MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries

MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries
Product information
Type	Video Game
Publication information
Publisher	Activision
First published	30 September 1996
Content
Era	Succession Wars era Clan Invasion era
Universe Date	10 May 3044-20 May 3052
Series	MechWarrior (video games)
Preceded by	MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat
Followed by	MechWarrior 3

Activision's MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries is a 1996 computer game set in the BattleTech universe. It is based on the same engine as its predecessor, MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat, and thus also tagged "MechWarrior 2" although it is a stand-alone game. Despite coming after MechWarrior 2, the game's setting takes place before the Clan Invasion, making this game a prequel.

Canonicity

Computer games are explicitly excluded from the list of products that contribute straight Canon to the BattleTech universe while at the same time it was stated that the IP owners are "not in total denial about these sources either"; it has also been stated that fluff from certain official, licensed products (namely certain computer games including those produced by Activision) can be assumed to be part of the shared universe as long as it is not directly contradicted, and makes sense. On this premise, MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries is considered an apocryphal product.

While as a whole MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries is apocryphal, at least some aspects of the game have been formally canonized with Shrapnel Issue 15 referencing the 3045 to 3046 "Gravy" mission and the impersonation of Jandex Corporation plot point while discussing the vetting (or lack thereof) of parties on Mercenary Review Board contracts.

Plot synopsis

MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries has two modes: Mercenary and Mercenary Commander. Mercenary mode puts the player through a linear series of missions, much like MechWarrior 2 did, with success in each mission being required to proceed to the next. Mercenary Commander mode gives the player control of finances and choice of contracts (including randomly generated missions), in some cases even branching paths based on the success or failure of a mission. Contracts that are key storyline touchpoints cannot be skipped though.

The player takes contracts from four factions: the Draconis Combine (DC), the Federated Commonwealth (FC), ComStar (CS), and the Free Rasalhague Republic (FRR). The player can take contracts from any side without censure from another, though doing so will cause time-limited contract openings to close if the player is already "booked". During the game, the Draconis Combine and Federated Commonwealth are making the initial moves towards yet another war, while the FRR and CS try to play both sides against each other. The game occurs in the aftermath of the DC/FC War of 3039 (which was effectively a stalemate) and buildup by both sides towards the next war.

Missions include helping—and crushing—uprisings (to the benefit of the one of the primary factions), deep recon and raids, anti-pirate campaigns, and fights against other mercenary units. The player can also attempt to win the title of "Champion of Solaris" in 'Mech-on-'Mech battles in the Solaris VII arena. These missions proved so popular that they were brought back in the spiritual sequel of MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries.

The buildup to war between the two Great Powers suddenly takes a dramatic turn with the invasion of the Clans. The player is thrust into the battles against the "unknown 'Mechs" of the Clans (though if the player has played MechWarrior 2, he or she will recognize most of the 'Mechs and their capabilities). After spending some time as a prisoner of Clan Wolf, the player returns to the Inner Sphere and fights some of the major battles of the invasion such as the Battle of Wolcott (which is represented inaccurately as a multiday campaign rather than an ambush lasting only minutes) as well as the climactic Invasion of Luthien.

The Game ends with a cutscene from the last day of the Battle of Tukayyid, with a Level II from the Com Guards stopping a Clan Star and only a Com Guard Atlas and Catapult surviving the carnage.

Backstory

Starting on Outreach on May 10th 3044 the player is bequeathed a COM-7X Commando and a million C-bills by the former Colonel Holly Harris of the late Team Venom; the player is the only survivor of the unit's latest mission as shown in the game's intro cinematics. The player may then choose to join Hansen's Roughriders and follow the basic campaign without money or inventory concerns, or become an independent mercenary with full access to the game's support features such as purchasing BattleMechs, hiring lancemates, and deciding which missions to pursue. (Transcript)

Newsfeeds

The game includes a variety of Newsfeed entries that serve as background information or introduce advanced weapons systems. Those not connected to specific missions are transcribed here: (Transcript)

Venaria Campaign

June 1 - July 15, 3044

This is a series of tutorial missions meant to get new players used to the controls of the game. It is set up as a pirate hunting operation where new mercenaries can learn the basic skills needed to survive. It includes a basic patrol, a strike on a pirate air base, a raid on a pirate supply convoy, and finally a mission to hunt down pirate BattleMechs. The campaign is notable for putting the player under the command of one Sergeant "Deadeye" Unther, an extremely sarcastic Catapult pilot.

Campaign Day 1 - Training Mission - Sergeant Unther takes the player on an uneventful patrol, then returns to the DropShip Wild-Ride. News reports indicate that the pirates engaged the Combine forces and the Roughriders in several pitched battles on the fertile northern continent. (Transcript)

Campaign Day 2, 6:00 A.M. - Turkey Shoot - The player joins Sergeant Unther in an assault on a bandit airfield. News reports quote planetary garrison commander Chu-i Hin Orasan claiming 25 aerospace fighter kills as Combine forces launched a multipronged attack against pirate and civilian airfields on the northern continent. (Transcript)

Campaign Day 3, 5:00 A.M. - Cat and Mouse - Unther and the player attack a pirate supply convoy, then return to the DropShip Wild-Ride. News reports predict the imminent destruction of the Venarian pirates, with the remaining bandit forces making final stands in crowded cities. (Transcript)

Campaign Day 4, 2:30 P.M. - Final Exam - Unther and the player attempt to break up a pirate ambush and save some damaged Roughrider 'Mechs. News reports indicate the pirates abandoned their defensive positions and launched a suicidal attack against Combine lines, leaving only two unaccounted for, and bringing the year-long pirate occupation of Venaria to an end. (Transcript)

Galedon V Campaign

August 1 - December 15, 3044

Serving the Draconis Combine, the player must perform counterinsurgency duties, first by punishing rebel backers, then aiding the escape of a beleaguered Combine governor. Finally, the player must enter Galedon's capital city and hunt down the rebel leaders.

