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TAU GALAXY COMMAND

CO: Galaxy Commander Deacon Amirault
Aide: Star Colonel Elias Cobb
Unit Status: Elite/Fanatical
Unit Nickname: The Watchers
Unit Insignia: A great flaming eye with a Tau-shaped iris
Unit Colors: The standard Tau Galaxy scheme, flame red on the front half and ash grey on the rear half, with an undulating line of flame separating the halves


OFFICERS

Elias Cobb

Decanted: 3108 (38 in 3146)
Homeworld: Csesztreg
Gunnery: 0
Piloting: 1
SPAs: Sniper

Elias Cobb is known first and foremost as a political creature. A member of the influential Bloodname House Cobb, he has political ties to both the Khan and saKhan of the Horses, as well as senior officers in the Wolf Empire and Rasalhague Dominion. While not a member of the Watch like Galaxy Commander Amirault, he is reliably one of the best sources for intel in Tau Galaxy. He is also the Supernova's deadliest Mechwarrior; his Kingfisher tears through opponents with ruthless efficiency while being able to withstand staggering amounts of return fire.

Although Jeronimo Cobb's death on Hesperus II was a double-blow for his Bloodname House, as he was both a saKhan and House Leader, it presents a major opportunity for Elias, as he has long been seen as the obvious successor for leadership of his House. However, he faces stiff competition from both the ambitious Star Colonel Daniele Cobb of the prestigious 22nd Mechanized Assault Cluster and the egotistical Star Colonel Farouk Cobb of the prideful 42nd BattleMech Cluster (a unit still coasting on the reputation of having slain the infamous Vlad Ward). This actually represents one of the primary reasons Amirault tapped Elias as his second: the Galaxy Commander believes that Cobb will work that much harder to ensure the success of Tau Galaxy if he knows his political future depends on it. Knowing the (sometimes literally) cutthroat nature of Clan politics, it almost certainly does.


Javier Mendoza

Decanted: 3117 (29 in 3146)
Homeworld: Kirchbach
Gunnery: 0
Piloting: 2
SPAs: Cluster Master

Javier was part of one of many smaller sibkos bred from the relatively minor Bloodnames that form the backbone of most Clans' warrior castes. His wrangler, Jarrod, was a Wolf abtakha, and the two became very close, regularly training and coupling in their off hours; Jarrod taught him much about the tactics and practices of the Wolf Clan, and Javier put it to good use when he got his first command with the 97th Mechanized Strike Cluster after his Trial of Position. His superior knowledge of Wolf tactics allowed him to lead his Star to a stunning victory over a Binary from the 88th Wolf Battle Cluster in 3136 during a Trial of Possession on Liezen. Javier earned his Bloodname the following year, one of the few in the Trial of Bloodright who was sponsored by another Mendoza rather than being selected by the House Leader (to his House Leader's displeasure). Unfortunately for Javier, his House Leader was a former sibmate of his, Nova Captain Xavier Mendoza, and one of his superiors in the 97th to boot. Out of spite, Xavier did everything he could to ensure officers from more prestigious lines kept getting the choice assignments, and for a time Javier languished in his position. However, Deacon Amirault had witnessed his 3136 victory firsthand as a Watch agent, have covertly observed the Trial as part of his assignment there. When the time came to form Tau Galaxy's Command Supernova, Deacon plucked Javier out of the 97th and promoted him to Nova Commander. Given license to assemble his Nova from some of the finest equipment the Clan had to offer, Javier has assembled the heavy cavalry force of his dreams.


Kasinda Rickard

Decanted: 3108 (38 in 3146)
Homeworld: Kirchbach
Gunnery: 1
Piloting: 1
SPAs: Jumping Jack

Kasinda Rickard very nearly never made it to the warrior caste at all. From a young age, Kasinda regularly snuck out of her sibko's training facility on Kirchbach to explore the nearby bustling capital of New Samos. At the age of 15, she was caught with a stash of illicit materials (including weapons and banned media) in her bunk and expelled from the warrior caste, ending up assigned to the technician caste instead. In frustration, Kasinda began fighting in underground bareknuckle boxing matches; when she grew bored of that, she started picking fights with local gang members. Nearly killed after she tried to jump a local triad boss as he exited his hoverlimo, Kasinda woke up in a hospital bed to find then-Star Captain Deacon Amirault sitting over her. The triad boss was a Watch asset, as it turned out, and Deacon was his handler. He saw potential in the young woman, and with his superiors' permission, he inducted Kasinda into the Watch as an agent-in-training. Though unorthodox, Deacon also had her undergo the Ritual of Adoption, reinstating her as a warrior and having her go through an accelerated Mechwarrior training regimen taught by qualified Watch agents. Kasinda was likewise put through infantry and commando training, accompanying several Watch hit squads on surgical strikes against insurgents in the Barrens. As Deacon rose through the ranks, Kasinda rose with him, achieving Star Captaincy by age 30 and acting as Deacon's right hand. After breaking up a major smuggling ring within the 13th Ranger Cluster that was supplying BattleMechs to the New Oberon Confederation, Kasinda was sponsored for a Trial of Bloodright for a reactivated Rickard legacy, which climaxed with her memorable victory over an Elemental in the mazelike blackcrystal fields of Egylet (the second moon of Csesztreg). Constructing a crude blade from the abundant crystal spires, she wore her opponent down over the course of two days before creeping up on him, severing his Achilles tendon, then driving the blade through his eye into his brain, splintering crystal severing two of her fingers in the process.

