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And Hell Repays

Dreadnought Ravager, Vespucci system
-------1537 hours

A small Kestrel bearing the sigil of the Republica de Malta closed in on the Ravager, sending our friendly IFF signs. Without hesitation, their docking hails were confirmed and authorized, allowing the vessel to dock with the aging warship, the patched and seamed details of the interior showing just how battered the ship has been in its service with the Legion.

As the freighter set down, the cargo bay door opened, revealing an entourage of personnel that could only be described as 'foreign'. Maltesians, the very force that the Commonwealth had been trying to keep out ever since the Lane Hackers kicked back against the Legion so long ago. While the vessel they stood upon may have been born in Cartagena, she was a Legion vessel through and through, and the men and women leaving the Kestrel knew that. Each and every one of them. The privilege of coming aboard was as much an honor as it was a necessity.

As they came off, the cargo bay sealing as the last man departed, the boarders were met by a team of Legion officers, flanked by marines from the ship's reserve. The man at the lead of the Maltesian formation spoke up in recognition, forming a fist and placing it firmly over his sternum.
"Hail, Legionnaire," he said, his voice deep and laced with the typical vocal patterns of a Maltesian. "I am Lieutenant Maroto of the Maltese Armed Forces. It's a pleasure to meet you."
The Legionnaire stared back for a moment, as if contemplating what to say. The man, and indeed the people, infront of him were not just foreigners but Maltesians, the very essence of that which he resented. The very race of people who challenged everything the Commonwealth stood for, the very freedom they were fighting for, the sole being of what it meant to be a Legionnaire. Maroto could see it in his eyes, and yet he did not flinch, knowing the pains that the men and women of his home had inflicted on the man in front of him. The stares kept pushing for a solid thirty seconds before the Legionnaire finally responded, his tone curt, yet non-hostile.
"Maltesian," he said, returning the honored gesture, placing his balled up hand atop his sternum. "Welcome aboard the Ravager. You'll forgive me if I'm not too calm at the moment." His words were calculated, as fit a man of his stature, it seemed. "I am Major Walter Sebbet, second to the commander of this ship. I trust you're here to oversee your end of the Legion's deal with your state."

Maroto gave a single nod in assurance, understanding quickly the man before him. "That we are. I will not lie, Major, as I'm sure you have no tolerance for it, but what our work entails will likely not leave you will the same ship she is now. I understand she is an old vessel, and quite a marvel of engineering that she's been running this long, and I will do what I can within my power to ensure she has the capability to serve the Legion tenfold what she serves now." His words were like honey on a set of spinning gears, deep yet evident with a touch of emotion. He knew as far down as it went that the Ravager was the Legion's pride and joy, the symbol of the Commonwealth's cause and the torch that held the flame they were known for. It was written on the hull, gouged out on a fin of non-important decor armor on the bow of the ship, the motto that each Legionnaire knew well and true. Sebbet could tell he understood, the very slightest of crinks pulling at the slit of his mouth.
"Honeyed words and praises are all well and good, Lieutenant, but they're nothing without action. I hope you Maltesians are versed in your design aesthetic, and are true to your word. The ship's crew have orders to give you as much freedom as you need to oversee this ship's refits." Maroto seemed prepared to respond, but ceased his attempt as the Major cut him off. "Rest assured that not only will the Captain be watching but the Legion's Command staff as well. Treat her well, Lieutenant."

Maroto gave yet another swift, assuring nod in response.
"On our honor, Major. She will breathe again."

Major Sebbet nodded, taking his leave of the Maltesian engineering party along with his entourage. The air of the hangar bay grew calm, as the tension seemed to melt away like butter. Maroto simply turned his head back to his compatriots, smiling a little as he began walking towards the door.
"Let's bring her back, mis amigos."

Dreadnought Ravager, Vespucci system
-------Day 11 - 1244 hours

-----"Adapt where needed.."
It was as simple as that, reworking with what tools they had from the past to rebuild the future. Simple.

