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	Thanks his previous efforts Karl Kole was easily able access the reception hall and deliver the potted flowers, the only question from the [[Intelligence Secretariat]] was a curious agent who wanted to know if the watering can Karl brought was filled with anything special, but Karl assured him the ''Mycosia'' needed just plain ordinary water and a lot of love. The water was the final key for the Assassin's method of sneaking the explosives past the security agents. Inside each pot was a water-conversion cell, once enough water leaked through the semipermeable rubber coating the pots the cell was triggered, starting a timer which when it counted down activated the visiphones six and half hours later, long after Karl Kole would have finished work and after the last radio frequency sweep by the Archon's security detail was completed, when guests in the room with watches, phones and [[Artificial Limbs|cybernetic limbs]] would prevent their detection.<ref name=NS-C19/><ref name=NS-C24>''Natural Selection'', ch. 24</ref>		Thanks his previous efforts Karl Kole was easily able access the reception hall and deliver the potted flowers, the only question from the [[Intelligence Secretariat]] was a curious agent who wanted to know if the watering can Karl brought was filled with anything special, but Karl assured him the ''Mycosia'' needed just plain ordinary water and a lot of love. The water was the final key for the Assassin's method of sneaking the explosives past the security agents. Inside each pot was a water-conversion cell, once enough water leaked through the semipermeable rubber coating the pots the cell was triggered, starting a timer which when it counted down activated the visiphones six and half hours later, long after Karl Kole would have finished work and after the last radio frequency sweep by the Archon's security detail was completed, when guests in the room with watches, phones and [[Artificial Limbs|cybernetic limbs]] would prevent their detection.<ref name=NS-C19/><ref name=NS-C24>''Natural Selection'', ch. 24</ref>
−	Untroubled now this was done, the Assassin even returned to assist with delivering the centerpieces later. After Karl Kole's workday was done, the Assassin left the Freya Florist Service, skipping Karl's regular hoverbus ride home to buy a ticket to [[Immortal Warrior|''The Immortal Warrior Returns'']] holovid playing at the Tharkad Theater on Chase Street, not an uncommon or out of character occurrence. In truth after purchasing the ticket, the Assassin went to the nearby Argyle Hotel and asked for the key to room 4412, which he'd rented in the name of Carl Ashe two weeks prior. In his room the Assassin completed his transformation from Karl Kole into Carl Ashe, bleaching his hair bone-white and donning a tailored business suit ordered a week prior, before making his way to the capital's spaceport to retrieve his luggage and ticket from a storage locker.<ref name=NS-C19/>	+	Untroubled now this was done, the Assassin even returned to assist with delivering the centerpieces later. After Karl Kole's workday was done, the Assassin left the Freya Florist Service, skipping Karl's regular hoverbus ride home to buy a ticket to [[Immortal Warrior|''The Immortal Warrior Returns'']] holovid playing at the Tharkad Theatre on Chase Street, not an uncommon or out of character occurrence. In truth after purchasing the ticket, the Assassin went to the nearby Argyle Hotel and asked for the key to room 4412, which he'd rented in the name of Carl Ashe two weeks prior. In his room the Assassin completed his transformation from Karl Kole into Carl Ashe, bleaching his hair bone-white and donning a tailored business suit ordered a week prior, before making his way to the capital's spaceport to retrieve his luggage and ticket from a storage locker.<ref name=NS-C19/>
	Half an hour before the shuttle taking Carl Ashe to the [[DropShip]] ''[[Colombus]]'' outbound to [[Tetersen]] was due to take off, the Assassin viewed a public access broadcast of the Archon starting her speech then dialed Karl Kole's apartment with his computer picking up. Punching in the numbers 112263 the Assassin prompted the computer to call the cellular number linked to all four detonators in the flower pots in front of the Archon, followed by sending an suicide note written by Karl Kole for Mr. Crippen and then to ruin its hard drive to render it unrecoverable. At 07:21 p.m. the call triggered magnesium firestarters to light small thermite charges that ignited the plastic explosives the pots were made from, instantly killed Melissa Steiner-Davion. The subsequent detonation also took the life of numerous others including [[Salome Ward]], and maimed her husband, [[Morgan Kell]]. The shuttle was taking off as this occurred, Carl Ashe commenting on the emergency vehicles clustered around the reception center to a fellow passenger. By the time Archon Melissa Steiner-Davion was officially declared dead, the shuttle had reached the DropShip ''Columbus''. By the time the Intelligence Secretariat launched a worldwide manhunt for Karl Kole, the Assassin had already left the system.