A COST IS ALWAYS PAID… Nikolai Reed is a trader on a Lyran JumpShip plying the space lanes… Chloe Mason is a hot-shot tech with the Hsien Hotheads mercenaries… Leaving the Northwind Highlanders, MechWarrior Ryana Nikol fills a billet with the Eridani Light Horse… Disparate lives, but a unified dream that will bring them all together on a fateful course that will span decades, cover hundreds of light years, and involve love, friendship, and loss across a dozen worlds. Each will pay a price along the way, as a cost always comes due. The Mercenary Life anthology is a compilation of stories written by Randall N. Bills. Including tales from several different characters as they cross paths, and the dream to found a new mercenary command is born. Their unique lives showcase the struggles and trials of the men and women who take up the mercenary mantle from a variety of angles, all bound around that central vision. The first eight stories of this anthology were originally posted for free alongside the release of MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries, acting as the origin stories for the mercenary command within that computer game. This is the first time they have been compiled into a single volume to allow for a Print on Demand physical copy. Additionally, an all-new ninth story has been added—The Sun Will Rise—along with postscripts for every story that gives the reader insight into how stories are crafted within a shared universe between tabletop, computer games, and fiction that spans more than thirty years and tens of millions of words.

BACKS AGAINST THE WALL… Galatea. The Mercenary's Star. Even the most down on their luck units can find work here. Leading the newly-formed Gray Death Legion has been challenging for Grayson Death Carlyle, so when a job comes their way, he’s only too happy to take it. The mission: train the local resistance on the planet Verthandi to resist their Draconis Combine masters. But things do not go well almost from the moment the Legion arrives. Trapped on Verthandi and facing a superior force and a fractured populace, the men and women of the Legion find themselves in a situation that makes the campaign on Trellwan look like a walk in the park. And Grayson quickly learns repeating his past successes may not be so easy this time…

A BattleTech and MechWarrior supplement describing the mercenary way of life.

With his friends and family dead and his father's regiment destroyed, Grayson Death Carlyle, a MechWarrior, must learn to fight for justice in a world turned hostile. Original.

For over forty centuries, mercenaries have plied their trade and been instrumental in toppling empires or holding the tides of war at bay. And as mankind expanded to the stars, soldiers of fortune rose to new heights of power. Business is booming, yet along with those riches comes a dangerous life and the scorn of many who see only filthy lucre-warriors. Its a dangerous life, but as long as you keep your Mech intact and your bottom line balanced, the universe is yours!

In the year 3050 the mysterious invaders known as the Clans struck without warning from beyond known space. Their advanced 'Mechs destroyed all opposition and captured planet after planet. Now the Clans' secrets are revealed in Field Manual: Warden Clans. The second of two volumes on the Clans, this BattleTech sourcebook describes the seven most noble Clans: Cloud Cobra, Coyote, Diamond Shark, Ghost Bear, Goliath Scorpion, Snow Raven, and Steel Viper. Each Clans tactics, uniforms and battle histories are described in detail, along with new Clan 'Mechs and equipment.

’MECHS AT THE READY… Betrayed by his own House and stripped of his rank, exiled Mechwarrior Justin Allard is given one last chance to save his honor—by risking his life in the gladiatorial arenas of Solaris VII. But his newest Game World opponent—more skilled at 'Mech-to-'Mech combat than any other rival—raises the stakes even higher. It's Philip Capet, former mechwarrior in the Davion military—until he was kicked out by none other than Justin Allard before his own unfortunate fall from grace. Both Justin and Philip face fierce battles, but in the Inner Sphere, where nobles have schemed for centuries to win the ultimate power, those who interfere with the Successor Lords are sometimes called heroes. And sometimes called victims…

For as long as armies have clashed on fiery fields of battle, professional soldiers of fortune have fought, bled, and died. They are the ultimate warriors, sharing skills few men possess, a pride few men can merit, and an unassailable courage in the face of overwhelming numbers and superior weaponry. These are the men who take the risks that others would never dare; the men who change history and keep the enemy at bay; the men who change history and keep the enemy at bay. And, if need be, they are willing to die in prusuit of their objective: total victory on the field of war. MERCS is a collection of remarkable true accounts of mercenaries in action -- from the ancient Greeks against the Persians in 400 B.C. to the blood-curdling siege at Vietnam's Dein Bein Phu and the modern-day drug wars of Central and South America. Here are stories of incredible battleground stands, of daring raids and revolutionary operations, of astonishing bravery in desperate situations -- and of the rare breed of fighting men who made war their vocation...and honor their guide.