3rd Bear Striker (Clan Ghost Bear)

3rd Bear Striker.jpg
Third Bear Striker Cluster
Disbanded 3050
Affiliation Clan Ghost Bear
Parent Command Beta Galaxy

Destroyed not in combat but in a freak accident, the Third Bear Striker Cluster was one of the few Clan Ghost Bear Clusters eliminated during Operation Revival.

History[edit]

The Third Bear Striker made its name during the Political Century when its mobility and speed allowed them to triumph in a number of fierce Trials against Clan Hell's Horses. Their extensive experience fighting armored vehicles made them a natural for the invasion of the Inner Sphere, the lightest unit deployed by the Bears' Beta Galaxy as part of Operation Revival.[1]

With Khan Karl Bourjon and saKhan Theresa DelVillar declaring that Alpha, Beta and Delta Galaxies would all contribute forces to a composite "Cluster" to break the bidding deadlock delaying the attack against the Free Rasalhague Republic world of Thule, the Third Bear Striker won the bid to serve as Beta's representative against the First Hussars.

The Ghost Bears' OmniMechs overheated after failing to account for the incredible heat of Thule's noonday sun, allowing the Hussars' artillery support to destroy over a Trinary of equipment. Star Colonel François Cote broke his bid and ordered the rest of the Third Bear Striker to join the battle.[1][2]

Approaching from the east, the Hussars had already anticipated just such a strategy and sent their aerospace fighters to strafe the Third on its approach, inflicting yet more losses. Ultimately all the COs of the combined Ghost Bear unit were forced to break their bids, the extra troops allowing them to break the Hussars' defense and sending their shattered survivors into retreat. The Third Bear Striker left behind its heaviest Trinary, the 312th Assault Trinary, to garrison Thule and defeat the remains of the First Hussars while the rest of the Cluster proceeded to its next target.[1][2][3]

As the Bears prepared their second invasion wave, the populations of their captured Rasalhague worlds rose up against the small garrison forces left behind, forcing the Ghost Bears to recapture them anew. While the 312th Assault Trinary fell to the surviving elements of the First Hussars, the rest of Beta Galaxy and the Third Bear Striker were in transit to pacify Damian. After the CGBS Bear's Den jumped into the Damian system at a pirate jump point (because of the urgency of the mission), a freak asteroid smashed into the attached Overlord-C-class DropShip Sharp Claw that carried most of the Third Bear Striker. Less than a Trinary survived.[1][4] Star Commander Richard Bekker gained fame for single-handedly saving ten other warriors on the wrecked vessel after the collision including Star Colonel François Cote, Star Captain Malika Hall, and MechWarrior Tomas; named casualties include Star Captain Corinne (promoted from Star Commander shortly before), Star Commander Bjorn and MechWarrior Paula.[5]

In the wake of such horrific losses, the Ghost Bears chose to retire the Third Bear Striker Cluster from their touman. The survivors of the unit were transferred into other units, most notably the reconstituted 312th Assault Trinary in First Bear Guards and the newly formed Seventy-third Battle Cluster;[1][3] Richard Bekker transferred to the Seventh Bear Guards Cluster. To honor the dead of the Third Bear Striker, the survivors were not officially transferred to their new assignments, but were rather "attached" to their new units while remaining technically on the rolls of the Third Bear Striker.[6]

The Third Bear Striker Cluster was honored by receiving a passage in the Ghost Bear Remembrance,[1] as was Richard Bekker in particular for his successful rescue efforts aboard the Sharp Claw.

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the 3rd Bear Striker
Star Colonel François Cote 3050[2]

Other Officers[edit]

3050[edit]

Tactics[edit]

Unknown.

Composition History[edit]

3050[edit]

Third Bear Striker (at least two Trinaries)

  • Forty-eighth Striker Trinary[5]
  • 312th Assault Trinary[1]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Era Report: 3052, p. 52: "Factions - Clan Ghost Bear - Third Bear Striker"
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Invading Clans, pp. 19–20: "Clan Ghost Bear - Wave One: Looking for a Fight"
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Field Manual: Warden Clans, p. 90: "Clan Ghost Bear - Delta Galaxy: The Blitzkrieg"
  4. ↑ Invading Clans, pp. 20–21: "Clan Ghost Bear - Wave Two: Disaster Strikes"
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 Ghost Bear's Lament, part I
  6. ↑ Ghost Bear's Lament, part II

Bibliography[edit]

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