Editing Lynn McKenna

{{Otheruses|the Clan Snow Raven Khan|the battleship|Lynn McKenna (Individual Nightlord-class WarShip)}}

{{InfoBoxCharacter
| image               = Lynn McKenna 1.jpg
| caption             = Lynn McKenna
| name                = 
| birthdate           = [[2991]]<ref name=MMp158,159>''Masters and Minions: The StarCorps Dossiers'', pp. 158–159: "Lynn McKenna, Profile"</ref>
| died                = [[3080]]<ref name=TWORp179>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 179</ref>
| othernames          = 
| affiliation         = [[Clan Snow Raven]]
| rank                = [[Khan of Clan Snow Raven|Khan]]
| title               = 
| position            = 
| profession          = 
| parents             = 
| siblings            = 
| spouse              = 
| children            = 
}}
'''Lynn McKenna''' was [[Khan]] of [[Clan Snow Raven]] for several decades during and after [[Operation REVIVAL]]. She oversaw the Snow Ravens' escape from the [[Clan Homeworlds]] during the [[Wars of Reaving]] and helped to forge what would eventually become the [[Raven Alliance]].<ref name=FM:WCp127>''Field manual: Warden Clans'', p. 127: "Senior Khan Lynn McKenna"</ref>

==History==
Described as a very petite woman with short, thick mousy colored hair that whitened with age and a face with kindly aspects, Lynn McKenna was born during the height of the [[Political Century]]. She was said to have an air about her that disarmed and relaxed people in her presence, which doubtlessly helped her in her climb through the Machiavellian politics for which her [[Clan]] is so well-known. Throughout her career she typified the Snow Raven ideal, persevering and overcoming adversity by any means at her disposal.<ref name=MMp158,159/><ref name=FM:WCp127/>

===Early Life and Training===
McKenna was unusually small for her Bloodline, which was noted to produce warriors for all branches of the [[Clan Snow Raven Touman|Clan Snow Raven ''touman'']]. This prompted the Snow Raven Warders who raised her ''[[sibko]]'' to regard her as the "runt," and in turn encouraged her ''sibmates'' to single her out for harsh treatment. Instead of crumbling under the strain, Lynn McKenna excelled at her studies and training, consistently besting her ''sibko''. She also learned to manipulate those around her from an early age and onward through cadet training, fully understanding what it took to get her ''sibmates'' and others to do what she wanted, sometimes even setting them against one another.<ref name=MMp158,159/><ref name=FM:WCp127/>

===Khan of the Snow Ravens===
Lynn McKenna quickly rose through the ranks, and was elected Khan of Clan Snow Raven in [[3045]].<ref name=FM:WCp127/> Only a few years into her reign, the [[Outbound Light]] incident occurred.  While she disagreed with the [[Crusader Clans|Crusader]]s' view that the Inner Sphere would be easily conquered by only a few Clans, she and many other Khans voted in favor of action, falling prey to the fear of the [[Great House]]s marching on the [[Kerensky Cluster]]. But before the Trials that determined which Clans would get to invade could take place, her Clan came under attack by the forces of [[Clan Coyote]]'s Gamma Galaxy. Thinking to better their position prior to [[Operation Revival]], the Coyotes were surprised by the stiff resistance put up by the Ravens' own [[Gamma Galaxy (Clan Snow Raven)|Gamma Galaxy]]. The damage done to both Clans would keep them each out of the upcoming invasion of the [[Inner Sphere]], however, the Raven ''touman'' fought back hard enough that the Coyotes were forced to disband Gamma [[Galaxy]] only a few years later.<ref name=FM:WCp121>''Field Manual: Warden Clans'', p. 121: "Birds of Prey" (3048–3058)</ref><ref>''Field Manual: Warden Clans'', p. 130: "Clan Snow Raven, Gamma Galaxy"</ref><ref>''Field Manual: Warden Clans'', p. 51: "Clan Coyote, Epsilon Galaxy"</ref>

