From the personal journal of Irisz Magyari

We're away from Fletcher; I’m writing this while we're accelerating, so my thoughts are probably not at their most rational. I'm tired, I'm worn from the battle and I've got g-forces adding to everything else that's on my mind.

That last fight was a mess, to put it bluntly. The First Liao were dug in hard and were willing to fight to the death to stop us from getting to our objective. They had hardened walls, TAG-guided Arrow missiles, gun turrets, Battle Armour and plenty of top of the line and Stealth armoured 'Mechs to make our lives miserable. We had a few tricks of our own; using Artillery to root our their units and demolish their fortifications, airdropping Battle Armour and the like, but it still hurt hard.

CCAF After Action Report 213143-45

Maskirovka assets have been able to confirm the departure of the Mercenary forces from Fletcher. Based on our estimates of their forces deployed compared to MRBC assessments and verified intel, we can state that the entire force is accounted for and that they have not left any assets in play on-world. With the effective end of raiding operations, we can now take stock of our losses.

1st Liao Guards

Total losses for the 1st Liao amount to two companies of BattleMechs and two platoons of Battle Armour. Of these, 67% are unrecoverable or completely destroyed. Fortunately, losses were entirely confined to II Battalion, limiting the overall damage to command integrity. Significant casualties include Pai-zhangs Alan Weizhe and Jian Xing-Mei, both veteran officers. In addition, Sang-Wei Lo Biao-McTavish is missing in action and assumed to have been extracted for intelligence gathering purposes by the Mercenary or AFFS forces.

Bad Blood: The Roughneck Chronicles

(From Bullets, Books and Bylines: a blog about mercenary literature; Galatea InfoWeb, 3144)

Bad Blood: The Roughneck Chronicles, by Colin Raymond. Red Letter Press, 3108. 307 pages. Non-Fiction (allegedly)

Probably unsurprisingly, there's plenty of (more or less) autobiographical works by mercenaries who fought in the Jihad. With the near death of the industry in its aftermath, making the most of your experiences and trying to earn a few C-Bills off of it would seem to be a good idea. However, this stuff is almost entirely written from the perspective of those who fought against the Word of Blake and their allies. There's very little written from the other side, largely because those mercenaries in the Word's employ tended to end up dead.

So when I found today's book, I was intrigued. Bad Blood: The Roughneck Chronicles bills itself as 'one Mercenary's harrowing tale of the struggles of the Jihad' and 'offering a unique perspective of the conflict from the point of view of a mercenary employed by the Word of Blake." I must admit that I was immediately lured in by said blurb; the fact that I had never once heard of this book before also caught my attention. Oh, and I also fund it at a flea market in a 'three for a C-Bill' box, so if nothing else, it was cheap.

Barrett's Bushrangers

MRBC Update 01-01-3131

(After we hired Ransom, and with the information you gave me, I decided to do some poking around of my own. Let’s be honest; a well-equipped, long-lived, prestigious mercenary command simply vanishing is far from an everyday occurrence, especially when combined with the very conscious timing of that disappearance. In doing such, I found this file in the MRBC’s system which I wouldn’t have given much attention to if not for two things. The first is that it’s regarding another vanished mercenary command who also disappeared close to Grey Monday. The second is that, despite the file being nearly fifteen years old, somebody had recently accessed it and mode some clumsy efforts to alter it. That’s enough to get my attention in and of itself - NK)

History

The exact origins of Barrett’s Bushrangers are unclear. The unit first appeared on Herotitus in 3090 under the command of captain Bruce Barrett as an understrength company of battered BattleMechs with some infantry support. Attempts to investigate the unit's past reached no definitive conclusions, but some evidence suggested that they hailed from the former Circrinus Federation. The unit was almost immediately snapped up by the Taurian Concordat, hired to help bolster its shattered military and protect its worlds from predation.

