Editing Killer Bees

{{Cleanup|reason=review needed|date=September 2023}}

{{infoBoxMilitaryCommand
| image          = [[Image:KillerBees.svg|150px|Killer Bees]]
| Designation    = Killer Bees
| formed         = [[3025]]
| Disbanded      = 
| Previous Designation = 
| Nickname       = 
| Affiliation    = [[Mercenary]]
| Parent Command = [[Twenty-first Centauri Lancers]]
| Sub-Command    = 
}}
==History==
=== Formation ===
The '''Killer Bees''' formed in [[3025]] from pilots employed by [[Cal-Boeing of Dorwinion|Cal-Boeing]] who were looking for more excitement. First employed by the [[Federated Suns]] and deployed against the [[Capellan Confederation]] as a light recon and raiding force, the Killer Bees began swiftly building a reputation for daring, and were hired by the [[Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces]] to perform missions along the border with the [[Draconis Combine]].<ref name="FMMRp82">''Field Manual: Mercenaries, Revised'', p. 82: "Killer Bees; Death by Paper Cuts"</ref><ref name=cmmp50>''Combat Manual: Mercenaries'', p. 50</ref>

=== The Andurien Secession ===
During the joint [[Magistracy of Canopus]]/[[Duchy of Andurien]] invasion of the Capellan Confederation the Killer Bees were hired by the Magistracy, signing a lucrative contract to provide cadre duties.<ref name="FMMRp82"/> The Killer Bees executed a clause in their cadre duty to withdraw from [[Andarmax]] in August [[3034]] after the Confederation deployed the mercenary heavy [[BattleMech]] unit [[5th McCarron's Armored Cavalry|Rob's Renegades]], the [[Fifth McCarron's Armored Cavalry]] [[regiment]], to recapture Andarmax. The Killer Bees had been training the [[2nd Magistracy Armed Forces Militia Armor Guard|Second Magistracy Armed Forces Militia Armor Guard]], a militia unit composed of tanks, artillery and [[VTOL]]s, and the Armor Guards were determined to fight; however, the Killer Bees regarded staying as a suicide mission. While Rob's Renegades battled the defending [[MacGraw's Marauders]] around the planetary capital and the Second Armor Guards in the Alamance Wastes, quickly inflicting heavy damage on the Guards and forcing them to retreat to a final redoubt. While the Killer Bees were in transit to the [[jump point]] they received word that the anticipated Canopian reinforcements - the [[Second Canopian Cuirassiers]] - had been forced to withdraw from [[Drozan]] in the face of a heavy assault from Capellan forces, meaning that the Second Armor Guards would receive no help.<ref name="Com">''Commitment''</ref> Having been faced with orders to face [[McCarron's Armored Cavalry]] head-on during the Capellan counterattacks the commanding officer of the Killer Bees, [[Major]] [[Ernst Murdoch]], used the terms of his contract specifying that he had the right to prevent the Killer Bees from receiving unnecessary damage to declare their employment contract null and void.<ref name="FMMRp82"/> The Killer Bees accepted a contract from the LCAF, returning to the Tamar region of the Commonwealth.<ref name="Com"/>

=== War of 3039 ===
In the [[War of 3039]] the unit captured a Combine ''[[Invader]]''-class [[JumpShip]] whilst engaged in raids within the [[Alshain Military District]]. While the capture of the JumpShip was a coup for the Killer Bees' infantry special operations personnel, the cost of running and maintaining the JumpShip nearly bankrupted the small command, with personnel resorting to measures like taking part in civilian air shows to raise funds.<ref name="FMMRp82"/><ref name=cmmp50/>

=== Clan Invasion Era ===
Following the War of 3039 the Killer Bees had taken a contract from the [[Free Rasalhague Republic]], despite the poor manner in which the Republic treated mercenaries. The Bees spent years hunting pirates in the [[Periphery]] until [[3048]], when they took a contract from [[Irian BattleMechs Unlimited]] as additional security forces. The contract from Irian BattleMechs was a lucky break for the Bees, as it prevented them from being caught up in [[Operation REVIVAL]], which mauled or destroyed numerous other mercenary units and hit the Republic particularly hard.<ref name="FMMRp82"/><ref name=cmmp50/>

The Bees' recent experience in the Periphery made them a natural choice for the mission launched jointly by the Combine and [[ComStar]] to try and locate the [[Clan Homeworlds]], and [[House Kurita]] agents contacted Major Murdoch directly with an offer of employment. Murdoch accepted, with the Bees working alongside [[Explorer Corps (ComStar)|Explorer Corps]] until the success of [[Operation BULLDOG]] saw the Combine funding for the mission cut and a reduction in the number of Explorer Corps missions. The Bees' contract was picked up by the [[Star League Intelligence Command]] Special Circumstances division after BULLDOG; the division was hiring the best of the mercenary units who had worked for the joint Combine/ComStar operations, and the Bees became the nucleus around which the new Fury Teams were formed.<ref name="FMMRp82"/>

