The history of Magyari's Irregulars

Part II – Fortuitous Timing

The low-intensity raiding that characterised the dying years of the Third Succession Wars were a good time for small mercenary units, and the Irregulars were no exception. Stabilising at the company level, the Irregulars saw plenty of work along various borders, engaging in largely small actions of little consequence, but growing in skill and experience along the way, as well as building a reputation.

Sel Magyari herself gained a lot from this period; her previously vain and superficial nature slowly changing as she became more professional and driven, her leadership skills blossoming over time. Her experience as a battlefield commander showed, as well as a growing ability to work with non-combatant and support personnel to help run the unit.

Similarly, Professor Grunthos expanded and developed his skill base, helping to support the unit’s ‘Mechs and supplanting their growing technical support. By 3025 he was also managing a workshop on Galatea, the Grunthos Group, which provided technical support and BattleMech modification to other mercenary units.

Having largely sat out the Fourth Succession war on the Periphery rim of the Free Worlds League, the unit took up a garrison contract from the clearly desperate Capellan Confederation with favourable terms for what was expected to be not much action. Instead, the Irregulars were thrown into combat with the invading Andurian and Canopian forces, often acting as a small raiding or reactionary force. The result was several victories against the MAF, yielding valuable salvage and experience.

The Irregulars circulated between several different contracts afterwards, winding up with the Federated Commonwealth near the end of the decade. Looking at the Irregulars’ small unit raiding experience, the LCAF put the unit to use along the Free Worlds Border, using them in a series of raids to distract and pin down the FWLM while the bulk of the LCAF was otherwise employed against the Combine.

The 3040s saw another slowing of the Mercenary trade as the Inner Sphere adjusted to the new status quo of a single, seemingly invincible superpower. While the War of 3039 had been a stumbling block, there were many who saw the Federated Commonwealth as the de facto heir to the Star League, ushering in a new age of peace. And while the Irregulars were continuing to get work, more often than not their contracts saw little action. Many of its founding members retired or moved on, while others remained with the unit in other ways.

Possibly the biggest beneficiary of this period was the Grunthos Group. It had continued to grow over the last two decades, becoming a thriving business in and of itself. With Professor Grunthos now managing the company full-time, the Group were operating out of Galatea as well as the then up-and-coming Outrech markets.

By the end of the decade it seemed to many that the Inner Sphere was headed towards an extended, if unsteady, peace. Between seeing less and less work and her own age, Sel Magyari made the decision to retire from day-to-day command of the Irregulars, appointing her son, Jelek as her replacement. Sel would remain in overall command of the unit, but would have more of an advisory role and less of a battlefield one. And so, on December 31, 3049, Sel stood down as commander.

In retrospect, her timing was perfect.

While the Irregulars missed the Clan war (Instead serving contracts in the League), in its aftermath they were again headhunted by the AFFC for their raiding experience. Operating from the Lyran command, the Irregulars raided the Steel Viper portion of their shared Occupation Zone, claiming several victories against the clan forces while helping to contain them. While the risks were high and the losses severe when they occurred, the contracts paid well and helped Jelek establish his command and learn the ropes. It also would serve as a springboard for possibly their biggest break to date.

Re-hired by the newly formed second Star League, the Irregulars were assigned to operation BIRD DOG, operating out of Wolcott. Striking into the Smoke Jaguar Occupation Zone, they were specifically targeted at the Clan logistics base, aiming to destabilise their forces and keep them off-balance ahead of operation BULLDOG. These mission were a success, yielding the Irregulars a generous payment from the SLDF at the end of the operation.

More importantly, however, they yielded the Irregulars a not inconsiderable amount of salvage in terms of Clan-made weapons, ammunition and equipment (if no actual BattleMechs). Most so this was turned over to the Star League for a substantial bonus, but more than a little would find its way onto the Irregulars’ own BattleMechs. Finally, some of it ended up in the hands of the now Outreach-based Grunthos Group, giving them a hands-on with the technology and yielding a lot of useful results.

After spending some time recuperating and reorganising, as well as incorporating their salvage, the Irregulars were back in action, spending the early part of the 3060s fighting in the Chaos March for the various factions at play in there. Focusing on short contracts and specific objectives, the Irregulars managed to avoid getting bogged down in the oft shifting mire of Chaos March politics, instead delivering results.

As the FedCom civil war flared, Jelek Magyari made the decision to avoid contracts that would draw the unit into the fighting, much like Sel had done fifty years earlier during Anton Marik’s revolt. Instead, the Irregulars sat out the later years of the Civil war working for the Rim Commonality, alternating between garrison and pirate hunting duties.