Clan Nova Cat History - Creation to Present

As with most of the other clans, it can truly be said that we Nova Cats were shaped and molded by our founder, Phillip Drummond, and his wife, Anna Rosse. However, unlike the other clans that scorn us for our humble beginnings, we Nova Cats understand the fact that being different does not mean being weak. Our lives were forged through blood and tears, shadow and light, death and rebirth.

As written by ComStar, "When Stefan Amaris executed the First Lord and destroyed the Star League, Phillip Drummond felt bitterly betrayed. He had taken great pride in the fact that his nation had stood by the Star League while the rest of the Periphery rebelled. When the true extent of Amaris' plot came to light, Drummond, like many men and women of the Rim World Republic military, fell into despair. In a single moment of clarity, Drummond's loyalty was shattered beyond redemption, and he eagerly transferred his loyalty to Aleksandr Kerensky, convinced that Kerensky was the one man in whom he still might believe.

Drummond demonstrated his resourcefulness, as well as his determination to punish the Usurper, by penetrating the security cordon around Kerensky's headquarters. Just as Drummond was about to be summarily executed as a suspected assassin, the general interceded, and Drummond offered to join the SLDF and share his knowledge of the Rim Worlds Republic's military defenses. Kerensky instinctively recognized his sincerity and accepted him as a newly commissioned lieutenant.

Drummond, however, was denied an opportunity to fight and landed a permanent assignment with the Intelligence Command. The SLDF warriors around him all believed him to be a spy or traitor. Only years of faithful service, along with providing unfailingly accurate information, grudgingly earned him the respect of his peers.

Phillip Drummond did not have the sole raising of our clan in his hands. At his side was his wife Anna Rosse, who likewise did as much to shape our future as her husband. ComStar's information on this woman reads, "Life for Anna Rosse was brutal and uncompromising from the time she was very young. When the hated Usurper invaded Terra, Rosse was only nine years old. Captured, she was on her way to an internment camp when a resistance cell rescued her.

An all-women resistance cell in Greece took Anna in after two years on the run. This deeply spiritual group helped heal Rosse of her emotional scars, and she repaid them with sensible and intelligent suggestions on improving their communications networks and their methods of acquiring and distributing supplies. The leaders of her cell quickly realized her value and began to pass her on to other cells to aid in their effectiveness. As she grew older, her methods became common practice among most of the resistance cells in Europe and Asia. By the time of the Liberation of Terra by Kerensky's troops, she was stationed in Moscow.

Quietly hailed as a hero of the resistance, Anna Rosse met Captain Peter Karpov of the SLDF at one of the initial meetings between the resistance leaders and the liberators. The two were married within a year, and bother joined the Exodus. They departed the Inner Sphere aboard the Prinz Eugen.

All know of the history of that traitorous ship and crew. Defying the Great Father himself, the Prince Eugen and eight other ships decided to return to the Inner Sphere. Only one solution was possible: Kerensky captured the nine ships and executed their officers - including Karpov.

All Clans realize that this act saved us from destruction - look at what happened when the Inner Sphere finally did locate us. However, Karpov's death worsened Rosse's emotional problems, and she could not even find solace in Aleksandr Kerensky's General Order 137. When the SLDF finally arrived at five marginally inhabitable worlds - later dubbed the Pentagon worlds - she made her new home on the planet Circe. Living with two of her husband's cousins, she tried to start a new life. Remembering the spiritual strength of the resistance cell, she began her own healing process through a set of private rituals. What began as a mental technique to help her come to grips with everything she had lost blossomed into a way in which to view life. She came to understand the power of ritual and began to accept the truth of visions. It was during this time that she met Phillip Drummond.

Drummond tested out of the SLDF during the controlled demobilization that followed the arrival on the Pentagon worlds and became a scientist. Rosse became a successful merchant, and in those first few peaceful years of colonization, they joined to create a family and she gave birth to three children.

