ASO Chpt 4

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==ExpeditionChapter 4 - Aurigan Sentinels (BattleTech CYOA)==
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===Taking Stock in what has been Gained===
Star League Defense Force Outpost MC-P0J-117, Fable System
Capellan March, Federated Suns
April 21st, 3020
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As impressive as all of the ships and warmachines are, they aren’t the only treasures to be found within the facility and its depot. There are plenty of infantry kits ranging from standard gear to more specialized loadouts like marines or jump infantry. Not to mention cooling suits and SLDF-grade neurohelmets for MechWarriors alongside SLDF kits for tank crews and ASF pilots.
Then there are the support vehicles and other hardware. Over one hundred regular trucks for carrying cargo, coming in five ton and ten ton variants. No MASH trucks or Mobile HQs or recovery vehicles, but while it would have been nice to get the superior SLDF versions, lesser versions of each are still produced and available for purchase back home. As for the rest, there are over two hundred exoskeletons though all of them are civilian in nature with not a single Nighthawk to be found. Unfortunate, but also not unexpected given the rarity and purpose of the Nighthawk power armor.
Following the exoskeletons are the IndustrialMechs. While not quite as numerous as their more popular and militarized cousins, there are almost as many of them in the facility as there BattleMechs. Seventy-two IndustrialMechs to eighty-four BattleMechs is a difference of only a dozen. Best of all is that half of the IndustrialMechs are LosTech, so to say as the Succession Wars have seen the loss of their factories and means to replicate some of their high-end hardware. 
Next up is the towed artillery with the facility having two dozen Long Tom field artillery pieces in storage along with twice as many Thumper field artillery pieces. Which isn’t as impressive as it sounds because you can’t just throw them onto a vehicle without making some serious modifications to both the gun and the vehicle. Not to mention that it takes a mechanized platoon of infantry to lug around either one Long Tom or two Thumpers. On top of it all, there are logistical concerns for ammo as the infantry can only carry so much at once and you need to have ready access to a stockpile of artillery shells.
So yeah, artillery is cool and all, but the practicalities of using it makes it less desirable.
The facility also has a whole load of sim pods in its storage bays. There are sim pods for ‘Mechs, ASFs, tanks, DropShips, JumpShips and even infantry though it escapes me how those last ones could be useful compared to actual physical training. It isn’t like you need to worry about damaging expensive and possibly irreplaceable hardware when training raw infantry recruits. Still, they are a boon especially since they are SLDF-grade simulation pods and not the downgraded crap that gets made in the 31st Century.
There is also a whole load of spare parts and ammo in the facility’s cargo bays for its warmachines, including some LosTech weapons and ammo for them. While still quite limited, it is nice to know that we have some options for upgrading regular variants or replacing LosTech that gets destroyed in battle or otherwise damaged. The extra count is still going, but the inventory says that we are looking at around twenty-five thousand tons of assorted spare parts and ammo.
Last of all, there are two treasures in the facility that rival the Tomb-Maker in value. This facility isn't just a SLDF military base, but it is also an engineering research site. It isn’t Helm by a long shot, but the facility's memory core has extensive knowledge of the various industrial and automation techniques of the Star League. Thankfully, engineering is my field and looking through just some of the data is enough for me to realize just how valuable this memory core is.
With the knowledge contained within, the memory core could be used to rebuild late Star League technology from the first principles. Not only would it allow for the reconstruction or restoration of existing factories, but it would serve as the basis for allowing the construction of brand new factories that are worthy of the Star League.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t carry any blueprints for any late Star League technology or blueprints at all. I or anyone else using it will need to acquire existing technical specifications or invent our own and while the latter of such is certainly viable with the memory core, it will take time, expertise and C-Bills to do so.
The other invaluable treasure is a small automated tool factory and while it doesn’t produce a vast quantity of stuff, what it does make is of the highest quality. Despite being called a tool factory, the truth is that it is effectively an oversized and over engineered machine shop with its official name being indicative of its intended purpose rather than its limitations. It is meant to produce prototype designs for testing so just like the data core, it is limited by its need for blueprints and the site’s lack of them. 
Oh, and there is a hundred thousand tons of assorted raw materials. Apparently, they were around for testing. Nothing truly valuable amongst them like gold, diamonds or endo-steel, but raw materials are raw materials. It doesn’t cost me anything to bring them home and I should have sufficient transportation for them so it is basically free resources to use or sell as I wish.
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===Birth of new Force===
“Alright,” I say as the senior leadership of my impromptu group sits around a relatively private table aboard the Starclaimed Spinner, “How much of the paperwork lines up with reality after a closer inspection?”
“The WarShip is functional and fueled up,” says Commodore Leona Geary, the ex-AFFS leader of Dad’s-of my naval contingent, “There are enough basic similarities that we could do a decent job of running it. We don’t have nearly enough people to fully crew it, but we should be able to get it moving and capable of jumping.”
“I didn’t think things would be that simple.” says the captain of the Starclaimed Spinner, one Captain Danilo Teodoro.
“It isn’t, but there is more overlap than you might expect,” answers Commodore Geary, “The only difference between a Compact K-F Drive and a regular one is mass and price. Our JumpShip crew can get it working and jumping as well as they can with the Star Lord and the Invaders. As for the rest of it, it uses the same technology as a DropShip so there is enough similarity to figure things out. We just don’t have another crew to fill it out.”
 
