Veni, Vidi, (Re)aedificavi "I Came, I saw, I (Re)built" (A Commissioned Battletech Isekei)

Chapter 34

Date: September 12, 3029
Location: Kalidasa, Free Worlds League

Back home, I hadn't really ever been into guns or the outdoors. Sure, it's fairly stereotypical for tech startups to lock themselves inside until they've solved their most recent problems. In my case, it'd been true. For one thing, redheads and the outdoors didn't always mix well. I was particularly susceptible to the sun, and as a kid I'd learned taht even judicious applications of susncreen and covering my body didn't always work.

Here in this strange world in which I'd found myself a budding entrant into the military industrial complex, that had changed. I now had a fiance who wouldn't let me slack off in anything. When we'd first started discussing FireFlight industries, one of her primary statements had been that we couldn't sell a product that we wouldn't use ourselves.

Which is why I'd found myself at a privately owned shooting range in the middle of the desrrt, the sun beating down on my pale skin., and a pair of massive trucks loaded up with every type of weapon that we could or might produce for the new company.

Thankfully, the combat uniforms/clothing that Rebecca had pushed us towards was lightweight, kept the sun from killing me, and actually left me feeling like I wasn't going to die out here after a few hours.

Yes, getting to shoot machine guns, assault rifles, and everything was 'cool' at first, but the novelty quickly wore off after the fifth or sixth iteration of a slightly different operating system I shot.

My shoulder ached from the heavy caliber of the squad machine guns, and I was drenched in sweat despite the nice uniforms. The only thing that kept me here was just how hot Rebecca looked right now. And not in the 'it's the desert' heat kind of hot. But the uniform she was wearing hugged her just right and made it all worthwhile. Especially when I knew that after we were done with the shooting that we'd be spending the rest of the week camping to test the other kit she wanted to sell.

There was a part of me that whispered. "She's already tested this gear, she didn't need to drag us out here to die in the desert." I silenced that part of me. Even if she had tested everything, this view was absolutely worth it. Especially when she finished a pattern of fire and stood up, resting a weapon on her shoulder before looking back at me with an inquisitive look.

I'd never thought I'd find something like this attractive before. Hell, I'd avoided romance and anything to do with it like the plague for years. Now, I was discovering that I most definitely had a type, and I was looking right at her.

"What?" She asked, arching an eyebrow over the Aviators she wore.

"Nothing," I shook my head, finishing the water before standing up and heading back over to her. "Just wondering how many more of these do we have to test?"

"Well, part of the reason I brought you out here was to see how intuitive some of the weapons are. Not everyone we sell to is going to be experts at this kind of thing," She said, handing me the next weapon and expecting me to figure it out. "Once we're done with this, we'll get all of the weapons for each class, and I'll have you pick out the ones that were easier to figure out the proper handling procedures. Whatever's easiest for you to figure out will probably be the same for everyone else. Then, I'll do some reliability testing outside of this, run it through the mud, sand, dirt, heat, cold, and anything else it might need to stand up to and we'll select hte weapons that are both easy to use and last the longest for manufacture."

"You couldn't have explained that earlier?" I asked.

"I thought I had," Rebecca replied, cocking her head to the side before facepalming. "No, nevermind, I didn't explain it. I thought I'd explained it after I went over the safety rules. But I just handed you an SRM launcher and told you to shoot that hill."

She pointed across the desert a few kilometers away where the missile had detonated.

"Yeah, that was freakin' awesome," I admitted. No matter how divorced I had been from media, firearms, etc. I didn't think there was a man alive who didn't appreciate an explosion. Especially one that he had set off himself.

"So, yeah," Rebecca said sheepishly. "I'm running tests using you as the primary testor to see what works best for people new to this kind of thing."

"I mean, it makes sense," I shrugged. "So, how many more do we have to go through."

She coughed and said something that I thought sounded like thirteen.

"Thirteeen isn't bad," I said to the brunette.

"Sorry, we have thirty," She chuckled at the miscommunication. "But after that, we get to spend a night together out under the stars. It'll be fun!" She winked.

I shook my head and did what every boyfriend, infantryman, and military member has done for thousands of years. I grumbled and did what I was told.



Date: September 29, 3029

Construction costs, fees, and delays were one of the things that no one really talked about when it came to startups back on Earth. Starting a store, storefront, or restaurant was actually fairly easy. Usually, there was already a building someone had built that you could lease out to get started. Or, as had been the case with my old tech startup, we'd bought an older office building and done some minor remodels.

Here though, I couldn't settle for a leased building, or an older factory building nearby. For one thing, even the factories around here weren't big enough to fully handle battlemech production unless I managed to buy one of Kali Yama's facilities outright. And I didn't know a singlep person that would be able to afford the kind of buyout that would require.

