>Bumpan for lateness.

I believe that we agreed Sai would take over as the leader.

Either way, actions - salvage, repair, hand over any prisoners we got our hands on, get our payment, get Baker a statue to commemorate the battle (make him look like a hero) and collect payment.

Possibly look for soldiers to recruit too.
Oh, and, run a full inventory when the chaos dies down.

>>22101713
Did we at least take everything from the pirate base?
What about documents and maps?
Salvageable tanks and ammo?
Prisoners?

>>22101713
>>MC dies prematurely in the quest

This is a first! I gotta start seeing the rest of this quest now!

>>22101956
Yeah, until the company gets back to Outreach, I think we agreed last thread to have Sai as acting Company Commander, since he's the second-in-command.

Also, was the Buccaneer salvageable? I think that the Hatamoto-Chi was, which is a nice pocket Awesome with its dual PPC's.

>>22101965
>>22101956
After a short meeting, Sai finds himself as the leader of our mostly merry but currently somber band. Despite having argued against himself getting the post, he gave in eventually.

As for salvage and the spoils of war... The Cyclops isn't in too bad shape, CASE and the lack of an XL engine leaving it merely missing a side torso, with an arm that can bee reattached. As you were not short on parts, the repair work will likely take a week on board a dropship mechbay. The other mechs of Baker's Dozen suffered mostly armor damage with some light internal damage, leaving them easily repaired.

That just leaves the good stuff! The Hatamoto Chi is nearly completely stripped of armor, and a few of her heat sinks took damage during the battle, but that's all easily repairable, except for a single engine crit which would be slightly more expensive to fix. Estimated costs of sale after repairs: 5 Million Cbills. The Buccaneer is a total loss, the damage it suffered combined with the engine destruction meaning only a fully stocked factory could repair her now and honestly, at this point it might be cheaper to simply make a new one. The Chameleon is nicely intact, with barely any damage. You can probably get a good 4 million out of her should you choose to sell it, while the Enfield will likely be good for around 6 million.

Repair costs for these mechs are as follows: 2 million for the Hatamoto Chi, 500,000 for the Chameleon, and 1 million for the Enfield.

>>22102084
Any of the tanks? Especially that little Saladin fucker.
Any supplies from the pirates? Such as their ammo, armor, parts?

Also, did they have maps and documents for things such as their supply caches, other bases and forces they might have on the planet?

Also, any prisoners we can interrogate?

>>22102084
You've also recovered... Da-nuh-nuh-nuuuh! One Hetzer, one Drilson Heavy Hovertank, one Gladius! Total repair costs: ~1.5 million. The local militia has offered you 500,000 CBills for them however, and there was talk during previous threads about giving them some salvage as good faith.

The most disturbing thing is that you've still found no sign of a dropship. No sign of how these priates came to be on Tancredi IV. They're almost certainly being supplied by the Combine, that much is clear by their mechs, but again, whether it was willingly given or taken during the bandit's raids is unknowable for the moment. Along with this, you manage to find no communications reports with any outside worlds. They've been unusually meticulous in covering their tracks, these pirates.

>If you like, give me 2d6 for trying to find anything related to the pirate's origin at the campsite.

Rolled 1, 2 = 3

>>22102114
The Chameleon is mostly a training mech.
We might want to keep the Hatamoto, though.

Rolled 2, 5 = 7

>>22102114
The Hetzer has an AC/20, similar to what killed Tom.
The Drilson has a very good spread of weapons, that would put it on par with some mechs.
The Gladius has only a single AC/10. Painful, but needs to be part of a group to really be a threat.

>>22102132
Despite your best efforts, turning the campsite nearly upside down, you fail to discover anything that would lead you to figuring out who the pirates were working for or where they came from.

>>22102214
>>22102132
Very astute observations gentlemen!

>>22102132
Fortunately, we NEED a training mech.

We want to keep the Hatamoto Chi and the Enfield isn't bad, but we also need money, so we will be selling it.

Either way, let the militia have those tanks, we still have those tanks we salvaged from the last fight.
And the mechs (A crab, a Cicada and more? I forget)

We don't really need high end tanks becuase our main combat power comes from mechs - the tanks are here to help us hold ground when the time comes.

>>22102256
Current salvage is a Cicada (missing an arm) and Crab (missing both arms and a torso), along with a headless Dragon and a cored Mist Lynx. I believe the plan was to fuse Clan weapons onto the Dragon?

Repairing the Cicada would require only ~500k Cbills, while the Crab would be more like 1.5 mill. The three Scorpions each require only 100K cbills to fix up each, and can be sold for ~150k.

Also while you might not need high end supertanks like Alacorns or Demolisher IIs, you could do a lot better than the Scorpion. Just saying.

If I recall someone suggested last time that the original MC's twin brother take over the company. I think the idea is in the finest traditions of traditional role-playing games.

>>22102256
>giving away hundreds of thousands of C-Bills worth of mechs and tanks
>on a contract that only pays 500k
>with only 3 million C-Bills in the bank
Nigga, you gone full retard.

>>22102626
Actually, since the Cicada is mostly intact, that would be giving away millions of C-Bills worth of equipment.
And even before repairs the Crab would be worth at least 2 million C-Bills.
So yeah, really. A mercenary with money about to get tight after repairs, giving away equipment, when we're not even paid enough to cover repairs.
Not the best business sense right there.

