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

[Baldrick the Wise]

How long before they are known well enough to end up in Raid Objective catalogue?

 

[Snakespm]

Just found this story. So far, so good. Instant watch from me.

 

[frozone]

How long before they are known well enough to end up in Raid Objective catalogue?

Click to shrink...

he prob won't be seriously raided until he starts buying/building factories or whatever his secret project is

 

[MarkWarrior]

Chapter 9

Date: March 1, 3026

"I don't know how you can live like this," Sylvie said as her and a handful of the old guys from the shop walked around my new house.

"I don't really need all that much," I replied with a shrug. "I lived in a studio apartment for a long time. There's not much I actually need out of a house. I eat dinner and sleep here," I chuckled. "The only reason I bought this house is because the property came with the massive workshop."

"It's not a bad place if you can get past the smell on the drive in," Billy nodded. "I take it the place was cheaper because of the waste treatment plant a few klicks down?"

"Got it for a great price," I agreed. "I'm still not sure what I'm going to do with a four bedroom, three bathroom house. But for now, this is it."

"Men," Sylvie scoffed. "I'm going to help you get this place set up. I don't know how anyone could feel welcome here."

"I've had it for a month!" I protested. "I bought a bed, a couch, a table, and a tri-vid. That's all I need unless I'm expecting someone else to move in with me. Which is unlikely to happen anytime soon. Also, why spend money on areas where I'm not going to be spending a ton of time? Anyway, I've spent more time making sure the workshop has the proper tools for what I'm trying to do. That takes up a lot of my spare funds."

"I'll let it slide because you seem to be eating properly," Sylvie said, allowing my refrigerator to close behind her. "Now, you promised to at least show us a glimpse of what you're working on."

"That you did, boss," Eddy chimed in, the normally silent graybeard seemingly just as excited as Sylvie to see what I was trying to experiment with in the workshop.

"Alright," I sighed. "I see now that you aren't really here for me. You're just here to see what I'm working on."

"It can be both," Billy said. "We're excited that you're living in a house instead of in the loft above the garage at the yard, and we want to see what you're working on."

"Well, I was doing some research into the Age of War, and I realized something after also examining the industrialmech we're using for dragging things back in," I began. "For one thing, the older 'mechs were easier to make. As in, they all had to be built out of industrialmech facilities to begin with before being fully converted into battlemech factories. So, I wanted to do some testing."

"What kind of testing?" Sylvie asked.

"Well, as we discovered with the Griffin we sold to Hammer lance, when you do an engine swap and upgrade the armor to standard, it makes a world of difference for the 'mech. Sure, you're now having to produce the modernized fusion engine, but it's both more efficient in terms of mass, as well as helpful in allowing you to properly armor something."

I opened the back door and led them to the multi-story workshop in the back, the metal structure barely able to contain the height of smethign like that Mackie that lay within. "So, I pulled the engine out of that gutted Marauder and swapped it into this 'mech. It freed up some tonnage for the skeleton without putting undue strain anywhere. Now, I'm not sure what exactly I want to do with the extra weight I've got now, but when I'm done, this will be a mix of modern and old tech that I think can be mostly made in an industrialmech factory."

"How much math did you have to do to compensate the gyro for the decrease in engine weight?" Billy asked, climbing up the gantry and looking closer at the assault 'mech.

"More than I wanted to," I lied, not wanting to explain the strange information that had popped into my brain to make it happen. "That said, this is what I think we should be working towards."

"What, half-assed battlemechs?" Eddy scoffed. "Like anyone will buy that."

"Plenty of militia might buy them," Sylvie pointed out. "They're not quite militiamechs, they've got better armor. It's like a mixture of both. With some of the improvements of battlemechs without putting that high of a price tag on it."

"Problem isn't will someone buy it," Billy muttered. "But how we're going to get our hands on an industrialmech factory."

"There's a few struggling in nearby cities," I smirked. "Turns out with the easy mines drying up, there's not much use for factory fresh indymechs in the area."

"How much is it going to cost to buy one of them out?" Sylvie asked.

"Four hundred million," my smile disappeared. "Even if we tried to take out a loan for it, we couldn't afford it right now."

