Naamah

(Redirected from Bethany Barratt)
Naamah
Personal
Alias(es)
  • "Sonja Amora"
  • "Bethany Barrett"
DiedOctober 3081[1]
Affiliation
Career
RankPrecentor

Naamah was an Ascended officer of the Manei Domini and first commander of the Forty-ninth Shadow Division from 3070 to 3073. She became notorious as a highly skilled deep-cover infiltrator who successfully infiltrated the Principality of Regulus twice and later also Stone's Coalition.

History[edit]

Sonja Amora: Infiltration of Regulus[edit]

In 3070, Naamah assumed the mantle of "Sonja Amora" and infiltrated the court of Regulus, becoming the lover of Prince of Regulus Kirc Cameron-Jones.[2] On 1 January 3071, she was presented to the Regulan high society, and a member of the Regulan Hussars noted that she was attending the morning tactical briefings of the Principality of Regulus.[3] Reportedly an actress in Regulus Recreational Hologram Environments studio productions, she was voted Regulus' Most Beautiful Woman and became the face of Irian Cosmetics.[2][4]

In May 3071, as commander of the Forty-ninth Shadow Division, she led her unit on its first recorded mission on Wallis, disguised in Marik Commonwealth colors. They successfully framed the Commonwealth for the destruction of the Second Regulan Hussars, leaving no survivors. Sometime later, the true identity of Naamah's Nightwalkers was revealed.[5][6]

The Forty-ninth struck Regulus on 6 June 3072, when the unit was positively identified for the first time. The Shadow Division razed the capital city after clashing with the First Regulan Hussars. On Naamah's orders, they set fire to the city as personal retribution against Kirc Cameron-Jones. This event was later described as the "Night of Fire".[7] The fires set by the Manei Domini ultimately altered the planet's atmosphere.[4]

After finally returning to Gibson in early 3073, Precentor Naamah stood down as CO of the Forty-ninth Shadow Division and appointed her XO, Dantalion, as new commanding officer.[5]

In response to Naamah's betrayal as "Sonja Amora" and the destruction of Regulus' capital, Prince Kirc Cameron-Jones ordered a retaliatory strike against Gibson, dubbed Operation VIJAY, to destroy the BattleMech production facilities of Gibson Federated BattleMechs. Launched in June 3073, the operation ultimately failed when Regulan forces were no match for the Blakists' superior firepower.[8]

Punishment of Titus Cameron-Jones[edit]

On 6 September 3076, Regulan forces covertly attacked the Selasys Shipyards over Liberty and destroyed a partially completed prototype Venturer-class light cruiser. Once Regulan involvement became clear, Apollyon ordered Naamah to send Prince Titus Cameron-Jones a clear message on his behalf, leaving the method to her discretion.[9] She chose to kill his wife, Michelle Cameron-Jones, and their unborn child. Posing as a midwife, Naamah murdered Michelle in her Cameron residence on 3 May 3077, only hours before her husband was due to visit her.[10][11]

Bethany Barrett: Infiltration of Stone's Coalition[edit]

Operating under the new identity of "Bethany Barrett" – a young woman allegedly born on Loeches and raised on Oriente – Naamah joined Devlin Stone's Coalition in mid-3077 as an infantry private.[12]

In November 3077, her task force was assigned to liberate Hall as part of Operation SCOUR. Seizing the opportunity, she contacted planetary governor Franco Reynolds on her own initiative and negotiated a ceasefire that led to the peaceful surrender of Hall and the voluntary disarmament of the Hall Protectorate Militia. International news services credited her with single-handedly preventing a major military campaign, and she received praise from senior Coalition leadership, including Devlin Stone and General Belle Lee.[13]

Following Hall, the charismatic Barrett became increasingly prominent within the Coalition and a close confidante of David Lear, which granted her access to sensitive information from the Coalition's inner circle. As a result of her role in foiling an assassination attempt on Stone, during which two Manei Domini assassins were killed, she secured Lear's backing and was promoted in early 3078 to lead the newly formed Fourth Battalion of Stone's Lament. Her rapid promotion was not universally accepted, but General Lee's open skepticism toward Bethany Barrett was commonly attributed to internal rivalries and the political nature of the appointment.[12]

During the Battle of Terra, Naamah covertly passed strategic information to Word of Blake defenders. Later evidence confirmed that she had alerted Blakist forces guarding the Burragorang Gate of the Sydney Castle Brian to an imminent Coalition infiltration attempt. The resulting ambush led to the deaths of most troops assigned to the mission and forced General Lee to undertake a costly frontal assault on the gate, which was only secured six days later.[14]

After the end of the Jihad, she joined the newly founded Republic of the Sphere and was publicly named in 3081 as one of Devlin Stone's first choices for the Council of Paladins.[15]

Discovery and Death[edit]

In October 3081, Naamah was unmasked and secretly arrested; the means by which she was exposed remain unknown. She was tried by a tribunal of Paladins for attempting to subvert the Council of Paladins and sentenced to death, but records indicated that she was killed during an alleged escape attempt in which seven guards also died, a testament to how dangerous she remained even in custody.[1][16]

To protect the young Republic from political fallout, the Council chose to preserve the popular public persona Naamah had built as "Bethany Barrett". The Republic, therefore, officially announced that Barrett had died after a sudden illness and buried her with full honors in a private ceremony, suppressing any official acknowledgement that Barrett and Naamah were the same person.[15][17][18]

Quotations[edit]

“Be it for their wealth, their rank, their power, or their ego, every ‘lord’ wallows in the belief that these things make them desirable. They have grown so used to such superficial things bringing them acclaim and adoration that they forget what it means to earn it. And that is their greatest weakness!”[18]

Notes[edit]

  • Naamah was the only Manei Domini who ever faced a tribunal for her actions in the Jihad.[16][1]
  • Sources variously gave Bethany Barrett's surname as Barratt[13] and as Bryant.[18]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ a b c Field Manual: 3085, p. 15: "The Last Domini?"
  2. ↑ a b BattleCorps: INN ScandalVids, 15/12/3070: "Regulus' Most Beautiful Woman!"
  3. ↑ BattleCorps: INN Solaris Broadcasting Co., 01/01/3071: "Who's That Girl?"
  4. ↑ a b Masters and Minions: The StarCorps Dossiers, p. 79: "Regulus"
  5. ↑ a b Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents, p. 106: "49th Shadow Division"
  6. ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: 3076, p. 16: "Timeline of the Jihad"
  7. ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: 3072, p. 85: "Fallen Idols"
  8. ↑ Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents, pp. 50–51: "Anatomy of a Bloodless Coup"
  9. ↑ Jihad Hot Spots: 3076, p. 87: "The Hanging Threat"
  10. ↑ Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 57: "The Jihad in Review"
  11. ↑ Masters and Minions: The StarCorps Dossiers, pp. 70–71: "Titus Cameron-Jones"
  12. ↑ a b Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, pp. 79–80: "Bethany Barrett: Oriente Hero"
  13. ↑ a b Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 54: "Hall Surrenders Without A Shot"
  14. ↑ Total Chaos, p. 222: "Terra - Pacific Theater"
  15. ↑ a b Field Manual: 3085, p. 17: "The Paladins"
  16. ↑ a b Interstellar Expeditions: Interstellar Players 3, p. 30: "The Manei Domini"
  17. ↑ Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 109
  18. ↑ a b c Ghosts of Obeedah, pp. 58–59: "Naamah"

Bibliography[edit]

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