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A TIME OF WARINTRODUCTION PERPETUAL WARA BRIEF HISTORY OF THE INNER SPHERE

Rise of the HegemonyThe Star League EraCenturies of War

Steps Towards PeaceFourth Succession War

Skirmishes and PlotsEnemies From BeyondThe Warriors of KerenskyClan Invasion

Victory and ChangeThe Universe Turned Upside Down

The Star League RebornCivil Wars

FACTIONSHouse Kurita (Draconis Combine)House Davion (Federated Suns)House Liao (Capellan Confederation)House Marik (Free Worlds League)House Steiner (Lyran Alliance)

MercenariesOther Powers

THE MECHWARRIORTHE BATTLEMECH

ChassisLocomotion/Movement SystemsArmor and WeaponsPower SystemsDefining Characteristics

Movement CapabilitiesHeat Dissipation Systems and Strategies

TECHNICAL READOUT

INTRODUCTION BattleMechs are the most powerful war machines ever

built. These huge, human-shaped vehicles are faster, moremaneuverable, better armored, and more heavily armed thanany other ground combat unit in history. Equipped with suchdeadly weapons as particle projector cannons, lasers, rapid-fireautocannons and missiles, these behemoths dominate thebattlefields of the 31st century.

BattleTech is a game that pits Mech against Mech onthe battlefields of the future. Each player controls severalBattleMechs, deciding how each Mech moves, when to fire itsweapons, and what targets to aim at. The outcome of the battleis determined by the players decisions and the luck of the dice.Combat is played out on a game board that represents thebattlefield, using stand-up counters to represent the mightyBattleMechs that fight for supremacy over the Inner Sphere.

This book introduces players to the fascinating and stun-ning universe of BattleTech. A Time of War is a brief encapsula-tion of the BattleTech universe. With that, youll have a frameof reference to jump right into the short story Perpetual Warthat provides a taste for what BattleMech combat is like for themen and women who populate this exciting universe. Next,A Brief History of the Inner Sphere provides a glimpse of howhumankind has expanded to the stars in the last millennium,while the Faction section details the major states in the uni-verse and what its like to follow each banner, as well as a shortsection detailing other powers as well. This is followed by TheMechWarrior section that explains a MechWarriors place inthis complex universe, as well as detailing how a he actuallypilots a Mech. The final section of this book, The BattleMech,provides a general technical overview of the BattleMech anddescribes the specific capabilities and weapons of the twenty-four BattleMechs contained in this box.

Table of Contents/Introduction2

TABLE OF CONTENTS


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A TIME OF WARFor almost a thousand years, humans have journeyed into

the far reaches of space, colonizing thousands of worlds andforming star-spanning alliances. From these grew the five vaststar empires that make up the Inner Sphere. The Inner Spherewas rife with division as the ruling dynasties warred constantlyover colony worlds with valuable resources. These titanic strug-

gles led to the development of BattleMechs: gigantic, humanoidbattle machines bristling with lethal weapons. From the twenty-fifth century onward, these walking tanks ruled the battlefields.

As the price of conflict grew, the Inner Sphere tired of war.Eventually the five ruling Houses joined together in the StarLeague, a federation led by a First Lord and served by its ownarmy. For nearly two hundred years, the Star League broughtthe Inner Sphere peace and prosperity.

The sudden death of the Star Leagues First Lord paved theway for an evil genius named Stefan Amaris to stage a bloodycoup dtat. The Star League Defense Forces, commanded bythe brilliant General Aleksandr Kerensky, refused to acceptAmariss rule. They fought him in a bitter civil war the largestconflict ever fought by humanity, before or since. Kerenskysforces won, but at a terrible price. In the chaos that followed,the Council Lords were each determined to step in as First Lord.Despite the efforts of Kerensky to hold it together, the StarLeague dissolved.

Unable to halt the conflict, Kerensky appealed to his sol-diers to join him in leaving the Inner Sphere. Nearly 80 percentof the Star League army heeded Kerenskys call to build a newStar League somewhere far beyond explored space. Kerenskyand his followers abandoned their homes and headed intouncharted areas of the galaxy, presumably never to return.

War followed war in the wake of Kerenskys dramaticdeparture. For nearly three centuries, the Houses of the InnerSphere fought in vain for the right to rule. These SuccessionWars forged new alliances and cost the Inner Sphere lifetimesworth of scientific advancement and irreplaceable technology.Constantly maneuvering for position, the House Lords assumedthat the greatest enemy they would ever face was each other.

They were wrong.While the Inner Sphere sank into barbarism, Kerenskys fol-

lowers built a new society in the harsh environs beyond knownspace. They developed a rigid caste system based on eugenicsand martial ideals, designed to produce the ultimate warriors.For nearly three hundred years, they were unified by one burn-ing goal: that when the time was right, they would return homeand conquer the Inner Sphere. They planned to be the saviorsof humanity and to rebuild the Star League in their own image.When the warlords of the clans decided the time had cometo launch their invasion, they took their powerful Mechs andMechWarriors and drove straight toward Terra, the birthworldof humanity.

Faced with a common enemy, the states of the InnerSphere united against the threat, establishing a new StarLeague. Finally victorious in 3060, the Star League halted theClan invasion and a new era of peace seemed to loom on thehorizon. It was not to be, however, as war once again sweptthrough almost every House and Clan, with the most viciousfighting centered around the civil war between House Davionand House Steiner. Now, with the end of the FedCom Civil War,a weary peace has settled across the Inner Sphere, but it is apeace filled with tension.

This is but the eye of the storm.

A Time of War


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Perpetual War 4

The two-meter wide metal claw swung down to dragdual furrows through the parched soil, kicking upplumes of dust that could be seen for klicks. The otherclaw, attached to a five meter long reverse-canted leg,swung forward to repeat the wound in the dirt in a lope

that ate up the ground at a over sixty klicks an hour. The dustcolumn behind was impressive, reaching almost a hundredmeters into the brightening dawn morning. There was nothingto be done, though. Surprise was gone and speed was of theessence. The raid had already begun.

Captain, Ive got the coordinates confirmed by a fly-over.The electronically reproduced voice of her XO still managed toconvey levity, a good humor that he carried like a shield.

I copy, Joshua. Unlike her XO, Captain Suzanne Lewis hadno need of such protection. Why hide when the pain simplyproved you were alive? Alive, exhilarated, terrified, joyous, filledwith glory at piloting sixty-five tons of lethal machinery: all of it

brought an adrenaline high she could ride for days. Then again,it felt like she had been riding it for weeks; eating and sleepingit, just to survive.

I guess I owe you that Timbiqui Dark when this is over,Leftenant, she said. Suzanne tried unsuccessfully to hide thedisgust in her tone at losing the bet.

Sorry Cap, but you just shouldnt bet against me on some-thing like this. It was pretty elementary to determine where theinbound DropShip was going to touch down by its trajectory asit hit the atmosphere. Comparing the intensity of the drive-flairwith the known mass of the Union and correlating its velocitywith the full possible range of empty to fully laden with a com-pany of twelve Mechs, only synched it. They grounded in sectorA23.

Yea, yea, I know. Honors in math, as well as electronics,blah, blah.

Now youre just being a sore loser.

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Perpetual War

Thats because I lose sorely. Youve been with me longenough to know that.

A barking laugh was answer enough.Clenching her jaw, she opened up a line to her entire

company. Alright, people, Joshua landed it on the head, asusual. We got bad guys grounding just a little too close to oursupposedly hidden supply depot and thats simply too much of a coincidence for me. I say they found out about it and theyrecoming to ruin our party. But I hate gatecrashers, so who everthey are, were going to show them what Davion troops can do.Then, when this is over, Im going to have a conversation withour friendly Intel man to discuss military intelligence issues.

A good round of laughter erupted at that comment.Nothing like the age-old oxymoron to lighten the mood.

Push through! Theyre going to sack the depot if wedont push through, Suzanne said, re-stating theobvious in her frustration.

Cap, theyve got a good cross-fire going andhave managed to bottle the only pass across the

gorge, Joshua said. We could try to traverse it further down?She punched up her tactical maps and queued through

several until she found the appropriate one. After seeing thedistances involved, she quickly discarded the idea. I t was almostten kilometers further south until there was a passable areaagain; too long, way too long.

Thats not going to work, she said. Thatll take too long.The depot is their target and weve got to push through. StrikerLance, I want you through that breach as quickly as possible.The Command Lance will follow, providing cover fire. Now go.

With a series of affirmatives echoing in her ears, her Striker Lanceleapt into the breach of the canyon opening. Jessies Grasshopperwaded into the blistering weapons fire that immediately answeredthe move. Armor blasted off in chunks to rain down on the ravinefloor, but the Grasshopper trudged forward; for a moment, Suzannepictured a man leaning into the gale of a storm.

She pulled her targeting reticle across her forward viewscreen, lining it up with the shots point of origin. Though theangle was off, she hoped that laying down some fire in the gen-eral area would make the other MechWarrior duck and give herStriker Lance the chance to close. She tightened her grip on theright-hand joystick, sending thirty long-range missiles down-range. She couldnt tell if the resulting series of explosions hadactually damaged the enemy Mech, but the weapons fire from

that quarter suddenly cut off.As soon as her weapons could cycle through, she maneu-vered to a better angle. The members of her Command Lancebegan following the Striker Lance into the breach as she rippedoff another full salvo. Suzanne knew she was chewing throughher ammunition reserves fast, but if it kept any of her companyfrom harms way to the end of the canyon pass, shed burn everylast round she had.