>>22102355
>fuse Clan weapons onto the Dragon?
Yes, unless we can get another Mist Lynx. But being Clan Tech, I kind of doubt that.

>>22102256
We don't NEED a training mech; every single pilot in our unit already has mech piloting experience and a mech to pilot.
And we actually have a surplus of mechs to pilots right now.

>the tanks are here to help us hold ground when the time comes.
Then you don't know how tanks are deadly when used right, or did you forget that one just cored our command mech and killed our MC?

>>22102214
Reading up on the entries on sarna.net, the Hetzer is more of a garrison tank, since it doesn't have a turret.
The Gladius, as pointed out, needs to be part of a group.

But that Drillson pretty much has the loadout of a medium mech and the speed to match. I think that's worth keeping and fixing.

>>22102355
3 Scorpions firing on 1 target is 3 AC/5's, and if they stay far away, not in too much danger. But their speed does have a bit to be desired, but it's the same as our heavy lance, so maybe that's not too much of a concern.

>>22102710
>I'm sure Clan Space Jew would be cglad to offer you a new Mist Lynx for only 5 million Cbills, including shipping and handling. So yeah, fusing its weapons with the Dragon's probably a better choice.
>As for the tank argument, here's the skinny; you've got 3 damaged Scorpions, which are -really- shite tanks. Like, oh god, they are BAD. you also have a Drilson, Gladius, and Hetzer. The Militia will be willing to offer you 750,000 total for all of these; that' 150% on top of what you're currently being paid. They don't even need them repaired, just the damaged chassis are what they want.
>You can keep some of them if you want, but what they'll offer you in exchange will lower depending on which tanks you keep for yourselves.

>Just how I see things.

>>22102763
Yeah, if we start making bank enough to afford buying Clan mechs straight from the source, we'll buy one. Until then, we make do with what we have.

As for the tanks, if we only keep the Drillson, how much would we get, and would it be enough to repair the Drillson?

Also, seeing as how they had a lot of AC weapons, the pirates must have had ammo stores; did we recover a couple tons of ammo, at least?

>>22102793
>Keeping the Drillson, they'd pay you 600,000 Cbills for the rest.
>And you did recover several tons of AC/5, 10 and 20 ammunition. These have been added to your own stocks.

>>22102830
Hmm...I suppose we can't complain too much since we need the money for repairs now.
I mean, a Hetzer is 664k and a Gladius is 900k.
Is that 600k C-Bills for the Hetzer, Gladius, and the 3 Scorpions?

Even if it costs 100k to repair each Scorpion, the militia is saving 600k on those three.

I didn't realize that there was such a steep price drop on tanks.

>>22102888
>It's because tanks take so little to destroy, and are much more prone to becoming pillboxes because they throw a tread and become immobile. Also, tank repairs will be a bit more extensive than mechs costwise; the Gladius, for example, may be 900k new, but the repairs for it would be ~600k alone, because of the damaged internal equipment. When damage is only armor, it's cheap. When internals and actual parts get damaged, repair bills start to rack up quite fast.

>>22102925
I suppose that makes sense, especially for the Gladius if it suffered internal damage.
But from the description you gave, I thought the Scorpions were only lightly damaged, and we could get more for them.

Alright, so I guess we'll keep the Drillson, get it fixed, and have a tank crew selected from among our infantry.

Oh, did we find what was causing the ECM field over the pirate base?

>>22102626
>giving away
>implying implications

I mean sell them

>>22102710
>We don't NEED a training mech; every single pilot in our unit already has mech piloting experience and a mech to pilot.
>And we actually have a surplus of mechs to pilots right now.
>And we actually have a surplus of mechs to pilots right now.
>And we actually have a surplus of mechs to pilots right now.
Yes, and what are training mechs used for again?
Training new pilots, maybe? You know, just a suggestion.


>Then you don't know how tanks are deadly when used right, or did you forget that one just cored our command mech and killed our MC?
That tank killed our MC not because tanks are deadly, but because the players (namely me) are noobs who didn't know what a Saladin tank is.
Or what an AC/20 can really do when it hits rear armour, for that matter.

>>22103040
Pretty much all the scorpions suffered at least SOME for of motive or crit damage, those that weren't outright destroyed.

>>22103040
>>22103073
Righto, selling it is! Total party coffers: $4,175,000! Still waiting on a concensus for which of the mechs you're going to keep and which you'll sell. Note that repairs need not be done immediately; you can choose to keep a mech and repair it later. Right now you could probably repair the Enfield and Hatamoto for 3 million, leaving you with 1,175,000 in the bank. The Enfield's a good all rounder, and the Hatamoto, while lacking in Double Heat Sinks, is still nice. And you've got enough spares that you COULD switch the HS out for doubles on the Hatamoto, though you'd be low on them if you do that.

>>22103104
>To be fair, 3x Gauss Rifles are scary whether they're on a mech or not. Or if something like tha Demolisher manages to ambush you within short range of its dual AC/20s.... yeah.

Anyway, tell the salvage crews to complete salvaging and listing our full inventory so we can go do leader stuff.

So, have Sai go talk to the employer while the techs do their thing.

>>22103104
We're mercenaries, we don't train new mechwarriors. We hire pilots who already have experience.
So no, we don't need a trainer mech.

