House Marik: The Free Worlds League

Free Worlds Navy

Military Jargon

"Shooting down" fighters, "sinking" DropShips and WarShips, "blowing" stations—the euphemisms for the destruction of orbital assets may at first seem rather unusual.

The term "shooting down" fighters can be traced back to the early twentieth century, when damaged atmospheric fighters frequently plummeted to the ground. "Blowing" stations also makes sense, because pressurized stations can be literally blown to pieces by explosive decompression. (Typically, non-essential areas of modern military stations are depressurized if combat is imminent in order to avoid such catastrophies).

The euphemism of "sinking" DropShips and WarShips was first used in connection with wet-naval craft on ancient Terra. The term was first applied to spacecraft in the early twenty-fourth century, when Admiral James McKenna, the first Terran Hegemony Director and commander of the first true combat WarShip, the TAS Dreadnought, used the phrase in reference to the loss of two WarShips shortly before the founding of the Hegemony.

"As we watch the WildCat and Yalu sinking into the darkness below us, the memory of their crew who were prepared to give their lives to save their homeland lives on," McKenna said.

—Excerpted from A Dictionary of Military Terms, Lloyd Marik-Stanley Military Press, 3058

At the height of the Star League, the Free Worlds League and other member- states deployed vast fleets of the combat JumpShips known as WarShips. Capable of maneuvering and fighting in-system as well as any DropShip, these armored behemoths packed enough firepower to devastate other JumpShips and even destroy targets on a planet’s surface.

These mighty fleets began to deteriorate during the Succession Wars. The vicious fighting between the Great Houses first claimed the fleet maintenance facilities and eventually the ships themselves. By the Third Succession War, WarShips had disappeared from battle.

Since then, the Successor States allowed their WarShip programs to lie fallow; unwilling to allocate the vast resources needed to construct the vessels and afraid of triggering an arms race that might lead to even greater devastation. The arrival of the Clans in 3050 finally prompted the Great House militiaries to resuscitate their WarShip programs as they searched for ways to counter the Clans' own impressive naval fleets.

The Free Worlds League's ample manufacturing capacity and assistance from Word of Blake personnel who served on ComStar WarShips have enabled the League to create one of the most successful WarShip programs in the Inner Sphere.

Thanks to assistance from the Word of Blake, the Free Worlds League now has the largest navy in the Inner Sphere.  When the Delos and the Thessaly enter active service (in 3068 and 3070 respectively), our navy will outstrip even that of the famed Clan Snow Raven, particularly as eleven more vessels are scheduled to enter active service by 3075.  Our WarShips also have a significant advantage over those of other Great Houses, though not of ComStar or the Clans—all are equipped with onboard HPGs, and draw their skilled communications staffs from the ranks of the Word of Blake.

Ships of the Line: The Free Worlds Fleet