Artilleriegruppe Kataja

[ANS Kamas P81]

Artilleriegruppe Kataja is one of a number of mercenary commands that formed in the mid-32nd century.  Its commander, Mirage Kataja, was a veteran of the combined Jade Falcon and Wolf assault on Tharkad, and watched the ineffectual response by the Lyran government to the predations of those two Clans with disgust.  Initially transferred to the 26th Arcturan Guards after the fighting on Tharkad, she would eventually leave the service in 3150 and set about to raise her own mercenary force to take the war to the Clans, not realizing that the Wolves and Falcons had penetrated the Fortress and determined the fate of Terra between them.

The formation of the Tamar Pact by her old commanding officer was a dream come true for Captain Kataja.  The need for mercenary forces for the new nation was a call she couldn't resist.  She immediately signed up her force to rejoin Sarah Regis and her new nation, with an eye toward expunging the last remnant of the Jade Falcons from former Lyran space. 

With funding coming from obscure sources, Captain Kataja drew up plans for a mercenary command small enough to be quickly deployable, while at the same time heavy enough to provide direct threats to Clan forces.  Her force would be organized around a full battery of six Archers re-equipped with Thumper artillery pieces.  The modifications would be made after their arrival on Arcturus, using the primitive Archer factory to complete the refit.  The remaining BattleMechs would be purchased on arrival on Arcturus, filling out her group of formerly Dispossessed MechWarriors.

Upon arrival on Arcturus, the unit was attached to the 1st Tamar Jaegers, providing artillery support to the LCT's BattleMech forces.  Unlike the faster, cavalry-heavy Jaegers, the heavy and assault 'Mechs in Captain Kataja's unit leaned towards average mobility and superior protection and survivability.  This provided a solid anvil for the faster Jaegers forces to be the hammer.  By June of 3152, this co-location led to the Artilleriegruppe being stationed on Tomans, when the Ghost Bears landed troops on the world and engaged the Jaegers and their supporting troops, including Artilleriegruppe Kataja.

As of that deployment, the force makeup of Artilleriegruppe Kataja is as follows:

Alpha Actual: Captain Mirage Kataja
Alpha 1: 1st Lieutenant Sharon Apfel (MAD-6C Marauder II)
Alpha 2: 2nd Lieutenant Tannis Ricard (BNC-12S Banshee)

Beta 1: 1st Lieutenant Jan Fokker (BNC-12S Banshee)
Beta 2: 2nd Lieutenant Gerhardt Elster (ARC-5R-THUMPER Archer)
Beta 3: 2nd Lieutenant Aisling Chen (ARC-5R-THUMPER Archer)
Beta 4: 1st Lieutenant Jakub Schmidt (ARC-5R-THUMPER Archer)

Gamma 1: 1st Lieutenant Elizabeta Hawking (BNC-12S Banshee)
Gamma 2: 1st Lieutenant Eva Rodriguez (ARC-5R-THUMPER Archer)
Gamma 3: 2nd Lieutenant Samantha Milliome (ARC-5R-THUMPER Archer)
Gamma 4: 1st Lieutenant Guy Le France (ARC-5R-THUMPER Archer)

Delta 1: 1st Lieutenant Mikolaj de Klerk (WHM-8R Warhammer)
Delta 2: 1st Lieutenant Sven Murasame (WHM-8R Warhammer)
Delta 3: 1st Lieutenant Lotti Laurier (ARC-4M2 Archer)
Delta 4: 2nd Lieutenant Duncan Roord (ARC-4M2 Archer)

OOC notes: Yeah, I don't have an explanation where the money came from to organize this force, but how many merc units have the details of their origins?  Units like Miller's Marauders just appear on the scene with their 'Mechs and without a backstory, so I figure I can do the same - maybe Mirage is in deep with the borrowing, and the Artilleriegruppe has to dig its way out of a financial hole.  Maybe she's just part of an independently stupid rich family, and decided to invest her money in taking back worlds from the Clans.

