Volume XXIX: Profit, Progress, and Honor—Origins of Clan Sea Fox

Hark, children of the Clans, To the wisdom of Kerensky and your forebears. Know what has come before Remember it as you strive toward the future. —The Remembrance (all Clans), Passage 1, 1:1-4, attributed to Karen Nagasawa

First impressions can often be the most lasting.

When Kerensky’s descendants first appeared in 3050, they tore into the Inner Sphere with a ferocity and brutal efficiency never seen before. Their armies rolled over those of the Successor States, carving a wedge of worlds deep into the territories once united by the Star League. For a couple of years, myths of monsters and powerful aliens were the only rational explanations for who these invaders could be, though their identity would soon become clear enough.

The misconception of the Clans rose from the power of their military, their use of strange tactics and speech, and the vast superiority of their military technology, more advanced even than the lost weapons of the Star League itself. As the people of the Inner Sphere learned more of the invaders, they discovered a common history, and came to realize that the Clans were as human as those Kerensky’s troops left behind. But while those misconceptions died, others remained. One of the most eternal, of course, was the concept that the Clans were born, raised, and died for a single purpose: war.

Like all misconceptions, this belief was born of knowing only the basics about Clan life, and from the very distinct first impression that only a horde of invading armies can bring. It was believed that in Clan society, the warriors dominate, dedicating their lives to perfecting the art of combat, while the civilians serve to make their weapons stronger, faster, better. Today, however, is a different story. Today, we know that the Clans are more than simple killing machines. Each has its own goals, desires, and culture.

And none is so strikingly different from the norm as Clan Sea Fox.

Clan Diamond Shark occupies a unique position among the Clans. Within a rigidly hierarchical blueprint for society, they have come closest to democracy; among people convinced that military strength depends on tight control and reverence for the chain of command, the Diamond Sharks have achieved remarkable battlefield prowess through the kind of flexibility other Clans disdain. Clan Diamond Shark is also the only Clan to have changed its name, a startling shift for a society that values order and stability above virtually all things. In changing its name, Clan Diamond Shark adapted to a unique set of circumstances. Its ability to do so most clearly demonstrates this Clan’s unorthodox nature . . . —Commander Jaime Wolf, WolfNet Classified Report: Invading Clans—Clan Diamond Shark, 3058 (Declassified 1 January, 3068)

The Sea Fox Clan did indeed change its name to Clan Diamond Shark for a time, and it was under this name that the Clan first came to be known to the armies of the Inner Sphere in the early 3050s. Though the name has once more returned to its origins, however, Clan Sea Fox has continued to adapt to new circumstances, evolving well beyond today’s preconceptions of what it means to be Clan. But how did they get to be where they are now? How does a Clan that embraces democracy and change evolve?

Formed, like all Clans, around a core of loyal warriors united under the vision of two Khans, Clan Sea Fox developed quickly around the progressive ideals of Karen Nagasawa. An eloquent and philosophical warrior, Nagasawa’s words were credited for winning over many converts to Nicholas Kerensky’s dream—including the Foxes’ first Khan, David Kalasa himself. Nagasawa was also a progressive thinker, challenging the concept of the honor dueling practice known today as zellbrigen, even before it became a matter of Clan martial policy, a factor that put her Clan at odds with most of the others, but fostered a sense of battlefield cooperation. Under Nagasawa’s lead (after Khan Kalasa died during the reclamation of the Pentagon worlds), this spirit of cooperation was extended into the lower castes, offering greater respect to them and encouraging them to expand the Clan’s material prosperity. The Sea Foxes dove into the effort to expand their Clan, with the merchant and scientist castes enjoying the benefits of their greater freedoms to explore new markets and possibilities.

Thanks to the wider latitude granted them, the Sea Foxes earned distinction for their innovations in science and commerce before and well into the Golden Century. Sea Fox scientists perfected the iron womb technology still used today by the Clans, and Sea Fox merchants—as adept at the game of information as at that of commodities—developed the Chatterweb as an information-exchange network between all Clans.