That, and there were certain security and safety measures that had to be baked into every facility that was geared towards 'mech production beyond industrialmechs. It was the kind of thing that made every new building on the property more expensive, take longer to build, and a nightmare to handle when it came to inspections.

So, a regular factory complex might take two years to build. A MilitiaMech factory could go at about the same pace given there were slightly less security measures to follow. A Battlemech factory? That was the sort of thing that was a three to five year project.

At first, I'd thought that the Mercury facility would take the same amount of time that our Mackie and Phoenix facilities took to build. I was wrong, very wrong. In fact, when I saw Andrew Shepherd lay out the timeline I had frowned. I hadn't given anyone my preliminary estimates for what I expected out of the factory within the next two years, and I was exceedingly grateful for that now. Because I'd have to move everything in my timeline back. I'd been planning to release pre-orders for the Mercury within six months of the factory opening for business.

With a heavy sigh, I rested my head on my desk. Deeply appreciating the cool metal compared to the heat of the factory surrounding me. I'd grown used to how fast things had been moving and had forgotten that things were going to take time.

There wasn't anything I could do to speed up the construction. In fact, any intervention I made would probably end up with delays or worse. Yes, I knew that the big boys on Kalidasa probably had deals worked out with the inspectors to get them to look past a few violations here or there. Because doing everything by the book was expensive. But I also knew that in this case, the rules and required measures existed for a good reason.

A part of the rules and measures were probably things that the big corporations had pushed for in order to help prevent startups from coming and taking market share. Not that it was really a problem in the current climate. With the Free Worlds League Federal Military and militia purchasing everything they could get their hands on, there was plenty of money to go around.

The big problem I was faced with, was that I didn't know how long this 'boom' would last. It could endure for years, or it could come crashing down arounds us. If I threw everything into expanding and it didn't pay off, then we'd be facing some pretty severe consequences.

So, I knuckled down, put a fresh pot of coffee on, and began crunching numbers. Assuming that things slowed down significantly, we would still be operating at a profit. If a small one. After all, our biggest market was the militia, and after a war of this scale, they'd need to replenish losses and do whatever else a military might need. So, now I needed to figure out something that could give us a leg up on the competition. Something that set us apart aside from militiamechs and durable products.

Eventually, it struck me that I'd been ignoring something that I could and should have been planning on selling for years. I had built a rought version of Windows 98 on our current system, and people had loved how intuitive it was. Now I just needed to have it able to be put on a separate installation section along with a basic suite of software and it could net us a lot of money,

There was just one problem though. I hated the subscription model. I didn't want to have to force people to keep paying for something when a product was already doing well enough to suit their needs.That said, I did understand the merits of charging a fee to maintain software that cost money to continue development and pushing into.

I'd have to find some sort of middle ground. Where people who just wanted the basics got what they needed with no frills, but people who wanted support for longer could get it if they were willing to pay for it.

Some issues that I could already foresee was the need to train people, to have a possible IT call center of some kind, as well as a way for companies to get an 'enterprise' license of the software instead of a personal license.

I also needed to figure out a way to build hardware. Corporations would be the largest purchaser, but they wouldn't be willing to buy something if there wasn't already hardware attached to it. I laid my head down again. It looked like I was going to be dipping my fingers into three separate pots of potential gold. Mechs, information technology, and infantry gear.

"Susannah," I called out, and my assistant appeared. "You're the most experienced in the computer systems we have outside of myself, and I've got a few things I want to pick your brain about."

"What would I know that you don't already know?" She asked, taking the seat across from my desk.

"I built the system, and I know that it's a bit expensive. My question is about potentially building out systems like the one we have and selling it and the software to other companies as well as individuals if we can scale it down."

"Don't do it," Susannah shook her head at me, her eyes serious. "Selling your work for it to be broken and stolen by someone else isn't worth it."

"I'll copyright or patent it first," I replied.

"Doesn't matter,' She said. "You haven't really seen it yet, because we don't intrude on anyone's business yet. But you cannot give people who are going to be competing with us a single centimeter. They'll use it against us, drive us out of business, and they won't stop at the computers and software. They'll take everything they possibly can. Keep the software, the computers, everything in house. Selling it might make you a ton of money at first. But it'll end in disaster, trust me."

Chapter 35

Date: October 10, 3029
Location: Kalidasa, Free Worlds League

In the end, I'd done what people throughout history have done. I postponed my decision on what to do regarding my operating system and software package to later. While a part of me felt like I was procrastinating when there was a business opportunity that would be able to launch us into the big leagues, the other part of me was wary now that I'd been reminded of just how cutthroat things were here.

