Turn 50-GR - Do It
You and Tony have both suffered appropriate punishment for informing Sarah that no, in her condition she isn’t allowed to personally join the teams looking over SLS Morristown. And your shins might even recover before mom gets home, so there’s that.
Regardless, Sarah and, well
SARAH are now fully ensconced in remote monitoring of the derelict ‘troop cruiser’ as she is brought to orbit adjacent to the orbital shipyard orbiting Nowy Gdansk.
You, meanwhile, have other concerns. You had always laughed at the shenanigans from the Department of Periphery Studies. Now you realize that as humorous as they are they are also a source of ulcers, because guess what, they’re at it
again.
They are currently laying ‘siege’ to the palace, well, not the palace itself, but rather the palace
gift shop, protesting the lack of availability of collectible model kits of SLS Morristown. Evidently the ‘Periphery Studies Model-Making Association of Model-Makers and Modelers Society For The Advancement of Modeling, Model-Making, and The Letter M’ is Highly Offended (you can hear the capital letters) that there isn’t already a 1/48 scale model of SLS Morristown available in the gift shop and they intend to camp out at the gift shop until such a model is in stock!
Now this wouldn’t be a major problem, except that they are blocking not only the entrance to the gift shop, but also monopolizing the nearest bathrooms and are using the locker room facilities for the nearby public pool as well. This is when they aren’t distracted by showing off their admittedly very nicely done ship models IN said pool. Or crashing their flying models into trees, lampposts, and in one memorable incident into the crotch of the protest leader. Or running around with the non-flyable models held high and making appropriate ‘vroom vroom’ noises.
And since Griffsport police and Palace Security have a hands-off policy in regards to the tenured faculty of the Department of Periphery Studies you’re stuck having to wait until they find some other hair-brained venture to distract them.
At least you can’t hear the chants inside the Palace itself.
And then it’s time for the budget meeting.
General Stewart starts it off, as always. “Same drill as every year, Your Highness.” she actually smirks at your glare at that. “But this year General Dunn of the 1st RRF will give the ground forces briefing. General?”
General Faye Dunn does
not look like what you’d expect the commander of the highest average speed force in the military to look. She’s over six feet tall, built like a linebacker, has a figure that could be accurately described as ‘Raphaelite’... and a reputation as a devil-may care daredevil in a hovercraft who regularly participates in
Chasseur races against the best pilots under her command… and usually wins.
“Your Highness, we have several different options this year for military procurement. With the continuing expansion of Mech factory capacity and the increasingly close achievement of our goal to be able to strike back at the Dracs we will need to make some decisions as to how to do so. The Long-Range Planning Board has made several recommendations.” she begins, not bothering with any powerpoints or display aids, but rather speaking from memory.
“In short, we have three options for our primary offensive forces. Each has differing logistics requirements. We have labeled the three options Steel Wall, Flexible Response, and Rapid Assault.” she finally nods to an aid, who turns on the display to show the three options. “Choosing any of them does not preclude the others, however they would stand as guides for procurement.”
| Option | Description | Unit Composition | Transport Requirements |
| Steel Wall | The ‘heaviest’ of the three options, intending to crush the enemy with overwhelming firepower making use of massed assault mechs |
- 6 Mechanized Assault Regiments
- 3 Mechanized Standard Mech Regiments
|
- 6 of a proposed new Landing Ship (Battlemech) - Regimental
- 9 Osumi-class Battalion Assault Transports
- 9 Sosumi-class Combat Logistics Transports
- Total Collar Load - 24
|
| Flexible Response | A balanced force comprised of a mix of mechanized and battlemech units. This formation is closely based on the historical Star League unit organizational structure. |
- 1 Mechanized Assault Regiment
- 2 Mechanized Standard Mech Regiments
- 3 Armored Cavalry Regiments
- 3 Standard Armored Regiments
|
- 18 Osumi-class Battalion Assault Transports
- 3 Tarawa-class Regimental Assault Transports
- 9 Sosumi-class Combat Logistics Transports
- Total Collar Load - 30
|
| Rapid Assault | A force mix optimized for high speed raiding and recon, preparing the battlefield for follow on strikes from heavier units or serving as part of deep strike raids. |
- 3 Rapid Reaction Regiments
|
- 9 Coyote-class Fast Attack Transports
- 3 Coyote-class Fast Attack Transports configured for cargo
- Total Collar Load - 12
|
She shuffles her notes. “I will note, Your Highness, that a lighter ‘Rapid Assault’ option would have only a single Rapid Reaction Regiment, require 3
Coyotes and 1 cargo-modified [/i]Coyote[/i]s and would suffice for most raiding, insurgency support, and special operations support missions with a collar load of 4. An even lighter configuration would have only a single battalion sent, giving a collar load of 2.”
