Grey
Death Legion:Grey
Death Legion:Experience: Elite. Loyalty: reliable. Employer: Steiner.
In 3021, a Lyran Commonwealth unit known as Carlyle's Commandos was sent to garrison Trell I, a back world near the coreward edge of the Lyran space. In the winter of 3024, a politically ambitious Kurita noble, Duke Hassid Ricol, attack the world in an attempt to torpedo an agreement between the Commonwealth and a Periphery bandit king-and to win control of the tactically useful planet for his own ends. The attack destroyed the Commandos, killing unit commander Durant Carlyle and sending his son,Grayson Death Carlyle, into hiding. Determined to avenge his father's death, Grayson received his Trell infantry forces and 'Mechs belonging to Duke Ricol. By seizing command of the faltering infantry, Grayson managed to take down a Wasp and capture a Locust intact. This was the birth of the Gray Death Legion-one functioning 'Mech and handful of motorized infantry.
The fighting on Trell I molded the unit in form and function. Seriously outnumbered, grayson and his followers raided the Kurita garrison for supplies and salvaged enemy 'Mechs, often putti9ng machines back into service before damage could be fully repaired. His fledgling unit's trial by fire, however, was Grayson's successful use of infantry against BattleMechs, a tactic widely considered to be a waste of manpower and lives. The Legion built on this concept, becoming one of the first successful combined-arms commands in the thirty-first century warfare.
Through the unit became well known for its heroic stands against the overwhelming odds and its uniquely effective tactics, the Gray Death Legion achieved its greatest fame and notoriety on the world of Helm, where it recovered a Star League-era computer memory core. Lord Garth of Irian and a team of ComStar adepts conspired to fame the Legion for the civilian massacre in order to force the unit off the world and so cover their search for the hidden Star League base. With its usual resourcefulness, the Gray Death Legion envaded the enemy forces and found the base first. They managed to copy the computer;s memory core, which contained a vast array of information ranging from JumpShip engine blueprints to files on the genetic manipulation of farm animals. The unit manage its escape from Helm only with the help of an unexpected ally-its old enemy, Duke Ricol, who most assuredly had his own reasons for ensuring the Legion's survival. Copies of the Gray Death memory core, as it would come to be known, were distributed throughout the Successor States in an effort to promote a recover of lost technology.
The Gray Death Legion first met the Clan juggernaut on Sudeten. Aware that they could not stand against the enemy's superior technology, Grayson Carlyle led his unit in a fighting withdrawal that severely mauled the Jade Falcons' 124th Striker Cluster. This strategy gave the legion warriors a taste of what they would face in every encounter with the Clans, and kept the Legion from destroying itself by defending an untenable position. Stationed on Pandora for rest and refit during the year of peace, the Legion received some of the first shipments of new technology being produced in the Inner Sphere and readied itself for the Clans' return. When the Jade Falcons landed on Pandora. they faced the grinning skull insignia of the Gray Death Legion. The Legion fought a bloody battle, eventually driving off the Falcons through sheer skill and tenacity.
In April of 3056, Grayson Death Carlyle swore an oath of fealty to Victor Steiner-Davion, who in turn granted the Legion the world of Glengarry as a landhold. After more then thirty years of living from assignment to assignment, the Legion had found a home for the price of a few words of allegiance. Almost immediately, forces arrayed against Victor tried to deprive them of it. Skye separatists attacked Glengarry while the colonel was on Tharkad, and the burden of command fell to Carlyle's young son Alexander. Alexander proved himself a worthy heir by leading the Legion against the rebels' superior numbers and holding out for more then seven months until his father could bring reinforcements. The fighting cost the Legion dearly, but also proved that the mercenaries had adopted Glengarry as their home and would defend it at all costs.
In 3057, Colonel Carlyle was wounded on Caledonia, suffering severe damage to his ears that might prevent him from ever again piloting a 'mech in battle. Adding to the unit's upheaval, Katherine Steiner-Davion of the newly formed Lyran Alliance declared the Legion in breach of contract for siding with those she named as Caledonian rebels, and divested them of Glengarry. Forced once again to defend its claim to Glengarry the Legion again fought for its survival, this time lead by Lori Kalmar-Carlyle. The Gray Death Legion won the war, but at a high cost in personnel and equipment. Katherine Steiner-Davion recognized Glengarry as the Legion's landhold in return for its pledge of loyalty to the Alliance and Alexander Carlyle's agreement to join the regular Lyran Forces.
Command Lance Marauder Shadow Hawk Wolverine Rifleman Col. Carlyle Kalmar Sgt. Clay McCall
Fire Lance Warhammer Archer Crusader Shadow Hawk Lt. Kahled Koga Bear Sharyl
Recon Lance Griffin Phoenix Hawk Stinger Stinger Lt. Cristobal DeVillar Kent Blake Sharpley
Decision at Thunder Rift (author William H. Keith, Jr,)
Die, MechWarrior! Die! Thirty meters tall, 70 tons of
quick-strifing death and destruction, the armored war machines
called BattleMechs are the fighting arms of the crumbling star
empires locked in the horror of the Succession Wars. Their pilots
are MechWarriors, 31st-Century knights riding armored machines
powerful enough to take a city apart. Grayson Death Carlye had
been training to be a MechWarrior since he was 10, but his
graduation came sooner than he expected. With his friends and
family dead, his regiment vanished, young Grayson finds himself
stranded on a world turned hostile. And now he will have to learn
the hardest lesson of all: it takes more than armored weaponry to
make a MechWarrior. To claim the title of MechWarrior, he will
have to build a BattleMech regiment from the ground up. All he
has to do iscapture one of those giant killing machines by
himself. If it doesn't kill hime first. BattleTech: Decision at
Thunder Rift is the first in a series of full-length science
fiction novels set in the universe of BattleTech, the exciting
line of SF games and products from FASA Corporation.
