The Hellion's Fury

The Hellion's Fury
Start Date May-June 3050[1] [2]
Location Clan Space/Kerensky Cluster
Planet Foster[3]
Hoard[4]
Homer[5]
Londerholm[2]
Marshall[1]
Result
  • Significant territorial and resource gains for Clan Ice Hellion
  • Alienation of other Clans from the Ice Hellions
Commanders and leaders
Khan Stephen Tyler Various Khans of opposing Clans
Forces involved
Various Ice Hellion Clusters and Galaxies Various Clan Garrisons
Environment
n/a
Conditions
Varied


The Hellion's Fury (referred to as The Hellion's Tantrum by other Clans) of May-June 3050 was a series of battles fought to assuage the anger of Clan Ice Hellion's Khan and warriors after their failure to win a place in the invasion of the Inner Sphere. They would win numerous territories and resources but also lost their senior leaders and the respect of other Clans.[6] [7]

Background[edit]

Outbound Light and the Operation REVIVAL Trials[edit]

In 3048 the ComStar vessel Outbound Light was captured by Clan Smoke Jaguar and the crew was forced to reveal information about the current state of the Inner Sphere. Using this opportunity to his advantage, the Jaguar Khan Leo Showers, a staunch Crusader, aired a selectively edited version of this intelligence to the Grand Council. With an invasion of the Inner Sphere overwhelmingly approved, various Clans would conduct Trials of Possession for three of the four invasion corridors into the Inner Sphere (Clan Wolf had already been granted one as the Clan of Nicholas Kerensky) and a slot as the fifth reserve Clan.[8]

Hellion Strife[edit]

Clan Ice Hellion had narrowly avoided mounting its own solo invasion of the Inner Sphere half a century earlier after the Grand Council's decision to postpone the return there. After defeating the pro-invasion faction in a civil war, its leaders since then, including the current Khan Stephen Tyler, had prepared for the hoped-for invasion. When this was finally decided by the Grand Council the Hellions eagerly participated in the Trials for an invasion corridor, only to be knocked in the second round. To avoid another civil war between his furious warriors, Khan Tyler turned their attention towards the other Clans and spent over a year preparing a series of attacks against various enclaves across the Kerensky Cluster.[9]

The Hellion's Fury Campaign[edit]

On May 26 3050, as Operation REVIVAL was underway, Clan Ice Hellion began coordinated strikes on five worlds. Given that the date was Liberation Day they caught most of their opponents off-guard during the celebrations.

Foster[edit]

Foster was home to enclaves controlled by different Kindraa of Clan Fire Mandrill, and given their fractious nature the Mandrills left their kin to fight independently rather than put up any unified resistance. Kindraa Kline especially suffered as a result, and while the Mandrills talked of mounting a joint counterattack these discussions came to nothing, leaving the Hellions' territorial gains untouched.[3] [10]

Hoard[edit]

The Ice Hellion's chosen target on Hoard was a mineral-rich but weakly defended Clan Hell's Horses enclave. Underestimating the defenders, a training Cluster of trueborns, the Hellions combat-dropped into the designated Circle of Equals only to discover that the Horses' panicked flight was in fact a deliberate maneuver. After reassembling the Horse warriors challenged their opponents to single combats and swiftly drove the Hellion force off-world.[4]

Homer[edit]

Knowing they would not be able to secure territory on Homer, Clan Cloud Cobra's capital world, the Hellions instead bid for half a year's production from the El Ghaza OmniFighter complex. Despite at first ravaging the Ice Hellion attackers, the Josian Cloister-affiliated Cobra defenders lost their edge when a prominent ristar pilot was killed, allowing the Hellions to emerge victorious.[5]

Marshall[edit]

Caught off-guard while celebrating Liberation Day, the Snow Raven pilots assigned to protect their Clan's research station in Marshall's polar area nonetheless managed took a heavy toll on the Hellion attackers even before they could deploy from their DropShip. Despite suffering crippling losses, the Hellions prevailed when they reached the facility and overwhelmed the small ground-based garrison.[1]

Londerholm[edit]

The final target of the Hellion's Fury campaign, Londerholm also became the site of its greatest defeat for the Hellions. A week after mounting simultaneous attacks on Coyote and Smoke Jaguar facilities, Khan Tyler and his force found themselves on the losing end of hit-and-fade engagements with the defenders. The remaining Hellions rallied at the outskirts of Vostok's ruins, hoping to turn the tide at this reminder of Clan Smoke Jaguar's sordid history on Londerholm. Fighting began during a rainstorm as the Coyotes led the charge and the Smoke Jaguars, reluctant to enter a city their forbears had brutally razed, followed. The Hellions suffered heavy casualties but both of their Khans and some other warriors escaped to Hellion territory.[2] [8]

Aftermath[edit]

The campaign netted the Ice Hellions considerable gains in territory and resources but proved costly in other ways. Their reputation with their fellow Clans suffered as the attacks were dubbed a tantrum. The architect of the Hellion's Fury himself would not live long enough to capitalize on the Clan's gains. A few weeks later Stephen Tyler was slain by bandit caste raiders on Londerholm, with unproven suspicions that the vengeful Smoke Jaguars had provided the necessary intelligence to his assailants. The same attack saw saKhan Danielle Lienet maimed and forced to resign.[8]

The grudges and general disparagement of the Ice Hellions begun by the Hellion's Fury continued for years after. Khan Tyler's successor Asa Taney proved incapable of overcoming this handicap or strengthening the Hellions enough to join the Invader Clans ranks, with his Home Clan Coalition failing to achieve the latter goal.[9] [11]

Map[edit]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Operational Turning Points: REVIVAL Trials, p. 34, "Touchpoint: Marshall"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Operational Turning Points: REVIVAL Trials, p. 38, "Touchpoint: Londerholm"
  3. 3.0 3.1 Operational Turning Points: REVIVAL Trials, p. 35, "Touchpoint: Foster"
  4. 4.0 4.1 Operational Turning Points: REVIVAL Trials, p. 37, "Touchpoint: Hoard"
  5. 5.0 5.1 Operational Turning Points: REVIVAL Trials, p. 36, "Touchpoint: Homer"
  6. The Clans: Warriors of Kerensky, p. 86: "Clan Ice Hellion, History"
  7. Operational Turning Points: REVIVAL Trials, p. 14
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 Operational Turning Points: REVIVAL Trials, p. 12-13
  9. 9.0 9.1 Field Manual: Crusader Clans, p. 77, "Hellion's Fury"
  10. Field Manual: Crusader Clans, p. 41, "Tales of Glory, Ashes of Defeat"
  11. The Clans: Warriors of Kerensky, p. 23

Bibliography[edit]