Editing Masayoshi Nagumo

{{InfoBoxCharacter
| image               = 
| caption             = 
| name                = Masayoshi Nagumo
| birthdate           = 
| died                = [[3025]]
| othernames          = 
| affiliation         = [[Draconis Combine]]
| rank                = 
| title               = 
| position            = [[Governor-General of Verthandi]]
| profession          = 
| parents             = 
| siblings            = 
| spouse              = 
| children            = 
}}
'''Masayoshi Nagumo''' was the officer commanding the [[Draconis Combine]] military forces occupying [[Verthandi]] during the closing years of the Third Succession War.

==History==
Governor-General Nagumo was described as possessing a slight build and heavy oriental features. He wore a mustache and his hair was turning silver.<ref>''Mercenary's Star'', pp. 29, Governor Nagumo's appearance</ref> He ruled over Verthandi on behalf of [[Duke]] [[Hassid Ricol]].

===Zero Tolerance===
Shortly before the arrival of the [[Gray Death Legion]] on Verthandi in [[3025]], Nagumo was approached by [[Olav Haraldssen]] from the planet's Council of Academicians. Haraldssen proposed extending an offer of amnesty to the rebels resisting the Kuritan garrison forces as a way to end the ongoing raids and attacks. Nagumo reacted violently to the very idea of showing mercy towards the rebels.<ref>''Mercenary's Star'', pp. 29-32, "Nagumo rejects the amnesty initiative"</ref>

{{Quote|'''''The penalty for resisting the Draconis Combine is extermination! Do you hear me?'''''
-Nagumo cows Olav Haraldssen.<ref>''Mercenary's Star'', p. 31</ref>}}

Governor Nagumo directed [[Colonel]] [[Valdis Kevlavic]] to take a force and investigate the purported supplies [[DropShip]] that was approaching Verthandi.<ref>''Mercenary's Star'', pp. 33-34, "Nagumo orders Kevlavic to intercept the incoming vessel"</ref> After being alerted from the Kuritan base on Verthandi's moon that the DropShip was in fact carrying a group of mercenaries, Nagumo ordered a patrol of aerospace fighters to attack the inbound spacecraft.<ref>''Mercenary's Star'', pp. 48-49, "The Gray Death's true identity is exposed"</ref>

When a Kuritan DropShip recovered Gray Death fighter pilot [[Sue Ellen Klein]] from her drifting ''[[Chippewa]]'' in the aftermath of the orbital battle, Nagumo embarked on a campaign to win the young woman's confidence. He wanted to glean any useful information on her comrades from her.<ref>''Mercenary's Star'', pp. 127-132, "Nagumo welcomes Sue Ellen to Verthandi"</ref> This plan would later have grave consequences for Masayoshi Nagumo.

{{Quote|'''''You fought bravely but - for some reason - your comrades abandoned you.'''''
-Nagumo's manipulation of Sue Ellen Klein begins.<ref>''Mercenary's Star'', p. 127</ref>}}

===Thorvald's Folly===
A warehouse fire in the city of Regis a few weeks later was discovered to have been set by Verthandian rebels. The surviving rebel, under interrogation, revealed [[James Thorvald]]'s plan to attack the University of Regis using the cover of darkness and the fire to mask his force's infrared signature from orbiting surveillance satellites. Governor Nagumo decided to allow these "Free Verthandi Rangers" to get close in to the University and walk into a massive ambush.<ref>''Mercenary's Star'', pp. 148-151, "Thorvald's plans are discovered"</ref>

While the ambush did kill a number of rebels - James Thorvald amongst them - the unexpected intervention of [[Grayson Death Carlyle]] and his [[MechWarriors]] made the action a costly one for Nagumo's forces. Facing an imminent visit from Hassid Ricol to inspect the situation on Verthandi, Nagumo ordered Colonel Kevlavic to find and destroy the remaining rebels.<ref>''Mercenary's Star'', pp. 173-176, "Nagumo's directives to Kevlavic"</ref>

===Massacre at Fox Island===
Nagumo's cultivation of Sue Ellen Klein paid off when she offhandedly mentioned [[Gunnar Ericksson]] to the [[DCMS]] fighter pilot Nagumo had planted as her sexual partner.<ref>''Mercenary's Star'', pp. 196, "Sue Ellen reveals Ericksson's name"</ref> Throwing Sue Ellen into the dungeons underneath the University for the time being, Nagumo identified Fox Island as the rebel headquarters. He dispatched a [[DEST]] commando team and a number of [[BattleMech]]s to raid the Fox Island base and then set a trap for the rebel [[BattleMech|’Mechs]] and infantry, which were away on a raiding mission.

