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  They broke their handshake and Vlad drifted back into the shadows. Phelan turned to face the Khan once more.

  Ulric peered into the room's shadowy depths. "I, Ulric Kerensky, Khan of the Wolves and Oathmaster of this Conclave, do welcome you, Phelan Patrick Kell, to the Clan of the Wolves. According to custom handed down since Aleksandr Kerensky led our forefathers from this place and his son Nicholas saved us from ourselves, you will be known to the Children of Kerensky as Phelan Wolf. All are to abide by the rede given here. Thus shall it stand until we all shall fall."

  "Thus shall it stand until we all shall fall," echoed the crowd. The lights illuminating Phelan's challengers and defenders died, leaving visible only Ulric, Ranna, and Phelan.

  No one spoke, and Phelan interpreted the only sounds he heard as the passage of the assembled Clanspeople from the room.

  When complete silence again reigned in the chamber, Ulric stepped forward and offered Phelan his left hand. "You are one of us now, Phelan Wolf. You are a bondsman no more. Through this Conclave, you have become a warrior. You are henceforth accorded all the rights and privileges of your station, as well as all the responsibilities and duty of a Wolf warrior."

  Phelan took Ulric's hand and shook it warmly. It was as though, for the first time, he belonged to something outside his family. "I thank you, my Khan, for this honor. But there is so much I don't know or understand. What did the challenges mean? What did Vlad mean in welcoming me to the House of Ward?"

  Ulric shook his head. "You are young yet, by our standards. All your questions will be answered in your training. Now, however, is a time for celebration. It has been nearly five decades since the Wolf Warriors adopted someone not born to the caste. You will also be honored and rewarded for your actions on the bridge, though I fear the most suitable reward must wait until our journey's end."

  "Journey?" He suddenly remembered the Precentor Martial's fleeting reference to the Clan's "absence."

  "What is this journey?"

  The Khan's eyes narrowed and the light from above made his face into a death's-head. "We will travel to where the Clans—all the Clans—must meet to discuss what we have done. We will elect a new ilKhan and review our successes and our failures. Then, under the leadership of the new ilKhan, we will return to the Inner Sphere and complete the liberation of the Star League from the forces that destroyed it three centuries ago!"

  EQUIVALENT RANKS IN INNER SPHERE MILITARIES, 3050

  FREE

  STANDARD FEDERATEDDRACONISRASALHAGUE

  MERCENARYCOMMONWEALTHCOMBINEREPUBLIC

  OFFICER RANKS:

  Marshal of theTai-shuÖverbefälhavere

  Armies(Warlord)

  Field MarshalTai-shoGeneral

  MarshalSho-shoGeneralmajor

  ColonelHauptmann GeneralTai-saÖverste-Lojtnant

  LieutenantLeftenant GeneralChu-saÖverste

  Colonel

  MajorKommandantSho-saMajor

  CaptainHauptmannTai-iKapten

  LieutenantLeftenantChu-iLdjtnant

  ENLISTED RANKS:

  Sergeant MajorSergeant MajorSho-koFanjunkare

  Kashira

  Shujin

  SergeantSergeantGunsoSergeant

  CorporalCorporalGo-choKorpral

  Gunjin

  PrivatePrivate HeishiMenig

  Hojuhei

  Glossary

  AUTOCANNON

  The autocannon is a rapid-firing autoloading weapon. Light vehicle autocannon range from 30 to 90 mm caliber, while heavy 'Mech autocannon may be 80 to 120 mm or more. The weapon fires high-speed streams of highexplosive, armor-piercing shells. Because of the limitations of 'Mech targeting technology, the autocannon's effective anti-'Mech range is limited to less than 600 meters.

  BATTLEMECH

  BattleMechs are the most powerful war machines ever built. First developed by Terran scientists and engineers more than 500 years ago, these huge, man-shaped vehicles are faster, more mobile, better armored, and more heavily armed than any 20th-century tank. Ten to twelve meters tall and equipped with particle projection cannons, lasers, rapidfire autocannon, and missiles, they pack enough firepower to flatten anything but another BattleMech. A small fusion reactor provides virtually unlimited power, and BattleMechs can be adapted to fight in environments ranging from sunbaked deserts to subzero arctic icefields.