To be fair, all of the Clans were out to expand their power and influence, just as the Sea Foxes, and all made a fine display of claiming the equal importance of their various castes. But where some—like the [Hell’s] Horses with their teamwork ethics, or the [Ghost] Bears’ sense of “family”—actually tried to walk the walk, the Foxes did that and more. The merchant and scientist castes weren’t merely allowed to push their limits, they were encouraged to do so. After ilKhan [Nicholas] Kerensky’s death, the Sea Foxes aggressively sought new colony options, entered into deals with fellow Clans for information and materials, and kept a quiet ear and eye on all their neighbors through the Chatterweb. More than that, however —and possibly most critical—was the fact that the Foxes became a “bargain first” Clan, whereas their neighbors believed in the sanctity of the Trial of Possession. Rather than fight for the newer generation of ’Mech designs, the Foxes bartered with Clan Coyote to assist them in developing it. They exchanged partial rights to the vital supplies of HarJel with the Horses to gain access to their super-infantry breeding protocols. And when they did fight, the information gleaned from their Chatterweb made aggressive, preemptive battle challenges possible, guaranteeing some degree of success—as with their challenge to claim Elemental armor from the Wolves. As a side benefit to this policy, the Sea Fox Clan came through the Golden Century not only wealthy and strong, but also with very few lasting grudges against its fellow Clansmen. This, of course, was deliberate as well—as a general rule, merchants never want to alienate a potential customer. —Sean Lasko, PhD, Professor of Clan Society and Politics, University of Thorin

Not all was profit and progress, however. What helped the Sea Fox prosper was an affront to more conservative Clans. The merchant caste, its prominence rising beyond dispute, seemed to call the shots when the Foxes did engage in Trials, guiding their Clan to profit while the warriors appeared to do their bidding. This so offended Khan Liam Howell of the Snow Raven Clan that he ordered his scientists to engineer a predator powerful enough to wipe out the Sea Fox Clan’s totem on Strana Mechty. This event, once uncovered, led to an extraordinary reaction from the Foxes. Rather than be bound to a totem that was verging on extinction, and rather than engage in a wasteful feud against the Clan whose Khan was responsible, the Sea Fox Clan simply decided to change its name, in a rare election where even the civilian castes were given a vote. In 2985, after fighting and winning a Trial of Refusal against the Grand Council’s decision to block the name change, Clan Sea Fox became known by the name of the predator that had all but wiped out their original totem, and Clan Diamond Shark was born.

Ironically, the decades following their greatest step toward democracy and change saw a more unwelcome change in the newly renamed Diamond Sharks. Previously navigating a narrow line through the increasingly divisive Crusader and Warden debate, the Sharks had avoided making enemies. But as the time for a decision neared, this ambivalence won the Sharks fewer friends. It was into this tense political standoff that Ian Hawker became Khan of the Sharks. A reactionary conservative in a liberal Clan, it’s still a baffling puzzle as to how he ever got elected to his post. Perhaps it was pressure from the merchants, who saw his Crusader leanings as playing into their hands for a shot at new markets. Or perhaps it was an outside influence. Whatever the cause, the Sharks were firmly in the Crusader camp under Hawker’s command. —Sean Lasko, PhD, Professor of Clan Society and Politics, University of Thorin

Once restored to a position of prominence, the warrior-merchants of Clan Diamond Shark began to push open the waiting markets in earnest. After the Clans’ final, collective defeat at the Great Refusal, the Sharks, freed of the Clan-wide view of the Inner Sphere as an enemy to be conquered and ruled, advanced their trade from merely servicing the Clan-held territories to open negotiations with Inner Sphere agencies. Even Clan-designed ’Mechs became available to the eternally hungry Inner Sphere markets. It was the profits from this new venture that began the gradual transformation of the Sharks.

In part two of our examination of this unusual Clan of warrior-merchants, we continue our tour of the stars! I’m Bertram Habeas.