The peaceful years did not last. Sedition, hatred, and old loyalties quickly found a place in the hearts of those who had traveled so far. Both scarred by the Amaris Civil War, Drummond and Rosse were horrified when rioting finally exploded and fled with other families into the wilds of Circe. However, their small community was attacked and two of their three children were killed. Though racked with grief, they both joined the forces that supported the planetary government.

The savagery of the fighting sickened them both, and they, along with their surviving daughter Sandra, readily followed Nicholas Kerensky's call for a second Exodus to the world of Strana Mechty.

Drummond easily tested out in the ranks of warriors of one of the new Clans Nicholas created, having polished his unused combat skills in the recent fighting on Circe. When Nicholas announced that each Clan would be led by two Khans chosen from among their ranks, Drummond rose to command the new Nova Cat Clan. Our Remembrance hints that Nicholas influenced this reward Drummond for his years of faithful service to his father and to reinforce the fact that, in the Clans, no previous loyalties mattered. If a man was worthy, he could rise to the highest levels in our society.

As the Clans continued to cement themselves and training began for their eventual return to the Pentagon worlds, Anna Rosse fell into the Merchant Caste. Though strictures against inter-caste relationships were beginning to take shape, Drummond and Rosse continued their relationship in secret. For, like the founders of Clan Ghost Bear, they had a family that would eventually define us.

When the order finally came to return to the Pentagon worlds, Clan Nova Cat joined Clans Mongoose, Snow Raven, and the Not-Named in retaking Circe. Though Operation Klondike would take a year to complete, the Clans finally conquered the Pentagon worlds. Our warrior's uncanny ability to consistently target the weakest spot on an enemy unit's armor earned them almost legendary status.

Clan Nova Cat has always been unconventional, and we are the only clan that has ever had a child succeed a parent in rank. The excellent bloodlines and genes of Phillip Drummond and Anna Rosse merged to create the Khan that molded us into what we are, the woman who combined military cunning with spiritual prophecy - Sandra Rosse.

ComStar's rather lengthy file on our most beloved Khan reads, "Following the Pentagon campaign, Khan Drummond realized he was losing his edge. A degenerative disease was slowly killing him, and Drummond despaired when he realized that he would soon lose his position. However, hope blossomed when he learned that his daughter, Sandra, had tested out in a Trial of Position as a Star Captain.

Sandra was a gifted warrior who had inherited the best of both worlds from her parents. A natural leader, with a conviction that many answers lay hidden in shrouds of mysticism, Sandra was on the verge of greatness. When Drummond confided his condition to her, she retreated to her private sanctuary in her mother's home. After three days of fast and meditation, she emerged with the answer burning in her mind. She had decided to replace her father as Khan.

Although she was already in a command position, Sandra knew she needed a Bloodname. In honor of her mother, she chose to compete for the Rosse Bloodname. Though the same name, this Bloodname actually belonged to a second cousin of Anna's, Jason Rosse (Sandra's mother had never been a member of the warrior caste, so her surname was not enshrined as part of the eight hundred). Though irregular, the formal paths of the Trial of Bloodright had not yet been cemented, and a plea to the Grand Council granted her the right to compete for that name.

She won her Trial of Bloodright and became Sandra Rosse. Within a few months, having gained a following, she challenged Khan Drummond to a Trail of Grievance, charging he was no longer fit to be Khan. In the Circle of Equals, she then broke tradition and offered him the opportunity to voluntarily step down. For the second time in his life, Phillip Drummond walked away from everything he had known.

However, many Nova Cat warriors were outraged by what they saw as sentimentality and immediately challenged Sandra to a Trial of Grievance. She won ever contest and so impressed the rest of our Clan with her combat skill and audacity that they accepted her as Khan.

Upon her assumption of Khanship, Khan Rosse retreated to her sanctuary once again. Five days later, she emerged convinced that her visions had shown her a way that would lead the Nova Cats to a perfect society, beyond that designed by the Founder. Though many were perturbed when Khan Rosse announced that she was basing these decisions on visions, none challenged her right to do so. With her recent triumphs in the Trials of Grievance still fresh in our Clan's mind, her warriors reserved judgment.

