Concord of Kapteyn

Kapteyn, Europe, Terra

In a not unanticipated move, three Inner Sphere powers signed a treaty of free trade and mutual defense. The Draconis Combine, Free Worlds League, and Capellan Confederation have agreed to the Concord of Kapteyn, wherein are included provisions for the liberalization of trade and the cessation of all hostilities among the three realms. Coordinator Takashi Kurita announced The Concord while a subdued Captain-General Janos Marik and a smug Chancellor Maximilian Liao stood in the background.

Wolf's Dragoons to Join Combine

Eltanin, Eltanin Prefecture, Dieron Military District, Draconis Combine

Colonel Jaime Wolf declined to renew the Dragoon's contract -- which expired last month -- with the Lyran Commonwealth. The Dragoons have been employed by the Commonwealth for three-and-a-half years and are expected to sign a long-term contract with the Draconis Combine, the only Inner Sphere state who they have not worked for since they appeared in the Inner Sphere in 3005. The Dragoon's three-and-a-half years with the Commonwealth is their shortest contract yet.

Steiners Take Port Moseby

Port Moseby, Virginia Shire, Lyran Commonwealth

House Steiner troops have consolidated their occupation of the world of Port Moseby, formerly part of the Buckminster Prefecture of the Draconis Combine. The Steiner-Kurita front is now only active on and around the world of Carse in the Rubigen Prefecture. The rest of the border has calmed down with the LCAF consolidating their gains of the last six months.

Sword of Light

In Buddhist legend, the Myoos are wrathful deities who drag unwilling souls to their salvation. Each Myoo carries a flaming sword that represents the radiance of Buddha's teachings. This odd sense of salvation through the actions of a wrathful deity appealed to the earliest members of the Kurita ruling family. It rationalized warring upon one's neighbors to save them from themselves. As the elite of the DCMS, the Sword of Light are always compared to the flaming sword of the Myoos.

To be accepted into a Sword of Light regiment, a candidate must have spent at least five years in a lesser 'Mech regiment and have scored in the upper 5 percent of a rigorous battery of political, religious, and military tests. Those who manage to make their way into a Sword of Light regiment are the creme de la creme. If he lives to retire -- no easy feat -- a Sword of Light warrior can look forward to a life of comfort and glory. There have been twelve different Sword of Light regiments throughout the history of the DCMS. There are currently five.

-- From Unique Regiments in the Armies of the Successor States, General Malvos Steinburg (LCAF ret)