Thors_Alumni
Well-known member
[x] Thank the outfit for their honesty and leave it be, there was no criminal intent after all
Quest Deep Periphery Quest (Battletech Sandbox Empire Builder)
- Thread starter LordSunhawk
- Start date
[X]Thank the outfit for their honesty and leave it be, there was no criminal intent after all
- [X] Not only was there no criminal intent, there was no criminal *action* unless you consider the legitimate authorizations issued by suborned officials to be retroactively illegitimate *even* when issued to an innocent third party which followed them in good faith. Frankly, that would be a terribad legal precedent.
[X]Gavin II - Cannon
[X] Gavin II - Command
[X]Gavin II - Missile
The flexibility of an Omni vehicle more than outweighs the minor cost overrun of the missile variant, and is in any case offset by the baseline variant being the least expensive option.
[X] Sheridan II Cavalry Fighting Vehicle
[X] Sheridan II Missile Cavalry Fighting Vehicle
The Sheridan II is more capable than the other Omni option in both variants for essentially the same price (better HP and A/D in both cases, better Missile rating in the missile version).
[X] Creusot Self Propelled Gun
The superior defenses and double AMS of the Creusot make it much more survivable against being blitzed by fast-moving, missile armed Light Mechs. . . something we've recently had experience of, and which tacitly inspires this entire SPG project. In addition, its layout allows it to utilize its defensive laser battery while still carrying out artillery fire missions.
- [X] Not only was there no criminal intent, there was no criminal *action* unless you consider the legitimate authorizations issued by suborned officials to be retroactively illegitimate *even* when issued to an innocent third party which followed them in good faith. Frankly, that would be a terribad legal precedent.
[X]Gavin II - Cannon
[X] Gavin II - Command
[X]Gavin II - Missile
The flexibility of an Omni vehicle more than outweighs the minor cost overrun of the missile variant, and is in any case offset by the baseline variant being the least expensive option.
[X] Sheridan II Cavalry Fighting Vehicle
[X] Sheridan II Missile Cavalry Fighting Vehicle
The Sheridan II is more capable than the other Omni option in both variants for essentially the same price (better HP and A/D in both cases, better Missile rating in the missile version).
[X] Creusot Self Propelled Gun
The superior defenses and double AMS of the Creusot make it much more survivable against being blitzed by fast-moving, missile armed Light Mechs. . . something we've recently had experience of, and which tacitly inspires this entire SPG project. In addition, its layout allows it to utilize its defensive laser battery while still carrying out artillery fire missions.
Trashman.exe
Well-known member
[X]Thank the outfit for their honesty and leave it be, there was no criminal intent after all
- [X] Not only was there no criminal intent, there was no criminal *action* unless you consider the legitimate authorizations issued by suborned officials to be retroactively illegitimate *even* when issued to an innocent third party which followed them in good faith. Frankly, that would be a terribad legal precedent.
[X]Gavin II - Cannon
[X] Gavin II - Command
[X]Gavin II - Missile
[X] Sheridan II Cavalry Fighting Vehicle
[X] Sheridan II Missile Cavalry Fighting Vehicle
[X] Creusot Self Propelled Gun
- [X] Not only was there no criminal intent, there was no criminal *action* unless you consider the legitimate authorizations issued by suborned officials to be retroactively illegitimate *even* when issued to an innocent third party which followed them in good faith. Frankly, that would be a terribad legal precedent.
[X]Gavin II - Cannon
[X] Gavin II - Command
[X]Gavin II - Missile
[X] Sheridan II Cavalry Fighting Vehicle
[X] Sheridan II Missile Cavalry Fighting Vehicle
[X] Creusot Self Propelled Gun
kashim3
Texan, Mandalorian, Alabamian.
[X]Thank the outfit for their honesty and leave it be, there was no criminal intent after all
- [X] Not only was there no criminal intent, there was no criminal *action* unless you consider the legitimate authorizations issued by suborned officials to be retroactively illegitimate *even* when issued to an innocent third party which followed them in good faith. Frankly, that would be a terribad legal precedent.
[X]Gavin II - Cannon
[X] Gavin II - Command
[X]Gavin II - Missile
The flexibility of an Omni vehicle more than outweighs the minor cost overrun of the missile variant, and is in any case offset by the baseline variant being the least expensive option.
[X] Sheridan II Cavalry Fighting Vehicle
[X] Sheridan II Missile Cavalry Fighting Vehicle
The Sheridan II is more capable than the other Omni option in both variants for essentially the same price (better HP and A/D in both cases, better Missile rating in the missile version).
[X] Creusot Self Propelled Gun
The superior defenses and double AMS of the Creusot make it much more survivable against being blitzed by fast-moving, missile armed Light Mechs. . . something we've recently had experience of, and which tacitly inspires this entire SPG project. In addition, its layout allows it to utilize its defensive laser battery while still carrying out artillery fire missions.