And the fact that a tank could still kill a battlemech, especially if it can get into position while the target is engaged in a fight with another mech, means that tanks are still a viable threat on the battlefield.

>>22103145
We should have Rudolph, the Raven, and the two Centurions keep up patrols in case there's more of those pirates left.

Have Sai ask the Militia Commander if that's all of the pirates now.

The Hatamoto-Chi might be a good mech for Sai since he lost the Mist Lynx. How long would it take to switch the Single Heat Sinks for the Doubles? That would increase the ability for the Hatamoto to use its twin PPC's.

>>22103149
>We're mercenaries, we don't train new mechwarriors. We hire pilots who already have experience.
There is no reason for us not to train our own pilots.
Hiring experienced personnel has advantages, but it's also more expensive and it's an easy vector for anyone trying to infiltrate us. This isn't relevant now, but it will be if we ever get big.

>And the fact that a tank could still kill a battlemech, especially if it can get into position while the target is engaged in a fight with another mech, means that tanks are still a viable threat on the battlefield.

Some of the stronger ones might be of use, but there is a limit to what we can take to a fight with us (mostly because Megamek isn't the best way to do large fights).
So, our subordinate commanders can use the tanks, but we will want to take the strong stuff with us to the megamek fights.

>>22103145
How about we go talk to the Militia commanders and our employer now and our subordinates prepare an inventory list while we're there.

Then, we can decide what to keep, what to give priorities as far as repair goes and what to sell when we have a complete list of assets in front of us.

>>22103196
>Swapping heat sinks would take about twenty four hours.

You give the orders to send the Centurions, Raven, and Stinger out on patrols, just in case. The militia happily joins you with their vedettes and sentinels, wanting to show that they're there to save their home planet as well. Well, they DID manage to incapacitate that Cicada...

Meanwhile, Mel's been working on some plans for the Dragon/Lynx hybrid. He comes over to you, covered from head to toe in grease and grime; seems he's been throwing himself into work since yesterday.

"How's this look Sai?" he asks, showing you a modified Dragon with a Clan ER Large Laser where the AC/5 used to be and a pair of ER Medium lasers and SRM 6s in the torso. "Should only take maybe four days to refit her if we start today."

>Yes/no?

>>22103232
With that taken care of, you head over to talk to the Governor ad Militia commander. Both have relief written across their faces, strained slightly be the bad news that it came at the cost of your commander. Not too strained... Well, you are just mercenaries, so the fact that they care at all is nice.

"I believe our contract with you is near completion." you say, keeping a calm, neutral expression. "We shall stay another month to ensure that there are no more pockets of bandits, and after that make our way to our next contract."

The idea was to put the Mist Lynx's Clan weapons and EWAR package into the Dragon.

The Cicada is a scout mech, and it'd be nice to be able to replace the open spot in the scout lance. The Beagle Probe might be more useful there.

>>22103271
So is this the loadout that the Dragon would have?
1x cER Large Laser
1x LRM-10
2x Medium Lasers
2x cER Medium Lasers
2x cSRM-6

What about the Clan Active Probe?

>>22103271
We also want to make sure that our deceased commander(what'shisname) gets an honorable mention in the planet's history.

File: 1355862269103.png-(174 KB, 1920x1046, Dragon.png)

>>22103271
The Governor seems quite pleased to hear that; perhaps he thought you'd be on your way after the attack on the base? Either way, you do your best to evaluate him andd Tyler, the militia captain. They both seem like they're happy with having hired you, which is good.

"Was there anything you wished to discuss?" you ask them, to which the governor nods.

"Quite. We're reasonably certain that that was the entirety of the bandits, but we are very happy to have you here for another few weeks to make certain. Your payments have also just been deposited to the MCRB, after they take their handling fee the rest will be deposited into your account."

You nod, everything seems in order.

>Anything to say?

>>22103309
>More like pic related.

>>22103350
"Have the prisoners that were taken at the spaceport battle talked at all?
"There's been no evidence of a dropship, and the pirates were very keen in covering their tracks."

>>22103350
>Mist Dragon
Eh. It's not a great loadout or chassis, but it's serviceable in medium range combat. And at least the design is prevalent enough that spare parts should be easy to get our hands on.

>governor and militia commander
"Does the name 'Hydra' mean anything to either of you? The pirates seemed to either call themselves this, or work for an organization called such."

>>22103384
The governor looks at Tyler, apparently this is his area of expertise.

"So far, we haven't gotten much out of them, even after the news of your successful attack came in. Still, we've heard some bits about a "hydra". That mean anything to you?" he asks, to which you nod.

"The pilot of the Hatamoto Chi spoke that name as he fell during the battle. He said that despite what happens here, it shall live on. I do not know what to make of this." Perplexed, you think. "Some kind of organization maybe... perhaps we will know more in time. "

The two seem happy with that, and assurances are given that there will be mention of Baker's deeds in the world's history books. Probably won't be more than maybe a paragraph fifty years from now, but it's something. You wince as you remember that someone- probably you -needs to call Thomas' parents...

>And now I must away for an hour or so for errands. Will be back hopefully no later than that.

>>22103434
Oh, and yes, put those Double Heatsinks into the Hatamoto-Chi and fix it up.

It'll still take 4 days for the Mist Dragon to be ready, so Sai will need a mech he can pilot until then, and the Hatamoto will help the heavy lance until the Cyclops is fixed.

