Who would you hire?

[Colt Ward]

Jade Falcon sibbie-  Left in a sibko when Malvina headed to Terra, never took a Trial of Position but was defeated by mercenaries attacking the world she was sent to train on.  Went along with the mercs as a bondsmen, but left on the merc hiring world.

Lyran veteran-  Part of Brewer's regiment during Operation Hammerfall, transferred to another LCAF unit during the peace between Wolf attacks.  Discharged by Trillian cleaning house after Brewer was deposed.

Hell's Horses solahma mechwarrior-  Tested down from mechwarrior to tank gunner after a decade, captured by mercenaries during a Stampede.  Regained mechwarrior status with those mercs but decided to find another unit when they picked up a long term garrison contract with the Free Worlds League's periphery border.

DCMS deserter-  Was in the RAF, deserted with gear to join Tormark's Dragon's Fury.  Fought with the Dragon's Fury until they officially joined the DCMS as Dieron units.  Supported Tormark & Emi Kurita until the collapse of their bid at restoration, got out of the Combine before the ISF could catch him.

Sea Fox merchant/warrior-  Wandering mechwarrior, fighting for money and trading as she goes.  Part of the contract terms is a set cargo allotment on dropships measured in the tons.  Supposed to be on good terms with the rest of the Clan.

Regulan hothead-  Resigned from the Regulan forces after they surrendered to the League, could not stand the thought of being under the command of Oriente officers.

Cohors Morituri survivor-  The single survivor of a maniple that engaged mercs in Tamarind's counteroffensive.  The mercs were hired by Christopher Halas-Hughes-Marik to fight at Fontaine's behest.  The survivor surrendered to the mercs as long as he was not to be repatriated, he left the area with them for a merc hiring world.

Republic trooper-  Once part of a Republic unit that retreated from the Wolves into League space, the unit fell apart when Stone's message of surrender & dissolution of the Republic Armed Forces reached the unit.  Without a country, the mechwarrior went to ply the only trade they knew.



If you were on a mercenary hiring world with one slot to fill, which candidate would you pick?  All of them will have roughly the same skills (consider it a mix of G/P and SPA) and for the purposes of this poll, they all either have their own mechs or are Dispossessed and will be using a unit mech- whatever, the mech they bring will not be a deciding factor.

So- why did you pick who you did?

Bonus!  Tell us who you would LEAST like to hire!

[Maingunnery]

Jade Falcon sibbie: No way, I do not know what they have in their head.
Lyran discharged veteran: Maybe
Hell's Horses solahma mechwarrior: YES
DCMS deserter was a Tormark supporter: No, might leave at any time.
Sea Fox merchant/warrior: No, smells like a spy or possible saboteur.
Regulan hothead: No, hotheads are unacceptable. LEAST likely.
Cohors Morituri survivor: Maybe, depending upon their crime.
Republic trooper w/o a nation: No, might leave at any time.

[Gladius-XC]

I went with the Republic Trooper since he wasn’t part of some intrigue / on the LAM. I also avoided the clanners because they’ve got strange ideas about things.

[Decoy]

The Seafox Merchant Mechwarrior is on good terms with her clan, so her. A channel to get Fox goodies and maybe jobs.

[Pat Payne]

Jade Falcon sibbie: No. The Jade Falcons are IINM toxic in the Sphere thanks to Malvina's Mongol Doctrine. It'd be like... well, I have ideas, but they're kinda Rule 4.
Lyran discharged veteran: Maybe. Depends on where me and my unit comes from and what our views on Elsies are.
Hell's Horses solahma mechwarrior: Probably not. Again, depending on where we're from, CHH might be our enemy.
DCMS deserter was a Tormark supporter: Maybe, but again it depends on the makeup of the rest of the unit (if we're Davion, probably a hard pass, less so if we're Free Worlders).
Sea Fox merchant/warrior: Yes, as it might give us inroads to CSF, as they're becoming the new "only game in town" when it comes to merc bonding and high-tech weapons sales. The only thing is that we might be induced to take contracts for the IlClan, which could bite us in the ass later on.
Regulan hothead: Hothead = hard pass.
Cohors Morituri survivor: No way am I letting those metalhead-slavers-posing-as-Roman-fanboys anywhere near my unit except as targets. Doubly so if we're Free Worlds or Canopian.
Republic trooper w/o a nation: He or she'd be a safe bet. Yes, they'd be a "man without a country", but who says we're hiring for the long haul? As long as they don't stab us in the back, we can serve as just another waypoint for them.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

The Falcon and Horse are both immediate rejects, as is the Regulan- no hotheads or glory seekers.  The Cohors Morituri isn't even getting through the first line in their resume before it goes in the trash.  Got no use for deserters, doubly so from the Combine.

The Fox is probably a spy, but might be worth it if they have a line on getting a discount on Clantech.

The Lyran would probably fit right in with the rest of the unit.

