Narhal’s Raiders was formed from a Marik regiment that fled into the Periphery early in the First Succession War. After teaming up with the remnants of a ‘Mech regiment from the Rim Worlds Republic, the new unit took the name Narhal’s Raiders after its leader, Tyilik Narhal, and the Narhal Rover, a vicious, horned predator native to the commander’s world. It is the stylized skull of a Narhal Rover that is depicted on the unit’s patch. For ten years, Narhal’s Raiders plundered the Free Worlds League and the Capellan Confederation.
In 2899, Ustinov Matthews overthrew the Narhal family’s control of the unit. Tired of the brigand life, General Matthews sought out and won agreeable contracts with the Capellan Confederation and then the Federated Suns.
Just before the second war, Narhal’s Raiders moved to the Lyran Commonwealth, where they have remained, except for a short and disastrous stint with the Capellan Confederation from 2849-2859. The unit’s financial situation went from bad to worse because the Commonwealth made sure the Raiders would stay put by managing to put them in more debt than they could ever repay from their missions. Toward the end of the second war, the Raiders were in desperate shape.
In 2866, Archon Elizabeth Steiner purposely renegotiated their contract in their favor to upgrade the unit’s equipment and moral. Since that time, the Raiders have made a steady comeback.
Another longtime Steiner unit, Narhal’s Raiders surprised many when they did not support Katherine Steiner-Davion’s formation of the Lyran Alliance. As soon as Katherine announced the existence of the new state, the unit petitioned Prince Victor Steiner-Davion for an amicable release from its contract with the Federated Commonwealth. Convinced that the mercenaries would immediately swear allegiance to his sister, Victor initially refused the Raiders’ request. However, the prince relented when the Raiders’ commanding officer pointed out that the unit’s contract bound it to guard the Lyran state from “all forms of predation”—and informed Victor that he considered the new Alliance a form of predation, making the unit duty-bound to launch an immediate attack on the Lyran Alliance Armed Forces in Victor’s name.
The Raiders traveled immediately to Outreach but remained there only long enough to spend their contract fee on ‘Mech upgrades and to sign on with the Draconis Combine. While on Outreach, the commanding officer rebuffed the Lyran representative by refusing any official meeting. When publicly accosted, he proceeded to tell the LAAF officer, loudly, just how much Katherine differed from her grandmother Katrina, 'whose good name she is trying to steal.” An amateur vid recording of the incident made it into the syndicated news and has received extensive play throughout the Federated Commonwealth and the Arc-Royal Defense Cordon.
Subsequently, the Raiders were assigned to Kilmarnock in the Combine’s Pesht District—an assignment that raised eyebrows, as two veteran regiments were already garrisoning the world. The assignment makes strategic sense in the light of the Combine offensive against the Smoke Jaguars, however; the Raiders’ placement allows both veteran DCMS regiments to participate in assaults against the Clan forces.
[Back to the Mercenary Units of the Inner Sphere]
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