William Canavi

The Canavi Family is an old one, going back centuries to Terra itself, though no detailed records exist of their earliest members. What is known is that the Family only obtained it's wealth and influence through carefully planned business activities, finally settling on New Avalon and planting roots.

A number of the family was part of the Star League Defense Force, and followed Aleksandr Kerensky into the Deep Periphery, while the bulk of the family remained in Federated Suns territory on New Avalon, culminating with Inner Sphere Canavi Patriarch William breaking ties with House Davion and founding the first (and now defunct) iteration Mercenary "Venture Company" some 27 years before the Clan Invasion.

The Company built up a sterling reputation, independent in those days due to the Canavi family's once vast wealth and influence. But following the Clan Invasion, Venture Company was completely destroyed save for two members, one of them William. Cutting their losses, William disbanded Venture Company and settled down to raise a family.

His son, John (Callsign "Spectre", born January 6th, 3038), would later grow to become a talented Mech Warrior, graduating from the NAIS Institute of Military Science and serving a brief stint in the AFFC before eventually founding a new Venture Company, this time sponsored by the Northwind Highlanders as part of the MRBC's new sponsorship program.

The new Venture Company would go on to play a significant role in the FedCom Civil War, just before the Word of Blake Jihad. It would be John who bought down Nondi Steiner in the Battle for Tharkad, even though the history books would credit Peter Steiner-Davion with the kill (much to the mixed amusement and exasperation of the somewhat justifiably arrogant John, who saw Peter as merely a mediocre pilot and commander).

The Clan Canavi Patriarch, Arthur, returned to the Inner Sphere as a Star Captain of Clan Wolf in the Clan Invasions, and later broke off with many others and helped form Clan Wolf-In-Exile. Just before the brief Word of Blake Jihad, the two sides of the Family came back into contact, and merged into one, combining their assets to break off dependencies on both ends and provide services to the highest bidder during the conflict. It was largely due to Venture Company's rallying of merc units (by the liberations and breakouts from the respective homeworlds of each unit) and their support of house armies from every Successor State (buying the Successor States precious time to rebuild following several bloody but decisive conflicts) that the Word's fanaticism was put down quickly and the status quo preserved.

Through it all, the Spirit of the Star League was reinforced by the close cooperation of the Successor States, and though during the Jihad a motion had been passed to call for a vote of no confidence in the Second Star League, the motion was overturned and the New League was preserved. The Word of Blake Jihad was ended, and though brief, the conflict rivaled the FedCom Civil War in sheer body count.

Today, in 3072, things are slowly returning to normal as the Inner Sphere guards against the occasional push from the Clan Occupation Zones and Terra re-establishes it's old territories, the Terran Hegemony having been reborn under a new line, the Claytons.