History of the Minnesota Tribe 331st Royal Battlemech Division History   Table of Contents Main Sections: Master Timeline Orders of Knighthood Stories & Rumours of the Minnesota Tribe Military Unit Composition Descriptions and Requirements of Awards & Medals Unit Histories: 382nd Royal Dragoons "Black Eagles" 156th Royal Light Horse "Viking Warlords" Division General Staff Retired Personnel & Allied Award Citations Knighthood Histories: deVega Grey Mandaka Sharrette Tor "The Star League Defense Force embodies all that is good in humanity: honor, courage, tenacity, and a willingness to take a stand against tyranny and oppression."      ~ Aleksandr Kerensky, 6 March 2753         ComStar's Investigations The following are collected accounts from ComStar and the Draconis Combine, tapes and official histories from the Clans, and folklore from the Periphery which give information about the Minnesota Tribe. On the Trail of the Minnesota Tribe Combined summary, ComStar Primus Toyama seemed to hold the Inner Sphere firmly in his grasp when a threat to his dreams suddenly appeared from beyond the Periphery. The attack of the Minnesota tribe on the Combine worlds of Svelvika and Trondheim in 2825 shook ComStar as much as the Draconis Combine. Proceedings of the First Circuit indicate that Toyama believed the attack was the vanguard of Kerensky's return with the Star League Army, a belief supported by reports that this unknown military unit possessed brand-new BattleMechs and used combat tactics similar to those of the SLDF. If the self-exiled Star League troops had returned, it would spell an end to the prophesy of Blake and the future of ComStar. The First Circuit responded by dispatching a dozen diplomatic envoy vessels to the Periphery area surrounding the Combine. These ships were charged with the mission of establishing and opening diplomatic relations with the mysterious Minnesota Tribe. For four months the JumpShips scoured the stars searching for some trace of the unit. They were able to follow the trail of the mysterious attackers into the deep Periphery toward the Federated Suns, but then all trace seemed to disappear near Valentina. Subsequent investigations by ROM failed to uncover further information on the attackers. Who Were Those Masked Men? From a summary report to the First Circuit by ROM Precentor Emilio Travis, Minnesota Tribe Investigations, Archive File 222-802, ComStar Archives Our operatives on Richmond managed to penetrate the Combine's investigation team studying the attacks by the so-called Minnesota Tribe. The only concrete evidence recovered thus far has been the body of one of the MechWarriors of the Tribe. The pilot was using a Lancelot BattleMech of exceptionally high quality. Of great interest was the MechWarrior's uniform. The coolant suit was an enhanced version of an SLDF prototype that had yet to reach production when Kerensky's Exodus jumped from the Inner Sphere. Naturally, our agent sabotaged the suit so that its design would not fall into Combine hands. Though the warrior carried no personal effects, his suit displayed two interesting patches. One was the outline of the former North American state of Minnesota, with the numbers "331" faintly stitched on it. Our archives indicate that the number and the symbol are similar to those used by the SLDF's 331st Royal BattleMech Division (The North American Division) that left the Inner Sphere with General Kerensky. The resemblance is strong but the symbols are not identical, indicating that the patch was new rather than an old one reworked. The second patch was also revealing. It depicted a Terran Wolverine, white in color, with bloodied fangs. Our searches have revealed no correlation or connection to the designation of any known military unit meaning that it is new or reorganized unit. We conclude that this unit is indeed a surviving element of Kerensky's Exodus. Though we cannot substantiate this with physical evidence, the above items recovered point to a strong connection with the Exodus fleet. It can also be assumed that this unit has an existing technological and manufacturing base. Unfortunately, it has been impossible to determine either the current location or the destination of these raiders. Psychic Revelations? Excerpt from I Want To Believe, by Piper Anderson Tharkad Press, June 3056 Much has been published over the years regarding Adrienne Sims's visions. To