During the same time, real world, I was learning all of the ins and outs of the board game, and how many of my favorite MPBT 'Mechs weren't nearly as awesome, or how some were way, way better (same reason Marauder IIs will ALWAYS be my favorite IS 'Mech). Then the unthinkable happened - FASA went bankrupt and planned on closing their doors. So I bought as many 'Mechs as I could afford, and many of them ended up in the KK. My thought process was, the Kuroi Kaze has a huge battlefield record, since I've used them for literally hundreds of games, and real world, I'd need a force that could stand in for Capellans or Davions or Steiners or a Clan depending on a scenario or campaign we were planning on, and I made sure to have at least a lance that would "feel" like the appropriate faction. Of course, that makes the regiment as a whole feel kind of disjointed, but also, having entire companies of the same 'Mech is weird outside of the Star League Defense Force. At any rate, once I'm done, it'll more than conform to our suggested "50% of a merc force 'Mechs should be from their chosen faction," since more of the pieces in the KK are Kurita than anything else already, and I'll be replacing the reassigned Clan 'Mechs with things like Tenshi and Avalanches. 5th SW campaign, they'll most assuredly be aiding the Combine... Or the Word of Blake. DUN DUN DUUUUN
Obviously pick up games are timeline neutral, but I have a separate list for 3025, my main force list below (just administrative, again, pick up games and Nachtfalke campaigns don't care) and then a more truncated Dark Ages list for the remnants after the decommissionings and whatnot. ALSO, fairly certain there are errors below, and I only have one Gurkha listed, but I'm almost 100% sure I have two in the unit...--
Kuroi Kaze - The Black Wind (30XX)
Location: Unknown
Commander: Tai-sa Shiro "Fenris" Takeda
Aide de Camp: Chu-i Isamu "Firestorm" Dyson
Executive Officer: Chu-sa Mai "Kitsune" Takeda
Aide de Camp:
Chief Technician: Sho-ko Tim "Shiloh" Bayne
Regimental Command "Werewolf" Lance
MAD-6KK Marauder II: Tai-sa Shiro "Fenris"Takeda
FNR-5X Fafnir:CLS-S7KK Tetsubo/Colossus: Chu-i Isamu "Firestorm" Dyson
TYM-2A Toyama:
1st Battalion Command "Harpy" Lance
Mad Cat Mk II: Chu-sa Mai "Kitsune" Takeda
Daishi/Dire Wolf K:Marauder IIC:
Highlander IIC:
1st Battalion/1st Company
1st Company Command LanceTN-10-O Tenshi: Tai-i
SD1-OA Sunder:
AV1-OG Avatar:
AVL-10B Avalanche:
Second Lance
DRG-9KC Grand Dragon: Chu-iNJT-3 Ninja-To:
HTM-28T Hatamoto-Chi:
DRG-7K Dragon:
Third Lance
Crimson Langur Prime: Chu-iRabid Coyote:
Ha Otoko:
RDS-2A Red Shift
1st Battalion/2nd Company
2nd Company Command Lance
TSH-7S Tai-sho: Tai-i
AKU-2XK Akuma
AS7-C Atlas
VTR-9C Victor
Second Lance
BLR-K3 BattleMaster: Chu-i
WVR-8C Wolverine
WHM-8K Warhammer
NJT-4 Ninja-to
Third Lance
TSN-C3M Tessen: Chu-i
SDR-7KC Spider
JR7-C Jenner
JR7-C Jenner
1st Battalion/3rd Company
3rd Company Command Lance
OR-2I Orochi: Tai-i
OR-2I Orochi
BMB-1X Bombard
OSP-26 Osprey
Second Lance
OBK-M10 O-Bakemono: Chu-i
DRG-11R Dragon II
CPLT-C5 Catapult
RVN-4L Raven
Third Lance
EMP-6L Emperor: Chu-i
ARC-7L Archer
SYU-2B Sha Yu
RVN-4L Raven
2nd Battalion "Barton's Bloodsuckers"
2nd Battalion Command "Vampire"Lance
OBK-M12 O-Bakemono: Sho-sa Hilde Barton
