Mao's Rifles

MRBC Update 01-01-3145

Mao's Rifles insignia

History

While the Cappellan confederation depicted its push into the Republic as a victory of it and its people, liberating their long-oppressed brothers from the hands of the Republic oppressors, not everyone saw it as such. Mao Xingyang was a wealthy businessman who, despite his Cappellan background, actually enjoyed life in the Republic. An active leader in his community, he enjoyed the Republic’s ideals of freedom and responsibility, rather than the restrictive nature of the Confederation.

As the Republic’s forces began to wither and withdraw, Mao turned a lot of his wealth towards trying to build his own militia unit to help protect those who, like him, had no love for the Confederation and no desire to rejoin it. Support from the Swordsworn helped train the unit, but with the RAF’s withdrawal into Fortress Republic, it quickly became clear that fighting the CCAF was a losing cause. Battered, Mao’s forces were forced to abandon their posts, retreating across the shrinking Republic to Galatea.

While now serving as mercenaries, Mao and his people harbor a desire to return to their homeworlds and reclaim them for the Republic. However, Mao is also a realist, and knows that is unlikely to happen given the current strength of the CCAF. Like many, he holds out against the idea of the Republic re-emerging from behind the Fortress Walls and reclaiming its lands, at which point he will gladly join them. For now, his unit serve as mercenaries, doing what they can to survive and build their strength.

Force Strength

While on paper Mao’s Rifles are a combined arms battalion, in truth they fall somewhat short of that. Mao’s command company consists of two BattleMech lances, filled with older designs that mostly predate the Jihad. The company has been under-strength for some time, and as yet, efforts to bring it back up have failed. Bravo company is equipped with a mixture of tanks and hovercraft, again primarily older designs.

Charlie Company is lead by a mixed platoon of assorted Battle Armour designs, again mostly older suits with a few upgrades in among them. The rest of the company is made up of conventional infantry, who in turn are composed primarily of dispossessed crews or those looking for an opportunity. A lack of transportation assets means that the conventional infantry rarely see the field, instead being used primarily for security.

Support

At present, the Rifles’ technical crews are able to cover all of their support and maintenance needs, albeit very closely. In the advent of major battlefield damage, the technical crews would be struggling to get their units back into fighting shape. In order to support them, many of the unit’s combat personnel have some degree of technical training to assist where needed, somewhat alleviating the burden.

Financially, the Rifles are in much the same state. Marginally in the black, a single defeat or breach of contract could send them spiralling into debts. While founded initially from Mao’s own reserves, those have long dried up and with his assets now in Capellan hands, it is unlikely that he will be able to draw from them.

Transport

Mao’s Rifles boast a single dropship, the Sing Little Birdy. A centuries-old Triumph-class transport, the ship is very much run down and in dire need of an overhaul and refit, something that is unlikely to happen any time soon. The ship is completely ill-suited to combat, which combined with the Rifles’ lack of aerospace support, is seen by some as a disaster waiting to happen.

While the Rifles lack their own Jumpship, Mao is on good terms with several captains courtesy of connections made during his days as a businessman.

Insignia and Colours

The Insignia of Mao’s Rifles is a pair of crossed red laser rifles on a yellow five-pointed star. The unit’s equipment is painted in an olive drab with alternating red and yellow highlights.