Lucian Carns was saKhan of Clan Nova Cats during the Clan Invasion and an incredible frontline commander. Originally from Clan Wolf, he “transferred over” to Clan Nova Cat in an odd trade between the two Clans. Even in his old age, he was regarded as a very competent warrior and upheld Clan ideals through his actions.

Early Life

Lucian was decanted on Babylon as part of a Carns-Nygren sibko in 2978. Early on, he showed a lot of promises and tested at the top of his creche. The only negative which often came out of his training documents was a tendency to daydream. This did not change his performance in combat, however, and he completed his initial Trial of Position with 3 kills, taking the position of Star Captain as part of a garrison cluster.

Career with the Wolf

As a Star Captain for Clan Wolf, Lucian Carns was involved in some political dealings early in his career. He had to reprimand two of his Star Commanders very early on as they got into a debate over Crusader and Warden philosophy which degenerated into a full-blown fight during a patrol. Carns himself did not ascribe to either philosophy, which did impact his standing in the Clan but made him palatable to officers on both sides of the divide.

In 3000, Lucian Carns was selected to defend the genetic legacy of Star Colonel Kerry Ward against Clan Steel Viper. During the operation, he used a combination of stealth with ‘mechs hiding in a forested area and line-breaking to force the Steel Vipers into a violent defeat. This victory unfortunately had the opposite result than expected for him, as he started to be “bidded out” of fights to improve the bidding by removing a skilled officer. This was a common practice at the time for the Wolves, as similar things were happening to the likes of Natasha Kerensky.

In 3006, Lucian Wolf was approached by the Oathmaster of Clan Nova Cat. Multiple Nova Cats apparently had visions of a brown wolf leading a pack of nova cats, and his reputation preceded him. In an odd turn of events, Clan Nova Cat asked Clan Wolf to allow them to take Lucian Wolf in exchange for a star of skilled MechWarriors, rather than bidding for him in a Trial of Position. Lucian initially refused while the Khan pondered the request but later requested his transfer as a means for him to go back to the frontlines.

Career with the Nova Cats

Early successes

After joining the Nova Cats, Lucian Wolf was promoted to Star Colonel after a successful combat action against Clan Star Adder. As opposed to his later time with the Wolves, Lucian constantly was allowed to fight for the Nova Cats. The only restriction Lucian put down was that he would refuse to fight Clan Wolf, which the Nova Cats leadership were happy to oblige.

While considered quite old at the time, Lucian Wolf was invited back by Clan Wolf to take part in a Trial of Bloodright in 3027. He was nominated by the Bloodhouse leader due to his constant service and talent, which many within the Wolves opposed by had to agree with. Lucian won his Trial by finally defeating an Elemental in unaugmented combat, proving his superior blood heritage.

Sakhan and the Outbound Light

The raw abilities of Lucian Carns kept him at the front of Clan Nova Cat, where he was now a Galaxy Commander. In 3046, Khan Severen Leroux selected him as a candidate for saKhan, which all the other Bloodnamed warrior agreed to. As he was a MechWarrior, he was given command of Vision Keshik and Alpha Galaxy.

SaKhan Lucian Carns worked with Khan Leroux to during the Outbound Light incident to ensure that the invasion of the Inner Sphere would go through. This was in line with visions Severen Leroux had, but contradicted visions of the Oathmaster. As Lucian Carns never had “visions” on his own, he had to defer to his superior in this regard, which he trusted implicitly. As a reserve Clan, the Nova Cats had limited presence at the start of the Invasion, but Lucian Carns served aboard the NCS True Vision to learn more about the Inner Sphere and the strategies of the invading clans.

When the True Vision was tasked with picking up Anastasius Focht, Oathmaster Biccon Winters believed the old man to be the Great Enemy she saw in her visions. Winters had to be restrained as she tried to kill Focht. In response, Winters called for a Trial of Refusal against Carns, which they fought on the hull of the True Vision, with Carns carefully disarming his opponent as to not kill her.

