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MercNet Review of Duke James Essex, the Celestial Coalition, and Kilts and Commandoes
After having been a mercenary for more than 30 years, and building his mercenary command from a mixed company to one of the largest, and most famous mercenary units in the Inner Sphere, Duke Essex understands the mercenary business virtually better than anyone. It’s a strong testament to his view of mercenaries that he has hired quite a few since turning his own command into his own nation in the Celestial Coaltion.
Unlike other smaller states, the Coalition embraces the use and value of merc units. Their offers are lucrative, they support other units with tech and transport, and they usually give generous salvage rights. In fact, according to our database, the Coalition pays better and compensates mercenaries better than four of the five great houses.
Another major point to consider is that mercenary units have never been used in a grinding capacity as cannon fodder by Essex and his team. In fact, he has taken on multiple mercenary units, and then actively looked to strengthen them and let them grow from losses in Chaos March battles, the Civil War, or the Clan invasion. The banner example of this is Smithson’s Chinese Bandits, who dropped from two regiments to two battalions, but since then, have bee rebuilt to a full regiment again in just a few years under the auspicies of the Coalition.
Because they are still growing, as well as rebuilding their military, the Coalition has a strong need for mercenaries to supplement their forces. They are at the crossroads of every major House, and at any time, the Combine could decide to pluck Caph or the Federated Suns Acamar or the Free Worlds League Hsien and Elgin, and the Lyran Alliance New Home and Keid and the Capellan Confederation Zurich or Nanking. Because of the uniqueness of their situation, and the lack of a guarantee of extanice (like the Federated Commonwealth gave the St. Ives Compact for so long), the Coalition is likely to need mercenaries from here on out.
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