- Location
- Southampton, Great Britain
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Fixed. Thanks for catching that.
Aurigan Sentinels (Battle CYOA)
- Thread starter Oshha
- Start date
- Sci-Fi
- Location
- The deathworld-in-miniature that is Australia
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Ehhh... not sure I'd be so hot to grab Shadow Hawks if they're using tabletop stats - they're pretty universally terrible imo until at least the 3060s or 3080s or so. If using HBStech stats with the rebalanced autocannons, on the other hand, they're amazing. And they're supposedly pretty damn good in the lore, as well as being okay to great in various Mechwarrior games, it's really just tabletop Battletech where they suck (that fricking AC/5 does not work as a main gun with tabletop stats. Supplementing a PPC it does wonders in the era of Single Heat Sinks, but not on its own).
Now, if you have someone that can not only throw together a refit like Yang can but also standardise it into a new variant, and can get a hold of the schematics or at least the design notes for either the standard -2H or Davion -2D and the Kuritan -2K, in order to use the work the Kuritans did on rejiggering that AC mount into an Energy one without ripping out almost every other weapon in favour of far too many heat sinks for the remaining weapons like they did, as well as hopefully cramming an extra two Jump Jets in, there's some good builds you can do with a Large Laser or PPC where the AC/5 is and the rest of a -2H or -2D's weapons mounts, but otherwise, using tabletop stats, the existing Shadow Hawk variants of this era would not be my choice for a 5/8 unit - very much 'jack of all trades, master of none', but not in a useful way. If you can at all take either the -6R or -6M Wolverine over any introtech Shadow Hawk in tabletop, do it without a second thought. But iirc the first iteration of this story used HBStech balancing, so presumably this one will too, in which case the Shadow Hawk is a really solid choice.
For a Trooper medium that's not the Centurion and might be something the Coalition already has the specs for, the Hunchback-4H is really solid, and if HBStech stats are being used, the -4N is basically a slower, better armed and armoured Shadow Hawk. As an added benefit, if it's at all possible to squeeze, like, a line and a half out of your tooling, with an eye to expanding later, the Hunchback is basically the one chassis in this era that you could legitimately build entire companies out of nothing but variants of it, and have almost all your bases covered (other than speed and jumping). You've got long-range fire-support models, close-in brawler models (in three different flavours!), a decent(tabletop)-to-amazing(HBS) generalist, and a really solid mid-range trooper design. All of which share the vast majority of their components!
Now, if you have someone that can not only throw together a refit like Yang can but also standardise it into a new variant, and can get a hold of the schematics or at least the design notes for either the standard -2H or Davion -2D and the Kuritan -2K, in order to use the work the Kuritans did on rejiggering that AC mount into an Energy one without ripping out almost every other weapon in favour of far too many heat sinks for the remaining weapons like they did, as well as hopefully cramming an extra two Jump Jets in, there's some good builds you can do with a Large Laser or PPC where the AC/5 is and the rest of a -2H or -2D's weapons mounts, but otherwise, using tabletop stats, the existing Shadow Hawk variants of this era would not be my choice for a 5/8 unit - very much 'jack of all trades, master of none', but not in a useful way. If you can at all take either the -6R or -6M Wolverine over any introtech Shadow Hawk in tabletop, do it without a second thought. But iirc the first iteration of this story used HBStech balancing, so presumably this one will too, in which case the Shadow Hawk is a really solid choice.
For a Trooper medium that's not the Centurion and might be something the Coalition already has the specs for, the Hunchback-4H is really solid, and if HBStech stats are being used, the -4N is basically a slower, better armed and armoured Shadow Hawk. As an added benefit, if it's at all possible to squeeze, like, a line and a half out of your tooling, with an eye to expanding later, the Hunchback is basically the one chassis in this era that you could legitimately build entire companies out of nothing but variants of it, and have almost all your bases covered (other than speed and jumping). You've got long-range fire-support models, close-in brawler models (in three different flavours!), a decent(tabletop)-to-amazing(HBS) generalist, and a really solid mid-range trooper design. All of which share the vast majority of their components!
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Interlude - Kamea Arano
- Location
- Southampton, Great Britain
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Cordia City, Coromodir
Aurigan Reach, Aurigan Coalition
27th August 3020
"Things have turned out about as well as we could have hoped," muses her father as Kamea joins her parents, her uncle and her best friend of a cousin to discuss the latest player in the Reach.
Elizabeth Nora is something of a mystery to Kamea despite the Arano heiress best efforts to research her after hearing the news about the battleship and its accompanying fleet of JumpShips and DropShips. She isn't a total mystery, but there are too many blanks for Kamea to figure her out.
Torn between a minor family here in the Reach and a not so minor family in the Free Worlds League, Elizabeth Nora has threaded the needle of not being accepted by the nobles in either half of her family. Upon learning that, Kamea expected her to be resentful of being shown up by her younger sisters, but after the interviews with her family, she concluded that Nora was very good at concealing her true feelings or her initial assumptions are horribly off the mark.
Kamea suspects the former. If she had any younger siblings, she can't imagine losing her rightful status in life to any of them and the Arano heiress can't see how someone as naturally talented and bright as Elizabeth Nora could. It must sting to lose out on her rightful place as the eldest thanks to having the wrong father.
"I'm glad she made a good impression on you," says her mother.
"A bit rough around the edges, but she has excellent potential to be a useful asset," says Uncle Santiago, "She is a loyal, capable and ambitious young woman who has the right sort of ambition and is more than someone who just got very lucky. Miss Nora's education is lacking, but that is easily remedied, especially according to several of her past teachers who note how much of a quick study she is."
"I thought she had excellent grades at school and college?" inquires Victoria.
"She does," replies Uncle Santiago, "I don't mean to imply that her existing education has been poor, but she is lacking when it comes to her new status in life. Miss Nora is well educated for her old station, she lacks the knowledge that she needs for her new station even if she is actively trying to rectify that. The sort of expertise that the likes of us are taught whilst growing up."
"Not that it stopped her from being polite and respectful," says her father, "She clearly had no idea of proper protocol, but not once did I feel insulted or disrespected during our meeting earlier."
"Indeed," agrees Uncle Santiago, "Miss Nora was quite clearly out of her depth despite her best efforts to hide it, but she was no worse than I was expecting from a civilian commoner. Like Tamati, I found nothing offensive from her behaviour even if I wouldn't tolerate it from a serving member of the ACM or a fellow noble from the Reach."
"You sound quite pleased with her, Sandy," notes Kamea's mother.
"I am and I wish to cultivate her as an asset," answers Uncle Santiago, "She has great potential that can be used to the benefit of both our houses and the Reach as a whole and we are in an ideal position to nurture both that potential and loyalty from her."
"Speaking of that ideal position, you'll be pleased to hear, Kamea, that Miss Nora agreed to allow you and Victoria to sign up with her budding Aurigan Sentinels," says her father as he turns his attention from his wife and brother-in-law to his daughter.
"Yes!" hisses Kamea in excitement as she thinks of the possibilities.
It won't be the same as signing up with the ACM, but Elizabeth Nora's mercenary unit offers far more benefits than it does drawbacks. She won't be able to throw her family name about as much, but she'll have the chance to see some real action. She won't be able to prove herself as a MechWarrior in the ACM unless things have gone horribly wrong, but signing up with some father-approved mercenaries will let her show people that she is a true MechWarrior.
And she'll have a shot at piloting a heavier 'Mech than the family Kintaro. Not that she has anything against it, but the ageing war machine isn't an assault 'Mech or even a heavy 'Mech. Elizabeth Nora has found plenty of the latter with two companies of assault 'Mechs and a battalion of heavy 'Mechs, which is more than what the ACM can muster up as the Reach's military only has a battalion's worth of heavies and a single company of assaults on a good day.
If she is lucky, they'll take the odd contact outside the Reach and face some real opponents. Not just pirates or militias, but proper house regulars like the TDF or CCAF or even the AFFS. The Feddies have to be pissed at Elizabeth Nora right? She found everything in the Federated Suns so they must look at her and see a thief right? Kamea knows that she would be in the First Prince's place.
Actually, maybe she should be hoping that the Davions don't consider Elizabeth Nora to be a thief. While it would certainly get them some Taurian support, an invasion by the Federated Suns would be a total disaster for the Coalition. Perhaps Kamea will get her shot against the AFFS if the Taurians or Cappies hire them for a raid against the Feddies.
"I expect you to behave as well as you would if you had joined the ACM as originally planned," warns her father and Kamea nods her assent as she expected nothing less, "I have also volunteered you to teach Miss Nora how to function in high society."
"Excuse me?" replies Kamea as this is the first that she has heard of this.
"Miss Nora needs an instructor on the various parts of being a noble," explains her father, "You should know all of that so I told her you would be a teacher to her. Consider your tutoring of Miss Nora to be a test of your skills as my heir and the future ruler of the Aurigan Coalition. It will show that not only do you understand your upbringing, but you can pass on the lessons you've learnt to others."
"It is also an ideal opportunity for you to gain the friendship and loyalty of Miss Nora," adds Uncle Santiago, "As I mentioned, she is a talented young woman with plenty of untapped potential and given that you are the same age as her, this is an ideal opportunity for you to secure a trusted subordinate for when you are the High Lady of the Reach. At the very least, you can get a loyal and capable hatchetwoman who wields military power where its nominal independence will allow for plausible deniability."
"I agree with Sandy, my little bird," says her mother, "You have an excellent chance to cultivate Elizabeth Nora into a loyal and trusted supporter of yours. It is not something to be wasted."
"Consider it another test of your abilities," says her father, "Take advantage of the proximity to Miss Nora that you'll have and use it to cultivate a trusted ally. I can assure you that as High Lady, you'll never have enough of those."
"Of course, Father," replies Kamea.
Before going to bed that night, Kamea makes sure to redo some of her research into Elizabeth Nora using the newest information on her. The meeting didn't completely focus on Elizabeth Nora, but the woman had made enough of an upset that the majority of their attention was focused on her. Showing up in the middle of the Third Succession War with a working WarShip will do that.
Okay, Elizabeth's somewhat impressive resume on paper has proven to have enough basis in reality that both her father and uncle were impressed by it. Elizabeth Nora is also enough of a patriot that rather than seeking out a suitable Successor Lord to support her, she came back to the Reach instead. She even had the Davions lined up as her preferred Great House to seek out.
She isn't the sort to just hand away what she has found, but at the same time, both her father and Uncle Santiago made it clear that Nora was unprepared for the possibility of a title and landholding. Not things she sought out though Kamea doesn't know why she accepted them so readily. Was Elizabeth Nora just surprised and actually wanted them or did she just accept the reasoning of the men?
And now Kamea needs to befriend her and basically make a loyal subordinate out of her. No biggie since she has made friends before like Victoria and Alexander. She needs to figure out what Nora looks for in friends.
