Background
During Operation Klondike, the Goliath
Scorpions were assigned to assault the planet Dagda along with the Clans Burrock and Widowmaker. The operations success hinged
on taking a heavily fortified defense base on the continent of Riva. Scorpion saKhan Jenna Scott led her infantry Stars and
quickly captured the rebel communications center. The facility in Clan control, saKhan Scott ordered the assault to begin.
Things took a turn for the worse
when a group of rebels ambushed two Goliath Scorpion 'Mech Stars and destroyed all but one 'Mech. The Scorpion forces, led
by Khan Elam, quickly seized the base with minimal losses and executed the rebel commander. The conquest of the planet, however,
fell behind when the Fire Mandrill Khans began bickering amongst themselves. ilKhan Nicholas Kerensky subsequently ordered
Clans Wolf and Jade Falcon to assist in the conquest.
This set in motion a feud between
the Falcons' Carl Icaza and Scorpion saKhan Jenna Scott. The pair had once been lovers on Strana Mechty and gone through training
together. Icaza denigrated the Scorpions' combat abilities and claimed that only the Jade Falcons were capable of capturing
the assigned target. The Scorpions were forced to watch in silent frustration as the Wolves and Falcons completed the conquest
of Dagda.
Elsewhere, on Babylon, the Ice Hellions
found a lone warrior wandering the wastelands there. The warrior, identified as Ethan Moreau, a former General in the SLDF,
demanded to be taken to see Nicholas Kerensky. Moreau was taken to see the ilKhan. He pleaded for mercy and asked for forgiveness
for failing to heed the call for the Second Exodus. Impressed by Moreau's sincerity, Nicholas used the situation as the basis
for the rite of forgiveness - surkairede.
Nicholas gave Moreau the chance
to join one of the Clans, but the Ice Hellions refused to accept the aging warrior. Scorpion Khan Elam, who had been much
impressed by Moreau's plea for forgiveness, petitioned Nicholas to allow the Scorpions accept him as a trainer for the Scorpions
new cadets. Nicholas allowed the Scorpions to adopt Moreau into their Clan, but forbade them from using his genes in the breeding
program. Moreau eventually became the first Loremaster of Clan Goliath Scorpion and his influence went on to change the nature
of the Clan.
The Goliath Scorpions set up base
on Dagda and built their first enclave near the rocky shores and coastline. They soon became quite skilled at undersea mining,
developing an exoskeleton mining suit. This suit would later be acquired by Clan Wolf and become the basis for the Elemental
battle armor.
The Scorpions later stood by the
other Clans when the Not-Named Clan broke away from the unity of the Grand Council. Years later, when the WidowMakers and
Wolves engaged in their Trial of Absorption, LoreMaster Moreau led a Star of Scorpion Mechs into battle save a trapped Star
of Wolf 'Mechs from a superior force of WidowMakers. The battle came to an abrupt end when an artillery barrage killed Scorpion
Khan Elam and WidowMaker saKhan Vordermark. The Wolf forces regrouped and destroyed the remaining WidowMaker forces.
Though outraged at the Scorpion
interference, Wolf Khan Jerome Winson forgave the Scorpion's interference as Moreau claimed he was merely fulfilling his surkairede
obligation to the Wolf Clan. Khan Winson then ceded much of the WidowMaker enclave on Roche to the Scorpions in thanks for
their efforts.
Golden Century
It was during the Golden Century
that the drug necrosia, derived from the venom of the goliath scorpion, began to be widely used by the warrior caste. It was
widely known that the goliath scorpion's venom could induce a dream-state that often gave prophetic visions. Loremaster Moreau
had originally wanted the warriors to be stung by the goliath scorpion to receive the full power of the venom, but a high
mortality rate severely affected the viability of the warrior's gene pool. As a result, Scorpion scientists devised a ingestible
serum that would produce the same results but would not adversely affect the user.
A few years later, Loremaster Moreau
gave speech to the Clan Council where he told them of how the Goliath Scorpions would lead the other Clans to glory in the
Inner Sphere. To achieve this, he charged each of them with finding Star League-era relics left by the Not-Named Clan that
he claimed would insure the Scorpions' dominance. The warriors searched for five years but found nothing. Then, in 2850, the
Ice Hellions found the cache the Scorpions had been looking for. The Hellions refused to part with it, prompting a series
of Trials that would last for over a year.
