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 last gasp of the Blakist spawned chaos in the region. Describing itself as a "grand union that would bring safety and security to the Outworlds Wastes", the Grand Republic was in fact little more than yet another bandit kingdom, thrown together from a dozen different pirate bands and Blakist aligned remnant groups in 3090. This force, under the leadership of an individual known only as the Magus Eruthros, quickly seized control of several worlds in the Outworlds Wastes, preaching of safety and security even as their military forces violently raided non-aligned worlds and minor states from Dutch Harbor to Stark's Landing, in most respects simply picking up where the Word of Blake left off. Only worlds under the protection of major power were spared this new wave of raiding, and a steady stream of resources and slaves flowed in worlds claimed by the Republic.
The Republic's heyday was short lived, however. Within a year, disputes among the varying factions had already begun to create rifts among the strongmen who enforced the will of their Magus Eruthros, leading to desertions and infighting. In 3092, disastrous defeats on False Dawn and again on Dutch Harbor cost the Magus Eruthros many of his most loyal and powerful forces, and the infighting among various factions exploded out of control. As the Republic fragmented, the minor powers of the region began coordinating retaliatory strikes to eliminate the bandits that remained. By 3093, the Grand Republic was only a memory.
The Outworlds Union would form in the void left behind, though this time it would not be a bandit state eager to prey on its neighbors, but a legitimate attempt to actually deliver on the promises the Republic had made, and hopefully protect themselves from the next bandit king to make their way into the wastes. The Outworlds Union was formed as a mutual defense, assistance, and trade organization, using the charter of the long defunct Trader's Domain as the basis for their civil government. So far, the Union appears to be living up to its promise, fostering trade and seeing to the wellbeing of its member worlds as well as providing for mutual defense by funding the creation of a unified defense force, the most powerful element of which are the False Dawn Legionnaires .
The Legionnaires are the textbook example of a checkered past. Not only had the Union inherited a considerable amount of equipment from the defunct Grand Republic, it had also inherited those Republic troops who were not bound over for trial, killed in the fighting, or had not been able to flee the collapsing republic. While many of these had been conscripts forced into service against their will, many others, particularly among the mechwarriors... clearly were not. More than a few of those that would go on to join the Legionnaires have criminal, pirate, or even blakist backgrounds. The Union has done its best (to the best of its ability) to carefully vet those personnel inducted into Legionnaires and filter out those guilty or suspected of direct involvement in serious crimes, but their resources are limited. And even if the majority of the members of the formation can be said to be "clean enough" to serve, many of them come to the unit with the baggage that comes from being the former muscle of a bandit state, and the biggest trial the regiment as so far faced is their leaders' effort to instill the sort of military discipline expected of a unit that is meant to serve the public rather than lord their power over it. Though by all accounts the Legionnaires have made great strides, they still remain quite rough around the edges, and it remains to see how the False Dawn Leagionaires will hold up in a serious crisis.
Officers:
James Simon was the commander of the Grand Republic's invasion of False Dawn, something he acknowledges unapologetically. A native of the Outworlds Wastes and a self described "Unificationist", he willingly joined the Republic because, repugnant as many of its leaders were, he regarded it as the best option for unifying the Outworlds Wastes into what would eventually become a stable nation state. By all accounts Colonel Simon has not been charged with any major crimes as commander of a regimental sized force of troops during his time with the Grand Republic, but he does describe many of the actions he had done in that position as "damn distasteful", and considers his defeat on False Dawn and the way his troops collapsed into infighting and looting as his wake up call to the fundamental failure of the Republic. 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 their spotty past or Snow Raven influence.
False Dawn Legionnaires
Mech Regiment/Regular/Questionable
Commander: Colonel James Simon
The Legionairs are a few lances short of fielding an entire battlemech regiment, though they are still able to field three reasonably cohesive 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 light 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 on Renorsal. 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.
