Editing Nik's Cavaliers

{{infoBoxMilitaryCommand
| image     = [[File:Chloe's_Cavaliers_Logo.png|Logo of Chloe's Cavaliers|150px]]
| Designation  = Nik's Cavaliers
| Formed    = [[3005]]<ref name=CD>''Contested Dreams''</ref>
| Disbanded = 
| Previous Designation = Chloe's Cavaliers<ref name=OF>''Obligation's Forge''</ref>
| Nickname  = 
| Affiliation = [[Mercenary]]
| Parent Command = Independent
| Sub-Command = 
}}
'''Nik's Cavaliers''', alternately called '''Chloe's Cavaliers''' or merely the '''Cavaliers''', were a [[mercenary unit]] that formed in [[3005]] under the command of [[Chloe Reed]].<ref name=CD/>

==Canonicity==
Though seeming to originate from the [[BattleTech]] games produced by [[Piranha Games]], the unit and its initial history actually stem from fiction written by [[Catalyst Game Labs]] roving developer [[Randall N. Bills]]. While primarily intended to support the release of ''[[MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries]]'', with cameo of sorts in ''[[MechWarrior Online]]'', Bills' intention was to develop a new mercenary unit as an introduction to the BattleTech universe for the game more closely aligned to the mainline tabletop universe than other recent [[MechWarrior (video games)|''MechWarrior'' video games]]. This intention was made clear when the resulting series of novella received a [[canon]] "re-release" in ''[[The Mercenary Life]]'' anthology effectively unchanged. However, the in-game events and narrative of ''MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries'' are not penned by Bills or Catalyst Game Labs and thus are considered [[apocryphal]] for Sarna's purposes.

==History==
===Chloe's Cavaliers===
===Nik's Cavaliers===
====Battle of Halstead Station====
Reaching [[Galatia|Galatia III]], the now renamed Nik's Cavaliers were able to negotiate for rest and refit at the bivouac of the garrisoning [[Twelfth Deneb Light Cavalry]], using the funds from the fulfilled Mallory's World contract to recruit additional personnel, but encountered less success in securing needed parts from the Twelfth. While reviewing options for their next job and struggling to move on from their former commander's death, the Cavaliers received a mysterious and exceedingly generous contract to assist the [[Armed Forces of the Federated Suns]] in an upcoming [[Battle of Halstead Station (3014)|top secret operation]], legitimate but seemingly addressed to them specifically. Recognizing [[Sebastian Spears]]' hand in this, and despite Nikolai blaming him for the death of his wife, the Cavaliers realized that refusing it, they risked giving up Chloe's dream.<ref name=TSwR>''The Sun Will Rise''</ref>

Reaching [[Addicks]] by December 3013, the Cavaliers learned that they were to assist elements of the [[Crater Cobras]] with hit-and-run raids against the defending [[Ninth Dieron Regulars]] on [[Halstead Station]] to provide openings for the AFFS, led by First Prince [[Hanse Davion]] himself, and to strike DCMS supply depots under construction. Unofficially included in the mission, thanks to the efforts of Sebastian Spears, was to secure even a small part of a recently unearthed Star League era library rumored to be on-world for [[Interstellar Expeditions]].<ref name=TSwR/>

Arriving in-system via a [[pirate point]] on 28 December before making planetfall on the 29th, the shocked Cavaliers and Cobras discovered unbeknownst to AFFS intelligence that the [[Second Proserpina Hussars]] were also on-world, forcing them to engage in a desperate game of cat and mouse to hold out until the arrival of the main AFFS forces in January [[3014]]. Hopes that the arrival of First Prince Davion would turn the battle decisively in the FedSuns favor were shattered by [[Coordinator]] [[Takashi Kurita]]'s landing with the [[Second Sword of Light]]. The Cavaliers and Cobras took heavy losses, including Cobras commander [[Major Barnes]], before further AFFS reinforcements on 3 February finally allowed the Davion forces to escape with the books that would make the [[New Avalon Institute of Science]] possible.<ref name=TSwR/>

Despite never getting near the Star League library, Interstellar Expeditions would pay out the Halstead Station contract in full, including the offered completion bonus of a landhold on the world of [[De Berry]] for Nikolai Mason and his heirs. Sebastian Spears bestowed the deed in person on 27 May 3014 as he and Nikolai reflected upon the positive role Chloe Reed played in both their lives.<ref name=TSwR/>

{{ApocryphalContentStart}}

====Raman II====
The command conducted an operation on [[Raman|Raman II]] where they recovered a [[Centurion (BattleMech)|CN9-A ''Centurion'']] [[BattleMech]] from a ruined factory.<ref name=MW5Mt>''MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries'', Tutorial</ref>

