Fate Can Be Cruel (Part Two)

[2ndAcr]

1 January 2800
Overview (Cont)

 Before the Battle of Cholame, the Draconis Combine had managed to conquer Odell and Coloma, a single jump from New Avalon. This thrust was commanded by Jinjiro Kurita, but the Screaming Eagles along with freshly supplied AFFS Regiments managed to prevent the Combine from advancing any further. The loss of many of their warships forced the Combine to halt any attempts at further advances, only launching several raids that heavily damaged Federated Boeing at Galax and Universal Air at Devalan. One deep raid managed to destroy the large Jumpship construction yards at El Dorado, but cost the DCMS a single Destroyer. Counter attcks by the Federated Suns forces could not budge the DCMS, so First Prince John Davion ordered the AFFS to hold the line while units were rebuilt with fresh equipment from the Hegemony. These were hauled by ZaP Shipping to commands all over the Federated Suns. Normally, the AFFS would use their own transports or primary contracted shippers, but the invasion by the DCMS had destroyed large numbers of transports which made using ZaP Shipping a must. Unlike other shippers in the Federated Suns, First Prince John Davion prevented the AFFS from conscripting any ships from ZaP Shipping.

 It was not until 2795 that the AFFS had begun limited offensive actions against the DCMS retaking Odell and Coloma, reducing the threat to New Avalon. It was not until the Kentares Massacre that the AFFS went on a general offensive, mainly led by commands counter attacking without orders. Though the High Command did not approve of these actions, First Prince John Davion did, and they had no choice but to add additional support. Limited warship support was given to the AFFS troops as most warships were forced to be deployed along the Capellan border.

 Mitchell Vehicle's Farnesworth Battlemech Factory began full production of AFFS standard design in 2791. Starting with an initial 6 production lines, by 2796, they had expanded to 12 production lines in order to fulfill AFFS orders. The AFFS Quartermaster's could not understand how this single factory could produce the amount of equipment that they did. Questions were raised, but First Prince John Davion squashed any attempts at an audit or even an inspection of the facility. Only he knew that equipment from the Hegemony, which only he and his son Joshua knew about, was being funneled thru Farnesworth under cover of Mitchell Vehicle's factory there.

 During this time, ZaP Shipping saw a boom to it's shipping business, with the AFFS paying top dollar for equipment deliveries almost to the front lines. Deep Black Interstellar, purchased by ZaP Holdings, had set up their Headquarters on Pattonsbrug. They had arrived to find local construction companies enlarging the small space port. Their arrival in late 2789 created a sweel in jobs locally and made them popular on Pattonsbrug. By 2796, Deep Black Interstellar had made large gains of market share in the region expanding service all the way to the Outworlds Alliance border.

 Martin Zuni and Martha Pruitt finally married in 2794 on Thazi before both returned to the Federated Suns. While he maintained a decent sized operation inside the Hegemony, Martin Zuni had decided to move most of ZaP Shipping assets to the Federated Suns. He reveled in the chaos and challenge of gaining market share on the other shippers inside the Federated Suns. In 2799, ZaP Holdings had bought out Long Haul Shippers, which they then folded completely into ZaP Shipping. Based out of Nunivak and being the primary shipper for Germanium mined on Colorado, made them a very strategic purchase. Thompson Shipyards expansion of their operation on Kilbourne, entering the Dropship market with their highly successful Steamer Dropship only made it an easy choice for ZaP Shipping.

 ZaP Holdings

 ZaP Shipping (Federated Suns)

 Bastrop (Corp Headquarters)

 10 Monolith Jumpships
 12 Star Lord Jumpships
 16 Liberty II Jumpships
 30 Invader Jumpships
 20 Merchant Jumpships
 60 Mammoth Dropships (Cargo)
 12 Mammoth Dropships (Passenger)
 32 Jumbo Dropships (Passenger)
 30 Mule Dropships
 30 Steamer Dropship
 10 Monarch Dropship

 Humansville

 40 Merchant Jumpships
 10 LIberty II Jumpships
 20 Jumbo Dropships (Passenger)
 20 Jumbo Dropships (Cargo)
 40 Steamer Dropships
 40 Buccaneer Dropships

 Nunivak

 20 Liberty II Jumpships
 30 Merchant Jumpships
 60 Mammoth Dropships (Cargo)
 10 Mammoth Dropships (Passenger)
 10 Jumbo Dropships (Passenger)
 40 Steamer Dropships

 Pattonsbrug (Deep Black Interstellar)

 60 Merchant Jumpships
 10 Liberty II Jumpships
 40 Mule Dropships
 29 Aqueduct Dropships
 40 Mammoth Dropships
 50 Steamer Dropships

 Thompson Shipyards operated both in the Federated Suns and the Hegemony. The existing Onverwacht shipyard complex had provided a nice boost for recovery while the Kilbourne complex was built. With the Federated Suns purchasing every Monolith and Star Lord Jumpship they could get their hands on, the civilian merchant fleets had been put in an uneasy place. When the Combine had struck El Dorado and destroyed the massive complex there, Thompson Shipyards had received a large grant from the Federated Suns government to expand even larger than they planned. Now cut off from locally produced Merchant Jumpships, the primary civilian Jumpship, Thompson Shipyards wasted no time filling the need. While building yards to build the popular Merchant Jumpship, they introduced the Liberty II Jumpship and also their new Steamer Dropship, with 30 construction hangers being constructed on Kilbourne's surface. They entered direct competition with Federated Boeing's Cargo King Dropship for the civilian market. Able to carry 3x the tonnage as the Cargo King for only 61 million more, the Steamer quickly overtook the Cargo King. If orders continued to pour in for the Steamer, they planned to double the number of hangers.

 Thompson Shipyards

 Onverwacht Complex

 Monolith Jumpship - 4 yards building 8 per year
 Star Lord Jumpship - 4 yards building 8 per year
 Liberty II Jumpship - 6 yards building 18 per year
 Invader Jumpship - 3 yards building 12 per year
 Merchant Jumpship - 3 yards building 15 per year
 Steamer Dropship - 20 hangers building 40 per year

 Kilbourne Complex

 Monolith Jumpship - 15 yards building 30 per year
 Liberty II Jumpship - 10 yards building 30 per year
 Merchant Jumpship - 5 yards building 25 per year
 Steamer Dropship - 30 hangers building 60 per year
 
 Mitchell Vehicle had flourished over the last 12 years. Rebuilding the Hegemony Armed Forces while also supplying the Federated Suns brought money in at a furious rate. Money that was quickly poured back into their various production centers. General Kerensky had given the Federated Suns production license for the Hellcat II Aerospace fighter in 2773 which they had assigned to Lycomb-Davion. In 2786, Mitchell Vehicle had sued for license breach with both the Federated Suns and Lycomb-Davion named. For several years, it had been tied up in court, but finally, in 2790, a deal was worked out where Mitchell Vehicle would drop the suit in exchange, they would receive a grant from the Federated Suns for 60 Billion C-Bills to be used on Farnsworth AND a production license for the Stuka Aerospace fighter. Armed with a large grant, Mitchell Vehicle lawyers paid 4 Billion C-Bills for a production license to Wanker Aerospace for license's for the Corsair and Tomahawk Aerospace Fighters. They expanded their Farnsworth Factory to produce Aerospace Fighters and Tanks in 2796 to supply the Federated Suns. Access to the advanced weapons systems being developed was restricted to Hegemony forces only.

