Well having looked outside (or inside) the box I have decided on following canon for a little campaign. Given the forum is very quiet I wanted to give a little tease at the foundation work done so far, I have a campaign name and timeline but wont reveal them yet. A peek at the campaign synopsis:
In a meticulously planned and executed assault which some say was driven by the assassination of his father Yoguchi Kurita,
Coordinator Miyogi Kurita launches an attack against Hesperus II in an attempt to cripple the Commonwealth by destroying the
Defiance Industries facilities on world; the largest battlemech producing factories in the Inner Sphere. With both jump points
to the system blockaded, three regiments of veteran mechwarriors must defend the planet against overwhelming odds...
A further hint at the timeline, the following list of useable tech from MCO:
Light:
Commando 25t
Javelin 30t
Urbanmech 30t
Firestarter 35t
Jenner 35t
Panther 35t
Medium:
Cicada 40t
Vulcan 40t (rare)
Blackjack 45t (rare)
Centurion 50t
Crab 50t
Enforcer 50t
Hunchback 50t
Heavy:
Champion 60t
Dragon 60t
Catapult 65t (very rare)
Jagermech 65t
Flashman 75t (Main Heavy for Lyran)
Orion 75t (Main Heavy for Lyran)
Assault:
Awesome 80t
Thug 80t
Victor 80t
Zeus 80t (Main Assault for Lyran)
Stalker 85t
Cyclops 90t
Highlander 90t
Atlas 100t
Vehicles:
Harasser
Mobile HQ
Shreck
Demolisher
LRM and SRM Carriers
Goblin
Von Luckner