Monarch Dropships

[Warship]

I was reading through some other posts and found myself wondering about luxury liners.  Of course, that means the Monarch-class Dropship.  I fired up Heavy  Metal Aero and discovered it was not listed.  After creating an entry for it from Sarna, I found myself wondering if Kerensky took any with him into exile.  Was anything ever mentioned?

[Deadborder]

The truth is that we have no idea. For the most part, we only hear about what Dropships were a part of the Exodus fleet when it's after the fact; either an extinct type that the last examples left on the Exodus, or one that was used as the basis of a modern Clan type.

On top of that, we know next to nothing about Clan merchant dropships, save for the fact that they exist and they use some common Inner Sphere designs.

I suspect this becomes one of those "if it fits your game" things

[Jellico]

It almost certainly went with Kerensky.

No sigh of a Clan variant. Not sure how much call there is for it when people travel cattle class in Mules.

[Colt Ward]

HMA does have the Monarch, not sure why you did not see it . . .

But yeah, I think Jellico & Deadborder have covered it.  Consider we see very little of the quarters for the Clans in fiction- Ulric Kerensky's quarters in the invasion, which Vlad later takes over, Ranna's, Cyrilla Ward's (?) and . . . any other?

Ulric Kerensky's quarters are described as smaller than expected (well, Phelan HAD been dealing with Lyran social generals before) and sparse/spartan in their furnishings.

Additionally, the Clans afaik had no real call to move masses of people- in comfort or as 'cattle'- so while Kerensky may have grabbed what Monarchs he could (it was not in production long when he left) or whatever ancestor it had, it does not mean the Clans kept those DS about.  Especially since they would have been prime Wolverine escape ships and since Nicki did not want anyone going back on his changes . . . could they have been dismantled for parts?

Rather than a luxury liner, you are more likely to find something like what happened to the ocean liners in WWI and WWII.

[dgorsman]

They're probably tied up in Diamond Shark merchant fleets, especially once the IS was more open for trade.  Ravens likely have the rest, converted as crew service vessels for their WarShip fleet.

[RifleMech]

I can definitely see them being used by the nobility, the rich and higher ranking officer's families. After the pentagon wars and second exodus I think the luxury items would be stripped out in favor of regular quarters or cargo space. I could also see them being converted to hospital ships.

[Warship]

HMA does have the Monarch, not sure why you did not see it . . .

But yeah, I think Jellico & Deadborder have covered it.  Consider we see very little of the quarters for the Clans in fiction- Ulric Kerensky's quarters in the invasion, which Vlad later takes over, Ranna's, Cyrilla Ward's (?) and . . . any other?

Ulric Kerensky's quarters are described as smaller than expected (well, Phelan HAD been dealing with Lyran social generals before) and sparse/spartan in their furnishings.

Additionally, the Clans afaik had no real call to move masses of people- in comfort or as 'cattle'- so while Kerensky may have grabbed what Monarchs he could (it was not in production long when he left) or whatever ancestor it had, it does not mean the Clans kept those DS about.  Especially since they would have been prime Wolverine escape ships and since Nicki did not want anyone going back on his changes . . . could they have been dismantled for parts?

Rather than a luxury liner, you are more likely to find something like what happened to the ocean liners in WWI and WWII.

I found it.  It appears I had a filter turned on when looking.  Thanks.

[NutritiousSlop]

I've thought of the Monarch like a 737- pretty ubiquitous, reconfigurable, and generally a basic implement of commerce.  The SLDF took everything that wasn't nailed down when they left, and commandeering a few Monarchs is probably in the cards.  They likely got used as light freighters and passenger liners (Clan civilians probably travel too) once into Clan space, probably crewed by aged aerospace pilots and civilian caste crews. 

[Von Jankmon]

The SLDF took everything that wasn't nailed down when they left, and commandeering a few Monarchs is probably in the cards.  They likely got used as light freighters and passenger liners (Clan civilians probably travel too) once into Clan space, probably crewed by aged aerospace pilots and civilian caste crews.