Several early successful contracts allowed the unit to bring itself up to a modicum of strength and stability, even if its financial state remained precarious like so many other units. The Bushrangers roamed across the near periphery, working principally for various Periphery powers, although the unit also saw some action with the independent worlds of the former Free Worlds League. That aside, however, the Bushrangers generally avoided the Inner Sphere, and never worked out of any Inner Sphere hiring halls such as Galatea.

SIS File 54371a-3133-A (Appendix)

(I ‘borrowed’ this file from our MIIO friends. While it’s not exactly helpful, I think it might represent a small step towards cracking the greatest mystery of the age. And right now, we need all the help we can get)

As of June 3132, the 12th Highland Gryphons were considered to be a top-tier mercenary command. At the time, the unit consisted of a combined-arms regiment with a MRBC A rating. The unit was rated as Veteran, and had a long history of reliable service to its various employers. The unit was equipped with top of rhe line technology, including a not inconsiderable degree of Clantech. With a history going back to the SLDF, the unit had a long and storied history.

All of these factors make the unit's apparent disappearance or destruction during Grey Monday even more confusing. If the unit did desert, then it would be a considerable break of character for such a storied and trusted command. However, if it was destroyed, then this raises a lot more questions as to who were able to launch such an attack and take on such a capable command. A number of options present themselves, however, all of them seem to be rather improbable. Each of these will be discussed below

Fletcher Industriplex Beta

During the days of the Terran Hegemony, Fletcher had been something of an Industrial Powerhouse. After the fall of the Star Leauge, the ravages the Succession Wars had destroyed almost all of Fletcher’s heavy industry, especially its once-extensive military manufacturing.  By the end of the Jihad, Fletcher was seen as a dismal world with little to offer, its sole industry of note being funerals and internment of the dead.

The Republic’s resettlement programs in the aftermath of the Jihad helped turn the ailing world around, the new additions to its population bringing with them new opportunities. The resettlement of Clan Wolf civilians on Fletcher bought an influx of technology to the battered world, allowing its people a chance to rebuild much of what they had lost. The economic boom that came with the Republic’s Golden Age of peace aided in this rebuilding, helping to again change the face of the world.

From the personal journal of Bruce Wolf

Bloody hell. Meeting someone again that you have not seen in ten bloody years is always going to be awkward, but seeing Ivar again after so long was definitely a right mess.

Me and Ivar knew each other from back in the early Steel Wolf days. The pair of us trained together and it’s fair to say that there was a bit of a rivalry between us. I mean, we were not at each other’s throats all the time, but we definitely did get along like a house on fire. And while we ended up in different Trinaries, I could tell that he was always looking to have a go at me. And when he got left behind I knew that he’d be mad as a cut snake.

So when I ran into him ten years later, I knew that there was going to be a bit of blue happening there. I mean he did not immediately spit the dummy at me, but I knew he was not going to be happy about going from Clan Warrior to Cut Lunch Commando and then all the way to Dole Bludger while I at least got a shot at getting all grouse on Terra, Skye and wherever else. I mean, even if it did not work out as planned, I got to have a go while all he did was pick his nose.

From the personal journal of Irisz Magyari

I’ve mentioned before how much of an asset the journals of my predecessors have been. Getting their thoughts, their recollections and observations, their perspective on events and people and other matters at such an intimate level is very informative and had been of immense aid. Between them, Sel, Jelek and Annika left behind quite a lot for me to work from, even if each has their own way of recording those events and their own idiosyncrasies in their retellings. For all her self-absorbed flighty nature, Sel is surprisingly verbose her writing has an amazing depth to it.

Sadly, my own father was far less detailed and thorough in his own efforts. His journals have long periods between entries, and many of them are far from complete. A number of major events in the unit’s history receive only the briefest of notes, and often he just skips over things altogether. There’s times where they become almost frustrating, as I go to them looking for his thoughts on some matter, only to find a blank or a couple of hastily scrawled notes. While it’s tempting to also point out that his period as commander also included the golden age of the Republic and the greatest waning of the mercenary trade since the fall of the Star League, there’s also that wish that he’d written something.

