The Quest, Part 2

[2ndAcr]

 15 November 3062
   Tortuga Prime

  Twyla had removed Scotts massive bandage wrap from around his head and now he was only wearing a protective gauze pad over the surgical site. Today, Scott was starting a more strenuous physical therapy routine and then he would undergo a CAT scan. He was currently doing sit ups under the watchful eyes of Twyla. The last 2 weeks had passed fairly quickly, and Scott had grown used to the constant companionship. She was always nearby, always ready to assist him. I could grow used to this if I am not careful, Scott thought as he finally completed the required 30 sit ups.

 "Do you feel any pain, headaches, dizziness?" Twyla asked as she handed him a towel.

 "None, I feel fine. What time is the CAT scan?" He asked

 "It is scheduled 2 hours from now. If the CAT scan shows nothing wrong, in 2 weeks, I will allow you to attempt a neuro helmet attached to a simulator. Pass that and I will allow you inside a Mechs cockpit to see how you do." Twyla answered

  Mackolla

  Star Colonel Angus stood at attention before Galaxy Commander Helmer. Behind him were 6 Mechwarriors and 15 Elementals who all showed clear signs of a vicious brawl. Galaxy Commander Helmer had already spoken to the members of Star Colonel Tutuola's Cluster who had beaten down the personnel from the newly arrived 73rd Striker Cluster.

 "Star Colonel Angus, I told you when you arrived that I would not tolerate mistreatment of the people here or anywhere for that matter. The personnel behind you instigated a brawl that has not been seen on this planet in forever. In doing so, they have caused the death of 2 members of the 73rd Striker Cluster. In addition to the 8 wounded from your Cluster, 6 wounded from the 1st Assault Cluster, and 16 injured from the 6th Davion Guards RCT that are all still in the hospital or listed as not fit for duty.

 I should just shoot the lot of you right now. Get this thru your heads, you are no longer of Clan Jade Falcon, you are now part of the Mackolla Defense Force. I am currently trying to keep Marshal Daly of the 6th Davion Guards from fielding his entire RCT to come and take all of you by force if need be. Personally, I have thought about handing all of you over to the 6th Davion Guards and let them deal with all of you as they see fit. I was once a Jade Falcon, I was captured by the AFFC, the treatment was not the best but I know it was better than how Clan Jade Falcon treated prisoners. When I arrived here, I and all those that accompanied me here were returned to freedom and warrior status, almost immediately we were accepted as equals. WE have fought beside the 6th Davion Guards RCT. You wonder why the 1st Assault Cluster's Elemental Trinary suddenly appeared and descended on you folks and helped the 6th Davion Guards RCT, because they are family, or to maybe put a better term you dense fools understand, they are our Clan now. Get it thru your heads, because the next incident will result in your possible death or being declared Dezgra and you can go live with the bandits. Now what do any of you have to say for your miserable selves?" Galaxy Commander said

 Star Commander Bruel, he commanded the Star of Elementals involved in the brawl, stepped forward slightly and Galaxy Commander Helmer locked his eyes on Bruel "Galaxy Commander, I request Surkai for my men and the Mechwarriors. I was the ranking person in the mess hall when the fight broke out. This free mingling with Freeborns is very new to us. I vow that this will never happen again and I will focus on making sure members of the 73rd Striker Cluster adjust much quicker to this new way, this is my Rede."

 Galaxy Commander Helmer was quiet as he examined Star Commander Bruel closely. Star Colonel Angus had confessed during the many talks between the 2 of them that he suspected Khan Kell had transferred in some trouble makers but could not prove it. Well, this confirmed it. "Star Commander Bruel, I cannot accept Surkai for your Star nor the Mechwarriors. The punishment of all involved will be thus, Star Commander Bruel, you will take command of all involved and proceed to the hospital, there you and those involved will tend to the needs of those injured in the brawl. Around the clock, they need to take a dump, one of you better have the toilet paper in your hand and ready. Until the last of the injured is released. Maybe this will give you and your people time to think over what they did. Now, your dismissed."

 Galaxy Commander Helmer watched as the guilty left the area. "Star Colonel Angus, you better get a tight grip on your personnel or I will put someone else in command. Do you understand?"

 "Aff, I mean yes Galaxy Commander Helmer, I understand completely." Angus replied

 "You better, now return to your Cluster." Helmer ordered

[Daryk]

That was a decent dressing down... Helmer is definitely all in.   :thumbsup:

I can't wait to see Scott's first attempt at piloting a 'mech...  8)

[snakespinner]

What type of mech are you thinking of putting Scott in.

[Dave Talley]

yipppeee!!!
part two of forty?

[2ndAcr]

 1 December 3062
       Tortuga Prime

  Today was the day, Twyla had deemed he was healed enough to actually get inside a Mech cockpit. The simulator test had been a piece of cake, but today Scott would actually be linking into a actual mech. A Conjurer had been selected just in case, Omni Mechs were too precious right now. Scott was currently standing at the Conjurers feet and looking up at the cockpit. Twyla was standing beside him, she lightly tugged his arm and together they mounted the lift that would take them to the cockpit hatch. Once they reached the hatch, Scott entered the cockpit and began settling himself into the command chair. Twyla stood by ready to assist him if he needed it. Sighing, Scott placed the neuro helmet on his head and began making the needed connections. He felt the once familiar wave pass thru his brain as the neuro helmet and Mech linked up with each other.

