Battle of the Pentagon Run

The Battle of the Pentagon Run (July 2821 - December 2821) was a series of naval engagements fought during Operation Klondike against fleeing elements of the spacefarers who resided above the various Pentagon Worlds.[1]


Battle of the Pentagon Run
Part of Early phases Operation KLONDIKE
Start Date July 2821 - December 2821
Location Multiple star systems spread out coreward of the Caliban Nebula
Planet Babylon, Circe, Outpost One, Fasa, EC821-387D
Result Victory for the fledgling Clans in their very first test of naval resolve
Commanders and leaders
Rafe Kardaan, defacto Admiral of the Clans[2] Bands of independent Spacefarers above and near Pentagon Worlds
Forces involved
Multi-Clan naval task force Several Jumpships and Warships
Environment
Deep Space


Summary of Events[edit]

Initial Engagements[edit]

When Operation Klondike was launched, the first order of business was the securing of jumppoints and approaches in each system above the Pentagon Worlds.

The space above each planetary system was host to bands of independent spacefarers who remained aloof to the plight of the people on the ground. Many had never even set foot on a terrestrial body.[3] In order to ensure safe landing for their ground forces, as well as the complete dominance of Nicholas Kerensky's new society in general, these people would be the first military target of the fledgling Clan navy.

The jump into Arcadia and engagement of naval forces was almost a complete success due to impeccable planning by Clan Star Adder's Khan Absalom Truscott and his team of strategists. No JumpShips made it out that were not immediately accounted for at other Clan-held locations in systems nearby. At Dagda, the blockades of Clan Burrock and Clan Widowmaker successfully stopped all escape attempts, in spite of a few spectacular events during the course of the engagement. Near total success like this was not to be the case at the rest of the Pentagon Worlds.

At Babylon, two JumpShips and four DropShips escaped that were never accounted for in after-action reports. At Circe, a Quixote class Destroyer and four JumpShips escaped at the zenith jumppoint. At an orbital space station called Outpost One (Part of the Circe system), three JumpShips and a massive Potemkin class Transport Cruiser eluded capture as well. And at Eden one JumpShip was able to flee, but was found some years later with all hands dead due to the actions of a Clan boarding party that had already breached the hull before the jump.[4]

The Chase[edit]

The spacefarers of Circe had set up another colony well in advance, to help ensure survival. Located 23 light years anti-spinward of Circe, an airless planetary body with abundant water and minerals dubbed Fasa was their secret redoubt.[1]

Most of the JumpShips from Circe had made it to Fasa. But when the Potemkin class transport appeared in-system, all of the spacefarers present knew it was only a short matter of time until the invaders located their enclave looking for this huge vessel. In only two months, the spacefarers packed up everything they could take and fled.

Under orders from ilKhan Nicholas Kerensky to bring the rebels back under the aegis of Clan rule, Clan Cloud Cobra saKhan Rafe Kardaan set out in pursuit of the fleeing spacefarers. Though it took months to accomplish, mostly due to a lack of cohesion in his fleet which was made up of contingents from most of the Clans, slowly the task force tracked the spacefarers to their various hideouts.

Capturing only small, scattered groups at first, a breakthrough came in September of 2821. After learning of several key spacefarer locations from salvaged navigation computers on board a crippled Riga class Destroyer, Rafe Kardaan and his fleet won the next three engagements, capturing many JumpShips and DropShips at each battle. While the Clan fleet was in an unnamed system 110 light years from Circe, the spacefarers mustered a counter-attack, but succeeded only in handing the Clans a one-sided victory over most of the rebels' few remaining WarShips.[2]

The Catch[edit]

After two more running engagements, the rebels combined their remaining forces. The larger fleet may have offered the hope of better protection, but was impossible to hide.

Finally cornered at a system marked simply EC821-387D on Clan charts, the slower-moving rebel fleet was overtaken by Kardaan's task force. During this battle two more rebel WarShips were destroyed, with 11 of their JumpShips captured by the Clans. By contrast, the Clan fleet lost only one WarShip.

The Potemkin and Quixote that had escaped from the battle of Circe jumped out again, but were caught two weeks later in a nearby star system. The Potemkin was captured (along with 20,000 people on board it and its associated DropShips), but the Quixote successfully jumped out of the system, never to be seen again.[2]

Aftermath[edit]

This series of engagements saw the end of the spacefarer way of life that had developed in the wake of Nicholas Kerensky's Second Exodus. Kerensky would order the remnant of the colony on Fasa dismantled and destroyed, while the 20,000 people captured on the Potemkin were sent to Strana Mechty for 'integration'. These people would go to good use later, when the Clans reactivated many of the mothballed vessels that had been stored in orbit around the Pentagon Worlds.

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Historical: Operation Klondike, p. 46, "Pentagon Run"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Historical: Operation Klondike, p. 47, "Pentagon Run"
  3. Historical: Operation Klondike, p. 47, "Chief of Education and Mental Services Scientist Randa Report"
  4. Historical: Operation Klondike, p. 46 "Eden"

Bibliography[edit]
https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Battle_of_the_Pentagon_Run
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