I don't think this is so.  Alexander Kerensky wanted an orderly, unhurried, legal, exit on his own timing,  and theft of civilian assets and infrastructure just wasnt his style.  Its not like the SLDF was short of ships.

As for Monarchs, why would they want them? Its a docking space that can be used for a Mule which is far more their thing.  Its an military not as cruise line.  Behemoths also, though both would be more likely bought than stolen.  Mammoths were not invented yet. If any were requisitioned at need Kerensky has enough morals to insist the owner get fair compensation and goes to the top of the queue of those new builds due to come off assembly after the exit date.  If anyone didnt get their replacement ship it will be because of the first succession war, not the Exodus.

[dgorsman]

What about the dependents?  You're not cramming them into a bunch of bulk cargo haulers for a long trip.

Incidentally, what did the SLDF use for non-combat staff transport?  It's not outside of consideration there would be quite a few airliner-type vessels under contract as people movers, much as passenger liners are used in real life.

[RifleMech]

I don't think this is so.  Alexander Kerensky wanted an orderly, unhurried, legal, exit on his own timing,  and theft of civilian assets and infrastructure just wasnt his style.  Its not like the SLDF was short of ships.

As for Monarchs, why would they want them? Its a docking space that can be used for a Mule which is far more their thing.  Its an military not as cruise line.  Behemoths also, though both would be more likely bought than stolen.  Mammoths were not invented yet. If any were requisitioned at need Kerensky has enough morals to insist the owner get fair compensation and goes to the top of the queue of those new builds due to come off assembly after the exit date.  If anyone didnt get their replacement ship it will be because of the first succession war, not the Exodus.

To transport civilians. It wasn't just troops that left with Kerensky but their families also. There's like 6 million people went on the Exodus, and 2/3 or them were civilians. The need to transport civilians makes using dropships like the Monarch a necessity. I can even see Kerensky's family and the families of other really high ranking officers traveling on Princess class Liners. The grunts families probably had to do with old formerly retired and mothballed infantry transports.  The Mule and other cargo ships would be where they carried their supplies, along with all the other belongings they wanted to take with them.

[Daryk]

Some of Kerensky's staff might have gotten away with the Princess trick, but I wouldn't expect that for his family.  He'd certainly know about that.

[JA Baker]

I'd imagine that the SLDF would have grabbed every passenger ship they could get their hands on, simply for the extra, redundant life support capacity they'd represent. It's not just troops, but support personnel and dependents, people who are going to need something to occupy their time during the years it took to finally get far enough away from the Inner Sphere to feel safe. You can't just jam thousands of civilians, even those used to living on military bases, into hastily converted cargo bays and expect them to just sit there, twiddling their thumbs.

As to what happened to them... in my head, the inertial settling of the Pentagon Worlds probably went like attempted settlement of New Caprica in Battlestar Galactica, with civilian ships being used as temporary accommodation, power supply and utilities until a more permanent settlement could be set up. To expedite this, they probably started cutting holes in the ships to run pipes and cables, then built add-hoc extensions onto them. You may even find a few older, more isolated buildings that very obviously started life as a DropShip in the distant past.

Probably something that's true across all human explored space.

[Colt Ward]

I don't think this is so.  Alexander Kerensky wanted an orderly, unhurried, legal, exit on his own timing,  and theft of civilian assets and infrastructure just wasnt his style.  Its not like the SLDF was short of ships.

As for Monarchs, why would they want them? Its a docking space that can be used for a Mule which is far more their thing.  Its an military not as cruise line.  Behemoths also, though both would be more likely bought than stolen.  Mammoths were not invented yet. If any were requisitioned at need Kerensky has enough morals to insist the owner get fair compensation and goes to the top of the queue of those new builds due to come off assembly after the exit date.  If anyone didnt get their replacement ship it will be because of the first succession war, not the Exodus.

He would have impressed any number of body-shufflers during the push to take down Aramis . . . just like ocean liners were impressed to be troop transports during WWI and WWII.

[RifleMech]

Some of Kerensky's staff might have gotten away with the Princess trick, but I wouldn't expect that for his family.  He'd certainly know about that.

