Editing BattleTechWiki:Research Desk/Answered Questions

The following are previous (answered) questions that were found on the '''''Research Desk'''''



== The Invidious ==
*After a reread of Operation Excalibur a question came into my head: since McCall had to rent a JumpShip, what happened to Captain Renfred Tor and his [[Invidious (Individual Merchant-class JumpShip)|Invidious]]? (question modified because I found out the rest) --[[User:Dunkelfalke|Dunkelfalke]] 15:56, 4 February 2010 (UTC)
** Please check the [[Invidious (Individual Merchant-class JumpShip)]] article. There seems to be an editorial conflict that they turned into a separate ship. [[User:ClanWolverine101|ClanWolverine101]] ([[User talk:ClanWolverine101|talk]]) 21:22, 14 August 2016 (PDT)

== Worlds Named Fletcher ==
*I'm putting together a new campaign and am setting up some details re: the group's possible first contract- guard duty during the rebuilding of a factory on Fletcher (FWL) version.  Is there any information as to what Free-Flight makes in their orbital facility?  If StarCorps Industries stopped working on the planet (proportedly one of their major manufacturing worlds in the early Successor Wars), are they eyeing the planet and it's rich resources again since they effectively lost the factories on Terra?  Does THIS Fletcher (FWL) even still exist in canon, or it it supposed to be the one in the CC Chaos March?  Am I even asking the question in the right area? HyperionCormyr 
:*There are two worlds named Fletcher, and they're both linked because they were both founded by a House Fletcher. The first is traditionally a Free Worlds League world, near Oriente, and was the first founded - House Fletcher founded the second Fletcher, located in the Capellan Confederation (and later the Terran Hegemony, Chaos March, then Republic of the Sphere) because of the Oriente attacks on the other Fletcher.
:*Fletcher in the Free Worlds League in the Dark Age is home to a branch of Flame Tech and an orbital Free Flight, Ltd facility. According to ''[[objectives: Free Worlds League]]'', the Free Flight, Ltd facility is a massive, pressurised dry dock that the company bought in anticipation of being able to get government contracts associated with WarShips. They didn't, saddling the company with what might've been an expensive white elephant, but when the Jihad led to the majority of the WarShip-capable yards and production facilities getting WOB'd, the Free Flight, Ltd facility survived because it just wasn't important. By the end of the Jihad, it was actually a productive facility for the company - as a JumpShip servicing/maintenance facility. It's still not producing/manufacturing anything, though.
:*The other Fletcher is the former Terran Hegemony world. It was a major industrial world; ''[[Field Manual: Mercenaries (Revised)]]'' describes it as having a number of military production facilities on-world, including production facilities for StarCorps Industries, Caletra Fighters, Yelm Weapons and Flame Tech (confusingly). That Fletcher got ripped up by ''[[Zhanzheng de Guang]]'' fighters and became a mercenary hiring hall during the Chaos March era.
:*According to ''[[Dark Age: Republic Worlds (3130)]]'' the Capellans gained control of the former Hegemony Fletcher system during the First Succession War, but ended up losing the bulk of the military industry on the planet during that war, other than the Flame Tech plant. The planet was largely ignored during the Jihad, and during the Republic years, the former Clan Wolf people who formed a part of the Republic adopted it as their world or one of their worlds; they apparently restored some of the Star League-era production facilities, but to produce civilian tech, not military. Hope that helps! [[User:BrokenMnemonic|BrokenMnemonic]] ([[User talk:BrokenMnemonic|talk]]) 00:33, 9 August 2016 (PDT)
:*As an addendum, StarCorps activities during the Dark Age are a bit murky. There's some detail in ''[[Era Report: 3145]]'' and (I think) ''[[Field Manual: 3145]]'' talking about expansions at various production facilities or new factories being founded, but I can't check easily at the moment, and I've been avoiding updating the StarCorps Industries page because that would be a week-long project on its own. I don't remember anything talking about SI having any particular interest in the ruined facilities on Fletcher, but the ROTS worlds (and former ROTS worlds) are a bit of an information black hole. There was no Objectives entry for the Republic, so we have no real idea what the state of the industries on all of the former protectorate worlds are. There's a little detail on ROTS facilities in ''[[Field Manual: 3085]]'', but not a lot, and the later Dark Age information is pretty spotty - ''Dark Age: Republic Worlds (3130)'' has some interesting information in it, but also contains a number of errors/information conflicts, and was never completed. The 3145 series books don't contain much at all, although the TROs give some insight into what companies are doing. My personal suspicion is that industrial activities inside the former ROTS have been kept deliberately vague, to avoid CGL writers getting hemmed in while trying to deal with all the ClickyTech background details (like RISC tech) whilst also being able to add new production/planets/industries as needed for plots purposes in what's possibly the most active area for campaigning/gaming from 3130-3150. [[User:BrokenMnemonic|BrokenMnemonic]] ([[User talk:BrokenMnemonic|talk]]) 00:49, 9 August 2016 (PDT)
:::Thank you.  This clears up SOME of the confusion.  I will point out that the entry for StarCorps Ind. does not specify WHICH Fletcher, which led to my questions. Though if SCI did have facilities on FWL Fletcher at one point, it would make sense as to why FFLtd wanted to set up a drydock there (ground-based production industries already in place, available resources, a technically apt populace, a LOT of Jumpship traffic, located near a provincial capital, etc.). And the FWL Fletcher entry talks about large mineral deposits in the many mountains, lots of factories that saw increased production during the Clan invasion and fluctuating population levels- leading me to believe that more than a simple Flamer manufacturer was on-planet. (Ultimately, I know, it's my game and I can say what I want, but having all this rich detail is opening my mind to all sorts of plot possibilities I had not initially considered.){{unsigned|HyperionCormyr}}
:::: The StarCorps article does describe Fletcher as "the Terran Hegemony world of Fletcher" - only one of the two Fletchers has ever been a Terran Hegemony world - and the hyperlink for Fletcher takes you to the former Capellan world, not the Free Worlds League one. I'm curious as to how following the link didn't lead to a solution for your confusion? The detail on StarCorps is included in the history of the Capellan world, and the detail I gave you above was gathered by reading the various documents cited within the references for each article. [[User:BrokenMnemonic|BrokenMnemonic]] ([[User talk:BrokenMnemonic|talk]]) 04:41, 9 August 2016 (PDT)
:::::I will totally chalk that one up to my not reading the details as I was already eyeing FWL Fletcher as my plot-planet.  I saw "Fletcher" and went to the search function, rather than the hyper-link.  That being said, I think I now know how I need to proceed with my story.  Just wish I knew what besides Flamers and a not-very-active-drydock FWLF had for industry as it seems like it's a big part of that world's economy.  Thank you for taking the time to help me get it sorted.