AKU-2X Akuma
AKU-2X Akuma
MAD-4K2 Marauder II
2nd Battalion/1st Company
1st Company Command Lance
BRZ-A3 Berserker: Tai-i
NDA-1K No-Dachi
NDA-1K No-Dachi
NDA-1K No-Dachi
Second Lance
SH-2P Shiro/Tonbo-Giri: Chu-i Katsu "Yojimbo" Honda
TSG-9J Ti Ts'ang
SP1-X Spatha/Ko-Dachi
MS-1A Mortis
Third Lance
SA-RN7 Ronin: Chu-i
GUR-2G Gurkha
BCN-3R Buccaneer
VLN-3T Valiant
2nd Battalion/2nd Company
2nd Company Command Lance
MAD-4S Marauder II: Tai-i
SGT-8R Sagitaire
TDR-10SE Thunderbolt
MAD-93 Marauder
Second Lance
VQR-5V Vanquisher: Chu-i
GOL-4S Goliath
HGN-738 Highlander
STK-8S Stalker
Third Lance
Y-H10G Yu Huang: Chu-i
HUR-WO-R40 Huron Warrior
NSR-9J Nightstar
DGR-4F Dragon Fire
2nd Battalion/3rd Company
3rd Company Command Lance
TN-10-O Tenshi: Tai-i
HTM-30S Hatamoto-Suna
CRD-5K Crusader
BHKU-OC Black Hawk-KU
Second Lance
LGC-01 Legacy: Chu-i
MR-6B Cerberus
LGH-6W Lightray
INI-04 Initiate
Third Lance
AS7-CM Atlas: Chu-i
MAD-9M2 Marauder
PKP-1B Peacekeeper
MAL-3R Mauler
3rd Battalion "Shimazu's Soulstealers"
3rd Battalion Command "Demon" Lance
EMP-6L Emperor: Sho-sa Yoshihida Shimazu
TDR-7S Thunderbolt
MAD-4X Marauder
BNC-7S Banshee
3rd Battalion/1st Company
1st Company Command Lance
BL-X-KNT Black Knight: Tai-i
SQS-TH-002 Sasquatch/Aegis
WER-LF-005 Werewolf/Okami Otoko
RK-4K Rokurokobi
Second Lance
RFL-6X Rifleman: Chu-i
GRF-6S Griffin
PXH-7S Phoenix Hawk
CN9-D Centurion
Third Lance
WVR-9W Wolverine: Chu-i
WVR-9W Wolverine
WFT-B Wolf Trap/Tora
SHD-7CS Shadow Hawk
3rd Battalion/2nd Company
2nd Company Command Lance
SD1-OA Sunder: Tai-i
DAI-01 Daikyu
BKN-1K Bakeneko
DMO-4K Daimyo
Second Lance
HSN-8E Hellspawn: Chu-i
STH-2D Stealth
NGS-6S Nightsky
CLN-7Z Chameleon
Third Lance
STO-4A Stiletto: Chu-i
MON-86 Mongoose
RTX1-OF Raptor
UM-R80 UrbanMech
3rd Battalion/3rd Company
3rd Company Company Lance
ANH-4A Annihilator: Tai-i
ON2-M Orion
HTM-28T Hatamoto-chi
JM7-F JagerMech
Second Lance
WVR-9M Wolverine: Chu-i
GRF-5K Griffin
HBK-5SG Hunchback
BSW-S1 Bushwacker
Third Lance
GUR-2G Gurkha
OTT-11J OstScout
OTT-11J OstScout
STG-5T Stinger
Specialist Detachments
Kage Squad x 4
Void Squad x 4
Kuroi Kaze - The Black Wind (3025)
Location: Solaris VII
Commander: LtCol Larry "Hatchet" Dourrough
Executive Officer: Major Shin "Fenris" Takeda
1st Battalion
1st Company/Battalion Command Lance
BNC-3S Banshee: LtCol Larry "Hatchet" Dourrough
MAD-3R Marauder: Major Shin "Fenris" TakedaBLR-1G BattleMaster: Marcus "Undertaker" Davis
RFL-3C Rifleman: Paolo "Zen" Wessing
Fire Lance
ARC-2S Archer: Lieutenant Tim "Shiloh" Bayne
TDR-5SE Thunderbolt: "Nightshade"
CRD-3K Crusader: "Redwolf"
GRN-1N Griffin: "Bandit"
Striker Lance
WVR-6K Wolverine: "Suavo"
PXH-1K Phoenix Hawk: "Mistyangel"
JR7-F Jenner: "Hawk"
STG-3G Stinger: "Spider"
On the planet Rasalhague in the year 3022, a young MechWarrior named Shin Takeda spent a long week fasting and praying for guidance from his ancestors. Of Terran Japanese descent, a rarity on the predominantly Scandanavian Rasalhague, Takeda was a lance leader in a mercenary BattleMech regiment known as the Blacksheep. Though he felt at home with the mercs, and shared a kindred spirit with many of its members, he always felt at odds with his heritage. When he learned that the regiment had a contract with the Lyran Commonwealth to send intelligence back