Chapter 24
Date: September 14, 3028
Sylvie wasn't so sure that owing Skobel Mechworks a percentage of every Mackie was really worth it. But, then again, she wasn't a lawyer, and didn't know how the license agreements worked.
However, she did know that having another company offer expertise in building new and fresh battlemech factories wasn't the kind of opportunity that came along very often. Sure, it was going to take five years to get the battlemech factory up and running, but once it was and they had decided on a design, they'd be in better shape than any other smaller manufacturer around.
As far as the rebuilt Phoenix, she'd ended up just talking everyone into sticking with the name the 'mech had always had. Who cared if it was a Rim Worlds Republic Design? A name was a name, and any 'mech was better than no 'mech at all.
Now that they'd worked out the flaws in their original process. Siler's Salvage and Assembly was going to be purchasing yet another aging industrialmech factory from a company gonig bankrupt.
The New Delos Forestry Service had been the only thing keeping the forestrymech manufacturer in business in the area. Then, when the Wolf's Dragoons had set ablaze all of the forests in the Civil War, they'd slowly began spiraling down and out. The manufacturer had first sold off all the assets they'd built up in other areas over the years, desperately trying to stay afloat until they'd eventually just given up. Now their assets were being auctioned off, and Sylvie was finally getting to go offworld with Eddy to inspect the factory to see if it would meet their needs.
"You ready to go see the stars?" Eddy interrupted her contemplation, and Sylvie closed the folder of information they'd obtained regarding the factory they were looking to buy.
"Yeah," Sylvie looked up with a smile. "Gramps took me to Solaris once when I was little, but the only thing I remember from that trip was seeing Gray Noton in action."
"The Legend-Killer Himself?" Eddy asked with a raised eyebrow. "I never got to see any of the matches in person before his death, but I remember the vids. Man, those were some fights to see."
"And people think the Rifleman is a bad 'mech to use," Sylvie gave a wry grin. "I'd say he definitively proved them wrong."
"I wonder if we can talk Edmund and the others into trying to build a version of it," the older engineer and tinkerer commented.
"I don't know how tightly Kallon holds onto that license," Sylvie shrugged. "It might be worth it though. Some tweaks and we might even be able to put your medium blazers on it."
"We'd have to rework a few parts of the design," Eddy stroked his bare chin before reaching into a part of his suitcase and pulling out a notebook. "My blazers mass more than the medium lasers that we already use on the stock Rifleman. And the standard one doesn't have the heat management or spare tonnage to manage everything."
Within a few minutes, Eddy had sketched out a rough, skeletal, Rifleman and labeled the weapons system and weights that were already utilized.
"Now, there was one variant that was made during the Age of War that was a bit different, it used PPCs instead of autocannons and large lasers. I think it was a fifty-five ton instead of the sixty-ton design we have nowadays," Eddy paused. "And I think I remember hearing rumors that Kallon dabbled in a larger, heavier variant, but I was never able to confirm that."
"Well, the Rifleman shares a leg design with the Warhammer and the Longbow," Sylvie commented. "We've still got some scraps of 'mechs lying around the salvage yard. When we get back, we could try to put something together."
"It could be fun," Eddy grinned, the engineer in his mind already turning over how to make such a franken'mech work. "I think that I can talk Edmund into letting us dabble in this. We'll have to source an engine for the uptonned design, and then we'll have to see what mix of weapons will work with the new leg modules."
Eddy had begun writing out a list of things he would need to experiment in that way while muttering to himself.
"The gyro should still be able to handle everything without too many changes. But we'll still have to calibrate everything properly if we want this thing to move without falling over, and if we're going to do this, it should probably have jump jets…"
Sylvie simply shook her head and let the man continue, they were stuck waiting to board the next dropship off Kalidasa anyway, the man might as well have some fun in the meantime.
Date: September 21, 3028
"It's going to take at least six months to a year to train all of the new guys on working the machinery," Billy complained as we sat in a restaurant, each of us enjoying a beer and a steak. "And everyone's already starting to complain about having to pull extra to train them on everything when we don't even have the new factory yet."