- [X] Not only was there no criminal intent, there was no criminal *action* unless you consider the legitimate authorizations issued by suborned officials to be retroactively illegitimate *even* when issued to an innocent third party which followed them in good faith. Frankly, that would be a terribad legal precedent.
[X]Gavin II - Cannon
[X] Gavin II - Command
[X]Gavin II - Missile
The flexibility of an Omni vehicle more than outweighs the minor cost overrun of the missile variant, and is in any case offset by the baseline variant being the least expensive option.
[X] Sheridan II Cavalry Fighting Vehicle
[X] Sheridan II Missile Cavalry Fighting Vehicle
The Sheridan II is more capable than the other Omni option in both variants for essentially the same price (better HP and A/D in both cases, better Missile rating in the missile version).
[X] Creusot Self Propelled Gun
The superior defenses and double AMS of the Creusot make it much more survivable against being blitzed by fast-moving, missile armed Light Mechs. . . something we've recently had experience of, and which tacitly inspires this entire SPG project. In addition, its layout allows it to utilize its defensive laser battery while still carrying out artillery fire missions.
ShadowArxxy - OMFG - Part I
Omake: OMFG, Part One
Griffin’s Roost University, Department of Historical Studies
Griffin’s Roost University had never actually had a department of paleontology, which was deemed just too narrow and specialized of a sub-field to justify its own department. However, Griffin’s Roost University did have two history professors with a profound personal obsession with paleontology, who had founded a student paleontology “club” before they were even tenured.
The ten-odd members of that club were now gathered in a conference room at the University library, along with their professors and a quietly intimidating young woman in a completely unadorned black business suit, black tie, dark glasses, and radio earpiece.
“I think my arm is going to fall off.”
“I think both my arms are going to fall off.”
“My arm already fell off, and now my prosthetic is going.”
“There, that’s the last form. Now can you please tell us what the heck we’re signing forms for?”
“No.” said the intimidating young woman flatly and with no apparent sense of humor. “This is not a secure location. You will be transported to a secure location for briefing.”
“Callie, how exactly does someone menacingly pronounce transport?” whispered one student to another. “Because I definitely feel menaced.”
"Shhh, she can hear you!”
The sense of menace became even more distinct as they were matter-of-factly led to a pair of unmarked black groundcars with dark-tinted windows, which proceeded to the starport by a precisely efficient route at precisely the legal speed limit.
“We haven’t hit a single stop light.” wondered a student out loud. “Either their timing is that good, or they’ve got access to the priority overrides for the traffic light system.”
The intimidating young woman’s her head might have turned very slightly towards that student, who audibly eeped and said no more.
There was a certain absurdity to the sheer amount of “cloak and dagger” was being generated by entirely mundane actions done in stony silence by a dark suit, but no one would dare actually voice that observation until they were safely away from her tacitly ominous presence.
“And she’s probably still listening to us.”
----
At the starport, the black cars proceeded through the security gates to the secure military section of the facility. After a brief wait, several more sets arrived with the same ominously precise driving, and the students were ushered at a fast walk through several security checkpoints, a maze of plain walled corridors with doors marked in terse acronyms, and then a second maze of industrial corridors punctuated by handgrips and steel pressure doors.
They ultimately arrived in a small, windowless lounge lined with acceleration couches. Here, they finally caught enough breath to vaguely recognize the other groups as being from the Department of Biology, the Department of Geology, and the Department of Geography. The various professors nodded politely to each other and took their seats, followed loosely by their respective gaggles of students. All in all, there were about ten faculty and fifteen or so students, but the paleontology students seemed to be the only undergraduates; the others were clearly grad students.
The very ominous young woman, who had disappeared at some point in this process -- no one could say when -- abruptly reappeared from a different corridor and began handing out small folios containing military-style ID cards, dog tags, and security bracelets. The sense of foreboding increased as they realized the way she was doing it showed that she not only already knew everyone’s name but had their faces memorized.
“We will be lifting in ten minutes. For operational security reasons, you are not authorized to exit this area of the ship until further notice. Briefing will commence when we reach orbit.” A slight pause. “Your baggage has already been obtained and brought on board. Quarters are through the corridor to my left.”
And then she was gone again. Several of the students exchanged nervous glances at each other.
“Wow. That chick really, really scares me. Where does the government dig up that kind of crazy spook?”
“Classified.”
“Okay, so. . . uh. . . I guess we’d better get strapped in.”
------
“Oh yes, briefing will commence when we reach orbit. For the tenured faculty only, you students will find out what’s going on ‘at a later time’.”
“So, what do you think is going on?”
