Blood on the Horizon (Reimagined)

[MarkWarrior]

Date: January 1, 3008
Location: Taurus, Taurian Concordat

"You want to take everything in your fortune and invest it this way?" Thomas Calderon poured a drink for William Bruce and fished a cigar out of a humidor.

"I'm read-in on some of what's going on at WarWorks, Thomas," William raised an eyebrow. "Everyone in the business knows something's goin' on between your family, that Merc unit, and the revived WarWorks factories. I know that I'm not the smartest man 'round, but my folks raised me to see opportunity. All I want is the chance to see whatever find it is that led to this revitalization. That's all I ask," William puffed on the cigar as he gathered his thoughts.

"I've got the jumpships, and you know I've got the cash reserves to do something with whatever I find. I'm not even asking for the full navigational data on the system. I'd rather survey it myself, just in case whoever did it the first time missed something."

"Look," Thomas sighed, swirling his whiskey in a glass. "You know I can't promise anything straight up. I'm not the Protector yet; even if I were, I'd have to run it by some people."

"I just want the chance to take my case before Zarantha and whoever she's put in charge of this," William said, looking out at the city below, the fireworks beginning to light up the night's sky.

"I'll pass it up the chain," Thomas finally agreed, tapping some ash from his cigar into a nearby ashtray. "In the meantime, though, how's Robert getting along? I know his term of service isn't up yet."

"He's doing well enough," William shrugged. "Like most young men his age, he rarely writes home. But what letters do we get from him tell me enough. He's in love with his 'Mech, and uses it to great advantage when it comes to the local bars!"

"It's a good trick," Thomas defended his younger self. "You can't deny that it worked for both of us in college."

"It sure did," William took another puff of his cigar. "Shame they don't make the floors of the cockpits more comfortable. I'd have liked to avoid the back pain from some of the more entertaining ones."

"That's all you," Thomas laughed. "I found Katherine pretty quick."

"I didn't do too bad myself," William's gaze turned introspective as he swirled his liquor in the glass. "Well, let's drink. To the next generation, may they be better than we ever were!"

"To Edward and Robert, may they be as good friends as you and I!"

---

Date: May 28, 3008
Location: System Codenamed Eidolon

"Well, I'll be damned," William whistled as he glanced at the initial sensor reports. "There's a veritable goldmine here."

"Don't get your hopes up too far just yet," Captain Summers of the Footloose warned his friend and boss. "We've no idea if any of these are even worth salvaging, much less trying to limp back to Taurian space."

"You know that we're the best-damned salvage experts this side of the 'Sphere," William chewed on the end of his cigar. "Especially with equipment this antiquated."

"But even we don't make estimates until we've surveyed everything," Summers reigned him in. "Don't count these chickens yet. We haven't even put 'em in the incubator."

The two went silent as the Fancyfree and Worst Case detached from the Footloose.

"FancyFree to Footloose, how copy?"

"Solid Copy, FancyFree, we're receiving on all frequencies."

"Worst Case is going to head down to the surface, see if there's anywhere we can set up temporary shop. We're going to begin survey operations. My sensors officer tells me he's got a feeling that these old wrecks aren't the only thing out here."

"Understood, FancyFree, we'll stay in touch."

William simply gazed at the old Conestoga that hung in the distance, the white metal reflecting back through the viewport.

"You see that, Summers," Will reached for a pack of matches before stilling his hand and fiddling with the cigar instead. "That's not only history we're looking at. That, that's the future."

"Depends on whether we can get 'em up and running, doesn't it?" Robert Bruce floated onto the bridge. "It's not like these are functioning jumpships."

The younger Bruce paused and glanced at his father. "That said, the dropshuttles are ready with the Salvage and Recovery Teams if you want to head out with them. See for yourself if there's anything of value here."

William grinned and rubbed his palms together.

"There's always something of value when you're salvaging something," he laughed. "You just need to know where to look."

–
–

Date: June 21, 3008


"Will, the FancyFree just finished her survey of the local asteroid belt," Summers handed the reports to William. "Turns out their gut feeling was right. There is more than just wreckage here. There's a bunch of raw materials needed for manufacturing dropships and jumpships. Along with a handful of deposits of Germanium in the belt itself. But that's not the real prize."

