Archduke Tancred Sandoval

ancred Sandoval is the Duke of Robinson and commander of the Federated Commonwealth military in the Draconis March. He separates himself from many members of his family by being more tolerant of “Combine culture” and willing to forgive some of the crimes of their ancestors. He is a staunch supporter of the Steiner-Davion family, in contrast to some other regional lords in his assigned region. This is due in no small part to his relationship with Yvonne Steiner-Davion, which he married during the Fifth Succession War.

Early Life

Tancred Sandoval was raised on Robinson, where he received the best possible education from mentors and tutors rather than public or even private school. His father was always scared that “Combine spies” could infiltrate his network, so he kept Tancred very close to him and personally vetted all people who had access to him. This form of overprotection led Tancred to rebel during his teenage years by doing odd things, like dying his hair weird colors, adopting unusual clothing styles and listening to “inappropriate music”.

Against his father’s wishes, he attended the Sakhara Academy instead of the Robinson Battle Academy to “expand his horizons and improve on his fencing abilities”. The massive stipend provided to Duke James Sandoval by Sakhara Academy convinced him to let his son go there, which in turn was invested in what would become Robinson Standard BattleWorks. While his skills as a MechWarrior were noted, Tancred skills lied in intelligence gathering and processing, which earned him a Captain commission with the Intelligence Secretariat on New Avalon. He gladly accepted the position to move away from his father’s umbrella.

Intelligence Services Career

At the Intelligence Secretariat, Tancred originally served as a “paper boy”, sifting through piles of documents for necessary or relevant informations. In the aftermath of the War of 3039, the tensions between the Combine and the newly minted Federated Commonwealth were at their highest, and Tancred spent a significant amount of time learning more about the Combine culture and ethos. It is during that time that he started truly tempering his hatred and then dislike and then finally apathy towards the general Combine citizen.

In the early 3050s, he became a fencing instructor at the NAIS College of Military Sciences before taking a full-time position as a teacher at the institute for military intelligence. He was known to be rather dry and dull during his classes until the students had to do practical work, where he became incredibly fun and upbeat. In 3057, he met Yvonne Steiner-Davion for the first time as she was attending fencing classes at both of her brother’s request. The two had a difficult time at first, but the young princess realized that Tancred’s constant reprimands were due to her own inadequacies and not because of anything else.

Military Career

Taking up the Ducal throne

As the Fifth Succession War started with Operation GUERRERO, Tancred Sandoval was recalled to full time service in the Intelligence Secretariat but was then appointed to serve in the Draconis March Regional Command through a combination of his father’s machinations and Hanse Davion’s desire to see Tancred grow as a man and officer. He kept serving as an intelligence officer within the Command and kept recommending to the officers in charge to ignore the Draconis Combine and concentrate on the menace at hand, namely the Free Worlds League and Capellan Confederation.

This put Tancred very much at odds with his father, who was mustering troops for a frontal assault against the Combine. The Combine at the time was wracked by a refugee crisis, an almost civil war due to the Black Dragon Society and the constant threat of the Clans. In 3061, James Sandoval had gotten the full strength of the Draconis March ready for an invasion of Combine space, against the desire of First-Prince Victor Steiner-Davion and Archon Melissa Steiner. At the same time, Field Marshal Stephen Davion was constantly requesting assistance from other commands throughout the Federated Suns to help him in the Tikonov March, while the Crucis March were also threatened by the Taurian Concordat.

In a bold move which surprise many to this day, Tancred Sandoval allied himself with Field Marshal Vanessa Bisla and Hauptmann General Mai Fortuna of the First Robinson Rangers to walk into his father’s palace and depose him before giving the final order of mobilization. While there was apparently a sword duel between the two men, Tancred had the legal obligation to remove his father from office in the name of House Steiner-Davion. James Sandoval was exiled to an estate in the countryside.

On to the Front

With troops already mobilized, Field Marshal, and now Duke of Robinson, Tancred Sandoval split the units into two groups. The first one would go and reinforce First Prince Victor Steiner-Davion’s in the Crucis March to prevent more loss of life to wanton aggression by the Taurian Concordat. The second group he took command of directly, from the Avalon-class Cruiser FCS Lucien Davion, and went to support the AFFC forces in the Tikonov March. His ship personally engaged the FWLS Aineas in one of the first WarShip battle in the Inner Sphere since the First Succession War. Above the world of Hall as the AFFC was evacuating the planet, Tancred fought back the Aineas before dropping with the Robinson Rangers to rescue civilians evacuating the planet.

Sandoval followed this with operations throughout both the operational zones in the region, helping both Stephen Davion and Peter Steiner-Davion. Tancred personally led multiple operations planetside, leading from the front when possible. After getting injured in 3064, he returned to Chesterton where he married Yvonne Steiner-Davion in a private ceremony, getting reports from Vanessa Bilswa which remained on the front. He returned to full active duty after the orbital bombardment of Tikonov by the Word of Blake and the death of Peter Steiner-Davion. He took part in the preparation of the operation to “condemn ComStar actions” with Stephen Davion, but the schism between the Word of Blake and ComStar was revealed in full by the ComStar leadership.

In response to this, Tancred Sandoval took a fleet of AFFC WarShips and tracked a group of Word of Blake ships to the abandoned world of Jilin. In the largest ship to ship battle, again, since the First Succession War, the Draconis March Fleet destroyed 4 Word of Blake vessels and captured 1, losing 2 Fox-class frigates in the process.

Personal Life

Tancred Sandoval is a proven swordsman, favoring Renaissance European saber styles but having embraced a lot of other weapons. He has even practiced with the katana, which would have been unthinkable for a member of the Robinson family in the past. He has also learned how to fight using various polearms and spears. Other than this, Tancred enjoys playing various computer role playing games, especially focusing on high fantasy.

While he did not expect to marry her at first, Tancred Sandoval had kept a correspondence with Yvonne Steiner-Davion after they met at NAIS. While 20 years her elder, the two found many affinities with one another and quite enjoyed each other’s company. When Victor Steiner-Davion proposed Tancred marry Yvonne, the Duke of Robinson was surprised, but understood the move quickly. This allowed Victor and the Steiner-Davion family to keep better control over the Draconis March which had been in somewhat of a upheaval after Tancred’s actions against his father. This also further reinforced the ties of the Davion family with the other major houses in the Federated Suns, with Morgan Hasek-Davion still ruling in New Syrtis.

Tancred Sandoval’s BattleMech

Tancred Sandoval originally piloted a Black Knight. In 3057, he was one of the first to received one of the brand new Nightstar from the General Motors factories.

Clan Watch Report

“Tancred Sandoval is a consummate military commander and one of the rare minds in the Inner Sphere to understand WarShip combat. His political position, having married the third in line to the throne of the Federated Commonwealth, also gives him an edge over many other leaders in the largest realm of the Sphere. While he is quite far from our own front line, his mind and actions can potentially influence others, which can make him more dangerous still.”