The
Gray Death Legion was formed on the planet Trell
I by Grayson Death Carlyle, a mercenary apprentice
who had used inventive tactics in order to keep
the planet from being used as a beachhead for a
Draconis Combine invasion of Lyran Commonwealth
space. He formed and trained a militia unit called
the Trellwan Lancers to combat Combine forces. After
forcing Duke Ricol and the Combine forces to flee,
Carlyle reformed the Lancers into the Gray Death
Legion mercenary unit.
The Legion headed for the mercenary planet Galatea
in order to bolster their forces and find work.
The Legion negotiated a contract under which the
Legion would be required to act as a training cadre
to the planet Verthandi's rebel army. They ran the
Draconis Combine blockade to be trapped on Verthandi
until they could win their way home. Grayson Death
Caryle eventually taking de facto command of the
Verthandi rebel forces due to his greater experience
and superior equipment. The Gray Death legion made
many raids against the Draconis Combine forces which
culminated in a attack on the Combine-held capital
city. With the help of Lyran Commonwealth forces
summoned by the Gray Death Legion's jumpship, Verthandi
was liberated from the Draconis Combine.
Almost immediately following these events, a representative
from the Duke of Irian and the Free Worlds League
signed the Legion to its service. As part of their
contract the Gray Death Legion was given the planet
Helm as a holding. The Legion fought against the
Capellan Confederation for their employers. When
ComStar discover a Star League storehouse on Helm,
they feared that the Legion would discover the memory
core and threaten ComStar's monopoly on lost Star
League technology. ComStar operatives set up a plot
in cooperation with a rogue faction of the Free
Worlds League to discredit the Legion and frame
them for war crimes. The Free Worlds faction, led
by the Duke of Irian, wished to use the "new" technology
to wrest control of the Free Worlds League from
Janos Marik. The Gray Death Legion landed on Helm
too late to save their families, but held off the
Duke's forces, found the storehouse and evacuated
much of the technology and the Helm memory core
offworld.
