Editing Invincible (Individual Tharkad-class WarShip)

{{otheruses|the Lyran battleship|other uses|Invincible}}

{{InfoBoxIndividualSpacecraft
| image      = 
| vesselname = Invincible
| prevname   =
| type       = [[WarShip]]
| class      = [[Tharkad (WarShip class)|Tharkad]]
| prevclass  = 
| servicesince = 
| serviceuntil = 
}}
The last surviving ''[[Tharkad (WarShip class)|Tharkad]]''-class [[WarShip]], the '''LCS ''Invincible''''' became famous for its role in the [[2853]] [[Hesperus#Sixth, seventh and eighth battle|battles]] for [[Hesperus II]], its disappearance after the battle, and the devastation unleashed by [[Word of Blake|its new masters]] upon [[Tharkad]] at the opening of the Blakist [[Jihad]].

==History==
===Succession Wars era===
Combat losses, both in matériel and crew, whittled away at the number of functional ''[[Tharkad (WarShip class)|Tharkads]]'' until finally only one remained, the LCS ''Invincible''. When the [[First Succession War]] ended in [[2821]], it gained unique status as the last major WarShip of the [[Lyran Commonwealth]].<ref>''House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)'', PDF p. 53</ref> The ship was badly damaged in fighting over the planet [[Moore]] during the [[Second Succession War]], and by 2850,<ref>''Technical Readout: 3075'', p. 288</ref> the decrepit vessel had been converted into an orbiting museum because the cost to repair it was deemed unfeasible.<ref name=ToD1>BattleCorps scenario ''Tactics of Desperation I''</ref>

When [[House Kurita]] launched a massive assault against [[Hesperus II]] in 2853, resulting in that world being blockaded and under siege from the Combine invasion force, repeated [[Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces|LCAF]] attempts to reinforce the defenders ended in expensive failure. [[Triumvirate Regency|Triumvirate]] member [[Henry DeCalidore]] suggested an alternative tactic: restore the ''Invincible'' to active service and use her to break the stalemate.

While the WarShip herself was functional, crewing her proved be problematic as the spacers experienced in handling such vessels were now graying retirees and few in number. Such veterans as could serve were recalled to duty, and spent several weeks in September and October training with younger crew members drawn from naval academies and active vessels. By mid-October this disparate crew was deemed combat ready and began the voyage to Hesperus II.<ref name=SSWp73>''Second Succession War'', p. 73</ref>

Reaching the Hesperus system on 25 October, the ''Invincible'' initially scattered the startled Combine vessels before it, destroying the DCS ''[[Wyrm (Individual Vigilant-class WarShip)|Wyrm]]'' and DCS ''[[Yedo]]''. Harassed by the four remaining Combine WarShips, as well as their [[DropShip]]s and [[aerospace fighter|fighters]], the ''Invincible'' drove at flank speed for the planet, drawing the Combine fleet away from the Lyran relief force which was able to begin landing troops just as the last Lyran defenses crumbled.<ref name=SSWp73/>

Still exchanging fire with the Combine fleet, the ''Invincible'' pounded the Kuritan ground forces about to drive into the factory complex. This [[orbital bombardment]] would be the last for the next 197 years (until [[Clan Smoke Jaguar]] infamously destroyed the city of Edo on [[Turtle Bay]] from orbit in [[3050]], and [[Clan Jade Falcon]] destroyed Remus City on [[Romulus]] around the same time in a less well known action). Between the Lyran WarShip's orbital bombardment and the revitalized defenders, the Combine attackers were mauled. Over the next three weeks the ''Invincible'' destroyed the last four WarShips remaining in the Combine's navy before [[Miyogi Kurita]] ordered his remaining forces to withdraw.<ref name=SSWp73/>

However, the triumphant victory at Hesperus was marred by tragedy afterwards: the ''Invincible'' and her entire crew vanished in a misjump on the return voyage to Tharkad. Her name was among the ships added to the Commonwealth's [[List of Honored Missing]], read out by the Archon on both [[Veteran's Day]] and the anniversary of the Commonwealth's founding.<ref name=HSTLC-65>''House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)'', p. 65: "What, Me Worry?"</ref> The ship would also be heavily referenced in [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarrior]]-poet [[Jamison Henry]]'s legendary ballad ''Invincible Dreams'', recounting the events surrounding the sixth, seventh and eighth battles for Hesperus II, inspiring no less than four [[holovid]] films and two live plays by the [[FedCom Civil War]] era.<ref name=HHSp118>''Handbook: House Steiner'', p. 118: "Society and Culture - Education - Major Universities - Rewland College of Fine Arts on Tharkad"</ref>

===Jihad===
Lost for over two centuries, few if any guessed the true fate of the ''Invincible''.<ref name=JHS143>''Jihad Hot Spots: 3070'', p. 143, and ''Blake Ascending'', p. 303</ref><ref name=TRO>''Technical Readout: 3075'', p. 288</ref> Her eventual reappearance proved to be a harbinger of devastation for the [[Lyran Alliance]].