"Then what's the real prize?" William asked.

"The damaged dropship maintenance facility attached to one of the larger Asteroids," Captain Summers pointed out the correct page in the report. "It's not a full manufacturing facility. It's mainly just the bays, basic repair facilities for dropshuttles, and the old jumpships that carry them. But the team aboard the FancyFree thinks that if we can get it working again, expansion to a full jumpship and dropship production facility would be possible."

"Then that settles it," William muttered as he reviewed the reports and the cost estimates for the repair facility. "Robert!" He bellowed, " Find my son and get him in here!"

"What's wrong?" Robert tried to catch his breath as he floated in a few moments later.

"You're going back to the Concordat," there was a gleam in William's eyes. "I'm putting together a list of equipment, personnel, and other assorted odds and ends that I want brought here."

The older Bruce's gaze turned serious.

"If any personnel don't pass our checks, they don't come. I don't care if we need a specialty or not. If any of this leaks, the Protector will yank this entire find out from under us. We're being given a chance here. Let's take it."

"When do you want me to leave, and what funds am I supposed to use?" Robert asked. "I don't think any of the accounts I have access to will be enough to cover anything other than the bare minimum of what I think you're asking for."

"I'll get what you need to you before you depart," William replied, rummaging through his desk. "Now, you'd best be getting ready."

William started scribbling furiously in a notebook, his gaze darting from the report to the paper and back as he chewed his cigar.

"Go get your bags, son," Summer glanced at Robert. "Knowing him," he nodded at William Bruce, "We'll be leaving within the hour."

Author's Note: Credit to Panther Al and his story The Bull gets its Wings (Battletech Non-SI) for the Bruce Family, their Jumpships, Dropships, and assorted crew. (I actually remembered to ask first before writing and borrowing characters this time.

 

[MarkWarrior]

Von Rohrs (Hebi) VON 4RH-6D
Mass: 65 tons
Chassis: Trevlu MechWorks Kankoku SP-VI
Power Plant: Durand Heavy Metals and Manufacturing Vox 325
Cruising Speed: 54 kph
Maximum Speed: 86.4 kph
Jump Jets: None
Jump Capacity: 0 meters
Armor: Trevlu Mechworks Kemplar 5000
Armament:
1 Light PPC
1 MML 7
3 Medium Laser
Manufacturer: Trevlu Mechworks
Primary Factory: Brocton Bay
Communication System: Taurus WarWorks WarWorks VeraTech MilCom Suite 3
Targeting & Tracking System: Taurus WarWOrks WarWorks VeraTech MechTnT XVT205
Introduction Year: 3013
Tech Rating/Availability: E/X-X-E-D
Cost: 6,215,110 C-bills

Overview
The resurgent Von Rohrs(Hebi) (Later renamed to something more in line with the Swordsman and other 'mechs that were manufactured by Trevlu and Durand Heavy Metals and manufacturing.) Was used as a prototype and testbed by the R&D team of Durand Heavy Metals and Trevlu before entering mainstream production.

Capabilities
It has a prototype Multiple Missile Launcher 7 and a Light PPC as its primary armament. This is supplemented by its high speed for a heavy mech, and the long-range punch is backed up by a trio of medium lasers and the SRMs of the MML-7.

Deployment
First deployed to militia units in the periphery for anti-piracy operations, it was later purchased and fielded by the Robinson Rangers as a direct insult and counter to the Draconis Combine.

History
Following the Battle of Nox and the failure of the Gladiator during that battle, Coordinator Yama Von Rohrs ordered the creation of a new manufacturing center with a new BattleMech. 2487 saw the first Von Rohrs step out of the factory. This new 'Mech was to be symbolic of the Dragon's steps forward, as well as the Dragon itself. Following the McAllister Rebellion that saw all of the members of the Von Rohrs dynasty killed, Coordinator Martin McAllister ordered the Von Rohrs renamed the Hebi. He further mandated that the BattleMech not be salvaged from the battlefield and instead chose to focus on newer designs, a situation eerily reminiscent of the fate of the Gladiator. Production ceased in 2510, and the last Hebi was dismantled in 2518. But the full blueprints and plans for the factories, fusion engine, and other parts were passed down. Eventually, they fell into the hands of an antiquities collector from the Federated Suns. After being sold at auction, the plans were copied and given to the Newly formed Durand Heavy Metals and Manufacturing as well as the Trevlu Mechworks factory that was on Brockton. Prototyping, building the factories, and testing the newly rebuilt 'Mech took several years. The Von Rohrs reentered the markets in 3013 to great success among the Fedsuns Periphery border.