If he wanted to see them in secret that'd probably be the best place to do it. Civilians going into Kerensky's office are going to be noticed. On the other hand crews of Princesses would be used to providing privacy for their passengers and thus not seeing or hearing anything they're not supposed to.

He would have impressed any number of body-shufflers during the push to take down Aramis . . . just like ocean liners were impressed to be troop transports during WWI and WWII.

I can see that for short term, especially with cargo but for the most part I think he would have used Military resources. With the Exodus he added another 4 million or so civilians, plus all their belongings and everything needed to set up colonies. To move all that he'd have to use civilian ships.

[Colt Ward]

For normal troop rotations they use military transport.  Name me a single large conflict where a government did not impress (even if that term is not used) civilian transport to send as much men & material to the combat zone as quickly as possible?

WWI & WWII the US/UK were using ocean liners to move troops from the colonies to the UK and from the US to Europe- the ships went from being floating palaces to packing in as many bodies as possible.  Merchant shipping was part, in the US, of the merchant marine reserve- not sure of the exact terms but basically the gov't cut them some slack on the understanding that the ships would come under military control in war time.

Desert Storm & OIF, used the airlines to transport troops while heavy equipment was shipped on ROROs and all the DOD's transport planes were used to haul supplies & equipment rather than people.  Bluntly the USAF's transports are not the most efficient people movers- airliners are and can be requisitioned.

Kerensky would have declared a state of emergency and laid hands on all the transport he can get- even if only military transport is used for system assaults, there is still a LOT of call for non-combat transport as the SLDF withdrew from the periphery to shift to RWR and then Hegemony.

[RifleMech]

For normal troop rotations they use military transport.  Name me a single large conflict where a government did not impress (even if that term is not used) civilian transport to send as much men & material to the combat zone as quickly as possible?

WWI & WWII the US/UK were using ocean liners to move troops from the colonies to the UK and from the US to Europe- the ships went from being floating palaces to packing in as many bodies as possible.  Merchant shipping was part, in the US, of the merchant marine reserve- not sure of the exact terms but basically the gov't cut them some slack on the understanding that the ships would come under military control in war time.

Desert Storm & OIF, used the airlines to transport troops while heavy equipment was shipped on ROROs and all the DOD's transport planes were used to haul supplies & equipment rather than people.  Bluntly the USAF's transports are not the most efficient people movers- airliners are and can be requisitioned.

Kerensky would have declared a state of emergency and laid hands on all the transport he can get- even if only military transport is used for system assaults, there is still a LOT of call for non-combat transport as the SLDF withdrew from the periphery to shift to RWR and then Hegemony.

I never said the SLDF didn't use civilian transport. There's all kinds of reasons for a military to use civilian ships. However, the SLDF had a huge amount of money and could afford all the transport they wanted. They had entire fleets just for non combat uses. So there wouldn't be a need to draft large amounts of ships until Exodus.

[Colt Ward]

I will disagree . . . they have enough of a fleet to meet their peace time transport & shipping needs.  When the balloon goes up, you grab everything you can to move troops as much and fast as you can.  So whether is old fashioned impressment of naval ships & crews or activating 'national service' clauses of the ship's license/charter/contract to nationalize their use, they still grab ships.  Heck, we KNOW Kerensky was using captured RWR ships to move his troops.

Grabbing civilian dropships & jumpships becomes even more critical when Aramis kicks off his seizure in the Hegemony which results in chunks of the SLN and supply/support fleet were destroyed.  Now, did he grab ships in the Houses' space?  I might doubt he grabbed any House flagged ship, but if you were Hegemony flagged I would expect to find out you joined the SLN for the duration.

Like I said, name a instance where large conflicts did not see civilian transport commandeered to move troops & supplies.

[RifleMech]

I will disagree . . . they have enough of a fleet to meet their peace time transport & shipping needs.  When the balloon goes up, you grab everything you can to move troops as much and fast as you can.  So whether is old fashioned impressment of naval ships & crews or activating 'national service' clauses of the ship's license/charter/contract to nationalize their use, they still grab ships.  Heck, we KNOW Kerensky was using captured RWR ships to move his troops.

