Editing Helmar Valasek

{{InfoBoxCharacter
| image               = Helmar Valasek 1.jpg
| caption             = 
| name                = Helmar Valasek
| birthdate           = [[2979]]
| died                = 
| othernames          = 
| affiliation         = [[Santander's World]]
| rank                = [[Captain]]<ref name=RGiCv3p10>''Recognition Guide: ilClan, vol. 3'', p. 10</ref>
| title               = 
| position            = 
| profession          = Pirate
| parents             = 
| siblings            = 
| spouse              = 
| children            = 
}}
Captain '''Helmar Valasek''', founder and only ruler of the bandit kingdom [[Santander's World]], was one of the most notorious and successful [[Periphery]] pirates of the first half of the [[thirty-first century]].<ref name=TP153>''The Periphery, First Edition'', p. 153</ref>
[[File:Helmar Valasek.jpg|right|thumb|At age 46 in 3025]]

==History==
===Early life===
Like many other pirate kings, Helmar Valasek initially embarked on a promising military career in the Inner Sphere. Born in [[2979]] into an ordinary family on [[Parma]] in the [[Federated Suns]], he worked his way up to graduate with honors from [[Kilbourne Academy]]. Within a few years of joining the [[Armed Forces of the Federated Suns]] he had become one of its youngest captains in history. However, Valasek's quarrelsome personality led to ever-increasing arguments with his superiors, ultimately resulting in him turning rogue.<ref name=TP153/>

===Building a pirate world===
Valasek defected from the Federated Suns military in [[3003]] along with a handful of like-minded soldiers and a commandeered DropShip. For the next sixteen years his pirate band led a nomadic life, constantly moving between the Federated Suns, [[Draconis Combine]] and [[Outworlds Alliance]] space. His many narrow escapes from the authorities only increased his notoriety and following. With the pirate life increasingly taxing his health, in [[3019]] he finally settled down on the remote planet [[Santander V]] in the coreward Periphery, beyond the borders of the [[Draconis Combine]]. Requiring all new recruits to swear a blood oath of loyalty and encouraging his pirates to kill anyone suspected of betraying it, Valasek ruled his world with an iron fist and utter amorality. Not content with raiding and plundering, his [[battalion]] became infamous as [[Santander's Killers]] due to their specializing in covert assassinations and terrorism on Kuritan and Davion worlds. Most of his treasury was sustained by hiring out his pirates to various dissident groups, supplemented by the ransoming of hijacked civilians. Valasek was known to use part of his income to operate an extensive web of informants to warn him of impending retaliatory strikes.<ref name=TP153/><ref name=RGiCv3p10/>

In one notable instance Valasek bloodied forces from the [[Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery]] sent to punish him for a spate of water raids he'd conducted against Combine worlds. Valasek was keen to avoid losing any of his precious [['Mechs]], and when the Combine forces arrived in the Santander system he lured them into landing at a predetermined ambush point. Waiting for the Combine forces were several [[companies]] of [[Scorpion]] light tanks Valasek had "borrowed". The Scorpions had been hidden in warehouses at an obvious supply point, and engaged the Kuritan 'Mechs at close range. The battle swiftly degenerated into a brawl as the Kuritan 'Mechs, outnumbered three-to-one, engaged the tanks in melee attacks. The battle became known as the "Scorpions Nest" and became a staple training exercise in the Combine, teaching trainee [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarriors]] in how to deal with swarms of small vehicles. Valasek was content to have recovered some 'Mech salvage and the Kuritans were satisfied that Valasek wouldn't raid any more Combine worlds in the near future.<ref name="TRO:3026Rp26">''Technical Readout: 3026 Revised Edition'', p. 26: "Scorpion Light Tank"</ref>

The [[Draconis Combine]] had a small garrison defending a depot in [[Porthos]] on [[3024]] when his pirates raided the planet with a ''[[Union]]''-class [[DropShip]]. ''[[Locust]]''s, ''[[Wasp]]''s and ''[[Stinger]]''s led a lighting attack and were able to seize the supplies they wanted and escaped off-world.<ref name=TRO3025p8>''Technical Readout: 3025'', p. 8</ref>

===Downfall===
For all the trouble he caused, Valasek surprisingly ruled Santander's World for thirty years, careful to never become more than a serious irritant to his Inner Sphere neighbors who were more occupied with waging war on each other. The [[Clan Invasion|invading Clans]], however, were neither distracted nor merciful. In August of [[3049]], forces of [[Clan Smoke Jaguar]] landed on the planet in one of the first combat actions of the entire invasion. Valasek ambushed and destroyed the initial landing force, enraging the invaders. Using every trick at their disposal, his 'Mech company held out over a week against an entire [[362nd Assault (Clan Smoke Jaguar)|Cluster]] led by [[saKhan]] [[Sarah Weaver]] herself. At the pirates' last stand, Weaver's ''[[Timber Wolf]]'' destroyed Valasek's ''[[BattleMaster]]'' but discovered that the old captain had not actually been piloting it himself.<ref>''Invading Clans'', pp. 53–54</ref><ref name=RGiCv3p10/>

===Legacy===
Valasek escaped from Santander's World and reappeared a year later via published diary entries from [[Vipaava]], then part of the [[Free Rasalhague Republic]], and finally [[3051]] from [[Tellman IV]] in the Outworlds Alliance, claiming to have gotten plastic surgery and talking about planning to take revenge on the Clans or else joining a colony ship in need of a leader. However at his advanced age of 72, and with his world conquered, his pirates destroyed, and having no known heirs, his once-feared name faded into obscurity.<ref>''Handbook: Major Periphery States'', pp. 52–53</ref><ref name=RGiCv3p10/>

==BattleMech==
Valasek piloted a ''[[BattleMaster]]''. Effectively a BLR-2C variant, though lacking any advanced equipment, Valasek famously had the dual-cockpit converted to a single seater, using the additional space to accommodate his own considerable bulk along with ample foodstuff and multiple prostitutes.<ref name=RGiCv3p10/>

==Appearance and manner==
With a lack of restraint and discipline marking many aspects of his life, by his mid-40s Valasek reportedly already weighed over 300 pounds. Bald and goateed, his nihilist attitude was highlighted by cruelty and avarice. He also showed signs of being manic-depressive, his mood wavering between gleeful enjoyment of torture and murder, moments of manic activity and stretches of bored apathy.<ref name=TP153/>

==Trivia==
*Presented besides [[Hendrik Grimm III]] and [[Redjack Ryan]] as one of the periphery Pirate Kings in the rulebook of the original game, Helmar Valasek was part of the [[BattleTech]] universe right from the beginning, but played only a very minor role. His pirate kingdom was terminated through being conquered by the invading Clans.
*Helmar Valasek is depicted on the front cover of the ''[[Shrapnel]]'' anthology, although he does not make an appearance within the book.

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Handbook: Major Periphery States]]''
* ''[[Invading Clans]]''
* ''[[The Periphery (sourcebook)|The Periphery, First Edition]]'' 
* ''[[Recognition Guide: ilClan, vol. 3]]''
* ''[[Technical Readout: 3025]]''
* ''[[Technical Readout: 3026 Revised Edition]]''

[[Category:Federated Suns Characters|Valasek, Helmar]]
[[Category:Pirates|Valasek, Helmar]]
[[Category:Notable BattleMaster Pilots|Valasek, Helmar]]