"Nice to make your acqaintance m'am.", Nate gets to his feet and nods politely to Dr. Ward.  It was one thing taking an atitude with Pagan, quite another with a perfect stranger.

After the two women seated themselves, Nate returns to his seat, adopting a more professional look about himself as he seats himself hand clasp in front of him , he regards Pagan expectantly.

"To start with.  House Davion is pleased with the Eridani performance.
 They understand that holding this planet has cost you dearly in equipment as well as talent."

Nate simply nods his head, it wasnt an assessment he was going to argue with.

"To this end, we have been authorized, to extend the Eridani a garrison contract, with generous terms to allow the Eridani a chance to rebuild their unit, to replace their losses."

Nate nods to this, it seemed like an alright deal on the surface, but a merc unit didnt get rich on garrison work, they got soft.

"During this period, surplus mechs will be made available to the Eridani for purchase.  Well used mechs, to be certain but servicable.  I'm informed that a few new enforcers and valkyries might even find their way into your possession during this time period.  The Eridani will be allowed to recruit from Davion war academies help alleviate their loss in talent.  There is no substitute for an experience mech warrior, but at this time this is the best we can offer on this point."

Nate nods slowly, they were generous terms.

"I'm going to have to have the legal boys at Reigmental take alook at the small print, but i have to admit that these sound like generous terms.", Nate comments waiting for the other shoe to drop.  Was this Doctor the other shoe he wonders.

"I'm sure things will be worked out to your satisfaction.", Pagan comments smoothely.  She glances to one side at her companion, noting Nate's gaze.

"Dr. Ward, has been instrumental, in the design and application of the new Wasp-1ew, and recovery of the LAM project which the House Davion... and the Eridani, have enjoyed here on Hoff.  Most of the prototypes are being used to train the next generation of mech scouts, and LAM pilots.  The few in the Eridani possession may remain there as partial payment of services rendered.  Dr. Ward has made a request of Davion command, and while they are unable to act because of diplomatic reasons... thought the Eridani... freelance mercenaries, might be perfect for her needs..."

'Here we go... the other shoe...', Nate exhales slowly and folded his arms waiting to here what exactly Dr. Ward was going to need, for the Eridani to land the cushy contract being dangled by Pagan.

(to be continued)

The doctor had that intellectual look to her.  The sort that lived their life on the theoretical instead of the dingy dirty truths that was his day in and day out existence.

"I represent a small but affluent peripheral state.
 We are currently suffering raids from a nearby peripheral state.
 House Davion is sympathetic, but, because of diplomatic delicacies is unable to act directly to support us."

Nate points to himself, "That's where we come in, a bunch of money grubbing mercs who dont care for politics?"

Dr. Ward nods slightly, "Not the words i would use, but yes.  House Davion has no official position in this.  I am hoping you would be amiable to taking a new contract."

Nate thought about for a few brief moments, "We just finished defending Hoff, were in no position to take on a new contract, and then theres the small detail of you astute observation.  We are mercs?"

Dr. Ward nods, "I'm sure compensation can be arranged.  I can also offer the sale of a lance of mechs to the Eridani to use."

"A lance of mechs arent going to really be much of a dangle to me at the moment Dr. Ward.  I have a regiment to rebuild."

"Not mechs like these...  They're going to be the next generation in mech designs.  The X-3 Power loaders."

Nate quirks his eyebrow curious. as the good doctor spends the next few minutes outlinging the X-3 mechs.

---

X-3 is the 25 ton 'line' mech with a 4/6/4 movement profile

X-3s is the 20 ton 'ew' mech with a 5/8/5 movement profile

X-3a is the 30 ton assault/command mech with a 5/8/0 movement profile

The new contract will allow for the sale of (1) X-3A (available to characters with a rank of at least corporal), (1) X3-S (available to character with EW skills), and (2) X3s available to any mechwarrior interested.  A 'standard' X3 may be substituted  for a 'A' or 'S' variant.

Mechs will be early omni-ish mechs and use standard and non-standard weapons.  You may, after the Hoff mission, swap your current rides for an X-3 mech or keep your current rides for the next leg of the mission.

It should be noted that 'air' deployments are limited to 30ton mechs.  So heavier mechs in the unit will not be able to be air deployed, which may limit their ability to operate in future missions.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:09, Sat 30 June 2012.

In the days that followed, relief arrived and the bulk of the Eridani's were gearing up to ship out to New Avalon.  A contract was drawn up with Pagans' assistance to detach an Eridani Company to serve out an 'independant' contract with Dr. Ward.

An liason officer would be appointed once the company made planetfall to tend to their logisitical needs, as local support would allow.

