The Nekekami are, first and foremost, mercenaries-warriors who hire out their services to others who can afford them. It is no secret that Nekekami prices are high--it is rumored that a single penetration-burglary by a lone Nekekami may cost the employer as much as Cb 200,000--but the individuals who hire them are well aware of the value they receive for their money. Nekekami are never found engaged in typical merc ops-serving as bounty hunters, as base security or body guards, or in the role of military reconnaissance, for example--and their missions usually involve important military or government targets, such as those detailed in this article.
It should be stressed here that past Nekekami operations have never officially been connected with the Draconis Combine, or with the highest levels of the Luthien government. At the same time, the Nekekami have never been known to hire out their services to agents or individuals beyond the boundaries of the Draconis Combine. While none of the Draco officers or noblemen who admitted having used Nekekami on various missions wished to be publicly identified, it is safe to say that the Nekekami are themselves an invaluable resource to the Combine's continuing struggle against her enemies, a resource often tapped by high-ranking officials and soldiers loyal to House Kurita.
The exact amounts charged by Nekekami agents for various missions is unknown, but it is estimated that hundreds of millions of ComStar Bills enter the organization's coffers each year. Also unknown are exactly how this money is used, though it is believed that most goes to buying equipment and weapons, to caring for Nekekami families, and to providing operating capital for the public aspects of the caste's businesses and financial operations.
Another cost, one rarely mentioned, is the danger Nekekami pose to their own employers. Protected by barriers of silence and fear, so secretive in their movements and activities that it is nearly impossible to findthernto hirethem in the first place, there have been incidents such as murders, disappearances, and unexplained deaths, which can be explained as Nekekami mercenaries avenging themselves on would-be employers who either tried to double-cross their hirelings, or who accidentally learned too much. In many cases--particularly in the unexplained deaths of several high-ranking Kurita officers--the deaths could be explained as assassinations by jealous staff members, warlords, or factions, but in each the hallmarks of a Nekekami strike, of Nekekami "art," were present, in several instances right down to the finding of a black, origami cat at the scene of the murder. During his research into the history of the Nekekami, this reporter time and time again was told that asking too many questions about the clans was unhealthy, that people who knew too much or talked too much might meet with an unfortunate accident. Strangely, far from discouraging business with these enigmatic and dangerous mercenaries, the stories of their vengeance seem only to increase their fascination in the popular mind.
Are they patriotic heros or untrustworthy mercenaries? The answer seems to depend on who hires them, and why. First and foremost, it must be said, the Nekekami serve their own causes and obey their own rules. But for those who have hired them in the past, those who have treated them fairly and respected their desire to remain unknown and unseen, the Nekekami have proved to be loyal and terrifyingly effective covert soldiers-for-hire.
With the growing tension and escalating combat and cross-border raids between the Draconis Combine and her bellicose neighbors, it is certain that the Nekekami, the Spirit Cats, will be called upon again to take action against the Combine's enemies. Again, these valiant and mysterious men and women will hold fast to their philosophy, their way of life-source of their strength and of their prowess-the way of the Nekekami, the Spirit Cats.
It is with deep regret that the BattleTechnology staff announces the death of Professor Tomio Ochiba late last month as this issue of BattleTechnology went to press. Professor Ochiba was well known and highly respected by the staff and reporters at BattleTechnology's regional branch office on Luthien, and a frequent source for background and corroboratory material on House Kurita and the Draconis Combine. The Nekekamiwas Professor Ochiba's first full article to be published by this magazine. He showed great promise, and his sudden and unexpected passing is noted with sorrow.
Professor Ochiba was pronounced dead of heart failure by natural causes in his home on Luthien. He was 39.
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