== Man-made Geographical Features ==
*Okay, I need a specific, all-encompassing word for things that are man-made, analogous as 'geography' is to nature structures. It has to be able to include cities, parks, nature preserves, memorials, facilities, etc. Purpose: to name a child page for such constructions to sit along side the "Geography of..." articles for planetary locations in system articles. Help?--[[User:Revanche|Revanche]] <sup>([[User_talk:Revanche|talk]]|[[Special:Contributions/Revanche|contribs]])</sup> 13:04, 17 March 2012 (PDT)
**Sounds like you're describing man-made landmarks.  Could go with simply "Landmarks", but I don't think there's a single word in English that covers exclusively man-made landmarks. --[[User:Peregry|Peregry]] 02:13, 30 March 2012 (PDT)
:::'Landmark' is the best candidate yet, Peregry. Maybe it just needs to be understood that it refers to man-made, and is in opposition to 'Geography'. Thanks for the idea.--[[User:Revanche|Revanche]] <sup>([[User_talk:Revanche|talk]]|[[Special:Contributions/Revanche|contribs]])</sup> 08:13, 30 March 2012 (PDT)
:::*Perhaps "infrastructure" or "developments" would be appropriate.

== Ragnar Magnusson Fiction ==
*Where can the original source material for Ragnar Magnusson's trial for a Ghost Bear ship's contents, and his subsequent capture, be found? The original question can be found [[Talk:Ragnar Magnusson|here]]. Thank you. --[[Special:Contributions/138.162.0.46|138.162.0.46]] 15:42, 21 August 2009 (UTC)
:Try ''[[Field Manual: Warden Clans]]'', in that first story in the front of the book. --[[Special:Contributions/138.162.0.42|138.162.0.42]] 18:58, 21 August 2009 (UTC)
::The specific piece of text the person was looking comes from Field Manual: Warden Clans pg 154 - Wardens of the Inner Sphere section of the Clan Wolf in Exile write-up. [[User:Cyc|Cyc]] 22:25, 21 August 2009 (UTC)

== Summoner/Thunderbolt ==
*Is the [[Summoner]] an OmniMech version of the [[Thunderbolt]]? --[[User:Dunkelfalke|Dunkelfalke]] 19:24, 10 September 2009 (UTC)
:No It is based on an earlier Clan design, the [[Thresher]]. --[[User:Dmon|Dmon]] 21:19, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

== Brian Cameron ==
*Wolf's Dragoons Brian Cameron, what Hellbringer (Loki) configuration did he pilot? ---natercop
:Unknown. In the the lake ambush scene in Wolf Pack, his Hellbringer uses jump jets and two "big" lasers after clearing his arms from the water. No other types of weapons are used by Brian throughout the book. It is also stated that his Loki has advanced communications equipment. I would say it is a Hellbringer A if it weren't for the jumpjets and comm equipment. The other canon variants use tech that were not used in the time period in which the novel took place. [[User:Ulric Katarn|Ulric Katarn]] 16:49, 1 July 2011 (UTC)