With that brevity of course comes one great mystery. His journals yield no clues whatsoever as to why he took his leave from the unit in August 3135 or where he went to. All I know is that he was last seen heading into Prefecture X, and that I can assume that he is inside the walls of Fortress Republic.

Ivar Wolf

Just doing my job and all - NK

Given how much we're trusting him with, I thought that it might be worth knowing a bit more about our would be ally, Ivar Wolf. I agree that he is still our best bet at cracking Fenris Isle, but I also think that it's worth keeping an eye on him. While I feel that he has no love at all for the Cappellans, it's not like he has a clean background as you'll see

Ivar was born Ivar Grodenko on Buchalu in 3106. He comes from a blue collar family that, even despite the Republic's best efforts, was only just on the edge of the poverty line. While never proven, there's evidence that Viktor Grodenko, his father, was involved with organised crime. Young Ivar himself seems to have struggled with his schooling and even had a juvenile criminal record at one stage. After leaving high school, he landed a factory job that seemed to keep him mostly out of trouble, but there is no indication that he tried to attain (or had any intention of attaining) Republic citizenship. Apparently he was bought in for questioning at least once by local authorities, but no charges were laid.

From the Campaign Journal of Major Jospeh Petrie

While obstinately the objective of this mission is to disrupt the CCAF forces on Fletcher while denying them resources, there were several other objectives. The first and foremost was to gather material that could be used to aid our own forces. One of the others, however, was the retrieval of certain high-value assets that had been captured during the invasion of Fletcher. These assets possessed vital information regarding the CCAF and its plans, as well as other vital matters.

The information we’d gathered from Biao-McTavish had a lot of valuable leads on their location. Unfortunately, that location was the Baradin Island prison, the highest security facility on the planet. Located underground on an offshore island, it’s very remoteness made any extraction difficult. However, to make matters worse, the Fletcher Planetary Guard had assigned heavy vehicle assets to protect it, likely as a response to the raiding force on planet.

Fenris Isle

Lake Olsen District, c, early 24th century

Located in the middle of a vast lake, Olsen's Isle (named for its discoverer) was left largely untouched following the initial colonization of Fletcher. The rise in tensions between the Terran Hegemony and the nascent Capellan Confederation changed that, however, as the Hegemony armed forces began to reinforce worlds that were seen as threatened by the Capellans.

Olsen's isle was chosen as the sire for a military facility, and construction of Fort Olsen began quickly. Its island location was deemed to be very defensible, and the construction of a drop-port meant that Terran forces would have no problems accessing it while leaving any potential invaders with only a few rather risky options should they try to attack the facility. Once it came on-line, Fort Olsen provided HAF and later SLDF forces with a secure base of operations.

MRBC Updates 01-05-3145 (Extract)

Carson’s Carnivores

Carson’s Carnivores were contracted by Margrave Karl Pelzer’s breakaway Kamenez Archonette to support his forces in securing the world. While the Carnivores were initially successful against the Lyran loyalist forces on world, the arrival of reinforcements in the form of Magyari’s Irregulars saw the situation turn against them. After several battles that cost them a number of ‘Mechs and other units for little gain, the Carnivores chose to retreat off-world.

Despite this, the Carnivores seem to have not been too badly affected. The unit made up for some of its losses through salvage and supplies offered as payment by the Kamenez rebels. In addition, the unit has incorporated survivors from the Liberty City Royals (see separate entry) in order to make up losses. At present, the Carnivores are at approximately 90% strength and have managed to keep their considerable reserves of parts and supplies topped up.