===The Raven and the Falcon===
Missing their chance at the Inner Sphere invasion, the Ravens were not about to miss their true opportunity. Many decades prior, Khan [[Ewan McCorkell]] had realized that the Snow Ravens would not be able to unseat one of the more dominant [[Clan]]s, and had prepared them for that eventuality by trading many older [[BattleMech]]s to [[Clan Blood Spirit]] for three of their unneeded [[WarShip]]s. Khan McKenna would use this increase in her Clan's fleet to their advantage by contracting out ten of their WarShips to [[Clan Jade Falcon]] to provide transport and escort services during the invasion. In return, the Ravens were granted trade concessions on ''[[isorla]]'' and other goods brought back to the [[Clan Homeworlds]]. Over the next several years, this agreement would allow the Ravens to catapult their status from the margins of Clan Society into a far greater position.<ref name=FM:WCp121/>

After the death of [[ilKhan]] [[Leo Showers]] in [[3051]], the [[Invading Clans]] returned to Clanspace in order to elect a new ilKhan. Jade Falcon Khan [[Elias Crichell]] proposed that the two Clans enter a formal alliance, offering genetic materials, technical knowledge and finally, the world of [[Hellgate]]. Khan McKenna jumped at the chance to regain the colony that they had lost to [[Clan Steel Viper]] over one hundred years prior. She sent [[saKhan]] [[Joseph Crow]]—himself a Crusader—to work out the details, which would extend the WarShip contract to ten years. Though many within the Snow Ravens would challenge her and saKhan Crow, McKenna held her Clan to the honorably struck bargain.<ref name=FM:WCp121/><ref name=FM:CCp92>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 92: "Taking Wing: Operation Revival and Beyond"</ref>

===Family Politics===
This state of affairs came to a head when the head of the McKenna [[Bloodname]] House died in [[3055]]. A call was issued to all Bloodnamed warriors to return to the Raven capital world of [[Lum]] to vote for a new leader. All warriors answered the call, except for one: [[Nerran McKenna]], who fought as ''[[abtakha]]'' for Clan Jade Falcon, was not allowed back. The Jade Falcons cited various military reasons as well as the incredible distances involved (an eight month journey via command circuit) as their primary reason for disallowing him to return for this vital function. Khan McKenna and the Snow Ravens took a different view; they saw it as Jade Falcon interference in the internal workings of their Clan, essentially a mortal insult. The Snow Ravens took the opportunity to break off their alliance, though the [[Grand Council]] allowed them to retain Hellgate and the offered genetic material as recompense. While the WarShip deal would stay in place for the duration of the agreement, Khan McKenna refused to offer any additional support to their war effort.<ref name=FM:WCp121/><ref name=FM:CCp92/>

[[File:Lynn McKenna 2.jpg|right|160px|Khan Lynn McKenna, 3061]]

===Homeworld Losses and Gains===
Though many Clans hoped to take part in a renewed invasion, Khan McKenna and the Snow Ravens would opt instead to stay out of [[Asa Taney]]'s so-called [[Home Clan Coalition]], acknowledging that the invader Clans would not tolerate interlopers if they could possibly prevent it. SaKhan Joseph Crow thought to upset the Jade Falcons in several attacks that took place in late [[3058]] and [[3059]], but instead lost two [[Cluster]]s to them in the [[Harvest Trials]]—along with several smaller units lost to [[Clan Wolf]]—which resulted in Khan McKenna ordering her troops to stand down from any more engagements with either Clan.<ref name=FM:WCp121,122>''Field Manual: Warden Clans'', pp. 121–122: "Recent Events" (3058–3060)</ref><ref>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 93: "Power Games: Preparations for War (3059)"</ref>

