Battletech An SI in the Concordat - GhostRider's Revenants (Battletech CYOA)Rev.2

Chapter 43

paulobrito

Well-known member
Hurik, unlike Ward was a cold, harsh planet with a population barely a million.
The intelligence services had reported that it was defended by a Home Guard regiment, but we only found about one battalion of poorly equipped and trained militia. Unlike Ward, it didn’t have an HPG. After defeating the Home Guard, we raided the only valuable thing in the world, a mine of titanium, taking with us several tons of raw and processed ore, before returning to Ward.






We return to Ward without problems. Two weeks later, we detected two JumpShips at a pirate point, a few hours away of the planet. No doubt a military force, the fact that one of the DropShips launched was a Overlord was a dead give away.


More data came from the space sensors: the invading forces was composed by an Overlord, 3 Unions and a Triumph. Was this merely a raid in force, were they stupid or they've bad intel ? That force couldn’t carry more than two battalions of ‘Mechs with a bit of support. With the reinforcements, I had almost 5 companies of them, plus support. Unless this was some kind of elite force, there was no way in Hell they would retake the system from us...



Near the planet we intercepted the attacking force, covered by 12 Aerospace Fighters, in the colors of the Kamakura’s Hussars, but the Revenants had more of them and also more advanced ones, leading to the total destruction of the Liao Fighters for only 4 of ours, even if almost all of ours took some kind of damage.


Knowing who our opponent was, was a good thing. Consulting the Intel we had on the CCAF prior to the invasion, mostly obtained from the Magistracy and the Federated Suns, we found out that they were a second line unit, two battalions strong, with mostly lights and mediums ‘Mechs, and with a penchant for frontal assaults. That changed our operational plan as they were not an elite force like the Death Commandos, just the force stationed here before the start of this not so little war. So, it was probably just a raid in force or they had real bad Intel. Or they were stupid, something that couldn’t be discounted.


Near the atmosphere, our fighters severely damaged the Triumph, that disintegrated while trying to land. And there went the support force for the enemy ‘Mechs...

The Capellan DropShips landed near the capital. Soon after, a force of 'Mechs, about two battalions of them, came to meet us, in a frontal and massive attack. Although they did not lack courage, it was the worst tactic against the Revenants who had a considerable amount of long-range weapons and heavier ’Mechs to better absorb damage. Starting to retreat slowly as soon as we entered combat we tried to keep our advantage of a greater range for as long as possible, keeping the Assault and Heavy 'Mechs in front because they had more protection and could buy us more time. The enemy, while continuously approaching, used every bit of terrain to negate our advantage in range. They were not that suicidal after all. Pity.


My support forces with long range weapons (LRMs, arty, and a few unguided Arrow IV), placed behind the Revenants ’Mechs were adding their firepower to the ‘Mechs, turning the Capellans life miserable, and at same time my ASFs are strafing then.


The enemy forces was indeed a mix of lights and mediums with a few heavies, they had advanced faster than we could retreat.


At same time, a small force appears from the jungle, in our back, two ’Mechs and a small group of infantry, in the colors of House Lu Sann. So, the survivors had decided to join the battle? Fine for me, we could make a clean sweep this time.
One thing you could say about the Kamakura's Hussars and Lu Sann warriors is that they didn't lack courage, and they knew how to die well. And dying, that's what they did that day up to the last 'man.


The Lu Sann ‘Mech force, one Locust and one Wasp, at first destroyed some vehicles and killed a few infantry, but soon find themselves under the fire of two Leclerc flak (3xAC/5 each) and four Merkavas. Lights don’t survive much time against that kind of firepower, and the enemy infantry, few in number, is destroyed soon after. And so end Warrior House Lu Sann.

About a company of 'Mechs from the Revenants had been severely damaged, with only four destroyed during the battle, but because we had taken control of the battlefield, our technicians took over all the wreckage and were of the opinion that they would be able to repair / recover almost all our ‘Mechs and even increase our numbers with what they would recover from the opponent ’Mechs.
Among them was an almost intact VND-1R Vindicator, with its head destroyed by the Penetrator. Luckily for us, another CCAF Vindicator, this one with is center torso cored, laid near, and his head could be used to repair the first one, so this one could be used right now, the rest needed to be sent to New Vandenberg to possible rebuild. The Penetrator, Marauder II and Bull Shark had all performed well in combat and none had been destroyed, even if they all had taken some kind of damage.
Shortly after the end of the battle, the opposing DropShips took off, soon accompanied by another Overlord, probably the hidden Lu Sann one, that we hadn’t found before.


Our surviving Fighters harassed them all the way to the JumpShips, but didn’t destroy any, just doing them more damage and as soon as they docked to their JumpShips at the pirate point they left for an unknown destination.


While again in control of the planet, the Capellan forces had publicly executed a number of people that had collaborated with the Reach forces, sending a clear, if gruesome message“Death to the traitors”. Unfortunately for then, this changed the mind of many, from neutral / indifference to hating they former masters, turning the integration of Ward in the Reach easier.

With the Capellan Armed Forces defeated a second time and the guerrilla forces eliminated, the local situation calmed a lot. So far we had successfully destroyed some Capellan units and because of that, we did our job to support the Canopian and Taurian forces, and for us it hadn’t been a bad campaign. I and Kamea never had any illusions on what we could probably get from this, but we had taken a decent world, for Periphery levels, that is, for a relatively small price.
 
Chapter 44

paulobrito

Well-known member
During the last few years the Taurian Defense Forces had quietly created several Taurian Guard regiments, each expanding an existing battalion. They had not only received reinforcements in Aerospace Fighters, an area where the Concordat had traditionally been weak, but they had also received Assault 'Mechs. The entire production of MAD-4A Marauder II had gone to the Guards, as had the Royal 'Mechs battalion obtained in Artru and the remaining models had received most of the upgrade kits (DHS, extended range weapons), produced by Concordat companies like VMI, TTI and TMM.
With most of Maskirovka attention traditionally focused on the Federated Suns and the Free Worlds League and as soon as Romano took power, with the successive purges it had suffered and the war against the Magistracy and Andurien, it was understandable that the Capellan Confederation Armed Forces had little or no knowledge of the size and quality of the Taurian Defense Forces.
For these reasons, its counter-attack against the invasion by Concordat failed miserably, having not only failed to expel the invaders, but suffering severe losses during the operations.

The defeat suffered by House Liao had also substantially reduced available reserves for new operations against the other offensives going on. It did not help that Hanse chose this time to conduct (limited) exercises near the border with House Liao, forcing the units in that area to be unable to move and even making them call for reinforcements.
This reduced offensive capacity gave the Magistracy Armed Forces enough time to consolidate their forces, receive reinforcements and prepare for the expected counter-attacks. In August 3033, these attacks began to focus against the Andurien forces, using the Warrior Houses and McCarron's Armored Cavalry (MAC) on the front line. This situation continued until the end of 3033, with the remaining fronts virtually at peace with only small raids made against the planets occupied by the Canopians.
In early December 3033, the 2nd Taurian Guards raided Victoria, destroying the forces that protected the planet, the Home Guard and a battalion of Mechs from Ishara's Grenadiers, which was undergoing a rest and refit period, after some hard battles against the Andurien forces. After defeating the defenders, the Taurian Guards had 'visited' the various factories on the planet, more specifically Trellis Electronics (removing all components ready for delivery), Shengli Arms (taking care of the data cores with blueprints of advanced designs) and Earthworks Incorporated (components and parts) leaving shortly after with a considerable and valuable loot.