Type: Von Rohrs (Hebi)
Technology Base: Inner Sphere (Standard)
Tonnage: 65
Battle Value: 1,264

Equipment		Mass
Internal Structure	​	6.5​
Engine	325 Fusion​	23.5​
Walking MP:	5​
Running MP:	8​
Jumping MP:	0​
Heat Sink:	15​	5​
Gyro:		4​
Cockpit:		3​
Armor Factor:	168	10.5​

	Internal Structure	Armor Value
Head	3​	9​
Center Torso	21​	25​
Center Torso (rear)		8​
R/L Torso	15​	20​
R/L Torso (rear)		5​
R/L Arm	10​	15​
R/L Leg	15​	23​

Weapons and Ammo	Location	Critical	Tonnage
2 Heat Sink	RT​	2​	2​
2 Medium Laser	RT​	2​	2​
Medium Laser	LA​	1​	1​
MML 7 LRM Ammo (17)	LT​	1​	1​
MML 7	LT​	4​	4.5​
MML 7 SRM Ammo (14)	LT​	1​	1​
Standard	HD​	0​	0​
Light PPC	RA​	2​	3​

Features the following design quirks: Rugged (1 Point), Bad Reputation (Inner Sphere)

 

[MarkWarrior]

Chapter 78

Date: November 26, 3007
Location: En route to Pierce, Federated Suns

“Four of a kind,” I laid my hand down to a bunch of groans. “They’re only nines, but that still beats out the rest of y’all’s hands.”

“Took you long enough to get a good hand,” Mathis chuckled as I raked in the small amount of poker chips. “You’ve been losing the entire time.”

“I’m better at Blackjack,” I shrugged. “Grandad taught me how to count cards for that and Spades. I never quite got it to work in my head for Poker though.”

“Good for us then,” Hober stroked his now clean shaven chin. “Major, you ever think of shaving off the beard? Put on some extra weight and dress in red and you’d look like Santa.”

“I need a bit of a trim,” I glanced down at what I could see. “But I don’t think I’ll ever fully get rid of it. My wife might come back from the grave to haunt me if I did.”

“It works for him,” Mathis shrugged. “Most nobles’ll think that he’s some hick from nowhere. You’d be surprised at how many of them, even in the Fedsuns think that people that look a bit different are stupid.”

“Meh,” I shrugged. “I just look super young without the beard and people don’t take me seriously. Although, the mismatch of colors in my beard throws me off sometimes.”
“It’s the streaks of blonde,” Kaylee finally spoke up. “It’d be fine if it were just the brown and red mixing. But the blonde hairs make it look like you’re graying early.”

“I blame genetics,” I laughed. “Now, we going to keep playing, or what?”

–
–
Two days later…

Henry Hober entered the gym of the King Henry V, a towel slung over his shoulder as he checked out the equipment he’d be using. There were people at most of the stations, each with a spotter barring one.

“Need a spot there, Major?” He set his bag down and walked over. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you do legs before.”

“Because I fucking hate leg day,” Hull grunted as he hoisted the bar and began squatting with the weights. “Only reason I do it nowadays is because I finally got my knee fixed six months ago.”

“Mind if I ask what the problem was?” Henry moved in position to spot for his CO.

“Bone spur on the inside of my kneecap,” Hull finished the set and racked it, taking deep breaths as he continued the story. “I might not look it now, but I was a bit out of shape, and the spur had been bothering me for years but surgery wasn’t necessary as long as I was in shape. Well, the more mass I put on, whether it be in muscle or fat. The more pressure I put on the inside of my knee cap.”

