Strata Merc Corp - History

**Lex Peregrine** Dom Jan 26, 2014 7:11 pm

Official Name : Strata Merc Corp

Home Planet : Addicks

Colors : Orange / Black / 3rd color left to personnal choices

Officers : Unknown / No official ranks

Unit Size : ~ 1 Batallion ( 3 Companies – 9 Lances – 36 Pilotes )

Recrutement : Active

Specialty : Assault / High risk ops

Main Features :
- Slacked discipline
- Limited ressources
- Hierarchy established not by rank but by experience and popularity
- Cohesion and team spirit « Wolfpack » like
- Very aggresive on the battlefield
- Members of the 1st Iberic Battlemech Tercio
- Do not take prisoners against House Liao

1. Known history

The Strata Merc Corp ( SMC ) has its origins in the world of Addicks, home to a MIIO (Davion Intelligence Agency) regional command center.

3025 - A MIIO task force is sent to Poznan to incite a rebellion against the Liao government. Using a pirate jump point, a Leopard Dropship lands undetected in the island continent of Galicia, carrying a lance of 4 Battlemechs of mixed classes, and a special operations group of Mechwarriors and Infiltrators. Their mission, to make contact with rebel elements, train them in Battlemech piloting and guerilla tactics, and assist them in their fight against their oppressive rulers.

3026 - Six months after their arrival, the MIIO team is supporting a rebel unit known as the 13th War Dogs, having been training them in Battlemechs captured from Liao militia, they gradually increase the risk of their guerilla operations, striking deeper and at bigger targets.

3028 - With continued success in their joint operations with the rebels, the MIIO team devise a plan to strike at Liao's military HQ of Galicia, but their plans are leaked by a Maskirovka (Liao Intelligence Agency) agent that managed to infiltrate the rebel group posing as an Astech and the battle doesnt go as planned. The strike force is divided in two groups, a force composed of both MIIO and War Dogs Battlemechs is sent on a diversionary raid on the Space port, while a force of MIIO Special ops supported by War Dogs infantry is sent to infiltrate the Military HQ. While the 'Mech force quickly neutralizes the Space port's defenses, the Special ops team find the enemy waiting for them, they are ambushed inside the base and loose nearly half their men in the first few minutes of the engagement. They manage to break free of the ambush, only to find a lance of enemy light Mechs outside the base. The fighting is fierce, the War Dogs anti-mech infantry manage to take down two enemy Mechs but are forced to leave their positions when the remaining Mechs start firing at the buildings and are reinforced by armored vehicles comming from the base. Meanwhile the Battlemech force is alerted to the bad turn of events, they abandon their raid and proceed at full speed to the Military HQ, but find the main road blocked by a lance of Mechs supported by tanks. They decide to split their forces, while one group engages the enemy, the other flanks them but soon disengage and head to the HQ. Outnumbered two to one, the engaged group making good use of their increased mobility and excellent team work, cripple the enemy force, loosing a third of their strenght with the remaining heavily damaged, while the flankers reach their pinned mates just in time, distracting the enemy force and covering the infiltrator's retreat. In the end of the day, 75% of the MIIO team is dead or captured, one mech destroyed and the remaining heavily damaged. The Federated Suns ambassador denies the presence of Davion agents on the planet, the captured men are executed, the survivors are on their own.

20-08-3028* - Hanse Davion and Melissa Steiner wed on Terra, with the leader of every Successor State present, including their aides, heirs, and other VIPs. At the wedding reception, Hanse Davion uttered one of the most quoted lines in Inner Sphere history, "My dear... I give you the Capellan Confederation.".

3028 to 3029 - The surviving MIIO agents continue to work with the rebel elements, choosing to finish what they started, with the memory of the event that became known to them as the "Poznan massacre" fueling their newfound hatred of the Capellan Confederation, they vow to avenge their fallen comrades. Learning the "massacre" was the result of a leak of information, they identify the enemy agent and put in motion a new plan. The Maskirovka agent is allowed to learn of an imminent raid against a factory complex that is finishing a new batch of armored cars, the agent leaks this information to Liao command, and seeing the risk of letting the armored cars fall into rebel hands, the Capellans quickly send a strong force of Mechs and armored vehicles to defend the complex. But the real target is not the complex, and once again the rebels attack the Military HQ, which was left with light defenses as the majority of its mechs was sent to defend the wrong target. In a savage attack, the HQ is utterly destroyed. The continental Liao forces are left disorganized, and taken out one by one. Galicia is in rebel control.

Two months later, units of the Twelfth Vegan Rangers, a Davion mercenary unit, invade Poznan, using Galicia as a base of operations. The former MIIO operatives are sent overseas along with the War Dogs to join other rebel units and assist the Davion force with the invasion. The remaining five regiments of lightly armed Liao militia are easily defeated.