A warning siren of enemy fire blared, and a hard-rain of metal washed across her Mech, blasting armor and almost

knocking her Catapult from its feet. She tried to get a bead onwhere the attack had come from, but it wasnt until her enemylocator designated the target that she was able to spot it, highup on the canyon wall. She smile grimly in admiration theDervish pilot had managed to jump up to a small ledge, barelywide enough for the Mech to stand on, and was returning mis-sile fire in kind.

Before she could track her weapons up the wall, three cor-uscating beams of energy reached out to engulf the Dervish; onemelted armor off the right arm, but the other two cored right intothe right torso, the armor flashing instantly into a metallic vapor.The Dervish slammed back into the wall, and suddenly fire anddeath exploded out of the hole torn in the Mechs torso. The topof the Dervishs head blew off as the pilot ejected; the PPC striketo the right torso must have set off an ammunition explosion. Asthe Mech tore itself inside out, it slowly toppled and fell downthe canyon wall, creating a huge landside.

As luck would have it, the mountain of debris was farenough in front of her lead Mech that they were safe, but thatdidnt make her any happier. As the last rocks stopped moving,she slammed her fist into her dashboard. She may not have losta Mech, but they had ten kilometers to go before they couldtraverse this gorge and make it to the depot.

The cerulean beam of twisting energy slammed into theground at Suzannes feet, paving a steaming glass trenchin the dirt between her Catapults legs. Instinctively, shestomped both feet down hard onto the pedals, ignitingher Mechs jump jets and lofting into a ballistic arc that

would bring the machine slamming back to the ground in a

barely controlled fall, some one hundred-twenty meters closerto her target. Her hand clenched convulsively on her right-hand joystick, sending thirty long-range missiles on tails of firetowards her elusive target. She knew her jump would throw thetargeting off, but it would keep the enemy MechWarriors headdown while she sought cover herself cover that was hard tofind on this blighted prairie

Incoming, the voice exploded inside the confines of herneurohelmet. I repeat, we have an additional bogie comingthrough the south section of the facilitys wall.

Six and nine, I want that bogie taken down. Now, shesaid, gritting her teeth for the impact to come. With a soundlike a hundred-hovercar pileup, the Catapult landed, its jumpjets pumping out superheated reaction mass in an effort to

bleed off velocity. With a perfectly flexed knee motion timed totouch down, she didnt even bite her tongue this time. A savagesmile lit her face, while a chorus of yes, sirs, answered her com-mand.

Quickly checking her secondary screen, she could seewhere the new threat had emerged. Luckily, this one was onlya Panther. A fusillade of laser fire washed across her Mech fromanother quarter looked like a Javelin out of the corner of hereye as she wondered what brought the warriors of HouseKurita to her door this time. Not that the snakes needed any


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particular reason to attack their ancient enemies, but. Was itjust the supply depot, or were they simply spoiling for a goodfight? Well, shed give them one.

Without warning, the enemy MechWarrior shed beentargeting swung his machine away from the blasted buildingsof the supply depot and out into the open, pushing the Mechinto a full run. Harsh sunlight glinted off the jutting torso andoverly large shoulders, while the right arm ended in the barrelof an autocannon. For a heavy Mech, the Dragons top speedof eighty-six kilometers an hour made it a dangerous oppo-nent when the right person piloted it. This Kurita MechWarriorwas obviously one of those people, as the Mech moved at anoblique angle away from her while torso twisting to bring itsweapons to bear.

The autocannon spewed metal death at her, as a stream of depleted uranium slugs shot out to embrace her Catapult. Theshock of the impact slammed her forward as her Mech triedto fall. She could feel the whine of the Catapults gyroscopethrough the soles of her boots, drawing on her own senseof balance to keep the machine upright. A quick back pedalhelped bring the machine back under control, giving her achance to quickly assess the situation.

She glanced towards her damage schematic screen, seeingimmediately how much damage the shot had done. Strikinginto her right torso, it had found the wound previously inflictedby the Dervish and chewed most of the armor off; another hitlike that and she would be Dispossessed. She shuddered amoment at the thought of losing her machine.

Again launching a brace of missiles, she sped her machineat another angle to the Dragon, attempting to make herself a more difficult target while keeping it at range; her own

weaponry was better suited for a long-range fire-fight. A quick glance at the bottom of her view screen showed the Awesome,Hunchback and Assassin of her command lance attemptingto maneuver into position. Of course the Assassin could havequickly outdistanced her, but the Dragon would shred itslightweight armor if it were on its own. Her plan was to forcethe Dragon into the range of the Awesomes weapons, whereits three particle projector cannons should make quick work of even a heavy Mech.

The Dragon MechWarrior, however, was not so easily cor-ralled. She was extremely proud of her command and theirbattlefield prowess, but there was no doubt that she was com-pletely outmatched by this pilot. Who is he, she thought, as thelast of her long-range missiles exploded harmlessly in the dirt

at the feet of the Dragon. Though the enemy Mech proudlysported the logo of the Draconis Combine, no other unit mark-ings marred any part of the surface.

Striker Lance, I want you to move into a flanking positionfor this Dragon. He comes down now! She couldnt help theyell. To be so outmaneuvered by a snake was more than shecould stomach.

Suddenly the Dragon stopped, as though it was listeningto something, then swung directly toward her. Taken aback,

Suzanne brought her medium lasers on-line. The rest of herCommand Lance was finally able to concentrate all of their fireon the machine. Like a wounded, angry bull, however, it contin-ued to move forward as armor plating fell and inky-black smokebegan to pour from its wounds.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as theright-arm of the machine was completely torn away, and yet itstill closed with her. Pushing the throttle backwards, she triedto maneuver out of the path; it was too late. With its last dyingenergy, the Dragon ran headlong into her Catapult.

The sound was like nothing shed ever experienced beforeand she was slammed forward at the impact, exploding starsin front of her eyes. Her Catapult crashed to the ground withthe Dragons carcass on top. Her neurohelmet bounced heavilyback against her command couch, and darkness closed in.

The slight breeze ruffled her hair, greeting her returnto the land of the living. Suzanne re-adjusted the coldcompress on her head. She prayed the pounding in herskull would lessen soon, as she took a deep drink fromthe offered canteen and then slowly cleared her throat.

Say that again. Her words sounded more like a croak thana human voice.

It looks like our friendly snake here played us good, herXO said, squatting down so as not to force her to look up athim. He kept us busy long enough for the majority of his forceto retreat to their DropShip and lift off world. He paused for amoment, then continued. He must have gotten a message thatthey were within sight of the DropShip, so he felt it was time todie a glorious death.

She started to nod her head in agreement with her XOssentiments, but stopped as a new round of pounding made hergroan. After a moment, she spoke again.

I dont get it. That was it? They strike, rummage throughthe supply depot, take some spare ammunition they probablycould have gotten anywhere and then leave? Meanwhile theylose several Mechs and one astonishing MechWarrior? Shehated wording it that way, but there was no denying his ability;theyd all fallen victim to it.

Dont know, Cap. Maybe there was something in the sup-ply depot we didnt know about and they did.

She tried to think things through, but the pain was simplytoo much; shed yet to look at the damage her Catapult hadtaken because she knew that that pain would be too much as

well. Very carefully, she maneuvered to her feet. I dont knoweither. But I do know one thing. Theyll be back. Whether forsomething else our esteemed commander hasnt informed usabout, or simply because they now think they can. Theyll comeagain but the ending will be very different.

She removed the compress and looked her XO in the eyes,finding the same gleam of resolution. Yes, she thought, the end-ing would be very different next time.

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The history of human life among the stars, the creation of the great star empires and the formation of the humansociety known as the Clans begins with humanitys long-ago first steps into space. Among the ancient nationsof Terra, the dissolution of traditional alliances and

enmities in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuriescreated an era of unprecedentedpeace and cooperation, in whichall human societies turned their

energies toward the advancementof the human race. By 2020, thegroundbreaking research of twoscientists Thomas Kearny andTakayoshi Fuchida led to thedevelopment of a fusion reactorcapable of powering a starship. In2027 the Alliance starship Columbia,powered by the first Kearny-Fuchida fusion engine, made itshistoric journey to Mars. With thatbrief voyage, Mans migration fromTerra began.

In 2102, the scientific com-munity paid new attention topan-dimensional gravitationalmathematics, a breakthroughdiscovery made eighty years ear-lier by Kearny and Fuchida. Thoughtwenty-first-century scientists hadscoffed at this theory, twenty-sec-ond-century physicists used Kearnyand Fuchidas work to develop the firstfaster-than-light ship in an intensive research effort known asthe Deimos Project. Deimos produced the first Kearny-Fuchidadrive, which created a space warp around a starship throughwhich the craft could jump distances of up to thirty light years

from its starting point. On 5 December 2108, Terra launchedthe first so-called JumpShip, the TAS Pathfinder, on its famousround trip between Terra and the Tau Ceti system.