News reports claim the rebels on Galedon V are part of an interplanetary coalition calling itself the "Free Mutineers," dedicated to liberating their worlds from the Draconis Combine. Galedon V planetary defense commander Sho-sho Robert Aram is quoted as suspecting the Federated Commonwealth is supporting the Free Mutineers, and announcing plans to hire mercenaries to put down the insurgents.

August 24 - The player expresses doubt in the DCMS estimates of only 10,000 troops fighting for the rebels. Independent estimates place the number at closer to 100,000.

August 30 - The player accompanies DCMS garrison troops into the capital city of Washkatin on riot duty. When a mob attacks with the patrol with rocks and Molotov cocktails, the DCMS patrol commander opens up with machine guns.

September 10 - Combine Mercenary Liaison Officer Kobo Fukuzawa orders the player to enter the capital city of Washkatin and destroy the offices of a small weapons manufacturer called Novastar Armaments to punish them for selling arms to the rebels.

September 11 - Scalpel - The player rakes the I.S. Savings Building with laser and missile fire, killing a janitor and a security guard, then fights off Free Galedon V Mutineer attacks, destroying several rebel tanks. (Transcript)

October 15 - Free Galedon Mutineers seize partial control of Washkatin and repulse DCMS attempts to retake the capital, leaving the DCMS in control of only the southern road leading into the city.

October 22 - Snake City - Rebels besiege the downtown offices of planetary governor Mosami Horkiro, forcing him to evacuate. Combine Liaison Officer Kobo Fukuzawa orders the player to escort Governor Horkiro to safety, then assist the DCMS forces fighting the rebels. The governor safely escapes, but the rebels seize full control of the capital city and vow revenge against Horkiro for his "rape of the planet." (Transcript)

October 25 - Refugees flee Washkatin as Combine artillery bombardments cause heavy civilian casualties.

November 1 - The Combine forces prepare for an attack on Washkatin, massing on the southern road.

November 2 - Back Door - Amid reports that Free Mutineer forces have launched uprisings on other Combine worlds, including Proserpina, Combine Liaison Officer Kobo Fukuzawa orders the player to enter Washkatin from the north, kill the rebel leaders, and attack the Washkatin Defense Force positions from behind. (Transcript)

November 3 - Combine propaganda broadcasts announce the destruction of the Free Galedon V Mutineers and the liberation of Washkatin. A 50,000 C-bill bounty is placed on the heads of surviving rebel leaders Jonathan Collins and Harris Tweet. The player returns to Outreach.

Engadin Campaign

March 1, 3045 - May 1, 3045

The Free Rasalhague Republic offers a short-term pirate hunting contract on Engadin.

May 3 - Tiger Hunt - The player arrives on Engadin shortly behind three pirate DropShips which are attempting to recover a comrade left behind during a raid three weeks earlier. Free Rasalhague Republic Planetary Representative Omar Hexall orders the player to find and kill the pirate straggler, but later, in response to public outrage over the killing, tells media representatives in the planetary capital of New Troy that the mercenaries disobeyed orders to capture the pirate alive, and orders the player's arrest for the murder. (Transcript)

Bryceland Campaign

May 1, 3045 - June 1, 3045

May 29 - The player arrives on Bryceland. Tamara Dougherty, from the Federated Commonwealth Department of Mercenary Relations, orders the player to scout Bryceland and determine whether the attack is just a probe or the prelude to a real invasion.

June 2 - Doughboy - The player scans the Combine DropShips and BattleMech forces in Bryceland's desert, revealing the invasion force to be a decoy intended to draw off AFFC forces from the real target, Milligan. (Transcript)

New Ivaarsen Campaign

June 1 - October 15, 3045

Though called the New Ivaarsen campaign, the player is actually sent to the planet of Proserpina by the Federated Commonwealth. There, they must rescue rebel leaders from their besieged base, hunt down a ruthless Combine Sho-sa, destroy a 1st Amphigean Light Assault Group lance, and finally take the fight into the city to free imprisoned rebels.

June 28 - After accepting a FedCom contract for guerrilla operations "on and around" New Ivaarsen, the player is told that he will be working with the Free Proserpina Mutineers.

July 16 - The player reviews data about Proserpina's deserts, mountains, rich mineral deposits, and strategic location while en route to the Combine border.

July 29 - The player and the accompanying Free Proserpina Mutineers enter Combine space, and receive secret orders to secure Proserpina by November 6.

July 31 - Phoenix-Dawn - The player, along with the rebels, drops onto Proserpina in the Crystal Desert. They rendezvous with their on-planet rebel contact, Red Eagle, who informs them that the Free Proserpina Mutineer base in the Crystal Desert is under attack. The player saves the base, rescuing rebel commander Elijah Harris in the process. (Transcript)

September 15 - The Mutineers are making little progress in the battle against the First Amphigean Light Assault Group garrisoning Proserpina, and the rebels are running short on food, ammunition, and water.