=== The Jihad ===
The Killer Bees were still employed by the [[Second Star League]] when the [[Jihad]] erupted. Busy hunting pirates who claimed to be from [[Clan Smoke Jaguar]], the Bees' received word of the [[Word of Blake]] attack on [[Tukayyid]] and the destruction of the [[First Royal BattleMech Regiment]], prompting them to swiftly mobilize for a return to Tukayyid. The Bees' had friends and family on Tukayyid, and Major Murdoch was determined that they would leave no-one behind. The Bees made a swift journey to Tukayyid, aided by the best quality Explorer Corps maps they could obtain, and deployed via a pirate point near the planet, grounding in the Devil's Bath region. The Bees were shocked to discover more than two hundred people taking shelter in the region, far more than could be evacuated on a single ''Leopard''. Fully aware that the Blakists would swarm the area when they detected the ''Hornet's Nest'' launching, Captain Smith took his covert teams out into the countryside and melted away, whilst the Bees' [[BattleMech#Light|light]] 'Mechs began a series of diversions within the region to draw away their pursuers, allowing the ''Hornet's Nest'' to lift off two days later laden down with the Bees' dependents and wounded from the [[Twenty-first Centauri Lancers]].<ref name="MSUp77">''Mercenaries Supplemental Update'', p. 77: "Killer Bees"</ref>

Two months later Murdoch brought the Bees back to Tukayyid, acting on intelligence from the recovered Lancers personnel, who had highlighted survivors from the Lancers, the First Royals and the [[Com Guards]] all in hiding on the planet. Murdoch had persuaded ComStar to help fund a second recovery effort, one which revolved around gathering survivors at a prearranged rally point. While the ''Gall Wasp'' conducted an elaborate sensor ruse to draw the Blakist [[WarShip]]s away from Tukayyid the ''Hornet's Nest'' made a dangerously hot landing. Ten minutes after landing the ''Hornet's Nest'' lifted off again, taking with it twenty-three refugees and the surviving personnel from Smith's team.<ref name="MSUp77"/>

The Bees attempted to return to Tukayyid again in August 3068, but the Blakists had become too familiar with the Bees' tactics, and Murdoch was forced to abort his third rescue attempt. ComStar continued to find work for the Bees after August 3068, reportedly using them to conduct reconnaissance missions inside the rapidly-expanding [[Word of Blake Protectorate]], providing [[Precentor Martial of ComStar|Precentor Martial]] [[Victor Steiner-Davion]] with intelligence to prevent another disastrous engagement like [[Case White (event)|Case White]]. By 3070 the Bees were suffering from problems because of the lack of time and opportunity to recruit new personnel to replace the casualties taken against the Blakists, particularly amongst the Bees' aerospace units. Rumors were circulating at the time that the highest-ranking surviving Centauri Lancers officer had offered Murdoch the opportunity to make the Bees a part of the rebuilding Lancers.<ref name="MSUp77"/>

After assisting the survivors of the Twenty-first Centauri Lancers escape from Tukayyid, the Bees subsequently accepted an offer to become part of the rebuilt Lancers in [[3072]].<ref>''Jihad Hot Spots: 3072'', p. 105: "Centauri Lancers - Down But Never Out"</ref>

=== Dark Age Era ===
Despite their survival to the Jihad, Cal-Boeing retired the last Killer Bees Stunt Team in [[3091]]. [[Lieutenant Colonel]] [[Thos Cardella]], upon returning to the Lancers from the [[Republic of the Sphere]] wanted to reactivate the Bees to make missions ill-suited to the Lancers. Her proposal was attractive for the Lancers' command. However, the constant need to refit and repair after battles with [[Clan Jade Falcon]] and [[Clan Wolf]] prevented them to do so.<ref> ''Unit Digest: Killer Bees'', p. 201 </ref>

=== IlClan Era ===
Cardella's project only became a reality after the Lancers' signed for the [[Tamar Pact]]. After the fiasco in [[Pandora]], where the [[Bleeding Eagles]] and [[Burnt Offering]] neglected to coordinate with the Lancers, the Lancers resurrected the Killer Bees after eight decades. They were split into units on [[Arcturus]], Pandora, [[Kelenfold]] and [[Crimond]].
The Bees made their point with the Eagles during a combat exercise on [[Arcturus]], bombarding the Eagles' column with canisters filled with honey-flavored quillar syrup instead of chalk munitions. A meeting of both commands after the exercise resulted in the airing of grievances and agreed to better coordinate. But when it was the turn of the Offering, they refused to be humiliated, so loaded live antiaircraft ammunition in the autocannon of their [[Partisan]] tanks, so when the Bees' DropShip [[Queen Bee]] approached them in the exercise it was subjected to return fire and had to made a emergency landing. The rest of the Bees, believing the Offering was broking their contract, powered their energetic weapons and moved to subdue the rogue command. After half hour of hit-and-run combat, Burnt Offering surrendered and was arrested, with a a [[Clan Sea Fox]]'s Mercenary Boarding Commission investigating the incident.<ref> ''Unit Digest: Killer Bees'', p. 201-202 </ref>