"So, how do you plan to fix that?" Eddy leaned against the wall. "Because from where I'm sitting, boss. We're not going to be anywhere near that for another decade or so. At the rate we're going. Also, what about licensing fees? I can't imagine anyone's going to be happy with us over taking this sort of thing away from them."

"Manufacturing and business are like a snowball rolling down hill," I began. "It might be extremely slow at first, but when it begins to kick up speed, no one can deny how large and fast it's coming on. As for licenses and patents, the Mackie is ancient, and the Hegemony doesn't exist anymore. There's no one to enforce the intellectual theft, even if it was a problem. So, we'll ignore that unless and until it bceomes an issue. Either way, I've got to finish tweaking this before we can begin seeing how to refit a factory to produce this."

"First, we need to make the money to buy or build an industrialmech factory," Sylvie corrected. "Then we can finish the design."

---

Sylvie had been absolutely right. Four hundred million eagles was a lot of money. Even for an old, decrepit industrialmech factory. So, we'd have to work our tails off, repair and strip anything useful from the yard, and start a fire sale. By my estimates, we were looking at a year or two before we could build or buy an industrialmech factory and start production of the hybrids.

"So, what's the plan for everything we're dragging in here?" Eddy asked, looking at the lance of decrepit 'mechs hanging in the bays of the secondary workshop.

"We're restoring them to the original configuration and selling them to whoever will take them," I replied, ignoring the headache that was buildnig up as I stared at all four different fifty-five ton designs. "Because we're ahead of schedule on the militia tank repairs, I'm planning on splitting our focus, people with experience work on restoring the 'mechs, any new hires start working on the tanks under supervision. We've got the manuals filled out and copies made. So, it shouldn't be too hard to keep up on the contract while we get the rest of this done."

"There a reason we're just staking up the light 'mechs out front?" Billy added to the question.

"We're only fixing things that are thirty tons and heavier," I replied, closing my eyes for a moment in an attempt to block out the sheer amount of information I was receiving. "I ran the numbers, it's cheaper to strip the parts from the bugmechs and use them in other things than it is to repair and sell them on the market. After we've gotten everything useful stripped from them, we'll set them up for use in the proving grounds."

"That makes sense," Eddy agreed. "Bugmechs have a worse rep than Scorpions do, sometimes. So, what are we going to fix first?"

"Mediums are the staple for a reason," I replied. "So, we're going to start with the fifty-five ton trio here, that Phoenix Hawk, and then we'll move on through the rest of the 'mechs in the yard."

"Alright," Billy sighed. "I'll start getting the crews started on the Shadow Hawk, then the Wolverine, and finally the Griffin. The Pixie can wait until we're done."

"I'll work on the Phoenix Hawk," I replied, something about the way the 'mech looked reminded me of being a kid playing through old scifi games on an Xbox. Before I'd started pushing so hard into work. "You guys take care of the other three."

–
–

Three weeks later…

"Do you take C-Bills, or is it just Eagles?" Lieutenant Castle, this merc unit's logistics officer asked.

"We take C-Bills," I replied, knowing that we had an account with Comstar for this reason.

"How much for the lance?" She asked.

"Eighteen million," I started the negotiations at the price they'd pay for brand new machines instead of old ones.

"Maybe if we were buying factory fresh!" Castle scoffed. "Fourteen million."

"Seventeen point five," I responded. "We have these machines running just as good as factory fresh, if not better."

"Fifteen," the lieutenant shook her head. "Hosing out the previous occupants doesn't count as better than factory fresh."

"Sixteen," I gave what I hoped was my final counter offer.

"Done," She replied, extending a hand to shake mine. "Do you have the account details? We'll have Comstar transfer the funds to escrow for holding until we receive the 'mechs at the dropships."

"We'll start working on transferring them into your possession," I said, pulling out a notebook and sharing the acount number with her. "A pleasure doing business with you."

"Likewise," Castle nodded. "It's nice to have people who don't try to cheat you on quality or price. Sixteen's a bit pricy for us, but it's worth it if we don't have to do anything extra to them."

"We'll make sure the ammo bins are full before we bring them over," I chuckled. "Thanks for shopping at Siler's Salvage."

