Wallace Bruce
Wallace Bruce, first Duke of Halbeath (335 - 430), was a pro-Caledonian, anti-Reaver guerrilla leader on the Budwick system during the Reaver War. A figure of nearly mythical reverence on Budwick.
Early Life[edit]
Bruce was born in 335 in the hamlet of Loch Dingy. He started his adult life as a mechanic's apprentice working in a farm equipment repair shop in 350 - but was introduced clandestinely to the writings of Euan Fraser, a Budwick philosopher and professor who favored unification with their ethnic kinsmen in the Principality of Caledon and freedom from Reaver rule. Budwick at the time served as a major Reaver "base", and their "rule" was more a matter of gangster domination.
The Twelve Famiies[edit]
Bruce began a clandestine organization of students, street thugs and idealists, and forged them over the next decade into a resistance movement. This widened into a loose confederation of 12 different groups, informally named "The Twelve Families". As the Reaver presence stepped up (sponsored by the Khan World League) in preparation for a more organized push against Caledon, Bruce was contacted by elements of the Caledonian Special Service, who provided weapons, intelligence, and funding.
The Reaver War[edit]
When the Reaver War broke out, Bruce and the Twelve Families shifted into higher gear, sabotaging Reaver equipment and fuel supplies (leading to the misjump of (sources vary) between one and five Reaver vessels) and wreaking general mayhem.
When Caledon began its counteroffensive, the CSS asked Bruce if the Twelve Families were up to the task of liberating the system. Bruce - with arms, money, and a hard core of mercenaries provided by the CSS - led a rebellion that in fairly short order led to the destruction of the Reaver "government", and the murder (very much against Bruce's orders) of the Reaver puppet "king", Malcolm the Angry.
Wallace Bruce, First Grand Duke of Halbeath[edit]
As a reward, the leaders of each of the "Twelve Families" were inducted into the Caledonian peerage, and granted immense estates which have become the political units ruling the system; Halbeath, the estate granted Bruce, became the family name. As a reward for his leadership, Bruce was termed the "Grand Duke", the leader among the 12 Dukes - although this was (and remains) purely an honorific with no policy implications (other than the custom of casting deciding tie-breaking votes for Grand Senators, should a tie occur).