Tara Campbell

Tara Campbell
Tara Campbell
Personal
Also known asAngel of Sadalbari,
Tara Wolf,
Tara Jade Falcon
BornDecember 3104[1]
AffiliationHouse Campbell
Profile
RankPrefect of Prefecture III
Title(s)Countess of Northwind[2]
ProfessionNoble
Family
ParentsJon Campbell (father)
Moelene Jaffries (mother)
SiblingsArabell Campbell-Stewart[3]

Tara Campbell was the daughter of Colonel Jon Campbell and Senator Moelene Jaffries. She was born "off-world" (on Terra) but she grew up on Northwind, attending the Northwind Military Academy. She was described as attractive at a petite 155cm (just under 5'1"). She had spiked, platinum-blond hair,[4] blue eyes, and a fair complexion.[2]

History[edit]

During her first five years, either his father or her mother traveled to Northwind with her. She became a sister in 3109 and her mother decided to step down from the Senate and her father retired to spend more with the family. The returned to their hereditary estates and titles as Count and Countess of Northwind.[2]

Early life[edit]

At six, she was the youngest child ever to be accepted into the Republic's Diplomatic Youth Corps, drawing posters and assisting in fundraisers after natural disasters.[2]

During the Capellan Crusades, she lost an uncle at Burton Davion's Last Stand, and she was one of a hundred volunteers to record several messages that were played over the Armed Forces Radio Band. She was put forward as the DYC poster child in 3113 to encourage others to volunteer their time and earn their citizenship.[2][5]

When her mother died in 3115 and her father returned to active duty, Tara and her younger sister became "army brats".[2]

She opted for one of Northwind's military prep schools for her secondary education, and when she started the MechWarrior Northwind Military Academy in 3121, it raised very few eyebrows. Only a few years behind the well-known Katana Tormark, she worked toward any cadet record Tormark ever set and broke nearly half of them, including small-arms marksman and, more unusual for her petite size, best finish in the entire history of the Academy's martial arts competition. In 3124, she led the Highlander Cavalry cadet corps, which barely missed stealing away honors from Tormark's Dragon's Fury corps for the Pass In Review ceremony at the end of the year. She graduated a year early, as had Tormark, but declined to stay on as an instructor. She was instead posted to the First Kearny Highlanders line unit under the command of Colonel Emil Wallace.[2]

Sadalbari[edit]

She did not languish under Wallace's command, but neither did she flourish at first. Until 3127, her military career was noted as merely competent.[2]

During a combat drop against Black Dragon Pirates, Colonel Wallace suffered a BattleMech malfunction, and it was Tara who stepped up into command of the operation with a masterful strategy that saved the Colonel's life, threw the pirates off Sadalbari, and crushed an entire company of the pirates, even capturing one of their DropShips.[2] Sadalbari earned her the nickname, the "Angel of Sadalbari", and after that, there was rarely a month during the next two years without an article covering her current post and tastes in fashion.[6][2] Her fame drove demand for her Hatchetman variant of choice, the 5D, leading to it being returned to regular production.[7]

Prefect of Prefecture III[edit]

She acceptanced the post as Legate to Northwind in 3129 but declined the post of Prefect of Prefecture III in favor of the more experienced Duchess Katana Tormark.[2]

She was finally promoted to Prefect of Prefecture III when Tormark renounced the Republic and founded the Dragon's Fury. Before switching allegiances to the Combine, Campbell had valued Tormark so much that her treason would even haunt the new Prefect in her dreams.

After the passing of her parents, she became the Countess of Northwind as well as the Commanding Officer of the Northwind Highlanders.