date, nearly all accounts conclude that her visions proved that Sims's possessed "higher powers of the mind." That she reported having visions is undoubtly true, but can these reports be used to prove the existence of psychic phenomena? The majority of investigations cite the fact that Sims could not possibly known the existence of the Clans in 2969, and so extrapolate that she must have possessed some sort of supernatural insight. Many so-called researchers, however fail to note that the Clans were founded in the early 2800's--- some 150 years before Sims's visions began. In fact, a number of people have suggested that covert contact between the Clans and the Inner Sphere---similar to modern contact between the Successor States and Wolf's Dragoons---allowed limited knowledge of the Clans' existence to pass into the Inner Sphere long before the invasion. Though no conclusive evidence of such contact exists, early intelligence on the fate of Kerensky's fleet seems well within the realm of possibility. Another, more colorful theory about Sims's visions centers around the so-called Not Named Clan---Clan Wolverine. One of the twenty original clans, Clan Wolverine advocated certain unClanlike principles, such as free choice and democracy, which put them out of step with Nicholas Kerensky's vision. The tension those ideas caused between Wolverine and the other Clans erupted into a direct confrontation in 2823, shortly after the ruling Grand Council denied the Clan Wolverine's claim to a Brian Cache. When Wolverine failed in its attempt to overturn the council decision in a Trial of Refusal, Wolverine Khan Sarah McEvedy denounced Nicholas Kerensky as a power-hungry madman, which prompted Kerensky to call for a Trial of Grievance against McEvedy. Before the Grand Council could vote on the matter, however, Clan Wolverine declared its independence from the Clans and underscored their disdain for Kerensky by destroying one of the Clans' eugenics laboratories with a tactical nuclear weapon. In response, the Clans set out to annihilate the renegade Wolverines. Though many respected historians believe that no Wolverines survived the Clan death sentence, rumors persist of some escaping from Clan space. Some individuals suggest that Wolverine survivors may have fled deeper into the Periphery or possibly came back to the Inner Sphere (which would provide a satisfactory explanation of the Minnesota Tribe incident in 2825). According to conspiracy theorists, these survivors then infiltrated ComStar and set in machinations to trigger hostilities between their two primary foes---the Great Houses of the Inner Sphere and their fellow Clans---in the hope that their enemies would destroy one another. One theory that suggests Sims, among others, was a descendant whose "visions" were actually a calculated attempt to forment hostilities between the Great Houses and the Clans. Other variations on this theory suggest that Clan Wolverine somehow subverted a faction within ComStar, which in turn manipulated Sims or simply orchestrated an elaborate campaign of disinformation to create and spread the story of the "visions." While many people may find conspiracy theories more plausible that the existence of psychic powers to explain Sims's visions, no real evidence exists to support either explanation.

The Findings of the Draconis Combine The Dragon's Investigations Excerpt from the Official Findings on the Minnesota Tribe Sho-sa Tetsumo Hohiro, Lead Investigator August 2825, DCMS Publishing In late 2825, the Minnesota Tribe made its first appearance in the Draconis Combine with a raid on the world of Svelvik. This previously unknown 'Mech unit of nearly regimental strength showed considerable skill in beating the planet's meager garrison troops. Refusing any communications, they simply took what they needed, and then left Svelvik without further bloodshed. What intrigued Jinjiro most in the reports of this unknown unit were that their impeccably maintained 'Mechs were freshly painted in Regular Army colors. It was Zabu who first noticed that the regimental patch was an outline of Minnesota, a geo-political domain in the North American region of Terra. What Jinjiro also learned from reports was that the regiment was apparently escorting a fleet of cargo, commercial, and liner JumpShips. This fleet, with their escorts, apparently had some definite destination and was