Baradin Island Prison

Irisz - I found this brief write-up on the Baradin Island prison complex while doing some research. It's quite a bit out of date, but it gives some background on what we're looking at - Nikola

Located off the western coast of Fletcher's single supercontinent, Baradin Island was not initially seen as a promising site for colonisation. Cold, isolated in a stormy ocean with little arable land and the only significant local lifeform being a crocodile analogue, the only real interest that surveys of the island generated was in the form of mineral resources. Mining operations were first set up in the late 25th century and, while initially yielding  promising results, the mines were played out by the early 2700s. The mines were abandoned, with much of the infrastructure left to decay.

The Capellan annexation of Fletcher following the fall of the Star League bought a new life to the island. The Confederation saw it as a potential location for a maximum security prison, especially in light of their crackdowns on remaining Hegemony loyalists. Baradin Island was chosen for its isolation and harsh climate in order to discourage escape or, at the very least, reduce of an escapee actually making it to the mainland.

MIIO Report FLETCHER-6732/44-B

We captured this individual and his BattleMech while he was trying to get off-world. The information we gathered from him does mesh with the files 'donated' by SIS regarding an illegal BattleMech dueling circuit on Fletcher, and suggests that it's still active. As much of a potential risk as it represents, we also don't have the resources at the moment to shut it down. Best we can suggest is coordinating with the Fletcher Planetary Guard to try and contain the situation, and hope that it doesn't spiral too far out of control. Given that Fletcher is in the current line of advance of the CCAF, the last thing we need is a BattleMech armed gang war on our hands.

Fortunately, we were able to get information back from our agents on Galatea within the MRBC (or, at least, what's left of it) to confirm our suspect's identity and back story. Anton Trang is a long-time mercenary who has had numerous short stints in a number of bottom-feeder mercenary commands. He's had a life-long problem with authority and a habit of skirting around acceptable conduct, which should have made him unemployable. Unfortunately, in today's climate, your average Merc command can't afford to be choosy, which kept him in regular pay until recently.

Underground Dueling on Fletcher (part 2)

(From Off the Circuit - Illegal BattleMech Duels, Free Galatea Press)

The origins of the second incarnation of Fletcher's underground BattleMech dueling circuit are far less clear then the first, even though its lifespan was far longer. What is known is that the first battles were occurring by the late 3080s, sometime after the signing of the Treaty of Tikonov. At this point, the circuit was not well organised and rather small, with relatively few participants. Many of them were fugitives already, including survivors of Mercenary units that had worked for the Word of Blake during the Jihad and been declared outlawed.

In its earliest days, the biggest boost to the reborn circut was actually a side effect of the fledgling Republic government and one of its key programs. Despite the successes of the Military Resources Redemption Program (MRRP), a not inconsiderable amount of BattleMechs and other equipment managed to slip through the cracks in a number of ways. In some cases, 'Mechs that were officialy destroyed were actually salvaged, while others saw numerous destroyed 'Mechs cobbled together to make functional wholes. In some cases, MechWarriors who refused to give up their machines either passed them on to criminal groups, or simply deserted rather than hand them over.

Mastrovika Interrogation Log 58391-45

Voice: This is the interrogation of Servitor Yee Kang regarding the disposition of Sang-Wei Lo Biao-McTavish. Servitor Kang was recovered from a Diolong SUV along with the body of San-ben-bing George Paulos near the ruins of a factory identified on historical records as HildCo Annex #3. [Pause] Servitor Kang, explain in your own words what happened.

Kang: You have to understand, none of this is my fault. I was merely following Sang-Wei Baio-McTavish’s orders

Voice: Of course; he is one of the Barduc, and it is your duty to serve him. What I wish to know is what happened to him.

Kang: Very well. Some time after arriving on Fletcher, Sang-Wei Biao-McTavish discovered the presence of an illegal underground BattleMech dueling competition. He took it upon himself to enter this contest, apparently as a way of proving the superiority of the Cappellan Janishi over all others.

Voice: Of course.

Maskirovika Recording Log 58389-29

Voice 1: So explain to me what exactly happened last night.

Voice 2: We had two new recruits to the fight, for starters.

Voice 1: Explain in detail.

