Clan Diamond Shark

Clan Diamond Shark (AKA Clan Sea Fox at various points in it's history) is a Clan in the Battletech universe.

History

Originally created as Clan Sea Fox in 2807, this clan was put under the command of Karen Nagasawa. A woman who was the child of several SLDF officers and been raised in SLDF facilities during the Ameris Civil War, was a teenager during the Exodus and tried to hold things together when Star League In Exile began to fall apart. She had signed on with Nicky during the exodus to try to salvage some semblance of order, but remained idealistic. She was also a prominent orator and writer and played a major role in propagating the nascent ideology of The Clans. During Operation KLONDIKE, the Sea Foxes invaded Babylon. After the war, she would do what she could within the system to try to make it as equitable as possible for it's populace on the quiet without rocking the boat too much. Given what happened to the more overtly defiant this was a logical course of action.

Like other Clans Clan Sea Fox was named for a critter native to the Clan Homeworlds, in this case a Sea Otter analog. In 2984, Clan Snow Raven did a dick move and genetically engineered a species of super sharks to hunt the critters into extinction. In spite of this, the response of Clan Sea Fox was to rename themselves to Clan Diamond Shark. That said, they also saved some Sea Foxes and relocated them to new homes. In 3100 they changed it back to Sea Fox.

Culture

The most notable fact about Clan Diamond Shark/Sea Fox is that it is probably the least Martial of the Clans. The Warrior Caste remains prominent, but it does not dominate. The Civilian Castes have a greater say in not only their day to day than in most Clans, but also in the course the Clan takes as a whole and in particular the Merchant Caste is often in the driver's seat. The distinction between Warriors and Civilians is also less cut and dry as instead of signing up to be suicidal cannon fodder, Diamond Shark/Sea Fox warriors can honorably retire to the civilian castes. While "retired" Warriors are required to retest to maintain their warrior credentials if war occurs, most are happily willing to swap their Warrior beret for a Merchant's cape and vice versa when the situation calls for it. Naturally it's outlook has always tended to be more Economic than most and they're damn good at it. Clan Diamond Shark/Sea Fox set up and ran the HPG network in Clan Space, operated a major media empire and maintained major trade network between Clans. These tendencies were maximized after the Battle of Tukayyid, in which the Diamond Shark warrior Caste was decimated.

To say that Clan Diamond Shark/Sea Fox is a cohesive whole is an oversimplification of the reality. While yes, they are under the banner of a sea creature and are probably selling you a Gauss Rifle in the name of that Clan, they're quite varied amongst each other due to their society being separated into Five Khanates, which are generally autonomous fleets of merchant and military vessels, as well as five attending Aimags, support fleets where the vast majority of their populace live. The Aimags are generally spread out over a wide area so that the Clan can receive the maximum economic benefit of their chosen path, only rarely ever coming into contact with each other. The Khanates themselves mostly drift unimpeded through solar system after solar system as administrative and acquisitions staff. This allows Diamond Shark/Sea Fox to stay in contact with each other while simultaneously giving the impression that they're not a military threat to wherever they're setting up shop.

Other Clanners do tend to look down on the the Diamond Sharks/Sea Foxes as being Un-Clanlike for pushing the boundaries of acceptable behavior. On the other hand; Diamond Shark/Sea Fox could outright buy whole Toumans of warriors if they wanted to, and their tendencies to to go with the flow, pick their battles carefully, and not stir up trouble usually ensures they are not seen as a pressing enemy by most, but when properly assed into a fight, Clan Diamond Shark/Sea Fox acquit themselves well.

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