Bekaa's Butchers
Bekaa's Butchers is a highly successful grav infantry company operating in and around the Rehn SubSector. The mercenary unit is owned by Awnee Bekaa , a retired Lieutenant Colonel of the Imperial Army.
A typical mission that Bekaa would accept would be for MCr1 per month for a strike ticket plus replacement price for all equipment lost due to combat and transportation to the site. (This is pretty good because his equipment is expensive--by getting his clients to pay for his equipment his payroll can be slightly inflated.) He also keeps all weapons and ammo found by his troops. For a security mission, this is a little expensive, but the patron is paying for good service and Awnee never fails to deliver. For a striker mission, this is fairly reasonable, especially considering that weapons losses are paid for.
Payroll, therefore, would be Cr709,300 leaving Cr290,700 to be split between Bekaa and shares. Bekaa keeps half the profit for himself (he is the sole owner of the Butchers) leaving Cr145,350 for distribution as shares. Under the manning table shown above, each share is worth about Cr225. A typical pay table is shown at the bottom of this article.
Remember that the merc units like the Butchers are only employed about half the time. Bekaa tries to offset this by taking care of his troops when they need it and trying to provide them with one of the best working "environments" in the business. Bekaa owns and maintains most of the equipment that each trooper takes into battle and equips them with some of the best equipment he can get.
During a strike mission Awnee was able to "appropriate" two escort type ships and haulers including passenger pods from a unit that he defeated during the mission. If the players aren't skilled enough for the Butcher's line units, they stand a good chance as being hired on as crew for the ships. Awnee's not particularly fond of Navy types, so he's not as picky. That's not to say that he's getting sloppy, just that since these aren't "line" troops, he doesn't take as much of his personal time worrying about this aspect of the unit. He won't hire ex-cons, thieves, etc, but if the PCs had a good record in the Navy or Scouts, it won't be too hard to get hired. Needless to say, he didn't hire any of the former crew! He's considering hiring an old naval friend to handle all of "that navy junk."
Awnee now takes a personal interest in the "big picture" of the missions he accepts. He now has his own transportation and sets up a permanent base on Korn (Virgo 1812). This allows him to augment his unit with a couple of small training groups at the base. He can have some troops training while others perform a mission. When it is time to rotate (or he is forced to) he can simply substitute some of the fresh troops to go ahead and take the next mission. Awnee is planning to increase the size of the unit to battalion size over the next two or three years. Bekaa's Butchers are definitely a force to be reckoned with.
Structure
Bekaa's Butchers is organized as a reinforced grav infantry company. There are seven platoons, five of which are line platoons, and two support platoons. Consisting of three grav infantry platoons, one heavy weapon platoon, one grav tank platoon, maintenance platoon, and a headquarters platoon, the unit is capable of providing support for or leading the outright insurrection of governments at many levels.
Each infantry platoon consists of three squads which are further broken down into two 4-man lances. The standard infantry weapon for the company is the Laser rifle. Each lance is led by a Corporal. He/she leads a Lance Corporal equipped with a Pulse rifle and a grenade launcher. A squad is led by a Sergeant. He/she has a Corporal as assistant and 2 Privates (who may be used as runners) so that there are actually three complete lances in a squad. The platoon is led by a Lieutenant and a Staff Sergeant is platoon sergeant. There is also a Sergeant and a Corporal assigned in order to make this a complete lance and to handle administrative duties.
The heavy weapons platoon also consists of three squads broken down in two 4-man lances. Two of the squads are equipped with Blaster rifles and are usually used as the heavy firepower backup to an infantry platoon. The two remaining lances of the third squad are equipped with grenade launchers. This squad is usually collocated with the headquarters platoon and serves as company artillery. The platoon command lance is also usually found with the headquarters platoon. A lance is led by a Sergeant with a Corporal for an assistant and has two Lance Corporals. Each squad is led by a Staff Sergeant, has a Sergeant as assistant, and has two Lance Corporals. The platoon is led by a Captain who has a Sergeant Major for platoon sergeant and two Lance Corporals to complete the lance.
The grav tank platoon consists of five tanks organized into four squads with a lead tank. Each tank has four crew members. The tank used by Bekaa is the Type 52 Hovertank built by Takamatsu-Hegenauer. The platoon is led by a Lieutenant who also commands the lead tank. This tank also carries a Sergeant and two Lance Corporals as crew. The second tank is led by a Staff Sergeant who serves as the platoon sergeant with a crew consisting of a Corporal, a Lance Corporal, and a Private. The remaining tanks are commanded by Sergeants and crewed by a Corporal, a Lance Corporal, and a Private, except for the fifth tank which substitutes a Private for the Lance Corporal.
The maintenance platoon is led by a Lieutenant and consists of three squads: infantry support, heavy weapon, and grav tank. The infantry support squad consists of two identical teams and is led by a Sergeant Major. Each infantry support team is led by a Staff Sergeant and has a Sergeant, two Corporals, and two Lance Corporals. The heavy weapon support squad is led by a Sergeant Major and includes a Staff Sergeant, a Sergeant and a Corporal. The grav tank support squad is identical in structure to the heavy weapon support squad. Each squad specializes in maintenance and repair of the highly technical equipment the Butchers use to wage war. Each individual is highly trained, therefore the slightly inflated pay grades. Although they usually stay with the headquarters platoon when in combat, they are trained as infantry and have been used as such in the past.
The "paper" platoon, as it’s known on the line, takes care of functions that an independent unit is required to do. These functions are usually not required by a unit this size that is a part of a larger organization, however, as an independent unit, the Butcher's must perform all of these tasks. This platoon is led by a Captain and performs three functions: administration, supply, and finance. The administrative squad is led by a Sergeant Major and includes two Staff Sergeants. They handle recruiting, induction, training, separations, and retirements. The supply squad is led by a Lieutenant. This unit consists of a Sergeant Major, two Staff Sergeants, seven Sergeants, a Corporal, two Lance Corporals, and four Privates. They procure everything that Bekaa and his Butchers need to win the next fight. The finance squad is also led by a Lieutenant and includes a Sergeant Major, two Staff Sergeants, and five Sergeants. They handle paying all debts (both public and private). In addition to trusting these men with his money, Awnee also uses these men as covert intelligence agents prior to signing a contract. These teams usually consist of two Sergeants and one of the Staff Sergeants. These men are very highly trained and Awnee considers them the most trusted men in the outfit, although the rest of the company don't really know about this.
Culture
The Butchers are a mercenary unit, but is not a haven for war junkies. There's a job to do and some will pay the Butcher's price to get the job done. Those who do will be protected at all costs up to the limits of the contract.
All "foot" personnel are equipped with Heavy Combat Armor. Bekaa hires only former commandos from Imperial service for his line units, and rarely hires a retiree because of age. He prefers young (less than 35 year old) troops for their strength and agility. He takes the best qualified person regardless of service for his support units.
Public Agenda
The Butcher's will take tickets within their capability, usually deploying as a full and complete unit. Occasionally Awnee will deploy individual platoons, but only as an opportunity to make easy money while resting or training the rest of the company.
occasiones adversae parit
Type
Military, Mercenary Group
Alternative Names
Awnee's Alternates
Training Level
Elite
Veterancy Level
Decorated/Honored
Comments