The unit badge of the 43120th shows a steel gray field intersected by a red wedge, overlaid with a broken Roman gladius (sword).
RLS Agic
RLS Caringorm
RLS Tasker
RLS Red Tail
RLS Seawitch
RLS Duchess Katherine
RLS Ashbourne (attached)
RLS Essex (attached)
Motto: Incus robusta malleum non temuit.
("A strong anvil does not fear the hammer.")[1]
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The 43120th Defense Squadron is a Renegade cruiser squadron commanded by Fleet Captain (later Commodore[2]) De!a'v. They adopted the name "The Sword Blunters". The squadron was deployed as part of the mobile defense of the GustavivĀ“s Regret system and was the first unit to respond to the TOG invasion of that system in 6818.
Appearances[]
The 43120th appears in the following scenarios:
- Invasion (the first fleet action in the battle for GustavivĀ“s Regret, with the unit attempting to prevent the TOG Task Force Temerarius from dropping grav legions on the planet). Distant Fire, p. 30 ff
- Shakers Shaken (where the 43120th and its TOG counterpart do not appear in the scenario as such but give orbital fire support to the grav forces dirtside). Distant Fire, p. 36 ff
- Lichen Plains (a combined Naval, interceptor and ground battle where the 43120th executes a sudden attack on Task Force Temerarius to aid a ground offensive). Distant Fire, p. 42 ff
- Relief Fleet (where the remnants of the 43120th join the relief force of the 3032nd Carrier Patrol Squadron under Commodore Archibald Douglass and attack Task Force Temerarius). Distant Fire, p. 61 ff
Personalities[]
Fleet Captain De!a'v (Squadron commander, RLS Agic)[]
(Leadership Rating: 5)
The commanding officer of the 43120th, De!a'v is a middle-aged Baufrin. Promoted to his position in 6816 after distinguished service in the battle of Utica, De!a'v rose to the challenge of staving off the invading TOG fleet with his numerically and materially inferior squadron, and proved to be a brilliant tactician.
Composition[]
In 6818, at the start of the battle for GustavivĀ“s Regret described in Distant Fire, the 43120th was comprised of the following ships:
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| RLS Agic (flagship) | RLS Caringorm | RLS Tasker | RLS Red Tail | RLS Seawitch | RLS Duchess Katherine | |||||
| Vitak-class cruiser (CA) | Carthage-class cruiser (CA) | Valiant-class frigate (FG) | Exeter-class destroyer (DD) | Exeter-class destroyer (DD) | Ajax-class destroyer (DD) | |||||
| Fleet Captain De!a'v | CaptainĀ“s name not given | CaptainĀ“s name not given | CaptainĀ“s name not given | CaptainĀ“s name not given | CaptainĀ“s name not given | |||||
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| No fighter complement | 24 Fluttering Petal heavy fighters (1 flight) | 24 Avenger heavy fighters (1 flight) | 24 Guardian light fighters (1 flight) | 24 Fluttering Petal heavy fighters (1 flight) | 12 Hawk medium fighters (2 squadrons) | 12 Cheetah light fighters (2 squadrons) | 12 Guardian light fighters (2 squadrons) | 12 Cheetah light fighters (2 squadrons) | 24 Penetrator medium fighters (1 flight) | 6 Avenger heavy fighters (1 squadron) |
Reinforcements[]
In 6819, the 43120th, by then reduced to RLS Agic, Red Tail and Duchess Katherine, was reinforced by the following ships:
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| RLS Ashbourne | RLS Essex | ||||||
| Valiant-class frigate (FG) | Lexington destroyer-class carrier (DDV) | ||||||
| CaptainĀ“s name not given | CaptainĀ“s name not given | ||||||
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| 24 Guardian light fighters (1 flight) | 24 Penetrator medium fighters (1 flight) | 72 Avenger heavy fighters (1 group) | 24 Gaul heavy fighters (1 flight) | 24 Space Gull medium fighters (1 flight) | 24 Cheetah light fighters (1 flight) | ||
Annotations[]
- ā In the original Renegade Legion publications, no badge or motto is given for the unit. The motto and badge presented here are non-canon.
- ā Different ranks are given in the scenarios (Fleet Captain) and the character description (Commodore) of De!a'v throughout the Distant Fire book. For the purposes of this article it is assumed that De!a'v had a rank of Fleet Captain during the early battles for GustavivĀ“s Regret described in the book, and was later promoted to Commodore for his actions orchestrating the Naval defense of the system.