Editing Kutkh

{{infoBoxIndividualSpacecraft
| image      = 
| vesselname = Kutkh
| prevname   = Swift Strike
| type       = [[WarShip]]
| class      = [[Fredasa (WarShip class)|Fredasa]]
| prevclass  = 
| servicesince = 
| serviceuntil = 
}}
==History==
In [[3061]], the ''Fredasa''-class corvette CDS '''''Swift Strike''''' was a [[WarShip]] in service with the [[Clan Diamond Shark Touman|Clan Diamond Shark ''touman'']].<ref name="FM:WCp65">''Field Manual: Warden Clans'', p. 65: "Naval Assets"</ref>

===The Wars of Reaving===
''Swift Strike'' was serving as a part of the [[Black Diamond Naval Star (Clan Diamond Shark)|Diamond Shark Black Diamond naval star]] from at least [[3067]] to [[3070]], and on the 20th of September of that year was in orbit above [[Strana Mechty]] with the other ships of the Black Diamond naval star when the new [[Clan Steel Viper]] flagship, the ''[[Leviathan Prime]]''-class battleship [[Perigard Zalman (Individual Leviathan-class WarShip)|CSV ''Perigard Zalman'']] made its appearance. The Steel Vipers immediately attacked the Diamond Sharks, with the ''Perigard Zalman'' quickly destroying the ''[[Carrack]]''-class transport [[Bloodletter|CDS ''Bloodletter'']] and the ''[[Lola III]]''-class destroyer [[Predator (Individual Lola III-class WarShip)|CDS ''Predator'']] in the first pass alone. As the Diamond Shark civilian vessels frantically jumped out of the Strana Mechty system the ''Perigard Zalman'' continued its attack, destroying two more Diamond Shark WarShips before the ''Swift Strike'' managed to jump out of the system.<ref name="WORp61">''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 61: "Closing the Net"</ref>

The ''Swift Strike'' returned to the Clan Homeworlds in late August [[3073]], alongside the ''[[Potemkin]]''-class carrier [[Titanic|CDS ''Titanic'']]. The ''Titanic'' and the ''Swift Strike'' were transporting [[DropShip]]s full of supplies and materials for [[Clan Blood Spirit]] from the Diamond Shark holding of [[Nyserta]] in the [[Inner Sphere]] to the Blood Spirit enclaves on [[York (Clan System)|York]]. The goods transported by the ''Swift Strike'' and the ''Titanic'' represented one of the last bargained contracts between the Blood Spirits and the Diamond Sharks, and also included a gift from the Diamond Sharks: several [[Star]]s of ''[[Crimson Hawk]]'' [[BattleMech]]s, based upon a design taken from the Blood Spirits in a [[Trial of Possession]] and subsequently modified and improved by the Diamond Sharks.<ref name="WORp137">''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 137: "Titanic Voyage of the Swift Strike"</ref>

When the ''Swift Strike'' and the ''Titanic'' arrived at York they found the system under a blockade imposed by [[Clan Star Adder]]; despite having been subject to a bombardment in [[3072]] that was sufficiently extensive to have altered the ecology of the world, York was still technically a Blood Spirit holding, and the Star Adders were blockading the system in the hope that they could intercept the remaining Blood Spirit warriors still at large. The Diamond Shark vessels requested passage to the planet, citing the arrangements which had been bargained out between the two Clans, but [[Star Admiral]] [[Fortunato Gena]] of the Star Adders refused to allow either Diamond Shark vessel to pass.<ref name="WORp137"/>

The decision by Admiral Gena forced the Diamond Sharks to try and run the blockade in order to make good on their agreement to deliver to the Blood Spirits; the Star Adders responded by engaging the ''Swift Strike'' and the ''Titanic'' with two of their own vessels, the ''[[Nightlord]]''-class battleship [[Absolute Truth|CSA ''Absolute Truth'']] and the ''[[Sovetskii Soyuz (WarShip class)|Sovetskii Soyuz]]''-class heavy cruiser [[Nygaard|CSA ''Nygaard'']]. The heavier Star Adder vessels first maneuvered to block the path of the Diamond Shark vessels to the planet, and then when the ''Titanic'' refused to deviate from its course, launched broadsides against the ''Titanic''. The two broadsides were enough to destroy the ''Titanic'', breaking the ''Fredasa'' along its jump core. The ''Titanic''&#39;s DropShips scattered and attempted to make it past the Star Adder vessels, but only half of them actually made it down to the planetary surface.<ref name="WORp137"/>

As the ''Titanic'' was being destroyed, the ''Swift Strike'' attempted to flee the system; the ''Absolute Truth'' hit the ''Swift Strike'' with long-range fire, piercing the aft bays and damaging the main drive, with a quarter of the ship decompressing and venting into space. The commanding officer of the ''Swift Strike'', Star Admiral Nagasawa, pushed his ship through a high-G turn that managed to break it away from the pursuing Star Adder WarShips, but the strain of the maneuver inflicted damage on the aged K-F drive.<ref name="WORp137"/>

The ''Swift Strike'' managed to jump to the [[Albion (Clan System)|Albion]] system, where it remained for ten days before jumping out again; however, the second jump was a misjump that saw the ''Swift Strike'' arrive in an unknown system. The damage inflicted on the ''Swift Strike'' at York combined with the misjump resulted in the ship suffering from a partial loss of power, a damaged K-F drive, a malfunctioning jump sail and damaged navigational sensors. The system the ''Swift Strike'' found itself in possessed just a single planet which was barely capable of sustaining life, although the crew of the ''Swift Strike'' determined that it did possess some tainted water and small lifeforms that could, with suitable purification, give the crew at least some chance for survival.<ref name="WORp137"/>

