Abel's Avengers
The period between the Third and Fourth Succession Wars saw a proliferation of mercenary commands, hoping to become the next Wolf's Dragoons or Kell Hounds. Legends are told about these outfits, but more often than not mercenary commands fall apart within a decade of inception. Those which survive get their own sort of notoriety, usually in local circles. These outfits are almost always small, and centered around their commanding officer in some fashion. Once they die or are forced out of action, the outfits crumble apart.
Abel's Avengers is one of those commands which has passed through numerous hands, rebranding over and over. The current commander, Captain Abel Irons, keeps the outfit moving through the Lyran Commonwealth just one step ahead of bankruptcy according to the books. However, Captain Abel seems unconcerned with losing the fight against finances and more about taking on the "right" clients. Clients who are often not the Successor States, or major corporations, but those on the frontiers.
According to public records, very often the terms of the contracts Abel's Avengers take on are for a pittance of C-bills and very little (if any) salvage rights. Most after-action reports note opposing forces to be pirate raiders, or other small mercenary commands. It is very rare to see Captain Abel's forces undertake an offensively-oriented contract, and in those cases it is more often against the interests of the great Houses.
As of 3034, the Avengers can field nearly a full company of BattleMechs and a similar amount of vehicle support. Most of these are common, rugged designs which are widely used in the Inner Sphere. Records indicate their recent contracts have left them in regions of the Lyran Commonwealth currently under dispute with the Draconis Combine.
What makes this curious is a review of publicly-available contracts indicates Abel's Avengers have often agreed to waive rights to salvage in favor of allowing their employers to keep it. This means acquiring the BattleMechs had to have been done as part of the few sealed contracts, which does little to quash rumors. At this time, actual answers have not been found and Captain Abel's reluctance to engage with the question means there might never be a satisfactory answer.
Authorization Rho VII Required
Abel's Avengers is one of those commands which has passed through numerous hands, rebranding over and over. The current commander, Captain Abel Irons, keeps the outfit moving through the Lyran Commonwealth just one step ahead of bankruptcy according to the books. However, Captain Abel seems unconcerned with losing the fight against finances and more about taking on the "right" clients. Clients who are often not the Successor States, or major corporations, but those on the frontiers.
According to public records, very often the terms of the contracts Abel's Avengers take on are for a pittance of C-bills and very little (if any) salvage rights. Most after-action reports note opposing forces to be pirate raiders, or other small mercenary commands. It is very rare to see Captain Abel's forces undertake an offensively-oriented contract, and in those cases it is more often against the interests of the great Houses.
As of 3034, the Avengers can field nearly a full company of BattleMechs and a similar amount of vehicle support. Most of these are common, rugged designs which are widely used in the Inner Sphere. Records indicate their recent contracts have left them in regions of the Lyran Commonwealth currently under dispute with the Draconis Combine.
Acts of Charity
"Actually, we just need a modest sum to pay for filing the contract paperwork. Then it's a legitimate contract and everyone involves has legal protections for what's about to happen."In many systems located in the Tamar Pact region, Abel's Avengers have a reputation for being the closest thing a mercenary command can be to "charity". The standard requested fee is just enough to cover ComStar's processing fees, which are variable depending on the type of service a system receives and the priority of the messages. Once a contract is filed with ComStar's Mercenary Review Board there are specific legal concerns which become clearer to navigate - and others which can be more troublesome. Overall, a validated contract is useful as a cover for actions taken by mercenary commands. ComStar adjudicates any disputes about mercenaries' conduct, making it significantly harder to pin blame on mercenaries for behaving in the scope of the contract. And unless both sides choose differently, these are public for others to see. Captain Abel thus makes use of this system for clients to avoid legal repercussions, while providing services as needed. Most commonly, this is to act as short-term garrisons against raids, much shorter than normal, which actively supports the impression it is meant to be a response to a particular imminent raid rather than a more general posting. Local word of mouth spread stories about the mercenary outfit which was small... but affordable, and capable of turning aside most small raids.
