One of the most terrible acts to happen in the year 3035 was the assassination of Captain-General Janos Marik. How this action has affected the future cannot yet be assessed. The murder of the Marik has caused some of the greatest controversy in the history of the Inner Sphere. The primary cause for this controversy: not a single group has come out and formally stated that it killed The Marik and his sons Thomas and Duggan. The bombing triggered a series of editorials which were published in the Atreus Herald. It is now believed that they are the work of scholar-in-hiding Mikial Dragnos, former award-winning citizen of the Free Worlds League; readers of BattleTechnology will remember a number of articles by Mr Dragnos on historic assassinations. Janos Marik Assassinated An unknown assassin or terrorist group has set off a bomb, killing the Captain -General, his heir Thomas Marik, and several others. On June 1, 3035, Janos Marik called a meeting of his family and several representatives of the Diplomatic Corps. The primary goal of the meeting was to decide how to bring Andurien back into the Free Worlds League. It is also believed that the Captain-General was planning to announce his retirement, and to hand over the reigns of power to Thomas, his youngest son who had been in command since 3031 because of the stroke Janos suffered in May of that year. The meeting was destined never to finish. It is assumed that The Marik wanted to teach Andurien and any others who might have been considering revolution a stern lesson. Each potential plan was refused on the ground of infeasibility, lack of understanding of the nature of the problem, or simple ludicrousness. Hours came and went and certainly tempers became foul; at 6:00 pm, the Captain-General called a recess of two hours. Sometime during that break the bomb must have been planted; later it was determined that it had been concealed in a portable holotube. During the next two hours, everything was proceeding smoothly with the plans to bring Andurien back into the fold. Then Duncan Marik, commander of the Marik Militia, and nephew to The Marik, received a private message and excused himself to take a call. Fifteen minutes later the bomb exploded; apparently all who were in the room were killed. This included Janos Marik, Thomas Marik, the older son Duggan Marik, and several member of the Diplomatic Corps. One of the first people on the scene was Duncan; he had started removing victims while the fire still raged. Thomas Marik must have been close to the center of the blast; his body, and those of his friend Li Mann and palace guard Alexander Haleck, were completely obliterated by the initial blast. For the second time since the creation of the Free Worlds League, the Marik family has almost been destroyed. Duncan is left, of those Mariks who have shown ambition for leadership. He proved himself a hero that night, working tirelessly until all the bodies had been found.But what of Andurien? Who could have placed that explosive in the room? These and many other questions must be answered before this mystery can be solved. You will be sent a series of editorials which will attempt to solve the puzzle of what happened on the night of June 1 ' 3035. Perhaps we will never know the truth. Or perhaps the clues can be found to bring to justice the assassin of Janos Marik. Can the Scourge of Death be Back? Who would perform a terrorist act like the killing of Janos Marik? Could it be a terrorist organization like the Star Leagueera Scourge of Death? Although most of the sensational newspapers are screaming about terrorists and nihilists, what are the facts which would indicate that a terrorist group committed this crime? What facts might should that terrorists did not blow up the Captain-General and his family? Let us examine both possibilities and weigh the evidence for ourselves. The death of the Marik family would be a crowning achievement for any terrorist group wanting to make a public statement or attract publicity for its cause. The first clue pointing toward terrorists is the device used to kill all those people, an explosive device controlled by a remote radio trigger. Secondly, it was done during a vital meeting of the family at a time of crisis, a time well chosen to ensure that the government would not be able to do an immediate reprisal against the elements which sympathized with the terrorists. The matter of Duncan Marik leaving just minutes before the blast can be attributed to one of two things. Either it was pure luck on his part or the terrorists instigated the call which took him from the meeting, feeling that he would be less of a threat at the head of House Marik than his brother Paul, who is head of security for the Free Worlds League. There is only a scant amount of evidence for a terrorist plot. Let us look at the reasons it could not have been a terrorist group. The first and most critical fact is that after the bombing no group came forward to claim the credit for killing Janos Marik. Secondly, terrorists usually have a statement to be expressed by their acts. To use the Scourge of Death as an example: the group's central belief was that the Star League was a source of evil, leading the civilized universe straight to hell. The Free Worlds League for the last six years has been trouble free with the exception of the Andurien crisis; no terrorist group has expressed a legitimate reason to commit such an atrocity. Could it have been a terrorist group that planted the explosives in the conference room? My personal belief is no. Before any meeting of the household, two teams go into the conference room to check it for listening devices or dangerous items in the room. True, the bomb could have been missed in a sweep, but it is unlikely. Secondly, and more important, a group like the Scourge of Death would have made certain that Duncan and Paul, probably with their sisters who were on planet, were killed as part of the same attempt. No attempts were made on Paul or Kristin, both of whom were on Atreus at the time. (See Scourge of Death incident, BattleTechnology #8). Finally, terrorists do not act anonymously. The whole purpose of a terrorist group action is to make a political change and/or