From Mars to December, the Revenants have been busy, raiding several Capellan worlds among them Cavalor, Renown and Pojos, never using more than one of combined arms battalions for that, as we always kept a strong force on Ward.
On December 18th, in Ward, I barely escaped an assassination attempt, as infiltrators penetrated our security and attacked the HQ. Several officers were killed among them Vasseur and I escaped with burns on my left arm and two broken ribs. A good thing I wore ballistic armor even on an supposedly pacified planet.
None of the enemies escaped and further analysis of the bodies revealed they were Thuggees, their tattoos making them easy to identify.
The Taurians hadn't attacked any more planets after the raid on Victoria. Either I was very wrong, or Thomas had achieved his goals and after having helped the Magistracy, had limited himself to defend the conquered area…


For our part, if we could maintain Ward for the Reach, it was a good thing as so far the losses had been few and Ward was a reasonably industrialized with a considerable number of industrially trained population for Periphery levels, making it a good system to get. After the second battle in February things had calmed down, the population staying calm and apparently not caring about the change in ownership.


The Concordat intervention in the war and the excellent performance of the its armed forces had caused some attention from the intelligence services of several nations on the Concordat, which until now was like most of the Periphery nations rather unworthy of any attention. While almost all agencies send more operatives to the Concordat, the increase in numbers was not big due to the fact that ROM, LIC and MIIO were involved in an intense and bloody, shadow war, that absorbed a large part of their resources. SAFE as usual had its best operators occupied in internal guerrillas and was more focused on Andurien because of the secession, and ISF and O5P were very distant and had few operatives in the area.


Due to the good relations between the Concordat and the Federated Suns, the Sunny Boys had provided the Concordat with all the information they had about the Capellan Confederation, giving access to everything but their agents on the ground. They had also participated in the disinformation campaign about the Concordat capabilities.
The maneuvers that Hanse Davion had performed at a strategic time were also part of that collaboration, something unthinkable a few years earlier.
In return, a copy of the Victoria data cores from the Shengli Arms factory was handed over to Davion, as well as access to a detailed study of the Cataphract CTF-0X wreckage captured by the Revenants.
 
Chapter 45

paulobrito

Well-known member
With the situation calming down on our part of the border, in January 3034, the Revenants were sent to a well-deserved and necessary R&R after a year of operations. Half went with me to Coromodir, the other part to New Vandenberg. In our place, a battalion of Griffins and a company of Shadow Hawks moved to Ward. The two Shadow Hawks lances that had been there since February of '33, also went home.

In January 3034, the shipyard in New Vandenberg activated the second slip for the construction of Invaders, having at that time three extra slips for maintenance.
VMI had during 3033, doubled the production of Double Heat Sinks, increased the production of Endo-Steel by 50% and started the production of Ferro-Fibrous. O-P Computer Electronics had started small scale production of Guardian ECM and Beagle Active Probe. It was planned to upgrade the ER PPC production to the more advanced version designed following the Wolverine design and to launch small-scale production of Extended Range Lasers for the end of 3034.
All these production lines were highly secret and only for the Taurian Defense Forces and Revenants use. Thomas was not prepared to make public such advanced equipment. Their development and production was only possible thanks to the massive funds provided by the HPG accords with the Federated Commonwealth. These funds also provided for the nascent capability of producing advanced water purification, massive civilian fusion reactors (perfect for the needs of cities) and the expansion on the shipyards and the ultra-secret HPG program.
Although these tech and the Taurian capacities were (we hoped) still secret, they would probably not remain so for long. During the last months the number of infiltration attempts detected had skyrocketed. So far, we knew of no success but all the security experts knew that it was only a matter of time.
As a result of the operations against Liao, MRB had updated the Revenants ranking to Veteran / Reliable, with a small note questioning whether they would soon become an House Unit, the question was whether Taurian or Aurigan.


The ‘fixed’ DEST suits finally arrived in Coromodir. The contacts that Santiago Espinosa got on the Combine are interesting to say the least. They had access to advanced combine ‘Mechs and hardware, but I bet good money that they were not official ones. Yakuza maybe? Half were distributed to the security apparatus in charge of me and my family security, the rest being sent to the team in Niops, with a package containing advanced electronic spy / commando gadgets, to help them when / if the data core was discovered.


V4RU teamed with OP- Computer Electronics and VMI to produce an Concordat version of the suits. Obviously, TMI was very interested in acquiring some.



On March 12th, 3034 in Coromodir I received a visit from Colonel Nikitch, a member of the Wolf’s Dragoons.
The official reason for the visit was the purchase of several ‘Mechs by the Dragoons, but the conversation was interesting...
‘Your Highness, the Wolf’s Dragoons are interested in acquiring several units of the 'Mechs that your unit recently used against House Liao, more specifically the new variant of Marauder II, the new Heavy and the new Assault. As well as the much advanced weaponry as you could sell us, specifically the extended ranges energy weapons and the Double Heat Sinks'.
'Well, as usual Wolfnet is well informed, they were quick.' was my thought before I answered.’I’m curious Colonel. VMI is in New Vandenberg, not in Coromodir, and they have an excellent sales department. So why do you come to see me and not go to New Vandenberg?’


‘That’s true your Highness, and I did go there first, but they said they don’t have authorization to sell said items, so I came to you, to see what was necessary to smooth any problems with us buying so new hardware.’


'I'm sorry Colonel, but the sales of such hardware are not allowed outside of the Concordat by order of the Protector Calderon. I am sure you understand why' I didn't deny or confirm anything, it was useless. ‘Until he allows that market to be open, VMI hands are tied. Anyway, at the moment we are just starting the production of the second variant of Marauder II, for the Heavy, which is called the Penetrator by the way, we still have some production kinks to fix, and the Bull Shark is too expensive and sophisticated to produce, ot is one of a kind, we found in the Periphery .


‘Just curious, why did you change the Marauder II, that is a pure energy Assault ‘Mech to one also using LRMs ?’