Eventually, in 2851, Clan Fire Mandrill
tried to take advantage of the situation and launched their own Trial against the tired Scorpion and Hellion forces. The two
Clans were enraged by this interference and set aside their animosity to force the Fire Mandrill's off the world. The victory
came at a bitter price. Loremaster Moreau was killed in the fighting by a Fire Mandrill warrior.
The Goliath Scorpions and Ice Hellions
agreed to an amicable split of the Brian Cache. The Hellions departed with all of the war materiel and the Scorpions retained
the Cache's stock of artwork and books.
The Scorpions were amongst the last
to field the new OmniMech technology. Embarrassed by his troops poor performance, Loremaster Lan Kirov instituted the Circus
Honorae, a series of events similar to the Star League's Martial Olympic by which warriors could improve their skills.
Loremaster Kirov was also instrumental
in forming the Seekers. This cadre of warriors was charged with scouring the Clan homeworlds for Star League-era relics. Loremaster
Kirov was convinced, like Loremaster Moreau before him, that the key to the Clan's future lie in its past. The Seekers, like
knights of old, took with them a small specialized retinue of lower caste personnel to aid him in his search. Over the centuries,
the Seekers have uncovered many lost treasures and brought them to the Clan's Temple of the Nine Muses, where all such finds
are kept. The Scorpions have also dedicated an entire Galaxy of front-line troops to the defense of the Temple.
The creation of the Seekers almost
became the undoing of the Clan. As the years went by, a widening chasm emerge amongst the warrior caste. The size and popularity
of the Seeker cause drained many of the Clan's best warriors away from the military. The youngsters, who grew up steeped in
the lore and legends of the Star League, cast aside their desire to serve in line units and spent their time traveling as
Seekers or visiting the Temple of the Nine Muses. saKhan Jenna Scott forced the issue to a climax by challenging Loremaster
Kirov to a Circle of Equals. saKhan Scott beat Kirov with five deft blows in a short-lived battle. She then extracted an oath
from all the Seekers to follow Nicholas Kerensky's ideals and the Clan Way. When all present gave their oath, saKhan Scott
collapsed and died of her wounds.
Dragoon Compromise
Khan Nadia Winson's call for invasion
in 3001 caused an unexpected response from the Clans. Stymied by Wolf Khan Kherlin Ward's Dragoon Compromise, Winson had no
choice but to accede to his demands. As another shock, Clan Goliath Scorpion offered to train the Wolf warriors by pitting
them against the elite Heartvenom Cluster. A number of young Scorpion warriors went along with the Dragoons when they left
for the Inner Sphere.
A few years later, the Wolves captured
Star Colonel Vlad Dinour in a Trial of Possession. They gave him the troubled Fourth Wolf Striker Cluster to rebuild using
Goliath Scorpion methodology and tactics. Colonel Dinour also provided the Wolves with intelligence gained from the Scorpion
warriors who returned to Clan space during the Dragoon's 3009 supply run.
Revival
The arrival of the Outbound Light
in 3048 brought the question of invasion to the Grand Council once again. This time, Smoke Jaguar Khan Leo Showers managed
to convince the Council that the Inner Sphere was on the verge of discovering the Clan homeworlds. Using this as incentive,
Khan Showers forced a vote and the Council elected to invade the Inner Sphere.
The Goliath Scorpions performed
well in their Trials, but were beaten in the second round. Rather than throw a tantrum like Clan Ice Hellion, the Scorpions
chose to expand their holdings by striking at territories left lightly defended by the invading Clans. The Scorpions earned
the ire of the Jaguars by seizing several small enclaves on the world Tranquil.
Unknown to many in the Inner Sphere,
a small force of Scorpion warriors traveled with the Steel Vipers to the Inner Sphere. The force, led by saKhan Posavatz,
was lost on the world of Tukayyid during the bloody fighting at Devil's Bath. At the same time, Khan Nikolai Djerassi stepped
down to implement several ideas that would strengthen the sibkos. The new Khans, Ariel Suvorov and Nelson Elam, each worked
in a different manner to build up the Clan's Touman.
Death of a Clan
The destruction of Clan Smoke Jaguar
has yielded several dividends for Clan Goliath Scorpion. First, the Clan captured the continent of Abyssmal on Huntress and,
at the same time, procured several samples of Proto-Mech technology. The Clan also fielded the Undine battle armor for the
first time. Also, trade has increased with Clan Snow Raven as the Scorpions strive to build up their aerospace forces. Time
will only tell where the Scorpions future lies. Their new Khan, AttackMode, insists they will keep their focus on the future
and rebuilding their strength and skills.
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