Yet as Kamea looks into Elizabeth Nora both in the dossier that her father has compiled and what can be found on the planetary internet, the Arano heiress quickly realises that her future employer is a loner. She isn't anti-social, but after spending over an hour investigating her, Kamea is unable to find anybody who is more than a friendly acquaintance to Elizabeth Nora. At best, she makes friends at her current school or college and then loses touch with them once they no longer share the same classes.
It's sad, but Kamea thinks she can work with that. She'll be employed with her and between her social rank and tutoring status, the Arano heiress will be able to get close to Nora. From there, she just needs to get on friendly terms with Nora and make sure that the two of them stay in touch. If Kamea can ensure that an outside factor is keeping them together, then any friendship that she strikes up should last.
"Kamea," says her mother, startling Kamea out of her thoughts, "I know you are an adult now, but you are up later than you should be."
"Sorry, Mother," replies Kamea, bashfully with a tint of defiance as she looks up to see that her mother has entered her spacious bedroom, "I was just looking into Elizabeth Nora again. I thought I had her figured out, but the stuff that came up in the meeting doesn't fit my assumptions."
"So you were reevaluating her in light of the new information," concludes her mother.
"Exactly," confirms Kamea, "Especially since everyone wants me to befriend her."
"You know that is for your own good," says her mother and Kamea sighs, "Regardless of what else she might be useful for in the future, the Aurigan Sentinels are looking to be equal to two understrength House Guards or one overstrength one. You want her and the firepower in her corner on your side, especially since unlike the actual House Guards, it won't be beholden to the Founding Council to act."
"Let me guess, Father is looking to use Nora and the Aurigan Sentinels to retrieve the Argo?" guesses Kamea.
"He is considering it, but he is waiting until Miss Nora has put enough of her mercenary unit together for it to be viable," answers her mother, "For now, he is going to content himself with requesting a tour of the Myrmidon as the Argo's sister ship. As for you, the information will still be waiting for you in the morning and you'll have plenty of time to get on Miss Nora's good side. Get some sleep while you can. I hear that won't always be the case in the military, mercenary or not."
"Of course, mother," replies Kamea as the older woman is right.
Perhaps a good night's sleep will make things clearer for her in the morning.
The first interlude from the perspective of Kamea Arano, set later on in the same day as Elizabeth's meeting with her new bosses. In any case, the Arano and Espinosas have recognised Elizabeth's potential and are trying to tie her closer to them and the Coalition with a side goal of setting her up to be a trusted subordinate of the future High Lady Kamea Arano.
So just as Elizabeth is trying to use them, they are trying to use her. Ans for those wondering why they want to cultivate her, it is a mixture of all of those attributes that I decided to get for her in the CYOA and the fact that she has proven her loyalty by coming back home with her loot instead of running off to someone who pays better.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Aurigan Reach, Aurigan Coalition
27th August 3020
"Things have turned out about as well as we could have hoped," muses her father as Kamea joins her parents, her uncle and her best friend of a cousin to discuss the latest player in the Reach.
Elizabeth Nora is something of a mystery to Kamea despite the Arano heiress best efforts to research her after hearing the news about the battleship and its accompanying fleet of JumpShips and DropShips. She isn't a total mystery, but there are too many blanks for Kamea to figure her out.
Torn between a minor family here in the Reach and a not so minor family in the Free Worlds League, Elizabeth Nora has threaded the needle of not being accepted by the nobles in either half of her family. Upon learning that, Kamea expected her to be resentful of being shown up by her younger sisters, but after the interviews with her family, she concluded that Nora was very good at concealing her true feelings or her initial assumptions are horribly off the mark.
Kamea suspects the former. If she had any younger siblings, she can't imagine losing her rightful status in life to any of them and the Arano heiress can't see how someone as naturally talented and bright as Elizabeth Nora could. It must sting to lose out on her rightful place as the eldest thanks to having the wrong father.
"I'm glad she made a good impression on you," says her mother.
"A bit rough around the edges, but she has excellent potential to be a useful asset," says Uncle Santiago, "She is a loyal, capable and ambitious young woman who has the right sort of ambition and is more than someone who just got very lucky. Miss Nora's education is lacking, but that is easily remedied, especially according to several of her past teachers who note how much of a quick study she is."
"I thought she had excellent grades at school and college?" inquires Victoria.
"She does," replies Uncle Santiago, "I don't mean to imply that her existing education has been poor, but she is lacking when it comes to her new status in life. Miss Nora is well educated for her old station, she lacks the knowledge that she needs for her new station even if she is actively trying to rectify that. The sort of expertise that the likes of us are taught whilst growing up."
"Not that it stopped her from being polite and respectful," says her father, "She clearly had no idea of proper protocol, but not once did I feel insulted or disrespected during our meeting earlier."
"Indeed," agrees Uncle Santiago, "Miss Nora was quite clearly out of her depth despite her best efforts to hide it, but she was no worse than I was expecting from a civilian commoner. Like Tamati, I found nothing offensive from her behaviour even if I wouldn't tolerate it from a serving member of the ACM or a fellow noble from the Reach."
"You sound quite pleased with her, Sandy," notes Kamea's mother.
"I am and I wish to cultivate her as an asset," answers Uncle Santiago, "She has great potential that can be used to the benefit of both our houses and the Reach as a whole and we are in an ideal position to nurture both that potential and loyalty from her."
"Speaking of that ideal position, you'll be pleased to hear, Kamea, that Miss Nora agreed to allow you and Victoria to sign up with her budding Aurigan Sentinels," says her father as he turns his attention from his wife and brother-in-law to his daughter.
"Yes!" hisses Kamea in excitement as she thinks of the possibilities.
It won't be the same as signing up with the ACM, but Elizabeth Nora's mercenary unit offers far more benefits than it does drawbacks. She won't be able to throw her family name about as much, but she'll have the chance to see some real action. She won't be able to prove herself as a MechWarrior in the ACM unless things have gone horribly wrong, but signing up with some father-approved mercenaries will let her show people that she is a true MechWarrior.
And she'll have a shot at piloting a heavier 'Mech than the family Kintaro. Not that she has anything against it, but the ageing war machine isn't an assault 'Mech or even a heavy 'Mech. Elizabeth Nora has found plenty of the latter with two companies of assault 'Mechs and a battalion of heavy 'Mechs, which is more than what the ACM can muster up as the Reach's military only has a battalion's worth of heavies and a single company of assaults on a good day.
If she is lucky, they'll take the odd contact outside the Reach and face some real opponents. Not just pirates or militias, but proper house regulars like the TDF or CCAF or even the AFFS. The Feddies have to be pissed at Elizabeth Nora right? She found everything in the Federated Suns so they must look at her and see a thief right? Kamea knows that she would be in the First Prince's place.
Actually, maybe she should be hoping that the Davions don't consider Elizabeth Nora to be a thief. While it would certainly get them some Taurian support, an invasion by the Federated Suns would be a total disaster for the Coalition. Perhaps Kamea will get her shot against the AFFS if the Taurians or Cappies hire them for a raid against the Feddies.
"I expect you to behave as well as you would if you had joined the ACM as originally planned," warns her father and Kamea nods her assent as she expected nothing less, "I have also volunteered you to teach Miss Nora how to function in high society."
"Excuse me?" replies Kamea as this is the first that she has heard of this.
"Miss Nora needs an instructor on the various parts of being a noble," explains her father, "You should know all of that so I told her you would be a teacher to her. Consider your tutoring of Miss Nora to be a test of your skills as my heir and the future ruler of the Aurigan Coalition. It will show that not only do you understand your upbringing, but you can pass on the lessons you've learnt to others."
"It is also an ideal opportunity for you to gain the friendship and loyalty of Miss Nora," adds Uncle Santiago, "As I mentioned, she is a talented young woman with plenty of untapped potential and given that you are the same age as her, this is an ideal opportunity for you to secure a trusted subordinate for when you are the High Lady of the Reach. At the very least, you can get a loyal and capable hatchetwoman who wields military power where its nominal independence will allow for plausible deniability."
"I agree with Sandy, my little bird," says her mother, "You have an excellent chance to cultivate Elizabeth Nora into a loyal and trusted supporter of yours. It is not something to be wasted."
"Consider it another test of your abilities," says her father, "Take advantage of the proximity to Miss Nora that you'll have and use it to cultivate a trusted ally. I can assure you that as High Lady, you'll never have enough of those."
"Of course, Father," replies Kamea.
***
Before going to bed that night, Kamea makes sure to redo some of her research into Elizabeth Nora using the newest information on her. The meeting didn't completely focus on Elizabeth Nora, but the woman had made enough of an upset that the majority of their attention was focused on her. Showing up in the middle of the Third Succession War with a working WarShip will do that.
Okay, Elizabeth's somewhat impressive resume on paper has proven to have enough basis in reality that both her father and uncle were impressed by it. Elizabeth Nora is also enough of a patriot that rather than seeking out a suitable Successor Lord to support her, she came back to the Reach instead. She even had the Davions lined up as her preferred Great House to seek out.
She isn't the sort to just hand away what she has found, but at the same time, both her father and Uncle Santiago made it clear that Nora was unprepared for the possibility of a title and landholding. Not things she sought out though Kamea doesn't know why she accepted them so readily. Was Elizabeth Nora just surprised and actually wanted them or did she just accept the reasoning of the men?
And now Kamea needs to befriend her and basically make a loyal subordinate out of her. No biggie since she has made friends before like Victoria and Alexander. She needs to figure out what Nora looks for in friends.
Yet as Kamea looks into Elizabeth Nora both in the dossier that her father has compiled and what can be found on the planetary internet, the Arano heiress quickly realises that her future employer is a loner. She isn't anti-social, but after spending over an hour investigating her, Kamea is unable to find anybody who is more than a friendly acquaintance to Elizabeth Nora. At best, she makes friends at her current school or college and then loses touch with them once they no longer share the same classes.
It's sad, but Kamea thinks she can work with that. She'll be employed with her and between her social rank and tutoring status, the Arano heiress will be able to get close to Nora. From there, she just needs to get on friendly terms with Nora and make sure that the two of them stay in touch. If Kamea can ensure that an outside factor is keeping them together, then any friendship that she strikes up should last.
"Kamea," says her mother, startling Kamea out of her thoughts, "I know you are an adult now, but you are up later than you should be."
"Sorry, Mother," replies Kamea, bashfully with a tint of defiance as she looks up to see that her mother has entered her spacious bedroom, "I was just looking into Elizabeth Nora again. I thought I had her figured out, but the stuff that came up in the meeting doesn't fit my assumptions."
"So you were reevaluating her in light of the new information," concludes her mother.
"Exactly," confirms Kamea, "Especially since everyone wants me to befriend her."
