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Origins and History: The
Renegades
ComStar defeated the Clans on Tukayyid, but the victory was bittersweet. ComStar
had negotiated for an end to all offensive action aimed at striking further
through the Inner Sphere toward Terra for fifteen years if the Clans lost,
offering Terra's subjugation to the Clans if the Clans won. However, this
agreement only bound the Clans to cease advancing toward Terra; they considered
the rest of the Inner Sphere fair game. As long as it lay "spinward" from Terra,
the Clans could assault any world within their reach, honing their tactics and
wearing down the Successor States little by little. ComStar had gained a brief
breathing space for the Inner Sphere; in less than two decades, mortal battle
would once more be joined.
The action on Tukayyid and events following spelled the downfall of the old
ComStar. When Precentor Martial Focht returned to Terra after Tukayyid, he
confronted Primus Waterly about Operation Scorpion, her futile effort to take
over the Inner Sphere by staging revolts to sabotage the Clans' administration
of conquered worlds and placing all Inner Sphere HPGs under Interdiction. Though
the details of the meeting remain unknown, Precentor Focht convinced Myndo
Waterly to abdicate the primacy. One week later, the First Circuit elected
Sharilar Mori, Precentor Dieron, as Primus. Together, Primus Mori and Precentor
Martial Focht embarked on a series of far-reaching reforms.
Demona Aziz, Precentor of Atreus and a member of the First Circuit during
Operation Scorpion, held strictly to the rigid, conservative interpretation of
the works of Jerome Blake, and blindly followed Primus Waterly. Precentor Aziz
wrongly assumed that Primus Mori's accession and her internal reforms resulted
from an illegal coup d'etat by the Precentor Martial. Though the other First
Circuit members saw the wisdom of Precentor Martial Focht's actions, Precentor
Aziz took her staff and bolted from Terra, traveling to Atreus to meet with
Captain-General Thomas Marik. Upon arriving, she informed the Captain-General
that the ComStar he once served was under attack from within. Demona Aziz
petitioned Thomas Marik for sanctuary within the Free Worlds League for herself
and any other members of ComStar who might share her fears and follow her.
Captain-General Marik granted her request.
Ignorant of the full scope of the Reformation, Precentor Aziz failed to reveal
the true nature and extent of the changes in ComStar to Captain-General Marik,
and the eventual depth of response to his offer of sanctuary astounded him. When
Aziz fled, Primus Mori had yet to initiate most of the Reformation Acts;
ComStar's internal struggle had not yet spread beyond the First Circuit. Judging
Primus Mori and Precentor Focht by her own narrow standards of conduct, Aziz
mistook the rebirth of ComStar for no more than another round of petty political
maneuvering.
Using ROM agents loyal to her, Precentor Aziz sent messages to every HPG station
across the Inner Sphere, inviting all ComStar members who rejected the new ways
in favor of the old to join her in exile. As Precentor Aziz's call went out,
Primus Mori passed the first of the Reformation Acts and began to uproot some of
the Order's underlying misconceptions. The situation could easily have erupted
into violent internal conflict, but Aziz's rebellion provided an easy way out
for those unwilling to accept change. Primus Mori wisely showed great patience
by allowing the conservative members of the Order to make their choice and leave
unopposed, keeping turmoil to a minimum in the divided brotherhood.
Within months, Aziz's initial handful of followers became a flood of more than
two thousand refugees, most arriving in the Free Worlds League with only the
robes on their backs. Some of the most fanatical members of the Com Guards
managed to smuggle out their BattleMechs, or carried their personal tools and
weapons with them. The defectors formed a loose organization, still led
unofficially by Precentor Aziz, and adopted the name Word of Blake.
The Word of Blake accepted as members all those who subscribed to ComStar's
traditional operating procedure and faith, wrongly believed to be the teachings,
writings, and methodologies of the sainted Jerome Blake. While the Reformation
Acts unfolded within ComStar, changing almost every aspect of the old Order,
members of the Word of Blake held true to the monolithic, repressive ComStar
they had always known.
