Here is a background idea for a BattleTech tabletop/MechWarrior RPG campaign that orbits around a player group of a Lance or less in size that wants to be non-House affiliated and yet not straight out mercs.
Star League Marshals Service
After the fall of the Star League, few of its government organizations survived. There was what became ComStar, and also the Star League Marshals Service. The Marshals had been the police arm of the Department of the Attorney General in the Bureau of Star League Affairs. Their duties revolved around the pursuit and capture of fugitives that had committed serious crimes against the Star League. Often these officers were veterans of the Star League Defense Force, and many were also MechWarriors, as some of the perpetrators they went after were themselves 'Mech pilots, or had BattleMech protection. They had the authority to commandeer SLDF personnel and it was a rare occurrence when House law enforcement agencies refused to assist a Star League Marshal.
The Star League Marshals Service survived the Amaris Coup because the majority of its officers were spread out across the Inner Sphere and into the Periphery. The Marshals carried on with their duties during the Star League Civil War, the dissolution of the government and the SLDF’s Exodus, and maintained its independence after the founding of Comstar. It re-established its headquarters on Solaris VII due to the world's near independent status and its standing as a diplomatic haven.
Through all three subsequent Succession Wars the Star League Marshals continued to pursue fugitives of Star League justice, turning over suspects to reputable planetary or Successor State authorities for prosecution under their laws. They also have often defended communities that have no other recourse against pirates, bandit lords and lawless nobility. Though no longer the agents of legitimate, legal, interstellar authority, most governments recognize the Marshals as officers of the law and support, even if minimally, their efforts. Though financial reimbursement and compensation is not demanded by the Marshals from those benefiting from their activities , it is requested of those that have the resources to do so to maintain the agency. Comstar’s Mercenary Review Board currently characterizes the Star League Marshals Service as a mercenary organization.
Star League Marshals may be loners, with only their badge and their sidearm, or a Marshal may lead a team with one to three Deputies, sometimes hired support personnel and may even have up to a Lance of BattleMechs and a dropship. The badge of the Marshals, a Star League silver star, bordered by a circle, with the letters S L M S engraved on it, has become sacred to the Marshals. The Star League Marshals Service will go to extreme lengths to recover the badge of a fallen Marshal. Candidates are screened very carefully and those accepted as officers enter a probationary period as a Deputy, which only ends when a Marshal’s badge becomes available. This occurs only at the death or retirement of a Marshal.