Yes, I knew that to everyone else, I probably seemed naive, and unwilling to learn, but despite the last four, almost five years of my life having been spent here, I'd spent far longer being an entrepreneur back on Earth. Sure, there'd been competition back then, but most of the time, I'd met with, and was actually on good terms with the people that competed with me in the local arenas back home.

So, I'd gotten in touch with the local SAFE branch, and was sitting in the room waiting for a meeting with them now. As a business that had been granted federal grants and loans, we did have a local liaison. This was just the first time I'd ever arranged a meeting. Honestly, I wasn't even sure what I was going to find here. I just wanted to see if anyone had attempted anything similar, and what had happened.

Because I'd done a little bit of research with what was publicly available, and I hadn't liked what I found. Technically, corporations that worked for the Federal Government weren't supposed to be able to act against each other besides undercutting each other in bidding wars for contracts, etc.

However, I'd found a lot of information pointing to all of the manufacturers doing shady, underhanded things that I'd only ever heard companies doing in Central America, or parts of Africa before. Sure, I was paying mercenaries to guard Siler's Salvage and Assembly, but it had never really 'clicked' until recently just how in over my head I was regarding this sort of thing.

"Mr. Doe will see you now, Mister Blaze," an unassuming man said, gesturing for me to follow him into the depths of the SAFE field office.

I hadn't felt this nervous in a long time, and I should've kept my mouth shut, instead I asked the question that popped into my head.

"Is his name really John Doe?" I asked.

"Yes?" The man I assumed was an agent said with an odd look on his face as he glanced back. "John's a common enough name. So is Doe."

"Nevermind," I shook my head. I'd just made a fool of myself because I assumed that a cultural norm had passed on through the generations when it clearly hadn't. "I'm just an idiot."

"Whatever you say, sir," the man gestured for me to enter an office and closed the door behind me. Said office was as barren an office as could be. There was a small amount of paperwork unfinished on the desk, but nothing that contained critical information from what I could tell. There was a small safe in the far corner, and a fake window to round out what felt like the most stale office I'd ever been in.

"Mister Blaze," A sharp looking man in a set of dress slacks with an unbuttoned dress shirt stood up and extended a hand for me to shake. "I'm John Doe, I've been wondering when you were going to grace my office with your presence."

"Mister Doe," I felt awkward just saying it.

"You can call me John, if you don't mind me calling you Edmund. Now, take a seat. I assume whatever you have for me is important based on the size of the folder you brought with you," his sharp eyes trailed down to the folder before meeting mine. "So, what brings you to SAFE?"

"Well, I've been doing some research into my competitors, and I had some questions involving patents, how they were enforced, and where both the planetary and Federal governments lines are regarding intellectual property theft," I said, reaching in said folder for what I'd already found. "I've done some research on it, but there didn't seem to be as much information as I'd hoped."

"Well, I'll being by answering the third bit," John accepted the paper and set it down after glancing at it. "The planetary government has no ability to enforce laws or rules regarding goods that are sold to other worlds. The shipping clauses in the documents that bind the FWL together are the reason for this. A large portion of the taxes the Federal Government collects are from interplanetary trade. As far as intellectual property goes," he shrugged. "We protect it to a certain extent. A patent and IP is important, but with the Star League now defunct, we cannot enforce or pursue any legal actions beyond the borders of the FWL. Within our borders, things get a bit… Odd," He leaned forward. "But essentially, it boils down to one key aspect. If you cannot protect your own property. Then we are not responsible for what happens. The days of the Star League are long gone, Edmund. If they were, it'd be a lot easier to deal with IP and patents. Now," He shook his head. "It's everyone out for themselves. If you've got something you want hidden from the other corporations, then don't file a patent for it. Keep it internal. People can't make an attempt to steal something they don't know exists," He leaned back in his chair. "Now, was there anything else?"

"Yes, I wanted to know more about how SAFE operates and what we need to do to ensure we cooperate with you more…"




Date: October 17, 3029
Location: Concord, Free Worlds League

The pirates that had descended on the plains of Concord must have been particularly brave or stupid. Sergeant Austin noted as he saw a glimpse of said pirates across the hills. Usually, the sight of an assault 'mech meant that pirates wanted to go the other way and hit somewhere else.

This group, they must have been an advanced force for a larger band, or they were mercs who had just recently turned pirate. Because instead of turning the other way, they'd changed course to strike at the militia forces.

Of course, Austin did have to admit that a pair of 'mechs, one medium and one heavy didn't exactly inspire fear in the eyes of some newly turned pirates. Especially when it was an even number of units. The units that had been ready to go at a moment's notice was a lance of Scorpions and a pair of J. Edgars. Set that against an Enforcer, a Firestarter, a Wasp, and a Havester Ant Mech Mod… Well, he gave them about even odds of being able to fight off this group of pirates.