The 'Mechs are miniatures I managed to find on ebay; someone was breaking up the various packs they got in the first kickstarter and selling off the minis individually.  They're actual CGL plastic, not MWO prints, so eventually once they're modified and painted up I'll be posting them in the minis forum.  I ordered a six-gun artillery piece kit from GHQ miniatures; I'm going to use that to build up the Thumper Archers.  Fortunately the Warhammers, remaining Archers, Marauder II, and Banshees were all matching the mini, so no need to modify things there.  Granted the Banshee 12S model is a Tamar Pact specialty and not on the general lists of availability, but I figure they were purchased directly when AGr Kataja first landed on Arcturus. 

Tactics are pretty simple - Beta 1 and Gamma 1 act as local bodyguards for the artillery 'Mechs, while Delta lance is forward on the field calling down fire and engaging targets directly.  The Marauder II likely hangs back with the artillery, while Alpha 2 as the unit XO marches forward with Delta lance and provides fire support for that force.  I went with longer-ranged 'Mechs rather than close combatants since I'm going to be dropping a lot of artillery around them; I'd rather they be able to hang back and fire at a distance rather than risk getting caught in the blast area.

I'm still thinking on unit colors, my first thought was to make this a 1st Tamar Jaegers force rather than an independent mercenary command, but it didn't really fit the Jaegers fast-cavalry style of play, and the artillery 'Mechs are unique enough on the battlefield that they bring a special component to a 'Mech fight.  Considering their teaming up with the 1st Jaegers, I suppose they provide artillery support to that force as well, in which case Delta lance would hang back and help defend the artillery position.

Now if only I had a gaming group to play with...well, at least I can stare at the minis on my shelf.

EDIT: Got the minis, two of the Archers were of the 4M2 type and six were 5Rs.  I made the 5R the artillery 'Mech and kept the two 4M2s stock. 

[DOC_Agren]

Does Mirage Kataja have a ride?

I still like this idea for a niche Merc Unit.   :thumbsup:

[ANS Kamas P81]

The MAD-6C has a command console, Mirage takes that seat.  Puts her in a commander's position, rather than as a fighting MechWarrior, coordinating artillery strikes and giving orders to the various lances.

Glad you like!  I can't get rid of the artillery-archer idea, so I figured I'd take another swing at the concept and I like how this one turned out.  The fact I have actual minis, to be converted with artillery pieces from a GHQ model set, is a big plus.

[ANS Kamas P81]

I put together a unit patch, it took a while to settle on a design with the right elements all together.  Granted, not everyone drives an Archer, but there's still a majority of ARCs among the 'Mechs in the unit.

[Daryk]

Looks good to me!  :thumbsup:

[ANS Kamas P81]

Thoughts on DropShips.  A Fortress-class would be perfect, and make for a combined arms force.  I've got a dozen BTR-4 miniatures from GHQ that I can repurpose into Wheeled APCs easily enough; adding twelve squads of infantry and using that as a "site security" force to protect whatever base I'm using or making.  That'd add a lot more Tech Teams to the pool, so I'd need a few more infantry bays to reflect that.  I'd need to strip down the heavy vehicle bays into light ones, which nets me 600 tons.  300 of that goes back into the BattleMech bays, so I can carry fourteen 'Mechs where they all have cradles.  Fourteen 'Mech Tech Teams, twelve Vehicle Tech Teams, and one Infantry Tech Team is 27 squads total; seven foot platoons at 35 tons would cover those.  The Fortress starts with 415 tons of cargo space, I'd add 265 leftover tons to general cargo to bring it to 680 tons total.

That said, I'd like to keep the focus on the 'Mechs and the artillery, and am eyeballing a stripped-out Union-class with six 'Mech bays.  Delta Lance and the company command team would take the 'Mech bays for combat drops, with the two artillery lances loaded as cargo.  Removing the fighter bays and some of the 'Mech bays gives me 1274 tons to work with.  Each artillery lance is 305 tons (three Archers and a Banshee) so 610 tons of space is used up for hauling them around.  I'd need fourteen tech teams, so that's four platoons of foot infantry there to add for another 20 tons.  That leaves me 644 tons total for food, spare parts, and ammunition.

