Born to Michael and Karin Rommel, Markus grew up on the planet Candiear. As former members of an upstart mercenary company, the Rommels were stranded in the Magistry when their group ran out of funds. Instead of trying to limp back to the inner sphere, the couple settled in the Magistracy and attempted to make some kind of life for themselves. They quickly found jobs, his mother as a vehicle technician for the local armored cavalry garrison, and his father as an emergency medical technician. Markus was the last of two children, the oldest being his brother Trevor. Their mother died in childbirth when she was pregnant with Markus. As a result, his father and brother blamed him for her death and he became the black sheep of the family.
Like all Magistry youths, he joined the military at the age of sixteen. His family did not have the financial means, or the social status for him to enter the prestigious Mechwarrior academy. Thus he took the next best route. He enlisted with the armored cavalry and embraced his new family-the structured life of the military. Markus survived training well enough, excelling at the physical challenges, piloting, and gunnery tests, but barely passing the written exam. During the last stages of his cadre’s advanced individual training, they shipped out to Tarol IV for final maneuvers before graduation. The unit was issued a company of J. Edgar hovertanks, two recruits for each tank.
The training exercises would mark his first true engagement. A few weeks after they landed on the planet, two lances of ‘Mechs from the Marion Hegemony armed forces grounded as well, intent upon capturing the members of the Courdon family, the local barony and minor noble house. They first ran across the marauders during a routine patrol. The training commander caught the first salvo of the battle and erupted into a brilliant ball of flame. The survivors of the patrol made a quick retreat and told the rest of the cadre of the incident
At first things looked grim as the recruits acted like the proverbial chickens with their leader dead, but Markus took charge of the company. He lured the enemy ‘Mechs into a peat bog, and then when they were appropriately mired in the muck, sprung the trap. The 12 J. Edgars converged on each ‘Mech in turn, demolishing it beyond usefulness.
In the aftermath, the citizens of the planet hailed Rommel as a hero. The Courdon family insisted that he marry their youngest daughter, Elizabeth. This betrothal was done as a political maneuver because with a war hero in the family, they felt as if they could make a bid for power. He could not refuse the offer, since Magistry laws allow the man no choice in such a matter, and married the young Elizabeth Courdon. She was only 16 at the time, and neither really liked the idea, but they made the marriage work.
With the Courdon family to back him and pay his promotion fees, Markus quickly rose through the ranks of the military, despite his many acts of disrespect toward his superiors. Each time he felt that he or his men were being short-changed by the commanding officers, he would mouth off to a multitude of members of high command, and each time when they levied a fine against him, he would draw upon his wife’s family for monetary support.