Neil Parella

Neil Parella
Personal
Affiliation	Wolf's Dragoons
Profile
Profession	Colonel
Family
Spouse	Reza (separated 3026)

Neil Parella was a mercenary officer in service to Wolf's Dragoons. He eventually rose to command Gamma Regiment, before siding with Alpin Wolf during Elson's Challenge.

Personal History

Early Life and Career

As was the case with most of the "original" Dragoons, little is known of Parella’s early life. It is highly likely he was born on the Clan Homeworlds, almost certainly a freeborn birth. At some point, he would have been chosen to join Wolf's Dragoons, who were performing reconnaissance for the Clans in the Inner Sphere.

Delta Regiment

Parella spent much of his early career in the service of Delta Regiment, eventually rising to command Charlie Battalion sometime prior to 3021.

In September 3021, while under contract to House Steiner, Delta Regiment was taking part in the assault on Dromini VI in a pre-emptive strike to avoid future raids by the Draconis Combine. Unknown to the Dragoons and their Lyran allies, the elite Second Sword of Light was also on-planet. Although Delta was intended to be held in reserve during the initial assault, newly-minted Delta commander Colonel Kathleen Dumont took the initiative of attacking the city of Draschau, hoping to seize it as a headquarters. Expecting little resistance, Dumont failed to adequately scout the city, and soon faced an ambush by the Second Sword. Rather than withdraw to reassess the situation, Dumont elected to launch a frontal assault, taking heavy losses. Although technically successful in dislodging the Second Sworders, it was a pyrrhic victory at best for the Dragoons, and earned Dumont not only a rise in unpopularity with her soldiers but a rare reprimand from Colonel Jaime Wolf. Major Neil Parella apparently fared particularly badly in this encounter, as it was the last time his Charlie Battalion's performance would be considered noteworthy for several years. Dumont vowed to recover from this setback, but for Parella it was the beginning of a professional funk that would follow him for years.

In 3025, Delta Regiment took part in the defense of Proserpina. During the fight, Parella's battalion became surrounded by enemy forces and only Dragoon artillery support allowed them to withdraw. Many of his surbordinates suspected that Parella's alcoholism had led to this event, with this eliciting a variety of reactions ranging from compassion and a desire to protect the Major's reputation to contempt for Parella as an officer.

In the following year of 3026, Parella suffered a personal setback when his wife, Reza, left him, apparently leaving the Dragoons altogther. No doubt, this further exacerbated his drinking problem.

During the battle of Misery in 3028, it was decided by the Dragoons commanders that Parella and his battalion would be a liability during the fight, so they were kept in reserve. While this preserved most of the command, it led to even worse morale issues, and a number of Charlie Battalion's officers would resign in disgust in the aftermath of the battle.

In preparation for the Fourth Succession War, Parella was placed in command of Delta Regiment's Fourth Provisional Company, though with Captain Ben Paxon as his second-in-command if Parella became indisposed. The Fourth Provisional Company went on to see heavy action on Wapakoneta and Crossing. Parella himself emerged from the war intact.

Gamma Regiment

It is unclear precisely what path Parella's career took in the aftermath of the Fourth Succession War. What is clear is that he remained active within the Dragoons, and that over time his alcoholism was apparently no longer affecting his performance as an officer. In a rare move, however, at some point Parella transferred from Delta to Gamma Regiment, where he reached the rank of Colonel as Gamma's commanding officer, presumably serving through the Clan Invasion. Regardless of when he took command, in 3053, Parella was the Colonel of record when one of Gamma's battalions, that commanded by one Major Vic Kantov (who had originally been an Inner Sphere adoptee into the Dragoons) was accused by their employer, Duchess Kaila Zamboulos and House Marik of a breach of contract and a variety of other charges, with the case to be heard before the Mercenary Review and Bonding Commission. It was the first time the Dragoons had ever been accused of breach of contract before the MRBC, an organization which they founded. During a meeting of high-ranking Dragoon officers held onboard the WDS Chieftain on Outreach. Parella behaved in a slovenly manner during the meeting, simply dismissing the possibility that the accusations were true, but offering no explanation for the evidence House Marik had produced against the Dragoons when challenged by longtime Dragoons Stanford Blake and Patrick Chan. Predictably, the Dragoons were found guilty, with Colonel Wolf suspended from participating in any contracted work for a period of a year. Following this, Wolf challenged Kantov to a Trial of Grievance, knowing this would result in Kantov fleeing the Dragoons. Parella protested Wolf's actions, only for Wolf to publicly rebuke Parella for allowing a unit of Gamma Regiment to fall so far below Dragoon standards.