“What about the other ships?” I inquire.
 
“All of them are known designs except for that Argo-class, ma’am,” answers Commodore Geary, “Apart from the Myrmidon, we got enough veterans amongst our ranks that we can find at least few people who have experience with every other DropShip or JumpShip. Unfortunately, we don’t have enough crew for every vessel even discounting the McKenna. We are about a hundred fifty people shy of crewing all of the DropShips and JumpShips. Adding in the Tomb-Maker just increases our deficit of spacers to over seven hundred.”
“Will that be a problem?” asks Captain Arkos before clarifying her question, “I mean, how much of a problem will that be?”
 
“We have sufficient JumpShip crews and docking collars to bring everything with us,” answers the Feddie woman, “We will need to rotate crews though, even those of the DropShips to get them docked up to the collars, but we can bring everything with us. I do recommend filling up the cargo bays with everything we want to bring with us before going through the hassle of docking everything up for heading back home.”
“Speaking of heading home, how viable is it to get back to the Reach via dead systems?” I inquire, “I would rather not have anyone find out about this until we reach the relative safety of Coalition space.”
 
“I’ll have someone look into it.” replies Commodore Geary, “Fortunately, we have old SLDF maps at hand. Nothing special, but they do contain some old systems that nobody bothers to put on any modern maps.”
“Good,” I say before looking around the table, “I assume that means we have space for everything?”
 
“On paper, we do,” answers Captain Teodoro, “We have enough bays to stick most of the war machines in them and even without that, the big tickets can fit in between the Mammoth and that Argo beast. The Mules and Fortresses have room between them for everything else. I haven’t run the exact numbers, but in my expert opinion, we can take everything with us so long as we can stick all of those raw materials in the battleship. The WarShip is the only ship with the cargo capacity to take it all home with us.”
 
“Speaking of going home, what are your long-term plans?” asks Captain Sonya Zola, the mother of Vance and Vanessa, as the dark-skinned woman gives me a long look.
 
“Mercenary unit,” I answer promptly, “The Aurigan Coalition is my home and House Arano has done right by my family so I don’t want to abandon it to sign up with a Successor Lord, but legal and political reasons mean I can’t just directly sign up with the ACM. Meanwhile, financial concerns mean that whatever unit I form will need to be mercenaries to ensure enough income to sustain itself.”
“I will be willing to sign on with you,” says Commodore Geary before giving a sheepish grin, “The chance to command a warship is too good to pass up.”
 
“I’ll need an Admiral for this many ships and you are the most experienced and senior naval officer here,” I say, “I would be happy to have you aboard. How many others are likely to stay with us after this expedition is over?”
 
“The majority,” answers Captain Zola, “We all knew that a new mercenary unit would be the most likely outcome of a successful trip and with a few exceptions, we intended to join up. Besides, I’m not going to turn down the chance to have a new ride.”
 
“I’ve been speaking with my crew and the general consensus is that we would like to sign up with you on a longer term basis,” says Captain Teodoro as he leans forward, “You’re a smart enough girl and between that and this haul of the century, you’ll be going places.”
“I’ll need to discuss the details with you, but I am open to extending this job from a single contract to something permanent,” says Captain Arkos as she leans back, giving me an eyeful of her bosom that I make an effort not to stare at, “As Danilo says, you’ll be going to places and I don’t mind being on that train. I will need to speak with my girls to make sure that they are all aboard.”
 
“Of course,” I reply, “I don’t expect any decisions right now. We do need to get everything aboard the DropShips and the DropShips to their JumpShips. Not to mention we need to figure out what route we’ll take back home.”
 
“We also need to figure out what to do about the Cardenia Claremont,” points out Captain Arkos, “They’ll stick around with us and should accompany us back to the Aurigan Coalition, but they might change their minds.
 
“Especially if we attempt to sneak back via dead systems,” adds Commodore Geary, “Most JumpShips avoid using them for a reason.”
 
“I’ll speak with their captain,” says Captain Teodoro, “Veronika and I go back. I might be able to talk some reason into her.”
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==Author's Chapter Notes==
;Word from the Author: This is going to be the end of the expedition and the first arc. I don’t feel like covering the trip home in detail so I’ll be starting the next chapter and arc with the return to the Aurigan Coalition and summarising things that happened on the way back where needed.Anyway, the expedition has been successful, but there are still logistics that need to be sorted out such as sorting out if they can bring everything back and if so, how to do so. Not to mention crewing the ships with their limited numbers and how to safely get that battleship back to the Reach.
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