Clan Burrock

Clan Burrock was one of the original twenty Clans founded by Nicholas Kerensky, named for an invertebrate endemic to the planet Dagda that could borrow though solid rock. Clan Burrock was most noted for its secret affiliation with the Dark Caste, a relationship that was exposed in 3059 and led directly to that Clan's Absorption by Clan Star Adder. A number of former Burrocks attempted to resurrect their Clan within the Tanite Worlds during the Wars of Reaving; the last of these holdouts were crushed in 3074.

History
Clan Burrock's founders and first two Khans were the twin brothers Herve and Nigel Polczyk, a pair of Rim Worlds expatriates who joined Aleksandr Kerensky's exodus from the Inner Sphere.

Clan Burrock was assigned to Dagda during Operation KLONDIKE with its first Cluster primarily featuring heavy and assault 'Mechs and Aerospace Fighters, while its single vehicle Star contained light and agile scout vehicles. On Dagda the Burrocks primarily fought on the continent of Dratha, operating alongside Clan Widowmaker.

The Burrocks had been successful in their part of Klondike, but the material losses they sustained during the campaign led to a shift from heavy-class units to lighter (and cheaper) units. The losses in personnel led to a far more ominous change: several Burrock warriors expressed disillusionment with Kerensky's new society. While the Wolverine Annihilation and subsequent feud with Clan Blood Spirit gave these malcontents a focus for their energies, the pressure continued to build.

Shortly after the Annihilation of Clan Wolverine, Clan Burrock called for Clan Blood Spirit to undergo the same purging, believing them to have abandoned the Way of the Clans. Though the Grand Council decided otherwise, its reprimand of the Spirits signaled the beginning of a feud between the two Clans that would last until the Burrock's own Absorption. The Burrocks continued striking at Blood Spirit targets over the next two centuries, preventing that Clan from expanding its power, and also frequently battled Clan Fire Mandrill.

In the years following Operation Klondike, the Burrocks were contracted by other Clans, including the Star Adders and Nova Cats, to transport scientific and colonization teams from those clans to other worlds in the Kerensky Cluster, for which the Burrocks would receive a percentage of any usable discoveries.

After the debut of OmniMechs in 2854, Burrock Khan Zenos Danforth was elected ilKhan in 2858 to oversee fair play in the Trials of Possession for the new technology. Danforth served long enough to fulfill a similar role in the Trials for Elemental battle armor and the Absorption of Clan Mongoose, dying in office in 2870.

In the middle of the thirtieth century the pressure that had been building since Operation KLONDIKE finally erupted. A Trinary of Burrock warriors and over a thousand civilians deserted their Clan to join the Dark Caste. Ordered by the Grand Council to destroy these renegades, a joint Burrock-Cloud Cobra task force spent the next two years hunting them down. Upon the mission's conclusion, Burrock Khan Tabari Danforth declared the renegades to have been exterminated. It would be over a century before his lie was exposed.

As the Crusader/Warden divide arose during the late thirtieth century, Clan Burrock drifted into the Crusader camp. However the Burrocks were more opportunistic than truly committed to the Crusader cause, and were viewed with distrust by both the Wardens and the more fanatical Crusaders.

When the invasion finally received the approval of the Grand Council in 3048, the Burrocks were part of the four-Clan force that upheld the measure in Clan Wolf's Trial of Refusal Though the Burrocks subsequently fought for a place in Operation Revival, they were defeated by Clan Steel Viper and their hated Blood Spirit rivals. In the years following this setback, the Burrocks managed to seize territory on Dagda from the Fire Mandrills.

The Burrocks' dealings with the Dark Caste were discovered by Star Adder Khan Cassius N'Buta in early 3059. Ironically enough, this situation was brought about by the Burrock Khan's own efforts to distance her Clan from the Dark Caste ; regardless, N'Buta called for the Burrocks' Absorption to deliver that Clan's warriors and civilian castes from their leaders' corruption.

The motion was passed by the Grand Council, and to the outrage of the Blood Spirits the Adders won the right to carry out the Trial. The Burrocks bid their entire touman against the Star Adders but the reinforcements intended for their capital Albion were stranded aboard their transports by Adder WarShips. After two days of brutal fighting on Albion, both Burrock Khans and Galaxy Commander Seth Marghar were dead, all three of whom had been implicated in the Dark Caste dealings. Star Colonel Carlos Hutchinson then offered himself as a proxy for all Burrock forces on Albion, hoping to prevent the Absorption from becoming an Annihilation, but his gesture was interrupted by the unexpected interference of the Blood Spirits. Outraged, the Burrocks joined the Star Adders against their age-old foes and repulsed the Blood Spirits. Hutchinson's duel with Star Adder Khan Cassius N'Buta went ahead and after three hours, Hutchinson was defeated.