The ability to travel between star systems in the blink of aneye led to an unparalleled expansion of human colonies to otherworlds. The first human colony of New Earth, established on TauCeti IV in 2116, paved the way for hundreds of others. Underthe banner of the Terran Alliance, man spread throughout thegalaxy as his ancestors had once swarmed over Terra. By the year2235, an Alliance survey had counted more than six hundred

human colonies scattered across a sphere roughly eighty lightyears in diameter. In an eerie parallel to earlier human history,however, this colonial expansion carried within it the seeds of its own destruction. Self-sufficient colonies far from their found-ing worlds began agitating for home rule; in 2236, a group of worlds at the edge of human-explored space declared indepen-

dence from Terra. The Colonial Marines,dispatched from Earth to quell the

rebellion, failed miserably. Within six

years, the Alliance government hadgranted independence to all colo-nies that lay more than thirty lightyears from Terra.

RISE OF THE HEGEMONY

Over the next several decades, acombination of political infightingand the severe economic strainof supporting Terran colonies ateaway at the fabric of the TerranAlliance. Tales of colonists starvingto death sparked riots among sym-pathetic Terrans, while the ranks of the poor, dispossessed and angrygrew. In 2314, civilian riots andpolitical polarization erupted intoAlliance-wide civil war. The AllianceGlobal Militia, which had remaineduneasily neutral throughout thelong years of unrest, stepped into stop the violence at the behest

of James McKenna, an admiral in the Alliance Global Navy.Using his newfound authority as the Alliances military savior,McKenna tore down the corrupt Alliance government andestablished the Terran Hegemony in its place. In 2316, a grateful

public elected him the Hegemonys first Director-General.During McKennas twenty-three-year term of office, helaunched three military campaigns to bring independent col-ony worlds back under Hegemony control. The first two cam-paigns, though hard-fought, were largely successful; the third,launched in 2335, was not. The aging McKenna left control of the final campaign to his son Konrad, whose persistent refusalto follow standard procedure eventually ended in disaster forthe Hegemony Navy. In 2338 Konrad led his naval convoysblindly into the heavily mined Syrma system, losing all but two

A Brief History of the Inner Sphere

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE INNER SP


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of his twenty-nine troopships. This failure also gave heart to theworlds opposing the Hegemony, who had begun to ally witheach other in order to protect themselves from the expandingHegemony influence. Konrads disgrace left the Hegemonywithout an heir to fill McKennas place; upon James McKennasdeath in 2339, the Hegemonys High Council passed the leader-ship of the Hegemony to James McKennas third cousin, MichaelCameron. The new Director-General immediately began effortsto cement good relations with the allied colony worlds that hadby this time formed independent nations.

In 2351, Michael Cameron took an action whose cul-

tural repercussions would echo for centuries. He created thePeer List, establishing the equivalent of a feudal nobilitywhose members owed their exalted rank to their achievements.Among the first to receive a title was Dr. Gregory Atlas, laud-ed for his work on refining myomer bundles. These incred-ibly powerful synthetic muscles were an integral part of earlyWorkMechs; when powered by a fusion reactor, myomer bun-dles give a BattleMech its strength and mobility. Though Dr.Atlas would not live to see the first BattleMech used in actionon 5 February 2439 his work ultimately changed the faceof war.

Inevitably, Camerons PeerList led to the creation of feudalruling families in the various inde-pendent states surrounding theHegemony. In the latter half of thetwenty-fourth and the early twenty-fifth centuries, tensions betweenthese fiefdoms escalated intoopen war. Humanitys interstellarnations fought battle after battleagainst each other, each moresavage than the last, culminatingin the unspeakable massacre of civilians on the world of Tintavelin the Capellan Confederation.TheConfederations leader, ChancellorAleisha Liao, responded to the

tragedy by devising the AresConventions a set of rules for war-fare intended to keep such atroci-ties from ever happening again.On 13 June 2412, the Hegemonyand all other nations signed theAres Conventions, agreeing tolimit their use of nuclear weap-ons and cease assaulting civiliantargets. Though hailed as an actof peace, the Ares Conventionsin effect made war legal. Many of the signatory states wasted littletime in abusing their legal right towage warfare.

THE STAR LEAGUE ERAThe Hegemony engaged in its share of battles over the next

century or so, but equally as often served as a neutral mediatorbetween warring parties. Despite the Hegemonys history of military expansion, the presence of Terra at its heart gave it acertain credibility as a peacemaker in the eyes of other nations.Ian Cameron, who became Director-General in 2549, expandedthe Hegemonys peacemaking role and negotiated an end to anumber of conflicts. In 2556, Ian persuaded the leaders of theFree Worlds League and the Capellan Confederation to sign theTreaty of Geneva; this famous document laid the groundwork

for the formation of the Star League, the glorious interstellaralliance that all too briefly ended wars and advanced the welfareof all humanity. The Lyran Commonwealth signed the treatyin 2558, the Federated Suns in 2567. With the inclusion of theDraconis Combine in 2569, Ian Cameron achieved his dream of uniting virtually all humanity under one ruler.

Led by the enlightened Cameron dynasty, the Star Leaguegave its citizens peace and prosperity for two hundred years.Though even the Star League could not completely wipe outthe human need for conflict, it kept disputes between its mem-

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Nicholas led eight hundred loyal followers to a safe haven,where together they forged the society later known to historyas the Clans. Though the Clans would not arrive in force in theInner Sphere until 3049, they did send one unit as a vanguard in3005 Wolfs Dragoons. This famed mercenary unit fought foreach of the Successor States in turn, testing the strength of theirmilitaries. Ultimately, the Clan-born Dragoons would becomeone of the strongest units fighting against the Clans on the sideof the Inner Sphere.

STEPS TOWARD PEACE

By the turn of the thirty-first century, common wisdomamong Successor State militaries held that conquest of theInner Sphere through conventional warfare was impossible.Those who wished to found a second Star League had to findanother way. In 3020, Archon Katrina Steiner of the LyranCommonwealth sent a peace proposal to her fellow SuccessorLords, but only Prince Hanse Davion of the Federated Sunsshowed any interest. In 3022, the Archon and the Prince con-cluded a secret alliance that would bind their realms togetherthrough Hanse Davions marriage to Katrinas daughter and


heir, Melissa Steiner. This unionjoined two families and twonations into a single strong realm,combining the prosperous LyranCommonwealth with the militar-ily powerful Federated Suns. Theunion of these states put theDraconis Combine in an uncom-fortable position between two of its greatest enemies, and led thesmaller Capellan Confederationand Free Worlds League tofear conquest by the emergingFederated Commonwealth.

After months of secret nego-tiations between the CapellanConfederation, Draconis Combine

and Free Worlds League, all three of those nations signed the Concord of Kapetyn in 3024. Intended as a coun-ter to the Lyran CommonwealthFederated Suns alignment, thistriple alliance provided for mutualsupport and defense. It also guaran-teed that any renewed war wouldengulf the entire Inner Sphere.

FOURTH SUCCESSION WAROn 20 August 3028, Hanse

Davion and Melissa Steiner heldtheir wedding on Terra in thepresence of their fellow SuccessorLords. At the reception follow-

ing the wedding, Hanse Davion offered a gift to his bride.As he fed Melissa a piece of wedding cake, Prince Hanseannounced, Wife, in honor of our marriage, in addition to thismorsel I give you a vast prize. My love, I give you the CapellanConfederation! With those words, Hanse Davion launched theFourth Succession War.

In a series of military exercises held between 3026 and3028, Hanse Davion had discovered that he could move vastnumbers of troops swiftly to distant battlefields. He had alsoreorganized his army, regrouping battalions and regiments intoRegimental Combat Teams consisting of one or more regiments

of BattleMechs plus armor, infantry and artillery support. Thisorganization gave Davion troops overwhelming advantages innumbers. The RCTs poured into the Capellan Confederation inseven successive waves, cutting it in half.

Such large-scale mobilization by the Federated Suns didnot come without cost. The vast demand for JumpShips andDropShips to ferry troops across space reduced commercebetween worlds to essential items only, inflicting economichardship on many planets. In addition, the Holy Order of ComStar, whose members had preserved the technology of


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interstellar communications eversince the fall of the Star League,opposed Hanse Davions war andplaced the Federated Suns underInterdiction. ComStars hyperpulsegenerators would relay no mes-sages to, from or between anyFederated Sun worlds. Hamperedby the Interdiction and pleasedwith his conquests, Hanse Davionsued for peace in 3029. The bat-tered Capellan Confederationagreed willingly to the FederatedSuns terms, desperate to free itsscant military resources for useagainst other enemies. The FreeWorlds League had exploited the

Confederations weakened state,taking more than a few worlds foritself; the Confederations leader-ship could no longer afford warwith House Davion if he hoped topreserve his nation.

SKIRMISHES AND PLOTSBetween 3029 and 3039, the

Successor States jockeyed for powerthrough covert dealings and smallskirmishes in lieu of outright war. TheFederated Commonwealth com-pleted the integration of its militaries,governments, economies and con-quered worlds, forming the largest andmost powerful realm in the Inner Sphere.Meanwhile, the Draconis Combine took one lesson from theFourth Succession War to heart, and overhauled its military inresponse to Hanse Davions lightning war. In his role as theCombines Gunji-no-Kanrei, or Deputy of Military Affairs, TheodoreKurita took several steps to ensure his nations safety. He revampedthe Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery, upgrading their trainingand loosening the command structure to reward personal initia-tive. In his most controversial act, Theodore signed a compact withComStar, granting independence to several Combine worlds inexchange for ComStars Star League-era BattleMechs. As a result,

on 13 March 3034, the Free Rasalhague Republic announced itsindependence from the Draconis Combine.The declaration of independence touched off a minor

rebellion within the Combine, as reactionary commandersrefused to pull their military units from the new republic.Theodore declared the reactionaries ronin, lordless, and senthis own units to drive them from Free Rasalhague. Theodorestroops and various mercenary groups joined the RepublicsKungsrm in battle against the ronin, but poor contractsnegotiated in haste with the mercenaries paid most too much

money for too little fighting. Free Rasalhague won the freedomit had claimed, but its citizens learned to loathe the mercenaryMechWarrior.