"If you keep this up, we'll be back," Castle replied. "Good used machines are easier to come by than factory fresh. But they're still not common. We'll be back after our next contract."

"Looking forward to seeing you again," I waved as she began to walk away.

"So, how many more lances of mediums do we have to sell to make enough?" Sylvie asked once I got back into the workshop.

"Twenty-five," I sighed. "And there aren't another twenty-five lances in there. We'll make more off the assault and heavy 'mech sales. But we've only got about a company's worth that we can fix and sell. Anything else's going to be some sort of abomination of multiple 'mechs."

"Well, we'll see what it looks like when we get there," Sylvie shrugged. "If nothing else, we can probably get Snord's Irregulars to pay us a quiet visit if we get into frankenmechs. I hear some of their people love that sort of thing."

"I'd rather not make an enemy of the Captain-General," I shuddered. "Infamy might make for good rep sometimes. But not when you're trying to become a giant."

"We could also look into loans once we have the capital," Sylvie offered. "I know that's not something either of us want, but the Federal government does have sections set aside for situations like ours."

"The problem with that is that all of the current companies are entrenched and would look for ways to drive us out of the market if they thought we were competing with them. We won't be, at least not at first. They won't know that for sure until we hi the markets. Until then, we just save up and pay cash for everything."

"Didn't you lose your first business?" Sylvie asked, arching a blond eyebrow as she leaned in the doorway.

"I did," I felt my body tense up at the thought of everything that had led to me getting hit by my own truck. "That's how I know what not to do this time."

"Fair enough," Sylvie shrugged. "I just hope you're right on this one..."

"Sylvie," I sighed. "We could take out a business loan. We'd be buying assets that would be producing worth and holding value. The problem is, that we'd end up paying so much in interest, taxes, and other fees that in the end, it would make it harder to sustain what we're doing for our employees. I compromised way too much my first time. I'm not making that mistake again. We do this smart, we do this slow, and we do it right. I know the snowball looks slow, but trust me, when it picks up speed, you're going to wonder where the time went."

 

[Jebbedaiah]

"Men," Sylvie scoffed. "I'm going to help you get this place set up. I don't know how anyone could feel welcome here."

"I've had it for a month!" I protested. "I bought a bed, a couch, a table, and a tri-vid. That's all I need unless I'm expecting someone else to move in with me. Which is unlikely to happen anytime soon.

Click to shrink...

Lmao, you just know Sylvie is going to move in and say "Well, time to decorate"

 

[lusians]

Wait is he trying to bring back Makie as viable militia mech?

 

[Baldrick the Wise]

As long as he drops PPCs, League will buy em up straight off the line.

 

[Gaffhook]

Wait is he trying to bring back Makie as viable militia mech?

Click to shrink...

I think he more trying to make a Budget Corsair. Kinda a fankenmech but more standardized and better thought out. Could also be closer to the Warhammer generation of mechs where things were still in Flux with parts.

 

[RazeByFire]

Why don't planetary militias go all out on tanks? It's your ground, you know the terrain and can prepare static defenses and move the tanks where you need to defend. Most smaller planets don't have a lot to defend anyway.

Also, swarms of cheap rockets to lob at drop ships coming down seems doable.

 

[Xintax]

Why don't planetary militias go all out on tanks? It's your ground, you know the terrain and can prepare static defenses and move the tanks where you need to defend. Most smaller planets don't have a lot to defend anyway.

Also, swarms of cheap rockets to lob at drop ships coming down seems doable.

Click to shrink...

Well drop ships are all but off limits if Im recalling the lore of battletech right. As for not using artillery properly...well there is only so much you can do to make mech combat viable given the settings premise and one of which is to make it an honor thing as seen with the clans, Secondly make it so that the EW kits that absolutely nobody understands in setting just work better on mechs since they recieved all the funding given the neo feudal nature of the setting... (damn starleague), that or you have to make your opposition retarted or apathetic in the case of who wins... for the peasants on planet XYZ it doesnt matter which mech warrior wins since their day to day life will be the same as ever no matter what...if the muckedy mucks want to do weird ass feudal duels to determine the ownership of a planet based on the result of a few companies of mechs operational status, thats upto them....as long as the new boss isn't worse then the old one who really gives a shit? I mean that wouldn't explain the stupidity of the Combine but sometimes you just have to turn a blind eye to fallacies in a setting to have fun with it.

