Orlex Jaeger

[Orlex Jaeger]

Name: Orlex Jaeger
Rank: First Lieutenant
Date of enlistment: 3029-03-22
Date of Birth: 2995-06-17
Birthplace : Deep Periphery (believed to be Ictus or Glitnir)
Age: 33 (as of 3028)
Height : 1.84m (6')
Weight : 84kg (185lbs)
Eyes: Green
Hair: Black
Occupation: Freelancer/Mercenary MechWarrior
Affiliation: Freelancer (ties to Outworld Alliance, House Davion, and House Marik)
Allegiance: None currently (leans towards House Davion and House Marik, somewhat against House Kurita and House Liao, indifferent to House Steiner and all Periphery States)
Callsign: Bastion

BIOGRAPHY
Orlex was born somewhere in the Deep Periphery past Outworlds Alliance in 2995, even he is not entirely sure which planet it was on but has narrowed it down to probably either Ictus or Glitnir. The planet itself does not matter so much as the fact that it was extremely remote and isolated from most of the ravages of the 3rd Succession War. Despite this Orlex was not spared completely from the horrors of war and would experience the savagery of war in a personal way several times throughout his life. Born to a relatively wealthy minor noble family, Orlex did not suffer from lack of education or schooling as was often the case in the Periphery and beyond. The Jaeger family name was believed to originate all the way back to the Star League and somehow have ties to Aleksandr Kerensky's Exodus and the Star League Defense Forces 18th Army, a belief that Orlex's parents held to almost religiously. Despite growing up with their family history being treated as irrefutable fact, along with some semi-dubious family trees and other items of "proof", Orlex does not cling so blindly to his family's legacy as his parents, nor does he often discuss or bring up the supposed connection.

During his youth Orlex traveled from world to world with his parents and extended family for as long as he can remember. For generations, his family had accumulated a modest amount of wealth (relatively large for the Periphery) through trade, salvage, espionage and less desirable work and by the time he was born the family as a whole was well established in their small portion of the universe. Ictus was their current base of operations but that was in name only. The family had a company called Jaeger Services, Inc. through which the entire extended family conducted their business with the Outworlds Alliance and the rest of the Inner Sphere. At sometime before 3005 (when Orlex was 10) there was a large falling out amongst the Jaeger family and many of the extended family members either disappeared into the Periphery or outright broke ties with Orlex's family and moved into the Draconis Combine. He has never learned what truly happened. Between 3000 and 3010 Orlex's family, including the few extended family that remained, would regularly take Jump Ships into the Outworlds Alliance and often into either the Draconis Combine or the Federated Suns on business trips, which Orlex would usually accompany them on. During one of these journey's Orlex's family was caught in the crossfire near a spaceport on one of the disputed worlds along the Kurita/Davion border. While attempting to flee the combat his family got split between 2 separate evac shuttles during the firefight and Orlex witnessed his Mother's shuttle, which also had his close Aunt and Uncle aboard, get destroyed by weapons fire from a Kuritan Lance of BattleMechs. After the family schism and his Mother's death, Orlex and the rest of his family, including is his older sister and younger brother, avoided entering the Draconis Combine as much as possible and instead ventured further into the Federated Suns, even going as far as the Taurian Concordate and the Capellan Confederation at times. 

In 3008 his family settled down on Alpheratz in the Outworlds Alliance where Orlex was able to continue with his formal schooling, which his parents had made sure he kept up on even with all their travels, eventually specializing in BattleMechs and Engineering. For his 17th birthday, in 3012, Orlex's Father purchased a brand new Merlin-1A BattleMech from Mountain Wolf BattleMechs on the planet, although it was purchased with the intent for it to become a family heirloom. With his older sister following in their parents footsteps of continuing with the supply and salvage operations Jaeger Services Inc. and his younger brother showing no inclination towards combat, let alone BattleMechs, Orlex was correct in assuming that the 'mech was intended for him. He did not however pilot the Merlin as his own until several years later.

From 3013 through 3025 Orlex was either enlisted in the Outworlds Alliance Militia, where he achieved the rank of Guardian before leaving to join various Mercenary units throughout the Inner Sphere. The first 4 years were spent in the Outworlds Alliance Militia where he served without any outstanding distinction but was well liked throughout his unit. He served mostly in garrison duty along the Draconis Combine border participating in a number of raids against House Kurita alongside a number of Mercenary units hired by the Alliance. After his time in the Militia Orlex left the Outworld Alliance to pursue a career as a Mercenary MechWarrior preferring the adventure and travel, along with percieved freedom, over the mundane garrison duty he had grown accustomed to. Orlex shifted through a few different Mercenary Companies over the following years, even working alongside the infamous Wolf's Dragoons for a brief time, and worked for both House Davion and House Marik against both House Kurita and House Liao as well as the Tortuga Dominions and other Peripherary powers. During this time, the family Merlin MLN-1A was kept in storage on Alpheratz at his family's home, and Orlex instead piloted several different Battlemechs, including two different Wolverine models, a Griffin, Blackjack, and Vulcan, before settling into a Pheonix Hawk PXH-1 for longest consecutive period of time. In 3020, after learning of his sister's untimely demise at the hands of House Liao, Orlex requested that the family Merlin MLN-1A be brought out of storage and shipped to New Avalon in the Federated Suns, where he could retrieve it. This was more due to Orlex deciding try being a Freelancer, and having lost the Phoenix Hawk in a raid gone wrong against the Capellan Confederation near Carver, than it did with his sister's apparent death. Although he mourned her, they had not been close as they drifted apart over the years since Orlex left to be a mercenary.

Re-united with the family 'mech, the Merlin MLN1-A, Orlex set off as a Freelance MechWarrior for the following 3 years, traveling between Galatea, Outreach, and several other core worlds near Terra. While he did work for House Steiner and even House Liao at one point, he mostly took jobs with House Marik and House Davion while occasionally joining up with different Mercenary Companies as a gun for hire. Able to continue making ends meet and even have a surplus despite the end of the 3rd Succession War, Orlex hires out a major refit on the Merlin MLN-1A to bring it back to full fighting capacity and make some changes to the default loadout in early 3028. This new version of Merlin he decided to name the Merlin Bastion MLN-1J.