Kell Hounds
This history page written by Dave Smith.
In 3010, Morgan and Patrick Kell, aged 24 and 22, decided to form the Kell Hounds. Arthur Luvon, the late husband of then Archon Katrina Steiner, had been the Kells cousin. Upon his death from cancer in August 3010, the Kells inherited a great deal of money, which they used to form the Kell Hounds. When the brothers arrived on Galatea in early October, they passed the word that they were recruiting for a unit, but they did not hire any MechWarriors for a while. The Kells concentrated on hiring the best techs and astechs they could find. Beside the promise of higher pay, they enticed techs by pointing out that their family owned the Eire BattleMech Company on Arc-Royal, which would provide easy access to parts to fix 'Mechs. The Kells soon had enough techs to service a regiment, and by November of 3010, they had the troops as well. Their first contract was with the Lyran Commonwealth. In 3011, working with Snord's Irregulars, demolished the Thirteenth Marik Milita, found a cache of Nuclear weapons the commander of the Thirteenth tried to use on them, and helped the Irregulars get nine Faberge Eggs. Their next contract was with House Davion, defending against a Kurita raid. The Ninth Sun Zhang academy dropped onto the planet Mara, where the Kell Hounds were stationed, testing the Davions against a future invasion. After tricking the Kuritans, and capturing their JumpShip, the Kell Hounds destroyed the Combine forces that had landed. The survivors made it to their dropship, and attempted to destroy the stolen JumpShip. The attempt almost stranded the Kuritans in the system. In 3016, the Kell Hounds fought the first battle of Mallory's World, in which Prince Ian Davion of the Federated Suns, died. They Kell Hounds arrived just after the price died, and managed to hold off the regiment of Kuritans long enough that the other Davion troops could recover the Prince's body. Following the battle, Morgan Kell, founder of the Kell Hounds, after learning that he possessed the Phantom Mech skill, disbanded the Kell Hounds to battalion size, and left the unit. Thus began the defection....
There was a time, from 3016 to 3027, during which no Kell Hound, past or present, would speak of the unit's collapse. Ex-Kell Hounds brushed off inquiries with the brusque mannerisms of a politician not wanting to be reminded of campaign promises. New members of the Kell Hounds knew nothing of the breakup, which had reduced the regiment to a weak battalion. Older Kell Hounds, the ones left behind when the unit atrophied, never spoke about details, but they had an expression for that time. No matter how cordial my relations with an individual, the words always came out with disgust on the mercenary's face and venom in his voice. The Defection, they called it, as if that explained everything.
-From Mercenaries: The New Breed,
by Jay Mitchell, New Avalon Military Institute Press, 3028
The defection ended with the death of Patrick Kell at the hands of Yorinaga Kurita. Morgan returned to active duty when he learned of this.
During the 4th Succession War, the Kell Hounds fought a major battle against Yorinaga Kurita and his new Genyosha regiment. In a virtual reply of the battle that had been fought on Mallory's World 13 years earlier, Morgan Kell defeated Yorinaga Kurita a second time. Yorinaga performed seppuku, and his son, Akira Brahe, resigned from the Genyosha and joined the Kell Hounds with a portion of the Genyosha. 3030 to 3032 were blessed years for the Kell Hounds as well. In 3030, Morgan Kell and Salome were married, and in two years, the couple had had two children, Phelan Patrick Kell and Caitlin Ward Kell. In 3038, the Kell Hounds made a contract with the Free Worlds League, and were stationed near the Capellan border. Because Daniel Allard was the brother of Justin Allard, the man who had married her sister Candance and humiliated the Confederation during the 4th Succession War, Daniel Allard became the target of Romano's rage. Romano sent an assassin to wipe out the Allards, but the assassin attacked Morgan Kell's house by mistake and was killed by Phelan Kell's dog, Old Keller. When Katrina Steiner died in 3040, Morgan Kell received a substantial legacy from his royal cousin. He used the money to expand the Kell Hounds to two full regiments, promoting Daniel Allard and Scott Bradley to the ranks of Lieutenant Colonel and giving them regimental commands. Akira Brahe was then promoted to the rank of Major, receiving command of the First Regiment's First 'Mech Battalion.
The Steiner legacy and the expansion seemed to guarantee a bright future for the Kell Hounds. Phelan and Caitlin both entered prestigious military academies that would equip them to provide future leadership for the Hounds. Allard and Bradley proved to be able commanders more than capable of working on their own, which freed Morgan to develop educational and other facilities for the Hounds' dependents. Fulfilling a long-held dream, the unit formed a permanent base on the Commonwealth world of Arc-Royal, within the city of Old Connaught. Throughout the 3040s, Morgan worked to make it a suitable place for families to remain when the regiments were stationed elsewhere. In 3042, a 16-year-old youth calling himself Christian Kell appeared on the world Arboris, and presented himself to Morgan Kell as the son of his late Patrick and his mistress Takara. Morgan took him to Outreach to be trained by Wolf's Dragoons, which led to another promotion for Dan Allard. He now commanded the entire unit. Akira Brahe then took over the 1st Regiment. In a battle in the St. Ives Compact, Christian Kell and the remains of his unit received the St. Ives Order of Heroism from the planet Ambergrist. He then was promoted to command of the 1st Battalion. In contrast to Christian Kell's performance in 3048, Phelan Kell was expelled from the Nagelring. The Honor Board at Nagelring dismissed him for stealing a 'Mech, noting that the theft capped a year of increasingly serious problems following the death of his friend D.J. Conner in action on the Marik border. Phelan joined up with the Kell Hounds and went to fight bandits in the periphery. Neither Phelan Kell nor anyone else in the Inner Sphere suspected that an apparent increase in bandit raids signaled the opening offensive in a intergalactic war.
In August of 3049, Phelan Kell was captured by Clan Wolf while hunting bandits in the periphery. Most people had believed him dead, but when he fought as a Star Commander in the Clan Wolf's 13th Wolf Guards, the truth became apparent. There are three major actions the Kell Hounds fought in during the Clan War. At Twycross, Luthien, and Arc-Royal, the Kell Hounds defeated the Clan juggernaut. The battle at Twycross involved the Tenth Lyran Guards, and the Ninth Federated Commonwealth RCT, and the Kell Hounds. Losses were high, but a year-long break in the war allowed the Kell Hounds to rebuild to their pre-war strength, and gave them the time to analyze Clan tactics. At Luthien, the Kell Hounds fought along side the Wolf's Dragoons and several elite Combine units. Forces from Clan Smoke Jaguar, and Clan Nova Cat attempted to seize the planet, but thanks to the Kell Hounds and Wolf's Dragoons, they were unsuccessful. War Lord Theodore Kurita allowed the two mercenaries the first pick of salvage from the battle, so the units could rebuild. In one of the saddest events in Kell Hound history, on June 19, 3055, Archon Melissa Steiner-Davion, and Salome Ward died at the hands of an assassins bomb that Katherine Steiner, Melissa's daughter, had helped form. The last major battle that the Kell Hounds had a part in so far in the Clan War, was at the Kell Hounds' home of Arc-Royal. A renegade Clan bandit force was lured to Arc-Royal by Clan Wolf and the Kell Hounds, and was destroyed. This proved to the citizens of Arc-Royal that if Phelan ever left the Clans, he would have a place in the leadership of the Kell Hounds.
This history page written by Dave Smith.