 Quines (Corporate Headquarters)

 Battlemech Factory

 Dragoon AEM-01 - 3 Lines producing 36 per month
 Dragoon AEM-02 - 3 Lines producing 36 per month
 Dragoon AEM-03 - 3 Lines producing 36 per month
 Dragoon AEM-04 - 3 Lines producing 36 per month
 Helepolis HEP-3Hb - 1 Line producing 12 per month

 Crichton (Hegemony)

 Battlemech Factory

 Shootist ST-8A - 3 Lines producing 36 per month
 Mercury MCY-99 - 2 Line producing 40 per month
 Shogun SHG-2H - 4 Lines producing 48 per month
 
 Aerospace Factory

 Hellcat II HCT-213C - 4 Lines producing 80 per month
 Hellcat II HCT-214 - 2 Lines producing 40 per month
 Corsair CSR-V12b - 2 Lines producing 40 per month
 Tomahawk THK-63b - 2 Lines producing 60 per month

 Dropship Complex

 Colossus Command - 10 hanger producing 10 per year
 Colossus Mech x2 - 10 hanger producing 10 per year
 Colossus Armor - 10 hanger producing 10 per year
 
 Zebuluraskai (Hegemony)

 Shipyard Complex

 1M Ton Pressurized Shipyards - 10
 Luxor Heavy Cruiser
 Essex III Destroyer
 Riga II Destroyer
 Riga III Frigate
 Volga Transport

 Dropship Complex

 Colossus Command - 10 hanger producing 10 per year
 Colossus Mech x2 - 10 hanger producing 10 per year
 Colossus Armor - 10 hanger producing 10 per year

 Farnsworth (Federated Suns)

 Battlemech Factory

 Firestarter FS9-Hb - 2 Lines producing 40 per month
 Panther PNT-8Zb - 2 Lines producing 40 per month
 Mercury MCY-99 - 2 Lines producing 40 per month
 Dervish DV-6Mb - 2 Lines producing 36 per month
 Wolverine II WVR-7H - 2 Lines producing 36 per month
 Thunderbolt TDR-5Sb - 2 Lines producing 36 per month

 Aerospace Factory

 Hellcat II HCT-213C - 3 Lines producing 60 per month
 Corsair CSR-V12b - 3 Lines producing 60 per month
 Stuka STU-K5b2 - 2 Lines producing 40 per month
 Tomahawk THK-63b - 2 Lines producing 60 per month
 Star Dagger S-2C - 2 Lines producing 60 per month

 Tank Factory

 Merkava Mk VIIIb - 4 Lines producing 120 per month
 Marsden Mk III - 4 Lines producing 120 per month

 While Mitchell Vehicles was the premier military contractor in the Hegemony, they were not the only manufacturer. Hegemony Industries was right on their heels in terms of production and after years of upgrading their various factories with recovered technology from the Star League Data Cores, they could easily match Mitchell Vehicles production rates. It was more in the brand, Mitchell Vehicles, that made them the premier manufacturer in addition to having open access to the Federated Suns market. But under agreement, they were able to funnel equipment made inside the Hegemony to the Federated Suns via Mitchell Vehicles' Farnesworth operation. Though this additional output had raised questions within the Federated Suns, those questions had been squashed by First Prince John Davion. As the transplanted Terran Hegemony industries had begun arriving, many existing companies had been placed under the Hegemony Industries name.

 Blommestein (Corporate Headquarters)

 Battlemech Factory

 Mongoose MON-66b - 1 Line producing 20 per month
 Night Hawk NTK-2Q - 1 Line producing 20 per month
 Crab CRB-27b - 1 Line producing 20 per month
 Crab CRB-27sl - 1 Line producing 20 per month
 Phoenix Hawk PXH-2 - 1 Line producing 20 per month
 Shadow Hawk SHS-2Hb - 1 Line producing 20 per month
 Dervish DV-6Mb - 1 Line producing 18 per month
 Thunderbolt TDR-5Sb - 2 Lines producing 30 per month
 Warhammer WHM-7A - 2 Lines producing 30 per month
 
 Aerospace Factory

 Star Dagger S-2C - 2 Lines producing 60 per month
 Sabre SB-28 - 2 Lines producing 60 per month
 Tomahawk THK-63b - 2 Lines producing 60 per month
 Lightning LTN-G15b - 2 Lines producing 40 per month
 Hellcat II HCT-213C - 2 Lines producing 40 per month
 Stuka STU-K5b2 - 2 Lines producing 40 per month
 Thunderbird TRB-D26b - 2 Lines producing 40 per month

 Linden

 Shipyard Complex

 500K Ton Pressurized Shipyards - 6
 1M Ton Pressurized Shipyards - 4
 Builder Yardship
 Brandt Corvette
 Avatar Heavy Cruiser
 Carrack Transport
 Vigilant II Corvette
 Vincent Destroyer
 Merchant Surveillance Vessel

 Ceibu

 Dropship Complex

 Mammoth Dropship - 15 hanger producing 30 per year
 Mule Dropship - 20 hanger producing 60 per year
 Jumbo Dropship - 6 hanger producing 18 per year
 Lion (Infantry) - 10 hanger producing 30 per year
 Lion (Hvy Armor) - 6 hanger producing 18 per year
 Lion (Light Armor) - 6 hanger producing 18 per year
 Titan Dropship - 10 hanger producing 20 per year
 Marine Titan Dropship - 4 hanger producing 8 per year
 Elephant Tug Dropship - 6 hanger producing 12 per year
 Overlord Dropship
 Union Dropship
 Leopard Dropship
 Confederate Dropship

 Thazi

 Power Armor Factory (2801)

 Nighthawk PAL - 3 Lines projected to produce a total of 120 per month

 Zetang

 Livingston Naval Base (Projected Construction Yards)

 2.5M Ton Unpressurized Shipyards - 10
 1M Ton Pressurized Shipyards - 10
 500k Ton Pressurized Shipyards - 10
 Texas Battleship
 Monsoon Battleship
 Farragut Battleship
 Potemkin Transport
 Newgrange Yardship

[Artifex]

I guess it'll be in the next post where you will touch on the influences the assassination of John and Joshua Davion had?  8)

[vianca]

Lol and now both the DC & CC are wondering where all those aditional factories happen to be.
Wonder what that new Davion heir will think about things, after the First Prince and his heir, were assasinated.

With fresh material coming in, in great ammounts, that the other houses can't counter...
Well, I expect a reverse bite out of the DC, to be honest.
The Sandovals will atleast be happy.

As for around the time period 3000, I suspect the DC it's rapid mech replacements that where more then they should have been able to produce, came from two sources.
1: Black Market.
2: Restored mechs that Kerensky dumbed on his Exodus of the biggest Diserter action, ever.

[2ndAcr]

 Yes, I am hit and missing some on the overview's. Covering high points in each section. I don't want to get bogged down just writing history all over. So I am doing it in chunks spread out across the Overviews.