In April of 3039, Hanse Davion set in motion the secondgreat wave of his war to unite the Inner Sphere. Selecting theDraconis Combine as his target, he launched a two-front attack on the Dieron district. The first assault wave succeeded brilliantly;Davions military advisors believed they had taken the Combineby surprise. Before Federated Commonwealth forces could launchtheir second wave, however, the Combine counterattacked andthrew the Commonwealth on the defensive. Aided by the StarLeague Mechs he had received from ComStar, Theodore Kuritagambled with the fate of his nation and won. By attacking in theteeth of the Davion onslaught, Theodore made Hanse Davionbelieve the DCMS stronger than it actually was. Also, Hanse Davionsaw no reason to grind his troops down against soldiers armedwith superior, Star League-era technology. By October of 3039,Davion chose to cut his losses and make peace.

The War of 3039 accomplished little for those who foughtit, save to remind the Successor States of the severe cost of war. A few worlds changed hands, but the balance of power

A Brief History of the Inner Sphere 1


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remained the same. Aside from an assault in 3041, in whichthe Tenth Lyran Guards took the world of Skondia from theCombine, the states of the Inner Sphere seemed contentto rebuild their realms in peace. Military readiness andovercharged rhetoric still ruled the day, but the SuccessorStates had at least temporarily grown tired of war. TheInner Sphere rebuilt during ten years of peace, which endedabruptly on 13 August 3049.

ENEMIES FROM BEYONDIn that year, while hunting pirates in the Periphery near

the Free Rasalhague Republic, a detachment of the famed KellHounds mercenary unit met and succumbed to a mysteriousfighting force on a godforsaken planet known as The Rock.Casualties included Phelan Kell, only son of the Hounds found-er Morgan Kell and cousin to Victor Steiner-Davion, Hanse andMelissas eldest son. Phelan was listed as missing, presumedkilled, but the Inner Sphere did not learn his true fate untilseveral months later. The Kell Hounds defeat marked the first of many battles lost to the Clans, mighty warriors descended fromthe long-vanished Star League Army. The Clans invaded the

Inner Sphere in order to conquerit and restore their version of theStar League.

In March of 3050, theClans struck in force, hammer-ing the Draconis Combine, theFree Rasalhague Republic andthe Lyran side of the FederatedCommonwealth. Wave after waveof Clan attacks followed, executedwith blinding speed and ruth-less efficiency. Using their tech-nologically superior OmniMechsand tenacious armored infantryknown as Elementals, Clan war-riors cut down their Inner Sphereopponents like wheat before a

scythe. Four Clans rolled acrossthe Inner Sphere in the first wave:Clans Smoke Jaguar, Ghost Bear,Jade Falcon and Wolf. All took theirshare of planets, but Clan Wolf conquered more worlds than allits compatriots. Inner Sphere forc-es launched a few successful coun-terattacks, but those strikes cametoo little and too late. The Clanjuggernaut thundered on, haltedonly when catastrophe struck.

On 31 October 3050, aRasalhagian pilot named TyraMiraborg crashed her Shilonefighter into the Clan flagship DireWolf, killing the Clans war leader.

The death of the ilKhan accomplished what six months of desperate fighting had not; the Clans ended their assaults,garrisoned the worlds they had conquered and pulled muchof their military strength out of the Inner Sphere. For severalmonths, later dubbed the Year of Peace, the leaders of eachClan debated the question of who should be the new ilKhan. Inmid-3051, they chose Khan Ulric Kerensky of Clan Wolf to leada renewed assault against the Inner Sphere.

In this year of peace, Colonel Jaime Wolf of Wolfs Dragoonssummoned the leaders of the Successor States to the world of

Outreach. There, Wolf revealed that he and his fellow Dragoons wereactually Clan warriors and that they were prepared to aid the InnerSphere against their own people. The Inner Sphere leaders spentthe better part of that year formulating a combined response to theoverwhelming Clan threat. Setting aside centuries worth of mistrustbetween their two nations, Hanse Davion and Theodore Kuritasealed a non-aggression pact. Davion also extorted material aidfrom the Free Worlds League by promising its leader, Thomas Marik,that he would devote all the resources of the New Avalon Instituteof Science toward curing Thomass son Joshua of leukemia.



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In November of 3051, the Clans renewed their invasionof the Inner Sphere. In January 3052, Clans Smoke Jaguar andNova Cat attacked the Combine capital of Luthien. In an actof unexpected political courage that sealed the loose alliancebetween the Federated Commonwealth and the DraconisCombine, Hanse Davion sent the Kell Hounds and WolfsDragoons to help defend his age-old enemys homeworld. Thetrust engendered between the two nations by Davions actionenabled both to devote all their efforts to fighting the Clans.

Despite the close cooperation between the FederatedCommonwealth and the Draconis Combine, the Inner Spheres

unity remained largely an illusion. ComStar had negotiated withthe Clans soon after the initial invasion, and upon their returnto the Inner Sphere the Order offered to administrate the Clansconquered worlds. ComStars leader, Primus Myndo Waterly,intended to use the Clan conquest to bring about the collapseof civilization; ComStar would then step in as humanitys savior,thus gaining power over all of human-occupied space. WhenWaterly discovered that the Clans intended to conquer Terra,ComStars homeworld and the cradle of humanity, she abruptlychanged her tactics. At the urging of her Precentor Martial,

Anastasius Focht, Waterly struck adeal with the invaders and sent theCom Guards to fight the Clans onthe backwater world of Tukayyid. If the Clans won, ComStar would givethem Terra. If they lost, the Clanswould halt their advance towardTerra for fifteen years. Unknown tothe Precentor Martial, Waterly alsoset secret plans in motion to strikeat the Clans and the Inner Spheresimultaneously.

The Com Guards defeatedthe Clans on Tukayyid in May of 3052, in a horrific blood bath thatcost ComStars forces dearly. Whilethe Com Guards fought and died

on Tukayyid to save the InnerSphere, Primus Waterly gave theword to her agents. They launchedOperation Scorpion, making aseries of covert attacks on worldsin the Clan occupation zonesand striking at communicationssites across the Inner Sphere. Bythis bold gambit, Waterly hopedto cripple both the Inner Sphereand the Clans in the same blow,enabling her ComStar loyalists toseize power. The strikes failed; uponFochts return to Terra, he deposedPrimus Waterly and began a mas-sive reform of ComStar.

VICTORY AND CHANGE The end of the Clan invasion brought other changes

in its wake. Hanse Davion died of a massive heart attack atthe end of the war; Chancellor Romano Liao of the CapellanConfederation died at the hands of an assassin, leaving her sonSun-Tzu on the Celestial Throne. Sun-Tzu immediately beganto build a power base, allying himself to House Marik throughan engagement to Thomas Mariks illegitimate daughter, Isis.Within a few short years, Theodore Kurita succeeded his fatherTakashi as Coordinator of the Draconis Combine. Ryan Steiner,

perennial thorn in the side of the Federated Commonwealthsrulers, began agitating for an independent Isle of Skye. ComStar,meanwhile, split into two factions over Precentor Fochtsreforms. The reactionary group, calling itself Word of Blake, emi-grated to the Free Worlds League planet of Gibson with ThomasMariks blessing.

On 19 June 3055, a bomb blast at a charity event onTharkad killed the Federated Commonwealths beloved Archon,Melissa Steiner. Authorities failed to apprehend a suspect. RyanSteiner, riding the crest of anti-Davion sentiment he had spent



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years creating, accused ArchonPrince Victor Steiner-Davion of engi-neering Melissas death in order toascend her throne. Ryans native Isleof Skye, already seething with seces-sionist fever, erupted in open rebel-lion. Victors sister Katrina tried tomediate between her brother andthe rebel faction, with little success.

In April of 3056, Victors aide andKatrinas lover, Galen Cox, fell victimto a bombing attack in a Solaris hotelthat narrowly missed Katrina. Fourdays later, an unknown assassin shotRyan Steiner dead. Suspicion cen-tered on Ryans aide, but many peo-ple suspected that Victor ordered

Ryans death to silence his allega-tions about the death of ArchonMelissa. In an effort to defuse thehostilities in the Lyran half of theFederated Commonwealth, Victordeclared the Lyran world of Tharkadand the Davion world of New Avalonco-capitals. He then shifted his gov-ernment to New Avalon and leftTharkad in Katrinas hands, naminghis sister as his official regent. Thismove, coupled with Ryans death,quelled the rebellion but the brief peace could not last.

Victor arrived on New Avalon,only to be faced with the disturbingnews that Joshua Marik was dying of leu-kemia despite the best efforts of the NAIS to save him. Knowingthat his realm still desperately needed war materiel that only theFree Worlds League could provide, Victor could not afford to losethe only hold he had over Captain-General Thomas Marik. Victorreplaced the dying child with a substitute. Marik, however, had hissuspicions, and soon learned that the Joshua Marik on New Avalonwas not his son, but a duplicate. To retaliate for the death of his son,Marik sent troops into the Commonwealths Sarna March.