====Conflict with the Black Inferno====
In [[3015]] an unknown force assaulted ''Cavalier Base'' on De Berry Prime seeking information from unit commander Nikolai Mason, who refused and sacrificed himself to allow his son [[Jake Mason|Jake]] to flee aboard the unit's ''[[Leopard]]''-class [[DropShip]].<ref name=MW5Mt/> Reduced to just two 'Mechs, Mason and the survivors of the Cavaliers (most notably Operations Officer [[Ryana Campbell]] and Chief Tech [[Fahad Arazad]]) reach out to [[Sebastian Spears]], a high level agent of [[Interstellar Expeditions]] and a long-term friend of his father who provides assistance in escaping the system. Armed with a reused mercenary registration number to mask their origins, Commander Mason started the process of rebuilding his command to locate and defeat his enemies and avenge his father, as well as uncover the secret his father took to his grave.

As Mason completes contracts over time, the reborn Cavaliers' reputation grows and they build up a [[lance]] of progressively stronger 'Mechs with veteran pilots. After leaving [[Federated Suns]]-controlled space for the [[Capellan Confederation]] and [[Free Worlds League]] in search of leads, they discover the name of their enemy, the [[Black Inferno]] whose strikes in the region has spawned a wave of refugee migrations. With Spears' aid Ryana deduces that Black Inferno raids are all against locations rumored of holding undiscovered [[LosTech]], forcibly ejecting the local inhabitants to allow them to secretly extract it.

Now taking the fight to Black Inferno and the man who killed his father, [[Andreas Kane]], Mason's early successes lead to overconfidence that results in the Cavaliers walking into a trap on [[Cavanaugh]]. Barely surviving the ambush, Ryana is able to intercept a transmission between Kane and his lieutenant which reveals the Black Inferno's home base is on [[Xinyang]] and that their secret benefactor is in fact [[Precentor]] [[Kenzo Yamata]], a highly ranked member of [[ComStar]]'s intelligence agency [[ROM]]. With Interstellar Expeditions antagonistic with ComStar, Spears' willingness to assist Mason defeat Black Inferno increases.

Defeating Inferno member [[Zavarov]] to reclaim Nikolai's ''Victor'' while raiding an Inferno repair and refit base on [[Eaton]], Fahad discovers that the sought after coordinates were hidden in Mason's father's 'Mech all along. While Ryana works on deciphering the three sets of heavily encrypted coordinates, Spears approaches Mason with an offer of partnership to assist in pushing back about the influence of ComStar, providing the Cavaliers with the location a rogue mercenary unit sitting on a treasure trove of advanced weaponry they can take.

With assaults 'Mechs, advanced weaponry and Spears' assistance, the Cavaliers are finally ready to put an end to the Black Inferno, launching an attack against their home base on Xinyang. Razing the Inferno base to the ground, the Cavaliers confront Inferno and ComStar forces until Kane emerges with his ''[[King Crab]]'' to try and stop them. Though Mason is able to kill Kane, Yamata uses the distraction to escape. Searching through the ruins, the Cavaliers and Spears discover that ComStar has been using a [[Star League Defense Force]] map found in a flooded [[Castle Brian]] on Xinyang as a guide to recover hidden Star League caches with Black Inferno's help, and that ComStar's interest in Nikolai's coordinates was to fill deliberately destroyed gaps in that map.

====Conflict with ComStar====
Eventually breaking the encryption on the first set of coordinates, the Cavaliers discover that they point to [[HD-276914]], a reportedly unsettled world in uncharted [[coreward]] [[Periphery]] on the outskirts of [[Draconis Combine]] space. Arriving there they find an extensive ComStar stellar research facility and that even without the coordinates Yamata and the ComStar [[Explorer Corps]] are searching the region system by system to pick up the trail. Striking a ComStar communications hub to slow down their efforts, IE assistance allows Ryana to crack the second set of coordinates which lead to [[HD-389202]], another supposedly uncharted system that is found to be the site of a massive and long abandoned Star League spaceport, but that ComStar has only just beaten them there.

Personally confronted by Yamata in an ''[[Annihilator]]'' seeking to deal with the Cavaliers once and for all, after Mason succeeds in defeating him Fahad reveals that Nikolai's ''Victor'' is sending a signal to a secret 'Mech bay nearby which opens to reveal a pristine ''[[Nightstar]]'', a 'Mech unseen in centuries. Through an audio log in the ''Nightstar'', the Cavaliers realize that the immensely powerful 'Mech belonged to Nikolai, who hid it decades ago after recognizing it would complicate his planned infiltration of the Inner Sphere.