Callie rolled her eyes. “Isn’t it obvious? The government literally sent a freaking secret agent to get us to sign a ridiculously comprehensive set of NDAs, then escorted us to a top secret military base, loaded us onto a DropShip, and is sending us out at crushing acceleration. It’s only the start of, like, every single monster movie ever.”
“One. Dark sunglasses and an earpiece do not make that chick a secret agent. Two. That was Griffin’s Roost Starport, which is in no way a top secret military base. Three. This is maybe two Gs. Definitely much faster than a normal passenger liner goes, but hardly ‘crushing’.”
“You are no fun at all” grumbled the redheaded girl. “So what’s your theory?”
“Ancient aliens!”
“And you said my theory was over the top?” spluttered Callie indignantly.
“Seriously. Geology, geography, and biology plus the fact that we’re on a DropShip says planetary survey on one of the out-system worlds. But the rest of us are history, so they must have found evidence of a long-lost alien civilization!”
“As opposed to a human settlement?”
“No, because they didn’t bring anyone from sociology, psychology, economics, or linguistics. It’s gotta be aliens!”
The student debate continued as the DropShip continued to accelerate out-system, attracting smiles of amused tolerance from the professors. Naturally, the students attributed the unwillingness of even the more “cool” and friendly younger professors to drop any hints to the fearful influence of Scary Agent Lady.
------
Griffon’s Roost System, Zenith Point, Several Days Later. . .
“Captain Nguyen feels that your adequate compliance with onboard security and safety requirements is somehow exemplary,“ declared Scary Agent Lady, in a tone which clearly communicated that she felt the Captain was being unreasonably generous, “And therefore has decided that you will be permitted to observe our docking procedures.”
The students were subsequently escorted through the maze of minimally labelled corridors to a larger observation lounge with windows. Judging by the parts of the ship visible around them, they were now somewhere on the outer hull of a distinctly elongated spheroid-type DropShip. A second DropShip was flying in formation, its hull barely visible at this distance but the brilliant fusion flare of its transit drives unmistakeable.
A faint speck in the distance slowly resolved into the form of a third DropShip waiting ahead of them. . .
. . . wait, that wasn’t a DropShip. None of the students had ever seen that hull shape outside of a textbook before, but it was absolutely unmistakeable.
“HOLY SHIT, THAT’S A JUMPSHIP!”
Looks of wide-eyed wonder were universal as the JumpShip continued to become visible, and even more so when it became evident that the huge interstellar craft was painted in AFGR colors, and already had a single massive military DropShip already docked to it.
“So that’s what the NDAs” were for, whispered Callie softly.
“It’s definitely, definitely aliens.”
The two DropShips smoothly slid into place and clamped to the JumpShip’s Kearny-Fuchida collars with a series of reassuringly solid metallic THUNKS! A piercing high-low-high whistle sounded, followed by a loud klaxon alarm.
“This is not a drill. This is not a drill. General Quarters, General Quarters. All hands man your transit stations. The route of travel is forward and up to starboard, down and aft to port. Set material condition 'Zebra' throughout the ship. FTL jump imminent!”
Griffin’s Roost University, Department of Historical Studies
Griffin’s Roost University had never actually had a department of paleontology, which was deemed just too narrow and specialized of a sub-field to justify its own department. However, Griffin’s Roost University did have two history professors with a profound personal obsession with paleontology, who had founded a student paleontology “club” before they were even tenured.
The ten-odd members of that club were now gathered in a conference room at the University library, along with their professors and a quietly intimidating young woman in a completely unadorned black business suit, black tie, dark glasses, and radio earpiece.
“I think my arm is going to fall off.”
“I think both my arms are going to fall off.”
“My arm already fell off, and now my prosthetic is going.”
“There, that’s the last form. Now can you please tell us what the heck we’re signing forms for?”
“No.” said the intimidating young woman flatly and with no apparent sense of humor. “This is not a secure location. You will be transported to a secure location for briefing.”
“Callie, how exactly does someone menacingly pronounce transport?” whispered one student to another. “Because I definitely feel menaced.”
"Shhh, she can hear you!”
The sense of menace became even more distinct as they were matter-of-factly led to a pair of unmarked black groundcars with dark-tinted windows, which proceeded to the starport by a precisely efficient route at precisely the legal speed limit.
“We haven’t hit a single stop light.” wondered a student out loud. “Either their timing is that good, or they’ve got access to the priority overrides for the traffic light system.”
The intimidating young woman’s her head might have turned very slightly towards that student, who audibly eeped and said no more.
There was a certain absurdity to the sheer amount of “cloak and dagger” was being generated by entirely mundane actions done in stony silence by a dark suit, but no one would dare actually voice that observation until they were safely away from her tacitly ominous presence.
“And she’s probably still listening to us.”
