Battle of Santander (3059)

Year: 3059-3060

Factions involved:

• Clan Smoke Jaguar, Psi Galaxy
• Clan Snow Raven, Gamma Galaxy

Result:

• Planetary ownership changed, Santander becomes the Snow Raven Homeworld in the Inner Sphere.
• Lincoln Osis is killed and Brandon Howell becomes Khan of Clan Smoke Jaguar.

Background

Clan Snow Raven had indicated to all the other Clans that conquered worlds in the Inner Sphere would be general property of the Clans at large. This was in a bid to reduce fighting between the Clans, many of whom wanted to trial for the possession of various worlds, but also to allow a more even responsibility to protect the conquered world. Each Clan were, however, granted the permission to claim one of the conquered world (or a world they would later conquer) as a capital within the Inner Sphere, which they would administrate directly. While there was a lot of grumbling about this decision, the Clans which had not been part of the invasion supported this motion as it benefitted them greatly and they outweighed the invading clans in the voting process.

This is not to say things went smoothly and that the more ardent Crusader clans did not want to keep their territorial holding. Events like Case APOLLO which opposed the Jade Falcons and Goliath Scorpions were not unusual and trading for planetary concessions from the Smoke Jaguars was seen as almost impossible without a fight.

Clan Snow Raven decided on a planet to make their capital in the Inner Sphere in 3059 and announced their decision to the Clan council, having settled for the former pirate haven of Santander. A minor world with no real strategic or economic value, ilKhan McKenna expected Lincoln Osis to allow her to take the world with some trade concession, but Osis categorically refused. Discussions between the parties broke down by late 3059 and ilKhan McKenna activated Gamma Galaxy and their naval assets to move on Santander on January 1^st 3060.

On the Smoke Jaguars side of things, Lincoln Osis realized he would need to defend his world from “rampant imperialism” of the Snow Raven but had limited time and resources to do so. He mobilized all units from the provisional Psi Galaxy to Santander, equipping their command units with refurbished OmniMechs dating from Operation REVIVAL and providing their support units with masses of their new ProtoMechs to supplement their defensive positions.

Operation History

Opening salvo

Gamma Galaxy, carried by Brim Naval Assault Star, jumped into the Santander system on March 4^th 3060. They were faced with a group of assault dropships and support aerospace fighter elements, which ended up being no match for a full star of WarShips. The fleet approached Santander V unimpeded afterwards, sending a clear batchall for a Trial of Possession for the planet. Galaxy Commander Tristen Crow originally challenged Psi Galaxy’s Galaxy Commander Jonai Ott to a duel, which he refused. The two then agreed to fighting with their entire Galaxies for the fate of the planet until either side surrendered.

Santander was never a rich world or a populous world, and Psi Galaxy made sure the key planetary assets were well-protected from the initial attacks from the Snow Raven. Every Battle Armor star was supplemented by a point of ProtoMech to increase their potential efficiency, while standard ‘mech units had a support from ProtoMechs when going on patrol or raids. This drastic increase in military power for the, generally acknowledged as second-line, Smoke Jaguar Galaxy surprised Tristen Crow, who suffered multiple losses in early engagements.

Getting settled in

One thing Santander lacked was repair and refit facilities, which started causing issues to the defenders. Snow Raven’s Gamma Galaxy could easily pull their troops back into orbit and repair their units using the facilities in the Potemkin-class SRS Snowflake, while the Smoke Jaguars had to use makeshift locations and primitive pirate yards. Having understood this, Tristen Crow changed his strategy to hit those locations with overwhelming strength, preventing the ProtoMech force multiplier from affecting his plans. Galaxy Commander Jonai Ott was faced with not being able to repair and reequip his troops, which drove him further into the wasteland of Santander, where old pirate facilities remained.

Diamond Shark traders came to Santander to offer basic commodities to both parties, which was surprisingly accepted by the Snow Ravens. While war materiel was not allowed to be sold or traded to both parties, the Sharks were able to provide food, water and other necessities to the Jaguars, who were running low by early June. This humanitarian act did weigh in the balance when the Jaguars had to review their stance in the fight for Santander in another meeting of the Clan High Council in mid-June 3060.

A fight won like it should

Psi Galaxy performed admirably during the fight against the Ravens, who still needed more experience in fighting long term wars and engagements. In the end, however, by mid-July 3060, Psi Galaxy had depleted most of their supplies and their war machines. Gamma Galaxy, on the other hand, still had supplies and the capability to deploy quickly from orbit with no real impediments. Galaxy Commander Ott requested hegira as the Ravens sent the results to the Clan High Council through HPG.

Politics is not everyone’s game

Now there was one of TWO THINGS that Lincoln Osis could have done: accept the loss and let the Ravens take Santander, which is what most Khan expected, or ask for a Trial of Refusal from the ilKhan, which was not likely to be accepted. But once the message was read to the assembled Khans, there was a third possibility which nobody had expected, and Lincoln Osis decided to challenge the ilKhan to a trial for the position of ilKhan. The reaction from everyone involved was to first laugh, and then realizing that Osis was serious, quoting “the Snow Ravens having broken their own rules of engagement”, they looked at the Jaguars with a mix of stupor and amazement. SaKhan Brandon Howell distanced himself immediately from his Khan, going as far as to denounce his actions as unbecoming.

This enraged Lincoln Osis, who attacked his second in command in the Clan council room, which triggered the security team pulling him off and removing him. SaKhan Brandon Howell accepted the loss of Santander in the name of his Clan and wished ilKhan McKenna the best before leaving the room. He then challenged Lincoln Osis for his title as Khan, which Osis accepted to fight. The Trial was done almost immediately, Osis having his point of Elemental battle armors assist him in fighting Howell’s Timber Wolf.

Lincoln Osis was killed almost immediately with a precision shot from an ER PPC mounted in Brandon Howell’s Timber Wolf D. The whole affair coming to a close, Clan Smoke Jaguar had a new Khan and lost a planet, which many actually started believing was a good thing.

Aftermath

In direct military term, the Battle of Santander contributed in the adoption of the ProtoMech as a support unit for garrison units within the Clans. Clan Snow Raven was forced to use far more power than they expected to take Santander, which would have weakened them politically if not for the Smoke Jaguar’s poor judgement. The losses from both galaxies involved were recovered quickly by refitting older ‘mechs from Brian Caches, upgrading existing equipment and focusing on reequipping front-line units with more OmniMechs.

The Snow Raven’s control of Santander was unopposed by the local population, who just did not care who was ruling them. The Ravens bringing close to 300 000 “Lower caste” members to the planet did raise eyebrows from the other Clans, especially when massive construction projects began on the planet. Immigration rules were given to all other Clans who wanted to participate in the projects, even though the world was regarded as the new capital of the Snow Raven in the Inner Sphere.

By 3061, a basic spaceport and custom office had been built, allowing for more trade to and from Santander, while a basic HPG had been put into place. By 3062, ground was broken on the new Provisional Great Hall, which would allow the Khans to meet closer to the Inner Sphere rather than having to go back to Strana Mechty. Desalination plants and water treatment plants were built at key locations on the planet to allow for the construction of large living habitats for the newly established population. A basic Shipyard is also being built as of 3065, planned to be completed by 3068 with orbital docks for DropShips, JumpShips and WarShips.