Duke Small's material exchange

[Colt Ward]

Duke Small of Small World has been trading the use of his planet's wilderness areas with the AFFS and later AFFC as training areas & firing ranges in exchange for military material for his personal forces.  I do not think the Chaos March SB says how long this has been going on, but at most it has been since 4SW when the world was invaded.  So if you were the bureaucrat in the AFFS (and later AFFC) responsible for paying him off in equipment . . . what would you be sending?

Personally I would think its a bunch of the lower ranked militia trash that is being phased out of national service.  Previously used Po and Brutus tanks- ignore the holes- that are deemed marginal for refurb.  Maybe Vindicators from Capellan planetary militias that have been pieced together too many times.  In the early 3050s, equipment retired from national service that was deemed unsuitable for modernization with the 3050s upgrade kits.

The bit of fluff we get to me indicates Duke Small would bargain hard, but might be swayed by quantity rather than quality.

[dgorsman]

Doesn't the AFFC have a military material department specifically for selling surplus and obsolete gear on the mercenary and friendly open markets?

[Natasha Kerensky]

Damaged Jagermechs.  Defective Blackjacks.  Ancient Whitworths.  Captured Urbies. 

Only possible new mechs would be clearly garrison material, like Sentries and Watchmen.

Maybe the occasional working Centurion, Enforcer, or bug mech.

Worn-out Partisans, Strikers, and Goblins.

Excess Vedettes, Scorpions, and APCs.

Old ACs for field guns.

Boeing Jump Bombers, Guardians, and maybe the occasional Meteor.

Honestly, when you’re a state with hundreds of worlds and probably thousands of uninhabited continents, large islands, and outbacks, there’s no need to travel to and conduct training exercises on a foreign (if allied) planet.

If it’s really about training exercises, doing them on Small World should have almost no value to the AFFC, and Small World should get the absolute lightest and least useful dregs from the above.

If it’s about having an ally and a base in the Chaos March, then that’s more valuable and some of the heavier and better stuff from the above list should find its way to Small World.

[SCC]

Bug 'Mechs, anything IS from TRO:3050

[Colt Ward]

Honestly, when you’re a state with hundreds of worlds and probably thousands of uninhabited continents, large islands, and outbacks, there’s no need to travel to and conduct training exercises on a foreign (if allied) planet.

If it’s really about training exercises, doing them on Small World should have almost no value to the AFFC, and Small World should get the absolute lightest and least useful dregs from the above.

If it’s about having an ally and a base in the Chaos March, then that’s more valuable and some of the heavier and better stuff from the above list should find its way to Small World.

Well, it was that before OP Guerrero it was supposed to be a world the AFFS went to train . . . I can make plenty of reasons why, but the least political comes down to some form of BTU 'NIMBY.'  Like I said, its in the fluff, so figure units deployed to the Sarna March and maybe nearby Crucis or Capellan March worlds used it to train.

I was honestly thinking about a lot of cast-offs of stuff built in the Sarna & Capellan March, maybe Crucis March or stuff bought from the SIC that has been deemed worn out.

But I DO like the idea of 'Duke Small, you wanted a new mech?  Here is a brand new mech from Robinson!  Its called the Sentry and mounts some of the latest gear!'

[Daryk]

Watchmen could reasonably called "new 'mechs" too!  ^-^

[glitterboy2098]

my guess is that it was chosen because it is largely empty (it's in a severe ice age and the only settlements are near the equator, along with the mines that provide the main income for the world. so lots of empty space and relatively easy to avoid the inhabited bits)
also since it is near the border of the CapCon (but still a few jumps away) from its capture in 3029 up to 3057 when the Chaos march formed, the place is pretty well suited for both a bit of saber rattling (using the training events to intimidate the CapCon into staying quiet)  and for having the units involved in the training in a place they can respond to incursions by the Capcon or even the Combine in that area. it is also a good 'halfway' point between the Fedsuns and Lyran commonwealth.. in the middle of what is technically lyran territory (due to Hanse's wedding gift) and garrisoned by Lyran troops, but also on the Fedsuns side of terra and close to Fedsun's garrisons. makes it easy to arrange training operations between units from both halves of the AFFC.

[R.Tempest]

 Maybe Duke Small is also providing the op force for thr units that are training. He could have a bunch of officer's and troops trained in CCAF doctrine. Good training for relatively green troops in the AFFS/LCAF/ AFFC.

[RifleMech]

Scorpion Mechs. The LC got rid of theirs by 3026. Other Houses were expected to follow. That might be a good place to get rid of them.