What do you guys think of the Fifth Brigade of the Fusiliers of Oriente? Former Star League, implied to have fought on Terra, but having declined to depart with Kerensky... do you think they had a higher proportion of Star League mechs (Cyclops, Guillotine, etc) than other brigades? Their blurb suggests that the greatest Star League legacy the regiment brought with it was most likely their technical maintenance manuals....
Working B-2000 anyone? Haha.
According to FM: FWL the unit's tech manuals were valuable, but the unit was also able to use them to "reconstruct several Star League-vintage 'mech prototypes."
So having a few SL 'mechs seems plausible. But I wouldn't make them very common. I'm guessing we're talking about 4-8 individual machines, recreations of SL models essentially scratch built at great expense as individual projects. They might be seen on the parade grounds, perhaps as part of a unit museum, and as part of the vaguely hinted at unit's unique traditions, more than actual combat. What might be more common and used in combat is upgrading a few more common 'mech models to some uncommon Star League era models of those same machines. Taking advantage of the rediscovered Star League era Level 2 tech. The rules don't specify that, but that but I could see some players going that route with this.
In FM: Mercs, Brion's Legion, gets permission in the unit rules to replace 1 out of every 4 'mechs with a Star League 'mech. I think it's notable that the 5th Brigade doesn't get anything like that. That supports the idea that any such machines in the unit's possession are very few and rare.
The very old original House Marik handbook (dating from the year 3025 I believe, or just prior to the 4th SW) notes that among this unit's prized possessions are a commendation signed by Kerensky, and a scratchy 2-minute video of an Orion destroying the gate to the Star League presidential Palace on Terra. While these items are certainly unique and cool, I think it's telling that we hear about that, and not about the unit possessing a bunch of SL 'mechs.
That same book described the 5th Brigade as a heavy regiment, with 10 Marauder-Ms (they probably mean the -3M) among the first two heavy battalions. The third battalion is said to be an assault battalion featuring Awesomes, Stalkers, Goliaths and Orions.
So I'm guessing that along their journey, this unit, which started out as the merc unit Bolton's Rangers, has lost their Star League machines. Like most units, that probably happened through combat attrition in the first three Succession Wars, through not having the spare parts and logistics to sustain them as they stopped being produced, possibly also through trading them for more common and easier to support models that were still being built. They might have regarded a lot of their equipment as privately owned by their original mechwarriors, so they could have been lost as those mechwarriors or their heirs moved on. They might have even either had to trade them away as the joined the Duchy of Oriente. Or they may have been hit with offers to buy anything they had left. At that point (especially in the unit's mercenary days when C-Bill income was probably always on their minds) any remaining SL machines in their possession might have been worth more in trade as museum pieces and collector's items than as combat equipment, allowing the unit to build up their warchest and replenish with more commonly available models. Finally, we don't know that all of Bolton's Rangers were onboard with joining the Duchy of Oriente. There was probably some minority that opposed that move and cut ties with the unit, taking any privately owned equipment with them in the process.
A lot of that is just pure speculation, but I hope it helps.
