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Last Days At Home

830 A.S.

Insurgency Assault Cruiser INS Reasoner, chassis HFC-JDC-HX034, was one of the final patrol capital ships in the Vespucci campaign. The ship, limited to safe sorties around Vespucci, remained mostly intact until the very end of the Insurgency. After the definitive retreat order given by the Lord Commander, her forgotten captain gave the command to set course towards the Omicrons, in a daring escape via the Magellan system. Unfortunately for her crew, she was caught by a Liberty bomber wing, which promptly engaged the ship in a fast and coordinated attack with torpedos. The wounded and weary crew could barely react appropriately, bracing for impact and nothing more. In a stroke of good luck for her crew or simply a mistake caused by exhaustion from the Navy's part, the ship was targeted with Ion torpedos instead of antimatter torpedos, which overwhelmed the shields and knocked the main reactor core offline.

The resulting overcharge caused a cascading shutdown of the ship's systems. Emergency backup systems remained operational, but were insufficient to sustain the ship's needs. The wounded crewmen and refugees in the sick bay were the first to succumb to the power drop, with casualties being reported a minute after the reactor shutdown. Reasoner's crew expected another attack pass, but the Navy bomber wing diverted their course back to Planet Veracruz where heavy fighting was reported. Seeing the ship's dead power core, the pilots might've deemed the Reasoner unworthy of ammunition, and was left for a presumed death.

Hours later, the damage control parties restored the central power core back to an usable state, albeit at a very reduced output. Life support, engines and shield were all restored. Weapons and scanners were deliberately shutdown to avoid increasing the ship's signature. The captain ordered the helmsmen to resume course, quietly crawling towards Magellan's ice clouds.

Instead of rendezvousing with the rest of the remnant fleet in Magellan, the captain judged Liberty or Bretonia would soon reorganize their forces and hunt down any Insurgent ships that were caught in the open in the systems around Vespucci in a pincer attack. The order was given: Move through Bretonia's outskirts, into the Omegas, and then the Omicrons. Bretonia, by far, was the highest risk factor. The route included a daring movement around system New London, heavily patrolled and guarded. Docking in any bases and establishing contact was an enormous risk by itself, despite the benefits - the bounty price for Insurgent escapees is significant. A lethal risk, despite the ship's condition and dwindling supplies.

The courageous maneuver by the captain was successful and uneventful. The ship's low power signature was further concealed by the Barrier nebula. If the ship was ever encountered, it was quickly labelled as a floating piece of irradiated debris, then promptly ignored. The ship drifted through Bretonia using the same methods: A brief surge of power to the engines to set direction towards the next jumphole, then shut off power to non-critical systems, including the engines, to avoid irradiating heat and risking detection.

After a slow week of drifting, The Reasoner and her crew finally arrived at the Omega Border Worlds. The Omicron Edge Worlds is the next stellar cluster. Only a few systems separated the crew from their distance. But that's when their luck ran out: Technical problems started plaguing the ship. Dangerous, noxious toxic gasses from the coolant system and waste control started leaking throughout the ship, result of disrepair and several months of jury-rigging. Several lives were lost in this incident, including the captain, which already suffered from battle wounds and illness. Damage control managed to block the gasses from completely taking over the ship's interior by shutting bulkheads and limiting access to the ship. The officers the remained agreed to proceed to their final destination, the Omicrons.

In Omega 5, the last drop of luck evaporated. The Reasoner hit one of the mines that surrounded the Hammen Hole. The explosion rocked the ship, making all kinds of technical problems arise on top of the already present problems: Life support went offline, and multiple secondary explosions mangled the ship's interior, probably caused by electrical power lines interacting with the noxious gases. In the upcoming hours, all of the crew eventually died by lack of oxygen or freezing. Not long after, the ship was detected by a Corsair patrol, sent to investigate the mine detonation.

