ASO Chpt 17

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==Chapter 17 - First Mission - Aurigan Sentinels (BattleTech CYOA)==
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===Next Steps going Forward===
Nadir Jump Point, Detroit System
Aurigan Frontier, Rimward Periphery
9th March, 3021
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I’ve done it. I have stolen the map of SLDF bases from the Argo. It was a simple enough matter in the end. I just waited until I was released from the MedBay, used my authority to get a tour of the Argo where I discreetly downloaded a copy of the secondary drive of the nav computer. After that, it was just a matter of using the Advanced Electronic Codebreaker to crack the encryption in the privacy of my quarters aboard the Myrmidon.
 
It still feels a little treasonous to me, but as I’ve said before, the prize is just too valuable to not take matters into my own hands. And as I stare at the map full of SLDF icons across the galaxy, I know that my actions were worth it.
 
The first thing I check is Helm. There are three SLDF sites in the system and I briefly check out the first of them, an asteroid naval base, before focusing on the two on the primary planet. The first is the supply depot in Freeport, which was known to the public and supposedly destroyed. The second is the under construction Castle Brian in the Nagayan Mountain, exactly where the Helm Memory Core should be. While I know that one intrepid SLDF major moved the contents of the supply depot to the secret site in the Nagayan Mountain, what really catches my eye is the stockpile of nuclear weapons that is stated to be there. That’s interesting and while I can recognize the significance of that, I lack the education to know if it is significant in a bad way or in a good way.
 
Okay, I know where to find Helm and its invaluable memory core. With that sorted, I decide to look closer to home. Outpost Castle Nautilus is right there on Artru as I could…as I could remember it being. There is also a supply warehouse at Panzyr’s ageing space port, which I suspect is full of decommissioned Griffins, while Smithon has a fair few sites on it, but most if not all of these are known as these underground fortresses and armouries are currently the subterranean cities where most of Smithon’s populace live.
 
Nonetheless, one or two places might have been missed so I cross-reference my secret map with a list of publicly known SLDF locations. The end result is three locations on my map that aren’t showing up on current public records. A pair of armouries and a fortress that is so small that it is more of an outpost. Hopefully they’ll be intact and full of loot even if it all goes to House Karosas as Lord Karosas is currently a close ally of High Lord Arano.
 
What can I do with this information? Panzyr and Smithon belong to House Decimis and House Karosas respectively so trying to claim the SLDF sites on their worlds wouldn’t be a good use of my time. Even if I could pull it off, it would expand a lot of political capital to go up against two Founding Houses in addition to likely earning their enmity.
 
Outpost Castle Nautilus on the other hand, that is a different kettle of fish. Artru isn’t ruled by a Founding House, but by corporate oligarchs. They aren’t outright insignificant, but Artru is an insignificant world with barely any populace, just enough to engage in some minor mining for rare metals on the planetary surface. Its most notable aspect is being a major transit point on the journey to and from Hellespont, the rimward headquarters for ComStar’s Explorer Corps.
 
Of course, the Castle Brian could easily change things as under Aurigan law, not even High Lord Arano can cut out the Artru oligarchs if they own the land of Outpost Castle Nautilus. It isn’t like it is the middle of the Arano Restoration where Kamea could just claim the place and everything inside on the grounds that there is a war going on. Under peacetime, whoever owns the land gets their fair share of it if not all of it. That’s why it is practically impossible to keep House Decimis and House Karosas from claiming the loot on their respective worlds.
 
But what if I can cut out the Artru oligarchs out of the picture? No doubt that someone already owns the land which in turn gives them nominal ownership of Castle Nautilus, but they will also have no idea of its true value. I could purchase the land for myself, claiming that I want it for mining purposes to keep anyone from figuring out what truly lies down there.
 
Hmm, I’ve been meaning to get more investments beyond the high value ones that I currently have. I have some military industry investments, a lot of them for that matter. In addition to buying several effectively defunct corporations for the newly formed Nora Engineering, I have substantially invested in both Ragnarok Engineering and Pinard Protectorates Limited on top of being financially involved in the construction of two new ‘Mech factories on Coromodir. Not to mention that I have also brought out the Perdition branch of Alphard Trading Corporation thanks to it being on the verge of bankruptcy due to its apparent lack of profitability. I know it has the potential to be useful in the future even if it is only due to Periphery militarizes wanting to purchase the J. Edgars that it produces. Especially since the engineering data I found means that it will be able to go back to producing the original fusion engine version instead of the downgraded ICE variant that it currently produces.
 
And very little of that is civilian in nature. The closest is Nora Engineering getting involved in exoskeleton construction, but that is mainly me preparing to break into battle armor production once I have a way to make military-grade armor that fits on an exoskeleton. No mining or agricultural operations, no restaurants, no transportation and just nothing civilian.
 
I still have a decent sized fortune. Defunct corporations are surprisingly cheap due to their perceived lack of value and I am not building either of the new ‘Mech factories on my own. The Aurigan Sentinels haven’t proven profitable yet, but the deficit is only a few million C-Bills a month so I can afford it for now. Especially since using my JumpShips and cargo DropShips for civilian trade and transportation within the Coalition while the ground forces garrison Coromodir goes a long way to offsetting the expenses.
 
