Editing Clan Diamond Shark

Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.

The edit can be undone. Please check the comparison below to verify that this is what you want to do, and then save the changes below to finish undoing the edit.

Latest revision Your text
Line 105: Line 105:
 
The Diamond Shark warriors lost most of their forces and much of their pride after the stinging defeat of Tukayyid, with both Alpha and Omega Galaxies seriously depleted and an entire Cluster of Omega Galaxy wiped out.  The disaster was compounded when the Ghost Bear Clan retook Nyserta shortly after Tukayyid, further gutting Omega Galaxy as a fighting force.  Ejected from the Inner Sphere, the Clan retreated back to the Homeworlds in order to defend their extensive holdings against any other Clans attempting to exploit their weakness.  Such was the nature of the Diamond Sharks that Khan Hawker began allowing [[freeborn]] warriors into front-line units.<ref>''Invading Clans'', p. 141</ref><ref name=FMWC62>''Field Manual: Warden Clans'', p. 62</ref>
 
The Diamond Shark warriors lost most of their forces and much of their pride after the stinging defeat of Tukayyid, with both Alpha and Omega Galaxies seriously depleted and an entire Cluster of Omega Galaxy wiped out.  The disaster was compounded when the Ghost Bear Clan retook Nyserta shortly after Tukayyid, further gutting Omega Galaxy as a fighting force.  Ejected from the Inner Sphere, the Clan retreated back to the Homeworlds in order to defend their extensive holdings against any other Clans attempting to exploit their weakness.  Such was the nature of the Diamond Sharks that Khan Hawker began allowing [[freeborn]] warriors into front-line units.<ref>''Invading Clans'', p. 141</ref><ref name=FMWC62>''Field Manual: Warden Clans'', p. 62</ref>
  
With the ''touman'' understrength and political upheaval amongst the ranks, the Diamond Shark Khans were forced to give effective control of the Clan to [[Angus Labov]], a retired warrior and [[trueborn]] leader of the merchant council, with the mandate to rebuild the Diamond Shark military at any cost.  Under Labov's leadership, the merchant caste flooded into the Clan [[Occupation Zone]]s and stepped up their efforts in Clan space, driving hard bargains to gain major concessions (or driving the competition out of the market with attacks on other Clans' merchant lanes).  Labov activated the Diamond Sharks' reserve system for the first time and instituted the "Minus-One Testing" program to quickly fill in gaps in the Diamond Shark ''touman''.  Thanks to the miracles Angus Labov worked — and [[Refusal War|distractions elsewhere in Clan society]] — the Diamond Sharks were able to quickly regain much of their strength.<ref name=FMWC62/><ref name=FMWC63/><ref name=FMWC64/>
+
With the ''touman'' understrength and political upheaval amongst the ranks, the Diamond Shark Khans were forced to give effective control of the Clan to [[Angus Labov]], a retired warrior and [[trueborn]] leader of the merchant council, with the mandate to rebuild the Diamond Shark military at any cost.  Under Labov's leadership, the merchant caste flooded into the Clan [[Occupation Zone]]s and stepped up their efforts in Clan space, driving hard bargains to gain major concessions (or driving the competition out of the market with attacks on other Clans' merchant lanes).  Labov activated the Diamond Sharks' reserve system for the first time and instituted the 'Minus-One Testing' program to quickly fill in gaps in the Diamond Shark ''touman''.  Thanks to the miracles Angus Labov worked — and [[Refusal War|distractions elsewhere in Clan society]] — the Diamond Sharks were able to quickly regain much of their strength.<ref name=FMWC62/><ref name=FMWC63/><ref name=FMWC64/>
  
 
Not everyone was keen to these developments though, driven as they were by a lowly merchant.  Star Colonel [[Jeremy Hawker]], a subordinate in Khan Hawker's Alpha Galaxy, challenged Angus Labov to a [[Trial of Grievance]] over the power he had accumulated.  Labov agreed to the Trial and, using a ''[[Glass Spider]]'' loaned to him by saKhan Sennet, defeated his opponent in under two minutes.  Thanks to a quirk in the Sharks' military reserve system, Labov's victory allowed him to return to active duty immediately with the same rank as his defeated opponent.  Star Colonel Labov, with the help of saKhan Sennet, was able to assume one of the positions which opened up following the loss of many Crusader warriors in the [[Harvest Trial]]s, though it would take a couple more challenges before he finally quieted any further opposition and cemented his standing in the Clan.<ref name=FMWC62/><ref name=FMWC63/>
 
Not everyone was keen to these developments though, driven as they were by a lowly merchant.  Star Colonel [[Jeremy Hawker]], a subordinate in Khan Hawker's Alpha Galaxy, challenged Angus Labov to a [[Trial of Grievance]] over the power he had accumulated.  Labov agreed to the Trial and, using a ''[[Glass Spider]]'' loaned to him by saKhan Sennet, defeated his opponent in under two minutes.  Thanks to a quirk in the Sharks' military reserve system, Labov's victory allowed him to return to active duty immediately with the same rank as his defeated opponent.  Star Colonel Labov, with the help of saKhan Sennet, was able to assume one of the positions which opened up following the loss of many Crusader warriors in the [[Harvest Trial]]s, though it would take a couple more challenges before he finally quieted any further opposition and cemented his standing in the Clan.<ref name=FMWC62/><ref name=FMWC63/>
Line 151: Line 151:
 
