Kathry Parks

Kathry Parks
Personal
Affiliation	Lyran Alliance
Profile
Rank	Leutnant-General

Kathry Parks was the commanding officer of the Third Royal Guards as of 3057.

History

Leutnant-General Parks, serving with the Third Royal Guards, was stationed on Port Moseby in 3062. Parks was formerly the executive officer of the Fifth Donegal Guards until the Third Royal Guards were almost wiped out fighting the Northwind Highlanders in 3057. Charged with restoring both the Third Royal's reputation and its morale, Parks' tough-but-fair attitude earned her the respect of her soldiers and forged both hardened veterans and fresh recruits into a viable combat command. Unfortunately, while operating alongside Clan Nova Cat troops on Avon during Operation Bulldog, Parks' Third Royal downed several friendly clansmen, renewing the criticism her and her men had worked to overcome.

Dalkeith

During the Federated Commonwealth Civil War, Parks' Third Royal were dispatched to the contested world of Dalkeith in order to help the beleaguered Thirteenth Donegal Guards defeat the Fourth Deneb Light Cavalry. Arriving on 9 April 3064, the aggressive tactics utilized by the Third Royal almost forced the Fourth DLC to concede the world to Katherine Steiner-Davion's control before the arrival of the Victor Steiner-Davion-aligned Fourth Davion Guards once more shifted the balance of power on Dalkeith. For the next month, the Fourth DLC and Fourth Davion launched pinprick harassment attacks, gradually bleeding strength from the heavier forces of the Thirteenth Donegal and Third Royal, before an assault on the Thirteenth Donegal's force stationed in Dalkeith's primary military facilities lead to the base's destruction and a massive loss of resources for Katherine's Loyalists.

The next phase of the Dalkeith conflict began on 2 December, with the arrival of the Loyalist Fifth Alliance Guards, and the Loyalists' renewed strength allowed them to chase Victor's Allies across the ocean and onto the neighboring continent of Rockmeir. Unfortunately, numerous rear guard actions from devoted Allied troops cost the Loyalists heavily in both casualties and time, necessitating another period of reduced conflict while the Loyalists prepared for a mass move to the Rockmeir region. By the time that the Loyalists finally made the oceanic crossing in August 3065, a series of tough battles and unfortunate events left the Thirteenth Donegal leaderless and combat ineffective, requiring the mauled Fifth Alliance Guards to absorb the remnants - resulting in a serious blow to Loyalist morale. An early push against the Allied defenses around the ruined city of Newhaven by the Third Royals yielded no results and a combined assault with both the Third Royal and Fifth Alliance failed under the weight of heavy artillery and mobile attacks. The Loyalists no longer possessed the strength to enact a siege but James Ito of the Fifth Alliance only partially heeded Parks' call for a more cautious plan of attack.

In mid-December of 3065, the Third Royal launched a feint to distract the Allied defenders while the Fifth Alliance engaged in a more traditional assault. Unfortunately, after the Third Royal successfully ambushed a company of the Fourth DLC, they were quickly lured into a minefield that was predesignated for artillery bombardment, costing the Royals a quarter of their remaining strength before they could escape. Realizing that there remained no way for them to defeat the stronger Allied forces, the Third Royal and Fifth Alliance retreated to their own defenses and relegated themselves to months of slow attrition as they attempted to repair Dalkeith's damaged infrastructure and denude the Allies' ammunition stockpiles. Pressure from General of the Armies Nondi Steiner halted this plan, with Steiner threatening to cut the Loyalists off from further off-world resupply unless rapid progress was achieved. Launching their last ditch assault on 11 April 3066, the Loyalists penetrated twenty-five kilometers into the Allied defensive zone around Newhaven at the cost of horrendous losses before a Fourth DLC counterattack on 17 April broke the Loyalists.

It was at this point that James Ito of the Fifth Alliance played his last card: the newly-converted Twenty-sixth Lyran Guards launched an orbital assault that all but destroyed the Fourth DLC at the cost of four Lyran Guard BattleMech companies and several battalions of conventional infantry and armor. A combined assault between all three remaining Loyalist units against the Fourth Davion Guards in Newhaven was launched on 27 September, with the Third Royal Guards assigned to the eastern third of the Loyalist front. While Parks knew her Royals were the weakest link in the Loyalist forces following years of heavy combat and high casualties, she was caught completely off-guard by the assault launched against her unprepared troops by the Fourth Davion soldiers sallying out of Newhaven. By 0700 on the morning of the 27th, the Third Royal was no more, although the cost Parks' troops inflicted on the Fourth Davion Guards prevented them from escaping the field before the vengeful Fifth Alliance and Twenty-sixth Lyran forces annihilated the Allied presence on Dalkeith.

Post-Civil War

Surprisingly, Parks survived the destruction of her unit and remained in command of the rebuilding Third Royal Guards on Dalkeith by the end of 3067. After the Jihad, Parks still retained command of the Third Royal and was stationed on Tharkad by 3085.

Notes

• Parks' first name is spelled as Kathy in most of her appearances but is spelled Kathry in Field Manual: 3085. The Field Manual takes precedence as the newer source of information.

Bibliography

• FedCom Civil War
• Field Manual: 3085
• Field Manual: Lyran Alliance
• Field Manual: Updates