Raging Horde
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Contents
History
The Raging Horde is unique among mercenary units in that it was founded entirely by a group of ex-Clansmen - specifically, Elementals from several Invasion Clans, although the majority of the Raging Horde came from Clan Nova Cat. Claiming to follow the visions of their founder, a former Nova Cat named Calvin Moon, the Horde took several contracts across the Inner Sphere.[1]
The transition into being mercenaries was difficult for a number of members of the unit, as the Clans traditionally looked down upon professional soldiers; to help ease the transition and overcome the qualms of those in his unit, Jeremiah West encouraged the Raging Horde's members to maintain Clan customs and beliefs and thereby keep their Clan heritage alive. As a result leadership positions within the Raging Horde were decided by Clan-style Trials of Position; this was the route by which a number of personnel from Clan Nova Cat and Clan Diamond Shark joined the Raging Horde, and the explanation for the two co-leaders of the Raging Horde during the early years of the Jihad were members of these two Clans.[1]
Initially ill-suited for the finer points of negotiating employment contracts, the Raging Hordes were reliant upon a lesser nobleman named Bartholemew Alexander, who sponsored the Raging Horde in exchange for a twenty percent management fee; despite his eccentricity, Alexander was able to assist the Raging Hordes in obtaining their first few contracts within the Inner Sphere. Those initial contracts saw the Raging Horde fight against Clan Jade Falcon and Clan Wolf, and the losses taken during those contracts saw the Raging Horde recruit its first personnel from the Inner Sphere - although only those who could pass the requisite Trials were permitted to join the Horde.[1]
The Raging Horde were serving on the Federated Suns world of Lindsay in 3066 when forces from the Taurian Concordat overran the world briefly as a part of the Taurian campaign to reclaim the Pleiades Cluster. When Alexander learned of the Taurian capture of Lindsay he promptly emptied the Raging Horde's bank account and fled Galatea, assuming the worst. When the Raging Horde escaped from Lindsay and learned of Alexander's actions they swore to enact vengeance against him, going so far as to sell two of their four Sassanid-class DropShips to finance their quest for revenge.[1]
The Horde's spokesperson, one Captain Caroline, subsequently conducted an interview with MercNet that generated both new notoriety for the unusual mercenary unit and an influx of experienced battle armor personnel - including several former Clansmen. The personnel influx gave the Raging Horde access to enough people to rebuild their losses and to expand; after six months of rebuilding the Raging Horde had increased in size to a full Cluster and began an intense twelve-month training period to acclimatise their new personnel to the Horde's customs and tactics.[1]
The Raging Horde returned to the mercenary market in June 3069, accepting a contract to conduct garrison and cadre training duties on Skye, which was still rebuilding after the brief war between the Lyran Alliance Bolan and Skye Provinces and the Free Worlds League. As an incentive, the Skye recruiters offered the location of Bartholomew Alexander; this generated a brief and heated discussion between Colonel Jeremiah West, Major Maine and their various sub-commanders before the Raging Horde accepted the contract.[1]
As the Raging Horde assembled to transfer to Skye, the various Trinary commanders within the Horde conducted a bidding process for the honor of killing Alexander. The overall winner of the bidding process was Captain Jason Henne, who bid himself, unarmed; as a consequence, when the Horde acted on the intelligence given to them by the Skye government and travelled to Callisto V, Henne departed the ship alone to hunt for Alexander. Henne reportedly found Alexander but spared him when Alexander confessed to his crimes and requested surkai. Henne returned to the Horde's DropShips with two very large security cases containing the bulk of the Horde's misappropriated funds; Colonel West recognised Henne's success and his tact in completing the mission by formally adopting the Spheroid as a Clan warrior.[1]
The Raging Horde took advantage of a sweetener offered by Duchess Hermione Aten when accepting employment on Skye and as a result was one of the first mercenary units to purchase a number of Saxon APCs at a notable discount as a part of their employment contract.[2]
Officers
Colonel Calvin Moon is a former Nova Cat and leads the unit with his vision of the future.
Tactics
The Horde uses a fusion of traditional Inner Sphere and Clan anti-Mech tactics, utilizing the various abilities of the different kinds of Battle Armor suits they employ.
Composition
3067
Raging Horde (1 Cluster/Veteran/Questionable)
- CO/Command Star: Colonel Calvin Moon
- XO/Alpha Trinary: Major Roberto Maine
- Omega Trinary: Captain Jason "Verlog" Henne
- Gamma Trinary: Captain Caroline "Bulldog" MacIntosh
3072
Raging Horde (1 Cluster)
- CO: Colonel Jeremiah West
- XO: Major Roberto Maine
- The Horde fields a full five Trinaries of armored infantrymen, equally mixing troopers of Inner Sphere and Clan heritage in each Star.[1] The Clansmen use Elemental suits of various loadouts, while the Spheroids mostly use Longinus and Infiltrator Mk. II suits.
Surprisingly, the Horde has enough transport assets to mobilize the entire unit. Aside from a captured Invader-class JumpShip, they also field two Sassanid-class DropShips - the Slasher and the Pouncer - and a single Triumph-class DropShip, Stormbringer. Due to battle damage, however, the Slasher and Pouncer have had to refit their weapons bays with Inner Sphere equipment instead of their original, superior Clan loadout.[3] The Horde also fields a number of brand-new Saxon personnel carriers.[1]