"Jump signatures. Zenith point." The operator's voice entered into Barnes' ears.
"Acknowledged," he returned, fingers inputting the entry into his noteputer.
His eyes narrowed.
There was no corresponding authorised jump.
His finger touched on the transmit button on his desk, "got unregistered jumpers, Zenith point. Need eyes on Gislain."
"You know the protocol Barnes. You're meant to say 'Tuesday 1' not my name." The staticky reply entered his ears through the headphones.
"Shut it Gislain, I'm not calling you Tuesday 1. It's a stupid call sign, can't believe they let you pick it. Anyway, get me those eyes. Need to know what we're looking at." The tired supervisor shook his head.
It was going to be a few hours before the light of the ships (reflecting but let's not be pedantic) came to Gislain's scopes.
His shift was over and he would see it when he woke up tomorrow.
Barnes went through the motions of handover with the fresh faced supervisor coming to replace him while the operators bitched good naturedly that they had 4 more hours on station.
That was the point he thought, so that at least one half of the equation would be fresh faced at all times.
+Break+
"We got a problem Barnes." The voice of Gislain entered his ears as he settled in for the second coffee of the shift.
The rest had been good if a little irritating. Stupid bloody manufacturing defect had left the gravity wheel shuddering every 1 hour of operation. Which meant he would transition out of a nice dream where he was on the 'Party Ring's as it was coming to be called visiting his favourite massage parlour... And coming to in the middle of a drill with an admiral standing over his shoulder menacingly.
Stupid bloody wheel.
"Hit me." He replied, tuning his eyes to the monitor that would relay what Gislain saw at his post.
"They're unmarked. White. And there's enough Vengeance's there to make anyone's day go badly." Gislain's voice shook, even more than static should allow.
Barnes' eyes tracked them. 9 Vengeance's. 30 Unions. The jumpships that brought them in were Star Lords.
What the fuck?
His mind swore voraciously, his mouth simply said, "raid alert lads. We've got inbound dropships. Looks like they're here for a search and destroy mission."
With that he unlatched the button cover to this right, lifted the protective cover, put his key into the slot underneath, turned it and then pressed the button
The room that he sat in felt infinitely small in that moment. The clay bricks that surrounded him and many of the permanent rooms on the station felt anachronistic. Insulation they said.
He felt the urge to punch one to reveal the metal beneath.
Fuck.
"From this moment on we are on general alert until relieved." He said, flicking the images across to his operators who gawped momentarily before their professionalism and experience took over.
This station, for the two months he had been here was starting to feel like home. And these fucks wanted to ruin that?
Fuck off, fuck right off.
"Attention for Fleet Admiral's Address, continue operations." The voice on spoke into his earphones and judging from the flinches of his operators, into theirs as well at maximum volume.
"Boys. Girls. I did not move my flag to Tetersen only for some upjumped raiders to blow it out of the void. Make them pay for their temerity. Admiral Chou out."
Well then, it looked like they were going to take the fight to them.