 Oh and if you see a Jumpship, Warship or Dropship your not familiar with, check the Design forum, link in first post

[Ammonios]

I am impressed. The THiE is close to being in position to produce in any military capacity as future needs dictate. I also like the way the THiE continues to be a highly discrete presence in Inner Sphere affairs.

Keep up the good writing. Your information Overviews help me to place your stories in the right chronological context.

[vianca]

Ever thought of taking a Command Overlord and modding it even more?
Like adding in repair facilities and the Long Tom setup of a Fortress?
If they can develop Nova CEWS...

So what if it went from 36 to 24 for the Command ability, to even less???

How many Dictator class dropships do they now have?
Kerensky left quite a few behind.
And what about the Excalibur?
Do they have those lines or did the DC get them instead?
Then there is the Colossus as well.
Plus the Lee, of which I personally like the bay setup of 40, no matter if it's mechs, tanks or ASF's.
But does that mean they just folded and ASF bays into the mech bays?
Most dropships have some ASF bays.

The Intruder is nice, same for the Princess & the Fortress.
If they can be combined into one dropship, then it would form a nice special operations platform, with a swimming pool for training & medical revalidation reasons.
Mmm, comes quite close to the Argo, in terms of setup, if better armed & armored, funny that.
On that, can they construct the Argo or has Zap made sure they can do so?
When linked to a Scout, you get a nice perisphere transport unit.
When linked to say two Snowdens and you can mine some asteriod field (personally I feel the Snowden is more metal fabrication & the Argo is more electronical fabrication, thus different fabrication speeds & size lots).
Use two Behemoths and you have a jump-point cargo-transfer station.

On that, which jumpship licences did Zap buy up for the Hegemony?
Might let them to construct their own shipyard in the FS, for both upkeep of their own jumpships as well as constructing new jumpships for their fleet.
And if another company joins into this, in order to use it as a jumpship order point...
Why, the FS might just become second to the LC, in terms of economical might.
Which would be ironic, you know.

As for any future testing of that superjumping, a Argo and a Snowden, could potentially help with that, in case there is a miss jump.
Mobile HPG's and Black Boxes, would help as well.
Same for using a Invader as the testship, that way they have enough food production capabilities as well.
But what about the SLS Manassas her jumpcore?
It had a booster, that increased it's jump capability to 40 lightyears, instead of the more normal 30 lightyears.
And then there are the Primitive Jumpcores as well.

As for the Steiner Stadium it's shielding system, can you turn it inside-out?
Bcause then you can use it to say, protect bunkers, buildings, stations, warships and so on,
That Blue shield particle field damper thingy, should never have been mounted on mechs, in canon, LAM's maybe (mid air transformation protection), ASF's the same, but dropships, jumpships and spacestations, O yes.
Even just protecting open ASF bays, they could be handy for.

[2ndAcr]

1 January 2800
Overview (Cont)

 When First Prince John Davion and his son Joshua were assassinated in 2797, they took the secret of the Hegemony and their covert assistance with them. Director General Amanda Cameron had wanted to make contact with First Prince Paul Davion, but was held back by General Rita Mitchell and General Brian Calloway. First Prince Paul Davion was an unknown, where as John Davion had been known and trusted. They agreed that they would continue to assist the Federated Suns, but it would remain covert. The existence of Hegemony troops covered as mercenaries would remain a secret. Hegemony Security monitored the raging war in the Inner Sphere, keeping a constantly updated intel estimate on losses among the waring House's.

 While monitoring the war, Hegemony Security kept a close watch on Comstar via their agents planted inside Comstar years ago. On former Terran Hegemony worlds, Hegemony agents also monitored and reported on the status within the former Hegemony. Remote monitoring of events and information flowed from the HPG Network, programs buried deep within the programming, constantly watched for keywords, which when located, were encoded and retransmitted to Hegemony Security and then all traces fo the retransmission was erased. As new HPG equipment was manufactured, the Hegemony Security programs were automatically uploaded to the new equipment right at the factory. Once installed and activated, the remote programs expanded the "vision" of Hegemony Security.

 Hegemony Security watched as the AFFS slowly reclaimed their lost worlds from the Draconis Combine and even pushed into former Hegemony territory. By 2800, the Federated Suns had claimed or reclaimed the former Hegemony systems of New Florence, Angol, Hean, Deneb Kaitos, Ankaa, Addicks, Towne, Errai, Ruchbah, Basalt, Nopah, Kawich, Quentin, Saffel, Formalhaut and Caph. The question was, could they hold what they had managed to take.

 Though Hegemony Security had always had it's doubts about Jerome Blake, he had faithfully kept his promise and every year 1 Trillion C-Bills was transferred to an account on Terra where it was immediately whisked in varying amounts to banks across the Inner Sphere. All records of the transactions were erased as the funds seemed to vanish. Every world with an HPG had funds deposited in local banks which allowed Hegemony agents to access them as needed to support their missions.

 Weapons researchers had listened to the troops of the Hegemony Armed Forces and in 2797 developed a new Pulse Laser Rifle. Lighter than the trusted Mauser 960, it weighed only 6kg fully loaded, it was a vast improvement over the Mauser 960. It had a maximum range of 800 meters beating the Mauser 960's 740 meters. Though expensive, it was cheaper than the Mauser 960 and quickly became the new standard weapon for the Hegemony Armed Forces. It made use of the advances in metal research to lighten the weapon. Infantry personnel loved the lighter weapon, though they missed their grenade launcher.

 In 2795, Vought Aircraft's Civilian Division introduced the Dreamliner Passenger Jet to fill the need for passenger travel on Hegemony worlds. Fusion powered with 62 tons of fuel, it had extremely long range and could carry 500 passengers on 2 decks along with 20 tons of cargo. At only 3.1 Million C-Bills per plane, it was an immediate success and orders flowed in from across the Hegemony.

 Ddraig

 Vought Aircraft Civilian Division

 Oceanic Series II Personal VTOL - 3 Lines producing 30 per month
 Dreamliner Passenger Jet - 4 Lines producing 20 per month

 Vought Aircraft Military Division

 Royal Cyrano Gunship - 3 Line producing 36 per month
 Cobra Transport VTOL - 5 Line producing 100 per month
 Cobra MASH VTOL - 2 Line producing 30 per month
 Cobra Command VTOL - 1 Line producing 10 per month
 Cobra (Artillery) - 2 Lines producing 30 per month
 Vector Transport VTOL - 4 Line producing 40 per month
 Vector Scout - 2 Lines producing 20 per month
 Night Shade ECM (Royal) - 1 Line producing 15 per month

 Nicholas Spacecraft had been ravaged by the Amaris Coup. They had taken the offer of a new home and had made the trip to the Periphery Hegemony. It had taken 3 years to rebuild their orbital factories, but by 2791, they produced their first Bastion Station for the Hegemony Armed Forces. With only 4 assembly facilities, and each station taking 6 months to build, their production was limited, but it was steady work. A far cry from their former 20 assembly facilities, but by 2797, they had added another 4 assembly yards to meet the Hegemony's desire for many Bastion Stations.