The contract called for a company of mechs, with 'some' conventional support.

6th Company was looking pretty ratty after that Combine dustoff mess, but Nate still had faith in the unit.  Nate owed it to the old man to have a little faith in Johan.  This was his chance to organize the unit and make arrangements to his liking to dust off for their next contract.

---

Players may roleplay here.

If not inclined, they may just talk out of character to help organize the unit.

X-3 pilots may speicify 'primary' variants they're going with, and may request alternate equipment.

non X-3 pilots may speicify their expected rides.

Officers can specify what they'd like their lance to size up as.

Nate's put organization into Johan's hands.

We can do it the old way and form up lances again, but that just never seems to 'stick'.  I'm willing to try it again and hope this ones the charm.

It's also been suggested to go with a 'Wing Man' or 'Triad' organization.  I'm good with those too.

Alternately we can go with a 'task force' organization.  We're a single company, and as a task comes up, we form up a 'task force' to go deal with the situation


Currently...
Officers
Captain Johan
1st Lt. Adam
2nd Lt. Omni Liason Officer (TBA)

NCOs
Camille
Devlin

MWs
BJ       ~ Blackjack
Cade     ~ X-3    w/(2) ML and (2) L4s
Svend    ~ X-3ew
Caitlin

This message was last edited by the player at 03:26, Fri 06 July 2012.

"So... Doc... Who do you work for that you need to hire a seasoned veteran unit like the Eridani?", Nate asked curious

"Have you heard of the planet Omni?", Dr. Ward asked cocking her head curious at the Colonol.

"Omni?  You mean like the Fusion Engines?", Nate shrugs taking a shot in the dark.

"Actually.  Yes.  That's one of our designs.  Exported... and licensed, and at times out right pirated illegally but yes Omni.  It's a periphery planet on the other side of the Taurian Concordat.  The Taurian have been looking to form a power base in the periphery and have been pursuing aggressive diplomacy to cohearse planets into their alliance."

"You expect an invasion?", Nate hazards a guess.  A company was alot of mechs for the Periphery.

Dr. Ward's eyes widen and she shakes her head negative quickly several times, "Oh no.  Nothing like that.  Omni has a standing military force... We've been developing... testing... and have limited production of the X-3 Power loader.  We've learned our lesson with the Omni mechs, and production will only be done at home to keep trade secrets... well a secret.  We're hoping to form up a standing military to keep the Taurian influence at bay, allowing them to mercenary out for income, when the cause is right.", Dr. Ward glances at Pegan who nods once.

Nate was no fool, under the table dealings were involved, but what did he really care.  He was a soldier, and his battlefield was cleaner than the cesspool administrators fought on.

Nate glances at Pegan, "If our current employers, endorse ...", Nate's voice drifted off as Pagan shook her head no once.

"If our current employers... do not object...", he tried again waiting for a nod from Pagan before continuing, "I'm sure we can work something out.  If youre supplying new tech to the Federated Suns, the Eridani want a piece of this action."

Dr. Ward nods looking tentative, "I'm sure... something can be worked out."

The trip to Omni was hard on Cade.  He was his worst critic and even Johan's scathing words on his performance paled in comparison to the defamation that was going on in the Rookie's head.  The first battle he was out of position, the second, again out of position, but that was hardly his fault.  He was trying to back up Pong, but that did not go well either.  Pong was dead and unless he was the best shot on the planet, there was nothing that Cade could have done to avert it.

Sleep was hard to find as the sound of an AC20 going off in his dreams constantly woke him up.  Cade found himself in the gym a lot during the early hours of the day.  Either running or lifting weights.  He spent a lot of time in the simulator as well, doing what he can to try to improve his aim.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:09, Thu 12 July 2012.

Most of the Eridani boosted off Hoff, for Avalon, the dropships gathering on Jumpships that would begin the long trek to bring them over to the House Davions capital to serve out a quiet garrison contract, allowing the merc unit to rebuild it's strength after the grueling battle for Hoff.

Quietly among the pomp and circumstance of the moment, a new mercenary unit was formed up known as the 'Wild Stallions'.  Officially listed as a group of 'disgruntled' pilots that were disillusioned with the battle of Hoff were striking out on their own.  Their first contract a little known planet that no one has ever heard of called 'Omni'.

The instructions to Johan were clear.  'Officialy', the Wild Stallions were on their own.  This contract required House Davion not to be involved, which was why it fell to the Eridani.  To further distance the unit from house Davion, a 'new' unit was formed up to suppose the facade.