<ref name=NS-C19/>		Half an hour before the shuttle taking Carl Ashe to the [[DropShip]] ''[[Colombus]]'' outbound to [[Tetersen]] was due to take off, the Assassin viewed a public access broadcast of the Archon starting her speech then dialed Karl Kole's apartment with his computer picking up. Punching in the numbers 112263 the Assassin prompted the computer to call the cellular number linked to all four detonators in the flower pots in front of the Archon, followed by sending an suicide note written by Karl Kole for Mr. Crippen and then to ruin its hard drive to render it unrecoverable. At 07:21 p.m. the call triggered magnesium firestarters to light small thermite charges that ignited the plastic explosives the pots were made from, instantly killed Melissa Steiner-Davion. The subsequent detonation also took the life of numerous others including [[Salome Ward]], and maimed her husband, [[Morgan Kell]]. The shuttle was taking off as this occurred, Carl Ashe commenting on the emergency vehicles clustered around the reception center to a fellow passenger. By the time Archon Melissa Steiner-Davion was officially declared dead, the shuttle had reached the DropShip ''Columbus''. By the time the Intelligence Secretariat launched a worldwide manhunt for Karl Kole, the Assassin had already left the system.<ref name=NS-C19/>

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{{InfoBoxCharacter | image = | caption = | name = | birthdate = | died = 17 February [[3067]] | othernames = David Lo,<br/>Karl Kole,<br/>Carl Ashe,<br/>Carlos Negron,<br/>Chuck Grayson,<br/>Naga Orano,<br/>Noble Thayer,<br/>Harrison Harding | affiliation = | profession = Assassin | parents = | siblings = | spouse = | children = }} The '''Dancing Joker''', real name unknown, was a [[thirty-first century]] assassin. His code-name is one of the most commonly referenced, making him one of the best known contract killers in the [[Inner Sphere]]. His most notable achievements were the assassinations of [[Melissa Steiner-Davion]] and [[Omiko Kurita|Omi Kurita]]. ==Description== The Dancing Joker is referenced to be of average size and weight, with straight black hair, and likely of Caucasian descent. It is noted that he had no morals, and thus had little regard towards anyone's life. The only known psychological trait is that he believed himself to be an "unstoppable force of nature." Marked as a master of disguise, the Dancing Joker would regularly create false personae for cover. His dedication was such that he would rigorously adopt the character of a person he might impersonate to the point that he would become indistinguishable from the original character. ==History== In the mid-to-late-[[3040]]s the Assassin had been hired by an agent of [[Chancellor]] [[Romano Liao]] to murder a minor noble in the [[Capellan Confederation]] that displeased her. While successfully completing his task, the Chancellor had then ordered him killed to tie up loose ends, the Assassin needing every drop of his cunning and resourcefulness to escape Romano's hired killer. The Assassin would not reflect back upon the contract with fondness.<ref name=NS-C32>''Natural Selection'', ch. 32</ref> At another point in his career a client had attempted to cheat the Assassin out of half of his pay. The Assassin took the remaining payment in the form of the client's life.<ref>''Patriots and Tyrants'', ch. 10</ref> ===The Melissa Steiner-Davion Contract=== Dancing Joker's most famous assassination was that of [[Archon]] [[Melissa Steiner-Davion]]. He was initially hired by Melissa's daughter [[Katherine Steiner-Davion]] and her cousin, [[Ryan Steiner]]<ref>''Assumption of Risk''</ref> Upon taking the assignment, the Assassin spent long hours studying films of her seeking the key to killing the Archon, well aware her security detail took great pains to avoid any predictability that could be used to plan and prepare an assassination. The Assassin eventually hit upon the key to overcoming her security screen, the one totally predictable fact about Melissa Steiner-Davion, her favorite flower ''[[Mycosia pseudoflora]]''. A genetically engineered versions of the ''Mycosia'' blossoms which [[Hanse Davion]] had shipped to [[Terra]] for his and Melissa's wedding years before, Melissa would wear at least one blossom in any corsage and at formal events or banquets, several flowering plants would have to be included.