Harry's Hornets
Non-Canon
The Four Horsemen
Kybar Tuffahunter:
- Characteristics: CAB999 Age 42 6 Terms Aslan Marines 2.1m 105kg
- Skills: Dew Claw-1, Battledress-2, High Energy Weapons-2, Robotics-1, Leader-1
Harry Palmer:
Harry Palmer was born the second son of a poor maintenance technician on a hive world, which is a small planet of around ten billion souls crammed into every niche of a dozen scattered towering arcology city-states. He quickly decided that he wanted to get out of that situation and never go back.
At age 17.5 he signed on to join the imperial marines. He worked his way up the NCO ranks before finally posting to OCS. He got in because a staff officer owed him a favor (it seems Harry's platoon saved the officer's HQ Company from an enemy commando mission which dropped in from orbit into the "secure" rear areas). At OCS he met a young would-be second lieutenant, Rosa Kablanski, soon thereafter they fell in love and were married. This forever altered the fabric of the space time continuum as we know it. After illustrious careers the couple decided to retire and start their own mercenary company while they were still young enough to enjoy it.
While a fearsome fighter, Harry is not expert in logistics and the largest unit he knew how to run comfortably was a platoon. Harry had been promoted to the rank of major soon before he retired. Rosa was a captain when she retired. Harry was never entirely comfortable with the staff aspects of running a unit bigger than a company, too many details for him to worry about. He could lead a battalion but once the shooting was over he would need someone very capable to help sustain the unit. Rosa is a brilliant staff officer and Harry would never be the legend he is today without her to handle all the details. It seems nearly every moment of their lives have been packed with adventures and wild experiences.
- Characteristics: BADA55 Age 42 6 Terms Marines 1.96m 99kg
- Skills: Leader-2, Tactics-2, Battledress-2, High Energy Wpns-2, Cutlass-1, Revolver-1
- His wife, Rosa Palmer:
- Characteristics: AAA7C7 Age 38 5 Terms Marines 1.6m 56kg
- Skills: Battledress-2, Admin-2, Computer-2, Cutlass-1, Revolver-1
Ran Xerox:
Ran Xerox is known by most of the sector. He is an important intelligence asset for the Hornets. He has slick black hair, green eyes, thick olive/tan skin equal to jack armor due to dermal implants and augmentation. He has a criminal record and an imperial pardon. Somehow he still has TAS, and wears a his suit liner or if bar hopping a pair of tight black leather pants, a white muscle shirt, high hard combat boots, a slung broad sword, and IR goggles and occasionally a trench coat.
- Characteristics: FCCAA3 Age 38 5 Terms Barbarian/Commando 2.24m 215kg
- Skills: Combat Rifleman-4, Carousing-2, Brawling-2, Battledress-2, High Energy Weapons-2, Broad Sword-1
Skarn Scarscale:
Enlisted in Artillery and transferred to Drop Troops on third term. He attended Staff and Command Colleges, cross-trained into Support and Drop Troops. He is an alpha male with grey scaly skin and black bat-like wings, standing 1.4 m and massing 40 kg. He is a talented psionic PSR 8 skilled in Telepathy, Awareness, Teleportation and the innate Droyne abilities of Homing, Shield and Invisibility.
He mustered out with a custom 200 ton TL 13 ship and has obtained a pair of Mechanical wings, 8 ampoules of Flight Drug and Psi Double with auto-injector.
Skarn has organized and raised his own battalion of Droyne Drop Troopers. Skarn's unit is often brought into Harry's hegemony for contracts. The unit is equipped to TL 13 standards and uses a 5,000 ton freighter for transport and support. This unit has a strength of 666 Droyne, it has a headquarters element of 18 and the remainder is organized into eighteen platoons of 36. There are six companies of three platoons each. Each platoon is six squads of six troopers.
- Characteristics: 6A5C86 Age 36 6 Terms
- Skills: Leader-2, Battledress-2, High Energy Wpns-2, Unarmed Combat-2, FA Artillery-2, Tactics-1, Recon-1, Admin-1, Appeal-1, Liaison-1, Computer-1, Flying-1, Combat Eng-1, Zero-G Cmbt-1, Pilot-1
- Military Leader-6, Rank O7,
Ship and Vehicle Files: High Guard Stats
The Hornets Force Composition
Harry personally leads his own "platoon" into battle usually tackling the toughest objectives personally with his four horsemen and their various specialized weapons. Each horseman is actually coordinating a network of combat units slaved to their individual commands, with an automatic defense routines built in as a default. Harry is constantly on the lookout for the highest tech war machines. His unit has tested various prototype systems, and is always trying out new monstrous creations. He has used robots, androids, cyborgs, drones, and remotes. Basically he will use any automated advantage as a force multiplier which will allow his six troopers hit like a commando (robo-weapons) platoon. His unit is often paid bonus money to field test experimental devices.