On other Burrock worlds the situation was much the same: the combined Burrock-Star Adder forces trounced the Blood Spirits. Afterwards the Burrocks would offer proxy battles and then go over to the Star Adders. While the fighting against the Blood Spirits cost all sides dearly, the Absorption was probably the easiest in Clan history, as most Burrocks were horrified by their Khans' doings and refused orders to fight to the death.

Afterwards, all surviving members of Clan Burrock joined the ranks of Clan Star Adder. While the majority of former Burrocks served their new Clan willingly enough, several within both the warrior and civilian castes chafed under the Adder's authority.

The assignment given to Upsilon Provisional Galaxy - to roam as they saw fit throughout the Deep Periphery - gave the former Burrock warriors within the unit their chance to resurrect their Clan. In 3072, Galaxy Commander N'Buta was quietly removed by Star Colonel Naman Hutchinson, who then falsified Clan Watch reports under N'Buta's name to cover her actions. The few Adder sympathizers were killed as well and the newly renamed Zeta Galaxy moved to capture the entire Tanis system.

Zeta Galaxy ambushed the Ice Hellion Beta Galaxy at the DS-822 waystation in 3072, heavily damaging their escorting WarShip and waylaying three of their five JumpShips. During early 3073, the Galaxy split itself into three task forces, each with WarShip support, and set about a campaign of raiding the fringes of the Kerensky Cluster and outposts on the Exodus Road, destroying all HPG stations within fifty light years of the Tanis system. The Galaxy fought two major space battles against Clan Diamond Shark in the Salonika system, capturing forty-eight merchant vessels.

In late 3074, the remains of Zeta Galaxy were on Tanis, where they were destroyed by orbital bombardment by Clan Star Adder forces.

Military
Clan Burrock initially favored heavy units, but since Operation Klondike they consistently shifted their style of combat. Once other Clans became used to a certain Burrock method of war, the Burrocks shifted their tactics again. In addition to keeping other Clans off-balance, this flexibility made the Burrock touman some of the Clans' best bandit caste hunters. During the time of Operation Revival the Burrocks utilized a combination of electronic warfare and mobile firepower.

At the time of their Absorption by Clan Star Adder, the Burrocks fielded three front-line and four second-line Galaxies, elements of which became part of various Adder Galaxies.

Culture
The warriors of Clan Burrock had a liberal attitude towards their civilian castes, and Burrock society was loose enough (by Clan standards) that its members found some difficulty integrating into the more stringent Clan Star Adder.

Inter-Clan Relations
The covert nature of Clan Burrock gives them very few allies and enemies. The first ally would be Clan Cloud Cobra due to the ties they had working with the Burrocks (and their Dark Caste allies). These friendly ties would continue with their absorption into Clan Star Adder. Clan Star Adder would be considered both an ally and captor of the Clan. While the Burrocks were confirmed for absorption, most of the Burrock accepted their fates willingly to absolve the taint of their clan. They would even show a sign of respect for each other after they repelled the Blood Spirits from an attack on both clans.

The Burrocks were sworn enemies of the Blood Spirits. They would be responsible in breaking the goodwill and noble attitude that the Blood Spirits maintained, causing them to become contemptful isolationists. When the Burrocks were cleared for Absorption, the Blood Spirits would attack the Burrocks unannounced to jump on the opportunity to destroy their hated foe. Little did the Blood Spirits know, the Star Adders would join forces to punish the Spirits for their interference. While Clan Blood Spirit was considered their primary foe, other frequent opponents included Clan Fire Mandrill and Clan Smoke Jaguar. With the former, the Burrocks and Mandrills had skirmished against each other so many times that developed into a full-blown feud. Even after the Burrock's Absorption into the Star Adders, the Mandrills remained highly skeptical of their integration. As for the latter, the Burrock's actions against the Smoke Jaguars have always given the Clan more reason for their contempt.

Possessions
Prior to their Absorption in 3059, the Burrocks had enclaves on five worlds, including Dagda, Priori, Hoard, Paxon, and their capital of Albion.