Debauchery Worlds 6 (Patreon)

Debauchery Worlds

Chapter 6

-VB-

Alan Marris (the original)

2980.08.02

It was useless.

“The land they gave us is really shit for mining, huh?” DD-5 muttered while looking at the reports from the mining clones. “I guess it was our fault for not asking for a more rugged landscape. But prioritizing access over mineral rights was and still is not wrong.”

A-2 looked at his own reports from DD-5’s left and across from me on the round table.

Yes, we built a round table office.

“Feldspar, quartz, hematite, gibbsite, and … nothing really much else,” A-2 noted. “Iron, maybe bits of gold, maybe bits of aluminum, a lot of silicon that’s gonna need shit ton of processing to be useful… So basically nothing.”

“Yes, just a regular piece of land great to build a compound on but shit for anything else,” I sighed. “And our factories can’t make too much stuff.”

“We could still make chips,” F-7 voiced optimistically. “The locals still need a lot of them, right?”

“Without better equipment and rare earth metals, the chips we make will be of the lowest quality. They will be inferior even compared to the ones we found in the technologically inferior battlemech models.”

“Should we focus on refined metal export then?”

“While we don’t particularly care too much about market prices, I doubt there are a lot of traders who will look to buy from a border world that gets regularly raided. We should still ask Anderson, though. Who knows, maybe the AFFS might need it? If we conform to their mech armor composition, then we can definitely sell it to them.”

“What?! No! We should be keeping them for our own use! Did you forget that this world has little to no industrial output? We’ll be lucky if we can buy locally made radio.”

“That is true.”
“Maybe we should get them to build up, too?”
“Why would they build up when the next raid is going to destroy it all?”

“... But what if we expanded our services? We’re contracted with the AFFS with only one lance of battlemechs. What if we have more mechs, more infantry, and more of everything by the time the current military governorship comes to an end?”

We learned that the process of conquest for the Federated Suns went through phases: the initial conquest and establishment, military governorship, then a transitional phase, and finally the civilian governorship. Military governship was usually headed by the general who was in charge of the conquest or someone else if the needs must or the generals wants a different post. The civilian governorship was headed usually by a noble but not always. Nobles simply made up the majority of the planetary rulers across the Federated Suns but there were a few republics, just the vast majority.

This meant that during the transitional phase, offworld nobles would come in and impose their rule over the admittedly most free citizens of the newly integrated world. This meant that nobles that may or may not be grounded in reality may start to demand things from us.

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to stay here for that long. If that was the case, then we would have to find and move our base, including our newly established factories.

It would be another matter entirely if we were to have a pre-established support base.

Goddamnit, I had to deal with politics after leaving Bet’s shitfest.

This was why this verse was worse than Earth Bet! In the aftermath of the apocalypse of the First and Second Succession Wars, the people of this world was still dicking around with politics domestically and internationally!

Was I wrong because I didn’t understand it as a foreigner or was I right?

Whichever the case, we were here for now and deal with it until we either won or lost. It wasn’t as if they had an Entity hiding in the shadows somewhere, right?

Right.

Back to the discussion at hand…

“What if we just trade a few of the remaining broken mechs for mining rights? Also, we should go out and make surveys, too.”

Everyone turned around to F-7.

“That’s an actual good idea coming from you, F-7.”

“Oh, thanks-. Wait, did you just insult me?”

Everyone ignored F-7.

-VB-

Captain Anderson

2980.08.07

Literal hours after he had received orders to somehow acquire Marris Mercenaries lostech that had some of the engineers and scientists frothing at their mouths, Michael got a call from the mercs in question.

“This is Captain Anderson of the AFFS. Is this Commander Marris?”

“{It is, captain. My company and I have a proposal if you are willing to hear,}” the weirdly robotic if upbeat(?) response came through.

“Alright. What is it that you want?”

“{Mining rights.}”

“... Mining rights.”

“{Yes, mining rights. Is the call breaking up?}”

“No, no. I’m just … surprised.” While Michael knew that there were corporations dedicated to supplying their parent mercenary or House company, those were few and far inbetween. Marris Mercenary Company was less than six months alone, and they were seeking mining rights.

Well, he did see their factory that they somehow set up in their compound.