Voice 2: The first was a prospect that Ivar (Analysis: Ivar Wolf, former Steel Wolf member. File attached) had bought in; Casual Metworst. The guy checked out, and had ‘Mehc experience even if he had no ‘Mech of his own. Metworst also came in with an associate, Bruce Wolf who was another former Steel Wolf he identified as being Bruce Wolf. Only Metworst was entering as a competitor.

Voice 1: What was Bruce there for?

Voice 2: Bruce was apparently Metworst’s contact with Ivar, and his ‘in’

Voice 1: I see. And the other prospect?

Voice 2: Another one of Ivar’s finds. Haaki Aardvarkssen, a merc who had been stranded on planet when the Cappies took over. He had stashed his Axman some time back, but was short on funds to look after it. So Ivar offered him a way to use his ‘Mech as an incentive.

Voice 1: Do you think either of them were behind what happened?

Voice 2: Given that they were both occupied, I doubt it.

Paleontology in the 32nd Century

From  Scientific Avalonian, March 3115

The science of paleontology is one that had remained rather under-developed and under-utilized during Mankind’s expansion across the stars. While understanding the origins and past of life on Terra had always been a source of fascination for humanity, the same could not be said of the myriad of other worlds that he touched. While it could be said that humans had a vested interest in their homeworld’s past, it is clear that those other worlds they inhabited did not have the same attachment.

It is estimated that the fossil records of less than one percent of all the inhabited worlds in the Inner Sphere have been even adequately explored. Even then, much of that exploration has been very shallow, only providing a cursory glance at their evolutionary pasts. Worlds that have supported life for billions of years have pasts that are largely unknown, and with very few who are interested in exploring them further.

From the Campaign Journal of Major Jospeh Petrie

Following the unexpectedly heavy resistance encountered to our initial landings, Major Irisz Magyari opted to conduct further investigations of the disposition of the CCAF forces on Fletcher. Her agents were able to infiltrate Royce and uncover a number of leads as to what exactly was going on with the Capellan forces. Their discoveries confirmed our suspicions that the 1^st Liao Guard had dug in on-world and assumed an entirely defensive stance.

While there were no known CCAF movements, the mercenaries did make one curious discovery. The Capellans had been importing large amounts of heavy machinery onto the world, and then distributing it to different places without actually using it, and rather stockpiling it for unknown reasons. Several locations were identified as destinations for this equipment; among them was Fenris Keep, a former Wolf Clan (and later Steel Wolf) enclave on the world. Another location identified was a shipping facility on the shores of the Arevass River.

Underground Dueling on Fletcher (part 1)

(From Off the Circuit - Illegal BattleMech Duels, Free Galatea Press)

The first incarnation of Fletcher's BattleMech dueling circuit has its origins in the collapse of the world's central government in the early 3060s. Coinciding with the world's rise as a hiring hall for less than reputable mercenaries amid the ongoing wars between its city stares, many of the early duels were far from organised affairs. Rather, they often resulted from disagreements between mercenaries, both units and at the individual level. The combination of an abundance of military grade hardware and a lack of central authority (the Fletcher hiring hall was largely self-regulated) often made violence the first option for resolving such clashes.

Within a few years a somewhat organised competition had grown up, populated mostly by mercenaries that had been drawn to the local trade. While not officially sanctioned by any of the City States, at the same time the competition proved profitable through betting and associated side businesses. For the most part, the City States themselves stayed out of the competition proper, but supplies destined for their militaries often wound up finding their way into the hands of competitors instead.

SIS File 54371a-3133-A

I know this is a bit old and not exactly informative, but I felt that it would be useful to our ‘Lion hunting’ files. It was ‘borrowed’ from our friends at MIIO; after reviewing the contents, you can understand why they were reluctant to share.

As one of the worlds captured from the Taurian Concordat during Operation MATADOR, Norman’s World had faced a series of raids from TDF forces in the subsequent decades. As an effort both to discourage raiding while also providing a stabilizing force along the border, the 12^th Highland Gryphons, a mercenary unit with a long history of service to the Federated Suns, were assigned to the world. Acting as both a garrison and a ready response force, they had served as an effective deterrent to Taurian adventurism.

