Kell Hounds

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Kell Hounds: 1st Regiment: Experience: Elite / Loyalty: Fanatical / Employer: Steiner
Kell Hounds: 2nd Regiment: Experience: Elite / Loyalty: Fanatical / Employer: Steiner

Book Summaries

Warrior: En Garde (author Michael A. Stackpole)
THE ARCHON-DESIGNATE UNDER SIEGE! Melissa Steiner, heir-apparent of the Lyran Commonwealthh, has been hijacked aboard her interstellar Jumpship, just when her secret betrothal to Prince Hanse Davion of the Federated Suns would cement the most powerful alliance in the Inner Sphere... Meanwhile, two half-brothers, Justin & Daniel Allard, find themselves fighting on opposite sides of the Inner Sphere's endless battles. Stripped of his rank, honor, and even name, Justin Xiang Allard is exiled to Solaris VII, and there wages war agianst Hanse Davion's surrogates in the gladitorial arenas. His brother, Daniel, a lance commander in the dreaded Kell Hounds mercenary battalion, uncovers the plot agianst Melissa Steiner and undertakes to ensure her safety - and along with it, the safety of the Inner Sphere. Both men face fierce fights, but in the Inner Sphere, where nobles have schemed for centuries to win ultimate power, those who interfere with the Successor Lords are sometimes called heroes, and sometimes called victims. Will the beautiful Melissa be rescued? Will Justin Xiang redeem himself? Find out in...WARRIOR: EN GARDE

Warrior: Riposte (author Michael A. Stackpole)
For over 250 years, war, petty hatreds, and slowly failing technology have halted all attempts to unify the Inner Sphere. Five Successor States, splintered remnants of the great Star League, now struggle for control. But all that will soon change when Hanse Davion and Melissa Steiner marry. As the cement an alliance betweentheir two powerful Houses, the balance of power among the Warlords of the Inner Shpere irrevocably changes. A new golden age of peace and prosperity may soon replace hundreds of years of interstellar war. A golden age is not part of Maximilian Liao's plan. He has just joined with Duke Micheal Hasek-Davion and Justin Xiang, a former Davion officer, to set in motion a sinister plot to rip apart the Federated Suns asunder. And in Kurita space, Yorinaga Kurita has suddenly reappeared to claim his place as one of the finest warriors of all time. Though many had thought him dead, Yorinaga is very much alive as he prepares his unit for their final confrontation with the Kell Hounds.

Warrior: Coupe (author Michael A. Stackpole)
THE HONEYMOON IS OVER. The armies of Prince Hanse Davion continue to advance through the Capellan Confederation all but unopposed. Maximilian Liao's realm crumbles around him, yet within the madman's court, his two faithful advisors plot Hanse Davion's downfall. Justin Xiang, disgraced and exiled by the prince himself, devises a that wil use Davion's own technological advances against him. Justin's partner, Tsen Shang, executes an even more crippling blow - a strike into the heart of the Federated Suns meant to destroy the ability of Davion's forces to travel between the stars... Half a galaxy away, assassins stalk Archon Katrina Steiner and her daughter, Hanse's wife, Melissa Steiner, through the secret passages of her own palace whle scheming nobles form treacherous power alliances that threaten to deleiver the Lyran Commonwealth to Katrina's enemies. Theodore Kurita masterminds an invasion of the Commonwealth that will cut it off from its ally, the Federated Suns. Yet the only MechForce capable of blunting that invasion - the Kell Hounds - are invovled in a deadly game of search and destroy with the most fearsome Kurita unit ever formed - the Genyosha! In a world where 10-meter-tall war machines are the soul of the battle, assassins are tools of state policy and a spy's loyalty is always for sale, nothing but death and destruction are certain. Who can you trust, and for how long? And, in the bitter end, how will you be betrayed? Hanse Davion's forces are winning. For now...

Lethal Heritage (author Michael A. Stackpole)
THEY ARE COMING. From beyond the Periphery comes a threat. A military force of unknown origin. NOTHING WE HAVE CAN STOP THEM. Their power speed and ferocity are unparalleled. Some of the finest warriors and ablest units have challenged them and failed. No force from the Inner Sphere has faced them and won. THE CLANS An alien juggernaut whose sole reason for being is battle. A race that selectively breeds itself for combat. HUMANITY'S ONLY HOPE IS AN ALLlANCE OF MORTAL ENEMIES. The Federated Commonwealth and The Draconis Combine, interstellar empires at war for 300 years, must now stand side by side or face certain destruction.