Forewarned by the fatally wounded [[Jaleg Yorulis]], Grayson Carlyle and the rebels did not walk into Nagumo's planned ambush. Colonel Kevlavic and his command [[lance]] caught up with the tail end of the rebel convoy and engaged Carlyle and a pair of Verthandian trainee MechWarriors, but were unable to stop the rebels' escape. Governor Nagumo was extremely displeased by Kevlavic's performance.<ref>''Mercenary's Star'', pp. 223-227, "Nagumo and Kevlavic review the botched ambush operation"</ref>

===Used and Abused===
After the Gray Death sent a coded transmission to their [[JumpShip]] - the latest in an escalating series of rebel actions - Nagumo found his control over Verthandi slipping away. He turned to the interrogators who had been working on the captive [[Carlotta Helgameyer]], and from her learned that there were numerous rebel sympathizers inside the puppet civilian administration.<ref>''Mercenary's Star'', pp. 244-246, "Carlotta Helgameyer's inside help at Regis University"</ref> Armed with a list of names from Helgameyer, Governor Nagumo arrested 117 Verthandian officials and had them all executed in the University courtyard; Olav Haraldssen was the first to die.<ref>''Mercenary's Star'', pp. 251-253, "Nagumo does away with Verthandi's civilian government"</ref>

===Facing the Red Duke===
When Hassid Ricol arrived on Verthandi, Nagumo had to explain his actions.<ref>''Mercenary's Star'', pp. 277-280, "Nagumo's audience with Duke Hassid Ricol"</ref> He was surprised to learn that Ricol had encountered Grayson Carlyle before, but was unable to concede that Grayson's unorthodox infantry tactics could be so effective against BattleMechs.

{{Quote|'''''BattleMechs rule the battlefield and always have! It is unthinkable that foot soldiers could bring them down!'''''
-Nagumo's rejection of Carlyle's anti-'Mech techniques.<ref>''Mercenary's Star'', p. 280</ref>}}

===Capturing Lori Kalmar===
As the situation deteriorated on Verthandi, Governor Nagumo finally hit on the idea of luring the rebels out instead of merely reacting to them. The rebels had been acquiring supplies and munitions by raiding the storage dumps set up by Nagumo's own troops.<ref>''Mercenary's Star'', pp. 296-297, "Nagumo plans to capture Grayson Carlyle"</ref>

He had a new supply base set up to tempt Carlyle and the rebels.<ref>''Mercenary's Star'', pp. 298-300, "Nagumo's trap is laid"</ref> While Carlyle and the bulk of his raiding force managed to escape the ambushing Kuritan 'Mechs, [[Lori Kalmar]] was forced to eject from her damaged ''[[Locust]]'' and she was taken captive.<ref>''Mercenary's Star'', pp. 306-308, "Grayson loses Lori to the Kuritans"</ref>

===Beginning of the End===
The prospect of Lori Kalmar being subjected to torture at Regis University spurred Grayson Carlyle to mount a rescue mission. His commando team included Sue Ellen Klein, who had been rescued by the rebels from a Kuritan slave column. They effected an entrance into the University with demolition charges, which alerted Nagumo and his guards.<ref>''Mercenary's Star'', pp. 317-318, "Carlyle's explosive entry"</ref>

With fire spreading out of control through the University complex, Nagumo prepared to evacuate. He was intercepted by a vengeful Sue Ellen Klein, who was armed with a sonic stunner and a sharp combat knife. He tried to shoot her, but she immobilized him with the sonic weapon before tying him to a chair. Nagumo was unable to move, but he was fully aware of what she was doing to him.<ref>''Mercenary's Star'', pp. 341-343, "Sue Ellen confronts Nagumo"</ref>

===Death and Legacy===
It is implied that Masayoshi Nagumo died at Sue Ellen's hands, although no traces of him were to be found after the central tower of Regis University collapsed. Command of the Kuritan forces remaining on Verthandi devolved to the ineffectual Fleet [[Admiral]] [[Isoru Kodo]].<ref>''Mercenary's Star'', pp. 361, "Kodo assumes military command"</ref>

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Mercenary's Star (novel)|Mercenary's Star]]'' (novel)

[[Category: Draconis Combine Characters|Nagumo, Masayoshi]]