Rating Code: B/C/T
House Kurita is not usually thought of as a desirable employer for mercenaries. Given the suspicious nature of the Draconis Combine, the government is generally unwilling to rely on untrustworthy outsiders--Wolf's Dragoons is a notable exception--and Kurita's reputation for treachery in its dealings with mercenaries is enough to make any mercenary commander think twice before signing a contract with them. There are individuals, however, within the Draconis Combine who occasionally augment their personal forces by hiring mercenaries-and usually treat them fairly. Duke Hassid Ricol is such an individual.
Properly speaking, Ricol is an Archduke, one of the handful of high-ranking nobles who govern a number of worlds within the Combine's borders. The de facto lord of 14 worlds within the Rasalhague Military District along the outlying borders with the Lyran Commonwealth, from Kufstein's World to the twilight barrens of The Edge, he maintains his capital and ducal court at Alexis on Rodigo, barely 20 parsecs from the Lyran border, and less than 50 parsecs from the Bandit King worlds of Hendrik of Oberon. Ricol is, however, one of the more active of Kurita's nobles. His personal JumpShip Huntress serves to carry him throughout his own domain, and sometimes even farther afield for reasons of political or mi itary necessity.
The Ricols of Rodigo
The Ricols of Rodigo are an old and established family, one dating back at least to the time when the region was first settled late in the 23rd Century.
Right: Duke Hassid Ricol's personal JumpShip Huntress seen here at the Rodigo Nadir JumpPoint.
In 2785 General Henri Ricol became the first Duke of Rodigo, and for more than two centuries after that, the Ricol domain was restricted to the world of Rodigo. It has only been with the past 30 years that 13 worlds formerly belonging to Steiner-some of the Tamar Pact worlds-and ceded to House Kurita in three separate campaigns, have been placed under the administrative jurisdiction of the Duchy of Rodigo.
The Red Duke
Hassid Ricol became the ruling Duke of Rodigo, 12th of his line, in 3011, at the age of 34. Hassid is a complex and seemingly self-contradictory personality. In public he is a flamboyant and highly visible figure, known for his love of extended hunts in Rodigo's vast ducal game preserves. He revived the descriptive honorific of "the Red Duke," first adopted by Stefani Ricol, the 3rd Duke of Rodigo, because of the predominant color of the family crest, and delights in wearing impressive, military-cut, gold-trimmed, brilliant red uniforms replete with medals and ostentatious decorations. This image is difficult to reconcile with the more private picture of the man which has emerged in recent years--a brilliant politician and a superb military tactician, one who spins elaborate and elegant traps for his enemies, both military and political.
The outward flamboyance, it seems, is a mask shielding a keen mind and a ruthless and calculating ambition. It should be noted in passing that at least five plots against Hassid Ricol's life within the past eight years have all failed. Rumors abound that during this same period, several of Ricol's more prominent enemies among the Kurita court structure have vanished or met with unfortunate--and convenient--accidents, but there is not the slightest shred of evidence to support these whisperings.
It should be mentioned that a large part of Ricol's image is his skillful use of spies and informers. His personal intelligence-gathering network has a reputation for thoroughness and efficiency unrivaled by any private secret service.
Duke Ricol is known for using mercenaries more freely and with greater confidence than other House Kurita lords. Perhaps best known is his use of bandit hirelings during the Trell campaign of 3024.
Bandit Mercs on Trell I
Trell I, "Trellwan" as the locals call it, is a backwater world of Steiner's Trellshire district. In 3024, Steiner mercenaries were protecting the planet from bandit raids by Hendrik of Oberon. Ricol's forces, posing as Oberonian bandits, landed and forced the Steiner mercs to withdraw. He then attacked the local defenses, setting the stage for his later "rescue" of the Trellwanese by his own forces. In a single stroke, and at very little cost, Ricol conquered a Steiner world by convincing its population that he had come as that world's saviour!
That the plan failed in the end was not due to any failure in Ricol's planning, but to unforeseen setbacks in its execution. Part of the local planetary militia--possibly aided by survivors of the original Steiner mercenary garrison and by defectors among the Oberonian mercenaries--turned against Ricol's forces and put up a stubborn and totally unexpected resistance. Ricol failed to dislodge a stand by local forces at the Battle of Thunder Rift, and the jump freighter used to ferry in the Oberonian mercenaries was captured by rebel militia. The delay caused by the battle was enough to allow word of the invasion to be carried to Antares aboard the freighter, and Ricol wisely withdrew before he could be confronted by superior forces.
Verthandl
Since the episode on Trell I, Duke Ricol has received a second serious political setback. Reactionary forces on Verthandi--one of the seven Tamar Pact worlds ceded to House Kurita by House Steiner in 3015--were able, with the aid of off-world mercenaries, to win an impressive victory over Ricol's local forces. By the time Duke Ricol could arrive with reinforcements, a House Steiner fleet had arrived as well, with formal recognition for the rebel government and an offer of military aid.
Faced with possibly losing Verthandi outright, Ricol instead engaged in negotiations which ultimately granted Verthandi a semi-autonomous status within the Combine, with trade and recognition treaties granted by both the Commonwealth and the Combine. Since Verthandi lies well inside the Combine's current border with Steiner, the future of the world's independence is in some doubt, and Ricol has publicly stated that a "formal and final settlement of the matter" is only a matter of time.
In other words, the Red Duke is not finished with Verthandi yet.
Future Plans
The double setbacks at Trell I and Verthandi seriously jeopardized Duke Ricol's political standing in Luthien, where failure is neither appreciated nor rewarded. Besides making plans for the eventual return to Verthandi, Ricol has kept his future plans a closely-guarded secret. There are hints--vague and unsubstantial at best--that a new project of extreme importance and extreme secrecy has engaged his attention at some considerable distance away from his domain along the Lyran border. What this new project might be is anyone's guess. Its importance is hinted at by reports that Ricol has been paying well for information about events in Liao and Marik space.
It is possible that this project, whatever it is, will require the Red Duke to again seek the services of professional mercenaries.
More Hassid Ricol The Red Duke
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