THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE HAMMER’S SLAMMERS THE CRUCIBLE RULES SYSTEM HANDBOOK

Primary research work by John-David Karnitz

Brigada Independência (Cobras Fumantes)

The Brigade's first operational contract was on Moshava in late 324 TW.  There, they were brought in by the government as adjuncts upon which the national forces could coalesce around as they sought to bring the independent towns and farming cooperatives under centralized control.  The fighting was low key as neither of the warring factions seemed to have the desire for widespread bloodshed.  In the end, the Brigade concluded the contract to their employer's satisfaction, though the troopers of the unit (and more importantly their backers on Earth) had been frustrated by the low-paying contract, grinding pace of operations, and restrictive rules of engagement. In 325 TW, the Brigade entered into their second contract on Squire's World.  There, the troopers nervously got ready to face their Federal opponents and another mercenary regiment, the redoubtable Hammer's Slammers.  However, a last-minute compromise and treaty precluded further fighting on that world, known for its vast jungles and even vaster oceans.  Both mercenary outfits took to the stars in search of better contracts. The Independence Brigade, by now searching for a high-paying contract with which to allay its start-up costs, landed on Paradiski in the pay of the Sovereign Determination Party.  The SDP was engaged in a low-level insurrection against the planetary government that had sought to ally itself with far-off Aurora.  The government had brought in several relatively small off-planet mercenaries to supplement its meagre security forces, along with a much bigger one-the Division Legere.  At last, the Brigade had managed to find the contract it had been hoping for, to the horror of many of its line-troopers who had the misfortune of meeting the veteran Division head-on.  The fighting on Paradiski continued for nearly a year, with hover armor sparring amidst rocky spires and snow-covered valleys before the conflict ended abruptly with an armistice that required both sides to divest themselves of mercenaries and lay down their arms. By now hardy veterans, the "Smoking Cobras", as they had come to be known, conducted a series of brief, high- intensity contracts over the next year-and-a-half.  By 328 TW, the Brigade was a force to be reckoned with, and it was this reputation as a hard-hitting high-tech assault regiment that brought them to Sulewesi, again in the pay of a rebel faction.  The Cobras made landfall with a selection of other friendly mercenary outfits, among them the Zaporoskiye Brigade and their tank-destroyers.  Along for the ride was another allied mercenary unit, the Tingitana artillery specialists, who were (for the most part) fellow Brazilians. After several weeks on planet-which the newly arrived mercenaries used to secure their rear-areas, the Cobras and their allies emerged from their staging areas to confront their foes head-on.  Unfortunately, the government had spent their time shoring up their own positions… and hiring Hammer's Regiment.