Jiang-Jun Talon Zahn

Talon Zahn is a young officer in the CCAF having reached the highest rank possible due to a mix of loyalty to the regime and of military excellence. One of his greatest attributes is his lack of political aspiration, which ensures he will do his best at all costs rather than serve his own ego. He has become extremely popular with the troops during the Fifth Succession War but is completely loyal to Sun Tzu Liao.

Early Life

Talon Zahn was born on Ares to a upper-middle class family connected to Earthwerks Limited, the youngest of a family of 6. He performed exceptionally in school but was mostly remembered for his strict attention to detail and devotion to the Capellan state. He earned his citizenship easily and was given a grant to attend the Ares MechWarrior Academy by the planetary government. Upon graduation, he served with the Stapleton’s Grenadier for a year before he was transferred to Sian University to complete the Officer Training Program. His success gave him a lieutenant commission with the Second Confederation Reserve Cavalry.

Military Career

Climbing the Ladder

Talon’s talent at command were quickly discovered by Colonel Daniel Lovitt, and by 3047, he had been appointed as Executive Officer of the regiment as a Captain. He kept the position until there was a major shuffle of officers in the Reserves by Sun Tzu Liao after his mother’s death and his ascension to the throne. Promoted to Major, Zahn became the Executive Officer of the Capellan Reserves brigade under Colonel Beryl Liderkin. Being part of this command staff, he was selected by the Strategic Military Directorate to participate in the planning of Operation GUERRERO.

Operation GUERRERO and Tensions with Teng

From the beginning of the planning stages of GUERRERO, Zahn was considered “a real pain in the neck” by senior officers. The main issue was that while he always second-guessed higher ranke d officers and then challenged them to find a better solution than what he brought up, which they rarely could do. Major Zahn was popular with other officers at his own level, however, who used him to pass on information or complaints. The biggest problem was that Talon Zahn was almost always right in his assumptions, which prevented James Teng from simply removing him from the operation.

Talon Zahn was one of the officers which was more reticent to use the assistance of the Free Worlds League during Operation GUERRERO, as he saw the dual loyalty of the mercenaries hired by their former rival as a problem. He also had a more tempered view of what the CCAF would be able to do during the operation as it started. He warned Strategic Military Director James Teng that the assault on Sarna would required more than the Stapleton’s Grenadiers and the Tooth of Ymir mercenaries. This ended with a screaming match between the two and Zahn being put on administrative leave.

When the results of the operations on Sarna came back with the loss of most of the Grenadiers and the defection of the Tooth of Ymir, the Maskirovka investigated Talon Zahn and began removing command authority from James Teng. Talon Zahn received a dispatch from the Celestial Throne and he met with Chancellor Sun Tzu Liao, who listened to Major Zahn’s points and put him in charge of the Second Invasion of Sarna. After the operation’s resounding success, James Teng was removed from command and Talon Zahn appointed Sang-Jiang-Jun.

Director of the War

As Strategic Military Director, Talon Zahn’s first order of business was to try to close the loop on Operation GUERRERO. Both he and Sun Tzu Liao agreed that the operation had reached its apogee with the retaking of Sarna and that further actions against the Federated Commonwealth were likely to be more costly. Unfortunately, the war machine does not stop quickly, and things started bogging down in an uneasy long-term war instead. Jiang-Jun Zahn sat in planification as the war ran on two fronts now, with the largest concentration of forces in the former Sarna March and issues surrounding the St.Ives Compact.

Talon Zahn kept making weekly announcements to the Capellan people, talking about the state of the war. He rarely minced words and pointed out the truth of the various operations and missions, including the problems on the St. Ives front and the involvement of “anti-Capellan activists” of Free Capella. He also was clear about the involvement of the periphery powers and the Free Worlds League in the Fifth Succession War, being very critical of the Magistracy of Canopus lack of support to the Liao cause. He was officially sent to Canopus to request military assistance from the Magestrix after making this public in an announcement, which led the Magistracy to commit 4 regiments of troops to the “allied cause”.

The war’s end result was not as good as the Capellans had wanted, but Sun Tzu Liao rewarded Talon Zahn for his service with the Baton of Illustrious Service and Liao Sunburst of Gallantry.

Personal Life

Talon Zahn pretty much has no personal life for the public, which is what troubles a few analysts. The man lives and breathes “service to the state”, which is what brings up the conspiracy theories that he is not human, but a robot or a purpose “bred” human in service of House Liao. From the start of the Fifth Succession War to its end, Talon Zahn was seen on public broadcasts always with the same stoic face and stoic expression.

Now, of course, Jiang-Jun Zahn does have a personal life, and one that has gotten progressively more tumultuous as he became integrated into the Liao regime. Sun Tzu Liao took a massive liking to Zahn very early on and brought him in his inner circle, where the two debated ancient Chinese philosophy and Chinese history. Sun Tzu basically saw Talon Zahn as an older brother he never had. This did bring Talon into court intrigue as Kali Liao seduced him and attempted to “steal him away” from her brother. Zahn was smarter than to let this happen and reported his affair to Sun Tzu Liao, who then “returned Kali to her role as Duchess of Highspire”, removing her from the Sian court for the time being. Their illegitimate child, a daughter called Sati Liao, was taken from Kali at birth and brought to Sian. Talon Zahn is now engaged to Naomi Centrella, the second daughter of the Canopian ruler.

Talon Zahn’s BattleMech

As with many MechWarriors in the Capellan Confederation, Talon Zahn began his career piloting a Raven. As he never was a front-line officer, he kept the machine until he was gifted a new Emperor by Sun Tzu Liao.

Clan Watch Report

“Military strongmen are not all the same. Talon Zahn doesn’t show any inkling of wanting to play politics, but this is potentially the riskiest of strongmen out there. With dedication to the state rather than an individual, combined with brutal honesty, there is always the possibility that one can turn this man against the regime which he operates for with the right leverage.”