OBT Forum

TAU GALAXY: THE BRIMSTONE CATAPHRACTS



The newest Galaxy in Clan Hell's Horses, Tau Galaxy represents the inevitable reaction to the Mongol movement that began with the Horses and took over the Jade Falcon Clan. When Malvina Hazen's orbital bombardment of Timkovichi in 3142 resulted in the destruction of most of the Horses' Beta Galaxy, it paradoxically endeared her to the Mongols even more. But for the remaining holdouts from the movement with the Hell's Horses, it was the straw that broke the workhorse's back. Several influential warriors, led by the charismatic Watch Star Colonel Deacon Amirault, began to push for breaking the alliance with the Falcons during Clan Council meetings. Initially outnumbered and unpopular, a few spectacular victories in Trials of Grievance against their leading lights gained Amirault and his followers grudging respect; when Malvina showed her true colors by threatening to use nuclear weapons during the fighting on Hesperus in 3145, Amirault looked prescient and the Khans looked foolish. Nearly overnight opinion among the Clan's Bloodnamed turned against the Jade Falcons, and with the ascension of Fulk Lassenarra, a major critic of the alliance, to the office of saKhan in the wake of former saKhan Jeronimo Cobb's death on Hesperus, Khan Gottfried Amirault had no choice but withdraw Horse support from Malvina's crusade.

Of course, the Khan was not known as politically savvy for nothing. Looking to get ahead of the swing in sentiments among the Horses, he ordered the creation of a new Galaxy with Deacon Amirault at its head. Occupying a status somewhere between a frontline and secondline Galaxy, newly-christened Tau very pointedly did not include any Horde Clusters. Instead, it was built as an old-school Horse Galaxy, eschewing the Mongol Doctrine in favor of classic Horse variant Clusters. With the Khan's explicit trust in his judgment, Galaxy Commander Amirault was allowed to personally select his officer corps, and by the end of the year had assembled three Clusters and a Command Supernova. Stationed on worlds rimward of Csesztreg, the Brimstone Cataphracts, as they have come to be called, have already launched several raids against Falcon and Dominion territory.


OFFICERS

Deacon Amirault

Decanted: 3095 (51 in 3146)
Homeworld: Csesztreg
Gunnery: 2
Piloting: 1
SPAs: Maneuvering Ace, Natural Aptitude (Gunnery), Tactical Genius

Deacon Amirault was decanted in 3095, and grew up during the long peace that followed the Jihad. While a talented Mechwarrior in his own right, it was his cunning and guile that earned him his Bloodname; he consistently outsmarted more skilled opponents during his Trial of Bloodright and did so in a way that earned the attention of Loremaster Sachiko Ravenwater. Knowing that the unconventional Amirault would not go far as a traditional Clan warrior, the Loremaster convinced him to join the Watch, where he rapidly climbed the ranks and soon became known as the agency's most effective agent, both on and off the field. Ravenwater schooled him in the arts of both war and politics, and Amirault soon became well-known in the chambers of the Clan Council for being able to cut down an opponent with a handful of words as skillfully as others might use a BattleMech. Between this and his (eventually) vocal opposition to the Mongol Doctrine, he is a polarizing figure within the Horses; only time will tell if the Khan's gamble in giving him his own Galaxy will pay dividends for the Clan.

Amirault has long piloted an old Blood Asp assault OmniMech, one of the last of its kind in the Inner Sphere. Named "Rocinante", he archly refers to it as an “old warhorse, past its prime”, an unspoken invitation to foolhardy young warriors to assume the same of him. It is an assumption that he has disabused many an overconfident Horseman of in a Circle of Equals.


TACTICS

Tau Galaxy knows that if and when the Horses decide to unleash the Touman on Clan Jade Falcon, they will likely be the tip of the spear, given their animosity toward the Mongols. To that end, it has practiced a strategy that extols the teamwork ethos the Horses are known for. The 116th Mechanized Cavalry uses its nimble and lightweight forces (including a Star of Issus aerospace fighters equipped with advanced imaging technology) to flush out their opponents and force them into a defensive posture. Once the 116th has fixed the enemy into place, the 231st Mechanized Assault smashes into them with concentrated firepower and 35th Mechanized Strike moves to strike from behind or roll up their flanks.

[Unit Abilities: Tau Galaxy's fiercely anti-Mongol attitude gives it a +1 to Initiative whenever fighting Jade Falcon forces (this increases to +2 if they are Mongol-affiliated). On the other hand, it receives a -1 penalty to Initiative if forced to work alongside any Mongols from their own Clan.]


Tau Galaxy Command
1 Trinary/Elite/Fanatical
CO: Galaxy Commander Deacon Amirault

231st Mechanized Assault Cluster
5 Trinaries/Veteran/Reliable
CO: Star Colonel Lana Grimheald

35th Mechanized Strike Cluster
5 Trinaries/Elite/Fanatical
CO: Star Colonel Ulysses Grant

116th Mechanized Cavalry Cluster
5 Trinaries/Veteran/Reliable
CO: Star Colonel Constantin Fletcher

15th Rangers Cluster
3 Trinaries/Veteran/Questionable
CO: Star Colonel Sacha Sradac