Editing Horse (Clan Jade Falcon)

{{InfoBoxCharacter
| image               = 
| caption             = 
| name                = Horse 
| birthdate           = 
| died                = [[3069]](?)
| othernames          = Tyle
| affiliation         = [[Clan Jade Falcon]]
| rank                = [[Star Commander]]
| profession          = [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarrior]]
| parents             = [[Tyle]] (father)
| siblings            = 
| spouse              = 
| children            = 
}}
'''Horse''' was a [[freeborn]] [[Clan Jade Falcon]] MechWarrior and [[Star Commander]] of the elite Jade Falcon Cluster [[Falcon Guards]]. He was later reassigned to create and lead a [[Trinary]] of elite freeborn warriors. In this process he was awarded the rank of [[Star Captain]]. This unit received its orders directly from Khan [[Marthe Pryde]].<ref>''Freebirth'', ch. 2–4</ref>

==History==
Horse is most notable for his constant service to the Jade Falcon leadership and for his role in the career of [[Aidan Pryde]]; arguably Clan Jade Falcon's most legendary MechWarrior.

Horse's real name is '''Tyle''' (after his father), but he dropped the use of this when he received the nickname "Horse" because of his interest in horses.<ref>''Way of the Clans'', ch. 33</ref>

Horse is honored by several lines in the ''[[Remembrance]]'' (apparently relating to his role on [[Battle of Tukayyid (3052)|Tukayyid]]). It is also possible that he is mentioned in the lines referring to the historic battle on Waldorff against the [[Clan Steel Viper|Steel Vipers]], where freeborn Jade Falcon forces held out against the elite of the [[Clan Steel Viper Touman|Steel Viper ''touman'']], eventually defeating its Khan.

=== Training ===
Horse, being a [[freeborn]], was discriminated against by the [[trueborn]]s that dominated the Clan leadership. Regardless of this, he attempted to join a freeborn training ''[[sibko]]'', and was successful in his efforts. During his training, he met Aidan Pryde for the first time on the field of "battle", in the course of which he almost killed Aidan with a knife. Horse, however, lost the battle and went back to training.<ref>''Way of the Clans'', ch. 1–18</ref>

Horse was successful in training, having remained in the ''sibko'' to a point where only four members were left. However, the normal arrangement was complicated by the entrance of a freeborn warrior called "Jorge". Jorge was actually Aidan in disguise, having been given an illicit second chance by his ''sibko'' commander [[Ter Roshak]] at a [[Trial of Position]]. In marked contrast to their first meeting, the two of them quickly came up with a strategy for passing their Trials. They both succeeded, and were made full MechWarriors of Clan Jade Falcon.<ref>''Way of the Clans'', ch. 19–40</ref>

=== Early Career ===
Horse and "Jorge", after various dull assignments, wound up on the planet of [[Glory (system)|Glory]], a desolate planet with strange topography. On-planet, however, the Jade Falcon base was attacked by [[Clan Wolf]] forces in an attempt to seize the legacy of then-[[Star Colonel]] [[Kael Pershaw]]. The Falcon defenders nearly fell due to sheer numbers brought down by the [[16th Battle (Clan Wolf)|16th Battle Cluster]], under the command of [[Star Captain]] [[Dwillt Radick]]. Horse and Aidan, however, served in the defense, and came up with the winning strategy that left the Wolves in a shambles. Aidan used his sudden good-standing to declare himself a trueborn, and therefore eligible for a [[Bloodname]] Trial for the name of "Pryde". An investigation soon mounted, however, and Horse got subpoenaed for testimony on the planet of [[Ironhold]]. While facing a hostile [[Clan Council]], Horse was forced to admit that he knew Aidan Pryde was receiving a false Trial of Position by masquerading in the place of a freeborn warrior, though his testimony would affect little in the [[Clan]] system of justice, which was largely stacked against Pryde to begin with.  After the Trial and vote in Council, Aidan, his commanding officer [[Joanna]], and [[Ter Roshak]] fought a [[Trial of Refusal]] against the verdict, and were ultimately successful against great odds. Aidan went on to win his trial for the [[Pryde (Bloodname)|Pryde Bloodname]].<ref>''Bloodname'', ch. 4–20</ref><ref>''Bloodname'', ch. 21–35</ref>

