Death Oath

The Death Oath was a tradition within the Waco Rangers Mercenary Unit. It ensured that no Wolf's Dragoons personnel received any mercy upon capture. This tradition was created by Wayne Waco after witnessing the death of his only son, John Waco, at the hands (or more accurately, beneath the feet) of the Dragoons, and lasted until the Rangers' total destruction in the First Battle of Harlech.

“	Fine, fine, another merc to test. I just hope we eventually meet with Waco Grangers, or Rangers, or whoever they are	”
	— Jaime Wolf, after hearing about the Death Oath.

Origins

The Death Oath started in 3007 when Wayne Waco and his Mercenary unit was employed by the Lyran Commonwealth to repel Wolf's Dragoons. During the battle, John Waco was surrounded by a lance of Dragoon BattleMechs focusing fire on his Wasp until it was destroyed. Fortunately, John was able to eject and hide from the enemy 'Mechs, but young Waco would not last for long. As one of the Rangers' 'Mechs spotted the young MechWarrior, they made a quick dash to save him. However a Dragoon Stalker decided to engage the 'Mech trying to save John, and unaware of the downed pilot, stepped on him, killing young Waco instantly. The elder Waco was in shock of what happened and after the battle ended, he would bring charges against the Dragoons for killing his son. Two sides of the story were brought to the ComStar Mercenary Review Board's attention: Wayne and his Rangers accused Wolf's Dragoons of deliberately murdering John in cold blood, while Jaime Wolf and his Dragoons maintained their innocence claiming that his death was an accident. After the evidence was reviewed, the Dragoons were cleared of any wrongdoing. A furious Wayne Waco decided to take matters into his own hands by creating the "Death Oath", as a way to get revenge on Wolf's Dragoons.

Effects

Economic and Personal Effects

Waco's Death Oath affected the Rangers personnel both emotionally and economically. From an emotional standpoint, Waco's personnel felt the impact of John Waco's death, when the Oath was given. Some members would sympathize with Colonel Wayne's revenge while others saw this as an act of betrayal of what the unit stood for. As for the economic effect, many members within the Rangers would stay to honor the oath, with some of them walking away from the mercenary unit altogether in disgust. New recruits joining the Waco Rangers would now have to accept the Death Oath as a new standard.

Dragoon Allies

The Death Oath would even extend to anyone who was not in Wolf's Dragoons, such as friends or allies. One notable example was Cranston Snord of Snord's Irregulars mercenary unit. After learning about the ties between the Irregulars and Dragoons, Wayne Waco would confront Cranston about this fact. Even though Snord told Waco that his relationship with Jaime was not his business, he did confirm that he and Wolf were close friends. As a result of Snord's friendship with the Dragoons, Wayne and his mercenary unit would attempt to ambush Cranston and his Irregulars on the planet of Nockatunga. Of course, this plan would backfire after the Rangers were defeated and Wayne was spared.

Employers

It would also affect how the Waco Rangers pursued their contracts. Waco's Death Oath would ensure that the Rangers would not work for any Successor State that also employed the Dragoons, with every contract signed by the Rangers including a clause that if their employer was planning to hire the Dragoons, they would have to provide advance warning of their decision to allow the mercenaries to let their contract expire. Chancellor Maximilian Liao would be the first to run afoul of this clause when he hired the Dragoons in mid-3011. This would result in Waco declaring his then current contract with the Confederation void with the Rangers raiding Liao supply bases on Korion before departing Liao space. Though Liao was livid, as he was the one who breached the terms of the contract there was little he could do but seethe in anger.

Ironically, only the Rangers took the Oath seriously: the Dragoons didn't, which pissed off Wayne more than anything, as both groups rarely clashed. Manny Totske, a Rangers officer, said decades later than the Rangers-Dragoons feud was "A joke long past its time".

Downfall

The Death Oath would eventually cause the destruction of both Colonel Waco and his Mercenary unit. While the Colonel succeeded in killing Jaime Wolf and causing a great deal of Dragoon and civilian casualties in the unit's ruthless attack on Outreach in the First Battle of Harlech, he himself was also killed in the duel and his Rangers would be hunted and destroyed to a man by the enraged dragoons. However, Wolf's Dragoons would survive the Jihad in a weakened state.

Bibliography

• Combat Manual: Mercenaries
• Dawn of the Jihad
• Mercenary's Handbook
• Rhonda's Irregulars
• Shrapnel (magazine)
• Wolf's Dragoons