She immediately began to enact sweeping changes. One of the farthest-reaching was to allow the Merchant Caste to fulfill their responsibilities as they saw fit. As the Clans moved into the Golden Century, this would provide ample dividends. However, her greatest contribution was to provide a more spiritual way of life. Her guidance opened our eyes to the fact that life is a path of choices and that every action we take can have consequences that may not appear for centuries. Our ability to see the long road is why we now walk the path of the Star League.

Convinced by her upbringing of the need for self-discipline, Khan Rosse created the office of Oathmaster to aid the Clan's spiritual strength and well-being, naming Lui Cheng to the position as one of her first official acts. Though we have seen several Khans during our history who have not had the strength of vision to properly lead our Clan down the correct path - leaving this powerful role to the Oathmaster instead - it is a testament to the strength of our way that no Oathmaster has ever attempted to wrest the Khanship away from a standing Khan.

Nicholas Kerensky condemned her appointment for a warrior to this position before the Grand Council, and Clan Wolf won the right to defend the Trial of Refusal the Founder called against Khan Rosse. The Trial was won, and a series of Trials of Position ensured for the Oathmaster position. Lucie Morris became the first official Oathmaster. Kahn Rosse did not resent the founder for his actions, believing they simply emphasized the importance of this new position.

Though other Clans soon adopted versions of the Oathmaster post, it eventually evolved into an honor-guard position for any official Clan ceremony, administering all oaths." It is interesting to note that even though our Clan created the office, around the time Khan Cheetah Devalis took the reins in our clan, we merged the positions of Oathmaster and Loremaster. It is that rank that I hold.

Other Clans have accused us of being un-Clanlike, but Sandra Rosse merely reminded them of the Founder's creed against interfering with any spiritual life. None of the other Clans have ever been able to prove that we are not true to our ways. Indeed, Khan Sandra Rosse's "eccentricities" gave us a pillar of courage and depth of faith that has always carried us through.

Sandra Rosse's legacy was not simply passed down by word of mouth - every sibko has read and learned directly from a book she created, a volume called Ways of Seeing, which was compiled from her and her mother's notes. Although it may seem that Khan Rosse mostly affected Clan Nova Cat, her reach extended farther than our borders, in more way than one.

ComStar's information on our clan states, "As the Clans grew, many bitter feuds were born. However, the cause for the feud between the Nova Cats and the Smoke Jaguars, which would eventually lead to the destruction of the Smoke Jaguars - had a most unusual beginning. Shortly after becoming Khan, Sandra realized that she was attracted to Liam Ismiril, saKhan of Clan Smoke Jaguar -- and that saKhan Ismiril shared her attraction. Though they enjoyed each other's company for some time, Khan Rosse eventually realized that she simply could not ignore the drastic differences in their philosophies.

After retreating to her sanctuary, she had a vision that convinced her that if she continued her relationship, it would lead to the destruction of her Clan. She immediately broke off contact with saKhan Ismiril, but a dead nova cat found in our breeding program's iron wombs let her know that she had earned the enmity of the Smoke Jaguars.

Without a doubt, Khan Rosse's vision set us on the path to our current place in history. However, some of her decisions proved disastrous. When the claimed sole possession of their disputed Brian Cache, Khan Rosse supported them in the Grand Council. Following the Not-Named Clan's refusal to accept the results of their Trial of Refusal and their subsequent annihilation, Khan Winson of Clan Wolf personally challenged the Khans of each Clan that had supported the Not-Name Clan to a Trial of Grievance. Though Khan Rosse fought well, she was killed in the trial.

Upon hearing of Khan Rosse's death, her now-cured father realized that he was the only one who could continue to foster the Nova Cats' newfound spirituality. Emerging victorious from a grueling series of Trials of Position, he spoke in front of the Clan Council. So eloquent were his words that the Council accepted Phillip Drummond as Khan and he led Clan Nova Cat into the Golden Century, surviving to the age of 112. Even among the Nova Cats, who allow their warriors to remain in active service much longer the other Clans, this is an unprecedented record.