A horrified Katrina publicly denounced Victor for hisdeception, recalled all Lyran troops to her half of the Federated

Commonwealth, severed relations with her brothers realmand announced the formation of a neutral Lyran Alliance. Inconjunction with Mariks invasion, Sun-Tzu Liao sent Capellantroops into the Sarna March to reconquer worlds his grand-father had lost during the Fourth Succession War. Aided byKatrinas neutrality and united by their hatred for House Davion,Marik and Liao prosecuted their war against the FederatedCommonwealth with surprising speed and success.

As the threat of a wider war between the nations of theInner Sphere loomed, political infighting between the Clans

intensified. The Clans had long been divided into two camps:the Crusaders, who sought to restore the Star League tothe Inner Sphere through conquest, and the Wardens, whobelieved their responsibility lay in safeguarding the InnerSphere until the Great Houses reestablished the Star Leagueon their own. Many of the Clans, especially Clan Jade Falcon,chafed beneath the truce that ilKhan Kerensky had signed andwillingly seized any excuse to break it. Opposition to the Truceof Tukayyid soon erupted into a Clan-style civil war betweenClan Jade Falcon and Clan Wolf, known as the Refusal War.Led by Phelan Kell, who had risen among his Clan captorsto become Khan Phelan Ward of Clan Wolf, a significant por-tion of Clan Wolfs warriors fled to the safe haven of the KellHounds homeworld, Arc-Royal. The rest of Clan Wolf fought alosing battle against the Jade Falcons.

Both conflicts ended suddenly and swiftly, in a surpris-ing series of twists. Having taken back from Victor Davion theworlds that had once belonged to the Free Worlds League,Thomas Marik concluded a peace treaty with the Archon Prince.Sun-Tzu Liao, unwilling to continue his own campaign in theabsence of Mariks backing, grudgingly agreed to end hostili-



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ties. The Kell Hounds, having refused Katrina Steiners demandfor aid in defending the Lyran Alliance against Capellan aggres-sion, established an anti-Clan defensive zone centered on Arc-Royal. By this act, the mercenary unit carved its own fiefdomout of Katrinas realm. In the oddest turn of events, the Wolveswho had battled the Jade Falcons were Absorbed by that Clanand then won freedom from their Jade Falcon conquerors, leadby Khan Vladimir Ward.

THE UNIVERSE TURNED UPSIDE DOWN The first five years after Tukayyid, tumultuous though theywere, seemed positively tranquil compared to the explosiveevents of 30583061. Those years saw many of the certainties bywhich Clan and Inner Sphere alike had lived violently overturned,giving way to a new order fraught with possibilities and perils.

In the wake of the Sarna March invasion, the Word of Blakeseized its chance to capture Terra, cradle of humanity and

ComStars stronghold. Troop movements from the Free WorldsLeague into the so-called Chaos March provided cover for theWord of Blake Militia to move several divisions within strikingdistance of humanitys homeworld, and the high demand formercenary troops in that same region of space did the rest.Brions Legion, a mercenary unit that had constituted nearlyhalf the strength of ComStars Terran Defense Force since theFourth Succession War, abruptly ended its ComStar contract infavor of a higher-paying Chaos March assignment. Unwillingto relocate Com Guard forces from the Clan border, ComStarsPrecentor Martial chose to replace Brions Legion with anothermercenary unit the Twenty-first Centauri Lancers. The Lancers,however, never arrived on Terra. Instead, the Word of Blake sentits own troops, which masqueraded as the Lancers for longenough to move the rest of their forces into position.

In late February of 3058, the Word of Blake struck, from theinside as well as on the battlefield. The Com Guards on Terra,taken by surprise and unable to use the planets formidabledefenses because of Blakist sabotage, fought a bloody butultimately losing battle across every Terran continent. By earlyMarch of 3058, the Word of Blake held Terra in an iron grip fromwhich it has yet to be dislodged. Precentor Martial Focht of ComStar declined to attempt the reconquest of Terra as long asthe Clans remained a greater threat to the Inner Sphere.

During those same months, Clan Jade Falcon drove deep intothe Lyran Alliance and captured several planets, until Inner Sphereforces stopped the Falcon advance on the world of Coventry.

Conceived as a show of strength in the aftermath of the RefusalWar, the Coventry campaign was to have far more ominous con-sequences for the Clans than the Falcon commanders could haveanticipated. On Coventry, the Falcons were deprived of victory bytwo events: strikes by Khan Vlad Wards Wolves at worlds in theJade Falcon occupation zone, and the arrival of a coalition forcefrom across the Inner Sphere, led by Prince Victor Steiner-Davion of the Federated Commonwealth. The Inner Sphere and Jade Falconarmies were evenly matched; neither side could win Coventrywithout a protracted and bloody battle, and both commanders

realized it. Prince Victor invoked the Clan rite of safcon to ensure asafe landing for his troops, and then offered Falcon Khan MarthePryde the only honorable way out hegira, the traditional rightof a defeated enemy to leave the field with his forces and honorintact. Under other circumstances, Pryde might have refused; butwith the Wolf Khan making clear his intent to attack her Clansholdings, she could not afford to leave those worlds defended bymere garrison troops. She accepted hegira, and the Jade Falconsleft Coventry without another shot being fired.

THE STAR LEAGUE REBORN In October of 3058, the leaders of the various Inner Spherepowers gathered on the Lyran capital of Tharkad to accomplishpeacefully what they had failed to achieve during centuries of war the rebirth of the Star League. Despite the deep divisionsthat remained among them, fueled by the legions of dead sol-diers and civilians from all sides, the rulers of the Inner Sphere

agreed to join together for a single purpose to end the Clanthreat, once and for all. To prove themselves a force to be reck-oned with, the new Star League chose to destroy a single Clan:the Smoke Jaguars. Initially, the Star League intended only todrive the Jaguars out of their occupation zone. However, infor-mation from a Clan traitor enabled them to strike at Clan SmokeJaguars homeworld as well.

In 3059 and 3060, Clan Smoke Jaguar died at the handsof the combined armies of the Inner Sphere. Their occupa-tion zone overrun, their homeworld in ruins and their warriorcaste decimated, the Jaguars essentially ceased to exist. TheInner Sphere force then turned its attention toward the rest of the Clans. Lacking the might to defeat the entire Clan military,Prince Victor Steiner-Davion led his forces to Strana Mechty, theheart of Clan space and Clan culture. There, they defeated theCrusader Clans in a hard-fought Trial of Refusal. The Crusadersdefeat ended the invasion, in a way none of its proponentscould have envisioned. Far from taking Terra and rebuildingthe Star League in the Clans image, the Crusader Clans foundthemselves locked into their Inner Sphere occupation zones ordriven from the Inner Sphere entirely.

Clan Nova Cat, which had sided with the Inner Sphere inobedience to the mystic visions of its leaders, was given its ownfiefdom in the Draconis Combine. For what their fellow Clanstermed treason, the Nova Cats were Abjured and their holdingsin Clan space found forfeit. Clan Ghost Bear, which chose not tofight in the Trial for a cause it no longer believed in, also became

a permanent presence in the Inner Sphere, claiming the major-ity of the Free Rasalhague Republic as their Dominion.Clan Steel Viper suffered the most humiliating fate of all the

Invading Clans, next to the shattered Smoke Jaguars. Thinkingto take advantage of Jade Falcon weakness in the aftermath of the Refusal War, the Vipers challenged Falcon dominance of thetwo Clans shared occupation zone. They failed, and left the InnerSphere rather than be destroyed by their Falcon antagonists.

As the man who ended the most fearsome threat theInner Sphere had ever known, Victor Steiner-Davion should



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CIVIL WARWhile the Bears punished the Draconis Combine, Khan

Vlad Ward convinced Hells Horses Kahn Malavai Fletcher totake advantage of their long-time ally. Determined to carvea fiefdom of his own from the Ghost Bear Dominion and indoing so secure for himself greater prestige among Kerenskyschildren Fletcher embarked on his own campaign against theGhost Bears. Fletcher did not succeed, however. Instead of tak-ing worlds from the Dominion, the Bears forced them from thethree worlds that Khan Wards Wolves had granted them andsend them running back to Clan Space, disgraced.

By and far, though, the events of the decade were overshad-owed by the disintegration of Katherine Steiner-Davions graspover the nations she had stolen from her brother. While the for-

mer Archon-Prince had at his com-mand the military might of ComStar,he refused to inflict the pain andsuffering of a long and bloody civilwar upon his people, even as evi-dence of his sisters involvement inthe murder of their mother mounted.Fate, as it turned out, would makethe decision for him.

For every day that Katrinaremained on the throne on NewAvalon she lost just a little bit more of her grip over the people of both theFederated Commonwealth and herLyran Alliance. Her heavy-handedmeasures to keep order only causedmore resentment for her rule among

the common people, while her mili-tary commanders became more andmore divided in their loyalties. InAugust of 3062, tempers briefly flaredon Solaris VII when a scheduled boutbetween two favored MechWarriorchampions one of Lyran heritageand the other of FedSuns turnedinto a massive riot between fans andother MechWarriors on both sides.