to the LIC (Lyran Intelligence Corps) and to aid the underground Tyr independence movement, he was unsure of his course of action. He continued serving the unit, until he uncovered a plan to assassinate the Warlord of Rasalhague. Long considering himself a loyal Kuritan, sworn to defend the Draconis Combine, in the end he knew what he had to do. With a heavy heart, he contacted members of the feared Draconis Internal Security Force (ISF). In exchange for the information he held, namely timetables for the deployment of rebels and Blacksheep MechWarriors, as well as the overall plan of attack, Takeda requested only that he be allowed to further prove his loyalty by being enrolled in the prestigious Sun Zhang MechWarrior Academy. At first reluctant to send him to one of the best guarded and most prestigious academies in known space, the director of the ISF finally decided that the information was too important to lose. Within a week, the DCMS had obliterated the majority of the Blacksheep, eliminated several resistance cells and set back the Tyr movement's plans by years. Takeda boarded a DropShip, and left the planet, destined for New Samarkand. It was only fitting that his call-sign was "Fenris", the demon wolf that maimed the Norse god Tyr.
In light of Takeda's previous training as a MechWarrior, the SZMA waived his first year and a half of schooling, focusing more on honing his edge to katana-like sharpness. The Takeda name held some weight with the instructors of the Sun Zhang. His father had been a graduate, before becoming a member of the ISF. Had he not been killed by Davion MI4 agents, the young Shin Takeda might not have ended up working for a mercenary unit. His loyalties were constantly tested, looking for any sign of duplicity on his part. To their satisfaction, neither his instructors, nor the ISF, ever found any reason to doubt him.
In truth, his actions left him torn with guilt. He knew that to be samurai was to place the honor of the Combine over his own honor, his own wishes, his own life if need be but he still felt bitter, throwing himself into his studies like a man possessed. It was during this time that he was married to Kumiko Kuni, also a former member of the Blacksheep who had been on-planet waiting for him to finish his training. After graduating with honors, he was sent to the Arkab system, to be assigned with the 4th Arkab Legion. This further embittered Takeda, as he saw being assigned to a unit of predominantly Arab Azami to be beneath his abilities. After making an offhand comment about possibly having been wrong in regards to the Rasalhague situation, he was further humiliated by being sent to Solaris VII, to "bring the Wisdom of the Dragon to the less enlightened" or so he was told. In truth, it was little more than exile.
Contrary to what his district warlord had planned, being sent to Solaris VII did not break Takeda's spirit. If nothing else, it inspired him to train himself and his company mercilessly. While arena dueling was frowned upon, it earned Takeda millions of untaxed C-bills, and improved his already considerable skills. Then a series of disasters struck, among them the death of a unit member and his wife, which led Takeda to leave the service of the Dragon and return to the life of a mercenary.