Then suddenly out of no where, spaghetti...

>>22103434
Well, time to bring the bad news.
Or shunt off the responsibility to someone else.

>>22103215
>There is no reason for us not to train our own pilots.
Time and expense. It can be a year before a mechwarrior is ready, and they'll have to be paid during that time, as well as the resources that have to be expended during their training.

And infiltrating us would be even easier as a no-name nobody who still needs to be trained as a pilot, versus a trained mechwarrior who has a list of references and a history with the MCRB.

>>22103455
You give Mel the go ahead with the plans for the Dragon, and to use some of the company's supplies of DHS to refit the Hatamoto. Then, after ataking a few minutes to collect yourself, you find your way to the planetary HPG station, ready to tell the Bakers about the fate of their son.

>How go about this?
>Real time vidcall, recorded video, or written message?

>>22104541
This calls for a vidcall.

>>22104541
Best be classy about it. Vidcall.

>>22104557
>>22104578
It takes about an hour for the vidcall to go through; par for the course really, when tracking down people who move around as much as mercenaries like Thomas' folks, and then getting them to the vidcall station. Finally though, the quizzical faces of Mr. and Mrs. Baker face you through the vidscreen.

"Evening Sai." Papa Baker says with a nod, and you figure it must be evening on whatever planet they're on. "What's wrong?" Cutting to the quick as always, and apparently you failed to mask your emotions as well as you wanted, if he noticed something wrong already.

>>22104642
It's about your son. He was killed in action.

As you may notice, I'm not very good at this.

>>22104642
No easy way to say this.
"I'm sorry to report that Thomas Baker has been killed in action."

>>22104642
"Your son broke his neck after a tank gutted his 'mech"

Yea. Classy.

>>22104701
>>22104730
Wow. You're not even trying to be tactful, are you?

>>22104730
>>22104716
>>22104701
Um.... you know what? If you guys want, I can give what Sai's response would be, unless you'd like to go with the so far consensus of blunt.

>>22104761
Sai's response is probably best.

>>22104761
You know him better than us.

>>22104761
Just do Sai's response.

>>22104799
>>22104801
>>22104802
You take a deep breath before exhaling, and give to two worried parents a nod. "Thomas is...he has gone on to meet with the Coordinator." you say formally, twitching at the seeming bite the words have. Oh god what is this you are not good at this. "We were fighting a large group of pirates and a hovertank managed to get behind him and set off his ammunition and gauss rifle. The fall his mech took broke his neck."

Inwardly you screamm at yourself. God self, could you BE any less sympathetic, you think. But you can't think of anything else to say, or a better way to say it. It's not like they'd appreciate having you beat around the bush any.

A muffled sob comes from the recorder and shakes you from your depressing introspective. It seems that both the Baker's are in tears, clinging to each other for strength. Well this just got even more awkward, and you decide to keep quiet for a few minutes. Eventually, Mrs. Baker speaks up.

"Did you win?"

The question takes you by surprise.

"Ibeg your pardon?"

"I asked did you kill the sons of bitches that did this to my son!" she says, voice raising to a hysterical shout, making you wince slightly.

"Of course Mrs. Baker. I am most fortunately able to honestly tell you that the tank crew are no longer in the land of the living. "

The older woman nods, before the strength of her anger fades and leaves her slumped over, arms around her husband.

>Anything else?

>>22104891
Only that our company will be spending the next month making sure that all of the pirates have been found and taken care of, then we'll be returning to Outreach.

>>22104939
seconding this, not much more to say

>>22104939
>>22105074
You inform the grieving couple of your immediate plans, which they agree with..

"If that's all, Sai?" Mr. Baker says, to which you nod. "Then we'll take our leave. We should get back to the apartment..." he mutters, helping his wife up as the call ends. Well. That felt like just about the shittiest thing you've ever had to do. Still, it's over now, you think to yourself. Everyone is depending on you, so you've gotta look like you're able to take the burden in stride. Exiting the HPG hub, you head back to the small encampment where your forces are set up.

>Next up on the to do list?
>Finalize which mechs you'll keep and which you won't?
>Timeskip to the completion of the Dragon Lynx?
>Other?

>>22105117
We told out people to compose a full inventory list, right?
Let's have a look at that so we can figure out what to do with our equipment now.

>>22105117
To Do is to sell off the mechs we don't need and set up repair queues.

Aside from the Dragon, we salvaged the Crab, Cicada, Hatamoto-chi, Chameleon, and Enfield.

The Enfield has a better weapon selection than the Crab, and is cheaper to fix. The Chameleon is used as a training mech because its weapons force a pilot to learn heat management; not a good fighter, and would be better to sell.

The Cicada is a fast recon mech, which can take the place of the Mist Lynx, the Hatamoto-Chi is a strong fighter especially with Double Heatsinks, and the Enfield is a good all-rounder.

OP, do we get better prices selling the mechs here, or on Outreach?

>>22105117
>Dragon Lynx
Isn't Mist Dragon a better name? Sounds more Draconis Combine-y.
I wonder if we could market this variant to the DCMS units that still have Dragons and haven't upgraded to the Grand Dragon.

