Part 541: State of the Inner Sphere 3035: Part 4

State of the Inner Sphere 3035: Part 4
Crusade

The dull roar of the Leopard-class dropship Night Hunter’s engines died with a piercing whine as it settled on its landing struts. The ground had barely had time to cool when Khan Leo Showers descended the boarding ramp, stepping into the frigid Strana Mechty winter. The air bit his dark skin, but the crispness of the taste was delicious after spending half-a-month of heavily-recycled air. No matter how good the oxygen scrubbers, dropships always stank of sweat and oil. Those scents were familiar, perhaps even comforting, to all Clan warriors, but Leo would be the first to admit he preferred being on the ground, even on a world so different from Huntress. Strana Mechty was the birth-world of his Clan’s totem animal, after all. He was no stranger here.

His entourage of aides and bodyguards fanned out behind him, but Leo motioned for them to linger a bit. A figure leaned casually against a wall on the far side of the tarmac. She was powerfully muscled but her strength was more subtle than Leo’s own. Khan Robin Steele of Clan Coyote was one foe the young Khan had learned not to underestimate. They’d come to blows once before, a trial of refusal on the tarmac outside the Grand Council chambers—a contest that had resulted in a mutual knock-out. With a draw, the original ruling should have stood, but Leo had withdrawn his Clan’s claim. Although he was a Mechwarrior himself, he often trained with his Elemental bodyguards. There were few enough Mechwarriors who could meet him unarmed on even terms, any who could was worthy of respect.

“They have been silent for nearly five months. Any idea what the Widowmakers want this time?” he inquired, his deep voice carrying even though he spoke quietly.

Khan Steele inclined her head, then adjusted her field cap, letting the brim shield her eyes from the sun’s glare. “The Ice Hellions are back.”

“Ah,” Leo grunted. “The final decision whether or not to annihilate the Ice Hellions? Are you here to try to talk me out of it?”

“That would be my guess,” she affirmed darkly. “And no, I am not. Clan Coyote will support a Smoke Jaguar claim.”

He nodded at that, not seeing any need to press her farther. The Coyotes had economic deals with nearly every Clan, the Ice Hellions among them. That she was here suggested she hoped those deals would continue even if the Smoke Jaguars wound up with the bulk of the Ice Hellion holdings but all the same she hadn’t tried to bargain with him. He liked that. It would have been a mistake to think their Clans close, the Smoke Jaguars had no real alliances, but they were on amiable terms with the Coyotes for the moment. As far as Khan Showers was concerned, the Smoke Jaguars needed no allies, they were more than capable of simply seizing any sites or resources their war machine had lacked. Of the forces remaining in the Homeworlds the Smoke Jaguars were the strongest although, Leo was forced to admit, the Ghost Bears would have been close to an even match.

“Has everyone else arrived?”

The Khan of the Coyotes rolled her shoulders and turned towards the door, preparing to return to her own deligation. “You are the last to arrive—and you are very nearly late at that.”

“It was unavoidable,” Leo replied. A half-truth, he could have left days earlier, but the Smoke Jaguars had been preparing for the Ice Hellions’ return or, if the vote fell through, a hard reprisal against whichever of the Homeworld Clans had chosen to block them. His timetable had pushed everything to the last minute—a single delay and the Smoke Jaguars might have missed this sudden and urgent summons from the ilKhan. It did mean they’d reestablished connection, so whatever trouble had silenced the Crusade must have finally been hammered out.

The Grand Council chamber was largely silent as Leo and his entourage took their seats. He’d left his saKhan to continue his Clan’s preparations. If all went well, they’d launch the first wave the moment he sent the word—likely mere minutes after the close of the meeting.

“Well, that is everyone,” Asa Taney’s voice was strong enough, but in a thin and breathy way Khan Showers had long come to associate with Aerospace fighters. He projected well enough, he simply didn’t have the upper body strength to lend his voice real power the way an Elemental or even most Mechwarriors could. “Let us get this meeting started.”

Leo’s eyes immediately flashed to the darkened Widowmaker alcove. The holographic emitters that had been installed for the sake of the Goliath Scorpions, Burrocks, Star Adders, Steel Vipers, Hell’s Horses, Sea Foxes, Snow Ravens, and Jade Falcons were all dark. Nine Clans in the Inner Sphere, and none of them were the Smoke Jaguars. Heat rushed to Leo’s face as his temper surged. He brought it under control a moment later. The Smoke Jaguars were known for being rash and aggressive, but the Khan of the Jaguars never allowed himself to make an important decision in a fit of anger. Fury, like steel, was best when it had been cooled and tempered into a razor’s edge.

