History Characters / BattletechNGOsAndOthers

** During his first real combat alongside the scattered remains of the Trellwan Militia, he was able to force a ''Locust'' to surrender by threatening the pilot with an Inferno launcher. When the [=MechWarrior=] dismouinted, it was revealed that she was a very attractive blonde dressed in the usual scanty manner of [=MechWarriors=], due to the extreme heat inside a cockpit. When militiamen began making lewd jeers, and Gray feared they may act out on the remarks, he grabbed a militiaman's gun, fired it into the air, and said the first person to touch the woman in an inappropriate manner would be the first to die. He then ordered that a blanke be brought, both to shield her from the cold but also to protect her modesty. The woman turned out to be Lori Kalmar, one of the first recruits to the Gray Death Legion and Carlyle's eventual wife.

* [[FallingIntoTheCockpit Falling Into The Commentator's Seat]]: Becoming a commentator was a stroke of luck for Duncan. Previously a middling Mechwarrior relying on Jake Mason to do the heavy lifting, he was out of action for the [=FedCom=] Unification tournament and was present in the commentary box when the despondent Terry Zee choked on his alcohol and died. Duncan stepped in, and has remained commentating Solaris matches to this day.

* BreakoutCharacter: Started out as a simple announcer voice (provided by the inimitable Creator/GeorgeLedoux) in the Solaris arena levels for ''VideoGame/MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries'', he has become far more since then, largely thanks to the popular ''Tex Talks Battletech'' Website/YouTube series.

* HeroWorship: Bel avidly read anything she could get her hands on concerning her famous ancestors as a child. She applied to a [=MechWarrior=] academy ([[FantasyForbiddingFather against her parents' wishes]]) expressly so she could follow in Gray and Alex's footsteps. She even tried (and succeded) to be assigned a ''Shadow Hawk'', as that was a 'mech closely associated with her great-grandmother, Lori Kalmar-Carlyle.

-->'''Era(s):''' Fedcom Civil War, Jihad

* SpaceJews: While they're mostly based on the Medieval Roman Catholic Church, they have many parallels to modern Israel, most notably their comparatively small but disproportionately well funded and technologically advanced military.

* OnlyInItForTheMoney: With the exception of the second Bounty Hunter (whose career was fairly brief), every incarnation has worked as a merc-for-hire for whoever is willing to pay.

* EgocentricTeamNaming: The stereotypical Inner Sphere merc unit name is commonly the founder's name plus some kind of cool name for a unit: Wolf's Dragoons, Kell Hounds, [=MacCarron=]'s Armoured Cavalry, the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Gray Death Legion]], Waco's Rangers, Markham's Marauders... The list goes on.

* HighTurnoverRate: Merc units at a whole tend to come and go. On average, less than 60% of newly minted merc units last six months. Less than 40% of those who do last the full year.

* DependingOnTheWriter: For various reasons, there aren't a lot of novels set during the Jihad or the Dark Age, so Stone didn't have much characterization to begin with. However, what we do have depicts him as charismatic, clever, and clearly talented enough to assemble the largest coalition in Inner Sphere history to bring down the Word of Blake. Come ilClan, Stone comes across more like an arrogant dictator who left his people behind because he thought he could benefit, returns against his will, refuses to listen to his advisors, and absolutely refuses to surrender even as his armies are being killed or captured and the entire population of Terra is suffering. It's a jarring juxtaposition to say the least.
* GeneralFailure: His track record after waking up was not great, to the point that the Wolf Empire takes Terra from him.

* KingInTheMountain: He steps down as Exarch of the Republic of the Sphere, promises to return if needed, and then vanishes. Two years later, the [[SubspaceAnsible HPG network]] goes down, all hell breaks loose, and he's nowhere to be found. He does return as the Clans descend on Terra, but proves to have either lost his touch or possibly never had it to begin with. See ManchurianAgent below.

* WellTrainedButInexperienced: The [=ComGuard=] was long held a secret from the Inner Sphere, who generally didn't know [=ComStar=] even ''had'' a military wing and far less that it was on the size order of the Combine or [=FedSun=] military. As a result of this secrecy, the [=ComGuard=] was generally inexperienced in actual combat, which led to events like the "Jolly Roger" affair, where a band of pirates inflicted 3-to-1 casualties against a Com Guard unit sent in to clean up after a FalseFlagOperation gone bad, and later to the Com Guard suffering almost 40% fatalities against the Clans at Tukayyid despite holding defensive terrain and a at least a two-to-one numerical advantage. That things like the Jolly Roger Affair are exceptions, and Tukayyid actually played out better for [=ComStar=] than almost anyone projected, shows that their training was very, ''very'' good. Notably, their training and professionalism improved sharply after Anastasius Focht took command of the Com Guard and brought his skills and experience to the organization.

Secularization after the Clan Invasion caused a schism, resulting in the religious elements breaking off and forming the radical Word of Blake.

* StillWearingTheOldColors: The Eridani Light Horse, one of the oldest and most prestigious mercenary outfits in the Inner Sphere, has a legacy that stretches back all the way to their time as a line unit in the original Star League Defense Force. During the Succession Wars, their headquarters always kept their regimental colors at half-staff to mourn the long-lost Star League, while a second flagpole was kept bare for the moment when they could raise the Star League's national banner once more. They would indeed go on to form the core of a new SLDF for the briefly-revived Star League during the latter stages of the Clan Invasion.