5th Wolf Garrison Cluster (Kappa Galaxy)

RAF Intel report; 01-01-3145

Wolf Empire Kappa Galaxy

Much like the rest of the Empire’s Kappa Galaxy, the 5^th Wolf Garrison Cluster has both spent years as a target for the Rasalhauge Dominion while also remaining near the bottom of the Empire’s supply chain. Even after the formation of the Wolf Empire, the Cluster has remained heavy with vehicles and conventional infantry, with very few BattleMechs or Battle Armour to speak of.

The 5^th has the added disadvantage of being at the bottom of Kappa's food chain for new recruits and replacement crews. It only receives the rawest of recruits and those that the other Clusters have allready rejected, leaving it both with poor quality and inexperienced warriors, but also mounting morale and discipline problems. Star Colonel Angela has repeatedly requested new transfers, but the simple fact that the 5th is the closest cluster to full strength in Kappa has undermined her case.

To compound these problems, the 5^th has been assigned to guard the vital factory world of Keystone, making them a prime target for potential raids, or any League efforts to reclaim their lost worlds. Despite the cease-fire between the Empire and the FWL, the result is a feeling of being in the crosshairs, one that has not helped the unit's morale situation any. Keystone’s polluted atmosphere also limits the unit’s effectiveness; its infantry are dependent on life-support equipment to operate outside, effectively tying them to either sealed structures or their transports. Similarly, its vehicles are vulnerable to hull breaches, making their commanders reluctant to commit to action.

Presently, intelligence suggests that the 5^th has been divided into Binary/Trinary-sized units to cover specific parts of the expansive and sprawling Earthworks facilities. Its few BattleMech forces are held as a quick reaction reserve force to bolster defences as needed or deal with the largest possible threats, but it is questionable how effective such a small force would be in the face of a full-scale invasion. For now, the 5^th’s greatest strength lies simply in the lack of an opponent who can readily threaten them.

From the personal journal of Irisz Magyari

Calling the last few days hectic would be an understatement. Between salvage, prisoner roundup, battlefield clean-up, debriefings, negotiations, talking to more suits and analysts then I’ve seen in a long time and an unexpected contract offer that came out of nowhere from a rep that must have been flown in specifically to headhunt us once they knew we were on-world, I’ve had very little time to myself. I can barely keep my eye open as I write this, but there’s a lot I need to say and I might as well do it while I have the chance.

First up, I'll just say that I agree with Roxana Zayros and her assessment of the QLF. The whole thing being a Mask operation makes a lot of sense, and to my eye would explain a lot. Obviously it's out of my hands now, but I think we can call this one closed. They've lost their leadership, their political allies, their base of operations and the better part of two battalions worth of troops and equipment. That's pretty crushed right there and then.

Behind the Scenes - The Battle of Red Sands City

The Battle of Red Sands city was the largest single Battletech battle I’ve ever run in my 26-odd years playing the game. It also had a number of highlights from a gameplay point of view that are definitely worth going into some detail on.

The Battle of Red Sands City

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

The ruins of Red Sands City

Acting on this Intel, major Irisz Magyari launched an attack on the reported QLF stronghold, seeing an opportunity to not only strike a decisive blow against the terrorist group, but also to eliminate or capture a good portion of their leadership.

That information proved correct, the Irregulars discovering that the QLF had made their home in the ruins of the old Qizilquam capitol. Several of the abandoned buildings had been reconstructed to serve as both headquarters and command facilities, as well as storehouses for their equipment. Additionally, a large area of the capitol had been cleared and reinforced to act as a landing pad for cargo dropships; when the Irregulars arrived, they found a Mule (Later identified as the Hal Warren, a free trader) was present and in the process of unloading

The Irregulars had a company of BattleMechs, supported by a VTOL lance and a platoon of mixed battle armour. Arrayed against them were two companies of QLF Armour, mostly the older Zhukov and Scorpion thanks they preferred. Supplementing this force was an oversized lance of BatleMechs, again mostly older designs save for a Marauder II, as well as several converted IndustrialMechs and conventional infantry.

QLF forces destroyed, leadership captured

(Extracted from the Hamilton Newsweb)

In a daring assault, Mercenaries employed by the Hamilton planetary government launched an attack on the suspected headquarters of the outlawed QLF. In a swift, decisive battle, the Mercenary forces were able to not only defeat the terrorist group, but were able to capture the organization’s apparent leader and a sizable portion of its command structure.

Following information believed to have been provided by a high-ranking QLF captive, the Mercenary forces attacked a meeting of several QLF cell leaders, being held in the ruins of Qizilqum City. Arriving on-scene, the mercenary forces discovered not only a large concentration of QLF troops, including conventional vehicles and BattleMechs, but also a Mule-class Cargo Dropship that was believed to be providing supplies to their forces.

NPC/OpFor BattleMech Gallery

As a counterpart to the Irregulars BattleMech gallery, this collection of images represents BatteMechs used by opponents and NPCs

RFL-6X Rifleman, Mao's Rifles

Raymond's Roughecks

StarCorps Update 01-08-3075

(I’ve taken the liberty of preparing this file to aid us with our little hound problem. The MRBC info on the Roughnecks is horribly out of date and likely has been compromised anyway – TW)

Raymond's Roughnecks Insignia

History

The history of Raymond's Roughnecks begins in the mid 30th Century, when the unit formed out of the remnants of several other smaller, fragmented units on Galatea. Unified under Major Jonny Raymond (himself a veteran of numerous campaigns with the now-defunct 777th Strike Regiment), the Roughnecks were able to grow in the low-intensity conflicts that were typical of the close of the 30th century.

While never spectacular, the unit was more chracterised as being rugged ad reliable, determined to fulfill their contracts rather then cutting and running at the first sign of trouble. The result was a unit that grew in experience and capability, stabilising as a BattleMech battalion with attached infantry support. By the turn of the century, the Roughnecks, now led by Jonny's son, Jacob, were rated by the MRB as a Veteran unit and considered to be both reliable and capable. Its troops also developed a reputation for rowdiness and unruliness, considered to be an acceptable trade-off for their clear quality

However, in 3009, he Roughnecks suffered their first major setback with the death of Jacob's daughter and heir-apparent, Julia during a raiding mission. While saddened by the loss, Jacob also knew that it was a part of the mercenary life and named his son Clifford as is new second and heir. When Jacob stepped down in 3012, citing age and injury, Clifford was accepted s their new commander.