Unofficially, the Wild Stallions were being detached for a contract while the parent company recovered under the Davion Contract.  Some of 6th Company had decided to stay with the Avalon contract.  Personal friction between Halo and Cowboy had resulted in the request of the transfer of service, along with her sister Holly.  Johan's own senior NCO Crpl. Sforza had requested a similiar transfer of service citing irrconciable differences with the Company CO.

Women were an emotional lot it seemed, and had no stomach for just sucking it up and soldiering down when duty requiered it.  Where was the loyalty?  Where was the comradery code of silence?  Other pilots were being drawn from what was left the of the Eridani.  Johan could only hope for mechwarriors made from sterner stuff.  He was destined for greatness.  He could feel it, and for such greatness he would need men under his command capable of supporting that greatness.

The Eridani Dropship, the OK Corral was being shipped off to Avalon.  As a new merc unit, the Wild Stallions could hardly lay claim to such a resources.  Gone also were the Eridani techs that the unit her grown to rely on.  'Local logistics' were cited to be 'adequete'.  That remained to be seen.  The wild stallions were travelling across the inner sphere now, and through the periphery.  Making port of calls in systems further and further from 'civilization'.  The reletive comfort of the transport liner was a nice change of pace from the spartan travel quarters of a Union dropship.  Sitting in a lounge, Johan regards a data pad with the resources available to the Wild Stallions.



Not even a full company really, though many merc 'companies' were short of the full dozen.  Hauled along parallel with the Transport liner was a Buckaneer Dropship.  On board were several mechs for half the pilots in the unit.  'Arrangements' were made for mechs for the other half of the unit as terms of the contract in play.  It was all very... fishy to Johan, but he had the sense to realize that big things were potentially in play, even if they were from small humble beginnings.


This message was last edited by the GM at 23:50, Thu 12 July 2012.

The unit had stayed together with the reigment till New Avalon, a brief stop over where good byes were made between old comrade, before the Wild Stallion continued on, a few jumps later, the unit would pass through New Sytis, before making the jump into jump points barely known, and rarely used by reputable dropships.

Fares were bought and paid for, and the next few jumps were made in the less accomodating quarters of a Buckaneer dropship.  There werent many passengers going to Omni, though there was a cargo hold of goods, along with the units mechs slated for the green planet out in the middle of no where.

The long Ferro-Concrete strip was paved smoothe, a few bumps from his rough handling of the dropship were all that disturbed an otherwise smoothe landing on Omni's starport.

As ports go, it was small and seemed little used.  A trio of circular pads were along side the long strip supporting the enormous dropships that shipped commerce to and away from the planet.  A pair of Mules currently occupying two of the pads hinted at a healthy trade economy.

Hangers lined the space beside the strip hinted at a notable Aero Space presence. It took more than a few minutes for the Buckaneer to taxi off the strip and into a Hanger large enough to accomodate two such crafts.  The cavernous cargo hold would be unloaded over the next few hours, among the cargo being unloaded were the Wild Stallions mechs.

The enviroment felt much more welcoming than the distant frosty weather of Hoff.  It was humid and warm, though in the shade of the hanger not to the point of uncomfortable.  Among the Wild Stallions, was Dr. Ward, the immediate representative of Omni.

Svend drank deep into his beer as he looked at the photo of his Firestarter. She had carried him into battle for quite a time and had never seemed to let him down. After Hoff, however, it seemed it was time to leave the rugged mech behind. Nearly being cored by a massive AC and then losing a leg at the same time had spelled the end of her time as Svend's ride. He patched her up and left her on Hoff with a young kid looking to break out of the mold.

The thought made Svend smile. He looked at a patch on the leather jacket that bore his entire carrier as a pilot. It was emblazoned with a flaming skull, though the entire thing was nearly faded and extremely dirty from years of wear. It was his first unit, a training lance on his birthworld. He drank again and hoped that this new place would wind up better than the last world they were on. At least it was warm where they were now.

Lt. Evans stood at ease near the ramp of the Buckaneer Dropship.  A Platoon of X-3s were standing by to move in and unload the cargo from the Buckaneer.  The first man Mille caught a glimpse of was chugging down a beer and looked a little pensive... or slow.

She waited a bit longer hoping he was just a crew hand, and not the mercenaries they were waiting for.  Dr. Ward should be with the mercenary Captain, and Lt. Evans was certain that official introductions would be made when she was sighted.

Camille had found herself a seat nearby as well, though in her case it wasn't a beer being downed, but rather a simple sandwich.

she understood his sentiment, her cicada had carried her through many a battle, and now the old girl was gone, in her place some fancy new mech, slower, but better armed and armored.

she'd lost count of how many times she'd shuffled through the manual, in the end she'd found herself asking thanos about the quirks of the ride, he used a similar mech after all.

