Coterie
Sarna News
| Coterie | |
|---|---|
| Vessel Profile | |
| Type | WarShip |
| Class | Potemkin |
History
As at 3059 the Potemkin-class cruiser Coterie was a WarShip within the Clan Ice Hellion touman and was serving as the CIH Coterie;[1] the Chaos Sailor continued to serve the Ice Hellions throughout the next decade.[2]
When the Ice Hellions launched their invasion of the Clan Jade Falcon Occupation Zone in the Inner Sphere in mid-3071 the Coterie was one of the WarShips deployed. One of the first actions conducted by all thirteen Ice Helion WarShips including the Coterie was to secure the Dark Nebula, destroying the small Jade Falcon naval force there and securing the largely-abandoned facility.[3]
By March 3072 the tempo demanded by Khan Montose in continuing to launch attacks rather than consolidating existing gains had seen a resurgent Clan Jade Falcon push the Ice Hellions back on several fronts, assisted by Clan Hell's Horses, with whom the Hellions had originally maintained a truce, and the Ice Hellions had been pushed back into three areas - the worlds of Evciler and Vantaa, and the region known as the Dark Nebula.[4]
The Coterie attempted to join the survivors of Beta Galaxy, who had gathered with saKhan Connor Rood in the Dark Nebula. Gathering to oppose the two remaining Clusters of Beta Galaxy was the Jade Falcon's Delta Galaxy and several Stars of AeroSpace Fighters and assault DropShips; the Hellion defenses consisted of just the Fredasa-class corvette CIH Whelp, the sorely damaged Lola III-class destroyer CIH Cold Hunter and a small number of fighter stars. While the Falcons had no WarShips, the arrival of Galaxy Commander Troy DelVillar of the Hell's Horses along with Horses' Theta Galaxy gave the Falcons command of a substantial force.[4]
The Hellion forces commanded by saKhan Connor Rood had gathered at the derelict Dark Nebula Waystation, and it was this the Jade Falcons targeted. The Cold Hunter was in no condition to fight, and surrendered before the Falcon forces reached firing distance; the Coterie arrived at the nadir jump point shortly after the allied Falcon and Horses launched their assault, leaving it too far away to assist. That left the Whelp and the minimal fighter presence to defend Beta Galaxy, and the Whelp did her best to disrupt the attack, gutting a part of the incoming wave of enemy forces before being savaged by assault DropShips.[4]
The Whelp was responsible for the destruction of the Falcon Guards, but one of the two Falcon Guards DropShips, the CJF Falcon Xi, managed to reorientate itself as it began breaking apart, and launched a final volley against the underbelly of the Whelp; while the Falcon Xi was destroyed, that last parting shot penetrated the Whelp's armor, venting a substantial portion of the ship into space. A Star of Jade Falcon fighters took advantage of this, launching an attack that destroyed the Whelp's bridge.[4][5]
As the combined Falcon and Horses forces landed on the asteroid housing the Waystation saKhan Clees of the Jade Falcons contacted Rood and offered him and his forces hegira, both from the Dark Nebula and from the entire Jade Falcon occupation zone. Rood accepted the offer, agreeing to leave Beta Galaxy's war materiel as isorla for the victors, and used the Coterie to transport his remaining forces to the Periphery where he planned to await the gathering of any surviving Ice Hellion forces.[4]
In April, the Coterie and the survivors of Beta Galaxy being shephered by the Coterie found itself the target of an attack by Zeta Galaxy of the resurgent Clan Burrok. Gathered at DS-822, a waystation star on the trade route between the Clan Homeworlds and the Inner Sphere maintained by Clan Diamond Shark, the small Ice Hellion fleet had Zeta Galaxy arrive unannounced and nearby. The HPG transmitter on the Coterie had been destroyed, leaving the Ice Hellions unaware of the ongoing situation in the Homeworlds; as a result, the fleet was completely unprepared when the Burrocks launched a ferocious attack. Two of the five JumpShips within the fleet, the CIH Glacial Calm and the CIH Snowbird, managed to escape, eventually reaching Hector some months later; the other three ships were lost or destroyed. The Coterie also managed to escape but at the cost of a damage KF-drive, arriving at a system unmarked on the various Clan star charts.[6]
The Coterie and those aboard - including Khan Rood, elevated in rank after the death of Khan Raina Montose - would most likely have died following the misjump if not for the mysterious arrival of another Potemkin-class WarShip in the system in July. Appearing at the zenith point, the newly-arrived ship was identified as the former Clan Smoke Jaguar WarShip CSJ Osis' Pride, but refused to answer any hailing calls.[6]
Khan Rood took a small craft across to the Osis' Pride, and while the chain of events aboard the Osis' Pride are undocumented, he reached an accomodation with the surviving crew aboard the ship. The Coterie and the Osis' Pride docked together, and as much by way of cargo, materiel, men and salvage as possible from the Coterie was moved onto the Osis' Pride. The transfer and repairs took a month, during which JumpShips twice appeared in the system and were promptly engaged by the single remaining Star of AeroSpace Fighters left functioning aboard the Osis' Pride; one JumpShip was destroyed, and the second, an Inner Sphere pattern Tramp-class vessel, jumped out after the first fighter pass.[6]
When the transfers were complete the Osis' Pride was fully manned and at least partially repaired; the Coterie was nudged into a decaying orbit around the local star, and the Osis' Pride set out for the Homeworlds, now in service as the CIH Osis' Pride, the last functioning WarShip in the Ice Hellion touman.[6]
References
- ↑ Field Manual: Crusader Clans, p. 81, "Naval Assets"
- ↑ Field Manual: Updates, p. 47 "Naval Assets"
- ↑ Wars of Reaving, p. 69-71, "The Hellion Strikes"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Wars of Reaving, p. 85, "Icy Fire"
- ↑ Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents, p. 30 - March 3072 - At Dark Nebula the Whelp is destroyed by Combined Horses/Falcon Aerospace forces.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Wars of Reaving, p. 98-99, "Dark Periphery"