With the ''Swift Strike'' powerless, malfunctioning and adrift, the crew spent three years subsisting on the meager sustenance from the planet while they gutted the damaged main drive and used the material obtained to repair the reactor and K-F core; by the time the repairs were complete, over half the crew had died. The ''Swift Strike'' then spent six months working through a careful search pattern of the nearby star systems until they finally picked up faint, centuries-old radio signals originating from the [[Chainelane Isles]]. Through strict attention to duty and careful operations the ''Swift Strike'' was able to slowly navigate back to the [[Inner Sphere]], and arrived at the Diamond Shark naval base in the [[Chainelane Isles]] on the 3rd of November [[3077]].<ref name="WORp137"/>

===The Dark Age===
In or around [[3090]], the [[Raven Alliance]] found its need for a dedicated transport fleet of WarShips lessening, and Diamond Shark Khan Nagasawa saw an opportunity for a beneficial trade. In [[3091]], he proposed to [[Clan Snow Raven]] that four Diamond Shark WarShips be exchanged for four Snow Raven WarShips. This proved a contentious proposal for the warriors of the [[Clan Snow Raven Touman|Snow Raven ''touman'']], but ultimately the trade was agreed. The Diamond Sharks transferred four WarShips to the Snow Ravens—the ''[[Nightlord]]''-class battleship ''[[Terror of the Deep]]'', the ''[[Essex]]''-class destroyers ''[[Tracy]]'' and ''[[Architeuthis]]'' and the ''Swift Strike''—and in exchange received three ''Potemkins'' (the ''[[Epimetheus (Individual Potemkin-class WarShip)|Epimetheus]]'', ''[[Treachery]]'', and ''[[Wild Swan]]'') and the ''[[Volga]]''-class transport ''[[Scavenger (Individual Volga-class WarShip)|Scavenger]]''.<ref name="ER:3145p74">''Era Report: 3145'', pp. 74–76: "Alliance Naval Star"</ref><ref name="FM:3145p166">''Field Manual: 3145'', p. 166: "The Alliance Fleet"</ref><ref name="FR:Cp18">''Field Report: Clans'', pp. 18–19: "Fleet Assets"</ref>

The Raven Alliance renamed ''Swift Strike'' the '''''Kutkh''''', and she formed a part of the [[Alliance Naval Star (Raven Alliance)|Alliance Naval Star]] along with the other three newly-acquired WarShips, based out of the [[Dante (system)|Dante]] system. By [[3101]], the bulk of the Raven Alliance WarShip fleet had been mothballed, including the ''Kutkh'', and she would remain in mothballs for a generation. When [[Star Admiral]] [[Iqbal Lankenau]] was elected [[saKhan]] in [[3132]] his successor was Star Admiral [[Loretta Gilmour]]. Under Admiral Gilmour the Alliance Naval Star was a key part of the Raven Alliance defenses against the Draconis Combine and the [[Federated Suns]]; when the Raven Alliance began bringing their WarShip fleet out of mothballs the ''Kutkh'' and the ''Essex''-class ''[[Mulhacén]]'' returned to active service, bringing the Alliance Naval Star up to four active WarShips. The Alliance Naval Star then increased to five WarShips when the ''[[Whirlwind]]''-class destroyer ''[[William Adams (Individual Whirlwind-class WarShip)|William Adams]]'' was added to the Star, but the reintegration of the three mothballed ships with the Star didn't go well. The Raven Alliance responded by sending the Star to the spinward frontier of the Alliance for more than a year to conduct training exercises before returning them to active duty and assigning the Star to pirate-hunting missions.<ref name="ER:3145p74"/>

The ''Kutkh'' and the Alliance Naval Star actively pursued pirates throughout the spinward frontier of the alliance before vanishing mysteriously; after a sixteen-month absence the Star reappeared in the Dante system just in time for the launch of the Draconis Combine's invasion of the Federated Suns.<ref name="ER:3145p74"/>

==Notes==
* It was confirmed via a question in the "Ask The Writers" forum of the official [[Catalyst Game Labs]] forum that the ''Tracy'' had been renamed the ''Marshal Ney'':

{{quote|The Diamond Shark fleet (what survived from the Jihad) was turned into ArcShips or traded to the Snow Ravens for vessels to turn into ArcShips.

Terror of the Deep --> traded to CSR (Lynn McKenna)<br>
Nagasawa --> Talismantia (Spina Beta)<br>
Space Hunter --> Caleuche (Tiburon Gamma)<br>
Tracy --> traded to CSR (Marshal Ney)<br>
Architeuthis --> traded to CSR (Mulhacén)<br>
'''Swift Strike''' --> traded to CSR ('''Kutkh''')<br>
Devourer --> severely damaged and scuttled over Twycross circa 3085<br>
Kraken --> Fox ArcShip<br>
Poseidon --> Spina ArcShip<br>
Titanic --> Tiburon ArcShip<br>
Tsunami --> ilKhanate ArcShip|[http://bg.battletech.com/forums/ask-the-writers/diamond-sharksea-fox-fleet-post-3085/msg979617/#msg979617 Roosterboy, Catalyst Game Labs "Ask The Writer" Forum, 26 Oct 2014]}}

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Era Report: 3145]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: 3145]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Warden Clans]]''
* ''[[The Wars of Reaving]]''

[[Category: Individual WarShips]]
[[Category: Individual Corvettes]]
[[Category: Individual Fredasa-class WarShips]]