3030* - The Spanish minority in the capital New Madrid put their support behind the invading force and install an interim government, Poznan is now a Federated Commonwealth world. By the end of the war, the Federated Suns conquered roughly a third of the Capellan Confederation, these conquered worlds were incorporated into the Federated Commonwealth as the Sarna March.

The former MIIO operatives are given a recal order, and before bording their dropship they receive thankful best wishes from representatives of the different ethnic groups of the planet, one in particular from a Polish representative would forever be remembered: "Twoja strata nigdy nie zostaną zapomniane" - Your loss will never be forgotten.

During their trip back to Addicks, the survivors of the Poznan massacre got together and made a decision, to resign their service with the MIIO. Wishing to never again be in a situation where comrades' lives are lost because of politics, they choose to start a new mercenary unit. In memory of their fallen, and inspired by the words of the Polish representative back in Poznan, they name their unit the "Strata Mercenary Corporation", Strata Merc Corp or SMC for short, a mixed Battlemech unit and Special ops team specialized in infiltration and instruction.

3030 to 3039 - During the next 9 years, the SMC take contracts from various Houses (never from House Liao) and private corporations around the Inner Sphere, growing from a single Lance of Battlemechs and a Platoon of Special forces to two Companies of Mechs, and a Company of Special forces reinforced by two more Companies of highly trained Combined-arms Infantry.

3039 - With hostilities between Houses Davion and Kurita in the War of 3039, the SMC goes back home, signing a contract with Johnston Industries to defend their manufactoring facilities in case of attack, and a few months after arriving, a mercenary unit contracted to House Kurita successfully lands on the planet. During the first month, the mercenaries launch hit and run raids on neighbooring support facilities, and retreat to their base of operations hidden in the forest, until a team of special ops manages to shadow a retreating battlemech and learn the location of the enemy base.

For the next week, the special ops team remain on location, tracking the mercenaries' movements and reporting them to HQ. A lone agent successfully infiltrates the base and learns of their plan to launch the final assault on the manufactoring center with the goal of disabling it. A second special ops team is dispatched to the mercenaries' base, while the rest of the SMC prepare for the enemy assault. The mercenaries send a Lance of Mechs on a diversionary attack on a support facility, to trick the SMC in believing its just another raid. The SMC respond by ordering one of their patrol lances to intercept, so as not to tip the mercenaries that they know of their true plans. When the mercenaries think the defenders are distracted by the raid, two more lances come out of hidding, heading for the main facility, but are routed when they find a defending lance of SMC Mechs supported by entrenched infantry with anti-mech weapons. The retreating mechs are taken out by another patrol lance that moved behind their backs with the goal of blocking the enemy retreat. Meanwhile back at the mercenaries' base, the two special ops teams launch their assault against the Company of infantry defending it, successfully routing them and capturing the enemy Union class Dropship hidden in the shadow of a hill.

3040 - The Strata Merc Corp re-establishes contact with the 13th War Dogs, who made a stop on Addicks on their way from Nashira to Poznan, after the conclusion of the war's military operations. The SMC is invited to Poznan after their contract with Johnston Industries is over, with the prospect of a new contract for training the expanding War Dogs infantry forces as well as organizing new training scenarios for the War Dogs as well as the 4th Dispossessed Battlemech forces. There they remain for the next five years, solidifying their relations with the War Dogs and the Dispossessed, and joining them in the formation of the 1st Iberic Battlemech Tercio, forming the Tercio's Special Operations Group with a Battalion of Battlemechs and two Battalions of Combined-arms Infantry reinforced by a Special Forces Company.

2. Colors

The SMC colors are Orange, Black, and a 3rd color left to every member's choice.
The Orange was the main color of the Federated Suns Black Ops ( MIIO ).
Black was chosen in memory of the members lost during the « Poznan massacre ».
Finally, the last color is left to personal choices to encourage resourcefulness.

3. Officers and hierarchy

Even if ranks still exist in the SMC, mostly among the former Black Ops members, they do not represent the hierarchy of the unit. Instead, leaders are chosen for their experience and popularity. Fact rare enough, members of the SMC are considerd equal and operate on a « Wolfpack » pattern. Each member of the unit is encouraged to take initiatives and show ingenuity. This caracteristic, inherited from the MIIO makes the actual SMC unpredictable and therefore, a dreaded opponent.

4. Size and recruitement

The actual size of the SMC is unknown, but the multiple reports speak of at least 1 Bataillon ( 3 Companies – 9 Lances – 36 pilotes ), to this day.

Recrutement in the unit is special because it has to go through every active member of the group. Most mercenary units leave the recruiting matter to their command chain only ( with background checks, evaluations, … ) with a level required to be able to apply.