She looked up at the young woman standing there, looking a little lost.
She sighed, packing away the sandwich... later.
"Can I help you Ma'am?"

Dlin makes his way to the lounge, eager for some refreshing beverage.  He sees Bjorn and Camille already there, alon with some fresh meat.  He makes his way over to Camille's table.

Good day Corporal Storza.  Hear you moved up to a bigger mech.  How you liking that?

He motions for a drink and takes out a cigar.

Adam had heard about the X-3 program and that plus the condition of his Clint at the end of the Hoff campaign had led him to shift his priorities and mech.  He'd spent years learning the ins and outs of that Clint and now he was going to have to do it all over again...and hoped the learning curve wasn't going to be too sharp when it came to dealing with threats at the same time.

Warm as it was he was he was still wearing the longcoat but had his jumpsuit on beneath to keep himself cool.  Kit bag slung over his shoulder he walked down the ramp to get a good look at the world that they were going to be stationed on for the forseeable future.

Omni had the look of Paradise compared to the frosty grey skies of Hoff, the outlook here had a refined modern look to everything.  The skies were blue and clear today and the place had the look of a vacation resort.


Millie being addressed nods curtly to Camille.

"I have orders to report to Dr. Ward for the specifics regarding the liason duties i will be performing for... a mercenary ... unit.", the last few words were said slowly, as if they were distasteful to the woman.  She was dressed in some sort of uniform.  There was a pleasant accent hinted int Millie's voice.  Enough to be interesting, without impeding communication.  Likely it was not her native language.

"I suspect, she should be in the company of the commander of this unit.", Millie tried not to be too judgemental.  Regardless of the recommendations, they looked like a motley bunch.  Allowances had to be made though, they had just made planetfall.

The uniform was blue and white and seemed to be cut from rugged material to allow for modest protection.  It was worn over a slick black snug fitting material that looked a bit like a wet suit.  A single gold triangle with pinned to the collars of her uniform.  A belted sidearm rested on her hip.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:18, Fri 13 July 2012.

Caitlin sat at the base of a wall in the lounge, in shorts and T-shirt running her fingers over the scars on her legs resulting from the most recent fight. She basked in the warmth, happy to be feeling warm again, rather than on the frozen Hell of Hoff. She looked over at the woman. Clearly not impressed by her, she turned back to her bottle of water.

Millie exhales as she waits patiently for someone in command to appear.  As the present Eridani watch, they notice the Power Loaders moving the Buckaneer sifting through and moving cargo out to load on flatbed trucks parked nearby the dropship.

Most of the cargo is heavy industrial equipment, of specific raw materials used for manufacturing.  Freezer units, move out exotic delicacies from the near by planets.

Near at hand a small pile of crates is on a loading palatte waiting for space to be cleared off the Buckaneer so that it might be sent out to do it's circuit for the Buckaneer's next trip.

A simple Mental Roll by Adam, Caitlin, or Svend will have them notice that the Power Loaders resemble the specifications to their new rides.  The conclusion from there would be that they've downgraded their mechs to commercial labor mechs, which would make them a special brand of death trap with their cheaper commercial armor (similiar to vehicle armor and subject to criticals just by being hit) as opposed to military grade armor (normal battlemech armor).

Hearing Dr. Wards name Cowboy headed over to Millicent, "You're right last I heard Dr. Ward is with Captain Hinklemeyer-Schmidt...I'm Lieutenant Adam Carlyle.  You can wait here or if you head on in, they should be down this corridor, past three bulkheads on the left."

Nodding to the Power Loaders doing the work he added, "It's interesting that you've been able to use the existing chassis to suit both combat and commercial use.  Very efficient, though I wuldn't want to be in that version if there was a firefight..."

Devlin downs a shot of whiskey and lights up his cigar. He overhears the pretty young woman officer mention her need ot find thier mighty Captain.

Well, Lootenant, Ma'am, I suspect the best place to look for our Captain ould be as far away from us as he can be and in the cleanest little piece of the base.  On the other hand, our LT is out near the mech bay.  You can't miss him.  Clean cut, handsome feller in a long brown coat. MAtter of fact, here he is.

Devlin motions as Cowboy walks up

Lt. Evans takes a half step back and to the right away from Devlin.  The alcohol reeking about him, reducing her esteem of the mercenary unit another step before even seeing them on the field.

"I see.", she comments guardedly prepared to step back quickly should Devlin look to be in the need to vomit.

Lt. Evans quirks an eyebrow at Adam's comments about the Power Loaders.