 Alktral

 Nicholas Spacecraft

 Bastion Station - 8 Assembly Yards producing 16 per year

 Ford Limited did not get their Battlemech factory rebuilt and into production until 2796. Located on Aalzorg, it had taken 5 years to develop supporting industry for the Battlemech factory, but during that time, the company's management had decided to retool to produce Assault Battlemechs instead of their Thorn Light Battlemech. The retooling had added a full year to their factories completion, but finally in 2796, the first Battlemaster BLG-1G walked out of the factory. This was quickly followed by advanced Battlemaster BLG-1Gb, Pillager PLZ-3N, Highlander HGN-732b, Victor VTR-9Bb and Striker STC-2Cb.

 Ford Limited

 Battlemaster BLG-1G - 2 Lines producing 20 per month
 Battlemaster BLG-1Gb - 2 Lines producing 20 per month
 Pillager PLZ-3N - 2 Lines producing 20 per month
 Highlander HGN-732b - 2 Lines producing 20 per month
 Victor VTR-9Bb - 2 Lines producing 20 per month
 Striker STC-2Cb - 2 Lines producing 20 per month

 Allied Aerospace was located on Thazi, the Hegemony's Capital. Their factory had not complete construction until 2797 since they focused on getting their supporting industries established while training their new workforce. Even while under pressure by the Hegemony Armed Forces, they simply stated that to rush would be foolish. Builders of the time tested Phoenix Hawk LAM, they quickly managed to reverse engineer the Wasp LAM and Stinger LAM placing them into construction also.

 Thazi

 Allied Aerospace

 Wasp LAM - 2 Lines producing 12 per month
 Stinger LAM - 2 Lines producing 12 per month
 Phoenix Hawk LAM - 5 Lines producing 60 per month

 Ostmann Industries had also made the move to a new home. Also based on Thazi, their factory resumed production in 2795 and their Ostwar OWR-2Mb quickly became a favorite of the Hegemony Armed Forces. Prized for it's ease of maintenance, it was a quick, powerful heavy cavalry Battlemech.

 Thazi

 Ostmann Industries

 Ostwar OWR-2Mb - 4 Lines producing 80 per month
 Ostroc OSR-2Cb - 4 Lines producing 80 per month

 General Systems had also been located on Thazi and completed construction of their factory in 2798. Their complicated but highly specialized Battlemechs took a great deal of training to build and maintain properly. It also took time to locate the special materials needed for their construction and time to fully train new workers to replace those that did not want to make the move. While construction was taing place, they were asked to reverse engineer the Spector Battlemech. When the first Spector SPR-4F walked out of the factory, the companies workers were on hand to witness the event. Orders quickly poured in from the Hegemony Armed Forces, where unlike the SLDF which had tightly controlled access to the advanced Battlemechs, the HAF wanted a full company in each light recon battalion.

 Thazi

 General Systems

 Spector SPR-4F - 2 Lines producing 24 per month
 Exterminator EXT-4D - 1 Lines producing 12 per month
 Exterminator EXT-4Db - 1 Lines producing 12 per month
 Exterminator EXT-4C - 1 Lines producing 12 per month

Pentagon Worlds

 While life for the former SLDF that went General Kerensky improved steadily, by 2800, the people themselves began to slowly polarize around religious and cultural factions resembling those of the Inner Sphere. Many hundreds of thousands of former SLDF soldiers, unhappy with civilian life began to get more vocal about their unhappiness. Soon, various groups began confronting each other, first with words and at times with violence.

[2ndAcr]

 Updated First post to include links for Tanks and Battlemechs in the design forum.

[vianca]

What about the Shadow Hawk or the Screamer LAM's?
Think Angel ASF here, for that Shadow Hawk, with a butt (main) thruster and I bet that Screamer LAM prototype was sabotaged to hell & back.

Even if it's a single factory line for prototyping experimental machines, it could be usefull, you know.
Might also let them revisit a couple of failed LAM designs as well, if only for testing reasons and even create new designs of their own.
Maybe reworking that failed Scorpion LAM into the first QuadVee, if named differently.
Certainly the Hegemony Intelligence has info on those failed LAM design, right?

https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Shadow_Hawk_LAM
https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Screamer
https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Champion_LAM
https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Scorpion_LAM
https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Land_Air_%27Mech
https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Category:QuadVees

O and check that General Systems entry, you wrote taing instead of taking, 2ndAcr.

[2ndAcr]

1 January 2800
Thazi (Hegemony)

 Director General Amanda Cameron kissed her son, Daniel, on the forehead leaving him with his nanny. It was time to head in for the week long briefings on everything going on everywhere. She was sure there would be plenty of arguments about what she was going to say, and then arguments over funding. Even though she gave Aunt Rita everything she wanted, she was still kept up to date on what was going on. Military spending was way too high without any sort of imminent threat to the Hegemony. She needed the funds for critical infrastructure on the many worlds of the Hegemony.

 A quick twenty minutes passed and she entered the conference room, her eye's swept the room quickly and noted everyone was already present and seated. She waved them back to their seats when everyone started to stand "Stay seated everyone, we have been down this path many times and you all are more family than worker bee's. We have a long week ahead of us as it is."

 She took her seat at the head of the long table, opened the folder she had carried in, extracted several pages. "Before we get to the true skull drudgery of this week, I am going to go ahead and say my peace before you all start your yearly bickering amongst yourselves. I have run the numbers my staff keeps updated myself over the last few weeks and I have to get this off my chest, we have got to cut military spending. We have the ability to completely refit the entire Hegemony Armed Forces with roughly 2 years of production, and we are currently running the factories at 75% of full capacity.

 The storage bunkers are bursting at the seams with all the equipment we have stored. Every command is at 100% strength. With First Prince John Davion gone, we cannot risk filtering any increase to the AFFS without raising many questions we really do not want asked. Now, luckily and hopefully, we will be doing a massive refit of the Hegemony Armed Forces with the new weapon systems and improved components. I understand the new designs or upgrades are already being worked on. So, for the next 5 years, I propose we shut down most manufacturing and allow them to all retool for the new designs. It will take at least that much time for the new tooling to be manufactured and installed in all the factories, so my staff tell me. By then, the improved missile systems being tested should be ready for full production. This non stop retooling is expensive and has too stop.

 Plus, we could use the saved funding for critical infrastructure. I want to increase the number of advanced hospitals on every world over the single one they have now and those are expensive. We need to move to the next phase of terraforming on quite a few systems and that is expensive. So, that being said, I now open the floor to the protests I am sure to hear."

 She sat back and waited for the shouting to start, but it never came. Commanding General Rita Mitchell spoke "Your right Amanda. I get messages every day from various manufactures complaining about the non stop tooling. We now have enough orbital factories to mass produce enough of the improved Endo Steel and Ferro Fibrous armor that your suggestion makes total sense. Seeing as how the Hegemony funds the almost constant retooling expenses anyway, the manufacturer's cannot complain too loudly about a shut down. I know the ground forces are up to date and at full strength. Tanisha, how is the fleet?"

