Li Dok To

Li Dok To
Li Dok To
Personal
Born2983[1]
AffiliationDraconis Combine
Profile
RankTai-sa[1]
Title(s)Warlord of Galedon
ProfessionMechWarrior

Li Dok To was an officer in the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery who would eventually rise to the rank of Warlord of the Galedon Military District during the Clan Invasion.

History

Li Dok To's planet of birth is unknown, but it is known that he graduated from the prestigious Sun Zhang MechWarrior Academy on New Samarkand, [1] implying he possessed a noble heritage or connections.

In service to Galedon

Assigned to the 8th Galedon Regulars, Li Dok To quickly rose through the ranks, reaching the rank of Sho-sa within nine years.[1] In 3017, he was promoted to Tai-sa in charge of planning for the Galedon Regulars brigade.[1] In 3019, he achieved a victory over a regiment of Dieron Regulars in war game maneuvers, and was promoted to Sho-sho on Tai-shu Grieg Samsonov's staff. [1] In 3025, he was appointed personal aide to Warlord Samsonov, effectively handling all day-to-day operations for the entire Galedon Regulars brigade. [2][1]

Despite his rise to power, Li Dok To avoided the political power games of Samsonov's court, instead focusing on the Galedon Regulars as field commander.[1] Because of this, he was not involved in Samsonov's machinations with the Wolf's Dragoons mercenary company, or the Ryuken training units.

Glenmora

After the disastrous Battle of Misery in 3028 and the death of Grieg Samsonov at the hands of Michi Noketsuna, Li Dok To was promoted to Tai-sho under the new Warlord, Kester Hsiun Chi. He was assigned the task that had thus far eluded Samsonov, Minobu Tetsuhara, and every other Kuritan commander thus far: The destruction of Wolf's Dragoons.

Taking command of the 5th Galedon Regulars, the personal regiment of Warlord Samsonov, Li Dok To struck the Federated Suns world of Glenmora, defended by the Dragoons' Alpha Regiment Provisional Companies and commanded by Colonel Jaime Wolf himself. Though Wolf himself was returning from Terra, the other Dragoon officers, including Major Kelly Yukinov, gave the Kuritans a good fight despite being outnumbered.[3]

Glenmora was also defended by the infamous Black Widow Company, commanded by the legendary Natasha Kerensky.[4] The Black Widows were successful in disrupting Dok To's plans, destroying a Star League-era Mobile Headquarters vehicle, forcing him to become more cautious. The Widows were so disruptive that Dok To had to dispatch two heavy companies to his rear area to hunt them down. These 'Mechs fell into one of Kerensky's ambushes in the Mud Pits, losing several 'Mechs. [5]

Wolf arrived to take command just days before Li was reinforced by the 16th Galedon Regulars. Now with two regiments to press the Dragoons, Li Dok To spent the next several months whittling down his enemies, successfully ambushing the 2nd Provisional Company and killing Wolf's second-in-command. [3] The Dragoons were forced to fall back on the city of Tronka, where the two Kuritan regiments continued to press them. At one point on the verge of victory, Dok To and Tai-sa Francisco Bevier of the 16th Galedon found themselves arguing over who would "finish off" the Dragoons. [4] Dok To and Bevier had long had a tumultuous working relationship, and it came into play now.[6]

Near the peak of the battle, the 10th Deneb Light Cavalry arrived from Benet III to assist the Dragoons, temporarily forcing both Kuritan regiments into retreat. When they attempted to pursue, the Cavalry was ambushed and its commanding officer was killed. Wolf took command of the demoralized Davion troops as well.[4]

Though the Regulars had taken losses, Colonel Wolf knew he could not prevail on Glenmora, and finally ordered his troops to retreat to the rendezvous planet of Crossing.[3]

Crossing

Though both of Dok To's two regiments were mauled, they were quickly reinforced with recent academy graduates, bringing them up to strength in numbers if not quality. They were joined by the 8th and 12th Galedon Regulars, regiments that had fought the Dragoons on Harrow's Sun and Wapakoneta, for the final assault on the Dragoons' survivors on Crossing. Holding a strong defensive position at the Tartarus Caldera, the Dragoons fought fiercely against Li Dok To and his forces, despite being outnumbered four to one. Eventually reinforced by Zeta Battalion and the 10th Deneb Light Cavalry, the Dragoons proved triumphant and the Combine forces were eventually forced to retreat. [7] The 5th Galedon in particular took massive casualties trapped on the mountainside with only a handful escaping, ceasing to exist as a viable unit. [8][9] Nevertheless, Li Dok To survived the war and its aftermath.

Clan Invasion

By the time of the Clan Invasion in 3050, Li Dok To had succeeded Kester Hsiun Chi as Warlord of Galedon. [10] Li Dok To firmly supported Theodore Kurita's military reforms, and agreed that the threat posed by Clan Smoke Jaguar in the Pesht Military District far outweighed concerns on the Federated Commonwealth border. [11] By 3054, the forces under Dok To's command had fallen from 24 BattleMech regiments to a mere three regiments to meet the Clan threat, with most of the Galedon Regulars sent to the Clan Front. [12]

By 3058, Li Dok To had overseen the upgrading of thirty percent of the Galedon Regulars with new technology, including obtaining many Inner Sphere OmniMechs. By this period, he spent much of his time on Luthien helping to prepare for a renewed Clan war, leaving matters on Galedon to his aide, Tai-sa Jarvek Dolmasay. [11]

Jihad

Like most of the Inner Sphere, Galedon V faced massive attack during the Word of Blake Jihad, facing attacks in turn from the Outworlds Alliance, Clan Snow Raven and the Federated Suns. During the AFFS withdrawal, a virus was unleashed that rendered the entire planet uninhabitable. It is unknown if Li Dok To survived these events.

BattleMechs

Dok To's 'Mech of choice was a Victor. During the Fourth Succession War, he piloted a customized variant Victor that removed all the standard weapons and replaced them with a single LRM-15 and ten medium lasers. The armor and movement profiles remained unchanged, but it carried a total of nineteen heat sinks to help deal with the extra heat from the lasers. [13]

Personality and Traits

Dok To was a veteran MechWarrior and an excellent military officer.[1] He avoided the politics and intrigue of Grieg Samsonov's court, and yet successfully remained in a position of power. Despite the fact that many within the Combine chose to hold him accountable for the failure of Warlord Samsonov to destroy Wolf's Dragoons, and therefore expected him to commit seppuku, Dok To nevertheless put his duty ahead of concerns of personal honor or political reputation.[1] Dok To firmly supported the reforms of Theodore Kurita, recognizing that the survival of the Combine held precedence over the personal honor of an individual warrior. [11]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Operational Turning Points: Death to Mercenaries pp. 11-12
  2. ↑ House Kurita (The Draconis Combine) p. 135
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Operational Turning Points: Death to Mercenaries p. 8
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Wolf's Dragoons (sourcebook) p. 40
  5. ↑ NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 1 p. 74
  6. ↑ Operational Turning Points: Death to Mercenaries p. 14
  7. ↑ Operational Turning Points: Death to Mercenaries pp. 8-9
  8. ↑ Wolf's Dragoons (sourcebook) p. 43
  9. ↑ NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 2 p. 37
  10. ↑ 20 Year Update p. 41
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Field Manual: Draconis Combine p. 59
  12. ↑ Objective Raids p. 26
  13. ↑ Operational Turning Points: Death to Mercenaries, p. 32

Bibliography

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