Editing Phobos (Individual Trojan-class DropShip)

{{otheruses|the refitted freighter DropShip|the other uses|Phobos}}

{{infoBoxIndividualSpacecraft
| image      = 
| vesselname = Phobos
| prevname   = 
| type       = [[DropShip]]
| class      = [[Trojan]]
| prevclass  = [[Danais (DropShip class)|Danais]]
| servicesince = 
| serviceuntil = 
}}
The '''''Phobos''''' was a ''[[Trojan]]''-class [[DropShip]] best known for its association with the famous [[Gray Death Legion]].{{ref label|ship|See Notes}}

==History==
''Phobos'' was the "Number Two"<ref>''Mercenary's Star'', p. 17</ref> [[DropShip]] (with its sister ship ''[[Deimos (Individual DropShip)|Deimos]]'' being "DropShip One"<ref>''Mercenary's Star'', p. 238</ref>) of [[Renfred Tor]]'s free trader [[JumpShip]] ''[[Invidious (Individual Merchant-class JumpShip)|Invidious]]''. Originally an unarmed freighter,<ref>''Mercenary's Star'', p. 31</ref> implicitly a ''[[Danais (DropShip class)|Danais]]''-class vessel,<ref>because the ''Danais'' is the base merchant vessel class from which the ''Trojan'' derives</ref> the ''Phobos'' had been modified to ''Trojan''-class specifications by [[3025]].<ref>''Gray Death Legion'', p. 27</ref><ref>the ''Trojan''-class write-up in ''Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents'' (p. 153) not only uses the configuration of the ''Phobos'' during their blockade running attempt as a template for the ''Trojan'' class, but also specifically mentions the ''Phobos'' as an example for such vessels posing as ''Union''s</ref>

Carrying the newly formed Gray Death Legion to its first mission, the ''Phobos'' attempted to run the blockade of [[Verthandi]] on 25 October 3025 posing as the ''[[Union (DropShip class)|Union]]''-class DropShip ''Li Tao'',<ref>''Mercenary's Star'', pp. 45–64; ''Gray Death Legion'', p. 27</ref> after having been repainted with a [[Draconis Combine]] crest and false (painted) shadows of a ''Union'''s typical weapons.<ref>''Mercenary's Star'', pp. 31, 50–51</ref> The ruse failed and the ''Phobos'' came under fire from [[aerospace fighter]]s and the DropShip ''[[Xao (Individual Leopard-class DropShip)|Xao]]'' during the breakthrough, eventually managing a rough landing on the shore of the Azure Sea Basin on Verthandi some 200 km from their intended landing zone.<ref name=GDLSPp26>''Gray Death Legion'', pp. 26–27: "Rendezvous at Verthandi"</ref> It was subsequently rigged to float and moved 500 km across the Azure Sea using an improvised steam drive to hide in a fjord before enemy troops could destroy or salvage the hulk.

At the conclusion of the Verthandi campaign the ''Phobos'' was patched up for spaceflight again<ref>''Mercenary's Star'', p. 342</ref> despite the severe damage it had sustained.

The JumpShip ''Invidious'' and its two DropShips ("merchanters converted to troop transports," apparently referring to the ''Deimos'' and the ''Phobos'') had become an integral part of the Gray Death Legion's Transport Division by the time of the [[Sirius]] campaign in [[3027]],<ref>''The Price of Glory'', pp. 17–18</ref> but at the same time the Gray Death Legion already employed another DropShip named ''Phobos'' that is consistently described as a ''Union''-class vessel<ref>''The Price of Glory'', pp. 29, 60, 78</ref> and at one point was observed to fire [[autocannons]],<ref>''The Price of Glory'', p. 89</ref> weapons the original ''Phobos'' never had installed but which are standard on a real ''Union''. Only the ''Union''-class vessel is subsequently mentioned with the Gray Death Legion.<ref>''Mercenary's Handbook 3055'', p. 57; ''The Dying Time'', p. 73; and ''Field Manual: Mercenaries'', p. 56 describes the Gray Death Legion to possess five ''Union'' class DropShips and a number of aerodyne DropShips, but no other spheroid designs, without giving names.</ref> The ultimate fate of the original ''Phobos'' is unknown.

==Notes==
*{{note|ship}} It should not be confused with the ''Union''-class [[Phobos (Individual Union-class DropShip)|vessel bearing the same name]] that apparently entered service with the Gray Death Legion around [[3026]]–[[3027]].
* The ''Phobos'' was first mentioned by name in the 1987 novel ''[[Mercenary's Star (novel)|Mercenary's Star]]'', although it may possibly have been the unnamed DropShip from the previous novel, ''[[Decision at Thunder Rift]]''. It was described as a modified 3200 ton spheroid freighter DropShip that could be mistaken for a slightly bigger and substantially better armed ''Union''-class DropShip (which it pretended to be). The exact class was not stated. A scenario published in ''[[Gray Death Legion (scenario pack)|Gray Death Legion]]'', published 1986 and apparently written concurrently with the novels by the same author, recreates the attempt to run the blockade of [[Verthandi]] and provides game stats for the ''Phobos'' under [[AeroTech]] rules including its weapons layout, again without stating its class. The 2008 sourcebook ''[[Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents]]'' finally introduced the ''[[Danais (DropShip class)|Danais]]''/''[[Trojan]]''-class DropShip, using the ''Phobos''' stats from the scenario as a template for the ''Trojan'' class and explicitly mentioning the ''Phobos'' in the write-up.
* The ''Invidious'' and both of its DropShips were boarded by pirates from the [[Oberon Confederation]] while recharging en route to [[Trellwan]] in [[3024]], who installed weapons on both DropShips.<ref>''Decision at Thunder Rift'', p. 115: Lori Kalmar recalls personally installing weapons on both of the ''Invidious''' DropShips, not just the one Renfred Tor came in with</ref> Although not stated, it seems likely that the ''Phobos'' was converted into a ''Trojan'' in this incident.

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Decision at Thunder Rift]]''
* ''[[The Dying Time]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Mercenaries]]''
* ''[[Gray Death Legion (scenario pack)|Gray Death Legion]]''
* ''[[Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents]]''
* ''[[Mercenary's Handbook 3055]]''
* ''[[Mercenary's Star (novel)|Mercenary's Star]]'' (novel)
* ''[[The Price of Glory]]''

[[Category: Individual DropShips]]
[[Category: Individual Trojan-class DropShips]]
[[Category: Individual Danais-class DropShips]]