This only makes what happened to them even more inexplicable.

From the personal journal of Irisz Magyari

All things considered, today didn’t go that badly. If you wanted to be generous, then you could call our first day of operations on Fletcher a success. (My great-grandmother unquestionably would have, but that’s her for you)

AFFS intel had put two main units on Fletcher; the now-Cappelanised Planetary Guard, and the 1^st Liao Guards. The latter had been using the world as a staging ground for attacks into the FedSuns’ Terran corridor, which had left the Fletcher PG shouldering most of the ‘heavy lifting’ of defending the world and the assets we were targeting. As such, we were largely expecting to be facing a mix of vehicles and Battle Armour, with some second-rate ‘Mechs as support.

MI3 communications intercept FLETCHER-8543/21-K

To: Ying-zhang Leon Savage; 1st Liao Guards

From: Si-ben-bing Tu Xiasheng

Subject: Incident at Supply Depot 48-Bravo

I apologise in advance for the delay in presenting this report. As you will understand after reading it, there are reasons for this lack of punctuality.

At 0843 hours this morning, a lance of BattleMechs from an as yet unidentified force dropped onto Supply Depot 48-Bravo. While we had some warning from space traffic control, their use of a pirate jump point and the daring nature of their assault gave us little time to prepare. Rather, the enemy forces brazenly used the very depot we were tasked with defending against us, taking cover behind the buildings only to open fire on them when circumstances favored it.

Major Joseph Peitre, AFFS Quatermaster Command

(After the mess that was Kamenez, I thought it would be wise to know a little more about our liaison officer and where all the loot will be going. The AFFS tends to be good to their mercs, but with the situation they’re in, it’s still wise to be careful – Nikola)

Joseph Peitre

Age: 37 (born 3108)

Homeworld: Exeter

Position/Rank: Major; AFFS Quartermaster Command

Joseph Peitre’s family had served the AFFS for generations, even down to his two older siblings. Despite a childhood of ill health and poor eyesight, he was determined to follow in their footsteps. A keen analytical and a skill for numbers mind aided him, Joseph was able to find a place serving in the AFFS’ quartermaster corps. While not the most glamorous of assignments, Joseph well understood the need for strong logistics chain and enjoyed the challenge of his work.

The Blackout and its aftermath presented its own unique set of challenges as the AFFS was forced to hurriedly rearm. Years of peace and easy relations with the Republic had worn down its preparedness, and skilled men like Joseph were needed in order to help bring the military back into order. The challenge was considerable, but Joseph seemed to thrive on it.

Unfortunately, Caleb Davion’s mismanagement of the AFFS and the Combine invasion of the Federated Suns saw much of that work undone. With the AFFS gutted, the Draconis March all but destroyed and both Robinson and New Sytris fallen, an air of desperation has set in. In response, members of the Quartermaster Command such as Peitre have begun searching for options that could turn the situation around, or, at the very least, slow the enemy. This has seen him take to the field, even if in an advisory or administrative role, looking for anything that could be used against the enemy.

Peitre is no combatant, and he knows it. He has enough training to competently operate an armoured vehicle, but that is less a combat skill and more an option of last resort. However, he is also adept at locating resources and finding ways to use them, be they weapons, ammunition or other less tangible assets. In the field, he best serves as an advisor or administrator, aiding a combat command rather then actually participating in the fighting.

Fletcher Planetary Guard

AFFS Force Brief 01-01-3145

History
Like many other Republic Planetary Militias, the Fletcher Planetary Guard was hard hit by the events of the Blackout and its aftermath. Like many of the Planetary Guard units, its strength and preparedness had waned over the long decades of peace. Located deep in Prefecture III, the world was far from any hostile border and, as such, was lacking in any immediate threat to serve as a motivation. Much of its equipment was mothballed or transferred elsewhere, while the amount of training time dropped considerably.

