Editing Task Force Serpent

{{infoBoxMilitaryCommand
| image = [[File:Task Force Serpent emblem (2).jpg|150px]]
| Designation = Task Force Serpent
| Formed = [[3058]]
| Disbanded = [[3061]]
| Previous Designation = 
| Nickname = 
| Affiliation = [[Second Star League]]
| Parent Command = [[Second Star League Defense Force]] (SLDF)
| Sub-Command =
}}
'''Task Force Serpent''' was a multinational task force created by the [[Second Star League Defense Force]] to execute a secret military operation conceived and led by [[Marshal of the Armies|Marshal]] [[Morgan Hasek-Davion]]: Travel to the [[Clan Smoke Jaguar]] homeworld of [[Huntress]], occupy it, and completely destroy the war-making capability of the Clan. The mission complemented [[Operation BULLDOG]], whose objective was to expel the Smoke Jaguars from every world they occupied in the [[Inner Sphere]].

After a long journey through the [[Deep Periphery]] to the [[Clan Homeworlds]], Task Force Serpent ultimately completed its mission with the assistance of elements from Operation BULLDOG, which had succeeded ahead of schedule. Clan Smoke Jaguar was effectively wiped out, but at heavy cost to the task force. Marshal Hasek-Davion, the task force commander, was assassinated en route; his successor, [[General]] [[Ariana Winston]], was killed in action; and the task force suffered an eighty percent casualty rate.

==Commission and departure==
On 14 November [[3058]], during a military planning session at the [[First Whitting Conference]] for the first wave of Operation BULLDOG, [[Precentor Martial of ComStar|Precentor Martial]] [[Anastasius Focht]] presented new intelligence that had been provided by the Smoke Jaguar defector, [[Trent (Clan Smoke Jaguar)|Trent]]. The information included the [[Exodus Road]] and the location of Huntress, the Smoke Jaguar homeworld. Morgan Hasek-Davion proposed and volunteered to lead a strike at Huntress designed to raze it, shocking the Clan and wiping out all traces of the warrior caste.<ref name=GR17>''Grave Covenant'', ch. 17</ref> The First Council approved the plan and appointed Hasek-Davion as the Task Force Commander.<ref name=GR18>''Grave Covenant'', ch. 18</ref>

In late January [[3059]], the units assigned to Task Force Serpent began to assemble at [[Defiance (system)|Defiance]], a barren planet deep in the [[Crucis March]] of the [[Federated Commonwealth]], which had mostly been used for military training maneuvers.<ref name=TH7>''The Hunters'', ch. 7</ref> Serpent's ground forces consisted of the [[Eridani Light Horse]], the [[1st Kathil Uhlans|First Kathil Uhlans]], the [[Northwind Highlanders]], the [[Com Guards|Com Guard]] [[2nd Division (ComStar)|Second Division]], the [[11th Lyran Guards|Eleventh Lyran Guards]], the [[2nd Sword of Light|Second Sword of Light]], the [[2nd St. Ives Lancers|Second St. Ives Lancers]], the [[4th Drakøns|Fourth Drakøns]], the [[1st Knights of the Inner Sphere|Knights of the Inner Sphere]], and [[Kingston's Legionnaires]], a regiment of questionable honor.<ref name=TwotCp9>''Twilight of the Clans'', pp. 8–9: "Task Force Serpent"</ref> For the next several months the ground units conducted training and integration exercises, fighting alongside one another, with ComStar's [[Invader Galaxy]] taking an [[w:Opposing force|OpFor]] role. [[DEST]] and [[MI6]] teams, assigned to the task force for special operations, trained for spacecraft boarding actions.<ref name=TH9>''The Hunters'', ch. 9</ref>

