Bergan Industries

Bergan Industries is a manufacturing company best known for designing the ubiquitous Locust.

History & Overview

Early Space Age

Originally a lighting and industrial electronics company founded on ancient Terra at some point in the late 20^th century, Bergen Industries’ leadership saw opportunity rise during the escalating conflicts of the early 21^st century. Through fortunate investing in research projects during the mid 21^st century, and exceptional gains and contracts going into the 22^nd, the CEO and his senior staff took the rebranded company to the newly established colony at New Earth, where they quickly settled into roles of administration and heavy metal extraction and fabrication.

At some point during the early 22^nd century, the CEO took the company in a new direction, focusing on metal fabrication and wiring, and eventually the movement of heavy materials. It is little more than rumor now as to the reason for this shift in direction and, ultimately the change in spelling of the company’s name. The most common through-line that seems to be applied is that there was a dispute in who would take over as CEO at some point, and the dispute was settled when the younger son of the prior CEO simply made a company with a new name, then bought out the former when the majority of investors sided with his decisions. Over time, this would additionally shift to military contracting, arms development, and vehicle design. Throughout the Age of War, the reminted Bergan Industries expanded its lines of business to Ares and Vega as need for war material grew.

Age of War and early Star League Era

By the end of the 25^th century, with the sun setting on the Age of War, Bergan Industries unveiled its first and most popular BattleMech design: The ubiquitous scout known as the Locust. Throughout the 26^th century, Bergan made many highly lucrative deals with other arms manufacturing firms throughout the Inner Sphere, and by the time the age of the Star League began, they were well-entrenched in the broader military-industrial complex as the uncrowned king of light mech manufacturing. The Star League Defense Force took notice of the corporation and, in 2610, First Lord Nicholas Cameron struck a contract with Bergan and its affiliates to produce Locusts for the SLDF, including a Royal Scout variant.

In the early 28^th century, another fateful decision was made by the board of investors and CEO. Bergan would fund exploration of new systems on behalf of the Star League and its constituent states. Since the Draconis Combine and its Principality of Rasalhague did not have a Bergan Facility of their own, the CEO offered to revisit explored regions previously considered uninhabitable, and to complete their terraformation in exchange for one system to call “theirs” and the rights to establish manufacturing plants on any others. The Coordinator agreed, and so over the century the Alshain, Goito, Jarett, and Pomme de Terre systems were added to the territory of the Draconis Combine. Alshain was chosen as the new headquarters for Bergan Industries, though the headquarters at Ausapolis on Ares was retained in case more rimward opportunities presented themselves in the future.

At the same time, Bergan’s COO saw an opportunity to strike deals with other powers, reaching out to the Archon of the fabulously wealthy Lyran Commonwealth and offering to open manufacturing branches at New Oslo, Orestes, and Vega: historically contested systems between the Combine and Commonwealth. The Archon agreed, even going so far as to use personal wealth to match initial investments. This deal proved to be quite valuable, as the jealousy it incurred from the coordinator of the Draconis Combine led to them requesting, and funding, additional facilities at Rasalhague and Thule.

The Champion

In 2602, Bergan Industries revealed its second BattleMech design: The Champion. While controversial, the design proved a hit with the Star League Defense Force, winning out in the bidding war against the Griffin, which is often lauded as the superior machine. In 2699, with the SLDF implementing the use of Land-Air BattleMechs, Bergan attempted a conversion of their successful Champion, but failed in the testing phase and was simply forgotten. A bad investment, but not enough to cause serious issues for the now ubiquitous and incredibly powerful corporation.

Amaris Civil War

Before the collapse of the Star League, it is said that Stefan Amaris himself coordinated the partnership and sale of the Locust chassis, including examples of the royal variants, to all four major periphery powers. Though Stefan’s influence in this deal is only a rumor, it is a well-established fact that the Locust has manufacturers in the Magistracy of Canopus, Outworlds Alliance, and Taurian Concordat to this day.

Succession Wars

Due to the nature of popularity associated with the Locust, and the fact that their manufacturing facilities were well defended by a sort of neutral reputation on par with ComStar, Bergan Industries was largely spared the hellfire of the Succession Wars. There were times when facilities were lost, but due to the simplicity of their production lines, the knowledge of how to repair and operate them, even at reduced capacity, was never truly lost. The Succession Wars were not kind, however, and by their conclusion the corporation was only able to produce Locusts and Locust accessories.

