Benjamin was born into a sibko belonging to Clan Cloud Cobra. During that Clan’s forced exodus to the Inner Sphere, the jumpship carrying the Golden Pharaoh sibko, their instructors, and other refugees from the Homeworlds, became stranded after a misjump. They ended up in an unnamed and uncharted solar system that possessed a full solar system of planets. While a team of technicians continued to work on repairing the crippled jumpship, the dropships detached and burned for the planets. They discovered a planet that was too hot for human life in most regions except the poles, which contained inland seas and some dense rainforest. The stranded survivors of the misjump were forced to make-do.  One dropship, too damaged in the misjump, failed to survive reentry, the others made it to the surface and landed near the magnetic north pole.   

 

      This was in 3076 and Benjamin, then just fourteen years old, would spend the next four years of his life carving out a basic existence in the jungle with a group of 308 survivors. They never heard from the jumpship again and their own needs forced them to cannibalize many of the dropships’ systems for useful parts and equipment. Fortunately one of the dropships had been carrying lower castemen supplies, including water filtration and prefabricated structures that the survivors were able to use to construct a working sustainable settlement. They faced day-to-day challenges that included disease, the wildlife and nature’s sheer wrath. They carved out a life for themselves among the dangerous jungles of the world they came to call “New Homer” in honor of their previous homeworld.

 

      In 3080 rescue finally arrived. A Rasalhague Dominion jumpship flotilla, traveling on a return voyage from Clan Snow Raven Space, dispatched a lone jumpship to scout the uninhabited system that was a single jump off their voyage’s path. They found the disabled jumpship, which was broadcasting a years-old mayday signal, still powered by the jumpship’s solar sail. The repair crew had perished years before, but had ensured that their message for help would continue to broadcast long after they were gone.

 

      The jumpship flotilla was called to that system and landed a dropship on New Homer to investigate the radio signals they were detecting. They found the improvised colony and rescued 242 survivors.

 

      The Golden Pharaoh Sibko was returned to warrior training in their new Clan. Of the 31 cadets who were rescued alive, the 18-year-olds resumed a strict regime of warrior training. Although some claimed the cadets were too “wild” to be effective warriors, the sibko beat the averages and saw ten cadets become warriors.

 

       Benjamin was among them, becoming a warrior and Elemental of House Noruff.

       Benjamin would serve in the Third Bear Regulars for three years. He eventually gave a stand-out performance in a battle against the Draconis Combine. That would see him moved to front-line service in the 243rd Battle Cluster and promoted to Point Commander.

       The next five years would be a relatively stagnant time for Benjamin. He proved his worth in multiple battles, but as the touman shrunk, opportunities for promotion were few and far between for someone of such a lesser House. Even worse, he considered himself a devout Crusader. In such a “Warden” Clan, that seemed to cast a shadow over his otherwise exemplary codex. In 3090, Benjamin requested and was accepted into a new unit, and a promotion to Star Commander, where he hoped he would have a chance to rejuvenate his career.

 

 

       Great Work: Sculpting; Terra Cotta and metal