Word of Blake
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Word of Blake was once part of ComStar, part of the fictional BattleTech universe, but splintered from the order due to a difference in beliefs.
ComStar
ComStar is a politically influential, quasi-religious organization which maintains a monopoly over the HyperPulse Generators, which are crucial to interstellar communication; the threat of a communications blackout, also known as an interdiction, made ComStar a significant power within the Inner Sphere. Its currency, the C-bill, is considered the safest among the circulating currencies. They profess to be neutral to the politics of the Inner Sphere; this is known by most political leaders to be false, as every Successor State has felt the meddling hand of ComStar in their affairs at one point or another.
Jerome Blake was a religious figure to ComStar; oaths such as "By the blessed Blake" or epithets such as "Blake's Blood!" are not uncommon. Jerome Blake was the founder of ComStar, after the Star League fell, and is considered by those within ComStar to be the savior of the Inner Sphere.
Philosophically, the Word of Blake are religious fanatics and extremists, showing intense dedication to the writings of Jerome Blake, and revering the man himself on a level approaching sainthood. Following the example of their leader, Precentor Apollyon, most Blakists undergo extensive cybernetic augmentation; as a result, Word of Blake soldiers are known and feared for their enhanced strength, speed and overall durability.
Some Blakists are inducted into the ranks of the Manei Domini (an elite Word of Blake spec-ops division); in addition to the expected round of enhancements, Manei Domini operatives are usually implanted with explosives, set to detonate as a suicide attack or if an operative is captured or killed. Coupled with specialized implants that redirect or block pain reception, the explosives make a Manei Domini operative an extremely formidable opponent in hand-to-hand combat, capable of shaking off blows that would incapacitate a non-enhanced being (whom the Manei Domini disparagingly, and somewhat appropriately, call 'frails').
The Schism
The offshoot of ComStar known as the Word of Blake was founded by Demona Aziz, then Precentor of Atreus, after the assassination of Primus Myndo Waterly and the Battle of Tukayyid that halted the Clan invasion. Waterly was assassinated by Anastasius Focht, ComStar's Praetor Martial and hero of the Battle of Tukayyid, when he learned of her plot to bring all of the Inner Sphere under the rule of ComStar. The Schism was first sparked when Primus Sharilar Mori, supported by Anastasius Focht, sought to reform ComStar by doing away with its mystical and religious elements. This created a split between the newly secular ComStar and the more radical Word Of Blake.
The Word of Blake at first received support and refuge from the Free Worlds League, who employed them to control their hyperpulse communications network. However, it eventually captured Terra from ComStar in 3058. Ultimately, after the FedCom Civil War that ended in 3067, the Word of Blake launched a jihad against the rest of the Inner Sphere.
The opening of the Jihad included an attack by allegedly rogue mercenary units on the Wolf's Dragoons homeworld of Outreach as well as assaults on Tharkad, New Avalon, Luthien and several other important worlds. The goal of the Word of Blake Jihad was an extension of the original plans of ComStar's founder Jerome Blake, called Operation Silver Shield, to capture some of the Terran Hegemony worlds and hold them under ComStar's control.
However, resistance began to grow when Professor David Lear and the Republic of the Sphere's future founder, Devlin Stone, escaped from a Word of Blake reeducation camp and organized a local resistance movement that destroyed Word of Blake forces on the world of Kittery. Soon, the resistance developed into a widespread organization that was joined by ComStar, the Successor States, the Clans, and the mercenary unit Wolf's Dragoons, and, thence united, succeeding in pushing the Word of Blake back until their defeat on Terra in 3081. After their defeat, the Word of Blake survivors were folded into Comstar.
Weapons of Mass Destruction
During the fourteen-year jihad, Word of Blake forces used weapons of mass destruction on military and civilian targets alike. Most Inner Sphere worlds were struck with nuclear and/or biological weapons on some scale. Some worlds, such as New Earth, were attacked with nuclear weapons repeatedly, making them sterile and uninhabitable. This led in part to the absolute lack of mercy shown by Devlin Stone's forces when facing the Jihadists in combat.
