In 2993, Lori Harewood left her home on Exeter for Galatea, with the intention of forming a mercenary unit. She knew that recent losses in the Federated Suns would likely result in Prince Andrew hiring more units for garrison duty. With minimal training in ‘Mech piloting, Captain Harewood threw together a unit from whatever freelance warriors were available. With 2 lances of ‘Mechs and a platoon of jump infantry, the average hardened solider gave long odds on the Harvesters being hired – and even longer odds on them surviving to complete the contract.
Those soldiers, however, had not counted on two things: Lori’s tenacity and salesmanship, and the Federated Suns desperate need for more garrison units. Although hired under a less than favorable contract, Captain Harewood was sure the once the unit proved itself, it would receive better compensation. Her plans didn’t quite work out as the unit was posted to garrison duty in the spinward area of the Crucis March. With little else to do, the Harvesters trained constantly and agitated for a transfer to the Draconis or Capellan Marches, where it could prove itself.
After 2 years, the unit got its wish and was posted in the Draconis March to defend the planet Crossing against any raid or assault. For three years, the Harvesters watched over Crossing, and beat back several Draconis raiding parties. The Combine decided it had had enough in the last year of the mercenaries’ garrison contract, and sent a battalion of the elite 5th Sword of Light to destroy the company and loot the military warehouses.
Against all odds, the Harvesters managed to sting the 5th repeatedly and retreat into the hills. Though the 4-month long cat-and-mouse game took a vicious toll on the mercenaries, two machines and a handful of infantry were able to hold on until Davion reinforcements arrived. Though bloodied and now without an employer, the Harvesters had achieved Lori’s goal - they had impressed Prince Ian Davion.
Though offers came from several other Successor States, Lori quickly signed back on with the Federated Suns, this time under an upgraded contract. Now allowed to recruit personnel from Davion military academies and given a line of credit though the department of quartermaster, the Harvesters could grow. After all new recruits and equipment acquired at the beginning of the contract, the unit was still just under 2 companies. For three years, the unit swept up and down the Draconis March, hammering all comers. Near the end of the contract, the 11th Legion of Vega landed almost on top of the unit’s base, resulting in an embarrassing defeat; losing another third of their machines before driving the 11th off, the mercenaries retired for some months to train and increase cohesiveness, which was a major disadvantage for the unit.
Until 3014 the unit rotated around garrison posts all over the Suns, serving admirably behind the scenes. In early 3015, Prince Hanse Davion ordered the unit to make several deep raids into the Capellan Confederation. For three years the Harvesters planed and executed raids deep into the Capella Commonality. Their greatest success was on Relevow, where they utterly destroyed the citizen's militia and took more than one thousand tons of military supplies foolishly stored on the world. In addition to valuable salvage for the Suns and damage to several of the Capellans’ garrison units, Lori picked up many Capellan defectors, enlarging the unit.
During the Fourth Succession War the unit served as a garrison unit, and only rarely was committed to assaulting Liao planets. On Halloran V they annihilated Freemont’s Cuirassiers (sent to raid the planet during Operation: Intruder's Communion) and captured almost all their remaining equipment. Their single assault of the war took place on Menkib, where they faced a numerically superior but demoralized and untrained militia. Dropping from their dropships into bases around the world, they shattered the militia in only three days and captured a Liao Overlord Dropship, which the Prince allowed them to keep as a reward for their loyal service.
The Harvesters sat out the War of 3039, busy with pirate hunting duties beyond the Crucis March. Through the decade after the War of 3039 the unit grew in leaps and bounds – that all changed after the Clans arrived. With the Clan war machine tearing chunks out of the Lyran state the Harvesters were quickly sent to help stall the invasion. The high point of their involvement was when Marie Harewood took command of two green militia tank companies and led them and her recon lance to victory over a Jade Falcon binary. Bloodied and forced off every world they tried to defend, the Harvesters were still able to inflict an large amount of damage on both Clan Jade Falcon and Clan Wolf.
The only time the Harvesters accepted contract outside the Federated Suns occurred only recently during Operation: Bulldog, when they signed on with the Draconis Combine to help blunt any Smoke Jaguar counter attack. When the Jaguar dropped three trinaries on Braunton, the Harvesters were ready. Coordinating with the militia and local Comstar forces, they hit from hiding in zones all over the planet, forcing the Jaguars to spread out thin, and then be annihilated by overwhelming force. Unfortunately, during the campaign, Kimberly Harewood was killed in single combat with Mechwarrior Jace, who was later made bondsman to the mercenaries. After crushing the Jaguar force, they returned to garrison duty in the Draconis March, under the command of Marie Harewood. At this time, the unit reached its apex, containing one regiment of ‘Mechs and one of vehicles along with assorted infantry, due to recruiting and some personnel exchanges with Comstar units that had participated in Operation: Bulldog.
At the flashpoint of the Civil War, the unit was stationed on Mirage in the PDZ opposite a very hostile pro-Katherine militia, along with several free regiments. As soon as Victor’s call to arms when out, the so-called Second Royal Cavaliers laid immediate siege of Fort Locke, catching the Harvester’s unprepared. (In retrospect, this was an odd strategy. The mercenaries had more supplies in the fort than the Second had on the entire planet.) Although they received substantial reinforcements, the Second could not even get close to Fort Locke. With veteran artillery and hundreds of walls and fixed emplacements, the Harvester’s stronghold of Fort Locke was vulnerable only to Dropship insertion, and the Second had none.
Enduring the siege, the Harvesters pounded enemy positions with an unrelenting hail of Arrow IV missiles. When significant holes began to appear in their lines, General Harewood ordered her armored vehicles dropped behind the Second’s main formation while the ‘Mechs launched a diversionary raid on one of the weaker sections. In two days nearly half of the armor and infantry composing the Second had been crushed. The Second sent out a desperate call for reinforcements and got it; in the form of a Fox class Corvette. The Fox immediately crippled the Harvester dropships in space; one of which was lost with all hands, while the rest escaped with the Harvester’s Jumpship.
For almost a week, the Fox bombarded Harvester positions and Fort Locke with naval laser fire, reducing the base to complete ruins and, it was thought, the Harvesters right along with it. Two weeks later, the ship jumped out of the system. Unknown to the Second, some of the Harvesters had managed to find substantial underground bunkers and managed to protect at least some of their forces. Although nearly destroyed, the remnants of the Harvesters crawled out of the Fort Locke crater nearly a month after the orbital shelling had stopped and launched a surprise assault that resulted in the complete collapse of the Second Royal Cavaliers. Assaulted at night by a unit they thought was destroyed, the green second fell in 36 hours of continual fighting.
Later, the unit supported actions by Tancred Sandoval against the Archon-Princess in the name of Victor Steiner-Davion. Recently, they were fully integrated into the AFFS, losing mercenary status. They serve as a guard to the palace as well bodyguards for First Princess Yvonne Davion. A few of the unit's MechWarriors are rumored to be involved with Yvonne's military training.