"You know that is for your own good," says her mother and Kamea sighs, "Regardless of what else she might be useful for in the future, the Aurigan Sentinels are looking to be equal to two understrength House Guards or one overstrength one. You want her and the firepower in her corner on your side, especially since unlike the actual House Guards, it won't be beholden to the Founding Council to act."
"Let me guess, Father is looking to use Nora and the Aurigan Sentinels to retrieve the Argo?" guesses Kamea.
"He is considering it, but he is waiting until Miss Nora has put enough of her mercenary unit together for it to be viable," answers her mother, "For now, he is going to content himself with requesting a tour of the Myrmidon as the Argo's sister ship. As for you, the information will still be waiting for you in the morning and you'll have plenty of time to get on Miss Nora's good side. Get some sleep while you can. I hear that won't always be the case in the military, mercenary or not."
"Of course, mother," replies Kamea as the older woman is right.
Perhaps a good night's sleep will make things clearer for her in the morning.
***
The first interlude from the perspective of Kamea Arano, set later on in the same day as Elizabeth's meeting with her new bosses. In any case, the Arano and Espinosas have recognised Elizabeth's potential and are trying to tie her closer to them and the Coalition with a side goal of setting her up to be a trusted subordinate of the future High Lady Kamea Arano.
So just as Elizabeth is trying to use them, they are trying to use her. Ans for those wondering why they want to cultivate her, it is a mixture of all of those attributes that I decided to get for her in the CYOA and the fact that she has proven her loyalty by coming back home with her loot instead of running off to someone who pays better.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Not sure Kamea so much as made friends with Victoria as was raised alongside her as cousins
- Location
- Right next to the butcher's shop.
So far, this has been pretty similar to the old version, if better written. I do hope it doesn't go down the same 'take all our stuff, you're the MC after all' route as the original. Especially the Argo: she's going to get sent to help retrieve it, and getting paid for it, so hopefully she won't also somehow get ownership. At least, I vaguely remember something like that happening last time. Or her getting to claim the castle site for free, and keeping it.
Anyway, looking forward to where this goes. It's still very much in the 'collecting stuff' phase, which is where most battletech stories die. Hopefully there'll be a storyline to build towards.
Anyway, looking forward to where this goes. It's still very much in the 'collecting stuff' phase, which is where most battletech stories die. Hopefully there'll be a storyline to build towards.
I was indeed assuming HBS AC rules, because why wouldn't you.
I didn't really think of the Hunchback for the petty reason that I think it's ugly, but you're right that its various variants constitute a pretty complete ecosystem.
Every one I can think of does have jump jets, too.
Interlude - Tojo Jarlath
- Location
- Southampton, Great Britain
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Hilton Head, North America
Terra, Sol System
4th August 3020
"How in the name of Blake did ROM miss a WarShip let alone a McKenna-class Battleship?" demands Precentor Ulthan Everson.
Tojo internally winces at that even as the Precentor ROM remains passive externally. Even if it wasn't his fault and he can prove it, it is a bad look to let someone outside of the Blessed Order get their hands on a functioning WarShip, especially one as powerful as the one that Elizabeth Nora has returned home with.
"Would you like to answer, Precentor Tharkad, Precentor ROM?" says the Primus Julian Tielpolo, the leader of ComStar, pretending to ask without actually asking.
"To the best of our knowledge, the expedition led by Elizabeth Nora uncovered the SLS Tomb-Maker in the Fable system," answers Tojo, "While Fable is an abandoned world and has been for the entirety of the Third Succession War, ROM is still assessing how a WarShip and so much other SLDF equipment could have been missed. A precursory check of the Blessed Order's archive reveals no sign of SLDF presence in the Fable system and while I am having a deeper investigation performed, I'm afraid it will take time to find results if there are any to find. I have also organised an expedition of our own to the Fable system to find answers of what happened there, but I'm afraid getting answers from that is also a matter of time."
"What about our agents in the expedition?" asks Villius Tejh, Precentor Sian, more calmly than his Lyran counterpart, "Surely ROM didn't allow such a major LosTech expedition to go ahead without having some fingers in the pie? For the purpose of preventing a situation like the one that we find ourselves in?"
"I had informants in their ranks, but no actual field agents," answers Tojo, "Had this originated in one of the Successor States or even one of the major Periphery powers, ROM would have certainly been able to properly infiltrate it. As things are, this independent expedition came from a minor Periphery power, a state so insignificant that we don't even put it on our maps. ROM can only stretch itself so far as the Blessed Order's resources are finite."
"That still doesn't explain why we are hearing about it so late after the discovery," points out Tejh, "If I recall correctly, Fable is closer to New Avalon than the rimward border of the Confederation and yet we are only now just hearing about this."
"Elizabeth Nora avoided inhabited star systems on her way home from the Fable system," explains Tojo, "Given the apparent extent of her success, it was a clever decision on her part. Given that the Blessed Order only has a limited presence in her home region, including limited stations, it will delay the knowledge of her WarShip and the reactions to it even further. We are fortunate to learn about it as early as we have. If an Explorer Corps JumpShip hadn't been fortunate enough to be passing though at the time, it could have been several more days before news even reached one of our HPG compounds.
"I can confidently say that none of the Scavenger Lords are aware yet. Even if their local agents have knowledge of the WarShip, they haven't been able to send any HPG messages yet and I have given orders to local precentors in the region to delay any that cross their desks as long as possible without drawing suspicion."
"While I am still unhappy, I am satisfied that ROM has done what it could under the circumstances," declares Tejh.
"As Precentor ROM says, the Blessed Order's resources are not infinite and it is simply unfortunate that this surprise came from the vector it did," says Tiepolo as he looks around the First Circuit, making contact with every member, "Now, I would like to move on to how to contain this situation unless anyone else has any pertinent questions?"
"I do, Primus," says Precentor Dieron, a Draconian man who is beginning to get on with his years, "I wish to know more about who has the battleship. This incident is the first time that I've heard of the Aurigan Coalition and I want to know what we are dealing with before discussing our options."
"I concur with Precentor Dieron," says Precentor Avalon, one Huthrin Vandel, "I must also confess that this is the first time that I've heard of the Aurigan Coalition."
"As I said before, the Aurigan Coalition is a minor Periphery power not worth putting on the map unless you are being a perfectionist," answers Tojo, "Located in the Rimward Periphery, they share a border with both the Capellan Confederation and the Taurian Concordat. The Coalition is relatively wealthy enough that the Blessed Order has a handful of HPG compounds out there, but our presence is minimal, just enough to keep an eye on things should something like the current crisis happen.
"The Aurigan Coalition is a nation in name only and is in truth more of a trade partnership. Their High Lord is very much a first amongst equals to the point that the position carries more prestige than power to it. There is no centralised military and the Aurigan Coalition is actually several independent militarities that cannot act without the consent of the squabbling Founding Council. The High Lord even lacks the ability to deploy them in emergencies. Native production is also lacking as they have no fusion production and the heaviest domestically produced military hardware is heavy-weight combustion-powered combat vehicles such as the Bulldog or both missile carrier variants
"The only notable thing about the Aurigan Coalition is their relative prosperity and wealth for a mere Periphery power. They are basically a bunch of nobodies who got lucky by having one of their own stumble across a WarShip."
"And before we get going, first what are ROM's recommendations for dealing with the SLS Tomb-Maker, Precentor ROM?" asks Tiepolo once it is clear that Tojo is finished.
"Keeping it out of the hands of a somebody," answers Tojo, having made sure to thoroughly research this lest he finds himself losing his position or worse, "It is one thing for some nobodies to have access to a functional WarShip. It is another for one of the Successor States to claim it for their own usage."
"Shouldn't its destruction be the Blessed Order's priority?" asks Precentor Atreus, Pedrigor Aliz, pointedly.
"The idea has been considered, but there are too many factors against it being successful," replies Tojo, having expected and planned for that particular line of questioning, "The primary issue is the functional status of the Tomb-Maker combined with our minimal presence. The WarShip is clearly capable of making multiple jumps and we have no reason to assume that the rest of it isn't just as functional. Furthermore, for all their faults, the Aurigans are capable of fielding multiple ASF squadrons and DropShips in defence of the Tomb-Maker.
"I would like to make it clear to the First Circuit that this won't be a repeat of the Tripitz Affair. The battleship is both functional and public knowledge. Its defences will be greater. While we have ample LosTech at our disposal, after the Jolly Roger Affair, I am not confident that it will be enough to carry the day and we lack the numbers to ensure numerical superiority.
"We could deploy our own WarShips, but that would come with its own set of problems. Ultimately speaking, ROM cannot guarantee that the First Division of the ComGuards will be sufficient to get the job done. While we can rectify that problem with the permission of the First Circuit, it will take time for that to happen. Likewise, it will take time to deploy our forces to a previously irrelevant part of the Periphery."
"How can the ComGuards be insufficient?" demands Precentor Dieron, "Aren't operations like this their intended purpose?"
"This is an unexpected situation and it isn't the first time that the ComGuards have been found lacking," answers Tojo, "The Aurigan Coalition getting their hands on a working WarShip wasn't something we have the resources to prepare for. Furthermore, the overdependence on advanced technology was revealed during the Jolly Rogers affair. This is not the first time that the ComGuards' lack of numbers or experience has raised its head."
"I am curious about how we missed the Tomb-Maker in the first place," muses the Primus, "Do we have any answers on that?"
"The latest SLDF records of the Tomb-Maker had it fighting during the Amaris Coup," replies Tojo, "It was assumed that it was either destroyed by the fighting or taken by Kerensky on his Exodus. We had no reason to believe it was secretly hidden away in the Fable system."
"I would like to get back to the issue of the ComGuards and their inability to do their job," snaps Precentor Dieron.
"That can be dealt with another time," says Tejh before anyone else can reply to Draconian man, "The Tomb-Maker Affair is a time sensitive concern while any solution to the ComGuards will be a long-term matter."
"I concur," says Tiepolo as he silences Precentor Dieron with a glare when the other man opens his mouth again, "Now that we established that direct measures aren't a viable first resort, what does ROM have in mind, Jarlath?"
"The consensus is that a battleship in the hands of some nobodies is preferable to a battleship in the hands of a Scavenger Lord," answers Tojo, "For now, the Tomb-Maker remaining in Aurigan hands is, ah, I would be lying if I said it was a preferable option, but it is certainly the least bad option. To reassure the First Circuit, I want to affirm that this is a short-term measure to contain the situation. Long term, ROM will be looking into eliminating the Tomb-Maker from consideration, but as those will all take time, we need a temporary solution in place."
"I'm sure that the rest of the First Circuit will agree that a temporary solution is acceptable while time is spent on finding a more permanent arrangement," says Tiepolo as the Primus looks up and down the table, only getting varying degrees of acceptance, but no protests either.
"So long as we plan to deal with the battleship and not just leave a functional WarShip in the hands of some Periphery neo-barbs," says Aliz.
