Interlude – Post Operation Blue PaladinThe unit arrived on Outreach on the 28th of April. Recruiting along the way had netted the unit a veteran ‘Mech pilot for the Warhammer and a Green AeroSpace pilot for the Sparrowhawk.
Once on Outreach, Albus extended an opportunity to retire from the unit to everyone involved. The Iron Brotherhood had fought two campaigns over the last year (and a bit), and he wanted to allow those who were done with the lifestyle a chance to leave at an opportune moment.
In the end, the only person to take the bonus and retire was, ironically, the newly recruited ‘Mech pilot. Taking his 150,000 C-Bill bonus, he gleefully let slip at a nearby bar that he wasn’t actually a mech pilot at all, but an astech who had stolen the dossier from a pilot who had died in his last command. Billy Kaine, drinking nearby, listened with great interest before making a call to Albus. Kincaide quietly arranged a hit on the fraud. While it cost the unit 15k, it recovered the healthy bonus the man had taken.
Luckily, another pilot was swiftly found and carefully vetted. Baira Meenakshisundaram possessed a mouthful of a last name and was a specialist with PPCs. While he might be best set in an Awesome, the Warhammer was also a solid position for him.
After dealing with what they managed to recruit on the way in, the officers settled in for a meeting about the unit’s status and future.
The Iron VanguardCaptain Susanna Nova reported that with the recruitment of Corporal Baira, their ‘Mech company was now at full strength. 10 of the 12 ‘Mechs were assigned to their permanent homes, while their Green members were 15 to 16 weeks of training away from graduating to Regular skill levels.
The unit’s average skill level is Regular, though Lieutenant Billy Kaine and Sergeant Matt Fischer were getting close to graduating to Elite skill levels.
Their tech support was adequate, with one veteran and five regular ‘Mech techs. They could use one or two more ‘Techs to spread the work load more during high intensity operations.
The Iron ShieldCaptain Seija Hovi reported that Hovi’s Hailstorm is at 92% of full strength. The Jump Infantry was still waiting on fully trained recruits from the training command.
The unit’s average skill level is Regular, with some training opportunities for the crew of the Partisan and among the infantry.
Their tech support was excellent, with one veteran and five regular Mechanics.
The Iron WingsCommander Ichiro Kobayashi reported that the Iron Wings were at 100% of full strength, but proposed expanding their flights to 3-fighter units, the same as they’ve faced in both previous campaigns. It would mean purchasing two new fighters and finding pilots for them, however.
The unit’s average skill level is Regular, with the new pilot requiring around 13 weeks of training before becoming Regular skill level.
Their tech support is adequate, with one Veteran and one regular AeroSpace Tech. That said, it is not enough for expanding their AeroSpace forces, so the first step will be acquiring at least one more ‘Tech.
The Iron ShadowsWithout a direct commanding officer, Albus took over the summary for this unit. While the Special Forces unit performed well, the artillery battery idea is not tenable with infantry forces. Since each member of the infantry unit must be trained for artillery operations, 28 members per infantry artillery unit have to go through months of training.
Albus proposed selling the sniper artillery piece and replacing the unit with vehicle-based artillery. They already had one Thumper Artillery Vehicle in their possession and had previously seen even Long Tom artillery vehicles for sale, though they hadn’t had the money at the time to purchase one.
Training a much smaller vehicle gunnery crew for artillery work would be far simpler, and the unit would be far more mobile, able to support forward raiding attacks.
Training CommandLieutenant JG Alex Yi reported that the training command was starting to wind down their process. With much of the unit now Regular ranked in skill, once the current batch of trainees were done, he expected that a separate command would no longer be necessary.
Once that was true, Albus planned to move Alex Yi’s forces to the Special Forces and place Lieutenant Yi in charge of the Iron Shadows.
AdministrationAlbus reported that the administration team for the unit was 75% complete, lacking only a dedicated HR administrator. Their average skill was Veteran.
FinancialThe unit has no debts, and 35.8M C-Bills in the bank. Selling the Sniper artillery piece would net 2.1M C-Bills extra.