Fortress Republic[edit]

Once Fortress Republic was enacted, Tara took whatever forces she had that were outside of the Fortress walls and arrived within the territory of the Remnant on Callison. The Highlanders along with Kristoff Erbe's Knights have built a strong force for the defense of the values of the Republic.[5]

Northwind[edit]

Elements of the First Kearny would end up engaged in fighting an invasion of Northwind itself, by Steel Wolves, a Clan-oriented splinter group, twice. Over the course of nine months (first in June 3133 and in February 3134) with minimum resources, Campbell and the elements of the regiment would end up fighting off two takeover attempts by the Steel Wolves and its uncanny leader, Galaxy Commander Anastasia Kerensky. Despite betrayal of Paladin Ezekiel Crow, the Highlanders succeeded, mounted what amounts to a counterattack to stop Steel Wolves from its next destination, which would soon be found out as Terra. The First Kearny with the rest of the available Northwind Highlanders Tara Campbell could muster, end up fighting off Steel Wolves with the Tenth Principes Guards on the fields of former Nation-State of Russia in April.

As the CO of the Highlanders, she has led the defense of her homeworld twice against Anastasia Kerensky and her Steel Wolves.

Terra[edit]

She participated also in the defense of Terra from Anastasia Kerensky and her Steel Wolves.

After Terra[edit]

She has defended multiple Republic planets from multiple threats that wish to tear apart the very fabric of what she believes in from the cockpit of her trusted Hatchetman.

Skye[edit]

The regiment would continue to be stretched for a few more months until they would be requested to muster on Skye, where they would face threat of invasion by Clan Jade Falcon. They would need to dig in and help build clever strategies as they faced elements of multiple Galaxies of troops after the Clan had captured a number of Prefecture VIII and IX worlds. The regiment, along with other coalition forces (including Steel Wolves) would manage to repulse the Falcon's first invasion in August 3134, however they would be forced to withdraw from Skye failing to fight off the second attack.[8][9]

Republic Remnant[edit]

Tara Campbell was nearly captured by forces from Clan Jade Falcon on Galatea in 3144; the Duchess had been cut off by Jade Falcon Elementals on two flanks during a particularly brutal battle outside Galatean City when a scratch battalion of Republic Remnant forces consisting largely of battle armor and JI2A1 Attack APCs surprised the Jade Falcons. Striking from the Falcons' rear, the Republic Remnant forces killed a number of Elementals using tandem-charge missiles—one noted gunner on a JI2A1, Sergeant Bryan Charles accounted for three Falcon Elementals single-handedly—before launching a savage battlesuit-to-battlesuit clash that gave the Duchess time to escape.[10]

Battle of Northwind[edit]

Once on Terra, the 21 November 3150, Tara went to Stone's office. She had received news about a Capellan invasion on Northwind. Previously, she had talked on callison with the Knight and Highlander Maeve Stirling, which had been sent with a company to help. However, she informed Stone than her highlanders will return home to defend it. When Stone argued than the republic cannot send more troops, Tara informed him than his people won't abandon his homeworld, so than they will go, with or without her, before departing.[11]

Eventually, Stone not only left the Highlanders to depart unmolested: also sent her two more regiments of reinforcements. The arrival of the joint force changed the outcome of the battle, brunted the Capellan attack against the Castle, Northwind's main base, and forced the invaders to broke his attack. The 27 November, Tara joined with the Highlanders' officers, and also talked with an officer of the Twelfth Hastatis which had lost a friend in the fight, giving him her condolences.[12]

The 5 December, she led a officers meeting, deciding how to deal with the arrival of the Hikage from the Combine.[13]

After defeating the invaders, she led the bulk of the highlanders back to Terra. there, the 27 December, she met with Stone again, thanking him for his assistance. He asked her to make a second Covenant with Northwind: if the Republic fell, the Highlander ms had to promise to always remember them. She accepted.[14]

Battle of Terra[edit]

Bondsman to Clan Wolf[edit]