  While Scott was busy powering up the mech, he never noticed Twyla settling into the Mechs jump seat and buckling herself in securely. She reached over and hit the button that closed the cockpit hatch. Scott registered the hatch closing and figured Twyla had exited the cockpit. The Conjurer reported itself fully online and Scott hit the master arm and verified all weapons were powered down. Here goes nothing, Scott thought as he hit the clamps releasing the Conjurer and allowing it full movement. He took the first step forward, then the next, he did not feel the swaying sensation that he had felt with Honos' Thor years ago.

 Before he knew it, he had walked the Conjurer to the massive door of the mech hanger and exited out into the bright sunlight. As he moved, Scott became more confident that he was not going to face plant the Conjurer. Slowly he moved the Conjurer into a slow run, the mech responded beautifully to his commands. Screw it, he brought the Conjurer to a full run and actually began a slow zig zag pattern. It was like being back at the Academy all those years ago. He brought the Conjurer to a full sudden stop and then cut a hard right, then reversed to a hard left. Not once did he feel like the Conjurer was leaving his control. Finally, he pushed down on the foot pedals and triggered the jump jets, when he landed, it was a perfect landing, not a single millimeter of unwanted movement. HELL YES!!!!! He could once again pilot a mech, the Conjurer responded to his every command as though it was an extension of himself.

 "Scott, we need to head back now, you cannot over do it on your first run." Twyla said loudly

 "What the hell, why are you here? Twyla, what if something had gone wrong, I could have injured you. Dammit, I would never had pushed it even this hard if I had known you were in the cockpit with me." Scott said harshly

 Twyla took it in stride "I am following my orders, to stay by your side at all times. Plus, I wanted to be here with you on this day. I....I have strange feelings when I am not by your side. I just felt like I needed to be here. I am sorry if I have angered you."

 "I am not angry with you Twyla. I am angry at myself for not checking to make sure I was alone. I would never want to harm you, never. But, in a way, I am very happy you are here with me. I think I am in love with you." Scott admitted

 Twyla heard him say it, but did not answer. She knew the word, she knew her parents had loved her. But she had long ago buried any feelings she would consider as love to better blend into Clan Nova Cat. In a way, hearing him say it scared her. Did she feel the same way about him, could the strange feelings when they were apart be love?

 Scott waited for her to say something, anything. Shit, maybe I just blew it. His vision blurred some, and he almost had a panic attack until he felt the warm tear hit his cheek. He throttled the Conjurer up to a walk and headed back to the hanger. The walk was done in total silence.

 Once the Conjurer was safely in it's bay and powered down, Scott started to remove the neuro helmet when he felt Twyla's hands help lift the helmet off his head. He did not have time to do anything when he felt her hand on his cheek. When he finally turned his head to look at her, he saw that she also had teary eyes. He took her hand into his and slowly stood up from the command chair. His eyes never left hers. Screw it, he took her other hand into his and pulled her gently closer and leaned in and kissed her. The kiss lasted almost 10 seconds before he slowly pulled away expecting a sudden slap or cussing. But Twyla did neither, she just kept his hand in hers and gently pulled him to the cockpit hatch. As the hatch began cycling open, she turned to look at him "We must be careful, very careful".

 Chaos Zone

 Three more worlds had fallen silent, Sax, Repulse and Renown. Now 6 worlds were completely silent in the Chaos Zone.

 Charleston

 Precentor XX Mary Stahl, commander of the Elite 14th Division (WoB) had arrived on planet after a long journey. She was the ranking Precentor in the Taurian Concordat. She had under her command, 5 Divisions (WoB) and 5 Mercenary commands. Her orders were to strengthen WoB operations within the Taurian Concordat but to not engage AFFC or Clan Nova Cat forces.

 Free Worlds League

  Things began slow, but steadily picked up steam. First, the 1st Sirian Lancers quit responding to the FWLM, a week later, both the 2nd and 3rd Sirian Lancers quit responding to the FWLM. By the end of December 3062, the 4th Free Worlds Legionnaires and 6th Free Worlds Legionnaires had also quit responding to the FWLM. To add to the confusion all 5 units disappeared from sight.

 Gibson

 The defecting Comstar forces had allowed the WoB to reconstitute the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Divisions (WoB). The defecting 207th Division was renamed the 4th Division (WoB) in it's entirety. The defecting warships were sent to Dicallus in the Taurian Concordat to safeguard the growing efforts to restore recovered warships to service.

 Bamburgh

 The convoy carrying the recovered training equipment from the Blackjack School of Combat had finally arrived. In addition to the training equipment, over 100 instructors arrived. Kommandant O'Malley had decided that the Bamburgh Military Academy would off the following specialties:

 MechWarrior
 Armor
 Infantry
 Battle Armor
 Aerospace

 Also aboard the convoy were newly graduated AFFC personnel from Academies across the Federated Commonwealth. Enough personnel to bring all 4 MAG RCT's to full strength. The Mech Factory now covered almost 20sq KM of ground.

