Clan Ghost Bear

Clan Ghost Bear is one of the Clans in the popular sci-fi universe BattleTech owned by the FASA Corporation.

Origin

Clan Ghost Bear is the only Clan to be founded by a married couple, and it almost did not happen.This was because when Nicholas Kerensky created the Clans, he decided Jorgensson and Tseng were to valuable to assign together to a single clan and would have separted the pair. Rather than be separated or directly refuse the orders of the Founder, they chose to die together. They traveled into the antarctic wilderness of the Planet Strana Mechty, wandering until their surplies ran out.

In a mountain cave, waiting for death, they encountered a ghost bear. Despite their circumstance, they would not go quietly, and roared a defiant challenge at the bear. The bear did not attack, but circled and investigated until the pair, succumbing to cold and hunger, collapsed into unconsciousness. For unknown reason, the bear did not take them as prey while they slept, but warmed them with it's body, and upon waking, brought them fresh meat to eat. For three day it tended them this way, until they regained their strength. Upon emerging from their shelter, they found they had not been adopted by a solitary hunter, but by a pack.

Inspired, they returned to the Founder and argued for the clans to embrace the virtues of family and communal strength as a supplement to that of the individual. Hearing their tale, he granted their request to remain together, and honored their wilderness trial by naming their clan 'Ghost Bear'.

History

During the Golden Century, the Ghost Bears thrived, but their cautious attitudes kept them from standing out. The main advancements of Ghost Bear at that time were mainly industrial; they developed asteroid mining techniques that gave them a distinct edge in production.

When Operation Revival, the campaign to conquer Terra, began, the Ghost Bears earned a place in the initial invasion force, attacking the Draconis Combine and Free Rasalhague Republic corridor. Easy victories in the Periphery and early encounters with Rasalhague forces lulled the Bear Khans into a false sense of security. Coupled with a lack of supplies, the Bears made a poor showing during the first two waves of the invasion.

The turning point for Clan Ghost Bear came with the death of Khan Teresa DelVillar. The Clan's Oathmaster, Aletha Kabrinski, succeeded her as Khan and immediately called for the removal of the other Khan, citing poor performance in the invasion. She instead nominated Bjorn Jorgensson, who defeated the sitting Khan to take command of Clan Ghost Bear. Jorgensson and Kabrinski initiated sweeping reforms which brought the Clan back on track, racking up an impressive record in later stages of the invasion. This was most obvious at Tukayyid, where the Bears managed to secure their objectives, while all other Clans save for Clan Wolf and Clan Jade Falcon failed to achieve victory.

In the following years after Tukayyid, the Bears moved to solidify their holdings within Inner Sphere space. With a reputation for treating civilians well, the Bears continued that course, working closely with the local governments to keep the population as content as possible under Ghost Bear leadership. Widespread ambitious industrial expansion projects kept employment rates up and the Bear Touman strong.

In fact, the Ghost Bears were so succesful within their OZ that Khan Jorgensson proposed moving the entire Clan permanantly into the Inner Sphere. This would streamline supply and manufacturing, strengthening the Clan in the process. Putting the matter to vote of the entire warrior caste, as are all important matters pertaining to all castes, the Clan voted to move. Though it was not against any Clan laws, the Ghost Bears opted to keep the move secret to prevent assaults against Ghost Bear holdings or vessels.

They are a now a permanent feature of the Inner Sphere and have remained tranquil, save for a brief war with the Draconis Combine following the latter's attack on their new capital, Alshain. Currently they have merged with the Inner Sphere faction the Free Rasalhague Republic to form the Ghost Bear Dominion. It was the first true merger between a Clan and an Inner Sphere nation where the citizens treat the Clan Warrior caste as the rulers but the ruling warriors give free reign to their Rasalhague citizens. The Ghost Bear Khan holds the main power and the Prince is voted by the people to control all matter concerning the population.

Military

The Ghost Bear Touman favors a 'hard-and-fast' strategy, relying on swift 'Mechs with devastating firepower. Fast 'Mechs like the Fire Moth are also used to deliver their considerable Elemental forces to the frontline. Indeed, no Clan has as many Elementals as Clan Ghost Bear, which holds the distinction of being the only Clan with a full Galaxy of the powered infantry. Generally, Ghost Bear Clusters consist of two Trinaries of 'Mechs, one Trinary of Elementals, and a mixed Nova of either 'Mechs and Elementals, or 'Mechs and Aerospace fighters.

Ghost Bear training is harsh and especially physical. All warriors undergo personal combat training, and it is interesting to note that Clan Ghost Bear never adopted the aerospace pilot genotype for its pilots, instead using what other Clans would consider MechWarrior stock for that role. Many suspect the Bears made this move not only because of their famous reluctance to adopt new methods, but also because the pilot genotype makes for poor hand to hand combatants.

Relations with other Clans

As the Ghost Bears are a powerful, yet moderate Clan, they have offended few and worked alongside almost every Clan over the years. However, the only true ally is Clan Snow Raven. Clan Snow Raven has worked with Clan Ghost Bear over the last hundred years. Their military forces even complement each other, as the Snow Ravens' strong aerospace arm benefits from the Ghost Bears' exceptional Elemental forces.

A powerful Clan always attracts rivals, and the Ghost Bears are no exception. Topping the list are the Hell's Horses, who have had a long running border disputes with the Ghost Bears. One such conflict in the Golden Century resulted in the death of Kilbourne Jorgensson, arguably the most popular Ghost Bear Khan in history. The Ghost Bears have held a simmering hatred of the Horses ever since.

Also on less than sterling terms with the Bears are is Clan Steel Viper, with whom they just never got along, and Clan Wolf. The Wolf Clan enmity dates back to the Annihilation of Clan Wolverine and the fact that the Ghost Bears were denied the right to participate in the trial. The Bears let a Wolverine unit slip past them in spite, and have regretted it ever since. The scar of that incident is borne to this date by all Ghost Bear warriors, who also harbor a long standing grudge against the Wolf Clan for failing in the honor of fully destroying the Wolverines when they had the chance.

Society

Hard work and dedication are cornerstones of Ghost Bear daily life. Though these value are typical of the Clans, family has a unique meaning to this Clan founded by a married couple. In their years as the Ghost Bears' first Khans, Tseng and Jorgensson imparted to their initial forty warriors a sense of camaraderie and fellowship. To them, the Clan was a family, and the father of that family was the Khan.

As the years passed, those first warriors passed this sense of pride and belonging to those under their command. The intensity of the relationship faded as the Clan grew, but the general sense remained. Ghost Bear warriors maintain tight bonds with their trothkin and starmates. True friendship among them is widespread, and some even say love is common among the ranks (although the Bears deny this).

In the civilian castes, where families are common in other Clans, the concept is far closer to the Inner Sphere norm than in other Clans. Children generally stay with their parents rather than being raised in community crèches. In most cases, this means the crèches are more like day care than permanent homes for the children, and the parents take care of their own children as much as they can while still performing their duties for the Clan.

Quotes

• Drawing strength from each other, they survived; Tseng and Jorgensson emerged from the snow, and forged a Clan in the ghost bear's mold; Unity of purpose and strength of spirit, No task undertaken lightly or left half done. To these ideals we hold true until we all shall fall.

The Remembrance (Clan Ghost Bear) Passage 45, Verse 6, Lines 13-18 [1]

References

• [2] Official entry on Clan Ghost Bear