False Dawn Legionnaires: Forlorn Hope
Circa 3100
The False Dawn Legionnaires can trace their origins back to the short lived bandit kingdom known as the Grand Republic, and through them to the chaos that afflicted their particular corner of the periphery during and immediately after the Blakist Jihad. Though often ignored in the grand saga of the Inner Sphere's struggle with the Word of Blake, the spinward periphery was no less a battleground of the war. Blakist allied pirates rampaged unchecked with the attentions of the great houses directed elsewhere, while independent worlds and microstates like Port Sur, Man'yoshu, and Stark's Landing each endured direct invasions by both the Word of Blake and their various allies. The end of the Jihad in the Inner Sphere was no real comfort to these people, as Blakist holdouts remained scattered across the region, with only a few worlds able to spare the ships and troops to gradually dig them out.
The Grand Republic was possibly the enemy's last gasp. An individual, known only as the Magus Eruthros, was able to broker an alliance between numerous smaller pirate bands that allowed him to quickly seize a number of worlds in the Outworlds Wastes, both through force and through the promise of security in the face of Clan Snow Raven. By 3090, this bandit kingdom was launching attacks all across the spinward periphery, while carefully avoiding targets in the Outworlds or the Inner Sphere. Fortunately for the region, this alliance was short lived. During the invasion of the world of False Dawn, lightly armed guerrillas were able to trigger infighting among different groups of Grand Republic troops and force the survivors into retreat. A similar outcome was seen on Dutch Harbor later the same year. By 3093, the Grand Republic collapsed due to infighting and counter-strikes launched jointly by Randis and Man'yoshu.
Though the Grand Republic turned out to be as destructive and rapacious as any bandit state, their propaganda of worlds joining together for security still resonated among many of their former subjects. Following the Republic's fall, a collection of five worlds in the wastes signed their own treaty unifying under the banner of the Outworlds Union. The formation of a unified defense force followed, and at its core was the False Dawn Legionnaires.
The Legionnaires are the textbook example of a checkered past. The vast majority of the regiment is made up of former Grand Republic troops who didn't or couldn't scatter to greener pastures when the Republic collapsed. Each member has been carefully vetted (to the limits of the young Union's capabilities), and more than a few have criminal, pirate, or even blakist backgrounds, but the Union is confident of their loyalty, or at the very least that their own interests align with those of the Union. Even so, nobody is looking forward to the day when that loyalty might be seriously tested.
That day may be coming soon, however. The Union's formation has drawn in expatriates from the Outworlds Alliance, a great many of them radicals unwilling to live under Clan rule. Despite the Alliance's traditional pacifism, increasing numbers of these expatriates are calling for radical action against the clan "invaders", and the Alliance government has already linked terrorist attacks against Raven facilities to agents operating in the Union. The rumor mill has it that if the Union cannot control its own people, the Raven will step in to do the job.
Officers:
James Simon was the commander of the Grand Republic's invasion of False Dawn, and claims that it took the failure of that campaign, as well as witnessing firsthand the excesses of the troops under his command to make him realize the failure that the Republic had become. It was he who chose the name False Dawn Legionnaires, as a way of illustrating the importance of unity to to the troops under his command. He has strived relentlessly to instill discipline and esprit de corps among the regiment, and while the unit has more than a few rough edges, all members tend to respect their commander, even despite his training as an infantryman rather than a mechwarrior.
Support:
Those who fled the collapse of the Grand Republic were quick to take everything they could carry with them. This leaves the Legionnaires short on many essentials from spare parts to ammunition to even basic maintenance tools. Generous financial support from the Union is of limited help, as there is simply no open market to buy from, and the Union's neighbors have little to offer in ways of military aid. Sea Fox merchants are active in the spinward periphery, however they appear to shun the Union, possibly due to Snow Raven influence.
False Dawn Legionnaires
Mech Regiment/Regular/Questionable
Commander: Colonel James Simon
The Legionnaires are a few lances short of fielding an entire regiment, though they are still able to field three reasonably cohesive mech battalions as well as a headquarters company. Their mechs are a hodgepodge ranging from primitive and retrotech designs to a lone Grigori omnimech. The most advanced designs serve as bodyguard units for Colonel Simon's mobile HQ vehicle, primarily because these mechs are the hardest to repair should they suffer severe damage. The various mech battalions are regularly rotated across the Union, with one stationed alongside the headquarters company on the Union's capital world of Renorsal.
Legionnaires Infantry Support
Three Infantry Regiments/Regular/Reliable
In contrast to the chronic shortages experienced by the Mech Regiment, the Union's infantry forces are all well equipped and supplied. A regiment of mechanized infantry is permanently attached to each Legionnaire mech battalion, and generally includes at least a battalion of towed field guns and a battery of artillery.
Legionnaires Armor Support
Armor Regiment/Regular/Reliable
At the time of its collapse, the Grand Republic had just completed construction of a new factory complex to produce the Light SRM carrier. Though looted like everything else of value during the collapse, a valiant effort by local security and emergency response forces limited the damage to a marginal level, allowing the Union to restore the plant to full operation. Though limited in application, these vehicles are the only heavy combat units that the Union is able to produce, and thus each mech battalion has a companion battalion of SRM carriers in support.
Legionnaires Special Support Company
Mixed Company/Regular/Questionable
The Special Support Company is a grab bag of specialist units assigned as needed, including infantry pathfinders, engineers, jump troops, and a full lance of Arrow IV equipped Urbanmechs.
Game Rules
Mechs for the False Dawn Legionnaires are best drawn from the Periphery General and Pirate tables (Early Republic Era) of the master unit list, though one out of every four of the Headquarters company may also be drawn from the Word of Blake (Jihad era) table, with the condition that only one of these can be an Omnimech, and even that is limited to a Grigori.
To represent the lack of repair parts, use the rules for pre-existing damage found on page 145 of First Succession War, with the exception that the initial 2d6 roll is made with a flat +1 modifier.