Though optimists hoped for thebest when a ceasefire calmed thefighting on the planet, it was onlya matter of time before tempersbetween those who supportedKatrina and those who opposedher rule flared. The inevitablefinally came in November whenfighting broke out in the FederatedCommonwealths Capellan March.This time there was no cease-fire,no going back. It wasnt untilArthur Steiner-Davion, the young-est brother of Victor and Katrina,

was killed in a bomb blast, though, that Victor Steiner-Davion finally succumbed to fate. On 8 December 3062 heofficially accused his sister of complicity in the murder of

their mother and called upon the people of the FederatedCommonwealth and the Lyran Alliance to rise up and toppleher dictatorial regime.

What followed was five years of the bloodiest fighting theInner Sphere had seen since General Kerensky lead the StarLeague armies against Stephan Amaris. From the corewardreaches of the Lyran Alliance, where he had been inspectingComStar troops, Victor organized an army of patriots to oust thetyrannical regime his sister had forged in both nations. Soldiersand citizens from not only the Lyran Alliance and the Federated



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Commonwealth, but from the entireInner Sphere, flocked to his side.War erupted in all regions of thetwo nations as Victor fought hisway down the length of the LyranAlliance and into the FederatedCommonwealth with his newlychristened Armed Forces of theFederated Suns. Though sufferingdefeats and personal hardshipsincluding the assassination of hislover, Omi Kurita, on orders fromKatrina Victor finally made his wayto New Avalon in November of 3066,spending the next five months fight-ing the last vestiges of his sistersloyalists. At the same time Morgan

Kell and Khan Phelan Kell landed onTharkad with Peter Steiner-Davionto face the Katrina loyalists underthe command of Nondi Steiner, thesister of Victor and Katrinas mater-nal grandmother.

PAIN AND HEALING The armies arrayed behind theformer Archon-Prince carried the dayand removed Katrina from power,but only at a horrible price. Countlessmillions had died during the carnageof the previous five years and thearmies of the Lyran Alliance and therechristened Federated Suns were amere shadow of what they once were.

For his part, Victor Steiner-Davion did not assume thethrone he had fought so long and hard to remove his sisterfrom. Acquiescing to fate, he instead handed the reigns of lead-ership to his two remaining siblings: Yvonne on New Avalonand Peter on Tharkad.

In the aftermath of the Civil War, the two leaders nowhave their work cut out for them. Not only do they need urgetheir people to move onward, but they must also contendwith the aftermath of invasions into their nations the JadeFalcons with their campaign in 3064-65 against the Alliance,

the renewed Skye Rebellion of 3065-66, the Combine attacksinto the Federated Suns in 3065-66 and finally the presence of Capellan troops on Suns worlds. Only with the help of regionallords, like Dukes George Hasek and Robert Kelswa-Steiner, willthey be able to hold their realms together.

The nations of the former Federated Commonwealthwere certainly not the only ones to suffer during their CivilWar. Coordinator Theodore Kurita lost not only his daughter,Omi, but also his wife, Tomoe Sakade, while war racked his twoclosest neighbors. While the elevation of his final son, Minoru,

to the post of Clan Nova Cat Loremaster can bring him somecomfort, the Dragon is not the man he used to be, and his sub-ordinates have been forced to compensate.

After all of his victories in the past decade, Sun-Tzu Liaois now coming to realize just how precarious a position heand his nation are in. Having expelled Isis Marik from theConfederation, Liao has lost the support and friendship of Thomas Marik and his Free Worlds League in a time whenstrong alliances may be the only thing to prevent utter anni-hilation. Even Mariks nation may be in dire straits withthe Word of Blakes recent militarization drive, the peacefulLeague may explode into war at any minute.

The Star League Conference again approaches in thistime of unease and unrest. Only time will tell whether the newFirst Lord will be able to once and for all put aside personalinterest and settle the differences between the nations of theInner Sphere.

For now, the Inner Sphere is poised precariously betweenpeace and war. At any moment the balance of power may shift,setting BattleMechs on the march and worlds ablaze.



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Factions20

Honor and duty are the touch-stones of life for a House Kurita

MechWarrior: the honor of theHouse he serves and his duty toserve it well. In discharging thatduty, he finds his personal honorinextricably linked with thegood of the Kurita dynasty that

has ruled the mighty Draconis

Combine ever since that realmsinception. Steeped in the culture of medieval Japan, trained in the ancient

samurai code of bushido, the Kurita MechWarrior knows that hisdeepest value lies in his dedication to the Kurita dynasty. He willrisk whatever its scions may require of him, including his life,without question or fear. Such devotion helped the Combinesfounder, Shiro Kurita, build his realm from a single desert planetto a world-spanning military empire. That same loyalty, carefullynurtured throughout Combine society and concentrated in itsmilitary, will preserve it for generations to come.

The armed forces have always represented the pinnacle of service to House Kurita, from the early days of conquest to theCombines battle for survival against the invading Clans. Even

during the realms darkest period, when the corrupt Von Rohrsdynasty indulged in a reign of terror, the Draconis CombineMustered Soldiery kept the Combine alive until a true scionof House Kurita appeared to redeem it. DCMS units played amajor role in the Inner Spheres ultimate victory over the Clans,and briefly served with distinction as peacekeeping troopsunder the banner of the reborn Star League. Each individualMechWarrior, whether a graduate of the finest military acad-emies or a product of the rough-and-ready proving grounds,knows this proud history and is determined to add to it. He doesnot seek mere personal glory, but the infinitely greater distinc-tion of having offered his best to his Kurita liege lords.

No matter what world he hails from, a Kurita MechWarriorembodies the values of bushido. Like the samurai of old, he

dedicates himself to the art of war as the only means to achievetrue peace. On the thirty-first century battlefield, the legions of House Kurita are legendary for their skill, courage and tenacityin the face of overwhelming odds. They believe House Kurita isdestined to rule over all of known space, and they take pride indoing whatever is necessary to further that goal.

At times throughout the Combines history, this willingnessto follow orders with fanatical zeal has unfortunately placedMechWarriors at the mercy of individual unit commanders whowere not always worthy of the job. The far-reaching reforms

enacted by Theodore Kurita over the past three decades,however, have done much to eliminate that weakness. First asWarlord and then as Coordinator, Theodore reminded the fight-ing forces that the true spirit of bushido lies not in blind loyaltyto every command by every superior, but in each warrior doinghis best to preserve and extend the power and honor of theDraconis Combine. MechWarriors most truly serve House Kuritaby acting in the interests of the empire to which that House haslikewise dedicated itself.

A Kurita MechWarrior is more than a fighting machine.Martial prowess goes hand in hand with such gentler arts ashaiku, origami or bonsai, reminding the warrior of the deepconnection between them. Only the willingness to fight anddie makes peaceful pursuits possible, and the warrior valuesthem all the more for their contrast to the battlefield. No bladestays permanently honed to a razors edge, and Combine war-riors are no exception. By offering a brief respite from the brutaldemands of warfare, artistic pursuits and intellectual studiesenable a MechWarrior to face the next battle with reneweddedication.

From regular line units to elite commands like the Genyoshato the Ghost regiments many of whose members hail fromthe lower classes and even the yakuza (the Combine criminal

underworld) the MechWarriors of House Kurita cover theentire spectrum of Combine society. A MechWarrior from themiddle or noble classes may proudly serve in a district unit likethe Third Benjamin Regulars, whose members cost the SmokeJaguars so dearly during that Clans conquest of the planetAsgard in the Clan War.

Elite units draw fighters of exceptional talent; even thosewith the best connections cannot hold a place in a unit like theGenyosha without the ability to back them up. First formed bythe legendary MechWarrior Yorinaga Kurita after his unprece-dented defeat in single combat, the Genyosha units stand alongwith the Sword of Light regiments and the famed Otomo theCoordinators personal guard as the ultimate embodiment of the Combines warrior soul. As for the Ghost regiments, these

creations of the visionary Theodore Kurita offer less fortunateCombine citizens a rare chance to serve their House andnation in battle. Though initially suspect because of their tiesto criminal elements, many Ghost regiments have proven theirskill and loyalty since their formation in the wake of the FourthSuccession War. Units like the Sixth Ghost, which fought ClanSmoke Jaguar to a temporary standstill on Marshdale in 3051,are living proof that every citizen of the Combine may aspire tofight for House Kurita.

HOUSE KURITA(DRACONISCOMBINE)


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House Davion reigns over theFederated Suns and has long been

considered the military power-house of the Inner Sphere. Tothe soldiers who fight for it, theFederated Suns and its nobleruling House are the banner-bearers of liberty in an other-

wise benighted universe. The

Draconis Combine and the CapellanConfederation exist merely to glorifytheir leaders, while the Lyran Alliance and the Free WorldsLeague concern themselves with money-grubbing at theexpense of higher ideals. Only House Davion understands thattrue prosperity depends on freedom and the willingness tofight the enemies of liberty, wherever they may be. Proud, ambi-tious, brimming with energy and eager to spread the blessingsof freedom throughout the Inner Sphere, House Davions fight-ing men and women are among the most talented and innova-tive soldiers of any Successor State military.

The personal freedoms guaranteed to its people are thefoundation of the Davion realms overwhelming confidencein its own rightness. That confidence enabled the nation to

survive historical downturns that might have crippled a lesserpeople or rulers. In the centuries since the nations founding byLucien Davion, the Federated Suns and the Davion family havebecome living symbols of the vitality and hope of a place wherefreedom rings. Harnessed to a sprawling military machine,that same vitality has extended the reach of House Daviontime and time again, most notably when it conquered largestretches of Capellan territory during the Fourth SuccessionWar. The strength of the Davion military and its determinationto preserve freedom made it a major force during the Clan War,when it faced a foe whose victory might well have extinguishedliberty forever. Under the leadership of Prince Victor Davion, theArmed Forces of the Federated Suns helped fight the Clans toa standstill on the Clan homeworld of Strana Mechty, thereby

freeing the Inner Sphere from the specter of domination byrigidly conformist, authoritarian conquerors.