The Reasoner was scanned and analyzed. No signs of life and dangerous gasses filled most of the bulkheads of the ship, with internal fires blazing through the remaining bulkheads. By protocol, the Corsairs called salvagers to reclaim the hull. The ship was towed to Rhodes shipyard, dock C, where it would rest for years.

Internal Struggle

In one of the post mortem analysis, Corsair engineers recovered operational neuralnet access points pertaining to the crew and the ship. A detailed examination of voice recordings, logs, daily reports, video footage and other security data revealed that the ship suffered from disagreements between her crew, contradicting previous assumptions by Corsair analysts. Some senior and junior officers were quick to disagree with a journey towards the Omicrons, with the argument that hiding within Magellan or the local unlawful factions would be much safer and quicker. The captain, along with their closest officials, argued that the Omicrons served as a point of a fresh start, free from the influence of Liberty. In addition, the Omicron cluster is so far away that any attacks coming from Liberty or Bretonia shouldn't be taken as a real possibility. Magellan, on the other hand, borders both Bretonia and Liberty, and the captain was quick to assume that maintaining a position there would be unsustainable.

The crew manifest indicates that some of the officers and a significant quantity of the disagreeing crew members departed from the ship multiple times during the ship's journey to the Omicrons, which might explain the quick degradation of the ship's integrity. In the end, the lack of an effective contingent of crew members led to the ship's wrecking in the Omegas.

Under New Ownership

Rhodes dockmasters were baffled to hear that an Insurgency capital ship was found so far away from its area of operations. Wild theories among the workers were common, but the truth surfaced quickly after a consultation by military Command. Analysts are fairly certain that the ship Reasoner was lured into Corsair territory by the promises of Operation Hades' Hand, ongoing at the time.

Shipwrights aboard Rhodes were quick to work on the ship after confirmation of its origins. The first step was making the ship safe to work in, and an atmospheric purge was initiated. The toxic gases were burned and released from the ship, relieving internal pressure. Any fires onboard were also starved of oxygen. A grim side effect is that the corpses of the crew were also ejected carelessly into space. No effort has been made to identify or retrieve the corpses.

Work begun officially on the ship. The external hull platting was nearly intact. Most internal systems were damaged to the point of becoming scrap. The power core, however, survived with relatively low damage thanks to its armored shell. Same for the propulsion systems, maneuvering and shield generator. The ship was mostly hollowed out out of its components, those being sent to Tripoli for smelting. As the workers begun removing the external hull panels, operations ceased due to an order from the military Command. A briefing session was scheduled for the next day. All workers and supervisors were told to leave the external hull panels intact, along with the central power core. Any well-preserved components were to be marked and examined.

Command judged the Reasoner to be a remarkable opportunity to assemble a new warship for less materials, given the preservation of its critical systems, and the possibility to carry prototype modifications and technological integrations that would boost the Empire's knowledge with reverse engineering and repurposing of vessels. Imperial Corsair Vessel Prototype Teide, Number M43X Class "Alpha", was officially commissioned.

Progress on the ship was smooth until the great blackout of 831 AS. Logistical lines needed to be reconsidered and redraw. Procured parts were delayed or even missing. Such challenge halted the restoration process for at least a year, where extensive analysis was required to adapt to the new alignment of jump gates and jump holes. By the mid of 832 AS, the project was back in full efficiency. Major structural supports and load bearers were installed, corridors, rooms, and depots were laid down and energized. A domestic fire control system and scanner array were also installed. Some few parts and components were sourced from Rheinland and Bretonia.

Retrofit

833 A.S.

Almost four years after being commissioned, the Teide's superstructure and citadel were completed. Basic, fundamental systems were also fully integrated. The ship could sustain itself on its own power and life support on a drydock, but the incomplete propulsion system and main power core are still obstacles that need to be overcome.

The project's pace and potential caught the eye of certain Corsair warlords, wanting a trophy ship to fly, or flaunt their wealth. Project Teide received further funding by the most interested parties, which allowed the missing parts to be commissioned or procured.