----
At the starport, the black cars proceeded through the security gates to the secure military section of the facility. After a brief wait, several more sets arrived with the same ominously precise driving, and the students were ushered at a fast walk through several security checkpoints, a maze of plain walled corridors with doors marked in terse acronyms, and then a second maze of industrial corridors punctuated by handgrips and steel pressure doors.
They ultimately arrived in a small, windowless lounge lined with acceleration couches. Here, they finally caught enough breath to vaguely recognize the other groups as being from the Department of Biology, the Department of Geology, and the Department of Geography. The various professors nodded politely to each other and took their seats, followed loosely by their respective gaggles of students. All in all, there were about ten faculty and fifteen or so students, but the paleontology students seemed to be the only undergraduates; the others were clearly grad students.
The very ominous young woman, who had disappeared at some point in this process -- no one could say when -- abruptly reappeared from a different corridor and began handing out small folios containing military-style ID cards, dog tags, and security bracelets. The sense of foreboding increased as they realized the way she was doing it showed that she not only already knew everyone’s name but had their faces memorized.
“We will be lifting in ten minutes. For operational security reasons, you are not authorized to exit this area of the ship until further notice. Briefing will commence when we reach orbit.” A slight pause. “Your baggage has already been obtained and brought on board. Quarters are through the corridor to my left.”
And then she was gone again. Several of the students exchanged nervous glances at each other.
“Wow. That chick really, really scares me. Where does the government dig up that kind of crazy spook?”
“Classified.”
“Okay, so. . . uh. . . I guess we’d better get strapped in.”
------
“Oh yes, briefing will commence when we reach orbit. For the tenured faculty only, you students will find out what’s going on ‘at a later time’.”
“So, what do you think is going on?”
Callie rolled her eyes. “Isn’t it obvious? The government literally sent a freaking secret agent to get us to sign a ridiculously comprehensive set of NDAs, then escorted us to a top secret military base, loaded us onto a DropShip, and is sending us out at crushing acceleration. It’s only the start of, like, every single monster movie ever.”
“One. Dark sunglasses and an earpiece do not make that chick a secret agent. Two. That was Griffin’s Roost Starport, which is in no way a top secret military base. Three. This is maybe two Gs. Definitely much faster than a normal passenger liner goes, but hardly ‘crushing’.”
“You are no fun at all” grumbled the redheaded girl. “So what’s your theory?”
“Ancient aliens!”
“And you said my theory was over the top?” spluttered Callie indignantly.
“Seriously. Geology, geography, and biology plus the fact that we’re on a DropShip says planetary survey on one of the out-system worlds. But the rest of us are history, so they must have found evidence of a long-lost alien civilization!”
“As opposed to a human settlement?”
“No, because they didn’t bring anyone from sociology, psychology, economics, or linguistics. It’s gotta be aliens!”
The student debate continued as the DropShip continued to accelerate out-system, attracting smiles of amused tolerance from the professors. Naturally, the students attributed the unwillingness of even the more “cool” and friendly younger professors to drop any hints to the fearful influence of Scary Agent Lady.
------
Griffon’s Roost System, Zenith Point, Several Days Later. . .
“Captain Nguyen feels that your adequate compliance with onboard security and safety requirements is somehow exemplary,“ declared Scary Agent Lady, in a tone which clearly communicated that she felt the Captain was being unreasonably generous, “And therefore has decided that you will be permitted to observe our docking procedures.”
The students were subsequently escorted through the maze of minimally labelled corridors to a larger observation lounge with windows. Judging by the parts of the ship visible around them, they were now somewhere on the outer hull of a distinctly elongated spheroid-type DropShip. A second DropShip was flying in formation, its hull barely visible at this distance but the brilliant fusion flare of its transit drives unmistakeable.
A faint speck in the distance slowly resolved into the form of a third DropShip waiting ahead of them. . .
. . . wait, that wasn’t a DropShip. None of the students had ever seen that hull shape outside of a textbook before, but it was absolutely unmistakeable.
“HOLY SHIT, THAT’S A JUMPSHIP!”
Looks of wide-eyed wonder were universal as the JumpShip continued to become visible, and even more so when it became evident that the huge interstellar craft was painted in AFGR colors, and already had a single massive military DropShip already docked to it.
“So that’s what the NDAs” were for, whispered Callie softly.
“It’s definitely, definitely aliens.”
The two DropShips smoothly slid into place and clamped to the JumpShip’s Kearny-Fuchida collars with a series of reassuringly solid metallic THUNKS! A piercing high-low-high whistle sounded, followed by a loud klaxon alarm.
“This is not a drill. This is not a drill. General Quarters, General Quarters. All hands man your transit stations. The route of travel is forward and up to starboard, down and aft to port. Set material condition 'Zebra' throughout the ship. FTL jump imminent!”