<ref name=NS-C19>''Natural Selection'', ch. 19</ref> Making his way to [[Tharkad]] via a series of cover identities, the Assassin ultimately adopted the role of Karl Kole who got work at the Freya Florist Service, one of Tharkad's leading florists which supplied many events in the [[Lyran Commonwealth]]'s capital world. While identifying himself as a botanist rather than a florist, in reality his employer Mr. Crippen kept Karl on staff more because of his strong back and ready smile rather than any intention he'd let Karl work on real flower arrangements. Karl wouldn't protest though, he was quiet and kept to himself, he didn't cause trouble. Nobody would suspect his ultimate intentions, as the Assassin laid preparations for the hit and quietly went about the life of his chosen role awaiting the final word.<ref name=NS-C19/><ref name=NS-C14>''Natural Selection'', ch. 14</ref> On 19 April 3055 Karl Kole broke his usual routine to stroll through the snow-covered Luvon Park in response to a seemingly innocuous message in the Lost and Found offering a reward for a lost Alsatian dog, in truth a coded message to the Assassin. At the eastern border of the park was located one of the Assassin's dead-drops in brickwork of a small gardeners kiosk closed for the winter, where he retrieved a message that led him travel to the Frederick Steiner Memorial train station and retrieve a computer disk placed in one of the storage lockers. Now resuming the more normal routine of Karl Kole and taking a mundane hoverbus home, the Assassin purchased a pound of coffee and frozen dinner, making a five-''[[kroner]]'' bet with the store owner over the fate of Tharkad's curling team. The unhurried Assassin started to prepare his dinner and brew his coffee as he entered the code sequence to unlock the disk, which loaded a program that ultimately allowed the Assassin to pull together message that was his final authorization for the assassination - two months until he was to hit the target, the manner of her death was left to his discretion and collateral casualties were acceptable - which would not complicate his planned method of assassination.<ref name=NS-C14/> On 19 June 3055, despite the fact this was the day of the hit, the Assassin calmly followed the mundane morning routine of Karl Kole, save leaving his personal computer switched on, before heading to work. While his employer was frantic over supplying flowers for that evening's reception at the Frederick Steiner Memorial Library, Karl attempted to calm him as he went to prepare and deliver four ''Mycosia pseudoflora'' to the reception center by noon. As he went out the back to prepare the flowers, the Assassin went to a secluded corner of the warehouse where he had hidden four seemingly normal pots. In fact they were [[SX-497]] plastic explosive shaped into plant pots, baked into hardness and coated with a semipermeable rubber coating that would defeat chemical sniffers, the unpowered guts of portable visiphones inside each one. As Karl Kole the Assassin would carefully pot the ''Mycosia'' blossoms without water - claiming to Mr. Crippen that he'd done so to avoid frosting the flowers - before driving them over to the reception hall.<ref name=NS-C19/> Thanks his previous efforts Karl Kole was easily able access the reception hall and deliver the potted flowers, the only question from the [[Intelligence Secretariat]] was a curious agent who wanted to know if the watering can Karl brought was filled with anything special, but Karl assured him the ''Mycosia'' needed just plain ordinary water and a lot of love. The water was the final key for the Assassin's method of sneaking the explosives past the security agents. Inside each pot was a water-conversion cell, once enough water leaked through the semipermeable rubber coating the pots the cell was triggered, starting a timer which when it counted down activated the visiphones six and half hours later, long after Karl Kole would have finished work and after the last radio frequency sweep by the Archon's security detail was completed, when guests in the room with watches, phones and [[Artificial Limbs|cybernetic limbs]] would prevent their detection.<ref name=NS-C19/><ref name=NS-C24>''Natural Selection'', ch. 24</ref> Untroubled now this was done, the Assassin even returned to assist with delivering the centerpieces later. After Karl Kole's workday was done, the Assassin left the Freya Florist Service, skipping Karl's regular hoverbus ride home to buy a ticket to [[Immortal Warrior|''The Immortal Warrior Returns'']] holovid playing at the Tharkad Theatre on Chase Street, not an uncommon or out of character occurrence. In truth after purchasing the ticket, the Assassin went to the nearby Argyle Hotel and asked for the key to room 4412, which he'd rented in the name of Carl Ashe two weeks prior. In his room the Assassin completed his transformation from Karl Kole into Carl Ashe, bleaching his hair bone-white and donning a tailored business suit ordered a week prior, before making his way to the capital's spaceport to retrieve his luggage and ticket from a storage locker.