using uninhabited star systems to reach it at a steady pace. The mystery group, by now known as the Minnesota Tribe, next attacked Trondheim. Because it was a prefecture capital, the 20th Rasalhague Regulars were stationed there. The ensuring battle was striking for the way the mystery 'Mechs dealt with the Kurita 'Mechs in strict Regular Army formations and tactics. Once again, the mystery group refused all attempts at communication, to the point that pilots of destroyed Tribe 'Mechs killed themselves to avoid capture. The mystery fleet then jumped from the system, apparently headed for some uninhabited star system near Trondheim. By now, the Kuritans believed that the Minnesota Tribe had to be a Regular Army unit, though they were not listed in any Regular Army order of battle. The possibility that the Minnesota Tribe might be an advance scout group raised the spector of the return of a very angry General Kerensky or his successor. This made Jinjiro decidedly nervous. With much trepidation, he ordered the Rasalhague and Pesht districts to the highest state of alert. He also moved troops within these districts forward to the Periphery borders. Meanwhile, the Minnesota Tribe struck Jarett, again taking what they needed before moving on. This time the Tribe thwarted efforts to stop them when a large group of their AeroSpace Fighters intercepted and kept two battalions of Kurita 'Mechs out of the battle. While House Kurita's attention was turned toward the Minnesota Tribe, the Lyran Commonwealth military took the Combine completely by surprise with a lighting raid on the Draconis Combine. What prompted the raid was the Combine's earlier capture of the Commonwealth freighter named the Chahar Profit. A grain ship destined for the starving population of the Steiner world of Chandler, the ship made a mis-jump that put it above Darius and under the guns of Kurita fighters. To win back the freighter and to rescue its crew, Archon Marcus of the Lyran Commonwealth brought together the remaining members of the famed Stealth 'Mech regiment. With all of house Kurita's attention diverted toward the Periphery, the Stealth rescue mission worked like a charm, much to the embarrassment of the DCMS. The Minnesota Tribe made one last attack against an inhabited Kurita world. About a week after the Steiner forces succeeded in rescuing the Chahar Profit, the Minnesota Tribe regiment hit the Kurita world of Richmond with a vengeance. Though it was inconceivable that the tribe could have known about the large prison and slave camps on the planet, their 'Mechs went straight for them. After easily overpowering the guards, they were soon freeing the many thousands of prisoners. Several DropShips then landed in the midst of the prison complexes to load up and transport all the freed prisoners offworld before the Kurita 'Mechs could arrive on the scene. Though no one realized it for quite awhile, the liberation of the prisoners and Unproductive on Richmond was the last time the Minnesota Tribe was seen in the Inner Sphere. Both the Minnesota Tribe and the debacle of the Chahar Profit rescue took a heavy toll on the Kuritans' ability to control the thinking of their people. Though the government did its best to suppress accounts of the Minnesota Tribe, stories did spread, particularly through the lower classes. Like a vision of avenging angles, the Tribe had swept down to free political prisoners and members of the lower class. The fact that everyone believed they were a Regular Army unit only added to their aura of offering divine assistance to the righteous and the poor. These stories soon combined with accounts of the Commonwealth's rescue of the Chahar Profit. Like a slow virus, the dogma that the Draconis Combine was destined to rule the Inner Sphere began to show signs of erosion from within.

Folklore of the Periphery The Vandenberg White Wings & The Disappearing Battleship of Merope Periphery Folklore, ComStar Archives Another favorite tale is told in smokey taverns on cold winter nights is one about the Vandenberg White Wings, squadrons of white AeroSpace Fighters that appeared on the Periphery edge of the Capellan Confederation escorting 20 Star League transports. The Disappearing Battleship of Merope is yet another story about a Black Lion battleship that was seen and filmed orbiting Merope, but then vanished when ships from the Inner Sphere came to investigate.

