Alpha Galaxy (Clan Diamond Shark)
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The Deathstrike Galaxy was Clan Diamond Shark's premiere combat unit.
Contents
History
As a part of Operation Klondike, Alpha Galaxy's progenitor unit (then known as the Emerald Skate) landed on Babylon and took the primary rebel stronghold at Hammurabi. Since that time, Alpha Galaxy has participated in every one of the Diamond Shark's major offensives.[1]
Alpha Galaxy also spawned the only martial decoration awarded by Clan Diamond Shark, the Deathstrike, awarded to MechWarriors or fighter pilots who can claim to have taken down three times their machine's tonnage in a single battle, or an Elemental when a single Point] takes down fifty-tons of BattleMechs without assistance. [2] Winning the Deathstrike is a requirement for any warrior seeking the rank of Star Colonel within the Alpha Galaxy. [1]
Battle of Tukayyid
Alpha Galaxy's Nineteenth Heavy Cluster and Thirty-ninth Strike Cluster were among the five Clusters Khan Ian Hawker bid for the Battle of Tukayyid, assigned to take the primary target city of Kozice Prime. Unprepared for the Com Guard Eighth Army's tactics, both clusters found their advance though the Kozice Valley blocked by the veteran Thirty-first Division and the green Eighty-fifth Division, buying enough time for the 182nd Division to outflank and hold both clusters of Alpha in a brutal days-long stalemate. [3] [4] [5]
The stalemate dragged on so long that the defeat of Clan Smoke Jaguar freed up Com Guard reinforcements, and the Sharks totally unprepared when the fresh troops of the Fifth Army performed a combat drop behind their front lines, cutting off the clusters of both Alpha and Gamma Galaxy from their landing zones and supply depots. Unable to break the stranglehold from the encircled Com Guard forces, only the arrival and sacrifice of the reserve forces of the Freeborn Third Shark Regulars allowed the shattered Nineteenth and Thirty-ninth to withdraw in defeat. [3] [4] [5]
Post-Tukayyid Era
While all five clusters suffered horrific damage on Tukayyid, the Alpha Galaxy's Thirty-ninth Strike Cluster was the only one the Shark Khans chose to maintain.[5] With Clan Diamond Shark's ejection from the Inner Sphere, Alpha Galaxy returned to the Clan Homeworlds [6] [7]
Jihad Era
In 3070 the Galaxy was detected to Itabaiana and Tukayyid, the missing 39th Strike Cluster was stationed at this time in the Periphery region.[8]
By 3071 Alpha Galaxy had moved to Babylon for rest and refit. In January 3072 Delta and Epsilon Galaxy launched a devastating assault from the Coyote enclave on Babylon against the holdings of Clan Ice Hellion, Clan Diamond Shark and Clan Cloud Cobra. Alpha Galaxy put up the stiffest resistance, but eventually the Sharks were forced to withdraw, having lost many warriors - and the entire Thirty-ninth Strike Cluster.[9]
Inner Sphere intelligence services noted the absence of the Alpha Galaxy from Spheroid space for almost fifteen years, as well as noting their return and assignment to the Twycross system in the closing years of the Jihad, by which time Alpha had expanded through the addition of the Eighty-third Cruiser Cluster.[10]
Officers
| Rank | Name | Command | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commanding Officers of Alpga Galaxy | |||
| Khan | Ian Hawker | ||
| Khan | Barbara Sennet | 3061[1] | |
| Khan | Naomi Nagasawa | 3085[11] | |
Tactics
Since the days of Khan Damon Clarke, the clusters of Alpha Galaxy are exceptionally adept at locating and brutally exploiting an enemy's weak spot, emulating their Clan's namesake totem animal.[1]
Composition History
3052
3061
- Diamond Skate[1]
- 21st Combined Assault[1]
- 27th Cruiser Cluster[1]
- 39th Strike Cluster[1]
3079
- Diamond Skate[8]
- 21st Combined Assault[8]
- 27th Cruiser Cluster[8]
3085
- Diamond Skate[11]
- 21st Combined Assault[11]
- 27th Cruiser Cluster[11]
- Eighty-third Cruiser Cluster[11]
Notes
- The insignia of Alpha Galaxy is a diamond shark swimming out a diamond-shaped field of stars. Members of the Deathstrike Galaxy paint their 'Mechs dark blue with black trim. [1]
- Befitting its position at the peak of Shark's touman, the overwhelming majority of Alpha Galaxy's warriors are Bloodnamed. Excluding Ian Hawker forbidding them entirely from serving in the Galaxy during his time commanding it, Freeborn warriors made up only a small fraction of Deathstrike's ranks, but all were among the most elite non-Bloodnamed warriors in the Diamond Sharks.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Field Manual: Warden Clans, p. 68, "Alpha Galaxy Profile"
- ↑ Field Manual: Warden Clans, p. 67, "Clan Diamond Shark - Rituals and Decorations"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Tukayyid, p. 69-70, "Campaign: Clan Diamond Shark"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Invading Clans, p. 141, "Baptism of Fire"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Era Report: 3052, p. 63 "Factions - Clan Diamond Shark - 369th Striker Cluster (The Hammerheads)"
- ↑ Field Manual: Warden Clans, p. 162 "Clan Diamond Shark - Alpha (Deathstrike Galaxy)"
- ↑ Field Manual: Updates, p. 76 "Clan Diamond Shark - Deathstrike Galaxy (Alpha)"
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Field Report: Clans, p. 8, "Clan Diamond Shark - Alpha Galaxy"
- ↑ The Wars of Reaving, p. 94, "Death Rides Forth"
- ↑ Field Manual: 3085, p. 115, "Alpha Galaxy"
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Field Manual: 3085, p. 124, "Clan Military Forces - Deployment 3085"