Some remaining traditions are superficial. For example, unlike the new ComStar,
Word of Blake followers still wear the white robes of the old Order. More
seriously, they continue to recite prayers to the technological devices under
their control, praising them for their continued, smooth operation. The reformed
ComStar no longer retains this unnecessary and superstitious practice. To an
untrained outsiders, acts of techno-worship performed by Word of Blake members
appear to be nothing more than harmless, quasi-religious changing. The danger
lies in the Word of Blake's sincere but ignorant belief that without prayers,
the machinery will not function. They claim that operating an HPG merges
technology and mankind, and their prayers both thank and supplicate the
machines. By their example, they teach others to emulate superstitious flummery,
arming them against any efforts to teach independent thought.
The Marik Alliance
Caught off guard by the sheer numbers of ComStar followers switching their
allegiance to the Word of Blake, Captain-General Marik arranged to meet with
several of the defecting Precentors that he knew personally to determine the
best course of action. Already, each Precentor represented an individual faction
of refugees seeking sanctuary within the Free Worlds League borders. Precentor
Blane of Gibson, a long-time friend and ally of the Captain-General, led the
delegation. Blane offered a more moderate, less overtly reactionary style of
leadership, providing a marked contrast to the often-combative Aziz. Thomas
Marik's open support for Precentor Blane as the ad hoc leader among the
Precentors infuriated Demona Aziz, and still provokes controversy within the
Word of Blake administration. Believing that her former rank on the First
Circuit entitled her to prominence among the renegades, Precentor Aziz resented
her fall in status from founder to leader of a minority faction in the group she
helped to forge. She could do little about it, however, except seethe inwardly
under a barely civil exterior and bide her time.
The meeting yielded two accords. Thomas Marik agreed to relocate the arriving
members of the newly created Word of Blake to the planet Gibson, granting them a
landhold there. In return, the Word of Blake signed a contract to service the
HPGs the League had gained in the aftermath of Operation Scorpion. Precentor
Blane and the other gathered leaders willingly drafted the contract, aware that
they would need the resulting income to support the ever-growing number of
ComStar refugees.
The HPG service contract between the Free Worlds League and the Word of Blake
benefited both parties equally. It provided the Word of Blake with a
substantial, steady source of income that their new Order desperately needed. It
also placed a formidable political and military tool in Thomas Marik's hands.
Knowing that Marik supported their cause, the Word of Blake in return pledged
him their aid should the need arise. Should House Marik's upcoming marital
alliance with House Liao prove shaky, the Captain-General may use his newfound
allies to shore it up. In the meantime, the Word of Blake's trained MechWarriors
and skilled, ruthless ROM operatives add considerably to Thomas Marik's personal
power. Time alone will show what use he plans to make of them, and how large a
threat they pose to ComStar.
Fortunately, even as ComStar struggles through changes, the Word of Blake is
also suffering upheaval. Where the ComStar Reformation has the advantage of a
clear vision and a strong leader, the Word of Blake has yet to define its true
direction and goals. As yet, only blind rejection of Primus Mori's reforms binds
them together. Each subgroup within the Word of Blake proposes a different
direction for their organization to take, and the sect's leaders lack sufficient
control over their members to prevent each faction from acting on its own.
All factions agree on a few points. They decry our blessed Order and its members
as heretics for defying the ancient doctrines falsely claimed to be the writings
of Jerome Blake. They denounce as forgeries the recently discovered, true
writings of our blessed founder on which Primus Mori and Precentor Martial Focht
have based the Reformation. They mourn ComStar as lost, destroyed from inside,
and claim that salvation is possible only by fleeing from our Order's so-called
corrupted vision and joining the Word of Blake. Beyond such narrow-minded
hatred, they hold little in common.
Precentor Aziz recently deepened the tension between ComStar and the Word of
Blake by unveiling her logo for the growing organization. Wisely declining to
widen the schism with a show of anger, neither Primus Mori nor Precentor Martial
Focht have publicly commented on the logo. However, Precentor Aziz's act of
petty defiance can only dim hopes for an eventual reconciliation.