Months later, Parella was in attendance among other Dragoon officers when Colonel Wolf was publicly challenged to a duel by Coordinator Takashi Kurita of the Draconis Combine, through Kuritan Ambassador Kenoichi Inochi, who had arrived on Outreach. It was hoped that the duel would mark the end of the long feud between the Dragoons and House Kurita. When Colonel Jason Carmody protested that the Coordinator was "just blowing waste heat", Parella countered that Takashi Kurita was a samurai, and couldn't make public declarations if he didn't intend to honor them.

On 26 September, 3054, one of Parella's companies challenged a nascent mercenary company calling itself the Black Thorns to simulated combat after a minor dispute in a 'Mech hangar. After the Dragoon commander violated the rules of the simulation in an attempt to murder one of his opponents, the Black Thorns were declared the winners. This aggravated Parella and the Dragoons, leading to numerous Dragoon units to challenge the Thorns to such matches. Although these went unanswered, the conduct of his officer and performance of his troops was a further reflection on Parella's leadership.

Elson's Challenge

Parella almost inevitably fell in with a conspiracy of Dragoon officers planning to remove Colonel Wolf from command, due largely to his lingering resentment over Wolf's handling of Vic Kantov and his battalion over a year earlier, Wolf's public rebuke of Parella, and Parella's understanding that his prospects for further promotion within the Dragoons were scant. Nominally, Wolf's grandson, Alpin Wolf, would challenge his grandfather for command of the Dragoons. However, the actual mastermind and leader of the conspiracy was Elson Novacat, a Clan Elemental taken as a bondsman on Luthien. Novacat had further hinted to Parella that Parella himself might eventually emerge as the Dragoons' commander once everything was settled. Parella also may have been influenced by a personal regard he reportedly held for how the Clans conducted their society. Alpin was serving as a Lieutenant in Parella's Gamma Regiment at the time while Novacat commanded Epsilon Regiment's Elemental contingent.

In late 3054, it was finally time for the conspirators to enact their plan. At at a council meeting to select the Dragoons' next second-in-command, Parella was present, and what's more he had brought Alpin Wolf as an aide, allowing the nominal leader of the conspirators to attend. When Colonel Wolf opened the meeting, Parella almost immediately began pestering him to name his choice so the arguments could begin, claiming (disingenuously) that Gamma Regiment was scheduled to lift off planet on a contract. Wolf nominated Colonel Kelly Yukinov of Alpha Regiment as his new second-in-command, and the conspirators pounced, with Elson Novacat formally challenging Colonel Wolf to a Trial of Position on Alpin's behalf. When Colonel Hamilton Atwyl insisted that the challenge wasn't valid, Parella shouted back that a simple majority council vote could sanction anyone's challenge. When Novacat defeated Wolf's champion, Pietr Shadd, in single combat, Parella and the conspirators cheered as Alpin Wolf took command.

As Jaime Wolf gathered forces loyal to him to begin a Trial of Refusal, Parella and his regiment remained on planet. Parella attended a council meeting where Elson Novacat, acting as saKhan, and his supporters discussed what to do about the Kuritans recruited by Jaime Wolf on his recent visit to the Combine, in consultation with Michi Noketsuna. Ultimately, the Kuritans joined Wolf's revolt.

At a later meeting to discuss Jaime Wolf's growing resistance, Parella was again in attendance. Parella was dismissive of the elder Wolf's chances, pointing out that he would be facing three fully-supported line regiments in Gamma, Beta and Epsilon Regiments. He further pressed reluctant Epsilon commander Elizabeth Nichole that Wolf was clearly planning to contest the Trial of Position, as he would have left the system otherwise. When Alpin Wolf proposed attacking the Kuritan civilians in retaliation for the recruits siding with Wolf, Elson backhanded him across the room. Parella and the other officers should no sympathy. After Alpin left the meeting, Parella openly questioned the stability of the young Dragoon "Khan". When Colonel Alicia Fancher, Beta's commander, suggested that the result against Wolf wouldn't be in doubt and that it was merely a matter of how much Dragoon blood was spilled, Novacat retorted that if how much Dragoon blood was spilled didn't matter to her, he wouldn't care to serve under her command. Parella and the other officers agreed, and Novacat realized that Parella was a much subtler player of the game than Fancher, and would have to be watched.

During the early campaign of the loyalist forces moving against Jaime's Wolf's partisans in the Outback, Parella and Gamma Regiment made a major push against Red Sector, where they were opposed by the Spider's Web Battalion. Although he made some advances, his progress soon stalled as they were kept off balance by the skilled Spiders, fighting under the command of Captain Maeve. Parella nevertheless kept up the pressure with sheer numbers, keeping the Spider's Web from disengaging.

