

Origin: Office of the saKhan, Silverdale, Alshain, Rasalhague Dominion

Destination: Khan Adrianna Schmitt, where ever she presently resides

My Khan,
A great internal debate rages in my Clan much as one recently consumed your own. While there is no shortage of animus between Clan Ghost Bear and the Draconis Combine, and no love lost either between the people of Rasalhague and the Dragon I cannot for the moment promise you military aid, nor can I immediately commence offensive operations against the Draconis Combine. Further, to do so would I fear be taken (and rightly so) as a show of support of the mad policies of your predecessor. As much as I desire to see your warriors spared the wrath of the Dragon that they have so carelessly enraged, I can not in good conscience act in even apparent support of those policies.

I can only say that our doors are open to you as friends and inasmuch as you are our kin, you may shelter behind our walls. If the Dragon calls upon us, we shall not deliver you to him, this only can I swear. From this position, however, you may find it much easier to unite with the Ghost Bear in common strategy against our common foes.

Should you come to Alshain, I will look forward to making your acquaintance. I deeply regret that I can do no more for you.

Athena Kabrinski
saKhan
Clan Ghost Bear

[tassa_kay]

Broadsword-class DropShip Vampire Bat
Silverdale DropPort, Alshain
Rasalhague Dominion

Three weeks previously, a lone JumpShip hailing from Clan Blood Spirit had entered at the nadir jump point of the Thule system.  This JumpShip had detached a single DropShip, the Vampire Bat, to a waiting Ghost Bear JumpShip.  Several jumps later, the Vampire Bat had made planetfall at Alshain, and the DropShip's commander had no doubt that he was being watched for any sign of mischief.  It was a raw time for the Clans, after all, and even the Ghost Bears were on edge.  But as the aerodyne vessel set down in Silverdale's sprawling DropPort, it was clear that no such mischief would occur.

A group of individuals disembarked from the Vampire Bat with a moderate amount of ceremony, marking a rather historic occasion for Clan Blood Spirit.  The most obvious figures were the quartet of Elementals, clad in red-and-black power armor, their eyes keen for the first sign of betrayal.  But it was the fifth figure, who strode in the midst of the hulking brutes, that was perhaps the most important of them all.  A woman, tall and slender, with short blonde hair and dark chocolate eyes and clad in a uniquely-designed, form-fitting bodysuit of red and black.  On the back of her red leather jacket, as well as on her thigh, was a five-pointed white star set over a five-pointed red star.  On the opposite thigh, held in place by a red leather holster strapped around her well-muscled leg, was her only weapon: a laser pistol.

Though the Elementals whom accompained her towered over the woman, herself very obviously a MechWarrior of some experience, it was evident that the musclebound infantry deferred to her.  It showed in the way they never took their eyes far from her, and in the way they held themselves, ready to leap to her defense at the very first sign of trouble.  All five of the Blood Spirit warriors were apprehensive, for not one of them had ever set foot on the soil of the Inner Sphere, but to mistake their apprehension for fear would have been a grave error.

Spoken to whomever the Ghost Bears had sent out to greet her, the woman spoke in strident, confident tones.  "I am Emma Schmitt, State Messenger of Clan Blood Spirit to Clan Ghost Bear and the Rasalhague Dominion.  I have been sent by Khan Adrianna Schmitt in order to foster closer relations to Clan Ghost Bear, and to serve as the voice of my Khan and my people to the Rasalhague Dominion.  To whom do I have the honor of speaking?"

[JediBear]

A giant of a woman stood across from the blood spirit representative, clearly a Mechwarrior, but also clearly a Kabrinski. Power armor-clad Elementals from Clan Ghost Bear's elite Silverroot Keshik towered over her, but that might have been only a consquence of their armor. She wore no weapon. As a Ghost Bear Warrior, she was herself a weapon, and needed no further security than her Keshik provided.

"I believe you have had only sporadic contact with civilization for some time, and since my own ascension to Khanship is comparatively recent, I can forgive you for not immediately recognizing me. I am Athena Kabrinski, at present the junior Khan of the Ghost Bears."

And you had best understand the honor this represents.

"I am busy, but not so busy that I could not make time for the representative of a fellow Clan of Kerensky. Our Clans have not been close in the past, but we had long waited for the time you would choose to end your isolation. We are glad that you come to us now in the spirit of friendship, though we could have hoped for better circumstances. Doubtless you are tired from your journey, the Star Commander can show you to the temporary quarters we have prepared for you, but I have also arranged for a private room and refreshments here at the starport if you wish to immediately 'get down to business' as they say. The choice is yours."

[JediBear]

To: All Commands, Rasalhague Dominion
From: Office of the saKhan, Silverdale, Alshain, Rasalhague Dominion

From this time forward, all Clans represented in the Grand Council are to be allowed unfettered travel through the Dominion, provided only:
1) They show no hostile intent.
2) They move openly, without attempt at subterfuge.

Athena Kabrinski
saKhan, Clan Ghost Bear

[tassa_kay]

The ilChi nodded sharply as the Bears' saKhan finished, inclining her head in respect.  "First, saKhan Kabrinski, my Khan wishes to deliver her thanks for your offer.  She had anticipated that you would not agree to her request for military aid, but as the Spheroids say, she had to ask."  The barest hints of a smile tugged at the woman's severe features.  "However, Clan Blood Spirit holds no grudge against your people because of it.  My Khan's mandate is most similar to your own: the protection of her people.  In this, the two of you would agree most readily."

After a moment, Emma continued.  "I would say that we should, as you said, 'get down to business', but you were correct in that I have spent more time that I would have liked strapped into my DropShip's acceleration couch, and I wish to stretch my legs a bit."  The faint smile widened then, lighting up the woman's features.  "My Stooping Hawk is berthed within the ship.  Perhaps you would be amenable to helping me work out the stress of travel?"