In November [[3067]], the member states of the second [[Star League]] gathered on the Lyran capital of [[Tharkad]] for the Fourth Star League Conference. On 5 December the ''LCS Invincible'' reappeared in the Tharkad system, escorted by several other Blakist WarShips. The [[Word of Blake]] had found the derelict and returned it to operational capacity. The refurbished WarShip was intended as a gift or "olive branch" to the Lyran Alliance, as a token of gratitude for voting the Word into full Star League membership.<ref>''Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents'', p. 12</ref>

When the conference unexpectedly resulted in the dissolution of the Star League, the confused and disappointed Word of Blake force attempted use military threats to make the Star League members reconsider. The ''Invincible'' burned at full thrust from its position towards the Lyran capital. Lyran traffic controllers, in a much-replayed but misunderstood recording, expressed shock at her appearance in Tharkad's orbit; while ostensibly showing that the ''Invincible'' had popped out of nowhere after two centuries to take Tharkad by surprise, in fact the Lyrans were well aware of her presence in the system and were only taken off guard by the giant ship recklessly cutting through busy orbital traffic without warning.<ref>''Blake Ascending'', p. 41: "Death from above"</ref><ref>''Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents'', p. 12: "Deadly Gifts"</ref> As the situation quickly spun out of control the ''Invincible'' ended up bombarding Tharkad from orbit. Tharkad City's very large but decrepit nuclear reactor was hit by a stray shot and exploded, sowing radioactive fallout and chaos across the capital - and inaccurate but damaging claims that the Word of Blake had used a nuclear warhead against a Successor State capital.<ref name=JHS143 /><ref name=TRO /> The ''Invincible'' stayed in orbit around Tharkad to defend the Blakist ground forces, fulfilling many calls for ortillery from [[Precentor]] [[Manei Domini#Manei Domini Ranking and Classes|Omega]] [[Terrence Harris]].<ref>''Jihad Turning Points: Tharkad'', pp. 8–9: "Taking a Bullet"</ref><ref name=TRO3050>''Technical Readout: 3050 Upgrade'', 184</ref><ref name=TROSW>''Technical Readout: Succession Wars'', p. 10</ref>

In January [[3072]], Archon [[Adam Steiner]] launched an assault that liberated Tharkad.<ref>''Jihad Hot Spots: 3076'', p. 21: "Timeline of the Jihad"</ref> During that battle, the ''Invincible'' faced off against the LAS ''[[Yggdrasil (Individual Mjolnir-class WarShip)|Yggdrasil]]''. The ''Invincible'' was boarded and taken by Lyran forces, returning her to Lyran ownership for the first time in over two hundred years.<ref>''Jihad Hot Spots: 3072'', pp. 70–71: "Reflections of Hell"</ref><ref>''Jihad Turning Points: Tharkad'', pp. 10–11: "Homecoming"</ref>

The ''Invincible'' then took part in the liberation of [[Terra]] in [[3078]]<ref>''Jihad Hot Spots: Terra'', p. 95: "Classified: Eyes Only - Top Secret"</ref> under the command of [[Fleet Admiral]] [[Johanna Gaines]]; [[Devlin Stone]] issued a broadcast to all of the coalition vessels from the ''Invincible'' on the 17th of August that launched the attack on [[Terra]].<ref name="JHS:Tp100">''Jihad Hot Spots: Terra'', p. 100: "It Is Time"</ref>

Surviving the battle for Terra, under the command of [[Admiral]] [[Nathalie Cara]], the ''Invincible'' arrived back at Tharkad on 28 May 3078, but suffered extensive damage to her Jump Core during the jump that left her stranded in that system without an extensive refit.<ref name=FRLAAFp3>''Field Report: LAAF'', pp. 3–4: "Alliance Overview - Where the Heart is"</ref>

By late [[3079]], the ''Invincible'' remained a commissioned ship, but the sheer age and extensive damage she had suffered meant that without a complete overhaul, made impossible due to lack of suitable shipyards, she was fit for use only as a training ship. In fact [[David Lear]] would suggest to [[Devlin Stone]] that the Lyran realm might be better served by reverting her back to being a museum ship again, replacing one of her flight bays with a gift shop, than trying to refit her.<ref name=FRLAAFp6>''Field Report: LAAF'', p. 6: "Infrastructural Integrity - Off the Edge of the Map"</ref>

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
{{div col|colwidth=25em}}
* ''[[Blake Ascending]]''
* ''[[Field Report: LAAF]]''
* ''[[Handbook: House Steiner]]''
* ''[[House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)]]''
* ''[[Jihad Hot Spots: 3070]]''
* ''[[Jihad Hot Spots: Terra]]''
* ''[[Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents]]''
* ''[[Jihad Turning Points: Tharkad]]''
* ''[[Second Succession War (sourcebook)|Second Succession War]]''
* ''[[BattleCorps Scenarios#Scenario: Tactics of Desperation I|Tactics of Desperation I]]'' (scenario)
* ''[[BattleCorps Scenarios#Scenario: Tactics of Desperation II|Tactics of Desperation II]]'' (scenario)
* ''[[Technical Readout: 3075]]''
{{div col end}}

[[Category:Individual WarShips]]
[[Category: Individual Tharkad-class WarShips]]
[[Category: Individual Battlecruisers]]