Official & Private Histories of the Clans Clan Wolverine (Annihilated by Clan Wolf in 2823) Excerpt from Lore Masters' Office on Strana Mechty, Grand Lore Master Breen, February 2823, Clan Press. The Wolverines were among the most vocal critics of Nicholas Kerensky's authoritarian rule over the Clans. Official Clan history states that they were annihilated for espousing anti-Clan sentiments, such as democracy and independence, but the reality is somewhat different. Many clans were suffering internal strife at the time of the Clan Wolverine incident, and Nicholas saw that the Clans as a whole were on the brink of rebelling against his authority. The Wolverines served as both object lesson and common enemy against whom the other nineteen Clans could unite. Clan Wolf carried out the Grand Council's sentence against Khan Sarah McEvedy and her Clan, but a later investigation strongly suggested that some individuals - predominantly civilians and second - line troops- had been able to flee. Officially put down to bad book keeping, the whereabouts and disposition of any survivors remains unknown. Wolverine "Treachery" Official Clan History & the Journals of Nicholas Kerensky Nicholas Kerensky's new society, with its formalized rules of combat, was not completely accepted by all his followers. In 2823, Clan Wolverine rejected a Grand Council decision on the division of equipment found in a Brian Cache in Wolverine territory, claiming that the cache belonged to Clan Wolverine alone. They invoked a Trial of Refusal and lost. They did not accept the ruling, but shocked the rest of the Clans by declaring Clan Wolverine totally independent. IlKhan Nicholas Kerensky declared that Clan Wolverine had become "tainted by the old ways of lust for power." He urged the Grand Council to vote for a Trial of Annihilation against the rebellious Clan. The resulting vote was swift and unanimous, and Clans Wolf and Widowmaker won the honor of annihilating Wolverine. The first rumblings of discontent came from a surprising source: Clan Jade Falcon. Many of their ranks were upset that Nicholas had chosen to join the Wolf Clan rather than the Falcons at the end of Operation Klondike. Disappointment made them question Nicholas’ ideals (though not his methods), and for a time walked a fine line between criticism and treason. Eventually the Falcon Khans cut out what they termed the “cancer” at their core. In July 2823, they purged dissident elements, in effect cutting off part of themselves so that the whole Clan would survive. The Falcons that emerged from what they called “The Culling”, though weaker militarily, were totally committed to Kerensky’s vision and were thenceforth counted among the most traditional-minded Clans. However, the Falcons were not alone in their treasonous mutterings. Trial of Annihilation Official Clan History Wolf and Widowmaker took the opportunity of the Trial of Annihilation to expand their prestige, each at the cost of the other. The longtime rivalry between these two Clans was fierce and bitter. The bidding between the two Clans for the honor of destroying Clan Wolverine turned the bitterness into hate. The Wolf Clan version of The Remembrance states that Clan Widowmaker deliberately drove the bidding down to dangerous levels, then withdrew, leaving the warriors of Clan Wolf facing the majority of Clan Wolverine at very poor odds. Clan Widowmaker was pleased when Clan Wolf suffered major losses in the battle, but their hatred was fanned higher by Clan Wolf's eventual triumph over Clan Wolverine. The warriors of Clan Wolverine were dead, and the Grand Council moved to purge its tainted ways from Clan society. The Wolverine Bloodnames were eliminated from the gene pool, all Wolverine lower-caste citizens were sterilized, and all mention of Clan Wolverine was removed from Clan documents. Rumors among the Clans say that some Clan Wolverine warriors escaped and fled the Clan worlds. It is probably no coincidence that the "Minnesota Tribe" that attacked the perimeter of the Combine struck in 2825, a year after the annihilation of Clan Wolverine. This tribe was reported as using brand-new 'Mechs, fighting in ways alien to the Inner Sphere. Tensions between Clans Widowmaker and Wolf escalated into a bitterly fought battle that would mark the end of an era for the Clans. Warriors from Widowmaker claimed Wolf had cheated in its victory that annihilated the Wolverines. Clan Wolf responded by accusing Clan Widowmaker of misusing the bidding system