-{Rerouting Washington Shipyard Construction Manifest}-
[File: 'LD-029' found | Extracting]
Details: Name: L.N.S. Salem 'Revenant'
Class: "Spearhead"-class Liberty Dreadnought
Combat Role: Fire Support - Mobile Head Quarters | Technological Test-bed
Identification Number: N/A (Agency 404 Classification: 1S)
Designation: LD-029
Date-of-Completion: August 4th, 796 A.S
Construction Location: Washington Shipyard, Virginia
Defensive:
1x TZZ-9d "Defender" Battleship Graviton Shield
1x ODLRS "Subterfuge" Cloak Disruption Device
1x "Lapis Lazuli" Hull coating and Iridium Capital Armor Reinforcement Mk VII
Additional Equipment: CLASSIFIED
Key Crew and Personnel:
CO: Director Avery Reeves
XO: Operative Dustin Roosevelt
Comm Officer: Christopher Mann
Chief Engineer: Lara Montoya
Head of Development: Doctor Samantha Burke
System Management Unit: APOLLO
Background and Further Notes: Salem was designed with great ambitions in mind during the peak of Liberty's might. The ship was constructed on a list of potential improvements to the aging Monument class line that had seen the end of its production a year before Salem was constructed. To cut back on upkeep costs, it was decided that less crew would be needed to man this new 'breed' of Dreadnoughts. As such Salem saw many of its core systems become automated, replacing the need to keep a large crew count aboard, this however only made it extremely expensive for the Republic to push onto the front-line.
The advent of sophisticated Electronic Warfare acted as the final nail in the failing project Salem was constructed for and the ship saw very little use besides one initial test-run. It was pulled back into dry-dock on Juneau where it was stripped of all weaponry and left unattended pending scuttling. Despite full consent being given to scrap Salem in entirety, the ship was never broken down, instead this order was delayed over the years for reasons unknown. The sparse records that remain un-redacted show many experimental technologies being utilized on Salem and the data collected pioneered the 'Overlord' class of Dreadnoughts.
Salem was returned to active service during the Alaskan Betrayal committed by the L.S.F and given a leading role in locking down the system of Virginia. Its weaponry re-mounted and full restoration pending, it was later noted that Salem was completely impervious to Electronic Warfare attacks and despite how fragile its automation system was in theory, no 'E-WAR' signals could so much as even scrape through its hull, let alone compromise the ship. This fact seemed to represent a dual edged sword however, since records also indicate that Salem has never been able to provide Electronic support of any kind, most likely a compromise of one of the experimental features undertaken by the ship. The exact crew composition although substantially smaller than a traditional Dreadnought remains highly classified.
Although a ship with potential flaws during its initial year of construction, Salem provides reliable fire support and services in the fields of research, containment and advanced reconnaissance that even the latest in ships fielded by the Republic struggle to match, paling in comparison. Of the few who have flown both alongside and against this ship, all have agreed upon its enigmatic and ominous nature. An underdog come back to haunt.
Salem has long since its construction been discreetly transfered in terms of its ownership, from the Naval Forces to the Liberty Security Force, operating under Agency 404's clearances, thereby also rechristened as the 'Revenant'. The ship has seen a minor systems tuning but many comprehensive refits are in the works and soon to be deployed. In direct contrast to its previous role as a mere guinea pig, the Revenant now holds the prestigious position of being Agency 404's personal Mobile Flagship, operating under its original Commanding Officer. One thing remains the same, a vast majority of the ships systems rely on automation, the likes of which are reliant on a single systems management unit, with no other information provided other than the codename 'APOLLO'.
The eagle, grown beyond the dreams of men it's known, was first to reach the heavens above all the world below.
By steel and wood, by sweat and blood, on wings of woven cloth, he slipped the surly bonds of Earth to touch the face of God.
But knowing times of trouble and the devils they may bring are only thwarted by the will to fight, he raised his mighty wings.
Prepared for war and thus guarding peace for Liberty his love. He shall deliver unto evil death dealt swiftly from above.