<ref name=NS-C19/> Half an hour before the shuttle taking Carl Ashe to the [[DropShip]] ''[[Colombus]]'' outbound to [[Tetersen]] was due to take off, the Assassin viewed a public access broadcast of the Archon starting her speech then dialed Karl Kole's apartment with his computer picking up. Punching in the numbers 112263 the Assassin prompted the computer to call the cellular number linked to all four detonators in the flower pots in front of the Archon, followed by sending an suicide note written by Karl Kole for Mr. Crippen and then to ruin its hard drive to render it unrecoverable. At 07:21 p.m. the call triggered magnesium firestarters to light small thermite charges that ignited the plastic explosives the pots were made from, instantly killed Melissa Steiner-Davion. The subsequent detonation also took the life of numerous others including [[Salome Ward]], and maimed her husband, [[Morgan Kell]]. The shuttle was taking off as this occurred, Carl Ashe commenting on the emergency vehicles clustered around the reception center to a fellow passenger. By the time Archon Melissa Steiner-Davion was officially declared dead, the shuttle had reached the DropShip ''Columbus''. By the time the Intelligence Secretariat launched a worldwide manhunt for Karl Kole, the Assassin had already left the system.<ref name=NS-C19/> By 26 June Carl Ashe had reached the [[Recharge Station]] at [[Thuban]], booking passage on a shuttle down to the planet. The Assassin however went to the First Orbital Bank and withdrew new identification papers and a Corona Hotel access card from a retinal scan protected safety deposit box. Accessing a small suite of rooms reserved for traveling business executives, but used only once months before when he'd journeyed to Tharkad, the Assassin used hair dye, drugs to promote melanin and sunlamps to rapidly change his appearance, entering as pale and fair businessman Carl Ashe but leaving the rooms as olive toned hard drinking merchant marine longshoreman Carlos Negron less than four hours later. Traveling to the Merchant Marine Union Hall, Negron's union card showing he had not worked in months ensured he was quickly picked for a berth on ''[[Woman Scorned]]'', a cargo ship traveling to [[Lamon]] via [[Chukchi]], [[Ciotat]], and [[Trant]], giving the Assassin barely enough time to finish a beer and pick up the latest gossip over who was behind the assassination of the Archon.<ref name=NS-C23>''Natural Selection'', ch. 23</ref> After reaching Lamon, Carlos Negron sent messages via [[ComStar]] to his comrades that he had met a woman and would be staying a while in that system, which was in truth an attempt to lay a false trail for any pursuers. Before boarding a [[DropShip]] for [[Caledonia]], Carlos Negron adopted the black-clad garb of a fearsome member of the neo-Puritanical [[Wildmon Sect]]. With everybody aboard fearing a dressing down from him, the Assassin was left alone. On Caledonia, in another set of rooms held for a dummy corporation, the Assassin changed identities again, adopting that of Chuck Grayson, a celebrity tell-all ghost writer bound for a gambling junket to [[Solaris VII]] who dressed in gaudy clothes that would have sent a real Wildmon into violent convolutions. After boarding the ''[[Lady Luck]]'' on 10 July 3055, in the ship's lounge Chuck Grayson bumped into a beautiful woman wearing a sarong made from the same pattern as his shirt, hitting it off immediately with [[Judith Calley]]. One of the members of the [[Fennic-Dobb]] electronics sales division, who'd won a two-month junket to Solaris, Judith was smitten with Chuck Grayson, who found himself drawn into the group and an intimate relationship with the woman.<ref name=NS-C26>''Natural Selection'', ch. 26</ref> While the Assassin's extensive preparations had given the authorities the slip, elements of the Intelligence Secretariat made steady progress tracking his trail. The [[MIIO]] were able to track the origin of the SX-497 to a lot manufactured on [[Hesperus II]] and reportedly lost during shipping, all but ensuring they'd locate the Assassin eventually.<ref name=IOH-15>''Intelligence Operations Handbook'', p. 15: "House Steiner - Field Agent Report FC 3.47"</ref> While Victor fixated on who had ordered his mother's death, his adjutant [[Galen Cox]] took a more pragmatic approach: while the Intelligence Secretariat tracked the Assassin, Cox cited that lack political motivation made the assassin most likely a professional who worked exclusively for money. Cox also correctly pointed out from the extensive preparations that the Assassin considered himself a virtuoso, that money alone would not tempt him risk himself on another job unless it was a test of skills equal to that of killing Melissa Steiner-Davion. Recognizing Galen was right, Victor pointed out the Intelligence Secretariat said most assassins of that that caliber based themselves out of Solaris VII, the multinational and open nature of the Game World a natural home for such people. Victor remembered a person who would be perfect to put out word of just such a contract to lure him from hiding.