-----The refit team had received new faces by the end of the seventh day by request. While the Legion personnel aboard likely weren't too pleased with the overwhelming Maltese blood aboard the ship, to their surprise the northerners were making an unusual amount of progress. It was impressive, to be fair, of the Maltesian's knowledge of the ship, even after she'd been in the Legion's embrace for a decade after being transferred by the 101st. Remarkable in the eyes of those aboard, and unprecedented to those who had rarely if ever had dealings with the Maltese Nation.

-----To their guests, it was but another duty they were meant to attend to. The ship itself, while rough due to the Legion's past needs, kept a certain level of grace to her functionality, surviving legacies of the Maltese engineers who built the ship in the first place.
To the surprise of many of the Maltese who roamed the ship refitting it, certain aspects of their duty had already been completed. Most done by the teams that had worked on the Ravager a year ago, the rest were just bits and pieces of the ship that had yet to succumb to the wear and tear of time.

-----There were aspects of the ship that had been subject to the most wear and tear of time. Key to this was the engineering section, a veritable treasure trove of the patch jobs that the Legion had done to the ship over the years.

While operational, the engine nacells laid dormant, having been inactive for years, a side effect of the Legion's unfortunate original inability to maintain the ship. Maltese engineers were tasked with overseeing this part of the ship, and repairing it back into full functionality. A daunting task, given their place and the age of the vessel, but one that regardless proved possible.

-----The hard part was getting past her age.

Dreadnought Ravager, Vespucci system
-------Day 12

-----When work finally began, the ship itself seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. After a decade of inactivity, a solid ten years without the hand to act, work was beginning on her. The infrastructure set in place a year ago was certainly coming into use, as work slowly began on each coil, each rod, each superconductor as the ship's engine nacell was refitted, reshaped, retooled into order.

-----Applied to the ship with absolute precision, the experience of these engineers was being proven here. While none had ever truly worked on ship of this dimension, the experience with Maltese-based platforms certainly gave them an edge over the Legion, each rivet fastened in with such grace that it was impressive to see after a decade's wait.

-----Tuned, calibrated, and soon enough welded into place, the ship's degraded, neglected, outdated reactor and engine cells were slowly filed out, making way for the new age of engineering potential. What was set in was a sight to behold. The glowing amber waves of the ship's new reactor, powered down for the maintenance, leaving the ship in a state of auxiliary defense.
-----They did say the ship would likely be vulnerable for the duration of the refit.

*click*
-----"All hands, make way for reactor test fire.."
-----Engineering was abuzz once the last of the Maltese engineering team had made their way out of the sealed main sector of the ship's reactor. The work had taken at least a few days, leaving each man and woman still a volatile mess. Reactor fluid, coolant, among other things.. They sure didn't smell well, at least to the rest of the crew.
-----"Reactor isolation complete. Firing in three.. two.. one..!"

-----All eyes were on the anomaly. The activation left many stunned, some with literally zero breath in their lungs, and a great many proud of their accomplishment. The hum rang soundly, the new coils running smoothly, the supercells affording the reactor a very generous heat dispersion bank. In short, it was running, far better than ever before.
-----"Power is clocked at 427.89 yottawatts of energy.. and running stable.. casing looks normal, supercells containing.. I think we have it."
-----One of the engineers looked over the dispersion from the ship's reactor. It truly was a sight to behold, baking out more power than a small star, yet contained within the shell of a small reactor core. Such was among the same technologies that made their way into Maltese warships, and now after a decade in waiting the Ravager was comparable to her sister ships once more.

-----A loud wurr hummed from the reactor as power generation was decreased, the cells running at a far more manageable rate, lights coming back on shipwide as the power distribution systems took control.
-----"I think we've got a winner.." one of the Ensigns said, chuckling.

Dreadnought Ravager, Vespucci system
-------Day 15 - Aft Electronics Rework

-----With the reactor operating at peak efficiency, the next step to tackle was the ship's integrated wiring network. Easily encompassing thousands of miles of electrical wiring, paneling, and other manner of power distribution, the Ravager was by far one of the most sophisticated refits ever done by any Maltese organization. Her age alone, in combination with the unknown schematics of the ship, were enough to make even the most immovable engineer sweat with anxiety. The men and women of Juanira were no exception to this.