"I can assure you that ROM does not to intend let the Elizabeth Nora or the Aurigan Coalition keep a Mckenna-class in their possession," replies Tojo confidently, "We just need time to find a way to accomplish it that has both a sufficient degree of success and doesn't compromise the security of the Blessed Order. I am also happy to report that some good news has come out of this whole unfortunate affair."
That certainly gets the attention of everyone else in the room. Hopefully it will be enough to keep his job secure as while this affair wasn't his fault, Tojo just needs to be left holding the blame to go down.
"As part of ROM's investigation into Elizabeth Nora thanks to her very fortunate find, we found a patent filed for a unique myomer layout for exoskeletons," continues Tojo, "While initially overlooked for being nothing special, a closer inspection has found that it has the potential to be very useful for our Tornado Power Armour. At the moment, the primary drawback of the Tornado suit is that each one needs to be custom fitted for each user, which limits their usability.
"While things are still preliminary right now, it is looking like Miss Nora's myomer layout will allow ROM to standardise our Tornado suits. While making a universal suit is still a ways off, rather than customising each one to the user, we will be able to make a range of sizes that can be field-adjusted to a user of suitable stature. And since I'm sure some of you are wondering this, we do not expect Miss Nora or anyone else to make their own Tornados. It would require the stealth armour that the Blessed Order only acquired from reverse-engineering the few Nighthawks that we inherited from the SLDF."
"Excellent news, Jarlath," says Tiepolo, "I would not be wrong in assuming that this will make ROM's job significantly easier?"
"If things go according to the preliminary report, then we will be able to deploy our Tornados more freely and in greater numbers due to being able to access a wider pool of users,"answers Tojo.
"And what about Elizabeth Nora herself?" asks Tejh, "I dislike how often her name is coming up."
"I am already looking into taking care of her," answers Tojo without hesitating, "While all of the damage might be done at this point, the profile of Elizabeth Nora presents enough of a risk that her termination has been deemed to be worth doing. ROM may need to wait a bit for her to fade from public attention, but eliminating her will be significantly easier for the Blessed Order than eliminating her battleship."
And here we have the ComStar reaction. I'm a bit worried about how much of the update is just talking, but since it is a meeting, that can only be helped so much. In any case, I believe there is enough stuff going on here to leave readers satisfied.
Anyway, the gist of it is that ComStar has been caught off guard by a bunch of nobodies getting their hands on a battleship. Because of this, they are running damage control right now and scrambling for time as they look into more permanent long-term solutions. And make no mistake, they do want the Tomb-Maker off the table, the First Circuit is just choosing to prioritise ensuring that the battleship stays in the hands of the nobodies rather than falling into the hands of a somebody.
After all, the Aurigan Coalition having a functional McKenna is a disaster, but the Federated Suns or the Capellan Confederation getting their hands on it would be an even greater disaster.
That said, ComStar will definitely be causing trouble for Elizabeth and the Aurigan Coalition as they will be the man behind the man for Elizabeth's first big foe.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to. Also please note that this interlude was written a couple of months ago before all of the discussion in the thread so while it touches upon some of the stuff in the thread, that is due to posters making accurate predictions rather than me taking inspiration from the thread.
Terra, Sol System
4th August 3020
"How in the name of Blake did ROM miss a WarShip let alone a McKenna-class Battleship?" demands Precentor Ulthan Everson.
Tojo internally winces at that even as the Precentor ROM remains passive externally. Even if it wasn't his fault and he can prove it, it is a bad look to let someone outside of the Blessed Order get their hands on a functioning WarShip, especially one as powerful as the one that Elizabeth Nora has returned home with.
"Would you like to answer, Precentor Tharkad, Precentor ROM?" says the Primus Julian Tielpolo, the leader of ComStar, pretending to ask without actually asking.
"To the best of our knowledge, the expedition led by Elizabeth Nora uncovered the SLS Tomb-Maker in the Fable system," answers Tojo, "While Fable is an abandoned world and has been for the entirety of the Third Succession War, ROM is still assessing how a WarShip and so much other SLDF equipment could have been missed. A precursory check of the Blessed Order's archive reveals no sign of SLDF presence in the Fable system and while I am having a deeper investigation performed, I'm afraid it will take time to find results if there are any to find. I have also organised an expedition of our own to the Fable system to find answers of what happened there, but I'm afraid getting answers from that is also a matter of time."
"What about our agents in the expedition?" asks Villius Tejh, Precentor Sian, more calmly than his Lyran counterpart, "Surely ROM didn't allow such a major LosTech expedition to go ahead without having some fingers in the pie? For the purpose of preventing a situation like the one that we find ourselves in?"
"I had informants in their ranks, but no actual field agents," answers Tojo, "Had this originated in one of the Successor States or even one of the major Periphery powers, ROM would have certainly been able to properly infiltrate it. As things are, this independent expedition came from a minor Periphery power, a state so insignificant that we don't even put it on our maps. ROM can only stretch itself so far as the Blessed Order's resources are finite."
"That still doesn't explain why we are hearing about it so late after the discovery," points out Tejh, "If I recall correctly, Fable is closer to New Avalon than the rimward border of the Confederation and yet we are only now just hearing about this."
"Elizabeth Nora avoided inhabited star systems on her way home from the Fable system," explains Tojo, "Given the apparent extent of her success, it was a clever decision on her part. Given that the Blessed Order only has a limited presence in her home region, including limited stations, it will delay the knowledge of her WarShip and the reactions to it even further. We are fortunate to learn about it as early as we have. If an Explorer Corps JumpShip hadn't been fortunate enough to be passing though at the time, it could have been several more days before news even reached one of our HPG compounds.
"I can confidently say that none of the Scavenger Lords are aware yet. Even if their local agents have knowledge of the WarShip, they haven't been able to send any HPG messages yet and I have given orders to local precentors in the region to delay any that cross their desks as long as possible without drawing suspicion."
"While I am still unhappy, I am satisfied that ROM has done what it could under the circumstances," declares Tejh.
"As Precentor ROM says, the Blessed Order's resources are not infinite and it is simply unfortunate that this surprise came from the vector it did," says Tiepolo as he looks around the First Circuit, making contact with every member, "Now, I would like to move on to how to contain this situation unless anyone else has any pertinent questions?"
"I do, Primus," says Precentor Dieron, a Draconian man who is beginning to get on with his years, "I wish to know more about who has the battleship. This incident is the first time that I've heard of the Aurigan Coalition and I want to know what we are dealing with before discussing our options."
"I concur with Precentor Dieron," says Precentor Avalon, one Huthrin Vandel, "I must also confess that this is the first time that I've heard of the Aurigan Coalition."
"As I said before, the Aurigan Coalition is a minor Periphery power not worth putting on the map unless you are being a perfectionist," answers Tojo, "Located in the Rimward Periphery, they share a border with both the Capellan Confederation and the Taurian Concordat. The Coalition is relatively wealthy enough that the Blessed Order has a handful of HPG compounds out there, but our presence is minimal, just enough to keep an eye on things should something like the current crisis happen.
"The Aurigan Coalition is a nation in name only and is in truth more of a trade partnership. Their High Lord is very much a first amongst equals to the point that the position carries more prestige than power to it. There is no centralised military and the Aurigan Coalition is actually several independent militarities that cannot act without the consent of the squabbling Founding Council. The High Lord even lacks the ability to deploy them in emergencies. Native production is also lacking as they have no fusion production and the heaviest domestically produced military hardware is heavy-weight combustion-powered combat vehicles such as the Bulldog or both missile carrier variants
"The only notable thing about the Aurigan Coalition is their relative prosperity and wealth for a mere Periphery power. They are basically a bunch of nobodies who got lucky by having one of their own stumble across a WarShip."
"And before we get going, first what are ROM's recommendations for dealing with the SLS Tomb-Maker, Precentor ROM?" asks Tiepolo once it is clear that Tojo is finished.
"Keeping it out of the hands of a somebody," answers Tojo, having made sure to thoroughly research this lest he finds himself losing his position or worse, "It is one thing for some nobodies to have access to a functional WarShip. It is another for one of the Successor States to claim it for their own usage."
"Shouldn't its destruction be the Blessed Order's priority?" asks Precentor Atreus, Pedrigor Aliz, pointedly.
"The idea has been considered, but there are too many factors against it being successful," replies Tojo, having expected and planned for that particular line of questioning, "The primary issue is the functional status of the Tomb-Maker combined with our minimal presence. The WarShip is clearly capable of making multiple jumps and we have no reason to assume that the rest of it isn't just as functional. Furthermore, for all their faults, the Aurigans are capable of fielding multiple ASF squadrons and DropShips in defence of the Tomb-Maker.
"I would like to make it clear to the First Circuit that this won't be a repeat of the Tripitz Affair. The battleship is both functional and public knowledge. Its defences will be greater. While we have ample LosTech at our disposal, after the Jolly Roger Affair, I am not confident that it will be enough to carry the day and we lack the numbers to ensure numerical superiority.
"We could deploy our own WarShips, but that would come with its own set of problems. Ultimately speaking, ROM cannot guarantee that the First Division of the ComGuards will be sufficient to get the job done. While we can rectify that problem with the permission of the First Circuit, it will take time for that to happen. Likewise, it will take time to deploy our forces to a previously irrelevant part of the Periphery."
"How can the ComGuards be insufficient?" demands Precentor Dieron, "Aren't operations like this their intended purpose?"
"This is an unexpected situation and it isn't the first time that the ComGuards have been found lacking," answers Tojo, "The Aurigan Coalition getting their hands on a working WarShip wasn't something we have the resources to prepare for. Furthermore, the overdependence on advanced technology was revealed during the Jolly Rogers affair. This is not the first time that the ComGuards' lack of numbers or experience has raised its head."
"I am curious about how we missed the Tomb-Maker in the first place," muses the Primus, "Do we have any answers on that?"
"The latest SLDF records of the Tomb-Maker had it fighting during the Amaris Coup," replies Tojo, "It was assumed that it was either destroyed by the fighting or taken by Kerensky on his Exodus. We had no reason to believe it was secretly hidden away in the Fable system."
"I would like to get back to the issue of the ComGuards and their inability to do their job," snaps Precentor Dieron.
"That can be dealt with another time," says Tejh before anyone else can reply to Draconian man, "The Tomb-Maker Affair is a time sensitive concern while any solution to the ComGuards will be a long-term matter."
"I concur," says Tiepolo as he silences Precentor Dieron with a glare when the other man opens his mouth again, "Now that we established that direct measures aren't a viable first resort, what does ROM have in mind, Jarlath?"
"The consensus is that a battleship in the hands of some nobodies is preferable to a battleship in the hands of a Scavenger Lord," answers Tojo, "For now, the Tomb-Maker remaining in Aurigan hands is, ah, I would be lying if I said it was a preferable option, but it is certainly the least bad option. To reassure the First Circuit, I want to affirm that this is a short-term measure to contain the situation. Long term, ROM will be looking into eliminating the Tomb-Maker from consideration, but as those will all take time, we need a temporary solution in place."