The former would give me at least a light security force for wherever the DropShip lands as well as some pretty serious firepower; the latter's a lot easier to come by and would limit things deliberately to the BattleMech force.  They both have similar cargo bays after modifications, though the Fortress has more 'Mech bays.

If I did go with the Fortress, I could make it a company of Goblin Infantry Support Vehicles.  They've got three-ton bays onboard, so I could carry Tech Teams and infantry together in those.  Fortresses aren't on the Mercenary General availability in the ilClan era, but they are specifically listing that the Tamar Pact has them.  Maybe I'll keep the Fortress and fluff it that Artilleriegruppe Kataja doesn't have its own transportation, but is assigned to one of the DropShips assisting the First Tamar Jaegers.  That way the infantry and tanks are Tamar Pact forces, while Mirage's company is simply along for the ride.  They're a supporting element with their artillery, so it makes sense they'd operate in the same way.  What happened to the company of Jaegers that was supposed to be with the DropShip?  Lost in fighting the Falcons, I suppose, and the seats opened up for AGr. K to fill in.

Late night thoughts.

[Daryk]

For extra fun, remember a Goblin can fit a Thumper...  ^-^

[DOC_Agren]

glad to see you remember base security.  :thumbsup:

and old Fortress is perfect...

[ANS Kamas P81]

I shuffled up the organization a bit and ordered some new minis.  The BNC-12S not being on the Mercenary MUL list itched at my brain, so I removed two of those, keeping one as a "liason" attached to Mirage and Sharon's MAD-6C - I'll paint it up in 1st Tamar Jaegers colors, while the rest get the green and black of the AGr.

I also remembered the lance SPAs from Campaign Operations, and how the Artillery Lance gets two pilots being given the SPA of Oblique Artilleryman.  With a slight reshuffling of the lances, and putting two ARC-Thumpers in each lance, gave me the Oblique Artilleryman SPA for each of my artillery 'Mechs.  It also makes more sense to have them organized in pairs of guns with the rest of the lance being bodyguards for the artillery.  Standardizing my lances on Warhammers and Archers, I end up with the following organization:

Command Element: MAD-6C Marauder II, BNC-12S Banshee (4908 BV)
Fire Lance: WHM-8R Warhammer, ARC-4M2 Archer, ARC-5R-Thumper Archer, ARC-5R-Thumper Archer (6073 BV)
Fire Lance: WHM-8R Warhammer, ARC-4M2 Archer, ARC-5R-Thumper Archer, ARC-5R-Thumper Archer (6073 BV)
Fire Lance: WHM-8R Warhammer, ARC-4M2 Archer, ARC-5R-Thumper Archer, ARC-5R-Thumper Archer (6073 BV)

So there's only 13 'Mechs in "Kataja's Krazies," with their liason officer hanging out with the command 'Mech partly protecting it and partly overseeing the rest of the force.  I also got rid of the "scout lance" mindset and decided the entire battery is dedicated to fire support and protecting its guns, relying on the 1st Jaegers to find targets.  I can disperse each fire lance to spread out my guns to protect from counterbattery, while the Warhammer and Archer should be more than enough to deal with enemy scouts.

BVs above are based on Regular 4/5 G/P skilled 'MechWarriors; I haven't decided on just what to set the rest of the force at.  I don't mind going with all-Regular 'Mech drivers, though I suppose I should put my best pilot in my best 'Mech and make Lieutenant Apfel a Veteran driver.  That'll bring the BV of the MAD-6C to 3097, which is pretty expensive...but it means I've got a good pilot for Mirage while she coordinates the battlefield.  I figure their liason has been around the block a few times, good enough to earn a BNC-12S, so I'll make him a Veteran too and eat the 3382 BV cost for him.  The 12S is a beast, but I only have the one attached to the unit.  The rest of the force is Regular; each lance would be 8016 BV if I veteraned them all - I will give them room to grow, shall we say.

As far as supporting elements go, they're deployed alongside a mechanized infantry company from the 1st Jaegers, for twelve Goblin ISVs and three platoons of foot infantry.  Organizationally they're attached directly to the command lance of the 1st Tamar Jaegers LCT, taking fire orders direct from the LCT's commander.