statement. No statement was made. If it was not terrorists who killed Janos Marik, who did? My next editorial will take a look at another possible suspect for the heinous crime. Could Duncan be the Assassin? There is of course an obvious choice to be the killer, one Duncan Marik, who was a disappointed candidate as heir to Janos Marik. Let us remember that these speculations are purely theoretical, and are only written to demonstrate the danger of taking the facts at their face value. As with previous editorials we shall compare the facts which prove and which disprove whomever is being discussed as the potential criminal. Duncan Marik would have the best of reasons and/or chances to commit the assassination. First of the reasons that make him suspect is that this would be the only way he could now become the head of House Marik. Duncan never had kept quiet about his belief that Janos Marik would make him heir-designate until 3029 when it was announced that Thomas Marik was to be The Marik's heir. Secondly, it would have been simple for him to place the bomb in the conference room at anytime after the room had been swept. A third reason is that between his close blood relationship and his strong hold on the military, Duncan could be certain of the Captain-Generalship after the closer members of the family were dead. True, leaving Paul Marik alive could have caused a problem here. However, Paul is not a person who is interested in ruling an entire realm as Duncan wanted to do. Finally, it is said that Duncan had a plan, 'Operation Shepherd's Hook', to bring Andurien back into the fold; the plan's adoption was important to him. Of course, we must look at the other side to see why Duncan Marikwould not have caused the death of his family, aside from natural affection. Since Thomas Marik began fulfilling his role as the de facto leader of the Free Worlds League, he made sure to consult Duncan and Duggan in many of the vital decisions that were needed during Janos Marik's infirmity. So Duncan cannot have felt that his useful public life was over; he must also have seen how much he had to learn about ruling. The second important reason is that Duncan would have been the Marik most probably chosen to carry out the battle plan against Andurien. Since he had urged that House Marik oppose the secession of Andurien, and since he had advocated the plan which seemed likely to be chosen, Duncan was in the process already of getting what he most wanted. Thirdly, while Duncan was called away he was in full view of security forces at all times, and no action he performed was indicative of setting off an explosive charge. Finally, Duncan received second-degree burns over fifteen percent of his body trying to save peoples lives during the explosion and fire. These were not the actions of a killer. When the facts are looked at, it seems that Duncan also is not the assassin. He has the best reasons, it is true, but his character and the weight of circumstancial evidence against the possibility. If he was the assassin, we will never be certain of his involvement. Assassins from the Succession Lords? Each of the Lords has a group of highly-trained people who are prepared to kill the enemies of his State. One wonders if maybe one of these teams of assassins were sent to kill Janos Marik and his family. We shall look into each of the Houses' teams to see why they would wish to slaughter the Mariks. The first Marik enemy we will look at is the Lyran Commonwealth's Loki terrorist squad. Loki is a sub-branch of the Lyran Intelligence Corps, whose primary duty is to cause disention behind enemy lines by using the weapons of terror: fire, explosives, mayhem, and murder. This team is rarely used, though it has made enough enemies that other groups have been created to fight them (including, in part, the Tyr), Why would Loki be sent to kill The Marik and his heirs? It could have been as a prelude to another version of the Fourth Succession War's surprise attack on the Capellan Confederation, eliminating both the symbol and the reality of leadership for the Free Worlds League. Or Archon Katrina may have decided on a belated revenge for the attempted assassination of her ancestor Elizabeth Steiner. Neither of these ideas work; the Lyran reaction to the assassination was one of complete surprise. More important, no attack was made during the confusion that followed the death of the Mariks. The next Succession House to be examined is technically an ally, the Draconis Combine. Many people believe that the ISF (Internal Security Force) of the DEST (Draconis Elite Strike Teams) are the assassins of the Draconis Combine. In actuality the ISF are merely the spies of the Dragon, and the DEST are elite commandos. Neither havethe actual capabilities of keeping a team of assassins. The actual assassins of House Kurita are the 05P (Order of the Five Pillars). They are the adepts of Budojin, mystic occult warriors who have special abilities involved with the understanding of ki(Universal energy of Nature contained in each individual). And why would House Kurita call for the death of Janos Marik? The Captain-General acted poorly during the Fourth Succession War, especially as the alliance between Kurita, Liao, and Marik was a mutual defense treaty against the DavionSteiner alliance. Coordinator Takashi Kurita or his son the Kanrei could have taken offense at such a poor showing by the Captain-General's forces. The 05P Budojin assassins are known for their subtlety; they would have used a less violent technique. And they would have been sure to kill Duncan Marik as well as his family. The third group of assassins to be looked at is the Federated Suns' Department of Military Intelligence branch known as M 16 - Special Forces. Special Forces, also know as'the Rabid Foxes', are elite saboteurs and terrorists who deal in death and destruction throughout enemy realms. These teams only act under direct orders from Prince Hanse; they will carry out anything from assassinations to bombings or even kidnappings. Now why would Prince Davion order the deaths of the Mariks at this point and time? The only two plausible explanations would be: as insurance that Andurien remain free as a buffer state, or to divert attention