 Outer March

 With the absence of Duke Mitchell, FedCom civil servants continued settling arriving settlers in ever increasing numbers. Archon Prince Victor Steiner Davion had ordered an increase in FedCom civil engineers and civil servants to assist Duke Mitchell. Populations of worlds in the Outer March were as follows:

 Mackolla- 10 million people (tightly controlled access)
 Okefenokee- 381 million people
 Bamburgh- 93 million people
 Anjin Muerto- 224 million people
 Rentz- 113 million people
 Gamelstolen- 483,000 people
 Arundel- 9 million people
 Sherwood- 173 million people
 Ebro- 192 million people
 Memphis- 158 million people
 Morven- 149 million people
 Valois- 27,000 people
 Broken Wheel- 128 million people
 Lackland- 169 million people
 Marielund- 155 million people
 Skepptana- 143 million people
 Mararn- 144 million people
 Merowinger- 14 million people

 Total pop- 2.255 billion people

 Already the increase of only 20 million people so far was starting to place a strain on the limited resources of the new March. Careful studying of the surveys indicated Frankson was mineral poor but had extremely rich soil perfect for huge farming exports. Plans were made to prepare that planet for settlers as soon as possible and get farming going as soon as possible. Estimates placed the planets potential as rivaling the Golden Five for agriculture production when fully developed.

[mikecj]

TAG.  Thanks for sharing this.

[DOC_Agren]

Ping

[Daryk]

Interesting update... I wouldn't have thought a freebirth would be that unfamiliar with emotion.

I wonder if Thomas will share his little command and control problem with the Star League...

Candace and Kai will certainly share their loss of contact with more worlds, though I thought the area wasn't named "Chaos March".

Hopefully Calderon will get an opportunity to report on the increased WoB in the Concordat too.

[2ndAcr]

 I could not find what I called the dang region. I seem to have lost that section of my notes and scanned several pages in the other thread. I will find it soon, one way or another.

 

[cawest]

i would keep calling it "Chaos March". that helps people  understand what is going on in that area with ease. 

[Sir Chaos]

i would keep calling it "Chaos March". that helps people  understand what is going on in that area with ease.

I think it makes it very easy to confuse it with the Chaos March in the canonical universe - which is on the other end of the CapCon.

[Hairbear541]

if my memory serves me right , several of the worlds that have dropped out were once upon a time , taurian worlds .

[David CGB]

more please

[ckosacranoid]

So why the split into a different there for this story?
Love the updates and nice to see the boss getting to annoy the star league now with his building. Sorry Victor, you are not getting s cott into the family, seems he found a nice cat to fall for. The cat leader is going to fall for shock at losing his person or he had a vision of setting s cott up in the first place.
Still need to watch a bunch of minds get blown in a couple of more years with Victor and one getting hitched.....maybe something about tocken effort to kidnap the bride....

[Hawkeye Jim]

The region between the Taurians and Canopus is called the New Colony Region.

[2ndAcr]

 1 January 3063
      Tortuga Prime

  saKhan West and the Clan Diamond Shark convoy had arrived at Tortuga Prime on 14 December 3062. The Salvage Yardships were already conducting maintenance on the Diamond Shark ships after their long voyage. Today, he figured it was time to meet with Duke Scott Mitchell, who was almost ready to return home. He had also been briefed on the growing relationship between the Duke and his doctor Twyla. Though he personally found the thought disgusting, she was freeborn and so was Duke Mitchell.

  Duke Scott Mitchell had been moved from the hospital to quarters set aside for visitors, and this was where saKhan West found him. Scott spotted saKhan West as he came up the path to the small cottage he occupied. He opened the door just as saKhan West made the front step. "saKhan West, it is good to see you again. You must be exhausted after the long trip, please come in."

 "It was a long journey Duke Mitchell, I have been told that you are almost ready to depart for home." saKhan West said as he entered the small cottage.

 "Yes, Doctor Twyla has cleared me fully for a return to duty. I am awaiting my transports to arrive." Scott replied

 "Khan Carns has communicated with me the details of your gifts to us and also of the gifts made to you. I have told Khan Carns that it is unequal and that Clan Nova Cat should do more. Is there anything that you need of Clan Nova Cat?" saKhan West asked

 "saKhan West, I am not looking for equal gifts, I and the Federated Commonwealth are here to assist your Clan in rejoining the nations of the Inner Sphere and make that transition as painless as possible. But, I would like to arrange for assitance in upgrading my hospitals to the equal of your main hospital here. Maybe also arrange for my doctors to be assisted in learning from your doctors." Scott said

 "Clan Nova Cat will be honored to assist you in this. I have been made aware that your March is in need of extra food to help your rapidly growing population on several worlds. We have an excess of food being grown on several of our wrolds here and have not yet made firm trade deals with anyone, I will arrange for that excess to be transported to any of the worlds in your March that need assistance." saKhan West said

 "I thank you for that, I have been away far too long as it is. I also have this to give to you." Scott said as he walked over to a small desk and returned with a envelope. "Inside there is a mineral survey conducted by one of my ships on a planet not far from here. Cooperland. We destroyed a large pirate force there several years ago. Maybe give this to your scientist caste and see if there is anything there you want. It is uninhabited, and outside the Federated Commonwealth, so it is open to anyone." Scott said as he handed over the envelope

 "It seems Clan Nova Cat will be in yoru debt for some time Duke Mitchell." saKhan West said

 "Your Clan has returned to me the ability to once again pilot a Battlemech, I feel I will always be in debt to Clan Nova Cat. Now, I have been informed that your ability to manufacture your special engines is being hampered by a severe lack of rare earth minerals. I have also been informed that Clan Nova Cat does not possess the ability to manufacture Aerospace Fighters at this time. It just so happens that I do, we were sent many captured and salvaged Clan Omni Fighters and my people were attempting to reverse engineer these for possible production. In exchange for help in reverse engineering, I will provide Clan Nova Cat with the needed manufacturing equipment to produce your Aerospace Fighters here in your Dominion.