As both sides prepared for the final moves, Gamma Regiment was joined by Alpin Wolf himself, and were reinforced with Kappa Battalion, an auxilliary force of mercenaries commanded by former Dragoon, Dechan Fraser. When Fleet Colonel Issola Chandra, who had been keeping neutral, shot down a satellite being used to transmit data to Wolf Pack troops, Fraser - who had witnessed it from the ground - contacted Parella. Parella was short with the mercenary, insisting he wait until the morning briefing for a full report before summarily cutting him off. Alpin's 'oversight' apparently hindered Gamma Regiment's advance more than helped, but nevertheless Parella and his troops continued to make progress.

Making their final push at the Spider's Web, Alpin Wolf was challenged by Maeve to single combat. When Alpin seemed ready to accept the challenge, Parella protested, going so far as to call the "Khan" a fool. When Alpin countered that killing Maeve would end the battle, and that mass fire on an opponent was not the Clan way, Parella made him hesitate by claiming Elson would have told Alpin to kill her, as Alpin still needed to deal with his grandfather. At this point, Maeve breach Gamma's command frequency, and questioned Alpin's manhood. That spurred Alpin to charge in angrily, and sparked Parella to direct an obscenity at Maeve.

When Maeve slew Alpin, Parella started to lead the remnants of his command star against her directly, eager to finish her off before her Spider's Web Battalion could move to support her. That's when Fraser and Kappa Battalion turned against Alpin's loyalists, opening fire on Parella and his troops, with Fraser's Black Knight personally scoring several hits on Parella's 'Mech. Taking fire and realizing his command star was hopelessly outnumbered as Kappa's full host, they retreated. Although on paper, Gamma Regiment still had the advantage of numbers, the death of Alpin and the sudden turning of Kappa Battalion completely turned all momentum against Parella and his troops, with half of them pulling out of the fight entirely. Parella finally managed to reach Elson Novacat, who was leading Beta Regiment against the remainder of Jaime Wolf's forces. The veteran Colonel was in a panic, telling Elson that Alpin had been killed and that everything was "coming apart". Parella's communication channel to Elson was then broken up by intereference, effectively preventing Elson from directing him further.

Final Fate

Although Parella was defeated, there was specifically no record of his death or capture. In the aftermath of his battle with the Spider's Web and the Kappas, he was designated as "missing", and remained so even when the conflict finally ended. A formal report on Gamma Regiment compiled years later emphasized that Parella had "fled the Dragoons". Therefore, Parella's final fate remains unknown.

Personality and Traits

Parella was described as a dedicated 'Mech officer and a talented commander when not suffering the ill-effects of his alcoholism during his years with Delta Regiment. In later years he appeared to have recovered from this ailment, to the point where it was merely rumored by the post-Clan Invasion era, and did not appear to be an issue. He nevertheless tended to behave in an arrogant and slovenly manner, even during important staff meetings. His arrogance caused him problems, including with Jaime Wolf, Dechan Fraser and with Alpin Wolf. Unlike some other Dragoon officers, Parella's jacket was adorned with honors, battle ribbons and patches of units his command had defeated. Although entitled to these honors, it was more austentatious than most Dragoon officers preferred, suggesting it was another sign of his arrogance. Despite these issues, Parella demonstrated that he was a more competent politician than some contemporaries such as Alicia Fancher, and he clearly had ambitions to command the Dragoons as a whole. Parella was described as a Clan idolator, though few examples were produced to support this position. Indeed, in stark contrast to this label, Parella himself spoke in a "rough" manner, using an accent that included multiple contractions and even obscenities. Likewise, in the pinnacle battle of Elson's Challenge, Parella was dismissive of the Clan tradition of single combat. Although he normally appeared capable leading troops in battle, Parella proved unable to rally Gamma Regiment after Alpin's death, and even demonstrated panic.

Like most Dragoon officers, Parella was rated an elite-rated MechWarrior, with even enemies like Dechan Fraser noting his superb piloting.

BattleMechs

Parella piloted a Marauder up through to at least the end of the Fourth Succession War. Years later as the commander of Gamma Regiment during Elson's Challenge, Parella piloted a Mad Cat OmniMech.

Notes

• In the novel Wolves on the Border, Parella is briefly mentioned when infamous Dragoon traitor Fadre Singh invokes his name upon his capture on Misery. Singh describes Parella as "senile and cowardly old Parella", and implies he was under Parella's command during the fighting on Hoff, during which Singh was disgraced. However, other records make it clear that Singh had been serving in Epsilon Regiment at the time. Further, his description of Parella does not seem to match that of Parella of that time. Therefore, this inconsistency may be seen as a possible error.

Game Notes

Bibliography

• Field Manual: Mercenaries
• Main Event (novel)
• Wolf Pack (novel)
• Wolf's Dragoons (sourcebook)
• Wolves on the Border (novel)