SuperHeavy
Well-known member
[X]Gavin II - Cannon
[X] Gavin II - Command
[X]Gavin II - Missile
[X] Sheridan II Cavalry Fighting Vehicle
[X] Sheridan II Missile Cavalry Fighting Vehicle
Omni-vehicles are generally worth the extra expense and I like having a series of standardized logistic needs for our military whenever possible. Avoiding the nightmare that is the IS system of supplying dozens different designs is paramount. Someone needs to check up on the Challenger people, maybe make sure the design team is getting enough sleep and their offices are properly ventilated.
[X] Creusot Self Propelled Gun
Having artillery that can take swipes at light mechs or hovercraft looking to flank should be quite useful. Plus robust AMS should keep annoying LRM strikes and counter fire from stopping our fire missions.
[X] Gavin II - Command
[X]Gavin II - Missile
[X] Sheridan II Cavalry Fighting Vehicle
[X] Sheridan II Missile Cavalry Fighting Vehicle
Omni-vehicles are generally worth the extra expense and I like having a series of standardized logistic needs for our military whenever possible. Avoiding the nightmare that is the IS system of supplying dozens different designs is paramount. Someone needs to check up on the Challenger people, maybe make sure the design team is getting enough sleep and their offices are properly ventilated.
[X] Creusot Self Propelled Gun
Having artillery that can take swipes at light mechs or hovercraft looking to flank should be quite useful. Plus robust AMS should keep annoying LRM strikes and counter fire from stopping our fire missions.
Thors_Alumni
Well-known member
Boy are those kids in for a surprise. and so will the Professor's but really the kids are the important ones.
[X]Thank the outfit for their honesty and leave it be, there was no criminal intent after all
- [X] Not only was there no criminal intent, there was no criminal *action* unless you consider the legitimate authorizations issued by suborned officials to be retroactively illegitimate *even* when issued to an innocent third party which followed them in good faith. Frankly, that would be a terribad legal precedent.
- [X] Not only was there no criminal intent, there was no criminal *action* unless you consider the legitimate authorizations issued by suborned officials to be retroactively illegitimate *even* when issued to an innocent third party which followed them in good faith. Frankly, that would be a terribad legal precedent.
Nikandros
Well-known member
[X] Thank the outfit for their honesty and leave it be, there was no criminal intent after all
[X] Archduke Command Vehicle
[X] Myrmidon Assault IFV
[X] Minuteman Assault Missile IFV
[X] Sheridan II Cavalry Fighting Vehicle
[X] Sheridan II Missile Cavalry Fighting Vehicle
[X] Bishop Assault SPG (No Strategic material usage, better cost, deeper magazines, while having same HP and A/D, and still having 1 AMS)
[X] Archduke Command Vehicle
[X] Myrmidon Assault IFV
[X] Minuteman Assault Missile IFV
[X] Sheridan II Cavalry Fighting Vehicle
[X] Sheridan II Missile Cavalry Fighting Vehicle
[X] Bishop Assault SPG (No Strategic material usage, better cost, deeper magazines, while having same HP and A/D, and still having 1 AMS)
Winter_Wind45
Well-known member
[X]Thank the outfit for their honesty and leave it be, there was no criminal intent after all
- [X] Not only was there no criminal intent, there was no criminal *action* unless you consider the legitimate authorizations issued by suborned officials to be retroactively illegitimate *even* when issued to an innocent third party which followed them in good faith. Frankly, that would be a terribad legal precedent.
[X]Gavin II - Cannon
[X] Gavin II - Command
[X]Gavin II - Missile
[X] Sheridan II Cavalry Fighting Vehicle
[X] Sheridan II Missile Cavalry Fighting Vehicle
[X] Creusot Self Propelled Gun
- [X] Not only was there no criminal intent, there was no criminal *action* unless you consider the legitimate authorizations issued by suborned officials to be retroactively illegitimate *even* when issued to an innocent third party which followed them in good faith. Frankly, that would be a terribad legal precedent.
[X]Gavin II - Cannon
[X] Gavin II - Command
[X]Gavin II - Missile
[X] Sheridan II Cavalry Fighting Vehicle
[X] Sheridan II Missile Cavalry Fighting Vehicle
[X] Creusot Self Propelled Gun
namar13766
Well-known member
Wouldn't they need people from sociology, psychology, economics, or linguistics if it was Aliens too?
These are excitable college kids, there are intentionally multiple holes in their logic here. Also, what the kid is thinking is that the lack of sociology, psychology, economics, and linguistics means *ancient* aliens, as in a dead civilization as opposed to first contact with a live species.