“In terms of procurement this year, we recommend completing 3rd Armored with a single Mechanized Assault Regiment as well as procuring a Light Garrison Force for assignment to the 2nd Aerie Cadre to expand our infantry training capacity as well as serve as the main garrison force, for the time being, for Griffon IV as a whole. In addition we recommend procuring a Training Regiment for a 3rd Aerie Cadre to be stood up on Nowy Gdansk to both augment the garrison there as well as increase our ability to train mechwarriors as fast as mechs are produced.”
At that the statuesque woman stepped back and returned to her place with the other briefing officers.
General ‘Powerpoint’ Reyes then stepped up, and sure enough loaded up a powerpoint. “Your Highness, this year our main focus is on completing the latest upgrade cycle. All upgrades have been finalized and are in progress as determined previously however this results in us not having any production capacity to spare for new construction this year. We do not that with the upgrades to the Goshawk IIG to the IIIG configuration they are no longer the ‘low strategic material usage’ light fighter, but are rather a high performance strike bird. As such, we are going to be requesting proposals for a militia/garrison fighter that is ruthlessly optimized for simplicity without the growth potential that has seen the Goshawk grow to a frontline strike ASF. Beyond that, we strongly urge continued upgrades to ASF production capacity and strategic material production.”
Well, that was only 2 slides, not so bad from her.
Admiral Benjamin is all smiles as he takes the stage. “Well, Your Highness, how much you wanna bet your mom is going to use the discovery of SLS Morristown as an excuse to retire since you’re doing such a great job.”
You groan and give the good admiral a death glare, which bounces off of his grin without doing any damage whatsoever, damn him.
“More seriously, that ship’s in the hands of the eggheads right now, because pretty as she is and regardless of how much potential she represents, we still need to get her fixed up and in fighting trim before she’s any use to us. So our focus is still back here at home for now, along with planning for the future of bringing the fight to the damn dracs. So… without further ado… Lieutenant?”
His aid brings one of the Admirals beloved flip charts up.
“First of all, as General Dunn alluded to, we are studying a regimental mech transport, roughly equivalent to the Tarawa, to bring an entire Mechanized Assault Regiment to the field at once. We consider these to be second-wave transports, with the Osumi’s still being the initial landing force due to their not risking entire regiments to the loss of a single transport. The Imperial Griffon Aerospace Werks is studying the requirements and have promised to have a proposal for consideration in the near future.” he nods to the lieutenant, who flips to the next sheet.
“Secondly, it’s time to decide on which training dropship we’ll procure. The
Microraptors have served well so far, but they are too small to be fully viable and we are already running into significant training bottlenecks. We have 2 proposals, one from Majeure Electrique and one from a start up here in Griffsport called Ensign Aerospace. Both meet the minimum requirements and would be suitable for the role.” on the chart are the specifications for the two designs.
| [] | Name | Cost | HP | A/D | Specials |
| [] | Magic Feather Training Dropship | 48965.04 | 171 | 101 |
- Armored 2
- Capital 3/26
- Missile 4
- AMS 8
- Command 1
|
| [] | Ensign Training Dropship | 42195.44 | 239 | 89 |
- Armored 10
- Capital 3/13
- Missile 2
- AMS 4
- Command 1
|
“Now for the fun and expensive part, laying down new construction, Lieutenant?” another page is flipped on the chart. “Since we have all of our slips freed, and a clean slate thanks to all of the upgrades, we’re able to do things differently. First of all, we have 7 slips free that are suitable for Large Dropships. We are recommending the following.”
