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Chapter 75 - A Long Journey[]
18 June 2787
Mackolla (Federated Suns)
"Sir, this is Colonel Irma Gonzalez. She is a wizard when it comes to locating much needed equipment or parts. I passed along what you gave me and let her have at it." Lieutenant General Paul Jefferson said
"Good to meet you, Colonel Gonzalez, did you manage to make some sense out of those wish lists?" General Samuel Mitchell said
"Yes, sir, I think I can at least satisfy them. I got a rough rundown from Colin Blaine on what we should be able to manufacture ourselves then I took a dive into the official TO&E of each command to get a feel for what you already had on hand, but also to figure out how to stay within my given budget. If you will have a look at my proposed list of equipment purchases it will make more sense." She handed over a sheet of paper.
Proposed Equipment Purchases
Battlemechs
-36 Cestus CTS-6Y (367,006,464)
-36 Night Hawk NTK-2Q (169,793,820)
-72 Phoenix Hawk PHX-2 (282,146,616)
Total 818,946,900
Armor Vehicles
-324 Manticore (783,979,776)
-216 Hvy Wheel APC LRM (36,742,000)
-216 Hvy Track APC LRM (40,193,000)
-216 Hvy Hover APC LRM (42,285,000)
-24 Mobile HQ (10,458,731)
Total 913,658,507
Total Equipment Expense 1,732,605,407
"As you can see, I broke the pricing out using known sources and applied the AFFS 8% discount to our estimated expense. You already field Battlemechs of he type I selected, I stuck to those primarily as they are either from manufacturers inside the Federated Suns and currently not near the front line, or from a manufacturer that we can source from readily. The Cestus provides us a good hard hitting heavy mech built on Kathil, the Night Hawk is an easy to maintain light with good firepower that we can purchase from Alpheratz in the Outworlds Alliance and the Phoenix Hawk is also currently built inside the Federated Suns. This avoids, hopefully, any delays with shipments or confiscation by the AFFS or other states during transit.
I did the same thing for the Armor vehicles, you already use the Manticore and it is an excellent heavy tank, so we can purchase three more Regiments worth, several manufacturers are inside the Federated Suns borders. I went with the Heavy APC in wheel, hover and track for several reasons, they are dirt cheap and I can buy them in bulk from about a dozen manufacturers to speed up delivery times, they can be used to transport troops, support personnel as needed and when it comes time to sell them off, any and every militia uses them extensively which makes getting rid of them quick and easy. I noticed that you have eight HPG equipped Mobile HQ in addition to eight more standard version, that is below the bare recommended number for even a Regiment much less a command our size. These are the version equipped with 4 tons of communication gear for local command and control.
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Mobile HQ Tracked
If my numbers are correct, we can then purchase around 250 million in spare parts, ammunition, replacement weapons. I doubt we will be able to purchase any Mauser 960, so we need to plan to purchase replacement weapons for when those wear out. I will need guidance on what to purchase though, your preference and such. I have rough estimates on when we will manufacturing our own equipment and it is a year to two years on most items and Mister Blaine figures it will be a slow start at just a few per month for at least a year on most large items. I am assuming that most of the parts produced will be going to new builds until things really get going and a stockpile begins to accumulate. While current spare parts stocks are fairly decent, they are not up to what I would call sustained combat levels. A couple of good fights and we could find ourselves using bubblegum and duct tape to hold stuff together. But those are my recommendations sir." Colonel Irma Gonzalez said
"Excellent rundown, Colonel. The Battlemechs are not my forte, but I am trying to learn. The Manticore are excellent heavy tanks. Not my first pick, but your reasoning is sound. With the current fighting, we are cut off from any other sources. Your recommendations are approved. Lieutenant General Jefferson has all the appropriate contacts for the Quartermaster Command to get the ball rolling on that front. There is a high chance that sustained action will be coming soon so make every attempt to secure whatever we need as soon as possible, even if you have to spend a little extra, just don't break the bank." General Mitchell replied
"Very well, sir. I will work with the finance department, who are still trying to figure out how things work here and how much money do we actually have. It is a little confusing to say the least. While examining the unit assets, I am sure you are aware that we are critically short on both Dropships and Jumpship collars for an entire command movement." Colonel Irma Gonzalez said
"It is all up here, Colonel." General Mitchell tapped his temple, "I round everything up, so 350 is 400. I know the number in my head, lets see what the finance folks come up with and see who is closer. Though I do have a pretty good idea what is available in the account."