September 20 - Blood-for-Blood - Commander Harris orders the player to kill Sho-sa Varus "the Butcher" during his inspection of a firebase on Proserpina's salt flats south of the capital, in retaliation for his massacre of 206 civilian protesters at the Freedom Marches in the summer of 3044. Commander Harris awards the player with the Badge of Freedom. Planetary garrison commander Michaels issues an ultimatum, demanding the rebels surrender. (Transcript)

October 3 - The rationing at the rebel encampment gets tighter, and the soldiers there begin to express a desire to end the fighting and go home.

October 22 - Crystal Storm - Commander Harris commits the Mutineers to an attack against an Amphigean 'Mech patrol using heavy artillery tanks in the middle of a sandstorm. The player is assigned to engage the Combine forces and hold them in place so the artillery can destroy them. The attack is a success, and the Mutineers use the momentum to destroy most of the Amphigean firebases in the salt flats. The DCMS survivors retreat into the city of Conqueror's Pride and begin fortifying it. (Transcript)

November 3 - The Federated Commonwealth reminds the Mutineers that Proserpina needs to be pacified by November 6 in order for the AFFC to use it as a staging base for a planned campaign against the Combine.

November 4 - The Amphigean troops rampage through the streets of Conqueror's Pride, burning buildings to the ground, raping, and killing.

November 5 - The Mutineers stage for an attack to liberate the capital from the Amphigean forces.

November 6 - Final Strike - Commander Harris orders the player to escort a convoy to a prisoner of war camp in Conqueror's Pride and ensure the prisoners escape safely. The Mutineers destroy the DCMS garrison in Conqueror's Pride and destroy the landing field, so none can escape off world. AFFC forces arrive to begin preparing the world as a staging area. (Transcript)

November 10 - Proserpina's new provisional government awards the player several medals of honor, and announces war crimes trials for captured Combine soldiers. The government estimates the fighting cost nearly 100,000 lives (including 10,000 children) and billions in property damage, and declares its intent to retain its independence and sovereignty.

New Oslo Campaign

June 1 - November 20, 3045

The Free Rasalhague Republic wants a mercenary unit to scout New Oslo for a hidden pirate base, where renegades are operating an illegal mining and refining plant.

November 4 - En route to New Oslo, the player reflects that the pirates have come up with a pretty good way to make money.

November 16 - The player arrives in New Oslo's orbit, and reflects on an increasing awareness of his own mortality.

November 17 - Tick Tock - Sarah Carpenter, FRR Director of Mercenary affairs, orders the player to identify and destroy a pirate-operated chemical plant. (Transcript)

November 18 - An editorial in the New Oslo Free Crier complains that the FRR took no action for six months while the pirates mined ore and destroyed the cities of Skalinks and Smolva, killing all their inhabitants when they protested. The editorial writer complains that the FRR feels it has served the citizens' needs by hiring a mercenary to destroy the pirates, but has done nothing to help the shattered world rebuild.

Pitkin Campaign

December 1, 3045 - January 1, 3046

The Jandex Corporation, represented by Vice President of Operations Rex Janklow, hires a mercenary unit to investigate a new hair care and personal hygiene product manufacturing plant site on Pitkin, to ensure its safety.

December 29, 3045 - The player is pleased to have secured a high-paying, low-risk baby-sitting mission.

January 4, 3046 - The player speculates about how to spend the five million C-bill bonus, and comments that his former commander, Team Venom CO Holly Harris, was robbing the unit members blind.

January 16 - Gravy - Pirates attack the player upon his arrival on Pitkin. The pirates had been offering "too-good-to-be-true" contracts to mercenary units, then ambushing them and stealing their equipment. Since the scheduled "Jandex" DropShip pickup was also a lie, the player is lucky DropShip Captain Sean Kelly was still in orbit to respond to his distress call. (Transcript)

Rasalhague Campaign

June 1 - September 5, 3046

The Federated Commonwealth hires the player's unit for a secret strike mission against the capital world of the Free Rasalhague Republic to obtain video recordings of a new military manufacturing plant.

September 12 - The player assesses the mission as easy, and expects to be back at Outreach soon, paycheck in hand.

September 13 - The player notes in his journal that, if captured, he plans to tell the interrogators everything.

September 14 - Eyeball - The player infiltrates the FRR manufacturing center, destroys the 'Mechs stored in the warehouses, and extracts off-world with video evidence that the 'Mechs came from the Draconis Combine. (Transcript)

September 27 - The ComStar Information Service reports that Hanse Davion arrived on Rasalhague for an emergency meeting with Prince Haakon Magnusson. Sources reported Prince Magnusson appeared "shaken" following the closed-door meeting. Prince Davion's BattleMech honor guard remained behind on Rasalhague following his departure.

New Ivaarsen Campaign II

June 1 - November 1, 3046

Returning to Combine employ, the player is tasked to attack New Ivaarsen's First New Ivaarsen Chasseurs. The player must attack a wind farm and defense outpost, then raze a Chasseur airfield. Finally, they must make their escape from the planet before their numerous pursuers catch up to them.

June 12 - The player expresses misgivings about taking a contract to attack the Federated Commonwealth, but acknowledges that a Pax FedCom would put him out of work.

July 10 - The Combine DropShip deposits the player on New Ivaarsen to begin a 60-day guerrilla campaign of raids against well-guarded facilities to trick the AFFC into reinforcing New Ivaarsen.