The logo of the Word of Blake consists of a massive broadsword thrust downward,
its hilt decorated with the ComStar insignia surrounded by six concentric rings.
According to Aziz, the sword represents the Word of Blake's iron determination
to establish what they call the true faith, and their willingness to use force
to fulfill their version of Jerome Blake's prophecies and visions. The six
concentric rings surrounding the ComStar insignia represent the original seats
of the First Circuit during Blake's time. By invoking the Order's earliest days,
Precentor Aziz seeks to legitimize centuries of creeping revisionism and false
doctrine as the gospel of Jerome Blake.
Currently, ComStar has more pressing concerns than these empty gestures. Former
Primus Waterly's influence remains strained within the ranks of the Word of
Blake, and some factions call for the death of "the heretic Primus," Sharilar
Mori. Most factions also consider the Primus and Precentor Martial to be evil
demons who destroyed ComStar and betrayed Blake's work. Their hysterical
rhetoric might seem comic, were its potential consequences not so grave. The
Order has taken steps to provide protection for the Primus and Precentor
Martial. Though the murder of either leader would create temporary chaos,
ComStar would survive such a trauma. Destroying our leaders will not destroy our
faith or our work. The Word of Blake's most fanatical members pose a danger
beyond their threat to ComStar, however. Those who call Myndo Waterly a saint
point accusing fingers at the Federated Commonwealth, calling it evil and
advocating its destruction. Allied with the Free Worlds League, the Word of
Blake may poison relations between these two states beyond repair, possibly even
touching off another Inner Sphere-wide war.
Monkey Warfare
If guerrilla warfare is defined as perpetrating clandestine attacks on the
opposition in order to wear them down, in "monkey" warfare, both sides wage a
conflict of escalating, annoying pranks that, though expensive and
time-consuming, cost no lives. Petty harassment of ComStar by Word of Blake
members of the Free Worlds League and the Federated Commonwealth has forced our
Order to retaliate in an ongoing war of one-upmanship.
As a gesture of respect for their misguided brethren, ComStar allows the Word of
Blake to use the ComStar HPG network, requiring no modifications for alternate
methods of transmission or additional security measures. Because ComStar hold a
one-year service contract with the Free Worlds League, we also transmit through
the HPG stations held by the Word of Blake. However, ComStar has only minimal
control over those stations as its personnel are gradually replaced by Word of
Blake technicians (as agreed in that contract), and therefore cannot guarantee
that the messages sent through them will arrive at their destination unmolested.
Mounting evidence suggests that Word of Blake technicians frequently tamper with
ComStar message packets sent through their Class A HPGs.
Word of Blake technicians also delight in adding entire, unrelated messages to
transmissions. Frequently, they insert recruitment information into private
communiqués. ComStar internal documents bear the brunt of this abuse, often
appearing at their destination padded by pages of ranting commentary from the
Word of Blake renegades. Though this tampering has a fleeting impact, ComStar
loses time and money when forced to re-transmit messages, sometimes several
times, to ensure that at least one copy makes it through unaltered.
A more serious interception involved former Primus Myndo Waterly's body, which
disappeared from Terra prior to its scheduled cremation. Primus Mori declared
the theft a "morbid, callous, and heinous act against the dead." Precentor
Martial Focht privately fears that the body of the former Primus may be used as
a symbol of worship to enshrine Waterly as a martyr. As of this writing, no
group claims responsibility for the theft, but evidence points strongly to the
Word of Blake's role in the desecration.
Organization
The Word of Blake retains much of the organizational structure used by ComStar
prior to the Reformation. The three-tiered ranking of acolyte, adept, and
Precentor remains the same, and each division's function uses the standard
Greek-letter classifications. The Word of Blake has kept the Omicron
designation, which represents ROM's internal security and doctrinal purity
function.
