October 3rd, 3050, Evening
Outbound Jumpship
Colonel Atayde gathers the commanding officers of the various lances together. Behind him stands the recently recruited Infantry Commander Amy Bray sporting the rank of Major. Noticing some of the surprise reactions he shakes his head slightly to indicate he'll explain and waits for the rest to file in. Once everyone's seated he starts. "First, based on her extensive experience, skill and talent, Amy Bray is brought into the Rangers at the rank of Major. She will be fourth in command," he emphasizes for the other commanders, "and has direct command of all non-Mech, non-Aerospace forces. She has extensive knowledge of strategy and tactics along with her extensive command experience. I strongly recommend getting to know her and picking her brain on topics of interest." He pauses for any questions or objections.
"Now, in hopefully just a few short hours we'll be off Sudaten. While I can hope we'll be able to get away with everyone accounted for, that's not likely to happen," he states. "Under the assumption that we'll get out of here mostly intact I've reviewed the available contracts as well as your input on them. We have accepted contract with the Free Worlds League and will be participating in Operation LIBER. There are a number of reasons I picked this one.
Remus is a death trap waiting to happen. Likewise TEN-GO. Given our general TO&E, we'd be characterized as an independent Hussar unit. That puts us best suited to raiding. HOKUSHIN-RON while it meets that criteria has a non-negotiable House Command. They already treat mercenaries like disposable trash, I'm not putting us through that. Which cuts us down to the two most of you had already identified - LIBER and COMPASS. From a duration perspective, even including transport they're roughly the same. LIBER's longer to get there, COMPASS is three times the length. It ends 2 months sooner, but when we're talking roughly a year and a half, it's not that much different. Given transport, base pay is better for LIBER for less work. Our allies won't have quite as good equipment, but not a significant fall off. There are a couple key differences though. COMPASS is a planetary assault. We just lost a bunch of our heavier units and the bulk of the Rangers aren't geared for stand and deliver. LIBER plays to our strengths. On top of that once this contract is over we're going to need another one. We'll have an easier time picking up a decent contract in the MoC that out in the Circinus Federation. From a visibility and reputation perspective I think it plays better as well. And with any luck, we'll pick up an Overlord as well."
He scans the various commanders for any complaints.
"We certainly took losses on Sudaten, some worse than others. Some have gotten compensation, others have not. Lt. Breisacher," he says, turning to face him, "the Grand Dragon from Unit Reserve is transferred to Crusher. Effective immediately. In addition, I've talked with the remaining members of Dunedain. They are interested in remaining with the Rangers assuming suitable berths can be found and an appropriate bonus negotiated. Crusher may recruit up to two pilots of your choice before I open it up for general recruitment. Additional cash dispersements will be made once I've confirmed finances to compensate for battlefield losses."
As Atayde speaks a corpsman quietly enters and sets out drinks by each officer matching preferences Kato has observed while with the unit. The last two are handed to Col. Atayde and Major Bray and the corpsman exits as quietly as he entered.
"Two more items and then we're done. First, a toast to those we lost on Sudaten and to all the Rangers who've fallen before. May their courage and sacrifice never be forgotten," he intones solemnly raising his glass, then joining the others to take a drink. After a long moment of silence he smiles. "On a happier note, I am pleased to report that Erin Mei is pregnant and due in mid March, and we just found out we're having a boy."
With business taken care of, Atayde officially ends the meeting, but remains to drink and chat with those present.
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OOC: I'm working out XO and 3IC. Chain of command would have needed to be in place before accepting the contract. As such neither Ice nor Deadly's new PCs are eligible for consideration.
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Topic: October 3rd Contract Market (Read 1030 times)