As a way to further weaken the power base of the Republic, Khan Alaric would land on the country of Scotland to challenge Countess Tara Campbell of the famed Northwind Highlanders. She accepted Alaric’s challenge where she would fight the vaunted Wolf Khan in combat. During this battle, she did what no one has ever done before: bested the Khan of Clan Wolf. Despite her victory however, Khan Ward had a trump card in his hand. Refusing to go down without a fight, he would send a coded message to Clan Wolf forces to move in on Tara and her Highlanders. Alaric would later tell her that the only way to save her people would be to stand down and become a bondsman, that way the Highlanders would not be destroyed and saved as a result. Although reluctant to do so both due her own viewpoints on the Clans and her comrades begging her not to surrender, Campbell tearfully and painfully accepted the surrender. During her time with Clan Wolf, Tara struggled with the idea of being a Clan Warrior along with her own heritage.[15]

Tactician to Clan Jade Falcon[edit]

To further begin the healing process between Clan Wolf and Clan Jade Falcon, Tara would be given to the newly declared Khan, Stephanie Chistu. This was done as a way to help rebuild the respect and honor that Malvina has tainted among the Falcons. Given her roots to the Star League through the Highlanders and in addition to the Falcon’s heritage of Elizabeth Hazen’s Black Watch ancestry, Tara would be selected to join the Jade Falcons. Tara would make a vow to become the Falcon’s best tactician as a way for them not to turn into the monsters they were when they had the Mongol Doctrine. With Tara's vow to help redeem the Jade Falcons and heal the wounds of honor, she would go from “Tara Wolf” to “Tara Jade Falcon”.[16]

Tara was replaced as Countess of Northwind by her younger sister, Arabell Campbell-Stewart, which took the first steps to keep Northwind safe and independent.[3]

BattleMechs[edit]

Tara Campbell piloted a Hatchetman 5D, nicknamed Dòrlach,[7] most of her career, until she was forced to self-destruct it in the second battle of Skye against Clan Jade Falcon. Later, she piloted an Atlas borrowed from Paladin David McKinnon.[17] After returning to Terra, she received a new Hatchetman, which she used in the battle of Terra against Senate forces.[18] Currently she pilots a BLR-4S-A BattleMaster which she has named Caber.[19] During the ilClan Trial, she would pilot a Sun Cobra with Clan Wolf.[20]

Gallery[edit]

  • Tara Campbell from BT:Legends

  • Campbell from Dark Age: RotS

  • Campbell's Hatchetman Dòrlach from BT:Legends

  • Tara leading her Highlanders' charge at Dumfries

References[edit]

  1. ↑ Era Report: 3145, p. 86: "Tara Campbell profile"
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 Dark Age: Republic of the Sphere, p. 36: "Tara Campbell"
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Shrapnel Issue 11, "Unit Digest: First Kearny Highlanders"
  4. ↑ A Silence in the Heavens, ch. 3
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Era Report: 3145
  6. ↑ A Silence in the Heavens, p. 45
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Shrapnel Issue 7: "HCT-5D Hatchetman"
  8. ↑ Era Digest: Dark Age, pp. 8–10, 15–16: Brief highlights of the combat for Northwind, Terra, and Skye noted
  9. ↑ Field Manual: 3145, pp. 14–15: Descend - Campbell and Highlanders effort noted and more details of the Battle for Skye
  10. ↑ Technical Readout: 3145 Federated Suns, p. 14: "J12A1 Attack APC"
  11. ↑ Grey Watch Protocol ch. 7
  12. ↑ Grey Watch Protocol ch. 18
  13. ↑ Paid in Blood ch. 2
  14. ↑ Paid in Blood epilogue
  15. ↑ Hour of the Wolf, pp. 301–304
  16. ↑ Hour of the Wolf, pp. 552–553
  17. ↑ Blood of the Isle, p. 261
  18. ↑ Sword of Sedition, p. 296
  19. ↑ MechWarrior: Dark Age, Dossiers And Pilot Cards, p. 273
  20. ↑ Hour of the Wolf, p. 414

Bibliography[edit]

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