BATTLETECH

“Where we headin’ today, Cap?”

“Ass end of nowhere.”

“Again??”

“Other end this time. We’re being tasked with assaulting, liberating, and holding a remote yet heavily-defended Kurita outpost, then setting up shop to take the fight to the Dragon ourselves from there. Immediate deployment, limited supplies, no support to speak of.”

“…Again??”

131st KENNARD IRREGULARS

REINFORCED BATTALION, AFFC

The Ferrymen

The 131st Kennard Irregulars – the Ferrymen – is a Federated Commonwealth Reinforced Battalion. They are typically utilized as an all-comers force for protracted, small-scale operations outside the normal defensive positions of the standard military posts in any given theater. The Ferrymen are dropped into some of the harshest conditions, with no outside support, and tasked with a wide variety of missions from hit-and-fade to take-and-hold.

COMPOSITION

While only a heavy battalion in strength, the 131st is comprised of a diverse selection of BattleMechs and combat vehicles, possesses multi-role capabilities, and is supported by infantry, an aerospace wing, and dedicated dropships, creating options for internal support that more specialized regiments often lack. Additionally, all companies are reinforced companies. Companies A, B and C are designed to operate together to hold or contest territory, while Company D is a varied mobile strike force unto itself. Elements of E (armor), F (infantry), and Z (aerospace) Companies are broken out and deployed as necessary in support of the four (mostly) BattleMech Companies. Echo, Foxtrot, and Zulu elements assigned to support Delta Company bolster its combat effectiveness drastically, allowing Delta to operate solo for extended periods and on a variety of mission parameters far from the main force.

Each lance formation of the Ferrymen is assigned an alphabetical call sign based on a deity of either death, destruction, or the deliverance of the soul drawn from the various ancient religions of Terra. Delta Company’s lances are Mors, Nephthys, Osiris and Persephone.

The 131st is supported by several dropships of varying size and capacity, each nicknamed for a more lighthearted deathly creature of legend. After its initial insertion into a combat zone, “Zombie”, a heavily modified Leopard-class light dropship, is typically assigned to Delta full-time giving the company limited-capacity but dedicated rapid-reaction capability.

HISTORY

Like many active units, the Ferrymen trace their roots back to the Third Succession War. Unlike most other non-merc units, however, the Ferrymen are actually the product of two different houses.

The 3rd Hainfeld Chevaliers were originally a Lyran Commonwealth regiment. Known for their resolve in battle, the ‘Banshees’ saw considerable action over the years, mostly against the Combine. Their laughing white skull over crossed machine guns unit patch was a highly sought-after trophy for Kurita MechWarriors. In 3025, Hainfeld, having been previously conquered by the Draconis Combine, was liberated by the LCAF to much fanfare. At that time, however, the 3rd had been rotated off the front lines, having suffered massive losses just months prior. Down to little more than one Company’s worth of mixed strength, the survivors of the 3rd were close to being disbanded and reassigned.

Meanwhile, the Federated Suns 9th Pitkin Hussars were on similar ground. Having recently been devastated in an ambush by Draconis and mercenary forces, the remnants of the ‘Reapers’ had been relegated to guard duty at various Pitkin military hospitals, too battered and under-staffed to be considered a large enough force for combat deployment. The 9th’s totem, though, a cloaked, black skull with a dagger in its teeth, was too damned proud to die. Many of the unit’s members – MechWarriors, techs, and support personnel alike – were descendants of the original Reapers, and were unwilling to accept transfer into other regiments.

Almost immediately after the marriage of First Prince Hanse Davion and Melissa Steiner, however, even depleted units were in high demand.

War erupted on multiple fronts, compounded by the massively increased length of the territorial borders when the Lyran Commonwealth and Federated Suns formed their Alliance. Ministers of both houses worked night and day to reassign all available units to the various hotspots in the galaxy, as well as to fill the gaps left where elite units had been pulled for the multiple alpha-strikes that had been planned in secret. All reporting understrength units were redeployed to a handful of staging areas only a bit back from the front lines. Lances of similar composition were pushed together into companies, complimentary companies into battalions, and whatever battalions were now whole into a new regiment.

Due to the new Fed Suns/Lyran alliance, some weakened units from both houses, too few and far removed from their own government’s regrouping stations, found themselves in their new ally’s territory, supplementing combat commands in an emergency capacity.

