RidOv Chpt-29

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==Ridiculously Overboard!! (A Captain Roberts Tale!!)Chapter 29 - Support and moving forwards==
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===Support for the "Dreaded Pirate"===
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"This will take coordination...
...and we have gaps in our counterintelligence, so it will also take a certain amount of battlefield deception." Loremaster Acton Howe observed, "after all, we do not want these syndicates to have any more advance warning than is absolutely required."
"What if..." President Avellar began, "What if we lay a cover story of chasing a notorious, newly arrived Pirate instead? One that has a rare amount of personal firepower, that might throw them off,if they think we're looking for a raider in a warship, right?"
"What do you suggest?"
"We release a series of wanted notices on the HPG Network, broad coverage out to Wynn's Roost." Mitchell said, "We keep the image blanked, or use a shot of a Nighthawk suit and offer rewards for information on this 'Dreaded Pirate Roberts'."
"Dreaded pirate? No, anyone who is past grade school has seen an adaptation of that holoseries, I remember the Clan Spaniel special adapting it. the GREAT Pirate Roberts!" Howe contributed, "It has legendary to it, resonance. She might draw bandits to her for easy capture just on the strength of a reputation, if it is loud enough."
"We will need to cooperate...and coordinate."
"Cooperating with the Outworlds Ship Evanescent on a manhunt?" Khan Alberto Crow suggested, "We can claim two ships-the report says there is a wreck in the Northsun system of the same class, we give our fictional pirate that ship, let the mistake be made enough times by witnesses...we can make this run for years!"
"I will write up the proposal, Khan Crow. It is about time Amanda Roberts got a letter back from me-she sends me enough of them!"
The others looked, then laughed as the humour sank in. "We can coordinate with other HPG bearing vessels. to anyone not in a comm room on one of the fleets, it will look like completely separate actions if we do it right-just a run of bad luck for the predatory surats preying on the innocent in the Wastes."
"There's the aftermath to consider." Mitchell mentioned. "We can't leave it fallow or we'll have this problem again, only worse."
"Aff...there is that."
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===Future belong to the People===
"Northsun system, abandoned Outworlds base...
"...the core is still good." Larry said, "Somehow they trashed the structure and ruptured almost everything that can rupture, and failed to crack or chip the KF core's base structure. One of the Fusion nozzle assemblies is also good, and about half the RCS outlets are intact."
Lori, Larry, and Amanda were doing EVA in the ruin. "Data core's a little messed up." Amanda spoke up, "Desmond says the processors are good, but about half the storage drives are trash."
"Power grid needs work." Lori announced, "Sam and Carleen looked over the fueling assemblies. Main lines need to be patched or replaced, but the pumps and compressors just need power and lubricants."
"It's a lot of work." Amanda said, "Something to look over after the mission?"
"Yeah." Larry said, "The really complex parts are intact, structure is a brute-force thing, we don't have it, but that isn't something that can't be built up or imported. The local Beltahs were Freeminders before the fall, they kept a lot of information, give them a chance and they can get past subsistence-level, and the process of fixing that Bonnie will get us a support infrastructure for the Evanescent that doesn't lean on handing it over to the Snow Ravens."
"We aren't staying here that long." Amanda judged. "We might come back, or visit, but...not staying that long."
"The region at least?"
She wavered her palm to suggest the gestures you can't do with a helmet. "The region, sure...but we're going to be cooperating with the Outworlds government and the Snow Ravens, they're going to want to settle in. This base'll be a good garrison point for them, they're not idiots...and this was Outworlds territory before, the tone of the President's letter is that he still considers the 'unincorporated area', aka the wastes, to be Outworlds territory-he admitted in his letter that it's been neglected, but things are getting better inside the Alliance, they'll want to re-expand out this way if nothing else, to secure the incorporated portions closer to the core."
"You reviewed the President's offer?"
"I like it." Amanda said, "Not as much as a life swashbuckling across the stars, but that can come once we've done what we said we'd do. Lori, I'm going to need you on the HPG console coordinating with the authorities for Task Force Desmond, with Mister Seron covering you on the off-shift, is he qualified to run the commo board?"
"He is." Lori announced, "Why me?"
"Because you're good with that stuff, I was hoping he was too, and I can't handle running everything myself. It's why we 'delegate'...Larry, you've met with the Belter leaders, are they willing to do the work getting the fueling docks up here? and do they have the capacity to do it?"
"Yes on both." Larry said, "what about the damaged ship??"
"It belongs to the people of Northsun, they should own it." Amanda said, "With it operational, they'll have the ability to defend the system more effectively and maybe come to the aid of neighbors, the big problem is the same problem we'd have. Not enough resources to do the job, but they might be able to figure out what resources to build, or the Ravens will move in and use the dock and maybe fix things that way. An active port is a money-maker, maybe a magnet for settlers too, and an active security force in the region can't hurt."
"Thinking big?" Lori asked.
"Doing it a lot lately, it's weird for me, too." Amanda said, "I still remember when my concentrated plans revolved around stealing MRE's."
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===Task Force Desmond===
Northsun Militia
Battlemech Lance
MLN-1A Merlin Heavy BattleMech - Todd Siegert
MLN-1A Merlin Heavy BattleMech - Stephanie Durlin
SHD-2D Shadow Hawk Medium BattleMech - Oswald Finnerly
WSP-1A Wasp Light BattleMech - Tammy Lourde
Air Lances:
Air Lance One
HCT-213S Hellcat Medium Aerospace Fighter - "Sammy's Widow" - Laura Sissons
HCT-213S Hellcat Medium Aerospace Fighter - "Sunset" - Gail Wilcox
Air Lance Two
LTN-160 Lightning Medium Aerospace Fighter - "Beaststick" - Daniel Murtree
LTN-G15b Lightning Medium Aerospace Fighter - "Classy" - Karen Waltzer
Ground Ops:
Company A, Northsun Militia:
4 Hunter Light Tanks
4 Vedette Medium tanks
4 Light SRM Carriers
2 Ferret VTOL(Scout section)
Battery A, Northsun Militia:
3 Platoons Thumper Field Gun infantry
2 Ferret VTOL w/TAG
2 J-27 ammunition carriers
1 combat excavation machine 
Company B, Northsun Militia:
4 Armored Personnel Carriers (Heavy) with foot infantry (Jump/SRM)
2 Scorpion light tanks
"Naval" component:
1 Gazelle class dropship Little lifter (3055 version)
1 Mule class cargo dropship Paulina, modified w/4 fighter bays
1 Manatee class 'mech transport dropship Dumb Luck.
Invader class Jumpship Yoshiro's Fortune
Bonaventure class Warship OWS Evanescent
4 SB-27b Sabre light Aerospace fighters
2 VLC-5N Vulcan Heavy aerospace fighters
1 Lyonesse escort smallcraft
1 Aquarius escort smallcraft
Total tally crew 124 (Green/Regular)
TF Desmond will begin at Devil's Breath (Operation: Barbary, week 1), and proceed to Joan's Post (Operation: Barbary week 2) Before reaching the Tresspass system (Operation: Barbary week 3)
Raven Alliance Forces have already secured Helland, Vinstra, and Ulubis systems under the cover of Op-orders "Operation: Lost Girl" and "Operation: Sloopy".
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