Reaching the final set of coordinates this time ahead of ComStar, the Cavaliers and Interstellar Expeditions are confronted by a huge derelict Star League era [[JumpShip]] in orbit of [[HD-438297]]. Landing to search for answers, the Cavaliers find a massive underground SLDF base emblazoned with an [[Daggerstar|unknown insignia]] and filled with a treasure trove of LosTech 'Mechs and a memory core, just as ComStar arrives via a pirate point, dropping lance after lance of assault 'Mechs to destroy them. Mason and the Cavaliers successfully hold off ComStar long enough for Ryana to copy and wipe the memory core to deny ComStar the greatest prize before they flee.

Taking stock of the situation, the Cavaliers realize that Nikolai Mason was probably a descendant of [[General]] [[Aleksandr Kerensky]]'s [[Operation EXODUS|long departed Exodus fleet]], who traveled to the Inner Sphere on an intelligence gathering mission ahead of their possible return, only for his arrival to be detected by ComStar despite his efforts to obscure it. With the contents of the memory core requiring many years to decipher, Mason agrees to turn it over to an eager and grateful Spears, trusting that unlike ComStar, Interstellar Expeditions will use it for the betterment of the Inner Sphere. Having reached a conclusion of sorts, the Cavaliers return to the Inner Sphere in search of further contracts.

====The Ravager Affair====
The unit, then referred to again as Chloe's Cavaliers were one of many independent mercenary commands under long term contract with Interstellar Expeditions. Upon hearing rumors of the LosTech equipped-[[Corsair (BattleMech)|''Corsair'']] [[FrankenMech]] piloted by [[Oberon Confederation]] [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarrior]] [[Jake Kalmar]], IE contracted the Cavaliers to hunt down the pirate leader and discover the truth.<ref name=MWO-COR-Lore>''MechWarrior Online Corsair'': Lore and Blueprint</ref>

Following a long march of [[JumpShip]] passage into the Periphery, the Cavaliers began hunting down Kalmar's band and his 95-ton ''[[Ravager (Individual 'Mech)|Ravager]]''. After many months of tracking and several bloody skirmishes, the Cavaliers finally pushed him back and confronted Kalmar in his home port on the frozen moon of [[Sigurd]] on 11 November [[3037]]. There in a brutal confrontation and aided by their own LosTech equipped BattleMechs, Chloe's Cavaliers were eventually able to defeat and kill Kalmar and lay claim to his ''Ravager''. Despite this, the Cavaliers were never able to uncover the mystery of the ''Ravager''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s origins or how Kalmar was able to avoid [[Hendrik Grimm III]] laying claim to his 'Mech, the only clue being an unknown planet named [[Jibbet]].<ref name=MWO-COR-Lore/>

==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 Chloe's Cavaliers'''
|-
|[[Captain]]||[[Chloe Reed]]||[[3005]] - [[3013]]<ref name=CD/><ref name=OF/>
|-
| colspan="4" style="background: #efefef;" | '''Commanding Officers of Nik's Cavaliers'''
|-
|Commander||[[Nikolai Mason]]||3013 - [[3015]]<ref name=OF/><ref name=MW5Mt/>
|-
|Commander||[[Jake Mason]]||3015 -<ref name=MW5Mt/>
|-
|}

==Tactics==
Unknown.

==Composition History==
===3012===
Note: In the initial release of ''MW5: Mercenaries'', the tutorial segued into the cutscene of Black Inferno's attack on De Berry in May 3015. A later update changed the tutorial to 3012, three years before the story begins. 

'''Nik's Cavaliers'''<ref name=MW5Mt/>

At this point in time the unit was stationed on De Berry Prime.
*CO: [[Nikolai Mason]]
* First Company - CO: [[Major]] [[Ryana Campbell]]
* ''[[Leopard]]''-class [[DropShip]].
** 2 [[Locust|LCT-1E ''Locusts'']]
** [[Javelin|JVN-10F ''Javelin'']]
** [[Firestarter|FS9-A ''Firestarter'']]
** [[Centurion (BattleMech)|CN9-A ''Centurion'']]
** [[Hunchback|HBK-4G ''Hunchback'']]
** [[Trebuchet|TBT-5N ''Trebuchet'']]
** ''[[Shadow Hawk]]'' (badly damaged)
** [[Catapult|CPLT-C1 ''Catapult'']]
** [[Dragon|DRG-1N ''Dragon'']]
** [[Victor|VTR-9B ''Victor'']]

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Chloe's Cavaliers Logo - Warhorn MwO.png|Chloe's Cavaliers warhorn from [[MechWarrior Online|MWO]]
</gallery>
{{ApocryphalContentEnd}}

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Contested Dreams]]'' (short story)
* ''[[MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries]]'' (video game)
* [https://mwomercs.com/news/2018/11/2179-corsair-lore MechWarrior Online ''Corsair'' Lore and Blueprint]
* [https://mw5mercs.com/faq#question-4-2 Pre-order FAQ page]
* ''[[The Sun Will Rise]]''


[[Category:Mercenary Commands|Nik's Cavaliers]]