 

[FreeCityMagnate]

Wait is he trying to bring back Makie as viable militia mech?

Click to shrink...

It's a 100-ton assault 'mech. Most planetary militias could not afford to field many of those.

Why don't planetary militias go all out on tanks?

Click to shrink...

Probably because combat vehicles are a lot slower than 'mechs, often use ICE so fuel is an issue. Also 'mechs tend to cause a lot of collateral damage, so you don't want them fighting nearby your settlements. Static defenses and combat vehicles are less useful for intercepting. Also less manpower invested for battlefield effectiveness. There's also a cultural element, since battlemechs are so iconic and intimidating. The sight of a 'mech lance has been known to make entire garrisons just surrender without a fight. Lastly 'mechs can perform well in all sorts of environments, combat vehicles are generally not amphibious or struggle in certain levels of gravity and atmosphere.

 

[The Unicorn]

Why don't planetary militias go all out on tanks? It's your ground, you know the terrain and can prepare static defenses and move the tanks where you need to defend. Most smaller planets don't have a lot to defend anyway.

Also, swarms of cheap rockets to lob at drop ships coming down seems doable.

Click to shrink...

Because that would break the setting and make raids, except for huge ones by major governments impossible.
Since the entire setting is based around a couple of isolated lances duking it out anything that prevents that is forbidden.

 

[MarkWarrior]

Chapter 10

Date: April 14, 3026

"It's amazing what is buried underneath some of the filth back here," Billy commented as we hooked up the leg of a 'mech we couldn't even see the torso of to a hitch and slapped the side of the truck to began dragging it out of the mound of sand it had been buried in.

"You're telling me," I laughed as we slowly pulled a Crusader out of the dark, oily sand. "This is what, the third one we've found underneath junk that we couldn't use?"

"Fourth," Billy replied. "Eddy seems to have a knack for finding the damned things!"

"Well, start hauling it on back to the shop. I'm going to head to the office, I've got to see if the numbers line up," I replied. We'd made two more deals and sold another pair of lances. One of lights, one of heavies. But that'd only brought us up to about sixty million C-Bills or so. Which if I were honest was actually well above what we should have gotten for them in the first place. The problem was, we were starting to run out of full tanks, 'mechsm and vehicles to repair in the yard. Sure, there were plenty of parts to pull off and restore for sale to an enterprising merc unit when they dropped by. But it wasn't going to net us the amount of cash we would need to buy out the industrialmech factory. The heavy lance would be our last sale, and even then, Sylvie was telling me that we should hold onto some of them for use with our security forces.

Thankfully, it was a long walk back to the office portion of the workshop, and I had plenty of time to mull over our options. There was a part of me that was hesitant to push for searching out loans and grants with the government. I still just wasn't familiar enough with the local and federal government to trust them.

At the same time, I knew that there was probably several loans and grants designed for smaller manufacturers to begin working towards supplying military hardware. I was just going to need to do a lot of research before opting into any of them.

"You look upset," Sylvie said when I enterd the air-conditioned office space. "What's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong, per se," I replied. "You were right, we're going to have to push for some sort of grant to get the funding we need for the factory. Way I see it, we've got two options, and we're going to need lawyers for both."

"Okay," Sylvie leaned forward. "What do you think our options are? I'll point out anything stupid."

"Option one, we look into private investors," I hated this option the most. "And give up equity in the company in exchange for them providing us with the capital. This one will work, but it means we don't get to make all of the decisions anymore. Even if we do retain more of the equity."

I sat down across from her and enjoyed the cold air.

"Option two, we look into government grants or loans and figure out how to use those to get what we want," I continued. "Now, I know that most of us dislike the feds, but I think they're going to be our best option here. They'll have the money and grants we need to get our feet in the door and begin working on expansion in a way that we didn't originally plan for."

"And we'll need a lawyer for both of them," Sylvie swallowed.

