Shurik Arano
Colonel Shurik Arano (a.k.a. "Snafu")
"Alright Chaos, settle down and listen up. In twelve hours, the Clanners hit the planet; after that, we're in it to win it.
Now, we've all studied the dossiers. These guys are bred for war; they're better MechWarriors on an individual basis than what most of the Inner Sphere can muster, they've got better tech, better firepower, and they know it. They're everything an Inner Sphere MechWarrior is, cranked to eleven with the knob snapped off for good measure. Right now, they're up in atmosphere, arguing with each other over how little they can bring to this fight and still win.
And that puts a hair right across my ass.
When these Clanners meet us on the field, we're going to be outright ignored. There'll be no glory to find in fighting us, because to them we're just ants, speedbumps to be dealt with at their leisure.
I think we all have the same opinion of that sort of thinking. I expect every last one of you to fight like it's started to rain and you're the third monkey on the ramp, because by the time this battle is over - win or lose - we're gonna make sure we live rent-free in their nightmares for generations.
Oh; I have it on good authority, courtesy of the phone company that dragged us here, that Clanners enslave their prisoners...so either they're leaving in body bags, or we are. No quarter, hooah? If you're gonna die, you're dying with that finger glued to the trigger and you're gonna make sure you're waiting for them in Hell with brass knuckes for round two.
Now drink up, mount up...and let's have some fun."
-Colonel Shurik "Snafu" Arano, prior to the start of the Battle of Tukkayid. Chaos Lance would go on to tally nearly 40% of all mech kills the Risenjagers would manage across the entire campaign.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Born into the royal house of a minor Periphery nation, Shurik could have lead a life of luxury and ease; as second cousin of the ruling family, little was to expected or required of him past minor diplomatic duties, perfunctory MechWarrior training, or a political marriage to one of the larger nations bordering the Aurigan Reach. Indeed, many of his siblings chose the very same paths; married off to Canopian or Taurian diplomats, officers in the Reach's limited MechWarrior forces through name and nepotism more than actual training and skill, or simply sinking into utter, aristocratic debauchery.
These paths were anathema to Shurik. With his parents' blessing (and more than a little encouragement) he left the Reach at an early age and enrolled in the military schools of the Taurian Concordat. There he picked up three things that would change the course of his life forever; an innate talent for armor command, a dismissive - and often hostile - opinion of MechWarriors, and a lifelong friendship with the Taurian officer Thomas Vieira, who would later be his foot in the door to the Riesenjager Mercenary Company after Shurik's service in the Aurigan Reach ended.
Shurik was not in the Reach when House Espinosa began their coup to take control of the region, as the Risenjagers were on contract in Canopian space at the time. Taking fellow Aurigan veteran Cassandra Furse, their crews, their tanks, and their leave of the company, Shurik made for Aurigan space and vanished.
He spent several years fighting a guerilla action against the Aurigan Directorate and House Espinosa, slowly growing his own forces as well as linking up with other survivors of House Arano and anti-Directorate partisans, before the various cells finally unified under the command of Kamea Arano. Contacting the Risenjagers with a job offer, he went on to serve with distinction through the Restoration War as a company commander and the Risenjager - Restoration liason officer; a job that he continued when the war ended and the Risenjagers were given a permanent contract and custody of two worlds in the Reach from which to govern and stage.
With the dissolution of the Aurigan Reach he would transition to fulltime duties with the Risenjagers once again, acting as overall armor commander of the company. It was in this capacity that he, alongside Jonas Kruger, Cassandra, and a select core of the Risenjagers, would be seconded to Comstar command by previous contracts and participate in the Battle of Tukkayid. The tank commander would be killed in action against the forces of Natasha Kerensky's 13th Wolf Guards, when his modified Behemoth "Battle Brick" - acting as rearguard for the company's withdrawal - suffered a catastrophic ammunition explosion at the hands of a Gargoyle A's ER PPC. By the end, he had manged nineteen confirmed Clan Mech kills over the course of the campaign, with the very Gargoyle who slew him as an assisted 20th when Cassandra's Alacorn split it in half mere seconds after it had dealt the killing blow.
Relationships
Current Status
KIA
Date of Birth
July 16th
Date of Death
May 20th
Life
2993
3052
59 years old
Circumstances of Death
Died in battle
Birthplace
Cordia City, Coromodir VI, Aurigan Reach
Place of Death
Brzo, Tukayyid
Family
Spouses
Cassandra Arano-Furse
(spouse)
Siblings
Children
Sex
Male
Eyes
Green
Hair
Black
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Olive
Height
175cm
Weight
90kg
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
Comments