|Sicily Rising| - Part 2

[Sciamach]

Phase 4

It was a day unlike any other. Callahan had spent the better part of the morning in his quarters on Valetta- casually reading a number of news reports and his personal mailbox as he prepped for the day ahead. He donned his dress uniform- a side-button blue jacket with a single wide light-blue stripe proceeding down his shoulder to his hip- with the Amalfi logo taking the spotlight presented proudly on the arms. Medals and other ceremonial trappings were already affixed to the jacket the night before by an attendant of his, and took a few moments to get into place and properly displayed. 6:49a flashed up on his datapad's display as he was finishing dressing. He took one final look in the mirrored section of his external window, adjusting portions of it here and there and headed out the door, up towards the scaffolding section. There awaited the product of the past few months of his and many other's hard work.

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The vessel was fast-tracked through the retrofit process- the final two phases of her construction were compressed with double the crews called in to perform the installations. Phase 4 was likely the simplest of them all- or at least half of it was anyway. The first of the jobs that needed be done was the interior; the additional constructions for the vessel added on 23 more interior rooms and compartments- each of which needed to be furnished and made ready for habitation. General consumer goods produced on Malta largely covered the furnishings- ergonomic seating for crew stations, interior pressure paneling for the different compartments walling, floors, and ceilings, as well as the multitude of door and window console panels that ran them. Counterfeit software - generously provided during Phase 3 by the benefactors of the project - were largely re-tooled by Amalfi IT technicians to perform basic user-level system functions, all the while the local crew lounges and officer quarters were furnished by some of the finest leather in the sector- graciously and unknowingly provided by one of Malta's enemies thanks to the intermediaries contracted for the project.

The far more difficult portion of Phase 4 was the Galacticus sensor array that had to be custom-fitted to the hull- the main mounting point for which was lanced directly to the spinal portion of the ship's skeletal structure. Though it required a high degree of careful engineering and precision, the device was manufactured from scratch thanks to the blueprints provided by the 75th - albeit with great difficulty due to the complexity of the design. The vast array expanded upon the standard cruiser-worthy sensors through a not-so-simple process known as "adding more of everything." Sirian sensors largely rely on EM tracking, heat emissions seeking, and both active and passive LIDAR pings, depending on the situation; all of which require carefully tuned lasers and advanced scientific optronics to operate. The whole assembly was affixed with a small secondary shield-generator to a massive rotating Tungsten-Carbide framework. The array - in conjunction with a smaller standard secondary array further back on the hull - provided the Misericorde-class with an unparalleled detection radius for a vessel of cruiser-displacement, and was matched in sensor capability by only the most well equipped Battleships in all of Sirius. Though the Singularity-Core affixed aft needed to operate at nearly twice a RM-2A's capability to power the entire ship, the tactical advantages offered by early detection for the vessel was one believed to be far more than worth it.

The standard Storta's conning bridge was located mid-ship, just above the ship's drop-hangar, and just fore of the CIC. The requirements of the Galacticus-Array demanded the conning-bridge be moved further forward on the Misericorde, so as to better keep the myriad of computer-systems needed to process the sensor's output near the vessel's center of mass.

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[img float=right]https://i.imgur.com/NSuvy2l.png?1[/img]The whole process had taken months, but the retrofit was near completion. Crew assignments were being handed out, and the first of the vessel's crew were arriving to man the myriad stations aboard. In the new, expanded hangar bay, most of the deck crew and flight staff were arrayed in full dress on the deck; standing between the freshly stocked fighter racks on both the port and starboard sides of the bay. Callahan's Dromedary, having just landed in the aft section of the fighter storage bay, powered down while the man himself stepped down from the wheeled-out stairway. All hands stood in attention, save a number of guards and aides that took the walk with him, all the while a vast swathe of both press and Union members were situated at the far fore of the hangar bay. The long-walk from the stern of the bay to the podium on the stage situated prow-ward was nerve-wracking, even for someone as used to public-appearances as Harry was. The road to this moment was a long and grueling one, but against the beliefs of multiple Amalfi Union members, and even much of his own staff in the Directorate, he and his subordinates had finished the project on schedule and just under-budget.


The throng of people began to find their seats, all of which were situated between the holo-energy fields on either side of the ship, giving the whole group a view of the space surrounding the moored prototype. A pair of repair-ships flying in formation drifted when Callahan met with his immediate superiors- Paulo and Desdemona Varela. He, a longtime veteran of the Maltese Navy and the head of the Directorate itself, and she- Donna of the Varela family and direct head of the assembled Patricians of the Amalfi Union, both shook Harry's hand and offered congratulations as he made his way to the stage and shuffled through a number of index cards in his hand. One of the Union's Public Affairs officials was already situated at the podium, reading aloud an introduction for the project and welcoming the arrayed crowd.

"-- and so we now welcome R&D Division Chief Harry Callahan for the launch ceremony and final christening!"

The crowed applauded- multitudes of disparate families and soldiers of Malta cheering him on as he walked to the podium and got situated, looking over them all.