>>22105131
Inventory:
70 tons standard armor
20 tons FF Armor
25 tons various actuators
15 tons ES Internals
10 tons LRM 10 ammo (Clan)
25 tons LRM 10 ammo (IS)
10 tons AC/5 ammo
5 tons AC/10 ammo
10 tons AC/20 ammo
100 tons various replacement weapons (IS)
15 tons various replacement weapons (Clan)
10 tons DHS (IS)
10 tons DHS (Clan)
10 tons Light Gauss Ammo
5 tons MG ammo
15 tons SRM 6 ammo
5 tons SRM 6 Inferno Rounds

>Probably missing some stuff but this is all I could figure as a more complete list of your stuff.

>>22105219
>Either's fine with me. It's a frankenmech, call it whatever you guys like.
>Also, I'm actually going to make Clantech actually worth more than IS parts for this quest; it's why the IS hasn't gone about upgrading mostly to Clan tech. Because it's expensive. Generally speaking clantech is roughly 4x as expensive as IS tech. So for a single Clan XL Engine'd assault mech, you could get a lance of IStech XL assaults, or a standard engine heavy company!

>>22105303
Sorry if this question is obvious but can Clan LRM's use IS missiles? The Clan ammo itself is 4x more expensive right?

>>22105449
They can, the thing is that Clan LRMs are able to arm themselves pre-launch, so they have no minimum range. IS LRMs have a 6 hex minimum. I'd allow you to load IS LRM rounds, but MM won't allow it sadly. Annd it's only 120,000 Cbills per ton of ammo. A fair amount to be sure, but if you guys are selling the chameleon that's 4 mill coming your way.

Oh, and to answer an earlier question; you'll have more offers to pick from on Outreach or other places near the center of the IS. The figures I gave you for how much you'd get for a mech are based on averages. The final price will be decided by a 2d6 roll, modded by any RP and the experience level of any Administrators you hire for your company.

>>22105547
So the Timber Wolf could be used in close, but considering that its worth an entire lance of heavy mechs by itself, that would be a stupid thing to do. It should stay in the back with the Catapult and do fire support.

Anyway, I'm of the opinion to sell the Crab and the Chameleon, and use the money to fix the Cicada, Hatamoto, and Enfield.

>>22105836
The Daishi should definitely hang back, it won't take as much damage and will be a huge deterrent to fast 'mechs trying to get behind us.

Agree with selling the crab and chameleon, not sure if the cicada is worth it but that might just be me not liking them personally.

>>22105938
>Daishi
No, it's a Timber Wolf, IS name of MadCat.

As for the Cicada, it's a fast recon mech. Unfortunately it lacks jump jets or an EWAR suite.
If we had the 3G variant it'd be a potent addition to our force, but since it's a standard model, we could still use it as a flanker or tank-hunter.

>>22106095
The Cicada model yyou currently have is the one with the PPC and two MGs in the legs (I know, I know, MG legs are stupid, but I didn't design it)

You decide to get work started on repairing the Crab and Chameleon, so as to sell once you get back to outreach. Once you sell them you'll be able to repair the Hatamoto and Enfield, the Cicada needing merely some armor, which is easily done from your company's stocks.

>>22105938
>>22105836
Reading the sarna.net entry on the Chameleon, lets wait to sell it. Since its sought after by academies all over the Sphere, we should be able to get a better price on Outreach, right?
The article says that its not a good combat mech so much as a trainer.

>>22106095
Whoops, I confused Timber Wolf with Dire Wolf. Stupid clans, also derp.

>>22106149
>MG's in the legs
Wat.

Anyway, the PPC isn't bad. I guess it can be used to take out tanks as a PPC sniper, and help shred off armor so that lasers are more effective.

>>22106149
Oh, and did we find out what was causing the ECM at the pirate base? Did they have an ECM suite or some kind of E-Warfare truck?

>>22106261
It was never a secret; Tyler told you before you attacked that it was local, naturally generated EM interference caused by technobabble. In the end it hurt them more than you, since you had the EWAR stuff needed to break through it and they didn't.

>>22106284
Must have missed that.
Okay, I think that's everything.
We want the infantry guarding the mechs and the pilots in case there's still some pirates left and they try a sneak attack against the Mechwarriors when they're out of their mechs.
Also regular patrols by the Stinger LAM and the Raven, and the two Centurions and the Phoenix Hawk. And the Cicada until the Mist Dragon is ready.

>>22106360
>So is that a vote for timeskippan for a little then?

>>22106385
sounds good, so long as no major excitement between here and outreach

>>22106385
Yes, at least until the Mist Dragon is ready.

>>22106423
The month goes by well. Repairs are completed, and you now have a fully functioning Crab, Cicada, and Chameleon in addition to the Myst Dragon and repaired Cyclops. Once you're back on Outreach you can send out feelers to find a buyer for the Chameleon and Crab, and then use those funds to repair the Hatamoto and Enfield. The pirates don't show up at all; looks like the ones that tried to flee and got caught by one of your infantry platoons at the beginning of the battle for the valley were the last of them.

There is, however, some disturbing news to be found near the end of your stay. Flowing from Davion news stations, it seems that multiple Davion worlds along the Draconis Combine and Federated Suns border have come under pirate attacks. While the number of attacks have forced some kind of response from the military, for each one put down it seems another springs up somewhere else along the border. Curiouser and curiouser.