The Hornet and her crew, usually stay in orbit to help Harry out on the ground. The scout often lays captor mines (low orbit or high altitude for down ports) to interdict space ports, and carries six small specialized satellites which to provide global navigational position, communication relays and feed, tracking and sensors. The ship with its boosted scout sensors and with these satellites deployed can establish a global sensor/ early warning net. The satellites allow the Hornets to spy and gather intelligence. On low tech Balkanized back-water planets where mercenaries are often employed these high tech gadgets can provide a critical advantage. The Hornet's on-board computer coordinates the ground unit's telemetry, intelligence, communication, and fire support. The Hornet's first job is to transport the Hornets and fire them into the atmosphere from orbit in their assault capsules. Then the Hornet's pulse laser provides over watch point defense and the two missile launchers act as on demand artillery. Harry has employed some very advanced missiles to optimize these batteries' effect. The cargo bay can accept twenty ton modules very similar to those carried by the cutters on broadsword class mercenary cruisers. The variety of modules the Hornets have tried is staggering from six ton fighters (manned and drone) to orbital fire support platforms. For an assault on an airless asteroid a self-contained particle accelerator module was deployed. Harry always manages to have the right trick up his sleeve thanks to Rosa and his friends in logistics. Once the attack is over the Hornet can swoop into the atmosphere for evac and dust-off. The Hornet has carried a low tonnage displacement drone grav powered drop ship for transport but Harry prefers to assault as jump troops. The grav powered dreadnaught armor the hornets wear allows them to reach orbit independently to rendezvous with the scout/transport. The opponent's space-borne abilities are always taking into account before the Hornet is deployed. It is not intended to go toe to toe with high tech native SDBs or gunboats. If Harry feels the Hornet would be too vulnerable he will charter a large vessel and deploy in slicer assault shuttles for a quick stealthy insertion.
For larger contracts Harry arranges elaborate sub-contracts with a very wide and wild variety of units; everything from a group of eight Hydran warrior maidens (Hydrans are a 400kg intelligent crustaceans with exoskeletons equal to battledress) to a battalion (666 strong) of Droyne drop troops. The battalion of Droyne is lead by one of his horsemen in his "off duty" time. That horseman is a Droyne military leader known publicly, in the common galangic, as Skarn Scarscale which is an alias. In fact each of his four horsemen command their own "organizations" while not under contract to Harry. Although independent and individually powerful, the horsemen have never failed to drop whatever they are doing when they are summoned by Harry. The maximum number of a friendly mercenary friends he can call in (everybody owes Harry a few dozen favors) will bring the "Hornets" up to the equilivant striking power of the typical reinforced regiment. If time allows Harry's units frequently train locals to act as scouts, guides, and organize local militias or guerrillas (you say terrorist I say freedom fighter) to boost his unit's strength, effectiveness, ability to probe enemy intentions and most importantly its ability to absorb damage. The locals usually don't realize the buffer they provide Harry and hence his low mercenary casualty figures.
If acting in a cadre role Harry and is friends have toppled governments and thrown back invasions on the divisional scale. The largest unit he ever personally commands is a division. The difference between his regiment of mixed mercenary units and the division is made up of locally raised (near-by worlds) and indigenous troops which are placed under his independent command and at his disposal. His units regardless of size fly the Hornet's colors only. To put it mildly Harry is not very tolerant of native superior officers. His unit is contracted for a specific objective and he plans to accomplish that goal independent of any interference from his clients/employers. He views that he is doing them a favor and they shouldn't doubt his judgment. His experience and influence tend to have a dramatic impact throughout whatever organization he finds himself in.
His units never have a problem with accounts receivable as any patron foolish enough to try and sell them out, trick, trap or betray them will never survive the attempt. Harry puts out enough contracts that persons and organizations would try and double deal him end up worse off for the experience. Harry's connections in the Imperial military, government, among mercenary units, the underworld and organized crime can bring anything from battle cruisers to assassins to bear. One reason Harry has been in business so long is that he will never accept a contract that would pit him directly against Imperial troops. As a retired marine he just can't bring himself to face fellow marines and Imperial army units. Although he has faced the enemies of the empire he is not always a patriot. He tries to observe the Imperial rules of war (he prefers to bend a law than break it). He is in very good official standing with most mercenary regulatory agencies (it may take threats, bribes and favors but he usually manages to come out smelling like a rose).
Harry is unpopular with a few mega-corporations who like to dabble in politics. Some poor backwater planets ripe from corporate exploitation have scraped up enough money to hire Harry's cadre platoon. As a result the corporation's manipulations often come to an abrupt halt. Harry usually comes out way ahead. The victorious planetary leaders, glad to still have their jobs and heads, develop their resources with Harry's help and find that paying him a small percentage is better and cheaper than having the planet subjugated by a heartless corporation. Otherwise the interested corporation is offered a chance to buy Harry off (very under the table) in order to guarantee access to their target. Harry gets paid either way, on one occasion he took corporate up front money to stay out of the way. The target planetary government begged for help and he had a change of heart, took the underdog's side and wiped out the corporate raised mercenary unit. He has gotten paid to stay clear and thus makes money by not fighting. His reputation is so legendary in certain sectors if the mercenaries hear Harry is coming to the aid of one side they won't accept the opposing contract. When they do find themselves opposing him they often go white, surrender, and activate their reparation bonds and leave town ASAP!
- Author: Ronald B. Kline, Jr.