SWAT Division Additions

[Fifty.]

- So, there has been an agreement and funding will be provided. These are indeed needed. I will set the things in motion, Sir.
The transmission ended and Aryn sighed. His rather big office on Police Plaza was simple and without many personal belongings. He lit a smoke to acompany his coffee and opened the recent reports.

*** 15 days later ***

The ride was enjoyable. Luxury, quiet and fast. Grizzlies are a fine addition. The freighter moored with Norfolk and after the few safety protocols, John quickly got off.
He headed for the conference room, picking up coffee on the way.
" Not as good as Sunbucks", he thought. "It will work too, though."
After some time of going around the station levels, he found himself in front of two heavy doors. "Here we go."
He entered the room and noticed he was alone. "Earlier than anticipated, as always".
He left the coffee on the table and looked through one of the rather large and expensive windows. There was heavy traffic as usual, Liberty was very busy these days. One could see anything - from tourist vessels to large corporation fleets, from simple traffic regulation ships to the vast carriers of the Navy.
- Mr. Aryn? - a voice behind him interrupted his thoughts.
John turned around to see that the first of the members arrived.
- Well met.
After some small talk, and a decent amount of bad coffee, John could finally go to the task at hand.
- As you all know, the Liberty Police Inc. recently ordered, and transferred a deposit, for two of your surplus ships here. I brought some of our pilots, trained in flying a gunboat vessel.
"Only in a simulator, John thought"
- They are to receive some further training today and get familiar with the ships. I believe this is currently being done.
- Your company will be satisfied with the product.
- There is no doubt. After we inspect the ships, we will transfer the outstanding amount.
Information about the deal, contracts, guarantees and many,many papers of documentation followed. John didn't mind all the paper work, he had seen worse in Police Plaza.
At some point, two men in Police uniforms entered and looked around, searching for John.
-Lieutenant. We have inspected the ships, core is working at 100%, weapons are mounted and ready, life support works, and the armour upgrades listed are already done.
- Excellent. The outstanding amount will be transferred shortly.
Documents signed, many,many of them. After all was done, John finally got the chance to personally see the vessels.
"Thick hulls, agility and firepower. Those would be a fine addition to the SWAT fleet.", John thought, while he was admiring the view.
After litres of coffee and a pack of smokes, the convoy could finally leave for Illinois. John was on the command bridge of the gunboat named Atwater.
"Sure feels more secure, but it's definitely not a quiet one."
The vessel was rather noisy and most definitely slower than the Grizzly he came on.

*** 10 days later ***

"The final day of the training. Finally. I'm sick of hearing weapons 24/7"
The two SWAT Gunboats were training combat maneuvers near Police Plaza. John could clearly see them out of his window.
He shook his head and concentrated on the report.
He finished with the words, "Vessels to be dispatched in the heart of Liberty, and remain on standby 24/7."
He then took a look at the ship details he had to forward to the upper levels of the Liberty Police Inc.

1. Atwater, SWAT division, Type-23 Gunboat



Surplus Navy vessel. Crew consisting of trained LPI operatives.
Weaponry: Encrypted.
Armour upgrade: Medium to heavy.


2. Fort Dix, SWAT division, Type-23 Gunboat



Surplus Navy vessel. Crew consisting of trained LPI operatives.
Weaponry: Standard loadout.
Armour upgrade: Medium.

[Fifty.]

- Everything has been delivered, Sir.
-All four of them? , John couldn't believe his ears. Arriving that quickly..
He quickly put off the cigarette and left his office.
- When are they going to be combat-worthy?, he asked the officer tha followed him around.
John stopped. This particular elevator was one of the slowest in the entire Police Plaza.
- Engineers are currently fixing the communication relays and fitting standard equipment. Weapons will be mounted some time later today. Sir.
John nodded and entered the elevator. The trip down to the hangar bay was longer than usual. "Damn maintenance crew. This elevator is slower than a Barge!"
The civilian fighters looked great. All four of them parked close to each other, with dozens of engineers working in, outside, around, on top and below them.
He looked out at the plans and layouts.

1. SWAT RT-1, Raven's Talon Civilian Very Heavy Fighter.
Standard equipment, armed with a cruise disruptor.
Full N25 "Magma Hammer" Liberty Plasma Cannons planned.

2. SWAT RT-2, Raven's Talon Civilian Very Heavy Fighter.
Standard equipment, armed with a cruise disruptor.
CP-l "Debilitator" Civilian Improved Mk II Pulse Cannons and R8-E "Vengeance" Liberty Laser Cannons Mk V planned.

3. SWAT RT-3, Raven's Talon Civilian Very Heavy Fighter.
Standard equipment, armed with a cruise disruptor.
Classified weaponry planned.

4. SWAT RT-4, Raven's Talon Civilian Very Heavy Fighter.
Standard equipment, "Mini Razor" Tachyon-Antimatter Cannon
CP-l "Debilitator" Civilian Improved Mk II Pulse Cannons and R8-E "Vengeance" Liberty Laser Cannons Mk V planned.

[Fifty.]

It didn't look very well, but at least the engines were operational. Artificial gravity was restored along with the life support. John walked around bridge, trying to skip over the various cables, tool boxes and spare parts, lying around. He looked around in random directions, until a panel caught his attention. It monitored all systems and basically informed anyone looking at it about the work progress of the ship.

It wasn't the cheapest purchase, and it took almost an year to reach this stage. The severely damaged cruiser was a Navy vessel once. Well, not so severely damaged anymore, considering the hard work for the past few weeks.

John walked around the ship for some time, took down some notes and headed towards his shuttle in the docking bay. Everything looked satisfactory and as planned. The works were even ahead of schedule. A few more weeks and the ship will be dispatched. The order was to keep it mainly in Illinois and Colorado until the crew is fully trained and the ship is fully tested.

Aryn reached his shuttle and stopped. He took a final look around and nodded. He entered and opened his PDA straight away. A mobile version of the progress monitoring program was already there. He downloaded the ship layout and plans and took a brief look.

LPI-SWAT-San.Quentin

Planned weaponry: Anti-fighter.
Armour upgrade planned: Medium.