+Break+
Turn 13 to Turn 16 Factory Builds Below
+Break+
Total RP Turn 13: 2991 + 1 Year 5 Months
Sustainment
8 RP Supply Cost for the Capital Fortification.
2 RP Supply Cost for the regular Fortification.
148 RP Factory Production
Unit Creation
14 RP Infantry Command
Factories
36 RP 12×3 Ute Factory - 3x1.5 Regiments per Factory per Turn (108 vehicles) - 18 RP in Use
24 RP 12×2 20 Ton Utility Truck Factory - 2x1.5 Regiments per Factory per Turn (108 vehicles) - 12 RP in Use
24 RP 12×2 Commando 1B Factory - 2x7.5 Battlemechs per turn - 2 RP in Use
24 RP 12×2 Griffin 1S Factory - 2×5 Battlemechs per turn - 2 RP in Use
48 RP 12×4 Eagle R6 Factory - 1x1.6 Aerospace per turn - 2 RP in Use
12 RP 12×1 Irrawaddy Factory - 14.5 Month Build Time - 12 RP in Use - Newly Built
12 RP 12×1 Margaret Factory - 12.41 Month Build Time - 12 RP in Use - Newly Built
12 RP 12×1 Una Factory - 16 Month Build Time - 12 RP in Use - Newly Built
48 RP 12×4 DC3 Block 2 Factory - 4.5 Month Build Time - 24 RP in Use (adjusting Production model) - Newly Built
24 RP 12×2 Kohima Ersatz Factory 4.5 Month Build Time
Upgrading
50 RP 1x Capital Fortification 1 → Capital Fortification 2
50 RP 1x Fortification → Capital Fortification 1
Total RP Expenditure 270 RP
New Construction
36 RP 12×3 Infantry Equipment Factory
36 RP 12×3 Support Weapon Factory
24 RP 12×3 Ute Factory
120 RP 12×10 Eagle R6 Factory
120 RP 12×10 Light to Medium Utility Mech Factory
120 RP 12×10 Medium to Assault Utility Mech Factory
180 RP 15×10 Kohima Ersatz Factory
12 RP 12×1 20 Ton Truck Factory
8 RP Banked
RP Bonus Calculation = 1.0 (Indytech 3) + 0.3 (Lyran Bonus) + 0.44 (Economic Treaty) = 1.74
Turn 14 = (8×1.05) + 912 × 1.74 = 1587 RP
Total RP Turn 14 2991 + 6 Months
Sustainment
16 RP - Capital Fortification 2
8 RP - Capital Fortification 1
1 RP - Infantry Regiment
Unit Creation
Medium Battlemech Regiment
Factories
72 RP 12×6 Ute Factory - 12x1.5 Regiments per Factory per Turn (108 vehicles) - 36 RP in Use
36 RP 12×3 20 Ton Utility Truck Factory - 3x1.5 Regiments per Factory per Turn (108 vehicles) - 18 RP in Use
24 RP 12×2 Commando 1B Factory - 2x7.5 Battlemechs per turn - 2 RP in Use
24 RP 12×2 Griffin 1S Factory - 2×5 Battlemechs per turn - 2 RP in Use
168 RP 12×14 Eagle R6 Factory - 14x1.6 Aerospace per turn - 14 RP in Use
12 RP 12×1 Irrawaddy Factory - 14.5 Month Build Time - 12 RP in Use
12 RP 12×1 Margaret Factory - 12.41 Month Build Time - 12 RP in Use
12 RP 12×1 Una Factory - 16 Month Build Time - 12 RP in Use - 12 RP in Use
48 RP 12×4 DC3 Block 2 Factory - 4.5 Month Build Time - 48 RP in Use
204 RP 12×17 Kohima Ersatz Factory 4.5 Month Build Time - 204 RP in Use
36 RP 12×3 Infantry Equipment Factory - 0.3 × 3 Regiments Supplied per Turn - 18 RP in Use
36 RP 12×3 Support Weapon Factory - 0.3 × 3 Regiments Supplied per Turn - 18 RP in Use
120 RP 12×10 Light to Medium Utility Mech Factory - 10×54 Battlemechs per Turn - 60 RP in Use
120 RP 12×10 Medium to Assault Utility Mech Factory - 10x32.4 Battlemechs per Turn - 60 RP in Use
Upgrading
50 RP 1x Capital Fortification 2 → Capital Fortification 3
50 RP 1x Fortification 1 → Capital Fortification 2
50 RP 1x Training Ground
Total RP Expenditure
516 RP
New Construction
120 RP 12×10 Irrawaddy Factory
120 RP 12×10 Margaret Factory
120 RP 12×10 Una Factory
360 RP 12×30 DC3 Block 2 Factory
240 RP 12×20 Kohima Ersatz Factory
48 RP 12×4 Light to Medium Utility Mech Factory
48 RP 12×4 Medium to Assault Utility Mech Factory
12 RP Infantry Equipment Factory
Banked 3 RP
RP Bonus Calculation = 1.0 (Indytech 3) + 0.3 (Lyran Bonus) + 0.44 (Economic Treaty) = 1.74
Turn 15 = (3×1.05) + 1584× 1.74 = 2759 RP
Total RP Turn 15 2991 + 7 Months
Sustainment
24 RP - Capital Fortification 3
16 RP - Capital Fortification 2
1 RP - Infantry Regiment
2 RP - Medium Battlemech Regiment
Unit Creation
2x Aerospace wings
Factories
72 RP 12×6 Ute Factory - 12x1.5 Regiments per Factory per Turn (108 vehicles) - 72 RP in Use
36 RP 12×3 20 Ton Utility Truck Factory - 3x1.5 Regiments per Factory per Turn (108 vehicles) - 36 RP in Use
24 RP 12×2 Commando 1B Factory - 2x7.5 Battlemechs per turn - 2 RP in Use
24 RP 12×2 Griffin 1S Factory - 2×5 Battlemechs per turn - 2 RP in Use