<ref name=NS-C27>''Natural Selection'', ch. 27</ref> Ultimately, as Galen Cox deduced, the Assassin's ego would get the better of him. While greatly enjoying the role of Chuck Grayson and his passionate relationship with Judith Calley and her group on Solaris after the more quiet and insular life of Karl Kole, the Assassin's natural inclination to work and the lack of credit he received for the Archon's assassination, with the authorities not acknowledging a professional assassin had killed her, overrode the risk of taking another hit so soon. On 17 August 3055 the Assassin used a pay visiphone to access a secret message drop inquiring if any jobs or messages were available. He was put in touch with known compatriot [[Kevin Chen]] who indicated there was a job offer for similar amount as the Archon's assassination without some of the same risks. Wary, the Assassin demanded to know who wanted to hire him, with Chen revealing it was [[Fuh Teng]] of [[Cenotaph Stables]]. The Assassin agreed to a meet in eight days, allowing Chuck Grayson to attend a farewell party for Judith and her group in seven days' time, relishing the fact that whoever Fuh Teng wanted dead would be a worthy challenge.<ref name=NS-C30>''Natural Selection'', ch. 30</ref> The Assassin would meet Fuh Teng on 25 August 3055 at a tea house in [[Cathay]]. Revealing he had been supposedly embezzling profits, Fuh Teng sought the Assassin's services now the scheme was about to come undone with [[Kai Allard-Liao]] planning to replace him. When the Assassin assumed Kai was the target, Fuh Teng quickly corrected him, that he loved Kai like a son and that if he wanted the [[Class Six Champions|Grand Champion]] killed it would be easy to arrange an accident in the arenas. Instead he merely sought to have him "distracted", sliding a ''[[yuan]]'' emblazoned with the profile of [[Candace Allard-Liao]] into view. The Assassin realized that Kai would be forced to assume leadership of the [[St. Ives Compact]] and leave Solaris and Fuh Teng. Claiming to offer 3.5 Million [[C-bill]]s' worth of defense stocks in return for contract completion within four months, the Assassin accepted the contract after he admitted his last job had been as a florist to prove his abilities to Fuh Teng.<ref name=NS-C32/><ref name=IOH-41>''Intelligence Operations Handbook'', p. 41: "House Davion - Field Agent Report FC 3.51"</ref> Eagerly looking forward to the challenge, the Assassin left the tea house and started to cross the street when he was struck by a car, fracturing his leg. Initially incredulous that he would be killed in something as boring as a traffic accident, the Assassin realized he'd also been drugged and thus captured by professionals, leaving a smile upon his face as he lapsed into unconsciousness.<ref name=NS-C32/> The Assassin would narrowly avoid dying during his capture, as bone marrow from his fractured leg entering his bloodstream and fat from the marrow clogging his coronary arteries and triggering a violent and very unexpected heart attack. His life would be saved by the Intelligence Secretariat's doctors, but medication to treat his condition would result in delays in the Assassin's interrogation newly invested [[Archon-Prince]] [[Victor Steiner-Davion]] felt was unacceptable.<ref name=NS-C37>''Natural Selection'', ch. 37</ref> [[Curaitis]], head of the [[Intelligence Secretariat]]'s security detail protecting the new Archon-Prince, would personally oversee the narco-interrogation sessions with the Assassin. By 12 September 3055 the medication for the fat embolus no longer required, and the third session had begun to deliver good results, with the Assassin revealing how he'd received jobs and those connections he'd received them from, but also confirming that he'd been hired by someone within the Federated Commonwealth rather than an outside power.<ref name=NS-C37/> With the interrogations concluded by 25 October 3055, rather than have the Assassin hanged, the Archon-Prince swore Curaitis to secrecy and ordered him transferred to the Grace of God Leprosarium on [[Poulsbo]] in the Federated Commonwealth's [[Periphery March (Federated Commonwealth)|Periphery March]], ensuring he was given resources to enhance his skill as an assassin, planning to use him against those who hired him to kill his mother.