Expédition de Pierrepont-Bertoncello | SACM

[Lanakov]

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MARINE ROYALE GAULOISE

Nouveau message entrant.
Identifiant : Amiral Isabelle Montlaville de Chanteloup
Unité : Etat-major de la Marine Royale Gauloise
Destinataire : SACM, CC all MRG personnel

Sujet : SACM's maiden expedition.

15 mai, 742 A.G.S.
Ile-de-France

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The amiral appears on-screen, with her usual flair.

Mesdames, messieurs,

A few weeks back, I have demanded the creation of the Service astrométrique et cartographique de la Marine. In this time span, this new service has been outfitted with several specialised means at its disposal. The time has come to make use of them. And since SACM has been laden with a ludicrously imposing budget... She sighs irritably. Well, I wish for its first operation to demonstrate some semblance of worth. Therefore, it's going to be an imposing undertaking ; as such, and to avoid losing most of you in the first few minutes, I've made an intellectually unchallenging list. Read it, digest it, volunteer and bring me what I need.

EXPEDITION SUMMARY
Expedition de Pierrepont-Bertoncello will launch from Gallia into the far Omicrons, into Core territory. It will use jump drive technology on both trips and will feature a mixed fleet, lead by battleship Landerneau.

KEY OBJECTIVES
- CARTOGRAPHY : as SACM's debut expedition, de Pierrepont-Bertoncello's primary objective is to gather spatial coordinates of key locations in the Omicrons, namely systems bordering Omicron Delta. Any element of scientific interest will be recorded and brought back for further analysis.
- TRADE : a new trade route has been negociated between the Core and Gallia, owing to our improving relations. de Pierrepont-Bertoncello will feature several transports laden with Molybdenum ore, bound for Alabama Shipyard in Omicron Rho. These will return with Iridium ore, to Fourchambault in Dauphine. This rare material apparently holds great promises according to the shipbuilding sector, and I like great promises.
- EXPERIMENTATION : the MRG has too little experience in regards to jump drive technology. De Pierrepont-Bertoncello constitutes an excellent opportunity to conduct a large-scale exercise in a neutral environment. The resulting experience should be useful in drawing up doctrines relying on this new technology, especially in light of Bretonia's recent, decisive use of it.
- DIPLOMACY : it's been some time since Gallia's last actual encounter with agents of the Core. De Pierrepont-Bertoncello will double as a goodwill tour in the far Omicrons, and to illustrate the MRG's power projection capabilities.

REQUIRED ASSETS
- Valor-class battleship Landerneau will act as de Pierrepont-Bertoncello's flagship and fleet jumper. It will need to undergo a refit on its jump engine (currently mle 3, requires mle 4).
- Any vessel capable of operating a mle 2 hyperspace scanner. Can be the Landerneau.
- The Vache-class transports Marion Dufresne and Dumont d'Urville, the first SACM assets, will form the bulk of de Pierrepont-Bertoncello's cargo capacity. More transports (Vaches, GATs and freighters) can be added depending on attendance and available assets.
- Fighter screen to act as escort. A minimum of three units seems desirable.

LAUNCH DATE
De Pierrepont-Bertoncello is slated to leave Gallia on Saturday the 18th. No definite hour has been decided yet and will need to be adjusted to allow for maximum participation.

TO-DO LIST
- Locate and contract a source of molybdenum ore.
- Refit the Landerneau's jump drive to a mle 4.
- Secure a hyperspace scanner mle 2 and install it onboard any vessel available for the expedition.
- Contact the Core to let them know we're coming.

This concludes the initial briefing for expédition de Pierrepont-Bertoncello. Since Vaillant has been so adamantly noisy about it, I'm leaving him in charge of the logistics. Contre-amiral Guillory will take care of the Core as he's been very succesfully handling our relationship with them so far. Beyond that, every good will is very welcome to lend assistance, either in preparation or in the expedition itself, or both. I will need it to ensure that this imposing undertaking meets the success it deserves. Especially given what it's costing me.

Questions below as usual. Bonne journée.

Chanteloup has already opened a folder on her desk to start working on a different topic when the feed fades.

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If everyone was a bit more like Lanakov, the entire world would be more positive. Including pregnancy tests.