Bethany Barratt
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Bethany Barratt | |
|---|---|
| Personal | |
| Affiliation | Republic of the Sphere |
Bethany Barratt attracted fame during the Word of Blake Jihad for almost single-handedly securing the surrender of the planet Hall. She died under mysterious circumstances shortly after the Jihad.
Contents
History[edit]
Born on Loeches, but spending most of her early life on Oriente, Barratt would ultimately join Devlin Stone's Coalition against the Word of Blake as an infantry soldier.[1]
Barratt was serving as a private within the allied coalition forces when the task group within which she was serving landed on Hall in November 3077 as a part of Operation SCOUR. Using her own initiative, Barratt contacted planetary governor Franco Reynolds and found him to be willing to discuss a ceasefire; Barratt continued to negotiate with Reynolds, ultimately achieving the peaceful surrender of Hall and the voluntary disarmament of the Hall Protectorate Militia. Barratt's initiative prevented what had appeared to be an inevitable military campaign with the associated bloodshed, and as a result Barratt attracted high praise from both Devlin Stone and General Belle Lee.[2]
Becoming increasingly popular in the Coalition for her actions on Hall, the charismatic Barratt became a close confidante of David Lear. Her star would rise yet further when she and her unit managed to foil an assassination attempt against Stone himself, defeating two Manei Domini assassins. This earned her a promotion to command the newly formed fourth battalion of Stone's Lament.
Not everyone was pleased with Bethany Barratt's meteoric rise, however; General Lee made no attempt to hide her disdain for "the new girl on the block," which most in the local media attributed to either the traditional rivalry between MechWarriors and infantry or the fact that Stone and Lear had ordered her to promote Barratt.[1]
Upon the conclusion of the Jihad, Barratt joined the Republic of the Sphere and was one of Devlin Stone's first choices for the Council of Paladins. Mysteriously, Barratt supposedly fell ill and died shortly before the ceremony, laid to rest with full honors in a private burial a mere two days before she would have been elevated to Paladin.[3]
A number of sources however indicate that Barratt's sudden illness was a cover story and that in truth she died after being unmasked as a traitor, the timing of her death coincidentally around the very same time as the sole trial of Manei Domini who was accused of trying to subvert the Council of Paladins was shot trying to escape indicating they likely may have been one and the same.[4][5][6]
Notes[edit]
Sources variously spell Bethany's surname Barratt[2] and Barrett.[1]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, pp. 79–80: "Bethany Barratt: Oriente Hero"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 54: "Hall Surrenders Without A Shot"
- ↑ Field Manual: 3085, p. 17: "From the Ashes, We Rise - From Many Comes One - The Paladins"
- ↑ Field Manual: 3085, p. 15: "From the Ashes, We Rise - Historical Review - The Last Domini"
- ↑ Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 109: "What Lies Beneath - The Political Landscape of the Republic of the Sphere"
- ↑ Interstellar Expeditions: Interstellar Players 3, p. 30: "Hunting the Word - Refugees of a Lost Cause - The Manei Domini"