Taking his MAD-3R model Marauder with him, he joined up with Larry Dourrough, his former Blacksheep company commander, in service with House Marik. The two formed the core of a new command that House Marik was sponsoring. Dourrough had understood Takeda's motivation, and was part of the "loyal opposition" to the assassination plan in the first place. With a little more than the surviving members of his company, Dourrough had convinced the Free World's League to hire him, with the promise that he would bring his total strength up to a battalion. Using Takeda's underworld contacts and knowledge of disaffected & Dispossessed MechWarriors, Dourrough organized a rapid growth. What was on paper a Marik unit, the newly formed group was composed primarily of Lyran and Combine pilots. The majority showed itself to be Combine, however, when the time came to name the unit. Each member holding the rank of Lieutenant or above submitted an idea, and the unit put it to a vote. Overwhelmingly, the MechWarriors voted to name the unit the Kuroi Kaze, "Black Wind", after Takeda made the suggestion.
The initial contract with Marik proved to be beneficial. Putting the small fortune of C-bills he had made in the Solaris arenas to good use, Takeda obtained several heavier 'Mech designs. The amount of time in between cadre/garrison assignments allowed Kuroi Kaze MechWarriors to learn tactics that exploited their superior firepower. In raids on planets such as Quentin, the Kuroi Kaze would often decimate opponents that outnumbered them 2-1.
In July of 3026, House Marik intelligence officers uncovered the mention of an abandoned Star League-era testing facility in the Periphery, in a system suspected to be a pirate haven. Not willing to waste a line unit on a wild goose chase, Captain-General Marik ordered the FWLM to assign a mercenary command to follow the rumors. The commander of the 1st Regulan Hussars, to whom the Kuroi Kaze had been logistically attached, volunteered the unit for the mission. Heading past the rimward section of Capellan Confederation space, the Kuroi Kaze landed on an unnamed planet that their search had pointed to being the most likely site of any Star League facilities. Unfortunately, at the same time, several companies of 'Mechs belonging to Paula "Lady Death" Trevaline were on-planet, in anticipation of a raid into Capellan space. In a pitched battle, the unit's 3rd Company was destroyed. They accounted for almost 5 lances of enemy downed, forcing the pirates to temporarily retreat and regroup. Using the space to repair as much damage as possible, Takeda and Dourrough were notified by a member of 1st Company's scouting lance that the hints of an underground structure had been discovered. Rushing to the site in hopes of finding 'Mechs or parts to help them overcome pirate reinforcements that would reach the planet before they had a chance to escape, the unit was dismayed to discover that the facility wasn't a Star League testing facility for BattleMechs. Instead, the Star League hoarded and covertly tested chemical and biological agents on this remote world. With at least a battalion of pirate 'Mechs on its way and an unknown amount of conventional forces backing them up, Dourrough and Takeda decided that the only thing they could do was plant explosives in key points throughout the facility.
This would prove to be the command lance's undoing. The rest of the unit engaged the pirates, drawing as much fire as they could to buy time. With the charges set, Takeda and Paolo Wessing, an expert in explosives, exited the facility. Both members of the command lance joined up with Dourrough and Marcus Davis. The combined firepower of the heavy and assault class lance turned the tide of the battle to the Kuroi Kaze's favor until Davis' BattleMaster stepped into a hastily constructed minefield, toppling over with a sickening screech. Before he could recover, anti-BattleMech trained infantry had planted satchel charges over his head and torso, rendering the machine inoperable. The Kuroi Kaze began retreating toward its DropShip. Takeda, Dourrough, Wessing, and Tim Bayne, another assault 'Mech pilot, covered the retreat for the rest of the battalion. Takeda ordered Bayne to flee, and after objecting, Bayne followed the orders. As pirate infantry poured into the facility, Takeda detonated the explosives inside. Unable to clear the blast area, the Kuroi Kaze command lance eventually fell to the pirate forces.