In the years after Aidan won his Bloodname, Horse still served under him.  As part of a [[Trial of Refusal]] against [[Clan Wolf]] (during an unspecified year), Horse would save the life of then-[[Star Commander]] [[Sentania Buhallin]] while in battle.  The surprisingly grateful officer swore an oath to assist Horse in some future event, should the need arise.<ref>''Freebirth'', ch. 7</ref>

===Tukayyid and Beyond===
Horse continued to serve under Star Colonel Pryde during [[Operation Revival]].  As part of the reborn [[Falcon Guards]], Horse stood by his commander as the only freeborn warrior in the reconstituted frontline unit.  Though trueborns were assigned to the command, their quality was often lacking for various reasons.  Star Colonel Pryde would use commander's prerogative to bring in [[Star Commander]] Joanna, who, with the assistance of Horse and [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarrior]] [[Diana Pryde|Diana]], brought a sense of discipline to the unit.  Horse was there by his commander's side throughout most of the fighting on Tukayyid.  His role, though a quiet one, did not go unnoticed; Horse would win mention in the Jade Falcon ''[[Remembrance]]'' and promotion to Star Commander after the fighting.  But it came at the cost of losing his commander in battle. Aidan Pryde had made a bold last stand against the encroaching [[Com Guards|Com Guard]] forces, saving the warriors that they could, while defending the Jade Falcon retreat off world after helping his [[Clan]] to achieve a draw for the engagement.  Horse bequeathed Aidan's collection of print-on-paper books to Diana, Aidan's freeborn daughter, a fact he learned only at the last moments of his friend's life, though he claimed to have always somehow known when asked by Diana.<ref>''Falcon Guard'', ch. 1–20</ref><ref>''Falcon Guard'', ch. 21–37</ref><ref>''Falcon Guard'', Epilogue</ref>

After the failed campaign on [[Coventry]] in [[3058]], Horse was promoted to [[Star Captain]] and received orders from Khan Marthe Pryde to create a 'Mech [[Trinary]] with elite freeborn warriors. [[Khan of Clan Jade Falcon|Khan]] [[Marthe Pryde]] said this would be a special unit, receiving direct orders from her. The warriors should be freeborn, as trueborns would protest in some situations, that this or that action would mean a loss of honor. Freeborns are much more pragmatic.<ref>''I Am Jade Falcon'', ch. 29–32</ref>

===On Huntress===
In [[3059]], the first mission of [[Khan's Irregulars (Clan Jade Falcon)|Khan's Irregulars]] was to inspect the Jade Falcon scientific installation on [[Huntress]], the [[Clan Smoke Jaguar]] homeworld. It was a very small installation, where [[Dual Cockpit|dual-cockpit]] [[Land-Air 'Mech|LAM]]s were being developed. Though Jade Falcon ships have gained the right to land in that installation, Horse's [[DropShip]] was shot down. He and his warriors were taken prisoner and their 'Mechs were seized. [[Galaxy Commander]] [[Russou Howell]] took an immediate dislike of Horse, assigning him to numerous demeaning tasks, tormenting him with a Ceremony of Kinship (an invention of Howell's) among many other cruel humiliations and tortures.  Ultimately, he used Horse to provoke and shame his own substandard warriors, culminating in Horse's killing of Star Colonel [[Logan Wirth]] in a duel, after throwing the unconscious Wirth from the Pyramid-shaped genetic repository of Mt. Szabo in Lootera.  Howell tried to convert Horse into a Smoke Jaguar, but Horse resisted as much as possible given the circumstances. The ''[[solahma]]'' Star Commander [[Sentania Buhallin]] visited Horse on several occasions, and on one of them, the two infiltrated the Smoke Jaguar Genetic Repository.  Star Commander Buhallin showed him a room containing a sample of Aidan Pryde's genetic legacy, which Horse did his best to destroy, and killing the head Jaguar Geneticist, called the Keeper of the Jaguar Kin.  Buhallin later freed Horse in a [[Trial of Possession]] for his Codex, as his genetic legacy could not be an object, using the two stolen [[Land-Air 'Mech|LAMs]] and with the assistance of Chief Scientist [[Peri]] (Watson). Russou bid himself and Horse to fight against the Jade Falcons. That meant, that Horse had to fight with all his skills in order to remain a prisoner, or he would lose his honor. Horse fought with anger and ferocity, giving himself to the Jaguar spirit of aggression out of a feeling that he was lost to his former Clan.  In spite of his efforts, he lost honorably, after a collision with an experimental [[Phoenix Hawk LAM|''Phoenix Hawk'' LAM]] disabled his ''[[Summoner (Thor)|Summoner]]'', and was finally set free. Horse's fellow warriors and 'Mechs were freed in a prisonbreak shortly thereafter. Horse later issued a report to Khan Pryde, recommending the closing of the installation, and canceling its [[Land-Air 'Mech|LAM]]-program.<ref>''Freebirth'', ch. 15–18</ref><ref>''Freebirth'', ch. 20–37</ref>