July 11 - Dagger Strike - The player attacks and destroys AFFC Advance Base D12 and its wind farm, killing 45 AFFC soldiers and eight civilian support staffers. (Transcript)

July 16 - Professor Donald Rathmon of New Ivaarsen University's political science department states that the attack was a surgical strike, rather than a pirate raid. AFFC spokesperson Lt. Commander Sahra Welshing pledges to bring up BattleMech reserves to protect New Ivaarsen.

August 22 - Combine Liaison Officer Kobo Fukuzawa orders the player to destroy a military landing field. The player questions whether the risk is worth the potential payoff. Meanwhile, the 19th Arcturan Guards, under Colonel Deltra, arrives on-planet to support the New Ivaarsen Militia and the 1st New Ivaarsen Chasseurs. The Draconis Combine accuses the Federated Commonwealth of using the "bandit attacks" as a pretense for massing forces on the Combine border, and demands the AFFC withdraw its units from New Ivaarsen.

September 6 - The player receives a message from an on-planet ISF agent, who sends data needed to coordinate an offworld extraction via DropShip following mission completion.

September 15 - Paper Tiger - The player arrives at the AFFC landing field, in the shadow of huge natural ice pillars, and destroys it. (Transcript)

October 17 - The player desperately tries to find the Combine's intended rendezvous site for DropShip extraction.

November 2 - Fox Hunt - The player's unit is ambushed by a recon lance from the 19th Arcturan Guards as it searches for the Combine DropShip's landing coordinates. The player unit rendezvouses with a Combine escape ship, which evades AFFC aerospace patrols and docks with a JumpShip hiding behind the planet's smallest moon. (Transcript)

Meacham Campaign

December 1, 3046 - January 15, 3047

Marvin Carter, Steward to House Davion, hires the player to train young Prince Luther Davion (17th in line for the throne) as a MechWarrior, and escort him on a patrol mission on Meacham.

January 2, 3047 - The player acknowledges that the assignment is humiliating, but worth it for the payment.

January 7 - On approach to Meacham, the player suspects that any opposition will be fake, intended to lose easily and boost Luther's ego.

January 8 - Babysit - The player protects Prince Luther and fights off pirates who slipped through FedCom surveillance in an attempt to kidnap the heir. (Transcript)

January 9 - Royal Watch Magazine publishes a glowing profile of Prince Luther's exploits leading a mercenary unit into battle against pirates on Meacham.

Rasalhague Campaign II

February 1 - March 1, 3047

FRR Director of Military Affairs Sarah Carpenter hires the player to track down Commander Jeremy Cottingham, a mentally disturbed renegade FRR commander, and bring him back alive.

February 26 - The player muses on Cottingham, a MechWarrior of great renown in his prime, having gone mad. He resolves to earn enough money to retire in style, rather than continuing to fight to the point of senility.

March 4 - The player arrives in Rasalhague orbit. He is thrilled by the feeling of power he gets when piloting a 'Mech, and wonders if the prospect of losing that is what drove Cottingham mad.

March 5 - Leg Breaker - The player tracks down Cottingham and his followers in Rasalhague's frozen wastelands, kills Cottingham's fellow mutineers, and immobilizes the war hero's 'Mech by destroying its leg. (Transcript)

Liezen Campaign

March 1 - August 15, 3047

This campaign for the Free Rasalhague Republic is notable for not actually taking place on the planet of Liezen, but on a giant starship made of ice. The player must combat mercenary BattleMechs and aerospace fighters to protect the ship from destruction. Liezen's population of six million ekes out a water-poor existence, but the Free Rasalhague Republic plans to haul a giant chunk of ice free-floating in the Liezen system 150 million kilometers to the planet. The Hydrodynamics Corporation expresses concern that the ice chunk could break up in Liezen's atmosphere and endanger the population (and its business model of supplying imported water to the world).

March 27 - The player practices maneuvering in space on the surface of the iceship, unofficially named "Paradise-Hope", using shoulder-mounted thrusters to stay on the surface of the iceship.

April 4 - Iceship commander Captain Tom Byron warns that an unidentified JumpShip has been spotted following the iceship. If the command center is damaged, the iceship will be unable to maneuver and will spiral into the system's sun instead of reaching Liezen's Lagrange-4 point.

April 7 - Dawn Watch - Captain Byron detects a large squadron (8-20) of mercenary aerospace fighters on approach. The player successfully defends the command center by shooting the fighters down. (Transcript)

April 8 - The Liezen Chronicle publishes an article declaring the mercenary unit and its commander to be heroes of Liezen.

April 26 - The unidentified JumpShip begins to slowly close in on the Paradise-Hope.

May 10 - The player conducts a radio interview with Liezen journalists, and learns he has become a planetary hero.

June 8 - Snow Fort - The mercenary JumpShip deploys aerospace fighters and a DropShip carrying BattleMechs to attack the command center. As the player fights off the attackers, the JumpShip fires two magnetic boarding harpoons at the Paradise-Hope, and begins towing it off course until the player destroys the harpoons. Captain Byron is able to make minor corrections to put the ship back on schedule for its "burn turn" to avoid the sun. (Transcript)

July 14 - A small squadron of Free Rasalhague Republic aerospace fighters rendezvouses with the Paradise-Hope to provide additional security.

July 20 - The enemy DropShip continues to pace the Paradise-Hope, but there have been no new attacks in over a month.