  COMSTAR

  ComStar, the interstellar communications network, was the brainchild of Jerome Blake, formerly Minister of Communications during the latter years of the Star League. After the League's fall, Blake seized Terra and reorganized what was left of the League's communications network into a private organization that sold its services to the five Successor Houses for a profit. Since that time, ComStar has also developed into a powerful, secret society steeped in mysticism and ritual. Initiates to the ComStar Order commit themselves to lifelong service.

  JUMPSHIPS AND DROPSHIPS

  JumpShip

  Interstellar travel is accomplished via JumpShips, first developed in the 22nd century. Named for their ability to "jump" instantaneously from one point to another, the vessels consist of a long, thin drive core and an enormous sail. The sail is constructed from a specially coated polymer that absorbs vast quantities of electromagnetic energy from the nearest star. Energy collected by the sail is slowly transferred to the drive core, which converts it into a spacetwisting field. After making its jump, the ship cannot travel again until it has recharged its drive with solar energy at its new location. Safe recharge times range from six to eight days.

  JumpShips travel instantaneously across vast interstellar distances by means of the Kearny-Fuchida hyperdrive. The K-F drive generates a field around the JumpShip, then opens a hole into hyperspace. In moments, the JumpShip is transported through to its new destination, across distances of up to 30 light years.

  Jump points are the locations within a star system where the system's gravity is next to nothing, the prime prerequisite for operation of the K-F drive. The distance away from the system's star is dependant on that star's mass, and is usually many tens of millions of kilometers away. Every star has two principal jump points, one at the zenith point at the star's north pole, and one at the nadir point at the south pole. An infinite number of other jump points also exist, but they are used only rarely.

  JumpShips never land on planets, and only rarely travel into the inner parts of a star system. Interplanetary travel is carried out by DropShips, vessels that attach themselves to the JumpShip until arrival at the jump point. Most of the

  JumpShips currently in service are already centuries old, because the Successor Lords are unable to construct many new ones each year. For this reason, there is an unspoken agreement among even these bitter enemies to leave one another's JumpShips alone.

  DropShip

  Because JumpShips generally remain at a considerable distance from a star system's inhabited worlds, DropShips were developed for interplanetary travel. A DropShip attaches to hard points on the JumpShip, and will later be dropped from the parent vessel after entry into a system. DropShips are highly maneuverable, well-armed, and sufficiently aerodynamic to take off from and land on a planetary surface.

  LRM

  LRM is an abbreviation for "Long-Range Missile," an indirect-fire missile with a high-explosive warhead.

  NEW AVALON INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE (NAIS)

  In 3015, Prince Hanse Davion decreed the construction of a new university on New Avalon, planetary capitol of the Federated Suns. Known as the New Avalon Institute of Science (NAIS), its purpose is to recover the lost technologies and knowledge of the past. Both House Kurita and House Marik have followed with their own universities, but neither is as well bankrolled or staffed as the NAIS.

  PPC

  PPC is the abbreviation for "Particle Projection Cannon," a magnetic accelerator firing high-energy proton or ion bolts, causing damage both through impact and high temperature. PPCs are among the most effecti
ve weapons available to BattleMechs.

  SRM

  SRM is the abbreviation for "Short-Range Missiles," direct trajectory missiles with high-explosive or armorpiercing explosive warheads.

  STAR LEAGUE

  In 2571, the Star League was formed in an attempt to peacefully ally the major star systems inhabited by the human race after it had taken to the stars. The League continued and prospered for almost 200 years, until the Succession Wars broke out in the late 28th century. The League was eventually destroyed when the ruling body known as the High Council disbanded in the midst of a struggle for power. Each of the Council Lords then declared himself First Lord of the Star League, and within months, war had engulfed the Inner Sphere. These centuries of continuous war are now known simply as the Succession Wars, and continue to the present day. As a result, much of the technology that had brought mankind to its highest level of advancement has been destroyed, lost, or forgotten.

  SUCCESSOR LORDS

  Each of the five Successor States is ruled by a family descended from one of the original Council Lords of the old Star League. All five royal House Lords claim the title of First Lord, and they have been at each other's throats since the beginning of the Succession Wars in the late 28th century. Their battleground is the vast Inner Sphere, which is composed of all the star systems once occupied by the Star League member-states.