But after another two months in transit, you find yourselves back on Outreach, in the middle of January. Merc work seems to be picking up, as the starport's even busier than usual.

>What will you do?

>>22106552
Fucking snakes. Let's find more contracts to kill them.

>>22106552
Now would be a good time to create a new character, I think.
There was some talk about The Other Baker's Son taking his brother's place.
Or we could put together a different merc chosen by the company and the surviving Bakers to put in charge of the company.

.>>22106633
>This would require a 3 vote consensus.

>>22106651
Voting to create another MC. Sai was introduced as a party member and already has his own personality. He's a temporary stand-in.

How about Lt. Hartmann from the Lyran side of the FedCom Armed Forces, in honor of the one in control when Tom Baker died.

>>22106830
Sounds good.

>>22106956
>>22106830
>>22106633
>Okay, that makes 3 I think? Please be honest if one of you posted twice here (not saying you were trying to trick me but the first post could be responding to the second with the third. Oh god that made more sense in my head)

Anyway, if this IS three separate people voting for a new Commander, then let's get to it! You've 5 points to spend, and you start out as a 4/5 pilot with 0 Edge. You may also purchase abilities for points as well. It costs 1 point to increase your piloting or gunnery by 1, so one point in each would make you a 3/4. 1 point will get you a point of Edge, your max edge is equal to your Piloting subtracted from 6. Note that your gunnery and piloting must remain within 2 of each other. 2/4 is fine, 4/2 is fine, 2/3 is fine, 1/5 is NOT fine.

Abilities, and their costs, are:
Sniper- 5
Jumping Jack- 3
Jumping Jill- 2
Maneuvering Ace- 2
Gunnery Specialization (Ballistic, Energy or Missile)- 2
Weapon Specialization (PPC, ERPPC, Medium Laser, Gauss Rifle, SRM 6, etc)- 1 (Requires Gunnery Spec)
Iron Man- 2
Melee Specialist- 1
Dodge- 1
Pain Resistance- 3

>If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

>>22107184
I was >>22106956, that was the only time I posted about creating another MC.

>>22107295
Thanks for the clarification! It seems like we only have 2-3 people, so at this point unless there's an overwhelming cry for us to keep using Sai, I suppose we'll go about creating Thomas Baker MARK TWO!

Refresh me on what Iron Man does, if you would?

>>22107399
It reduces the pilot hits suffered from ammo/equipment explosions from 2 to 1. Pain Resistance does the same but also gives +1 on pilot consciousness rolls to see if you wake up, or to keep from passing out (I think) which is why it's more expensive.

>>22107431
Yea, figured as much. Seeing as I'm quite paranoid, I figure we should get Pain Resistance as well as a point each into gunnery and piloting. Anyone else here with an opinion on the matter?

>>22107184
Edge is like in other systems, where it refills after each fight and can be used to reroll?

Also, what's the difference between Jumping Jack and Jill?

>>22107545
For this quest, Edge will refill after each fight and rerolls head hits, TACs, ammo crits, and failed pilot consciousness tests.

Hmm, seems we've got a lack of activity. I'll bump the thread this once, and if it doesn't pick up again we'll reconvene on next Tuesday to finalize things.

>But that's Christmas!

Yes, I have no life. Oh, you meant YOU might not be able to make it. Well if we don't get much of a showing on the 25th, then I'll run again on January 1st.

>>22107481
Getting 2 points of Edge might be just as good as Pain Resistance, since it lets us reroll, and the Edge also works for internal ammo explosions and head shots (which Pain Resistance won't defend against. Remember what happened to the Dragon's pilot with a lucky head shot?).

Also, how do we acquire experience, Edge, and more traits?
I have no experience with the BattleTech or Mechwarrior systems.

>>22108160
I'll award them as the game goes on. How about a compromise, for the pain resistance thing; Iron Man (-1 explosion pilot damage), 3/4 pilot skills, and 1 point of edge.

>>22108200
I suppose that works. Though I'd really like that Maneuvering Ace, since we'll be in the Cyclops, Iron Man is more likely to come up.
Of course, this depends on if the Pain Resistance Anon agrees to the compromise.

>>22108302
Sounds good to me, I wasn't aware that the Edge came back every battle. Since it does, pain resistance with a point of Edge seems smart.

>>22108349
>>22108302
Alright then! WEll, since this is going to be the character you guys play as for the remainder of this quest (hopefully >.> ), pick a name, a background, feel free to throw in a smidge of RP or backstory to why he's here and why he'd be chosen.

>>22101713
>Tom Baker, DIED

should regenerate into Peter Davidson, then.

sorry. could'nt resist it.

>>22108430
Clearly, Thomas Baker goes on to reincarnate as our lord and savior, Devlin Stone.

>>22108376
We're going with:
Iron Man
1 point of Edge
3/4 Pilot

Name: Hans Hartmann
Former FedCom AF Mech Pilot, served with the 115th Lyran Strike Company.
Family friend, was originally going to join up to help his friend with his merc company after finishing his own tour of duty, now finds himself burying his friend and trying to fill in his shoes.

>>22108496
We can even have Michelle Wittman, Erich Rudel, and Jillian Baker all lined up and ready for when this MC dies.

>>22108496
Seconded. We will destroy this "hydra" in memory of Commander Baker

>>22108496
>>22108556
>>22108569
Sounds like consensus to me!