I suppose I should put together a 1st Jaegers company now, and give them lots and lots of artillery-strike BSPs...

[Daryk]

A couple of Ferrets would probably fit in the cargo bay for spotters...  ^-^

[DOC_Agren]

A couple of Ferrets would probably fit in the cargo bay for spotters...  ^-^

and a couple of 2 man spotter teams go a long way

[ANS Kamas P81]

I was debating going between either twelve Goblins with the infantry, or eight Goblins and four Ferrets for the artillery spotters; I was leaning towards the dozen Goblins and treating the rest of the 1st Jaegers as spotters.  If I did go with the Ferrets, that'd let me transport four squads of infantry that way as spotters, leaving eight tanks and two platoons of infantry as a guard force for the DropShip.  The 1st Jaegers have two regiments of tanks in the LCT, so having AGr Kataja protected by one combined company of mechanized infantry won't eat much into the fighting strength of the Jaegers.

I'm just trying to avoid a fully self-sufficient unit, with its own transport and security and other roles organically provided.  They're a specialist force, an Artilleriegruppe rather than a Kampfgruppe.  And since I worked out below the kind of transport capability I'm working with, the Artilleriegruppe is basically on its own in its DropShip, landing at whatever LZ the rest of the LCT deploys to.  That way I can rely on the rest of the Jaegers for security and recon duty, and focus my efforts on sending shells downrange.

That said, I suppose I should work out the transport capabilities for the Jaegers and see how the Fortress fits into that.  Tamar Pact has access to Excaliburs, three of which could haul the vehicle component along.  If I give the 1st Jaegers two Excaliburs, giving them four battalions of tanks, two battalions of infantry and two companies of 'Mechs.  The other two tank battalions can be carried as cargo, since each Excalibur (Upgrade) has 2,238 tons of cargo onboard and is the version that's available to the Tamar Pact.  That accounts for both regiments (six battalions) of tanks, and leaves me with a need for Aerospace contingents.

Instead of Fortresses, I'm thinking of Trutzburgs with their triple Long Tom artillery and six ASFs each, plus a 'Mech company.  Three of them would give me the 'Mech space for two more companies, rounding out the reinforced battalion of BattleMechs in the 1st Jaegers, plus the company of Artilleriegruppe Kataja.  The three Trutzburgs also carry 18 aerospace fighters, and between their firepower and the fighters should be a good escort for the two lightly-protected Excaliburs.  Eighteen ASFs might be light for the whole LCT, but it's a lot better than nothing, and if I assume a Star Lord for transportation with its six collars, I've got one open space for a carrier DropShip or a supply transport.

This post brought to you by oh wow it's after midnight.  And is probably confusing the way it's written, but it's how my brain works sometimes.

[Daryk]

I'd stick with 12 Goblins in cubicles that can be immediately deployed.  Ferrets are small enough that unloading them from cargo wouldn't take that long.

[ANS Kamas P81]

The vehicles would be carried in the Excaliburs; I'm going with Trutzburgs instead of Fortresses for 'Mech carriers so I have some ASF protection for the 1st Jaegers.  That means I'm cramming one battalion of light vehicles in each of the Excaliburs as cargo, and that's probably going to end up being VTOL units.  The Trutzburg carries 12 'Mechs and 6 ASFs, rather than a vehicle company, so I'm riding along that way.

[Daryk]

Ah, ok... sorry for being slow on the uptake there!

[ANS Kamas P81]

Nah, it's confusing the way I write things, it's partly stream of consciousness and things shift around as I type.  Alles bueno desu!

[Daryk]

Thanks!  I'll be interested to see where you take them...  :thumbsup:

[DOC_Agren]

I was debating going between either twelve Goblins with the infantry, or eight Goblins and four Ferrets for the artillery spotters; I was leaning towards the dozen Goblins and treating the rest of the 1st Jaegers as spotters.  If I did go with the Ferrets, that'd let me transport four squads of infantry that way as spotters, leaving eight tanks and two platoons of infantry as a guard force for the DropShip.  The 1st Jaegers have two regiments of tanks in the LCT, so having AGr Kataja protected by one combined company of mechanized infantry won't eat much into the fighting strength of the Jaegers.