to deliberately place Wolf warriors in hopeless situations. This animosity lasted through a decade marked by vicious Trials of Possession that often skirted the limits of the Grand Council's rules of combat. Crossing the Line The Journals of Nicholas Kerensky & excerpts from the Grand Council security tape; 8 October 2823. Most of what follows is recreated from Nicholas’ journals. Unlike official Clan records, they were never purged of their references to the Not-Named Clan. Nicholas feared (probably correctly) that his grip on the Clans was slipping, and flexed his muscles as IlKhan against the main opposition to his authority: Clan Wolverine. At Nicholas’ urging, on 28 August, 2823, the Grand Council declared that the Brian Cache on Circe—which the Wolverine had used to supply their Touman----was no longer Wolverine property. The Council ordered them to share it with their neighbors, Clan Snow Raven. Violating the Clans socialist principles, the Wolverines objected strenuously. The ensuing political battle raged for several weeks. On 30 September, while the Wolverine saKhan was attending to business on Circe, the Council called for a vote (the Wolverine saKhan cast his vote via HPG). The Wolverines’ protest was rejected, whereupon they demanded a Trial of Refusal as was their right under Clan law. The Trial was fought on 7 October: the Wolverines lost. The situation deteriorated further in the Grand Council chamber, as frayed tempers led to increasingly acrimonious exchanges. Wolverine Khan Sarah McEvedy hoped to win over other Clans to her cause; she knew that Nicholas’ dictatorial actions worried several of her fellow Khans. However, Nicholas was a canny politician and knew McEvedy’s weaknesses. As her support grew, he goaded her into making a fatal mistake. In a particularly blunt exchange, she insulted him directly—and by extension, the Clans themselves. With a few ill-chosen words, McEvedy destroyed her power base and any hope of liberalizing the Clans. To make matters worse, when Nicholas called for a Trial of Grievance, McEvedy committed the ultimate sin: she declared the Wolverines independent of the Clans. In doing so, she gave Nicholas exactly what he wanted—an excuse to destroy his opposition: Kerensky[ilKahn): My honorable friend the Khan from Clan Wolverine continues to ignore the decisions of this body, as verified by the recent trial. I do not care that the cache is that of the 331st Royal Division, her father’s command. This body is agreed that the caches are a resource belonging to the Clans as a whole. In the old order, her paternal loyalty would be commended, but this is not the old order. We are the Clans. We stand on our own merits, not those of our ancestors. Sarah McEvedy [Wolverine]: Except you. Kerensky [IlKhan]: I beg your pardon? McEvedy: I said, except you. You seem perfectly happy to bask in your father’s achievements. He was a visionary who sought justice and peace for all. You seek control. Mitchell Loris [Mongoose]: Khan McEvedy, you go to far. McEvedy: Do I? I know many of you in this chamber found our IlKhan’s actions to secure control of the Pentagon population offensive. The Star League did not believe in torture and brutality. Those are the tools of the power-hungry madmen. Is that what you have become, Nicholas Kerensky? A power-hungry madman? << Raised voices from all parties >> Kerensky: SILENCE! McEvedy, Khan of Clan Wolverine, I, Nicholas Kerensky, IlKhan of the Clans, do call for a Trial of Grievance. By our laws, you may---- McEvedy: Hang your laws. Does the truth hurt so much, Nicholas? Kerensky: Fellow Khans, our colleague is clearly overwrought. I call for a vote of censure. Loremaster Ward, please— McEvedy: Don’t bother, Nicholas. I’ll leave. In fact, we’ll all leave. Clan Wolverine no longer recognizes the authority of the IlKhan or the Grand Council. From this point forward, we are an independent power. We decide our own fate, fairly and according to the Star League. Kerensky: You cannot do this. McEvedy: I can and I have. << McEvedy moves to leave >> Kerensky: Arrest her! << McEvedy draws her pistol; the Khans and security guards back off. A detachment of Wolverine troops arrives >> McEvedy: If you want to face us fine—but we will not hold back. Prepare to reap the whirlwind. << McEvedy storms out >> Kerensky: My Khans, we face a serious decision...... The Escape of Clan Wolverine Excerpted from the private journals of Nicholas Kerensky Correlated against the Star League Defense