You are now Hans Hartmann, former FCAF mechjock, now working as a mercenary. You've had experience working with the Steiner half of the FedCom, though you're originally from Davion space. The current Civil War's put your relationship and contacts with the Steiner side in a bit of a strain, but you've done your best not to part on bad terms with anyone. Now, you've finally made it to Outreach, where you'd hoped to join up with one of your oldest friend's son start his own outfit... only to find out that he's perished in the second battle against some common pirates.

It doesn't sit right with you that Thomas'd go in such a... a mundane way. You could feel that that boy had great things in store for him, and death just snatched it all away. Guess no one can live forever, you reflect as you step out of the hovercab at the apartment complex where the Baker's Dozen are currently staying.

>What do you do?

>>22108641
Go and find the second-in-command, see what's happening with the Baker's Dozen, how the funeral's gonna play out, and if they've got a contract lined up.

We're all professional soldiers and mercenaries to boot. Sentimentality is one thing, but business is business and money is money.
The romantic days of the Mechwarrior as Knight Errant are over since the Fourth Succession War.

>>22108713
You take a breath and head in, looking for Sai, who the Bakers told you has been leading the Dozen since Thomas' death. You find him in one of the suites, looking over papers with the door open. Knocking on the wall, you let yourself in.

"Sai." you say formally. "It's been a while."

"Ah yes. It was Thomas's twentieth birthday, was it not?" the Combine merc replies. "Well, time marches on. What may I do for you?"

"It was. I was going to help Tom set up the company but got delayed. The contract went into emergency clauses, and I only arrived a few days ago. I'm here to follow in Tom's footsteps."

Sai nods. "That is... good to hear. I do not think I am captain material. Just promise me one thing."

"Yeah?"

"Make sure that I do not have to tell the Bakers that we've lost you as well."

>>22108998
>Make sure that I do not have to tell the Bakers that we've lost you as well
Well, that raises death flags for Sai, now.

About hiring an Administrator: besides helping us negotiate contracts and sell off mechs and salvage for a better price, do they have other in-game benefits?

Also, if we want to hire one to potentially get a better price on the Crab and Chameleon, do we come up with one, or will you randomly roll up a list of candidates, OP?

>>22109069
>do they have other in-game benefits?

They make excellent pencil pushers that I can reveal are actually eex soldiers who, upon the need arising, pick up an assault rifle and blasting through some bad guys.

Joking aside, Admins really don't do much more than paper pushing and, for the game's purposes, negotiating contracts, and selling/buying shit or better prices.

I'd randomly roll for that case.

>>22109258
Well, I think we should get an Administrator, now that we've got something to sell. May as well try to get the most out of what we're selling.

Also, since we've got a Chameleon, let's see if any of the military academies are buying.

>>22109343
right right, they'll probably pay top dollar and we surely don't need the thing.

>>22109343
>Alright. Also, this will be the last quest post for tonight, as it's getting rather late and I've been going for ~8 hours here.

Shooing Sai away to give him time to rest and relax, you take a look at the papers he was reviewing. Looks like the company's finances; seems you've got a good amount left, while having repaired two mechs to put on the open market. Unfortunately, Baker's Dozen lacks a pusher, someone who knows the markets. Lucky for them, you happen to know someone perfect for the job.

Calling your old friend Brackman, you give him the gist of things and manage to convince him to negotiate the sale of the Chameleon and Crab. And with that as an opener, you've bought yourself time to win him over and let you make an offer for retaining his services. For now, he's on the lookout for buyers, and you'll hear back from him in a day or so.

>And that be it for me folks. If you've any questions, shoot.

>>22109398
3 years is the average length of time it takes to train a mech pilot. And that's with assuming an exemplary student working with dedicated trainers and instructors in a facility designed to train mech pilots.
Unless OP says we've got some kind of simulator that'll let us cut down training time by actually allowing a prospective pilot to learn to control a mech during the months aboard a dropship and JumpShip moving between systems, I don't really see training our own pilots from the ground up to be that feasible. And that's assuming we even get a good candidate.

>>22109493
So, will we need to hire a crew for the Drillson, or can we hope to train a tank crew from within our own infantry?

Also, if we hire more mechwarriors, will you give us a list of randomly rolled pilots, like in the early Mechwarrior games?

>>22109625
You could either hire a crew (only 3 people needed) or recruit them from your infantry. Infantry would need a few months (5-6) of training to become proficient though. And that's with Outreach's considerable assets at your disposal.

>>22109854
No training on the DropShip or the JumpShip, right?

>>22109854
ADDENDUM: You can hire pilots of varying skills levels, and even look for ones with specific abilities! However, the better a pilot, the more they'll expect as monthly salary. Speaking of which...

Current funds: 4,175,000

-1,500,000 Cbills for Crab repairs!
-500,000 Cbills for Chameleon repairs!
-750,000 Cbills for 5 months company wages!

Total remaining: $1,425,000

>>22109923
We really have to remember that nothing is free as a mercenary.
$150,000 a month for wages alone.
That's before any repairs, which can go into the millions if we're unlucky.

And keep in mind that it does take literally weeks to even months to get from Outreach to where the contract takes us, and we have to pay wages for all of that time as well.

well, with a crab retailing and chameleon retailing for around 4-5mil we should be doing ok (provided we can get a decent price for them)

What kind of repair costs are we looking at for the rest of our 'mechs?