Turn 53 - From Soho Down To Brighton
Turn 53 - From Soho Down To Brighton
You get a memo from Jeremy, you have 5 current units that they would like to upgrade to the new Medium Power Armor, specifically the two new Assault Regiments and the 3 remaining Armored Cavalry Regiments, the total cost would be a nice round $72,000. You have to do some digging and determine that this includes the expenses for the DURF facility itself.
You sign off on various designs, leaving the internal design staff grumbling a little as you source everything from Majeure Electrique. You evidently are frustrating them, as when they focus on maximizing performance you always go with cost, and when they focus on cost you go with performance. Good, keeps them on their toes.
Several days later Jeremy comes into your office, now on crutches rather than in the medical chair as he adjusts to his new legs. “Well, I’m still not cleared for piloting, but we have a new mech which has allowed us to reconstitute the Light Horse Regiments as a ‘lighter’ counterpart to the Armored Cavalry Regiments.” he passes a datapad over for you to look at. “Summary, another quad, with a 5 pack LRM launcher in the left torso, an enhanced PPC in the right, extended range 5cm lasers in each torso, and a TAG. Well armored for a light mech, with a good solid turn of speed. We’re calling it the Kavallerie, in keeping with the Soldatin theme of our heavy mechs. We weren’t able to fit an AMS system, but even with CASE the risk of ammunition cook-offs was deemed too high to sacrifice anything for it.”
“We’re going to be organizing these 3 to 1 with our existing Orb Weaver design. All four are capable of supporting power armored infantry, and our simulations show that the unit should be able to match up with Drac Jenners quite comfortably. The new Light Horse Battalion set would be 2 companies of these mechs in that configuration, and 1 Armored Cavalry Command Company, while the Regiment will be three such battalions.” Jeremy shrugs slightly. “But that brings us to another question.”
“Yes?” you ask, as he takes out a small stack of datapads.
“Simply, we have a total of thirty six surviving Mechwarriors from 1st and 3rd Armored Division who are fit to return to the cockpit… eventually.” he says with a grimace. “This includes myself and al-Aziz, which leaves 34. All of them have indicated that they wish to return to the front lines, but history shows that that may not be the wisest course of action.”
He takes a deep breath. “I spoke with Sarah about this, and she brought me the relevant information. Back in the Second World War on Old Terra, most of the combatants kept their most experienced and effective troops at the front line, reasoning that their skills and abilities gave them an edge in battle. One, however, very pointedly did the opposite. As soon as any of their people got sufficiently experienced, either via kills for fighter pilots, missions for bomber pilots, or time in theater for everybody else, they’d get rotated back to training positions. As a consequence, they were able to pass on their experience to the latest troops heading to the front, increasing their effectiveness. Over time, this proved to be the far wiser course of action.”
He checks his notes. “This won’t be popular among the troops, Mom, I know that, but I would like to institute this here, with us. Take those Mechwarriors, and instead of assigning them to 1st or 3rd Armored send them to the Aerie, not as part of the Cadre, but rather to teach.”
Parliament is being very very quiet. Which is a good thing. No actual members of either the Chamber of Delegates or Imperial Senate had been directly involved in the oligarchs criminal activities, but too many had benefited from favorable coverage by the media conglomerates that are now in the process of collapsing, and were rather desperately keeping their heads down in the hopes that the voters will forget about it when elections happen next year.
The Eldest is quite amused at this, and is taking the opportunity to troll the hell out of his colleagues by forcing them to vote on all sorts of measures they’d normally shrug off as unimportant or beneath their dignity.
Ahh, well, it keeps the (very) big guy happy, and means less paperwork for you, so you’re happy.
Isoroku has returned from his trip to New Rasalhague, delivering the three salvaged Achilles. He brings with him a request from the New Rasalhaguians. They have the schematics for the Shilone but lack the facilities to produce them, thus they are offering a rather lucrative production contract for up to 36 Shilones a year.
These ASFs use no strategic materials or advanced equipment and there are a number of commercial operations who are interested in taking the contract.
Unicorn heads back to Calliope with an expanded research and survey team, along with a diplomatic team to make initial contact with the Steam Age settlement on Calliope IV. You have to decide the basic posture of the diplomats, since you won’t have any real way to communicate with them in real time until you’ve developed HPGs.
Isoroku sets several possibilities before you, which will serve as the basic instructions to the ambassadors you send.
Ultimately it all comes down to a simple question: What is your ultimate goal? Assimilation? In which case your diplomats would be working to convince the locals that it is in their best interest to become part of the Griffon Empire, hopefully leading to peaceful integration down the road. Uplift? Your diplomats would focus on building up the locals so that they become a viable trading partner down the road. Isoroku only mentions this one for completeness sake, but Conquest? Your diplomats will be aggressive and the harbingers of a future invasion in which you seize the planet by force.