Repudiating the First Circuit as a corrupt body, the Precentors leading the Word
of Blake rejected that portion of ComStar's command structure; yet each are
leery of relinquishing personal power and so they formed a loose tribunal,
currently led by Precentor Blane of Gibson. One Precentor represents each
faction of the Word of Blake, with Blane arbitrating all disputes. As of this
writing, no one faction controls the tribunal, and the Word of Blake remains in
constant flux.
Splinter Groups
Part of the reason no one faction can gain control of the tribunal lies in the
widely diverse interpretations of the writings and will of Jerome Blake held by
the various factions. Though outwardly committed to a single "true vision" they
claim to possess, few within the Word of Blake agree on even the smallest
doctrinal point. Each faction boasts a certain number of supporters, often
centered around a specific person, geographic area, or unique view of Blake's
vision. These factions often break down into smaller splinter groups, each of
which endorses yet another specific viewpoint or ideology. Precentor Demona Aziz
leads the most radical faction, a group known as the Toyama, named for Primus
Conrad Toyama, who first turned ComStar from humanity's guardians to humanity's
oppressors. The Toyama group militantly follows their namesake's gospel,
convinced it is Blake's philosophy, and believes that the Word of Blake should
build a large enough army to seize Terra from our Order and reimpose the
suffocating religion of the old ComStar throughout the Inner Sphere. The Toyama
have made several assassination attempts against our Primus and Precentor
Martial, and have launched several terrorist attacks against ComStar HPGs in the
Federated Commonwealth.
Even within the Toyama, more extreme splinter groups call for the assassination
of all the Successor State House Lords. Though these murderous reactionaries
represent only a small fraction of the total group, the lack of centralized
control within the Word of Blake makes it impossible to check the movements of
each faction or individual. Still other minor contingents lobby for attacks
against the Wolf Pack, formerly Wolf's Dragoons, in retaliation for their
decades-old ties to the Clans. We of ComStar must not be misled by their small
size into underestimating the danger these groups pose. As history has
demonstrated time and again, the act of a single zealot can plunge worlds into
the flames of chaos.
Precentor Blane leads the moderate True Believers faction, who resort to
violence only when diplomacy fails. Precentor Blane considers reconciliation
between ComStar and the Word of Blake possible, but only at the cost of extreme
sacrifice on both sides. Given the recalcitrance of Blane's fellow Precentors,
reunification seems unlikely. In accordance with his hopes, however slim, Blane
plays the role of middleman in the struggle within the Word of Blake, balancing
the violent factions against those who view ComStar strictly as a religious
calling.
The Counter-Reformists, led by Precentor Willima Willis, maintain that the Word
of Blake should review the writings and teachings of Jerome Blake and revise
them where necessary. Though they disagree with the reforms enacted by Primus
Mori and Precentor Focht, they admit that Blake's philosophy may have been
tainted since ComStar's founding. They believe that the only proper response to
past treachery is to use the past as a building block for the future,
reevaluating the existing interpretations of Blake's vision to discover where
ComStar went wrong and to avoid making those same mistakes. Predictably, this
faction has already been branded heretical by the majority of the Word of Blake.
Though its hot-tempered Precentor boasts a number of followers, this faction
also lacks a definitive direction or plan.
Reconciliation, if it occurs, will probably come from within the
Counter-Reformists or the True Believers. Some minor splinter groups under
Precentor Blane see reconciliation as the only way to deal with ComStar, and
advocate extending diplomatic ties to our Order as a way to begin healing the
breach between the two groups.
The Shunners faction has not splintered, and in fact, seems to be growing in
power. Shunners believe that Jerome Blake's prophesied destruction of the Inner
Sphere draws near, and that the Word of Blake's only hope for survival is to
isolate itself and weather the coming storm. They consider the current contract
with the Free Worlds League a mistake, a blatant disregard of Blake's warnings
about allying with one of the Successor States. In their own way, the Shunners
are as radical as the Toyama group. Though they disagree about how to act on
their theology, they will fight for their right to exist. Precentor Curtis Byrd,
former Precentor of Florida in the Federated Commonwealth, currently leads the
Shunners, the least vocal of but most steadfast of the current factions.