The Republic expat is an auto hire.  Cleanest resume of the bunch and one who's going to be motivated to stick around if treated well.

[Fat Guy]

Republic trooper has the least baggage.

[17thRecon]

Jade Falcon sibbie: NOPE. Wuss didn’t support Malvina (granted, left in sibko), but the also gets defeated and taken as bondsman to mercs. Not a chance. LEAST!

Lyran veteran: Maybe. Political casualty, so probably has potential.

Hell's Horses solahma mechwarrior: Nope. Not interested.

DCMS deserter: NUMBER 1. Reasons. DCMS. Tormark Supporter. Dragon’s Fury member. Left RAF for the DC to help bring back its glory. Left RAF with gear. Deserted after failure of Tormark/Emi from a place he’d have been hunted down and killed by ISF. Give this guy a good home and he’ll stay until the end. And I know you said the Mech is not a deciding factor, but this guy drives an Orochi, because he’s that darn cool.

Sea Fox merchant/warrior: Tied for Second. Semi-tradition Merc type background with potential perks/connections.

Regulan hothead: Nope. Too unpredictable.

Chohorts Morituri survivor: Question on how he was the lone survivor; savvy evasive skills, or did he hide until it was over? No.

Republic trooper: Sounds the most like a good traditional Merc. Strong second.

[Fire Scorpion IIC]

Jade Falcon sibbie: Could work, have to go though psych eval first, those guys are like box of candy in a Forest Gump sort of way

Lyran discharged veteran: If nobody else is available, sounds like high maintenance and ego

Hell's Horses solahma mechwarrior: Definitely top pick, skills and experience with team spirit

DCMS deserter was a Tormark supporter: Hell no, snitches get stitches

Sea Fox merchant/warrior: Absolutely, skills and connections

Regulan hothead: Psych eval first, hothead is good, too hothead not so much

Cohors Morituri survivor: Sure, brick through the window is always needed

Republic trooper w/o a nation: Hell nah, folded like wet paper bags, no wonder they are advertised as cannon fodder on mercenary market ("RAFers up the rafters")

[Lyran Wolf]

I went with the Republic Trooper - the premise is too familiar for me not to.  I'm Biased.

Solid runner up for me would be the Hell's Horses Solahma.  The general attitude that horses have around the castes probably makes it easy for them to adjust.  You've then got an experienced hand with knowledge of combined arms.  Bonus points if you can convince them age isn't a problem to you and you want them to pass on that experience to the greenhorns.

The Seafox Merch-Merc is intriguing, but I'd probably be paranoid that ties aren't really cut.  If I thought I was clever enough to manipulate a possible Seafox Watch member I might go for it.  Doubt I'm clever enough.

[House Davie Merc]

If those were my choices I'd hire the next transport to another hiring hall.

[nerd]

Republic or Lyran for me.

Both are going to be effective soldiers, and not cause major issues in the unit.

[Colt Ward]

Cohors Morituri answers interesting . . . a few people know the unit it seems, others think that b/c he was a survivor they would be less capable.

Getting sent to that unit is pretty much a living death sentence as a penal unit.  AFAIK, no one has ever taken them alive- in part b/c while they are the tip of the spear, Marian regulars would be right behind them so any who fall would be recovered and sent back into the lockdown barracks.  Getting sentenced to the unit is a sort of backhand compliment to your skills in a mech.

[CitizenErased]

I'm absolutely hiring the Sea Fox. Are they probably a spy? Sure, but I doubt they're spying on me and mine, and if they're gonna do a little Foxy wheeling and dealing as we jump around, hopefully that'll translate into a little extra side income or intel. Plus, their being on good terms with their Clan means potentially favorable terms when negotiating for gear and a possible inside scoop into the Foxes' plans for being the new name in merc bonding.

My least likely pick is a tie between the Regulan and the Drac; both are nationalist hotheads and that's the last kind of drama I would want to deal with as a commander.

[BrianDavion]

I went with the Lyran, I considered the ROTS mechjock but the thing is, we don't have access to ROTS records thanks to the wall, so we just have his WORD he was a ROTS mechjock. 

[GRUD]

The Seafox Merchant Mechwarrior is on good terms with her clan, so her. A channel to get Fox goodies and maybe jobs.

That was my call also, though initially I was going with the RotS MW.  Can't hurt to have someone that might "know someone" that can get you decent terms on buying new toys!   

No CJF for ANY reason.  That's an insane, SHALLOW Gene Pool that needs to be flushed! 

[Col Toda]

Jade Falcon has too much a warrior mentality and not enough of a soldier one. The Lyran will be grateful for a commander that will competently lead the troops . The Sea Fox is spy doing market research at best and political onevat worst . The Republic of the Sphere would only be good if the idealism and sense of entitlement  still effects their performance. Hells horses is also likley a spy but for more mature or different combat vehicle tactical doctrine.

[Prospernia]

It doesn't matter; I'm just going to back-stab them when I am done using them anyways!