<ref name=NS-C41>''Natural Selection'', ch. 41</ref> ===The Ryan Steiner Contract=== The Assassin was held in the Grace of God Leprosarium in a small T-shaped cell - whitewashed with a pair of bright lights running constantly, constantly monitored night and day. Focusing on regaining his strength and full and unimpeded use of his broken leg, the Assassin used the treadmill religiously as well as the Intelligence Secretariat provided computer to starve off boredom. On 8 February 3056 the Assassin awoke as he did every other day before, resuming his own mental account of his reality and how his might possibly change his situation, the new discs added to his locked down and monitored computer giving him hope that he finally might be able. While well familiar with Solaris, the new discs provided on Prince Victor's orders ensured brought him up to date on the present situation on-world as well as providing a number of notable people who Victor might want to target. Swiftly eliminating Kai Allard-Liao, Galen Cox, and [[Omiko Kurita|Omi Kurita]], the Assassin focused on the three most "viable targets" he could be asked to assassinate - [[Tormano Liao]], Katherine Steiner-Davion and Ryan Steiner. Eliminating the others and selecting Ryan Steiner as the most likely, the Assassin knew he'd be activated soon, finally resulting in his release from his T-shaped cell. That left a second even more important problem, the Assassin held few illusions he'd be released after the hit and thus needed a plan to survive, but he was confident he would find it.<ref name=AoR-C11>''Assumption of Risk'', ch. 11</ref><ref name=AoR-C12>''Assumption of Risk'', ch. 12</ref> Following Free Skye's attempt to frame [[Peter Steiner-Davion]] for the destruction of a hamlet on [[Lyons]], while Curaitis counseled it was perhaps a premature move without confirmed evidence of Ryan Steiner's guilt, on 13 April 3056 Prince Victor ordered the Assassin be moved to a safe house on Solaris in preparation for the hit, convinced Ryan would soon make a mistake and reveal his hand.<ref name=AoR-C24>''Assumption of Risk'', ch. 24</ref> Arriving on Solaris VII aboard the DropShip ''Columbus'' on 16 April 3056 a scant four hours before Peter Steiner-Davion, a new target the Assassin quickly discarded, the Intelligence Secretariat hustled him into a darkened limousine. Driving in a seemingly aimless pattern to try and confuse him, the Assassin knew however he'd be sent to a safe house in [[Black Hills]], [[Silesia]] would be too close to the target and the Davionist sympathies of Black Hills would make it easier to lock down information about him. Taken to a spartan room with a built-in mirror certain to two-way for observation, the ice-eyed Curaitis entered and calmly stated they'd get him supplies if needed, but the Assassin responded he knew who the target was and he knew what he needed - a custom rifle held by a Capellan broker named [[Sergei Chou]] and a file on special ammunition he'd drafted on Poulsbo to be given to Chou. While the Intelligence Secretariat agent insisted they would be able to get the rifle and ballistic files to Chou, the Assassin was adamant he had to meet with Chou personally, and when challenged insisted that Prince Victor would approve the request as he needed him. Curaitis questioned if the Assassin overstated his value, and noted that Victor would not forgive him for the death of his mother.<ref name=AoR-C25>''Assumption of Risk'', ch. 25</ref> On 19 April 3056 the Assassin sat in a Mongolian barbecue restaurant on the border between the Black Hills and Cathay awaiting the arrival of Sergei Chou, engaging in a conversation in English with a smattering of Italian, a series of prearranged code words and covert signals that he needed assistance in escaping, the Assassin indicating he needed a rifle with fifty rounds of special ammunition, supplying an optical disc containing the specifications for this. After Chou departed, tailed by a pair of Intelligence Secretariat agents, Curaitis advised the Assassin's shopping trip was over. Forcing a beaten resignation into his manner, the Assassin was aware that the ice-eye agent would not fooled, but the others would believe it, lowering their guard and ensuring he could escape.<ref name=AoR-C26>''Assumption of Risk'', ch. 26</ref><ref name=AoR-C32>''Assumption of Risk'', ch. 32</ref> Following the assassination of Galen Cox by Ryan Steiner, while lacking evidence that would stand up in court, at his sister Katherine's urging Victor believed he had enough proof on 23 April 3056 to order Curaitis, who'd accompanied Katherine back to Tharkad, to activate the Assassin.<ref name=AoR-C29>''Assumption of Risk'', ch. 29</ref> The next day the Assassin met with Sergei Chou in the backroom of the Red Hart Tavern and Grill to receive the rifle and ammunition, again conversing in a mixture of English, Italian and Chinese to covertly signal that everything was in order with the equipment and the escape preparations. The Intelligence Secretariat agents took the Assassin and the equipment back to the safe house - all without checking the equipment first. The Assassin reflected that Curaitis would never had made such a mistake, and was glad he was gone as he would have sensed the Assassin's anticipation to flee. Without the ice-eyed agent to provide direction, the Assassin stepped up, requesting they book room 807 of the [[Solaris City#The Armored Fist Hotel|Armored Fist Hotel]] and running through the specs on his customized [[Loftgren Supreme Model 150]] and the boat-tailed, sabot-loaded, armor-piercing bullets. Each bullet's casing was painted differently - giving the Assassin the information on his escape route while masking it from the agents, who confirmed they'd booked room 807 and the hit on Ryan Steiner was to occur that night.