SMC doesn't refuse any aspirant because of their skills or file, considering instead, that it is always possible to find a job suited to the individual's abilities. On the other hand, the unit is extremely selective about the personality of each individual, recruiting only the ones that are found trustworthy and able to adapt to the unit's special atmosphere.
Each candidate is groundtested by every active member of the unit available at the time, and after a trial period, is approved or rejected by the entire unit ( rejects can happen at any time and for no explanation from the first contact until the end of the trial period ).

5. Specialty and characteristics

The SMC's specialty are lightning assaults. Their tactics vary depending on every engagement, making them as likely to drop a 250 Tons as well as a 400 Tons Lance.

Their multi-purpose abilty makes them a significant threat to any opponent, as they are difficult to outmaneouvre and unpredictable on a tactical level. The unit's cohesion being particulary strong, it is difficult if not impossible to find members isolated from the main group. Few reports speak of single Mechs, but those only appear to be baits for the « Pack ».

During its years under infiltration on Poznan, Black Ops members couldn't count on supply chains for either equipement or other ressources, and forced the group to develop scavenging skills and take whatever they could found usefull after engagements and operations.
These skills seem to have transfered to the SMC, wich ressources aren't as good as they usually are for a unit of this size.

Due to the fact that discipline is not very strict outside of operations, drinking and gambling are two of the favorite activities of the members ( right behin bar fights ). However behind this seemingly debauchery, the SMC is remarkably professional when carrying out operations, making a clear disctinction between the bar and the battlefield.

Finally, even if the unit seems to follow moral codes considering civilians and prisoners, they appear to totally pass by those same codes when facing House Liao forces ( some reports even clearly state that multiple surrender calls have been ignored and that ).

6. Known members

The SMC is a very tight circle, wich makes identification of its members a hard task. No real name is known as these informations are fiercely kept by the unit, and that moreover, the MIIO will not make any comment on the group, as some of its members are considered « KIA » on Black Ops assignement.

Callsign : Gurmael
Classification : Elite
Threat level : Extreme ***PRIORITY TARGET***
Mech piloted : Raven
Specialty : Scout / Brawl
Weight classes piloted : Light / Assault

Information :
*Former Black Ops Captain, survivor of the Poznan massacre
*Reports indicate a suicidal behaviour in battle
*Considered as one of the leaders of the SMC

Callsign : Mr D
Classification : Elite
Threat level : High ***PRIORITY TARGET***
Mech piloted : Hunchback
Specialty : Support / Brawl
Weight classes piloted : Medium / Heavy

Information :
*Former Black Ops Colonel, survivor of the Poznan massacre
*Iconic figure of the SMC
*Considered as the main leader of the SMC

Callsign : Coryphée
Classification : Elite
Threat level : Extreme ***PRIORITY TARGET***
Mech piloted : Spider
Specialty : Scout / Flank
Weight classes piloted : Light

Information :
*Former Lieutenant des Black Ops, survivor of the Poznan massacre
*No visual contact established / Conflicting reports
*Considered expert in guerilla

Callsign : Brujah
Classification : Elite
Threat level : High
Mech piloted : Unknown
Specialty : Brawl / Unknown
Weight classes piloted : Assault / Unknown

Information :
*Former Black Ops Captain, survivor of the Poznan massacre
*Reports indicate the individual is the main strategist of the SMC
*Considered as one of the leaders of the SMC
*Seems to have a bad opinion of every mech other than the Atlas D-DC

Callsign : Mazmerald
Classification : Elite
Threat level : High
Mech piloted : Unknown
Specialty : Scout / Flank
Weight classes piloted : Assault / Unknown

Information :
*Former Black Ops Lieutenant, survivor of the Poznan massacre
*Reports indicate the individual is the secondary strategist of the SMC
*Considered as one of the leaders of the SMC
*Seems to denigrate LRM

Callsign : Rainbow Unikorn
Classification : Elite
Threat level : Extreme ***PRIORITY TARGET***
Mech piloted : Raven
Specialty : Scout
Weight classes piloted : Light

Information :
*Recruited after the Poznan massacre
*Reports indicate a child's voice
*Considered as one of the pillars of the SMC
*Considered as the Scout leader of the SMC
*Seems to spend most of his free time hanging around the showers

Callsign : Ragnar Wulfson
Classification : Veteran
Threat level : Medium
Mech piloted : Catapult
Specialty : Brawl / Flank
Weight classes piloted : Heavy / Assault

Information :
*Former Black Ops Sergaent, survivor of the Poznan massacre
*SMC's mascot
*Considered as one of the pillars of the SMC
*Is regularly taking friendly fire
*Has tried to cook once for the SMC, seems to have spent the next 2 months cleaning the toilets with a toothbrush

Callsign : Fantazy Angel
Classification : Regular
Threat level : Medium
Mech piloted : Raven
Specialty : Scout / LRM
Weight classes piloted : Light / Heavy

Information :
*Recently recruited
*Communications of conjugal nature intercepted even during engagements