She would instead concentrate on territory to be gained during events in the Clan Homeworlds. In the wake of the [[Trial of Annihilation|Annihilation]] of [[Clan Smoke Jaguar]] by [[Task Force Serpent]] and the subsequent [[Trial of Abjuration|Abjuration]] of [[Clan Nova Cat]], Khan McKenna would authorize her naval forces to assist the Nova Cats in their flight from the Kerensky Cluster, much to the chagrin of many of her fellow Khans. The Snow Ravens also had a good idea about the [[Clan Ghost Bear]] withdrawal to the Inner Sphere, having helped them design the ''[[Leviathan Heavy Transport (WarShip class)|Leviathan]]''-class transports (which would later be converted back into WarShips as originally designed) that made the move possible. In each case, her Clan made substantial gains; on [[Circe]] from enclaves formerly controlled by the Jaguars and the Nova Cats, as well as on [[Bearclaw]] and its associated asteroid mining operations, which the Ghost Bears gifted to the Ravens for their aid assisting them on their clandestine exodus. She would also order an expeditionary force to [[Homer]], taking the former Jaguar enclave there, while coming into conflict with their old enemies, the Steel Vipers.<ref name=FM:WCp121,122/>

===Moving on Out===
However substantial these gains were—gains that nearly doubled their planetary enclaves amongst the contentious Clans—they would not be enough for Khan McKenna's plans. With her Clan having grown dependent on resources supplied by trade agreements with the Jade Falcons and the Ghost Bears, trade agreements that were either no longer in place or were no longer feasible, she would next authorize her merchant navy to secure new sources to supply her rapidly growing Clan.  After taking the world of [[Farstar]] in the [[Deep Periphery]] and gathering intelligence on both the [[Draconis Combine]] and the [[Federated Suns]] from personnel of both Spheroid nations that were stationed on that world, the Raven fleet ventured further rimward, toward [[Outworlds Alliance]] territory. In [[3064]], they encountered a patrol from that Periphery nation, losing a Trial of Possession for the patrol's [[JumpShip]] to the highly skilled [[Alliance Aerospace Group]], and handing over a ''[[Titan (DropShip class)|Titan]]''-class DropShip that had been put up as collateral. The two sides soon entered negotiations, initially for a base of operations within the OA in order to more easily explore towards the Hyades Rim.  As a result, the Ravens were allowed to use the world of [[Baliggora]] as a base of operations, in exchange for medical and biotechnology as well as a relatively small amount of technical assistance, which in turn resulted in the development of the Outworlders' ''[[Corax]]'' OmniFighter, named in honor of their new Clan allies.<ref name=FM:WCp121,122/><ref name=FM:Up64>''Field Manual: Updates'', p. 64: "Clan Snow Raven"</ref><ref>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 20: "Ravens in the Outworlds"</ref>

After the massive Steel Viper attack on Lum in [[3065]]—a battle that saw the deaths of Raven saKhan [[Bryn Cooper]] and Steel Viper Khan [[Perigard Zalman]]—these talks deepened.  Khan McKenna knew that her Clan's best hope was to escape the Clan Homeworlds—just as their allies, the Ghost Bears, had done. Quietly, her Clan prepared itself for this eventuality, procuring an agreement from the Outworlders for possession of the massive former Star League fleet base and orbital facilities at [[Quatre Belle]].<ref name=FM:Up64/><ref>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 22: ''Periphery Plots''</ref>

The next few years were busy as Raven Homeworld assets began to be shifted to their new grounds in the Inner Sphere. After the initial attacks on [[Tharkad]] and [[New Avalon]] in [[3067]] during the opening of what would come to be known as the [[Jihad]], Khan McKenna proposed a plan to the [[Grand Council]] to launch a new invasion, which would help provide cover for an acceleration of her Clan's moving process. The vote failed, but Raven preparations would still continue.  The Ravens also agreed to construct a small mobile shipyard for [[Clan Hell's Horses]] at this time, helping yet another Clan to exit the Clan Homeworlds.<ref>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 31: "Cracks in the Foundation"</ref><ref>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 33: "Secret Moves, Secret Worlds"</ref>