The assembled fleet had seven [[WarShip]]s. Four were [[ComStar]] vessels: the ''[[Cameron (WarShip class)|Cameron]]''-class battlecruiser ''[[Invisible Truth (Individual Cameron-class WarShip)|Invisible Truth]]''; the ''[[Lola III]]''-class destroyer ''[[Ranger (Individual Lola III-class WarShip, ComStar)|Ranger]]''; and two ''[[Essex]]''-class destroyers, ''[[Emerald (Individual Essex-class WarShip)|Emerald]]'' and ''[[Starlight (Individual Essex-class WarShip)|Starlight]]''.<ref name=TwotCp8>''Twilight of the Clans'', p. 8: "Task Force Serpent Composition"</ref> The Federated Commonwealth provided two ''[[Fox (WarShip class)|Fox]]''-class corvettes, ''[[Antrim]]'' and ''[[Rostock (Individual Fox-class WarShip)|Rostock]]'', and the Draconis Combine supplied its newest ''[[Kyushu]]''-class frigate, ''[[Haruna]]''.<ref name=TH12>''The Hunters'', ch. 12</ref>

Task Force Serpent departed on 1 May 3059, following a route through [[Weldon]], [[Vicente]], [[Tsamma]] and [[Palmyra]] on its way through the Federated Commonwealth.<ref name=TH14>''The Hunters'', ch. 14</ref> On 29 June the task force jumped from [[Pajarito]] into the [[Outworlds Alliance]].<ref name=TH16>''The Hunters'', ch. 16</ref> On 19 July, after recharging jump drives at [[Alpheratz]], Task Force Serpent entered the [[Deep Periphery]] and began its journey along the Exodus Road to Huntress.<ref name=TH17>''The Hunters'', ch. 17</ref>

==Battle of Sweetwater Lake==
On 16 November, Task Force Serpent stopped at a habitable planet in the [[Meribah]] system to replenish the fleet's supply of fresh water. Two specially-modified ''[[Mule]]''-class DropShips were dispatched to the surface, escorted by the [[21st Striker Regiment|Twenty-first Striker Regiment]]'s Fifth Striker Battalion. As the DropShips pumped water from a lake, which the crews dubbed "Sweetwater", the Eridani unit was attacked by a mixed force of Inner Sphere BattleMechs and Clan OmniMechs, who were swiftly defeated.<ref>''The Hunters'', chs. 18–19</ref>

The enemy turned out to be a group of pirates using the planet for a base of operations. With the pirates' main force absent on a raid, Marshal Hasek-Davion ordered that the pirate base be wiped out in order to maintain the secrecy of the task force. The next day, a combined Eridani-MI6 strike team destroyed the pirate base and released the slaves found there. Four pirate leaders were court-martialed for piracy and murder and were summarily executed. The rest of the pirates were convicted of lesser crimes and sentenced to be marooned on a uninhabited planet.<ref>''The Hunters'', chs. 20–21</ref>

==Battle of Trafalgar==
{{Main|Battle of Trafalgar}}
[[File:Task Force Serpent - JumpShip Fleet.jpg|thumb|right|Task Force Serpent's JumpShip fleet with ''Invisible Truth'' leading it.]]

On 15 December, after jumping into an unnamed star system, Task Force Serpent unexpectedly encountered a small [[Clan Ghost Bear]] fleet, consisting of a ''[[Congress]]''-class frigate, two ''[[Whirlwind]]''-class destroyers and an ''[[Invader]]''-class JumpShip. Marshal Hasek-Davion hailed them and declared a [[Trial of Possession]] for the entire Clan fleet, and [[Star Colonel]] [[Alonso Gilmour]] accepted his challenge. Engaging the enemy with naval assets and boarding teams, the task force defeated the Ghost Bears in what became known as the [[Battle of Trafalgar]].

The task force suffered modest losses in its victory. The ''[[Hainan]]'', an ''[[Avenger]]''-class DropShip, was destroyed, the ''Starlight'' lost some of her weapons, and casualties totaled twenty-six dead, thirty-two wounded, and four missing.