 As to your engine problem, I have what your Clan needs. I offer 3% of my mining output in echange for assistance in starting a warship crew training program, joint mech design teams, purchase rights on Elemental Battle Armor and to foster a better friendship between our 2 nations." Scott offered

 saKhan West was speechless, he had just been informed himself of the critcal lack of the needed minerals to produce their XL engines. Now, here was Duke Mitchell offering a lifeline to Clan Nova Cat. "Bargained well and done Duke Mitchell. Now, I must return to my duties, I wanted to check in on your status. Please come see me before you depart for home."

 Four hours later, saKhan West had David Newton, Clan Nova Cat's leader of the scientist caste, in his office looking over the survey of Cooperland. "saKhan West, this planet Cooperland has potential. But it is this moon that is the greatest treasure, this survey indicates it has a large deposit of Hargel on it."

 saKhan West thought for a few minutes. He wished Khan Carns was here to advise him, but he knew Khan Carns wll enough that he would spprove of what he was considering. "Thank you David Newton, you may leave now. Please send for Galaxy Commander Stephen Faulk and have him come see me at the earliest chance he has."

 It was getting dark when Galaxy Commander Stephen Faulk arrived at saKhan West's office. Once he was seated, saKhan West got down to business. "Thank you for coming Galaxy Commander Faulk, for Clan Diamond Shark's assistance in bringing our people to us, Clan Nova Cat grants Clan Diamond Shark enclaves on New Port Royal and Morgan's Holdfast. The exact enclaves will have to await Khan Carns return and to be negotiated between Khan Carns and Khan Sennet. Also, in recognition of Clan Diamond Sharks help in protecting Clan Nova Cat during our withdrawl from the Home Worlds and for 5% of certain minerals, Clan Nova Cat gifts to Clan Diamond Shark the uninhabited system of Cooperland."

 "Clan Diamond Shark accepts the enclaves on New Port Royal and Morgan's Holdfast. It will have to be up to Khan Sennet to accept this system Cooperland. It is far away from our holdings in the Home Worlds." Galaxy Commander Faulk announced

 "Show her this survey of the system. She will accept it. If you have merchants traveling with you, show it to them, they will accept it within minutes. Until then, Clan Nova Cat will keep Cooperland secure." saKhan West replied.

  Atreus

  Captain General Thomas Marik had been informed of the sudden disappearance of all 3 Sirian Lancer Regiments and also of 2 Marik Militia Regiments. What made him the maddest was the complete incompetence of SAFE. They seemed to have no clue as to what was going on, now the military was telling him that they were downgrading to Questionable the loyalty rating for the 1st, 2nd and 5th Free Worlds Legionnaires. So much for SAFE's careful screening of any of the units.

 He knew it had to be Word of Blake. But what could he do about it. No one knew what units might be compromised. He did not even trust his damned bodyguards right now.

 Clan Home Worlds
    Strana Mechty

 Khan Barbara Sennet of Clan Diamond Shark had been notified that another incursion by the Hanseatic League had resulted in a small battle seeing 2 Hanseatic Jumpships being seized by Diamond Shark forces. This was the 3rd instance of the Hanseatic League butting heads with Clan Diamond Shark merchants.

 Coupled with the ongoing chaos in the Home Worlds, Khan Sennet was losing her patience. Her forces were defending against Trials of Possession almost monthly and it was wearing down her Touman. Maybe it was time to teach the Hanseatic League a huge lesson once and for all. She was growing very weary of the constant chaos in the Home Worlds. Despite the constant challenges, she made her decision. She would deploy Gamma Galaxy, Rho Spina Galaxy escorted by CDS Bold Venture, CDS Speculator, Volga Transports and CDS Space Hunter, Lola III Destroyer. As she was making her plans, a knock on her door caused her to look up, there was Khan Din Steiner of Clan Cloud Cobra.

 "Khan Steiner, what can Clan Diamond Shark do for you today?" She asked as she gestured for Khan Steiner to take a seat.

 "I hope I am not intruding Khan Sennet, but I wish to speak with you." Khan Steiner said

 "You never intrude Khan Steiner, what would you like to discuss?" Khan Sennet asked

 "How do you view the ongoing non stop Trials of Possession here in the Home Worlds? The constant need to defend against these trials are getting very annoying." Khan Steiner asked

 "Yes, I will agree with you there. My Clan also faces weekly challenges. It hampers my Clan's ability to ensure the arrival of goods in a timely fashion." Khan Sennet replied

 "Agreed. I am curious, how do you think Clan Nova Cat is fairing in the Inner Sphere?" Khan Steiner asked

 "I have been wondering that myself. We do know from intercepted HPG signals that they have been granted non voting observer status in this new Star League. That in itself is a promising indicator. How they are doing as a whole is a mystery right now." Khan Sennet replied

 "I will tell you something in the strictest of secrecy Khan Sennet, do I have your word?" Khan Steiner asked

 "You have always been fair with me Khan Steiner, of course what is said here remains between the 2 of us, that is my Rede." Khan Sennet vowed

 "I am wondering if it is not time to leave the Home Worlds. Get away from the non stop chaos here." Khan Steiner said

 "Your not thinking about invading one of the Inner Sphere states are you? That would be madness, look at what they did to the Falcons and Vipers." Khan Sennet replied

 "I am not suicidal Khan Sennet. But I wonder if there is a place to start over again, like Clan Nova Cat is attempting to do. Far enough away from the Home Worlds to allow the needed time to rebuild and get established." Khan Steiner said

 Khan Sennet was suddenly struck by a thought, what if Clan Diamond Shark and Clan Cloud Cobra joined forces and conquered the Hanseatic League. Clan Diamond Shark could not do so alone, but combined with Clan Cloud Cobra, maybe, just maybe they could both rebuild, time to take a chance.

 "Khan Steiner, is secrecy also included for things I might tell you in confidence?" Khan Sennet asked

 "Of course Khan Sennet, any secret you speak here will remain with me until my dying day." Khan Steiner vowed

 "Just as you arrived here, I was planning a punitive action against the Hanseatic League to teach them a lesson. But, what if our 2 Clan's combined forces? We could conquer the Hanseatic League and rebuild. It is far enough from the Home Worlds to give us the time needed. Close enough to the Inner Sphere to conduct trade. Would Clan Cloud Cobra be open to the idea?" Khan Sennet asked

 Khan Steiner was silent for a few minutes, deep in thought. She delved deep into her memory to try and recall where he Hanseatic League was located and how big it was. She thought she recalled the last time she had heard a briefing on the place, low tech overall, mainly a merchant based, over 10 worlds, no naval forces, military on par with 3025 or earlier tech. "How big a force are you planning to send?"

 "2 Galaxies and 3 warships as escort. 7 Clusters in strength. To send more, would weaken our already tenuous hold on what we must currently defend." Khan Sennet stated

 "Clan Cloud Cobra will join you in this venture Khan Sennet, I will send my Gamma Galaxy and Zeta Galaxy, 6 Clusters escorted by CCS Inquisitor, Aegis Cruiser and CCS Cataclysm, Lola III Destroyer." Khan Steiner said

 "That should be ample force to quickly conquer the Hanseatic League Khan Steiner. Once we have taken the League, we can work out how to safely remove our people and industry from the Home Worlds." Khan Sennet said

[2ndAcr]

 I split the thread because we were getting close to a lockdown due to page count.

 True the Chaos March is confusing, I wish I could find that page where I first named it, but I will soon and correct the dang name. It is also driving me crazy some. Now, how about tossing some more chaos around.

[wolfcannon]

Tag

[wolfcannon]

throw in the Scorpions for good measure

[Daryk]

Very interesting update!  I wonder how Cooperland will change the Diamond Shark calculus... I also wonder what the Ravens are up to...

I'll take a quick look for the name of that region of the CapCon too... One of us is bound to find it... :)

[Daryk]

Found it!  Post #1380:

Chaos Zone (Former Capellan Confederation Worlds that declared independence)

[2ndAcr]

 10 January 3063
      Tortuga Prime

  saKhan West had been informed that Duke Mitchell's transport had arrived in system and released 8 Dropships from 2 Jumpships. 3 of the incoming Overlord C Dropships registered as fully loaded. This caused some concern but not much. But he sent for Duke Mitchell anyway. A knock announced his arrival.

 "Please Duke Mitchell come in and have a seat." saKhan West said, after Scott had settled into a seat he continued "I thought you would like to know that your transports have arrived and released 9 Dropships, 4 of which register to scans as being fully loaded. I am curious, what could be on those Dropships?"

 "Those Dropships are loaded with Omni Mechs saKhan West. I emptied our stockpile of Omni Mechs and had them sent out here to you. I have actual numbers if you would like." Scott replied

 "Please, I am now even more curious." saKhan West said

 "Okay, they are carrying 25 Summoner, 25 Kingfisher, 25 Ice Ferret, 20 Mist Lynx, 45 Shadow Cat Omni Mechs. Enough Omni Mechs to outfit 3 Clusters for Clan Nova Cat. Or act as spares until you get your factories back online. The 4th is a Mule fully loaded with rare earth minerals for production of your XL engines." Scott replied

 "You do not cease to amaze me Duke Mitchell. I must ask, why do you do all of this for Clan Nova Cat?" West asked

 "I have said it before, I am here to assist Clan Nova Cat in any way that I can. Your Clan rescued my friends and forces here on Tortuga Prime, restored my ability to pilot a mech. It is my intention to make sure that Clan Nova Cat is a strong ally for the Federated Commonwealth. I want to see Clan Nova Cat succeed in joining the Inner Sphere as true equals. To foster as much trust and understanding between our respective people's as I can. What Clan Nova Cat lacks in resources or material, I will try to assist." Scott said

 "I see. Well, so far you are succeeding Duke Mitchell. Well, they will land in 8 days time. You will return home with 16 of our Doctors and 100 technicians that will assist in upgrading your medical facilities to our standards and training your Doctors. The team of Doctors will be led by Twyla. I have been informed of your relationship with Twyla, neither I nor Clan Nova Cat will stand in the way of your happiness. If she chooses to stay with you, Clan Nova Cat loses an excellent Doctor but I will consider the loss acceptable." saKhan West said

 "I do not know what to say, I hope I have not broken any laws of Clan Nova Cat. It just sort of happened." Scott said

 "There are no laws forbidding what has occurred, though a doctor falling in love with a patient crosses some boundaries, it is not forbidden. We have many freeborn among us, your warriors here on Tortuga Prime showed me that even freeborn warriors can be the equals of Trueborn warriors. Khan Carns has communicated to me his desire to open our Touman up to freeborn warriors, I have agreed. It will take time to fully remove the bias we Trueborn have for those not born our way, but we will strive to remove it." saKhan West said

 Alphard

 Sean O'Reilly looked up from his desk when his son Julius O'Reilly entered his office. Sean put down his pencil and leaned back in his chair. He had a feeling this was not going to go well at all. His son had been very vocal about his opposition to many things his father had done since joining the Star League.

 "Father, explain to me again why we should tolerate Star League forces inside our realm? Our military is more than capable of dealing with these pirate attacks upon our worlds." Julius demanded

 "Julius, the Star League forces are here to assist us and help us train to a higher level and learn how to fight against a Clan force." Sean said

 "Like there are any Clan forces even remotely close to us. They are on the other side of the Inner Sphere from us. Clan Nova Cat is also a long ways away. It is bad enough you are sending the V Legio to assist the Star League, now you permanently cancel any planning for the invasion of the Illyrian Palatinate. We could crush them easily." Julius argued

 "And achieve what? Scorn from every nation across the Inner Sphere? Condemnation from the Star League? We have advanced further by being members of the Star League than we ever could by conquest. Our schools are better staffed, our children are being better educated. We can actually build our own Jumpships, even our industry is becoming of better quality. We would have gained none of this thru conquest." Sean said

 "But now we are no longer our own realm, now we are mere lapdogs. I find it disgusting how you bend and follow the example of that little Prince Davion. Trying to gain favor with a nation that is light years away from us instead of backing those much closer to us. Instead you have angered Thomas Marik and he is right over there, almost next door to us. If he decides to crush us, do you really think Prince Davion would help us? All the way over here? Heck, by the time the first AFFC soldier arrived, we would all be licking the bottom of FWL boots." Julius almost yelled

 "Julius, you need to step back and look at the larger picture. Before the Star League, yes, I was bent on expanding our realm thru conquest, but now, my eyes have been opened to much bigger playing field. The actions of even our small nation have consequences that affect things all across the Inner Sphere as a whole. You have quelled the rebellions in the conquered Lothian League worlds, for that you are a hero." Sean said

 "Your mad father, this path will lead to our destruction. I will not allow you to bring the Marian Hegemony to it's destruction. You have one chance father, step aside and let me rule." Julius said

 "Julius listen to reason, your way is wrong and will bring nothing but pain and war to our people." Sean said, but he was slowly reaching under his desk.

 Julius was much quicker and the laser pistol was in his hand in the blink of an eye. He fired and Sean O'Reilly was struck in the head. "You left me no choice father, you should have taken the offer and stepped down." He said as he holstered the pistol.

 11 January 3063

 The Senate unanimously confirmed Julius O'Reilly as Caesar and he was coronated immediately. Julius just did not realize how badly his actions would effect everything on a vast scale.

 14 January 3063
            Taurus

  Jeffery Calderon had just finished dinner and was in his private study working on his next intelligence dump to be sent off keeping Prince Davion informed on the WoB operations in the Taurian Concordat. He was found the next morning still at his desk, dead. Preliminary reports indicated a heart attack. It was reported that he was working on a speech when he died.

 Grover Shraplen was named Protector of the Taurian Concordat.

  Terra

 Commanding General Cocus reread the HPG message from Mitchell Aerospace and Shipyards, he just could not believe wat he had read. He looked up and focused on the calendar, yeah he was not dreaming, it was only 14 January 3063 and here in his hands was notification that 12 Buford II Corvettes were ready for pick up, 6 at Demeter and 6 from Mackolla. He did some fast calculations, it would take 6 months at least before he could get crews to Mackolla. If they built things this fast, how many people do I need to send to Mackolla. Where the hell did I put that delivery schedule from Mitchell Aerospace, dammit.

 General Cocus finally found the damn schedule, the one everyone declared was wishful thinking, he quickly found the delivery dates for the first batch of Buford II Corvettes, shit, they are 3 days ahead of their planned completion dates. His eyes scanned down the page, his mind counting what they said would be completed by June 3063. Son of a Bitch, Mackolla alone was going to have 26 warships completed before July 3063. Cursing he began scrambling to find the damn crew requirements on the listed ships, he finally found it and his usually neat desk was a now a shambles. Pulling out a calculator he began punching in the numbers.

 As he reached the final tally, he felt a massive headache coming on. Mackolla production alone would need 7,775 crew just to receive the warships that would be complete in June. He reached for the phone and punched in a number "Beresick, you better get over here quick, we might have a huge problem."

 Ten minutes later Commanding Admiral Beresick entered the office "What is the huge problem, the Clans launching a major offensive?"

 "Worse, much worse. It seems we did not put enough faith in Mitchell Aerospace's numbers. I just got notified that they have 12 Buford II Corvettes completed and ready for pick up." Cocus said

 "That is impossible, if true, they have to be the most shoddy, incomplete ships to ever be launched." Beresick said
 
 "Well, then you better grab some crews and engineers and get your ass to Demeter and find out, there are 6 there awaiting pick up. How many spare crews we have around?" Cocus asked

 "About 800 crewmen and 100 officers of so. The next class will be graduating in March, that will give us another 3,000 crewmen and 400 officers, August will see 5,000 crewmen and 600 officers graduating." Beresick replied

 Cocus was doing the mental tally as Beresick rattled off the numbers, his headache was getting worse "Not enough, I need 8,000 crew and officers in Mackolla by June."

 "Your crazy General, I am telling you, there is no way in hell they can crank out ships that we would accept in that span of time. They have to be utter trash." Beresick said

 "Well, get to Demeter and find out, quick. Because if I am not mistaking, every ship we ordered being built in the Federated Commonwealth and the Capellan Confederation is using the exact same shipyard setups. So, grab some people and get your ass to Demeter. How am I going to explain to the First Lord and High Council in June that we have a bunch of ships sitting idle because we cannot crew them fast enough." Cocus said, his head was pounding.

[Iron Grenadier]

Nice update and interesting take on Julius I believe. I never really followed the Marians but I thought Julius would have been much more accepting of his father now. Which I'm sorry to read about - you took a character with no screen time in canon that I know of, gave him a little bit here and made him interesting. Well done!  :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[nroe03742]

I cannot wait to see the look on the admirals face when he finds out that instead of shitty ships that are produced by mackalla and Demeter they are ships of the line ie first class all the way.  ;D ;D ;D

[Daryk]

I think the WoB just subverted two Periphery realms...  :-\

And I can only imagine Morgan Hasek-Davion is rejoicing now that the Boss is someone else's headache...  8)

[wolfcannon]

sad that Jeffery failed.  even sadder the insane shraplen is now in control.

[Daryk]

Hmmm... Something just occurred to me... Who's commanding the V Legio?  Given how Julius seized power, I think a victorious general returning at the head of a veteran army might just be a problem for him...  ^-^

[Hairbear541]

i very much agree , always look out for returning conquering generals .

[2ndAcr]

  22 January 3063
           Demeter

  Luval watched as the Star League dropship docked with his Alpha One shipyard. He had been notified to expect a Star League quality control inspection team and he was ready for them. He found it somewhat insulting that they would even think that he would turn over a ship that was not 100% ready.

 The first person off the dropship was Commanding Admiral Beresick and he moved directly to Luval. "I am Commanding Admiral Beresick, I will be conducting this quality control inspection of the Buford II Corvettes that your company claims are ready for delivery. Let's not waste anytime, I want the completed ships brought into the shipyards here for inspection."

 "I am Luval and am in charge of this division of Mitchell Aerospace and Shipyards at Demeter. Your welcome to inspect the ships all you want, but bringing them back into my shipyards is not going to happen. All of my slips are occupied with ships being constructed. Now, I can arrange for your people to go EVA all you want, but I am not going to halt construction and throw off my time schedule to accommodate you." Luval stated firmly

 "I order you to do as I say." Beresick said losing his temper

 "I do not take orders from you. You can communicate with my boss or the companies owner and either of them can order me to do as you want, but until that time, no. The AFFC never once complained about a single thing we built. I would not release a ship to combat duty not at 100% ready." Luval said, standing his ground

 "The Star League is not the AFFC, we have exacting standards to meet. Send a message to your bosses or whoever you need to, until that time, we will conduct the internal inspections. If I find something wrong, I will start fining your company and put a stop work on this entire operation until such a time as you begin complying with my orders." Beresick said

 "Good luck finding anything Admiral. I have already had my escort crews perform the initial shakedown cruises. I will send the message out right away, until that time, your people are welcome to use the mess facilities here and conduct your inspections aboard the awaiting vessels. But since the ships still belong to MAS, a platoon of Marines will escort your personnel on each ship. You will not attempt to fire the engines or power the weapons without my authorization. Attempt to do so and I will order you arrested or killed if you resist." Luval said flatly

 "You would do what??!!! You are overstepping you bounds here Luval, do you know who I am?" Beresick said turning a bright red

 "Right now you are a pain in my ass and I don't like your attitude. I don't trust you. Now, you either take what I have given you, or you may get back on your dropship and return to the Zenith Jump Point and await word from my bosses. Those are your two options, you do not want to push me to option three. That one I have my Marines on board this station forcefully remove you from my station and my warships escort you to the Jump Point. Now choose Admiral, I have work to do." Luval said

 Admiral Beresick had never been spoken to in this manner, he was almost ready to explode, but he looked past Luval and could see 7 Marines in the hallway looking quite pleased with what was going on. Then the elevator opened and another 14 Marines exited, only these were in full combat rigs. Who the hell are these folks? Surely the AFFC never had to put up with this crap.

 "We will proceed to the Corvettes until you receive word Luval. This is not over, not by a long shot." Beresick said

 "I will have my shuttle ferry your people over Admiral. I look forward to our next talk." Luval said as he turned to leave.

 24 January 3063
        New Avalon

  The on duty communications officer received the fax to be relayed to Mackolla and Duke Mitchell. He quickly read the message and decided to send it and also take a copy upstairs. They need to see this because things are getting ugly. He first went to Marshal of the Armies Morgan Hasek Davion, who read the message, smiled like someone had told him he won the lottery and told the communications officer to take it to Archon Prince Victor Steiner Davion asap.

 When he reached the Princes office, he was waved right in by Prince Victor's secretary. Obviously the Marshal had called ahead. Entering the office, Prince Victor looked up from his paperwork and waved him over. He handed over the fax and said "I have already relayed the message to Mackolla and Duke Mitchell Highness, but thought you should be aware of the issue on Demeter."

 Archon Prince Victor Steiner Davion read the fax.

 To: Mitchell Aerospace Headquarters and Duke Scott Mitchell
 From: Luval Chief Officer Demeter Operations

 Star League quality control team has arrived. Admiral in charge very demanding. Wants me to kick unfinished ships from slips and bring completed ships in for inspection. Have refused. Have ordered Platoon of Marines to escort each team aboard our Corvettes for inspection with orders to prevent activation of engines or weapons by any means needed. Request clarification on next step, I recommend throwing them out of the airlocks.

 Luval

 Victor could not help but crack a smile reading the message. He dismissed the communication officer with a "Thank you, you may return to your duties." He called his secretary in, "Get me to Demeter asap please Misty."

 29 January 3063
         Demeter

  Commanding Admiral Beresick was in a very foul mood, had been ever since arriving at Demeter. So far, the only thing they had found wrong was a few very small areas that had not been painted quite good enough. Now he was being escort to the shipyards command deck by 2 MDF Marines who seemed to always have a smirk on their face. They were always polite, but he always sensed they would take great pleasure in putting him down hard if given the chance.

 Reaching the command deck, he spotted the usual MDF Marines on duty, but also what looked like plain clothed security personnel. The door to Luval's office was opened and he was nudged by someone behind him into the room. He spotted the uniformed man first and came to a stiff position of attention "Archon Prince Davion, I did not know you were here. Commanding Admiral Beresick reporting."

 "At ease Admiral Beresick. I am here to clear up some things. I hear you have been giving my people a hard time." Victor said

 "I have not seen a single AFFC person since we have arrived sir." Beresick said

 "Not AFFC, my people here. You see, I am a 20% owner of Mitchell Aerospace and Shipyards. You would rather deal with me than Duke Mitchell or their chief engineer. Now, have your teams found anything wrong in any of your inspections?" Victor asked

 "Nothing yet sir, a few areas need to be painted a little better, but so far everything seems to be superb." Beresick replied

 "Good, I would be disappointed if you had found anything major. But true to form, my people are turning out ships 100% ready before handing them over. Of all the ships handed over to the AFFC from Mitchell Aerospace, I think a loose power connection was found once. Just once. Now, I am not sure what exactly your game is here, but you will not be bringing those Corvettes back into any slips for detailed inspection of the hull UNLESS you authorize the Star League to waive all fine and penalties for missed delivery dates AND pay Mitchell Aerospace for all lost production of those said yards. That is 1 Million C-Bills per day per slip, 4 days to remove the current ships, 3 days to safely get the ships into the yard, 3 days for your inspection, 3 days to remove the ship and 4 days to put the unfinished ship back into the yard. That is 102 Million C-Bills Admiral Beresick." Victor said

 Beresick knew he was beat, hell Prince Davion was on the damned High Council. He writes our budget. "We still have not conducted acceptance trials on any of the ships sir."

 "Initial trials are conducted by MAS and MDF crews before any ship is declared completed. Now, if the Star League navy wants to keep an observer team on hand, that is fine. Limited to 20 personnel, I will not have my operation flooded with pencil pushers. I expect to see the same kinds of teams aboard EVERY operation though if that is what you choose. The Star League may position a team of officers at our operations to observe our initial trials and sign off on the ships as they are completed or you can do as the AFFC always has with Mitchell Aerospace and Shipyards, trust them to turn over ships that are 100% complete and combat ready. Your choice Admiral Beresick." Victor said

 "Sir, the amount of money being spent, it is only proper that a detailed inspection be done prior to acceptance." Beresick tried to argue

 "That is correct, it should. Long ago, the AFFC took a delivered Buford Corvette into a yard at Galax and did a detailed inspection on it. They almost took the ship apart looking for supposed problems, that ship only worked properly after the Demeter operation was started and we brought the ship here to be fixed correctly. My own experts screwed that perfectly working ship up trying to find something wrong, we had to send it back to MAS to be fixed back up. Cost my navy an additional 230 million for that ship in repairs after my inspectors screwed it up. Now, the AFFC accepts MAS ships the moment they are declared ready. No questions asked.

 See those ships right there on the board, the HPG Relay ships? MAS has built 14 of them so far, care to guess how many of those have been delivered and then reported as defective? ZERO. Admiral Beresick, this kind of ship building, at this scale has not been attempted since the original Star League. Well, except when the AFFC was expanding it's naval forces anyway. When it comes to ship building, MAS is the leader of the game. Now, if the Star League navy wants to pay to build several yards here at Demeter just for inspections that is fine, but I better not hear any crying when MAS has to fix what your people screw up in the process and charges you for those repairs. If you have concerns about quality control, then in June bring them to the High Council. Now, which option are you choosing Admiral Beresick, I have much better things to do with my limited time than to sort out issues like this?" Victor said

 "The Star League Navy accepts the 6 Buford II Corvettes. We would like to station observer teams at all contracted ship builders to oversee initial trials and construction of our ships sir." Beresick responded

 "Great to hear that Admiral Beresick. Let's not have a repeat of this kind of incident again. Luval here demands excellence from his people and he gets it from them. Now, let us all get back to work." Victor said as he started to leave the room for his shuttle and back to New Avalon.

 Admiral Baresick just stood there for a minute, damn, he had heard rumors for years about this Mitchell Aerospace and Shipyards about how anything that impedes or hassles them that some very powerful people get involved super fast, and he had just experienced it. Luval's voice brought Beresick back to the here and now.

 "Mitchell Aerospace is happy to turn the completed Corvettes over to the Star League Navy. Admiral Beresick, please inform me if there are any issues discovered." Luval said

[Daryk]

Excellent response from Victor... Beresick is going to be feeling that for a while, I think...  ^-^