"I'm sure that the rest of the First Circuit will agree that a temporary solution is acceptable while time is spent on finding a more permanent arrangement," says Tiepolo as the Primus looks up and down the table, only getting varying degrees of acceptance, but no protests either.
"So long as we plan to deal with the battleship and not just leave a functional WarShip in the hands of some Periphery neo-barbs," says Aliz.
"I can assure you that ROM does not to intend let the Elizabeth Nora or the Aurigan Coalition keep a Mckenna-class in their possession," replies Tojo confidently, "We just need time to find a way to accomplish it that has both a sufficient degree of success and doesn't compromise the security of the Blessed Order. I am also happy to report that some good news has come out of this whole unfortunate affair."
That certainly gets the attention of everyone else in the room. Hopefully it will be enough to keep his job secure as while this affair wasn't his fault, Tojo just needs to be left holding the blame to go down.
"As part of ROM's investigation into Elizabeth Nora thanks to her very fortunate find, we found a patent filed for a unique myomer layout for exoskeletons," continues Tojo, "While initially overlooked for being nothing special, a closer inspection has found that it has the potential to be very useful for our Tornado Power Armour. At the moment, the primary drawback of the Tornado suit is that each one needs to be custom fitted for each user, which limits their usability.
"While things are still preliminary right now, it is looking like Miss Nora's myomer layout will allow ROM to standardise our Tornado suits. While making a universal suit is still a ways off, rather than customising each one to the user, we will be able to make a range of sizes that can be field-adjusted to a user of suitable stature. And since I'm sure some of you are wondering this, we do not expect Miss Nora or anyone else to make their own Tornados. It would require the stealth armour that the Blessed Order only acquired from reverse-engineering the few Nighthawks that we inherited from the SLDF."
"Excellent news, Jarlath," says Tiepolo, "I would not be wrong in assuming that this will make ROM's job significantly easier?"
"If things go according to the preliminary report, then we will be able to deploy our Tornados more freely and in greater numbers due to being able to access a wider pool of users,"answers Tojo.
"And what about Elizabeth Nora herself?" asks Tejh, "I dislike how often her name is coming up."
"I am already looking into taking care of her," answers Tojo without hesitating, "While all of the damage might be done at this point, the profile of Elizabeth Nora presents enough of a risk that her termination has been deemed to be worth doing. ROM may need to wait a bit for her to fade from public attention, but eliminating her will be significantly easier for the Blessed Order than eliminating her battleship."
***
And here we have the ComStar reaction. I'm a bit worried about how much of the update is just talking, but since it is a meeting, that can only be helped so much. In any case, I believe there is enough stuff going on here to leave readers satisfied.
Anyway, the gist of it is that ComStar has been caught off guard by a bunch of nobodies getting their hands on a battleship. Because of this, they are running damage control right now and scrambling for time as they look into more permanent long-term solutions. And make no mistake, they do want the Tomb-Maker off the table, the First Circuit is just choosing to prioritise ensuring that the battleship stays in the hands of the nobodies rather than falling into the hands of a somebody.
After all, the Aurigan Coalition having a functional McKenna is a disaster, but the Federated Suns or the Capellan Confederation getting their hands on it would be an even greater disaster.
That said, ComStar will definitely be causing trouble for Elizabeth and the Aurigan Coalition as they will be the man behind the man for Elizabeth's first big foe.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to. Also please note that this interlude was written a couple of months ago before all of the discussion in the thread so while it touches upon some of the stuff in the thread, that is due to posters making accurate predictions rather than me taking inspiration from the thread.
Last edited:
- Location
- Under your bed
Aaaah comstar being up to their usual tricks
I hope they fail
Badly
I hope they fail
Badly
- Location
- Southampton, Great Britain
- Pronouns
- He/Him
High Lord Arano does intend to send Elizabeth to retrieve the Argo for him. As for Outpost Castle Nautilus, I'm afraid you'll have to wait and see though there will be different plans for it this time around.
Interlude - Hanse Davion
- Location
- Southampton, Great Britain
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Avalon City, New Avalon
Crucis March, Federated Suns
20th August 3020
"My apologies for the intrusion, my prince, but we have a situation," says Nicholas Truston as the Director of MIIO walks in on the First Prince's dinner, "I must confess that it isn't truly pressing, but the severity of the situation is such that I decided to err on the side of urgency."
Hanse frowns at that. If Nicholas is taking the matter this seriously, then it must really be a big deal. As annoying as it is, having to deal with unwanted surprises is just part of his responsibilities as First Prince.
"How bad is it?" inquires Hanse as he finishes a mouthful.
"Someone found a working WarShip," says Nicholas and the First Prince freezes, "A McKenna-class Battleship called the SLS Tomb-Maker. This is just the initial report, but it jumped into the rimward Periphery system of Ryan's Fate and then later jumped out of the system. There were other ships accompanying it with a total of four JumpShips and eleven DropShips, one of which is an unknown design that is comparable in size to a Behemoth."
"I see," says Hanse as he processes this new information, "What else do we know about this?"
"I'm still waiting for further reports," admits Nicholas, "So far I have only received the initial message from our agents in the area. Between the Canopus Run and the region's proximity to both the Taurians and the Capellans, we do have some presence over there, but even that is limited. The distance means that it takes time for reports to arrive, as many of the regional HPGs were never rebuilt after their destruction in the earlier Succession Wars."
"Unfortunate, but a good leader knows how to accept the limitations of reality," replies Hanse as he has no doubt that the Director of MIIO is giving an explanation not an excuse, "I trust that I don't need to tell you how important it is that we get on top of this?"
"Not at all, my prince," replies Nicholas, "I have already assigned a high priority to this matter and I am arranging additional agents to the region."
Avalon City, New Avalon
Crucis March, Federated Suns
24th August 3020
"Alright, Nicholas, what have you got for me?" says Hanse as he waits for the latest update from MIIO on the Tomb-Maker affair.
"A more comprehensive picture of the situation," replies Nicholas, "The SLS Tomb-Maker has been retrieved by a LosTech hunting expedition led by a regional local by the name of Elizabeth Nora. She went to the Fable system, an abandoned system in the Capellan March, where she found an abandoned SLDF asteroid base and looted everything from crates of spare ammo to the WarShip itself."
"She found it in the Capellan March?" says Hanse incredulously, "How did she manage to sneak that out to the Periphery?"
"It would appear that she used a bunch of abandoned star systems," answers Nicholas, "A normally highly risky move, but it seems that Miss Nora deemed those risks to be acceptable. I can't say that I disagree with her assessment as it has paid off for her and in my opinion, it was safer for her than trying to openly return with such a grandiose haul."
Neither of them feels the need to mention that if the expedition had moved publicly on their way home, that the Federated Suns wouldn't have let such a prize slip through their hands. Hanse would have tried the soft approach first, but he wouldn't have hesitated to be more forceful to retain a functioning WarShip for the Federation.
"What do we know of this Elizabeth Nora?" inquires Hanse instead.
"We have been quite lucky in that regard," answers Nicholas, "We already had her on record as a potential hire for the NAIS so while this turn of events was not expected, MIIO has already had someone look into her past. She is an illegitimate child to a Leaguer Duke and a Lyran mother, the latter of whom married a minor noble of Elizabeth Nora's home nation. While she has been in touch with her father's family, Miss Nora has grown up with her mother and stepfather along with their children.
"Beyond her intellect, there is nothing special about her and even then, her genius is average rather than ground-breaking. She does have a strong degree of loyalty to her local leadership that was noted as being a red flag. It was ultimately deemed that if she was willing to leave her home behind to work for the NAIS, then that loyalty wasn't great enough to be a major concern."
"Judging from how things have played out, it seems that loyalty was greater than expected," muses Hanse.
"Indeed, my prince," says Nicholas, "It is unfortunate that Miss Nora is a citizen of the Aurigan Coalition rather than the Suns."
"This Aurigan Coalition, tell me about it," says Hanse, "I did some basic research of my own and as far as I can tell, they are less a real nation and more a trade group formed from some abandoned colonies."
"That is a fairly accurate if basic analysis," agrees Nicholas, "Their High Lord is very much a first amongst equals and their military is effectively several smaller independent militaries. They don't have any domestic fusion engine production and the Ministry of Foreign Relations doesn't even recognise their legitimacy as an independent state. Only the Canopians do as far as I can tell. If it wasn't for the battleship, they would be irrelevant."
"But they do have the battleship so we need to consider them," says Hanse as he thinks this over.
He'll start with formally recognising them and setting up an embassy. These Aurigans won't be worth much, but if they have a working battleship, then they will be a consideration to both the Suns and their other neighbours. The First Prince can work with that. He can use the Aurigan Coalition, perhaps offer them formal support or even an alliance. They wouldn't be worth much, but their positioning would keep the Bulls honest and force the Capellans to keep an eye on their Periphery border.
"Nicholas, I want you to see how willing the Aurigan Coalition is to work with us," says Hanse, "I'll be speaking with Olivia too. With that battleship of theirs, they can't just be dismissed out of hand by ourselves or their other neighbours and I would rather have the Aurigans friendly rather than hostile."
"Given they may struggle to keep that WarShip running," warns Nicholas.
"Then we can offer them some help with that," replies Hanse, "As much as I would rather have that battleship directly, I'll settle for an ally having it and getting access to non-theoretical knowledge when it comes to WarShips."
"I'll look into it, my prince."
Avalon City, New Avalon
Crucis March, Federated Suns
6th September 3020
"Well, this is excellent news," says Hanse as he reads the latest report to reach his desk, smiling at the good fortune.
"Cappies, Dracs or Hasek-Davion?" inquires Ardan, his right-hand being the only other person in the room.
"None, this is to do with the Tomb-Maker situation," replies Hanses.
"That's the battleship down in the Periphery, right?" asks Ardan.
"It is," answers Hanse, "Though this good news is more to do with what was found alongside the Tomb-Maker rather than the WarShip itself. It seems that while Miss Nora is remaining loyal to her people, she is willing to sell some of her LosTech."
"How much and what for?" asks Ardan.
"Almost a battalion's worth of LosTech combat vehicles and some LosTech components," says Hanse, "As for the price, nothing has been decided yet, but it will be expensive, I can tell you that much."
"Well, it is LosTech," points out Ardan.
"Oh I know," says Hanse, "It will be worth every C-Bill to get what Miss Nora is selling into the NAIS. Especially with what her bosses are offering."
"I'm guessing it isn't the battleship?" guesses Ardan and Hanse chuckles.
"No, it isn't perfect news," says the First Prince, "Though what they are selling is arguably more valuable."
"More valuable than a working WarShip?" says Ardan disbelievingly and Hanse can understand his friend's confusion, "Aerospace isn't my forte, but I know just how dangerous any warship is, let alone a battleship like the Aurigans have."