Demoralized, the Kuroi Kaze returned to Solaris VII with the news of the battles. House Marik didn't give the unit much time to mourn the loss. Command had fallen to Sakura Yoshimatsu-Takeda, the second wife of Shin. Her ties to the Draconis Order of the Five Pillars gave her an amount of prestige unequaled by anyone else. Added to that, she also had the support of the various lance leaders in the unit. Down approximately 4 lances worth of 'Mechs, with another 2 lances being repaired, the infantry platoon Shin Takeda had outfitted the previous summer took on a greater responsibilty guarding the unit's Solaris VII compound. Working to make up for the losses, and to rebuild what had once been a large war chest, Yoshimatsu-Takeda promoted Tim Bayne to Lieutenant Colonel, and delegated combat mission authority to him. Bayne, a student of Terran military history, executed several daring and strategic raids into Davion, Steiner, and Liao territories, though excursions against the Capellan Confederation were done clandestinely to avoid angering a potential ally of the League.
Hanse Davion's Operation Rat, and the Lyran Commonwealth's Operation Gotterdammerung were launched jointly in 3028. Two years of troop movements and wargame exercises had lulled the Capellan Confederation and the Draconis Combine into a false sense of security, leading them to assume that Davion's actions in 3028 were simply more sabre rattling. On 20 August 3028, Hanse Davion raised a glass of champagne at his wedding to Melissa Steiner, and proclaimed his gift to his new bride; the Capellan Confederation. This signaled the start of the 4th Succession War.
The Kuroi Kaze played a minimal part in the war. Their 4 year cadre/garrison contract with House Marik assured them that they'd see some combat, yet House Marik saw the least amount of action in the war overall. Stationed on the world of Shiloh, a short distance from Solaris VII, the Kuroi Kaze conducted a few raiding missions into Lyran space. While their contract wasn't for raiding missions, the leaders of the Kuroi Kaze kept abreast of enemy troop positions and felt that there was little to no threat involved in doing so. For these actions, the unit was rotated to a more interior world, and aided in the capture of the planet Timbiqui from the Lyran Commonwealth. When Captain-General Janos Marik pulled his units off of this world, as well as several others, out of fear of a Lyran counterattack, the Kuroi Kaze decided to seek employment elsewhere when their contract expired.
Returning to Solaris VII in 3029, the unit immediately approached members of the Draconis Combine that were familiar with Yoshimatsu-Takeda, and her mercenaries. Despite the ongoing conflict with Wolf's Dragoons, and the subsequent distrust of all mercenary commands, the Dragon was in desperate need of reinforcements to blunt the Lyran offensive and to push into Davion space. The unit saw little action under the banner of the Combine and, in many cases, they were harassed by regular army forces.
Refusing to let the lack of activity lower their overall quality rating, the members of the unit trained as hard as they had when Shin Takeda was still alive. Satisfactory service prompted the DCMS to offer another contract in 3033, and again in 3037. Lack of actual combat was starting to take its toll, however, and Yoshimatsu-Takeda petitioned for permission to raid Federated Commonwealth planets. Stationed on the planet Murchison prior to the outset of the War of 3039, the Kuroi Kaze began regaining some of the experience they had held in 3026. In addition, personnel were rotated between garrison duty on Murchison, and stable duty on Solaris VII. The Kuroi Kaze had fallen close to the bottom rung of stables on Solaris, due to lack of participation in any big events there. Still, they drew enough extra income to keep the rest of the unit supplied, despite the occasional DCMS "supply snafu" that would have left the MechWarriors without provisions. Around this time, in 3036, Tim Bayne authorized the opening of an office on the Wolf's Dragoon world of Outreach. A satellite to the stables headquarters on Solaris VII, he thought that the office would allow the unit to keep abreast of mercenary situations.
When the War of 3039 broke out, the Kuroi Kaze were hard pressed to protect the border facing the Federated Commonwealth's Draconis March. The intervening years had allowed the unit to expand to a reinforced battalion, but fighting against elite Commonwealth units forced the reorganization into a regular battalion before long. The highest point of the war, and an amusing twist for the men and women of the Kuroi Kaze, was the capture of the planet Quentin from the Commonwealth. Long a favorite target of Kuroi Kaze raids, the unit was invited to help during the invasion, securing the coastal Largo City, and the forest between there and Prosperity Point. Kuroi Kaze knowledge of the planet helped immensely, and so the unit was awarded a large bonus at the end of the war.