===Space Debacles; Dawn of the Jihad===
Events continued to escalate amongst the [[Home Clans]]. After losing Zeta Galaxy to Clan Blood Spirit in a Trial of Possession fought on [[Strana Mechty]], the Ravens would enrage [[Clan Star Adder]] upon delivering Zeta to York, which helped the Blood Spirits to retake lost territory.<ref>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 35: "The Art of Distraction"</ref>  The Star Adders sought revenge for this transgression, and in December of [[3068]] they struck. Attacking [[Lum]] with a large naval force, the Ravens would narrowly claim victory, but at great cost.  [[Clan Goliath Scorpion]] appeared in-system soon after, declaring a [[Trial of Possession]] for the Snow Raven orbital facilities above Lum, which the Ravens would go on to lose.  Most of the orbital shipyards were destroyed in the process. Khan McKenna lodged a protest with the Grand Council, claiming collusion between the two Clans to destroy a vital [[Clan]] asset.  This would also fail to succeed. Embarrassed by this turn of event, she then challenged the Scorpions to a [[Trial of Grievance]].  This Trial, too, would result in a narrow Goliath Scorpion victory.<ref name=TWORp40>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 40: "Lamentations and the Raven"</ref>

{{Quote|'''''It is decided, then. By the will of our own Founders, we must act. Now.'''''

-- (Excerpt) '''Khan Lynn McKenna to the commanders of Beta Galaxy.'''<ref name=BAp210,211>''Blake Ascending'', pp. 210–211: "The Raven's Flight"</ref>}}

In the Inner Sphere in early [[3069]], the Ravens' [[Swift Wing Naval Assault Star (Clan Snow Raven)|Swift Wing Naval Assault Star]] came under attack from a guerrilla force while stationed at the Outworlds Alliance world of [[Ramora]], destroying the entire unit.  Due to their use of tactics and equipment resembling that of the [[Draconis Combine]], Khan McKenna would order her Snow Ravens to strike out at the Combine immediately and with no remorse.  Blazing a trail through Combine space that saw the Ravens and their Outworlder allies take several worlds which were promptly stripped of all usable hardware, the [[Storm_Crow_Naval_Pursuit_Star_(Clan_Snow_Raven)|Storm Crow Naval Pursuit Star]], led by [[Star Admiral]] [[Lydia Sukhanov]], [[Loremaster]] [[Klaus Harper]] and [[Galaxy Commander]] [[Arianne D'Amone]] reached [[Galedon V]] in early June of 3069.  After a week of allowing civilians to flee the doomed world, they proceeded to destroy every location of significance on the planet in retribution for the perceived attack.  The reprisal was not without consequence; two ships took on bondsmen from the planet who were infected by a bioengineered plague called the [[Curse of Galedon]]: the CSR ''Mountbatten'', and the CSR ''Nestling''.  Both ships were destroyed in a [[Trial of Annihilation]] initiated by Star Admiral [[Troy McKenna]], taking place only one jump out of the Galedon system.  Soon enough, Khan McKenna would learn of a crucial mistake made in identifying the attackers.  The attack had actually been perpetrated by [[Word of Blake]] as part of their mass of opening moves during what would come to be known as the [[Jihad]].  The planet [[Dante (system)|Dante]], in the Outworlds Alliance, would suffer a similar fate to Galedon, after tracing the treacherous attackers to their true base of operations.  Though the damage met out by the Snow Raven fleet was limited to the area of the Faustus Mountain Range at the behest of President Avellar who wished to only punish the guilty as much as possible, the rebel [[Dante's Inferno]] cells were almost entirely wiped out.<ref name=TWORp40/><ref name=BAp210,211/><ref>''The Wars of Reaving'', pp. 42–43: "Retribution"</ref><ref>''Blake Ascending'', p. 221: "Rain of Fire"</ref><ref>''Field Report: Clans'', p. 18</ref>