August 1 - Starlight Hunt - Captain Byron warns that mercenaries may have entered a sealed cave beneath the Paradise-Hope's surface during the last attack, and have been working to sabotage the ship from within. The player finds and destroys the mercenaries, and the ship's technicians discover and disarm a small nuclear device planted near a structural weak point, intended to shatter the Paradise-Hope. (Transcript)

Gravenhage Campaign

April 1 - October 10, 3048

Contracted once more by the Draconis Combine, the player is tasked to hunt down the rogue Dread Legion mercenary unit. After securing the planet's water supplies and cutting off the Legion's escape through a dry valley, the player may choose to either fulfill their contract by destroying the Legion, or investigate why the Legion went rogue. If the player investigates, they will discover a Star League-era cache of Lostech weapons and can choose to take the cache for themselves.

The Dread Legion seized control of Gravenhage after a dispute over payment for missions against the Oberon Confederation dragged on for three years of ComStar arbitration, during which ComStar sided with the Combine, noting that the Dread Legion failed to note key clauses when it signed the contract.

April 1 - The player accepts the contract to wipe out the Dread Legion, but his sympathies lie with his fellow mercenaries, who he believes were cheated by Combine Mercenary Liaison Kobo Fukuzawa. He notes that Gravenhage used to be tropical, but shifted orbits closer to the sun, causing the seas to boil away into deserts.

April 30 - The player approaches the town of Drevenshire, where the Dread Legion has established a garrison to take advantage of its million-liter water tanks.

May 3 - Glittering Gold - Drevenshire Mayor Koki Hussein agrees that the city militia will remain neutral in the battle between the player and the Dread Legion, but will attack any forces that damage the town. The player defeats the Dread Legion forces before they can destroy the water tanks. Fukuzawa reports that the Dread Legion is mobilizing for an attack, and that the Drevenshire militia will support the Combine forces in exchange for defense of the township. (Transcript)

June 26 - Dust River - The player holds a narrow ravine against the Dread Legion as they attempt to withdraw to their DropShips on the floor of the evaporated ocean, trapping the heavier 'Mechs and those without jump jets on the continental shelf. (Transcript)

July 15 - Water supplies are running low in Drevenshire, as two tanks damaged in the town's liberation have sprung serious leaks.

August 31 - Search teams continue to hunt for the Dread Legion.

September 20 - Blood Cauldron - Scouts find a large group of Dread Legion 'Mechs hidden in the hull of a wrecked ocean liner - a relic from before the orbital shift. The player enters the rusted hull and destroys the Legion 'Mechs. (Transcript)

October 4 - The last survivors of the Dread Legion, roughly half of the original unit, rendezvous with DropShips that land on the precarious former beaches at the edge of the continental shelf and extract offworld. Following their departure, the residents of Drevenshire report discovering a LosTech cache while clearing wreckage, containing advanced computers and a data core. Despite Combine claims on the cache, Mayor Hussein announces his intent to sell it to the Federated Commonwealth for enough money to raise a BattleMech garrison for Gravenhage.

New Caledonia Campaign

November 1 - December 1, 3048

FRR Director of Mercenary Affairs Sarah Carpenter hires the player to hunt down the Oberon Confederation pirates that wiped out the town of Last Hope on New Caledonia.

December 2 - The player expresses disgust that the Oberon pirates slaughtered an unarmed town just for fun.

December 8 - En route to New Caledonia, the player notes his distaste for fighting both pirates and patriots, because of their unpredictable natures.

December 10 - Brother's Keeper - The player drops onto New Caledonia's rocky plains and wipes out the Oberon Confederation raiders, but pirate leader Hendrik Grimm III is able to escape and return to the Periphery. (Transcript)

Solaris VII Championship

January 1 - April 15, 3049

As a promotional stunt, the Solaris Game Council has invited mercenary units from across the Inner Sphere to enter the 3049 Championship Games. The player may choose to join in the Solaris VII championship, participating in fights consisting of a free for all against three other 'Mechs in an enclosed arena. The opposing 'Mechs will attempt to destroy each other if not immediately attacked. If the player wins three matches in a row, they will be crowned the Champion of Solaris VII. (Note - The Solaris VII: The Game World box set lists the 3049 champion as Grady Kiefer, which may, therefore, be the "canon" name of the player character in MW2: Mercenaries.)

January 7 - The player arrives on Solaris VII and is amazed at the glitz and glitter of Solaris City.

January 14 - The player prepares for his first match, noting that the jaded crowds of Solaris thrive on novelty.

January 15 - 4-Cross - The player defeats Owen Smith (#7), Scott Phillips (#64), and Sharon Riggs (Unranked) in Championship Match #321, held in the "Death or Glory" arena, earning a ranking of #27. (Transcript)

February 7 - The player enjoys the perks afforded a victor in the games. He notes that the bookies have him unofficially ranked in the top 10.

February 13 - Neon Grid - Preparing for the second battle, the player comments that the novelty of hobnobbing with the elites of Solaris VII is wearing thin. In the arena, he fights and defeats Laura Ellis (#5), Holly Jandis (#14), and George Bennit (#28), earning a #4 ranking going into the final round - the only mercenary to do so. (Transcript)

March 15 - Surprised by his success, the player thinks beyond just being in it for the money, and sets his sights on the championship.