Surprising many within the unit, and without, in 3041 the Kuroi Kaze signed a garrison contract with the newly-formed Free Rasalhague Republic. Dissatisfaction set in almost immediately. The FRR was extremely wary of mercenaries, though it relied on them for much of it's defense. After the 4th Succession War, the Lyran Commonwealth had been enriched by dozens of systems it had captured from House Kurita. In 3034, ComStar negotiated with Theodore Kurita to support the foundation of the Free Rasalhague Republic and pressured the Lyran Commonwealth to give up many of those same systems for the new republic. Combine units stationed on the affected worlds rebelled against their orders, being named ronin by the Gunji-no-Kanrei. Due to poorly negotiated contracts, many mercenary units refused to fight against the ronin, leaving a distaste for mercenaries that the Kuroi Kaze had to deal with less than a decade later. Still, the contract was fair, and all the unit had to worry about was fighting pirates.
The unit's second tour with the FRR was set to expire at the end of 3049, at which time the unit had planned to return to Solaris VII for a period of rest. Instead, the Clans invaded. A six-month extension had been granted to the FRR to give them time to either hire a new force to take over garrisoning the Kuroi Kaze's worlds or to send a force of FRR troops to do the same. In March of 3050, Clan Wolf and Clan Ghost Bear struck like a hammer against the Republic. The Kuroi Kaze's 2nd battalion, erroneously believing the invaders to be pirates, ignored a Ghost Bear batchall and were annihilated.. 1st and 3rd battalions used their sacrifice to great effect, both in the knowledge that the Clans weren't pirates and in that revenge is a powerful motivating factor. Still, the unit couldn't match the firepower of Clan 'Mechs, and eventually, were forced to fight delaying actions while fleeing. Sakura Yoshimatsu-Takeda was killed fighting Clan Ghost Bear in April of 3050. Two weeks later, Tim Bayne was critically injured fighting the same Clan.
News of the Clan invasion spread throughout the Inner Sphere. Worlds of the Draconis Combine fell to the might of Clan Smoke Jaguar and Clan Ghost Bear, while the Lyran half of the Federated Commonwealth was savaged by Clan Jade Falcon. Sho-sa Shiro Takeda, a battalion commander of the Combine's Ryuken-san regiment, recieved notice of his mother's death with a stoic nod. As command of the unit fell to him under his parents' will, and at the urging of members of his unit, Takeda left the service of the Dragon to join up with the survivors heading back to Solaris VII.
For the next two years, Shiro Takeda, along with his sister Mai, worked hard to rebuild the fighting strength of the Kuroi Kaze. Using his own personal funds, an inheritance from his mother, the unit's warchest and C-bills gained by dueling in Solaris arenas constantly, Takeda was able to purchase replacement 'Mechs. For pilots, he recruited Dispossessed MechWarriors, members of his former unit and Solaris VII natives. Using the 40 surviving MechWarriors of the Kuroi Kaze as a foundation, he spread the new recruits throughout the unit, helping to maintain a level of experience above green, while not abandoning the traditions his family had worked hard to establish. Tim Bayne, though not able to pilot a 'Mech, proved to be a stablizing influence, keeping many of the unit's old members from leaving to find employment elsewhere. Bayne's contacts and technical expertise proved to be helpful as well.
It was during this time that Takeda began seriously studying the combined arms tactics that the Federated Commonwealth used so effectively. While the Kuroi Kaze had always possessed infantry forces, an armor branch had never been considered. Takeda changed this policy, purchasing the unit's first company of tanks in late 3051.