===The Wars of Reaving===
In [[3070]], the Grand Council would meet to discuss the matter of the Snow Ravens' rampage in the Combine.  After rebukes from the Khans of Clan Star Adder, saKhan [[Nichole Hoskins]] of the Steel Vipers proposed a [[Trial of Absorption]] against the Ravens which was quickly seconded by Viper Khan [[Brett Andrews]].  The vote failed narrowly, but the Vipers swore that they would get their revenge.  The [[Snake Alliance]] met and decided to punish the Snow Ravens themselves, assaulting and eventually seizing several Raven enclaves on [[Bearclaw]], [[Brim]], [[Circe]] and [[Hellgate]].  [[Clan Cloud Cobra]] would even manage to seize the entire Crow Blood Legacy from the Ravens.  After suffering horrific losses, the Snow Ravens finally caught a break when they discovered and reported that [[Clan Diamond Shark]] (who had alerted the Grand Council to the Ravens' destruction of Galedon in the first place) had been trading Clan technology to the Federated Suns.  Khan McKenna succeeded in her gambit, as the Star Adders, Cloud Cobras and Steel Vipers quickly shifted their attacks to the Diamond Shark holdings.  The Ravens understood what the Snake Alliance was up to, and began gathering a fleet to complete their exodus from the Clan worlds in all haste.  The Vipers would return to Lum with the pride of their fleet, the newly commissioned ''CSV Perigard Zalman'', a ''[[Leviathan II|Leviathan Prime]]'' Battleship, at the head of their Naval Reserve.  The huge vessel and its escorts destroyed several Snow Raven WarShips, while the rest jumped out of the system, forfeiting it to the Steel Vipers.  Several weeks later, Snow Raven ships jumped back in, concentrating fire on the ''Perigard Zalman'' in an attempt to demolish the vessel as it was being repaired.  This strike would also have little luck, though almost all of the attendant Viper [[DropShip]]s and roughly three quarters of the Viper [[aerospace fighter]] forces were wiped out.  With this battle, the Ravens began the final steps of their move to the Outworlds Alliance.<ref>''The Wars of Reaving'', pp. 50–51: "Raven Absorption"</ref>

The rest of the Snow Raven fleet assets in the Homeworlds were gathered for their journey, along with new JumpShip assets negotiated from the Blood Spirits by new Raven saKhan [[Broderick Sukhanov]].<ref>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 54: "Fuel for the Blood Feud"</ref>  Throughout the next couple years, these preparations continued in increasing urgency, due to the unrelenting vitriol cast their way by the Snake Alliance.  As they continued to gather their forces and resources, Khan McKenna voted in favor of a [[Grand Council]] initiative to overturn the [[Great Refusal]] and renew the invasion, a move that she hoped would put the Word of Blake on a defensive posture.  She would, however, vote against the election of Steel Viper Khan Brett Andrews to [[ilKhan]], but the Viper Khan easily won the high office.<ref>''The Wars of Reaving'', pp. 76–77: "The Reaving of the Blood"</ref>

By [[3073]], the Snow Raven fleet began its long trek to the Inner Sphere, leaving behind the remnants of their colonies, which were quickly taken over by other Clans, gifted to some such as [[Clan Fire Mandrill]] or the Blood Spirits, or were subverted by forces of the Society, which was quickly emerging from secretive silence.<ref>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 95: "Sandbagging the Breach"</ref>  But the Raven plans were known to their enemies, and even anticipated.  Knowing that the Raven fleet would use [[Ghent]] as a way point before departing on their secret path to the Outworlds Alliance, a combined force of Star Adder and Steel Viper naval assets, led by the ''Perigard Zalman'', ambushed the Raven fleet, which was comprised of the Hellgate Naval Battle Star and 109 other JumpShips, bringing the last supplies and even their backup genetic repository to the Inner Sphere.  All but sixteen JumpShips were lost, and of them only thirteen made it back to the Ravens' rendezvous point in the Outworlds Alliance.<ref>''The Wars of Reaving'', pp. 102, 104: "Raven's Dirge"</ref>

===Fighting the Jihad===
As events were unfolding in the Clan Homeworlds, the Jihad was escalating in the Inner Sphere.  A third of the Raven fleet arrived in the Outworlds Alliance in July of [[3070]] as negotiations intensified for a permanent alliance with the [[Periphery]] nation.<ref>''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 47: "Jihad in Review"</ref>

