Editing Achilles (Individual WarShip)

{{otheruses|the WarShip|other uses|Achilles}}

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The '''''Achilles''''' was a corvette [[WarShip]] named for [[First Consul of the Rim Worlds Republic|First Consul]] [[Maxwell Achilles Rowe]],<ref name="H:LOTv2p65">''Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2'', p. 65: "Distant Thunder: The Belter Communities and Jupiter"</ref> third son of [[Rim Worlds Republic]] founder [[Hector Rowe]].<ref>''The Periphery, 1st Edition'', p. 13: "Birth of the Rim Worlds Republic"</ref> The ''Achilles'' was a part of the Rim Worlds Republic navy during the [[Star League Civil War]] and served as the RWS ''Achilles''.<ref name="H:LOTv2p65"/>

==History==
[[General]] [[Aleksandr Kerensky]], Commanding-General of the [[Star League Defense Force]], launched a campaign to liberate the [[Sol]] system under the name [[Operation LIBERATION]] on 23 January [[2777]].<ref name="H:LOTv2p58">''Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2'', p. 58: "The "Go" Order"</ref> Among the objectives of Operation LIBERATION was securing the communities known as the Belter communities, which lay predominantly in the regions known as the Jovian L4 and L5 Lagrange points, largely as communities and installations built into various asteroids of the Trojan Asteroid clusters. While the Belters were an isolationist community at the time, there was a long tradition of individuals from Belter communities serving in the various commercial merchant fleets that blossomed under the [[Star League]] as well as in the [[Star League Defense Force]] navy. The communities also maintained and operated small shipyards, a notable strategic asset; this, combined with his abhorrence of the idea of allowing a group free rein or autonomy, led [[Stefan Amaris]] to attempt to control the Belters through the use of political overseers, military governors and threats of force via WarShips or the [[Caspar]] drones that formed a large part of the [[Terra]]n [[SDS]] network.<ref name="H:LOTv2p65"/>

When SLDF WarShips participating in Operation LIBERATION moved into the Belter regions to remove Amaris' forces, the RWS ''Achilles'' was moored at the [[Mercator-Campion Shipyards]] in the Andromache asteroid within the L5 Trojan Point above Jupiter, undergoing a refit. Despite the refit being only partially complete, the ''Achilles'' left the shipyards, taking some damage in the crew's haste to avoid being captured. With the life support systems aboard the ''Achilles'' malfunctioning along with the maneuvering drive, the crew of the ''Achilles'' knew that they had no chance of making it to a safe pirate point from which to jump, and so the crew decided to seek cover deep in Jupiter's gravity well.<ref name="H:LOTv2p65"/>

The various system failures aboard the ''Achilles'' ensured that the corvette didn't make it to Jupiter's upper atmosphere. Instead, the ''Achilles'' found itself stranded in the L1 Lagrange point between Jupiter and the moon Io. The L1 Lagrange point was constantly bombarded with radiation from the intense radiation fields around Jupiter, making it one of the most inhospitable regions of the solar system. Faced with little choice, the ''Achilles'' called for assistance, although the crew stopped short of a formal surrender.<ref name="H:LOTv2p65"/>

SLDF ships moved to assist the ''Achilles'', but with the self-inflicted damage suffered by the ''Achilles'' it was impossible for any of the SLDF ships to dock with her and move her crew off. None of the SLDF vessels had enough space suits shielded against hard radiation to effect suitable repairs on the ''Achilles'', and personnel in conventional suits would swiftly succumb to the radiation. While some personnel could be moved off the ''Achilles'' by shuttle, there was no way to move enough people off the ''Achilles'' before she too succumbed to the local radiation.<ref name="H:LOTv2p65"/>

Captain [[Nadine Durham]] of the [[Margaret Rose|SLS ''Margaret Rose'']] came up with a viable plan to rescue the ''Achilles'': a pair of [[BattleMech]]s jetted across to the ''Achilles'', and in a dangerous ninety-minute operation, attached a tow line to the ''Achilles''. That tow line was used by the SLS ''Margaret Rose'' and her sister ship [[Tally Ho|SLS ''Tally Ho'']] to tow the disabled ''Achilles'' up to a higher orbit before securing and arresting her crew.<ref name="H:LOTv2p65"/>

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2]]''

[[Category: Individual WarShips]]
[[Category: Individual Corvettes]]