‘Oh, that is an interesting story, colonel. At first, with the replacing of the heat sinks with Freezers, the idea was to upgrade the Large Laser for an PPC, creating an Awesome with jump jets if you want. But several MechWarriors wanted to add the indirect fire capability, and they got a very good case. The 5TC is the result of they brainstorming.’
'Interesting. About the Bull Shark, can I know where you found that 'Mech, or is it a secret?' Nikitch asked, trying to be merely curious.
‘Curious, he was found in a bunker at Baumann's smuggler's base during the operation we ran into your Colonel Kerensky. Unfortunately because Kerensky killed Baumann and destroyed most of his base, where Baumann found the 'Mech will always be a mystery. Our conclusion is that it is an advanced model of the SLDF Royal Branch, it was painted in Wolverines’ colors after all.'
'Wolverines? What do you mean?' asked Nikitch with an intense eye and a sharp change of position, although he tried to disguise it, but since I was expecting a reaction I knew when it would appear.
So, you're one of the Clanners... interesting. That was my thought. 'Oh sorry Colonel, Wolverines is how the 331st Royal Battlemech Division was know, and the Bull Shark was painted in their colors and had its symbol. Ancient history.' I replied with an innocent smile. 'They were in New Vandenberg in 2764, so it's not strange to find a 'Mech of them in this region... sorry to bothering you with ancient history, but it is a hobby of mine and that's how my late father and I started the Revenants, finding equipment from that time.'
Nikitch relaxed visibly after hearing my explanation.


'But, can I interest you in something else, Colonel? Both in New Vandenberg and Mechdur we have several maintenance slips for JumpShips and if I remember correctly the Wolf’s Dragoons have a considerable fleet that should need maintenance. I think you capabilities in that area in Outreach are limited…’


‘Excuse me your Highness, but that is a bit more than four months on each direction…’


‘Yes, but unless I’m wrong, you have an excess of lift capability right now, Jaime Wolf has not yet activated several units, after the losses sustained against the Combine. And the shipyards in the Federated Commonwealth are at full use, heck, we are even doing maintenance of several Davion ships on New Vandenberg. So, I think you could take advantage of our slips in Mechdur for a while, without reduction of your capabilities…’


‘Mmmm. I see that you are as well informed as your reputation says, your Highness. I will pass your proposal along. So, no luck in providing us with some advanced technology or some of these advanced ‘Mechs?’


‘Maybe, Colonel, maybe. If Jaime Wolf give us, and by us I mean the Concordat and the Reach, access to some of your technology, like the production rights of some of your exclusive hardware, and say, first choice in contracts when your regiments return to active duty, after their contract with House Davion, of course, at a decent price, I am sure Thomas Calderon could add the Dragoons to the few units that have access to our latest toys...’
And so the conversation shifted to safer topics...
 
Chapter 46

paulobrito

Well-known member
In April 3034 I was called to Taurus for 'talks' with the Lord Protector. Some days before that, Jaime Wolf had sent a message, agreeing with the terms spoken between me and his representative.
As was becoming customary, a Command Circuit was established for a quick trip between Coromodir and Taurus.
‘Well Jean-Luc, although our campaign against Liao was a success, we have a problem. The fact that so much advanced technology was used was noted by several governments and questions and demands are being' with these words Thomas indicated the subject of the conversation.
'I'm not surprised. Until now only the Revenants used Royal Grade hardware, and never outside the Periphery, but the fact that the Guards used three regiments against Liao with better equipment than everyone in the Inner Sphere, on top of my Revenants destroying two Liao units couldn’t go unnoticed' was my unsurprising response.
‘Hanse Davion citing the deals that gave us access to NAIS and a multitude of businesses in his realm as well as the funds that he and Katrina Steiner injected into our economy 'demands' access to it. VMI on New Vandenberg in particular was chosen to be the company to be visited by several Davion and Steiner technicians for information sharing. We expect your employees to collaborate'. Edward added with a serious look.
'And my guess is that it was chosen because New Vandenberg is outside the Cluster, there are already Davion JumpShips visiting the system, and that way we won’t have foreign agents looking at the most secret factories and shipyards in the Cluster...' I thought aloud, noticing the assents of both. 'It's good because the Wolf’s Dragoons also want access to our technology with a good price for it and accepting a discount for future contracts with us as soon as their regiments are available and they will be giving is access to some models so far exclusive to them.’
‘Well, if even mercenaries already know what we have, it's safe to say that the secret no longer exists for everyone’, Thomas said resignedly. ‘What we don't have is the production capacity to meet external orders at the moment, as you know very well, Jean-Luc'.
‘Well...' I said with a 'disinterested' air, 'if Detroit were to receive some help to repair its production lines, and VMI was allowed to move the most basic production lines there it will free up capacity to expand the most advanced production lines in New Vandenberg.’
Thomas and Edward looked at each other and laughed.
'And the fact that this factory is in your wife's kingdom and that so far you didn’t have the money to repair it has nothing to do with your proposal, does it?' asked Edward with a funny look.
‘I can’t deny what you are saying,' I replied with an innocent air, 'bit it will allow you to expand the advanced production lines in New Vandenberg without losing the more traditional ones. I'm sure Kamea will accept a partnership with VMI in Detroit, that is if she retains control of the company.
‘And are you sure of that, because you have already discussed the possibility with her?' asked Thomas cunningly, to which I replied with a nod 'very well, the money will be made available as well as the authorizations. We have another more delicate matter to deal with you'.
"Oh?" What might be more delicate, I thought.
‘Clearly Davion is preparing to attack Kurita in the next few years. Even if at the moment he is our ally, it is not in our best interests that they should win too easily for he will become too powerful.'
I nodded, not revealing that it should be in 3039 if it ran like the story I knew. 'And I suppose there is a plan to prevent such a great victory and that I will be involved in it?'
'Curiously the Ambassador of the Draconis Combine is also interested in getting access to our products,' began Edward 'For obvious reasons, we cannot officially give them access to as the Federated Suns would be furious, but if your companies were to suffer a leak, with data for Freezers and ER Lasers being lost on their way, not only the specifications but also info on the production techniques, I am sure that our dear ambassador would pay an appreciable sum of money for that information...'
'And if House Davion were to find out, the excuse would be that the ISF or the O5P got lucky and we would tell them that we've been investigating, but that we couldn’t find the leak yet?' I asked calmly.
"Exactly. Thomas said 'that way you'll have get more funds, which you can invest wherever you like, we have an excuse in case Davion finds out and House Kurita will be stronger when Houses Davion and Steiner attack.
'And I thought Kamea had a twisted mind... I'm glad I don't get too involved in politics.' was my comment.
'Unfortunately, you'll be called more and more often to play the game, Jean-Luc.' said Thomas with the look of someone that knew too much about these games.
 
Chapter 47

paulobrito

Well-known member
After sending a quick message to Kamea something along “sorry Dear, I'll be late again, work duties”, I left for New Vandenberg.
Granting Davion’s and Steiner's technicians access to the various departments of VMI created a number of problems, not only security but also for many old school Taurians who did not see the situation with good eyes and only the fact that it was a direct order from Thomas led them to collaborate even if with a lot of grumbling.
This, in turn, facilitated the second and most delicate part of the instructions Thomas had given me.
One of Pascal Allais' team members, posing as an official disgusted with the situation, got in touch with a member of the local Combine embassy which by “mere” luck turned out to be part of the spy cell operating there. In return for an exorbitant sum, he handed to the Combine the plans for the ER Large Lasers and Freezers as well as the production line blueprints for both.


To convince Pascal and his team member to do it, I needed to show them Thomas Calderon’s orders and only then did they agree to participate in this operation.
Some time later VMI security ”found out” about the leak and ”investigated” it. If MIIO and LIC believed it, I never knew, but the Davions did not make a scene about the case.