"We're going to need lawyers regardless," I admitted. "We should probably start looking at firms that deal with Comstar, government contracts, and then cvilian legalese. They're going to provide us with the resources and information we need to succeed. Because as long as we're getting paid and making money, that firm is going to be making money as well. So, they'll be incentivized to keep us in business and making money."

"Okay," Sylvie sighed. "My grandfather used to spend some time with lawyers, and he left some notes on who was trustworthy. Do you want to go over them and start making calls?"

"I think I can help with that after I make sure the guys are squared away with the lance in the bays," I replied. "As soon as I'm done with that, I'll be over to get this figured out."

"Alternatively," Sylvie held up a hand. "You, can sit here doing paperwork for the rest of the day while I enjoy working with the grease monkeys. The numbers are starting to make my head hurt and my vision's swimming. I'd rather turn a wrench than make a call or look at another piece of paper right now."

"Fair enough," I smiled. "I'll handle the paperwork and phone calls. Just point me to where your grandfather's notes are."

---

Date: May 17, 3026

In the end, I did end up looking into grants and loans that were provided by the Free Worlds League Federal government as well as what might be available locally. The salvage yard just didn't have enough 'mechs for us to sell to pay for the industrialmech factory we wanted. Not to mention we'd also need capital for raw resources and the extra money to found what was essentially going to be a server farm of some description. Writing down all of the information on what we were going to do was useful, but I only had the one notebook, and only one or two people could look over my notes at a time.

Eventually, my goal was to have a full database of how to repair 'mechs, vehicles, and anything else that showed up. I'd also done some reading and discoverd how much factories were targeted in the endless war that seemed to rage on around this universe. If our factory got targeted, I wanted us to be able to repair it.

Anyway, to get back to the main focus, my initial concernes about the larger manufacturers interfering with our loans or grants were unfounded. Instead, it seemed that most large-scale manufacturers were happy to hand off some of the manufacturing burden for components to smaller companies. For instance, apparently actuators for all the varying 'mechs were made by a ton of different companies and were sold in large numbers to big manufacturers and small ones alike. It was also one of the few things that didn't require a license or patent to make. The plans were public domain, and no one seemed to target those manufacturers.

"Mister Blaze," A voice shook me out of my thoughts on the future, causing me to stand up and brush some imaginary dust off my suit. It was one of the few things I had from my old life, and it had been in use for a long time. It also was one of the first and only things I'd spent good money on back in my old life. It was a custom tailored suit that had cost a few thousand dollars back in the day.

"Yes, sir?" I shook the woolgathering away again and asked.

"You're next on the list here," a large man said, gesturing for me to follow him to the receptionist desk. "It says you're applying for the AEGIS, ICARUS, and REIC grants. Do you have the paperwork for all of those with you."

"I do," I snapped open my briefcase and handed the completed forms over. Both Sylvie and I had gone over them with a fine-toothed comb, looking over every single bit of legalese, fine print, and anything else.

As it turned out, the FWL had protections for smaller manufacturers to break through the glass ceiling and make an impact. Among those was the ICARUS grant, named after one of the first battlemechs developed in the Free Worlds League, the grant provided funds for legal assistance in navigating the harsh licensing and sue-happy culture of the galaxy.

The AEGIS grant would be providing the remaining funds we needed to purchase the industrialmech factory. We'd managed to scrounge up about a hundred and fifty million, but the rest was going to be provided by this grant.

Then there was the Rapid Expansion of Industrial Capacity grant, or REIC (Pronounced like Rice). The Government and their acronyms. That one would be what gave us enough of a funding push to modernize and add weapons plants to the industrialmech factory side of things, as well as help us find and locate people to provide us with direct access to the raw materials we'd need.

"Alright," the Secretary nodded, looking through the paperwork with a highlighter. "I'll have to go over this more thoroughly before we continue with the next part of the process. Then you'll have the inerview with the local Federal Representative to present your case. Finally, it'll go to the Committee for small Industry for final approval. Now, that only applies to the AEGIS and ICARUS grants. Once we've verified the paperwork and ability to begin expansion, we can go ahead and approve the REIC grant and start getting you access to those funds."

The man paused.

"Now, due to previous issues regarding fraud, you are required to provide exact purchases, deals, and anything that these funds are utilized for. If at any point in time you are found to be acting against the government of Kalidasa or the Free Worlds League, all equipment and production will be seized and your business will be turned over to the government as compensation."

