Ace Darwin
Sarna News
Ace Darwin | |
|---|---|
| Personal | |
| Died | 3067 (presumed) |
| Affiliation | Ace Darwin's WhipIts |
| Profile | |
| Profession | MechWarrior |
Ace Darwin was the commanding officer of the non-traditional mercenary unit Ace Darwin's WhipIts.[1][2]
Contents
History
Hailing from the Lyran Commonwealth, Ace Darwin was able to secure admission to the prestigious Nagelring, though he was ultimately expelled during his second year for repeated violations of the curfew, dress code, dormitory rules and the Nagelring Code of Conduct. The ejection ultimately did not seem damage the charismatic Ace, who gathered an expanding circle of friends and connections as he opted for a career of a mercenary instead. Scorning any military rank in favor of just "Ace", his piloting skills far outshining his lacking leadership skills and only basic command of tactics, the unconventional "unit" he formed had only one permanent fixture - himself. After securing a contract Ace then reached out to his available friends to make up the balance of the unit size required, resulted in a "grab-bag" unit with Ace often as surprised as his employers at what the end-result was.[1]
Despite the ad-hoc nature of the unit, Ace and his WhipIts proved highly successful, by 3059 they had completed fifteen contracts with only one default. Their most recent contract at the time was with the Sarna Supremacy for an offensive raid from Kaifeng against the Capellan Confederation that instead turned into defensive campaign. Though the elite Warrior House Hiritsu easily defeated the defenders, Ace and his friends gave a far better performance than the Kaifeng Sarna March Militia.[1] The unit's success would continue until disaster struck: Ace became famous.[2]
In the early FedCom Civil War era, one of the Immortal Warrior holovid's featured a character based upon Ace and his WhipIts, his holovid counterpart similarly accompanied by an eclectic collection of elite warriors who helped the Immortal Warrior to save the day at the holovid's dramatic climax. The similarities between this character and Ace were so great that Darwin actually became somewhat famous, almost a mascot among certain entertainment circles. The WhipIts effectively ceased to exists as Ace focused on his enjoying this attention and new spoiled entertainers "friends", unfortunately he hadn't considered it would be brief. When the fickle hand of fate passed him by and the media found new personalities, he was left broke and on his own with a reported Kay-Zee habit.[2]
Making his way back to Outreach in 3065, Major Kenneth Petruzzelli of Harlock's Warriors encouraged him to get back in the saddle with the reborn WhipIts soon recruiting for a mission to liberate a monastery on the reportedly dead world of Austerlitz in the Periphery. Used by the Marian Hegemony for raids against worlds along the Periphery Lyran border, Ace with the aid of his friends including Solaris Grand Champion Elizabeth O'Bannon was able to route the Marians, with Ace himself defeating the commander in personal combat, carrying the severed head of his opponent's Wolf Trap triumphantly back to the WhipIts DropShip.[2]
Ace Darwin was reportedly killed during the fighting on Outreach in 3067. He had assembled a unit consisting of roughly two companies of 'Mechs, but was ambushed by elements of the Waco Rangers and his infamous pink Panther was destroyed by a Warhammer in Waco Rangers colors.[3] With his reported death, his mercenary unit ceased to exist.
BattleMechs
Darwin piloted a captured Draconis Combine Panther that he painted light pink and named Pink Panther, which is upgraded with Double Heat Sinks, and an ER PPC. Ace lavished attention upon his Pink Panther, often being found in off-duty hours applying a fresh coat of wax to the 'Mech. Despite its bright coloring, Ace's Panther rarely suffered any damage with most opponents underestimating how much damage the 'Mech can do until it was too late.[1] Following the mission on Austerliz Ace made extra room in his cockpit, using parts from a Wolf Trap, to install a beverage cooler beneath his lucky fuzzy dice.[2]