The Ghost Bear starships were all disabled or destroyed. The ''[[Fire Fang (Individual Whirlwind-class WarShip)|Fire Fang]]'', one of the ''Whirlwind''s, was repaired and put into service as the eighth WarShip of the task force. The task force also captured an undamaged Clan ''[[Broadsword]]''-class DropShip (renamed the ''[[Stiletto_(Individual_Broadsword-class_DropShip)|Stiletto]]''), a couple of damaged ''[[Union-C]]''-class DropShips, a dozen [[OmniFighter]]s, a [[Star]] of [[OmniMech]]s, and several tons of consumable supplies.<ref name=TH27>''The Hunters'', ch. 27</ref>

Task Force Serpent also took possession of roughly three hundred bondsmen, mostly lower-caste members who were being relocated to the Inner Sphere. Marshal Morgan Hasek-Davion directed that any Clansmen who willingly gave their bond-oath would be accepted into service, while the rest would be marooned on a habitable world.<ref name=TH27/> On 30 December, the fleet located [[Lee Shore|a suitable planet]] and deposited on it the prisoners who had not joined, leaving them with some supplies and the promise that, if the task force completed its mission, someone would come back for them.<ref name=TH29>''The Hunters'', ch. 29</ref>

==Assassination of Morgan Hasek-Davion==

{{quote|He was the last of the old order of things. We'll never see his like again.|General Ariana Winston}}

During the night of 2 January [[3060]], Marshal Morgan Hasek-Davion died in his quarters aboard the ''Invisible Truth''. His death was initially attributed to heart failure, but subsequent forensic investigations determined that he was deliberately poisoned with a fast-acting toxin introduced into his scotch whiskey.<ref>''The Hunters'', chs. 30–31</ref><ref>''Sword and Fire'', chs. 1–2</ref>

On 10 January, General Ariana Winston, Task Force Serpent's second-in-command, announced that Hasek-Davion's death was under investigation and formally assumed command. With the fleet less than 200 light-years from Huntress, she reviewed the orders and reports he had left for her in the event of his death. One of these revealed that in addition to units officially assigned to the task force, [[Coordinator]] [[Theodore Kurita (31st c.)|Theodore Kurita]] had "gifted" a team of four [[nekakami]].<ref>''Sword and Fire'', ch. 3</ref>

As the investigation progressed, suspicion fell on five ComStar crew members who had no records of their existence before they joined ComStar.<ref>''Sword and Fire'', ch. 7</ref> On 23 January the two suspects who had originally been assigned to ''Invisible Truth'' were summoned for interrogation. The first suspect, [[Julia Davis]], seemed to be hiding something, but her interrogator, ''[[Sho-sa]]'' [[Michael Ryan]], concluded that she was probably not involved in the assassination. She was relieved of duty and confined to quarters.<ref name=SF8>''Sword and Fire'', ch. 8</ref>

Two ComStar marines were escorting the second suspect, [[Lucas Penrose]], to his interrogation, when he killed them both with a hidden [[Hold-Out Gyrojet Pistol|holdout pistol]], stole their weapons, and barricaded himself in a recreation room on Deck Four. Penrose claimed that he had planted a bomb in the ship's number three magazine, and threatened to destroy the ship unless General Winston met his demands. As Winston conversed with Penrose, she perceived that the hand he was keeping behind his back, supposedly holding a detonator, was empty. With this knowledge she jumped Penrose, wrestling him for his gun. Penrose was hit in the back with a poisoned [[shuriken]], enabling Winston to seize his gun and shoot him in the chest.<ref name=SF8 /> The poison and the gunshot wound were both fatal.<ref name=SF10>''Sword and Fire'', ch. 10</ref>

Ordnance crews and DEST demolitions experts could find no evidence of explosives in the number three magazine or anywhere else on the ship, confirming that Penrose had been bluffing.<ref name=SF9>''Sword and Fire'', ch. 9</ref> After returning to her office, General Winston received a voice-only call from one of the nekakami agents, who asserted that Penrose had acted alone. According to him: "Lucas Penrose" was a [[Loki (Intelligence agency)|Loki]] agent who had been an assassin, first for the Lyran Commonwealth and later for the Lyran Alliance. The nekakami asked that "Julia Davis" be released from custody, and abruptly ended the call.<ref name=SF10/>

