Jolly Roger Affair
Sarna News
The Jolly Roger Affair (also occasionally called the Jolly Roger plan) was a clandestine ComStar operation that sought to increase the fighting between the Lyran Commonwealth and the Draconis Combine along their coreward (Periphery) border by sponsoring independent pirate forces starting in 3001. Although a success in this respect, the operation went bad when some of the pirates turned against ComStar in 3004; it was subsequently terminated and covered up.
Background
In 2997 the LCAF high command requested a slowdown in their offensive against the Draconis Combine to rest their exhaustet troops. Although Archon Alessandro Steiner refused, the military found ways to bog down the offensive. At the same time across the border, the DCMS had lost their fighting spirit under Hohiro Kurita's excessively centralized control and increasing paranoia; save for the (failed) attack on Hesperus II the Kurita military preferred to concentrate on the Federated Suns.
Always anxious to maintain the balance of power in the Inner Sphere, ComStar's First Circuit wanted to escalate the Steiner/Kurita fighting in the Third Succession War. With only marginal endorsement of Primus Allen Rusenstein, the First Circuit ordered ROM in 3001 to enact a plan to supply pirate forces in the periphery with BattleMech, Fighters and DropShips to escalate military tensions. Renegade MechWarriors were provided with financial and logistical aid to set up pirate operations in various isolated parts of the periphery. ComStar even went so far as to provide them with bases on lost periphery worlds that had been rediscovered by the Explorer Corps years earlier; the existence of these worlds had been kept concealed from the Successor States.
No trace could ever be found linking any of the equipment, financial aid or information to ComStar.
The Jolly Roger plan
The plan went quite well initially. The pirates accepted the aid and equipment without asking too many questions, and several new Bandit Kingdoms sprung up in short order. By spring 3002 the Lyran Commonwealth repeatedly came under attack from periphery bandits, and within half a year the same pirates struck against the Draconis Combine as well. The Commonwealth and Combine blamed each other of having sponsored the pirate attacks and escalated their tensions. Suspicious about each other's motives and pressured by the raids, both moved regiments of key troops out to their periphery borders.
Within ComStar, this was seen as a great success at covertly exercising power in the periphery and manipulating the Successor States. In the light of the apparent success, Primus Rusenstein did not hesitate to accept the credit.
Termination
In 3004 two of the Jolly Roger Bandit Kings, "Black" Jack McGirk and Darleen Dunson, became lovers and joined forces. Between them, they fielded almost a regiment of BattleMechs and support forces which they used to conduct a lightning-fast series of raids along the Commonwealth periphery border. Following their example, other pirates also joined forces to gear up on choice targets.
Jolly Roger quickly spun out of control. On orders of the Primus, Precentor Kintero of the ComStar Guards and Militia tried to negotiate with the renegades to bring them back into line with ComStar's agenda but his party was forced to battle their way out of the bandit's holdings, and Darleen Dunson was killed in the process.
Infuriated over the death of his lover and feeling backstabbed by his former benefactors, "Black" Jack McGirk laid waste to the HPG componds on the worlds of Lost and Canal, killing dozens of personnel. While the Lyran Commonwealth was told that the HPGs had only suffered light damage from periphery raiders, Primus Rusenstein ordered the First Division of the ComStar Guards and Militia to exterminate the renegade pirates. It cost ComStar dearly: McGirk's forces achieved a 2.3 to 1 kill ratio against the unexperienced ComStar Guards in a three-day battle on the isolated, unmapped world of Trisha some eight jumps into the periphery before being wiped out.
Although he really had little personal responsibility for the affair, the failure was blamed on Primus Rusenstein for his support rather than on the actual sponsors of the plan, and severely damaged his position and authority. The Jolly Roger Affair, together with the unexpected appearance of the five regiments of pristine 'Mechs of Wolf's Dragoons seemingly out of nowhere, led to his forced resignation from office a year later.