"Actually those are X-3s.  A class of cadets are practicing handling drills with them by unloading and loading the transport.  The fine manuevering and handling of freight is a useful exercise for novice pilots.  Once they have master the art of handling their Power Loaders, they are allowed to move on the weapon training exercises."

"I was briefed but seeing in person for the first time is always a different thing.  If you don't mind me asking what's the learning curve for the novice pilots and expected length of time training?  Or are those things that are better discussed in private?" queried Adam since he was curious about how long they were taking to train them to eyeball an abstract point.

"From the pilots point of view.  They handle very much like a standard battlemech.", there was a thoughtful pause as Millicent considered just how much to discuss.

"No.  Dr. Ward said that two pairs were being assigned to your unit for use.
 Partial payment for services rendered were the arrangements, is my understanding.", Millicent gestures absently at a passing X-3 as it loads a hefty looking crate onto a flatbed.

"Extensive thought and research was put into the design of the Power Loader.  It features several advantages over standard battlemech designs.", Millie points out the boxy torso design, similiar to the Crusader or Archer missile bays.

"Those are the shoulder modules.  Weapon modules are designed to be removed and replaced in the span of a hour.  This allow for damaged units to be removed and fresh weapons quickly installed off the rack resulting in minimal down time....", the Omni officer jogs off, redirecting orders to one of the X-3 pilots.  Evidently warning her not to overload the flatbed with cargo.

The flatbeds drive off and four empty ones pull up.  The half dozen X-3s start to manuver huge crates at this time, which contain the mechs that they shipped with them from Hoff.  Each of the flat beds evidently reserved for taking the load of an Eridani Battlemech.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:45, Sat 14 July 2012.

"I'm slated for an X-3c model and I just wanted to be as up to speed as possible so that the transition from the old Clint I used to pilot into this new one is as seamless as possible..." added Adam as she jogged off to direct the loading crew about the Eridani mechs brought from Hoff.

Watching the mechs move he studied their gait and limb gestures.  Even if they were novices it would give him an inking into how the mech would perform and also help him define just how he was going to adjust his tactics to handle the new rides in real combat.

The mechs were small.  There was no denying it.  They were about the size of a Commando, but they had a huskier line back look to them that gave them a rough and tumble look to them.

The mechs were also very STRONG.  Half a dozen X-3s were moving a Blackjack onto a flatbed.  Some quick math distributed through Adams head, and he noted that they were each hauling around seven and a half tons of mass.  Mechs were capable of moving around 10% of their mass.  So... a Commando would manage a load of 2.5.

Something about the 'math' was off to Adam.

"Haul them down to the motor pool.  Get the girls to unpack them, and shake out the mothballs.  They're probably going to be needed soon.", Lt. Evans discusses things with a driver as directions are given and signs off on some paperwork.

"A 'C'?  We dont have many of those around.  You're lucky.  I was offered one, but declined it in favor of the 'EW'.", Millicent stands a little taller, evidently proud of the point that she's managed to land a lighter mech.  There was no paperwork on the EW, aside from it's existance in the manuals provided to the Eridani (since they didnt have one slated for them)

"Only... the best and brightest pilots are offered an 'EW' variant.", Millicient thinks about it briefly.

"It is similiar to the Hoff WSP-1EW?", she offers the highly classified Hoff Mech as an example, which is intersting in of itself that she has knowledge of it's existence.

Svend rolled up next to Adam, the air heavy with the smell of alcohol. He slapped the man on the shoulder and watched the Loaders do their business. "Just checking the new rides, LT? Can't say that they look much heavier than a exosuit. Compact, I guess. Could see myself in one back on Solaris. Thing would get shredded by SRMs. Excited about the punch lance on my ride, though I think a few tweaks could get her off the jerky side and a bit smoother on the throttle. These rookies don't seem to grasp the concept of an smooth ride."

He was rambling, but he didn't care. He knew Adam well enough to not worry about his drinking around the senior mech pilot. He didn't pay much attention to the woman with him. Svend was more interested in getting a hold on his new toy and trying to see if he could put the most out of it on the battlefield.

She gave Devlin a rare smile.
"truth be told, I am not entirely certain.
Let me get back to you on the subject once we've taken it to the lines."

she looked up to see a technician start on painting her house incal onto it, and sighed, she hadn't used one on her cicada, she hadn't had to.

Now she did, just like she'd had to replace her cicada with the slower 'line' mech.
even most of her wardrobe had been changed, less casual clothees, more formal wear, she even had a uniform now.

the range on the blackjack was less, but she suspected it would show it's claws soon enough, and the twin lazars made it a formidable threat.
She hadn't used jump jets since training though, would have to get used to them again now.