Ryan's Rebels

Ryan's Rebels
Disbanded Destroyed in Clan Invasion
Affiliation Pirates of Butte Hold
Greater Valkyrate
Parent Command Independent

Ryan's Rebels was the warband associated with Redjack Ryan.

History[edit]

It is unclear when Ryan's forces adopted the name "Ryan's Rebels", but it is known that it was in homage to the Outer Reaches Disciples, who had used the moniker as their nickname.[1] Ryan's forces were addressed as "Rebels" by late 3028, prior to the merger with Morgraine's Valkyries,[2] suggesting that the name was by then interchangeably used with the Pirates of Butte Hold moniker that was applied to Redjack Ryan's pirate realm, which existed independently from 3018 to late 3028, in general. Previously, Ryan had commanded his own battalion (Ryan's Battalion) in the Oberon Guards; following the Fianna Massacre he absconded with his unit and set up shop on Butte Hold.

Third Succesion War[edit]

Elements of one of the Arcturan Guards units where on garrison duty on Alphecca when the lance of Steven Greycloud detected a force of 'Mechs advancing slowly from the northeast. His lance was able to identify the enemy was one of Redjack Ryan's raiding forces which consisted of eight 'Mechs of various tonnages. Although his forces were outnumbered two to one, he asked his forces to take a defensive position. Once the enemy 'Mechs started bombarding them with their long range missiles, the Arcturan Guards advanced towards them, locking with the in close combat. The pirates heavier 'Mechs concentrated their fire on Steven Greycloud's Grasshopper trying to box him and seemingly unbeknownst to his 'Mechs jumping capabilities. Steven surprised them by jumping 100 meters and landing feet-first on the shoulders of a Warhammer ( the heaviest pirate 'Mech) and fell it to the ground with a crushed cockpit. This leads the rest of the pirates in panic and they escaped.[3][4]

Raven van Hauten, with his Icar Militia company and its lance of Von Luckner heavy tanks, defended Icar against a raid by Ryan's Rebels in 3017. Raven staged a devastating ambush on the pirates, which ultimately caused them to withdraw with heavy damage, having gained nothing from their attack.[5]

Fusion with Morgraine forces[edit]

In 3028 Maria Morgraine and Redjack Ryan married and merged their pirate bands into the Greater Valkyrate. In this pirate realm, Ryan's Rebels were a regiment-sized formation of pirates that split into battalion-sized units to garrison multiple systems.

Clan Invasion[edit]

In 3050 the First Battalion was nominally stationed on Butte Hold. Second Battalion was on Last Chance, and Third Battalion was on Götterdämmerung.[6] However, the coreward periphery area including the Greater Valkyrate was overrun by the Clan Invasion in 3049 and the pirate forces there were crushed in short order; Susie Morgraine-Ryan escaped to Star's End with a small portion of her forces and merged them into the Belt Pirates in ca. 3050. This was the end of Ryan's Rebels.

Known Unit Members[edit]

Officers[edit]

As a pirate warband, Ryan's Rebels had a somewhat informal rank structure and were centered on Redjack Ryan personally as their commander. Notable trusted lieutenants (as of 3028) included Agnar Haggerty and Tack Hadder.[2] Following the formation of the Greater Valkyrate, the rank structure seems to be more formalized.

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the Ryan's Rebels
Redjack Ryan First Commander
Major Elaine Ramos 3050 (First Battalion)[6]
Major Maria Sanderson 3050 (Second Battalion)[6]
Major Susie Morgraine-Ryan 3050 (Third Battalion)[6]

Other Officers[edit]

Colour Scheme and Insignia[edit]

Ryan's Rebels adapted and reused the colors and insignia of House Ryan's prior military force, the Outer Reaches Disciples. The Disciples parade colors were gold with red trim. Their insignia was an eight pointed star with a D superimposed over it.[1] Artwork of Redjack Ryan shows a similar insignia but with an R instead of a D on the star, suggesting this is the modification made to the Rebel's insignia.[8]

Composition History[edit]

As a pirate force, Ryan's Rebels had an extremely high turnover in personnel and materiel. Ryan had issued standing orders to the effect that none of their BattleMechs could have security or pilot indentification systems, so that any pirate could always make use of any machine as the situation required.[2]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Shrapnel Issue 15, pp. 86-89: "Unit Digest: Outer Reaches Disciples"
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Unholy Union
  3. ↑ Technical Readout: 3025, p. 94 "Grasshopper"
  4. ↑ Technical Readout: 3025 Revised, p. 86: "Grasshopper"
  5. ↑ Technical Readout: 3039, p. 84
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 20 Year Update, p. 81
  7. ↑ Technical Readout 3025, p. 120 - Banshee write-up, Notable MechWarriors section
  8. ↑ Mechwarrior: First Edition", p. 136

Bibliography[edit]

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