The Golden Century was a very prosperous time for our people. Our Merchant and Science castes led us to one of the lead spots amongst the Clans. While other Clans perfected their Elementals and OmniMechs, our people created the Extended Range Long Laser -- which is still the most versatile and most used weapon on the battlefield today. However, the time of growth had to end -- it was time for our people to return to the Inner Sphere.

Biccon Winters, former Oathmaster of our Clan, wrote about the invasion -- "Though Clan Jade Falcon initially called for invasion in 2980, the Warden Clans managed to stall their return to the Inner Sphere for another sixty-eight years. But the appearance of the ComStar jumpship Outbound Light dissolved all remaining resistance, and the return began.

As Oathmaster, I tried desperately to warn my Khans of the impending danger I had seen in a vision. Though Khans Severn Leroux and Lucian Carns were perennial Nova Cat warriors and more than worthy to hold their positions, the glory of returning to our lost paradise blinded their eyes, and we joined the rest of the Clans in the fighting to win a place in the invasion. Though the Nova Cats were denied a place in the initial invasion, we fought well enough to be placed alongside the Steel Vipers as next in line and even participated in limited early actions.

However the Keshik of the Nova Cat Clan served as the escort to Precentor Martial Anastasius Focht as he traveled to the Dire Wolf, the flagship of Clan Wolf. As soon as I saw the Precentor Martial, I realized I was witnessing my vision in the flesh and pinned him to the ground. I attempted to convey to our Clan that we were taking our destruction unto our bosom, but my Khan would not listen. I even challenged saKhan Carns to a Trial of Grievance but lost, and so I was forced to sit by and watch my vision become reality.

When ilKhan Leo Showers was killed and Ulric Kerensky of Clan Wolf was elected as ilKhan, he activated our Clan. However, we paid a price for joining the invasion by having to share the invasion corridor with the hated Smoke Jaguars. Though we invaded sixteen worlds between November of 3051 until March of 3052 - Tarnby, Bjarred, Sawyer, Chupadero, Jeanette, Chourchevel, Irece, Avon, Luthien, Ltabaiana, Juazerio, Mualang, Teniente, Caripare, Cyrenaica and Kanowit - it was on Luthien that we received our most humiliating defeat. With the Smoke Jaguars, we deployed Alpha and Delta Galaxies to take the world. However with sixteen elite line regiments massed against us, we were brutally attacked and forced to retreat.

Of course, that paled in comparison with the proxy battle for Terra on the world of Tukayyid. Though the Nova Cats managed to inflict the severest damage on the Com Guard of any Clan, it was a Pyrrhic victory, as our forces ultimately lifted off world in defeat.

Rightly ashamed of their blindness and arrogance, the Nova Cat Khans turned to me following Tukayyid for a vision of the path that would lead us back to glory. I spent long days in ritual and fast and returned to inform the Clans that we should attempt to open talks with the Draconis Combine. Though my Khans were shocked, the proof of the truth of my visions lying in shattered Nova Cat 'mechs on Tukayyid weighed heavily, and they listened to my words.

Although we occasionally raided against the hated Jaguars, our Clan concentrated on rebuilding it shattered Touman, establishing a rapport with the populations on our Inner Sphere worlds, and continuing a dialogue with the Draconis Combine. When Operation Bulldog began in 3058, several of our Clusters became abtakha to the invading forces -- adopted as warriors -- after which they fought as members of the SLDF against the Jaguars.

When Prince Victor Steiner-Davion challenged the Crusader Clans to a Trial of Refusal against the invasion, our Khans sided with Star League, fighting against Clan Ice Hellion on Strana Mechty. We even took MechWarrior Trent as a bondsman -- he who had betrayed the Jaguars and given the coordinates for the Exodus Road to the Inner Sphere. In what has become known as the Great Refusal, both Severn Leroux and Lucian Carns died so that the Star League would triumph. Trent's 'mech was destroyed, but his body was not found.

