ALJ Chpt 66

frameless|right|300px|link=A Long Journey
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==Chapter 66 - A Long Journey==
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14 December 2786
New Avalon (Federated Suns)
He was not summoned until the next day and even then, it was almost noon before he was led into the palace and seated in the conference room. He quickly noticed that unlike yesterday where there had been only two sets of small notepads and glasses there were now six places set. I am about to get tag teamed, this might not go so well, he thought to himself. He doodled on his pad for twenty minutes before the door leading to First Prince John Davions private office opened and four senior officers in AFFS uniforms entered followed by the First Prince. Each moved to chairs, and everyone sat down after the First Prince was seated.
"General Mitchell, sorry it took so long to call you back, but I needed to consult with these officers first. This is Admiral Lenard Mathers, commands Naval Procurement, next to him is Field Marshal Ingrid Bleutcher Department of the Quartermaster, Field Marshal Daniel Oliver Department of Military Education and Marshal Edgar Salazar. They have some questions for you that I could not answer, nor did I think to even ask you." First Prince John Davion said nodding to Admiral Mathers.
"General Mitchell, let me clear the air first with the First Princes blessing. I am not very happy to have any command having their own warship like you do. But, you have done good work with it so far so bravo. Now the First Prince informed me that you have located the FSS Chesterton. What is the ships current status, amount of damage, overall condition?" Admiral Mathers asked
General Mitchell cleared his throat before answering "Admiral, forgive me for not using your name, but except for the First Prince, you are all new to me and that takes time. I know that the Chesterton is not currently jump capable, but we have been working on her for over almost two months, she might be back at Mackolla right now for all I know. I am told she has armor damage, but she is repairable. How much damage, that I do not know. Not my area of expertise. I know that in her current state it will cost much less to repair her than to replace her as a new build."
"You're asking for almost four billion for her salvage fee. I think that is a little high, don't you?" Admiral Mathers asked
"Not at all, sir. If I was just going to come here and say "look what we found, that is 1 billion, but it is up to you to take it from here" then yes, it would be high. Instead, we are already in the process of recovering her and bringing her home. I have had four Jumpships and several hundred personnel tied up in the recovery effort not to mention Aerospace support. If I had my limited staff on Mackolla crunch the numbers, we have probably tallied upwards of half a billion in expenses already. I agreed to take the forty percent AND complete the repairs and possible upgrades to the Chesterton. It will provide work for Lockheed Galactic due to arrive very soon until they are fully setup on their own. But the AFFS is going to have to assist us in purchasing the needed material for any upgrades, I am just going to provide the labor and slip for the work to be completed in." General Mitchell said
Admiral Mathers looked at the First Prince and said "Highness, it is my judgement that we delay a final price until the Chesterton is at Mackolla and we can inspect her ourselves to ascertain her true value."
"So noted, Admiral Mathers. General Mitchell is that agreeable to you?" First Prince John Davion asked
"It is, your Highness." General Mitchell replied
"Field Marshal Bleutcher, if you will." First Prince Davion said
"General Mitchell. The First Prince has informed me that you are in need of equipment and spare parts. Currently you're not a part of the nominal structure of the AFFS but he has asked me to assist you in procuring what you need. The First Prince also informed me that you will be responsible for the cost of the equipment and spare parts, but you will be getting the AFFS discount price on these items. I have also been informed that Mackolla will soon host quite an industrial base, do you know exactly what you will not be able to provide for from local sources?" Field Marshal Bleutcher asked
"At this time, I know that only Newhart Industries has a functional Aerospace Factory. Lockheed Galactic has a maintenance slip that can handle up to One-Million-ton ships but no manufacturing ability. Other than that, I really do not know, my father is in charge of that stuff. As for my command, I am in need of Battlemechs, Tanks, Support Vehicles, small arms, ammunition, replacement armor, spare parts of every type. I am an armor officer by trade, so Battlemechs are not my expertise, but I do listen to my Battlemech commanders, and the number one complaint is too many different models. But I also have to keep in mind financial costs. They have all given me a wish list many times, but until I know what I will have to spend I have to wait on the Battlemechs. 
It is like that down the page. I just got permission to openly recruit for my command or train my own, so I do not even know what my final force structure will even look like. If I had my way, it would be a full Armor Division on every garrison planet with a Battlemech Brigade acting as a Rapid Response Force for the sector. I know most of the more developed Federated Suns worlds have that sort of Planetary Guard, the Armored Division anyway, but I also know that they are usually much lighter tanks than those I use. Honestly, I am caught flatfooted by all of this, I am not prepared for this sort of Q&A. It could take two more years before I get the first recruit out of training and into a line command. This could all change suddenly if I can recruit a large number of former SLDF, but I am not going to hold my breath on that one, I am former SLDF and I know most are tired of war, those that still seek the high of combat have already joined one of the Houses or a Mercenary command." General Mitchell said
"Your being honest, so that is a plus. Highness, Quartermaster Command will assist in purchasing spare parts and ammunition needs for General Mitchell, until such time as he can provide a more detailed list of equipment needs." Field Marshal Bleutcher said
"So noted. Field Marshal Oliver, the floor is yours." First Prince Davion said
"General Mitchell, normally only personnel trained by the AFFS or AFFS approved schools are allowed into any unit, even Planetary Guards. The First Prince has informed me of your intent to train your recruits to SLDF standards, I wonder how you expect to do that?" Field Marshal Daniel Oliver asked
"There are quite a few former SLDF Drill Instructors in my command along with former SLDF advanced training personnel. At the same time, ALL of my people are veterans of the Amaris War, so I could easily pluck any two hundred or more of my troops to train new recruits in ways WE know work in combat. Every new recruit will have to complete a six-month basic training and then another year or more of advanced training. Before they are even assigned to an operational unit. It is my intent that we will continue the tradition of the SLDF in making sure they are the best trained soldiers in the universe. I asked when we first arrived to start our own training school but was denied, that has placed us almost two years behind schedule. Now I have the permission but will be four years behind schedule when the first recruit is ready to be assigned to a line unit." General Mitchell replied
"I will need to personally inspect each training school established to ensure they meet AFFS standards. Once I am assured that they do, I will issue official AFFS sanction for your schools. Graduates will then be allowed to enlist directly into the AFFS or remain in the Planetary Guard or your command." Field Marshal Oliver said
"With no real disrespect, but I have seen the local training camps on Mackolla, Bamburgh, Arundel and Gamlestolen personally along with observing the locally trained militia and they would not even be classified as half trained SLDF recruits. Yet these are training camps sanctioned by your department. If that is what passes for AFFS standards then there is a much bigger problem that needs to be fixed and quickly. I am sure you will be impressed in how we train our recruits and will have no problem giving us your official blessing." General Mitchell said and mentally winced when he realized that Field Marshal Oliver took it very personally.
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