[JediBear]

"Warriors, quiet please. We will get to the other matters before us in due time. First things first, though, as they say. The post of saKhan for our Clan is currently vacant. Who would stand to occupy it?"

One of a bank of holographic generators toward the center of the chamber showed a compact, powerful middle-aged woman standing with some difficulty. Her wounds would heal with time but after these few months in space, Galaxy General Rhea Devon still bore the marks Clan Diamond Shark had left on her.

"I have served my Clan as saKhan before, and am willing to do so again."

"Coward!" shouted a younger warrior from the back, with roars answering him from elsewhere in the chamber.

The Aerospace Pilot rounded on him, eyes flashing "You were not there. What would you have done? Leave our civillians to be slaughtered by rampaging dezgra? People are more important than Glory. The Clan is more important than Honor. This Council saw fit to confer upon me the Shield of Tseng for my actions, so how do you call me coward, child?"

"Enough!" Athena shouted, and the Council chamber dropped to a low murmur less in answer to the force of her tone than in answer to the force of their traditions. "Will any of her kin stand in support of our esteemed Galaxy General Rhea Devon?"

Several of the older warriors sprang instantly to their feet. Nearly as many native Rasalhaguers as Ghost Bears. Not nearly enough.

"You can sit down, Rhea. Your Clan will not require that service of you."

"Who else, then?"

[Dave Baughman]

OOC - moved to the RD board as its address to the RD...

Greetings Tor Miraborg,
"By order of Captain General Thomas Marik, I hereby relieve Eduardo Stewart as Ambassador to the Rasalhauge Dominion. He has informed me on the current state of negotiations between you and the Free Worlds League. I would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you and discuss trade between the Rasalhaugue Dominion and the Free Worlds League. I understand the you have need of resource points and help against the Terran Hegemony. Both these terms are acceptable to us prima facia. We are still interested in acquiring technology and an alliance that will be beneficial to us both."

[NVA]

The telephone in Patrick Flygt's office rang.  As befitted a man of his stature and position within his company, he was a little busy.  He picked up the handset absent mindedly while reviewing some information.

"Patrick Flygt."

The voice on the other side instantly had his full attention, as it always did.

"Hello there Patrick.  This is Ferngia.  I believe we need to talk.  Somewhere quiet and interesting this time, perhaps?  I will be dressed appropriately, but we have much to discuss."

The invitation was there again.  But, Patrick caught that there was something else serious to discuss.

OOC - JediBear - I don't know how much you know about Grumium and the working and otherwise relationship between Patrick, head of GrumiumWerks I think, and Ferngia Drakkensen, ovFactor to the FRR and now the RD.  Might want to follow up with Dave.

GM Note - edited to correct Patrick's name.

[JediBear]

OOC - JediBear - I don't know how much you know about Grumium and the working and otherwise relationship between Patrick, head of GrumiumWerks I think, and Ferngia Drakkensen, ovFactor to the FRR and now the RD.  Might want to follow up with Dave.

(OOC: Nearly nothing. I'm not really aware of the existence of either character, and while I've seen Grumium on the map, I don't know anything special about it.)

[JediBear]

Grumium
21 August 3069

The heat of the day was intensified by the stream of jetwash from the landing dropships. Work at the Spaceport had been busier then usual lately. Sven was sweating profusely from the intense heat despite his suit, or perhaps because if it. The ventilators were designed to add air, not air conditioning. Once the Dropships engines were dampened, he turned on the hoverbed's capacitors and made the slow trek towards the landing struts to oversea the unloading of the ship. Halfway there, there was a hooping and hollering behind him as he was beeped at. He pulled his transport to the right just in time to avoid being clipped by a hoverjeep. The look of the extra muscled warriors spoke volumes about who they were. The tallest of the group wore a cut off shirt and shorts. His high crew-cut a very common look for the Elementals of the Hemvärnet. Even before the vehicle was stopped the very young but athetic man had one of his huge feet over the side of the jeep and hopped over the side with the ease running for the landing pad cheering and leading the others as the Ramp came down, the Warriors disappeared into the belly of the bird.

====================================================================================

Some time later, Sven was making his rounds to inventory the parts when he came across the warriors again, this time they had unpacked one of his crates without permission. Sven sighed as there was nothing he could do, the warriors were protected and any inconveniences they caused would have to be cleaned up by him and his people, and although he did have the right to lodge a complaint, he preferred the direct approach. "Warrior Logan." he said directing his attention to the tall one. "What in the name of Odin are you doing?" the big guy didn't look at him, but focused on the over-sized knee actuator they had uncrated. An older warrior looked at his name tag. "Sven is it? You just do not know." He stood up and walked over to the giant piece of metal obstructing Sven's tarmac. "This beauty is the the ultimate reminder of where we come from. Your people have provided the best you can, but this..." he said tapping on the side of the metal, "This is the best." He rubbed his hand over the rough surface and sniffed the air. "When we left the homeworlds we left many things behind wich the Ravens have been so gracious enough to provide us with. Dino, hit it." The larger man grinned and let out a loud "Hiya!" as he hit the metal hard enough to make his knuckles scuff. The sound was very much what you would expect, the thunk of flesh on metal. "It is not who made the actuator Sven, it is what it is made out of and where it came from that makes it special. This is the first shipment we have had from Bearclaw in decades. This delivery means more to us then those dropships we built for the jackdaws." Sven understood the pride the Ghost Bear warriors were feeling. The warriors had kept their end of the bargain up ever since coming to the Dominion. They fought hard for the Rasalhague Dominion, to bring back into the fold the worlds lost to the other Clans in the Invasion. If shipping in parts from the Homeworld kept morale up, Sven didn't mind repacking this crate when they were done.