Battletech Campaign: Who are the Devil's Aces?

"When you make a deal with the devil, you pay him his due"

Back in 2011, I began developing an idea for a Battletech campaign who's genesis came from three sources:

1. A very good friend of mine, Don, ran a great campaign for GASP back in '08-'09 based on the Operation: Stilleto scenario book and some additions of his own (pilot skills, storyline changes) that had ended.
2. The excellent Sword & Dragon sourcebook & the Chaos Campaign system released by Catalyst for running linked missions.
3. My own desire to finally enjoy some consistent Battletech-gaming. 

Out of that impetus, I began diving into the collections of scenario books I owned, but I kept feeling like all of them didn't really "tell" a story, rather invited the players to just be the equivalent of historical reenactors. Sure, fighting the battle of Luthien during the Clan Invasion or storming the gates on Terra is really fun, but I didn't feel like it made the players invest in the game.

Don's GASP campaign had a great approach of encouraging players to create their own pilot and the story was new enough (or vague enough to the overall storyline) that it felt like our actions and our successes mattered. Aside from Sword & Dragon which quantified those successes in WPs though, nothing I could find from Catalyst really created the feel I wanted and that left me one choice - write a campaign. And so the Devil's Aces were born.
**********************************************************************************

Initial Unit Logo I scratch-built

So who are the Devil's Aces?
A: The Devil's Aces are a mercenary unit founded around the time of the 4th Succession War by the son of slain Crucis March nobleman. After a series of events, Virgil Dantes appeared on Outreach as a complicated and brooding man with the money to fund his own army. Forming a unit of misfits and outcasts similar to himself, the Devil's Aces had minor success until disaster befell unit. A contract gone wrong, most of his pilots dispossessed, and on their way back to Outreach, Dantes considered disbanding the unit. Someone had other plans though.

Upon returning to Outreach, Dantes would be met by a Mr. Williams, a shadowy corporate contact, seeking an audience with the Aces to hire them. Despite Dantes explanation of their current operational strength, Mr. Williams explained it wouldn't matter as his Benefactor had considerable resources at their disposal, including a company of Battlemechs that needed a good set of pilots. In fact, to sweeten the deal, Mr. Williams even stated that Dantes' own dispossessed status would be rectified with a new Marauder II that Williams had brought with him to Outreach. Some deals could be too good to be true, but what choice did Dantes have?
********************************************************************************

In the weeks to come, I'll give you folks a rundown on the two campaigns I've produced so far which I hope you'll find interesting.