View source for Operation SCORPION

{{InfoBoxBattle
| conflict   = Operation SCORPION
| partof     = [[Clan Invasion]]
| image      = 
| startdate  = 1 May [[3052]]
| enddate    = 
| planet     = 
| place      = 
| result     = ComStar complete failure
| territory  = 
| faction1   = [[ComStar]]
| commander1 = [[Primus of ComStar|Primus]] [[Myndo Waterly]]
| command1   = 
| faction2   = Inner Sphere
| commander2 = 
| command2   = 
| faction3   = 
| commander3 = 
| command3   = 
}}
'''Operation SCORPION''' was a failed attempt during the [[Clan Invasion]] to put the entire [[Inner Sphere]], including [[Clans|Clan]] [[Clan Occupation Zones|occupied territory]], under [[ComStar]] control. The plan was designed by [[Primus of ComStar|Primus]] [[Myndo Waterly]] and called for insurrections on all Clan occupied worlds administered by ComStar, to tie down all garrisons, as well as a complete [[HPG]] [[Interdiction]] of the [[Successor States]], to be conducted concurrently with the [[Battle of Tukayyid (3052)|Battle of Tukayyid]]. 

The plan ended in complete failure along with Primus Waterly's death and enormous damage to ComStar's public reputation. In the longer term, the subsequent reforms within ComStar led to [[ComStar Schism|a schism]] and the formation of the [[Word of Blake]] splinter faction, eventually resulting in the devastating [[Jihad]].

==Operation Brief==
Believing that the [[Clan Invasion]] had brought about an opportunity to finally realize [[Jerome Blake|Jerome Blake's]] supposed vision for humanity, Primus Waterly planned Operation SCORPION in secret, meeting with handpicked supporters and [[ROM]] operatives at a hotel outside [[w:Hilton Head Island, South Carolina|Hilton Head Island]]. It was conducted without the knowledge of the [[Precentor Martial of ComStar|Precentor Martial]] [[Anastasius Focht]] or the [[First Circuit]], save [[Sharilar Mori]], [[Precentor]] of [[Dieron]], whom Waterly had handpicked as her successor.<ref name=CS68>''ComStar (sourcebook)'', p. 68</ref> The operation's name was chosen from an [[w:The Scorpion and the Frog|old folk tale]] that Focht had recently recalled during a conversation with Waterly.<ref>''Lost Destiny'', Ch. 24</ref> <ref>''Era Report: 3052'', p. 19</ref>

The first phase of the plan was for all ComStar forces administering planets in the Clan Occupation Zones to rise up and take control of their respective worlds.  The second was a complete halt to all HPG traffic across the Inner Sphere, to be maintained until the Great Houses agreed to Waterly's concessions and allow ComStar to become the administrative arm of their governments.<ref name=CS68/>  In effect the Successor States would become protectorates of ComStar, and possibly have their leaders outright replaced: Primus Waterly planned on making Focht the [[Archon]] of the [[Lyran Commonwealth]], partly as thanks for his service in defeating the Clans.<ref name=LD45>''Lost Destiny'', Ch. 45</ref>  However, Sharilar Mori was a double-agent for the [[Draconis Combine]] and informed [[Theodore Kurita (31st c.)|Theodore Kurita]], who in turned informed [[Hanse Davion]] of the plot as repayment for his help during the [[Battle of Luthien (3052)|Battle of Luthien]].<ref name=CS68/><ref name=LD45/>

In the event Operation SCORPION would prove a failure both in conception and implementation from the moment it began on 1 May. With most of the [[Com Guards]] fighting on Tukayyid, there were few ComStar troops available to seize control of the Clan worlds, and they would prove no match for the more numerous [[Provisional Garrison Cluster|garrison troops]] the Clans had left behind.  Furthermore the Clans had their own portable HPGs and did not need to rely on the ComStar network. By 8 May, those Clan worlds which had been cut off by the initial uprising were once again in contact with their [[Khan|Khans]] in orbit above Tukayyid, and by the battle's end every Clan occupied world was once again under their complete control.<ref name=CS74>''ComStar (sourcebook)'', p. 72-74</ref>  The ComStar uprising did have the unintended side effect of helping [[Victor Steiner-Davion|Victor Steiner-Davion's]] mission to rescue [[Hohiro Kurita (31st c.)|Hohiro Kurita]] and his forces trapped on [[Teniente]], as the local Com Guard forces allowed his [[DropShip|DropShips]] (which were disguised as ComStar ships) to land unopposed.<ref>''Lost Destiny'', Ch 32</ref>  On [[Alyina]], ComStar forces managed to take the planet, but shortly, the [[Clan Jade Falcon|Jade Falcons]] defeated ComStar with the unlikely help of [[Kai Allard-Liao]], who joined a team of Jade Falcon [[Elemental|Elementals]] led by [[Taman Malthus]] in their attack on the HPG facility wearing one of their [[Elemental (Battle Armor)|armored suits]].<ref>''Lost Destiny'', Ch 41</ref> <ref>''Era Report: 3052'', p. 21</ref>