April 3 - Iron Skull Mountain - The player fights a final match in an arena centered on a huge iron skull, large enough for 'Mechs to climb inside and use as cover. He defeats Robert D. Ansell (#1), Julie Brock (#2), and Daryl Dyer (#3), as well as two additional attackers lying in ambush inside the skull - W. Clay Mundy (#5) and Scott Blair (#6). In the aftermath, many of Solaris VII's professional gladiators announce plans to sign on with mercenary units for intense field training in the off season. (Transcript)

Wotan Campaign

May 1 - June 1, 3049

Tamara Dougherty, Federated Commonwealth Department of Mercenary Relations, hires the player to support a periphery defense unit cut off by an unknown attacker that has shut down several colonies.

May 24 - The player speculates that the "unidentified enemy forces" report is just a cover for a sensitive political mission.

June 2 - Fire Fight - The player arrives on Wotan without any knowledge of the target, except that they are faster and more powerful than anything the survivors had ever seen. The player drops into the cut-off company's base, destroys the mysterious attackers, and evacuates the AFFC forces safely off Wotan. Dougherty speculates the attackers are a new pirate band or mercenary team. (Transcript)

June 7 - Local media reports the anonymous attackers have disappeared. They speculate that the raiders were invaders from another galaxy seeking to enslave the human race, but Dr. Mohammad Newman of the Helena Observatory discounted the theory of "little green men in BattleMechs."

Sigurd Campaign

September 1, 3049 - February 15, 3050

Tasked by the Free Rasalhague Republic to hunt down the Oberon Confederation's pirate raiders, the player is dispatched to strike the pirate air base, only to be captured alongside the Oberon pirates by invading Clan Wolf forces after impressing them by destroying three Clan 'Mechs. The player must then pilot a stolen Pegasus hovertank to freedom and recover their 'Mech, then fight their way off of Sigurd alongside the Oberon pirates.

(Note: In this campaign, the player faces the 11th Wolf Guards on a rocky world. Per canon sources, in September 3049, the 11th Wolf Guards invaded Oberon VI, not Sigurd. Other sources have described Sigurd as an ice moon of a gas giant or as a frigid, mountainous world. This campaign takes place in a mesa desert with a mean temperature of 10 Celsius. Furthermore, the campaign names Hendrik Grimm Oberon II (which should rather be III at this time) as the target of the operation, who resided on his namesake world Oberon VI. A case can thus be made for the setting to actually be Oberon VI, rather than Sigurd.)

September 13, 3049 - Sarah Carpenter, FRR Director of Mercenary Affairs, hires the player to launch a deep strike against the Oberon Confederation, with the goal of eliminating the pirate king Hendrik Grimm III. This is explicitly retaliation for Grimm's massacre of the inhabitants of Last Hope on New Caledonia in the previous year, where he narrowly escaped FRR retaliation.

September 20, 3049 - The player sets out for the Oberon Confederation. The region seems to be in turmoil, speculated to be a pirate war. Rumors are circulating that the notorious pirate Redjack Ryan is already dead, and possibly Grimm as well. Terrified pirates are reportedly fleeing unarmed into the Free Rasalhague Republic.

November 10, 3049 - Warning Shot - The player arrives on Sigurd, an Oberon Confederation world with limited water and light gravity. The player attacks an airfield in the vicinity of a rock formation known as the Devil's Teeth. The player is surprised by the 11th Wolf Guards, and taken as a bondsman by Star Colonel Tyra Sleipness. (Transcript)

November 30, 3049 (Prison Day 20) - After a stint in the infirmary following a fight with a Wolf Warrior, the player is placed in with the general pirate prisoner population. He learns the Clans claim descent from Aleksandr Kerensky and have returned to cleanse the Inner Sphere of corruption and reclaim Terra.

December 4, 3049 (Prison Day 24) - Freedom Fight - Pirate technician Mitch Skylark cracks the electronic locks (he worked in this old base before) and engineers a jailbreak for the bondsmen. The player seizes a hovertank and escorts a truck full of freed bondsmen to a DropShip. However, they find the captured DropShip guarded and that its fuel has been removed. The pirates signal a friendly DropShip and JumpShip that are standing by for a pick-up. (Transcript)

December 6, 3049 (Prison Day 26) - The DropShip FireStallion returns to the surface and picks up the player, the pirates, and the rest of the mercenaries, and returns to the pirate JumpShip, which is charged and ready to depart.

February 14, 3050 - The player returns from the Periphery along with the surviving members of the Oberon Raiders and files a report on the Clan Wolf incursion with the Free Rasalhague Republic. Sarah Carpenter dismisses the player's report as an excuse for failure, and ComStar arbitrators dock half the unit's pay. FRR KungsArmé troops board the JumpShip and execute the surviving Oberon Raiders, leaving none who can corroborate the player's story. Publicly, the Republic states that the player's report is a hoax perpetrated by Gurgenheim Entertainment to promote its upcoming holovid "Invaders from Beyond III."

Wolcott Campaign

October 1 - December 31, 3050

This campaign marks the turning point where all subsequent missions are waged against the Clans. Unlike the canon established by Lethal Heritage, the battle for Wolcott is shown as an extended campaign stretching out over several days. After first laying mines to trap and destroy the Clan Smoke Jaguar DropShips, the player must then protect a resupply base against attacks by Smoke Jaguar forces. The campaign culminates in a headhunter mission in the swamps where the player must find and slay Galaxy Commander Dietr Osis. The campaign is notable for disturbing the player's radar with numerous ECM pods sending out faked target information.

September 12 - The player and his troops arrive on Wolcott operating under an assumed name, to trick the Smoke Jaguars during their batchall with Hohiro Kurita.