==Voice of Kerensky==
{{Main|Voice of Kerensky}}
At the conclusion of Hasek-Davion's funeral on 11 January, the ships of Task Force Serpent received a broadband transmission sent by General [[Aleksandr Kerensky]]. In his brief message, he explained why he had taken the original [[Star League Defense Force]] from the Inner Sphere and expressed his hope that their descendants would one day return to serve as the Star League's protectors. Because the message was sent by microwave, it was traveling at light-speed, and wouldn't reach the Inner Sphere for hundreds of years more. The task force would have missed the message completely if it hadn't been delayed by Hasek-Davion's death.<ref>''Sword and Fire'', chs. 4–5</ref>

==Battle of Huntress==
{{Main|Battle of Huntress (3060)}}

===Invasion===
The invasion of Huntress began on 19 February with the covert insertion of an advance team. DCS ''[[Haruna (Individual Kyushu-class WarShip)|Haruna]]'', broadcasting stolen IFF codes, jumped into the Huntress system, detached the ''Stiletto'', and jumped out again. The ''Stiletto'', claiming to be on an unscheduled supply transfer mission, dropped [[DEST]] teams onto the planet's surface and feigned a crash landing into the Dhuan Swamp. On 5 March, the DEST teams struck the planetary command and operations center beneath Mount Szabo, crippling it and disabling the [[Reagan Space Defense System]], clearing the way for the invasion to follow.<ref>''Sword and Fire'', chs. 13–15</ref>

That same day, the Serpent fleet jumped into the Huntress zenith point and was met by a ''[[Sovetskii Soyuz]]''-class heavy cruiser, two ''[[Vincent]]''-class corvettes, and a number of DropShips and OmniFighters. The Inner Sphere WarShips engaged without issuing any challenge, intending to destroy, not capture, the Smoke Jaguar fleet. They succeeded, destroying all three Clan WarShips, at the cost of the ''Rostock'', which was lost with only five survivors.<ref name=SF16>''Sword and Fire'', ch. 16</ref>

On 12 March, ground forces made landfall on Huntress, encountering opposition from planet-based aerospace units. They targeted military installations across Huntress: manufacturing centers at Myer and Pahn City; training facilities at Lootera, New Andery, Bagera, and Abysmal; and the planetary command center at Mount Szabo. The task force also moved to capture the Smoke Jaguar [[genetic repository]]. The elements of the task force were met with varying levels of resistance. The Eleventh Lyran Guards encountered a powerful, well-equipped force, and called in naval fire support from the ''Fire Fang'' to bombard the enemy units from orbit. The Second St. Ives Lancers and the Fourth Drakøns found that their objective was defended only by warrior training staff, while the Northwind Highlanders, the Knights of the Inner Sphere, and Kingston's Legionnaires were caught off-guard when they encountered [[ProtoMech|ProtoMechs]], a technology completely foreign to them.<ref>''Sword and Fire'', chs. 17–22</ref>

In spite of heavy losses, the assault on Huntress was a success. In less than twelve hours, the invaders accomplished their objectives and seized control of the planet.<ref name=SF22>''Sword and Fire'', ch. 22</ref> Galaxy Commander Russou Howell rallied what forces he could and withdrew to the Black Shikari Jungle.<ref name=SW3>''Shadows of War'', ch. 3</ref>

===Counterinvasion===
On 19 March, three WarShips and five JumpShips belonging to Clan Smoke Jaguar arrived at the Huntress zenith point. This group, under [[Galaxy Commander]] [[Hang Mehta]], had withdrawn from the Inner Sphere and was on its way to Huntress for refit and reorganization when [[Khan]] [[Lincoln Osis]] informed Mehta of the invasion and ordered her to retake the planet. Upon arrival, Mehta ordered all DropShips to detach and accompanied them toward the planet's surface, leaving [[Star Commodore]] [[Clarinda Stiles]] in command of the fleet. [[Commodore]] [[Alain Beresick]], the task force naval commander, divided his forces, moving one group to intercept the enemy WarShips, and the other evading them to hit the enemy JumpShips and DropShips. The Star League was again victorious, destroying all three enemy WarShips, but failed to stop the Clan forces entirely. Two JumpShips escaped, jumping back out of the system, and many DropShips penetrated the defensive screen, burning at high speed toward Huntress. The victory came with heavy losses. The ''Starlight'' was lost with all hands in a collision with one of the Smoke Jaguar corvettes, the ''Emerald'' was destroyed and abandoned, and the ''Antrim'' was damaged beyond the possibility of field repair. Most of the other SLDF ships were damaged to some degree.<ref name=SW7>''Shadows of War'', ch. 7</ref><ref name=SW8>''Shadows of War'', ch. 8</ref>

