Blake's Sword
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Contents
Overview
The Blake's Sword was a former Star League Defense Force naval McKenna-class WarShip that later served with the Word of Blake navy.
History
Star League Service
The WBS Blake's Sword was originally commissioned into service as the SLS Zughoffer Weir in 2717, with the keel having been laid down in 2712 at the Titan Shipyards. The SLS Zughoffer Weir was a part of the Star League Defense Force navy and was initially assigned to Army Group Davion before being reassigned to Army Group Liao in 2743, and in 2746 the SLS Zughoffer Weir received the McKenna Wheel award.[1]
With the outbreak of the New Vandenberg Uprising in 2765 the SLS Zughoffer Weir was dispatched to the Magistracy of Canopus before being assigned to Task Force Hammer for the SLDF campaign against the Rim Worlds Republic led by General Aleksandr Kerensky following the coup launched by Stefan Amaris. Having survived the Rim Worlds Republic Campaign the SLS Zughoffer Weir was assigned to Task Force Hammer for the campaign to liberate the Terran Hegemony, suffering moderate damage during the liberation of Terra in 2777. That damage required the Zughoffer Weir to be taken out of service for repair and overhaul, and the SLS Zughoffer Weir would finally rejoin the navy on active duty in 2780. The last record of the SLS Zughoffer Weir maintained in the Inner Sphere indicated that the ship joined General Kerensky as a part of the Exodus Fleet in 2784.[1]
Word of Blake Service
Records allegedly recovered by Chandrasekhar Kurita during his investigations into the Word of Blake before and during the Jihad included further detail on the SLS Zughoffer Weir, claiming that in late 3061 an inoperative, heavily-damaged McKenna-class battleship to the Titan shipyard, and that this inoperative vessel had been discovered rimward of the Outworlds Alliance. Due to the lack of any record of a major WarShip action in that area of space during the Periphery Uprising, the Word of Blake believed the vessel to be one of those that left during the Exodus and which had been abandoned as a result of damage taken. It was also annotated that the same description had been given to every McKenna-class WarShip known to have left with General Kerensky for which no other known fate was recorded.[1]
These records, when cross-referenced with those of the WBS Blake's Sword, show that the ship was re-christened the WBS Blake's Sword and re-entered service, this time with the Word of Blake, in July 3065. The WBS Blake's Sword was deployed to the Tharkad system in 3067,[1] and then used in the opening throes of the Jihad in January 3068 when it and the Essex-class WBS Deliverance, were used against the predominantly Com Guard forces on Tukayyid. After successfully destroying the ComStar naval forces in system, the CSS Hammerstrike and CSS Blake's Vengeance, the WBS Blake's Sword initiated a planetary blockade and bombarded ComStar forces on the ground.[2] The WBS Blake's Sword would remain in the Tukayyid system, with records supplied by Chandrasekhar Kurita indicating that the ship may have been stranded due to drive failure.[1]
In July 3070 it was reported that a Clan Ghost Bear Task Force had arrived in the Tukayidd system, led by the GBS Rasalhague, a Leviathan II-class heavy battleship. In the ensuing battle, the WBS Blake's Sword was disabled by the powerful Clan battleship.[2] Subsequent investigation apparently indicated that a survey of the hull of the WBS Blake's Sword conducted in November 3072 showed the ship to be unsalvageable, with the Word of Blake closing their files on the vessel.[1]
Clan Wolverine Service
Evidence provided as Canon Rumor suggests that the SLS Zughoffer Weir was a part of a group of survivors from Clan Wolverine which escaped the annihiliation of that Clan conducted within Clan space in 2823 and which escorted the survivors back to the Inner Sphere, becoming involved in the events surrounding the group known as the Minnesota Tribe. The presence of the Zughoffer Weir as a part of the Word of Blake fleet was used as evidence that at least some of survivors of Clan Wolverine - the "Not-Named Clan" - had encountered ComStar and joined the order during the twenty-ninth century.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents, p. 117, "What's In A Name"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Blake Ascending, p. 87, "Tukayyid Hit, Heavy Casualties Reported" Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "BAp87" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents, p. 121-124, "The Not-Named"