However, other forces made the situation even worse. Much of the guard’s strength actually came from the Bright Fang Militia Cluster, one raised from the planet’s large Wolf Clan population. With the formation of the Steel Wolves following the Blackout, the cluster simply defected wholesale to the newly formed pseudo-Clan, immediately gutting the Planetary Militia’s strength. To make matters worse, the Wolves then began seizing equipment from the militia, be it by Clan trials or simple assault. When the Wolves left Fletcher for their assaults on Northwind and then Terra, they took that strength with them.

Message Tap File #75298-Rho

Your timing is perfect. The target unit arrived back on world only a couple of days after you left, and they’ve since taken off again. I’m sending you this little message to let you know what happened while they were here.

First things first; they got back from their last contract with relatively light casualties. I did observe Primary Target in the hiring halls shopping around for new recruits. They did pick up one that I tailed a bit to get some info on, but they did seem rather elusive and, more to the point, sharp-eyed. I had to drop back for fear that they might have made me, but I will investigate further.

More importantly, Primary Target also went searching for contracts with very little downtime. They picked up one, which I was able to wrangle some information about. It’s a raiding contract for the AFFS, targeting Fletcher. Apparently, the goal is to get set-up on world and then go to ground, while doing their best to harass the CCAF forces on-world. They want to tie them down, keep them busy and prevent them from being able to attack the FedSuns some more.

The Battle of Fort Sokol and the fall of the Kamenz Archonette

(From Brush Conflicts of the Post-Republic Period; Galatean Free Press)

The desertion of Carson's Carnivores from the Kamenz Archonette had been a boon to the Lyrans on two fronts. First, and most obviously, it removed a large portion of the Archonette's force from play. The Carnivores' departure cost the Archonette an experienced, well-equipped battalion, drastically reducing their overall capacity at very little cost to the Lyran forces. While the Archonette still could boast several more units under their command, none of them had the capability to match up to Magyari's command.

The second was the intelligence that Major Carson provided as the ransom for his escape. Until this point, one of Landgrave Karl Pelzer's greatest assets had been the security in which he had been able to operate, with his headquarters unknown to Lyran intelligence and the on-world forces. Intelligence provided by Carson indicated that Pelzer was operating out of the ruins of fort Sokol in the largely deserted northern region of the Saxony continent. Pelzer's forces had excavated and renovated portions of the facility, allowing them to shelter their forces from detection.

Updates and stuff

It's been a while between updates due to the slow pace of the game. Real life and stuff gets in the way, unfortunately, but there's still new stuff around. There are updates to both the Irregulars and NPC/OpFor BattleMech galleries, as well as new stuff for MegaMek players.

LIC Intelligence Report 6571-8-Q/Kamenez

As a part of the Bolan Thumb group of worlds, Kamenez was expected to be at the forefront of any conflict between the Free Worlds League and the Lyran Commonwealth. As such, the SLDF already maintained a considerable presence on it and other worlds in the thumb. In the early 28th Century, SLDF theatre command chose to increase its level of preparation for what was ever-increasingly seen as an inevitable conflict.

One stage in that preparation was improving the facilities that the XXXI Corps of the SLDF Thirteenth Army would be operating from. This project took on two stages. The first was the upgrading of existing bases across the worlds of the thumb. The second would be the construction of a covert facility that the SLDF could operate from without the knowledge of either the Lyrans or the League.

After an extensive survey of worlds in the Thumb, the SLDF chose Mount Sokol on Kamanez as the site for the proposed facility. An extinct volcano, the mountain was chosen for a number of reasons. The first was convenience, as the Saxony continent of Kamenez was already home to several SLDF facilities. The second was that the mountain offered an excellent site that could be used to conceal a large SLDF formation with minimal external changes. Finally, outside of the SLDF, the rest of the continent was sparsely inhabited, providing a greater level of security for the project.

