"What do you know of this ships class in general, Commander?" Captain Wekword asked as we filled out the remaining bits of paperwork needed.

  Our shakedown had gone as planned. We had weighed anchor, and taken off for tests. Our guns worked, and our engines were running smooth. Our slip space drive was functioning to navy standard, and final exterior checks were made, and green. Systems were functional, and power generation smooth.

  But I was getting sidetracked. I replied. "Well captain, I know her design is old, about a century by now. She was designed for piracy and light interdiction. Hell, they didn't even have Mac's as a general rule of thumb." I say.

  "But generally, this class of ship was used by the CMA, not the navy. But that's besides the point I suppose. They were decommissioned, and then recommissioned. As a rule, they have coil guns, outdated missles, and can have outrigger Mac's installed." I say.

  "Correct." He said. "The 'Spiteful Rebuke' was no different. What you might not know is that when they were recommissioned, they basically threw whatever they could on board." He said.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "For the Rebuke, though, her situation is a touch different. When the good Admiral began grabbing ships, we saw the Rebuke and took her without hesitation. She had been brutalized and repaired at drydock after all, and made more vicious for it." He said.

  "The bridge had been removed completely, Commander. As in, it got melted by a plasma beam. The new bridge is far more flush with the deck now, thank God. If you haven't seen what a standard Diligence bridge looks like... Well, just know that it's a huge improvement. Her systems were updated, and hardware replaced. Our reactors upgraded... most everything was, really."

  "And, with our new task, our armament was upgraded. The Rebuke, compared to other ships of her class... it's night and day." He said, gaining a happy smile.

  "For the best of it, our Mac's were upgraded. They gave us more coils." He said. "We have 2 more M33 Spitfire, and 4 more M60's. We also have a far greater number of point defense guns aboard, at a total of 20. We had to drop the missles though. Too big and bulky, compared to the archers she was replaced by. Plus we needed the room." He said.

  I sat back, slightly stunned. That was... a significant amount of firepower. Damn near capital grade, really. Hell, the Rebuke was at worst a Heavy Destroyer at the moment on guns stone, but the fact she was retrofitted in its entirety?

  "What... is our mission, that we need this many guns? Our in-battle lifetime has to be short, with how much ammo we need to carry." I said.

  "Well, that's simple. We're going hunting." He said. And didn't that just make my day...