Herald of Wisdom

Herald of Wisdom
Vessel Profile
TypeWarShip
ClassAegis
In service until3068

History[edit]

One of many WarShips to be disabled and abandoned or lost during the Star League era or the early Succession Wars, the Aegis-class heavy cruiser later known as the Herald of Wisdom was one of a number of ships recovered by the Word of Blake[1] and restored to working order in secret.[2]

The WoBS Herald of Wisdom was one of eight Aegis-class cruisers to serve in the Blakist fleet during the Jihad;[1] prior to the Jihad, the only Aegis known to be operating within the Blakist black water navy was the WoBS Immortal Spirit,[2] but the Word of Blake had secretly recovered three additional Aegis-class heavy cruisers from sites around the Inner Sphere such as the abandoned Star League Defense Force facility known as the Ruins of Gabriel and restored them to operational status. These three Aegis were the Herald of Wisdom, the WoBS Herald of Justice and the WoBS Herald of Retribution.[1]

Following the defeat of the Allied Mercenary Command operation on Mars in 3067[3] the First Circuit of ComStar ordered the execution of Case WHITE, a plan for a massive counterstrike against Terra by the bulk of the Com Guard black water navy and ten divisions of troops. Case WHITE had originally been constructed in 3058, and by the time it was implemented in March 3068 the Word of Blake had been preparing additional defenses in the Sol system for a decade.[4]

The Com Guard task force was bedeviled with problems even before arriving in the Sol system, with the Com Guard flagship, the Cameron-class battlecruiser CSV Invisible Truth, delayed from joining the operation due to sabotage, and various other ships such as the Potemkin-class cruiser CSV Vision of Truth also suffering attacks from saboteurs.[5] Other ships such as the Aegis-class CSV Swift Justice were at least partially suborned, firing on their companions before being disabled themselves,[5][6] and the operation was a massive defeat for ComStar, effectively neutering their forces during the early years of the Jihad.[4]

While the Blakist victory over the Com Guards in the Sol system was total, the Blakist fleet did take casualties; five Blakist WarShips were destroyed in action and not recovered, including the Herald of Wisdom. The Herald of Wisdom was the largest Blakist WarShip to be destroyed as a result of Case WHITE; the other WarShips destroyed were the Riga-class frigate WoBS White Devil, the Naga-class destroyer WoBS Enlightened Direction and the Pinto-class corvettes WoBS Gorgon and WoBS Syrstart. The loss of the Herald of Wisdom would be partly offset by the successful recovery of the former Com Guard Aegis CSV Righteous Fury, which was salvaged, repaired and restored to operational duty as a part of the Blakist fleet after Case WHITE.[1]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Jihad: Final Reckoning, p. 128, "Word of Blake Naval Assets"
  2. 2.0 2.1 Field Manual: Updates, p. 90, "Naval Assets and Militia Divisions"
  3. The Last Full Measure
  4. 4.0 4.1 Dawn of the Jihad, p. 88-92
  5. 5.0 5.1 The Breaking of Chemical Bonds
  6. Stars in the Time of Dreaming

Bibliography[edit]