“{We have a need for raw resources, and currently, there are no mining corporations active on David II or the David system as of the moment for us to purchase raw ores or refined metals from.}”

No, there wouldn’t be. This system was a warzone two and a half months ago. Besides, the main industry on David II prior to their invasion was subsistence agriculture. In fact, this was why the 41st Avalon Hussars needed to get regular shipments of supplies via dropships each month; this world could not even support ten thousand soldiers and their fuel requirements.

Which was, again, why everyone’s eyes were on the Marris Mercenaries. While they, one of the honored regiments of the Federated Suns was struggling with supplies, these mercs that didn’t even exist until recently was building a goddamn fort complete with a factory!

Like… What?!

“{We are willing to trade a few of the still damaged mechs for the mining rights to the system. Currently, we have two Catapults and one Locust available to trade.}”

Michael knew very well that he could make the decision himself. However, where mechs were changing hands, he didn’t want to make hasty decisions simply because mechs were involved.

“... This is kind of over my pay, so I’ll patch you over to the general.”

“{I am willing to wait.}”

-VB-

General Rachael Jamakawa

2980.08.07

Rachael felt a headache building.

“What is even happening?”

The confusion surrounding the mercs was reaching an all time high (and most likely to rise even higher as time marched on). Just like the captain had reported, the mercs wanted mining rights and wanted to trade away two medium mechs and a spare for the rights. Oh, she knew that they would haggle for as much as they could, but even that was a grace as far as she was concerned.

David System was not a wealthy or mineral rich system. In fact, she would go so far as to say that it was a subpar location for any kind of intense manufacturing due to the presence of Draconis Combine just across the border, which would undoubtedly see industrial buildup as a threat.

Strategically speaking, she should be telling them no if only to dissuade the snakes from getting even more interest here. They were already furious at losing this world to the Suns!

But … supplies were kind of tight. Making this worse was another mechwarrior cabal rising up in not-quite-rebellion against the Prince. Worse, this was happening along the rimward worlds along the Draconis March, which was drawing manpower and metal away from the borders, leaving just the bare minimum.

The high command considered David II “safe” because it was guarded by four battalions and a mercenary company with a history (however brief) of taking down disproportionate number of mechs. As such, supplies had been … kind of thin.

Two Catapults and a Locust would go a long way to repair some of their mechs that still needed repairs but couldn’t due to the aforemetioned supply shortage.

She had to say yes if only to improve the combat readiness of the 41st Avalon Hussars.

“Alright, connect them to me, Michael.”

He did, audio-only.

“Commander Marris.”

“{Good morning, General Jamakawa,}” the somewhat monotone, somewhat upbeat commander replied in kind. “{Have you considered our proposal?}”

“I have,” she replied. “But obviously, three mechs, especially damaged mechs, are not worth much in the grand scheme of things. Give me an offer.”

“{It would have to be done in person, general. We performed a number of surveys, so you’ll have to see them yourself.}”

“Surveys?”

“{Yes, for any natural resources. I have to say, the Federated Suns was wise to conquer David II before the Draconis Combine exploited these resources.}”

“... How so?”

“{You don’t know?}”

She loathed to reveal any kind of weakness, especially to mercenaries, but these guys were too odd and didn’t act like regular mercenaries.

“... No.”

“{Ah, I see. I assume you don’t know about the germanium deposit?}”

“What?”

“{I actually think these deposits may be the reason why Polis is built where it is. It is far enough away that any intensive mining won’t damage the civilian population but close enough that transportation for offworld manufacturing will not be an issue at all. Of course, due to the wars…}”

She let the man ramble on.

A germanium deposit?

“And how big is it?” she asked before realizing that she cut him off.

“{Our initial survey thinks there are at least 7 million metric tons of the stuff. Of course, our surveyors are a bit on the cautious side so …}”

“And you would … export the raw ores after you dig them up?”

“{Export the raw ore?}” he sounded confused. Why did he sound confused? “{General, we intend to refine them first.}”

Noise just drowned out. Right, they had a factory. They had a factory they thought was capable of refining germanium to industry standard. A factory that got made in under a week. A factory that has already been repurposing mech parts to make new chassis and more.

And then the headache became a migraine.

She didn’t have a mercenary compound on her planet.

She had a strategically viable factory on her planet.