The Cross Necklace is a Hardmode accessory that doubles the duration of the invincibility a player is afforded after taking damage, from 0.66 seconds to 1.33 seconds. The Cross Necklace has a 14.29% (1/7) chance to be dropped by Mimics. The Cross Necklace is useful in Hardmode boss fights, and any other scenario where the player is likely to be hit rapidly. This video is unavailable. Watch Queue Queue. Watch Queue Queue.

Succession War era[edit]

Combat losses, both in material and crew, whittled away at the number of functional Tharkads until finally only one remained, the LCS Invincible. Following the First Succession War, it was noted as the last major WarShip of the Lyran Commonwealth by the end of 2821.^[1] As of 2853 the decrepit vessel had been turned into an orbiting museum years prior because the cost to repair it was deemed unfeasible.^[2]

When House Kurita launched a massive assault against Hesperus II in 2853, the desperate Lyran defenders reactivated the museum piece which was stationed near the Tharkad zenith jump point,^[3] crewed it with 200 equally ancient crewmembers, and sent it to run the blockade of Hesperus.^[2] The Invincible was successful in breaking the DCMS blockade and ended the battles that became known as the sixth, seventh, and eighth battle of Hesperus II.^[3][2][4] However, following the battle the Invincible famously disappeared in a misjump halfway back to Tharkad and was thought lost to jump drive failure.^[3]

The Invincible was among the ships added to the Commonwealth's List of Honored Missing, read out by the Archon on both Veteran's Day and the anniversary of the Commonwealth's founding.^[5] The ship would also be heavily referenced in MechWarrior-poet Jamison Henry's legendary ballad Invincible Dreams, recounting the events surrounding the sixth, seventh and eighth battles for Hesperus II, inspiring no less than four holovid films and two live plays by the FedCom Civil War era. ^[6]

Jihad[edit]

Even the most hopeful could hardly guess the Invincible's final fate.^[7][8]

In November of 3067 the member states of the second Star League gathered on the Lyran capital of Tharkad for the Fourth Star League Conference. On 5 December the LCS Invincible reappeared above the icy blue skies of Tharkad, escorted by several other Blakist WarShips. The Word of Blake had found the derelict and returned it to operational capacity. It was intended as a gift to the Star League upon accepting the Word of Blake as a member, to showcase the Word of Blake's determination to bring the fight to the Clans.

When the conference unexpectedly resulted in the dissolution of the Star League, the confused and disappointed Word of Blake force attempted use military threat to make the Star League members reconsider. The situation quickly spun out of control and the Invincible ended up bombarding Tharkad from orbit. The city's very large but decrepit nuclear reactor became a victim of collateral damage and exploded, sowing chaos across the capital. Initial reports claimed the Word of Blake had dropped a nuclear warhead on Tharkad.^[7][8] The Invincible stayed in orbit around Tharkad to defend the Blakist ground forces.^[9]

In January 3072, Archon Adam Steiner launched an assault that liberated Tharkad.^[10] During that battle, the Invincible faced off against the LAS Yggdrasil. The Invincible was boarded and taken by Lyran forces, putting her back in Lyran hands for the first time in over 200 years.^[11][12]

The Invincible took part in the liberation of Terra in 3078^[13] under the command of Fleet AdmiralJohanna Gaines; Devlin Stone issued a broadcast to all of the coalition vessels from the Invincible on the 17th of August that launched the attack on Terra.^[14]

Surviving the battle for Terra, under the command of AdmiralNathalie Cara, the Invincible arrived back at Tharkad on 28 May 3078, but suffered extensive damage to her Jump Core during the jump that left her stranded in that system without an extensive refit.^[15]

By late 3079 the Invincible remained a commissioned ship, but the sheer age and extensive damage she had suffered meant that without a complete overhaul, made impossible due to lack of suitable shipyards, she was fit for use only as a training ship. In fact David Lear would suggest to Devlin Stone that the Lyran realm might be better served by reverting her back to being a museum ship again, replacing one of her flight bays with a gift shop, than trying to refit her.^[16]

References[edit]

1. ↑House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), PDF p. 53
2. ↑ ^2.02.12.2BattleCorps scenario Tactics of Desperation I
3. ↑ ^3.03.13.2House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), PDF pp. 63-64
4. ↑BattleCorps scenario Tactics of Desperation II
5. ↑House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), p. 65 'What, Me Worry?'
6. ↑Handbook: House Steiner, p. 118 'Society and Culture - Education - Major Universities - Rewland College of Fine Arts on Tharkad'
7. ↑ ^7.07.1Jihad Hot Spots: 3070, p. 143 = Blake Ascending, p. 303
8. ↑ ^8.08.1Technical Readout: 3075, p. 288
9. ↑Jihad Turning Points: Tharkad, pp. 8-9, 'Taking a Bullet'
10. ↑Jihad Hot Spots: 3076, p. 21, 'Timeline of the Jihad'
11. ↑Jihad Hot Spots: 3072, pp. 70-71, 'Reflections of Hell'
12. ↑Jihad Turning Points: Tharkad, pp. 10-11, 'Homecoming'
13. ↑Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 95, 'Classified: Eyes Only - Top Secret'
14. ↑Jihad Hot Spots: Terra, p. 100, 'It Is Time'
15. ↑Field Report: LAAF, pp. 3-4 'Alliance Overview - Where the Heart is'
16. ↑Field Report: LAAF, p. 6 'Infrastructural Integrity - Off the Edge of the Map'

Bibliography[edit]

• BattleCorps Scenarios#Scenario: Tactics of Desperation Ii (sic)