The Smoke Jaguar DropShips reached Huntress on 26 March, under the direct command of [[Star Colonel]] [[Paul Moon]].<ref name=SW5>''Shadows of War'', ch. 5</ref><ref name=SW8>''Shadows of War'', ch. 8</ref> Later that day, the ''[[Streaking Mist (Individual Black Lion-class WarShip)|Streaking Mist]]'', a ''[[Black Lion]]''-class WarShip, arrived at a [[pirate point]], delivering additional reinforcements led by Khan Lincoln Osis.<ref name=SW10>''Shadows of War'', ch. 10</ref> The Smoke Jaguars hit the task force hard, seizing control of Lootera, and forcing the invaders to retreat to the swamps and mountains. Over the next four days, the two sides fought a battle of attrition—each one caused losses to the other, but suffered its own in the process, and neither one could gain a decisive advantage. Paul Moon was critically wounded by an artillery strike and captured.<ref name=SW9>''Shadows of War'', ch. 9</ref> Lincoln Osis was seriously injured by the nekakami team when it destroyed the planet's secondary C3 center, but survived the attack and was evacuated to Strana Mechty.<ref name=SW19>''Shadows of War'', ch. 19</ref> General Winston was killed when a ''[[Summoner (Thor)|Thor]]'' destroyed the cockpit of her ''[[Cyclops]]''.<ref name=SW24>''Shadows of War'', ch. 24</ref>

Victory was assured for Task Force Serpent when, on 30 March, a fleet consisting of units from Task Force Bulldog, led by [[Victor Steiner-Davion]], appeared at the Huntress zenith point. Ten days later, the Bulldog reinforcements arrived on planet and overwhelmed the remaining Smoke Jaguars, most of whom chose to fight to the death rather than surrender.<ref name=SW24/>

==Aftermath==
From a force originally equal to ten regiments, Task Force Serpent had been reduced to less than two. Each unit was granted salvage rights to equipment sufficient to restore it to 110% of its original strength, with the rest pooled and sold to form a fund for survivors and families of the deceased. Colonel [[Paul Masters]] was placed in command of salvage and recovery operations on Huntress, while Victor Steiner-Davion led an expedition to [[Strana Mechty]].<ref>''Prince of Havoc'', ch. 2</ref> General [[Andrew Redburn]] and a lance of the Kathil Uhlans accompanied him and fought alongside him in the [[Great Refusal]], defeating Lincoln Osis and the last of the Smoke Jaguars.<ref>''Prince of Havoc'', ch. 10</ref><ref>''Prince of Havoc'', ch. 14</ref>

After its return to the Inner Sphere, Task Force Serpent was dissolved. The Eridani Light Horse were integrated into the Second Star League Defense Force.<ref>''Field Manual: ComStar'', p. 89</ref> The First Kathil Uhlans were disbanded and most surviving members were assigned to the newly-formed [[1st Royal BattleMech Regiment|First Royal BattleMech Regiment]].<ref>''Field Manual: ComStar'', p. 101</ref> While the Northwind Highlanders returned to their mercenary life, the [[Royal Black Watch]] joined the Star League Defense Force as well, returning to its place as bodyguards of the [[First Lord]].<ref>''Field Manual: ComStar'', p. 98</ref> The Fourth Drakøns were disbanded and the survivors spread among the rest of the [[KungsArmé]].<ref>''Field Manual: ComStar'', p. 98</ref>

==Composition==
Operation SERPENT was one of the largest military operations conducted by the Inner Sphere since the fall of the original [[Star League]]. In total, the task force consisted of 55,000 personnel; over a thousand [[BattleMech]]s, [[aerospace fighter]]s and [[combat vehicle]]s; ninety-eight [[DropShip]]s; and twenty-seven [[JumpShip]]s and [[WarShip]]s.<ref name=TH14>''The Hunters'', ch. 14</ref><ref name=TwotCp8/>

