History of Clan Diamond Shark

Clan Diamond Shark's history is certainly one of the more distinct in Clan history. No other Clan has been forced to make a more fundamental change than the Diamond Sharks. Originally founded as Clan Sea Fox, the Clan was forced to change its name when rivals from Clan Snow Raven engineered the destruction of the Clan's namesake.

Originally named Clan Sea Fox by Nicholas Kerensky, this Clan quickly gained a reputation for free thinking liberalism and a openness with its lower castes which was remarkably different from the other Clans. Under the leadership of Khan Karen Nagasawa, Clan Sea Fox was soon known for its democratic ways and liberal attitudes toward all its caste members. Khan Nagasawa's policies paid off hugely as the Clan reaped substantial benefits from its exploration teams and the Clan-wide information network, the Chatterweb. With access to a number of extremely lucrative markets as well as being one of the first Clans to deploy OmniMechs, Clan Sea Fox rose to a high stature in a remarkably short time. All of these successes, though, came at a high price. The sea fox, once an endangered species, was soon to fall to a man-made threat.

Khan Howell of Clan Snow Raven, angered at recent losses to the hated Clan Sea Fox, ordered his scientists to create the ultimate aquatic killer. The Snow Raven scientists genetically engineered a Terran great white shark to become an even more fearsome predator. The new shark was dubbed the diamond shark, in honor of the diamond hard ridges on its flanks.The shark was then released into the sea in search of prey. It found it - in the sea fox. The sea fox of Strana Mechty knew no natural enemies. It was at the top of the food chain the planet's oceans and greatly admired by Clan Sea Fox. Within weeks, the diamond shark had decimated much of the sea fox's population. Soon the sea fox, which had already been saved from extinction once, was doomed.

No one knew of the sea fox's plight until Khan Clarke sailed out to give tribute. As Khan offered homage to the sea fox, he and his attendants were shocked to see a sea fox brutally killed by a previously unknown sea creature. Khan Clarke ordered the capture of the creature. A squad of Elementals managed to capture the beast, but the Sea Fox scientists were unable to identify its species. The arrival of the diamond shark left the Sea Fox Khans in a quandary. A quick survey indicated that the sea fox would be extinct before the end of the year. Clearly, the diamond shark proved the superior of the sea fox.

Khan Clarke called for vote allowing Clan Sea Fox to change its name to Diamond Shark. During the debates, it was revealed that the Snow Ravens were responsible for the destruction of the sea fox. Some of the other Khans were sympathetic to the Sea Fox's dilemma, but in the end the vote was cast against the name change. Khan Clarke immediately declared a Trial of Refusal and won the right to change the Clan's name.

After much pondering and soul searching, Khan Clarke came to a controversial decision. Khan Clarke threw the vote to change the Clan's name open to all members of the Clan. The warriors were enraged by this, but Khan Clarke stood firm in the face of opposition, defeating all challengers. In the end, the Clans name was changed to Diamond Shark. The Sea Fox was gone forever.

Few Clans were pleased by the vote, the Smoke Jaguars least of all. Appalled that the Sharks would let their lower castes have a say in anything, the Jaguars launched a major attack against a Diamond Shark holding. Khan Clarke ordered his units to use flexible tactics, knowing that the Jaguars depended upon rigid battle plans and strict adherence to the chain of command. The Diamond Shark units crushed the Jaguar force, proving that the Sharks were not as weak-willed as some thought.

The next century brought about great changes as the Sharks continued to show themselves to be expert merchants and scientists. Many technological advances, including the perfection of many BattleMech weapons, gave the Sharks great tactical flexibility as its warriors were amongst the first to field OmniMechs. Diamond Shark scientists also discovered the harjell, which, when combined with a starch produced a extremely durable and flexible substance used in the repair of Elemental armor and securing hull breaches on DropShip, JumpShips and WarShips.

The Crusaders demands for invasion put the Diamond Sharks in a difficult position. While they agreed in principle that the Inner Sphere needed to be brought into the fold, they were at odds with the other Clans as to the method. Over the last century, the Sharks had slowly transitioned from being a Warden Clan to Crusader. The Sharks disagreed with the Wolves about leaving the Inner Sphere alone and definitely did not want the Smoke Jaguars leading the attack. The Jaguars brutal policies and attitudes toward the lower castes left the Shark Khans concerned about the future of the Inner Sphere. Clan history had shown that the Jaguars would likely incinerate any population center that caused them too much trouble.

As the years passed, the Diamond Shark Khans came to the decision that invasion was inevitable and they were the logical Clan to lead the invasion. When Khan Kherlin Ward proposed Wolf's Dragoons in 3005, the Diamond Shark Khans voted in favor of the proposal. The lack of information concerning the Inner Sphere convinced the Shark Khans to wait until they learned how matters fared in the Successor States.

Fortunately, the decision to wait proved correct. The information provided by Wolf's Dragoons convinced many that the Inner Sphere, rather from being a collapsing hulk, was beginning to thrive once more. Further evidence showed that the Successor States were rapidly regaining the technology lost during the ruinous Successor Wars. The emergence of the Federated Commonwealth alarmed many Crusader Khans. They cited that the Commonwealth was on the verge of rebuilding the Star League on its own!