"I understand," I nodded. "Do you need me to remain here while you go over everything, or do you want me to return to my seat?"

"The Representative will see you now," The Secretary shook his head. "He'll be conducting the interview regardless of the status on the other two grants."

With that, he pointed me towards the correct door and I stepped through. Ready to argue, fight, and work towards the future of Siler's Salvage and Assembly.

 

[abominable]

Time to see if this is going to be a Gru Presentation Meme.

 

[Gaffhook]

If he manages to get through the bureaucracy and gets his automated factory running. Gonna ve on alot of people's radar that the rate of those mech coming out is very high.

 

[Rustic]

My thoughts for chapter 11 can you skip the interview. Go straight to planning and shopping?

 

[MarkWarrior]

Chapter 11

Date: October 10, 3026

"This cost four hundred Million C-bills?" Sylvie asked incrulously. She'd spent the last few days on vacation while the rest of the crew worked on clearing out the salvage yard and prepping things for the industrialmech factory they'd bought. It'd been months since Edmund had gotten things approved for the grants, and they'd spend more money than Sylvie had ever expected to see in her entire life on lawyers, hiring personnel, and digging out the earth to base critical parts of the factory underground.

Only for her to be disappointed at the sight of the factory. In her mind, she'd pictured one of the top of the line Star League factories. Even though Edmund had told them it was an old, antiquated industrialmech factory, she hadn't believed him.

Now that she saw the truth, she felt somewhat betrayed and embarrassed at the same time. On one hand, she should have taken Edmund at his word. He refused to lie about things, and she knew that. On the other hand, her partner could have made it clear that this wasn't ready to go as soon as they had moved all of the equipment in. They were going to have to affect repairs before moving to manufacturing.

"Yes," Edmund shrugged, ripping her out of her internal monologue and complaints. "It's a small factory, and it needs some work. We're lucky that we were able to snag it when we did. Colonel Ahmed was telling me that there were a few big players getting ready to move in and snatch it up. They'd have probably spent more money to snatch it out of our hands if we didn't close on this when we did."

"So, why is this?" Sylvie pointed towards where a bunch of guys led around by Billy and Eddy were moving through the machines, inspecting them and writing down notes. "So expensive if the output and everything is so low?"

"Because it's older and not black boxed," Edmund replied. "We're making notes, but all of these machines can be upgraded to make full-scale battlemechs when we have the spare resources and time to convert them. The other thing that makes this factory so great is that all of the production can be scaled up or down. With enough time and study, we can make more of the machines that are here."

"Wait," Sylvie raised a hand. "Lemme guess, it'll just take time and money?"

"Well, it'll take time and resources," Edmund shook his head with a small laugh. "Those aren't often the same things as money. Because I really want us to focus on the quality, cost, and speed of our manufacturing at the same time, it means we're essentially setting money on fire right now. Billy and Eddy are going to get paid more because they're training new people. With new people, comes more personnel and the need to pay them what they're worth. Then, you get into the possible bits and pieces that make up having a small HR department and the fact that we have to front load the cost in the beginning."

"That why you had me running around working out deals with all the mines on the planet?" Sylvies asked, beginning to put the pieces together. "So that we had a steady supply chain that wouldn't be easily broken?"

"I've seen what happens when you become reliant on 'on demand' supply chains," Edmund replied. "Trust me, it's better to have extra in stock for a surge."

"I do trust you," Sylvie sighed. "It just feels like we're moving so fast and slow at the same time."

"That's business for you," Edmund chuckled. We're going to be entering that slow phase while we get everyone trained on the factory."

"We're going to have to tool everything for the Mackies you want to produce," Sylvie added. "I don't know what it's going to take to do that."

"Surprisingly, not all that much," Edmund replied. "Originally, battlemechs were made using industrialmech factories. Starting with that as a base, while using modern weapons, armor, and fusion engines will allow us to kinda blend the old version with the new. It won't be quite as good as the original, but it'll be close, and for a lot of mercs and militia units."