Grabbing civilian dropships & jumpships becomes even more critical when Aramis kicks off his seizure in the Hegemony which results in chunks of the SLN and supply/support fleet were destroyed.  Now, did he grab ships in the Houses' space?  I might doubt he grabbed any House flagged ship, but if you were Hegemony flagged I would expect to find out you joined the SLN for the duration.

Like I said, name a instance where large conflicts did not see civilian transport commandeered to move troops & supplies.

The SLDF had 1,500 Warships in 20 active Fleets, another 750 Warships in the Garrison Fleet, and another 1,000 Warships in the Reserve fleet. I'm not finding a number for jumpships but I'm sure the SLDF had a large number of them. There was also the Exploration Command which had their own ships, mostly jumpships but some warships. There was the various logistical commands which moved everything from information, troops, supplies and even the repatriation of war dead.

Yes, Kerensky took losses against the Periphery and the coup destroyed or cut off more that still left a lot of ships. And yes Kerensky took RWR ships to replace losses. I don't think anyone wouldn't do that but as far as civilian shipping goes I'm not reading anything in Liberation of Terra that say's Kerensky drafted civilian ships. The closest would be the Secret fleet of military and civilian ships still operating in the Hegemony to provide intel and support the resistance. What LoT does say that the SLDF didn't have ships or money to hire them to move new recruits from training centers to Kerensky's army. It wasn't until Kerensky was rearming in the RWR that the Logistics Command and civilian companies started devoting shipping to move them. It also says that at that point hundreds of ships volunteered their services to move defecting house troops to Kerensky's forces. It's after that that civilian ships are used more, again for intel but also to rescue survivors.

[Colt Ward]

But its not just the invasion fleets, warships and transport fleets have a teeth-to-tail ratio just like the ground troops.  For example, IIRC Desert Storm had a 1 fighter to 100 supporting troop ratio which was the chain from the guy sitting in the desert to the AF enlisted loading a pallet of MREs aboard a C-5 on a stateside base.  Its one of the more studied and extended supply chain cases in recent history afaik . . . and Kerensky's situation is worse, it would be akin to losing the continental US with all its bases, supply depots (trust me, MREs sit in a central location before being shipped out), and all the transport located in the US.

Most military supplies that move between bases do not travel in military vehicles (or in this case hulls).  Sure, MAC moves a lot of supplies around between bases worldwide but its a fraction of the peacetime needs and to keep costs down as much as possible is local sourced.  Critical or secure supplies are what travel on military transport, everything else travels on civilian semis, rail and ships.  For example, when my unit was preparing to play in the desert all of our vehicles & cargo containers (Conex) were going to be loaded on a train (civilian), railed to a port to be loaded on a ship (civilian), and be offloaded over in the Mid East where I think it would be put on trucks or a train to be moved to a marshalling point nearer the front.  Meanwhile we would still be training while the gear was en route, fly over on a airliner with personal gear & weapons to be bused to where we would meet up with our vehicles.

I mean we could have waited for the USN's amphibious carrier to shuttle us over but that would have taken more time . . . and time means lives.  Which is why I said what you are talking about is a fleet that meets the SLN's peacetime movement & needs, it does not meet wartime supply or transport needs- because a fleet that large is not economical since most ships & crews would be idle.  War changes economic equations.  I once heard it described as rushing to produce & gather a bunch of stuff, ship it halfway around the world, and set it on fire.  You are telling me that the SLN did not have the ships to move replacements from training centers outside the Hegemony to Kerensky's army- to me this means they were struggling to get replacement equipment and needed supplies like food & ammo since replacment troops are usually pretty high on the logistics pipeline priorities.

Even looking at just the warships . . . alright, write off the 1000 reserve ships that were located in the Hegemony, whatever percentage (15-33%, depends on doctrine) of the active fleet that were in Hegemony yards for refit- only a few were able to escape the Hegemony IIRC, and then you have ships that may have been abandoned as Kerensky consolidated his forces to move.  Which is warships- they have higher security standards and would be able to fight their way free of initial encounters.

