Editing Mar Helmer

{{InfoBoxCharacter
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| name                = Mar Helmer
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| affiliation         = [[Clan Jade Falcon]]
| rank                = [[Galaxy Commander]]
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| profession          = [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarrior]]
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}}

'''Mar Helmer''' was an elite<ref name=JFS56>''Jade Falcon Sourcebook'', p. 56</ref> trueborn Crusader [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarrior]] in [[Clan Jade Falcon]] before [[Operation REVIVAL]], earning glory during the invasion as commander of [[Gamma Galaxy (Clan Jade Falcon)|Gamma Galaxy]], and leading the Galaxy through the [[Battle of Tukayyid (3052)|crucible]] of [[Tukayyid]] until the loss of rank and prestige after his poor command showing during the Refusal War and post-Coventry.

==History==
Decanted on Huntress of a [[Helmer (Bloodname)|Helmer]]-[[Kyle (Bloodname)|Kyle]] line ''[[sibko]]'', Mar earned the rank of Star Captain in his Trial of Position and command of Trinary Alpha in the [[Jade Falcon Guards (Clan Jade Falcon)|Jade Falcon Guards]].  Pre-REVIVAL, he led his Trinary to victory against the Smoke Jaguar and Steel Viper Clans in the Homeworlds, taking the [[Marshall]] mining moon [[Diamondstar (moon)|Diamondstar]] in 3042 from the Vipers.  By age 23, he earned the position of Star Colonel and command of the Falcon Guards.  Support among fellow Crusaders, including previous Guards commander [[Cynthia Helmer]], gave him the opportunity to earn his Bloodname two years later<ref name=JFS56/>

Sometime prior to 3048, Mar commanded the [[12th Falcon Regulars (Clan Jade Falcon)|12th Falcon Regulars]].<ref>''BattleTech: Battle of Tukayyid'', p. 113</ref>

It is unknown what Galaxy now ''[[ristar]]'' Galaxy Commander Mar Helmer led at the time leading to the Invasion.  In the REVIVAL Trials, he defeated Star Colonel [[Gran Newclay]] in a Trial of Refusal and took command of the Falcon contingent, with the blessing of saKhan and Gamma (Jade Falcon) Galaxy commander [[Timur Malthus]].<ref>''Jade Falcon Sourcebook'', p. 20</ref><ref>''Operational Turning Points: REVIVAL Trials'', p. 20</ref>  Through all four rounds of the Placement Trials, he led the [[3rd Falcon Talon (Clan Jade Falcon)|Third Falcon Talon Cluster]] to an undefeated record, earning Alpha Corridor and honor for the Clan.

===Operation REVIVAL===
Shortly after the disgrace of the Malthus line at Twycross in 3050, Mar Helmer was given the prestigious Jade Falcon Galaxy.  From that point on, his Galaxy had the highest success ratio of all Clan Jade Falcon forces during the Invasion. He briefly was considered for [[Khan|Khanship]], and rivaled with new [[saKhan]] [[Vandervahn Chistu]].<ref>''BattleTech: Battle of Tukayyid'', p. 115</ref>

In June [[3050]], the loss of a [[Clan Diamond Shark]] Merchant Caste JumpShip coincided with an increase in resistance activity near [[Brocchi's Cluster]]. Looking to embarrass the Sharks, Helmer used the affair to accuse them of aiding and abetting Bandits. He called for a [[Trial of Annihilation]] to [[ilKhan]] [[Leo Showers]] for the Shark Merchant's treason and refusal to follow Clan tradition. To gain political favors from the Shark's Crusaders, Khan [[Elias Crichell|Crichell]] was unwilling to support Helmer, especially over the loss of some [[Freeborn|freebirths]]. When challenged to prove or disprove the assertions, Mar Helmer balked and the Diamond Sharks were able to produce documents of their interactions with local business, giving only nonmilitary supplies to non-Clan forces. Crichell then proposed the exile of Diamond Shark merchants from the Inner Sphere; this led to Diamond Shark warrior/merchant strife, the (temporary) loss of Shark Merchant power, the adding of Diamond Keshik to the fourth wave of the Falcons, and the loss of face for Mar Helmer.<ref name=IC139>''Invading Clans'', p. 139</ref>

