Editing Tripitz

{{infoBoxIndividualVessel
| image      = SLS Tripitz.jpg
| vesselname = Tripitz
| prevname   =
| type       = [[WarShip]]
| class      = [[Black Lion]]
| prevclass  = 
}}
==History==
The ''[[Black Lion]]''-class battlecruiser '''''[[Tripitz]]'''''<ref>Although "''Tripitz''" may have originally been a misspelling for "''[[w:Tirpitz|Tirpitz]]''", in reference to either the German battleship from the Second World War or the eponymous German admiral, the name is consistently spelled "''Tripitz''" in all BattleTech source material.</ref> was a [[WarShip]] in service with the [[Star League Defense Force]] space-borne navy as the SLS ''Tripitz'' during the era of the [[Star League]]. The circumstances that led to the ''Tripitz'' being abandoned are unknown, but in [[2979]] she was discovered orbiting a planet in an empty star system near [[New Vandenberg]] by forces from the [[Taurian Concordat]], who were conducting a routine survey of the system. The Taurian forces believed that they could recover and repair the ''Tripitz'', and began positioning themselves to do just that.<ref name="CSp41">''ComStar'', p. 41, "The Tripitz Affair"</ref>

It wasn't long before others learned of the existence of the ''Tripitz''; agents from the [[Capellan Confederation]] intelligence agency known as the [[Maskirovka]] began planning their own mission to recover the ''Tripitz'' after learning of the Taurian discovery, and [[ComStar]] swiftly learned of the discovery as well. The newly-elected [[Primus (ComStar)|Primus]] of ComStar, [[Yin Takami]], was informed of the discovery of the ''Tripitz'' ten days after being elevated to the Primacy from his former position as [[Precentor]] of [[New Earth]]. The discovery of the ''Tripitz'' was a serious concern for ComStar, as almost all of the WarShips within the [[Inner Sphere]] had been destroyed or rendered ineffective by 2979, and the restoration of a functioning ''Black Lion'' would swiftly alter the balance of power in the region.<ref name="CSp41"/>

Takami ordered that the ''Tripitz'' was to be destroyed, and dispatched the [[1st Division (ComStar)|First Division of the ComStar Guards and Militia]] to ensure her destruction. Intent on preventing anyone from discovering that ComStar was behind the action, Takami also ordered that the [[Com Guards|ComStar Guards and Militia]] forces should paint their ships white with no markings.

The mission was a complete success; the [[aerospace fighter]]s operated by the Com Guards were far superior to those flown by the Taurians thanks to the Star League technology still in use with the Com Guards. After destroying the Taurian aerospace forces with minimal casualties, the First Division bombed and strafed the ''Tripitz'', leaving her as nothing more than a burnt hulk locked into a decaying orbit.<ref name="CSp41"/><ref name="FM:Cp13">''Field Manual: ComStar'', p. 13, "Bait and Switch"</ref>

The destruction of the ''Tripitz''—recorded by ComStar as the "[[Tripitz Affair]]"—gave rise to a number of theories as to who was responsible for the destruction of the Taurian forces and prompted the rise of a folklore legend around mysterious forces known as the [[Vandenberg White Wings]].<ref name="CSp41"/>

==Shadow History==
While the reasons why the ''Tripitz'' ended up abandoned in an uninhabited [[Periphery]] system near the Taurian Concordat are unknown, a number of [[Canon Rumor|unconfirmed documents of questionable provenance]] have provided some context.

