Wayne Waco is the antique commander of Waco’s Rangers, a skilled and competent mercenary outfit with a terrible reputation. Most of his life and career has been defined by his Blood Oath against Jaime Wolf and his Wolf’s Dragoons. His Rangers are generally viewed as an ecletic lot, with the quality of the pilots varying wildly due to many of them coming from backgrounds where they hate the Wolf’s Dragoons above all else. Wayne himself is a man with honor and dedication, never breaking his contracts and agreements.

Early Life

Wayne Waco’s early life is one of mystery. He claims to have been born on the “Capellan world of Le Blanc”, which is a world far from the Capellan border. He was “scouted by top level talents” to become a MechWarrior and join the CCAF, but there are no real records of this anywhere. The first official record of Wayne Waco’s existence comes from him joining the Second Kearny Highlanders as an enlisted MechWarrior with his own ‘Mech, a Vindicator.

Military Career

Unlike his early life, the rest of Waco’s career is well documented. Starting out in the Second Kearny Highlanders, he made his mark and rose in the enlisted ranks until he was given a temporary field commission. He married Fiona Richel during his time studying to become an officer, and they had a son as he was officially given a captain commission in the Second Kearny Highlanders. Unfortunately, his wife died a few years later during a fight against the AFFS. Not wanting his son to grow up an orphan, Wayne Waco left active duty and became a military instructor at Sian University. He left the university when his son came of age and joined the CCAF, becoming a company commander in the First Tau Ceti Rangers. When the unit was dissolved in 3007 after a disastrous operation against the Free Worlds League, Wayne Waco took a group of MechWarriors with him an formed his mercenary company, Waco’s Rangers.

Mercenary Career

Instigating a Civil War

As one of the judges on the Mercenary Review Board, Wayne Waco suspended Jaime Wolf from command of the Wolf’s Dragoons in 3053. While this was just morbid pleasure for him, he did not know that this would trigger what would later be called the Dragon Civil War. With Mackenzie Wolf presumed dead, Alpin Wolf attempted to take command of the unit while others loyal to Jaime fought against him.

Waco took pleasure in seeing what was happening to the Dragoons. He still hoped Jaime Wolf would retake command of his unit so he could kill him in single combat later. Unfortunately, Mackenzie Wolf (then Vickers) return put a wrench in his plans.

Asking for a duel

Monthly between 3054 and 3057, Wayne Waco sent a challenge letter to Jaime Wolf, which were all ignored. During that time, the Rangers were under service of the Federated Commonwealth in the Sarna March, allowing them to come to Outreach for these constant challenges. The Dragoons no longer working with any major houses, Waco had no opportunity to switch his allegiance to fight against them, which frustrated him.

Operation GUERRERO

The Rangers contract with the AFFS was due to expire in 3059, but when Operation GUERRERO launched in 3057, it was extended “for the foreseeable future” with a large sign-in bonus. Waco was confident that if he remained near Outreach for long enough he would have to fight the Dragoons, so he agreed to the new terms. Field-Marshall Stephen Davion deployed Waco and his men on the front lines, where he was encouraged to fight other mercenary outfits under contract with the CCAF and the FWLM.

Bogged down in a third succession war

Very few men had lived through 3 Succession Wars on the front lines, but Wayne Waco was one of them. As the fighting grew harder in the Sarna, and then Tikonov, March, Wayne Waco still sent challenge letters to Jaime Wolf on Outreach, hoping to at least have the chance to fight him one last time. Waco’s troops consisted of an eclectic mix of mercenaries who generally could not make it in the “better units” in the Inner Sphere, but they served remarkably well in the slugfest of the Fifth Succession War. Unlike other fronts of the war, the region Waco’s unit was deployed to played to their strength of just fighting like hell and hoping the enemy gave up first.

The profile of the Rangers progressively improved during the Fifth Succession War as Wayne Waco kept on a “positive balance” of wins and losses throughout the conflict. By the mid 3060s, new recruits actively tried to join the Rangers despite the Death Oath still having to be taken rather than because of it like before. Wayne Waco had stopped piloting and concentrated on managing his unit and their deployment… all the while still sending his monthly challenge letter to Jaime Wolf. As the conflict died down, Wayne Waco was close to a hundred years old and finally received a reply from Wolf, telling him to meet him on Outreach on June 1^st 3067, and to come alone.

Personal Life

Wayne Waco lost his wife early and then his son and he never recovered. The rest of his life was spent angry and disillusioned, likely just trying to die in combat after killing as many Dragoons as he could. Waco was mostly known for heavy drinking when not in service, but he had to slow down in his old age. He also enjoys “old timey” firearms and owns a colletion of both replicas and originals.

Wayne Waco’s BattleMech

Wayne Waco originally piloted a Vindicator while in service of the CCAF. He later piloted a BattleMaster, which was refit with more Star League technology over the years.

Clan Watch Report

“Wayne Waco is old. Very old. Most people believe the only thing keeping him alive is his hatred of Jaime Wolf and Wolf’s Dragoons. Undercover agents have tried hiring Waco to fight against the Dragoons, but he seems to have a “nose” for undercover work and refuses the jobs from our agents. He is likely to die in a very near future, and we do not know who will inherit the Rangers.”