The fall of 3052 saw the Kuroi Kaze returning to work for the Draconis Combine. ComStar defeated the Clans on Tukayyid in May of that year, and the Kuroi Kaze was anxious to "liberate" Clan-held territory above the truce line. This continued through the first 4-year contract, and through part of the second. Time was taken from raiding Smoke Jaguar & Nova Cat holdings during the Falcon-Wolf Refusal War to raid planets held by the two Clans. The added danger in this, was traveling through the territories of three seperate Clans, but Takeda felt the reward outweighed the risk. This proved true when several hundred Rasalhague citizens were pulled from a Wolf-occupied planet, along with an unindentified MechWarrior. Operation Bulldog took place during the period of the unit's second contract with the Combine, and for the duration of combat, they earned the right to be attached logistically to the elite 5th Sword of Light. Participating in the assault on Port Arthur, the unit proved their mettle beyond any doubt.
3060 proved to be a turning point for the unit. Bolstered by their recent successful contracts, and with the Clans defeated in the Great Refusal, the Kuroi Kaze looked forward to aggressive expansion. Using the funds set aside from the past several contracts, stable funds, and investment dividends, Shiro Takeda purchased many cutting-edge 'Mechs from Draconis Combine manufacturers, as well as building the 1st Company of Takeda's Talons into a C3 equipped unit. Filling holes in his TO&E, Takeda recruited heavily from Solaris VII's dueling community. Though preferrng Draconis and Capellan MechWarriors, he didn't exclude any pilot that met the unit's standards. With the amount of new recruits, the unit's overall quality rating dropped to Regular.
While on Solaris VII, Shiro Takeda was approached by a representative of the reclusive Chandrasekhar Kurita. Hachiman Taro Electronics showed an interest in a 'Mech design that Tim Bayne had been testing in the arenas. Seeking to purchase a license for manufacture from the Combine-loyal unit, the representative was initially rebuffed. It wasn't until being offered a contract by the Marian Hegemony for cadre duty that Shiro came up with an idea to give the unit the same access to material that famed mercenary commands like the Dragoons or Kell Hounds were noted as having. After hammering out the details in the space of several months (only finalized after "Uncle Chandy" himself met with Shiro), HTE agreed to co-construct a small 'Mech factory on the Hegemony planet of Horatius, with the output split between the Combine, the Marians and a third for the Kuroi Kaze's personal use.
Operating out of the Marian Hegemony, the Kuroi Kaze prepared for a long contract on the fringes of known space. Undertaking raiding missions and training members of the Hegemony's armed forces kept the unit busy for a time. After six months, members of Takeda's independent command company came to him with a daring plan; a two-pronged assault on the Magistracy of Canopus involving the entire unit. An entire regiment utilizing as many post-3050 designs as the Kuroi Kaze, as well as a full company of Clan OmniMechs, would have been more than enough to conquer both planets targeted, if that would have been the unit's goal. The lack of advanced replacement parts in the Periphery, however, argued against such a plan. Instead, Takeda decided to make the assaults into a giant mockery of the small-scale raiding more commonly used. Shiro Takeda personally led a large portion of the unit against Thraxa, facing off against the Magistracy Cavaliers, while Tai-i Isamu Dyson took several ad-hoc companies to assault the planet Vixen. The Magistracy Cavaliers outnumbered the forces Takeda had with him, but the superiority of his MechWarriors, the superiority of their technology, and the superiority of their tactics, carried the day. Some pilots were inevitably lost, and some 'Mechs damaged beyond repair, and yet the operation was a success. Returning to the Marian Hegemony, Takeda sold many of the salvaged machines to Hegemony quartermasters, at a discount.
---Author's Note: I had never read Double Blind prior to 6/2017 and was unaware of the Word of Blake's tactics during 3058 that mirror the above paragraph. I may edit that out a bit, or switch it up.---
The rest of the Periphery campaign continued in a similar vein. No other large scale raids were conducted, though the unit did defend themselves against several Magistracy reprisals. While holding their position, the unit used its JumpShips to ferry supplies from Solaris VII, as well as to rotate some of their injured pilots for fresh ones from the stable pool. Dyson led countless sorties in the New Colony Region/Fronc Reaches, which the Colonial Marshals were impotent to stop. Dyson engaged as many of these lone warriors as possible, mercilessly cutting down each one in turn from the cockpit of his Clan Warhawk. Outside of these raids, the unit made a few deep strikes past the Taurian Concordat to strike the Federated Commonwealth while it was embroiled in its Civil War. Takeda found much amusement in the whole affair.