~ the Oath
Deploying to terminate an infected Government Official on Manhattan
Conception
Born from a harsh realization in the mind of a single Operative, the Marshals were conceived with the intention of fulfilling the void that the trans-Sirius Order would often have no choice but to create. Protecting the entirety of Sirius under a modus operandi riddled with flaws and totalitarianism left the brunt impact of many incidents brought about by infected individuals, down upon the shoulders of Libertonian officers, employed in intelligence and otherwise. Each of the one-hundred and forty individuals operating under this unmarked and enigmatic unit were hand-picked and then rigorously trained to being the pinnacle of Liberty's resistance against infestation, both within and without. Sparked by a single rude awakening, the Marshals are trained to leave nothing to chance, conditioned to the peaks of physical and mental efficiency, capable of going toe-to-toe with the spawns of Sirian-hell. Despite the small numbers, the unit is rumoured to be so efficient in surgical strikes, that in the wrong hands their skill and unparalleled funding could be used to coup the Government rather than protect the Republic, a fear heightened in the minds of some who have knowledge of the fact that this unit operates under a single individual's orders. The reasoning being that nobody else could be trusted to lead something so influential without succumbing to personal greed and a lust for power. Following principles akin to those of the bygone Order of Cincinnatus, making it only fitting that the protocol put in place governing this unit was named after that very group. Putting the Republic first regardless of the cost to ensure the survival, progress and prosperity of Liberty.
Containing a breached research facility
Debut and structure
The first and only recorded instance of deployment and usage of this unit was during a breach in security aboard the Radford Research Installation, an event that put into focus the inefficient handling of an otherwise simple situation by naval personnel but the subsequent efficiency in the fact that a group of three Marshals, cut off from their chain of command kept the station secured, while a fourth pursued the escaping subject in space. The Marshals have a largely esoteric structure, not operating with a distinct ranking system, despite the fact that they do have a single Commanding Officer and acknowledge seniority and experience among members of the unit itself, it is generally these people who act was intermediaries, to ensure tasks assigned to their units by the Commanding Officer are accomplished according to both principle and protocol. A Marshal may be any person with unshakable loyalty to the Republic, but these people must pass a year of intense and gruelling training so as to be capable of going toe-to-toe with the spawns of Sirian hell, as well as capable of reclaiming stations lost to the hands of the same. Focused more so at countering infestation than any other line of duties, it is very rare that this unit is deployed to deal with anything else, unless a situation warranted it. Much of the expertise drilled into members of this unit comes from observations of organisations such as the Order, yet minus the widespread focus that cripples efficiency and a leadership structure so derailed that it compromises the true objectives of such a unit.
A Marshal takes aim with a modified Maltese Precision-Rifle
Technology and Funding
For a group of one-hundred and forty, the unit sees incredibly high funding for its size and technology the likes of which that might make even the most sophisticated of militant societies somewhat green with envy. Utilizing anything and everything the Agency can obtain from sources in the field, modified and developed to suit the needs of individual field operatives within this unit. Every Marshal does indeed enjoy the perk of receiving weaponry that has been customized according to their specifications, ensuring peak efficiency in all departments during operations. No two Marshals ever truly use the same weapon, merely a similar type of weapon. In contrast to this, strike-craft as well as drop-ships utilized by the Marshals are entirely standard issue naval assets, though they remain unmarked and often sport less significant customization that sets them apart. Weaponry employed by this unit ranges from modified variants of those arms used by the Libertonian Armed forces, hybridized weaponry and even Maltesian armaments procured from unknown sources. If a new weapon of a great level of efficiency crops up somewhere in Sirius, it's very likely to be soon developed and see extended use, with or without the will of the inventors in the hands of this unit.
A team of marshals posing as law-enforcement to secure a VIP
Present-day
Along with Dreadnought Revenant, the Marshals were transferred to Agency 404. Though this was largely because the person that conceived and developed the unit was Operative Reeves, laying the ground-work for much of their training and conditioning, as well as formulating the principles upon which their rules of engagement was based upon. Moulding them into a superlative unit capable of rivalling any other special operations force currently in existence, yet being more mobile and more effective, given their size and well-oiled nature. What began as a mere collection of units all aimed at special operations for the ESRD, had evolved into a force capable of surgical strikes, with its own C.A.S and deployment vessels, now trained by a multitude of individuals within the Agency, such as Operative Xei who has been instrumental in ensuring the Marshals were a dominant force in the CQC department, given the designs and nature of most urban environments as well as station layouts. The unit seemingly ceased existing in terms of paper-work after the transfer, perhaps if the mystery that is its existence were solved, the foes of Liberty would realize that the Republic isn't much of a target that can be trifled with at all.