I'm just trying to avoid a fully self-sufficient unit, with its own transport and security and other roles organically provided.  They're a specialist force, an Artilleriegruppe rather than a Kampfgruppe.  And since I worked out below the kind of transport capability I'm working with, the Artilleriegruppe is basically on its own in its DropShip, landing at whatever LZ the rest of the LCT deploys to.  That way I can rely on the rest of the Jaegers for security and recon duty, and focus my efforts on sending shells downrange.

Then the Goblins might be dropped for, for the recon/spotter force to aid on sending the shells downrange.  They are more important then security force
as they in theory can trust the Jaegers for security.

[ANS Kamas P81]

So I kicked this idea around some more after writing up variants for the Longbow that included two Arrow IV launchers, and that got me thinking - that's two full batteries of artillery, one of six Thumpers and one of six Arrows.  If I could cram a second Thumper in an Archer, that would give me a full three-battery battalion of artillery and make Artilleriegruppe Kataja a really potent force multiplier to attach to an LCT.

Granted, that heavy focus on artillery leaves me light on traditional BattleMech fights and other battlefield roles including spotting for targets, but that's what the 1st Tamar Jaegers are supposed to be doing.  Still, I kept a fourth 'Mech in each lance as a lance commander/protector, with the company commander still in a MAD-6C to take advantage of the command console as the second seater, while the pilot of the Marauder II also acts as 1st Battery commander.  The biggest threat is from ASFs and CFs ranging beyond the FLOT to hit rear areas, so for the tube artillery batteries that went to a modified Rifleman to take advantage of its antiaircraft bonuses.  Alpha Battery can load Air Defense Arrows, so they've got that role covered on their own.

Alpha 0: Captain Mirage Kataja
Alpha 1: 1st Lieutenant Sharon Apfel (3/4) (MAD-6C Marauder II)
Alpha 2: 2nd Lieutenant Gerhardt Elster (4/5) (LGB-0W-AIV Longbow)
Alpha 3: 2nd Lieutenant Aisling Chen (4/5) (LGB-0W-AIV Longbow)
Alpha 4: 1st Lieutenant Jakub Schmidt (4/5) (LGB-0W-AIV Longbow)
Alpha BV: 8878

Beta 1: 1st Lieutenant Elizabeta Hawking (3/4) (RFL-10X Rifleman)
Beta 2: 1st Lieutenant Eva Rodriguez (4/5) (ARC-4M2-THUMPER-DOUBLE)
Beta 3: 2nd Lieutenant Samantha Milliome (4/5) (ARC-4M2-THUMPER-DOUBLE)
Beta 4: 1st Lieutenant Guy Le France (4/5) (ARC-4M2-THUMPER-DOUBLE)
Beta BV: 4580

Gamma 1: 1st Lieutenant Mikolaj de Klerk (3/4) (RFL-10X Rifleman)
Gamma 2: 1st Lieutenant Sven Murasame (4/5) (ARC-4M2-THUMPER-DOUBLE)
Gamma 3: 1st Lieutenant Lotti Laurier (4/5) (ARC-4M2-THUMPER-DOUBLE)
Gamma 4: 2nd Lieutenant Duncan Roord (4/5) (ARC-4M2-THUMPER-DOUBLE)
Gamma BV: 4580

Total company BV: 18038

This would all fit nicely into the unit's own DropShip, a modified Union (the Dare Eternity) with the fighter bays removed for more cargo and personnel space for the technicians.  The twelve tech teams take up three foot platoons for bay space, which is a tiny amount of the total cargo fraction remaining.

I suppose I'll add more later as I think of ideas, but for now this is pretty much a final version of this unit - and I do mean final, since I've modified the minis and mostly painted them; I just need to add the second artillery piece to the Archers I have already and paint up the Longbows and Riflemans.  The color scheme is an olive green overall, with black forearms and weapons, while the insignia is a stylized gold flower over crossed cannons on a green and black disc.

