Ishiyama (Individual Invader-class JumpShip)

This article is about the JumpShip. For the Solaris VII arena, see Ishiyama.

Ishiyama
Vessel Profile
Type	JumpShip
Class	Invader (see notes)

The Ishiyama was a JumpShip used by the Draconis Combine's Internal Security Force as of 3050, apparently commanded by Toshiro Okura of the ISF.

Canonicity

The Ishiyama only appears in BattleTech: The Animated Series, which is canon within the BattleTech universe only as a fictionalized account based on real events. As such, the ship's actual existence within the BattleTech universe is unconfirmed as it may be wholly or in part fictional even within the BattleTech universe. On this basis, the vessel is tagged as apocryphal for the purposes of the Sarna.net BattleTechWiki.

History

Seeking to arrest captain Jeroen Frestadt of the DropShip Kwaidan, the Ishiyama pursued the 1st Somerset Strikers' JumpShip Katana on their mission to Somerset.

Just before the 1st Somerset Strikers' final jump to Somerset from Apollo, Frestadt abducted Franklin Sakamoto and left the Kwaidan, which he had sabotaged, in a two-seat aerospace fighter. Using the fighter as a shuttlecraft he returned to the Katana with his captive and jumped to Bensinger. Shortly after the Katana jumped out, the pursuing Ishiyama appeared. Upon learning of the situation from Adam Steiner, Okura agreed to carry the stricken Kwaidan on the Ishiyama and help them reclaim their JumpShip.

Despite the acknowledged risk of damage to the Ishiyama or even a misjump, Okura opted to retract the jump sail early and merely quick-charge the ship's K-F drive ("jump on auxiliary power", in his words) because of the urgency of his pursuit. This could be interpreted to suggest the Ishiyama was equipped with a lithium-fusion battery; see Notes below.

The Ishiyama is not mentioned again after arriving at Bensinger and releasing the Kwaidan (which would proceed to dock with the Katana and unmask Frestad's lies that the Kwaidan had been captured by Clan forces).

Notes

• Within the animated TV series ("holovid show"), the Ishiyama is consistently depicted as an Invader-class JumpShip, and visually very similar to the Invader-class Katana.
• Okura seems rather casual about jumping "on auxiliary power", and there is no indication that the Ishiyama was damaged in the jump to Bensinger. It could thus be speculated that the Ishiyama was modified to carry a lithium-fusion battery; although there is no proof, some circumstantial evidence supports this theory:
  • Although lostech, the technology had been rediscovered by the Federated Commonwealth in 3043, and might thus be available to the Draconis Combine by 3050. (The Ellyohippus is an example of a Draconis Combine Invader that was refitted with a L-F battery and still capable of carrying two DropShips, as of 3057.) Besides the DCMS, the ISF would be one agency within the Combine to conceivably have access to such cutting-edge technological assets at the time, and Okura's mission was considered to be of utmost importance.
    The Ishiyama is not shown to carry any DropShip other than the Kwaidan, and while at a later point it is implied to have carried a DropShip that had delivered Okura's BattleMechs to Bensinger II, it is never implied or even shown that the Ishiyama still had the capacity to carry three DropShips.
  • The presence of a L-F battery would also explain why the ISF put an Invader-class vessel on the mission in the first place. There was at least one vacant docking collar on the Ishiyama, so carrying capacity was not a deciding factor; but if it was just a standard Invader then there was no reason to pick it for the mission over a smaller ship that would have been more suitable–the Scout class in particular is known not only for stealthiness but also for recharging its drive slightly faster than other JumpShips.

Bibliography

• BattleTech: The Animated Series (Episode 11: Shadow Heir)