“We should wait for the ilKhan, quiaff?” Khan Din Steiner asked, from the Cloud Cobra’s enclave in the far corner. As one of the weakest of the Clans, the Cloud Cobras had been relegated to seats near the periphery of the Clan council chambers.

Asa Taney spat on the floor. “Natasha the so-called Kerensky is a traitor. She has kept the truth from us all. She has forced nearly all of the other invading Clans to follow her. Only the Goliath Scorpions and Burrocks resist—the others, the Steel Vipers, Widowmakers, Hell’s Horses and Jade Falcons have turned their backs on the Way of the Clans!”

A low murmur rose among the assembled Khans, but it was Robin Steele who raised her voice in protest. “Bold accusations from a Clan desperate to avoid absorption—or worse! You have proof of Natasha Kerensky’s betrayal, quineg?”

Asa Taney’ affixed the Khan of the Coyotes with a hard stare. “A descendant of the usurper Stefan Amaris yet lives!”

The chambers exploded in anger, and Khan Showers was surprised to find his voice joining the others in protest. Stefan Amaris had acknowledged no children. To think that he might have had a bastard—or worse, hidden the birth of a legitimate heir to the Rim World’s Republic when the war with the Star League Defense Force turned against him—was a nightmare. Taney held his tongue until the outrage faded and more and more of the assembled Khans began cajoling him to speak.

“I have brought with me recordings of a direct challenge made by Stefan Amaris the Seventh,” Taney spat on the floor again, as though the name was vitriolic bile. “When they learned of it the Sea Foxes and Snow Ravens did what any good and Honorable Clan must—they set out immediately to confront this Amaris and burn his vile bloodline from the stars. I have also brought with me an order signed by the ilKhan herself, and sent to all of the invading Clans. The message, she claims, is a hoax, and all Clans are not only to ignore it, but to avoid broadcasting it home.”

Taney pressed onward, his rhetorical fury capturing even Khan Showers’s interest. He was building to some grand—and obviously rehearsed—point, but the Smoke Jaguar Khan felt the desire to leap on the man and tear his throat out with his teeth diminishing all the same. “Only the Goliath Scorpions and Burrocks, ever the Widowmakers’ enemies, resist her. The Goliath Scorpions informed the Burrocks of this travesty, and the Burrocks shared Amaris’s transmission with us. They both attempted to transmit this information to the Council, here,” Taney paused, letting the implications sink in, “but the Widowmakers control the Exodus Road. I have not spoken with the Scorpion Khan, but as far as the Burrocks knew, you were all appraised of this nearly a year ago. My Khans, we can not—”

A chime rang through the council chambers as the Khan of the Blood Spirits depressed one of the buttons set into their stone desk, requesting the floor. It was rare for a Clan to put in a formal request to speak when the ilKhan was not present, but the Blood Spirits were nothing if not polite. Taney’s expression soured with anger at the interruption, but he acknowledged the Blood Spirits with a nod.

“Yes, Khan Arc Keller?”

“While the Blood Spirits have always harbored—well call them suspicions—of Widowmaker perfidy, please be aware that we can and should not take the words of the Khan of an abjured Clan at face value. I propose a recess,” Arc Keller held a hand to eloquently forestall Taney’s sputtering. “You will disseminate your ‘proof’ to all Clans assembled here, and allow us, say, three days to verify its authenticity.”

The muscles in Asa Taney’s face worked furiously, as though he wanted to spew a stream of invective at Keller. “That is,” he cleared his throat, “fair.”



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When Khan Showers returned to the Grand Council chambers, his already tempestuous mood had worsened considerably. It was bad enough he was now likely to be declined the chance to destroy the Ice Hellions, but now it seemed the insufferable Asa Taney had been correct: Natasha Kerensky had betrayed them. It irked him that, like Asa Taney, he could think of no other reason that the ilKhan would choose to keep the news of a surviving Amaris from the homeworld Clans. She did not mean to pursue Amaris, that alone was clear enough, but she’d abandoned the Snow Ravens and Sea Foxes to—and that was where Khan Showers lost the thread. Her motives were baffling, and he wondered if it was even worth the effort trying to learn to think like a traitor.

