Jerry Akuma
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- This article is about the character. For the BattleMech, see Akuma.
Jerry Akuma | |
|---|---|
| Personal | |
| Died | 13 January 3028 |
| Affiliation | DCMS |
| Profile | |
| Profession | MechWarrior |
Jerry Akuma was an ambitious and ruthless MechWarrior in House Kurita's military who had little regard for the code of bushido. He was also proud and haughty, tended to look down on mercenaries, and could hold a grudge forever.[1] Described as "tall Japanese"[2] in appearance, he apparently had Asian (Japanese) features.
Regarding Akuma's actual MechWarrior skills, Minobu Tetsuhara privately considered him a poor pilot at best.[3]
Contents
History
Early Career
In 3021, Jerry Akuma was second-in-command in the command lance of Scout Company Gold, Second Sword of Light Regiment. During this time, he piloted a Panther. His company commander was Tai-i (Captain) Minobu Tetsuhara, for whom Akuma felt nothing but contempt for Tetsuhara was a staunch follower of the bushido code. During the defense of Dromini VI against Wolf's Dragoons in September 3021, the command lance encountered an enemy Archer that had shut down from excess heat. Akuma wanted to finish off the helpless enemy but Tetsuhara would not allow it. Dangerously close to insubordination, Akuma gave in to his superior officer's explicit orders, but secretly decided on that day that Tetsuhara had crossed him once too often.[4]
Aide to the Warlord
In the wake of the costly debacle that the defense of Dromini VI had been, many Draconis Combine officers were reprimanded, and Akuma shamelessly framed and bad-mouthed others to deflect any blame away from himself.[5] Akuma and Tetsuhara parted ways. While the latter was relieved of his command and denied the right to pilot a BattleMech forthwith, Akuma gained the attention of Warlord Grieg Samsonov. By November 3024 he was the Warlord's aide and had risen to the rank of Sho-sa (Major) in the Eighth Sword of Light.[2]
Wolf's Dragoons had entered the service of House Kurita in 3023. After Samsonov's unsuccessful attempt to gain direct control of the mercenary unit, Jerry Akuma became Samsonov's right hand in the plot to discredit and destroy the mercenaries instead. To Akuma, this was a means to hurt his hated enemy Tetsuhara who was their liaison officer and had become a personal friend of their commander, Jaime Wolf.
Liaison to the Dragoons
Coordinator Takashi Kurita decreed in December 3025 that Wolf's Dragoons should assist in the creation of the Ryuken ("Sword of the Dragon"), a House unit trained in the fashion of the Dragoons instead of traditional DCMS doctrine. Tetsuhara received command of the trainee Ryuken, and Jerry Akuma was made liaison officer to Wolf's Dragoons in his stead by Warlord Samsonov. He used this position to hamper the mercenaries to the best of his abilities, including supply shortages, oppressive bureaucracy, misinformation and orders that forced the Dragoons to abandon personnel behind enemy lines.
In September 3026, the first Ryuken battalion was ready and joined an assault on Barlow's End in conjunction with Wolf's Dragoons. The operation did not go well as the defenders were far stronger and better than the Draconis Combine's intelligence had anticipated (they included the White Witches and the elite Eridani Light Horse mercenary units), and the operation also suffered from Akuma's clandestine obstructive activities. His orders deliberately put Wolf's Dragoons in jeopardy wherever possible, and assigned House units such as the Second Sword of Light regiment to lead the final assaults where the mercenaries had previously done the brunt of the fighting, thus depriving them of the acknowledgment of their achievements. During the prolonged campaign, Akuma arranged for Tetsuhara's hovercraft to be sabotaged which resulted in a severe accident. Tetsuhara was critically injured, but not killed, and evacuated from the contested world. Akuma went with him, and later expressed regret about the high professional ethos of the doctors who succeeded in saving Tetsuhara's life. An incompetent officer (one Tai-sa Satoh) replaced both Akuma and Tetsuhara in their respective commands, and the Kurita offensive faltered, causing tension between the Ryuken and Wolf's Dragoons.
Despite their disappointing combat record on Barlow's End the Ryuken were subsequently expanded into independent regiments mirroring the Dragoons, and stationed alongside the Dragoons at their respective garrisons. It was clear under the circumstances that the Ryuken had become watchdogs over their teachers. Jerry Akuma received command of Ryuken-ichi, the first regiment, which was stationed on the Dragoon HQ world of An Ting, along with a promotion to Chu-sa (Lieutenant-Colonel), while at the same time remaining liaison officer to the Dragoons. He purposefully escalated tensions on An Ting through propaganda, false evidence and engineered riots in his attempts to provoke Wolf's Dragoons to breach their contract, going so far as having the Dragoon orbital space station Hephaestus Station occupied and later destroyed by alleged Kurita "freedom fighters". He positively enjoyed the frustration and outrage of the helpless mercenaries.
On 3 January 3028 Jerry Akuma finally ordered the Ryuken to attack the allegedly rogue Dragoons, triggering a military showdown that would culminate in the Battle of Misery which Akuma would not, however, live to see. In the ensuing days of fighting in the city of Cerant on An Ting, the well-prepared Dragoons defeated the Ryuken-ichi. Akuma didn't even bother to lead his regiment on the field, staying on his headquarters and delegating the assault on Dragoons' barracks to his subordinate, Sho-sa Andrew Subato Chou. His regiment, filled mainly with green recruits because Akuma's abrasive personality had chasen out the best soldiers, faltered, and Chou was killed in combat, as most of the unit.[6]
Death
On 13 January, a Dragoon Shadow Hawk piloted by Dechan Fraser penetrated the defense line, marched into the city center of Cerant and killed Jerry Akuma in his office in the government house skyscraper. Ironically, Fraser's arrival had initially served to save Akuma from his aide Quinn who was about to execute him on orders from the ISF. The ISF had partially supported the machinations of Samsonov and Akuma, and Subhash Indrahar had even considered Akuma a candidate for the Sons of the Dragon. However, Indrahar's motivations for doing so were apparently to bind the Dragoons to the Combine by damaging their reputation and support. When Akuma exceeded these parameters with the obvious intent of destroying the Dragoons instead of securing their services for the Combine permanently, Subhash withdrew the ISF's support and ordered Akuma's death.[7]
During Fraser's attack a falling piece of masonry killed Quinn, which allowed Akuma to temporarily escape and ride a lift down, but Fraser then destroyed the elevator cabin’s cables with his 'Mech's laser, causing it to plummet ten floors.
BattleMech
On Dromini VI, Akuma piloted a light Panther.[8]
Notes
- Akuma's surname aptly means "Demon" in Japanese.
References
Bibliography
- Feather Vs. Mountain
- Wolf's Dragoons (sourcebook)
- Wolves on the Border (novel; page references are for the 1989 FASA print edition)