Hendrik Grimm Denounces Red Jack Ryan

Oberon VI, Oberon Confederation, Corewards Periphery

General Hendrik Grimm III, Leader of the Oberon Confederation, has declared both Red Jack Ryan and Maria Morgraine persona non grata in the Confederation. Furthermore, Hendrik has put rewards of 100,000 C-bills on each of their heads.

Word has it that Hendrik and Morgan Fletcher were closing in on a major deal when Maria attacked Morgan last month. As for Red Jack, Hendrik never did like him much and Ryan's raids on the Inner Sphere have caused trouble for all of the Coreward bandits.

Black Bart McCall Executed by Free Worlds League

Campoleone, Rim Commonality, Free Worlds League

Black Bart McCall was shot by a firing squad in the capital of Campo- leone. Bart - freebooter, smuggler, privateer, womanizer, and a damn good Battlemech video game player - was captured by a mercenary unit when he raided Campoleone with his men. The Rim Commonality tried and sentenced him the next day.

Black Bart is survived by his wife Iris and his sons Max and Huey.

Xavier's X-Mechs to Leave Magistry of Canopus

Booker, Magistry of Canopus, Edgewards Periphery

Colonel Chuck Xavier and his X-Mechs decided not to renew their contract with the Magistry of Canopus. "We have no complaints. It's been a good two years. But it's time for a change of pace," said the Colonel. The X-Mechs will travel to the Mercenary's Star to try to get a contract with a major House.

The X-Mechs spent their two years rotating among several Magistry worlds. They repelled a dozen bandit raids and participated in other missions for the Magistry Armed Forces. The Magistry has been working on hiring a replace- ment mercenary unit. But there will probably be a window of opportunity for the nearby Marion Hegemony as well as for any adventerous bandits.

History: The Reunification War

The Star League was officially established in 2571. It initially consis- ted of the five Inner Sphere Houses and the Terran Hegemony. The ensuing peace allowed each house to build up their militaries without any way to use their forces. In 2573 the League offered the four major states of the periphery a chance to join. The periphery nations repeatedly refused and the Star League declared war in 2575.

The Star League fielded better trained and better equipped troops. They outnumbered the defenders by three, four, and five to one odds. They had generations of combat experience compared to the relatively peaceful peri- phery powers. And yet the Reunification War lasted over twenty years.

The Outworlds Alliance surrendered in 2585. The Magistry of Canopus was conquered in 2588. The Taurian Concordant and the Rim Worlds Republic held out until 2596. Afterwards the Star League installed provisional governments and embarked on a massive propaganda campaign. The campaign was successful and the Periphery governments were allowed self rule within ten years.