<ref name=AoR-C30>''Assumption of Risk'', ch. 30</ref> At the Armored Fist Hotel in Room 807, the Assassin was half a kilometer and approximately twenty meters above Ryan Steiner's office. When Ryan stood need the window speaking with his personal assistant [[Sven Newmark]], the Assassin fired, near-instantly killing the target.<ref name=AoR-C31>''Assumption of Risk'', ch. 31</ref> The deed done, the Assassin discarded the rifle and reached under the bed to locate a [[needler]] pistol and two ammo blocks which he promptly used to dispatch the two Intelligence Secretariat agents who supposedly would take him back to the safe house. Hurrying to Room 827, the Assassin knocked once and was admitted by a young punk kid who he swiftly killed. Pressing the punk's hand to the needler completed the frame job agreed with Chou - the punk had been the one to sight and prep the rifle so trace evidence would prove he had fired the gun, a suicide note implicating him in Ryan Steiner's death would ensure he would be the fall guy for the hit.<ref name=AoR-C32/> Donning a rain slicker containing a hidden sawn-off shotgun and knife, the Assassin applied a fake goatee and mustache as well as false eye patch to change his appearance, combing his hair to a centerline stripe, leaving a single hair as a calling card for the Intelligence Secretariat. Taking the elevator, the Assassin reached the lobby in amazement, reflecting had Curaitis been there he'd have been killed immediately after the hit. But the agents that remained had immediately relaxed, allowing the Assassin to escape. Upon reaching the street he noted that Chou's men had hung a series of colored banners on the street poles, the colors and stripes matching those of the bullets. But where the Intelligence Secretariat agents would recall the bullets and try to follow the literal colors of the banners, the Assassin instead was following the Italian words for the colors to guide him as previously arranged with Chou, well aware that only agents from the [[Isle of Skye]] would likely speak Italian and fear of infiltration by Free Skye would preclude them from being involved in the hit against Ryan Steiner.<ref name=AoR-C32/> Entering ''The White Hatchet'', the establishment's sign being a Steiner Blue fist clutching a short white axe matching the last bullet's blue and white painted casing, the Assassin entered the backroom where he used the provided battery-operated clippers and razor to shave his head, replacing his clothing with the worn saffron-colored cotton sheet and a brown cloak, completing his transformation into Buddhist monk. Leaving ''The White Hatchet'' as he started to make his way to the spaceport and safety, the Assassin felt a hand on his shoulder - but it was only a jubilant woman who'd won a bet and sought to share her good fortune by giving him a gold ''kroner''. Examining the coin, one side emblazoned with the portrait of Melissa Steiner-Davion, the other with Victor Steiner-Davion, the Assassin reflected that he worked against and for [[House Steiner-Davion]] and considered himself now even.<ref name=AoR-C32/> ===The Dancing Joker=== Attempting to lay low on [[Zurich]] in the [[Sarna March]] after his escape, Dancing Joker's cover identity, Noble Thayer, was dragged into the counterinsurgency against [[Capellan Confederation]] backed terrorists in [[3057]]. There, he founded and led a resistance cell, formed by his girlfriend and some of his friends and neighbors. His group proved to be a team of incredible resistance, thanks to the leadership and experience of the Joker.<ref>''Bred for War'', p. 277</ref> It is during this time that he officially adopted the alias "Dancing Joker", which was born of his terrorist cell's use of joker playing cards at the site of their attacks. Working ''pro bono,'' the assassin almost single-handedly liberated Zurich for the Federated Commonwealth (crippling the [[Burr's Black Cobras]] [[mercenary unit]] in the process), purely because he loved his work, and also because Zurich's location in the Capellan Confederation would have made his escape off-world that much more difficult.<ref>''Bred for War'', p. 361</ref> ===The Anastasius Focht Contract?=== In early [[3061]], Dancing Joker received a message from Katherine Steiner-Davion querying if "Karl" had indeed come out of retirement. Her message also queried whether he had accepted a contract against [[ComStar]]'s [[Precentor Martial of ComStar|Precentor Martial]] [[Anastasius Focht]], and if he would require any assistance. Arriving on Tharkad in the lead-up to the [[Second Whitting Conference]] on October 27th, the Assassin murdered and adopted the identity of Harrison Harding, an agent of the [[LIC]]'s Diplomatic Guard. As Harding, he prevented the assassination of Focht at the hands of a pretender claiming to have been the one responsible for the murder of Melissa Steiner-Davion. The Dancing Joker's ultimate motive in this action was to protect his professional reputation, and he did so by using the Precentor Martial as bait. Recognizing that the entire plot against Focht was purely designed to tempt him from retirement, the Assassin received his confirmation in the form of a classified personal ad in the days after the attempt. The classified ad itself was a request for a meeting, at which Dancing Joker took considerable risk by directly approaching Katherine Steiner-Davion's private residence.