Danai Centrella

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Danai Centrella.jpg
Danai Centrella
Character Profile
Born 3039
Affiliation House Centrella
Parents Nicolas Ramilie (father; see Notes)
Emma Centrella (mother)
Siblings Naomi
Erde
Newton and two others

Danai Centrella (b. 3037[1]- d. 23 April 3060[1][2]) was a Magistracy of Canopus noblewoman and military officer, and was the heir-designate to the title of Magestrix up until her death.

Personal History

Early life and Career

Danai Centrella was the eldest daughter of Emma Centrella, Magestrix of the Magistracy of Canopus, and to mercenary commander Nicolas Ramilie of Ramilie's Raiders. Danai was chosen as presumptive heir-designate to the throne of the Magistracy, and to prepare herself she became an officer in the Magistracy Armed Forces. By 3058, she had earned the rank of Major, and was given the prestigious command of the 1st Canopian Cuirassiers. [3] She was widely considered to be an excellent 'mech pilot. [4]

According to her mother, Danai personally opposed the Magistracy's alliance with the Capellan Confederation in 3058. She was loyal to her mother, however, and so she led her 1st Canopian Cuirassiers and other Magistracy Armed Forces in assisting the Confederation with the situation in the Chaos March. [3]

Operation Bulldog

Later that same year, in an unprecedented event, the Great Houses of the Inner Sphere founded the Second Star League, with the goal of permanently ending the threat of the Clan Invasion. Danai and her Cuirassiers were among the CCAF units chosen by Capellan Chancellor and First Lord Sun-Tzu Liao to participate in Operation Bulldog, a massive invasion against the occupation zone of Clan Smoke Jaguar, with the stated goal being the complete annihilation of that Clan. [3]

During the short conflict, Danai and the Cuirassiers defended Meinacos against a Smoke Jaguar counter-attack in the form of the 267th Battle Cluster, fighting alongside the 8th Dieron Regulars, the St. Ives Cheveau Legers and reinforcements in the 11th Alshain Avengers. The Cuirassiers fought with great skill, effectively employing Sniper artillery bombardment. The SLDF forces quickly drove the outnumbered Jaguars from the planet. [5] [6]

With the Jaguars driven from the Inner Sphere, Danai and the Cuirassiers were chosen to be included in an Allied taskforce that would continue on towards the Clan Homeworlds to relieve Task Force Serpent. Preparing for this operation on Wolcott, Danai encountered Hadji Doru, former Marshal of the Taurian Defense Force and more recently an officer in the 2nd Donegal Guards of the Lyran Alliance Armed Forces. Danai persuaded Doru that he was needed far more in the Magistracy, a fellow Periphery power, arguing that the Magistracy and the Taurian Concordat would stand or fall together. [7] [8]

The Great Refusal and Death

Arriving on Huntress, the task force quickly crushed the remaining Jaguar forces, rescuing the survivors of Task Force Serpent. They would continue on to Strana Mechty, where they would challenge the Clan Grand Council to a Trial of Refusal in the matter of the Invasion. [9]

Danai Centrella petitioned to be personally included in this series of Trials, which pitted elite Inner Sphere Companies against Clan Binaries. After reviewing her records, she was chosen by First Prince Victor Steiner-Davion to join the Federated Commonwealth contingent in opposing the remains of Clan Smoke Jaguar, including the IlKhan, Lincoln Osis. Davion was inclined to do this with the hope that helping Danai Centrella become a hero to her people would help them to resist the influence of Sun-Tzu Liao. Danai fought well during the battle, but a direct hit on her BattleMech's cockpit by a Warhawk's Clan PPC killed her instantly. The AFFC troops would nevertheless defeat the Jaguars, and the Inner Sphere forces were ultimately triumphant. [2] [6] [10]

Legacy

Magestrix Emma Centrella, always putting the affairs of her state above even her own family, mourned Danai's death but consoled herself that her daughter had fallen in battle as a warrior, and that Danai's sister, the more politically skilled Naomi, might ultimately be better suited to lead the Magistracy. [3] Hadji Doru, inspired by Danai's death moreso than her words, did indeed join the Magistracy, becoming a Senior General and top military advisor to Magestrix Emma. [7] Some dissidents within the Magistracy questioned whether or not Canopians should be shedding their blood to fight the battles of the Inner Sphere, though little seemed to come of this. [6]

Ironically for Victor Steiner-Davion, his efforts to limit the plans of Sun-Tzu Liao by elevating Danai would backfire drastically, as the Capellan Chancellor would soon become close to the new Magestrix heir-designate, Naomi Centrella, eventually leading to an engagement and marriage. The strengthening Liao-Canopian alliance would allow Sun-Tzu to use MAF troops during the Capellan-St. Ives War, and later in continued pushes into the Chaos March. [8]

In 3073, the Magistracy began production of the Danai, an artillery combat vehicle named in her honor and produced at Detroit Consolidated MechWorks for the Trinity Alliance. The Danai would perform admirably against the Word of Blake during the Jihad. [11]

Nearly fifty years after her death, Danai Liao-Centrella would be named in her honor. A very accomplished MechWarrior of the Dark Age era, she was publicly thought to be the daughter of Sun-Tzu Liao and Naomi Centrella (and therefore Danai Centrella's niece). In fact, she was the daughter of Daoshen Liao and his sister Ilsa Centrella, and was therefore the biological grand-niece of Danai Centrella. [12]

BattleMechs

During the fighting of Operation Bulldog, Danai piloted a BNC-5S Banshee, one of the few Canopian 'Mechs built with advanced technology. [13] During the Great Refusal, she fought her final battle in a Falconer provided by Prince Victor Steiner-Davion. [14]

Notes

  • Although Nicolas Ramilie is officially considered to be Danai Centrella's father, there are rumors that the supposed mutual dislike between Danai's mother Emma and Richard Humphreys did not accurately describe their relationship, and that Danai and Richard's daughter Dalma Humphreys may actually be half-sisters,[15] meaning that her true father was Richard Humphreys.
  • Given her younger sister's reported year of birth is given as 3039, it may be presumed that Danai was likely born prior to that year.[4]
  • The 20 Year Update lists the children of Emma Centrella as Sandra, Joseph, Mitchell, Newton, Albert, and Carol.[16] It is known that one of these was an alias used to protect Danai during her childhood.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Era Report: 3062, p. 83, "Danai Centrella Profile"
  2. 2.0 2.1 Prince of Havoc, pp. 125-126
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Shattered Sphere pp. 117-118
  4. 4.0 4.1 Shattered Sphere p. 125
  5. The Dragon Roars pp. 41-43
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Handbook: Major Periphery States p. 62
  7. 7.0 7.1 Handbook: Major Periphery States p. 89
  8. 8.0 8.1 Field Manual: Periphery p. 29
  9. Twilight of the Clans p. 13
  10. Field Manual: Periphery p. 31
  11. Technical Readout: 3075, pp. 52-53
  12. Principles of Desolation (novel)
  13. The Dragon Roars p. 42
  14. Twilight of the Clans p. 38
  15. Historical: Brush Wars, p. 57; the true relationship between Emma Centrella and Richard Humphreys is explored in the (apocryphal) novel Gier.
  16. 20 Year Update p. 86

Bibliography