from some other operation that Prince Hanse had planned against one of the other two houses. Since Duncan Marik has continued the attack on Andurien, that disposes of the first reason. Since AFFS forces did not strike at any Kurita or Liao targets, that gets rids of the second idea. Last we come to the Capellan Confederation an their infamous Death Commandos. The Commandos are qualified to use both modern and ancient weaponry. They are highly qualified for any mission from the assassination of public officials to an assault on a major military installation; they usually succeed whatever the mission may be. An excellent example of their fearsome abilities was during September 3029, when one team attacked both the geothermal stations at Kathil in the Capellan March of the Federated Suns and the NAIS on New Avalon. In the end neither attack succeeded, though each came close, but to mount two attacks of such strength at the same time testifies to their ability. The only reason that Chancellor Romano Liao would have for sending out the Death Commandos to kill Janos Marik is because of the problems that were mentioned with House Kurita; not aiding the Liao forces with the AFFS attacks who all but halved Liao territory during the Fourth Succession War five years ago. Chancellor Romano does not always behave as reason would dictate, of course. But these assassin teams have been exclusively focused on Tormana and Candace Liao, and on Candace's husband Justin Xiang Allard, since the end of the war. House Liao, despite its centuries-long emnity for House Marik, seems unlikely as the killer. The assassins of the Succession Lords are all qualified to have completed this particular assassination. All of the evidence showing that any one of the teams could have completed this deed is all conjectural, circumstancial at best. I believe that none of the other Lords ordered the killing of Janos Marik and his kin. Andurien - Insurance for Freedom? Under Dame Catherine, the Duchy of Andurien left the Free Worlds League in September 3030. The meeting that the Mariks were in when the bomb went off was a strategy session to decide how to bring back Andurien. It would be an obvious choice for Andurien to attempt to eliminate the Mariks. Let us look at the facts pro and con. On the day before the fatal June 1, there was a meeting of Andurien diplomats with Janos Marik, trying once again to get him to recognize their independence. As the vid tapes show, he had them thrown out with orders that they not be readmitted. If they tried to force their way back into his presence they were to be shot as rebels. This certainly shows declining trust in the relationship between Janos and the Anduriens. Other evidence of Andurien involvement was that just after the bombing when, by Duncan Marik's order, the Andurien Consulate was raided, orders were found signed by Dame Catherine. The orders directed the Anduriens to "use any means possible" to dissuade the Captain-General from attacking the Duchy of Andurien. One of the maids in the Marik Household had relations there, and had recently returned from a trip to the Andurien Duchy. The final piece of evidence was that a coded radio signal had been sent out from the Andurien Embassy, picked up on a random sweep by SAFE, supposedly to the ComStar facility on Sian. According to ComStar spokesmen, no such signal was received. The explosives used in the bombing were determined to have been set off by some sort of coded radio transmission. Many people may consider this to be insufficient circumstantial evidence to convict the Duchy of Andurien of the crime of assassination. In order to "convict" them, let us consider motive; the great advantages they stood to gain. If Duncan has also died in the attack, their would have been no top-ranking military commander to lead the vast attack needed to successfully bring Andurien back into the Free Worlds League. A second advantage: the other Succession Lords would have had to take notice of Andurien as an independent State, and to consider the possibilities of making agreements for trade and defense with this new, potentially dangerous realm. Since the Anduriens claim that they did not commit this act, we must look at the reason why the Duchy would not have committed this assassination. Andurien may have been unafraid of the might of the Free Worlds League, figuring that she would never have to face an all-out war, as House Marik would need to reinforce her borders in force before it turned its attention to an internal fight. The Free Worlds has too many greedy neighbors. As for a limited war, let us turn to the documents found in the Andurien Consulate. A battleplan titled 'Lone Wolf' was found there, mentioning an alliance between the Duchy of Andurien and another unnamed source, a mutual defense pact against the Free Worlds League. It is believed that the source of this extra defense is the Magistracy of Canopus, a large realm in the Periphery. In light of all the evidence Andurien seems to be the perpetrator of the deaths of Janos Marik and his sons Duggan and Thomas Marik. Duncan Marik has been voted the Captain- Generalcy with the support of his brother Paul. His first act as Captain-General was to declare war on Andurien. Spokesmen for both the Duchy of Oriente and the Principality of Regulus say that this time these regions will not wish to be excused by the Home Defense Act from fighting their former friend. Duke Christopher Halas has ordered formal morning throughout his realm for his good friend Janos Marik. Kirc Cameron-Jones, heirto the Principality of Regulus, intends to join the campaign against Andurien in the capacity of fighter pilot with his regiment, the First Regulan Hussars. CaptainGeneral Marik has vowed not to let the murderers of his family to go unpunished. Like his ancestor Gerald Marik, he means to go to the Duchy of Andurien to insure that rebellion shall not come from that direction again for a very long time. Back to BattleTechnology 10 Table of Contents Back to BattleTechnology List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1988 by Pacific Rim Publishing. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. 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