"It'll be more than enough," Sylvie nodded, understanding what he was trying to say. "So, I know you've got plenty of plans and numbers rolling around in that head of yours regarding all this. How long will it take, and how much money would we burn to just fully convert it to a battlemech factory to begin with?"

"It's not exactly a hard process, it's just long," the redhead shrugged. "The money burn is that we wouldn't be making any money in the process until we were back online. That, and we're going to be building a few industrialmechs to help out around here and get a feel for exactly how the factory works. Every place has its quirks and one-off problems. We need to figure hers out before we make too many changes."

---

Date: November 15, 3026
Location: Moscow, Terra III

"Well, my friends, it seems that Comstar has approached us with a possible licensing issue," Dimitry Vorobev said to what was left of the board of Skobel Mechworks. "A new startup has begun advertising their intent to begin manufacturing a variant of the Mackie within the Free Worlds League. What do we wish to do with this information?"

"Well, we are not currently doing more than manufacturing a handful of spare parts and weapons systems that are mounted on other company's designs," Veronika Tarasov commented. "It is also not a design we have manufactured since the end of the Reunification War. I do not see this as a threat so long as they are not besmirching our name with subpar quality."

"If I may," James Hitchcock, Skobel's Chief Financial Officer said. "Comstar has long used our lack of capital and assets outside of Terra to force us to remain in the rut that was dug for us after the Amaris Coup and fall of the Star League. Our facilities on Caph, New Earth, Thorin and Outreach have long since been destroyed, and yet we have languished, no effort made to rebuild them or to do more than sit here and let the Ministry of Communications dictate to us what we can and cannot do. I move that we not only allow this new manufacturer to bring new Mackies onto the field. But that we provide assistance to them."

"While I agree with you in principle," a board member said, "I am not certain that our agreement would sway Comstar's blockade on sharing of technology."

"Then we do not share technology," Veronika had latched onto the idea raised by James. "We begin by sharing expertise in our local industrialmech factories. We just also happen to provide them with some extra training in our other technologies."

"How would this benefit us?" Dimitry asked. "I see how it would benefit this startup. But it would not allow Skobel to expand, not as you have presented the idea."

"In this case, I believe we can utilize Comstar as an aid," James commented. "We will approach this new manufacturer with a deal to partner in building more industrialmechs. In a few years time, we will change operations to begin shifting to other avenues."

"If we do this, I believe we should also look into refurbishing or rebuilding other defunct, damaged and destroyed facilities," Dimitry sighed. "I will sign off on this, but as a requirement, we will also begin making plans to restore our New Earth facilities."

"I'll work with Veronika and have a one year, five year, and ten year plan drawn up for you, sir," James nodded at Dimitry. "Until then, I believe we should give a response to Comstar."

"Indeed," Dimitry nodded. "We will tell them that the Mackie is old technology, not worth getting into patent and licensing disputes over for mere pennies. I will also direct them to send a letter congratulating this," He glanced down at the information he'd been given. "Siler's Salvage and and Assembly on their willingness to restore an aging design to prominence once again."

"Sir," A board member interrupted. "I've been examining the business plans put forth by this new startup, and I believe there is another way we can profit from this."

"And what might that be?" Veronika arched an eyebrow.

"Using this launch as a base, we can begin selling merchandise like we used to. Reminding people that Skobel exists outside of Terra and that we are present. Generating positive PR in the process while we prepare to expand. Sure, it's not a ton of extra money that we will rake in. But when there is a Mackie plush with the Skobel name in every child's bed, we will be remembered."

"It would also allow us to reactivate some of the old factories," Dimitry mused. "Allowing us to hire more personnel and write them off on our taxes. Even moreso if said merchandise is sold at a loss. Yakim, as you have brought this up, you will head that project and bring it to fruition. I want to see plans on my desk by next Monday, as for the rest of you. Begin slowly bringing our factories back online. Full production would see Comstar's eyes pointed at us. But if we were simply teaching people how to operate an industrialmech line by making more weapons for their stockpiles then they could be persuaded to look the other way."

"Now, we have work to do."

–
–
Date: November 28, 3026

"Primus, it seems Skobel Mechworks is seeking permission to expand outside of Terra," Tojo Jarlath handed the report to the head of Comstar.