Taney himself had returned to his Clan’s bench, having relinquished the floor to Khan Keller in the last session. Keller himself was relaxed, flanked by a pair of warriors who bore no sign of Clan or house. Showers ignored them as Keller stood tall and motionless, even though he’d likely been in place long before any of the other Khans had begun to file in. Khan Showers was the last once again. He abhorred wastefulness and, in fact, prided himself on punctuality. He always arrived within a heartbeat or two of any scheduled meeting’s starting time, wasting as little of his own time as possible. That this proclivity tended to irritate his rival Khans nearly made the effort worth it in and of itself.

Keller began as soon as Leo found his seat. Khan Showers’ lips curled into a smile as he caught Keller’s sour, worried expression. The Blood Spirit mastered his emotions soon enough, but for the man to show anything at all was either a small victory for Leo Showers or proof that even the normally unflappable Blood Spirits had been disturbed by Taney’s recordings.

“My fellow Khans,” Keller began slowly, drawing things out in a manner Leo found annoying. The Blood spirits spent too much time playing politics, they were the peacemakers and mediators of the Clans, but as far as Khan Showers was concerned they had far too little spirit and saw far too little blood. The Clans would survive just fine without the Blood Spirits, he thought, vowing to put that to the test if this little meeting didn’t proceed in a way that favored him.

“By now, you have verified what Clan Blood Spirit has always known,” Keller’s words drew Leo’s attention like a BattleMech that had lost a leg. Leo’s face contorted into a silent, angry snarl as Keller continued. “The Widowmakers are traitors, and have been since Khan Nicholas Kerensky challenged them so long ago. I believe—as I suspect Asa Taney believes—that the Widowmakers mean to seize Terra, and use an obscure piece of Nicholas Kerensky’s writing to name themselves the ilClan. As ilClan, they could choose to forego our sworn vengeance force all the Clans to negotiate the founding of a new Star League. With Natasha Kerensky at its head!”

“This cannot be permitted,” one of Khan Keller’s bodyguards broke in. Showers had ignored the men, assuming them nothing more than aides, but the man’s head was hard and craggy and he bore himself like a warrior. His complete lack of Clan and House markings had gone nearly unremarked, but now they stood out like a Freebirth at a bloodname trial.

“The blood of the Widowmaker Kerenskys is impure,” the man continued, his firm and even tone catching Khan Showers by surprise. He spoke as though he’d been addressing Khans on equal terms his entire life, and he stood proudly without any sign of contrition for his outburst. Khan Showers found himself nodding: this one had seen blood. He liked that.

“The Widowmakers,” the speaker continued, aware he was being assessed but unintimidated, “have tainted nearly the whole of the Kerensky bloodline. What you currently know as ‘Blood House Kerensky’ is actually an offshoot of the Karrige line, genetically modified to better resemble the bloodline they seek to replace. The Kerensky bloodline is known for its vision—and the Widowmakers have none. The blood of Nicholas Kerensky does not mix well with that of traitors: ilKhan Natasha is no Kerensky! She has no more claim to the bloodname than she does to that,” the warrior paused, affixing Leo with predatory gaze, “of Khan Leo Showers. Or that of Khan Yvonne Hazen. Or yours, Khan Tyrell Bekker. She and hers would replace you all, if they could.”

“And who are you, to raise such an accusation?” Khan Showers’ voice carried without the aid of a microphone. The Council Chamber was large, but even it would fail to contain his rage if Khan Keller’s arrogant guest was wasting his time.

“I am Erik, of the true house Kerensky. Khan Leo Showers, you met my sibkin Ulric in battle on Tranquil five years ago. He serves at Natasha’s side, our eyes and ears within the Widowmakers. You, also, have looked me in the eyes. You know I speak the truth.”

“And you hope Khan Leo Showers will vouch for you, quineg?” Khan Sainze of the Fire Mandrills snorted.

Khan Keller’s other companion, a woman with hair as black as tar stepped forward. “House Ward stands behind the exiled House Kerensky. We have served as the guardians of the Kerensky bloodline—maintaining it under the noses of the Widowmakers—for over two hundred years. To our own ruin.”