 Fleet Admiral Tanisha Tanaka knew the shouting was about to begin, her ships cost a fortune "Overall, the entire fleet is at 100% readiness. BUT, there are a few things I would like to have. First, I want to mothball the Atreus, Monsoon and Farragut Battleships. In their place, I want to within the next 5 years, build another 6 Texas Battleships. To keep costs down, I would even be open to scrapping the Atreus Battleships, lord knows they are not the best ships around. We can grind their cores to help offset the cost of new cores for the new Texas Battleships.

 Second, I want more Essex III Destroyers. We can scrap the Narukami II and League II Destroyers the same way we would the Atreus Battleships. Help offset some of the cost for new cores. I have too many ships built to get into an enemies face and slug it out. I want to transition more to a long range profile. I am open to either scrapping or mothballing the Vincent Destroyer's to pay for the Essex III Destroyers and the rest of my wish list. Cause it is a long one, I want to remake the entire fleet and the way we go to battle. I know my ships are some of the largest single items, cost wise, so I am also open to a long term upgrade plan."

 While she was speaking, she had been watching the expressions of the people around the table. She remembered the arguments when she won her Brandt Corvette's, and she braced herself for another fight. But it never came. This only made her jittery, she resisted the urge to look behind her for any assassin coming at her.

 Director General Amanda Cameron sat silently for a few minutes before speaking "Tanisha, what are the current projections for the Livingston Naval Base to be fully completed?"

 Fleet Admiral Tanisha Tanaka cringed a little, Livingston Naval Base was slightly behind schedule and was costing a fortune. "Current projections have it fully completed, both the Fleet base and the Shipyard base in 2815. It is currently currently 3 years behind schedule, when we pulled the supporting Builder Yardships to hasten the repairs to our stranded ships, well that put us behind schedule. We are hoping to make up lost time by using the Newgrange Yardships to help get everything built and installed."

 Director General Amanda Cameron's next question made her cringe even more "Projected final cost of your Livingston Naval Base?"

 Fleet Admiral Tanaka shuffled her papers until she found the final number "Including the cost to actually hollow out the space, 3.1 Trillion."

 That number brought forth whistles from around the table along with several coughs. "Very well, I will support the modernization of the fleet, BUT, it will be spread out over the next 30 years. In exchange, I do not want to hear any moaning when in five years the Army get's the lions share of the military procurement budget when we begin their major refit. Plan accordingly, think long term, very long term Tanisha." Director General Amanda Cameron said before looking around the table "Any objections?"

 No one said a word, they all knew that the Hegemony had spent Trillions building the infrastructure to sustain and protect the Hegemony from any viable threat at the expense of the civilian sector. Everyone had known this day was coming and had years to prepare themselves for it. With a modern Navy and the way the Houses were tearing their fleet's apart, any viable invasion just got harder to imagine.

 "Gone are the days of the old SLDF. We can no longer afford to field a Battlemech, Tank, Aerospace Fighter for ten years before replacing it with a new one. We cannot sell our older equipment to the Houses, the risk of discovery is too high. With the way they have been destroying their manufacturing base, if any House were to discover what we have here, we would face an invasion that would pale to what we faced in the Terran Hegemony. I am inclined to think even the Federated Suns would give the idea a serious thought. According to Hegemony Security, even the Federated Suns Quartermasters are starting to ask questions about Mitchell Vehicles Farnesworth factory and how it manages to produce more equipment than they should be able to produce. We cannot risk discovery, so effective immediately, we will no longer transfer or sell equipment built within the Hegemony borders to anyone outside. Since Mitchell Vehicles will be able to sell to the Federated Suns from Farnsworth, priority purchasing will go to the other firms when we begin our refitting. This will help offset the financial hit they will take by my order." Director General Amanda Cameron said

 For the next several hours, they began discussing plan's for the future, current training numbers. While the ground pounders talked, Fleet Admiral Tanisha Tanaka sat in her chair thinking about her wish list and how to make it fit over a 30 year production schedule.

[Kyryst]

With the releasing of the old ships to the fedsuns, the changeover from Essex II to III, the scrapping of non-TH built ships that reduces all active ship types to 23 classes covering 13 types of warship purpose/roles (Surveillance, Corvette, Destroyer, Frigate, Carrier, Light Cruiser, Pursuit Cruiser, Troop Cruiser, Transport, Yardship, Heavy Cruiser, Battlecruiser, and Battleship). That gives the following:

Active:

Surveillance:
Bug-eye (Int
Scout HPG
Merchant Surveillance

Corvettes:
Brandt

Destroyers:
Essex III
League II (Training)
Narukami II (Training
Riga II

Frigate:
Riga III?

Carrier:
Samarkand II

Light Cruiser:
Dart (Training)

Troop Cruiser/Transport:
Aegis Transport
Carrack Transport
Riga Transport
Potemkin Transport
Volga Transport

Heavy Cruisers:
Avatar
Luxor
Sovietski Soyuz

Battlecruiser:
Black Lion (II)

Battleship:
Texas

Yardship:
Builder
Newgrange

Mothball or Scrapping:

Destroyer:
Vincent Destroyer (MB)
Whirlwind (MB)

Pursuit Cruiser:
Kimagure (MB)

Heavy Cruiser:
Soyal (?)

Battleships:
Atreus (S)
Farragut (MB)
Monsoon (MB)

Retired/ No longer Fielded by TH:

Surveilance:
Nightwing
Tracker

Corvette:
Bonaventure
Mako
Pinto (None in inventory, left to FS)
Vigilant (Scrapped to make Brandts)
Vincent (none in inventory, left to ComStar/FS)

Destroyer:
Baron (none in inventory, left to FS)
Carson (none in inventory, left to ComStar/FS)
Davion I
Davion II
Essex I (none in inventory, left to ComStar)
Essex II (none in inventory, left to ComStar)
League I (none in inventory, left to ComStar)
Lola I (none in inventory, left to FS)
Lola II
Lola III (none in inventory, left to ComStar)
Naga
Narukami I

Frigate:
Concordat (none in inventory, left to FS)
Congress (none in inventory, left to ComStar)
Riga (all existing modded to Transport, future builds Riga III)
Quixote

Carrier:
Samarkand I
Enterprise

Heavy Cruiser:
Aegis (All existing modded to Transport)
Cruiser

Battlecruiser:
Black Lion I
Cameron (none in inventory, left to ComStar)

Battleship:
Dreadnought
Stefan Amaris

Considering there were around 40 types of warship being operated previously, and 50+ historically, it has been trimmed down by quite a bit.

[Starfox5]

If they can remain undetected for a few more years, they'll be perfectly safe. They'll have the most modern weapons, ground or space, and the Successor States will have ground themselves down a lot.

[vianca]

Would laugh if something like Vandentberg's(?) White Wings happens,  only for a unknown SLDF (Hegemony) fleet to drop in and turn it into a fureball, while recovery efforts happen.

Personally, I think the 331ste splintered after the Clans hit them on that planet.
Niops is one such place I suspect, for it's Society leanings and a database with Nighthawk(?) blueprints in it, the Augurian(?) Reach is another, same for Alkirk(?)
I bet somewhere beyond the TC, is where the main force of the Wolverine's run off too.
But that are mine thoughts on that one.

