![[Star Adder Logo]](btpics/csa.gif)
Go, Star Adder;
You are the stalker, the hunter, the killer.
Your prey stands before you;
Show them the way
of the True Warrior
Clan Star Adder was founded by General Absalom Truscott, a longtime friend of Nicholas Kerensky. Truscott was one of
Kerensky's first choices to be a Clan Khan. His exemplary record prior to the Second Exodus and command of the 146th
Royal BattleMech Division (formerly commanded by Nicholas Kerensky) were ample reason for his elevation to the rank of
Khan. Khan Truscott selected a former noncom, Devon Lefabre, to act as saKhan. Together, the pair began to build into the
new Clan Star Adder a sense of military tradition and esprit de corps. Teamwork became the hallmark of the Clan.
In the early 2800's, while Nicholas Kerensky began to plan to retake the Pentagon worlds, Khan Truscott sent a group of
JumpShips and WarShips to gather intelligence about the warring worlds. The information they brought back enabled Truscott
to plan Operation Klondike. The plan was quickly approved by the Grand Council and all twenty Clans began the necessary
preparations. The Star Adders drilled relentlessly for their part. This training ultimately saved the Clan from destruction.
During the assault on Arcadia, the Star Adders found themselves isolated on the Aeschel Plateau. Surrounded by a superior
force of Arcadian defenders, the Star Adders ultimately defeated the Arcadian forces. But the cost was high, Khan Absalom
Truscott and twenty percent of the Star Adder force were killed in the fighting. SaKhan Lefabre quickly took over as Khan
and led the survivors to victory over the remaining Arcadian forces.
After the fighting for Arcadia was over, the Star Adders began the slow process of rebuilding and consolidating their new
holdings. The Adders began incorporating former Arcadian troops into their ranks to quickly rebuild their Clusters. Despite
occasional flare-ups of resentment, the Star Adder Khans were determined to maintain a strong sense of Clan unity. This unity
and respect for the Clan way made them amongst the first to call for a Trial of Annihilation against the Not-Named Clan.
When Nicholas Kerensky was killed during the battle between Wolves and Widowmakers, the Adder Khans again voted for
Absorption as an example to show others the folly of defying the Clan way.
As time passed, Khan Lefabre followed through on one of Absalom Truscott's requests: expand into several nearby star
systems. The Star Adders quickly colonized worlds in four systems and, in 2837, moved their capital from Arcadia to the
planet Sheridan. The slow but constant expansion brought the Clan many enemies, including Clan Mongoose.
Clan Mongoose, long a critic of the Star Adders, launched a number of unprovoked attacks against several Adder holdings.
The Adders were able to repel the initial attacks but at great losses. A Clan Mongoose massacre of the Adder colony on the
planet Marshall enraged the Adders. The Adder Khans led the Quasar Keshik on a retributive raid, destroyed the Mongoose
Cluster to the last man and claimed the Mongoose world of Tokasha for their own.
Things were relatively quiet for the next twenty years. Clan Mongoose, however, still nursed a grudge against the Star Adders.
In 2863, they launched a massive new campaign, this time using OmniMechs. The Adders were caught completely by surprise
and colony after colony fell to the Mongoose. The Adders weakened situation became worse as Clan Coyote also began
raiding the Star Adders. In a matter of months, the Star Adders lost nearly half their holdings but managed to salvage several
OmniMechs, from which they developed their own versions.
Three years later, the Star Adders retaliated against Clan Mongoose. The Adder forces now included three full Galaxies of
OmniMechs. At very nearly the same time, the Smoke Jaguars brought a dispute against Clan Mongoose to the Grand
Council. The Mongoose Khan tried to talk his way out of the situation, but the Clan rejected his arguments. Khan Theodore
Osis of Clan Smoke Jaguar then demanded a Trial of Absorption against Clan Mongoose, which the Council granted.
The Smoke Jaguars launched their own offensive just as the Star Adder assault ended. The Jaguars quickly defeated the
Mongoose Clusters and Absorbed the Clan. Theodore Osis, however, claimed that the Adders had tainted the Jaguars victory
by battling Clan Mongoose before the Jaguars launched their Trial of Absorption. The Grand Council rejected the dubious
argument, but the incident started a long simmering feud between the two Clans.
Soon after, Clan Star Adder began to prosper as never before. The Khans negotiated a deal with Clan Burrock that allowed
the Adders use of Burrock transports in exchange for resource rights on any world they discovered. The new Adder colonies
quickly started producing large quantities of raw materials needed for many aspects of Clan life, including vital ores and gases
needed for space travel. As sole owners to those resources, both the Star Adders and Burrocks quickly became extremely
wealthy.
Even as the other Clans debated amongst themselves about returning to the Inner Sphere, the Star Adders soon resolved
themselves to the Crusader camp. Many Adder warriors believed that they must first unite all the Clans before invading, but
the temptation to return was overwhelming to some.
