Editing Alpha Galaxy (Clan Diamond Shark)

{{infoBoxMilitaryCommand
| image = [[File:Galaxy Alpha (Clan Diamond Shark) logo.png|191px|Insignia of Alpha Galaxy (Clan Diamond Shark)]]
| Designation = Alpha Galaxy
| Formed =
| Disbanded =
| Previous Designation =
| Nickname = Deathstrike
| Affiliation = [[Clan Diamond Shark]]
| Parent Command = [[Clan Diamond Shark Touman|Clan Diamond Shark ''touman'']]
| Sub-Command =
}}

The '''Deathstrike Galaxy''' was [[Clan Diamond Shark]]'s premiere combat unit.

==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.<ref name=FMWC68/>

Alpha Galaxy also spawned the only martial decoration awarded by Clan Diamond Shark, the [[Awards#Deathstrike|Deathstrike]], awarded to [[MechWarrior (pilot)|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.<ref name=FMWC-67>''Field Manual: Warden Clans'', p. 67, "Clan Diamond Shark - Rituals and Decorations"</ref> Winning the Deathstrike is a requirement for any warrior seeking the rank of [[Star Colonel]] within the Alpha Galaxy.<ref name=FMWC68/>

===Battle of Tukayyid===
Alpha Galaxy's [[19th Heavy (Clan Diamond Shark)|Nineteenth Heavy Cluster]] and [[39th Strike (Clan Diamond Shark)|Thirty-ninth Strike Cluster]] were among the five [[Cluster]]s [[Khan]] [[Ian Hawker]] bid for the [[Battle of Tukayyid (3052)|Battle of Tukayyid]], assigned to take the primary target city of Kozice Prime. Unprepared for the [[Com Guards|Com Guard]] [[8th Army (ComStar)|Eighth Army's]] tactics, both Clusters found their advance though the Kozice Valley blocked by the veteran [[31st Division (ComStar)|Thirty-first Division]] and the green [[85th Division (ComStar)|Eighty-fifth Division]], buying enough time for the [[182nd Division (ComStar)|182nd Division]] to outflank and hold both Clusters of Alpha in a brutal days-long stalemate.<ref name=T-69>''Tukayyid'', p. 69-70, "Campaign: Clan Diamond Shark"</ref><ref name=IC-141>''Invading Clans'', p. 141, "Baptism of Fire"</ref><ref name=ER3052-63>''Era Report: 3052'', p. 63 "Factions - Clan Diamond Shark - 369th Striker Cluster (The Hammerheads)"</ref>

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 [[5th Army (ComStar)|Fifth Army]] performed a combat drop behind their front lines, cutting off the Clusters of both Alpha and [[Gamma Galaxy (Clan Diamond Shark)|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]] [[3rd Shark Regulars (Clan Diamond Shark)|Third Shark Regulars]] allowed the shattered Nineteenth and Thirty-ninth to withdraw in defeat.<ref name=T-69/><ref name=IC-141/><ref name=ER3052-63/>

===Post-Tukayyid===
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.<ref name=ER3052-63/> With Clan Diamond Shark's ejection from the [[Inner Sphere]], Alpha Galaxy returned to the [[Clan Homeworlds]]<ref name=FMWC-162>''Field Manual: Warden Clans'', p. 162 "Clan Diamond Shark - Alpha (Deathstrike Galaxy)"</ref><ref name=FMU-76>''Field Manual: Updates'', p. 76 "Clan Diamond Shark - Deathstrike Galaxy (Alpha)"</ref>

===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.<ref name=FR:Cp8>''Field Report: Clans'', p. 8, "Clan Diamond Shark - Alpha Galaxy"</ref>

By [[3071]] Alpha Galaxy had moved to [[Babylon]] for rest and refit. In January [[3072]] Delta and [[Epsilon Galaxy (Clan Coyote)|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 [[39th Strike (Clan Diamond Shark)|Thirty-ninth Strike Cluster]].<ref name=WoR94>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 94, "Death Rides Forth"</ref>

[[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 [[83rd Cruiser (Clan Diamond Shark)|Eighty-third Cruiser Cluster]].<ref name="FM:3085p115">''Field Manual: 3085'', p. 115, "Alpha Galaxy"</ref>

==Officers==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! scope="col" width="220" style="background: #dedede;" | Rank
! scope="col" width="220" style="background: #dedede;" | Name
! scope="col" width="220" style="background: #dedede;" | Command
|-
| colspan="4" style="background: #efefef;" | '''Commanding Officers of Alpga Galaxy'''
|-
| [[Khan of Clan Diamond Shark|Khan]]||[[Ian Hawker]]||
|-
| [[Khan of Clan Diamond Shark|Khan]]||[[Barbara Sennet]]||[[3061]]<ref name=FMWC68>''Field Manual: Warden Clans'', p. 68, "Alpha Galaxy Profile"</ref>
|-
| [[Khan of Clan Diamond Shark|Khan]]||[[Naomi Nagasawa]]||[[3085]]<ref name=FM:3085p124>''Field Manual: 3085'', p. 124, "Clan Military Forces - Deployment 3085"</ref>
|}

===Other Officers===
* [[Star Colonel]] [[Xoc Hammond]], aide to the commander in [[3085]].<ref name=FM:3085p124/>

==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 [[Diamond Shark (species)|namesake totem animal]].<ref name=FMWC68/>

==Composition History==
===3052===
* [[Diamond Skate (Clan Diamond Shark)|Diamond Keshik]]
* [[19th Heavy (Clan Diamond Shark)|19th Heavy Cluster]]
* [[39th Strike (Clan Diamond Shark)|39th Strike Cluster]]
* [[203rd Attack Cluster]]

===3061===
* Diamond Skate<ref name=FMWC68/>
* [[21st Combined Assault (Clan Diamond Shark)|21st Combined Assault]]<ref name=FMWC68/>
* [[27th Cruiser (Clan Diamond Shark)|27th Cruiser Cluster]]<ref name=FMWC68/>
* 39th Strike Cluster<ref name=FMWC68/>

===3079===
* [[Diamond Skate (Clan Diamond Shark)|Diamond Skate]]<ref name=FR:Cp8/>
* 21st Combined Assault<ref name=FR:Cp8/>
* 27th Cruiser Cluster<ref name=FR:Cp8/>

===3085===
* Diamond Skate<ref name=FM:3085p124/>
* 21st Combined Assault<ref name=FM:3085p124/>
* 27th Cruiser Cluster<ref name=FM:3085p124/>
* [[83rd Cruiser (Clan Diamond Shark)|Eighty-third Cruiser Cluster]]<ref name=FM:3085p124/>

==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.<ref name=FMWC68/>
* Befitting its position at the peak of [[Clan Diamond Shark Touman|Clan Shark ''touman'']], the overwhelming majority of Alpha Galaxy's warriors are [[Bloodname]]d. 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.<ref name=FMWC68/>

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Field Manual: 3085]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Warden Clans]]''
* ''[[Field Report: Clans]]''
* ''[[Invading Clans (sourcebook)]]''
* ''[[Tukayyid (scenario pack)|Tukayyid]]''
* ''[[The Wars of Reaving]]''

[[Category:Clan Diamond Shark Commands|Alpha Galaxy (Clan Diamond Shark)]]