There’s one other upgrade that is on the table, the new unit organizations for deployable units means that the Tarawa-class dropships are no longer suitable for transporting an Armored or Mechanized Regiment. A modification stripping out the ASF launch bays allows for the expansion of the infantry compartment, albeit at the cost of a significant increase in, well, cost for procurement. The changes themselves are ridiculously simple to implement, however, and you only have 2 of the transports in service, thus it would be trivially easy to get them converted to this new conversion at the upgrade facility at no net cost to the Treasury.
And last, but certainly not least, a pair of new combat vehicles has been trialled and accepted into service, both fitting niche roles. The Chaparral Arrow-IV Artillery Tank has been in testing for almost a decade now, but only recently have the last of the kinks been worked out of the ambitious weapons system. Paired Arrow-IV launchers and a deep magazine permit the Chaparral to rain down destruction, however the systems ‘party piece’ is the 5 rounds of Surface-to-Air Arrow IV’s tied into a Nollak provided fire control system, giving the platform a nasty anti-ASF punch.
The other design is another Nollak special that has Willis muttering balefully. The Shilka Air Defense Tank pairs two of the lightest LB-X autocannons with a pair of extended range 8cm lasers, all on a lighter and more mobile chassis than the existing Skysweeper.
You get a memo from Jeremy, you have 5 current units that they would like to upgrade to the new Medium Power Armor, specifically the two new Assault Regiments and the 3 remaining Armored Cavalry Regiments, the total cost would be a nice round $72,000. You have to do some digging and determine that this includes the expenses for the DURF facility itself.
| [] | Upgrade Now |
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| [] | Hold off |
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You sign off on various designs, leaving the internal design staff grumbling a little as you source everything from Majeure Electrique. You evidently are frustrating them, as when they focus on maximizing performance you always go with cost, and when they focus on cost you go with performance. Good, keeps them on their toes.
Several days later Jeremy comes into your office, now on crutches rather than in the medical chair as he adjusts to his new legs. “Well, I’m still not cleared for piloting, but we have a new mech which has allowed us to reconstitute the Light Horse Regiments as a ‘lighter’ counterpart to the Armored Cavalry Regiments.” he passes a datapad over for you to look at. “Summary, another quad, with a 5 pack LRM launcher in the left torso, an enhanced PPC in the right, extended range 5cm lasers in each torso, and a TAG. Well armored for a light mech, with a good solid turn of speed. We’re calling it the Kavallerie, in keeping with the Soldatin theme of our heavy mechs. We weren’t able to fit an AMS system, but even with CASE the risk of ammunition cook-offs was deemed too high to sacrifice anything for it.”
| Name | Cost | Materials | HP | A/D | Specials |
| Kavallerie Light Cavalry Mech | 415.54 | ES, DHS | 24 | 24 |
|
“We’re going to be organizing these 3 to 1 with our existing Orb Weaver design. All four are capable of supporting power armored infantry, and our simulations show that the unit should be able to match up with Drac Jenners quite comfortably. The new Light Horse Battalion set would be 2 companies of these mechs in that configuration, and 1 Armored Cavalry Command Company, while the Regiment will be three such battalions.” Jeremy shrugs slightly. “But that brings us to another question.”
“Yes?” you ask, as he takes out a small stack of datapads.
“Simply, we have a total of thirty six surviving Mechwarriors from 1st and 3rd Armored Division who are fit to return to the cockpit… eventually.” he says with a grimace. “This includes myself and al-Aziz, which leaves 34. All of them have indicated that they wish to return to the front lines, but history shows that that may not be the wisest course of action.”
He takes a deep breath. “I spoke with Sarah about this, and she brought me the relevant information. Back in the Second World War on Old Terra, most of the combatants kept their most experienced and effective troops at the front line, reasoning that their skills and abilities gave them an edge in battle. One, however, very pointedly did the opposite. As soon as any of their people got sufficiently experienced, either via kills for fighter pilots, missions for bomber pilots, or time in theater for everybody else, they’d get rotated back to training positions. As a consequence, they were able to pass on their experience to the latest troops heading to the front, increasing their effectiveness. Over time, this proved to be the far wiser course of action.”
He checks his notes. “This won’t be popular among the troops, Mom, I know that, but I would like to institute this here, with us. Take those Mechwarriors, and instead of assigning them to 1st or 3rd Armored send them to the Aerie, not as part of the Cadre, but rather to teach.”
| [] | Just do it |
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| [] | Don’t do it |
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Parliament is being very very quiet. Which is a good thing. No actual members of either the Chamber of Delegates or Imperial Senate had been directly involved in the oligarchs criminal activities, but too many had benefited from favorable coverage by the media conglomerates that are now in the process of collapsing, and were rather desperately keeping their heads down in the hopes that the voters will forget about it when elections happen next year.