October 8 - First Strike - Elements of the Smoke Jaguars' Mistweaver Galaxy lands on dry hills in a salt-water swamp, and Hohiro Kurita convinces Jaguar commander Dietr Osis the Wolcott garrison is nothing but green troops during the batchall. The player scouts the Smoke Jaguar landing zones and protects mine-laying helicopters while they sow the surrounding swamps with heavy landmines, then the mercenaries destroy the Jaguar DropShips. (Transcript)

October 10 - Homestead and Dragon's Teeth - During a lull in the fighting, the player's unit is moved to a rear area to protect a supply depot. The player defends the depot against Jaguar ground and air forces. Afterwards, Hohiro Kurita tells the player he has received three challenges from Smoke Jaguar warriors who wish to duel the player to the death. As the tide of battle turns against the Jaguars, Hohiro Kurita orders the player to stop Galaxy Commander Dietr Osis' attempt to break through the Combine's southern lines, and to destroy the Mistweaver Command Star. (Transcript) | (Transcript)

Unzmarkt Campaign

January 1 - March 1, 3051

Sarah Carpenter, FRR Director for Mercenary Affairs, hires the player to extract two KungsArmé 'Mechs piloted by Norvald Hess and Lynda Dansk from the Clan-occupied world of Unzmarkt.

February 20 - The player looks forward to both the potential payout and the chance for a rematch against 'Mechs from the 11th Wolf Guards.

February 25 - Nightingale - The player executes a night drop into Unzmarkt's stony barrens, finds the KungsArmé 'Mechs, and escorts them to the DropShip landing site. (Transcript)

March 3 - Hess and Dansk make a triumphant return to Rasalhague and praise the player's actions. The FRR is unable to grant him the Golden Sun award, as the player leaves immediately for Outreach following his return from the mission.

Last Frontier Campaign

August 1 - December 15, 3051

Ordered to attack Clan Ghost Bear targets, the player must first attack several Ghost Bear facilities before making a lightning raid on a Ghost Bear 'Mech hangar with the ultimate goal of capturing an intact Kodiak. The player must then decide to either turn over the 'Mech to the Draconis Combine or to destroy the Combine forces and abscond with the Kodiak to keep it for themselves.

August 18 - The player assesses the risk factor of the mission, to raid a Ghost Bear-held world and capture OmniMechs to study, as nearly impossible, and presumes that the Combine gave the task to a mercenary because he is expendable.

October 7 - The player lands on Last Frontier and barely avoids a Clan patrol, leaving the DropShip powered down and hidden in a crater.

October 15 - Sleight of Hand - The player raids Ghost Bear facilities, including a training facility, a listening post, and a small farming colony. The Ghost Bear garrison scatters across the planet to protect other valuable targets. Chu-sa David Baruki instructs the player to wait while the Ghost Bears rebuild, then launch the real raid. (Transcript)

November 3 - The player notes that the Ghost Bears are defending the reconstructed facilities instead of scouring the world for the raiders.

November 10 - Ali Baba - Chu-sa Baruki orders the player to take advantage of a high-energy radiation storm that is disrupting radar and communications to steal a 100-ton Kodiak. The player follows a DCMS recon team to the Ghost Bear depot and steals the Kodiak. (Transcript)

December 1 - Judas Kiss - After several weeks spent familiarizing himself with the Kodiak controls, the player ponders whether he should deliver the 'Mech to the Combine or keep it for himself. He calls in DropShip Captain Sean Kelly to provide an alternate escape route. If the player fulfills the contract, Chu-sa Baruki tells him the Combine plans to reverse engineer the design, produce more, and use them to rule over the Inner Sphere. If the player betrays the Combine and kills the entire DCMS strike team, Captain Kelly recovers the player's original 'Mech from the destroyed Combine DropShip and informs the Combine liaison that the mission was a failure, blaming the Ghost Bears for the deaths of Combine personnel. (Transcript)

Harvest Campaign

September 1 - December 15, 3051

Sarah Carpenter, FRR Director of Mercenary Affairs, hires the player to defend a KungsArmé staging base on Harvest long enough for the aerospace fighters there to escape.

November 16 - The player questions what his loyalties to Terra are, as a mercenary, and whether the fight against the Clans is his fight.

November 29 - The player notes that other mercenaries are signing up to fight the Clans on principle, but that he still considers his work to be all about the money, regardless of opponent.

December 1 - Bird's Nest - The player succeeds in defending the Harvest base long enough for Överste Katherine Earle to lead her squadron to safety, escaping with minimal damage. A Rasalhague DropShip extracts the player from the ruined base. Earle later grants an interview to the ComStar News Service, calling for Inner Sphere unity in the face of the Clan invasion. (Transcript)

Battle of Luthien

January 15 - June 15, 3052

The Draconis Combine and the Federated Commonwealth call for experienced heavy and assault mercenary units to join in the defense of Luthien against an anticipated Smoke Jaguar attack. Analysts predict that if Luthien falls, the Combine will fragment into hundreds of single-world "pocket empires" that will swiftly fall to the Clans. Few mercenaries take this offer, which one describes as a "suicide mission."

The battle of Luthien puts the player through a series of missions that resemble several dramatic moments from the canon itself, such as the Otomo ambush using fake BattleMechs rigged with explosives. The player must lure heavy Clan units into an explosive trap and clear the city of invaders, then hold the line for damaged Combine 'Mechs to break free of pursuing Smoke Jaguars. This is followed by a night mission to find and kill a Smoke Jaguar Star Colonel. The final mission of the game is the defense of Kado-guchi Valley, asking the player to hold the valley against the incoming Smoke Jaguars. (Note: Canonically, the events of the first two missions happened on January 5th, the same day as the last two missions, and the Jaguars did not reach the Kado-guchi Valley until the afternoon.)