A House Davion MechWarrior embodies the truest spiritof Davion ideals. He keeps the nation strong, defending itfrom attack and expanding its borders at the direction of hisliege lords. Without his fighting skill and tactical expertise,the Davion way of life might vanish under assault by its manyenemies especially the Draconis Combine and the CapellanConfederation, longtime rival states whose people are shackledby slavish devotion to the dictatorial Houses Kurita and Liao.

The overwhelming Clan threat temporarily eased hostilitiesbetween those Houses and the Davions, but the end of the ClanWar has brought these ancient and deep-seated cultural conflictsback to the fore. As long as such oppressive states exist, the idealsof liberty cherished by House Davion will remain under threat.

Knowing this, a Davion MechWarrior gives his all to his job.It is not enough to master basic fighting skills and follow orders;he must also hone his own tactical judgment to the highestpossible level and master different fighting styles through

extensive cross-training. With this kind of background, in theheat of battle even a lance commander may make the snapdecision that snatches victory from defeat.

Soldiering is a glamorous job in the Federated Suns,fueled by popular admiration for the warriors who keep theflame of freedom alive. From the rawest recruit to the battle-scarred veteran, every member of the Davion armed forcestakes pride in his role as the ultimate guarantor of liberty andhonor. The ideal of freedom is the heart of the Davion realm;the reality of successful conquest built that realm and sustainsit to this day. Davion warriors safeguard the people and plan-ets of the Federated Suns, while the overall enterprise of warbrings jobs and prosperity to worlds across the Davion empire.Widespread approval of the military gives the Armed Forces of

the Federated Suns an endless supply of eager recruits drawnfrom almost every world and all walks of life.The AFFS is also among the best equipped Inner Sphere

militaries, owing much of its technological edge to the famedNew Avalon Institute of Science. This flagship institution, locatedon the Fed Suns capital and Davion homeworld of New Avalon,has provided the Davion military with cutting-edge improve-ments in battlefield technology ever since its founding. Theacquisition of a Star League memory core in the 3020s furtherenhanced the abilities and reputation of the NAIS, and eventhe relatively widespread adoption of Clan-based technologiesover the past decade has not completely erased House Davionstechnological superiority. Consequently, whether serving in amilitia unit or an elite front-line Regimental Combat Team, a

Davion MechWarrior can generally expect the best equipmentcommensurate with his units mission.

Individual AFFS units cover the spectrum. All incorporatecombined-arms organization, on which the AFFS relies morethan any other Inner Sphere military. The Davion MechWarrioris therefore more likely than his foreign counterparts to knowsomething of and respect the other branches of service. Thismutual understanding greatly enhances esprit de corps, anoth-er potent battlefield advantage that helps keep House Davionin the first rank of humanitys interstellar nations.

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HOUSE DAVION(FEDERATEDSUNS)


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The single element that mostshapes a warrior of House Liao is

pride not the overweening personalego of the secretly insecure, but a deep and

unshakable national pride inthe Great House and the nation

he serves. To be Capellan is to beamong the most tenacious peoples

in the Inner Sphere, member of a

nation and vassal of a dynasty that havemet setback after setback with deter-mination and grit. No matter what the

universe throws at them, House Liao and itssubjects survive. And sooner or later, they find

a way to prosper at their enemies expense.As the defender of House Liao and the Capellan nation, the

Capellan soldier especially the MechWarrior enjoys respectfrom his fellow citizens that borders on reverence. In returnfor this near-sacred regard, the warrior owes unstinting loyaltyto the civilians he protects, the state that employs him andthe ruler of that state as his commander-in-chief. This ideal,enshrined in the warrior philosophy known as the Lorix Creed,underlies the entire Capellan military. Such mutual devotion

between rulers and ruled is the source of Capellan patriotism,the wellspring of each MechWarriors identity.Capellan patriotism also owes much to the Confederations

long history of struggling to survive against larger and morepowerful enemies. The ruling House Liao first came to power injust such a struggle; if not for the quick thinking, dazzling politi-cal acumen and sheer ruthlessness of Duke Franco Liao, theCapellan nation would likely have been absorbed by the expan-sionist House Davion in 2367. Throughout the Confederationsexistence, its people have fought however they could to pre-serve what was theirs, often in the face of incredible odds. Theleaders of House Liao both embodied and encouraged thisinstinctive defiance of fate, inspiring those who served them toever-greater achievements.

The Chinese cultural bent of the ruling Liao dynasty addedits own thread to the Capellan tapestry. Like their Han Chineseancestors of old, the scions of House Liao saw their traditions asthe height of human achievement and themselves as destinedfor greatness. Their nation adopted these ideals with fervor andcame to revere House Liao all the more as the truest embodi-ment of Capellan identity. An ancient culture, marked by subtlety,patience and an unyielding sense of its own worth, took thosetraits to the stars and has used them ever since to carve and keepits own niche among humanitys warring star empires.

This fierce Capellan pride finds its primary antagonist inHouse Davion, whose rival Federated Suns attempted to stran-gle the Confederation in its cradle and has never since given upattempts to conquer Capellan territory. The Davions enjoyedtheir greatest success in the Fourth Succession War, when theirmachinations on and off the battlefield cost the Capellan realmnearly half its worlds. The military and diplomatic efforts of Chancellor Sun-Tzu Liao, however, have regained large portionsof that lost territory over the past decade or so. More than ever

before in Confederation history, the nation owes its good for-tune to House Liao and to the valiant warriors of the CapellanArmed Forces.

The Liao MechWarrior of the latter thirty-first centuryserves a nation finally beginning to achieve the greatness of which it has long dreamed. Buoyed by conquest and the sweep-ing tide of a cultural renaissance, the Capellan Confederationis reveling in its newfound power and the fighting forcesthat brought it that power are more revered than ever before.New recruits are flocking to the military academies and test-ing grounds, while new and faster Mech designs are makingthe average CCAF unit more maneuverable and dangerous onthe fast-shifting battlegrounds of thirty-first century combat.Meanwhile, the Lorix Creed and other patriotic ideals are enjoy-

ing a revival fueled by hope.Capellan reverence for the warrior extends throughoutall military ranks, but finds its clearest and deepest expressionamong the Warrior Houses, elite military units akin to ancientorders of knighthood. First formed in the latter twenty-ninthcentury after the massive destruction of the Second SuccessionWar, the Warrior Houses served a dual purpose: to rebuild thestrength of House Liaos armies and give the Capellan peoplea much-needed morale boost. Strict discipline, mystical under-pinnings and intensive training made this breed of MechWarriorthe ultimate symbol of Capellan pride, fighting skill and devo-tion to the Liao family. To this day, the mere presence of WarriorHouse troops can freeze the blood of the enemy forces, winninghalf the battle for Liao before combat is even joined.

On the other end of the spectrum are recently createdor rebuilt units like the Hustaing Warriors with more thantheir share of green troops and rough around the edges, butnonetheless exhibiting a common Capellan determination toget the job done. From the most elite to the greenest unit, thesoldiers of the CCAF display three traits that enable them to dodisproportionate damage on the battlefield: bulldog tenacity,unquestioning devotion to House Liao, and a willingness to dowhatever it takes to ensure victory.

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Presiding over a hodge-podge of mini-states,

each with theirown political

and cultural bent,House Marik earned

and kept its positionas ruler of the Free Worlds

League by possessing a badly

needed talent: the knack forbringing order out of chaos. Likethe House they serve, Marik MechWarriors also have a talentfor coping with upheaval and coming out on top. Though theheat of battle may turn any plan awry, the supremely adaptableMarik soldier has justified confidence in his and his command-ers ability to pull off a victory, even when it looks impossible.

Marik adaptability has its roots in a long history of politicalinfighting that left deep marks on the Free Worlds League mili-tary. Throughout the realms existence, the warriors of HouseMarik have had to balance conflicting loyalties between theirhome provinces and the larger nation, and often found it dif-ficult to serve the interests of both. Units unable to manage thatfeat generally succumbed in brutal civil wars and other internal

conflicts. The survivors learned and grew stronger. Over thecenturies, the intense provincial loyalties of Marik units gradu-ally shifted toward a more workable balance between parochialpride and a larger national patriotism.

In the 3030s, with the League facing yet another civil warthat this time might destroy it, the years of slowly strengthen-ing loyalty to the Marik family allowed Thomas Marik thelegitimate heir in a disputed succession to rally much of thearmed forces behind him and genuinely unify the League forthe first time in nearly eight hundred years. This accomplish-ment further strengthened the same loyalty that had made itpossible, by proving even to diehard doubters that the Leagueneeded the strong hand of a Marik to keep it from falling apart.Though raging individualism is far from dying out among Free

Worlds citizens, the sense that House Marik brought the Leagueback from the brink has gone a long way toward temperingdivisiveness among the people and the military.