[Daryk]

Looking good!

[DOC_Agren]

I would still look at adding your own spotters and as cargo "Ferrets" or Jet Sleds to transport them into the zone.

[Daryk]

Seconded... it's a miniscule investment in tonnage for a LOT of return in capability.

[ANS Kamas P81]

Hm.  Well, if I take the Combined Arms version of the Union, it brings space for three platoons by sacking the ASFs as it is, which is pretty much what I was looking to do.  That leaves me with 359.5 tons of cargo space, and...well, four Ferrets and a foot platoon infantry bay is a total of 25 tons combined.  So I could get two lances of Ferrets loaded as cargo, plus two platoons of foot infantry, in a reinforced mechanized company along with 309.5 tons of cargo, most of which goes to life support.

The other option is adding another 'Mech company and putting them in another Combined Arms Union.  I've got three each of standard Warhammers and Archers painted up in the same scheme, with a bunch of FrankenMechs not yet painted.  I don't have any scouts or 'Mechs lighter than a Rifleman, so that extra company would be a line battle company...I suppose I need to stock up on some light 'Mechs.  A mixed company with three lances of a WHM-8R, ARC-4M2, and two WLF-4Ws...it'd be a bit slow overall but it's an option.  I suppose I should pick from the FrankenMechs to fill out the company instead of buying more miniatures.

I'm leaning towards the second company myself...keeping the painted WHM-8R and ARC-4M2, and adding in three ARC-WHM and three ARC-RFL chop-shop survivors.  Maybe I'll swap in an RFL-10X for one of the ARC-RFLs; I have it halfway painted...

[Daryk]

Hmmm... if you pick up a second Union, you COULD keep them stock, throw four LAMs into the ASF bays, and put one Ferret lance in each.  There's your recon Company... ;)

[ANS Kamas P81]

Caution, stream-of-consciousness typing ahead.  tl;dr at the bottom.

That's an idea, but in 3151 LAMs are extinct according to the ones I looked up on the MUL, so that shoots that idea down.  And going with the Combined Arms Union lets me bring my tech teams along for maintenance and reloading, while having some cargo tonnage (enough is debatable) for supplies.

Now, there's a combined-arms Overlord that would fit the bill very nicely, with 24 'Mech bays onboard plus six fighters and twelve heavy vehicles.  It comes with 732.5 tons of supplies as well, though that'll go up.  I'll replace the heavy vehicle bays with one company of light vehicle bays, giving me 600 tons of cargo space.  Adding a tech team for everything gives me 42 squads, rounding to 11 foot platoons of technicians and astechs.  That eats up 55 tons of cargo space, plus three more platoons of infantry to ride in the Ferrets in the light vehicle bays, for a total of 70 tons of infantry space.  That leaves a total of 1262.5 tons of cargo space for supplies and ammunition and transport vehicles.

Basic life support is going to need 1 ton for 200 man-hours for quartered personnel and 1 ton for 20 man-hours for bay personnel.  I have 43 in quarters, or 4.65 days per ton of supplies.  40 days worth comes to a little under 9 tons of cargo space.  512 bay personnel however, that's going to eat up a lot of life support - 0.039 days per ton of supplies, or about 1030 tons of cargo space.

But again that brings me back into being more of a frontline combat unit than an artillery support specialist, and I don't want to do that so much.  I can always repaint the extra miniatures, I suppose, or keep the scheme and just declare them a different unit that happens to use the same colors.  It's not like the red & black Kell Hounds have a monopoly on that color scheme...maybe I'll repaint the black parts to green and turn it into a general camouflage.

I think I'll stick with just the single company of artillery 'mechs and the one Union-class dropship, let's see...I'd need three platoons of foot infantry for the Battlemech tech teams, one platoon for the four Ferret tech teams, and one platoon of spotter squads, and 20 tons of cargo space for the Ferrets.  That leaves me 349.5 tons of stuff left over, so let's figure 30 days of life support for 14 quartered personnel comes to 2.1 tons, and 30 days for 164 bay personnel comes to 246 tons of supplies.

