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.