Forces' historical database from the Former Clan Wolverine Khan McEvedy escaped Strana Mechty and returned to Circe, where saKhan Franklin Hallis had already placed the Wolverine Touman on full alert. When Snow Raven forces acting on their own initiative probed the Wolverine border on 10 October, the Wolverines counterattacked. They showed no mercy, and after a short battle sacked the Raven capital of Dehra Dun. They retreated in the face of Clan Mongoose and Nova Cat forces massing, but not before making an object lesson of the city. After driving all civilians from the area, they used a low-yield nuclear weapon to destroy the Raven genetic repository. The message was simple and brutal: You have backed us into a corner, and we will do anything and everything to stop you. Cowed by this “barbaric” action, the Mongoose, Nova Cat, and Snow Raven forces withdrew pending the Grand Council’s final deliberations. With the destruction of the repository, the question of how to punish the Wolverines took a new twist. The Grand Council had voted on 8 October to censure McEvedy and the Wolverines, but had ultimately intended to bring them back into the Clan fold. Now they enacted the ultimate punishment. On 11 October, the Khans voted for the Annihilation of the entire Wolverine Clan. As sentence was passed, Nicholas delivered what became his most famous quote: “Those who break faith with the Unity shall go down to darkness.” Over the next few days, the remaining nineteen Clans battled for the honor of destroying the rebels; eventually the contest came down to Clans Widowmaker and Wolf. However, in order to win the bidding, the Wolves were forced to go below the accepted cut-down. Khan McEvedy arrived back on Circe on 13 October and took charge of the preparations of the impending assault. The Wolverine Khans suspected was Nicholas planned , and saKhan Hallis deliberately absented himself from the Council for the fateful vote. Following McEvedy’s orders, he was preparing for a third Exodus. McEvedy and Hallis both knew that the Wolverines would never be safe in Clan space. To ensure their Clan’s survival, they scattered small units throughout the Pentagon worlds and the Kerensky Cluster, collecting material from supply caches and preparing to flee. The Ghost Bears spotted one such unit, but kept the information secret for decades. Wolf Clan forces began their assault on 25 October, beating off a Wolverine counterattack on their landing zone. They fought the rebels on land, in the air, and in space. The battle raged for two days, and though outnumbered, the Wolves prevailed. A running battle ensued as the Wolverines attempted to flee Clan space. Many vessels on both sides were destroyed, but after nineteen days the Wolves were victorious. Almost eighty percent of the Wolf force died; there were no Wolverine survivors. Nicholas Kerensky killed Hallis in a brutal, three-hour duel on Circe. No trace was ever found of McEvedy. For the next two months, the Wolf force systematically destroyed the Wolverines’ holdings, demolishing buildings, and forcibly sterilizing their civilian castes. All sibko’s containing Wolverine genes were terminated. Despite these measures, on 22 January of 2824, the Wolf Loremaster presented a troubling report to the Grand Council. A census of Wolverines’ population and equipment showed numerous discrepancies, While most of the front-line troops had been accounted for on Circe, many of the second-line warriors appeared to be missing—along with most of the 331st Division’s equipment from the disputed Brian cache. Similarly, there were fewer civilians than expected. Officially, the discrepancies were put down to bad record keeping. In reality, however, the Grand Council suspected a sizable portion of the Wolverines had escaped, probably to the Inner Sphere... To be continued...

Bibliography: Star League, House Kurita and Comstar Sourcebooks, FASA. Credits: 331st-Minnesota Tribe insignia illustration ©1996 by Christopher T. Merkel (e-mail) Star League-Cameron Star insignia ©FASA Corporation, redrawn for web display purposes by Christopher T. Merkel (e-mail) Photographs in History section (mthistory*.shtml) are ©United Kingdom Royal Army, and the United States Marine Corps through MarineLink, various photographers, www.army.mod.uk and www.usmc.mil for more information. Images used without permission for non-profit organization. All other images contained herein, unless otherwise specified, are ©1999 by Christopher T. Merkel (e-mail)