The mysterious former ComStar operative known as "Damocles" (later revealed to be Com Guard agent [[Tempest Stryker]]) provided documents to [[INN]] reporter [[Sandra Raines]] during an interview conducted in a safe house on the world of [[Sheratan]]. Damocles was intent on providing what he claimed was accurate information about the [[Word of Blake]] sect known as the [[Sixth of June]], the agents known as ''[[Manei Domini]]'' and their leader, the figure known as [[The Master]]. Among those documents were pages allegedly recovered from the diary of [[Colonel]] [[Hanni Schmitt]], the last commanding officer of the [[Black Watch]], the SLDF unit responsible for guarding the [[First Lord]] of the Star League.<ref name="IPp18+">''Interstellar Players'', p. 18-20, "Final Thoughts and Revelations"</ref>

According to the diary pages, events surrounding the death of the last member of [[House Cameron]] to hold the title of First Lord, [[Richard Cameron]], differed from those commonly believed to be true. The major differences highlighted through the diary pages were apparent confirmation that Richard and his wife Elise had twin children, not the single child reported elsewhere, and that those two children—Amanda and Ian Richard—escaped the massacre of the Cameron bloodline in the Unity Palace throne room at the hands of [[Stefan Amaris]] as a result of the actions of Schmitt and a small number of other loyal officers. Those officers arranged for [[Major]] [[Ian MacIntosh]] of the Black Watch and his [[BattleMech]] [[lance]] to swap Amanda and Ian Richard for another unnamed child and escape from Terra during Amaris' coup aboard the ''[[Colossus (DropShip class)|Colossus]]''-class [[DropShip]] SLS ''[[Abyss]]'' while the remainder of the Black Watch distracted the [[4th Amaris Dragoons|Fourth Amaris Dragoons]] with a last stand on the Gorst Flats. The ''Abyss'' purportedly escaped thanks to covering fire from the Reagan [[SDS]] installed on [[Terra]] to rendezvous with a waiting WarShip on the dark side of [[Luna]]; that WarShip, the SLS ''Tripitz'', then carried the ''Abyss'' and its cargo out of the Sol system.<ref name="IPp18+"/>

The information provided by Damocles remains the only source containing these claims, and as such is unconfirmed and constitutes at best a rumor. It should be noted that while a number of elements of the information provided by Damocles to Sandra Raines such as Blakist involvement in the [[Circinus Federation]] turned out to be correct, other allegations—such as [[Kali Liao]] and The Master being one and the same person—were proven to be spurious. If the diary pages of Hanni Schmitt are accurate, then the ''Tripitz'' was due to take Major MacIntosh to a safe haven within the [[Terran Hegemony]] or, failing that, to allies in the [[Federated Suns]] or [[Lyran Commonwealth]]. No explanation was offered for how the ''Tripitz'' would end up abandoned in an uninhabited system near the Taurian Concordat, but it should be noted that at the time of the Coup, Aleksandr Kerensky was in the Taurian Concordat. On 4 February, [[2767]] when news of the Coup reached him, General Kerensky was in the New Vandenberg system aboard the ''[[McKenna's Pride]].<ref name="IPp18+"/><ref>''Historical: Liberation of Terra, Vol 1'', p. 99, "New Year, New War"</ref>

Documents recorded in the secret journal of former [[Precentor]] [[ROM]] [[Victoria Parrdeau]] (secured by [[Chandrasekhar Kurita]] during the Blakist [[Jihad]]) included a snippet claiming that ComStar had another motive entirely for destroying the ''Tripitz'' quite apart from keeping its technology out of Taurian hands, one which Parrdeau believed the Taurians would never discover. No further information was included explaining what that reason was however, and it is not known if Parrdeau was referring to ComStar attempting to cover up the role of the ''Tripitz'' in saving the Cameron Twins spoken of in the diary provided by Damocles or something else entirely.<ref name=TBD-114>''Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents'', p. 115 "Through the Looking Glass"</ref>

==Notes==
This starship was probably named after the naval dreadnought ''Tirpitz'' of the Second World War.

==References==
<References/>

==Bibliography==
* ''[[ComStar (sourcebook)|ComStar]]'' (sourcebook)
* ''[[Field Manual: ComStar]]''
* ''[[Interstellar Players]]''
* ''[[Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents]]''


[[Category: Individual WarShips]]
[[Category: Individual Battlecruisers]]
[[Category: Individual Black Lion-class WarShips]]