Further splinter groups may exist of which we remain ignorant, making our
analysis of the balance of power within the Word of Blake precarious, at best.
ROM
The Word of Blake retained the name of ROM for its internal security
organization. They consider themselves to be the true ComStar, and aside from
jettisoning the First Circuit, have made a point of retaining the Order's
outward trappings, including the Greek-letter function identification for all
military and other rank structures. Along with its structure, the Word of Blake
ROM also retained its traditional watchdog role. ROM agents infiltrate every
level of the Word of Blake, seeking out ComStar agents and punishing any
converts tempted to rethink their loyalties. Most of ROM defected to the Word of
Blake in the early days of the Reformation, bringing with them considerable
skill in espionage as well as rigid conservative influences. Lacking control by
a central authority, they frequently overstep the bounds of their position and
of common decency.
ROM agents associated with the Toyama faction recently attempted to bomb Hilton
Head Island. One of the few ComStar ROM agents to successfully infiltrate the
Word of Blake ROM sent a warning which foiled the attack. If successful, the
attack would have killed the Primus, the First Circuit, and the Precentor
Martial at one stroke. Instead, the incident only served to further escalate the
tensions between our blessed Order and the renegade Word of Blake.
Thankfully, only sixteen altercations between the ROM forces of ComStar and the
Word of Blake have degenerated into fatal violence, mainly in the Federated
Commonwealth, where the more bloodthirsty factions attempted to punish those
individuals who defied Primus Waterly's orders during Operation Scorpion. Given
the scope of changes going on elsewhere, our Order views these distressing
incidents as minor by comparison.
The News Bureau
The ComStar News Bureau lost several key reporters in the early stages of the
Reformation. Those who chose to join the ranks of the Word of Blake have set up
a rival news service.
Calling their creation the Blake News, these reporters originated a series of
programs purportedly illuminating the teachings of Jerome Blake. As with their
parent, the Word of Blake, the Blake News cannot agree on one way to interpret
the work of ComStar's founder; that they managed to produce this program at all
is astonishing. As might be expected, the final version sparked immediate
controversy. Mirroring the internal struggle taking place within the larger
organization, fights sometimes break out during live broadcasts between rival
factions and splinter groups. The actual reporting of news unfortunately
receives short shrift.
Blake Guard/Word of
Blake Militia
Of the thousands of ComStar members who fled to the Free Worlds League, one of
the most notable and potentially dangerous refugees is Precentor Trent Arian of
the Com Guards. During the battle of Tukayyid, he fought against Clan Diamond
Shark, earning several commendations for his bravery and leadership, including
the Precentor's Sword. Upon returning to Terra with his unit for refit, he
learned of Primus Mori's Reformation Acts. He promptly took more than thirty
MechWarriors and their equipment back off-planet and headed for the Free Worlds
League.
Precentor Arian met with Precentor Blane on Gibson and pledged his loyalty to
the Word of Blake. Precentor Blane, realizing that the number of refugees coming
from the ranks of the Com Guards made a Precentor Martial necessary for the
organization, appointed Precentor Arian to that position.
Precentor Martial Arian faced the challenge of forging viable military units
from the hodgepodge of BattleMechs and personnel that left ComStar to join the
Word of Blake. Captain-General Marik provided the assistance of the Free Worlds
League Ministry of Defense, and with their help Arian shaped his army around the
traditional Com Guard unit structure. The Free Worlds League advisors suggested
establishing two primary military bases on Gibson, and remained there as
technical consultants. Their true function may be to act as Thomas Marik's eyes
and ears, attempting to ensure that the Word of Blake military acts in
accordance with Marik's designs and goals.