With Thomas' permission and the release of some of his personal funds, however small, the migration of the older / low tech lines from VMI with ‘Mechs such as the Stinger 3R and Griffin 1N production to Mechdur began as well as the collaboration with Kamea to participate in the reconstruction of the Detroit factories as well. The amount obtained from Combine was fully applied in Detroit. The initial idea had been to send the ’Mech production lines to Detroit, but the fact was that while Mechdur had the auxiliary factories to support said production lines, for several years Detroit did not have this capacity and we decided to change the initial plans.


From the material captured in the two battles in Ward, V4RU with the support of components supplied by VMI, had been able to rebuild 13 'Mechs, one being a Cataphract 2X that last one had been done using parts of a 2X and of the 0X. A new ‘Mech company was created by the Revenants, a mixture of Concordat and Reach ’MechWarriors and it was sent to Ward to participate in their defense and to get some experience in real operations. After all apart from their lack of experience, these Mechs, unlike the others used by the Revenants, had no advanced components and this company had no other support elements.



Meanwhile, TTI on Taurus had expanded its DropShips building capacity (while New Vandenberg had focused on JumpShips) and launched a new and much improved version of Jumbo, called Jumbo II, demonstrating a total and expected lack of imagination for new names. In the area of military DropShips thanks to the help provided by Federated-Boeing under the cooperation agreements the production of Overlords had started.

In June 3034, the DropShip carrying Edward Calderon suffered a take-off failure, and only the high quality and quick response of the crew prevented this accident to turn into a total catastrophe. Even so, they suffered several deaths and Edward was seriously injured, being hospitalized for several months. An exhaustive analysis of the wreckage indicated that the probability of sabotage was quite high but produced no indication of who could have done it.



By September 3034, the Andurien last forces had been expelled from the Capellan territory with severe casualties and Romano began planning a counter-invasion, but was informed that the FWL would side in the conflict with the Duchy of Andurien, leading Romano to turn her attention against the Magistracy.
 
Chapter 48

paulobrito

Well-known member
While I was at my office at VMI headquarters, my mind wandered how these days my life was complicated, with too many hats to use. From Prince Consort in the Aurigan Reach to Governor of New Vandenberg to CEO of a big conglomerate (to simplify my life I had negotiated for V4RU to be absorbed by VMI, increasing along the way my shares and consolidating my hold on the company) to owner and commander of a mercenary unit (which by the way remembered me that I needed to find a competent replacement for Vasseur, his second in command, while a genius at administrative work and real good at the logistics side was unfortunately sub-par in the combat side of the business) and to member of the inner circle of Thomas Calderon. Sometimes I didn’t even know which hat I was wearing at a given moment…


In a blur, I shook my head and told myself to get back to work as I had a lot to do with as always a lot of ambitious and far reaching plans that would probably go further without me.
The first phase would be to start the Penetrator line, now that the problem of the AMS production had finally been resolved.
Once this model was in production, the Marauder 3R line would be deactivated and upgraded to the standards of the Royal 2R, followed by the upgrade of the producing lines for the Warhammer 6R (Royal 7A) and Thunderbolt 5S (Royal 5Sb). These lines were relatively easy to upgrade, even if it would be expensive and time-consuming because the complete blueprints for both ’Mechs and production lines were part of the New Dallas data core.
The Archer 2R model would then be upgraded to the ARC-5TC wit a new Endo-Steel Chassis, Freezers, CASE in both torsos, Artemis IV for the LRM and a little more armor. The upgrade of the production of the Marauder II from the 4A to the 5TC would only take place after the peace with the Capellans. Before that , the Concordat military wanted all the Assault ‘Mechs they could get and were unwilling to have the production line interrupted, even if the CCAF was performing at a lesser level than initially expected. After so many years without any capacity to produce Assaults, I think they just wanted as many as they could get their hands on during this conflict.
All these upgrades would take years to complete and require a very large amount of cash, but VMI in recent years had made a lot of money and Thomas wanted the upgrades, so the plan would be approved one way or another.
I had just reviewed the plan when Dr Murad came into my office. A quick glance at the clock confirmed that time had passed quickly and that it was indeed time for the meeting she had requested.
'Boss, by the end of this year we should have finished the third and final slip for the construction of the Invaders. We also have 3 slips already fully operational dedicated to maintenance of JumpShips, that can take any model from the Scout to the Monolith. So, what are the plans for the future? Continue to expand both the construction and maintenance areas of the shipyard, or are we going in a different direction?’


‘While some of your team can go to Mechdur and do a upgrade of the maintenance facilities there, with an eye for future expansion, I have another job for you, my dear Doctor. The priority on New Vandenberg is to increase and improve the production of military material. With plans to upgrade several production lines to royal grade, we will need a much larger production of Endo-Steel, Ferrous-Fibrous, Freezers, Ferro-Aluminum, at least four times the actual production more if possible, all the while we will be creating the lines to produce 270XL and 300XL engines.
Farah kept quiet for a few moments absorbing the news. 'Ferro-aluminum and XL engines… Do you also want to modernize the Fighters lines ?' after me nodding, she continued ‘Can do, boss. That is going to take some years, I assume that our space operations are going to stay at current capacity for that time?’


‘Well… when you are confident that your people have everything controlled, you can go to our installations in Illiushin, and look at the Union production line that VMI has on that planet. See if you can improve the output or add the CV variant. Give me a report before taking any action.’


‘Ok boss, it seems I have plenty to do up the end of the decade.’
 

Doomsought

Well-known member
Hmm, now you have the blueprints for ARROW-IV and its ammo, I wonder how hard it would be to upgrade Thunderbolt missiles to use the warhead from Arrow-IV missiles for cheap but powerful heavy missiles. Thunderbolt missiles are pretty heavy so there is plenty of room for improvement.
 

paulobrito

Well-known member
Right now the guided Arrow IV started production and the SAM and AAM variants are in final tests. Studies in advanced warheads (FASCAM , cluster bombs, mines) are just starting. The unguided version of the Arrow IV is already in service, the Revenants have used it already with good results.
 

paulobrito

Well-known member
For the Archer I selected the 4M variant instead of the 2Rb (Royal), I like that one more. Unlike the 2Rb, the blueprints of the mech and production line don't exist, so it is going to take more time. But, because is planned to be the last of the heavies to be upgraded, the technicians/researchers have enough time to finalize the new model.
 