When they became aware of the planned Interdiction, several members of the First Circuit ordered their loyal followers to disobey the order, resulting in some facilities remaining operational. On others, [[Acolyte|Acolytes]] and [[Adept|Adepts]] refused to follow the order of their own volition, or did not receive it due to mechanical or maintenance reasons. Thanks to advanced warning from Mori, both the Combine and [[Federated Commonwealth]] were able to preempt the planned Interdiction and seize control of many HPGs before the order could be received.<ref name=CS74/>  On [[New Avalon]] itself, the HPG station was seized thanks to an "accident" involving a truck carrying toxic petrochemicals that forced it to be evacuated for the Acolytes' own safety.<ref name=LD30>''Lost Destiny'', Ch 30</ref> On [[New Earth]], a number of ComStar [[BattleMechs]], led by Precentor [[Hasegawa (ComStar)|Hasegawa]] in his ''[[Lancelot]]'', obliterated the Delaware people's town hall, killing the tribal elders.<ref>''Feral''</ref>

The [[Capellan Confederation]] and [[Free Worlds League]] however did not receive warnings from their First Circuit members in time to head it off as effectively. [[Chancellor]] [[Sun-Tzu Liao]] nevertheless ordered ComStar facilities surrounded and on many key worlds his forces succeeded in capturing the HPGs intact. [[Captain-General of the Free Worlds League|Captain-General]] [[Thomas Marik]], who had been himself a member of the First Circuit, believed the Interdiction would not be ordered without good reason and so made no movement against it. As for the general public, the Interdiction was a public relations disaster since it had come with no justifiable reason as with previous communication blackouts; on several worlds angry mobs of civilians even succeeded in storming their HPG facilities.<ref name=CS74/>

In the end, ComStar lost control of over eighty percent of their HPG stations in the Federated Commonwealth and Draconis Combine, a significant blow to their network. The Order only lost control of thirty percent of their stations in the Confederation, but many were effectively under siege. Only in the [[Free Worlds League]] and the rump [[Free Rasalhague Republic]] was ComStar still in complete control of their facilities.<ref name=CS74/>  

Traveling to [[Terra]] as soon as possible, Precentor Martial Focht confronted Primus Waterly at the [[Hilton Head]] facility's Hall of History on 6 June, with only Sharilar in attendance. Here the Primus showed off dioramas celebrating the victory on Tukayyid and of Operation SCORPION, not knowing the latter had been a complete failure thanks to Sharilar's misinformation.<ref name=LD45/>  In the official ComStar history, Focht and Sharilar convinced the Primus to step down that day, with Waterly suffering a brain hemorrhage and dying four days later.<ref name=CS74/> In truth, when confronted by Focht as to the failure of Operation SCORPION and his rejection of her scheme, Waterly stormed off to have him replaced with a more loyal Precentor Martial, only to be shot in the back of the head by his hidden [[needle pistol]]. Focht then confronted Sharilar with the knowledge of her true nature, but rather than execute her, he offered her a chance to help him reform ComStar.<ref name=LD45/>  

{{Quote|''What better than a tanker truck hauling insecticide to get rid of a load of pests?  Operation Scorpion, indeed!''|First Prince Hanse Davion, New Avalon, 1 May 3052<ref name=LD30/>}}

==References==
<references/>

==Bibliography==
* ''[[ComStar (sourcebook)]]''
* ''[[Era Report: 3052]]''
* ''[[Feral]]'' (short story)
* ''[[Lost Destiny]]'' (Novel)

[[Category:Covert Operations|SCORPION, Operation]]
[[Category:Clan Invasion Era Military Operations|SCORPION, Operation]]