So a five year upgrade for the army forces.
Will the Navy, in their future upgrade program, use the new Endo-Steel frame material as well?
Because then the production of it, is still too low.
Also, what about them combining the Dart with a Lola III and a M5 Caspar their blueprints?
Afteral, it's the ship mass weight that matters for the jumpcore it's mass jump ability, not the mass size of the ship, at all.
Jumpcores of both ships are about the same general size, even if the Dart one is slightly larger, if lacking the LF-battery.
Main problem would be the cost, with this, so perhaps other things as well?

As for those ships to be scrapped, could they be turned into part of that trainings cave on the new Navy Asteriod Base?
Not like they would need their jumpcores or weapons, for that particular job.
Do look into upgrading the K-1 dropshuttle, might make a nicely armored boarding bus if proparly upgraded with Endo-Steel, FF armor & heavier engines.
Maybe even useable as escape pods of your ships, you know.
Also look into smaller automated dropship repair bays or would that be bigger ASF bays?

And they really need something like the M-11J Cloaking Device & the DEST Infiltration Suit, can't put everybody into Nighthawk Power Armor, right?
Yes, let them wear both, M-11J under the DEST, should help with most combat problems, like suit leaks, as well.
Could potentially also be used as a G-force countering suit as well, if not as good at it, as ASF pilot gear.
https://www.sarna.net/wiki/K-1_DropShuttle
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/M-11J_"Cloaking_Device"
https://www.sarna.net/wiki/DEST_Infiltration_Suit

[Wrangler]

I am getting caught up. Im bit taken back by the sheer volume the Hegemony is producing Mechs and other wad goods.  How do you keep this up? There going to be trail of jumpships leading back to the new Hegemony.

It will be interesting if they can keep their economy going with their own domestic needs and perhaps secret trade deals. I do think the The Hegemony worlds maybe too close to the Inner Sphere.

[vianca]

I like this map.
Would the Hegemony be what in this map is called "The Outworlds Wastes"?

https://cfw.sarna.net/wiki/images/0/0c/Deep_Periphery_-_lg.png?timestamp=20130331215325

https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Deep_Periphery
https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Dark_Expanse
https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Orion_Rift

Atleast one place is interesting for them, in the long run.
https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Shady_Palms

If you look good, you see RWR outpost 4, 7 & 11.
Look left, left below & below.
I wonder if this are the three outposts from the story or not.
Think I might be better off, saving part one to my PC, now.
Edit:
Rereading part one.
https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=67981.480

18 September 2772
Rimworlds Outpost #7 (Deep Periphery)

Yup, they are, nice, now I have a map to picture some stuff on.

O and look to the left upper corner of "The Aquila Rift", RWR outpost 27 is there.
Are they layed out as a clock?
If so, is there any way to figure out where to look for the other 23 outposts or not?
4, 7 & 11 seem to lay on a curved line, you know.
And can that map be made to be a sticky on both part one & part two, their first posts?
It really helps with picturing things.
:Edit Ends.

Also wondering if they can grow upwards and add the Jarnfolks to the Hegemony or not.
The New Delphi Compact certainly seems interesting, as well.
Lots of growth potential, I can see.
Plus the fact that the Hegemony exists, means certain groups might have been diverted from their doomed courses, thus allowing proper colonisation protocols to happen, first.
Hell, the Hegemony might grow as far as "Transfer Facility 4", meaning they would get Columbus as a secondary naval base, but also future Clan problems.
The worst of them, as well.
Though if that clash happens after a certain event...
This event made the Clans bid away their warship.  ;D  >:D  ;D

https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Transfer_Facility_4
https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Clan_Smoke_Jaguar
https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Epsilon_Pegasus
https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Outworlds_Alliance
https://www.sarna.net/wiki/File:Outworlds_Alliance_2764.jpg


O 2ndAcr, what happens if you give a Invader a warcore & Lf-batteries?
Does it leave room for a Snowden & Argo their resource processing & fabrication machinery?
Would there be enough mass left for say a aditional collar as well?
Could it be turned into a long duraration espionage craft, with Nighthawk equipped commando's?
Naturally, such a adaption would also mean a Behemoth command deck & a Snowden grav-deck hidden in the space that used to contain part of the old jumpcore.
And if the extra collar is in the stern, you could dock a tug as a STL drive unit.
Plus naturally, the Tramp it's defensive weapons loadout, if hidden better.

[2ndAcr]

https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=70851.0

 Scroll down, I did it with a Merchant hull. Yes, the Periphery Hegemony occupies the Outworlds Wastes region,

[georgiaboy]

With Traders and Overnwacht Provinces adjacent to the still remaining Outworlds Alliance Provinces.


What is the OA government stance of the seceding Provinces to the Hegemony? Or did I mess those post pertaining to their stance.

[Shadow_Wraith]

I thought that those systems had joined the Hegemony since they never got any help or communication from he central government of the OA.    I am really wondering is how will they control their borders and ensure that they are hidden for the next two hundred years?

[2ndAcr]

 Blommestein, Onverwacht and Traders Domain are part of the Periphery Hegemony right now. In the next 20-50 years, there will be roughly a 50-80LY year buffer between the Hegemony border and any other inhabited system due to depopulation etc. The OA government basically just let them die, it is canon that they were a barely functioning government anyway and canon they just let them wither and die.

 Controlling their border will be revealed later down the road, but will mainly be by Jumpship entering a inhabited system (OA), badly shot up declaring the entire region a hotbed of pirate activity that only the most desperate ship would attempt. Since no pirate seems to attack the OA directly from the region will not entice the OA to launch any operations in that direction. My thoughts on the issue anyway.

[vianca]

https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=70851.0

 Scroll down, I did it with a Merchant hull. Yes, the Periphery Hegemony occupies the Outworlds Wastes region,

Yeah, I remember them, but they always sounded more short ranged to me, by having a limited food supply, before the need to buy food shows they have more crew then needed.
A Invader can make it's own food, thus perfect for longer ranged mission in places where they can't supply them with fresh food loads, that easily.
Thats why I was thinking thus.

O and what about Port Krin?

With Traders and Overnwacht Provinces adjacent to the still remaining Outworlds Alliance Provinces.


What is the OA government stance of the seceding Provinces to the Hegemony? Or did I mess those post pertaining to their stance.

I do not think they are aware, at this time, of that elephant in their back guarden.

[2ndAcr]

They got supplies for a extremely long time, every person has their own quarters which means they use only about 2 tons of supply each day maximum. It carries over 5,000 tons of cargo. Can easily run a 5 year mission on internal supply alone with cargo space reserved for spare parts.

 I have done Invader, Star Lord sized ships in other stories. Merchant I think is best since it is the most common civilian Jumpship, would attract less attention.

[2ndAcr]

2 January 2800
Thazi (Hegemony)

 Peter Sajak, Minister of Economic Development and Technology, had joined the conference since today was his portion of the yearly report. He had been briefed on Director General Amanda Cameron's 5 year shut down for retooling, and that had made him sweat some. Today, he was going to deliver some bad news. He took his seat to the left of Director General Amanda Cameron's chair and prepared his notes. When he entered the room he and everyone else started to stand but were waved back to their chairs as she rounded the table and took her seat.