The Eldest is quite amused at this, and is taking the opportunity to troll the hell out of his colleagues by forcing them to vote on all sorts of measures they’d normally shrug off as unimportant or beneath their dignity.
Ahh, well, it keeps the (very) big guy happy, and means less paperwork for you, so you’re happy.
Isoroku has returned from his trip to New Rasalhague, delivering the three salvaged Achilles. He brings with him a request from the New Rasalhaguians. They have the schematics for the Shilone but lack the facilities to produce them, thus they are offering a rather lucrative production contract for up to 36 Shilones a year.
These ASFs use no strategic materials or advanced equipment and there are a number of commercial operations who are interested in taking the contract.
| [] | Arsenal of FREEDOM! |
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| [] | Not worth it |
|
Unicorn heads back to Calliope with an expanded research and survey team, along with a diplomatic team to make initial contact with the Steam Age settlement on Calliope IV. You have to decide the basic posture of the diplomats, since you won’t have any real way to communicate with them in real time until you’ve developed HPGs.
Isoroku sets several possibilities before you, which will serve as the basic instructions to the ambassadors you send.
Ultimately it all comes down to a simple question: What is your ultimate goal? Assimilation? In which case your diplomats would be working to convince the locals that it is in their best interest to become part of the Griffon Empire, hopefully leading to peaceful integration down the road. Uplift? Your diplomats would focus on building up the locals so that they become a viable trading partner down the road. Isoroku only mentions this one for completeness sake, but Conquest? Your diplomats will be aggressive and the harbingers of a future invasion in which you seize the planet by force.
| [] | Assimilation |
| [] | Uplift |
| [] | Conquest |
There’s one other upgrade that is on the table, the new unit organizations for deployable units means that the Tarawa-class dropships are no longer suitable for transporting an Armored or Mechanized Regiment. A modification stripping out the ASF launch bays allows for the expansion of the infantry compartment, albeit at the cost of a significant increase in, well, cost for procurement. The changes themselves are ridiculously simple to implement, however, and you only have 2 of the transports in service, thus it would be trivially easy to get them converted to this new conversion at the upgrade facility at no net cost to the Treasury.
And last, but certainly not least, a pair of new combat vehicles has been trialled and accepted into service, both fitting niche roles. The Chaparral Arrow-IV Artillery Tank has been in testing for almost a decade now, but only recently have the last of the kinks been worked out of the ambitious weapons system. Paired Arrow-IV launchers and a deep magazine permit the Chaparral to rain down destruction, however the systems ‘party piece’ is the 5 rounds of Surface-to-Air Arrow IV’s tied into a Nollak provided fire control system, giving the platform a nasty anti-ASF punch.
The other design is another Nollak special that has Willis muttering balefully. The Shilka Air Defense Tank pairs two of the lightest LB-X autocannons with a pair of extended range 8cm lasers, all on a lighter and more mobile chassis than the existing Skysweeper.
Jarow
Well-known member
[X] Upgrade Now
Brings us closer to not having our infantry outmatched.
[X] Just do it
It'd be nice to let them keep fighting, but we need more elite troops more than we need a handful of elite troops on the field (or the small amount of money this helps us get)
[X] Arsenal of FREEDOM!
We just proved we can take a significantly harder aerospace fight than this will create, and having an effective ally in this fight would be nice.
[X] Assimilation
Expansion via diplomacy seems a desirable path to me. Will probably take a lot of uplifting to really get monetary/industrial benefits, but just acquiring a new source of population would be helpful.
Brings us closer to not having our infantry outmatched.
[X] Just do it
It'd be nice to let them keep fighting, but we need more elite troops more than we need a handful of elite troops on the field (or the small amount of money this helps us get)
[X] Arsenal of FREEDOM!
We just proved we can take a significantly harder aerospace fight than this will create, and having an effective ally in this fight would be nice.
[X] Assimilation
Expansion via diplomacy seems a desirable path to me. Will probably take a lot of uplifting to really get monetary/industrial benefits, but just acquiring a new source of population would be helpful.
[X] Upgrade Now
[X] Just do it
[X] Arsenal of FREEDOM!
[X] Conquest
[X] Just do it
[X] Arsenal of FREEDOM!
[X] Conquest
edofthesquid
Well-known member
[X] Upgrade Now
[X] Just do it
[X] Arsenal of FREEDOM!
[X] Assimilation
[X] Just do it
[X] Arsenal of FREEDOM!
[X] Assimilation
Winter_Wind45
Well-known member
[X] Upgrade Now
[X] Just do it
[X] Arsenal of FREEDOM!
[X] Assimilation
[X] Just do it
[X] Arsenal of FREEDOM!
[X] Assimilation