Callsign : Atomic Glide
Classification : Veteran
Threat level : High
Mech piloted : Cicada
Specialty : Scout / Flank
Weight classes piloted : Light / Medium

Information :
*Recruited after the Poznan massacre
*Reports indicate the presence of an AC10 on a Cicada
*Communications speaking of « the Troll » intercepted
*Camel expert-killer
*Possibility that the individual is mentaly unstable

Callsign : Myster George
Classification : Veteran
Threat level : High
Mech piloted : Unknown
Specialty : Unknown
Weight classes piloted : Unknown

Information :
*Recruited after the Poznan massacre
*Seems to be also called « Princess George » by SMC members
*Seems to always be late during operations
*Wants to « George » everyone he comes accross

Callsign : Sooz
Classification : Veteran
Threat level : High
Mech piloted : Awesome
Specialty : Flank
Weight classes piloted : Heavy / Assault

Information :
*Recruited after the Poznan massacre
*Considered as one of the pillars of the SMC
*Seems to be a permanent resident of the unit's bar
*Seems to be caught in a vicious circle between drinking and gambling

Callsign : Dalorante Corbanis
Classification : Elite
Threat level : High
Mech piloted : Atlas
Specialty : Brawl
Weight classes piloted : Heavy / Assault

Information :
*Former Black Ops Lieutenant, survivor of the Poznan massacre
*Reports indicate headbutt attempts while piloting an Atlas
*Considered as one of the pillars of the SMC
*Carries a side arm when taking showers because of the presence of Rainbow Unikorn

Callsign : Kalmoa
Classification : Regular
Threat level : Light
Mech piloted : Centurion
Specialty : Support / Brawl
Weight classes piloted : Medium / Heavy

Information :
*Recently recruited
*Hasn't taken a shower in 2 months by fear of Rainbow Unikorn

Callsign : Yuki HG
Classification : Regular
Threat level : Medium
Mech piloted : Raven
Specialty : Scout / Brawl
Weight classes piloted : Light/ Assault

Information :
*Recently recruited
*Seems reluctant to leave his cockpit to go take a shower after returning from operation

Callsign : Mister Savage
Classification : Regular
Threat level : Medium
Mech piloted : Jenner
Specialty : Scout / Flank
Weight classes piloted : Light / Medium

Information :
*Recruited after the Poznan massacre
*Seems to have left active service to become the SMC 's baker

Callsign : Gdbecane
Classification : Regular
Threat level : High
Mech piloted : Catapult
Specialty : Brawl
Weight classes piloted : Heavy / Assault

Information :
*Recently recruited
*Former speeder-biker racing pilot
*Changed career to Mechwarrior after being expelled from pro-racing for violence on the circuit

Callsign : Cambraa
Classification : Veteran
Threat level : High
Mech piloted : Atlas
Specialty : Brawl
Weight classes piloted : Light / Assault

Information :
*Recruited after the Poznan massacre
*Former camel breeder
*Changed careers after an AC10 shot from Atomic Glide « missed because the ground wasn't stable »

Callsign : Maxmarechal
Classification : Veteran
Threat level : Medium
Mech piloted : Hunchback
Specialty : Flank
Weight classes piloted : Medium / Heavy

Information :
*Recruited after the Poznan massacre
*Self deisgnated fireman of the SMC
*Spends his time running around the base trying to put out fires ignited by Atomic Glides « Practice Shots »

Callsign : Dracus Steamwork
Classification : Veteran
Threat level : Medium
Mech piloted : Centurion
Specialty : Flank / Support
Weight classes piloted : Medium / Heavy

Information :
*Recruited after the Poznan massacre
*Regularly mistakes the ejection seat's button for the reactor activation button
*Seems to be the only member who's liked Ragnar's coocking
*Has somehow managed to install toilets under his Mech's pilot seat

Callsign : Tearounet
Classification : Unknown
Threat level : Unknown
Mech Piloted : Stalker
Specialty : LRM / Brawl
Weight classes piloted : Assault

Information :
*Recruted after the Poznan massacre
*Seems to spend all his paycheck on cigarettes
*Seems to oftenly complain about the fact that "That [censored] [censored] onboard computer flooded my cockpit with [censored] water again 'cause i was [censored ]smoking !!!!! [censored ] [censored ][censored ][censored ][censored ][censored ][censored ][censored ]"
*Has shot his onboard computer's main console with a Shotgun 5 times to this day
*Make that 6 times

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________End of report_________________

Hope you enjoyed reading, i tried to make this look like a report form an outside source as much i could.
I thought it was a good idea to present our main pilots as our units don't know each other very well yet Strata Merc Corp - History Icon_e_wink

Don't hesitate to give me feedback and/or contact me,
see you on the battlefield !

Tearounet

Seg	Ter	Qua	Qui	Sex	Sáb	Dom
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30	31