The first exchanges of fire between the pirates and the Concord militia had a few shots go wild, some strike and do armor damage, but nothing really happened outside of the two forces closing in on each other in the plains and open fields of the foothills of the mountains that led into the main cities and factories.

That is, until the J. Edgars got in range and Corporal Dunham's crews began to hammer the Wasp while Austin focused on the Enforcer facing him. On paper, the Enforcer and he were probably close to equal. Or they would be if he were in a proper battlemech instead of a militiamech. As it was, Austin was going to have to be careful to not overheat with his energy loadout.

One of his medium blazers melted armor off the Firestarter, a J. Edgar's armored skirt took damage in an exchange with the Wasp, and it fell to the ground, continuing its fire against anyone who came into range.

Then, Lieutenant Reagan tripped, falling over as she tried to back up to keep her eyes on everything, and the battlefield seemed to shift.

The lead pirate in the Enforcer immediately lit up on jump jets and moved to hit Reagan while the young officer was downed, getting in good hits with his autocannon and laser before Reagan rolled and forced herself back up to her feet. Her Mackie was a bit damaged, but she wasn't out of the fight yet. The same couldn't be said of one of the Scorpions, a streak of missiles from the MechMod hammered the sniper until smoke rose from the ruined chassis. They'd have to get Search and Rescue out later. But for now there was a skirmish to be won.

The pirates were definitely former Mercs. Because their gear was more maintained than it had any right to be, and as the fight wore on, Austin became exceedingly aware that he needed something other than the M-Blazers to use. He liked them, but the heat trade-offs meant he wasn't able to do as much as he'd like when using his jump jets. Swapping them out for a brace of medium lasers would do less damage to the enemy, but they'd allow him to be more flexible.

As he was duelling the Enforcer, he ignored the combat vehicle that had come around the hill until the thunder of an ack-twenty hammered into his torso, rocking him back and stripping all of the armor off of said part.

Miraculously though, he was still up and combat capable, if a bit wounded. So, he turned to keep that armor facing away from the Hetzer that had made an appearance while Lieutenant Reagan's own assault-class autocannon made short work of the Quikscell product.

The Wasp, meanwhile was in full retreat after a few more hits from the Scorpions in the distance. Leaving the Firestarter, the Enforcer, and an APC behind with support from a salvaged Fedsuns Striker.

His leg armor shattered, with some of the missiles from said light vehicle, and for a moment, Austin wished he had some missile carriers to hammer back. Alas, he didn't have them, and wishes weren't reality, so he pressed on, hitting his jump jets to arc over the Enforcer just in time for him to catch its Ack-ten to the leg that had just had the armor shattered on.

"Fucking shit," he swore, hitting his comms. "Pan pan pan, I'm going down." His 'mech tumbled to the ground and he felt his vision go dark for a moment as even with his bracing, the back of his head slammed into the back of the command chair.

Checking his sensors, he noted that he'd only been out for a few seconds, just long enough for the Firestarter to set one of his hovercraft ablaze before having to dump its MG ammo and leave for fear of an ammo detonation.

Austin forced the pain of a likely concussion to the side and stepped on his pedals, easing himself back up and letting the medium-weight pirate know that he was there with his large laser carving a path along the torsos and into the arm before the pirate turned and forced his Phoenix's good leg to bend backwards and in on itself sending Austin back to the ground.

This time, when he woke up, it was to the enemy fallen on the ground in its own crater, and the rest of the pirates dead or retreating. The only problem was that even if they'd won, they'd paid a pretty heavy cost for it. Losing a lance and a half of vehicles in return for one destroyed Vedette, an APC, a Hetzer, and a lone Enforcer wasn't the kind of trade a militia could afford to make all the time. If the crews didn't make it out, then they'd have to recruit more people and train them up to the level of the old crews.

"Stone cold," his radio crackled, and Austin realized that the LT had been trying to talk to him. "Stone Cold, this is Lieutenant Reagan, come in."

"LT, I'm here," Austin replied. "Damage and in need of a pickup, but I'm still here. Two of my weapons still work, too."

"Well, that's good news," the LT laughed nervously. "I've got salvage and rescue operations en route. I think we'll be able to use the pirate Enforcer. Get you an upgrade. My 'mech just needs a new coat of armor. I don't know if we can get yours back into the field."

"One M-Blazer, a pair of legs, and she'll be good as new," Austin double checked his reports. "If there's one thing Siler's seems to do right, it's build them right. I've seen 'mechs heavier than this take less damage," Austin rested his head against the back of the chair. "Lemme know when S&R gets here. My hatch is blocked until I can get shifted."

With that, Stone Cold closed his eyes and took a nap. Both he and his 'mech had earned it.