==Officers==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! scope="col" width="220" style="background: #dedede;" | Rank
! scope="col" width="220" style="background: #dedede;" | Name
! scope="col" width="220" style="background: #dedede;" | Command
|-
| colspan="4" style="background: #efefef;" | '''Commanding Officers of Killer Bees'''
|-
| [[Major]]||[[Ernst Murdoch]]||[[3025]] - [[3067]]<ref name="FMMRp82"/>
|-
| [[Major]]||[[Lynn Barrett]]||[[3151]] - present<ref> ''Unit Digest: Killer Bees'', p. 200 </ref>
|-
|}

==Tactics==
The Killer Bees specialized in hit and run operations intended to make use of their only major advantage, speed; however, when working alongside units that could make use of indirect fire such as artillery the Bees' scout platoons acted as forward observers.<ref name="FMMRp82"/>

==Support==
The Bees' were usually able to keep their VTOL elements in excellent condition, thanks to carefully-maintained contacts within Cal-Boeing. This allowed them to generate adequate support for their 'Mechs, funded in part because of the lower support costs associated with their light elements.

By [[3067]] the Killer Bees own and operate a single ''[[Invader]]''-class [[JumpShip]], the ''[[Queen Bee]]'', which transports the unit's 3 [[DropShip]]s, 1 ''[[Seeker]]''-class and 2 ''[[Leopard]]''-class.<ref name="FM:MRp82">''Field Manual: Mercenaries, Revised'', p. 82: "Killer Bees: Death by Paper Cuts"</ref> The ''Leopard''-class DropShips were the ''[[Gall Wasp]]'' and the ''[[Hornet's Nest (Individual Leopard-class DropShip)|Hornet's Nest]]''.<ref name="MSUp77">''Mercenaries Supplemental Update'', p. 77: "Killer Bees"</ref> In 3034 the Bees were operating a ''Leopard''-class DropShip named the ''[[Honey Bee]]''; it is unclear if this DropShip was subsequently renamed to the ''Gall Wasp'' or ''Hornet's Nest'', or if the ''Honey Bee'' was replaced by another ''Leopard''.<ref name="Com"/>

==Dragoon Ratings==
===3067===
'''Dragoon Rating: C'''

==Composition History==
=== 3028 ===
'''Killer Bees''' (Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)<ref name=HBSp87/>
:Note: At this point in time the command was stationed on [[Canopus IV]].<ref name=HBSp87>''Historical: Brush Wars'', p. 87</ref>

===3040===
''' Killer Bees''' (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)<ref name=HWo3039p141>''Historical: War of 3039'', p. 141</ref>
:Contract: AFFC<ref name=HWo3039p141/>

===3067===
'''Killer Bees''' (1 Battalion/Regular/Reliable)<ref name="FMMRp82"/>
* CO: Major Ernst Murdoch<ref name="FMMRp82"/>
* XO: Captain John Smith<ref name="FMMRp82"/>
:- At this point in time the Bees consisted of a company of light BattleMechs fitted with active probes and ECM suites, a [[squadron]] of [[aerospace fighter]]s, two platoons of scouts and a mish-mash of other vehicles, with VTOLs making up almost half of the Bees' equipment.<ref name="FMMRp82"/>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:old Killer Bees.png|Killer Bees Original Unit Crest ca. 3025
</gallery>

==Rules==
<div class="gamerules">
* Killer Bees units may use the Off-Map Movement special ability.<ref name="FMMRp133">''Field Manual: Mercenaries, Revised'', p. 133: "Killer Bees (C)"</ref>
* When generating Killer Bees units randomly any conventional vehicle roll on a Random Vehicle Table that produces a unit other than a VTOL may be rerolled once.<ref name="FMMRp133"/>
* The Killer Bees may only use light BattleMechs.<ref name="FMMRp133"/>
* The Killer Bees may deploy up to half of their force anywhere on the map as hidden units, even when the option is not normally available.<ref name="FMMRp133"/>
</div>

==Notes==
* In [[3067]] the Killer Bees were under contract with the SLDF Intelligence Command. Assigned to Special Circumstances, they formed a large part of a special Fury Team.<ref>''Technical Readout: 3055 Upgrade'', p. 22: "MechWarrior Carjo Yance"</ref>
* The short story ''[[Commitment]]'' has the ''Queen Bee'' in service with the Killer Bees in [[3034]]; this contradicts the detail on the Bees capturing the ship during the War of 3039.

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Combat Manual: Mercenaries]]''
* ''[[Commitment]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Mercenaries, Revised]]''
* ''[[Historical: War of 3039]]''
* ''[[Jihad Hot Spots: 3072]]''
* ''[[Mercenaries Supplemental Update]]''
* ''[[Objective Raids]]''
* ''[[Technical Readout: 3055 Upgrade]]''
* ''[[Unit Digest: Killer Bees]] in [[Shrapnel Issue 12]]''

[[Category:Mercenary Commands]]