Editing Beowulf (Individual Congress-class WarShip)

{{otheruses|the WarShip|other uses|Beowulf}}
{{infoBoxIndividualVessel
| image      = Navalcamomerc.png
| vesselname = Beowulf
| prevname   =
| type       = [[WarShip]]
| class      = [[Congress]]
| prevclass  = 
}}
==History==
The ''[[Congress]]''-class frigate later known as the '''''Beowulf''''' was a [[Star League Defense Force]] [[WarShip]] which survived the [[Amaris Civil War]] and followed [[General]] [[Aleksandr Kerensky]] on the [[Operation EXODUS]]. The ''Beowulf'' also survived the [[Pentagon Civil War]], becoming a part of the ''[[Clan Widowmaker Touman|touman]]'' of [[Clan Widowmaker]]. Following the [[Trial of Absorption|Absorption]] of Clan Widowmaker by [[Clan Wolf]] the ''Beowulf'' and a number of other WarShips were placed in mothballs.<ref name="AT2R22">''AeroTech 2 Revised Edition'', Color Plate 3</ref>

The ''Beowulf'' remained in mothballs until [[Clan]] politicking led to the formation of [[Wolf's Dragoons]], raised to perform a detailed reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering mission in the [[Inner Sphere]] in advance of a planned invasion. Clan Wolf equipped Wolf's Dragoons with the ''Beowulf'' and a number of other WarShips in the belief that large mercenary units operating in the Inner sphere were likely to be equipped with WarShips, deploying the ''Beowulf'' as the WDWS ''Beowulf''; the ''Beowulf'' kept her original Widowmaker color scheme, which fortuitously matched the Wolf's Dragoons regimental color scheme.<ref name="AT2R22"/>

Wolf's Dragoons swiftly learned that WarShips were effectively extinct in the Inner Sphere, at least in the armed forces of the [[Great Houses]], and left the ''Beowulf'' in mothballs in the [[Periphery]] until after [[Operation Revival]], the Clan Invasion of the Inner Sphere. In [[3053]] the decision was made to retrieve the ''Beowulf'' and the other WarShips from the Bristol Cache in the Periphery, and a small task force under the command of [[Colonel]] [[Mackenzie Wolf]], son of [[Jaime Wolf]], was assigned to the recovery mission.<ref>''Wolf Pack'', pp. 95–96</ref> The task force discovered when they arrived at the cache that brigands or looters had discovered the ''Beowulf'' and the other vessels and were attempting to loot the ships, and responded to the Dragoon claim to the cache by firing on the task force. Several boarding parties were deployed to reclaim the vessels,<ref>''Wolf Pack'', pp. 116–118</ref> but Mackenzie Wolf was killed during the operation to clear the ''[[Aegis]]''-class heavy cruiser [[Alexander (Individual Aegis-class WarShip)|WDWS ''Alexander'']].<ref>''Wolf Pack'', pp. 125–127</ref> 

The Dragoons subsequently reactivated the ''Beowulf'' and redeployed her to their holding on [[Outreach]], where she formed a part of the Dragoon Naval Command, serving alongside the WDWS ''Alexander'', the ''[[Sovetskii Soyuz]]''-class heavy cruiser [[Athena (Individual Sovetskii Soyuz-class WarShip)|WDWS ''Athena'']], the ''[[Vincent (WarShip class)|Vincent Mk. 42]]''-class corvette [[Mars (Individual Vincent-class WarShip)|WDWS ''Mars'']] and the ''[[Lola III]]''-class destroyers [[Darius (Individual Lola III-class WarShip)|WDWS ''Darius'']] and [[Nelson (Individual Lola III-class WarShip)|WDWS ''Nelson'']].<ref name="FM:Mrp113">''Field Manual: Mercenaries, Revised'', p. 113: "Dragoons Naval Command"</ref>

In the spring of [[3067]] the ''Beowulf'' and the ''Athena'' were deployed in support of [[Gamma Regiment (Wolf's Dragoons)|Gamma Regiment]], operating under contract to the [[Capellan Confederation]] to break the blockade at [[Tikonov]], assisting in driving the [[Federated Suns]] troops off-world before returning to Outreach in September 3067.<ref name="FM:Mrp116">''Field Manual: Mercenaries, Revised'', p. 116: "Gamma Regiment: Shadow Wolves"</ref>

Following the attack on the Dragoons on Outreach perpetrated by mercenaries backed by the [[Word of Blake]] the ''Athena'' and the ''Beowulf'' were deployed to escort [[Battle of Mars|Task Force Vengeance]], a retaliatory strike against the Blakists aimed at [[Terra|Mars]] in the [[Sol]] system. The ''Beowulf'', which had been on picket duty, jumped from a [[Pirate Jump Point]] outbound, carrying [[Zeta Battalion]].<ref>''Shadows of Faith'', part 7, p. 5</ref>

The attack was a disaster, with the bulk of the [[Allied Mercenary Command]] force being destroyed before making planetfall and the remainder hunted to death on the surface. The ''Beowulf'' reported the apparent destruction of the ''Athena'' shortly before being destroyed herself, likely by being rammed by the [[Bonaventure|''Bonaventure''-class]] [[Sheridan (Individual Bonaventure-class WarShip)|Sheridan]]<ref>''Dawn of the Jihad'', p. 34: "Debacle Over Mars"</ref><ref>''Dawn of the Jihad'', p. 34: "Mars: What Happened?"</ref><ref>''The Last Full Measure''</ref>

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[AeroTech 2 Revised Edition]]''
* ''[[Dawn of the Jihad]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Mercenaries, Revised]]''
* ''[[Shadows of Faith]]''
* ''[[Wolf Pack]]''

[[Category: Individual WarShips]]
[[Category: Individual Frigates]]
[[Category: Individual Congress-class WarShips]]