Proud Bull Rising Part 6

2826

Conrad Toyama arrives at in Taurian Space as part of his ComStar recruitment trip. With the population benefitting from the ever increasing fortunes of the Concordat, he finds much less success here than he had in other Periphery stops on his trip so far. His largest success is amongst the newest immigrants but even here the success is muted. The relatively higher education levels leads the average Taurian to see ComStar as a business rather than the religious front that ComStar has moved to.

The Concordat begins a systematic upgrade of the jumpship recharing stations across Taurian space. All star systems are examined and those that already possess rechanging stations are given a thorough repair and upgrade cycle while systems without a recharging station are studied to see if there is heavy enough traffic to require one. This process is expected to take close to fifteen years to complete when including construction time for any stations added. After this project is completed, recharge stations will be added to new worlds as they reach a size or importance to require one. Unfortunately due to the loss of technology and production capability in the Inner Sphere core worlds, only a few of these newly planned recharging stations are built before the ability to construct them is beyond their capability.

The Special Asteroid Support Force that is an elite volunteer force for defending the Hyades Cluster is given its first upgrades in decades. In addition improving and overhauling their XCT Marine Exoskeleton Armor, they're also issued semi-portable heavy lasers to be used as squad based heavy weapons to increase their fire power. They also are given a number of the SLDF laser rifles that were found on Celano to replace their older weapons that are less capable or efficient.

2827

Two production lines begin contruction on Taurus by TTI to build the Maultier Hover Transport. The plant will then expand slightly to provide a steady supply of spare parts for the Maultiers as they go into service with the various infantry units throughout the Concordant. The Quikcell plant on New Vandenburg goes live and production begins to roll out of the factories. In addition to building up militia units and using the Pegasus produced to provide scout formations for various Taurian Defense Force units, the rest of the production is quickly sold to the Outworlds Alliance, small mercenary units in the area, and various neutral worlds near Taurian space. The production is quickly found to be much more reliable than the expected Quikcell offerings.

The Taurian Ministry of Trade and Colonization sends a delegation to the Duchy of Andurien. They're able to sign several trade agreements as the Anduriens seek mechs and combat vehicles to rebuild their forces as well as the raw materials needed for their own industries. The TDF also is able to aquire several wings worth of Stingray F-90 medium aerospace fighters as part of this trade deal. These nimble fighters with their heavy armament quickly become favorites for pilots in the TDF.

The Federated Suns finally notice that the Concordat has been recruiting its citizens from numerous Outback worlds for immigration. Estimating that several hundred thousand have left for Taurian colony worlds from across the width of the Outback regions over the previous years, the Davions issue a formal protest to Protector Artantino about these practices. While she has the Taurian representatives rein in these practices, it never completely stops but merely drops to a less noticeable but tolerable level.