Due to her personal loyalty to Deacon, Kasinda was the very first Blooded warrior to back him on the Clan Council when he came out against the Mongols, and accepted a demotion to Nova Commander to join Tau Galaxy's Command Supernova and stay at the Galaxy Commander's side. Unbeknownst to the rest of Tau, Kasinda's entire Nova is staffed by fellow Watch agents, all of whom are part of the same elite commando units she was a member of. The Nova often arrives in a system well before the rest of the Galaxy, sneaking on-world via stealthed dropshuttles or smuggling themselves aboard merchant Dropships and disabling key sections of a planet's early warning grids before their compatriots launch their assault.

Kasinda and Elias Cobb do not get along well, to put it mildly: Kasinda considers Elias to have only reached his station due to political connections and regularly needles him about his acting as Deacon's aide-de-camp rather than commanding a Cluster as most Star Colonels would. Likewise, Elias regards Kasinda as a dezgra, up-jumped civilian who has no place in the warrior caste at all; the fact that she brought great shame upon Star Colonel Jennifer Cobb of the 13th Rangers (and, by extension, Bloodname House Cobb as a whole) only intensifies his disdain. While Galaxy Commander Amirault has thus far managed to keep them from each other's throats, it is likely only a matter of time before their personal grievances come to a head.


TACTICS

Tau Galaxy's Command Supernova usually operates alongside the 231st Mechanized Assault Cluster, moving to shore up any holes in their lines or take advantage of any in their opponent's. They are equally skilled in zellbrigen duels and all-out melees. Much like their comrades in the 231st, they favor semi-guided LRMs, and will happily pour concentrated missile fire on opponents if a melee is declared.

[Unit Abilities: The Tau Galaxy Command Supernova has the Off-Map Movement ability.]


TO&E

Blood Asp
Galaxy Commander Deacon Amirault
Gunnery [2], Piloting [1], Maneuvering Ace, Tactical Genius, Natural Aptitude (Gunnery)

Kingfisher
Star Colonel Elias Cobb
Gunnery [0], Piloting [1], Sniper

Warhawk
Mechwarrior Adisvara
Gunnery [2], Piloting [1]

Executioner
Mechwarrior Homer
Gunnery [1], Piloting [4]

Executioner
Mechwarrior Danny
Gunnery [2], Piloting [3]

Gnome Battle Armor (LRM) Point
Point Commander Rafael
Gunnery [0], Anti-'Mech [1]

Gnome Battle Armor (LRM) Point
Point Commander Mikael
Gunnery [1], Anti-'Mech [2]

Gnome Battle Armor (LRM) Point
Point Commander Marian
Gunnery [2], Anti-'Mech [4]

Gnome Battle Armor (LRM) Point
Point Commander Tadeu
Gunnery [2], Anti-'Mech [1]

Gnome Battle Armor (LRM) Point
Point Commander Arziki
Gunnery [2], Anti-'Mech [4]

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Mad Dog Mk IV
Nova Commander Javier Mendoza
Gunnery [0], Piloting [2], Cluster Master

Gargoyle
Mechwarrior Leo
Gunnery [1], Piloting [4]

Gargoyle
Mechwarrior Izabella
Gunnery [1], Piloting [3]

Timber Wolf
Mechwarrior Farah
Gunnery [0], Piloting [3]

Timber Wolf
Mechwarrior Toimi
Gunnery [1], Piloting [3]

Buraq Fast Battle Armor (Support) Point
Point Commander Lonnie
Gunnery [0], Anti-'Mech [3]

Buraq Fast Battle Armor (Support) Point
Point Commander Arooj
Gunnery [2], Anti-'Mech [1]

Buraq Fast Battle Armor (Support) Point
Point Commander Rene
Gunnery [2], Anti-'Mech [2]

Buraq Fast Battle Armor (Support) Point
Point Commander Harley
Gunnery [2], Anti-'Mech [1]

Buraq Fast Battle Armor (Support) Point
Point Commander Lumir
Gunnery [1], Anti-'Mech [3]

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Grendel
Nova Commander Kasinda Rickard
Gunnery [1], Piloting [1], Jumping Jack

Black Lanner
Mechwarrior Rhodes
Gunnery [3], Piloting [2]

Arctic Wolf II
Mechwarrior Margaritha
Gunnery [0], Piloting [3]

Viper
Mechwarrior Damiano
Gunnery [1], Piloting [4]

Viper
Mechwarrior Karla
Gunnery [3], Piloting [1]

Salamander Battle Armor (AP) Point
Point Commander Tawnia
Gunnery [0], Anti-'Mech [2]

Salamander Battle Armor (AP) Point
Point Commander Benito
Gunnery [1], Anti-'Mech [2]

Salamander Battle Armor (AP) Point
Point Commander Kyung-Min
Gunnery [1], Anti-'Mech [3]

Salamander Battle Armor (AP) Point
Point Commander Levi
Gunnery [2], Anti-'Mech [2]

Salamander Battle Armor (AP) Point
Point Commander Mesut
Gunnery [3], Anti-'Mech [3]



Transport

DropShips
Union-C-class So Much For Subtlety
Sassasind-class Shapur
Vanir-class Mardoll
Model 96 “Elephant”-class Airavata

JumpShips
Odyssey-class Telemachus