Of all the major mercenary forces active today, the Ronin are perhaps the grimmest. Originally formed from the shattered remains of the Draconis Combine’s Tenth Ghost Legion, these soldiers for hire seem different than most others, and all one needs to see that is a glimpse into the eyes of these stoic warriors.

One of the first things I discovered was their decidedly xenophobic nature. My cameraman, whose ancestry could be traced back to the Combine, was not permitted to accompany me, and in order to walk amongst the members of this unit I had to don identical apparel and travel with a pair of armed guides at all times, minimizing the chance that I might “distract” the other warriors. The Ronin officers assured me that, while I was perfectly safe, they were mercenaries and took no chances with safety; trust of a gaijin like me was not easily won.

“From the day of our birth,” explained Ishura Masaki, one of my assigned guards, “we have been betrayed be those around us. We do not risk such things again so lightly.”

The Ronin obviously hail from the Draconis Combine originally, a nation rich with feudal Japanese flavor, bound by precepts of the samurai code of honor and unquestionably ruled by the Great House Kurita. The Tenth Ghost Legion, however, was a regiment of criminals from this society when it first formed. Like all of the Combine’s Ghost regiments, their numbers were filled with yakuza operatives and other dregs of Combine society, a desperate ploy by then-commander of the Combine armies, Theodore Kurita, to stave off a Federated Commonwealth assault. Vindicated over many years of battle, the Ghost Regiments, by the time of the Jihad, were a legitimate part of the DCMS, the standing military forces of the Draconis Combine, though to say they were exactly honored would be stretching the truth.

In fact, of all the Ghost regiments, the Tenth probably had the worst reputation for internal fighting, being composed entirely of members by two rival yakuza sects who constantly fought for control over the unit.

“In those days, we were not united,” admits Chu-i (Lieutenant) Phan Rokoyo, my main guide within the Ronin. “Two yakuza empires—the Jirigawa and the Minitoma—claimed members in our midst. Unfortunately, these empires did not agree, and there were many…unpleasant incidents during our formative years.”

In fact, internecine fighting within the Tenth brought the regiment to the brink of destruction until the Combine government inserted a team of ISF agents to settle the matter, disguised as warriors from a third yakuza sect. The deception, though successful in ending the feud, is still counted among the betrayal heaped upon the Tenth, which led to their defection.

“We came to forgive our masters [House Kurita] for the trickery that bound us, at last, as one,” Royoko says, “but the betrayal that came afterward was too much to bear.”

In the fighting of the Jihad, the Tenth Ghost, still weakened from the final rounds of the FedCom Civil War, were tasked with holding the strategic world of Quentin, just two jumps from Terra itself, against a massive Word of Blake assault. Though reinforcements were promised, none ever materialized during the horrific campaign, which all but shattered the regiment, though they eventually prevailed. Rather than thanks for a job well done and much needed relief, however, the DCMS then ordered the Tenth to prepare for an offensive operation against the Blakists—one which stood little chance of success. This second great betrayal led to the unit’s desertion, and the creation of the Ronin.

“We had protected the realm, only to be asked to sacrifice ourselves again. It was at that time, we suddenly realized our masters had become too desperate, throwing away good lives after bad. With no master worth honoring, we became Ronin, warriors without masters.”

The Ronin withdrew for a time, far from the fighting, to rebuild and recruit others from shattered Combine commands, before making themselves available for hire near the end of the Blakist Holy War. But though their battles there might have exonerated them, House Kurita had already passed sentence: the Ronin were outlaws and deserters, fit only for execution if ever they appeared in Combine space again.

“Since that day,” says Rokoyo, “we have endured a life without a home, without a past, but what we make for ourselves. The dragon is always behind us, urging us onward in our hearts and our nightmares alike, yet we fight for our own honor.”

Two generations of Ronin have lived and died since the Tenth Ghost’s defection, but their descendants still face the “dishonor” of their desertion. Though technically able to one day go home, they have known only the life of the mercenary, eking out a living as soldiers for hire. To the warriors of the Ronin, life is an eternal struggle to find the inner peace and the greater glory lost when they fell from grace, and it is one to which every member of this proud mercenary command is sworn unto death.

“Karma drives us,” says Rokoyo. “It also defines us.”

I’m Ravi Juro, INN special correspondent, Amity.