"They're going to complain about the extra work regardless," I shrugged. "That's why we gave them such a big pay increase. Grumbling is fine as long as people think they're properly compensated for their hard work. The extra people and shifts we're running mean that we're going to be able to make another six Mackies on top of the fourteen we were already projectred to do. Even with Skobel now taking twelve percent of each design as a payment for the license, we're making a lot of money on this. The militia units around the League are lined up and have prepurchased all of the production for the next two years."
"I suppose it does free up some space for battlemechs that are used on the second-line," Billy acknowledged. "I just know that if this becomes the status quo, then we're going to eventually have people quit despite the pay benefits."
"I'm aware of that," I said after taking a bite of my steak. "It's part of the reason why we hired way more people than we needed to just run the Phoenix and Mackiefactories. Sure, some of them are going to do badly, and we'll have to fire them, or they'll quit because this isn't the right place for them. But, enough will stay on that we can have some gaps and spare knowledge that enables us to ease up on the shift framework a bit."
"I will say that they don't complain about the hours worked," Billy nodded, taking a swig of his beer. "Not after seeing you work longer and harder than they do."
"That's part of the reason I'm willing to do that," I replied. "The other part of it is that I'm a firm believer in traditional leadership. I need to know what's happening on the ground floor, I can't just sit in an office doing paperwork all day, I'll become disconnected from what's happening every day, I won't be able to provide for what all of you need to get the job done," I paused to sip at my own beer. "That, and I don't want to be a stranger in my own company. Sure, we're fast approaching the amount of employees that I won't be able to know everyone. But a part of not just saying that I have an open door policy is being present and available outside of the doors in the first place."
"To change the subject," Billy asked the waitress for another beer. "How long do you think we're going to make these hybrids? Surely we'll eventually want everything to be proper 'mechs and the like."
"I think we'll keep the hybrids and just upgrade them with better tech over time," I replied. "There's always going to be a market for our hybrid tech. It's cheaper, it's almost as effective, and more importantly, it's able to be repaired with pretty much whatever anyone has on hand. Sure, the main military might not be willing to buy them forever. Hell, eventually the militia will probably move on. But there's always going to be nobles and other people who are willing to compromise and buy our stuff because it just works. So, to answer your question fully, we're never getting rid of our hybrid factories once we set up the Phoenix as well. In fact, I think for every standard 'mech we offer, we should also have a hybrid counterpart. It's something that will ensure we have consistent income even if we're prototyping or experimenting with various things."
"We don't have a research and development department, Edmund," Billy reminded me. "We have Eddy who tinkers in his spare time."
"About that," I leaned back. "I know that Eddy's the other factory manager. But you're going to have to find someone else to fill that role. When he gets back, I'm planning on making him the head of a new R&D section directly underneath Sylvie. There's still enough scrap there for them to work with and experiment, and it's close enough for us to prototype whatever it is he'll need."
"I've got a few folks who would make a decent manager," Billy nodded. "It's going to be a bit of a pain to work out, but I think I can manage without him."
"I'll start working on setting up a part of the salvage yard as a lab for him to work out of," I closed my eyes for a moment and dreamed about everything that might come to fruition if things worked out, then opened them and faced reality. "We'll have to talk to Andrew about setting up new facilities on the salvage yard section."
"Sure," Billy sighed. "Now, enough about work. You really met Rebecca randomly when on vacation and that doesn't set off any red flags that she might be working with the Lyran Intelligence Corps or MASK?"
"No?" I raised an eyebrow. "I know that SAFE doesn't exactly have the best reputation, but they cleared her, and I don't think Rebecca's working for any of the other intelligence agencies. That, and it's been over a year. We have a healthy relationship, I can understand being paranoid because of the industry we're in. But there becomes a certain point where we can take it too far. I trust Rebecca, and we heave a healthy relationship. I'm not going to assume the worst of her."
"Fair enough," Billy shrugged, leaning forward and draining the last of his beer. "I've just been in the industry a long time, and espionage isn't something that just stays in the background."
"I think I'll cross that bridge when I get to it," I sighed. "Now, you said something about rewatching an old Solaris championship game?"
"I've got recordings from a good one of last year, I think it'd be fun to sit and see if there's anything we can pick up from the championship 'mechs," Billy replied.
"Works for me," I replied, maybe there'd be something interesting I could pick up on there, after all. My ability didn't seem to care whether it was on a Tri-vid or not.