Where Are The Bouncers?

Green Birds and Ham

In my copy of the Jade Falcon Sourcebook, it talks about the various battles of the Falcon Corridor of the Clan Invasion.  Many of these vignettes are just quick little paragraphs about the fall of an entire world.

On Page 36 it discusses the fall of Alkalurops to the ongoing Clan Assault.  And the results are very simple.  The planet is going to fall.  In addition to the local militia, there is the Bouncers, a combined arms regiment there defending.  The major cities and trade of the area is taken very quickly, but much of the outer-lying areas, as well as the Dravinna Vale will remain in the hands of the defenders, including most of the Bouncers.

And then, that’s it.  The Sourcebook says:

Just days after the planet’s surrender, these forces formed organized and effective resistance, attacking the invaders near the ore-processing factories of Dravinna Vale, using the valley’s perpetual fog to cover their activities.

That’s it. We know the planet falls.  We know it’s under the command of Falcon, but I’ve always wondered what happened to The Bouncers.  Did they evacuate?  How successful was the campaign on the planet?  I don’t know.

We know that numerous mercenary units were destroyed in the Clan Invasion, such as the 12th Star Guard.  So The Bouncers could have been destroyed.  In my campaign I have them cut down to less than half their force, get off-world, and then begin to rebuild with other contracts out in the Chaos March.

But I’ve always been obsessed with The Bouncers. What happened to them?  Where are they now?  Who were they?  What’s their history?  A regiment, even a mixed one, is not a small force, so how did they become The Bouncers?

And that’s one of the great things about the BattleTech universe.  There’s always something out there to grab a hold of and make it yours.  The huge sprawling universe is such a large, extreme place.  And while there is a lot of definition here and there, there’s a lot more to consider and run with.  A lot more decisions.  And little passing phrases here and there to tantalize them.

So what is your little obsession out there?  Is there a unit, a planet, a group, or something else to tantalize you?  Something that’s always been out there, with just a hint of information to intrigue you?

Who are your Bouncers?

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22 thoughts on “Where Are The Bouncers?

  1. Alex

    Quickscell

    I just love how they represent the quintessential econo-class/bargain bin/dollar store brand, always trying to undercut everyone else, frequently hated, but nonetheless relied upon because of affordability.

    Also stuff like Triple F burger or Pharaoh Beer, these little throw away references that imply that there is more to the setting than mechs blowing stuff up, i.e. most people go about with their mundane lives.

    Reply
    1. Abe Sargent Post author

      I hear ya. You know what? That leads me to writing an article about some stuff in universe that I haven’t penned yet. So thanks for the inspiration!

      Reply
  2. Carlos

    To me, it will be the Bryan Castles from the star league sourcebook, they where massive, well hidden and everywhere in the hegemony, they could not be destroyed, not all of them, some even extended for miles, how come they are never spoken on the novels and when they do, they look like small fortifications? I will never knew
    Regards

    Reply
    1. Abe Sargent Post author

      I hear ya. That’s really cool too. Did you use them as written in the Star League stuff?

      Reply
    2. Alex

      I hear ya on the Bryan Castles.

      Like, i always like to imagine them as these secret NORAD/area 5/Umbrella Corp underground lab/fallout vault type, black budget-y secret bases that have since become reclaimed by nature.

      Like i imagine these bases as being like out in the middle of nowhere, where just finding them is some once in a life time ordeal for those involved, with the base rife with malfunctioning systems, little bits of emergency lighting still flickering, flooded areas, xeno flora snaking massive roots and creepers all throughout the massive mechscale halls of the structure, various xeno fauna taking residence all throughout, rusted out machinery, partially corrupted data logs that give fuel for all sorts of star league era conspiracy theories, partially active automated defenses that still pose a threat. And use of terraforming tech that would mystify your average 30th century citizen. You know, stuff that gives that indiana jones type sense of adventure and awe.

      Instead most of what we read is “so and so found a bryan castle in 30XX that had tech specs on making lasers that shoot a bit further or had on file some mech that is about as useful as any other mech of that class but carries an AMS!” like, woop de doo?

      Granted though there was that intersteller ops opening chapter that had some of that element where those archaeologists were attacked by IIRC wobbies, to prevent a secret star league era base from being uncovered. I’d love to see more of that.

      Reply
  3. Mendrugo

    For me, it’s the Shin Legions. Where did they come from? They’re described as a Capellan brigade that fled the Confederation for the Combine in fear of Chancellor Romano Liao, but there are a number of questions about their origins as yet unclear. If they existed prior to the 4th Succession War, why do none of the force lists in the NAIS Atlas of the 4th War, Brush Wars, or House Liao – The Capellan Confederation list them? If they were a new brigade formed from new production after the 4th Succession War, how did troops disloyal enough to be publicly badmouthing the Chancellor get assigned these scarce resources…in Romano’s “Every Day is Purge Day” regime? After the betrayals of the 4th War, every new trooper should have been subjected to extensive loyalty screening, especially since they would have had far more warrior candidates than machines, with just the factories on Capella, Grand Base, and Sian remaining. Most assume they were formed by tossing the survivors from the 4th War together, but all of those are accounted for. (The Tikonov Reserves became Ridzik’s Republican regiments, the St. Ives Armored Cavalry became the St. Ives Compact’s military, the Sarn Reserves died in place with no JumpShips to retreat with, and the Sian and Capellan Reserves weren’t engaged.)