Though he gladly gives his loyalty to the leader of theHouse that has brought the League renewed strength andprosperity, the typical League MechWarrior remains as much of an individualist as the military life will allow. From their earliestdays, Leaguers have valued independence above all; a merethree decades of brilliant rulership from a single talented states-man cannot change such a long-standing tradition, even in the

armed forces. Marik soldiers are therefore allowed expected,in fact to take initiative and learn from their mistakes, to anextent that would be unthinkable in more tightly controlledmilitaries like the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery. A Marik warrior who only knows how to follow orders is doing half of hisjob. From a lifetime of balancing loyalty to his home region withloyalty to the entire League, the average League soldier knowsalmost instinctively when to do as he is told and when to takeother action.

The illustrious career of the Second Oriente Hussars offersa sterling example of such initiative gone right. This light recon-naissance regiment, nicknamed the Crazy Second, has morethan earned its reputation for near-miraculous survival afterundertaking seemingly suicidal recon runs on behalf of otherregiments. Members of the Second owe their amazing combatrecord to a loose command structure that fosters individualinitiative on the part of company and lance commanders.

A less fortunate result can be seen in the questionableloyalty of the Sirian Lancers, which stems from House Mariksreluctance to spend military resources liberating the Sirianunits homeworlds from the Federated Commonwealth in thedecades following the Fourth Succession War. Ordered to aban-don their home planet of Pollux in the face of a Lyran assault,

the First Sirian Lancers initially refused, and were only per-suaded to follow the order by a promise to liberate Pollux in thenear future. That promise did not materialize for almost threedecades, and more than a few Lancers still bear House Marik agrudge.

A Free Worlds League MechWarrior is most likely to servein a provincial or a League unit the former drawn from andfinanced by the soldiers home province, the latter sponsoredand staffed by state-run military academies. Historically, pro-vincial units were the likeliest breeding grounds of troublewhen the interests of a particular region conflicted with thoseof the realm as a whole. House Mariks control of the Captain-Generalcy was no guarantee of power over provincial troops,whose loyalties might lie with their local leaders or be torn to

the point of paralysis. Since Thomas Mariks accession to power,regional loyalties have gradually subsided in favor of pro-Marik feeling. The recent practice of stationing provincial units awayfrom their homeworlds and native regions has built on thisnewly vital national pride, and in the process made Marik troopsa more cohesive, disciplined and powerful force in combat.

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Streamlined, reorganized and eager toprove its mettle, the Lyran Alliance ArmedForces faces the second half of the thir-ty-first century confident of its strengthand itching to reclaim a prominencediminished by territorial losses to the

invading Clans. Combat with the Clanjuggernaut was a trial by fire for the Lyranarmed forces, which had long struggled

to develop an officer corps worthy of its rank-and-file talent. Lyran units thatsurvived encounters with the technologically

lethal Clans learned to value competence on thebattlefield over social or political position in a way

their predecessors rarely achieved. Proud of its rolein ending the Clan War and determined to live out the lessonsof that conflict, the modern Lyran military is finally living up tothe sheer energy and grit of its personnel.

As the military arm of House Steiners wealthy mercan-tile empire, the Lyran army has always been among the bestequipped and trained of the Successor State militaries. Fromplanetary garrisons to elite line regiments, the average SteinerMechWarrior is more likely than his counterparts to pilot the

best Mech money can buy, and to benefit from excellentinstructors drawn to Steiner-sponsored military academies byimpressively high salaries. Spare parts are rarely a problem,thanks to the efforts of the well-endowed Quartermaster andReplacement Depot Corps. In addition, the Steiner military isthe only one in the Inner Sphere with a set of troops dedicatedto testing and development of new military machines in con-cert with the still-sizable Alliance military-industrial complex.

Like House Davion, with whom it was briefly allied afterthe Fourth Succession War, House Steiner and its military seethemselves primarily as guardians of their peoples prosperity. Asoldier of House Steiner knows that the peace of his realm andthe material welfare of his fellow citizens rests as much on hisability to fight off enemies as on the typical Lyran merchants

skill for striking deals. Unlike the Davions, however, the war-riors of House Steiner harbor no delusions of being bearers of righteousness throughout the Inner Sphere. The typical Steinersoldier will defend his people and their way of life to the death if necessary, but wont go out of his way to export it beyond Lyranborders. Offensive military action, in House Steiners terms,must offer a chance to enrich the realm before it can truly besaid to serve Lyran interests. Whatever keeps House Steiner andthe Lyran nation prosperous is a cause for which a Steiner war-rior will gladly fight.

The Steiner-Davion alliance, which lasted almost thirtyyears, greatly benefited the Lyran military. Prolonged exposureto House Davions supremely competent higher-level officersgave new impetus to Lyran efforts to remove the so-calledsocial generals: superior officers given command through socialand political connections rather than on merit. The reassign-ment or retirement of large numbers of these less-than-ster-ling commanders left their positions to be filled by genuinelytalented personnel, eliminating much of the dead weight that

had previously kept many Steiner units from their full combatpotential. The LAAF also adopted the Regimental Combat Team,adapting that unit structure and its underlying combined-armsdoctrine to fit Lyran needs. Davion-style RCTs currently makeup a rough third of the LAAFs line units, with the rest dividedbetween standard BattleMech regiments, aerospace assets,armor and infantry.

One element of the Steiner military that sets it apart fromits fellow Great Houses is its willingness to use mercenarytroops. Though every Successor State hires at least some mercunits, House Steiner has historically relied on far greater num-bers of them to defend itself. Given their own long history asmerchant princes, the scions of House Steiner tend to regardmercenary units as fellow businessmen rather than potential

traitors for sale to the highest bidder. They pay and equip theirhired guns extremely well, with little of the price-gougingand other gamesmanship in which the other Great Housesfrequently indulge. With the instinctive Steiner feel for a sharpbargain, the Lyran military exercises tight control over com-mand rights in exchange for this material bounty.

The LAAF retains the command structure of the old LyranCommonwealth Armed Forces, reflecting House Steiners deeplove for tradition. Almost every Lyran unit feels a similar pridein its own combat history. New recruits to the Second DonegalGuards still hear stories about that long-lived units descent fromthe Eleventh Terran Rangers and its exploits in such major epics of Lyran military history as the Fourth Succession War, the War of 3039and the destruction of Clan Smoke Jaguar in Operation Bulldog.

Even planetary militias like the Penobscot CTM, with far less com-bat experience than front-line commands, take immense pride inthe action they have seen and the abilities of their members. Alingering reputation as bunglers in the eyes of outsiders a legacyof the social generals influence; one which has reared its ugly headonce more with the sundering of Davion ties only intensifies theaverage Lyran soldiers regard for his unit. Whatever their level of service, the warriors of House Steiner take a back seat to none intheir willingness to prove their combat skills for the good of theirnation and the honor of their leaders.

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Independence is the hallmark of the mercenary life the free-dom to choose his own causes,

his own missions and his ownrisks. Whether an ordinary sol-dier tired of being one small

cog in a giant House militarymachine, a scion of royalty look-

ing to make her way on merit rather

than lineage, or a maverick with awill to fight but a distaste for back-ing leaders in whom he does not believe, the

modern mercenary warrior is looking for the one thing a Housemilitary cannot give him the chance to be his own boss.

Large or small, prestigious or obscure, the mercenary unitof the thirty-first century fights for a paycheck as well as a cause.The mercenary soldier bows to no lord and serves no GreatHouse. Instead, his primary loyalty lies with his comrades inarms. Colleagues, friends and family all in one, mercenary war-riors are bound to each other by ties far deeper than nationalityor politics. More so than any other type of soldier, mercenariesdepend on each other to survive and prosper on and off thebattlefield.

Despite stereotypes to the contrary, the average merce-nary is not up for sale to the highest bidder. A merc unit is abusiness first and foremost, with the units equipment and cir-cumstances dependent on decent pay, salvage and commandrights. For mercenary commanders and the soldiers underthem, a successful career means striking the right balancebetween material compensation and any higher ideals. A givenunit may choose an employer because its members believe inthat employers cause, but no merc can afford to forget aboutthe bottom line. Well-negotiated contracts are the lifeblood of the mercenary; he depends on pay and battlefield salvage forequipment, materiel and everything else that keeps a merc unitrunning. House units have an entire military establishment tofall back on when necessary; a mercenary has only himself and

his comrades. And he likes it that way.Mercenaries in the Inner Sphere run the gamut from

legendary outfits like Wolfs Dragoons to hardscrabble unitsbarely better than pirates. Most merc commands fall betweenthose two extremes, providing solid fighting skills and earninga modest profit. In general, mercenary units can be count-ed on to fulfill their contracts to the best of their ability;their livelihoods depend on their reputations, and those whodont perform well or who cheat their employers rarely gethired again. Professionalism among mercs, however, cuts both

ways. Employers who exploit their soldiers-for-hire will have ahard time attracting reputable merc commands and may facelegal proceedings before the Mercenary Review and BondingCommission on the Wolfs Dragoons world of Outreach.

Though all the Great Houses employ mercenary units,the circumstances under which they do so and their attitudestoward them vary widely. House Kurita is the most famousfor hostility toward mercenary outfits, fueled by a culture thatprizes personal loyalty to its ruling family above almost all other

virtues. Coordinator Takashi Kuritas infamous death to merce-naries order, in effect for much of the early thirty-first century,was merely the ultimate extension of a general suspicion of themasterless warrior, or ronin. Theodore Kuritas ascension tothe throne in 3053 marked a change in official Kurita attitudestoward mercenaries, but widespread distrust remains amongmany subjects of the Kurita realm. On the other end of thespectrum are the F

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