Prinz Eugen Mutiny
On 5 November 2784, General Aleksandr Kerensky led nearly 80 percent of the Star League Defense Force, along with their families, into exile beyond the borders of the Inner Sphere. The men and women of the SLDF had recently ended a long and brutal campaign to liberate the Terran Hegemony from the usurper Stefan Amaris and the charismatic leadership of General Kerensky had played a large part in their victory. The loyalty of his troops had allowed Kerensky to devise his Exodus plan and convince his troops to follow him and escape the coming chaos of the Succession Wars. After leaving Draconis Combine space, the fleet of over 1700 vessels headed into the unknown.
General Kerensky spent much of his time during the Exodus shuttling from ship to ship, reinforcing the morale of his people and laying the groundwork for their future. However, the journey was hard and many among the exiles began to long for home and question whether Kerensky had any plan at all. In addition, conditions on the fleet's ships were far from ideal. Several vessels had been lost, either to malfunctioning equipment or misjumps. The cargo holds of many of the surviving vessels had been converted into cramped, makeshift barracks in which hundreds of civilians and SLDF personnel were housed. After several months of such conditions, and with no end to their travels in sight, petitions began to circulate requesting that Kerensky abandon his Exodus scheme and return to the Inner Sphere. All of the petitions were ignored by the General. On 19 August 2785, this discontent exploded into action.
Led by the Texas-class battleship Prinz Eugen and its officers, among them Major General Wilbur Braso and Captain Peter Karpov, the passengers and crews of nine ships mutinied against Kerensky's leadership and announced their intention to return to the Inner Sphere. The SLS Hermes, a Potemkin-class transport commanded by Admiral Robert Nicholls that had been converted into a spaceborne city for the families of SLDF troops, was another hotbed of resistance to Kerensky's leadership. Not all of the passengers aboard the nine treasonous ships supported the rebellion, however. Hans Jorgensson and Sandra Tseng, future founding Khans of Clan Ghost Bear, were among the passengers on the Prinz Eugen and were leaders of a vocal minority who opposed the mutiny. The General sent loyal troops, led by future founding Jade Falcon Khan Elizabeth Hazen, after the mutineers in the hopes of returning them to the fleet without having to resort to force. The mutineers refused, however, and Kerensky ordered his troops to seize the Prinz Eugen. After a quick boarding action by SLDF marines, the rebel vessel was under control. The other ships in the mutiny fleet surrendered to the General when it became apparent that their leaders were in custody. The officers who had led the mutiny were tried on the spot and Kerensky ordered the summary execution of all officers at or above the rank of captain, including Nicholls, Braso and Karpov. The civilians, such as Peter Karpov's wife Anna Rosse, were spared.
The Prinz Eugen Mutiny prompted Kerensky to issue General Order 137, the famous "Hidden Hope Doctrine," stating the goals and beliefs of the exiled army and the need for discipline in the face of adversity. This statement served to bolster the flagging morale of the fleet enough to sustain them for another year, until the landfall on the Pentagon worlds.
The Prinz Eugen itself was not claimed by any Clan after the Exodus Civil War. To this day it orbits in the far reaches of the Strana Mechty system, serving as a prison ship for those Clanners whose status or influence makes it impossible to execute or exile them for their crimes. The SLS Hermes was taken by Clan Snow Raven and renamed the Treachery. It still serves in Kappa Garrison Galaxy's Circe Battle Star.
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