Langford Wraiths

Langford Wraiths logo MSU.jpg
Langford Wraiths
Formed ca. 3064
Affiliation Mercenary
Parent Command Independent

The Langford Wraiths were a mercenary unit with a complicated history, originally formed as a loose group without a name in or shortly after 3064 around Elizabeth Langford and the DropShip The Dream. The unit was only registered as a proper mercenary unit with the Mercenary Review and Bonding Commission and named the "Langford Wraiths" following her death.

History

Inception

The unit was named in honor of the late Elizabeth Langford, a former member of the Blue Star Irregulars mercenary unit who had resigned to join independent DropShip pilot Roy Hemmer, who operated the independend Leopard-class vessel The Dream. His daughter Jane took over command of the ship after his death in 3061.[1]

In 3064, the DropShip was hired to partake in a mission involving several mercenary commands, with the aim of liberating Federated Suns citizens who were illegally held as prisoners on the Draconis Combine world of Ashio. On this mission, they carried two BattleMechs and a Vedette tank that belonged to a small mercenary unit simply known as the Wraiths, and would bring back twenty liberated prisoners.[1][2]

Following this mission, one of the rescued prisoners—former AFFS MechWarrior Dags Honor—was offered a place by Langford and became her XO.[1]

Elizabeth Langford was later killed in another extraction raid. Her will left everything she had, including half ownership of the DropShip, to Dags Honor who was ratified the new leader of the small outfit. He renamed the DropShip Elizabeth in her honor, and properly registered the unit with the MRBC as the Langford Wraiths. The unit's core was formed from the survivors of the Ashio mission and also included a Clan Nova Cat expatriate and expert technician Aaron Garrett (whom they had rescued from a pirate band in 3065), a former member of the Shunners sect of the Word of Blake.[1]

Early Days

The reformed unit under Dags Honor undertook a series of successful missions as a solo outfit and as a scout force for larger mercenary units.[1]

Deep Periphery

In early 3067, just before the outbreak of the Jihad, they were hired for an unspecified scouting mission into the Deep Periphery beyond the Lyran Commonwealth by the Lyran Tokra Techtronics Corporation. Subsequent LIC reports of an altercation at Kinbrace mentioned the sighting of a Leopard-class vessel with colors matching the Elizabeth there.[1]

By 15 November 3067, the Langford Wraiths were stranded on Córdoba because of technical problems with their DropShip's computer. They were coerced into accepting a mission for Caliph Lise Burrill of the Umayyad Caliphate, and were shown video footage of a colony near Valencia that had been utterly destroyed by a faction referred to as Riesige Götter (gigantic gods). Dags Honor uncovered a conspiracy within the Caliphate guards, but it resulted in an attack against him and his outfit, the outcome of which is unknown.[3]

In early to mid 3070, the Langford Wraiths returned to Lyran territory from the Deep Periphery in a stolen Manatee-class DropShip. Given the dubious circumstances, they were arrested. Two members including Aaron Garrett were in "bad shape", and all suffered from malnutrition and dehydration. Their commander claimed that they had encountered a Word of Blake outpost near Mundo Nublar and had seen a "fantastic ship that can destroy whole worlds" that they encountered near the Hanseatic League and fled with the stolen DropShip. One agent Nigel Hawkins from the Lyran Outpost Somerset reported this to Adam Steiner on 19 August 3070, adding that the internal technology upgrades on the ancient Manatee suggest it to be a Word of Blake vessel and that he felt the reports were plausible enough to warrant a search for the planetkiller vessel.[4]

Officers

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of Langford Wraiths
Captain Elizabeth Langford
Dags Honor 3067 - 3070

Tactics

Unknown.

Composition History

Upon embarking into the Deep Periphery, the unit was lance-sized, i.e. composed of four 'Mechs. Their roster included Langford's (and later Honor's) Watchman, a Grasshopper piloted by Ben Romijn after his Trebuchet was destroyed on Ashio (the Grasshopper had belonged to his wife Charlette, who was killed on Ashio), and a Cyclops.[1]

The Langford Wraiths were closely tied to the DropShip Elizabeth, but returned from their deep periphery mission on another vessel. This suggests that the Elizabeth was lost.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Mercenaries Supplemental Update, p. 83
  2. The Gambit in Dream
  3. A Distant Thunder
  4. Jihad Hot Spots: 3070, p. 215: Blake Ascending, p. 275

Bibliography