Now look at transports . . . rather than operating from established supply depots where you have acres of warehouses that gather, store and prepare dropship-sized shipments destined for units on distant but established garrisons that source as much as possible from local sources (food, butt-wipe, water) Kerensky's forces have shifted to a very dispersed supply chain and either need more money to get intermediary shipping or send their ships to the factory source.

To get back to the OP, in wartime civilian transport is seized to augment what is already under control.  So yes, I expect quite a few civilian liners that Kerensky turned into troopships went on the Exodus.  I would expect these were kept landed to form the initial core of the colonies the SLDF-in-exile formed since they would have provided ready housing to the colonists who were setting up.  Any that were not decommissioned to become apartment blocks were IMO likely to be dismantled by Nick, especially after the Wolverine debacle- he had been unable to completely stop the Wolverines from opting out of his experiment, he could absolutely make sure it was much harder for anyone in the future.  The only other source would be the Dark Caste, those who were in space that fled Operation Klondike's first encroachment and the early Clans hunted down to force them into Nick's castes.  Face it, if you were living in space to avoid the factional war on a planet's surface, a old spaceliner would be better to live in than a cargo ship's limited passenger spaces.

[Dragon Cat]

I'd imagine that the SLDF would have grabbed every passenger ship they could get their hands on, simply for the extra, redundant life support capacity they'd represent. It's not just troops, but support personnel and dependents, people who are going to need something to occupy their time during the years it took to finally get far enough away from the Inner Sphere to feel safe. You can't just jam thousands of civilians, even those used to living on military bases, into hastily converted cargo bays and expect them to just sit there, twiddling their thumbs.

As to what happened to them... in my head, the inertial settling of the Pentagon Worlds probably went like attempted settlement of New Caprica in Battlestar Galactica, with civilian ships being used as temporary accommodation, power supply and utilities until a more permanent settlement could be set up. To expedite this, they probably started cutting holes in the ships to run pipes and cables, then built add-hoc extensions onto them. You may even find a few older, more isolated buildings that very obviously started life as a DropShip in the distant past.

Probably something that's true across all human explored space.

I always expected this solution too they are perfect temporary housing when they reach the end of their life use the metal for street lamp posts, farming equipment, garden fences all of the ship would be valuable for a new colony

[AlphaMirage]

So the thing that works most against the Monarch is that it is too damn small to move a large number of people compared to Mules, Lions, or Jumbos and even the Lion and Union are far to small for this kind of Star Lift.  Kerensky's Exodus would have drawn from the largest freighters he could get his hands on rather than a bunch of tiny ships that would take up docking collars.

I can put 600 people in single occupancy quarters by just converting the small cargo deck of a Mule without touching the other 5500 tons of cargo.  That's more than double the number of a Monarch!  With that much space for supplies and the cavernous cargo bays of SLDF Warships which IMHO would be carrying the combat gear and the tons of fuel, food, and water necessary rather than passengers.  This is due to the need for grav deck time as Dropships can flit about to make their own gravity or explore while the big boys recharge.

Additionally the Mule and Jumbo are/were the most common dropships in the Inner Sphere surely Kerensky could scare up enough to pack the Potemkins (one of which should have been converted to a mega fuel barge with Aqueducts and tanker small craft) and other Warships of his Exodus Fleet.  Even Unions are sub-optimal for this task as a Buccaneer can carry twice the cargo of a Union Cargo conversion.

[jimdigris]

The biggest concern for Kerensky would be maximizing the amount of supplies, equipment and personnel per drop collar.  Monarchs couldn't haul anywhere near as much as a Mule, so they would be tossed aside in favor of higher capacity dropships.

[Daryk]

With the number of Potemkins that were taken, I never imagined drop collars were the limit.  A Monarch is still better than an empty collar...

[Von Jankmon]

Commandeering civilian assets for military operations is one thing, its a frequent thing in RL and I suppose Battletech too.  However the Exodus is a one way trip, and it isn't a war.  Kerensky would not be able to return any transports and was not a thief, so I have to assume he bought them from assembly lines and when that was not enough bought existing merchant assets and wrote a pre-payment ticket authorising a replacement vessel to the lawful owner.
Kerensky had the full funds of the SLDF, and likely much of the Star League budget at his disposal, I think it highly unlikely he wouldn't offer full compensation for any ship he needed.

