Editing Leo Showers

{{Update Needed|[[Era Report: 3052]]|[[Operational Turning Points: REVIVAL Trials]]|[[Lethal Heritage]]|[[Field Manual: Crusader Clans]]}}
{{InfoBoxCharacter
| image               = Leo Showers.jpg
| caption             = 
| name                = Leo Showers
| birthdate           = [[3004]]<ref name=ER3052-89>''Era Report: 3052'', p. 89, "Leo Showers Profile"</ref>
| died                = 31 October [[3050]]
| othernames          = 
| affiliation         = [[Clan Smoke Jaguar]]
| profession          = [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarrior]]
| rank                = [[ilKhan of the Clans|ilKhan]]
| parents             = 
| siblings            = 
| spouse              = 
| children            = 
}}
'''Leo Showers''' was [[Khan of Clan Smoke Jaguar|Khan]] of [[Clan Smoke Jaguar]] and later [[ilKhan of the Clans]] during the start of the [[Clan Invasion]].

==History==
===Early life===
Leo was trueborn on [[Huntress]] in [[3004]] and excelled throughout his training, becoming a distinguished [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarrior]] from a young age. Leo's ambition and ferocity was evident from the earliest days of his youth; in one battle on the planet [[Tranquil]], a young [[Ulric Kerensky]] only narrowly defeated [[Star Captain]] Leo, at the cost of losing nearly every [[OmniMech]] in his heavy [[Trinary]]. Some years later, when Leo had earned the [[Showers (Bloodname)|Showers Bloodname]] and risen to [[Galaxy Commander]], he met Ulric again on [[Strana Mechty]], offering to use his influence with Clan Wolf's Crusader faction to assist Ulric's career in exchange for an attack upon the Smoke Jaguar holding on [[Kirin]], defended by Leo's closest rival for the Khanship. Ulric politely declined the deal, and while Leo seemingly accepted this without offense subsequent events made Ulric wonder if his lifelong enmity with the Jaguar Khan began that day.<ref> ''Invading Clans'', p. 52 - "Wolfnet Archive File:07765-ER3-21/3/7"</ref>

=== Khan of Clan Smoke Jaguar ===
In addition to his gifts as a warrior, Showers also proved himself a master politician and orator. This combination propelled him to the Khanship of his Clan in [[3029]], at just age 25, yet Showers hungered for more: he wanted his Clan to become the [[ilClan]] and himself to attain the rank of ilKhan.<ref> ''Era Report: 3050'', p. 89, "leo Showers"</ref> <ref> ''Invading Clans'', p. 52-53</ref>

For the next two decades, Showers and Ulric Kerensky opposed each other at every turn in the Grand Council. Showers pushed for an invasion of the [[Inner Sphere]] every chance he had, while Kerensky upheld the Warden position and stymied him at every turn. Showers grew obsessed with two goals during this period: leading an invasion of the Inner Sphere and humiliating Kerensky in the process. His oratorical gifts aided him greatly in converting many other Clan warriors and Khans, even those of rival Clans, to the Crusader cause, and while his arguments lacked logic, Showers' charisma made up for this. Thus, over time, Ulric and other devout Wardens saw the Grand Council slide ever closer to supporting Showers' call for invasion.<ref>''Invading Clans'', p. 52, "Wolfnet Archive File:07765-ER3-21/3/7"</ref> 

Nonetheless, Showers was unsuccessful until fate delivered him a trump card: the unexpected appearance and seizure of the ''[[Outbound Light]]'' over Huntress. The Jaguar Khan had the Explorer Corps personnel interrogated in secret for several days before informing the Grand Council of this event. Armed with the only current information about the Inner Sphere, Showers manipulated what he had learned to inform the other Khans that Houses [[House Steiner|Steiner]] and [[House Davion|Davion]] were beginning to form a new Star League ''without'' the Clans' involvement, and suggested that the ''Outbound Light'' was proof that the Inner Sphere had both the capacity and intention to invade the [[Clan Homeworlds]]. In short order, the Grand Council voted sixteen to one in favor of mounting a preemptive invasion of the Inner Sphere; only Ulric Kerensky remained unconvinced of an impending invasion. He also asked Showers if he secretly felt that the Clans were so weak they could not defend themselves against the barbarians their ancestors had left behind; Showers, Kerensky later believed, never forgave him for the implied insult.<ref> ''Invading Clans'', p. 52-53</ref>