Luthien and Tukayyid

Lucian Carns was part of the operation on Luthien which combined the Nova Cats and Smoke Jaguar forces. Carns did not want to challenge Lincoln Osis over command of the operation due to the political situation within the Clans at the time, but he opoosed the Smoke Jaguar’s plans to take Luthien and favored a decapitating strike instead of a full-blown ground war. Carns, as the commanding officer of the ground forces, still broke with the plan and ordered a precision strike against the capital by Delta Galaxy. Unfortunately for them, the results were quite limited and the combined forces of the Kell Hounds and Wolf’s Dragoons weathered down the Nova Cats which were forced to retreat.

After the fight on Luthien, Lucian Carns was put in charge of rebuilding the damaged touman in any way he could. Disbanding Delta Galaxy to reinforce Alpha Galaxy, he then assaulted Teniente, which he captured but failed to capture Hohiro Kurita, which had been in charge of the defense. He then captured Kanowit in March of the same year.

At the Battle of Tukayyid, Lucian Carns was once again the ground forces commander for Clan Nova Cats. His skills as a frontline officer were put to the test against the Com Guard Seventh and Twelfth Armies. Carns proved once again that he was a superior tactician after he ambushed two divisions of Com Guards to steal their supplies to replenish the depleted Nova Cats forces. This unfortunately was not enough as Com Guard forces were able to recapture the lost supplies with a massive counterattack, which Carns could simply not defend against. He successfully retreated off-world with the remnants of the Nova Cats forces and gathered his findings in a report which was shared amongst the various Clans later on.

Khan in a New Era

With Severen Leroux retiring from active service after the election of Lynn McKenna, Lucian Carns took command of Clan Nova Cat. While he respected the edicts of the new ilKhan, Lucian Carns attempted to expand the reach of his Clan through trade and negotiations. More importantly, he reached out to the Draconis Combine and tried to open bilateral talks and trade with them, with limited success. While some of the other Clans viewed this as a potential breach of their trust, Clan Diamond Shark applauded their initiative and, along with Clan Burrock and Ice Hellion, followed suit by opening discussion with the Free Rasalhague Republic and Federated Commonwealth for civilian equipment, food and basic trade goods.

Many amongst the Nova Cats were unhappy with a former Clan Wolf warrior being their Khan, and Khan Carns leadership was challenged multiple times by other up and coming warriors. Using ilKhan McKenna’s edicts as a shield, Lucian fought off these challenges in non-lethal fashion. The Khan still managed to prove he was still quite sharp and skilled in his old age, but he made sure his saKhan was the much younger and very popular Santin West. Having named an elemental as his saKhan, which by edicts would need to be fought unaugmented for his position, Lucian Carns saved himself form a few constant stream of challenges.

First Vision and Suicide

In May 3063, Khan Carns met with Oathmaster Biccon Winters in a private meeting. During an evening meditation, the Khan saw the first “vision” in his life, a Nova Cat cat being eaten by a dragon while being strangled by a snake. Lucian realized at least that he should stop discussion with House Kurita, but he feared that his actions had tainted the Clan already. Oathmaster Winters worked with him to try to understand the meaning of the vision, but it slowly drove Lucian Carns mad, as the vision returned every time he meditated.

On May 16^th 3063, Lucian Carns was found dead in his quarters, having drunk a vial of poison. Some within the Clan believe that Oathmaster Winters poisoned the Khan, which she denied. As Santin West took command of the Clan, he cut all trade with the Draconis Combine and focused the efforts of the Nova Cat watch towards the “snake clans” to discover if something was amiss.

Personal Life

Lucian Carns was an odd man from his birth, even though he always tried to excel at everything he did. He was not a great politician and lacked Severen Leroux’s tactical acumen, but he was generally regarded as a fantastic field officer and motivational speaker. Many within the Clan looked at him with disdain as he came from another Clan, but he generally let his skill and experience speak for themselves. Lucian Carns had a freeborn son which joined the Nova Cats right before Operation REVIVAL, but he died in the Battle of Luthien. Carns was known to carry a memento of him after his death.

Lucian Carns’s BattleMech

Lucian Carns started his career piloting a Gargoyle OmniMech, which he brought with him when he transferred to Clan Nova Cat. The ‘Mech was lost in the Battle of Luthien, and he replaced it with a Shadow Cat for the Battle of Tukayyid. He finally received one of the first Nova Cat ever produced.