ExpansionAlbus has no plans to expand the unit, beyond reconfiguring the artillery battery to use vehicles and expanding the two present AeroSpace flights. One common complaint was that the unit was too large for how new it was, and without established traditions, there was a lack of unity. Albus was surprised that only one person had chosen to retire from the unit and seek their fortunes elsewhere.
TransportBecause of the unit’s organization, transportation was difficult. There was no current design that could transport all of the unit’s assets on one DropShip.
After some research, the smallest possible DropShip flotilla would consist of an Overlord with a Combined Arms configuration and an Intruder to carry their infantry forces. However, the cost of purchasing an Overlord is in the range of 350m C-Bills, so it would be a long-term goal for the unit.
Legal IssuesMcCarron’s Armored Cavalry attempted to bring war crimes charges against the Iron Brotherhood with the Mercenary Review Board. However, after review of the unit’s fair treatment of prisoners, the charges were dismissed, though the Iron Brotherhood was warned that consistent violation of the rules of warfare would carry penalties.
This did not prevent House Liao from blacklisting the Iron Brotherhood, however. They could expect no contracts with them, and McCarron’s Armored Cavalry wouldn’t forget their grudge, either. If they ended up fighting again, they could expect fiercer resistance that normal.
Future PlansAs a result of the meeting, the following plans were put in place:
1. Seek more qualified ‘Mech and Aerospace techs
2. Sell the Sniper artillery piece and start searching for more vehicles to form a vehicle-based artillery battery
3. Find more qualified pilots and purchase additional light and medium AeroSpace fighters.
4. Implement a shares system to improve retention and morale
5. Seek a fourth administrator.
The shares system was greeted with great enthusiasm by the Iron Brotherhood. The crew of the Sniper artillery piece were resigned as Albus fired them, though given most of them had come to the unit as green troopers, they now had a marketable if not fully trained skill as artillery operators.
Albus did save out three soldiers who had learned enough to operate as vehicle gunners. He hired a driver for the Thumper and assigned it to the training command so they could get used to acting as vehicle gunners and finish their retraining on the Thumper’s operation.
Gauss Rifle ammunition wasn’t in supply, but on a high-tech planet like Outreach, Albus was able to commission their forging, as they weren’t exactly the most complex of objects.
Several months passed in training and waiting for contracts. In July, four contracts became available. Garrison Duty for the Federated Commonwealth on the planet Devil’s Rock was potentially profitable but would tie the unit in place for nearly two years.
Instead, a short-term contract reinforcing a FWL assault on the FedCom world of Lipton instead caught Albus’ eye.
The Iron Brotherhood and several other mercenary units were to support an attack by the 5th Free Worlds Legionnaires on the FedCom planet of Lipton. Their allies were green ranked in experience, while the Militia defending Lipton was Regular ranked and decently equipped. What caught Albus’ eye was two things: 80% salvage rights, and 100% battle loss compensation. As long as they recovered their people safely, they could lose the entire unit and be paid fair market price for every machine. Together, it promised a great deal of potential profit.
On the eve of leaving, the unit is ranked as a C grade outfit. They simply need more completed contracts and organic transport to ascend to the next rank.
The Iron Brotherhood reached Lipton on the 26th of July to begin Operation Bronze Eyes.
Nova’s Knights and Kaine’s Kings were assigned to combat operations, while Hovi’s Hailstorm secured the landing site. The Special Forces were on picket duty, and Kobayashi’s Crows flew an air superiority mission.
Sunday was the 1st of August, and Albus got an update on the situation on the ground.
Enemy morale was
High as they pushed back the inexperienced FWL troops. The mercenaries were being thrown into the fight to stiffen the League troops and allow them a chance to recover and resume operations.
The Iron Brotherhood noticed the increased tempo immediately, as Kobayashi’s flight suffered damage in a lopsided dogfight. Both Shilones suffered several hits but managed to escape from the fight without severe damage.
The Special Forces came through, locating a unit of Militia armor and infantry and guiding Kaine’s Kings to reinforce Nova’s Knights against the unit.
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Topic: The Iron Brotherhood - A Battletech/MekHQ Let's Play: Operation Eclipse (Read 42595 times)