===Ground units===
* [[Eridani Light Horse]]
** [[21st Striker Regiment|Twenty-first Striker Regiment]] (reinforced regiment)
** [[71st Light Horse Regiment|Seventy-first Light Horse Regiment]] (reinforced regiment)
** [[151st Light Horse Regiment]] (reinforced regiment)
* [[Northwind Highlanders]]
** [[MacLeod's Regiment]] (reinforced regiment)
** [[1st Gurkhas|First Gurkhas]] (battalion)
** [[Royal Black Watch]] (company)
* [[1st Kathil Uhlans|First Kathil Uhlans]] (reinforced regiment)
* [[2nd St. Ives Lancers|Second St. Ives Lancers]] (reinforced battalion)
* [[Kingston's Legionnaires]] (regiment)
* [[1st Knights of the Inner Sphere|Knights of the Inner Sphere]] (reinforced regiment)
* [[11th Lyran Guards|Eleventh Lyran Guards]] (reinforced regiment)
* [[2nd Division (ComStar)|Com Guard Second Division]] (regiment)
* [[4th Drakøns|Fourth Drakøns]] (reinforced battalion)

===Special operations forces===
* [[DEST]] - Teams Four, Five and Six; ten operatives each; [[Kage]] [[battle armor]]
* [[Department of Military Intelligence|MI6]] - two teams of ten operatives each; [[Infiltrator Mk. I]] battle armor
* [[ROM]] - one agent {{Citation needed}}
* [[Nekakami]] - four operatives

===Fleet===
* ISS ''[[Invisible Truth (Individual Cameron-class WarShip)|Invisible Truth]]'' - [[ComStar]], ''[[Cameron (WarShip class)|Cameron]]''-class battlecruiser<ref name=TwotCp8/>
* ISS ''[[Ranger (Individual Lola III-class WarShip, ComStar)|Ranger]]'' - ComStar, ''[[Lola III]]''-class destroyer<ref name=TwotCp8/>
* ISS ''[[Emerald (Individual Essex-class WarShip)|Emerald]]'' - ComStar, ''[[Essex]]''-class destroyer<ref name=TwotCp8/>
* ISS ''[[Starlight (Individual Essex-class WarShip)|Starlight]]'' - ComStar, ''Essex''-class destroyer<ref name=TwotCp8/>
* DCS ''[[Haruna (Individual Kyushu-class WarShip)|Haruna]]'' - [[Draconis Combine]], ''[[Kyushu]]''-class frigate<ref name=TwotCp8/>
* FCS ''[[Antrim (Individual Fox-class WarShip)|Antrim]]'' - [[Federated Commonwealth]], ''[[Fox (WarShip class)|Fox]]''-class corvette<ref name=TwotCp8/>
* FCS ''[[Rostock (Individual Fox-class WarShip)|Rostock]]'' - Federated Commonwealth, ''Fox''-class corvette<ref name=TwotCp8/>
* CGBS ''[[Fire Fang (Individual Whirlwind-class WarShip)|Fire Fang]]'' - [[Clan Ghost Bear]], ''[[Whirlwind]]''-class destroyer (captured at [[Battle of Trafalgar]])<ref name=TH28>''The Hunters'', ch. 28</ref>
* Various [[JumpShip]]s and [[DropShip]]s<ref name=TH12>''The Hunters'', ch. 12</ref>
*: ''[[Asturias (Individual JumpShip)|Asturias]]'' - ComStar (unknown class)<ref name="THp123">''The Hunters'', p. 123: "Chapter 14"</ref>

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Field Manual: ComStar]]''
* ''[[Grave Covenant]]'' (novel)
* ''[[The Hunters]]'' (novel)
* ''[[Prince of Havoc]]'' (novel)
* ''[[Shadows of War]]'' (novel)
* ''[[Sword and Fire]]'' (novel)
* ''[[Twilight of the Clans]]''

[[Category:Clan Invasion Era Military Operations|Task Force Serpent]]
[[Category:Second Star League|Task Force Serpent]]