Unit Description
From the Succession Wars to the Clan Invasion, from the FedCom Civil War to the current chaos of the 5th Succession War. Constant and increasingly escalating warfare destroyed worlds and killed billions. What many failed to account for, and was indeed ignored when reported, was that the years of fighting decimated something else. Something intangible - a soldier's soul. Most soldiers persevered, barely retaining their sanity by loosing themselves among their brethren and unit. Some commit suicide. Others flee, searching for a place to rediscover their direction, humanity and soul - or simply to escape from court martial charges of desertion, cowardice and mutiny.
A group of such warriors from all over the Inner Sphere and Periphery met on New Hedon, the capital of Herotitus and formed the unique and unconventional Black Stars mercenary command. Though technically a single command, the Black Stars operate like no other mercenary unit. It is basically a collective of small units ranging from individual soldiers, to an entire Battlemech lance or more. These small units sub-contract jobs from the Black Star leadership that runs the operations that is simply called the 'Cell'. Consisting of soldiers and sub-unit commanders who have stayed the longest with the Black Stars, the 'Cell' negotiates all contracts after filtering through suitable ones and getting a majority vote from the current sub-contracted units.
The Black Stars make no preference for their recruitment. They would just as readily hire a retired Colonel from the AFFS as they would a washed out Periphery Mechjock seeking to escape gambling debts. There have been been cases of former Word of Blake soldiers fighting alongside former ComGuards within the unit. The Black Stars offer autonomy and a safe haven to individuals in the very eye of the turmoil in the current universe. The founding members of the Black Stars decided to gave the fragmented members of the unit at least a passing sense of unity and belonging by deciding on a simple black star outline as the unit insignia. It also reflected the fact that the unit's loyalty was to itself, which may change from battle to battle hence the preclusion of a traditional 'House' or 'Unit' colours. It may also be noted that being a simple to spray and/or stencil on design, a new unit sub-contracting under the Black Stars can put up the small logo quickly, and remove them just as easily when they inevitably decide to leave. However, as long as one is a member of the Black Stars, the unit always takes care of their own.
With uncountable number of sub-units signing up and leaving, below are the currently active sub-unit commands enrolled under the Black Star banner:
Sharp Shooters: a tank unit led by Zhao Zi Long, the current nominated representative for the Black Stars since 3078, the Shooters possesses of two reinforced companies of C3 linked Vampire medium OmniTanks, supported by a pair of Fensalir WiGEs. Badger tracked IFVs support Level Is of Battle Armour troops armed with Demon series suits, while a platoon each of Nighthawk and Tornado PA troopers provide further flexibility to the sub-unit.
Trouble Inc.: one of the last remaining founding sub-units next to Zhao's Sharp Shooters, Trouble Inc. had grown massively since those decade ago, although the unit still maintained its focus on its large VTOL fleet. At the peak of its strength, Trouble Inc. could boast of running some of the heaviest Battle Armour suits available, and can also currently lay claim to having a full star of Clan tech 'Mechs within its ranks. Unfortunately, Trouble Inc. has recently been dissolved, breaking up into several smaller units, which went their separate ways. Colonel James Lockheart has been appointed as the Commander of Pharos Station, the Black Stars' Snowden orbital Mining Station.
The Risen: Legate Gaius Marius who currently leads The Risen once commanded the Mortuus Legio Victrix. The latter was a strange, and some say downright eerie unit said to be of Marian origin, where every single piece of equipment, from Battle Armour, to vehicles, to BattleMech and aerospace fighters were chosen for one reason above all others - speed. When Marius was out injured, Legio politics saw him lose his place as the sub-unit's leader. Rethinking how his new unit should be shaped, the Marian formed the Risen, an appropriately christened unit that literally rose from the ashes.
Taking a totally different direction as his former unit, all the Risen's military hardware spots plasma rifle, further supported by inferno missile fed SRM launchers.
Storm Riders: It was once declared by one of ancient Terra's leader that Artillery is "the God of War". The Storm Riders certainly seem to adhere to that as a unit founding policy, specializing in providing artillery support by deploying a lance of Onager artillery vehicles to deliver its main punch. However, the unit has since swelled its ranks with a short lance of non-artillery BattleMechs.
Bloody Marauders: the Marauders are another indication of how far the Black Stars had come from its rag tag beginnings. Previously filled with sub-units that possessed little, or no BattleMechs, the Black Stars Mercenary Command now see more BattleMech centric units like the Bloody Marauders flying their colours. The Marauders are a hard-hitting, fast response and scout/recon unit. It is of reinforced 'Mech battalion strength supported by a Wing of ASF plus considerable combat and support vehicles, Battle Armour and infantry. The Marauders also stand apart from others due to them consisting of quite a large number of Clanners compared to most other units, with their unique mix of Clan and Inner Sphere styled formation reflecting that fact.
Celestyna's Winged Legionnaires: one of the newest sub-units to join the Black Stars, the Legionnaires were founded on Herotitus with the majority of the unit being former Confederated Majestracy Armed Forces solders. The current CO Karen Celestyna intends to set up a couple of combined-arms assault companies while searching for information relating to where her brother was taken by Taurian forces when they briefly took the ConMag system of Herotitus.
Glengarry Independents: Led by John Kelly, a former Captain from the famed Hellstorm Hussars Mercenary Regiment, the Independents started off with virtually zero hardware when they left their homeworld. The unit has picked up more personnel and equipment, first operating together with the Black Stars on the ConMag Periphery world of Huanghuadian, before eventually joining the mercenary command as one of its sub-units. Kelly intends to grow his fledgling unit to a full 'Mech company with armour, mechanised infantry and support. |