BoTH Chpt 63

==Blood on the Horizon - Chapter 63 -==
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===Practice makes Perfect===
Date: September 10th, 3006Location: Valexa, Federated Suns'''
Something was moving under the cover of the night. A large group of infantry dropped in and began moving through the base. Active and alert patrols monitored every approach for enemy combatants, but they found nothing out of the ordinary and moved on. 
 
By the time the alarm was raised and the first of the infantry was pinned down and eliminated, it was too late. The Lance on guard had been swarmed and taken down, and the armor-clad infantrymen had locked down the bays filled with Mechs and vehicles. 
 
At the same time as the alarm was raised, the officer's quarters were breached, the CO and XO were captured, and the few resistors were put down.
 
Unfortunately, the CO was killed in the entry, being the only one who resisted the takeover, and the XO and the remainder of the base were taken captive and thrown into the barracks on base. 
 
"You will tell the local militia to stand down," Peterson nodded at Mathis, the burly man picking up the XO and hosting him up. "Or we're going to ensure that you don't get the chance to speak again."
 
"Guys," Mark called out, his body covered in the colored chalk of the simulated rounds. "You're getting a bit too into this. The scenario's over."
 
"You got lit the fuck up," Sheppard grinned. "How's the chest?"
 
"I'm going to be bruised tomorrow. But I'd say that this was a good run. We knew you were coming, but we couldn't do anything about it without going into a full lockdown."
 
"Even if you had, we only lost two fireteams," Peterson shrugged. "Twelve guys to four light 'Mechs is a trade I'd make almost any day of the week."
 
"Full debrief tomorrow," I called out to everyone. "Remember to write your reports tonight. Captain Johnson will be going over the exercise with a fine-toothed comb."
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"Alright, people," Captain Alice Johnson looked at the rest of the junior officers. "The senior staff has already gone over the operational plans and given the assignments out. It's our job to poke holes in the plans and simulate failure points. So, if it seems like a stupid question– It isn't. Ask it anyway."
 
"Want to go out with me after this?" a smartass asked, smirking.
 
"There is one stupid question," Alice chuckled. "Now, the faster we get this done, the sooner we go home. So knuckle down and get it over with. But remember to share your results. We don't want a bunch of yesmen. We need to see everything that could go wrong here."
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===My Kingdom for a Spreadsheet!===
Date: October 15th, 3006Location: Valexa. Federated Suns
It was always interesting how one's perception of time could speed up and slow down. Time seemed to speed up when the raids started, but now that we were preparing to take and hold a planet in a counterattack, things had slowed to a crawl. We'd run through the operational plans over and over again, and everyone knew their roles and what they were to do, but we still had a few months before we could launch the coordinated attack in conjunction with other units. 
 
So we waited. We trained, we collected our paychecks, and we built more Mithril. We'd tried to shrink the suits down, but keeping the same level of protection just wasn't possible yet. 
 
I had invested a good portion of the funds I'd acquired from the old SLIC accounts into the Taurus Warworks facility, but that wouldn't see a return for a few years. 
 
Then there were the refits of the DroSTs. I shook my head at the thought of how much money it would cost to do the structural refits. After they were finished, they would be a mainstay of our forces, but while we waited for them to finish and get returned, they were just a money sink. 
 
I buried my face in my hands as I went over the logistics of everything again. What I wouldn't do for a Windows Excel program right now. I lifted my head, stood, and moved towards the window. I could probably see the star that my old gear was around from here if I had a telescope. A couple of months, and I'd have a laptop with the processing power and programs to do all that I desired.
 
I sighed.
 
"No," I shook my head. I couldn't do that. Even if it would make my life easier, it would bring questions that I didn't have an answer to.
 
"Major, got a minute?" someone knocked on the office door.
 
"Yeah," I turned around. "Come in."
 
The door opened and revealed Alice Johnson, the Taurian officer that we'd pulled from Cryo and recruited. In the past year, she'd turned from what looked like little more than skin and bones into a lithe, tanned, and fighting-fit figure.
 
"What can I do for you, Captain?" I asked.
 
"I wanted to talk about our forces, specifically how we need to approach expansion."
 
"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow and gestured for her to sit down. "What do you have in mind?"
"While our ground forces are doing fairly well, we're lacking on air cover," she leaned forward. "Yes, once we get the DroSTs refitted, we'll have a much better force, but right now, we only have twelve aerospace fighters for air cover. Well, I've been going over the markets recently and think we've got a chance to get something good."
 
"Go on," I replied. 
 
"I know that the company has a bit of a nest egg," Alice opened a satchel and pulled out a file folder. "And that we're already investing in some industry to help with our logistics. But I've been doing some research and found something I think will help us out."
 
I picked up the folder and opened it. On the opening page, Jalastar Aerospace was spelled out in bold font.
 
"So, what does Jalastar offer that we can buy and use?" I asked.
 
"It's not what they manufacture. It's that they recently closed something down," Alice flipped through and opened to a specific page. "According to everything I could find over the last few months, they haven't done anything with the closed line. Sure, it's a light aerospace fighter, but it'll fill some gaps in our cover, and it's something else we can sell to assist our bottom line."
 
"Alright," I leaned back. "So, let's assume I want to buy into this, purchase the now defunct line. How are we going to convince them to sell it to us instead of them simply retooling it for something else?"
 
"If they were going to retool it, they'd have already done so," Alice smirked. "Given they already traded the designs and began building a Sabre line, they clearly didn't think they could get it done in the right timeframe required by the Federated Suns. I've already put together the way to approach Jalastar and what I think we'll be able to purchase the line for in the final details of the brief."
 
I flipped through to the end and winced at the number. "That's a lot of zeroes."
 
"It is," she agreed. "But having our own production line means we can also make spare parts. And the 240 fusion engineshares enough commonality that we can use it for other needs as well."
 
"Give me a few days to look over the full details," I said as I closed the folder. I'll let you know my decision by Friday."
"Thank you," she stood up to leave, assuming she was dismissed. 
 
"Oh, and Captain," she turned at her rank being called. "Expect a significant pay increase. I'll be in touch."
 
I brushed past her and left my office, the folder in hand. I had a bunch of my own numbers to crunch, and right now, I was sorely missing the technology that I used to have.
 
"I just want Excel. Is that too much to ask for?" Alice heard the Major mutter before disappearing around the corner into the evening's sunset. 
 
"What's Excel?" She asked before shrugging to herself and chalking it up to some technology invented or discovered while she was on ice. "I guess I can ask around and find out."
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;*Chapter Note : Record Sheet for Drost IIB Class Transport DropShip (Note, this will download once you click on it.)
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Chapter 63