The matter was debated further over the next few years, with all talks of invasion stalled by the Warden Khans. The decision to invade came when Khan Leo Showers presented evidence that the Inner Sphere was readying itself to invade the Clan homeworlds. Khan Showers' eloquence not only guaranteed the invasion, but that he would be elected ilKhan.

The bidding for slots in the invasion force was fierce, only Clan Wolf (by virtue of being the heirs of the Kerensky's) was exempted from the many brutal Trials. Khan Hawker's Diamond Shark forces did not fair well in the Trials and was forced to accept a position as a reserve Clan.

The Diamond Keshik journeyed with the invasion force and fought well alongside the Jade Falcons. The Keshik performed so well, in fact, that prominent Jade Falcons schemed to remove the Diamond Shark presence from the invasion force by any means. The Sharks were eventually force to limit their role in the Inner Sphere, but not after winning the planet Nyserta from Clan Ghost Bear.

Finally, in 3052, the Clans engaged ComStar in one of the biggest battles in the history of the Inner Sphere. The Diamond Shark force, comprised of Alpha, Gamma and Omega Galaxies, was shattered by the Com Guards hit and run tactics. Only the valiant sacrifice made by Omega Galaxy allowed the Sharks to escape. The Com Guards eventually won the battle, allowing only Clan Wolf to win its objectives and the Ghost Bears to win one.

Recent Events

In the six years subsequent to the disastrous battle on Tukayyid, the Diamond Sharks have spent enormous amounts trading with the other Clans and rebuilding their touman. Diamond Shark merchants have made enormous profits in recent years selling goods and equipment to the invading Clans. Diamond Shark transports are the least threatening to Inner Sphere, but their WarShips will not hesitate to attack any vessel that interferes with their trade.

In the interim, Khan Hawker has ceded control of the Clan to Angus Labov, head of the politically powerful merchants council, in return for the resources to rebuild. The Diamond Sharks have rebuilt their military in record time.

Prior to the recent Inner Sphere counterattack, Khan Hawker joined forces with Ice Hellion Khan Asa Taney in an attempt to absorb one or more of the invading Clans. Fortunately for the Inner Sphere, the move was defeated by quick thinking by Wolf Khan Vladimir Ward and Jade Falcon Khan Marthe Pryde. Fortunately, few Diamond Shark troops participated in the Harvest Wars initiated by Khan Ward.

Death of a Clan

With the defeat of the Smoke Jaguars in the Inner Sphere and on Huntress, the Clans found themselves with the unprecedented prospect of an Inner Sphere invasion of Strana Mechty. The Star League Defense Force soon challenged the Clans to a Trial of Refusal over the invasion. If the Inner Sphere won, the invasion was over and the invading Clans would retain the worlds they had conquered. If the Clans won, the invasion would resume. The Warden Clans refused to participate in the Trial, leaving the eight Crusader Clans to face the SLDF. As the Smoke Jaguars had only two Binaries of troops left, it was decided that each Crusader Clan would only commit two Binaries to the battle.

The Diamond Sharks, who had over the years since Tukayyid switched to the Warden faction, refused to take part in the battle with the SLDF. How the merchant-oriented Clan will respond to the new opportunities now made available to it in the Inner Sphere is unknown at this time.

Bloodnames

This is a list of the 14 exclusive Bloodnames in use by the Diamond Sharks.
A list of the non-exclusive Bloodnames will be listed when it becomes available.

Front-line Unit Summary

The near-total destruction of their forces on Tukayyid cost the Diamond Sharks many of their finest officers as well as much of their pride. As if to add insult to injury, within a year of the Tukayyid debacle, they lost Nyserta to several Ghost Bear Clusters determined to take their world back. Since the end of 3053, no sources have sighted any Diamond Shark military forces anywhere in the Inner Sphere. Some experts believe that the rest of the invaders forced the Diamond Sharks out of the Inner Sphere as punishment for the magnitude of their defeat; others believe that Tukayyid served as the nail in the coffin of the warriors' political supremacy in that Clan, and that the economically powerful merchant caste has taken over.

Activities observed by several sources within the Clan occupation zones seem to suggest that the merchants are taking a far more prominent place in Diamond Shark society than they did previously, but to infer that the days of the warrior caste's ascendancy are over is a dangerously sweeping assumption. The merchants seem to be making enormous profits from one end of Clan-occupied space to the other, keeping supply lines open to garrison and front-line troops from all the invading Clans.

The Clan military is organized by a strict system of units. The following is a breakdown by level of the Clan military from the smallest organizational unit to the largest unit.

Battletech ® is a Registered Trademark of FASA Corporation. Original Battletech material Copyright © 1994 by FASA Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Used without permission. Any use of FASA Corporation's copyrighted material or trademarks in this archive should not be viewed as a challenge to those copyrights or trademarks.Battletech ® is a registered trademark of FASA Corporation.