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Author Topic: How many different kind's of Star League Defense Force Facilities were there  (Read 3144 times)

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Gabriel

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Hi I am just trying to see how mant different types their was.
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Halvagor

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Lots?

No, many.

Practically infinite, really, because it depends on how you want to define "Star League Defense Force Facility."  While major shipyards and Castles Brian are obvious, there were almost certainly dozens of variations of each.  We know there were something like 500 "shipyards" or "naval bases," which could include anything from remote refueling stations with little but fuel tanks and extra ammo to, well, the Titan Yards could arguably be considered a "Star League Defense Force Facility." 

There were doubtless equipment repair depots of all stripes, for all sorts of equipment, ranging from backpacks to battlemechs.  We don't really have any reports that whole worlds were given over to this sort of work, so it's more probable that nearly every world with a Star League garrison had some sort of repair depot on the grounds of the base, or nearby.  Possibly each Corps had its own set of depots for this sort of work, in addition to the maintenance battalions of the various brigades and divisions themselves. 

Then there would be the weapons proving grounds and test facilities; most of these would likely be in the Hegemony itself, to keep the prying eyes of the Houses away from the classified SLDF tech (though a good case could also be made for locating these sorts of bases in the periphery for the same reason). 

Was the astronomy base at Niops a "Star League Defense Force Facility"?  The initial writeups would suggest it was a pure science job, but later descriptions of the station there suggest that they had the plans for the super-secret Nighthawk PA(L) suits, which suggests that the astronomy facility could have been a cover for a SLDF R&D establishment, making it just another type of "Star League Defense Force Facility."

I seriously doubt the number of "types" can be definitively categorized.  Which gives people all sorts of room to dream up their own stuff.
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Gabriel

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Thank you  I was wondering because I was reading the Helm Memory Core page on the Battletech wiki at sarna.net. It states the Helm Memory Core was a Star League Library and it says Star League Library offical designation identification was Star League Field Library,Helm,DE890-2699. What was a Field Library?? Also why was it connected to the Nagayan Mountain Castle Brian???
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Fear is our most powerful weapon and a Heavy Regiment of Von Rohrs Battlemech's is a very close second.-attributed to Kozo Von Rohrs
Will of Iron,Nerves of Steel,Heart of Gold,Balls of Brass... No wonder I set off metal detectors.Death or Compliance now that's not to much to ask for,is it?

Halvagor

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That's one of the problems with the fiction, especially stuff like this from the earliest books.  "Field Library" doesn't make a lot of sense at first glance, unless it was some sort of recreational library for SLDF personnel on a distant station (which Helm may or may not be; YMMV).  On the other hand...the stuff contained in the Helm Memory Core doesn't exactly suggest it was "recreational" data, given all the scientific & medical stuff in it.  If it were designed as a resource for educating SLDF troops in the field, on their off-time (similar to how instructors travel with many US Military units, even on deployment to foreign countries or aboard ship), then one would expect a different name than "field library". 

I'd say this is something to just shrug off and ignore as being before the SLDF and the infrastructure of the Star League were well-formed in the minds of the BT staff.
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"...but if evil men were not now and then slain it would not be a good world for weaponless dreamers."  From Kim, by Rudyard Kipling, 1901

Hammer6R

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In re the Helm Core, as a "Field Library", it seems that it functioned as a kind of 'master backup', likely containing both military field and technical manuals, as well as basic-to-advanced training courses -- I currently have the complete US Navy's NEETS electronics course on my BE-BOOK.

Given the physical description of the Core, it sounds like it's intended to plug into local command centers (like command trucks), and/or be carried to remote maintenance yards and field bases to use in case Techs lose data, or run into something new/unexpected.

I would assume that larger libraries likely included something like VR suites, as well as dead-tree print copies (such as the Galtor cache), and possibly laboratories, if they are connected to educational and/or production facilities.

As to "Star League Defense Force Facilities" in general? Anything and everything...although the bigger facilities would have been long-looted or nuked by 3000AD. In 2800? There are probably quite a few places like Helm floating out there, but there are almost certainly tiny intelligence outposts scattered throughout the worlds of the Major Houses, as well.....
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Ice Hellion

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Helm had a large SLDF arms depot and had been a fleet base.
And for the Memory Core, it was brought there by an officer that wanted to protect knowledge for the future generations (think of Asimov's Foundation).

And Field Library means perhaps that it wasn't in an official library but "on" the field.
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"In turn they tested each Clan namesake
in trial against the Ice Hellion's mettle.
Each chased the Ice Hellion, hunting it down.
All failed to match the predator's speed and grace.
Khan Cage smiled and said, "And that is how we shall be."

The Remembrance (Clan Ice Hellion) Passage 5, Verse 3, Lines 1 - 5

Knightmare

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There's also some liberal use with the word "facility." Facility could have been a generic descriptor for larger, notable "facilities" like Castle Brians, Outpost Castles, etc. But event those number seem fairly low given the width and breadth of the SLDF's dispersion throughout the Inner Sphere and Periphery. So take those numbers with a grain of salt.

As for the Helm Core, data dumps like those are fairly "common" even today. Plenty of industrial and govt. concerns have large, protected, secret info caches hidden for a rainy day, etc. An SLDF Field Library is likely a similar application and ties in well with some of the core tenets of the SLDF and the HAF before it.
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Dragon Cat

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there's a nice list of facility types in the Reunification War
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http://www.ourbattletech.com/forum/dragon-cat-collection/

The original CBT thread
Dragon Cat on CBT


Really, as long as there is an unbroken line of people calling themselves "Clan Nova Cat," it doesn't really matter to me if they're still using Iron Wombs or not. They may be dead as a faction, but as a people they still exist. It's not uncommon in the real world, after all.

Gabriel

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Hi I have a pdf of Era 2750 and on page 58 it states the Forty-Second Engineering Brigade (The Impossible Brigade) constructed the Nagayan Mountain Complex which was the largest munitions dumps ever made and had one of the largest stockpile of tactical nuclear weapons ever collected in one place. WOW
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Fear is our most powerful weapon and a Heavy Regiment of Von Rohrs Battlemech's is a very close second.-attributed to Kozo Von Rohrs
Will of Iron,Nerves of Steel,Heart of Gold,Balls of Brass... No wonder I set off metal detectors.Death or Compliance now that's not to much to ask for,is it?

Ice Hellion

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How long did they take to build it?
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"In turn they tested each Clan namesake
in trial against the Ice Hellion's mettle.
Each chased the Ice Hellion, hunting it down.
All failed to match the predator's speed and grace.
Khan Cage smiled and said, "And that is how we shall be."

The Remembrance (Clan Ice Hellion) Passage 5, Verse 3, Lines 1 - 5

Gabriel

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I have to check but I do not remember if it said how long
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Fear is our most powerful weapon and a Heavy Regiment of Von Rohrs Battlemech's is a very close second.-attributed to Kozo Von Rohrs
Will of Iron,Nerves of Steel,Heart of Gold,Balls of Brass... No wonder I set off metal detectors.Death or Compliance now that's not to much to ask for,is it?
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