Doomsought

Well-known member
Right now the guided Arrow IV started production and the SAM and AAM variants are in final tests. Studies in advanced warheads (FASCAM , cluster bombs, mines) are just starting. The unguided version of the Arrow IV is already in service, the Revenants have used it already with good results.
An arrow-IV missile weighs 1/5 ton and does 20 AOE damage, a thunderbolt 20 missile weighs 1/3 ton and deals 20 damage to a single target. There is clearly much improvement to be had by using a much lighter warhead that deal the same or better damage. With better engines and warheads, you could probably double the ammo capacity on Thunderbolt missiles, with room to spare to increase their range to clan LRM missile ranges. All the while still being cheaper than a full arrow-IV unguided missile do to still using an LRM guidance package and a simpler engine.
 

paulobrito

Well-known member
An arrow-IV missile weighs 1/5 ton and does 20 AOE damage, a thunderbolt 20 missile weighs 1/3 ton and deals 20 damage to a single target. There is clearly much improvement to be had by using a much lighter warhead that deal the same or better damage. With better engines and warheads, you could probably double the ammo capacity on Thunderbolt missiles, with room to spare to increase their range to clan LRM missile ranges. All the while still being cheaper than a full arrow-IV unguided missile do to still using an LRM guidance package and a simpler engine.
The problem - for now - is that Arrow IV blueprints, guidance blueprints, and even production line blueprints exist and the SI has all. Thunderbolt missiles are a completely new area of research, tath takes time, money, and brains that are not available at least until 3040 or mid-'40s.
 
Chapter 49

paulobrito

Well-known member
Extracts from The Periphery vs. Liao - New Avalon Press, 3047
Chapter XXI- The Mercenaries War


In the middle of 3035, the Magistracy of Canopus had lost the initiative and was clearly on the defensive. With her army exhausted and her treasure spent, Kyalla Centrella asked Thomas Calderon for help, any help that Thomas could spare.


To the amazement of many, Thomas sent mercenaries. More precisely, almost 4 regiments of them: Gordon's Armored Cavalry (GAC), the Revenants but also the Black Widow Battalion and the Beta Regiment of the famous Wolf’s Dragoons.
The fact that Thomas Calderon was able to secure a contract with the Wolf’s Dragoons and that it was the first time that they accepted a contract for a kingdom of the Periphery amazed many.


Instead of coming piecemal, the mercenary forces converged on Mechdur, and after they had all arrived, departed to New Roland.
Of note was that for the first time the commander of the Revenants was not with them, the prince regent of Aurigan Reach had decided to stay on Coromodir, the motive was soon know as High Lady Kamea informed the Inner Sphere a few days later that she was pregnant, and his regiment was placed, as well as the GAC, under the orders of Colonel Alicia Fancher, commander of Beta Regiment of the Wolf’s Dragoons.
This force arrived on New Roland two days before the Capellan Confederation Defense Forces, joining the 2nd Canopian Cuirassiers, commanded by Emma Centrella and the 1st Canopian Light Horse, the only Magistracy Armed Forces units on world. Both MAF units had been mauled in the previous battles and together they had less than a battalion available. For political reasons, the overall command was given to Emma Centrella but the operational command stayed in the hands of Colonel Fancher.


At this time all other Capellan worlds captured by the Canopians had been lost to the CCAF, meaning that for reason of national pride, it was likely that New Roland would be targeted and the Capellan forces didn’t deceive the joined Taurian/Canopian forces by sending an invading forces, consisting of all McCarron’s Armored Cavalry regiments and of Warrior House Dai Da Chi.
In theory the Capellan forces were superior in numbers, however, unlike the forces sent by Thomas, which were fresh and with enough spare parts and ammunition, the Big MAC, like the MAF units, after several years of constant war operations, was a shadow of its former self. Instead of 5 full regiments, it had slightly less than 3 regiments, mostly composed of Heavies and Medium ‘Mechs, with less than 15% of their number Lights and almost no Assault units , furthermore most of their 'Mechs were in dire need of a complete overhaul. While initially a force well maintained, the constant war and the fact that House Liao had been dealt a heavy blow in its production capacities when Davion took Tikonov forced the Big MAC to deploy its forces in less than acceptable conditions. Even the capture of the some Andurien depots in Prix was not enough to fix this problem (see Appendix 4 - TO&E on both sides), because, unfortunately for the MAC, the Andurien forces had escaped with more than half the depots. House Dai Da Chi was also in a depleted state, fielding a bit more than a company of 'Mechs and just a few infantry forces. Files later captured, confirm that the Maskirovka missed the deployement of the Taurian sponsored mercenaries, leading the Strategos to think New Roland was an easy target.



In a continuing battle of movement, always denying a decisive battle and using the greater reach of the Revenants advanced 'Mechs to kill Liao most aggressive 'MechWarriors, Alicia Fancher led the CCAF forces in a wild race, executing small and well executed ambushes, one after the other. However, thanks to their advanced electronics, the Capellans escaped from about half of said ambushes. During this time, in the air, the Dragoon and Revenant Fighters were slowly winning the battle, focusing more on preventing anyone leaving the planet and making everything ready for the final act.
About a month after the start of the hostilities on New Roland, the forces led by Fancher, now with clear air superiority and having reconfigured all of their Leclercs to artillery versions (Sniper, Thumper or Arrow IV), suddenly changed direction and advanced against the exhausted Capellans, destroying one regiment in a well-planned ambush that made full use of her superiority in artillery and Fighters, as well as of the superior range of the Revenants 'Mechs. Now in clearly inferior numbers and with their ammo running low after a month of hide-and-seek games, the Capellans tried to escape, the long way back to the DropShips being marked by the wreckage of several Capellan 'Mechs. However meanwhile Kerensky's battalion, with the support of several Revenants 'Mechs with advanced ECM capabilities had moved along a path not detected by the Capellans and captured most of their DropShips. What she didn't capture, she destroyed, with the exception of two lucky DropShips that managed to leave, meaning that House Liao forces were trapped on the planet with no possibility of escape. Just over a battalion of Light 'Mechs managed to escape including two Ravens in their ranks, making later contact with the two DropShips that had evaded capture.


The image of Natasha Kerensky's Warhammer over the ruins of Marcus Barton's Marauder was one of the most famous images of this conflict. There are serious indications that several 'Mechs of the Wolf’s Dragoons had also received advanced technology (Appendix 6- business between the Wolf’s Dragoons and the Concordat) and reports of the battle between Natasha and Barton indeed point out that Natasha's Warhammer managed the temperature much better than one would expect.


Archie McCarron, and Ian MacPhearson, that were not part of this operation as they had been busy creating a network of trading companies to support the mercenary unit, were executed when they tried to stop chancellor Romano Liao to incorporate what remained of the Big MAC, a battered battalion, in the CCAF, thus ending the story of the infamous mercenary force (Appendix 8 – The end of the Big MAC).


It is worth of interest that unlike many battles between mercenaries, this time no quarter had been asked nor given.


After this operation the Black Widow Battalion was not available for contracts until up to today, with the most diverse rumors about its current status running; from acting as a training unit for the other regiments, to being expanded to a regiment, to being modernized with advanced technology provided by the Concordat.


With the destruction of the Big Mac and House Dai Da Chi, Liao forces were exhausted and there were no more operations on this border.


After their defeat on the Taurian border, the win on the Andurien border and the recovery of almost all worlds on the Canopian one, all this at great cost, the Capellan Confederation decided it had had enough and changed to a defensive posture, clearly aiming at recovering from an exhausting war.
The big winner of the Periphery battles against the Capellan Confederation was undoubtedly the Taurian Concordat, with 6 systems conquered, followed by the Aurigan Reach with 1. The Magistracy of Canopus had also captured one, New Roland, but its army was exhausted, while Andurien had not only failed to secure any Liao system but was soon to be reabsorbed by the Free Worlds League.