Mar Helmer was not physically hurt during [[Battle of Tukayyid (3052)|Tukayyid]] the Accursed but did receive damage to his codex. In his bidding against saKhan Chistu, the Galaxy Commander worked to ensure Gamma Galaxy was given the honor of taking the crossings over the Prezno River and he bid the lead to the Clusters of his most inexperienced Star Colonels: that of the [[7th Falcon Regulars (Clan Jade Falcon)|7th Falcon Regulars Cluster]], [[Devlin Hazen]], and his favorite Star Colonel, Senza Oriega, of his former command, the 12th Falcon Regulars. When much of both Clusters was lost to the treachery of ComStar charges set on the bridges, Galaxy Commander Mar Helmer and his forces lost momentum, and Robyn's Crossing and Plough Bridge were abandoned. With a ''[[Dictionary#Kurultai|kurultai]]'' called almost thirty kilometers south, the assault was stalled for nearly two days while commanders ignored the recommendations of the inexperienced or ''[[dezgra]]'' such as [[Aidan Pryde]]. Finally given a beachhead through the unorthodox tactics of the Falcon Guard, the success at Olalla was short-lived when the supplies at the city were set ablaze and the duplicitous act forced the Falcons to retreat. The combined Vau and Gamma force were sent back across the river to their DropShips and saved only by the rearguard death of the Jade Phoenix. The redemption of the Falcon Guards and the Draw earned against the [[Com Guards|Com Guard]] did little to salve the losses on Tukayyid and cost Mar much of his chance at advancement.<ref>''BattleTech: Battle of Tukayyid'', p. 117</ref>

=== Refusal War ===
Mar commanded the Gamma Galaxy throughout the Refusal War, though Khans Crichell and Chistu commanded the overall Trial.  The remaining three line Clusters and the ''solahma'' Cluster were not full strength.<ref>''The Falcon and the Wolf'', p. 49</ref> After the [[Refusal War]], Mar was challenged for Galaxy Command and defeated by [[Rozendo Hazen]].<ref>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 100</ref><ref>''The Battle of Coventry'', p. 61</ref>

=== The Jade Falcon Incursion ===
Though Gamma Galaxy took part in the Coventry Incursion of 3058, Mar Helmer is not noted to have participated.

===Post-3059===
Post-Coventry, Star Colonel Mar Helmer was in command of the [[5th Talon (Clan Jade Falcon)|5th Talon Cluster]] of Iota Galaxy, assigned by Khan [[Marthe Pryde|Pryde]],<ref>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 104</ref> a command he continued to claim as late as [[3067]].<ref name=FMU72>''Field Manual: Updates'', p. 72</ref>

Just before the [[Operation ICE STORM|Hellion Tantrum]], Mar Helmer regained from long-time rival Gran Newclay his rank and position leading Iota Galaxy, but was once again disgraced following his poor performance, losing command to [[Temple Clees]].<ref>''Masters and Minions: The StarCorps Dossiers'', p. 136</ref>

==BattleMechs==
Mar Helmer piloted a ''[[Summoner]]'' OmniMech during the [[Battle of Tukayyid (3052)|Battle of Tukayyid]].<ref name=JFS56/>

The [[apocryphal]] video game ''[[MechWarrior Online]]'' cited Mar Helmer as the pilot of ''[[Breaker]]'', the game's [[Nova (Black Hawk)|''Nova'']] [[Hero 'Mech]].

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[The Battle of Coventry (scenario pack)|The Battle of Coventry]]''
* ''[[BattleTech: Battle of Tukayyid]]''
* ''[[The Falcon and the Wolf]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Crusader Clans]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Updates]]''
* ''[[Invading Clans (sourcebook)|Invading Clans]]''
* ''[[Jade Falcon Sourcebook]]''
* ''[[Operational Turning Points: REVIVAL Trials]]''


[[Category: Clan Jade Falcon Characters|Helmer, Mar]]