== Black Lion Ghost Sightings ==
*Can someone give me some details about a Black Lion (starship) which was seen near Merope? When was this? Who saw it? Where did it go? Please give me the proper source (book and pagenumber) [[Special:Contributions/213.58.136.5|213.58.136.5]] 22:29, 21 August 2009 (UTC) PS: one could write an article about this incident.
:That's the Tripitz. Per Comstar SB pg46: In 2979, ROM found out that the Taurian Concordat had stumbled over the abandoned Tripitz in a routine patrol of an empty star system "near New Vandenburg." The Tripitz was probably abandoned during the Amaris Crisis. The Taurians naturally hoped to recover it. The Capellans also learned of the Tripitz via their Maskirovka. Comstar sent in its then-dinky militia (First division of the "Comstar Guards and Militia") to destroy the Tripitz, since the Tripitz represented a balance-changing high-tech unit in the 3rd Succession War. The Comstar units were painted white to hide their identities, hence the "White Wings" legend. The Taurians fought the unidentified white aerospace fighters, but the Comstar Star League technology prevailed despite a lack of combat experience. Comstar won with only 3 losses; it recovered its losses (to hide the evidence) and set about destroying the Tripitz. The Taurian recovery crew were left as witnesses to the whole event. Until the secularization of Comstar in the 3050s, the Inner Sphere thought that the White Wings were elements of Kerensky's Exodus Fleet - no one suspected Comstar. --[[User:Cray|Cray]] 12:14, 24 August 2009 (UTC)

::I have read the article [[Tripitz Affair]] and I'm pretty sure that these were two separate incidents. [[Merope]] and [[New Vanderburg]] are pretty far away from each other (besides being two different star systems). I have found this [[http://www.minnesotatribe.com/mthistory.shtml#map page]] in the web but I'm not sure about its accuracy. The dates of Merope and New Vandenburg are unclear (that's why I'm asking) and the label on New Vanderburg mentions "Aerospace fighter escorting 20 transports" and doesn't speak of the Tripitiz recovery at all. 

::It could be be a simple mixup by part of the author or New Vandenburg truly had '''two''' separate incidents; first the escorted transports pass and later the recovery attempt of the Tirpitz which was denied by ComStar. [[Special:Contributions/77.54.194.181|77.54.194.181]] 15:21, 24 August 2009 (UTC)

::I won't speculate upon the desertion and disappearance of the [[Clinton Cutthroats]] in the planet [[Verlo]] in [[2870]] because of unknown forces. I just wish to point out that these unknown forces had '''4 jumpships and 7 droopships''', all unmarked and in pristine conditions. This speaks of lots of resources (could be ComStar, another House, a major Periphery power, or you-know-who) and to keep this whole affair secret one has to have the loyalty of the crews (or ruthlessness to kill them all afterwards, but that's nonsense because trained crews are extremely expensive and valuable).
 
::But hear this: in [[2970]] the entire Home Guard militia Battalion of [[Xieng Khouang]] ('''right next door''') was massacred by unknown forces. House Liao suspects that it was House Davion, but that's nonsense (if they had done it they would be bragging loudly about it). "Yea we destroyed these Liao pussy's. They never saw it coming." I mean why would Davion forces keep a victory secret?

::The two incidents could be unrelated to each other (100 years between them) but who knows.... [[Special:Contributions/77.54.194.181|77.54.194.181]] 15:21, 24 August 2009 (UTC)
: According to [[Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents]] (Page 114 left side IIRC) Clinton Cutthroats were recruited by [[ComStar]] and their descendants still guard the hidden five. --[[User:Dunkelfalke|Dunkelfalke]] 16:02, 4 February 2010 (UTC)