In [[3071]], Khan McKenna ordered the Snow Raven [[Clan Council]] to meet on Dante, to discuss the state of negotiations with the Outworlds government, which had been stalled after the Dante bombardment.  Without warning a JumpShip materialized on top of the ''[[Nightlord]]''-class ''Snow Raven''—the Raven flagship—destroying both vessels, and with them nearly a [[Galaxy]] of Snow Raven troops with very few survivors. SaKhan Sukhanov was one of these survivors, though he was severely crippled in the attack.  The Snow Raven force reacted violently, destroying many nearby JumpShips and DropShips, further alienating several factions within the Outworlds.  After this, the Ravens were forced to accept the terms of the Alliance as is, in hopes of salvaging their budding alliance.<ref>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 64: "Machinations and Manipulations"</ref>

Compounding matters, a rogue mercenary unit called the [[Screaming Eagles]] struck at Ramora from the Federated Suns in October of that year.  Khan McKenna and President [[Mitchell Avellar]] ordered a reprisal from combined forces from the realm, raiding the world of [[Kilbourne]] just across their mutual border in Federated Suns territory.  And as things appeared to be at their lowest point, Word of Blake elements within the [[Omniss]] sect detonated a nuclear bomb on [[Alpheratz]], centered on the capital city.  The Raven leadership, entirely sympathetic to this type of attack, offered their WarShips as a safe haven for the Avellar family. In [[3072]]—after fending off another attempted raid by the [[AFFS]] on [[Tellman IV]]—an official apology was offered to the Snow Ravens and Outworlders, attempting to diffuse the situation. Khan McKenna would later assure the Federated Suns leadership that there would be no more unprovoked attacks, though she would also refuse to release the captured members of the [[Third Crucis Lancers]], after claiming them as ''isorla'' from the failed Tellman IV raid. She would also refuse to support [[Devlin Stone]]'s coalition at this time.<ref>''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', pp. 48–53: "Jihad in Review"</ref>

In December of [[3075]], envoys from [[Clan Ghost Bear]] led by Khan [[Aletha Kabrinski]] would finally convince Khan McKenna to lend support to the coalition, in the form of two Naval [[Star]]s. These forces would support the coalition against the Word of Blake, eventually helping to liberate [[Terra]] from the Blakists, though at a cost of several WarShips.<ref>''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', pp. 53–56: "Jihad in Review"</ref>

==Death and Legacy==
Khan McKenna died in [[3080]], after leading the Snow Ravens for 35 years, a tremendous achievement considering her Clan's reputation for cutthroat politics.  As a descendant of [[Clan Snow Raven]]'s founding Khan, [[Stephen McKenna]]—and ultimately, the father of the [[Terran Hegemony]], [[James McKenna]]—Lynn McKenna carried on the McKenna legacy of outstanding service that alters the course of nations, affecting the lives of multitudes of people.

While the permanent alliance with the Outworlders that she sought did not quite come together as she lived, it finally became reality three years after her death in [[3083]], during the reign of her successor, Khan [[Alberto Crow]].  Even his ascension to the Khanship could very well have been a final manipulation on McKenna's part, as she had groomed a pool of several eligible warriors to replace her as Khan, while apparently snubbing the young saKhan Crow.  With the passing of Lynn McKenna went a true political power player in the spinward Inner Sphere and Periphery region.<ref name=TWORp179/><ref>''Masters and Minions: The StarCorps Dossiers'', pp. 158–159: "Alberto Crow, Profile"</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Blake Ascending]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Crusader Clans]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Updates]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Warden Clans]]''
* ''[[Field Report: Clans]]''
* ''[[Jihad: Final Reckoning]]''
* ''[[Masters and Minions: The StarCorps Dossiers]]''
* ''[[The Wars of Reaving]]


[[Category: Clan Snow Raven Characters|McKenna, Lynn]]
[[Category: Khans|McKenna, Lynn]]