While the unit was under contract, the Marian Hegemony attempted to invade the Circinus Federation. They were stopped cold by a force much larger than had been anticipated. Using his own contacts, Shiro Takeda reached the conclusion that the Word of Blake had not only supplied the Federation with 'Mechs but was also, in fact, in control of the tiny bandit kingdom, at almost the same time the Marian Hegemony's intelligence agency did. Before his contract expired, Takeda coordinated with elements of the Hegemony's Praetorian Guard to swiftly overrun several Blakist DropShips. The attack was ended too quickly for any of the Blakists to relay information on their attackers. Were it not for the unit (and the Praetorian Guard) sporting several cutting edge Word machines, no one would be the wiser.
Before returning to Solaris VII, Tai-sa Takeda unveiled to the population of the Marian world of Horatius the Hegemony's newest factory - Kaze MechWorks. With this cooperative effort, HTE and the Kuroi Kaze were able to give the MHAF access to several newer technology designs, including an improvement over the Marian "Project Phoenix" Marauder II. By obtaining a large portion of weaponry from the black market on Solaris VII and through mercenary channels on Outreach, Takeda turned Hegemony Germanium and other precious commodities into a stronger, more capable military. In honor of this, upon his return to Horatius in late 3067, Caesar Julius O'Reilly officially renamed the city closest to the MechWorks Factory Kai, in honor of the Terran province that the Takeda family ruled for centuries in history.
The Kuroi Kaze received news of the Outreach Uprising and subsequent Word of Blake assault with great sadness. The Takeda twins geared their unit for war, knowing that it would only be a matter of time before the Word mobilized for a full conflict. As part of their Periphery contract, the KK observed WoB ROM forces excavating a demolished Star League facility on a planet that was no longer listed on most star charts, a planet that they knew intimately - the world where Shin Takeda and the KK's original command lance lost. There could only be one reason that the Word had any reason to be at that site; biological weaponry.
JIHAD UPDATE
Tharkad. New Avalon. Luthien. Each second hand account of combat brought a new round of training and 'Mech production on Horatius, but as the Jihad progressed, the Hegemony remained largely out of it, except for forays into the Free World's League. Then, disaster struck. As repayment for interfering in the Word's Periphery operations, a large Word of Blake force (later identified as the 53rd Shadow Division) invaded Horatius. The fighting was brutal and while the Kuroi Kaze was able to drive off the attackers, it was a marginal victory at best. Much of Kai had been leveled, while Kaze Factory Alpha sustained heavy damage. Shiro Takeda departed the planet to meet with senior members of the MHAF, as well as the Caesar to discuss retribution against the Word and their Circinian puppets. He was killed by the neutron bombing of Nova Roma perpetrated at the command of the Word's so-called "Master."
Shiro's son Takura Takeda, now a company commander, gathered to his banner a collection of Kuroi Kaze and Marian MechWarriors with the intent of joining the burgeoning Stone's Coalition. Just shy of a battalion formed together. Receiving permission from his aunt Mai and the Caesar, this force was dubbed the Scythian Legion by Cassius O'Reilly.
5th SUCCESSION WAR UPDATE
In a parallel universe, Shiro's return to Horatius is brief. Instead of staying, the bulk of the Kuroi Kaze, barring two companies left as a garrison force for Kaze MechWorks, return to the Draconis Combine fold after the death of Chandrasekhar Kurita in 3068. With the elevation of Hohiro Kurita to Coordinator, and a new Gunji-no-Kanrei appointed, the time is ripe for the prodigal son to return to the Dragon's bosom...
Kuroi Kaze 3025 1st Company
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