Northwind Highlanders

The Northwind Highlanders are an esteemed mercenary group in the BattleTech universe, with a rich history traced back to their Scottish origins.

History
While serving with House Liao's Capellan Confederation, their homeworld of Northwind was captured by House Davion's Federated Suns during the Second Succession War. Liao used stories of Davion atrocities to cement their loyalty. During the Fourth Succession War, they reached a negotiated deal with Davion to return to Northwind in December 3028. They arrived just as the planet was about to fall to the Draconis Combine. Under Davion, their four regiments were rebuilt to full strength.

They had the First Kearny battle standard presented to them by Omi Kurita before launching an attack on Clan Smoke Jaguar in 3058. During the Second Star League, Members of the Northwind Highlanders (and residents on Northwind itself) remembering their heritage of being descended from the Blackwatch of the First Star League joined the newly recreated Blackwatch

Later, in the MechWarrior: Dark Age universe, the Northwind Highlanders, led by Countess Tara Campbell, are a part of the Republic of the Sphere and fight to protect it from internal and external foes. The Highlanders are made of three groups. The green unit is the Republican Guards, the veteran unit is the Northwind Fusiliers, and the elite unit is the First Kearny.

Mechwarior:Dark Age Update
The Introduction of the Highlanders describes them as the main military force presiding in Prefecture III, even though SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) of the Republic Armed Forces. Showcasing that factionlism has even effected the forces of the Republic of the Sphere.

Leader: Prefect Tara Campbell

Quote: “In the name of Devlin Stone, we will survive.”

Overview: Legate of Northwind before the current troubles began, Countess Campbell is horrified by how quickly the common people of Prefecture III have forgotten all the Republic of the Sphere did for their prosperity and protection. More, they seem to have forgotten Devlin Stone and the high ideals he espoused. Her disgust is compounded tenfold toward the other leaders in the Prefecture, who should be setting an example, not letting their avarice lead them astray.

Her dismay is centered on ex-Prefect Katana Tormark, whom Tara served under in the past and respected for years. When Tormark was offered a Knighthood but refused, Campbell was torn between hero worship and horror. Though she has no real ambition for personal power, she’s convinced that only she can keep the Prefecture from sliding into anarchy. She has thus stepped up to fill Katana’s shoes in the Republic post Katana abandoned when she founded the Dragon’s Fury. Countess Campbell has now called upon all who remain loyal to the memory of Devlin Stone and the Republic to stand against the falling darkness.

Using the Republic Army forces in the immediate Prefectures as her base, Campbell began expanding her troops via volunteers and militia forces. She is clearly biding her time until larger elements of the Republic’s army can be mobilized and assist her in holding together the Great Experiment. Given our own difficulties in doing the same within House Kurita, our analysts do not anticipate that Countess Campbell will receive much help any time soon.

ELITE UNIT: First Kearny

MOTTO: “Our Legacy Is Our Sword.”

The First Kearny Highlanders are the heirs of a military tradition that stretches back more than fifteen centuries — a history unmatched by any other Inner Sphere regiment currently in service. From the first Scottish regiments raised in the seventeenth century, through Humanity’s expansion to the stars in the twenty-second century, through their reincarnation as the Kearny Highlanders on Northwind in the twenty-fourth century, through the centuries of Succession Wars and through today, no unit is more respected for its battlefield prowess or tradition of excellence.

At the time of the Word of Blake Jihad, the Highlanders fielded five full regiments. Only three partial regiments survived that crucible, and when swords turned to plowshares during the demilitarization and formation of the Republic, all but the First Kearny were decommissioned.

Though peace and prosperity have ruled for two generations, the men and women of the First Kearny have maintained their expertise through grueling training and a devotion to their legacy. More important, they have sworn an oath that never again will they allow a catastrophe like the Jihad to occur. If ever the Word of Blake rears its head again, they have vowed to see to its immediate destruction.

VETERAN UNIT: Northwind Fusiliers

MOTTO: “A New Tradition”

The Northwind Fusiliers were commissioned soon after the communications grid was lost and rumors of war began to circulate. Although they were originally intended only as a home guard for Northwind, Tara Campbell has deployed them on numerous worlds in her effort to hold the Republic together.

Like the Republican Guards, the Northwind Fusiliers are a relatively new unit. Unlike the Guards, however, not only is the entire officers’ corps taken from the First Kearny, but most of its members are descended from the decommissioned Second Kearny and Northwind Hussars regiments as well. As a result, though the men and women of the Fusiliers had not actively engaged in combat or formal training before the blackout, most of them had kept up the military traditions of their forefathers as weekend warriors. Well-versed in the theories of warfare, they transformed the Fusiliers from a wet-behind-the-ears green unit into a solid line regiment much more quickly than Campbell had believed possible.

GREEN UNIT: Republican Guards

MOTTO: “For the Republic”

The Republican Guards are in essence a citizen’s militia. When Tara Campbell assumed the post of Prefect, she quickly realized that many of the forces formerly at the Prefect’s disposal had sided with various leaders, and fighting had already broken out in the Prefecture.

Realizing she had no choice, she put out a call to every able-bodied man and woman who was willing to fight for the ideals of Devlin Stone and the Republic, which had given them so much peace and prosperity over the past several decades. She received a torrent of responses, with many people simply booking passage on the next DropShip to Northwind, landing on her doorstep with nothing but the clothes on their backs and an old rifle that had been gathering dust in their grandparents’ house for years.

This dedication has served them well, but regardless of their passion for the cause of the Republic, they are a militia formed from people who recently were tending children and desk jobs.

Novels

 * Highlander Gambit
 * Impetus of War
 * A Silence in the Heavens
 * Truth and Shadows
 * Service for the Dead
 * Flight of the Falcon