As we have known for centuries, the worthiest path is always fraught with peril, and our return to the Star League has had grave consequences. With in a week of the Great Refusal we were Abjured, and the other Clans fell on us. Though our warriors fought valiantly, we could not hold against their combined might. Only through the supreme heroism of the warriors from Upsilon, Rho, and Kappa Galaxies, along with the surprising aid of Clan Diamond Shark and Clan Snow Raven, we were able to relocated the few survivors of our Civilian Caste to the Inner Sphere. Less then three full Clusters of our Clan Space warriors joined us in the Inner Sphere.

Upon my own induction into the clan as a freebirth bondswoman, my own father taught me many things about our more recent history. In 3062, warrior Cheetah won his Bloodname of Devalis in his first trial. He quickly ascended to the rank of Khan, with a rather capable command staff below him - Ler Devalis, Hybrid Rosse, Tick Bavros, Digit Bavros, a freebirth-turned-warrior Temu Devalis, Boomer Rosse, and my own "uncle" Gryphon.

When Cheetah Devalis stepped down, Khan Hybrid Rosse rose in his place with Ler Devalis as his saKhan. Diemos Bavros served as our Galaxy Commander, while Tick Bavros, Digit Bavros, Temu Devalis, and Boomer Rosse served as Star Colonels and Captains. It was at this point that saKhan Ler Devalis took me as a bondswoman at my father Temu's urgings -- everything after this point I myself have witnessed, and from my memory I teach it to you.

Many things happened during this time period. We fought with Clan Ghost Bear and allied with the Draconis Combine and fellow warden Clan Widowmaker. saKhan Ler Devalis led us on a campaign versus the crusader Clan Wolf, which we still follow today in hopes that our wayward brothers may eventually understand that our duty is to protect the Inner Sphere, not conquer it.

Loremaster Gryphon decided to step down to make way for his successor Hopster Devalis, my former sibkin. My father retired as an active duty pilot and resigned from his rank of Star Colonel at the same time Loremaster Hopster Devalis abdicated in our sibkin Jamie's favor. Likewise, Hybrid Rosse disappeared and Ler Devalis rose to power in his stead. Under our beloved Khan Ler Devalis, Diemos Bavros became saKhan, Sharpe Leroux was made a Star Colonel, and Boomer Rosse rose to the rank of Galaxy Commander.

What happened next was perhaps described best by Loremaster Jamie in a book of memoirs he gave me after my own promotion. "And it came to pass that our Clan stood on the brink of destruction. Our beloved Khan Ler Devalis, weary and wounded in spirit, withdrew from us to pursue his visions. Galaxy Commander Boomer Rosse also chose to leave the Keshik, and bitter were the words between us over his decision. Though I deeply regret my hasty words, the rift between us could not be bridged and his self-imposed exile still weighs heavily on me.

Though these losses hurt us deeply, the worse was yet to come. Clan Wolf had sought to wrest the world of Tarnby from us and in the furious battle for control of the planet, our saKhan Diemos Bavros was wounded almost to death. Despite our medical staff's best efforts, he was in a coma and could not be roused. Star Colonel Sharpe had been fighting at our Khan's side and remained missing. We still do not know if he fell there or was taken as a bondsman by Clan Wolf. With our leadership decimated, our forces withdrew in great disarray from Tarnby. Of the Galaxy assigned to protect the planet, scarcely a Trinary was able to escape the destruction.

Our defeat there was total. I alone was left of the Keshik. The burden on me was great and for a brief moment I almost succumbed to despair. But two mechwarriors, Kai and Kelida, sought me out in my quarters. I saw my despair mirrored in their faces but I also saw strength and determination in their eyes. I took heart from this and a plan began to unfold in my mind. I bade the two warriors to seek out a place of solitude and to stay there, letting neither food nor drink pass their lips so that their visions could come to them and instruct us. I would do the same and the following day we would come together and discuss what we had seen.

After they left, I dimmed the lights in my quarters and sat on the floor in the middle of the room. The cold metal deck at first was a discomfort but as I began to sink in that dreamless torpor that always preceded my visions, I no longer felt the cold hardness - indeed, I felt nothing at all. How long I drifted in that dreamless state I do not know. Time no longer had any meaning. But as I sat there, a vision began to unfold before me… a powerful vision, one that drove out my despair and grief and filled me with a fresh resolve. I sat there through that long night caught up in it. I was aware of nothing around me until the morning came and the two warriors returned and roused me.