-----However, given their recent clash with success at the ship's reactor, and with even more on the line should this endeavor fail, spirits were up. Their jobs were made simpler owing to a quirk of the ship's systems discovered a year ago by the original teams.
-----Due to the ship's extensive career as a guard dog, and thus a lack of heavy use, most circuitry aboard the behemoth was largely intact. While certain sections were certainly more worse for wear than others, the ship remained relatively stable in the department of power distribution, creating a much more manageable task ahead of the engineering team.

-----Primary work began near the aft end, and was expected to continue forward until the very front of the ship had been reworked. In coordination with teams checking the weapons, room-by-room circuits, and other manner of areas of concern, the ship was very slowly proving to be more cooperative to its temporary inhabitants.

-----Engineering cordons were reworked, auxiliary lighting taking over as the work was done augmenting and improving the power distribution systems nearby. Day 15 marked the beginning of official work on the systems, and one by one, each room, each wall, each panel and socket were given the attention that for a decade they'd been deprived of. Finally, after so long under the dust, long lost panels and the ship's status as a guardian, each inch of the thousands of miles of this system were scoured, improved and refurbished to better serve their ultimate master.

-----With the day's completion, a noticeable change could be seen from the exterior, where teams were also hard at work improving the ship's armor. To their surprise during their shifts, lights would flicker, seams bulging light out into the vastness of space. The ship was slowly coming back to life.
-----The aft flight command tower, directly over the engine, lit up like a Christmas tree, shining out like a beacon of light, colored directory lights on the exterior glowing as bright as they had on the day of Ravager's transfer.

-----It was a good day to be an old soldier.
-----A better day to be the Ravager.

Dreadnought Ravager, Vespucci system
-------Day 21 - Midships Electronics Rework

-----The ship was finally beginning to look like she had a decade ago, the hull of the ship showing very visibly where the old armor met the new, the pock marked holes and dents, scrapes and burns slowly being replaced by new, admittedly charmless armor that at least gave the crew aboard a sense of security in the midst of their ship being a sitting duck.

The work was going well, each piece slotted in without much effort, while the inside of the ship was gutted one compartment at a time, rewired, reworked, refitted, and redone. The amount of filament and cabling was truly immense.

Fifty kilometers so far, and they were only halfway finished, roughly. Each extra meter seemed more exhaustive than the last, the distance traveled to simply install all this wiring feeling like a weight on the sheer possibility of this refit.
It wouldn't be easy. Not by a long shot.

However, with each new stretch of wiring, the ship grew significantly more responsive. Opposed to the old, the new was faster, stronger, more reliable, and admittedly rather lustrous. Tests of it even impressed the people installing them.
Regardless, it was the conclusion of the third week of work, and the engineers certainly had progress to show for their efforts. The ship, like with the armor, presented a very noticeable contrast between the old and new. Lights shined brighter the more aft one went, and the nose of the ship was practically black, the only light being that which the suns provided.

Though a light certainly seemed to shine forward.
The light powered by the hundreds of extra kilometers of wiring they'd need.

Dreadnought Ravager, Vespucci system
-------Day 34 - Bow Electronics Rework

-----The work was coming along nicely, though with expected delays. The ship's less tolerable responses to rewiring at the fore end left many of the engineers wounded from a large electrical shock. Minor wounds, but significant enough to leave them off the job for a few days while the plans were rethought.

-----It was impressive, though. Their efforts at fixing this old she-demon were coming together nearly flawlessly, and with the completion of the armor plating on the outside, she was as tough as she had been a decade ago. Even the ship's faithful motto, the same blasted in words of the Legion that had been gauged into her hull were enlightened, shining off as a beacon from the ship.

-----The final lengths of superconductors were strewn across the fore-end of the ship, the final weapon emplacements being connected to the newly revamped reactor core...
-----Tests galore. The system at its finest, and then some.
-----Calibrations, analysis, diagnostics. The whole nine yards. However, she was soon to be done with the painstaking journey to modernity. The new lights, frame, connections, and reactor were what the metaphorical doctor had ordered.
-----A new beast had been revealed.
-----A new Ravager was afoot, and its motto stood firm..

-----Libera te ex Inferis.

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