Once such muster point was the FedSuns planet of Kennard. And one night in a pub, as all good war stories begin, MechWarriors sporting a black skull met other MechWarriors wearing a white skull. What started with taunts and sneers soon turned to heated tempers, then a bit of a dust-up. This ended with no real harm, but was quickly followed by more jeers — now targeting both groups and hurled by a handful of tipsy aero jocks.

After this strange mix of hotheads had finally settled down and started to accept one other was probably not the smartest time for the covert Liao agents to attack. The fight was brutal but brief, with Banshee backing up Reaper, Reaper defending Banshee. A final, deadly strike aimed at a prone Reaper was terminally stopped by one of the aero pilots. As she stood over the downed Mechwarrior and offered him a hand, he spotted her unit patch – the gates of Hell looming from blue flames. The tragically depleted Suns’ 4th Vandalia Aero Wing.

An accord was reached late that night, some hasty artwork sketched out, and these warriors reported in the following morning as the Ferrymen; a “more-or-less” battalion-strength combat command, complete and ready to deploy, as-is.

As the drops continue to tally and the Ferrymen further develop their signature small-unit tactics and preferred equipment roster, they remain an Irregular Reinforced Battalion that punches well above its weight and specializes in small unit operations. By the time the Federated Commonwealth became official, the Ferrymen figured it was about damn time.

131st KENNARD IRREGULARS, REINFORCED BATTALION, AFFC

COMBAT COMMAND ORGANIZATION [circa 3055]

COMLAN

Yama (H/BM/L) – Battalion Command Lance

ALPHA Company (r)

Anubis (H/BM/L), Barastyr (A/BM/L), Charon (M/BM/L), Donn (A/CV/L)

BRAVO Company (r)

Erebus (H/BM/L), Fulor (M/BM/L), Gede (M/BM/L), Hades (M/BM/L)

CHARLIE Company (r)

Izanami (M/BM/L), Janus (L/BM/L), Kalma (M/CV/L), Lemures (L/CV/L)

DELTA Company (r)

Mors (H/BM/L), Nephthys (H/BM/L), Osiris (M/BM/L), Persephone (L/BM/L)

ECHO Company (r)

Qinhu (M/CV/L), Rán (L/CV/L), Shiva (L/CV/L), Thanatos (A/CV/L)

FOXTROT Company (r)

Ugur (L/CI/P), Viduus (L/CI/P), Whiro (L/CI/P), Xolotl (L/CI/P)

ZULU WING (M/AF/W)

Hell (M/AF/F) [Command Flight], Avernus (M/AF/S), Tartarus (L/AF/S), Naraka (H/AF/S)

DROP OPERATIONS

Boogeymen – Drop Ships, Jump Troops

BATTALION STAFF

Zagreus – Base Camp Command, Intelligence, AFFC Liaisons, Administrative Support, Technicians, Services

Of Backgrounds and Backstories

I’ve played BattleTech in a few of its various forms off and on over a couple decades now; a tiny bit of Armored Combat (4th ed), the FASA CCG, and the MechWarrior and MechCommander computer games. I’ve also (recently) re-read the Mike Stackpole Warrior trilogy. And so far I now only play Alpha Strike.

But ultimately I’ve never gotten terribly deep into the story and lore. I’m learning more lately from the Alpha Strike book and other supplements, and holy crap the resources that are online now for this universe are freaking insane. I wish more game companies vocally praised and referred players to fan-made databases like Catalyst does with Master Unit List and Camo Specs.

All that to say — yes, I’m quite sure a lot of my unit choices are off for a FedCom force set around 3055. My method here is quite simply this: stick with Inner Sphere, use the ‘mechs I have from the several boxes I’ve purchased, and the Raven, Archer, Wolfhound and Hunchback are IN — don’t care.

Please forgive any egregious lore transgressions here. Several variants were selected purely to fit the ‘mech I had into the lance formation I wanted. And to be honest, Federated Commonwealth was a decision made long after everything was built and painted. Since I didn’t feel like I knew the lore enough, I waffled a lot on where to set this force. Force Manual Davion settled that.

I do like where I landed on that, though. As campaigns I’m playing in are set in various eras, my head-canon will just think of these folks as Lryan Banshees, Davion Reapers, or whatever the hell comes of the Ferrymen in whatever the hell the ilClan era is. I’m afraid I haven’t gotten that far. Yet.