>>22110037
The Cicad's repaired it really only needed some armor. The Hatamoto's gonna need 2 million, and the Enfield 1 million.

>>22110176
So if we get full price for the salvage, we at least made a bit of money.

>>22110176
Wait, this is after repairing all of our original mechs from their fight, right?

File: 1355932687584.jpg-(170 KB, 600x600, erica hartmann.jpg)

Cor blimey, this quest is going places it seems. Nice to see a new PC. And a veteran at that, too...

In deciding what to keep and what to sell, maybe we should look at our total mechbay and see what of the units do not fit the roles we need them to play? I forget what our complete inventory is.

Also, I am so sorry, Mrs. Baker. ;___;

>>22117921
We'll see how long Hans lasts. Maybe we'll get to use his sister, Erica, when he dies.

>>22117921
Current Inventory:
Mechs and Vehicles:
Timber Wolf 75
Primary, Config A - Expensive long-range fighter
2x Centurion 100
CN9-D3D - Fast medium long-range strikers
Jagermech 65
JM6-DD - anti-air and medium-range attacker, very ammo-dependent. Be careful, this does have a minimum range that it can't use the autocannons under. Don't get too close to the enemy.
Phoenix Hawk 45
PHX-1K - Light recon mech
Atlas 100
AS7-D - venerable assault mech
Catapult 65
CPLT-C1 - long-range missile boat
Stinger LAM 30
STG-A1 - light transforming scout mech/fighter jet
Cyclops 90
CP-11-G - Command Mech
Hauptmann 95
HA1-A, B - close-range assault mech
Marauder 75
MAD-2R - medium-range heavy mech, better to keep it long-range because of PPC's.
Raven 35
RVN-4L - Light recon mech with very good EWAR package and stealth system (stealth system blinds the Raven when turned on, though).

Mist Dragon
Custom - Heavy mech with Clan weapons and EWAR package

Cicada
CDA-3C - light, fast recon mech with a single PPC and machine guns, good for tank-hunting at a distance and flanking.

Enfield
END-6Q - good all-rounder Medium mech, best in close where it can use its LBX-AC/10.

Hatamoto-Chi
Custom - HTM-27T but with Double Heat Sinks - able to snipe long range or brawl up close. Twin PPC's and twin SRM-6's make it a heavy hitter but also a priority target.

Crab - to be sold
Chameleon - to be sold

Drillson Heavy Tank - has weapons equal to a low-end Medium Mech, but not the staying power. Useful as support, but keep it away from the front lines. Large Laser and LRM-10 means it can be fire support.

Union-class DropShip

>>22118436
We have room for 12 mechs, 2 ASF, and 32.5 tons of assorted spare parts over those slots. In the extra space, I imagine our infantry fits in as well.

Centurions, Phoenix Hawk, Raven, Cicada and Enfield form a good recon force. Stinger LAM is a strategic asset with it's capability for air scouting. The Timber Wolf and the Mist Dragon are heavy cavalry assets capable of long range combat and strike effect. The Marauder, Hauptmann, Cyclops and Atlas form an assault lance. The odd birds out are the Catapult, a very traditional ammo-dependent fire support unit, and the Jagermech, a token anti-air specialist that could do well as a rearguard to keep any freak Aerospace accidents away from the command.

Of these, I think the most loose assets are the Cicada, Enfield, Catapult and Jagermech. The heavies don't have a solid role in our unit, unless we intend to expand into a fire support unit with them. The Cicada and Enfield would make the fifth and sixth man on our "lance", and to be honest, the Cicada is not as much an asset as I'd hope for within our tight-knit company. The Enfield, on the other hand, is a good fighting machine, and I could entertain ideas of having our Pixie pilot switch over to it and selling the spare machine. At this point, by my counts, we would be at... 12 mechs, 10 if we discard the Cat and Jag. Also, in these calculations, the Hatamoto would perhaps also be an odd man out; while a solid fighting machine when DHS'd, I've never found it to be stellar either. In addition, I do not see merit in keeping the Chameleon, and as much as it pains me to say, I don't think the Crab would fit in very well either unless we start to expand into a cavalry lance with our current fast heavies.

Maybe sell the Hat, Chameleon, Cicada, Catapult and Jagermech, and form a cavalry lance out of the Enfield, Crab, Mist Dragon and Mad Cat?

>>22118874
We already plan on selling the Chameleon and the Crab.

I disagree that the Catapult, Jagermech, and Hatamoto-Chi should be sold.
With MegaMek, it's been painfully shown that long-range fire support is important, and that a heavily armored assault mech is needed to soak up incoming fire so that lighter mechs don't get destroyed. The Hatamoto would be good to keep with the Atlas, Hauptmann, and Cyclops as part of an assault lance.

However, you do bring up a good point that we currently have more mechs than fit within a Union DropShip.
We should perhaps consider renting the services of another DropShip or leaving some mechs behind on Outreach as emergency cash reserves/emergency replacement mechs.

So, starting with this post, I started asking some questions of the actual BTech players on the board about tabletop rules that MegaMek uses.
I'm only experienced with the Mechwarrior videogames, and the lethality of MegaMek surprised me.

So for anyone who's going to be logging on to MegaMek to play as Hans, I suggest reading the responses to this post:
>>22119730