Hartmann's thoughts on the matter
I think that purely based on the numbers, and discounting for a moment the planetary conditions, the best real options are LONGHORN, SOVNYA, and OPAL (sure, the salvage isn't great, but it's going to be mostly Lyran-flagged salvage and they're rolling out a ton of upgraded designs, so 10% of a large number is still meaningful). OPAL also puts us in a much nicer area for future conflicts, and maybe gets us the chance to go bitch-slap some KungsArmé goobers around; it's not like they're actually, like, people. Anyway, CORRAL is Cadre Duty, which would work OK if there are long-term Mech upgrades/repairs which need to be done, but it's a contract type we've mostly avoided.
However, our CO did just get himself invested as a noble by the Capellan Confederation, and they've accepted him as such while being a former Davion, no less. Probably with all the paranoia that a "former Davion war hero being given a position of power in the CapCon" entails. Therefore, I'd probably ignore the numbers and put SOVNYA at the top of the list for two very important reasons:
1) A successful contract for the Cappies would likely make them a bit more comfortable with him, and might even pull the Mask off of his back. It's a "hey look, I can play nice with you" sort of thing, given that the only contracts the Rangers have ever taken involving the CapCon has been against them. And it's a short contract with a short-ish transport time, so we aren't on the hook for all that long. Besides, what's even back in Auriguian Coalition space anyway? They haven't been a functional state in what, 30 years? Best case, it's a couple missions where we poke around against some pirate remnants, get an early Mission Complete since nobody's out there anyway, and head back home.
2) We're ostensibly a cavalry unit. We've spent the last several years functionally performing Planetary Defense contracts. It'd be nice to get back to what we were supposed to be doing when the unit was formed, right? A recon raid is just the thing to shake off our boots and get moving again during missions, instead of standing around attacking or defending a fixed point on somebody's planet.
With those things in mind, I'd put things in this order:
1) SOVNYA
2) LONGHORN
3) OPAL
3.5) CORRAL - replacing OPAL if poeple's Mechs are downchecked for some reason or another and need completion time.