    Reply
    1. Adrian Gideon

      Shin Legion are in the new Combat Manual: Kurita and it answers many of your questions.

      Reply
      1. Abe Sargent Post author

        Sometimes I like the question more than the answer. Take the Wylies Coyotes as a great example. They arrived in a mystery, have a bunch of new lights regularly, and then after twenty years of good, quality merc-dom, they disappear totally.

        Great stuff!

        And you can build a strong set of potential things about the Coyotes. Clan. Star League Cache. Unknown Functional Factory. Secretly supported by a rival state. Whatever suits your campaign. From sneaky covert answers to mass conspiracies to another Clan unit that unlike the Dragoons all went back to clan space. You can make it happen.

        And then later on you find out that they just misjumped, arrived at a far place in the Periphery, and then hung out there for a while as they repaired their JumpShip. Booooooooring.

        Reply
      2. Mendrugo

        Thanks for the reference. I checked, and the only new info is that the three regiments consist of troops “dragooned” at the end of the Fourth Succession War. But dragooned from where? from the personal guard forces of various nobles and small, indebted mercenary formations? I suppose that could work.

        Reply
  4. CF

    I had an entire campaign based around the sidebar item on p. 56 of the first-edition _House Davion_ sourcebook — the item which shows:

    1) The Davions were intended to be the “heirs” to the Star League Throne if anything happened to the Camerons;

    2) Blake, and by extension ComStar, knew — and allowed the Succession Wars to happen anyway.

    Now, imagine if *that* little nugget of information had gotten out, say, about the time of the Fourth Succession War… like, maybe when ComStar tried to shut Davion down with an Interdiction….

    Reply
  5. Eric

    I always loved the battle of Sheliak during the Clan Invasion. It’s when Clan Ghost Bear fought the Sheliak Professional Football League for control of their planet. A game of American Football for the right to rule the world.

    The Sheliak PFL got skunked.

    Reply
    1. Thomas

      But they got 3 points for honor, if i recall correctly. Not a bad feat against a team composed entirely out of Elementals.

      Reply
  6. Chris Price

    Maybe it’s me, but this made me think of the part of the BattleTech ‘verse I hate the most…
    ComStar.
    They murdered people, framed people, and sparked the Second Succession War just because it would be in line with the ‘sacred sayings of the Holy Jerome Blake’. The rulers of the Successor States have always regarded ComStar with suspicion… but when the Boys in White Robes unveil their massive army of mint-quality Star League hardware just after the Fourth Succession War, what happens? The same rulers just shrug it off and let them deploy their shiny toys. Because they’re all afraid ComStar will shut down their space-telephone service and leave them in a communications blackout…
    …Which is the premise of the Dark Age, isn’t it?

    Reply
    1. ClanWolverine

      Well, post-4SW, Kurita and ComStar had an alliance. “Thomas Marik” soon had control of the FWL, and House Liao was irrelevant. The nascent FRR was totally dependent on ComStar, and the Periphery mattered less than Liao.

      That left the FedCom, and Hanse Davion was not a happy man. See the Sarna wiki article on Operation Rosebud for what happened next.

      Reply
      1. Chris Price

        Theodore Kurita really did enter into a “devil’s pact” with ComStar, since Takashi was ignoring everything around him in favour of destroying Wolf’s Dragoons. And yeah, House Liao was on the garbage heap post 4th SW. Rasalhague was just a political gaming chip in the eyes of Primus Myndo Waterly…

        (I won’t even get into how Hanse’s son Victor took the “obsessive tendencies” to their wild-eyed extreme.) Suffice to say, I came to dislike the totally inept, incompetent, and downright stupid way “The Fox” was being portrayed. Here’s a smart man, a capable leader, and a canny diplomat… and he just seemed to develop a blind spot the size of Jupiter regarding ComStar. YMMV, of course.

        Reply
  7. DaveP

    One more for the road, but it’s a good one…
    In the original 3025 Tech Readout, there’s mention of an Ostroc pilot named Paula Stilson (known as The Heartbreaker, for her carnivorous dating habits)… in the original Mercenary Sourcebook, it was mentioned that she had been cashiered from the AFFS for seducing a Kuritan officer during diplomatic negotiations and had washed up in Wilson’s Hussars. After that… nothing. Not even a mention in the wiki entry on WIlson’s Hussars, or in the Ostroc entry.
    Whatever became of Paula?

    Reply
      1. DaveP.

        A good ending that fits her ‘disappearance’ would be her waking up one morning, taking a good hard look at herself in the bathroom mirror… and selling her Mech for ticket and seed money so she could start a fresh (and, considering how much even a trashed mech sells for, fairly well off) life somewhere civilized.
        Unfortunately, for the sort of person ( male or female ) with an addiction that has that much control over their life, most of the likely endings are bad ones.

        Reply
  8. Shane DeKnibber

    This was a really good read guys.
    The unit me and my friends play is of our own design and the entire thing is conspiracy… more a scary story told at campfires.
    All ill say is it starts with a mad scientist from the rim worlds republic that found a way to make duplicates through jumping. Stories such as making a burnt out jumpship function with a bobby pin n the like.
    So for me its the rim worlds. Every new computer game. Wheres my emblem :). #never forget

    Reply

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