God, I have really reached a point in life where a few million C-Bills feels borderline trivial. I have so much money that losing a few million a month is an affordable expense. How much worse is it going to get once PPL really gets going? Or once the new ‘Mech factories are done and I’m getting my cut of the profits from those? And what about the combat exoskeletons I’m going to be producing in the future? Jackson Watt was raking in the dough once he started selling and licensing the Yellowjacket, but it is looking like I’ll already be doing that when I release my equivalent power armour.
 
If I’m honest, being unexpectedly rich is easily far from the worst problem to have. It gives me the means to do stuff and I suppose I can get some personal luxury out of it. Except it has been months and I don’t really think I’ve taken advantage of the latter. I have the money, but I can’t recall any times that I’ve taken advantage of it. I’ve always been too busy sorting everything out or I’ve been on this mission.
 
Do I have a castle? I think I might have a castle that I have yet to visit. Something to check out once we get back to Coromodir. I might be filthy stinking rich, but that doesn’t mean I know what to do with it on a personal level. Maybe I should just stick to business investments.
 
Anyway, I’m getting off-topic. I’ve been meaning to do non-military investment and I want to buy the land of Outpost Castle Nautilus to cut the Artru oligarchs out of the loop. I could combine the two by taking advantage of the former to bury the latter in it. Nobody would suspect just one land purchase when I’m going on an investment spree.
 
What would be better? Handling the land purchase myself or delegating it to someone who doesn’t know how badly I want it? My time is a limited resource, but at the same time, this is important. Even if I delegate the other investments, I should make sure that I do buy the land that Castle Nautilus is on.
 
Then the door alarm on my quarters chimes, startling me out of my thoughts and I rush to close the secret map from the Argo.
 
“Come in!” I call as I lock the map away.
 
“Hello, Elizabeth,” says Kamea as the Arano heiress walks in and I instantly feel a pang of guilt at hiding the Argo’s secrets from her, “There is a matter I wish to discuss with you in private.”
 
“I’ve got time,” I answer, “Just thinking about future investments.”
 
“Anything in particular?” inquires Kamea as she takes a seat opposite my desk.
 
“More civilian stuff than military stuff this time around,” I reply, “I’ve got a whole load of major military investments right now, but I was thinking stuff like getting involved in mining, agriculture and the like.”
 
“Well, you do still have some spending power so long as you pace yourself and don’t go overboard,” replies Kamea thoughtfully, “Or you could wait a couple of sets for your investments to offset their initial costs and start bringing in pure profit.”
 
“I would like to get started sooner than later,” I inform her, thinking about Outpost Castle Nautilus, “I’m generally thinking smaller stuff. I’m not really worried about going for the most profitable ventures, but supporting the less developed worlds.”
 
“So your motive is charitable and humanitarian in nature rather than turning a profit.” notes Kamea.
 
“I mean, I won’t say no to C-Bills in my bank account, but yes, I want to build up some of the worlds that have suffered since the Star League fell,” I say, “Take Alloway for example. The people there were scraping by in a handful of poor settlements. Imagine if I could invest in the basic infrastructure there to allow them to flourish or at least have a proper standard of living.”
 
“I see your logic,” says Kamea, “Father is engaging in similar activities within the Reach with his share of the memory core proceeds. While he is bolstering the infrastructure of the core worlds and shoring up the welfare system, Father is also investing heavily in the border worlds to bring their local infrastructure up to the same standard as what we have on Coromodir. Or at least he is doing his best to set the foundations for that happening since extensive infrastructure isn’t something that can just be put into place. It isn’t profitable except in the long run, but it falls within his responsibilities as their liege lord.”
 
“What about Lord Espinosa?” I inquire, “What is he doing with his share of the memory core sales? I know he is involved in both new ‘Mech factories, but what else is he up to?”
 
“Other forms of military investment,” answers Kamea promptly, “While my father is handling developing the civilian side of the Coalition, my uncle is focusing on the military side of things. He has purchased a company of heavy ‘Mechs from the Taurians for the House Espinosa Guard though they will take months to arrive and he is attempting to recruit mercenaries and other independent MechWarriors to permanently sign up with his house guard. He is also funding an expansion of the Espinosa Refit Yards He is doing other things, but apart from helping fund restoration of old military infrastructure, Uncle Santiago is playing his cards close to his chest. I can check in with him once we get back home if you wish.”
 
“I would appreciate that,” I tell her, “Now, you mentioned you wanted to speak with me about something when you first came in?”
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==Author's Chapter Commentary==
; A Word from the Author: And now we have the journey back to Coromodir. Elizabeth is being sneaky and engaging in under the table plans. She’ll probably come clean to her bosses later, but for now, she is doing her best to set things up to take advantage of her covert knowledge. She is also getting back into the business side of things. As usual, I’m being vague because hard numbers don’t work well with BattleTech economics, but I’m sure you get the gist of what Elizabeth is planning.Anyway, the conversation isn’t over yet. It will probably take up the next update, which will bring this arc to the close and onto the next one. Which will be more business dealings and politics as Elizabeth deals with stuff at home before she can go on her next mission.
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