Adam Steiner

Adam Steiner is a almost legendary figure amongst the Federated Commonwealth due to his actions during the Clan Invasion. A member of a cadet line of House Steiner, he rose to prominence after the Truce of Tukayyid and during the events of the Loyalist Rebellion. While gaining rapidly in ranks and power within the AFFC, Adam Steiner keeps a chip on his shoulder towards Clan Jade Falcon after they captured his homeworld of Somerset and made his brother Andrew disappear.

Early Life

Adam Steiner was born in a wealthy family on Somerset, a relative of Field Marshal Roman Steiner and technically second in line to the title of Duke of Somerset. His schooling was mostly done in specialized private schools, with additional work being sent to him from the Tharkad School for the Gifted. He was extremely close to his older brother Andrew, even though they had a significant age difference. In 3041, he joined the Military Academy of Somerset to become a MechWarrior, even though he had received an invitation to join the Nagelring. His results were viewed as incredible for such a “backwater academy”, and he graduated on a Captain commission in 3045, before being transferred to the Nagelring to serve as an instructor.

Military Career

Clan Invasion

At the start of the Clan Invasion, Adam Steiner served as a Major at the Nagelring, giving courses on small unit tactics. With the fall of Somerset, Adam approached his cousin Melissa to be given a command to attempt to retake his homeworld, which was granted with the formation of the First Somerset Strikers.

Working through Clan territory as a recon in force, the Strikers captured multiple pieces of Clan hardware which were sent to Tharkad and NAIS for analysis, leading to the completion of the Bushwacker program and other upgrades to existing machines. The war record of the Strikers became a popular topic amongst the officers of the AFFC while the enlisted loved the stories of heroism which were included in the reports.

Against all odds, Adam Steiner recaptured Somerset in November 3050, bringing incredible national pride. Unfortunately, lack of supplies and reinforcements forced the First Somerset Strikers to retreat off world. The Strikers were integrated into the larger Donegal Guards but their legend kept growing.

With the Truce of Tukayyid, it was expected that the Clans would not move forward towards Terra, but there was fear that other worlds would still be invaded. Adam Steiner requested to take forces to raid the world of Barcelona, both as a Recon in Force and potentially to retake the world. After two weeks of intense fighting, Adam’s forces recaptured the world while also successfully gathering more examples of Clan technology, notably second line ‘mechs like the Griffin IIC and Phoenix Hawk IIC.

Keeping the Peace

After his success, Adam Steiner was promoted to Colonel and put in charge of the Fourteenth Donegal Guards, which were redirected to the Clan front from their former position in the St.Ives Compact. The Tharkad Broadcasting Corporation also created a rather fictionalized account of Adam’s exploits during the Clan Invasion, which quickly increased his prestige. Unsure of what to do, Colonel Steiner kept drafting plans for raids into Clan territory for his unit and other associates.

A lot of Steiner’s work at the time was concentrated on keeping the peace on the Clan border, as unrest kept growing in the population and the nobles, many asking for retaliatory strikes against the Clans while other decried the lack of support from the Federated Suns. Colonel Steiner’s made sure nothing turned into violence, but the tensions exploded during the Skye Revolt. As a member of House Steiner, Adam was approached by agents working for Ryan Steiner to “secure his loyalty to the Lyran crown”, which the Colonel originally understood as serving under Archon Melissa Steiner. The events on Skye and surrounding worlds woke Adam up to the world of politics within the Lyran portion of the Federated Commonwealth.

Colonel Steiner was quickly approached by Jackson Davion, Bishop Sortek and Melissa Steiner to confirm his loyalties. Adam was unsure of what was actually going on, having been mostly focused on the Clan front, but he repeated his oath of allegiance to Melissa Steiner and the AFFC. He was promoted Leutnant-General and given command over the Melissia Theater for the time being as Kathleen Heany replaced Nondi Steiner as Lyran State Commander.

This arrangement was short-lived as Adam worked with his Federated counterparts to secure the Clan front both from enemies within and without and Kathleen Heany left her position as she could not manage the pressure. To put Adam Steiner on par with his counterparts, he was raised to the rank of Marshal after he was also awarded the stewardship of Melissia. This secured Steiner’s position as the new Lyran State Commander, which satisfied a good portion of the population.

Fifth Succession War

As the Fifth Succession War broke out, Adam Steiner gave full control of the Tamarind March to Caesar Steiner while Stephen Davion was officially in charge of the Lyran worlds in the Terran corridor. Various other Lyran commanders tried to pin dereliction of duty on the young Hauptmann-General, who replied with a competent defense of multiple worlds in his area of operation against Clan invaders. With his headquarters on Melissia, Adam Steiner coordinated multiple operations against nearby Clan garrisons as well, acquiring important intelligence.

His limited actions against Nondi Steiner’s Loyalists were sometimes pointed out as potential signs of treason. However, Jackson Davion vouched for the actions of Hauptmann-General Steiner. It wasn’t until the 3063 that Adam Steiner had to take more decisive actions against local Loyalist. Multiple regional and planetary lords had to be removed from office for their actions, which Adam justified to the population as opposing the rightful ruler of the Lyran Commonwealth in Melissa Steiner.

Personal Life

Adam Steiner is a well-read individual but mostly prefer practical literature to fiction. His older brother having been the one prepared to take over the House of Borge-Steiner, Adam had spent more time refining his military skills than political skills in his youth. He is considered as qualified as a AsTech for BattleMech repairs. Rumors abound of Adam Steiner’s relation with his XO, Rachel Specter, but there never has been discussion of marriage between the two. As with most members of House Steiner, Adam is a practicing Lutheran.

Adam Steiner’s BattleMech

Adam Steiner piloted a variety of ‘mechs in his career with the AFFC, starting with a AXM-2N Axman named “Gauntlet”, followed by an AWS-9Ma Awesome. These ‘Mechs having been lost in the retaking and then loss of Somerset, he was given a Thunder Hawk as he was given command of the Fourteenth Donegal Guards in 3057.

Clan Watch Report

“The meteoric rise in popularity of Adam Steiner proves that control of the media is critical in the Inner Sphere. While he is a competent commander and leader, his heroics (both fabricated and real) are what drives his popularity both with the average population and amongst the leaders of the Inner Sphere. Compared to a Jackson Davion, Adam Steiner does not have the military experience which would be required for someone in his position, making him potentially a weak link in the AFFC command structure.”