The history of Magyari's Irregulars

Part I – Formation and Early Years

(EDITOR’S NOTE: This section is based in the very vague recollections of a Mechwarrior Second Ed. game I played in over a decade ago. Set in the early 31^st century, it was about the misadventures of a small mercenary unit. My character, Sel Magyari, was its commander and also horribly ill-suited for the job… so how it always ends up going.)

Magyari’s Irregulars first came together in 3012 on Galatea, formed by a quartet of then unemployed mercenaries who had all arrived on-world relatively recently. Between them, Sel Magyari (A former bikini model), “Professor” Grunthos (Lecturer in Mechatronics at the university of Helsinki), Mackie Kusanagi (Rumoured to be a former bounty hunter) and George W. Butros III (Some guy) were big on ambitions but lacking in actual experience, making the formation of the unit an ad-hoc affair. Sel somehow wound up becoming the newly-formed unit’s commander for reasons that remain unclear. (EDITOR’S NOTE: Sel was the only one of the PCs that had the Leadership or Tactic’s skills)

The newly-minted Magyari’s Irregulars managed to do well for themselves, finding a niche in the low-level warfare that was so common in the early 31^st century. A combination of skill, planning and more then a little luck saw the unit not only survive but also thrive with the unit managing to avoid severe defeats and losses. Even if they were on only short-term contracts for the most part, the unit still managed to do well for themselves.

Even by the standards of a lance-sized unit, Sel proved to be a “lead from the front” type. Her Thunderbolt was often at the front of any battle, but at the same time proved to be rather resilient to harm (Sel herself was prone to flights of vanity, however. The one time that she was injured in battle her largest concern was if she would be left with a scar). Rather, Mackie Kusanagi proved to be more of a problem, with his Orion (The ominously-named “Lucky II”) often taking a lot of punishment.

Their biggest boost, however, would come around largely by accident. During a pirate-hunting operation, the Irregulars found themselves facing a much larger force than expected. Matters turned around, however, with the discovery that half the pirates were, in fact, a mercenary unit that had been stranded and forced to cooperate. Some quick negotiations saw them agree to join forces, the captive mercenaries turning on the pirates. Overnight, the Irregulars had doubled in size.

Besides boosting the unit’s strength, the new arrivals bought other benefits. Alice was a skilled financial manager and administrator, and helped bring a degree of control to the unit’s oft-unstable cash reserves. (Her skill with kicking things in her Javelin didn’t hurt either). Similarly Jon-Jon possessed a wide range of infiltration and demolitions skills that would prove to be both useful and problematic.

It was “Professor” Gunthos who would prove to be the most resourceful, however. His technical skills saw him perform a number of modifications to the Irregulars’ BattleMechs, resulting in a series of unique variants. One of the most extensive was a salvaged Zeus that had been rebuilt in a new, entirely unique configuration. The ‘Mech was given to Mackie as a replacement after his Orion was destroyed, only to itself be destroyed in the very next battle. After a round of binge drinking (and, allegedly, reshaping Mackie’s skull with a wrench), Grunthos proceeded to rebuild a salvaged Marauder which Mackie promptly did not write off.

In spite of these problems, the unit continued to grow, reaching a full company by 3016. And while they continued to be successful on the battlefield, other issues would dog them no matter where they went. Mackie and Jon-Jon in particular proved to be rather prone to getting in to trouble, often managing to pick fights with supposedly allied units. “Professor” Grunthos would often end up being dragged into these things as well, and only occasionally be an unwilling participant.

(Another notable gaffe occurred when George W. Butros III went into a bar frequented by Infantry and then promptly referred to them as ‘cannon fodder’. It did not end well)

The worst of these incidents came during a post-civil war contract with the FWLM, the Irregulars being a part of a raiding force heading into Lyran space. Partnered with another mercenary unit, Redmond’s Roughnecks, the plan called for strikes on several targets in order to recall Lyran forces from the front.

However, early in the operation, tensions broke out between the two units. The exact source of the conflict is unknown, but accusations quickly flew back and forth between the two groups. This lead to a late-night gunfight, in which Mackie, Grunthos and Jon-Jon were accused of trying to sabotage the Roughneck ‘Mechs and assault their personnel. Sel’s efforts to defuse the situation came to nothing, especially given a lack of evidence from both sides as to what actually happened.

Matters came to a head during the first actual battle of the campaign. A “miscommunication” left the Irreguars isolated and without backup from the Roughnecks, not to mention facing down a superior number of Lyran defenders. Stuck in a bad situation, the Irregulars did their best to try and survive and fight their way to freedom. And, in their own strange fashion they did, managing to extract themselves with badly damaged but still functional ‘Mechs, but yet surprisingly light casualties.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: That was the end of the campaign after several years of gameplay. However, the Irregulars would live on)

Magyari’s Irregulars Roster, 3016

Command Lance

Captain Sel Magyari, TDR-5HG Thunderbolt

Mackie Kusanagi, MAD-3HG Marauder “Sideways Bob”

George W. Butros III, BLR-1G Battlemaster

“Professor” Grunthos, PXH-1HG Phoenix Hawk

Battle Lance

Lieutenant “Pops” Fleegman, CPLT-C1 Catapult

Michael Matthews, DV-6M Dervish

Thomas Carlyle, CN9-D Centurion

(?)

Recon Lance

Lieutenant Jenny K., WVN-6M Wolverine

Alice O’Neil, JVN-10N Javelin

Jon-Jon, ASN-21HG Assassin “Stone Killah”

Rachel Huang, FS9-M Firestarter

(EDITOR’S NOTE: The last member of the Battle Lance has been lost to history. It’s fair to assume there was one, however)