Enter Sandra Rosse

Following the Pentagon campaign, Khan Philip Drummond realized he was losing his edge. A degenerative disease was slowly killing him, and Drummond despaired when he realized that he would soon lose his position. However, hope blossomed when he learned that his daughter, Sandra, had tested out in a Trail of Position as a Star Captain.

Sandra was a gifted warrior who had inherited the best of both worlds from her parents. A natural leader, with a conviction that many answers lay hidden in shrouds of mysticism, Sandra was on the verge of greatness. When Drummond confided his condition to her, she retreated to her private sancturay in her mother Anna Rosse's home. After three days of fast and meditation, she emerged with the answer buring in her mind. She had decided to replace her father as Khan.

Although she was already in a command position, she knew she needed a Bloodname. In honor of her mother, she chose to compete for the Rosse Bloodname. Though the same name, this Bloodname actually belonged to a second cousin of Anna's, Jason Rosse (Sandra's mother had never been a member of the warrior caste, so her surname was not enshrined as part of the eight hundred). Though irregular, the formal paths of the Trial of Bloodright had not yet been cemented, and a plea to the Grand Council granted her the right to compete for that name.

She won her Trial of Bloodright and became Sandra Rosse. Within a few months, having gained a following, she challenged Khan Drummond to a Trail of Grievance, charging he was no longer fit to be Khan. In the Circle of Equals, she then broke tradtion and offered him the opportunity to voluntarily step down. For the second time in his life, Phillip Drummond walked away from everything he had known.

However, many Nova Cat warriors were outraged by what they saw as sentimentality and immediately challenged Sandra to a Trial of Grievance. She won every contest and so impressed the rest of our Clan with her combat skill and audacity that they accepted her as Khan.

The Nova Cat Reborn

Upon her assumption of the Khanship, Khan Rosse retreated to her sanctuary once again. Five days later, she emerged convinced that her visions had shown her a way that would lead the Nova Cats to a perfect society, beyond that designed by the Founder. Though many were perturbed when Khan Rosse announced that she was basing these decisions on visions, none challenged her right to do so. With her recent triumphs in the Trials of Grievance still fresh in our Clan's mind, her warriors reserved judgment.

She immediately began to enact sweeping changes. One of the farthest-reaching was to allow the Merchant Caste to fulfill their responsibilities as they saw fit. As the Clans moved into the Golden Century, this would provide ample dividends. However, her greatest contribution was to provide a more spiritual way of life. Her guidance opened our eyes to the fact that life is a path of choices and that every action we take can have consequences that may not appear for centuries. Our ability to see the long road is why we now walk the path of the Star League.

Convincd by her upbringing of the need for self-discipline, Khan Rosse created the office of Oathmaster to aid the Clan's spiritual strength and well-being, naming Lui Cheng to the position as one of her first offical acts. Though we have seen several Khans during our history who have not had the strength of vision to properly lead our Clan down the correct path - leaving this powerful role to the Oathmaster instead - it is a testament to the strength of our way that no Oathmaster has ever attempted to wrest the Khanship away from a standing Khan.

Nicholas Kerensky condemned her appointment for a warrior to this position before the Grand Council, and Clan Wolf won the right to defend the Trial of Refusal the Founder called against Khan Rosse. The Trial was won, and a series of Trials of Position ensured for the Oathmaster position. Lucie Morris became the first offical Oathmaster. Kahn Rosse did not resent the founder for his actions, believing they simply emphasized the importance of this new position.

Though other Clans soon adopted versions of the Oathmaster post, it eventually evolved into an honor-guard position for any official Clan ceremony, adminstering all oaths.

Ways of Seeing

Following these events, Khan Rosse wrote Ways of Seeing, a volume that contained her mother's and her own visions. Most of the rituals we practice today are directly connect to this volume, and it - along with her personal journal, in which she continued to record her visions - has become the cornerstone for the Forum of Law in the Oathmaster Grand Melee.

Though several Khans from other Clans objected to Khan Rosse's bizarre innovations, she simply pointed out the Founder's edicts against interfering with the spiritual life of any people. With no documented cases of outright un-Clanlike behavior, the Khans bided their time, convinced that the Nova Cats would stumble.

However, that day never arrived. Far from hobbling our Clan, Khan Rosse gave us mental and emotional focus for our energy, which allowed us to keep pace with or surpass the achievements of the other Clans.

The Jaguar Conflict

As the Clans grew, many bitter feuds were born. However, the cause for the fued between the Nova Cats and the Smoke Jaguars - which would eventually lead to the destruction of the Smoke Jaguars - had a most unusual beginning. Shortly after becoming Khan, Sandra realized that she was attracted to Liam Ismiril, saKhan of Clan Smoke Jaguar - and that saKhan Ismiril shared her attraction. Though they enjoyed each other's company for some time, Khan Rosse eventually realized that she simply could not ignore the drastic differences in their philosophies.

After retreating to her sanctuary, she had a vision that convinced her that if she continued her relationship, it would lead to the destruction of her Clan. She immediately broke off contact with saKhan Ismiril, but a dead nova cat found in our breeding program's iron wombs let her know that she had earned the enmity of Clan Smoke Jaguar.

Drummond Returns

Without a doubt, Khan Rosse's vision set us on the path to our current place in history. However, some of her decisions proved disastrous. When the Not-Named Clan claimed sole possession of their disputed Brian Cache, Khan Rosse supported them in the Grand Council. Following the Not-Named Clan's refusal to accept the results of their Trial of Refusal and their subsequent annihilation, Khan Winson of Clan Wolf personally challenged the Khans of each Clan that had supported the Not-Named Clan to a Trial of Grievance. Though Khan Rosse fought well, she was killed in the trial.

Upon hearing of Khan Rosse's death, a cured Phillip Drummond realized that he was the only one who could continue to foster the Nova Cats' newfound spirituality. Emerging victorious from a grueling series of Trials of Position, he spoke in front of the Clan Council. So eloguent were his words that the Council accepted him as Khan and he led Clan Nova Cat into the Golden Century, surviving to the age of 112. Even among the Nova Cats, who allow their warriors to remain in active service much longer the other Clans, this is an unprecendented record.

The Nova Cat's first Khan, Phillip Drummond, is the only one succeeded in Clan history by his own child. Sandra Rosse rose quickly through the ranks. When it became apparent that her father's health was failing, Sandra challenged him to a Trial of Grievance and took his place as Khan. Following in her father steps, Khan Sandra Rosse guided the Nova Cats to many victories and helped set the standards to which all Nova Cat warriors adhere to. Chief amongst her contributions was giving her Clan a spiritual way of life.

During the Golden Century, the Nova Cats, along with the Diamond Sharks, amassed tremendous wealth speculating on Clan explorations and mining. Khan Sandra Rosse allowed the Nova Cat merchants the freedom to do their jobs as they saw fit. This action contributed greatly to the Nova Cats' future success.