Thursday 7 January 2016

Theta Galaxy, Wolf Empire

MRBC Report 01-06-3145

The original Wolf Clan Theta Galaxy was one of the casualties of the unknown conflict that cut the Clans off from their homeworlds. Of the Galaxy’s five clusters, all but one of them simply vanished from sight and were not seen after 3068. Their fates, like so many other matters regarding the Clan Homeworlds, remain a mystery to this day. A single cluster, the 13th Wolf Regulars, remained in the Inner Sphere, only to be mauled by the Hells Horses during their war with the Wolves. By 3085, that Cluster had been transferred to Alpha Galaxy (and since disbanded), effectively removing Theta from the Wolves’ rolls.

The new Theta Galaxy was formed in the aftermath of the rise of the Wolf Empire. While named for the older formation, while also keeping its insignia and colours for the sake of continuity, the new Theta was comprised almost entirely of recruits from the former Marik-Stewart Commonwealth . A mixture of civilians and recent recruits from military academies, with a few AMSC veterans among them as well, Theta quickly became the most successful of the newly-raised Wolf Galaxies.

This success was somewhat due to the approach the Wolves used in recruiting for the formation. They offered its recruits a chance to strike back at the Lyrans who had been responsible for the destruction of their nation (while downplaying the part the Wolves had in that campaign), which built up the loyalty and determination of its new recruits. While Theta did not take an active part in the invasion of the Lyran Commonwealth, the Galaxy has instead been assigned to garrison several traditionally Lyran worlds, such as Solaris VII and New Kyoto, which has greatly bolstered morale.

Initially, the reborn Theta was armed with armour trinaries cast off from frontline Galaxies such as Alpha and Beta and conventional infantry. However, ready access to several manufacturing centers and a generous allocation of AMSC salvage, has seen Theta largely rearm with BattleMechs and Battle Armour, passing its third and fourth hand tanks off to other units. As a consequence, Theta has very little access to Clantech units and no OmniMechs to speak of, but its units have quickly come up to near full strength regardless. In many respects, Theta is actually now better off then several traditional Wolf Galaxies, such as Kappa and Iota.

While morale remains strong, even if the actual troops themselves are inexperienced, there may yet be some trouble brewing for the command. For the moment, there seems to be something of a “Glass Ceiling” within Theta. The Galaxy Commander, their Aide and all but one of the Galaxy’s Star Colonels are still Trueborn Wolves, as well as many of its Star Captains. This has lead to some rumblings that among the troops that their advancement might be deliberately hampered either by a desire to ensure that the Galaxy’s commanding officers remain unquestionably loyal Wolves, or accusation of simple favoritism and bias.

29th Wolf Garrison Cluster

The youngest of Theta’s Clusters, the 29th Wolf Garrison Cluster was raised almost entirely from raw recruits with little or no actual military experience. However, what the unit lacks in skill and expertise, they make up for with sheer drive and determination. Of all Theta’s units, the 29th has shown the most loyalty and dedication to the Wolf Empire, with a level of determination that borders on fanaticism.

While the 29th shares the rest of Theta’s hatred of the Lyran Commonwealth, the posting on the borders of the League’s Clan Protectorate has also strengthened their resolve, given the part the Spirit Cats and Sea Foxes played in the destruction of the Marik-Stewart Commonwealth. Many within the 29th are yearning for an opportunity to do battle with the Clan forces in order to prove their superiority and achieve some measure of revenge. While the sentiment is admirable, the unit’s overall lack of experience would make such a battle a risky proposition at best.

However, possibly the greatest source of pride for the unit is their present assignment. The 29th are presently stationed on Kaldassia, a world that was a part of the Marik-Stewart Commonwealth (and before that, the Free Worlds League) before it was seized by the Republic in 3084. To many, their being assigned to this world is seen as not only protecting a vital asset, but also in many ways returning it to its rightful owners. Much of the unit’s strength is focused on protecting the world’s BattleMech factories, safeguarding them against attack.

This assignment has had one other upside, in that it allows the 29th to draw directly on the output of Kali-Yama weapons and other factories in order to build up their strength. As a result, the 29th currently boasts the highest unit strength and level of readiness of any of Theta’s commands, including the Green Keshik. The Orions produced at Kali-Yama have become something of a point of pride for the unit, having long been seen as a symbol of both the Free Worlds League and the Wolves. To many, those ‘Mechs are seen as somewhat prestigious, and being assigned to pilot one as is regarded as a great honour.

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