Adder saKhan Carson Graves tried to convince several high ranking Clan Coyote warriors to bring false charges against their
Clan in the Grand Council, with the end result being the Absorption of the Coyotes by the Star Adders. The Coyote Khans
learned of the plan, however, and declared a Trial of Annihilation against the Coyote conspirators, completely wiping out their
Bloodlines.
The Star Adder senior Khan at that time, Eamon Phousath, challenged Graves to a Trial of Grievance and bested him. He then
stripped Graves of his ranks and status, and then sent Graves and his genetic legacy to the Coyotes as surkairede. The
Coyotes quickly executed Graves and destroyed his legacy. They also wanted to destroy the entire Graves Bloodheritage, but
Phousath refused to let them. This incident led to more open fighting between the Clans.
A few years later, the Crusaders brought up the call for invading the Inner Sphere. Many Clan Khans agreed with the
Crusaders, but the skillful compromise negotiated by Wolf Khan Kherlin Ward forestalled the invasion. Ward's suggestion to
send a freeborn force into the Inner Sphere under the guise as mercenaries in order to gather intelligence struck a chord with
the Adder Khans. They agreed that more information was needed before proceeding. Khan Gerrick N'Buta offered the
Wolves materiel and personnel for the operation, but Khan Ward politely refused the offer.
While the newly formed Wolf's Dragoons proceeded with their mission, the Star Adders began running a series of simulations
to determine how best to handle the barbarians of the Inner Sphere. The information provided by the Dragoons over the next
twenty years helped refined the simulations. The Adder Khans, however, soon became concerned about the force level
needed to conquer their lost homeworlds. Years of mock battles had shown that caution was required in any invasion plan the
Clans prepared. While the average Inner Sphere mechwarrior was no match for his Clan counterpart, the sheer number of
Inner Sphere 'Mech regiments was cause for concern.
In 3048, Smoke Jaguar Khan Leo Showers presented evidence that Inner Sphere was well on the road to recovery and could
someday pose a threat to the existence of the Clans, the Adder Khans sided with their longtime enemies in the call for invasion.
The Star Adders were eliminated in the early bidding, however. Their many mock battles showed that the Inner Sphere could
be a far more formidable foe than expected and the Khan's bidding reflected that. Although disappointed by the loss of their
place in the invasion force, the Adder Khans soon launched a series of raids against the Diamond Sharks, ordering more after
that Clan's heavy losses at Tukayyid.
In late 3058, Khan N'Buta discovered a conspiracy that linked the bandit caste to the Clan Burrock leadership. For the last
century, the Burrocks appeared to have been aiding and equipping the bandit caste. Worse, the senior Burrock Khan was
actively hiding all the evidence leading back to her Clan. Khan N'Buta brought this incriminating evidence before the Grand
Council and demanded a Trial of Absorption against the Burrocks. Despite a bitter protest from Clan Blood Spirit, the Grand
Council granted Khan N'Buta's request.
Khan N'Buta gathered his forces and launched an all-out assault against the Burrocks. Much of the fighting centered on the
Burrock homeworld of Albion. The Burrocks committed four Galaxies against three Adder Galaxies. The Burrocks fought
well, but their force soon crumbled under the weight of the Adder assault force. Khan N'Buta's plan to eliminate the key
conspirators as quickly as possible succeeded. The senior surviving Burrock officer offered to do battle with Khan N'Buta to
prevent the Trial of Absorption from turning into a Trial of Annihilation. Before the battle could take place, Clan Blood Spirit
launched a massive three Galaxy assault on Albion.
The Star Adders quickly joined forces with the surviving Burrock forces. The combined force battle the Blood Spirit Galaxies
for five days before the two surviving Spirit Clusters retreated. Similar battles took place on other disputed worlds. The cost
was heavy for all three Clans involved in the fighting. The Burrocks lost four Galaxies, the Star Adders three Galaxies and the
Blood Spirit lost all but eight Clusters of the seven Galaxies it had committed to the battle.
Although the Star Adders suffered heavy losses, the Absorption of many Burrock warriors into their ranks has quickly helped
to replenish their touman. Khans N'Buta and Paik restructured the touman into four frontline and seven secondline Galaxies to
handle their newly expanded holdings. Even so, they are stretched thin. The Adders are also committed to upholding a
Burrock agreement to Clan Cloud Cobra to provide a secondline Galaxy to the defense of the planet Tanite. In exchange, the
Cobras agreed to give the Adders one-third of Tanite's natural resources output and access to the new heavy laser technology.
The recent defeat of the Smoke Jaguars in the Inner Sphere and on Huntress has cemented the Star Adder's position in the
Clan hierarchy. Even the Harvest Wars, instigated by the Wolves and Jade Falcons, have done little to weaken the Clan's
strength. Soon the Star Adders will walk on the soil of Terra.