That leaves me just over 100 tons for ammunition and spare parts for twelve 'Mechs...according to Campaign Operations each 'Mech goes through 1% of its weight in spare parts each month.  With 775 tons of BattleMechs onboard, that's 8 tons of maintenance spares; meanwhile the four Ferrets add up to 0.2 tons of maintenance supplies in addition to that.  That leaves 95.3 tons left over; I'll need to fuel the Ferrets - three fuel tank loads brings me to 94.1 tons of cargo.

With 60 tons of Arrow IV missiles and 24 tons of Thumper ammunition, I get enough artillery ammunition in 84 tons of cargo space for two full combat loads in the cargo space.  The Riflemans each carry 4 tons of MML ammunition and 4 tons of RAC ammunition for one full combat load, along with 2 tons of MG ammo spread between the Ferrets.  That doesn't include their onboard storage, so I've actually got three full loads of artillery weapons and two loads of Rifleman and Ferret ammo.  That leaves a whole whopping 100 kilograms of cargo space left over for rum rations.  Tight, but I suppose they'll be traveling with an RCT and relying on them for logistics and DropShip security, as well as resupply.

That's the thing I have to keep remembering, is that this isn't an independent unit - it's a supplemental force, bringing extra fire support to an existing LCT.  I suppose I can repaint the extra minis in the 1st Tamar Jaegers red-and-white scheme, if I don't just go with a straight camouflage.

tl;dr: I'll stick with the single 'Mech company and a Union, and add a lance of Ferrets and a platoon of infantry for spotters.  There's enough cargo space for a month of operations and a few reloads for the 'Mechs.  I'm gonna rely on the 1st Jaegers for support and supply above and beyond that.

[Daryk]

Sounds like a plan!  I think you're just missing the final platoon of Admin types, which should include a Tech Team for all the "infantry" (you only need one team per full company of 112), and a Medical Team or two (Docs and Medics count as Admin).

[ANS Kamas P81]

One more platoon of infantry should account for the admin personnel, yeah - good catch, I'd forgotten about them.  That'll eat into my ammo tonnage some as far as keeping them supplied with food and water, but I can live with it.

Man, Battletech DropShips need much more cargo tonnage than they have available, nobody really considered onboard resupply really deeply.  Look at the cargo cap of a basic model Union or Leopard...I suppose that civilian cargo droppers are a part of any military action.

[Daryk]

It's come up before... the OG trio were really just landing craft.

[ANS Kamas P81]

So I have been kicking this around further in my head and decided I didn't want to repaint more miniatures; this led to reinforcing each 'Mech lance until they're six deep with an extra stock model Warhammer and Archer.  This turned the unit into a demi-Level III, having six 'Mechs per battery - and required new transport, because there's no way that's fitting in a Union.

I found the Combined Arms Overlord, which fits the bill nicely - it has 24 'Mech bays, which I can reduce to 18 and use the space left over for cargo.  Same with the 12 Heavy Vehicle bays, which get converted to Light Vehicle bays allowing me a company of Ferret artillery scouts.  Adding three foot platoons took up virtually no tonnage, so I have my scout forces as 12 Ferrets carrying 12 squads of infantry.

The big thing I run into is my near-total lack of knowledge about the Aerospace game, especially come the IlClan era.  I have bays for six fighters which I intend to keep, but I'm not sure what to fill them with.  I'm thinking four dogfighters and two attack ASFs, but which ones?  Things that would have a Lyran feel, but be available on the mercenary list on the MUL.  Help me pick my air support!

I haven't worked out the numbers for life support and supplies carried in the DropShip, but I'm looking at over 2,000 tons of cargo space so far; I need to redo a spreadsheet to figure out how many mouths I'm feeding and what all I have left for fuel, ammunition, and spare parts.  I should have enough for at least a month's worth of supplies, even with all of my technicians and admin troops in infantry bays instead of quarters.

[Daryk]

Might I suggest 2 LCF-R20s?  They're bricks designed for working over opposing DropShips... :)