[RifleMech]

The thing is the Logistics Command was responsible for the procurement and transportation of troops and supplies and seeing that "all SLDF field units were at full strength and had the equipment and personnel needed to function." That would mean that the SLDF would have jumpships to move things and personnel about.

There's also security. The SLDF didn't want to lose their tech advantage and it's harder for things to go missing when the SLDF itself is doing the transporting. Along with all their money and the SLDF doesn't have to use civilian transport.

I'm not saying they didn't use civilian transports, just at the time they didn't have to. And if they were pulling in ships Kerensky wouldn't have had trouble getting in new recruits. Like I said before, it wasn't until after he took the RWR and started rebuilding that his own transports and civilian transports started bringing in new personnel.




As for Monarchs, Kerensky has a limited amount of time to buy all the ships and supplies he'd need to set up a colony. It's also take time to refit a standard cargo ship into a passenger liner. That's time he could be loading pre-fab buildings, dismantled factories, all manner of construction/work vehicles/mech and tens of thousands of shipping containers full of supplies, people's personal belongings and anything else they thought they might want or need. If Kerensky was going to spend time refitting dropships it'd be to expand the liners passenger capacity by replacing luxury quarters for standard ones or even infantry bays. Technically, there's no reason why an infantry bay couldn't be refitted to hold a couple families. It wouldn't be as ideal as specific quarters for all but it'd allow him to move a lot of people. Also Monarchs, and Princesses have entertainment facilities. I can see Kerensky quartering people in refit troop dropships and allowing them to visit Monarchs and Princesses like parks and malls. 

[JA Baker]

As for Monarchs, Kerensky has a limited amount of time to buy all the ships and supplies he'd need to set up a colony. It's also take time to refit a standard cargo ship into a passenger liner. That's time he could be loading pre-fab buildings, dismantled factories, all manner of construction/work vehicles/mech and tens of thousands of shipping containers full of supplies, people's personal belongings and anything else they thought they might want or need. If Kerensky was going to spend time refitting dropships it'd be to expand the liners passenger capacity by replacing luxury quarters for standard ones or even infantry bays. Technically, there's no reason why an infantry bay couldn't be refitted to hold a couple families. It wouldn't be as ideal as specific quarters for all but it'd allow him to move a lot of people. Also Monarchs, and Princesses have entertainment facilities. I can see Kerensky quartering people in refit troop dropships and allowing them to visit Monarchs and Princesses like parks and malls.

I could imagine a situation where, say, every every Potemkin (or other big transport) had a couple of dedicated "R&R ships", and people living on the others would be allotted x amount of time on one per week, with the chance to earn more by carrying out extra work details. On the flip side, not fulfilling your work quota or some other infraction that isn't worth time in the brig could cost you a set amount of R&R time.

Think of it like holodeck time and replicator rations on Star Trek Voyager.

[Colt Ward]

Commandeering civilian assets for military operations is one thing, its a frequent thing in RL and I suppose Battletech too.  However the Exodus is a one way trip, and it isn't a war.  Kerensky would not be able to return any transports and was not a thief, so I have to assume he bought them from assembly lines and when that was not enough bought existing merchant assets and wrote a pre-payment ticket authorising a replacement vessel to the lawful owner.
Kerensky had the full funds of the SLDF, and likely much of the Star League budget at his disposal, I think it highly unlikely he wouldn't offer full compensation for any ship he needed.

Huh?  They KIDNAPPED farmers b/c they did not have that skillset in the Exodus.  And if Kerensky's logistics has been using a civilian transport that they took over at the beginning of the Aramis crisis and used for years . . . how likely is it to be returned?