- Devastation Parasite Cruiser
- Devastation Parasite Cruiser
- Tarawa Regimental Assault Transport
- Royal Sovereign Parasite Battleship
- Royal Sovereign Parasite Battleship
- Royal Sovereign Parasite Battleship
- Royal Sovereign Parasite Battleship
“In addition we have 31 regular slipways available for construction, Lieutenant?” another flip of the chart.
- Defiant
- Defiant
- Defiant
- Defiant
- Troodon
- Troodon
- Troodon
- Troodon
- Troodon
- Troodon
- Troodon
- Troodon
- Tyrannosaurus
- Tyrannosaurus
- Tyrannosaurus
- Tyrannosaurus
- Megaraptor
- Megaraptor
- Lightning
- Lightning
- Lightning
- Lightning
- Osumi
- Osumi
- Osumi
- Sosumi
- Sosumi
- Sosumi
- <Winning Training Dropship Design>
- <Winning Training Dropship Design>
- <Winning Training Dropship Design>
“Finally, we urge that expansion of the two shipyards as well as the Repair & Refit Facility continue as before, however instead of a pair of regular dropship slips on the Griffin’s Roost yard we strongly urge instead building a Large Dropship slip. 31 regular dropships at a time should be sufficient for our requirements, but we currently can only build 7 large dropships at a time. For expeditionary use, large dropships are far more efficient.”
He then grins. “And that, Your Highness, is that, and here’s hoping that Her Majesty doesn’t decide to throw you under the bus, might want to start thinking of ways of tap dancing out of that one.” his smirk is positively evil. Damn him!
General Stewart retakes the podium. “Well, needless to say I endorse all but Admiral Benjamins teasing.” her smirk is almost as bad as the Admirals, making it plain that she would join in but is trying to keep it professional. Damnit!
Bridget is heavily pregnant, but still just as perky as ever. “Your Highness! We have a bunch of building projects in progress and I’ve got eager beaver crews ready to do more, like expanding more stuff! DoME is completely tapped out, at the moment, but happily working away, but I’ve got at least supervisory capacity to expand and build plenty of orbital foundries and factories so just give the good word!”
Isoroku is off with her Majesty, his deputy for Cultural Affairs is filling in. “With the Olympics being held off world this year we’re able to focus our attention on some cultural programming here at home, Your Highness, I recommend holding a benefit concert with the theme being the recovery of the Morristown.”
Jake is present, and is looking harassed. “Your Majesty, I’m still trying to deal with the Chamber of Deputies, who are still being stubborn even after the recent elections. However, I do recommend starting on Civil Service Reform, the benefits well outweigh the costs, by our analysis, and hopefully it may help dislodge some of the more stubborn Delegates from their refusal to even meet with representatives of the Crown.”
Mary is next, from R&D, with her typical presentation. “Your Highness, we have a few research teams free and eager to get started on SLS Morristown.” she fires up the presentation…
- New Projects
- Full survey of SLS Morristown
- Before we can hope to begin repairs, start researching the technology on board, or anything else, we need to do an overall survey.
- Recommended Projects
- Full Survey of SLS Morristown
- Either of the following
- Light Battle Armor - Improved
- Would permit us to make use of several theoretical upgrades, including stealth armor. Would be highly useful for special operations units
- Improved PPC
- In and of itself probably not a useful weapon system, as it is eclipsed in nearly every way by our existing weapon systems, but the miniaturization techniques may prove to be something we can in the future incorporate into our current models.
Harry is also off with your mother, so his deputy simply reports on the ongoing work with enhancing public employee security monitoring. Intelligence recommends holding back on further projects for now.
Janet has kept fairly quiet so far. “Your Highness, Justice is in good shape, with no real priorities beyond maintaining public order at the moment. I do recommend following Jake’s recommendation on Civil Service Reform, however.”