Ruin was the word for it, Khan Showers knew. The Widowmakers had stripped the old Wolf blood house of honors and relegated the lot to solahma duties. That House Ward had clung to their tenuous existence in spite of the decrees of the Widowmaker Khans did not impress him. That they had fought and kept their bloodline out of the hands of other Clans to remain a Widowmaker exclusive, in spite of their shame, did.

“Clan Blood Spirit,” Khan Keller spoke once more, “also verifies the identities of these individuals. We have supported the true Kerensky bloodline since the beginning, when they had no where else to turn. They,” Keller paused dramatically, “are all that remains of Clan Wolf, remaining in self-imposed exile for all of these years.”

“Why have you not brought this to our attention before now?” Asa Taney howled, his tiny face purpled with rage. His Clan still stood on the precipice of annihilation, even proving the Widowmaker betrayal wasn’t enough to exonerate him.

“The time was not right,” Erik answered coldly, his thoughtful eyes barely seeing the Ice Hellion. “We knew the Widowmakers would succumb to their nature sooner or later. And now that there can be no question of their dishonor, we of Clan Wolf can approach this council once more.”

Erik held his arms wide, “We ask that the Grand Council acknowledge Clan Wolf once more, that you strip Natasha and her perfidious kin of their stolen bloodnames,” he paused, skewering Asa Taney with his gaze, “and that Khan Asa Taney’s as-yet unspoken call for a renewed invasion be heeded: the First Crusade has failed, it is time for a second!”

“With you,” Khan Showers hissed, “at its head? Laughable! Even should we choose to recognize a reborn Clan Wolf, you have no troops! No bloodnamed warriors! No equipment!”

“Neg,” Erik replied. “We would not seek—”

“A unique opportunity presents itself,” Khan Asa Taney interrupted, his expression, so heated before had grown placid. “Clan Ice Hellion has been abjured—by rights, Clan Ice Hellion exists no more. Erik of the true Kerenskys, once the Grand Council has stripped the Widowmakers of their bloodlines and returned them to you, you will try for a name? You will be Khan of the Wolves, Qiaff?”

Erik stared at Taney for a few long moments, “Aff, it is likely. We have undergone the bloodname trials for two centuries, although they are meaningless until the Grand Council returns those names to us. I lead the Blood House of Kerensky—”

“—And House Ward stands behind House Kerensky, always,” the black-haired woman interjected.

“So yes,” Erik finished. “I will be Khan of the Wolves.”

“I challenge you,” Asa Taney’s eyes sparkled. “For control of Clan Wolf. Should I win, Clan Ice Hellion will absorb your blood houses into our number. Should you win,” he paused, “you will absorb Clan Ice Hellion in its entirety.”

“Interesting,” Khan Keller interrupted cautiously.

“On behalf of Clan Wolf, I accept,” Erik answered without hesitation. “What is your bid?”

Taney smiled. “I bid one roll of the dice. We will test your ‘Kerensky Vision,’ Erik of the Wolves. Whoever guesses closest to the result without going over, wins. Should both parties lose, whichever of us guessed nearer to the target number wins instead.”

Erik nodded slowly. “In that case, the time and place shall be here and now. And,” he continued boldly, “Clan Wolf choses ‘one.’”

Showers’ eyes narrowed. It was a risky bid, with six numbers Taney could simply say ‘two’ and have five chances in six of success. Taney held up a dice, holding is tongue as he shook it in his hand. He threw it at the table, letting it bounce across the room in Erik’s general direction. While the dice flew, he called simply:

“Seven.”

The dice rattled to a stop. Erik didn’t even stoop to look at it, but Khan Keller did the honors. As he rose, a wry smile curled his lips upwards. “It is decided,” Keller’s intonations were grave. “The dice has come up ‘one.’ It seems that no matter Khan Taney’s bid, he was destined to lose. What says the Grand Council? Do we recognize,” he turned, affixing Khan Showers once more, “a re-armed and repopulated—with proven warriors—Clan Wolf?”

Khan Showers slammed his fist on the affirmative button on his plinth. He was the first, but the others’ votes came almost immediately as well. The voting board flashed green in its entire, save for those Clans who weren’t present. It was the first time Khan Showers had ever seen a unanimous Grand Council vote, even the normally contentious Fire Mandrills had been swept up in the fervor.

