Albert Snow

Albert Snow in 3076
Albert Snow
Character Profile
Born 3028
Affiliation Hanseatic League
Rank Captain-General[1]

Albert Snow was citizen of the Hanseatic League and an officer in the Hanseatic Security Force.

History[edit]

Described as a big, brusque figure who appeared ill-suited to a command position, Albert Snow was a merchant and military officer who joined the Hanseatic Security Force, the military arm of the Deep Periphery state known as the Hanseatic League, and who over time rose through the ranks until he was the senior officer in charge of the entire HSF.[2]

In 3064, Albert was serving as the Captain-General commanding the BattleMech regiment within Regional Defense Force 1, a combined-arms brigade within the HSF, and one of six RDFs within the HSF. As the Captain-General of the 'Mech regiments within RDF 1 Albert was also the senior Captain-General within RDF 1 and as such commanded the entire brigade.[1] In accordance with the structure of the HSF and the role assigned to Captain-Generals, Albert was both a military officer and a merchant, receiving a tithe from the worlds protected by RDF 1 and responsible for supporting the units within RDF 1 — including making up any shortfalls in supplies from his own pocket.[3]

RDF 1 was one of two premiere units within the HSF (the other being the Convoy Protection Force) and as such Albert was responsible for the security of the heart of the Hanseatic League, including the capital world, Bremen, and the three worlds opened to travelers and traders from outside the Hanseatic League in 3011, Bergen, Bruges and Lübeck.[1]

As a result, the personnel assigned to Albert's command were drawn from the other RDFs,[1] and RDF 1 received the best equipment the League could provide.[4] This made RDF 1 one of the most experienced units within the HSF, and Albert had RDF 1 constantly exercising scenarios and defensive exercises ranging from fending off bandit raids to fighting against a theoretical full-scale invasion by the Clans.[1]

Commanding the Hanseatic Security Force[edit]

Albert was also the cousin of Liam Snow, and Albert's rise through the ranks to command RDF 1 was rumored to be in part due to his cousin's place as head of the Council of Merchants, the ruling body of the Hanseatic League.[1] Between 3064 and 3067 Albert was promoted again, this time to command the entire HSF.[5]

As commander of the HSF, Albert was decisive, to say the least; one of his early acts was to replace Captain-General Jonas Were, commander of RDF 5—a man widely rumored to be lining his own pockets at the expense of his unit—with Captain-General Eloise Grady, a move that showed Albert would suffer no dissent against his command. Albert also appointed Captain-General Cynthia Hickock, commanding officer of RDF 3, as his deputy;[5] this was a decision that left some of the Council of Merchants disgruntled, as Hickocks was an undeniably skilled officer—a result of extensive experience as a mercenary fighting across the Deep Periphery and in Nueva Castile—but also someone viewed as something of an upstart, due to her rise through the ranks being funded by the wealth she earned as a mercenary, rather than as a result of wealth accumulated through mercantile activity.[6]

Wasting no time, Albert began to reshape the HSF; he increased the tempo of training units were undergoing, expanded RDF 6—the smallest RDF, and mobile reserve for the other RDF units—through the incorporation of mercenary troops, and expanded the Convoy Protection Force significantly with new aerospace fighters, carriers, and attack vessels. Under Albert's leadership, the CPF in particular changed, shifting from a scattered group of convoy escorts to a formation of small and effective raiding forces.[5]

By 3076, Albert had turned the HSF into a relatively well-trained military command; the testament to his leadership was the ability of RDF 2 to rebuff a raid on Antwerp in 3073 conducted by forces from Clan Ice Hellion, a raid that left RDF 2 heavily damaged but victorious and in high spirits. During this period it became public knowledge that the Hansa had been interfering in the war between the Umayyad Caliphate and the Castilian Principalities within Nueva Castile, and Albert was outspoken in his drive to see the Hansa end their activities within Nueva Castile to reduce the drain on his forces, while at the same time regarding the Umayyad raids against the League as excellent training for his troops.[2]

Among Albert's other actions during the 3067–3076 period was an increasing focus on the Clans, and he led a sweep through the units of the HSF that removed every former Clan warrior from service, up to and including Major Aimee, a former Clan Smoke Jaguar warrior well-known for being the second in command of RDF 5. Albert also courted controversy again through his romantic relationship with Jessika Crossland, a member of the Expatriate sect within the Word of Blake and the Blakist Precentor assigned to Bremen. When some members of the Council of Merchants expressed disapproval over his relationship, Snow responded with characteristic bluntness, something that further increased his popularity with the forces under his command.[2]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Field Manual: Periphery, p. 137: "Regional Defense Force 1"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Masters and Minions: The StarCorps Dossiers, pp. 231–232: "Albert Snow"
  3. Field Manual: Periphery, pp. 135–136: "Structure"
  4. Field Manual: Periphery, p. 137: "Hanseatic Security Force Units"
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Field Manual: Updates, p. 200: "Hanseatic League"
  6. Field Manual: Periphery, p. 137: "Regional Defense Force 3"

Bibliography[edit]