“Which means that it was scraping against the joints and tendons there,” Henry winced as he helped Hull through another set. “Damn, that sucks.”

“The solution sucked too, but Doc said I wasn’t allowed to skip leg day anymore,” Hull finished up the squats and sat down, toweling off his face. “They had to go in and scrape the inside of my kneecap and get rid of the spur. Only had a couple of weeks of recovery, but it hurt like hell.”

“I bet,” Henry stretched before moving to add a couple of weights to the bar. “I’m glad I didn’t inherit anything like that.”

Hull moved to spot for the dropship pilot and they worked their way through the rest of the stations before ending up in the showers.

The Marksman wasn’t large enough for myths or legends to have really formed around Hull besides those about his time traveling origin. And given they were a military unit, the showers were one of the few places where everyone saw everything but oddly enough the most private place as well.

Most of the Marksman personnel had scars or tattoos that were kept carefully hidden by clothing or uniforms when in the field, but the showers were where you could finally see people’s true appearance.

For someone in charge of a near regimental Mercenary Unit, Hull didn’t look any different. If not for the beard, he would blend in as just another soldier in the unit. Average height, a soldier’s build, but nothing to write home about. He wasn’t even that outspoken, most of the time, he remained silent unless asked a question or telling a story.

So that’s what made the scars on his shoulders and chest all the more interesting.

“Hey, boss,” Hober dry swallowed. “What happened there?” He gestured at his chest.

“Turns out that you need to follow all of the instructions exactly the way that they’re told when maintaining a Jumpship,” Hull muttered. “You can do most of the maintenance by yourself, but it’s not necessarily easy or safe. And well,” he smiled sheepishly. “Some clothing is more fire retardant than others. I accidentally set myself on fire a time or three, and while it didn’t get my hair, it left a few scars. Honestly, it was more like a really bad sunburn more than anything else. I just didn’t take care of the skin all that well.”

Hull shuddered.

“I couldn’t stand it when it started peeling, and you can probably figure out the rest.”

“Fair enough,” Henry shrugged, his mind going to some of the stories he’d heard during his time in the Taurian Defense Force. “I’ve heard of stupider things that have happened.”

“You're telling me,” Hull agreed and finished up the quick shower. “Thanks for the spot, Lieutenant. I’ll see ya around.”

---

Date: December 14, 3007
Location: Marksman Mercenary Compound on Pierce, Federated Suns

“We need to start working on our Org chart,” Sheppard said, glancing around the table at the rest of the command staff. “Once LeAnn and her people get here we’ll have enough to fill out a full regiment.”

“Fuck,” Peterson sighed. “We’re going to have to figure out where she slots into our staff as well.”

“Integration is one of the things we’re going to take a look at,” I agreed. “We want to preserve the culture we’ve built up here, and even if her people are veterans, they’ll need to be trained in the way we operate.”

“We have the equipment for them,” Naomi Brown waved down a waitress for a refill of her drink. “At least for the Vics. It’s the ‘Mechs I’m worried about.”

“We don’t field Locusts or other bugmechs,” Sheppard leaned forward. “We’re working on expanding our inventory of other ‘Mechs, but that’s going to take time.”

“We can hold back a battalion for training,” I settled the concerns. “Keep them here training our new people until we’ve got the inventory to put them into the field. Now, I had some foresight on the organizational chart and had Captain Johnson and the admin people draw up a new one already.”

I pulled a stack of papers out of my bag.

“Here’s the responsibilities of your new ranks as well as the pay bumps and all of the other details of the organizational chart. Now, none of this takes effect until 3008, but we can start working on the practical aspects. In the meantime, let’s put the work to the side and eat. We haven’t been able to have a full meeting in months, and I’d like to have some fun and some damned buffalo wings. It’s time to eat!”

 

[MarkWarrior]

The Truth Will Set You Free. Part 1
Date: March 15, 3007
Location: Taurus WarWorks Facility, Taurus Taurian Concordat

“So, it’s obvious that they never finished these plans,” Alex Jones, the lead project engineer gestured to the blueprints of the ‘Mechthey were looking at. “There’s some obvious design structures and the chassis definitely originates from a Talos. But I hate the Ack-tens. The ammunition feeds look like they’d get mixed up with the missile feeds.”