Sidebar


Why did the Big MAC operate in a way so different of their normal conduct ?



Post-battle interrogation of the few survivors and analysis of the data captured showed that they only had a limited knowledge of the mercenaries contracted by the Concordat after landing. Furthermore because of the exhaustion of the CCAF, the Big MAC had been under tremendous pressure from Romano Liao to take more conventional duties, unlike their normal heavy raids / free hand. They were also quite confident in their capacity to deal with any opposition having a surprising number of advanced weapons, not only the EW equipment displayed before by the Capellan Confederation Armed Forces but also Artemis guided missiles, Narc Missile Beacon, a few Pulse Lasers and more surprisingly, several Freezers of Steiner manufacture. That last piece of information was later passed to the MIIO and the LIC and generated several arrests including Simon Kincaid the owner of Kincaid Defiance Industries and closing the access of the CCAF to Freezers for a while, until they managed to launch their own production (Appendix 9 – Aftermath).


Of particular interest is the way that both sides fielding more advanced systems in the field than any other conflict for a long time, used them to gain advantages or deny said advantages to the other side. A prelude to what would be later seen in the War of 3039.
 
Chapter 50

paulobrito

Well-known member
On December 4, 3035 Kamea Arano gave birth to two twins, Paul and Peter Arano-Bassot. A special holiday was decreed in all the Reach.





The delicate, and very secret (no one trusting ComStar for its good services on these matters) negotiations between the Taurian Concordat and the Aurigan Reach, concerning the merger of both nations finally reached an agreement on March 12, 3036.
At first Kamea had little interest in negotiating anything but the fact that she had absorbed two independent systems making her realm an enemy of the Capellan Confederation, the fate of Andurien, who had just been reabsorbed into the League, the Magistracy, which without Thomas’s help, would have been invaded by the Capellan Confederation and even the fate of this later, which after suffering defeat at the hands of the Federated Suns, had been attacked from all sides, had changed her way of thinking. Even if she didn’t forget that she had been 'forced' into this war by Thomas Calderon, she tried to stay objective and realistic. To be honest, we also had long discussions on this matter and reality was that our nation was too poor and weak to have a great future alone, if any. So, reluctantly at first, she agreed to come to the negotiation table to discuss what was in the end, the integration of the Reach into a richer and more powerful realm.


Surprisingly, the conditions negotiated with Thomas were quite generous, both in terms of autonomy and in financial terms. Without the guts to surrender the independence of the nation the fought so hard to take control of, she managed to delay the absorption to the next generation. After all, the myriad of small but vital details was going to take some time to be dealt with. When the next generation would come to power, the Aurigan Reach would become a province, albeit with great autonomy, of the Taurian Concordat, governed in perpetuity by the Arano-Bassot family. In return, the Concordat committed itself to invest heavily in the Reach infrastructure starting today. It was obviously not a relationship of equals like the integration of the Federated Suns and the Lyran Commonwealth as in this case the Aurigan Reach was clearly the secondary member, with everything it implied.


Part of the agreements was that the facilities in Mechdur would be upgraded to become the third - fourth counting the “secret” base of the Concordat Navy in Bolthole (a system that did not exist in the official charts, although it was already known to some nations, Liao for example, and Comstar)- shipyard with the capacity to build JumpShips in the Taurian Concordat. The military-industrial complex in Detroit would also receive the necessary means and funds to be able to build 'Mechs, even if the forecast was not before 3045 for Mechdur and 3042 for Detroit. While these investments were very big and almost impossible to do if undertaken by the Reach alone, with the help of the Concordat and the time we had, it would be manageable.





Why was the Concordat so interested in the fusion with the Aurigan Reach is a question that was often asked when the news broke out. The industrial output of the New Vandenberg system alone, granted one of the richest systems in the Concordat, was superior to all the production of the Reach combined. Also the only dockyard in Mechdur needed considerable investments from the Taurian to be converted to a shipyard and the limited military complexes in Mechdur and Detroit also needed considerable investments to be useful for the TDF.


But, few people are more nationalist and prideful than the citizens of the Taurian Concordat.and since more than half of the systems of the Reach were ex-Taurian colonies, recovering them peacefully was a matter of national pride for the Concordat when the opportunity presented itself.







In the Magistracy of Canopus, the situation was worse as the end of the war with House Liao had left the armed forces exhausted, the coffers empty, with only one system captured and with a great debt to the Concordat. But, with both the Capellan Confederacy and the Free Worlds League as a not friendly neighbors, it was necessary to rebuild the MAF one way or another. With many people in positions of power unhappy, it was without great surprise that on the 7th of July 3036 a coup put Emma Centrella in power, dethroning her mother.


Apparently, Kyalla jealous of the crescent popularity of her daughter, lauded as a hero of the Magistracy, while she was being accused of disastrous decisions, tried to frame Emma for an espionage conspiracy, only to discover that even her personal guard preferred Emma to her.


By this time Andurien had been completely reabsorbed into the Free Worlds League.

Meanwhile the Fighters development went well with several projects going forward.


The first prototype of the HDK (Hell Duck Heavy ASF) flew on October 21st, 3036. With 90 tons, 16.5 tons of Ferrous-aluminum armor, 270XL engine, 20 Freezers, 1 ER PPC on the nose, 1 ER Large Laser and 1 LBX-10 A/C with two tons of ammo on each wing and 2 Medium Lasers facing the rear, it was a killing machine. A Guardian ECM and a Beagle Active Probe completed the equipment. Besides the usual hardpoints for bombs and rocket pods, it also had two internal bays with capacity to carry 4x Arrow IV AAM. In the CAS configuration, these were replaced by 4x 'normal' guided Arrow IV, if there was a unit equipped with TAG in the area, or non-guided if none was available. The immense concentration of advanced technology had greatly delayed the development of the ASF, and the cost was 14.350 million of C-Bills. But simulations against other Fighters in interception or ground support missions showed that it was money well-spent , being the most capable figher in service in the Concordat by a large margin.


The Hell Duck, although more capable than any other fighter was a bit a Big Toy and because of his price and high technology he was only produced in small numbers – at least until the Clan Invasion – and only delivered to units loyal and with excellent technician support., more specifically, the Taurian Guards, the Revenants and the Wolf Dragoons.


At the opposite range of the Aerospace Fighter range, the Canopian model that VMI had obtained license to produce, the Dragonfly, was produced in great numbers and was an instant sales winner. For the cash strapped customers, like the MAF for a time, the MM1 was a decent light Aerospace Fighter with an all energy weaponry and for the ones that could pay extra, the MM2 was an excellent choice. For those with more money, the VMI top model was the Dragonfly MM3, an in-house upgrade, unlike the MM1 and the MM2 that were Canopian designs. With an upgrade to a 160XL Engine, the addition of an extra Freezer and improved electronics, providing the already good MM2 with improved performance in combat and better heat management.
 