"Just a Star League-era data core," answers Hanse and the First Prince grins at the stunned look on Ardan's face, "The Aurigans are claiming that they found an engineering and industrial data core, all civilian with no military secrets in it. Obviously, we will check it ourselves once we've brought a copy, but I doubt the Aurigans will lie about what they are selling. Worse case, they just aren't selling the military data they found."
"If what they are saying is true, it would be a massive boon for the NAIS," says Ardan, "Do we have the money for it all?"
"It will hurt the national budget in the short term and have the Ministry of Ways and Means up in arms, but we both know that I can't afford to pass up this opportunity," replies Hanse, "Best case, we pay Miss Nora for her LosTech samples and Katrina buys the data core and shares a copy with us. Talks have been going well enough that it should be on the table."
"Wait, they are offering to sell the data to the Lyrans too?" asks Ardan.
"They're selling it to everyone," explains Hanse, "Can't say that I blame them given I would do the same in their position."
"Truly?" inquires Ardan, "Wouldn't you have just keep it for yourself like you did with the Halstead Station cache?"
"If I found the memory core as the First Prince of the Federated Suns, certainly," replies Hanse, "In this case, I'm talking about what I would do in the place of the Coalition's High Lord. I have no chance of keeping the bigger powers from just taking it so I offer it to them in exchange for something. And since I don't want to play favourites with nations that could crush my own, I offer it to everyone. It isn't ideal for the Suns, but I can't afford to pass this up as the Cappies or the Dracs won't."
"I take it that a raid is off the table?" asks Ardan, grimacing at his own suggestion, "Not that I want to attack a neutral power, but if this data core is that valuable…"
"I'm considering it, but the Aurigans aren't pushovers and they know the value of what they've got," says Hanse, "We would need to put together a strong enough raiding party and send them over there, which would cut into our reserves and take time. Even if the raid was successful, we would still get it later than other powers who decided to just pay for it. And with that battleship lurking about, I'm not going to bet on any raid being successful."
"So you're going to pay," concludes Ardan.
"I'm going to pay," confirms the First Prince, "And I'll continue the diplomatic outreach. The Aurigans are small enough that it doesn't cost us much and the battleship means the potential rewards are worth the expense. Especially if the Aurigans take advantage of this to become a rising star."
This is the last of the interludes that I have planned. I feel I've done a good job of capturing Hanse Davion as while he is one of the good guys, he is still a cunning and pragmatic Successor Lord who looks after the interests of his own people. He has nothing against Elizabeth or the Aurigan Coalition, but he only cares about them in relation to the Federated Suns and how useful they are to it.
Also, Elizabeth will be selling a bunch of her LosTech to the NAIS because as mentioned previously, she has a severe shortage of C-Bills for her future endeavours. The beginnings of which will be covered in the upcoming arc.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Crucis March, Federated Suns
20th August 3020
"My apologies for the intrusion, my prince, but we have a situation," says Nicholas Truston as the Director of MIIO walks in on the First Prince's dinner, "I must confess that it isn't truly pressing, but the severity of the situation is such that I decided to err on the side of urgency."
Hanse frowns at that. If Nicholas is taking the matter this seriously, then it must really be a big deal. As annoying as it is, having to deal with unwanted surprises is just part of his responsibilities as First Prince.
"How bad is it?" inquires Hanse as he finishes a mouthful.
"Someone found a working WarShip," says Nicholas and the First Prince freezes, "A McKenna-class Battleship called the SLS Tomb-Maker. This is just the initial report, but it jumped into the rimward Periphery system of Ryan's Fate and then later jumped out of the system. There were other ships accompanying it with a total of four JumpShips and eleven DropShips, one of which is an unknown design that is comparable in size to a Behemoth."
"I see," says Hanse as he processes this new information, "What else do we know about this?"
"I'm still waiting for further reports," admits Nicholas, "So far I have only received the initial message from our agents in the area. Between the Canopus Run and the region's proximity to both the Taurians and the Capellans, we do have some presence over there, but even that is limited. The distance means that it takes time for reports to arrive, as many of the regional HPGs were never rebuilt after their destruction in the earlier Succession Wars."
"Unfortunate, but a good leader knows how to accept the limitations of reality," replies Hanse as he has no doubt that the Director of MIIO is giving an explanation not an excuse, "I trust that I don't need to tell you how important it is that we get on top of this?"
"Not at all, my prince," replies Nicholas, "I have already assigned a high priority to this matter and I am arranging additional agents to the region."
***
Avalon City, New Avalon
Crucis March, Federated Suns
24th August 3020
"Alright, Nicholas, what have you got for me?" says Hanse as he waits for the latest update from MIIO on the Tomb-Maker affair.
"A more comprehensive picture of the situation," replies Nicholas, "The SLS Tomb-Maker has been retrieved by a LosTech hunting expedition led by a regional local by the name of Elizabeth Nora. She went to the Fable system, an abandoned system in the Capellan March, where she found an abandoned SLDF asteroid base and looted everything from crates of spare ammo to the WarShip itself."
"She found it in the Capellan March?" says Hanse incredulously, "How did she manage to sneak that out to the Periphery?"
"It would appear that she used a bunch of abandoned star systems," answers Nicholas, "A normally highly risky move, but it seems that Miss Nora deemed those risks to be acceptable. I can't say that I disagree with her assessment as it has paid off for her and in my opinion, it was safer for her than trying to openly return with such a grandiose haul."
Neither of them feels the need to mention that if the expedition had moved publicly on their way home, that the Federated Suns wouldn't have let such a prize slip through their hands. Hanse would have tried the soft approach first, but he wouldn't have hesitated to be more forceful to retain a functioning WarShip for the Federation.
"What do we know of this Elizabeth Nora?" inquires Hanse instead.
"We have been quite lucky in that regard," answers Nicholas, "We already had her on record as a potential hire for the NAIS so while this turn of events was not expected, MIIO has already had someone look into her past. She is an illegitimate child to a Leaguer Duke and a Lyran mother, the latter of whom married a minor noble of Elizabeth Nora's home nation. While she has been in touch with her father's family, Miss Nora has grown up with her mother and stepfather along with their children.
"Beyond her intellect, there is nothing special about her and even then, her genius is average rather than ground-breaking. She does have a strong degree of loyalty to her local leadership that was noted as being a red flag. It was ultimately deemed that if she was willing to leave her home behind to work for the NAIS, then that loyalty wasn't great enough to be a major concern."
"Judging from how things have played out, it seems that loyalty was greater than expected," muses Hanse.
"Indeed, my prince," says Nicholas, "It is unfortunate that Miss Nora is a citizen of the Aurigan Coalition rather than the Suns."
"This Aurigan Coalition, tell me about it," says Hanse, "I did some basic research of my own and as far as I can tell, they are less a real nation and more a trade group formed from some abandoned colonies."
"That is a fairly accurate if basic analysis," agrees Nicholas, "Their High Lord is very much a first amongst equals and their military is effectively several smaller independent militaries. They don't have any domestic fusion engine production and the Ministry of Foreign Relations doesn't even recognise their legitimacy as an independent state. Only the Canopians do as far as I can tell. If it wasn't for the battleship, they would be irrelevant."
"But they do have the battleship so we need to consider them," says Hanse as he thinks this over.
He'll start with formally recognising them and setting up an embassy. These Aurigans won't be worth much, but if they have a working battleship, then they will be a consideration to both the Suns and their other neighbours. The First Prince can work with that. He can use the Aurigan Coalition, perhaps offer them formal support or even an alliance. They wouldn't be worth much, but their positioning would keep the Bulls honest and force the Capellans to keep an eye on their Periphery border.
"Nicholas, I want you to see how willing the Aurigan Coalition is to work with us," says Hanse, "I'll be speaking with Olivia too. With that battleship of theirs, they can't just be dismissed out of hand by ourselves or their other neighbours and I would rather have the Aurigans friendly rather than hostile."
"Given they may struggle to keep that WarShip running," warns Nicholas.
"Then we can offer them some help with that," replies Hanse, "As much as I would rather have that battleship directly, I'll settle for an ally having it and getting access to non-theoretical knowledge when it comes to WarShips."
"I'll look into it, my prince."
***
Avalon City, New Avalon
Crucis March, Federated Suns
6th September 3020
"Well, this is excellent news," says Hanse as he reads the latest report to reach his desk, smiling at the good fortune.
"Cappies, Dracs or Hasek-Davion?" inquires Ardan, his right-hand being the only other person in the room.
"None, this is to do with the Tomb-Maker situation," replies Hanses.
"That's the battleship down in the Periphery, right?" asks Ardan.
"It is," answers Hanse, "Though this good news is more to do with what was found alongside the Tomb-Maker rather than the WarShip itself. It seems that while Miss Nora is remaining loyal to her people, she is willing to sell some of her LosTech."
"How much and what for?" asks Ardan.
"Almost a battalion's worth of LosTech combat vehicles and some LosTech components," says Hanse, "As for the price, nothing has been decided yet, but it will be expensive, I can tell you that much."
"Well, it is LosTech," points out Ardan.
"Oh I know," says Hanse, "It will be worth every C-Bill to get what Miss Nora is selling into the NAIS. Especially with what her bosses are offering."
"I'm guessing it isn't the battleship?" guesses Ardan and Hanse chuckles.
"No, it isn't perfect news," says the First Prince, "Though what they are selling is arguably more valuable."
"More valuable than a working WarShip?" says Ardan disbelievingly and Hanse can understand his friend's confusion, "Aerospace isn't my forte, but I know just how dangerous any warship is, let alone a battleship like the Aurigans have."
"Just a Star League-era data core," answers Hanse and the First Prince grins at the stunned look on Ardan's face, "The Aurigans are claiming that they found an engineering and industrial data core, all civilian with no military secrets in it. Obviously, we will check it ourselves once we've brought a copy, but I doubt the Aurigans will lie about what they are selling. Worse case, they just aren't selling the military data they found."
"If what they are saying is true, it would be a massive boon for the NAIS," says Ardan, "Do we have the money for it all?"
"It will hurt the national budget in the short term and have the Ministry of Ways and Means up in arms, but we both know that I can't afford to pass up this opportunity," replies Hanse, "Best case, we pay Miss Nora for her LosTech samples and Katrina buys the data core and shares a copy with us. Talks have been going well enough that it should be on the table."
"Wait, they are offering to sell the data to the Lyrans too?" asks Ardan.
"They're selling it to everyone," explains Hanse, "Can't say that I blame them given I would do the same in their position."
"Truly?" inquires Ardan, "Wouldn't you have just keep it for yourself like you did with the Halstead Station cache?"
