Hakim Wbika

Hakim Wbika
Character Profile
Born 9 November 2522[1]
Died 17 August 2604
Affiliation Rim Worlds Republic
Rim Provisional Government
Rank Admiral
Position Commander of the Rim Worlds Navy[1]
Profession Aerospace pilot

Hakim Wbika commanded the Rim Worlds Army' navy fleet during the Reunification War before serving as the head of a military junta that toppled First Consul Gregory Amaris.

History[edit]

Early Life to Admiral[edit]

Born on Luanda as the youngest child of a shuttle pilot, Hakim Wbika showed a talent for flying from a young age. Joining the Rim Worlds Republic military straight out of high school, Wbika had a flair for aerospace tactics and became a capable aerospace fighter pilot. Unfortunately, his time in the fighter corps would be brief after a botched carrier landing cost him his right leg and barred him from flight duties even after being fitted with an advanced prosthetic. Remaining in the military, Wbika transferred to naval command and became captain of the attack DropShip RWS Durant's Pride. Rising steadily up the ranks, he commanded of one of the Republic's WarShips by 2565 and was promoted to admiral and became head of the entire fleet in 2572.[1]

Reunification War[edit]

After the Rift Republican Army formed the Rim Provisional Government in late April 2575, Wbika and the navy fleet sided with the RPG. Recognizing that his small fleet of just two destroyers and seven corvettes would be greatly outnumbered and easy prey for those of the Star League Defense Force, Wbika orchestrated a series of hit and run attacks rather than stand in extended engagements. After the loss of a lone corvette at Finmark in 2586, however, Wbika opted to bide his time and kept his ships hidden for nearly two years while he waited for an opportunity to pounce. That finally came when the Sixteenth Division began its capture of Newtown Square in January 2588. Tipped off by agents on-world when the SLS Rapacious and Alacrity moved into orbit to bring their firepower to bear against a reinforced bunker complex in the Ard Ri Mountains, Wbika sent his small fleet to strike at the now undefended SLDF transport fleet gathered at Newtown Square's zenith jump point. Two regiments of infantry waiting aboard the transports died as Wbika's fleet destroyed nineteen JumpShips and twenty-four DropShips in under an hour.[1][2]

Alerted to what had happened, the now enraged crews of the Alacrity and Rapacious conducted their orbital bombardment as quickly as possible before turning towards the jump point at maximum speed. Realizing the heavier SLDF WarShips would reach the jump point before his lighter ships could recharge their K-F Drives, Admiral Wbika ordered the RWA fleet to enter the Newtown Shoals, a cometary debris field located in the outer reaches of the system, in the hopes of evading the SLDF ships long enough to recharge and escape. Unfortunately, Wbika had not counted on the fury of the SLDF navy, and the two WarShips and their attendant attack DropShips hounded them and struck without mercy. Only one corvette managing to escape. Both destroyers and three corvettes were destroyed outright in the battle, while two other corvettes were disabled and captured.[2]

His escape pod picked up by DropShips from the Rapacious, Wbika would narrowly avoid a lynching. Though some in the SLDF demanded Wbika be tried for war crimes in response to his action at Newtown Square, Task Force MAILED FIST commander General Nathan Isaacson did not heed such calls, recognizing that such thinking could just as likely open up the SLDF and Draconis Auxiliary Corps under his command to similar charges for their own equally brutal actions against the people of the Republic. Instead, Hakim Wbika would be interned on the Lyran Commonwealth capital of Tharkad for the remainder of the conflict, being released and returning to active duty in the reformed RWA after it concluded.[1][2]

Military Coup and Death[edit]

Having learned firsthand the dismissive views the greater Inner Sphere held of the Republic during his internment, Wbika was horrified that Gregory Amaris seemed even more arrogant and self-centered than before despite his nearly two decades of house arrest. Deeming the First Counsul a threat to the future of the Rim Worlds Republic, Admiral Hakim Wbika gathered together a group of like-minded officers and made preparations to remove Amaris, culminating in Wbika himself personally shooting him with a laser gun on 11 August 2599. In announcing the coup, Wbika made an impassioned speech that the time had come to overthrow the tyrant Gregory Amaris and that it would be a disgrace to enter a new century with him leading the state. To the shock of many, Wbika also announced that to ensure a peaceful transition, Gregory's mild-mannered son Richard would be the Republic's president, albeit under Wbika's "guidance." Despite having fought for decades to restore him to power, the Star League chose to view Gregory's removal as an internal matter, leaving Wbika and his junta to remain the new government of the Republic, ruling behind the scenes with Richard as merely a figurehead.[3][4]

While safe from external attack, unfortunately for Wbika, Richard Amaris had no intention of remaining a puppet of the junta. Though Amaris would dutifully carry out Wbika's "advice," he was merely biding his time while he studied the weaknesses of the junta members and established relationships both in and outside the Rim Worlds to launch a countercoup. Focusing on Wbika's chief aide General Samuel Macao, who was highly capable but also petty and unable to control his violent temper, Richard slowly engineered obstructions and miscommunication among the members of the junta that ultimately triggered Macao to angrily turn on Wbika in 2604. When Macao began shouting at Wbika, it was the signal to the guards loyal to Amaris to purge the palace of junta members. Amaris himself would shoot Wbika and his aide, returning the Republic to the control of House Amaris.[5][6]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Historical: Reunification War, p. 61
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Historical: Reunification War, p. 135
  3. Historical: Reunification War, pp. 61-62, 164
  4. The Periphery, p. 45
  5. Historical: Reunification War, p. 164
  6. The Periphery, pp. 45-46

Bibliography[edit]