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Warrior's
Codex: TMan Sennet
The following is an account
of the highlights of my career with Clan Diamond Shark, from my
Trial of Entrance, through the CDS Assault on Terra, to the start
of the MW4 leagues.
I had been playing MW2 Mercenaries for almost four months before
ever attempting a game of MercNet online. I thought I was pretty
good because of the ease with which I could destroy computer opponents,
but I was quickly humbled. "Lag," "ping," "closed game," and "Clans"
were all new vocabulary to me, but I was a quick study.
I had seen CDS Rhino playing on PPP quite often, and in June 1997
he asked if I would like to Trial of Entrance into CDS. (The cadet
program was not in effect then.) I did not know what it meant to
join a Clan, but I figured I had nothing to lose by trying. We dropped
into Death Dance, and Rhino gave me my first lesson in the use of
flamers, killing 4 of my rides with heat. Piloting my 5th and final
mech (and legged!), I scored my 3rd kill on Rhino, thus joining
CDS as a MechWarrior 3rd Class (MW3).
My first assignment was in the 101st Assault Star under Star Commander
Red Eye Nagasawa, and at the time CDS was playing in the NBT league.
Soon after my joining, Red Eye was promoted to Khan of CDS, and
I was in attendance when he accepted the promotion on PPP. I advanced
through all the ranks up to Star Lt Commander either through vacancies
or Trials of Position among my star. The CDS roster was changing
rapidly through promotions and retirings, and two Star Commander
positions became available with six Star Lt Commanders scheduled
to Trial of Position for those slots.
On the night of the ToP, only myself and Tinman were present, so
we trialed for first choice of assignments. Dropping into Death
Dance, we both drove Executioners as Red Eye observed as Trial Officer
for a best-of-three match. Tinman and I were equally skilled, and
each round was a long and difficult fight. The 'shutdown rule' had
recently been put into effect, and it caused some confusion during
the first round when Tinman's mech shutdown due to heat. According
to Red Eye, simply hearing "Enemy powerup detected" was not the
signal for me to resume attacking my opponent! Tinman won the Trial,
two kills to one, and took first choice of commands, but I advanced
as well to Star Commander.
In February 1998, CDS fought in a very successful battle against
DDC, maintaining a better than 3:1 kill ratio versus our opponents.
I had a good night as well, accounting for several kills, and was
feeling at the top of my game. I requested a Trial of Bloodname
as I had been practicing for weeks in an Executioner specifically
designed for the ToB. My confidence was shaken slightly as two of
CDS' most feared warriors, MaudDib Sennet and Dahak Sennet, stepped
forward to defend their Bloodname, the one I desired. With the saKhan
himself, Bum Stabber, completing the trio of officers, we dropped
into what would be my third and final attempt to win the ToB. In
one of the longest engagements of my career, I finally destroyed
MaudDib Sennet in the Timberwolf, securing the final spot in House
Sennet. (An account of this ToB is available in the LoreMaster's
archives.)
Throughout 1998, CDS played in the ADL MW2:Mercenaries league, and
I was able to participate because of the Kali registration I won
in the Gunslinger Tournament. With more battle experience, I was
eventually promoted to Nova Commander. My skills increased, as did
my kills totals, but somehow I was never able to pair up with a
steady wingman for the battles. That changed in September 1998 with
the defense of Planet Schwartz versus BloodHand mercenaries. Galaxy
Commander MaudDib Sennet assigned me and Star Commander Haplo as
wings for that fight, and Haplo and I quickly realized we were both
only one kill away from our 25th kills and Manta Wing awards! BloodHand
warriors Wolverine and LoneTurtle had the honor of facing us on
our first drop. Despite never having winged together before, Haplo
and I had very complementary fighting styles and quickly dispatched
our opponents. We simultaneously earned our Manta Wings together
and won several more engagements that night. Recognizing a good
team, Haplo and I would continue to wing together in my remaining
four battles of the ADL MercNet league.
CDS membership was growing quickly, and later in September 1998
two new trinaries were added to the roster. With that, I received
another promotion to Nova Captain of the newly formed Coral Trinary.
I was also recognized by Khan Wolf Hawker with my first Coral Sabre
award for maintaining an excellent kill ratio.
In February 1999, CDS was in a position to be the first Clan of
our MW2:Mercenaries league to attack Terra. Though outnumbered and
outgunned, CDS attacked with ferocity, and I was proud to participate
in the multi-day campaign, teaming with both the deadly Voxhol Davis
and my trusted wingman Nova Commander Haplo. The Terra battles were
both my last of the ADL MercNet league and my favorite; Haplo and
I greatly enjoyed proving that even a pair of Wolfhounds can deliver
some serious damage. I finished the league at my peak skill level
and with the best wingman there is, having accumulated 41 kills
in 12 battles, with two Coral Sabres and one Manta Wings to my name.