{{Quote|''His death or mine was destined, right from the challenge. I could not accept Logan's offer of a draw. A draw is a loss. Proof lies only in victory. That is the way of the Clans.''|Horse Jade Falcon{{cn}}}}

===Against the Vipers===
In [[3060]] the Steel Vipers tried to annoy and provoke the Jade Falcons by claiming that the freeborn Jade Falcon warriors were essentially weakening [[Clan Jade Falcon Touman|their ''touman'']]. Viper Khan [[Perigard Zalman]] taunted Marthe Pryde in the Grand Council, until she lost her temper and challenged him to a trial. [[Kael Pershaw]] reminded both Khans, that Khans were no longer allowed to fight directly against each other. Both had to choose a champion, who would fight for them. Perigard Zalman chose [[Star Colonel]] [[Ivan Sinclair]]. Marthe Pryde made a choice that would make a Steel Viper loss even more shaming. She chose the best freeborn warrior she knew: Horse. Horse won a narrow victory against a wily opponent who even attempted to use the backdrop of a freeborn village near the battlefield against Horse, forcing him into being very careful with his shots.  Later that year, Horse helped [[Diana Pryde|Diana]] in her bid for a Bloodname by assisting [[Joanna]] in training her.<ref>''Falcon Rising'', ch. 1–20''</ref><ref>''Falcon Rising'', ch. 21–39</ref>

=== Steel Viper-Jade Falcon War ===
[[Clan Steel Viper]] had secretly shipped reinforcements to its occupation zone in the Inner Sphere and used them to conquer 13 worlds of the Jade Falcon occupation zone in early 3061. Khan Marthe Pryde arrived troops in mid-3061, among them Horse and his trinary.

Slowly, world by world, the Steel Vipers were defeated. The final battle took place on [[Waldorff]], where several elite clusters of both sides fought against each other. Through a clever maneuver by the Steel Vipers, the [[Falcon Guards]] and Horse's unit were first separated from the rest of the Jade Falcon forces and then split into smaller elements. Horse's trinary and elements of the Falcon Guards were ambushed by the [[Triash Keshik]]. Among them was Ivan Sinclair, who challenged Horse to a duel one on one, separate from the rest of the battle. They fought and finally both their 'Mechs ended up disabled. They left them and went on with a fistfight which also ended with a draw.

=== Aftermath ===
In [[3069]], Joanna and [[Horse]] apparently saw action on [[Marshall]] in the [[Kerensky Cluster]], though not in BattleMechs. The exact opponents they fought and even the circumstances are unknown, however it is common in Clan tradition to use aged warriors as cannon fodder in battle, using them as unarmored infantry with little chance to survive. Despite this, there is no actual mention of Horse's death.<ref>''Face in the Viewport''</ref>

==BattleMechs==
Horse generally piloted a ''[[Summoner (Thor)|Summoner]]'' with some exceptions, including a ''[[Viper (Dragonfly)|Viper]]'' at one point during the battle of Tukayyid, a ''[[Marauder|Marauder]]'' at some indeterminate point during the Clan Invasion, and an old [[Star League]]-era ''[[Mackie]]'' which Russou Howell forced Horse to pilot in the fight against Logan Wirth.

==Notes==
In the German translation of the novels ''[[Falcon Rising]]'' (''Falke im Aufwind'') and ''[[Freebirth (novel)|Freebirth]]'' (''Freigeburt''), the command led by Horse: "Khan's Irregulars", is given the name "Khan's Partisans".

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Bloodname (novel)|Bloodname]]''
* ''[[Face in the Viewport]]'' (in ''[[BattleTech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction]]'')
* ''[[Falcon Guard (novel)|Falcon Guard]]''
* ''[[Falcon Rising]]''
* ''[[Freebirth (novel)|Freebirth]]''
* ''[[Way of the Clans]]''

[[Category:Clan Jade Falcon Characters|Jade Falcon, Horse]]
[[Category:Notable Summoner (Thor) Pilots|Jade Falcon, Horse]]