From the personal journal of Irisz Magyari

Mount Sokol

I think the nicest thing that I can say about the Kamenez campaign is that it's over.

Okay, that’s not entirely true. The Royals being destroyed as a unit is a nice bonus, although given the circumstances that caused it to happen, it's a bit of a mixed blessing.

The fall of Pelzer's fortress was a bloody battle, but all things being considered, it could have gone a lot worse. We had a lot of 'Mechs battered to within an inch of their lives. My own Mad Cat was near-naked, and it was not the only one that was torn up. It's amazing that we didn't lose anyone, but again, there were a lot of things going for us.

Pelzer's army was down to its last gasps. His personal guard represented the only 'Mech force he had left under his control, and they lacked the skills, equipment and coordination to effectively stop us. Don't get me wrong, they were no pushovers, but they also were clearly basing their strategy on having the Carnivores or Incinerators (or the Royals) supporting them or, at least, having done more damage to us.

The Mercenary Review and Bonding Commission, an overview (part 2)

While serving the Mercenary trade, the revised, Republic-lead MRBC had also served to weaken the power and influence that the mercenaries held. This, combined with the shrinking size of commands (the multi-regiment commands of the pre-Jihad era being all but extinct) and more commands becoming inactive then new ones registering, had lead to a winnowing of the mercenary trade itself. By 3130, the mercenary trade was at its weakest ebb since the Third Succession war, an objective that the Republic of the Sphere had deliberately worked towards.

The Periphery powers had gotten around their lack of representation by using Herotitus as their main hiring hall. While not controlled by the MRBC, the generally poor quality of the units based there, as well as the limited technology and economies of the Periphery, served as a brake on those commands. The result was again a weakening of their influence, as well as limiting their capabilities. The sole exception to this was the Magestry of Canopus, who would often use the Capellan Confederation as a go-between for hiring units.

Grey Monday and its aftermath, however, destroyed this new stability a number of ways. Almost overnight, innumerable new commands sprang up out of nowhere, registering with the MRBC. While many of these units were dubious at best, often made up of converted InsustrialMechs or infantry, their numbers swelled the depleted ranks of MRBC. Many existing commands also expanded as a response to the growing chaos and uncertainty within the Republic. The rate at which this happened was dramatic; in 3132, many Mercenary Commands boasted a single lance of BattleMechs. A mere five years later, even bottom-tier commands were boasting multiple BattleMech companies.

The Mercenary Review and Bonding Commission, an overview (part 1)

From Mercenaries in the 32nd Century, Galatea Free Press

With breach of contract being a regrettably common (almost inevitable) part of the mercenary trade, the need for a Board of Inquiry to handle such affairs was an obvious necessity. When Wolfs’ Dragoons created the Mercenary Review and Bonding Commission, such a body was created in order to handle such affairs. As originally created, the MRBC Board consisted of eight members; a representative from each of the great houses, as well as ones from the Free Rasalhauge Republic, ComStar and Wolfs’ Dragoons, the latter representing the mercenary trade while also serving as a chair of the board. Between the MRBC’s founding and the dawn of the Jihad, this final position was held solely by Jamie Wolf

An actual commission inquiry panel had four members. Two were drawn from the great houses, as well as one each from ComStar and Wolf’s Dragoons. Neither the employing house, nor any other house that may have been involved in the dispute, could serve as representatives on the panel. Additionally, the unit under review has the right to veto and replace one of the panel members if they feel that member may exhibit undue prejudice against them. The sole exception was the Wolfs’ Dragoons representative, who was to be present for all hearings in their function as chair.

For example, in McKinnon’s Marauders vs ComStar, the Marauders were hired by ComStar. The unit was accused of breaching contract and crimes against humanity (In this case, destroying a HPG on Brerenson in the Free Worlds League) by ComStar. As such, there were no ComStar or Free Worlds’ League representatives on the Inquiry Panel.