==Listing of major mech factories and parts manufacturers==
*Do you have a list of all the major mech factories and parts manufacturers?
**The closest thing I could find was [[:Category:Manufacturing Centers]]; I hope that that helps. -[[User:BobTheZombie|BobTheZombie]] ([[User talk:BobTheZombie|talk]]) 19:14, 2 December 2015 (PST)
[[User:HyperionCormyr|HyperionCormyr]] ([[User talk:HyperionCormyr|talk]])I just put together a listing of all the FWL Mech producers and the planets they manufacture on.  Not sure that will help or not. *Related note- Scarborough Manufacturing in the Capellan Confederation has one listed manufacturing facility, and it's in the Draconis Combine...
:I'm having trouble verifying your comment from the detail you've given - can you clarify where Scarborough Manufacturing is described or listed as a Capellan Confederation-based company please? Because the pages all seem to indicate it's a Draconis Combine-based armoured vehicle manufacturer. [[User:BrokenMnemonic|BrokenMnemonic]] ([[User talk:BrokenMnemonic|talk]]) 00:02, 16 August 2016 (PDT)
::Sure.  The page for the Capellan planet "Scarborough" [http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Scarborough] lists as the only manufacturing center on planet is "Scarborough Limited"[http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Scarborough_Limited].  Following that hyperlink leads me to the Scarborough Limited page , where the only manufacturing planet is listed as Al Na'ir[http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Al_Na%27ir], which is a planet in the Draconis Combine.[[User:HyperionCormyr|HyperionCormyr]] ([[User talk:HyperionCormyr|talk]])
:::Ah, I see. I did a little investigating into the history of the [[Scarborough]] article, and it looks as if Scarborough Limited was added to the article as a manufacturing center by some kind of auto-generation routine run by Nic when he first set up the planet articles on the wiki back in 2006. From what I know of the process (it was well before my time) it drew heavily on the data recorded and used by one of the fan-based Inner Sphere cartography sites, and over the years, a fair number of errors in that original data have been picked up and fixed as they're found. I noticed that the Scarborough Limited entry in the Scarborough article didn't have a citation next to it - that's often a sign that something needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Thanks for flagging the error up - I've stripped the mention of Scarborough Limited out of the article as it's clearly not a presence on the Capellan world, and never has been. [[User:BrokenMnemonic|BrokenMnemonic]] ([[User talk:BrokenMnemonic|talk]]) 00:34, 17 August 2016 (PDT)
::::Going to need to update some articles it seems. Handbook: House Marik touches upon Scarborough Manufacturing (destroyed First Succession War) and the modern [[Scarborough Licensing PLC]] that operates on the world prior to the Jihad, and its links to the Combine company. TRO:3026 and 3039 have it as Scarborough Limited, Handbook: House Kurita insists the Combine company is called Scarborough Manufacturing, while Objective Raids and Objectives: Draconis Combine call it Scarborough Manufacturers.[[User:Cyc|Cyc]] ([[User talk:Cyc|talk]]) 04:04, 17 August 2016 (PDT)
:::::Not complicated at all, then! [[User:BrokenMnemonic|BrokenMnemonic]] ([[User talk:BrokenMnemonic|talk]]) 04:45, 17 August 2016 (PDT)
::::::And who's to say that all three didn't/don't exist as separate entities?  After all, we are talking about several trillion plus people spread out over vast interstellar distances.  I would imagine that the likelihood of similar names cropping up over and over is very likely.  Or that the company changed it's name occasionally.[[User:HyperionCormyr|HyperionCormyr]] ([[User talk:HyperionCormyr|talk]]
:::::::You might perhaps want to move this discussion to a Scarborough Manufacturing talk page. [[User:Frabby|Frabby]] ([[User talk:Frabby|talk]]) 01:09, 18 August 2016 (PDT)

==Does the Marian Hegemony have an intelligence branch?==
Does the [[Marian Hegemony]] have an intelligence branch? I can't seem to locate it. I was planning to add pictures to it that are already on Sarna, but I can't find what it's called. -[[User:BobTheZombie|BobTheZombie]] ([[User talk:BobTheZombie|talk]]) 20:32, 12 October 2013 (PDT)
:Isn't that the [[Ordo Vigilis]]?[[User:HyperionCormyr|HyperionCormyr]] ([[User talk:HyperionCormyr|talk]])

==Is the [[Summoner_(Thor)]] indeed the tallest ever built 'Mech?==
Is the [[Summoner_(Thor)]] indeed the tallest ever built 'Mech? If yes, how tall is it actually, resp. where can I find this information? If no, which 'Mech instead can be considered the tallest? (The Battlemaster by chance as mentioned in the old TRO 3025?)
::Unfortunately, I don't think you're going to get a definitive answer. Unlike weight, the height of 'Mechs isn't something consistently recorded or reported anywhere in canon. The best answer I can give you is that the general convention is that the heavier the weight of a 'Mech, the larger that 'Mech is (the third Gray Death Legion references Star League 'Mechs in storage, with smaller, lighter 'Mechs on the outside of a square or block, and 'Mechs getting larger and heavier closer to the center of the formation, with Assault 'Mechs towering over the others in the middle of the formation). On that basis, the largest 'Mech is probably one of the [[:Category:Superheavy_BattleMechs|Superheavy BattleMechs]] introduced in the Dark Age and late Jihad. The ''[[Omega (BattleMech)|Omega]]'' is described as standing half as tall again as a ''[[King Crab]]'', for example. [[User:BrokenMnemonic|BrokenMnemonic]] ([[User talk:BrokenMnemonic|talk]]) 03:06, 15 October 2019 (EDT)


[[Category:BattleTechWiki|Research Desk|Answered Questions]]