 "Uncle Peter? You may begin today's briefing." Director General Amanda Cameron said, dropping the formality completely

 "Thank you, I ran the numbers and I honestly do not think 5 years will be enough to retool everything. The improved missile systems are not even out of testing yet. They were hand built at the testing facility, we don't even have proper manufacturing equipment for them designed yet. I figure we need 2-3 years just to figure that part out. Plus, the researcher team is still playing with the enlarged Streak systems, they are getting close to testing them, figure another 2 years until that happens. To be honest with everyone here, I honestly think 2820 is the closest date for a industry restart. There are just too many projects that are showing promise still in development. I propose we hold off on a full shutdown until 2815 at the latest, that will give us time to work out the manufacturing process of the new technology and properly build the equipment to enter full production. Some things, improved Endo Steel, improved Ferro Fibrous and the improved Double Heat Sinks can be stockpiled and are already in full production.

 I want the time to fully test all new designs and upgrades before we put them into full production. Last thing I want is to fully field a design and then have a huge critical problem show up. We do not face any imminent threat that I know of, so I think the time we wait will pay off in the long run. Plus, we are still having some issues with the new missile systems linking up with Artemis fire control, that is currently being looked at." Peter Sajak paused when Amanda raised a hand

 "Peter, we cannot continue our current production rate for 15 more years. Please tell me you have some sort of plan?" Amanda asked

 "Actually, I do, sort of. We ramp down production to what I consider the bare minimum, then I want to give the prototypes to the manufacturing concerns, let them come up with proper manufacturing methods. Take the load off the research teams, plus gives them something to do. After all, it will be them that build the weapons anyway. Same for the ammunition, I am told the new systems require special ammunition currently, that means that has to be made from the ground up. They are working on getting the improved systems to accept standard ammunition, but there are still some hurdles to overcome. That is another reason I want to hold off, trying to keep multiple types of everything in a unit's stocks will be a logistical nightmare." Peter looked at Major General Curtis DeMars, Hegemony Armed Forces Quartermaster who was making notes furiously with a scowl on his face, everyone knew he liked nice neat packages.

 General Rita Mitchell took the time to chime in. "Before Curtis has a stroke thinking about this coming nightmare, I agree, we need to hold off on the major retool. Let's work out the kinks. As much as I want the new stuff in the field, I also want it to be fully operational and not in prototype status. Plus we will need to have enough in the stockpile to replace damaged equipment as we begin fielding it. There are examples in history of even weapons manufacturers temporarily switching their production to non military items during sustained peace time, so how about we get them to help out on the infrastructure projects, take up the slack and keep their people employed while we work out the problems we now face."

 Peter Sajak nodded, "Correct, we have so many resource deposits identified, we could always use Mining Mechs and vehicles. It at least provides an income stream for the manufacturer's in the lean times."

 "Then that is what we will do, make the notifications. Now, how is the research going on the special communications?" Amanda asked

 "Progress has been steady, the first few years, as you know, were just figuring out how they worked. Since then, we have managed to improve them a great deal. The initial batch had a range of 100LY with a speed of 10LY per day. We now have managed to get them up to 50LY per day with a maximum range of 450LY. We are working on a way to encrypt them right now. Our current thought is to have them assigned to Hegemony Security and for ships on long duration missions outside of normal HPG range." Peter Sajak answered

 General Brian Calloway spoke next "Excellent, I would call them operational just not for within occupied space, not until they are encrypted. But damn sure good enough for Operation Long Sight."

 "You still want to launch Operation Long Sight Brian?" General Rita Mitchell asked

 "Sure do. I actually have a couple more I would like to discuss. This new communications makes them a viable means of staying in contact with long range operations." General Calloway said

 "Well, no better time than now. Nothing leaves this room, we do not take risks with our people. Go ahead Brian spell them out, start with Long Sight." General Rita Mitchell said

 "Very well. Several missions have been launched by the various Houses to try and find General Kerensky and the SLDF. Operation Long Sight is just such a mission. I propose we first head to Epsilon Pegasus. It is a system we dug up on Terra and since erased all record of it. It was once a SLDF base and records indicate it might have a orbital repair facility. I want to find the base there and reactivate it, from there we can launch our own missions while also using it as a forward base if hostilities occur with the Combine again. It is located roughly 400LY from Naikongzu. That is Operation Long Sight.
 
 Operation Far Seeker would accomplish the same thing, but using Drachenfeld as it's main base. It is already a friendly location which could easily sustain missions. It is outside range of even the communications, but we can always place a relay point. A Bastion Station would be perfect as it can be transported via Jumpship and is strong enough protected that without a warship, anyone is going to think twice about taking it on. We at Hegemony Security think we should slowly ring the Inner Sphere with such locations, both to launch covert operations but to also know what the heck is going on. With this new communications, we can place locations every 400LY if we need to and keep a virtual watch over everything. We know Amaris had other hidden bases out in the Periphery, we have yet to locate any others, but we know they are out there, we just have to find them." General Brian Calloway said

 Director General Amanda Cameron tapped her pen on a pad while she thought about it before speaking "What do you think Aunt Rita? Sounds like a long term operation, all of these operations. Also sounds expensive."

 "Initial expense would be high, mainly in ships based from these locations for conducting searches plus establishing the relay stations. A Bastion Station costs roughly 5 Billion fully staffed and equipped. But once in place, well the cost is only in keeping it supplied. A single supply mission per year would keep it fully supplied. We can always locate locations closer to purchase supplies as we establish them. Plus, I like the idea of hunting down any remaining bases out there." Rita answered

 "If you think it is a good idea then I will not stand in the way. General Calloway, your Operations are approved. They will be run under your Hegemony Security. Use the black funds to support your operations. No hostile actions unless approved by me or Aunt Rita. Clear?" Director General Amanda Cameron said

 "Very clear. Thank you. If you all will excuse me, I have a ton of work to start doing." General Brian Calloway said as he stood.

 Once in his office, he pulled Operation Long Sight up on his computer and began updating the information. He would intially deploy the 2972nd and 3157th Special Forces Battalions. They would secure any factilities and determine their condition. If warranted, he would try and wrangle a more permanent garrison from General Mitchell. If they actually had a orbital repair yard, he was sure he could wrestle something with some firepower from Admiral Tanaka. He would deploy them using one of his Merchant Surveillance ships aboard 2 Lion Infantry Dropships. Plus they would take some specialists with them to look over anything that is found. He began writing out the orders to get the ball moving.

 Once completed, he began reviewing his more ambitious Operation Far Seeker. This one would take some serious work, studying star charts, plotting places to establish relay points. They knew the discovered Rimworld bases had all been roughly 1000LY from the borders of the Inner Sphere. This at least gave him something to work off of and he began pulling up every star map in the data bases, which was all of them.

 

[vianca]

You know what a Black Box is perfect for, 2ndAcr?
To transmit one time HPG codes, then see ROM freaking out about this one group thats only using one time codes.

O and every RWR outpost seems to lay behind some nebula.
Shady Palms is the key, atleast for their sector of the woods.

[georgiaboy]

You know what a Black Box is perfect for, 2ndAcr?
To transmit one time HPG codes, then see ROM freaking out about this one group thats only using one time codes.