Mercenary's Star (author William H. Keith, Jr,)
The Gray Death Legion, born of treachery and deceit, takes its
first job, serving as the training cadre for farmer rebels on the
planet Verthandi. Though Grayson Carlyle has the knack for battle
strategy and tactics, getting the bands of Verthandian freedom
fighters to unite against their superior foes is not always easy.
The Legion has no choice this time. It must win or die, because
the only way off planet is via the capitol city, controlled by
the minions of Carlyle's nemesis, Kurita's Duke Ricol. The story
of Grayson Death Carlyle and the Gray Death Legion began in the
novel Decision at Thunder Rift and continues in this second
BattleTech novel of the Gray Death's adventures.
The Price of Glory (author William H. Keith, Jr,)
The Gray Death Legion has been betrayed. After a year-long
campaign in the service of House Marik, Grayson Carlyle and the
warriors of the Gray Death Legion were ready for a rest. But
their home base has been destroyed, their families scattered, and
now they have been branded as outlaws. A lost Star League
treasure is at stake in a suspenseful race agianst time. Even if
he iis successful, Carlyle must ally himself with old enemies and
his former employers in a savage battle where both sides learn
THE PRICE OF GLORY.
Blood of Heroes (author William H. Keith, Jr,)
Melissa Steiner's assassination ignited the fires of civil war,
and now secessionist factions clamor for rebellion against the
Federal Commonwealth. The rebels' plans hinge on gaining control
of the Skye March, and thus controlling the crucial Terran
Corridor. Throughout the March, civil and military leaders plot
to take up arms against Prince Victor Steiner-Davion. The final
piece of the plan requires the secessionist forces to gain access
to the planet Glengarry and the mercenary group that calls it
home: the Gray Death Legion. When Prince Davion summons Grayson
Death Carlyle and his wife, Lori, to the Federated Commonwealth
capital, the rebel forces seize their chance to establish a
garrison on Glengarry. The rebels didn't expect the legion's
newest members to take matters into their own hands...
Tactics of Duty (author William H. Keith, Jr,)
CHAOS ON CALEDONIA Tyranny. Rebellion. War. Treachery,
tribulation, and a relentless slide into the bloody jaws of
Armageddon! Inseurrection sweeps through the fragmenting
Federated Commonwealth, pitting Steiner against Davion forces,
and civilians against their petty oppressors. On Caledonia, it's
no different - except that the mercenary Gray Death Legion is
caught in the middle of it all. Alex Carlyle, haunted by the
gruesome specter of war, and Davis McCall, a veteran legionaire
and native Caledonian, unexpectedly find themselves key players
in a popular revolt against a cruekl and despised Davion-backed
governor. When the Gray Death Legion is called upon to put down
this very rebellion, they all find themselves pawns in a deadly
game of manipulation and betrayal. But Grayson Carlyle, tactician
supreme and founder of the Legion, is bound by the highest duty -
to protect civilization from self-destruct no matter what the
odds...
Operation Excalibur (author William H. Keith, Jr,)
The mercenary code was broken by the Gray Death Legion during
their desperate fighting on the planet of Caledonia. At least,
that is the ruling of the courts. And the judges decide to hit
below the belt - Grayson Carlyle, revered leader of the now
outlawed mercenary band, is stripped of his title and holdings,
and the legion is banished from Glengarry, the planet they've
called home for years. All seems lost, but Carlyle and his
legendary troop of hardened warriors know they've been set up -
and they have a trump card yet to play. Their dangerous scheme
just might work, with the help of House Steiner - and enough guts
and firepower to restore the name of the mighty Gray Death Legion
to its rightful place of honor. But should they fail, they could
lose a great deal more than their reputation...
1617 The Saga of the Gray Death Legion (c)1986
Treachery and betrayal gave birth to the Gray Death mercenary
regiment, one of the most feared and respected units of the
Succession Wars. It was his father's death at the hands of
traitors on the periphery world of Trellwan that forced young
Grayson Carlyle to create a 'Mech unit from next to nothing and
to face off with the Red Duke, one of Kurita's minions. From then
on, Carlyle and his men struggled long and hard to win respect as
a mercenary unit in the Inner Sphere.
The Gray Death Legion scenario set describes major battles fought
by the unit, as told in the novels Decision at Thunder Rift,
Mercenary's Star, and The Price of Glory. You will follow the
Legion's rise from a mere three 'Mechs to a full combined arms
regiment feared and admired by both enemies and friends. The set
also provides the statistics and condition of the Gray Death
Companions (Carlyle's personal company and bodyguard) and the
conditions of their 'Mechs. Also included are 15 scenarios of
some of the more notable battles fought by the Legion.
Some of the scenarios included are:
* Decision at Thunder Rift
* Thirst for Vengeance
* Betrayal at Helm (4 scenario campaign)
* Breakout at Ko
* Of Blood and Honor