Exsanguine

Exsanguine
Vessel Profile
TypeWarShip
ClassAegis

History

As of 3059 the Aegis-class heavy cruiser Exsanguine was a WarShip within the Clan Blood Spirit touman and was serving as the CBS Exsanguine. The Exsanguine was one of only four WarShips in the Blood Spirit touman at this point, and was serving as a part of the Naval Reserve.[1]

In 3072 Khan N'Buta of Clan Star Adder was looking for revenge against the Blood Spirits for their actions on Strana Mechty, in which the Star Adder enclave was destroyed and saKhan Dante Truscott was killed. In August 3072 a large part of the Star Adder navy including the Alpha Naval Reserve Star struck at the world of York. The Exsanguine was in the York system at the time, and the Star Adders immediately engaged the Exsanguine and the nearby recharge station upon arriving in the system. The Blood Spirits launched five assorted Stars of aerospace fighters and DropShips to join in the battle, but were unable to prevent the Star Adders from crippling the Exsanguine and leaving her commanding officer, Star Admiral Ilse McFadden, with no way to retaliate.[2]

Once it was obvious that the Exsanguine was crippled, the Star Adders pulled back from the battle and instead pressed on to York. In the face of attacks from military and civilian vessels - up to and including civilian DropShips ramming Star Adder vessels - the Star Adders secured themselves in orbit above York and then landed DropShips to evacuate the Star Adder personnel located at their one enclave on the planet. When that was done, the Star Adders began a twenty-two-day orbital bombardment of York, striking at all of the major cities and industries on the planet, shattering the Blood Spirits. More than three-quarters of the planetary population were killed and upwards of ninety percent of the industry was destroyed; while the Star Adders ceased the bombardment short of completely destroying the capital world of the Blood Spirits, the bombardment tipped the planetary ecology into decline as the damage resulted in conditions akin to a nuclear winter, beginning York's slow death.[2]

In April 3073, the Blood Spirits retaliated for the destruction of York by sending substantial ground forces and the partially-repaired Exsanguine to the Albion system. Stationed above Albion were two Clan Cloud Cobra WarShips, the York-class destroyer CCS Nebulous, and the Vincent-class corvette CCS Hertzog's Staff. The Blood Spirits knew that the Exsanguine was in no condition to battle both Cloud Cobra WarShips and bargained a Trial down to just one Star of aerospace fighters each. When the Blood Spirits won, the Cloud Cobra vessels allowed them to pass; the Blood Spirits then went on to launch heavy attacks against the Star Adder enclaves of Indicass Alpha and Beta, recovering substantial quantities of isorla before the Exsanguine went on to bombard the Star Adder enclaves on the planet from orbit, just as the Star Adders had done to York.[3]

When Clan Coyote arrived in the Colleen system in 3082 to launch a Trial of Possession for holdings on the planet, the Blood Spirits bid the damaged Exsanguine in their defense. The Coyotes met the bid with the Liberator-class heavy cruiser CCS Spirit in the Sky, which destroyed the Exsanguine in the resulting battle.[4]

References

  1. Field Manual: Crusader Clans, p. 30, "Blood Guard Keshik and the Naval Reserve"
  2. 2.0 2.1 The Wars of Reaving, p. 104, "The Fall of York"
  3. The Wars of Reaving, p. 122-123, "The Defamation of Albion"
  4. The Wars of Reaving, p. 156, "WarShips"

Bibliography