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Bear Ribs

Well-known member
A little bit of autocorrupt getting you...
On December 4, 3035 Kamea Arano gave birth to two twins, Paul and Peter Arano-Bassot. A special holiday was decreeted in all the Reach.
decreed

recovering them peacefully was a mater of national pride for the Concordat when the opportunity presented itself.
matter

Apparently, Kyalla jealous of the crescent popularity of her daughter, lauded as a hero of the Magistracy, while she was being accused of disastrous decisions, tried to frame Emma for an espionage conspiracy, only to discover that even her personal guard preferred Emma to her.
I think this should be current? Not exactly sure what you intended but crescent makes no sense.

being the most capable Figher in service in the Concordat by a large margin.
Fighter, also probably doesn't need to be capitalized.

a decent Ligh Aerospace Fighter with an all energy weaponry
light
 
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Chapter 51

paulobrito

Well-known member
Located 27.53 LY south of Taurus, the Bolthole system had no habitable planets. Due to this, it had been chosen as the secret base of the Taurian Navy and the place for R&D and production of the HPGs.
After producing its first 6 HPGs, 2 of which were of class A, the Concordat had changed the R&D focus to work on the production tools needed to produce in large scale HPGs. Finally, in early 3037, the program had reached the point where the production of HPGs of class A and B was fully industrial, with no components to be manually produced by highly skilled technicians. This both increased the number of parts available and dropped the number that did not meet the required quality.
Much of this development and research had been done in conjunction with NAIS in New Avalon, one of the few areas where both nations collaborated fully and in the utmost secrecy. At the moment the production of new HPGs was kept at low numbers, partly because of the high cost or the low number of components, but also because at the time being it was not planned to install a full operating network of HPGs independent of Comstar as it would attract unnecessary attention. But thanks to the stocks of components we were slowly building (to try to keep a low profile as much as possible), this possibility existed in the near future.


To provide the needed resources through extracting raw materials in the two in-systems asteroid belts, 6 Improved Snowden, a new model, mixing the traditional model equipped with K-Boom and modernized technology for better performance, were also present.



Due to the components brought in from Mundo Nublar and the continuous investments made by the Concordat (a large part of the black budget was applied to this system), Bolthole had a fully operational shipyard capable of processing ships up to 2 million tons. The three Concordat Navy warships were present, the TCS New Vandenberg, a Vincent class Corvette, the TCS Samantha Calderon a Congress class Frigate found on Epsilon Pegasus and the TCS Amanda Calderon a modified Soyal class Heavy Cruiser found on Mundo Nublar. Completely rebuilt and in perfect condition, they served as Bolthole and Taurus guards (Taurus being only one single jump away) and as training ground for various navy crews.
Although the construction of new WarShips was, for now, out of the capabilities of the Concordat because of the tremendous costs of building one and because building the powerful and complex intra-system engines that any Warship needed had proved extremely difficult, curiously much more than working on the K-F compact cores, the Concordat was slowly building all the necessary infrastructure for their future production.



To ensure the maximal secrecy, the safety level in the system was far more than paranoid even for standard Taurian levels (which shows how serious things were). Several Aerospace Fighters and Tigress gunships squadrons, mostly armed with Alamos, patrolled the system and 2 space marines regiments provided the security, together with an impressive TMI security apparatus.
Communication between Bolthole and Taurus was done via a pair of HPGs of the Concordat. Its location in the Taurus system had been extensively studied with all types of sensors and at several ranges, which made a location on the other side of the more distant Taurus moon a safe place to operate it. At this distance and location if the best sensors owned by the Concordat (Star League tech for this test) had only been able to barely detect the transmissions from the Comstar HPG, it was reasonably safe to presume that Comstar couldn’t detect anything. Probably.


Any JumpShips arriving at Bolthole had previously to be announced by one of these communications, with the list of people and cargo onboard coinciding, any deviations being treated as saboteurs or dangerous cargo. If a ship arrived without clearance, it was immediately dealt with by the TDF in a not “soft” way. So far, ‘only’ two ships had gone through such treatment.


In spite of all the precautions, there were some incidents delaying the overall production or research. So far, nothing had been proved but there was not a month without someone being reassigned or imprisoned (did I mention that only a few selected officials could leave the system?), a reminder not to let our guard down.






Although the production of WarShips was for a not yet foreseen future, since 3035, the Concordat had started on a small scale the production of BattleSats,small armed stations of 1,500 tons, equipped with a NL55 and a tiny crew. Several of these already protected both the shipyard and the other facilities in the system. In the future, they were also expected to be placed in the Taurus system and other systems considered strategic for the Concordat. The ground version, a small (relatively) fort with a fusion reactor, one or two NL55 and the necessary tracking systems and heat sinks was in final phase of testing. If I were in another universe, I would say “just imagine the Ion Canon on Hoth”.


Unlike full Warships, that for now don’t exist plans nor budget to produce any, plans for producing a Pocket Warship, based on the Union DropShips were well advanced. Removing the ’Mech bays but maintaining the ones for the Aerospace Fighters and the weapon systems, two Killer Shark launchers and 16 capital missiles were added. This project would quickly gave an extra punch to the Concordat Navy at a much lower price and well inside the budget capabilities available right now. A further bonus was that the missiles could also carry nuclear warheads (Santa Ana variant), an obvious plus. For simplicity and lower price, the normal weapons systems and armor had not been upgraded, at least for the prototype phase.


After extensive analysis of the Lee DropShip found at the same time the Congress Frigate, it was considered too complex and expensive to produce, so it was send as a “gift” to the 1st Taurian Guards Regiment.
 
Chapter 52

paulobrito

Well-known member
For Kamea's 39th birthday (January 2nd, 3038), I offered her the first Warhammer WHM-7A produced in New Vandenberg. Typically of her, she comment that 'only you would think of offering a war machine to a woman on her birthday'. Not that it would stop her from spending endless hours practising until she mastered it, or later thanking me conveniently between sheets. My demanding wife, for you.

The investment of time and resources in Niops finally paid off, when the infiltration team returned with a series of datacores.
Locating the database of the technocrats who ruled the system had been difficult, as it was in the deepest levels of the citadel that was simultaneously the local government palace. Curiously, it was not protected or watched over, it was just difficult to discover and they had concluded their mission without being detected.
Contrary to what I expected, it contained no military information, much less anything about Nighthawks PA(L). It had, however, an immense amount of films, music, songs and documentaries, as well as an enormous amount of scientific texts and the formulas of almost all the vaccines developed until the time of the creation of Niops in 2700, as well as numerous plans of civilian equipment. Much of which was not included in the Helm or New Dallas datacores.
The media part - films, music and documentaries - was given to a company to be distributed in the Inner Sphere and other kingdoms of the Periphery, which were more than eager to pay for the whole and still make some profit out of it.
The rest was used to improve the conditions in the Aurigan Reach, and delivered at an advantageous price to the Taurian Concordat. For the first time, the Reach was in a position to provide knowledge which did wonders for Kamea's ego as well as to the nation coffers.