"If I found the memory core as the First Prince of the Federated Suns, certainly," replies Hanse, "In this case, I'm talking about what I would do in the place of the Coalition's High Lord. I have no chance of keeping the bigger powers from just taking it so I offer it to them in exchange for something. And since I don't want to play favourites with nations that could crush my own, I offer it to everyone. It isn't ideal for the Suns, but I can't afford to pass this up as the Cappies or the Dracs won't."
"I take it that a raid is off the table?" asks Ardan, grimacing at his own suggestion, "Not that I want to attack a neutral power, but if this data core is that valuable…"
"I'm considering it, but the Aurigans aren't pushovers and they know the value of what they've got," says Hanse, "We would need to put together a strong enough raiding party and send them over there, which would cut into our reserves and take time. Even if the raid was successful, we would still get it later than other powers who decided to just pay for it. And with that battleship lurking about, I'm not going to bet on any raid being successful."
"So you're going to pay," concludes Ardan.
"I'm going to pay," confirms the First Prince, "And I'll continue the diplomatic outreach. The Aurigans are small enough that it doesn't cost us much and the battleship means the potential rewards are worth the expense. Especially if the Aurigans take advantage of this to become a rising star."
***
This is the last of the interludes that I have planned. I feel I've done a good job of capturing Hanse Davion as while he is one of the good guys, he is still a cunning and pragmatic Successor Lord who looks after the interests of his own people. He has nothing against Elizabeth or the Aurigan Coalition, but he only cares about them in relation to the Federated Suns and how useful they are to it.
Also, Elizabeth will be selling a bunch of her LosTech to the NAIS because as mentioned previously, she has a severe shortage of C-Bills for her future endeavours. The beginnings of which will be covered in the upcoming arc.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Drunk Hierophant
Aspirant Archailect
- Pronouns
- He
One question about the civilian data core and I can't remember it being mentioned. Is Elizabeth selling it to all the Successor States or is the offer also made to periphery powers?
Nice chapter, I'm looking forward to seeing what beyond piles of money the AC gets for the Core. I imagine they could get licenses for a bunch of older tanks, vtols, and even a basic mech like the Urbanmech or Wasp.
Drunk Hierophant
Aspirant Archailect
- Pronouns
- He
Given the pricetag of battlemechs and their military role as behind enemy lines raiders I would prioritise tank production for strengthening the militia of the Aurigan Coalition with them also being way cheaper compared to even bugmechs.
- Location
- Southampton, Great Britain
- Pronouns
- He/Him
It is going to be sold to anyone who is willing to pay.
The Aurigan Coalition is going to be asking for more than C-Bills right now. They aren't trying to get the best deal, they are trying to get every deal before people stop going to them for the memory core and start going to their prior customers.
Formation 3.1
- Location
- Southampton, Great Britain
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Cordia City, Coromodir
Aurigan Reach, Aurigan Coalition
28th August 3020
Returning home after everything that has happened is surprisingly awkward. Moana should be with the ACM while Malia and Melika should be away at university with only Mum being at home, but I have been reliably informed by Mum that all three of my sisters have made a point to be there for my return. Part of me is pleased that they all will come to see me, but the increasingly cynical part of me is wondering if they came to see their sister or if they want to interrogate me on what I found.
I know that Moana certainly has questions for me and I'll have to answer them. Hopefully, my sister will be willing to take them in private, which looks likely given how discreet she has been about the situation so far.
"Elizabeth!" exclaims Mum as I walk into the wide open living room of the Kalani mansion with my mother noticing my arrival before any of my sisters.
"Liz!" exclaim Melika and Malia as my youngest two sisters rush me and begin bombarding me with questions.
All of them are about what I've been up to and what I found with the exception of Melika asking if she can be one of my MechWarriors, which Mum and I shoot down on the basis of her age and lack of training. Unsurprisingly, my return and the motherload that I brought home had garnered lots of attention and had been the biggest item in the media cycle for the last month. And with yours truly unavailable for any interviews, the attention of the media and the general public had fallen on my family.
Thankfully, nobody has said bad things about me and my family has been supportive of me. Not that I need their support to carry out my goals, but it would hurt to lose my family. I've already lost the family that other me had back in the twenty-first century, I don't need to lose the one that this me has in the thirty-first century. Not any more than I already have with the loss of Dad.
God, it has been over half a year since Dad died. It didn't really feel like it while I was away from home with everything to keep me busy, but returning just reminds me that Dad is gone and won't be coming back.
"Elizabeth, are you okay?" asks Mum as she notices my budding distress.
"No, I need some space," I reply bluntly, "Things have been stressful and coming back here just reminded me that Dad is dead."
And just like that the mood drops as my words sober up the room.
"Girls, give your sister some space," says Mum and my youngest two sisters back off.
"Thanks," I mutter, "So…uh, how long until dinner?"
"I wasn't sure when you would be arriving so I'm leaving cooking to the chefs tonight," answers Mum, "They haven't started yet, but I'll have them begin whenever you want. Or they can whip up a quick snack if you are hungry right now."
"I'm fine, I just wanted to get an idea of the timing," I tell her before eyeing her, "So not to be rude, but there is something I need to discuss with Moana. Preferably sooner rather than later."
"Then I'll let you two find somewhere private," says Mum while Moana stiffens at my words, "Malia, Melika, both of you will be coming with me."
"What?" exclaims Melika, "Come on, Mum."
"Liz and I can go to the study, the rest of you can stay here," says Moana rigidly.
"But-" Melika starts to protest before Mum shushes her.
I follow Moana as we go halfway across the house, neither of us speaking until we reach the study.
"So where do you want to start?" I ask as Moana closes the study doors behind us.
"How about at the beginning?" suggests Moana with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
"I suppose that would be at the very start of the year, the day when I left for the expedition," I say, "Long story short, I had a vision like the Blakists claim Jerome Blake did or like that one Cameron. I think he was behind the Castle Brians."
"You have gone insane," says Moana bluntly as she folds her arms.
"Oh, I've definitely gone insane," I agree easily, getting me an annoyed look from my sister, "Basically I had a vision of a future that may or may not have some truthfulness to it. I haven't had a chance to confirm it either way yet since I've been busy on the expedition, but if there is any truth to what I saw, I couldn't just let that knowledge die with me if anything happened to me."
"Your notes sounded like a fairy tale," says Moana, "Lord Espinosa betraying his niece, ComStar secretly being evil, the SLDF coming back to conquer the Inner Sphere with super LosTech, the Lyrans and Feddies joining together via arranged marriage and more."
"We'll see how things turn out," I say, "As I said, I haven't been able to verify any of it yet. Except for the battle armour."
"The what?" demands Moana.
"Like Nighthawks, but better," I explain only to get a blank look, "It's basically to do with that exoskeleton myomer patent I filed. My vision showed me enough that I was able to figure out the trick to make exoskeletons wieldy enough to use on the battlefield. Though I'll still need endo-steel to make proper battle armour rather than combat exoskeletons."
"I'll assume that makes sense to you," says Moana with a sigh, "So your mad visions aside, what else are you up to?"
"Trying to secure the future prosperity of my home," I answer, "All of the loot from the expedition has given me the means to do that and with local politics and laws being what they are, an Aurigan Coalition-aligned mercenary unit is my best way of doing that. I don't have much power right now, but if I can leverage my current windfall into being the proven leader of a loyal and powerful mercenary unit, then a lot more doors are open for me. Especially since I'll have Kamea Arano and Victoria Espinosa in the unit."
"What?" exclaims Moana and I wince at the reaction, "What did you just say?"
"High Lord Arano and Lord Espinosa asked me to make room for their daughters in the Aurigan Sentinels," I explain, "Because I have spare Assault 'Mechs for them to use and since we'll be mercenaries, they'll have more of a chance to prove themselves on the battlefield than they would usually get."
"You've got to be kidding me," says Moana, "You just-what the hell, Liz?"
"I didn't exactly plan for it," I protest, "I'm just doing my best to take advantage of the opportunities that come my way."
"I don't know what to make of this," says Moana, "I've just got settled into a new status quo after Dad died and I inherited everything, only for you to come back and make another equally big mess of things."
"I'm afraid this isn't the end of things," I inform her, "I'm going for some industrial outreach that should shake things up and I've asked High Lord Arano if I could have you in my unit."
"You did what?" exclaims Moana as she stares at me.
"I trust you and I want you to have my back, so when High Lord Arano and Lord Espinosa asked me to accept their daughters into the Aurigan Sentinels, I asked if I could have you as well," I explained, "Neither of them had a problem with that and I doubt there will be any issues with arranging it. It isn't like the ACM will miss a rookie Bug 'Mech pilot."
"I-I don't know what to think anymore," mutters Moana as she sits down and slumps in the chair, "If I didn't know you better, I would think you were deliberately trying to cause problems for me."
"I'm really not," I assure her.
"I know, I know, it's just this is all insane," says Moana, "And here I thought joining the ACM and being the baronetess would be the biggest adjustments."
"Well, on the bright side, you will get a better ride than the family Locust," I point out, "I've got a couple of companies of Assault-grade 'Mechs that need pilots."
"I might take you up on that," replies Moana, "Atlases and Highlanders right?"
"A dozen of each, all standard SLDF variants," I say, "No royals apart from a squadron of ASFs, but a fair few machines have some LosTech in them. I'm going to sell most of them, mind you."
"You can't keep dropping bombshells like that on me," protests Moana with a groan, "Okay, okay, but seriously, what the hell? You found invaluable and irreplaceable LosTech and you want to sell it? What gives?"
"I have a surplus of LosTech and a deficit of C-Bills," I answer bluntly, "And the irreplaceable aspect is part of the problem. Some of what I found is too fragile to really be useful. Like the VTOLs as they have their uses, but they are too fragile to make proper use of. It would be one thing if I could replace them, but I can't. I also can't think of any future battles where they would be more valuable than selling them now for a small fortune.
"Similar issue with the Padillas as while the Arrow system is awesome, I have very limited ammo for it. I'll be able to make use of it for a handful of battles at most and then bam, they are next to useless until someone puts that particular brand of LosTech back into production. Meanwhile, I have a very urgent need for C-Bills if I am to have the finances to put all of the hardware I found to work. I could take out loans, but I would rather sell the LosTech I can't make use of."
"Okay, that makes sense as insane as it sounds," says Moana, "What exactly do you intend to do with the small fortunes that you intend to make?"
"Support the Aurigan Sentinels, have a healthy war chest for emergencies and start my own businesses in that order," I answer.
"I take it that the Aurigan Sentinels is what you're calling your merry band of mercs?" inquires Moana.
"Yeah, it is," I confirm, "I like the sound of it and fits my intentions for my mercenary career."
"It beats calling them Nora's Nightmares," says Moana before backtracking, "No, wait, Nora's Nightmares actually sounds pretty cool."
"I've already registered my unit as the Aurigan Sentinels," I inform her, "I did it this morning before coming here."
"Huh, you didn't mention that earlier," says Moana.