“It’s decided,” Keller said. “The Grand Council welcomes Clan Wolf back into the fold.”

“Clan Wolf moves,” Erik began immediately, “that the Kerensky Bloodnames be stripped from Clan Widowmaker, and returned to Clan Wolf. Where they belong.”

That vote was likewise unanimous but the new Khan of the reborn Wolves pressed on, “ex-Khan Asa Taney of the Ice Hellions, your choices brought your Clan to ruin. The Wolves move that Asa Taney be stripped of his bloodname, that it may fall to another,” before Asa could sputter a protest Erik continued, “However, in gratitude for his contributions to Clan society as a whole, the Wolves ask that a new bloodline be created: the Hellion bloodline, available to truly exceptional individuals nominated by the Khans of any Clan, and that Asa, the blooded warrior formerly of house Taney, be granted the first bloodname of this new house.”

Leo wasn’t sure what drove his choice, likely simple curiosity, but he approved the request of the Wolves. There was some dissent, but little enough. The other Khans had either bought into Erik’s rhetoric already or were equally curious. The motion passed, leaving Asa Taney—Asa Hellion now—bereft of Clan.

“The Wolves have one final motion before we relinquish the floor. We all owe Asa Hellion a debt of gratitude,” Erik’s lips curled into a sly smile. “The Wolves nominate Asa Hellion for the position of ilKhan. As he is without a Clan, he is impartial and should be perfect for the position. Let the new Hellion bloodname live or die on Asa’s success!”

Khan Showers glowered. His hand hovering over a negative vote. Asa Taney—Asa Hellion now—was an incompetent who’d only brought this proof before the council and then sacrificed his own Clan in a last-ditch effort to save his own life from the Smoke Jaguar reprisal. That the Wolves were eager to distance themselves from Asa Hellion was hardly a surprise. Khan Showers was no coward, he did not fear Natasha Kerensky’s wrath, but the likelihood of the rest of the Grand Council voting him in was slim. There would be too much support for Khan Bekker, even with the bulk of his allied Clans chasing Stephan Amaris’s descendant. The Wolves had hit on the solution immediately, raising Khan Showers’ estimation of this Erik Kerensky. If they—and Leo himself--could not be the ilKhan, wasn’t it best to have someone weak and nearly powerless in the role? Asa Hellion had no Clan behind him, could offer no real censure. He would be a loud, staggeringly obnoxious figurehead while the Clans who formed the council conducted their business as they saw fit.

He smacked the affirmation with his fist, locking his dark eyes with the new Khan of the Wolves for a long moment. Erik Kerensky stared back, his expression calm. It wasn’t quite an open challenge, just an attempt to meet strength with strength. Leo nodded, almost imperceptibly.

“Clan Wolf relinquishes the floor to the new ilKhan,” Erik bowed his head, then took the Widowmaker Clan’s chair.

“Khans of the Clans,” Asa began petulantly, as though angered by the delays that had preserved his life. “Our first Crusade has been betrayed. I call for a second! There will be no bidding, no trials, no invasions corridors, no schedule! The Clans will attack the Inner Sphere as we were always meant to! But first,” Asa hissed, raising a finger towards an empty seating section in the back corner of the room, “can anyone tell me where the Cloud Cobras have gone?”



State of the Clans 3035
Clan Wolf
Whether the Wolf Clan is a savior newly risen from the dead, or a fresh coat of paint covering up the typical Ice Hellion variety of failure is unclear, but the prospect of a Kerensky bloodline untainted by Widowmaker treachery and madness is an enticing one nonetheless. Nearly all of the Homeworld Clans now stand in support of Clan Wolf and a renewed invasion of the Inner Sphere.

Clan Cloud Cobra
An exception that proves the treachery of the Clans who invaded alongside the Widowmakers, the Cloud Cobras fled Strana Mechty the moment it became clear which direction the winds were blowing. Quick thinking by Khan Din Steiner enabled the Cobras to warn the homeworld elements of the Steel Vipers and Star Adders, and while they were forced to leave the bulk of their production facilities behind, they were able to rescue anything already mobile: Olympus stations, orbital manufacturing facilities and the like. A small number of Solamha units from each Clan remained to delay the impending Second Crusade, forcing the Clans loyal to Clan Wolf to annihilate them before they could seize Task Force Serpent’s homeworld holdings.

