(31 May 3049)

So the rumor mills be spillin’ swill for the last while, gents. Accordin’ to the latest putrid kernel of ill-wisdom, the AFFC High Command is chompin’ at the bit to strip Duke Stephenson of his twin Ivaarsen Chasseurs regiments. After all, House Davion’s arrangement with the Duke of New Ivaarsen is that one regiment will always be posted on-world…that’s ‘so’ annoying…how dare a duke tell the mightiest army since old Aleks Kerensky vamoosed into the dark what to do, right?

Now don’t get me wrong. There’s a half lyr-of-a-chance that someone with a whiff of pull in the AFFC might be trying to bark up that tree. But let me tell ya, gents, that’s all it is... ‘Cause no one with a lick of sense believes that idea’s gonna catch traction. Let me lay down the stripes.

1. The upkeep for those twin regiments comes from the duke and his world. The AFFC doesn’t pay a dime…and when has any bureaucrat turned down free, right?

2. It’s not like New Ivaarsen is buried in the FedRat Outback…it’s smack dab along the border with the Combine. Hell, I don’t know ‘how’ many Snake and FedRat bones are buried ‘neath the loam. So the duke gets to know his homeboys are stomping the fences while he warms his feet by the fire, instead of some strangers? It still provides a punch-in-your-face regiment to cut off any heads peeking any where near that world, which is what the AFFC needs anyways.

3. Let’s not forget, ladies and gents, our existence is ruled by nobility…thank you very much, Michael Cameron, sir. And since the rise of monarchies millennia ago, what’s the cardinal rule of nobility? Don’t make the institution look bad. You defeat ‘em, you lock ‘em up, you bury ‘em in the darkest dungeon, but you never, ever, ‘ever’ set in motion anything that’ll throw dung on the nobility cloth. And after a century of sterling service, stripping a standing duke of his military…hot damn, gents, that’s not tossing on some dung, that’s grabbing the AgroMech and going to town.

4. Ol’ Duke Stephenson has served faithfully for a lot of years, now…but you think he’s gonna sit around waiting for the axe to fall if things start gettin’ serious? Not only would the AFFC likely have to dig out an entrenched regiment on New Ivaarsen, but the second regiment’s likely to go on a rampage… ‘course, I’d ‘love’ to see that.

The current set-up is a win, win, win for the duke and for House Davion. That belly-achin’ you’re hearing is the green monster of the meanest commoner sheathed in bureaucracy a meter thick and forgettin’ how the Inner Sphere turns.

Keep it locked and loaded, gents.

—Jacob Hardenson, MercNet