Dead Man's Hand (Mercenary Command)

==General==
One of the more unusual units to emerge from the crucible that was the Clan Invasion, the single lance sized Dead Man's Hand has thus far managed to avoid the limelight so many units seek in order to drum up business, and instead let their actions speak for them.
The exact circumstances surrounding their formation on Tamar remains somewhat unclear, mostly due to the loss of records with the fall of the planet to the invaders. What is known is that the four mercenaries took part in a Morality Inspection on behalf of the LCAF, which is believed to be the first time they met. They were still in the process of being debriefed when Clan Wolf hit the world, and formed an ad-hoc unit to, in the words of their commander, the enigmatic MechWarrior known only as Joker, "to keep a promise".
What followed has been called one of the greatest acts of misdirection in modern military history: Bobbie Kelso allowed herself to be captured by Clan forces, feeding them just enough information to let them jump to the wrong conclusions. Then, while they were out of position, Joker, Jay Aung and Emilio Scilicorn raided the spaceport, rescuing Kelso and capturing a DropShip loaded with supplies before boosting for orbit. It wasn't until they linked up with a JumpShip hiding in the outer system that it became clear that they had a number of civilians with them, including several who had been rescued during the Morality Inspection.
They would vanish for several months, eventually popping up in the Kowloon system, where they would leave the civilians, then vanish again. By the time they eventually surfaced on Arc Royal, they had taken the opportunity to retrofit their BattleMechs with captured Clan weapons and equipment, Joker herself taking a Loki OmniMech as her personal ride. Selling much of the remaining equipment, they took the opportunity to officially register with the Mercenary Review Board shortly before it was replaced with the Mercenary Review and Bonding Commission.
Unlike many units of a similar size, the Dead Man's Hand specialize in recovery and extraction missions, making several trips behind Clan lines to recover people or objects, including several notable works of art considered National Treasures by the Lyran state. Despite this, the unit is known to shun publicity, often allowing others to take public credit for their work, solong as they get paid. The unit is known to operate a laxed chain of command, with missions selected by common consent of the four MechWarriors, and it is only in combat that Joker has been known to assert her position as unit commander, even if she holds no official rank.
Unusually, despite the fact that their DropShip is capable of holding an entire company, and there is no shortage of people who'd be more than willing to fill those empty slots, Dead Man's Hand remains a single lance. When asked, they state that they know and trust one another, having seen and done things no one else has.Dead Man's Hand: Mercenary Command post on Bg.BattleTech.com/Forums
==Known History==
===Late 3053- Early 3054===
The unit was contracted to extract the bother of Duchess of Kowloon Elizabeth Ngo, Henry "Ngo" Falcon. Mission required the unit to go to Malibu where they issued a Trial of Possession for him and his geneic Legacy. The Trial resulted in the Dead Man's victory and entire star worth of Clan Jade Falcon Mechs Warriors including Henry Ngo & his commanding officer.
==Officers==
While not considered to have one, the other three MechWarriors of the Hand have referred to Joker as the "Boss". 
===List of the Members for this unit:===
*Joker, Loki Heavy OmniMech, Call Sign "Ace of Spades"
*Jay Aung, ARC-5R Archer, Call sign "Ace of Clubs"
*Emilio Scilicorn, WVR-7H Wolverine II, call sign "Eight of Spades" 
*Roberta 'Bobbie' Kelso, SHD-2H (C) Shadow Hawk, call sign "Eight of Clubs"
*Dane 'Double Dealer' Wolf, Union C class DropShip, Ante Up
==Tactics==
Generally using any tactic necessary to do the job, which is dirty tricks or falling rules. However, they will not kill unnecessarily.
==Support==
* 1 DropShip, with full crews, which are the following: The Union C class Dropship "Ante Up"
==Dragoon Ratings==
==Composition==
*Lance of Heavy & Medium Mechs.
===Military Ranks===
None
==Notes==
The unit origns come from the Fan Stories, written by JA Baker, in his Who Goes There? series.
==References==
==Bibliography==
*Who Goes There? Anthology
*Dead Man's Hand: The Kowloon Job
*Dead Man's Hand: Second Star to the Right
*Dead Man's Hand: A Taste Of Ashes
*Dead Man's Hand: Family Values
Category:Fan Mercenary Commands
Category:Joker-verse
Category:Ngo-Megaverse
Category:Works by JA Baker