O and every RWR outpost seems to lay behind some nebula.

IIRC, Blackbox vs HPG uses different carrier waves, so are undetectable from each.

[2ndAcr]

3 January 2800
Thazi (Hegemony)

 Fleet Admiral Tanisha Tanaka took her seat at the conference table, nodding to her counterparts. As she organized the stack of files she had carried in, she wondered how they would react to her "wish" list. It was fairly extensive and fairly expensive, but spread out over the agreed 30 years. She had even adjusted her proposed construction time line to account for the deployment of the Army's new equipment possibly reducing her budget for several years.

 Once Director General Amanda Cameron had taken her place, she spoke "Tanisha, I am told that you have prepared your wish list. So, without further waiting, the floor is yours."

 Clearing her throat, Fleet Admiral Tanisha Tanaka took a quick sip of water before starting. "Before I get to that part, I am going to break up the Navy into several sub commands. Much like the old SLDF. The sub commands will be organized like this:

 Warship
 Dropship
 Aerospace
 Transport
 Support
 Marines
 Reserve
 Plans and Strategy

 This will help down the road as we mothball ships into a Reserve Fleet, but also help control the vast number of moving parts. Now, as for my wish list, it is extensive and takes into account the very worst case I could imagine facing. It will both streamline our ship counts, but also improve our ability to defeat said worst case. You all know I have griped countless times about the need to escort our Division's stripping my combat power, well, I think I have found a way to handle that in a way that both covers the need for escort while not tying up my offensive combat power.

 First, I have, with Vice Admiral Delvaney's help, slated the 5 Riga Frigates and 8 Aegis Cruisers for an extensive refit. Each will be fitted with 15 Dropship collars, turning them into Transports. Two of these ships will be able to carry a full Division into combat without the need for standard transports. In addition, each ship will possess much of it's original firepower but with increased armor protection. By refitting these ships into Transports, we will save Hundred's of Billions of funds instead of constructing a ship from scratch. Our Potemkin costs just over 74 Billion for each ship. All of the Potemkin have been refitted to SLS Mighty Lift's configuration, which provides internal housing for 50,000 people allowing for 6 month voyages on internal stores in much more comfort than aboard Dropships. The Riga and Aegis refits will not have the onboard quarters for this, so I am planning for them to be used on much shorter journey's.

 If you all will turn to page 3 of my briefing folders, you will see an exact breakdown on everything on my wish list along with production time stamp for completion." Admiral Tanaka said as pages were all turned to the correct page.

 2800 Projected Hegemony Fleet Needs

 Texas Battleships - 8 Total, one every 5 years (25 years complete)
 Luxor Heavy Cruiser - 15 Total, two every 2 years (16 years complete)
 Avatar Heavy Cruiser - 15 Total, two every 2 years (24 years complete)
 Riga II Destroyer - 12 Total, 2 every 3 years (15 years complete)
 Essex III Destroyer - 40 Total, 3 every year (30 years complete)
 Samarkand Carrier - 10 Total, 1 every 3 years (15 years complete)
 Brandt Corvette - 60 Total, 2 every year (22 year complete)
 Builder Yardship - 12 Total, 1 every year (6 years complete)
 Newgrange Yardship - 4 Total
 Volga Transport - 20 Total, 1 every 2 years (30 years complete)
 Carrack Transport - 40 Total, 2 every year (21 years complete)
 Potemkin Transport - 8 Total
 Riga Transport Cruiser - 5 Total, refit (2 years complete)
 Aegis Transport Cruiser - 8 Total, refit (4 years complete)
 Merchant Surveillance - 30 Total, 6 every year (3 years complete)

 Reserve Fleet (Mothball)

 Monsoon Battleship - 2 Total
 Farragut Battleship - 1 Total
 Sovietski Soyuz Heavy Cruiser - 1 Total
 Kimagure Pursuit Cruiser - 1 Total
 Vincent Destroyer - 35 Total
 Whirlwind Destroyer - 2 Total

 Training Fleet

 Dart Light Cruiser - 3 Total
 League II Destroyer - 3 Total
 Narukami II Destroyer - 2 Total

 "As you can see, it is an ambitious plan. We have ships active that are not listed, those I have slated for scrapping and recycling of their Jump Cores. The ships in the training fleet, well, I plan to wear them out and use them for as long as I can. I increased the Merchant Surveillance ships when you approved General Calloway's mission, I expect he will want use them heavily for his operations and I will need enough to establish a good maintenance cycle for them. By my calculations, in 30 years, if approved, I will have a Fleet that can take on any House's navy and defeat it with a minimum of losses. Vice Admiral Delvaney is already working on upgrades to the base designs to make sure of this. In total, this projected fleet will cost 2.5 Trillion C-Bills spread out over 30 years. We will pay an estimated 110 Billion C-Bills which is already calculated due to the extended production time which prevents the manufacturers from taking advantage of mass production and material ordering.

 An exception is made for SLS Tirpitz, Black Lion Battlecruiser, since she is Director General Cameron's escort, she remains in service, unless she feels she needs something flashier and newer? If so, I am sure we can think of something more suitable." Fleet Admiral Tanaka said with a smile

 "No Tanisha, the Tirpitz has served me well for many years and I could not bear to replace her. I see you have slated your Flagship to the reserve, what do you plan on using?" Director General Amanda Cameron asked

 "I barely get out around the Fleet much now, so I have relegated myself to the ground. If I need to make a trip, I will snag one of the Training Ships and give the trainee's a look at long distance travel." Admiral Tanaka replied

 "Well, unless anyone voices an argument against your wish list, I find it both affordable and in line with the 30 year spread." Director General Cameron said and no one spoke against it "Then it is approved, you may tender the appropriate construction requests to the manufacturers."

 The rest of the meeting was purely numbers, recruitment, training, deployments, rotations and planned wargames.

[Wrangler]

So the army still cycling in and out of the Inner Sphere as mercenary units to keep the troops sharp and blooded?

[2ndAcr]

Yep, that part of the briefing is coming soon

[paulobrito]

Can I assume that the active classes of warships have all upgraded they anti-ASF / anti-missile defenses?
And in some cases augmented they ASF component?

[2ndAcr]

 Check the first post for all active classes in use. Some are in Part One section in design forum, but I will be posting them to Part Two if I make changes etc.

[Cannonshop]

IIRC, Blackbox vs HPG uses different carrier waves, so are undetectable from each.

there is a different use to think about.  in system commo.

it's faster than radio waves, which doesn't sound that important until you remember that time-delay from Earth to Mars, (or even Luna to mars), because radio travels only at light speed.

Real-time commo during an in-system action is a major force multiplier since it lets you react and respond in real-time while your enemies are getting visual and sensor signals on a light speed delay.  Think of it this way: objects in space don't slow down without active thrust being applied.  if you can fire a gun, the bullet will keep going until something stops it.

so for example, a shuttle with a BB unit paired with a bb on a cruiser sitting in the Oort cloud or across the system can give real-time targeting data to home in shots from 'beyond sensor range', or direct in-system defense units onto an enemy and they can't detect the signal.