Enlightened Direction

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Enlightened Direction
Vessel Profile
TypeWarShip
ClassNaga

History

One of many WarShips to be disabled and abandoned or lost during the Star League era or the early Succession Wars, the Naga-class destroyer later known as the Enlightened Direction was one of a number of ships recovered by the Word of Blake[1] and restored to working order in secret.[2]

The WoBS Enlightened Direction was one of three Naga-class destroyers to serve in the Blakist fleet during the Jihad;[1] prior to the Jihad, the Word of Blake was only known to be operating a small black water navy of some six WarShips, none of which were Nagas,[2] but the Word of Blake had secretly recovered three Nagas from sites around the Inner Sphere such as the abandoned Star League Defense Force facility known as the Ruins of Gabriel and restored them to operational status. These three Nagas were the Enlightened Direction and her sister ships WoBS Celestial Threads and WoBS Divine Command.[1]

Following the defeat of the Allied Mercenary Command operation on Mars in 3067[3] the First Circuit of ComStar ordered the execution of Case WHITE, a plan for a massive counterstrike against Terra by the bulk of the Com Guard black water navy and ten divisions of troops. Case WHITE had originally been drawn up in 3058, and by the time it was implemented in March 3068 the Word of Blake had been preparing additional defenses in the Sol system for a decade.[4]

The Com Guard task force was bedevilled with problems even before arriving in the Sol system, with the Com Guard Flagship, the Cameron-class battlecruiser CSV Invisible Truth, delayed from joining the operation due to sabotage, and various other ships such as the Potemkin-class cruiser CSV Vision of Truth also suffering attacks from saboteurs.[5] Other ships such as the Aegis-class CSV Swift Justice were at least partially suborned, firing on their companions before being disabled themselves,[5][6] and the operation was a massive defeat for ComStar, effectively neutering their forces during the early years of the Jihad.[4]

While the Blakist victory over the Com Guard in the Sol system was total, the Blakist fleet did take casualties; five Blakist WarShips were destroyed in action and not recovered, including the Enlightened Direction. The Aegis-class heavy cruiser WoBS Herald of Wisdom was the largest Blakist WarShip to be destroyed as a result of Case WHITE; the other WarShips destroyed were the Riga-class frigate WoBS White Devil and the Pinto-class corvettes WoBS Gorgon and WoBS Syrstart. The losses taken by the Blakists as a result of Case White would be partly offset by the successful recovery of several former Com Guard WarShips which were salvaged, repaired and restored to operational duty as a part of the Blakist fleet after Case WHITE.[1]

After the Word took Terra, they refitted the Enlightened Direction as an SDS control ship. It was able to control up to thirty-six Caspar II drones. After the Case WHITE assault, the Enlightened Direction received more armor plating and additional anti-aerospace fighter defenses. It also received Anti-Missile Systems, Screen Launchers, and various sub-capital laser systems. Despite these updates the ship was destroyed in the Coalition's assault of Terra.[7]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 128, "Word of Blake Naval Assets"
  2. 2.0 2.1 Field Manual: Updates, p. 90, "Naval Assets and Militia Divisions"
  3. The Last Full Measure
  4. 4.0 4.1 Dawn of the Jihad, p. 88-92
  5. 5.0 5.1 The Breaking of Chemical Bonds
  6. Stars in the Time of Dreaming
  7. Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, pp. 178-179

Bibliography