diff --git a/docs/research/2026-10-18-npc-outfitting-and-quality-cost-prior-art.md b/docs/research/2026-10-18-npc-outfitting-and-quality-cost-prior-art.md
index 9989e4e06..2c3ce5df0 100644
--- a/docs/research/2026-10-18-npc-outfitting-and-quality-cost-prior-art.md
+++ b/docs/research/2026-10-18-npc-outfitting-and-quality-cost-prior-art.md
@@ -116,3 +116,5 @@ All sources accessed 2026-10-18. Facts and evidence only; no recommendation. Mos
 ## Addendum (operator, 2026-10-18): budgets in a value currency
 
 The finding "no checked game prices NPC outfitting against a money budget" is narrower than it reads. Where wargames do budget a force, the budget is usually a combat-value currency kept apart from price: BattleTech's Battle Value (BV) sits beside a unit's C-bill cost, and force building is balanced on BV, not C-bills. Starsector's fleet and deployment points (listed under gaps above) are the same family, as are tabletop points costs. So when outfitters get a budget (ruling aetheria-release:ruling:outfitting-affordability-waits-for-budget), the first question is which currency: money (price follows effective quality) or a combat value derived from stats. Not yet checked against a source: how BV is computed from a unit's stats and gear, and how it diverges from C-bill cost.
+
+Why BV exists, operator's examples (2026-10-18, illustrative): C-bill price tracks what a unit costs to build, not what it does on the field. A swarm of Urbanmechs costs one Atlas; a Hunchback beats a Jagermech that costs about twice as much; a Cicada costs about what a Vindicator does with half the punch. In BattleTech's construction rules engine cost dominates price and scales with rating, so speed is expensive and firepower is cheap. Price and combat value are two functions of the same stats, and their divergence is the bargain a buyer can find. BV itself is context-blind (map, range, pilot) and was revised (BV2), so it is a balance currency, not a truth.