"Do they now?" Tiepolo asked, reseating his glasses as he perused the report. "Most interesting. They've not attempted to do anything like this in nearly a hundred years."

"Yes," Tojo nodded. "It seems when we brought their attention to the new Mackie being built in the Free Worlds League, that their attention was brought there."

"Hmm," Tiepolo mused. "Seeking to build an industrialmech and mining facility in the Free Worlds League in combination with this startup. I assume you have people ready to begin infiltration?"

"If we allow them to proceed with this, then we have agents in place to work in Skobel and report back to us," Tojo replied. "While I understand the desire to maintain control of all of Terra's companies, there is something to be said for them going stagnant in the last few hundred years. Skobel has been locked while we have allowed the New Earth Trading Company and others to manufacture and sell weapons of war to the various Successor States."

"You believe this will serve as an outlet," Tiepolo concluded. "I am hesitant to agree, but if you believe you can get your agents placed properly, then I will bring this up to the First Circuit and see what it is that they think."

"What of this new company?" Tiepolo asked. "Do we have agents embedded within?"

"Not as of yet," Tojo shook his head. "It is one of the targets for infiltration. They are beginning to hire many people, and it is likely we can slip in one or two among the new hires."

"It is rare that we have someone new enter the cutthroat games that the industrial giants of the Inner Sphere play," the Primus allowed a toothy grin to line his face. "Let's see if this newcomer has the ability to swim with the sharks, or if they will drown like all the others."

Author's Note: This one feels off. I can't put my finger on it, but I don't like this chapter. It's probably going to get a rewrite.

 

[bertable]

This seems like the caliber of issue that a mid level ROM manager would deal with, rather than the primus. Also using Comstar as an intermediary while trying to get one over on them seems overly optimistic for the board of a downtrodden company.

 

[Gear]

This seems like the caliber of issue that a mid level ROM manager would deal with, rather than the primus. Also using Comstar as an intermediary while trying to get one over on them seems overly optimistic for the board of a downtrodden company.

Click to shrink...

I mean, the Mackie is an assault mech.

 

[The Chosen One of Arroyo]

And you have to consider the cluster fuck that is the succession war, which pretty much practically destroyed most of humanity industrial base.
So a startup that try to reindutrialized can brought attention.

 

[Sogen]

I mean, the Mackie is an assault mech.

Click to shrink...

Basically an assault in name only if you go by it's older configurations, but if you upgrade it to something like the Mackie 9H, it should be able to slug it out with more modern machines.

 

[bertable]

And you have to consider the cluster fuck that is the succession war, which pretty much practically destroyed most of humanity industrial base.
So a startup that try to reindutrialized can brought attention.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, but this is a underfunded initial phase startup. They are probably years away from mass production. You know what happens with most of companies in that position? They go under even without any hostile action. When you add in the fact that corporate and state sponsored espionage and sabotage are an accepted fact of life in BT it's way too early to be bothering the big boss about something like this.

 

[MarkWarrior]

Yeah, but this is a underfunded initial phase startup. They are probably years away from mass production. You know what happens with most of companies in that position? They go under even without any hostile action. When you add in the fact that corporate and state sponsored espionage and sabotage are an accepted fact of life in BT it's way too early to be bothering the big boss about something like this.

Click to shrink...

They're not doing it because of the startup. They're doing it because Skobel is a Big Deal(TM)

 

[bertable]

They're not doing it because of the startup. They're doing it because Skobel is a Big Deal(TM)

Click to shrink...

I guess I don't really see it. As you said in the chapter, Skobel, at this point has one factory producing spare parts. Maybe they have enormous cash reserves, but they are very unlikely to have manufacturing talent and institutional knowledge after hundreds of years of not using it. I suppose they might still have manufacturing data on lostech, but I kind of doubt ROM would let anyone not totally beholden to Comstar keep it.

 

[Rustic]

They're not doing it because of the startup. They're doing it because Skobel is a Big Deal(TM)

Click to shrink...

I more impressed the company is still limping along. Solvent and with enough cash to start projects

 

[Baldrick the Wise]

They sold bunch of refurbished mechs and vehicles so they are very solvent,though for the factory project they had to take government loans.