Rumors
There are rumors which have begun circulating in late 3033 about Abel's Avengers being responsible for a raid across the border into the Draconis Combine to secure hardware and grow their unit back to combat readiness. This rumor centers around the existence of two WHM-6R Warhammer BattleMechs, which are relatively commonly found among most House militaries yet significantly difficult to find in multiples in mercenary commands. When asked about these rumors, Captain Abel offers non-answers and suggests the question isn't really fair as mercenaries do salvage anything they can from the field.What makes this curious is a review of publicly-available contracts indicates Abel's Avengers have often agreed to waive rights to salvage in favor of allowing their employers to keep it. This means acquiring the BattleMechs had to have been done as part of the few sealed contracts, which does little to quash rumors. At this time, actual answers have not been found and Captain Abel's reluctance to engage with the question means there might never be a satisfactory answer.
Authorization Rho VII Required
For internal ComStar use only.
A mercenary command this small wouldn't have survived losing their commander and combat assets over sixty-five tons. Within a year, they acquired a pair of Warhammer BattleMechs, claiming to have received them from salvage rights. This cannot possibly be true unless pirates are stomping around with that sort of hardware. Our investigations have turned up a few leads about where Captain Abel's good fortune comes from, but none of them seem to pan out beyond initial suspicions.
Analysts believe there was an unauthorized raid on a Draconis Combine garrison across the border, coinciding with reports of mercenary activity delivered to the Combine's Deputy of Military Affairs. Among the garrison records reviewed, there are a number of BattleMechs reported missing, two of those being WHM-6R Warhammers and some other smaller ones which coincide with the submitted roster of Abel's Avengers. Further investigation into DCMS records indicate there are a number of BattleMechs which have falsified data regarding their origins, possibly to hide the theft or loss of similar units. We believe this is a valid lead and request authorization to pursue the lead.
(15/04/3033)
Please cease investigation into this lead. We are aware of your suspicions, but the matter is not as complicated as you are endeavoring to make it. Those machines have been tracked to being liquidated battlefield salvage from Twycross in 3028, partially refurbished at Trellshire Heavy Industries and then sold at a loss to remove them from inventory in 3031. It does us no good to pursue conspiracy theories which have no grounding in reality.
(17/05/3033)
Leak the theory. It would be beneficial for either Lyran or Combine intelligence to "discover" this potential connection and waste their time investigating. Use standard avenues and procedures to plant the seeds and leave the matter alone afterwards. We have much more important work to be doing.
(18/05/3033)
A mercenary command this small wouldn't have survived losing their commander and combat assets over sixty-five tons. Within a year, they acquired a pair of Warhammer BattleMechs, claiming to have received them from salvage rights. This cannot possibly be true unless pirates are stomping around with that sort of hardware. Our investigations have turned up a few leads about where Captain Abel's good fortune comes from, but none of them seem to pan out beyond initial suspicions.
Analysts believe there was an unauthorized raid on a Draconis Combine garrison across the border, coinciding with reports of mercenary activity delivered to the Combine's Deputy of Military Affairs. Among the garrison records reviewed, there are a number of BattleMechs reported missing, two of those being WHM-6R Warhammers and some other smaller ones which coincide with the submitted roster of Abel's Avengers. Further investigation into DCMS records indicate there are a number of BattleMechs which have falsified data regarding their origins, possibly to hide the theft or loss of similar units. We believe this is a valid lead and request authorization to pursue the lead.
(15/04/3033)
Please cease investigation into this lead. We are aware of your suspicions, but the matter is not as complicated as you are endeavoring to make it. Those machines have been tracked to being liquidated battlefield salvage from Twycross in 3028, partially refurbished at Trellshire Heavy Industries and then sold at a loss to remove them from inventory in 3031. It does us no good to pursue conspiracy theories which have no grounding in reality.
(17/05/3033)
Leak the theory. It would be beneficial for either Lyran or Combine intelligence to "discover" this potential connection and waste their time investigating. Use standard avenues and procedures to plant the seeds and leave the matter alone afterwards. We have much more important work to be doing.
(18/05/3033)
Type
Military, Mercenary Group
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