“They clearly didn’t scale up the legs properly either,” a junior mechtech brought up. “Those won’t have enough structural support to work on a ninety-five tonner.”

“Why are we looking at this instead of building the second line for the Toro?” Someone raised their hands.

“Because WarWorks is expanding,” Jones explained. “We’ve got an ASF line being shipped here as we speak and we’re being pulled into R&D because we know how to prototype and build a fresh assembly line for something. We found this when rebuilding the facility in one of the underground bunkers. The plans are unfinished, but there’s the core of a good idea here. The Concordat currently has domestic light and heavy ‘Mech production. Where we’re lacking is good mediums and assaults.”

“The Talos doesn’t really cut it for a good trooper or decent medium,” the same mechtech from earlier explained. “But the chassis is well-known in the Concordat, so we can easily adapt it to what we need. But the Talos itself is too reliant on ammunition to be a viable platform in the wars of today.”

“So, our group is now in charge of figuring out how to turn that,” Jones gestured to the Tri-vid. “Into more than just a pipe dream. Our full budget runs through the end of this year. If we don’t have any results by then, then we get shut down as a group and transferred to the other projects.”

“And if we succeed?” The person who asked about the second Toro line asked.

“Then we get five percent of the total retail value of every one of these sold in perpetuity,” Jones grinned.

“So we’re talking about an entire extra year’s salary per ‘Mech sold if we do this right?” the Mechtech quickly did the math. “Fuck it, I’m in.”

“Might as well,” an older tech sighed. “I think I heard rumors about this shit before I got evaced and frozen. I’d like to think we can finish something that my generation started.”

“Alright,” Jones turned off the tri-vid and began to write on a whiteboard. “So, there are the six of us. I’ll work on figuring out assembly lines and parts production. I’ve got the engineering degree, but we all know that’s not where I shine. Mike, Louis,” the Project lead turned and nodded at the junior mechtech and the old man. “Both of you are on design and engineering. If you need anything, let me know.”

“Samantha, Frank, you two are managing the budget and ensuring that we stick to the deadlines, Adam will be our general floater and troubleshooter.”

“Everyone understand their roles?”

The room nodded.

“Good, let’s get to work.”

“Just one question,” Adam asked. “Did we get assigned a project name?”

“Aye,” Alex replied. “Project Veritas.”

---

April 27, 3007

“God fucking dammit!” Mike Jeffcoat swore, wadding up that copy of the blueprints and throwing it in the bin with the others.

“Still having issues with the proper leg strength?” Louis asked.

“According to the calculations, this should work, even with the ‘bird’ legs,” Mike growled. “But for some reason, when we try to assemble it with these legs, it can barely walk without shaking.”

“So beef it up more,” Louis leaned over and added thickness to the base skeleton. “We can use less armor on the legs if there are any issues, or change the planned armament. But we have to get the legs sorted out first.”

“You get the launchers fixed?” Mike asked, taking off his glasses and rubbing at his eyes.

“I cast the missiles from the same racks that the Talos used,” Louis shrugged. “The Six-pack was easy to cram in. And the ammo feeds were about the same as the medium too. Less to work around, but the twin ten packs will be a decent supplement to the main weapons.”

“Using the Toro’s PPC for the main armaments was inspired,” Mike agreed. “That the power feeds slotted in so well was perfect.”

“This is going to look like such a frankenmech when we first put it together,” Louis sighed. “Can’t wait for the others to explain how they’re going to figure out standardized parts for this.”

“We just have to put the initial design together and finalize it,” Mike turned back to his desk and began working on the leg supports again. “We can make it look scary later.”


–
–

June 8, 3007

“Whelp, she’s an ugly bitch,” Alex glanced up. “But she’s functional, and we can source all of the parts. You got a final shape we want her to look like when she comes off of the lines?”

“Here,” Louis handed the others a sheet of paper that had a sketch on it. “This is what the final product we ship should look like.”

“Alright then,” Alex smirked. “We beat the record for the design. Now we just have to figure out the assembly lines.”