Blood Legacy (author Michael A. Stackpole)
THEY HAVE ARRlVED. The Clan invaders have chosen their next objective - Luthien, capitol of the Draconis Combine. House Kurita must now fight for survival on its homeworld. NOTHING WE HAVE CAN STOP THEM. Hanse Davion is presented with a situation undreamt of... final defeat of the Dragon - House Kurita. Should he attack his distracted foe and destroy the enemy his family has battled for over 300 years? Or should he reinforce a fellow House of the Inner Sphere against a force that Davion ond the Federated Commonwealth might not otherwise defeat when the time comes? THE CLANS. Since appearing in the Inner Sphere, the Clans have moved from planet to planet with utter disregard for any opposing force. Their technology is superior to anything the Inner Sphere possesses. Their race is selectively bred for combat. They appear to be unstoppable. HUMANlTY'S ONLY HOPE - AN ALLIANCE OF MORTAL ENEMIES - MAY BE DOOMED. ComStar, the semi-mystic sect that controls interstellar communication, moves to engineer circumstances that will hurl Davion, Kurita, and the Clans into a war that will leave ComStar in a position to dominate what was once the Star League.

Lost Destiny (author Michael A. Stackpole)
THEY HAVE CONQUERED The Clan invaders are driving toward their ultimate objective - Terra, cradle of humankind and hub of the Comstar communications network. NOTHING WE HAVE CAN STOP THEM The heir to the throne of the Draconis Combine is missing. Whole regiments of BattleMechs lie smashed like abondoned toys. Rasalhague is overrun. The Clans are sweeping toward the center of the Inner Sphere in a relentless tide. THE CLANS Invaders from beyond the Periphery, the Clans have beaten the forces of the Inner Sphere repeatedly. Warriors bred for battle and mated to fantastic war machines, Clansmen live for victory and pray for death before defeat. HUMANITY'S ONLY HOPE IS THE INNER SPHERE'S MOST POWERFUL TRAITOR Comstar betrayed the Inner Sphere by aiding the Clans in their conquest. Now the mystic sect that controls all interstellar communications must face the Clan hordes alone. The untested warriors of Comstar are the Inner Sphere's lasat defense against total defeat.

1652 The Kell Hounds (c)1988
When Morgan and Patrick Kell first formed the mercenary Kell Hounds in 3010, few thought they'd survive for long. When Katrina Steiner gave them a contract, the Hounds wasted no time in becoming one of the most feared and respected merc units in the Inner Sphere.
It was not the first or the last time that the fate of the Kells would become intricately bound up with House Steiner. Morgan Kell helped to save Katrina's life during an assassination plot even before she became Archon. Then it was an inheritance from Katrina's husband, Arthur, a cousin of the Kells, that permitted the brothers to finance their dream of founding a merc unit. Much later, Patrick Kell gave his life to rescue Melissa Steiner, heir to the Lyran throne and Hanse Davion's fiancée, when she was kidnapped by agents of the Draconis Combine.
The Kell Hounds played key roles in Davion history, too. They were there when Yorinaga Kurita killed Ian Davion on Mallory's World. They held off the Second Sword of Light long enough for Davion forces to recover the Prince's body, but Kurita escaped.
From that day, Yorinaga Kurita and the Kell Hounds were destined to face one another in a series of climactic battles. When Morgan and Yorinaga dueled in one of these, a legend was born. The mystical nature of that battle left Morgan so shaken that he disbanded most of his regiment and joined a monastery.
The Kell Hounds survived under the leadership of Patrick Kell. After Yorinaga killed Patrick on Styx, Morgan Kell came out of exile to rebuild his unit. He knew it was only a matter of time before he and Yorinaga would meet again on a day of final reckoning.
THE KELL HOUNDS is a scenario pack containing 11 BATTLETECH, 2 BATTLEFORCE, and 2 MECHWARRIOR scenarios. It also provides personality profiles on the principal members of the Kell Hounds, a unit roster, and a history of the unit.

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