Despite their philosophical differences, all Word of Blake factions agree that
to ensure their survival, they must directly control military assets. The
tribunal allocated funding to Precentor Martial Arian with instructions to
replenish and increase his forces with new BattleMechs and equipment. He issued
an immediate appeal to all ComStar refugees, calling for engineers to design a
new generation of 'Mechs for his troops, variously known as the Blake Guard or
the Word of Blake Militia. To his delight, many ComStar engineers had joined the
Word of Blake and eagerly tackled this new assignment.
Once the engineers had several designs underway, Arian negotiated a production
contract with the Free Worlds Defense Industries' Gibson BattleMech factory. The
Word of Blake underwrote the loan needed to expand the facility and fund the
development of the new BattleMechs, using the proceeds of their HPG service
contract with the Free Worlds League. By the spring of 3055, the Blake Guard
received its first fresh-off-the-line shipments of Grand Crusader and Pit Viper
'Mechs. Precentor Martial Arian gave several of these 'Mechs to the Free Worlds
League to express his appreciation for Captain-General Marik's support. Our ROM
agents in the Capellan Confederation report that Sun-Tzu Liao also received at
least one Grand Crusader for his technicians to study, possibly from Marik as a
wedding gift. If so, Thomas Marik may one day regret that act of dubious
generosity.
The Blake Guards currently field slightly more than four divisions of troops,
roughly equivalent to three and a half BattleMech regiments. Though slow to
arrive, the new BattleMechs have already bolstered the renegade forces. All
units use the standard Com Guard numbering and configuration, and are currently
stationed on Gibson. Precentor Martial Arian so far has refused to commit his
troops to any action until the Word of Blake agrees on a unified theology and a
firm direction for its future. Given the reactionaries' fragmented state,
Precentor Martial Focht expects no belligerence from them for some time. As of
this writing, our Com Guards may turn all their attention to preparing for the
coming battle with the Clans with no concerns for an attack from this quarter.
Current Doctrine
The various factions of the Word of Blake have so far been able to agree on only
one point: that the blessed Order of ComStar has been taken over by "heretics."
Nearly every faction believes that the tainted writings that masqueraded as the
philosophy of Jerome Blake prior to the Reformation remain valid and offer a
clear direction for their organization. They also believe that the dark age
Blake predicted approaches, and that his believers must save knowledge and lead
humanity out of its benighted era. In truth, our blessed Order has not forsaken
our belief in the need to save technology in order to preserve civilization. We
have come to realize, however, that we can best save knowledge by sharing it,
not by denying it to others. The new dark age that Blake predicted began in the
misguided actions of the old ComStar. Unless the Inner Sphere stands together
against them, the Clans will make that dark age permanent.
The original version of The Word of Blake, written and published by Primus
Conrad Toyama, is required reading for all True Believers. Depending on their
factional affiliation, some members must also be familiar with Primus
Rusenstein's Blessed Destiny. Though ComStar no longer publishes either work,
the Word of Blake still produces them through several presses operating on
Gibson. When and if the organization reaches theological consensus, their
pretender Primus may simply add a chapter containing these interpretations to
The Word of Blake.
The Word of Blake believes that ComStar's corruption grew like a cancer for
centuries, ultimately manifesting itself in Precentor Martial Focht and Primus
Mori, who they claim conspired against Blake's teachings and killed Myndo
Waterly. They insist that her death allowed Operation Scorpion to fail, a
conclusion they reach only by ignoring the fact that Waterly still held power
when the Clans fought off the takeover attempts, and that Precentor Martial
Focht graciously allowed her to retire in peace despite her crimes against
Blake's vision. Precentor Aziz has successfully managed to gloss over ComStar's
initial support for the Clans, revising history to show their support as a ploy
to lull the Clans into complacency.
Other skewed versions of events have begun to surface. Because neither Jerome
Blake nor his successors foresaw the role that the survivors of Kerensky's
Exodus would play in the drama of life in the Inner Sphere, the Word of Blake
continues to consider the Successor Lords a greater threat to the Inner Sphere
than the Clans. Despite the Clans' and ComStar's common background, the
dissenters view the Clans as misguided and barbaric. Following the pattern of
many religions, the Word of Blake has rewritten their own history, calling their
one-time hero Aleksandr Kerensky "the greatest betrayer of mankind" for his
"single-handed, self-centered blow to the Star League."