“Estimated time puts us at 3012 for the first ‘mech to roll off of any new lines,” Samantha glanced at her clipboard. “That’s the best case scenario though. Worst case has us pushing it back to 3020. Most likely it is somewhere in the middle.”

“Regardless, we succeeded,” Jones began compiling their report. “Drinks are on me tonight!”

“Just let me secure everything in the safe, first,” Mike grabbed his own documentation. “The other corporations aren’t exactly fans of us upstarts.”

“Right,” Adam’s face turned serious. “We should have the main report for the head office, as well as backups of each of our sections just in case. I’ve got family in the Outworlds Alliance that are working on a project, they’ve experienced setback after setback of late, and while it’s not obviously espionage, it seems too coincidental.”

“WarWorks is fairly secure,” Alex sighed. “But if y’all think the extra effort is worth it, then we’ll do that before celebrating.”

“It’s definitely worth us doing the extra work,” Samantha agreed. “We’ve spent far too many hours working on this. I’m not getting those hours back if we lose the progress we’ve made.”

“Okay,” Alex looked down at the main copy. “I’ll make three copies of this, put them in our project safes, and backup our data. You each do the same, and we’ll meet at Miller’s in an hour and a half, deal?”

“Sounds good to me, boss,” Mike shrugged. “I’m good with whatever as long as I get a beer at the end of it.”

“Amen,” Louis grinned. “And none of that cheap shit. I want the good stuff!”

 

[Inbredmartian]

Comstar strike teams being perennially pissed off at Taurian Paranoia

 

[MarkWarrior]

Location: Tharkad
Date: February 3, 3008

“What’s on your mind?” Arthur asked his heavily pregnant wife.

“Something Hull said before we left,” Katrina replied, looking at the map of the Inner Sphere that hung on her wall.

“In the farewell? Or earlier on?” Arthur asked for clarification while moving to stand beside her.

“It was while we were on Eidolon,” Katrina rested her hands on her belly as the baby kicked. “I asked if he knew about any other abandoned locations like Eidolon.”

“And his response?” Arthur asked, stroking his beard.

“Let’s see if I can quote this correctly,” Katrina closed her eyes and tried to remember the exact conversation.

—
—

“There are always things that have remained hidden. Planets like this exist across the Inner Sphere and Periphery. Some of them were hidden for a reason, and others were simply forgotten, as this one was. There are some that are just rumors. But some contain more than just an element of truth.”

“Anything specific for a Lostech prospector to go off of?” I asked afterward.

“I remember something about Edwin Keeler,” Hull replied, stroking his beard in thought. “I know the Helm Cache has long been looked for, but I don’t think anyone has actually looked into his journal or anything. I recall that he was a prominent engineer who once worked with DoME. There might be something there. Aside from that, I’d check and see if there’s anything left of what Kerensky built in the old RWR before he retook Terra. That’s about all I can come up with at the moment.”

—
—

“That’s more than what I expected,” Arthur wrapped his arms around Katrina. “I take it you had the LIC go over those records?”

“I did,” Katrina moved to her desk and pulled out a report before handing it to her husband. “The Star League’s Department of Mega Engineering used Helm as a test bed for many future projects involving waterways and dams.”

“Huh,” Arthur sat down and read through it. “I can’t believe that we never checked this report before.”

“The Nagayan Mountain complex was buried in the rest of DoME’s reports that the LIC had,” Katrina sighed. “It took them six weeks to find anything that might be helpful in the first place. I’ve also directed agents to raid SAFE’s Intel center to grab anything they might have on Keeler and Helm. I think there’s something here. I just don’t know what it is yet.”

Katrina then yawned, blinking slowly as everything caught up to her.

“Alright, I think it’s time for a nap,” Arthur helped her over to the couch. “Let me handle the paperwork. If there’s Lostech there, it’ll still be there when we’re ready.”

Katrina tried to stay awake, but the warm blankets and cold pillow meant that she lost that battle before she’d even begun.

---

Date: March 25, 3008 (Ten days after Melissa Steiner is born)
Location: Tharkad, Lyran Commonwealth

“Katrina, you’re supposed to take a break after giving birth, not stressing out by doing more,” Arthur chastised his wife.