Clan Jade Falcon
Asa Hellion has never forgiven the Hell’s Horses for choosing the Jade Falcons to press the invasion over his own Clan. While the Jade Falcons have agreed to hold the bulk of their forces back to await the Second Crusade, the ilKhan was unsatisfied. If the Jade Falcons wanted to be considered loyal, Asa demanded they distance themselves from their own Alpha galaxy, either by joining Clan Wolf or forming a new Clan with the ground forces of Clan Snow Raven.

Clan Snow Raven
Clan Snow Raven’s naval elements have long-since vanished into the Inner Sphere, seeking the head of the Amaris descendent. While Asa Hellion originally painted them as loyal Clanners, without any real leadership the ground forces they’d left to protect their homeworld holdings were nearly useless. Unwilling to let the Ghost Bears command the lot, the ilKhan allowed any Snow Raven forces who desired to join the Clan Wolf touman; and announced the creation of a new Clan including all the forces that remained.

Clan Stone Lion
Formed from the loyal but weakened forces of Clan Snow Raven and Clan Jade Falcon, Clan Stone Lion now harbors a deep-seated hatred of the ilKhan. Clan Stone Lion is now a staunch ally of the Wolf Clan, who not only absorbed several elite units from both Clans, but actively cautioned Asa Hellion against his stupid, short-sighted plan from the outset.

Clan Ghost Bear
One of the most powerful military forces in Clan space, Clan Ghost Bear is too strong to antagonize. They’ve taken control of the remaining Sea Fox forces, and have done what they can to maintain ties with the Snow Ravens now dispersed among Clan Stone Lion units. The former Jade Falcon Khans have not proven amenable to continued associations with the Ghost Bears however, which has left the Bears furious at the ilKhan and Clan Fire Mandrill for supporting him “beyond the all boundaries of reason or sense.”

Clan Sea Fox
Those few Sea Fox forces left in Clan space are now under Clan Ghost Bear’s direct control.

Clan Fire Mandrill
The Fire Mandrill Kindraa have nearly all fallen in line with the new Wolves. Although they’re still fractured, keeping the Fire Mandrill Kindraa should stave off any infighting. The Mandrills have placed themselves almost directly under ilKhan Asa Hellion’s control, as the various Kindraa hope that their warriors and their warriors alone might be selected to join his new, ‘elite’ bloodname house.

Clan Nova Cat
The Oathmaster of Clan Nova Cat spent a week on a spiritual journey, fasting and sweating in a lodge on Strana Mechty before joining in the homeworld purge of Widowmaker forces. Although the Oathmaster would only relate what she saw to her Khan, the Khan’s orders were clear: Clan Nova Cat was to follow the Wolves.

Clan Smoke Jaguar
Eager for a chance to engage the barbarous forces of the Inner Sphere with tooth and claw, the Smoke Jaguars launched a lightning attack within minutes of the Grand Council’s dismissal. They targeted numerous holdings of the Widowmakers, Steel Vipers, and Hell’s Horses, nearly doubling their homeworld territories before the other Clans could organize their first assaults. At the ilKhan’s orders, the Smoke Jaguars left only the Goliath Scorpion and Burrock holdings alone. After all, the Goliath Scorpion hatred of the Widowmakers was legendary, even the Wolves agreed the Scorpions at least couldn’t have turned traitor at Natasha Kerensky’s request.

Clan Coyote
Clan Coyote has had to scramble to renew or replace trade agreements broken by the result of the Grand Council’s meeting. The Coyotes still express vocal support for the ilKhan, and were able (or permitted, if one asked a Smoke Jaguar) to seize a few key Star Adder worlds and facilities to bolster their limited resources.

Clan Blood Spirit
Clan Blood Spirit surprised everyone by joining the attack on Widowmaker holdings not with words, but with a new weapon: small, ultralight BattleMechs that seemed a cross between a traditional `Mech and a set of Battle Armor. These ‘ProtoMechs’ proved surprisingly effective en masse, with the Clan Council deciding that, like Battle Armor, a point of five ProtoMechs would be the equivalent of a single BattleMech. Clan Blood Spirit augments these ProtoMechs with more traditional BattleMechs piloted by their bloodnamed warriors, but some among the Clans, the Nova Cats most vocally, consider these ProtoMechs to be wasteful and un-Clanlike.