Cullen Craig

Cullen Craig
Personal
Affiliation	Northwind Highlanders Swann's Cavaliers
Profile
Rank	Major
Profession	MechWarrior

Cullen Craig was an officer with the Northwind Highlanders, originally serving as the commanding officer of Stirling's Fusiliers, Third Battalion in 3058.

History

Cullen was native-born on Northwind and enlisted into the Northwind Highlanders, where he rose to the rank of Major, commanding Third Battalion of Stirling's Fusiliers. Under Major McFranklin's command, the Fusiliers regiment was becoming unprincipled, with favoritism, nepotism, and other less-than-ethical actions becoming normalized, which Craig was quite comfortable with. By 3058, McFranklin's death in battle and replacement with the former Death Commando Major Loren Jaffray caused friction, both with Craig and with his fellow Fusilier Major Kurt Blakadar. Jaffray wanted to turn the regiment around by improving training and eliminating unethical activity, but his complete overhaul of the Fusilers' operations upset both Majors, who resented the changes and complained to both Jaffray and to their superior officer, Colonel Andrea Stirling

After the Fusiliers had been contracted to take Wayside V from Clan Smoke Jaguar, Craig and Blakadar had a meeting with Jaffray and the unit's Chief Technician. Jaffray discussed his planned changes to the unit, including a switch to energy weapons to lower ammunition dependency and incorporating more jump-capable 'Mechs into the regiment. Craig protested and wished to slow the alterations to the unit's equipment profile, but Jaffray refused to change his orders. The same day, Craig went to protest directly to Colonel Stirling, but she refused to veto Jaffray's orders and indicated that she was supporting his actions as her Executive Officer.

Wayside V

Once on Wayside V, the operation quickly descended into chaos as they encountered the Smoke Jaguars' new front-line Tau Galaxy as opposed to the second-line forces they had anticipated. During an officers' meeting on July 3, Craig suggested to entrench in the Isthmus of Bannockburn and await the reinforcements, but when the other officers pointed out the impossibility of the option, he refused to change of opinion. Craig was also present during Jaffray's interrogation a captured Smoke Jaguar officer, Kerndon, and when Kerndon refused to answer to Craig's questions (as Smoke Jaguar honor held that Kerndon was only answerable to his bondholder, in this case Loren Jaffray, unless ordered otherwise), Craig almost struck the injured prisoner in a fit of prideful anger.

During the July 9th battle on the Isthmus of Bannockburn, Craig and his Third Battalion were on the front line of the engagement, with the Smoke Jaguar Star Colonel Roberta leading a frontal assault on their position. He repeatedly signaled Blakadar to intervene on his behalf with Second Battalion, but Blakadar held back claiming Colonel Stirling was holding them in reserve. Disdaining the chain of command, Craig snapped that Stirling was already dead for all they knew, though he was quickly proven wrong when Stirling ordered Blakadar's battalion into the fray.

After the battle, Craig argued against Stirling's plans repeatedly, later mocking Blakadar's belief that Jaffray would return from his mission to draw Clan Nova Cat forces to Wayside V in order to take advantage of the Nova Cats and Smoke Jaguars' mutual enmity, instead claiming Jaffray had abandoned them. Stirling had to order him into silence.

After nearly two weeks of launching hit-and-fade attacks and the subsequent Jaguar reprisals, the Fusilers had retreated south. Craig was even more nervous, and once again argued against Stirling's strategy, and her faith in Jaffray. In a moment of anger, he let slip that he was jealous of Jaffray's position as Executive Officer and resented Stirling's decision of the newcomer Jaffray over Craig's six years of service within the Fusiliers. This was only compounded by her later decision to elevate Blakadar to XO while Jaffray was absent on his false-flag mission. Ashamed by the outburst, Craig offered to command the rearguard action that the Highlanders had to leave behind, including most of the personnel and equipment that could not move on the airless elevated continents of Wayside V. Stirling feared Craig may have cracked, but he aggressively denied this and insisted he was fit to fight when Blakadar gave him his orders. Despite this, he continued to voice bitter disapproval of Stirling, Jaffray, and even Blakadar.

Craig and his remaining rearguard forces attempted to hold the Jaguars, but true to their nature the Jaguars had mustered an overwhelming force that heavily outclassed his diminished unit. Craig reluctantly ordered his forces to disperse as the Jaguars split up to run them down. At some point in the battle, his Victor was struck by a Gauss rifle shot and fell, knocking him out. When he awoke, he was greeted by the sight of his rearguard force, slaughtered by the Jaguars and left to rot where they fell. More furious than ever and blaming Jaffray and Stirling for the destruction of the rearguard, Craig was able to return his 'Mech to some mobility and limped towards the rendezvous point.

Moving unsupported, Craig was only able to reach the rendezvous by August 8, more than two weeks after the failed rearguard action. By this point, the rendezvous location had become a free-for-all battle. Craig was initially confused by the presence of both a Cauldron-Born and a Supernova, but after realizing that the Nova Cats had been lured to Wayside V, he was dismayed and ashamed at the realization of how wrong he had been about Jaffray's loyalty and his plan.

Independent Mercenary

Craig survived the Battle of Wayside (3058), but this did little to appease him. After returning to Northwind, he addressed to the Assembly of Warriors, blaming Jaffray for all the losses and claiming him to be a poisonous influence. When they refused to listen him and Colonel William MacLeod attempted to calm his temper, a furious Craig impulsively resigned his commission in the Highlanders and promised to take revenge for what he described as their "treason".

By 3067 Craig had joined Swann's Cavaliers, where he was the commander of Charlie Battalion. He was a popular choice to succeed Colonel Edmund Repplier, the Cavaliers' aging commander. However, during to the events of the Bad Rock Massacre in 3068, the Cavaliers' Charlie Battalion was completely overrun and destroyed by Camacho's Caballeros, who had become enraged after learning of the deaths of civilians on their homeworlds and returned to destroy the offending unit. No mention is made of Craig's survival. In the unlikely event of Craig's escape from the destruction of his battalion, he would have had a bounty placed on his head by the MRBC due to the many war crimes perpetrated by Swann's Cavaliers.

BattleMech

Craig's only known 'Mech was a VTR-9D Victor.

Bibliography

• Impetus of War (novel)
• Mercenaries Supplemental Update