"It didn't come up," I say with a shrug before getting back to the serious talk, "Mo, can I count on you to have my back? I know that you are younger than me, but I'm jumping into the deep end when it comes to politics and noble life, while Dad taught you the ropes growing up."
"Of course, you can, Liz," answers Moana, "As long as you don't do something stupid like treason or attacking ComStar, I'll have your back. Just try to give me some heads up before springing any more major surprises on me."
"No promises," I warn her and my sister just sighs.
Right, this is mostly character development rather than plot progression. Setting up Elizabeth's family and building up Moana's character. Also, for the record, Moana does think that Elizabeth isn't fully right in the head, but she came back with a battleship and the LosTech find of a century so she is giving her half-sister the benefit of the doubt. Especially since claims of having visions aren't unprecedented in the setting even if said visions aren't usually considered credible. After all, ComStar and the Blakist religion are built around Jerome Blake's supposed visions.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
Aurigan Reach, Aurigan Coalition
28th August 3020
Returning home after everything that has happened is surprisingly awkward. Moana should be with the ACM while Malia and Melika should be away at university with only Mum being at home, but I have been reliably informed by Mum that all three of my sisters have made a point to be there for my return. Part of me is pleased that they all will come to see me, but the increasingly cynical part of me is wondering if they came to see their sister or if they want to interrogate me on what I found.
I know that Moana certainly has questions for me and I'll have to answer them. Hopefully, my sister will be willing to take them in private, which looks likely given how discreet she has been about the situation so far.
"Elizabeth!" exclaims Mum as I walk into the wide open living room of the Kalani mansion with my mother noticing my arrival before any of my sisters.
"Liz!" exclaim Melika and Malia as my youngest two sisters rush me and begin bombarding me with questions.
All of them are about what I've been up to and what I found with the exception of Melika asking if she can be one of my MechWarriors, which Mum and I shoot down on the basis of her age and lack of training. Unsurprisingly, my return and the motherload that I brought home had garnered lots of attention and had been the biggest item in the media cycle for the last month. And with yours truly unavailable for any interviews, the attention of the media and the general public had fallen on my family.
Thankfully, nobody has said bad things about me and my family has been supportive of me. Not that I need their support to carry out my goals, but it would hurt to lose my family. I've already lost the family that other me had back in the twenty-first century, I don't need to lose the one that this me has in the thirty-first century. Not any more than I already have with the loss of Dad.
God, it has been over half a year since Dad died. It didn't really feel like it while I was away from home with everything to keep me busy, but returning just reminds me that Dad is gone and won't be coming back.
"Elizabeth, are you okay?" asks Mum as she notices my budding distress.
"No, I need some space," I reply bluntly, "Things have been stressful and coming back here just reminded me that Dad is dead."
And just like that the mood drops as my words sober up the room.
"Girls, give your sister some space," says Mum and my youngest two sisters back off.
"Thanks," I mutter, "So…uh, how long until dinner?"
"I wasn't sure when you would be arriving so I'm leaving cooking to the chefs tonight," answers Mum, "They haven't started yet, but I'll have them begin whenever you want. Or they can whip up a quick snack if you are hungry right now."
"I'm fine, I just wanted to get an idea of the timing," I tell her before eyeing her, "So not to be rude, but there is something I need to discuss with Moana. Preferably sooner rather than later."
"Then I'll let you two find somewhere private," says Mum while Moana stiffens at my words, "Malia, Melika, both of you will be coming with me."
"What?" exclaims Melika, "Come on, Mum."
"Liz and I can go to the study, the rest of you can stay here," says Moana rigidly.
"But-" Melika starts to protest before Mum shushes her.
I follow Moana as we go halfway across the house, neither of us speaking until we reach the study.
"So where do you want to start?" I ask as Moana closes the study doors behind us.
"How about at the beginning?" suggests Moana with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
"I suppose that would be at the very start of the year, the day when I left for the expedition," I say, "Long story short, I had a vision like the Blakists claim Jerome Blake did or like that one Cameron. I think he was behind the Castle Brians."
"You have gone insane," says Moana bluntly as she folds her arms.
"Oh, I've definitely gone insane," I agree easily, getting me an annoyed look from my sister, "Basically I had a vision of a future that may or may not have some truthfulness to it. I haven't had a chance to confirm it either way yet since I've been busy on the expedition, but if there is any truth to what I saw, I couldn't just let that knowledge die with me if anything happened to me."
"Your notes sounded like a fairy tale," says Moana, "Lord Espinosa betraying his niece, ComStar secretly being evil, the SLDF coming back to conquer the Inner Sphere with super LosTech, the Lyrans and Feddies joining together via arranged marriage and more."
"We'll see how things turn out," I say, "As I said, I haven't been able to verify any of it yet. Except for the battle armour."
"The what?" demands Moana.
"Like Nighthawks, but better," I explain only to get a blank look, "It's basically to do with that exoskeleton myomer patent I filed. My vision showed me enough that I was able to figure out the trick to make exoskeletons wieldy enough to use on the battlefield. Though I'll still need endo-steel to make proper battle armour rather than combat exoskeletons."
"I'll assume that makes sense to you," says Moana with a sigh, "So your mad visions aside, what else are you up to?"
"Trying to secure the future prosperity of my home," I answer, "All of the loot from the expedition has given me the means to do that and with local politics and laws being what they are, an Aurigan Coalition-aligned mercenary unit is my best way of doing that. I don't have much power right now, but if I can leverage my current windfall into being the proven leader of a loyal and powerful mercenary unit, then a lot more doors are open for me. Especially since I'll have Kamea Arano and Victoria Espinosa in the unit."
"What?" exclaims Moana and I wince at the reaction, "What did you just say?"
"High Lord Arano and Lord Espinosa asked me to make room for their daughters in the Aurigan Sentinels," I explain, "Because I have spare Assault 'Mechs for them to use and since we'll be mercenaries, they'll have more of a chance to prove themselves on the battlefield than they would usually get."
"You've got to be kidding me," says Moana, "You just-what the hell, Liz?"
"I didn't exactly plan for it," I protest, "I'm just doing my best to take advantage of the opportunities that come my way."
"I don't know what to make of this," says Moana, "I've just got settled into a new status quo after Dad died and I inherited everything, only for you to come back and make another equally big mess of things."
"I'm afraid this isn't the end of things," I inform her, "I'm going for some industrial outreach that should shake things up and I've asked High Lord Arano if I could have you in my unit."
"You did what?" exclaims Moana as she stares at me.
"I trust you and I want you to have my back, so when High Lord Arano and Lord Espinosa asked me to accept their daughters into the Aurigan Sentinels, I asked if I could have you as well," I explained, "Neither of them had a problem with that and I doubt there will be any issues with arranging it. It isn't like the ACM will miss a rookie Bug 'Mech pilot."
"I-I don't know what to think anymore," mutters Moana as she sits down and slumps in the chair, "If I didn't know you better, I would think you were deliberately trying to cause problems for me."
"I'm really not," I assure her.
"I know, I know, it's just this is all insane," says Moana, "And here I thought joining the ACM and being the baronetess would be the biggest adjustments."
"Well, on the bright side, you will get a better ride than the family Locust," I point out, "I've got a couple of companies of Assault-grade 'Mechs that need pilots."
"I might take you up on that," replies Moana, "Atlases and Highlanders right?"
"A dozen of each, all standard SLDF variants," I say, "No royals apart from a squadron of ASFs, but a fair few machines have some LosTech in them. I'm going to sell most of them, mind you."
"You can't keep dropping bombshells like that on me," protests Moana with a groan, "Okay, okay, but seriously, what the hell? You found invaluable and irreplaceable LosTech and you want to sell it? What gives?"
"I have a surplus of LosTech and a deficit of C-Bills," I answer bluntly, "And the irreplaceable aspect is part of the problem. Some of what I found is too fragile to really be useful. Like the VTOLs as they have their uses, but they are too fragile to make proper use of. It would be one thing if I could replace them, but I can't. I also can't think of any future battles where they would be more valuable than selling them now for a small fortune.
"Similar issue with the Padillas as while the Arrow system is awesome, I have very limited ammo for it. I'll be able to make use of it for a handful of battles at most and then bam, they are next to useless until someone puts that particular brand of LosTech back into production. Meanwhile, I have a very urgent need for C-Bills if I am to have the finances to put all of the hardware I found to work. I could take out loans, but I would rather sell the LosTech I can't make use of."
"Okay, that makes sense as insane as it sounds," says Moana, "What exactly do you intend to do with the small fortunes that you intend to make?"
"Support the Aurigan Sentinels, have a healthy war chest for emergencies and start my own businesses in that order," I answer.
"I take it that the Aurigan Sentinels is what you're calling your merry band of mercs?" inquires Moana.
"Yeah, it is," I confirm, "I like the sound of it and fits my intentions for my mercenary career."
"It beats calling them Nora's Nightmares," says Moana before backtracking, "No, wait, Nora's Nightmares actually sounds pretty cool."
"I've already registered my unit as the Aurigan Sentinels," I inform her, "I did it this morning before coming here."
"Huh, you didn't mention that earlier," says Moana.
"It didn't come up," I say with a shrug before getting back to the serious talk, "Mo, can I count on you to have my back? I know that you are younger than me, but I'm jumping into the deep end when it comes to politics and noble life, while Dad taught you the ropes growing up."
"Of course, you can, Liz," answers Moana, "As long as you don't do something stupid like treason or attacking ComStar, I'll have your back. Just try to give me some heads up before springing any more major surprises on me."
"No promises," I warn her and my sister just sighs.
***
Right, this is mostly character development rather than plot progression. Setting up Elizabeth's family and building up Moana's character. Also, for the record, Moana does think that Elizabeth isn't fully right in the head, but she came back with a battleship and the LosTech find of a century so she is giving her half-sister the benefit of the doubt. Especially since claims of having visions aren't unprecedented in the setting even if said visions aren't usually considered credible. After all, ComStar and the Blakist religion are built around Jerome Blake's supposed visions.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
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Dmol8
The Undead Unhinged Lunatic of the Web
- Location
- Belgrade,Serbia
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
Funnily enough Coil is supposed to be the same type of corpo supervillain ComStar, it's just that ComStar has the upper hand in Battletech while Coil never gets around to getting it before eating a bullet.
- Location
- Under your bed
Does the AC produce its own parts like autocannons, lrm launchers, srm launchers and lasers?
- Location
- Southampton, Great Britain
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Yes though not all of its worlds are industrialised enough to do that.
- Location
- Under your bed
So you could technically find a company like for example Hartford co industries and buy them and their licenses to build a factory for what they no longer can build
Once you can build fusion engines that is
- Location
- Southampton, Great Britain
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Yes or you could just get the license without buying the company. That's what Elizabeth will be doing in this current arc since she doesn't want sole ownership of a 'Mech design, just the ability to locally produce it for the Coalition.