RifleMech, you are looking past what I just said about the MAC vs civilian transport in peace time versus transport during wartime.  Even during peacetime it is likely the secure items traveled on SL/Hegemony dropships that could have been jumping with general merchant JS- they have a solid chokepoint of the hatches into the DS to control info/material flow.  When Aramis took the Hegemony he lost the foundation of his supply network and the big hammer the SL had always used to back up its interactions with the Houses which is why I said he could impress Hegemony flagged vessels but would NOT impress House flagged ships (such a thing is usually considered a act of war).  Kerensky needed at least their neutrality and was trying to get their support, taking chunks of their merchant shipping would hit a House's economy creating a lot of hostility so the better choice was to struggle along with what he could hire (btw, drastically limited funds since the richest House was no longer funding) to supplement what was not lost in the Hegemony.  Further, he also needed the House's industry to supply his army b/c his source from the Hegemony was now cut off.

Take for example the MRE . . . open one up.  Everything has a label on it printed where it came from, with the 8-14 components coming from several states and then packed in a central facility.  They go from that commercial production facility to a DoD facility where they fulfill supply requisitions from stateside bases and overseas.  Kerensky's position was like US forces in Europe, ME and Korea having to support themselves without access to the continental US- not only has the source of ammo & parts disappeared, but so did the source of food, butt-wipe, uniforms, replacements (as you noted), EVERYTHING disappeared.  Now, since US forces use the NATO standard, they can get ammo from UK, France, Germany & other parties . . . but parts for that F-35 or M-1 are not made by those NATO partners.  Your supply lines are also not built to draw from those sources- in fact you would not be competing with the NATO partners to find replacement sources for what they got from the US.

When Aramis pulled the trigger, Kerensky lost his logistic bases that had stock piles of supplies- kept in the Hegemony b/c of the very security measures you mentioned.  He lost all the Star League warships, jumpships and dropships that were in the Hegemony as part of the supply chain.  He probably lost access to every merchant JS/DS that was Hegemony flagged in the Hegemony . . . and probably ones that crossed the border for trade between Houses & Hegemony.  Probably the only trade between the Hegemony & Houses after a while was done with House hulls, and like the SL Aramis would not seize the ships b/c it would be a act of war.  But Hegemony flagged vessels outside of the conquered Hegemony probably stayed as far away from Kerensky as possible to avoid being seized for 'the duration of the emergency.'  The WHOLE Star League Defense Force redeployed from their Periphery posting to go on the offensive against Aramis, not just the combat units but the support elements so take the number you think of and then multiple it by at least 50.  The SL Navy had enough hulls for routine peace time unit rotations and supply- then lost a huge chunk of that when Aramis seized the Hegemony.  He had no cooperation from the Houses for logistics/transport.  You said Kerensky's army could not even get the transport to move replacements from training centers to units involved in the offensives . . . replacement personnel are pretty high on 'need' list logistics would operate from.  Not getting needed people moved means you lack transport.

Back to the OP, Kerensky likely seized people movers as available & needed . . . not so much the Monarch b/c its size- but this is a BTU artifact, we are 'missing' several large bulk cargo transports let alone Mule/Jumbo sized spaceliners.

[AlphaMirage]

Back to the OP, Kerensky likely seized people movers as available & needed . . . not so much the Monarch b/c its size- but this is a BTU artifact, we are 'missing' several large bulk cargo transports let alone Mule/Jumbo sized spaceliners.

Precisely this.

The creators of Battletech were making a beer and pretzels wargame so many things are very heavily skewed towards war and the process of getting to the battlefield.  It wouldn't be unreasonable for a Mule or equivalent to be converted to carrying 400-600 (with varying classes of quarters) people like I mentioned up board.  If a merchant dropper does a regular circuit of three to five worlds there is likely a small airplane (80-200) worth of passengers that might want to and be able to afford to move between one or more of those worlds for business, education, or simply because that is where the military basic training camp is and the quartermaster command doesn't want to task a military dropship to move some recruits.  The Merchant Captain moves his cargo and has a nice premium from the passengers as well each way.

[jimdigris]

With the number of Potemkins that were taken, I never imagined drop collars were the limit.  A Monarch is still better than an empty collar...

There weren't many Potemkins left and Kerensky had to move a million people and supplies for at least a year.  Monarchs and troop carriers do the job better.