ComStar Historical Archives

In the long history of antagonistic relations between the Successor States and the nations of the Periphery, the Santiago Massacre may not be the bloodiest or the most destructive event, but it deserves its importance as the trigger for a long sequence of death and woe. [Note: As with many historical events, the actual details of the Massacre have passed into legend, with conflicting and contradictory accounts passed down among various peoples. ComStar has endeavored to reconcile these accounts and ferret out the truth in the hopes that the lessons of history will provide the framework for a better future.]

After the poor showing of the Star League Defense Force in the United Triumph Military Exercises in 2572, conducted between the SLDF and the militaries of the Inner Sphere Houses, the nations of the Periphery were encouraged in their resistance to First Lord Ian Cameron's demand that they join the Star League. The League was seen as an ineffective joke and Ian Cameron himself was publicly ridiculed throughout the Periphery. In response, the League Council passed the Border Guards Agreement in Fall 2572, establishing SLDF bases throughout the Inner Sphere, but especially within those regions bordering on the unruly Periphery.

Then, in late 2572, Ian Cameron heard rumors that the Outworlds Alliance had gained access to an entire regiment of BattleMechs, which he feared they could use to construct their own army. To counteract this, Cameron issued Directive 21, announcing that the Star League would begin to station both its own troops and those of the Draconis Combine on worlds throughout the Alliance. Ostensibly, these deployments were to "protect" the citizens of the Alliance from the depredations of pirates and other raiders. Under pressure from the League, Alliance President Catherine Avellar had little choice but to acquiesce; though she lodged a formal protest with the League Council, it was ignored. The SLDF and Combine troops garrisoned Alliance worlds in the face of public protests and mockery. To add insult to injury, the foreign officers were frequently arrogant and high-handed in their treatment of the people they were supposed to be protecting and the behavior of the common soldiers was even worse.

Events finally came to a head on 14 December 2572 on the Alliance world of Santiago, garrisoned by the Seventeenth Galedon Regulars of the Draconis Combine. In a show of strength, the BattleMechs of the Galedon Regulars paraded through the streets of Santiago City, accompanied by the jeers and insults of the citizenry. In one particular neighborhood, one of the poorer in the city, the onlookers escalated their disapproval to throwing snowballs and small stones at a lance of parading 'Mechs from B Company, Zara's Battalion of the Regulars. Even the children got into the action, instigating a dangerous game whereby they would dart in and out between the legs of the advancing 'Mechs, chasing one another and presenting a hazard for the nervous MechWarriors. One Lance Corporal could not take the pressure any longer and, popping the hatch on her Locust, the young soldier lobbed a canister of 'Mech coolant at the playing children. Apparently, her intention was to scare off the youngsters so that she could safely maneuver her way out of the neighborhood. However, the coolant canister broke open upon hitting the pavement, dowsing a seven-year old child with the caustic liquid inside.

As a stunned crowd gathered around the screaming boy, the young pilot attempted to flee the scene. The legs of her 'Mech, however, became entangled in the wreckage of a burned-out vehicle and the Locust fell, crushing a number of bystanders under its twenty-ton weight. Suddenly presented with an opportunity to vent their rage, the crowd began to attack the downed 'Mech with anything at hand, including stones, steel pipes, and large sticks. At this point, the MechWarrior panicked and began to fire her weapons into the surrounding mass of people. By the time ground troops in riot gear showed up and cleared an area so that the Locust could regain its feet, twenty-seven citizens lay dead in the streets, with another thirty seriously injured.

The reaction to the massacre was swift. Throughout the Periphery, hundreds of anti-Star League riots broke out. The Magistracy of Canopus was in the middle of a border dispute with the League but Magestrix Coranna Centrella immediately broke off negotiations. Mitchell Calderon, Protector of the Taurian Concordat, pushed through an emergency measure that increased military spending to upgrade the Concordat's defenses. The Locust pilot, whose name has unfortunately been lost to history, was taken to Terra in early 2573, subjected to a court-martial and imprisoned, a punishment which infuriated the Periphery even more. Tensions mounted and war began to seem inevitable.

• Sources Used:
• Inner Sphere;
• The Periphery (1st Ed.);
• The Periphery (2nd Ed.);
• The Star League