The Clan also believed highly in the value of accurate intelligence before starting a military endeavor, though not to the exclusion of making a quick strike when necessary.  In addition to their role of controlling the Clan's logistics corps, the merchant caste was also responsible for gathering intelligence via the Chatterweb and other means.  So good were the merchants in this role they even outstripped the [[Clan Star Adder|Star Adders]] and their dedicated intelligence service in acquiring accurate information.<ref name=FMWC63/>  This intelligence was necessary for the Diamond Sharks' sharp bidding practices against other Clans.  The Diamond Sharks became masters of making the [[cutdown]] appear more or less than it truly was, forcing an opponent to bid too few forces to take the objective or give it up to the Diamond Sharks.  They also practiced the "dive bid", making an initial offer well above the cutdown then dropping it to just below.  This gave them a wide margin to work with should they win while narrowing their opponent's if they tried going lower.<ref name=FMWC66/>
 
The Clan also believed highly in the value of accurate intelligence before starting a military endeavor, though not to the exclusion of making a quick strike when necessary.  In addition to their role of controlling the Clan's logistics corps, the merchant caste was also responsible for gathering intelligence via the Chatterweb and other means.  So good were the merchants in this role they even outstripped the [[Clan Star Adder|Star Adders]] and their dedicated intelligence service in acquiring accurate information.<ref name=FMWC63/>  This intelligence was necessary for the Diamond Sharks' sharp bidding practices against other Clans.  The Diamond Sharks became masters of making the [[cutdown]] appear more or less than it truly was, forcing an opponent to bid too few forces to take the objective or give it up to the Diamond Sharks.  They also practiced the "dive bid", making an initial offer well above the cutdown then dropping it to just below.  This gave them a wide margin to work with should they win while narrowing their opponent's if they tried going lower.<ref name=FMWC66/>
  
Due to the equality between the castes, the Diamond Sharks practice a unique reserve system for replacing military losses.  Rather than remain warriors until death, Diamond Shark warriors could voluntarily "retire" to a lower caste — almost always the merchant caste — with very little loss of honor.  In fact if the warrior had earned their [[Bloodname]] and so secured their genetic legacy there was no loss of honor at all.  This was because these "warrior-traders" remained part of the Clan's reserve system and could be recalled at any time to service.  Bloodnamed warriors who fought an annual [[Trial of Position]] were allowed to remain part of the active reserves while the rest were considered inactive.  For this reason the Clan had very few ''[[solahma]]'' units, composed of warriors too stubborn to leave or disgraced in some way and seeking honor in death.<ref name=FMWC63/><ref name=FMWC64>''Field Manual: Warden Clans'', p. 64</ref>
+
Due to the equality between the castes, the Diamond Sharks practice a unique reserve system for replacing military losses.  Rather than remain warriors until death, Diamond Shark warriors could voluntarily "retire" to a lower caste — almost always the merchant caste — with very little loss of honor.  In fact if the warrior had earned their [[Bloodname]] and so secured their genetic legacy there was no loss of honor at all.  This was because these 'warrior-traders' remained part of the Clan's reserve system and could be recalled at any time to service.  Bloodnamed warriors who fought an annual [[Trial of Position]] were allowed to remain part of the active reserves while the rest were considered inactive.  For this reason the Clan had very few ''[[solahma]]'' units, composed of warriors too stubborn to leave or disgraced in some way and seeking honor in death.<ref name=FMWC63/><ref name=FMWC64>''Field Manual: Warden Clans'', p. 64</ref>
  
This reserve system was used for the first time after Tukayyid, but even so rebuilding their shattered forces proved to be too slow, and so the "Minus-One Testing" program was instituted.  An active reservist could immediately fill an open position within a second-line or garrison unit by willingly taking a demotion to one rank below what they'd earned: if in their last Trial of Position they had earned the rank of [[Star Colonel]] they could instead resume active duty as a [[Star Captain]].  Those on inactive duty would fight a new Trial of Position with the same terms of enlistment, and both would be allowed to advance back to their former positions through the normal methods once they were warriors again.  This swelled the ranks of those units responsible for defending the Diamond Sharks' vast holdings while the best warriors were able to quickly fight their way back to front-line units.  Additionally, in the rare case of a reservist being challenged to a [[Trial]] by an active duty warrior and winning, they were allowed to assume that warrior's rank and position.<ref name=FMWC64/>
+
This reserve system was used for the first time after Tukayyid, but even so rebuilding their shattered forces proved to be too slow, and so the 'Minus-One Testing' program was instituted.  An active reservist could immediately fill an open position within a second-line or garrison unit by willingly taking a demotion to one rank below what they'd earned: if in their last Trial of Position they had earned the rank of [[Star Colonel]] they could instead resume active duty as a [[Star Captain]].  Those on inactive duty would fight a new Trial of Position with the same terms of enlistment, and both would be allowed to advance back to their former positions through the normal methods once they were warriors again.  This swelled the ranks of those units responsible for defending the Diamond Sharks' vast holdings while the best warriors were able to quickly fight their way back to front-line units.  Additionally, in the rare case of a reservist being challenged to a [[Trial]] by an active duty warrior and winning, they were allowed to assume that warrior's rank and position.<ref name=FMWC64/>
  
 
==Inter-Clan Relations==
 
==Inter-Clan Relations==

Please note that all contributions to BattleTechWiki are considered to be released under the GNU FDL 1.2 (see BattleTechWiki:Copyrights for details). If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly and redistributed at will, then do not submit it here.
You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource. Do not submit copyrighted work without permission!

To edit this page, please answer the question that appears below (more info):

Cancel Editing help (opens in new window)

Advanced templates:

Editing: {{Merge}}   {{Moratorium}}   {{Otheruses| | | }}

Notices: {{NoEdit}}   {{Sign}}   {{Unsigned|name}}   {{Welcome}}

Administration: {{Essay}}   {{Policy}}   {{Procedure}}

This page is a member of 2 hidden categories: