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Raid Aftermath
Chapter 25 - Aurigan Dreams (BattleTech CYOA)[]
Talking Shop with a Mech Tech[]
“You know, you did a real number on your ‘Mech, boss." says Yang as I join him in the ‘Mech Bay of the Durendal a few days after the battle, “Missing arm, trashed SRM launcher and three heatsinks blown away. Not to mention all of the damage to the internal structure and the myomer and how it was easy to count up what armor was left than what was missing. I trust you had a good reason for messing up your ride like a stereotypical Mechjock.”
“Kamea acted like a stereotypical Mechjock and when we got ambushed, I had to cover her escape." I explain, looking at my partially rebuilt Atlas, Solus Prime, “I’ll be honest, Yang, I was fully expecting to lose the cockpit in addition to the arm and everything else. I was shocked when I actually survived that fight.”
Part of me still wonders if I died back then and everything since is a dream. It’s silly, but if I’m not careful, I find myself drifting back to when my ‘Mech was flat on its back, staring up in my cockpit as my Atlas took barrage after barrage, waiting for the inevitable end to come.
I should probably see a therapist about that.
“Damn, boss, any reason you didn’t use the ejection seat at that point?” asks Yang as he gives me a concerned look.
“I did, it didn’t work properly." I tell him, “So I fought and died. Well, I won in the end so I didn’t die.”
“You serious?” ask Yang as he looks for something in my face before cursing as he apparently finds it, “Hell, that shouldn’t have happened.”
“Haven’t you looked at the BattleROM?” I inquire.
“Been too busy with everything to do that." admits Yang, “Still your ejection system should have worked. I’m your Chief MechTech and your personal MechTech, that makes it my responsibility twice over.”
“I trust that you will sort everything out." I say, “You are still the best MechTech on the planet. Heck, you might even be the best MechTech in the entire Coalition.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I’ll take my dues." replies Yang, “I’ll make sure that your ejection system will work next time.”
“So how is everything going?” I ask, deciding to change the subject, “Raju gave me the estimates on the repair times for everything so don’t worry about that.”
“Well, we are prioritizing the most intact machines first." answers Yang as he glances up at Solus Prime, “Anything that just needed some replacement armor is good as new. Beyond that, we have been repairing things depending on the severity of damage and how much work would be needed to get them back into shape. Except for your ‘Mech. We’ve prioritized yours, boss.”Bold
“I appreciate that." I say, “You haven’t had too many problems with sourcing parts?”
“We’ve been making do." says Yang, “Your ride won't be as smooth as it used to be, but we have enough examples of functional Atlases that we haven’t had any major difficulties with getting the parts right in the machine shops. As for the rest, we have those parts for the Marauders and Griffins that you imported from the Taurians, but for the majority of our salvage we will be fabricating new parts for everything. That’s probably the biggest concern and expensive. I recommend importing what spares we can from the Bulls and Canopians, but out here in the Periphery? We’ll be doing a lot of fabricating in the local machine shops, which really isn’t a substitute for having proper parts from a factory.”
“I’ll see what I can do." I tell him, as I think about the Argo.
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Argo Class DropShip
That DropShip is a real lifesaver for any mercenary unit if there is any truth to it. I strongly doubt it will be quite as good as it was in…that thing, but I recall the descriptions of the Mech Bay upgrades. Not any of the specifics, but it had automation systems to help the MechTechs, it had machine shops that produced parts superior to Taurian factories and there is supposed to be a whole database of technical specifications for various ‘Mech.
Unfortunately, the Argo belongs to Lord Arano this time around and I doubt he will be willing to give it to me the same way that Kamea was willing to give it to the Marauders following the Restoration.
Hmm, I wonder if Markham's Marauders will exist in this timeline? They haven’t formed yet as far as I can tell and I have definitely poached some of their…canonical members. I have Yang of course, but amongst my MechWarriors I have a Darius Oliveira and a fellow whose callsign is Medusa. No guarantee that the latter is the same starter pilot in the campaign of the…yeah, I am going to stop thinking about that thing now.
“It should only take a few days to get our spare ‘Mechs out of mothball." says Yang, oblivious to my internal conflict, “If you want to put together another ‘Mech company, we could do it right away if you don’t mind half of them being battle damaged.”
“We don’t need it in fighting shape right away." I inform him. “The only reason I am forming it right away is a need to use it as a means to convince Major Arkos to sign up with us. I’m not expecting us to go on any offensive operations until September at the earliest, when we have our unusual forces repaired and ready for action.”
“Glad to hear it." says Yang, “Just keep in mind that we’ll need more techs to keep up with everything. Otherwise our teams will be reduced to doing their best to keep on top of maintenance let alone anything else.”
“Yeah, I’ll look into that." I assure him because that is a valid concern for me to look into, “Anything else?”
“Well, if you’re asking me for a wishlist, more bays." replies Yang, “They don’t have to be aboard a DropShip, but some places to store our additional ‘Mechs when we aren’t using them and get available for easy maintenance and if necessary battle. Because let me tell you, we can have a ‘Mech sitting around in a warehouse, but I can’t promise that they will be fit for battle in a pinch. More likely they’ll need a day or two of work to get back in shape for a fight.”
“You don’t need to tell me all that." I reply, “I’m a trained MechTech too.”
“And that is why I like working for you, boss." says Yang.
“Anyway, I’m planning to get us a formal base." I tell him, “Official word hasn’t gone out yet, but I’m getting bumped up to a baroness for my actions in the raid. I’ll be getting some more land to rule out of it, mostly just one of the coastal cities that lacks a noble family to rule over it after the last one died out a generation back. We should be able to set up an official military base for the Sentinels in the outskirts or the surrounding countryside. It’ll take some time to get it all set up, but once it is, we’ll have a place for those extra Mech Bays of yours.”
“Not as soon as I would like, but better than nothing, which is a real possibility in the age of LosTech." says Yang before looking thoughtful, “You know, we could use that time to get things ready for the new bays. Coromodir is no Periphery backwater, but it is still out in the Periphery. We may have some trouble getting everything we need for the new Mech Bays.”
“I’ll trust you’ll have everything in order." I say as I decide to get to the real reason I came down here, “Now, I got a message saying that my package has arrived?”
“That top-notch RCA InstaTrac target tracking system that showed up under your name?” inquires Yang and I nod in confirmation, “Yeah, it arrived. That must have cost you a pretty penny.”
“Around a million C-Bills." I admit, “I think it was worth it though.”
Even with my inheritance starting to run low. The Rimward Sentinels are turning enough of a profit that their recruitment expenses are being covered even retroactively, but it will be some time before Angela’s investments begin to make a net profit and she has sunk about half of my millions into those investments. And by some time, I’m talking years, possibly even decades. Most likely decades even with Angela making some good, reliable choices in what she has invested my C-Bills in.
I don’t regret it. Even if it will take a decade or two to turn a profit on my stocks, the dividends that I am getting from them is providing a steady and stable source of income. Angela warns me to not get too complacent on it as it might not always be as dependable as it currently is as companies go under or have turns of bad luck, but having a steady stream of income is important for any big mercenary unit. Especially when you have some bad luck on the mercenary side of things.
In any case, a trader showed up with a high-grade target tracking system aboard their DropShip and I took the chance. I had the C-Bills for it and that sort of upgrade can be very useful for a ‘Mech. And since my contract with House Arano gives me an extra payout for each battle, I had some extra C-Bills in hand to make up the expense.
Which reminds me that I ought to get around to separating the finances of the Rimward Sentinels from my own personal finances at some point. Angela has been nagging me about the fact that right now, all of the profits are being paid into my bank account and all of the expenses are being paid out of it. I inherited that way from Duke Herman and it has been functional for now, but a big organization like the Sentinels really should have its own separate finances rather than everything being paid out of pocket by the owner. Especially since we are approaching the point where we are looking at becoming a multi-regimental formation.
Just another thing for my increasingly long to do list.
“Planning to stick it in your Altas?” inquires Yang as the Capellan man looks up at the ‘Mech in question, “We could do it. Stick it in instead of getting a replacement SRM launcher and then figure out what to do with the leftover ton once the SRM ammo is removed.”
“No, I’m actually planning to stick it in my sister’s ‘Mech." I correct him, “Lord Arano has given her the Grasshopper from the Grey Bulls and I did some math. It should be possible to pull the LRM launcher and its ammo to free up the tonnage to stick the TTS in the torso with the large laser.”
“Hmm, that sounds doable." says Yang thoughtfully before looking back at me, “But are you sure you want to? That is one expensive piece of gear and it won’t be for anyone in our unit.”
“My C-Bills, my hardware, my sister, my choice." I answer.
“Well, that’s that then." replies Yang, accepting my argument without complaint.
“The main problem is that I’m not currently in a position to do any of the work." I say, “And, well, it is some expensive equipment so I want someone I trust working on it.”
“Gotcha, boss." says Yang with a knowing nod, “Sort out the details and I’ll handle the job done.”
“I’ll speak with Lord Arano about it then." I tell him before we move onto my second reason for coming here, “Now, about our Merlin. What shape is it in?”
“Fairly good." answers Yang, “The previous owners didn’t know how to look after it properly, but that is the case for every ‘Mech we got from them.”
“A chronic shortage of techs is what I was told." I tell him.
“Either way, it was quite the mess and having seen how easy the Merlin is to work, let me tell you, that reflects poorly on them." says Yang, “Incompetence of its previous owner aside, the ‘Mech is a delight to work with. All of its parts are easily sourced or replaced and the whole thing is designed for Succession War levels of technology. Now, it isn’t plug and play or anything that extreme, but it is real easy to fit in replacement parts or similar parts. Nothing to make it really interesting, but the simplicity of it is its own draw.”
“I can’t wait until I’m fit enough again to pilot a ‘Mech." I say, “Then I’ll be able to give it a spin.”
“Is that why nobody has been assigned to it yet?” inquires Yang.
“That and we haven’t begun recruiting new MechWarriors yet." I reply, “But yes, I do want to take the Merlin for a ride or two before it gets assigned to someone. Besides, it might as well act as my training ‘Mech whilst you get my main ride fixed up.”
“Your ‘Mech, your rules." says Yang before pausing as something occurs to him, “Want to go and take a look at it? You might not be able to pilot it, but I can still walk you through the works.”
On the one hand, I have a busy schedule, but on the other hand, I would really like to do that.
“You know what, I think I’ll take you up on that." I tell him as while I might not be able to pilot the Merlin, I can still get to look at the inner workings of the warmachine.
And to be honest, I am going to enjoy looking at the design of the first new BattleMech in over a hundred years then I’ll enjoy actually piloting the ‘Mech.
Author's Chapter Notes[]
- Word from the Author
- Okay so the talk with Yang took up more than I was originally expecting, mainly because the two get along so well thanks to Elizabeth being more of a mech tech than a mechwarrior. Anyway, not too much to say here. Elizabeth is helping out Moana and we get to see the mess that is the financial setup of the Rimward Sentinels.
The rest of the arc will be covering the timeskip between now and the preparation for investigating Outpost Castle Nautilus.