Wednesday 18 December 2013

The history of Magyari's Irregulars

Part V – New Age

The Blackout caught everyone unprepared, and in its aftermath the mercenary Market exploded as chaos set in across the Republic of the Sphere. Like many others, the Irregulars began casting about in the suddenly active market for work, while also trying to recoup their depleted strength with whatever assets they could find and procure.

By early 3133, the Irregulars were active in the Republic, working contracts for whatever faction would hire them. The Swordsworn proved to be an especially lucrative source of work, the Irregulars serving as a quick response unit while also raiding across several prefectures. While the unit scored several successes, it also became clear that Bors was not the best commander. More and more often he would be delegating command decisions to his subordinates while spending his time rubbing shoulders with his employers, and his actual battlefield value proved to be somewhat dubious.


It was in this environment that his only child, Irisz, began to really shine. A lieutenant in the Irregulars’ hodge-podge BattleMech company, she had shown considerable skill as both a MechWarrior and a battlefield commander. Both came to play in late 3133 in a raid against the Steel Wolves that had gone wrong, with a portion of the Irregulars forces, including Bors himself, trapped and encircled. Rallying her lance and gathering what assets she could. Irisz staged a successful breakthrough that helped turn the situation around, delivering a sound defeat to the Wolves while also rescuing their personnel.

In the aftermath of the battle, Irisz began to take more and more responsibility for the unit’s operations, even though she was neither its commander nor its XO. Bors, however, supported her as she did, clearly grateful for her rescue while also clearly grooming her to take command of the unit. As the situation in the Republic continued to escalate throughout 3134 and into 3135, Irisz was spending more and more time in command and taking an increasingly prominent role in running the unit.

Abruptly, in August 3135 at the peak of operations, Bors announced that he had to take an extended leave from the unit due to “family matters”, travelling to Prefecture X in the heart of the Republic. In his absence, Irisz would be acting commander of the unit and maintain matters until he returned. While still young, Irisz accepted the responsibility, feeling that it was her duty to do such.

When the Walls of Fortress Republic went up, Bors had still not returned to the unit. Reaching the logical conclusion that he was, in effect, trapped inside, Irisz took command of the unit full time. While there were angry murmurings at this decision, her statement that she would “review the situation when (Bors Magyari) returns and do what seems best for the unit at that point” did serve to quell much of the dissent.

Now firmly in command, Irisz went to work on a harsh restructuring program, aimed at clearing the deadwood that had accumulated under two decades of her father’s spotty management. The unit, having grown in the last three years, was again downsized as she cleared out questionably effective assets or those that had been acquired for the sake of numbers. Their armoured assets, themselves a mish-mash of assorted units with dubious coherence, were massively rolled back. Following them were the infantry, with their conventional forces effectively disbanded.

In early 3136, the new, leaner and more effective Irregulars emerged, again ready for business. Irisz deliberately chose low-key contracts at first, aiming to build experience and coherency of the new unit before throwing them in at the deep end. However, the rapidly disintegrating situation in the Republic Territories changed all that, with the Irregulars soon involved in actions across the former Republic and, as the situation further escalated, further beyond.

The result was a sharp learning curve, with the new Irregulars being forced to quickly change and adapt to the rapidly shifting situations. Missions for planetary powers trying to hold back the tide of the Cappellan and Combine forces became common, but ultimately became futile as the surge continued. The Irregulars did see some success at raiding against the Wolf Clan incursion into Prefecture IX, only to have contracts cancelled when the Wolf forces abruptly vanished.

Operation HAMMERFALL provided the Irreguars with more work, albeit not for the Lyran invaders. Rather, the unit saw action working for the Oriente Protectorate against a wide variety of opponents. Even after the reformation of the Free Worlds League, the unit remained busy with various operations, including a campaign against forces loyal to a rebellious senator in the newly-formed Augustine Alliance.

After spending so long in the Free Worlds Leauge, a contract from the Lyrans seemed a sudden and strange change of pace. However, work was, as they say, work, and Irisz was not going to refuse something that would keep her men fed and equipped. Initially the Irreguars were fending off Pirates and rooting them out, ensuring that nobody took advantage of the Lyran preoccupation. However, things quickly changed.

Abruptly, the Irregulars were rotated back into the centre of the Commonwealth, a new contract offering them generous salvage conditions and bonuses for fending off the sudden Clan advances. As the situation degenerated further, the Irregulars were more and more often engaged in counter-raiding or extraction missions, chiefly against the Wolf Empire, as the Lyrans tried to stave off the inevitable.

Faulty intelligence on the part of the Lyrans would cost the unit dearly, however. When faced with an unexpected Falcon attack, the Irreguars were caught off-guard and forced to fall back. Pushing their advantage, the Falcon forces surrounded, isolated and then completely annihilated an entire lance before the Irregulars could respond.


In the aftermath, Irisz chose not to renew her contract with the LCAF, despite the generous terms being offered. Instead, the Irregulars limped back to Galatea, intent on rebuilding. New recruits have been added to the unit’s roster, but their integration is still a long way off.

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