“It’s just a handful of reports I have to go over,” Katrina replied, “I personally have to sign off on these before passing them on.”

She held the sleeping Melissa against her chest with one hand while going over the few reports with the other.

“What reports could possibly be that important?” Arthur asked.

“Fixing Alessandro’s mistakes on the FWL and Drac border,” Kartina sighed. “I want to move Frederick away from Skye and the influences from that area, but I already have Nondi working as the General of the Armies, but despite my distrust of him, he’s one of our most capable generals and military officers.”

“Where do we need rebuilding the most?” Arthur asked. “We can at least trust him to see what will be best for the Commonwealth as a whole.”

“He’s done a fantastic job with the 7th Lyran Regulars,” Katrina replied. “I could try to rebuild the 6th and use it to showcase what needs to change within the LCAF for us to finally stop being on the back foot.”
“If you frame it properly, you can probably use this as a way of promoting him,” Arthur stood up and began pacing. “We can post them to Arc Royal or anywhere away from Lestrade’s influence. But we would have to ensure that they get proper equipment.”

“I was planning on expanding loans and other monetary assets to various entities,” Katrina flipped through her reports. “LIC has informed me that the Concordat has resurrected the Toro, and that there is development of several other ‘Mechs and factories within the Federated Suns.”

“There are quite a few older designs that could be resurrected,” Arthur agreed. “I can use my personal wealth to begin a company founded on Duran. That would ensure that this is more than simply political. But we’re putting our faith in him and his unit to protect another asset of the Commonwealth.”

“I thought you were going to be giving Morgan some assets?” Katrina asked.

“He told me that he and Patrick will finish their time among the LCAF. Then, they will decide what to do.”

“Then we follow your plan,” Katrina jotted down a note as Melissa began to wake up and cry. “But I add my assets behind it and ensure that Freddy is wholly behind us for the future.”

With the last few notes jotted down, Katrina began to feed Melissa while heading to a nearby rocking chair and slowly rocking the baby and herself to sleep in her office.

 

[MarkWarrior]

Chapter 79


Date: January 15. 3008
Location: Pierce, Federated Suns

“Mister Hull, welcome to the future Durand Heavy Metals and Manufacturing facility,” Countess Durand greeted me as I stepped out of the vehicle onto a massive construction site. “I figured you’d like to see what some of your people will be guarding in person.”

“Aye,” I replied. “I’ve not exactly kept the plans of the Swordsman a secret or anything, but given its negative reputation among the Federated Suns, I don’t think you’ll have to deal with too much corporate espionage, at least at first.”

“I’ve already discussed my plans with First Prince Ian Davion,” Durand walked me around areas where massive holes were dug into the ground. “Even if I hadn’t gotten anything from you, I would have still gone forward with something similar to this. If not quite so bold as to begin full ‘mech production so soon.”

“We’ve had plenty of time to tinker with some of the older designs we picked up in the periphery,” I noted that the underground parts were being poured with steel-reinforced concrete. “I doubt there’s only going to be one thing that my mechtechs come up with.”

“Regardless, I am grateful you took the time to meet with me while we were both present on New Avalon. While I didn’t expect help to come in the form of the Taurians, the people that I subcontracted from Taurus WarWorks have been nothing but professional.”

“There’s a lot of bad blood between the Concordat and the rest of the Inner Sphere. I won’t deny that. But even they understand that people on the periphery need to stick together. “

We walked through the rest of the area before reaching a small prefab that contained office space. Clearly, this was the area where the project manager and Durand herself worked out of while out here.

“I’m going to be honest,” I said as I sat in the mostly quiet room. “I didn’t expect you to actually come out here and work with your people on this.”

“When I went to the Warriors Hall on New Syrtis to study and receive my commission, I double majored in logistics and architecture,” She replied. “I served my term as a Leftenant for four years and intended to serve for another eight before my father passed away unexpectedly. So instead of reenlisting, I came home to put my studies to good use.”

“So, all of those,” I nodded at the blueprints for the factories being constructed around us.

“The preliminaries were drawn up by me,” she confirmed. “I had the chief engineers look and confirm the layout before we began clearing the property.”