Politics
With his moderate views, Precentor Blane clearly enjoys the support of much of
the Word of Blake's rank and file, and seeks compromise from the extremists.
Precentor Blane's call to develop a unified theology that all members can
support encouraged many members to suggest that he assume the primacy.
Having received ComStar training and served as a Precentor before he was
recalled to lead the Free Worlds League when Janos Marik suffered his stroke in
3031, Thomas Marik easily won the hearts and loyalties of ComStar adepts. When
the Reformation turned their ordered world upside down, he offered those same
adepts shelter, support, and acceptance for their unwavering faith. Because they
also trust Precentor Blane, who fully backs Captain-General Thomas Marik,
Marik's eventual election as Primus for the Word of Blake seems a foregone
conclusion.
The Word of Blake appears to solidly support Marik for leadership, but some
express doubts about his fitness for the primacy because he has so far refused
to push for a unified theology. Publicly, he maintains that his current role as
benefactor to all factions prevents him from offering an opinion on the
direction the movement's theology should take. We believe that Marik is simply
biding his time, waiting to gain the formal title of Primus before turning the
Word of Blake to his purposes.
Thomas Marik's political position as Primus-in-exile affords him an obvious
opportunity to use the Word of Blake as a buffer against his future son-in-law,
Sun-Tzu Liao. Regardless of Chancellor Liao's true intentions in marrying Isis
Marik, second in the Free Worlds line of succession to rule, the additional
military force and fanatical devotion the Word of Blake offers to Marik will
serve to keep Sun-Tzu in check. Rumors of several new Free Worlds League 'Mech
bases being built within the turbulent Duchy of Andurien indicate that Thomas
Marik may plan to shift the Word of Blake Militia to the Duchy, both to better
keep Andurien under his control and to position the Blake Guards on the doorstep
of the Capellan Confederation. This is, of course, only speculation on our part,
but these conclusions are logical based on the evidence at hand.
Chancellor Liao has not acknowledged the Word of Blake other than to send relief
supplies and foodstuffs to Gibson. This single gesture is apparently intended to
demonstrate the Chancellor's good will toward the Captain-General, but other
signs indicate that Sun-Tzu may be playing a far more devious game. In what may
be an effort to try and buy their loyalty away from Thomas Marik, Sun-Tzu has
dropped hints that he is willing to provide military equipment and spare parts
to the Word of Blake. Continuing the complex political dance between Liao and
Marik, Sun-Tzu has reportedly asked the Word of Blake to bid on a service
contract for his own HPGs, as his agreement with our Blessed Order expires next
year.
Recruitment for the Word of Blake has surpassed that of our blessed Order.
During the Clan war, enormous numbers of refugees fled from the path of the
advancing enemy. Though in the past, refugees gladly joined ComStar, Myndo
Waterly's Operation Scorpion debacle has tainted the Order's image among
civilians. Despite ComStar's sincere desire to aid humankind and make reparation
for past mistakes, we have yet to overcome the widespread mistrust caused by
those mistakes. By contrast, the Word of Blake's rigid religious trappings and
righteous mentality attract those driven from their homeworlds. Desperate for
certainty in the midst of chaos, many refugees have joined the Word of Blake to
find refuge from hardship and responsibility. The number of new recruits joining
the Word of Blake has risen even as ComStar's recruitment declines.
3058 Update
The Liao-Marik invasion brought Word of Blake loyalists to the Sarna March in
droves, either following in the wake of invading troops or taking advantage of
insurrections to overthrow ComStar administration of HPG stations on disputed
worlds. On worlds conquered by Marik forces, Word of Blake acolytes immediately
displaced ComStar personnel at all HPG facilities. Those ComStar personnel who
did not escape the Word of Blake have been forcibly relocated somewhere deep
within the League, possibly on the Word of Blake's stronghold on Gibson. The
fate of ComStar personnel on Liao-controlled worlds is in question, though the
Word of Blake does not seem to be moving onto those worlds en masse.