<ref name=>''BattleTech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction'', pp. 167–173: "Means to an End"</ref><ref>''Prince of Havoc'', ch. 30</ref> ===The Omi Kurita Contract=== Katherine Steiner-Davion's intention was to hire him to pay back her brother for stymieing her efforts, more specifically his methods of blocking her attempts to become [[First Lord]] of the Second [[Star League]]. The assassin was later activated in the midst of the [[FedCom Civil War]], with Katherine's desire to break the spirit of her brother Victor by killing the most important person in his life: his love Omi Kurita. Dancing Joker got his first chance on [[Mogyorod]]. Omi and [[Isis Marik]] were visiting Victor during a short period of reconciliation. The arrival of Isis Marik was the assassin's chance to regularly enter the mansion: He posed as a mentally disabled delivery boy and spent days transporting carpets, furniture and other items. When the time was right, he entered the house at night. Reaching the door to Omi Kurita's bedroom, he quickly dispatched her bodyguard [[Tiaret Nevversan]] by heavily wounding her with a salvo from his needler. However, Isis Marik stabbed him from behind with a letter opener, interrupting the assassination. Dancing Joker answered the conflict with a punch to her face, and quickly turned around with the intent of killing Omi. At this moment, a wounded Tiaret fired a bullet into his chest, breaking one of his ribs. His attempts foiled, the assassin barely escaped the mansion with his life.<ref name=PaT-c19>''Patriots and Tyrants'', ch. 19, pp. 150–154</ref> In [[3064]], Dancing Joker attained a second chance to kill Omi: On [[Luthien]], in the palace of the [[Kurita]] family itself, the assassin disguised himself as an Asian gardener who had immigrated to Luthien from the recently reconquered [[Clan Smoke Jaguar|Smoke Jaguar]] worlds. His plan involved manipulating a souvenir Victor had given to Omi; a stone which had a special place in the garden. He was aware that no other gardener would dare touch the stone, and based on this knowledge installed a trap and moved the stone out of the original position. When Omi Kurita corrected its position, poisoned darts were fired into her arm. She died with Victor's name on her lips. (The poison was apparently provided by an expert in such things.)<ref>''Poison''</ref> The assassin knew that prey stirs attention by movement, and with the completion of his mission, he had turned from hunter into prey. [[Theodore Kurita]] immediately shut down all interstellar travel throughout all of [[Draconis Combine]] controlled space. But Dancing Joker was unaffected by these blockades. He had already lived a life under the persona of a neighborhood-watchman, and easily adopted the role again in order to survive. Prince Victor Steiner-Davion sent his personal aide, [[Jerrard Cranston]], to help the Draconian authorities in catching the assassin. But this help was largely unappreciated, as Cranston was deliberately held back with bureaucratic work. In the end, it was [[Minoru Kurita (31st c.)|Minoru Kurita]] who tracked Dancing Joker down. In [[3067]], he retrieved evidence of the assassin's prior victims and personae, and suspecting his current persona, began applying psychological pressure to him. He consistently laid out hints that reminded the assassin of his former alter egos. Dancing Joker began to instinctively adapt to these old patterns, with his new role somehow gaining attributes of his past roles. The Assassin eventually fled into Lyran held space, burning several of his fake identities in the process. But this had little effect on the outcome; Minoru Kurita was always one step ahead, and finally awaited the assassin in a domicile Dancing Joker had thought to be safe. Minoru killed him with a ''katana'', and took his head as proof. ==References== <references/> ==Bibliography== * ''[[Assumption of Risk]]'' (novel) * ''[[BattleTech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction]]'' * ''[[Bred for War]]'' (novel) * ''[[Endgame]]'' (novel) * ''[[A Guide to Covert Ops]]'' * ''[[Intelligence Operations Handbook]]'' * ''[[Natural Selection]]'' (novel) * ''[[Patriots and Tyrants]]'' (novel) * ''[[Poison]]'' (short story) * ''[[Prince of Havoc]]'' (novel) * ''[[Storms of Fate]]'' (novel) [[Category:Mercenary Characters|Dancing Joker]]

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