One notable exception to the loss of technology was the original headquarters at New Earth, which was raided by ComStar in 2788 as part of Operation SILVER SHIELD. This raid not only stripped the facility of the means to make advanced technology used in both the royal Locust and Champion variants. Simultaneously, the facilities at Ares and Alshain were raided by clandestine forces, whose only task appeared to be the destruction of data and manufacturing capacity related to the production of advanced material.

Triple-Strength Myomer

The Ares facility in the Capellan Confederation was a rather mundane light ‘Mech factory until it was selected as the test-site for refining the stable Triple Strength Myomer during its reconstruction at the end of the Fourth Succession War. This stabilized version of the material was the first of its kind produced, and was immediately used in new variants of the Locust. The design schematics were at one point sold to a partner: Cosby Mech and Myomer Research Firm, which would later give access to the material to the Draconis Combine.

Bergan’s corporate executives had high hopes that their acquired license to produce Earthwerks’ STG-6L Stinger would help turn their company around during the early 3000s. No longer needing to produce jump jets for their own products, the entirety of Bergan Industries’ output of Chilton 360s were sold to Shengli Arms for use on their Duan Gung. A solid investment that allowed them to again restore their production lines. During the Ronin War, they were able to expand their New Oslo holdings by purchasing a facility from Gorton, Kingsley, and Thorpe Enterprises.

Bergan Industries came into an interesting situation in 3036 with the rise of a Free Rasalhague Republic, as it was producing war material for both the Draconis Combine and the breakaway state. However, relations among the employees of the industrial giant were still kept well thanks to the intervention of a group of DCMS soldiers who would be re-fit as the 5^th Drakøns of the Free Rasalhague Republic. Their commander, Wilhelm Rand, vowed to ensure the survival of the facilities regardless the nature of their inhabited states.

Operation Revival

This promise was seemingly broken when the Alshain factory was destroyed by the DCMS when they retreated from the conquering Clan Ghost Bear during Operation REVIVAL. While the Draconis Combine were mostly successful in their attempt to destroy the plant before being pushed off-world, the Bears quickly rebuilt and restored the Locust line to production under the guidance of Phi Galaxy Commander Wilhelm Rand. Though pathetic by Clan standards, the Bears stepped up their efforts to integrate and move wholesale into the Inner Sphere and chose the site for the production of new second-line designs. Bergan Industries was now to gain access to Clan Technology, and given the means to combine Clan and Inner Sphere designs. Ostensibly, this was to reduce strain on lengthy Clan Homeworld supply trains. But it also gave the investors a new opportunity for massive growth within the newly imposed Merchant and Scientist Castes.

Bringing with them more advanced facilities during the creation of the Ghost Bear Dominion, the Alshain plant benefited greatly when Alshain was named the new capital world of the Dominion. Initially, several branches apart from the headquarters in Alshain had difficulty remaining properly supplied, as they were in enemy territory. However, Clan Ghost Bear’s Phi Galaxy kept its promise, providing security forces through the MRB to every Bergan-sponsored jumpship, supply yard, and manufacturing facility. After Alshain became the capital world of the Dominion, the Merchant Caste invested heavily in the corporation. The new production modules the Clans provided allowed the Alshain branch to produce the Gladiator OmniMech and Golem assault armor, as well as the second line ‘Mechs they had been producing.

Jihad and Dark Age

By 3068, the Alshain facility was producing 28% of the Dominion’s BattleMechs. By 3076, they made Alshain Battleworx a subsidiary. After the remnants of the Free Rasalhague Republic were absorbed, they opened clan-specification production lines at Balmung, Rasalhague, and Thule. By 3090, they were producing electronic warfare equipment, Stealth Armor, Plasma Rifles of clan specification, and other combined technologies. By 3103 and the foundation of the Rasalhague Dominion, Bergan Industries held a functional monopoly on nearly all military manufacturing within the Dominion, acting as a branch of the Touman by way of Phi Galaxy’s Bureau of Corporate Relations.

New Star League Era

During the Jihad, the dying Word of Blake annihilated the New Earth facility, which they had largely taken over and were using for their own purposes. As of 3153, it has yet to be rebuilt but recent investments by Clan Wolf and Clan Smoke Jaguars have allowed Bergan Industries to break ground in rebuilding the facility..

In 3154, the Ares facility was destroyed by forces of the Capellan Confederation after one full year of attempted siege. The mercenary defenders of the facility were posthumously titled as Warriors by Khan Dalia Bekker of the Rasalhague Dominion at the request of Galaxy Commander Esbern Rand.

Production