Although my plans to obtain the Nighthawks were a complete failure, the Jack's were going into initial limited production.
At 800kg, and able to withstand the fire of all light (infantry) weapons, machine guns, flamethrowers and small lasers, they were a great improvement over normal infantry armor. With much luck and if the angle was correct, they could perhaps survive a medium laser shot. Not in the same class has Clan Battle-armor, obviously.
Having two fully articulated and powered hands, they could only use weapons specifically designed for them. All attempts to use normal infantry weaponry had failed. The current version, the Jack JK-1A, had a pulse laser in the right arm based on the one used on the Mauser 960, but connected to the armor main batteries which allowed it to do much more standard shooting. Weapons created for its use included: HMG, flamethrower, sniper/anti-materiel heavy rifle, disposable one-shot SRM-2 (normal or Infernos), a semi-portable PPC and a hatchet, unlike the Kurita and their fascination with katanas, the weapon chosen for boarding combat had been a small (relatively) hatchet. With the strength of the pseudo-muscles of the armor behind it was a terrible weapon in small, confined spaces. To help in mobility the Jack could pack magnetic-clamps or a jet power pack capable of making jumps up to 30m. Both were extremely useful in space or against 'Mechs.


Currently, the small production was only for the use of the Taurian Guards and the Revenants, both because this prototype was still a secret and because of it being a prototype, we wanted to evaluate it and come up with a version 1B after limitations and problems were inevitably found and hopefully corrected.

One of the Concordat's problems was that they did not produce a specialized DropShips to transport troops or vehicles. Instead of starting the production of the Triumph class, for example, a new version of the Union was chosen to solve this peculiar problem. All ’Mech space was modified to transport from heavy or light vehicles to all kinds of infantry - mechanized, normal, jump, etc. The Union had the advantage of being a well-known model in the Concordat, already in production in several systems, which would make its construction much more economical than the Triumph, although it was a much less capable DropShip for the new job. TTI and VMI that already produced other variants of the Union were also selected to produce this one. The big advantage was the use of existing facilities and spare parts, since it was “just” a new variant line in the already existing ones.

Ana Maria Centrella had not done well with the change of government. For many years, one of Kyalla's trusted elements, she had lost her place in the Magestrix coup. Since she had never cultivated a relationship with Emma Centrella, she was looked on with the distrust that (almost) all the elements of the previous government suffered and she was cut from all the places of power. Recognizing that she did not have a future in Canopus, she soon traveled to Coromodir, trying her luck with Kamea. She was lucky because Kamea needed someone with experience in diplomacy and because of Ana Maria's origin and history, it was obvious that she was perfect for that. When her closest advisers objected to including Anne Marie in the Aurigan Reach diplomacy Kamea replied that if she had a husband who was a nobleman from another nation, she might as well have a foreign diplomat on her personal service.


Meanwhile, the Revenants had grown. With their share of the Big MAC spoils and new production, the two first battalions received an extra full company of ’Mechs. The other battalions received upgrades in the form of extra units of infantry and / or mechanized and tank forces. Karl Stone, a retired XO of the 1st Taurian Guards, took command of the 1st Battalion while Karen Andris, The Hero of Panzir, took control of the second one. More and more ex-Taurian Guards personnel and also people from the Aurigan forces that wanted to try a mercenary life applied for a place in the Revenants.
 
Chapter 53

paulobrito

Well-known member
16th July 3039, Balcony of Kamea's private apartment in the Arano’s palace, Cordia City, Coromodir VI, 6.30 am.



'So you think that this time Hanse Davion bit off more than he can chew?' Kamea asked calmly while we had breakfast.
'It seems Theodore Kurita apparently has more forces than everyone outside of the Combine thought, and Atreus and Sian started to move too.' was my response as I consulted the latest news and personal messages on my noteputer, enjoying looking to my wife, who in a semi-transparent summer kimono was particularly sexy.
‘Sian and Atreus? Well, if they're focusing on the Federated Commonwealth, that means we're safe, right?'
'Relatively. They both started small raids, and Hanse Davion sent his mercenaries to fight back. More precisely, the Highlanders against the CCAF and the Wolf’s Dragoons against the FWLM. Oh, this is new! A job offer for the Revenants.' I said with astonishment after reading the message twice.
"What does Thomas want now?" asked Kamea with an air of boredom.
"It's not Thomas', luv, it's from the Federated Suns and the mission is to run a series of raids against the Capellan Confederation.
"The Federated Suns?" It was kind of fun watching Kamea spit out the orange juice with the surprise. "There's no way I'm letting you go," said Kamea looking at me with a deadly serious look.
"Relax luv, my adventurous times are over, as are yours," he said trying to calm her down.
'Unless we get invaded...' said Kamea very low.
"Unless we're invaded," I calmly agreed.
"Show me this proposal" demanded Kamea with her hand out.
Without a word, I handed her the noteputer that continued with the proposal open on screen.
'Mmmmm, basically a deep raid with the details at your discretion and excellent payment and salvage conditions... Hanse Davion wants you to distract Romano Liao while he takes care of Theodore Kurita?' It was Kamea's conclusion after carefully reading the contract. "Are you thinking of accepting it?’
'Why not? The Revenants are a mercenary force after all, the conditions are good, excellent in fact, and the first and second battalions are well equipped and have good commanders, the proposal came via MRB, it's legitimate and the price is good,' was my answer after some thoughts. 'The third can stay in New Vandenberg and the fourth remains in Ward.’
'As long as it's clear that you're staying here with me...' Kamea said very low without looking at me.
To change her line of thinking, I asked 'by the way, how is Ana Maria's Blond Bimbo Brigade doing?'
Kamea almost choked. Looking at me with a patient look, she replied 'first, most are not blondes, second bimbos is not a correct term to define highly qualified agents and last brigade? They're a very small number to be a brigade. Other than that, the group of former MIM agents who decided to follow Ana Maria instead of working for Emma Centrella, are doing an excellent job, I'm glad you ask. Blonde Bimbo Brigade, frankly.' Kamea ended with a tolerant smile.

When Emma overthrew her mother and assumed power, she purged it of Kyalla's few loyalists. A small group of former MIM agents had decided to risk their future with Ana Maria and not Emma. Coming to work for us, Kamea had quickly created a fiction in which they worked on their own, selling technological secrets, civil blueprints that we provided them, from the New Dallas and Niops datacores, to finance their operations. Some of the money went to Kamea, and the rest actually financed their activities. They were actually quite capable and had quickly started to create a network that provided us with an interesting amount of information from all over the Inner Sphere. The last thing I knew about was that they had sold several plans to build water purifiers to Chandrasekhar Kurita in exchange for a large sum of money.
‘Good,' I replied, pleased to see her smile, 'by the way, production of the first 'Mech in Detroit, the Jenner JR7-D, is due to start in January next year. Around the same time in Coromodir V we will also start the production of Freezers, those that go to our forces will be updated, those for exportation, not'.
'At last the investments in Detroit are starting to pay off," said Kamea, looking pleased.
 
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