January 3 - The Jaguars arrive in-system, and the player waits on the ground while fierce combat erupts in space.

January 4 - Trojan Horse - Coordinator Takashi Kurita orders the player to ambush the attacking Smoke Jaguars - falling upon them once explosives inside cosmetically altered industrial 'Mechs detonate amid the ranks of the 31st Smoke Jaguar Assault Cluster. Following the battle, the Coordinator orders the player to pull back to a repair facility. Shield-Wall - After repairs, the Coordinator informs the player that the defending forces are falling back, and orders him to plug a gap in the front lines to stop the advance of the 31st Assault Cluster. The player succeeds in driving the Jaguars back, and is able to withdraw for repairs when reinforcements move in to support the position. (Transcript) | (Transcript)

January 5 - Decapitator - At dawn, Coordinator Kurita orders the player to cross the Kado-guchi Valley and kill the commander of the 31st Smoke Jaguar Assault Cluster while he is reviewing his front lines. The attack goes well, throwing the Cluster into disarray and allowing the Combine forces to inflict heavy damage with a quick sortie. Nonetheless, Clan forces were able to breach the defensive lines and enter the Imperial City, forcing Coordinator Kurita to scramble to re-form the line to save the city. Killing Fields - Just two kilometers from the Imperial City, Coordinator Kurita orders the player to hold off the 31st Smoke Jaguar Assault Cluster. The player succeeds, saving the Imperial City. (Transcript) | (Transcript)

Featured BattleMechs

Battle Armor

• Elemental (Clan)
• Battle Suit (Inner Sphere)

Inner Sphere

Light 'Mechs

• Battle Hawk
• Commando
• Hornet
• Javelin
• Jenner
• Mongoose
• Panther
• Raven
• UrbanMech

Medium 'Mechs

• Assassin
• Centurion
• Cicada
• Clint
• Crab
• Grim Reaper
• Hunchback
• Sentinel
• Vindicator
• Whitworth
• Wolf Trap

Heavy 'Mechs

• Bombardier
• Catapult
• Dragon
• Flashman
• JagerMech
• Orion
• Quickdraw
• Rakshasa

Assault 'Mechs

• Annihilator
• Atlas
• Awesome
• Cyclops
• Hatamoto-Chi
• Highlander
• Mauler
• Salamander
• Stalker
• Thug
• Victor
• Zeus

Clan

Light 'Mechs

• Firemoth (Dasher)
• Jenner IIC
• Kit Fox (Uller)

Medium 'Mechs

• Nova (Black Hawk)
• Phantom
• Stormcrow (Ryoken)

Heavy 'Mechs

• Ebon Jaguar (Cauldron-Born)
• Grizzly
• Hellbringer (Loki)
• Linebacker
• Mad Dog (Vulture)
• Summoner (Thor)
• Timber Wolf (Mad Cat)

Assault 'Mechs

• Dire Wolf (Daishi)
• Executioner (Gladiator)
• Gargoyle (Man O' War)
• Kodiak
• Naga
• Warhawk (Masakari)

Other Information

• The ending cinematic purports to show some of the events at Dinju Pass at the Battle of Tukayyid, but do not seem to line up with any canonical sources on the subject thanks to the equally unlikely presence of a Kodiak and a Mauler in the battle. This is due to the cinematic being made by reusing the high resolution Clan 'Mech animation models from the MechWarrior 2 and Ghost Bear's Legacy introduction movies, as well as the Inner Sphere models from the introduction movie to Mercenaries. The Com Guard Mauler's model is repurposed from the high resolution model shown on the Mercenaries game box.

• While the player character is never directly named in the game (to allow players to put in their own character and unit names), successful completion of the Solaris VII missions makes the player the 3049 champion of the 'Mech games. The Players' Guide to Solaris VII, from the boxed campaign set, contains a list of all the Solaris Champions through the late 3050s, and the winner for 3049 is named Grady Kiefer. This would, therefore, imply that Grady Kiefer is the "canonical" character for the player in MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries.

• As is common with the MechWarrior series, there are a number of deviations from established lore within the game. For instance, the initial training contract with Hansen's Roughriders takes place on Venaria at the behest of the Draconis Combine; this is established both in the contract itself, and the after-mission news reports. However, Venaria is located on the opposite side of the Inner Sphere, in the Lyran half of then Federated Commonwealth, near their border with the anti-spinward periphery and far from Draconis Combine territory. (Recognition Guide: ilClan, vol. 15 confirmed in its entry for Johnny Tessel on p. 8 that the Roughriders indeed undertook a pirate hunting mission to Venaria not long after 3039, but didn't mention their employer.)

Gallery

• 

  A cluebook was published for the game titled MechWarrior 2 Mercenaries - The Official Strategy Guide.

• 

  Back of the cluebook.

Resources

• Characters in MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries

Media

• Soundtrack

Downloads

• All Downloads
  • Editors
  • Extras
  • 'Mechs
  • Missions
  • Patches

See also

• Intro sequence (YouTube video)
• Ending sequence (YouTube video)

Shrapnel Issue 15,:"Where the Pen is Mightier than the Sword"