In the months following the end of the ADL MercNet league and the
release of MechWarrior 3, several changes in CDS Supreme Command
took place. In July 1999 I was appointed to OathMaster, following
the retirement of the honorable Blake Sennet. My first task as OM
would be to make MW3 compatible rules for Trials of Entrance, Position,
and Bloodright. When Khan Wolf Hawker and SaKhan Bum Stabber retired,
I also had the honor of running the elections for new Clan leadership.
RedEye took his place again as Khan of CDS, with Dahak as his SaKhan.
While waiting for MW3 league play to start, I improved my skills
at MW3 by playing on the Microsoft Zone with a former CDS cadet
named Wraith under the alias of the Hammerhead Assault. Not only
was Wraith an outstanding pilot, but he had a great sense of situational
awareness during team play and was an expert in mech design. In
October 1999 we competed in the Zone's $100,000 MW3 tournament and
advanced 6 rounds to the semifinals, finishing in the top 4 of over
100 teams that competed. In every drop, I drove a BushWhacker with
several ER small lasers while Wraith drove a MASC-equipped Thor
with multiple ER small lasers as well.
League play with MW3 began shortly after the tournament, but CDS
participation was limited. I participated in a few battles and skirmishes
with Russian as my wingman, and I had the pleasure of defeating
two other Clan's Khans in single combat before our league participation
ended.
In December 2000, CDS upgraded to MW4, and OathMaster's office was
again called upon to establish compatible rules for all of the Clan's
internal Trials. I also had the duty of overseeing a new Khan election
as Khan RedEye Nagasawa stepped down to be replaced by Khan Tinman.
Throughout 2001, Tinman strongly led the Clan through trying times
of growing pains as recruitment increased, bringing many new names
into the roster. As OathMaster, I had many busy days trying to mediate
the numerous arguments that erupted. Many of the original Clan members
from MW2 retired, but I remained loyal to CDS. At the conclusion
of the Clan's reorganization, the end result was a finely tuned
group of players. Khan Tinman led the Clan to Terra in the UTS league
where I was pleased to participate. Although CDS failed to hold
the planet, we earned a role as a major Clan in the UTS league restart.
I actively participated in three online leagues throughout the MW4
era: NBT, UTS, and ADL. After dropping in over 40 raids and planetary
assaults, I had a most memorable evening on October 6, 2002, during
a 5 vs 5 raid against Clan Goliath Scorpion. There I earned my first
DeathStrike award, killing 4 mechs totaling 310 tons (including
two Daishis) while driving a twin-Gauss Thor. On November 24, 2002,
during a Planetary Assault against the Draconis Combine world of
Sakai, I earned another DeathStrike award, killing 4 BushWhackers
with a heavy-Gauss packing Dragon.
By December 2002, most leagues had transitioned to support MW4:
Mercenaries. Pre-League Tournaments kept CDS busy while rules and
league automation were updated. During pre-league play on February
5, 2003, I was honored to receive a Diamond Cross award for a 3-kill
performance against the Montana Tribe while piloting a quad-PPC
Nova.
Play in the NBT League and UTS Stock League continued with MW4:
Mercenaries well into 2003. By June, CDS had a slim but very cohesive
roster and was on a long string of victories. As OathMaster, I updated
the rules for many of our internal Trials and responsibilities to
better reflect our new team dynamic and reignite interest in trialing
for promotions. I was also very proud to participate in a tournament
for CDS' right to garrison the Clan homeworld of Strana Mechty.
CDS defeated Clan Burrock in 4 out of 5 drops of which I participated
in all.
The evening of August 27, 2003 was a notable night of combat. After
first assisting our allied Clan Jade Falcon in a planetary assault,
I then participated in three winning CDS raids against Clan Ice
Hellion. In the second raid I successfully piloted a 4-laser Ryoken
in a city engagement to kill 4 enemy mechs totalling 215 tons, thus
earning a third DeathStrike award. Surprisingly, that was accomplished
in a radar-blind setting and with a damaged HUD! A fourth DeathStrike
award was earned in October 2003 in UTS league drops against House
Jurai where I got 4 kills while piloting a stock Ryoken.
In September 2003, the rules for CDS' internal Trials of Position
were modified to make Trials for officer ranks a better test of
one's command ability in battle, and I took this opportunity to
Trial for the rank of Star Colonel. On the wide-open plains of the
Ghost Highway, I led a star with points Pestilence, Valkyrie, Finrod,
and Natanius in a successful bid against a star fielded by the Galaxy
Commander Muad'Dib Sennet, thus earning the rank of Star Colonel.
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