" It is with great pleasure and pride that I stand here before you all today, on the newly completed deck of one of Malta's best warships. When we began this project, I was well aware of just how much doubt the Union had in the project. For the cost of credits, men, and material it took to complete, Amalfi could've fielded another pair of Tridente-class vessels, and not pulled one of Amalfi's best ships off service for three months in doing so. Standing here before you now, I see the faces of the detractors of the project scattered through you all, and I can only smile towards them. Smile because, while the cost was great, the spirit of those that believed in the project persisted through their dissenting opinions. For while this is a mighty warship in its own right- she is also a symbol. A symbol of progress.

Long have we laid down the frames of new Storta constructions, long have we relied on it to protect the world all of us call or have come to call home. Versatile and formidable though she is, it is a design approaching a century old- older than many of you - though not all - present here today. While Malta's best and brightest have succeeded in breathing the life of new ideas and technologies into her throughout that century, innovation is a powerful force- one that consistently outperforms even the best warships and technologies. Innovation drives us towards the bleeding edge of progress by forcing us to adapt, and the people of Malta are no stranger to the concepts of progress and adaptability.

Outcasts. That is the name our ancestors took for themselves not long after they found themselves stranded here in the Omicrons. Outcast by their would-be allies to the fringes of this sector and left abandoned by their own brethren to drift aimlessly, they found themselves to Malta. There they adapted to the Orange, and were made stronger for their efforts- the Maltese stand stronger, faster, and able to think more clearly than those that would have seen them undone thanks to the very exile they put those same ancestors in. Those ancestors adapted, they welcomed the progress of an ever-changing landscape and overcame the challenges laid before them. They found themselves bereft of any chance of survival, and have over the course of eight-hundred years, turned what some could've called a prison-world into a virtual paradise.

Adapting to change, and the foresight to see and adapt to that change is what led the colonists from the Hispania to survive and prosper to this day. We are their children, and Malta itself is their gift to us all. In the spirit of those ancestors, we must learn their lessons and not only embrace the knowledge of the past, but also adapt to the change that is to come. Thus it is in the spirit of that great resilient and adaptive peoples from which many of us are the direct children that I submit to you: the Misericorde is our adaptation to a changing Sirius."

Harry paused, and nodded in the direction of one of the nearby attendants who then silently punched a signal into his wrist-communicator.
The pause persisted for a few moments more, and an anxious silence filled the hangar bay only briefly. The distant hum of the main engines and the reactor core working in tandem picked up in pace and intensity. The scaffolds visible outside through the holo-fields began to recede- moving aft of the vessel- the drive hum picked up again, even louder now. Several members of the assembled press took notice and began attempting to get pictures of either the retreating shipyard in the bay's entrances, or just of Callahan himself, who was busy smirking to himself at the podium.

The drive was noticeable to all present now- and what was underway became readily apparent: the ship that many thought would never finish construction, much less fly- was now conning its own way out of the scaffold at a fraction of its total impulse capability. It listed forward lazily and slowly, relying largely on maneuvering thrusters rather than full aggressive burns from the main drive.

Callahan raised his voice to re-grab the assembled audience's attention once again, continuing with an overwhelming sense of satisfaction and relief in his voice.

" In a realm of uncertainty that would see Malta undone at every turn, we must adapt and progress not only our technologies, but also our concepts of combat, so as to see Malta and her peoples not only survive, but flourish. In her heyday, the Sicily was a formidable ship in her own right- fast, capable, crewed by some of the best and brightest to be borne of and to come to love the lands of Malta. She served her Nazione well, but this vessel, she is the Sicily no longer. No, she now has a new role to play in the advancement of the Maltese people; no longer as one of the most valorous of the defensive fleets, but as the front-line reconnaissance and deployment platform she has become. The retrofits we are here to celebrate today represent not only a change in bulkhead and design, but a change in thinking. No longer is she the shield that will protect the homeworld from outside threats-- now, she is equipped to be the Lance face Malta's enemies head on, and pierce their hearts with ease and grace- driving the foes that would see Malta undone before us and bringing ruin to their lands from behind their lines.

No longer is she the Sicily- let the deeds of the ship and name go down forever in history for what they were; a proud warship with a chronicled and storied career.
As the Fenice D'Oro before her bore a name to reflect her ascension, I implore you all: know this gift to Malta for now and forever, as the Lancia D'Argento!"

Just as the crowd began to applause and cheer before him, the windows of the fighter-control bunker embedded into the bulkhead behind him flashed to life- a series of hologram emitters began to emanate rays of light into the air directly above the stage, The image shown was a projection of the exterior hull of the ship, a nearby Dromedary was providing a video feed of a fly-by from fore to aft of the hull. Just above the port hangar entrance was emblazoned on the plating the Lancia's new designation for all to see.

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[ sci·am·ach ]
/sīˈamək/

A simple, angry man casually working his way through life on a personal quest to acquire copious amounts of street cred.