“Right, I said after thinking about everything for another minute. “I suppose we should get down to the main reason we arranged a meeting.”

Yes,” She nodded. “I understand you secured multiple contracts and will be splitting your forces in the near future?.

“We’re about a regiment in size now,” I shrugged. “I’ve got plans for a training battalion to be stationed here on Pierce, but if I’m honest, it’ll probably be a mixed company by my unit’s standards, along with an aerospace wing.”

“Shit,” She swore. “I was hoping that you’d have more on hand locally.”

“Unfortunately, while I’ve got the manpower to operate four battalions and have one training rookies, I don’t quite have the equipment yet,” I sighed. “It’s a curse of the mercenary unit. Everyone wants to join up. But oftentimes, we have more people than machines to put them in.”

I stroked my beard in thought for a moment.

“That said, I can have multiple battalions of infantry here,” I held up my hand to stall the protest I could see brewing. “You’re not fully read into some classified material yet. But let’s just say they’ll be a nasty surprise for anything that shows up.”

“I’ll have to take your word for it,” Elizabeth sighed. “Well, my personal detail is also designated as corporate security for this company. So It’ll have to be enough for now.”

“As soon as we can afford to get more machines and have rotating staff, we’ll have a full battalion of battlemechs and vics here,” I smiled. “It’ll just take some time. Besides, it will take you at least two to three years to finish this facility and get the fixed defenses in place. By the time you need the Marksman, we’ll be plenty ready for you.”

---

Date: February 28, 3008
Location: Marksman Training Facility, Pierce, Federated Suns

“It’s always odd seeing veterans go through boot camp again,” Sheppard glanced at where LeAnn and the rest of the Canopians were going through how the Marksman operated.

“Sure,” Peterson agreed, taking a sip of his coffee. “But we don’t operate the same way as most units. Larger formations, more people, and a helluva a lot more to keep track of when it comes to logistics and personnel. We’ve gotta work the old shit out of their system and teach them the new ways. They’ll adapt or wash out and go somewhere else.”

“Sure,” Sheppard agreed. “But they’ve got the skills on the battlefield, which is where this matters most.”

“What are we talking about?” Hull casually walked up to the two of them.

“Just discussing how strange it is to see veterans go through boot again,” Sheppard explained.

“It’s worth it if they can adapt their current skillsets to how we’ve changed things,” Hull echoed Sheppard’s earlier statement. “That said, we can still use them in defensive roles even if they don’t do too well at how we do things. The ELH has a dedicated unit to keep its dependents safe. I’m starting to wonder if maybe we should begin preparing for that.”

“Something come up?” Peterson asked.

“Nothing that popped out in Dunham's intel briefs,” Hull shook his head. “Just a gut feeling that we’ve stepped on a few too many toes of late.”

The Colonel then left them to their conversation.

“Capellans?” Peterson raised an eyebrow at Sheppard.

“Capellans,” Sheppard agreed. “They’ll be pissed off at either us or the Wolf’s Dragoons. And given we’re the smaller, easier target…”

The XO trailed off.

“Then we’re most likely going to get hit first,” Peterson sighed heavily. “I’ll have Dunham ask LeAnn if she’s got any contacts within MIM. I doubt she wants to be the subject of a Maskirovka hit.”

“I’m pretty sure Dunham is already putting together a comprehensive list of what the Capellans might be planning,” Sheppard smirked. “The man despises the Liaos, and I don’t doubt he’s got plenty of tripwires and intel assets in place that we don’t know about.”

“Still, it’ll make me feel better if I do something to help,” Peterson shrugged. “Especially with a newborn on the way.”

“Francesca’s pregnant!” Sheppard grinned. “You sonovabitch. Why didn’t you tell us sooner? We’d have thrown you a party!”

“Wanted to make sure it was viable,” Peterson sighed, “It’s not like we’re in a stress-free environment, after all. She even got a job working as the secretary for Johnson over in logistics because she felt like she wasn’t doing enough.”

“We both know that we’ve got the best medical care in the industry,’ Sheppard chided his friend. “Now let’s grab the Colonel and see if there’s any cigar stores in town. We need to find some of the good stuff to celebrate with.”