The Gold Needles
"I am not going to sit back and wait for someone else to pick up where my insane father left off. I do not have the luxury of being direct, again, but I can put your people in the right places at the right times. Make those times count."After the end of the Rysel Corporate War, there were small traces of evidence the The Ouroboros Sun had survived the death of Jacob Reiselle. Due to the widespread conflict going from the shadows into plain sight, Archon Alessandro Steiner stepped in to issue an edict forbidding Rysel Industries from owning BattleMechs or other military equipment outside of DropShips. Sorvetz was intending neither to give up on ensuring his father's efforts would be ended completely, nor allowing the company to become gutted by being caught disobeying a direct edict from the Archon of the Lyran Commonwealth. A third option was necessary: mercenaries.
Over the next few years, Sorvetz sold off the BattleMechs and combat vehicles which had been his sword during the war. All of the proceeds were meticulously accounted for and kept within the company so there were no gaps. However, the sales of equipment which had been acquired by Jacob's allies and not purchased through funds from Rysel Industries was instead used to fund a mercenary outfit formed from those who had been present during the last battle on Carnwath. These people became the core of the outfit, carefully bringing in those who could keep the secret and be an asset.
Within a decade. the Gold Needles had been properly formed and put to the task of following leads on where Jacob's disciples might have gone. Sorvetz made two things explicitly clear: the existence of the Gold Needles must not tie back to Rusel Industries, and the Ouroboros Sun must cease to exist - even from records. Nobody should be able to pick up where Jacob left off, and the fact someone has done so with the ability to hide has Sorvetz exceedingly worried about who it could be.
Operational History
After being released to act, the commander of the Gold Needles chose to only report a successful mission to Sorvetz and avoid providing any cases which would only lead to frustration. Yet each success seemed to cause the Ouroboros Sun to bury their presence deeper, making it much harder to track down. The Gold Needles began to shift their operations to gather information primarily and then hire mercenaries themselves to make the strikes. Because of this, many such strikes lacked previous surgical precision and would appear to be mercenaries acting out for unknown reasons.As the trail of the Ouroboros Sun led into the Draconis Combine's territory, it became more difficult to find willing mercenaries. Furthermore, somehow the Fourth Legion of Vega became entangled in the matter and made it much more dangerous to take action. The Gold Needles were unable to find definitive proof as to what had transpired, but it was implied the Sun had withdrawn the bulk of their operations into the Combine shortly after the turn of the millennium. A few traps had been left behind, individuals keeping an eye out for any who appeared to be tracking down the Ouroboros Sun. While these were meant for the Gold Needles and their hired help, there were unfortunate incidents when people were targeted with no knowledge of why.
Between the Third and the Fourth Succession War, the Gold Needles lost most of their leadership to disease and age. This provided enough of a gap in their awareness the Ouroboros Sun was able to move a great deal of their operations safely onto White Reach. The remaining leadership of the Gold Needles caught wind of this as the Fourth Succession war ended in 3030, and hired a couple mercenary outfits to start combing the planet for anything out of place. However, the need for secrecy and the Ouroboros Sun having divided their forces into small mercenary outfits meant there were many groups unaware of exactly who they were fighting. When information of the White Reach Incident reached Sorvetz, he was furious at the open state of things and demanded all information from the Gold Needles.
Following the end of the White Reach Incident, Sorvetz and his daughter Hechek oversaw the dismantling of the organization. This was partly an effort to evade consequences, and partly an acceptance their task was finished and it was no longer necessary. Over the next few years, members of Lyran Intelligence attempted to gather information on the members and failed to find much definitive proof of a connection. The Draconis Combine's intelligence agency managed to secure information about the identity of the Gold Needles' members and undertook several incursions into foreign territories to make certain the Gold Needles would not be a problem again. These actions helped bury the organization, and Hechek's efforts to clear their names from the database meant there was precious little evidence remaining by the year 3040.
Mundare Labe
2987 - 3040
Type
Secret, Military
Alternative Names
Sanitas Division (Internal Rysel records)
Parent Organization
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