=== ilKhan of the Clans ===
In his position of ilKhan, Leo Showers created the initial [[Clan Occupation Zones|Invasion Corridor]]s for the Clans deemed worthy to start the invasion. During Operation REVIVAL, instead of traveling on his own Clan's flagship the ''[[Sabre Cat]]'', he traveled aboard the Clan Wolf flagship ''[[Dire Wolf (Individual Sovetskii Soyuz-class WarShip)|Dire Wolf]]'', in order to keep the little liked or trusted Warden Khan Ulric Kerensky under his thumb.  His presence on the front helped to quell any potential infighting and dissent from within the Clans.

=== Death ===
[[File:TyraMiraborgSacrifice.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Leo Shower's death]]
Leo Showers died on 31 October [[3050]] at [[Radstadt]] when aboard the [[Clan Wolf]] flagship ''Dire Wolf'', as a dying [[Free Rasalhague Republic]] pilot, [[Tyra Miraborg]], crashed her crippled ''[[Shilone]]'' fighter into the bridge of the Clan command ship, the ''Dire Wolf'' in the ultimate sacrifice, throwing Showers into the void of space. His death necessitated the recall of all of the invading Clan [[Khan]]s and [[Bloodname]]d to [[Strana Mechty]] to oversee the election of a new ilKhan, which give the Inner Sphere an extra year of preparation for the renewed assault, the so-called [[Year of Peace]].

{{quote|''Remember Leo Showers,''<br>
''Great Khan of Khans.''<br>
''He showed us the way to destiny,''<br>
''And gave his life to achieve it.''<br>
''Mourn for our ilKhan, o warriors!''<br>
''Cry curses to the heavens!''<br>
''They have silenced the voice of the Crusaders;''<br>
''Let them be ash beneath our feet.''<br>
''Make your hearts as proud as his,''<br>
''Make your blood as fierce,''<br>
''Make your blows as deadly to our enemies.''
|''[[The Remembrance]]'' (Clan Smoke Jaguar), Passage 215, Verse 31, Lines 22-32<ref>''Invading Clans'', pp. 52, 58</ref>
}}

== Quotes ==
{{Quote|''The thought of the [[Star League]] being reborn without our divine input and guiding hand is appalling. It eats at my very soul. We must not wait, we must seize the initiative while it is still within our grasp.''|Leo Showers addresses the [[Grand Council]], November [[3048]]''<ref name="WC(SB)p25">''Wolf Clan Sourcebook'', p. 25, "Invasion"</ref>}}

{{Quote|''My heart hoped for glorious wars against honorable warriors. My mind expected honorless battles against uncivilized barbarians. You tell me that our conquest of the [[Inner Sphere]] will be nothing more than skirmishes against cowardly children. Imagine my bitter disappointment!''|Leo Showers addresses the ''[[Grand Kurultai]]'', 23 February [[3050]]<ref name="WC(SB)p29">''Wolf Clan Sourcebook'', p. 29 - "Final Preparations"</ref>}}

== BattleMechs ==
Leo Showers piloted a ''[[Dire Wolf (Daishi)|Dire Wolf]]'' OmniMech.<ref>''Era Report: 3050'', p. 89 - "Leo Showers"</ref>

==Portrait Gallery==
<gallery>
Leo Showers - Mark Poole.jpg|ilKhan Leo Showers
</gallery>

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Era Report: 3052]]''
* ''[[Invading Clans (sourcebook)|Invading Clans]]'' (sourcebook)
* ''[[Lethal Heritage]]'' (novel)
* ''[[Wolf Clan Sourcebook]]''

[[Category:Clan Smoke Jaguar Characters|Showers, Leo]]
[[Category:Khans|Showers, Leo]]
[[Category:IlKhans|Showers, Leo]]
[[Category:Notable Dire Wolf (Daishi) Pilots|Showers, Leo]]