In accordance with long tradition we broke our fast with water and bread. No words were spoken among us as we ate and drank, but I could in their eyes a resolve and restoration of their spirits that equaled mine. After we had finished our simple meal, we sat together on the floor and began to discuss our visions. To my amazement, their visions matched mine almost exactly. Knowing now what I had to do, I resigned as Loremaster and took on the role of saKhan. Kelida I made Loremaster in my place and Kai I made Galaxy Commander. The road before us would be long and hard but I knew that our shared vision was a true one and we would ultimately prevail. Here then is the vision that the three of us saw.

A young nova cat on the edge of adulthood lay abandoned by its mother. Wolves howled in the forest around it, seeking to find the young hunter, knowing that is was vulnerable. Mewling softly to itself, the nova cat knew despair. Always its mother had been there to feed it and protect it, but now it was alone. A soft sound nearby drew its attention. A rabbit unaware of its presence came out of a thicket to feed. The young cat immediately leapt to its feet and rushed after the rabbit, but the rabbit was too far away and had ample time to flee. Snarling in frustration the young cat slunk away to find easier prey.

Again and again its youth and inexperience showed as it tried to find food. It rushed blindly at its prey, never using the hunting skills its mother had taught it. Finally, after days of fruitless hunting, it sat in the tangled branches of a fallen tree. Its hunger was great and its strength was beginning to fade. As it lay panting, a flicker of movement caught its eye. A fat groundhog was waddling through the bushes in search of its favorite food, tender young shoots. As the young cat began to jump to its feet to chase it a thought occurred to it. Laying back down on its belly it waited as the groundhog drew ever closer. When it was but a few feet away, the young cat rose to its feet and rushed silently from its place of concealment.

The groundhog intent on its search for food did not see death rushing towards it until the last second. As the groundhog finally saw the nova cat pouncing, it turned to flee but powerful jaws closed on its throat. It flailed with its powerful claws but the nova cat did not release its hold. Finally its struggles ceased. As the victorious hunter began to feed, it heard a growling sound. Looking up, it saw to wolves that had been attracted by the sounds of the struggle. They were hungry, and thinking that the young cat was too weak, they thought to steal its kill. They moved closer and the young cat moved to its feet, snarling. Its first instinct was to run, but to the wolves' surprise it began to snarl anew. Gone was the weak, uncertain snarl of a kitten. Its voice was that of an adult, and its namesake mane rose as the nova cat announced to the wolves in no uncertain terms that this was its kill and it would fight to keep it. The wolves moved back and lay down as the nova cat continued to feed. Only after it had consumed the choicest parts and sated it's hunger did it haughtily scoop dirt onto the carcass and move off. The young nova cat had passed its trial; it would now take its place in the hierarchy of the forest.

This was the vision that the three of us shared. We were the young nova cat and we would face trials in the near future. And, like the nova cat, we would prevail.

For a while, the future of our beloved Clan was uncertain. The Keshik fought daily battles against our dwindling numbers. Sibkos were raised and freebirths tested into our warrior ranks. It is you who are the future of our clan, the products of our last desperate labor.

Like Sandra Rosse and the Loremasters before me, I have been blessed by the visions. What do I see in our future? I see a Clan that has been to the proverbial Christian hell and back for their beliefs - Honor, Chivalry, Fair Play, and Loyalty. We have been reborn from the smoke, blood, and tears of our past -- and we have come through our trials of fire stronger than ever before.

We remain Clan Nova Cat… and together, we are the future.

-- written by Loremaster Kelida

Historical information from ComStar Information on Tukayyid from Biccon Winters Excerpts from Jamie's book of memoirs

All historical information in quotes ("…") was taken from www.classicbattletech.com, The Inner Sphere, Clan Nova Cat. Everything after Cheetah was named Khan was written by our own warriors.