168 RP 12×14 Eagle R6 Factory - 14x1.6 Aerospace per turn - 14 RP in Use
132 RP 12×10 Irrawaddy Factory - 14.5 Month Build Time - 132 RP in Use
132 RP 12×10 Margaret Factory - 12.41 Month Build Time - 132 RP in Use
132 RP 12×10 Una Factory - 16 Month Build Time - 12 RP in Use - 132 RP in Use
408 RP 12×34 DC3 Block 2 Factory - 4.5 Month Build Time - 408 RP in Use
444 RP 12×37 Kohima Ersatz Factory 4.5 Month Build Time - 444 RP in Use
48 RP 12×4 Infantry Equipment Factory - 0.3 × 3 Regiments Supplied per Turn - 48 RP in Use
36 RP 12×3 Support Weapon Factory - 0.3 × 3 Regiments Supplied per Turn - 36 RP in Use
168 RP 12×14 Light to Medium Utility Mech Factory - 10×54 Battlemechs per Turn - 168 RP in Use
168 RP 12×14 Medium to Assault Utility Mech Factory - 10x32.4 Battlemechs per Turn - 168 RP in Use
Upgrading
50 RP 1x Capital Fortification 3 → Capital Fortification 4
50 RP 1x Fortification 2 → Capital Fortification 3
Training
1x Infantry Regiment
1x Medium Battlemech Regiment
Total RP Expenditure
1936 RP
New Construction
600 12×50 Eagle R6
120 12×10 Light to Medium Utility Mech Factory
60 12×5 Infantry Equipment Factory
36 12×3 Mobile Hospitals
Banked 7
RP Bonus Calculation = 1.0 (Indytech 3) + 0.3 (Lyran Bonus) + 0.44 (Economic Treaty) = 1.74
Turn 16 = (7×1.05) + 2752× 1.74 = 2890RP
Total New Factories Starting Turn 16
8 Infantry Infantry Equipment
3 Support Infantry Equipment
15 Kohima Dropship
3 Ute Truck
60 Eagle Aerospace
24 UM-LM Mechs
14 UM-MA Mechs
1 20 Ton Trucks
10 Irrawaddy Jumpships
10 Una Jumpships
10 Margaret Jumpships
30 DC3 Jumpships
3x Mobile Hospitals
+Break+
Training
The less experienced the unit, the more it relies on training to improve its quality and ability to survive when the battle becomes real. Combat Commands may conduct training exercises to increase their Experience Points (XP). When a Command reaches the XP required for a new Experience Level (see Experience, p. 309) they may improve their Experience.
Training requires at least two combat forces of roughly equal size. The Command Commands in training must pay their Combat supply (see pp. 283-284) RP cost the following turn and gain 1 Fatigue Point (FP, see Fatigue, p. 307). All the Commands in training receive the benefits listed below. If a Command has 10 or fewer XP they automatically gain 1 XP at the end of training. If a Command is subsequently unsupplied, they gain an extra 1 FP.
If a Command has more than 10 XP, it rolls 2D6. If the result is less than the Command's Average Unit Skill (see Experience, p. 309), they earn 1 XP. Each additional turn spent training grants an additional –1 modifier to the 2D6 roll. However, a Command that goes a Turn without training loses all die modifiers. For example, if a Command trained in Game Turns 1 and 2, it would have a –2 modifier the next time it trained, but if it did not train again until turn 4 then it would lose all modifiers and starts over.
Training Centers: Specific worlds within a Faction are dedicated to the training and combat readiness of its forces. Forces conducting their training operations at a designated Training Center gain benefits to their training.
• Commands with fewer than 10 XP gain 2 XP instead of 1 at the end of training.
• Commands over 10 XP gain an automatic –1 modifier to their training roll. For every two consecutive turns spent training at a Training Center, add an additional (cumulative) –1 modifier to their roll.
• Commands training at a Training Center need only pay their Non-Combat Supply costs (see p. 283).
Each Major Faction starts the game with three Training Centers.
Each Intermediate Faction starts with two, each Minor Faction starts with one and Tertiary Powers start with none. The location of starting Training Centers must be designated at the start of game play and should be noted on the Interstellar Map. Where possible, canon locations should be used. For example, the Osaka Fields Proving Grounds on Benjamin should be designated as a Training Center for the Draconis Combine Faction.
New Training Centers can be built at the cost of 50 RP. A Faction may have no more than double its starting number in Training Centers