Of the newly formed minor powers within the March, only the Terracap
Confederation has allowed the Word of Blake to take control of its HPG stations.
As far as can be confirmed, ComStar retains its ownership of the HPG stations in
the Sarna Supremacy, the Styk Commonality, and the Saiph Triumvirate. At this
point, no one knows for certain who controls the HPG facilities within the
Sirian Holds.
On several of the Chaos March's independent worlds, ComStar and the Word of
Blake are engaged in running conflicts, with forces from one side or the other
taking a facility one week and then losing it to their opponents the next. This
low-level warfare has severely disrupted offworld communications on these
planets, further isolating them from outside influences. Offworld communications
from these disrupted worlds, when such communication exists at all, functions
through a "pony express" system in which a JumpShip collects messages and then
jumps to the nearest star system with a stable HPG facility. This facility then
transmits the messages to their destinations.
Of particular interest to mercenary commanders looking for a berth, reliable
rumor has stated the Brion's Legion recently left ComStar's employ on Terra to
accept a rather lucrative contract on the planet Pleione and become one of the
key units in the Tikonov Reaches. Of all these events occurring in the late
3050s, this was the one which led most directly to the Word of Blake conquest of
Terra.
After skirmishing with the Second FedCom Regimental Combat Team on Hsien, the
21st Centauri Lancers seemed to need a chance to rest and recover from that
bloody battle. After recruiting new personnel to fill their losses and arriving
on Terra, the Lancers drilled with ComStar's Terran Defense Force. Impressing
Precentor Lisa Koenigs-Cober, charged with the defense of Terra, as being more
skilled than the new recruits would have suggested, the stage was set for the
Word of Blake's conquest as the new recruits proved to be Word of Blake agents.
On February 28, 3058, the Word of Blake struck. The day was a rather symbolic
one, being the 276th anniversary of Jerome Blake being given control of Terra
and what would become ComStar. It was also the 38th month since the official
naming of Sharilar Mori, and Jerome Blake had a 38-year reign, a terribly
complicated matter and bound up in the malignant theology of the Word of Blake
terrorists. The Word of Blake and 21st Centauri Lancer forces attacked and
destroyed Hilton Head and the Sandhurst Royal Military Academy, inflicting
considerable losses on the ComGuard 201st Division. As the attack continued,
Precentor Koenigs-Cober destroyed everything of value which could not be taken
and retreated offworld with Primus Mori, the First Circuit, and remaining
ComGuard forces.
As the news reached Precentor Martial Anastasius Focht as he was on his way to a
strategy session with the St. Ives Compact, Federated Commonwealth, and Draconis
Combine on Tukayyid, it was decided not to contest the Word of Blake conquest at
that time, leaving them the trouble of defending Terra should the Clans break
the truce. With three Word of Blake regiments burning in to bolster their forces
on Terra, the decision seemed a wise one, especially in light of rumors that the
Word of Blake is in the process of hiring mercenaries to further strengthen
their garrison force. With this conquest of Terra, ComStar has moved its base of
operations to the Free Rasalhague Republic world of Tukayyid, where it prepares
to once again defend the Inner Sphere when the Clans continue their invasion.
While ComStar continues to defend the Inner Sphere, the Word of Blake further
entrenches its forces, waiting for the ComStar counterattack that could very
well never come. With the Word of Blake in control of the cradle of humanity,
the entire Inner Sphere has cause to worry, as the old ComStar is back and its
name is the Word of Blake. With the Blakist terrorists in control of Terra, the
Successor States can once again expect the frequency of terrorist bombings,
assassinations, and technological thefts common in the old days of ComStar to
increase, as the Word of Blake concentrates on its own twisted view of the
writings of the blessed Jerome Blake instead of the greater threat known as the
Clan invasion. |
