In 2074, a marine legend returned after a short pro- duction hiatus. The Riverine was the bane of smugglers around the world, but its success led to a coordinated effort to disrupt production by those same smugglers. Let it never be said that pirates can’t work together. Don’t argue that they hired runners, because they still had to communicate to get it started. That would have been one hell of a meeting to get in on.
>
It was!>
KaneThe time off and damage to the production equip- ment gave GMC the perfect excuse to re-engineer a new Riverine. What they came up with is going to be a lesson to criminals around the world that when some- thing’s already badass and you decide to trash it, the re- placement risks being even more of a hoop-kicking mar- itime predator, this one with better armor, better arms, better navigation, and an electronics suite that can find a minnow in the Pacific.
New materials technology has armored up the hull as well as the internal compartments and cabins. The Riverine can shrug off most gunfire. Even anti- materiel rifles have a tough time, and the single hole they make isn’t going to do much to slow the Riverine.
Anyone trying to get a shot in at the Riverine is going to need some serious cover themselves. The Riverine comes standard with a complement of five mounts. Two rear, one port, one starboard, and one fore. All of them are designed for remote operation, but each can be assigned to a different user station inside the Riverine. Weapon systems vary, but the most common line-up consists of a pair of fully automatics in the rear, anti-ma- teriel cannons at the side, and a multiple missile system up front. Positioning and mounting allows the two rear mounts 360 degrees of rotation and up to 90 degrees up from the horizon. Side mounts only offer 195 de- grees of rotation and 65 degrees up from the horizon. The fore mount covers 360 and 90 as well. And remem- ber, that’s the basic complement. The Riverine is capable of mounting side batteries consisting of up to six guns on each side and a rear battery of three guns. The rear battery isn’t very effective at high speeds, but the entire setup is a rude awakening for anyone who comes creep- ing up on the boat.
>
The new model can also mount torpedo tubes and depth charges. Despite its small size, this beast thinks it’s a destroyer.>
KaneThe navigation system is fully integrated into the new Matrix and usually links to the Ares Grid, where a special division of GMC monitors all the craft they’ve produced that are logged on. If there’s trouble, they con- tact the owner while they go check it out. They’re usually outmatched due to signal restrictions, but they come en masse and are good at working together as a team.
Finally, the Riverine has been outfitted with an elec- tronics suite to make any rigger drool, including high- end built-in commlink, complete with satellite, premium sensors, full AR and VR control suite, serious targeting and fire solution software, and even some entertain- ment equipment.
The most impressive thing about the new Riverine is that it looks just like the old Riverine. There are a few subtle changes, but when this beast is buzzing up on you, you aren’t going to be looking for subtleties like the direction of the exhaust port or the blade size on the propellers.
>
If the weapons are out it’s a dead giveaway, but some of the older models are getting retrofits to mount the new weapon layout. The Riverine is back and ready to take on all comers.>
Sticks>
That sounds like a challenge. I’m in.>
KaneThe Riverine is produced with one of three packages in mind, and they are all built to suit. The Security model is the base and has all the things mentioned above. The Police model adds a light bar, two sets of twin spotlights, front and rear, and a siren. No big surprises there. The Military model has the torpedo and depth charge set up standard, offers the same spotlights as the Police, and sits about a quarter meter lower in the water thanks to the armor increase.
RIVERINE SECURITY (WATERCRAFT)
HANDL SPEED ACCEL BODY ARM PILOT SENS SEATS AVAIL COST
4 5 3 16 12 4 4 8 15R 100,000¥
Std. Equipment
Amenities (squatter), commlink (DR 7), rigger cocoon, rigger interface, satellite link, searchlight, weapon mount (heavy, internal, flexible, remote) front, 2 x weapon mount (standard, internal, flexible, remote) sides, 2 x weapon mount (standard, external, flexible, remote) rear
RIVERINE POLICE (WATERCRAFT)
HANDL SPEED ACCEL BODY ARM PILOT SENS SEATS AVAIL COST
4 5 3 16 14 4 5 8 15R 154,000¥
Std. Equipment
Amenities (squatter), commlink (DR 7), rigger cocoon, rigger interface, satellite link, 4 x searchlight (2 front, 2 rear), weapon mount (heavy, internal, flexible, remote) front, 2 x weapon mount (standard, internal, flexible, remote) sides, 2 x weapon mount (standard, external, flexible, remote) rear
RIVERINE MILITARY (WATERCRAFT)
HANDL SPEED ACCEL BODY ARM PILOT SENS SEATS AVAIL COST
5 5 2 20 20 6 6 8 20F 225,000¥
Std. Equipment
Amenities (squatter), commlink (DR 8), rigger cocoon, rigger interface, satellite link, searchlight, signature masking 4, weapon mount (heavy, internal, flexible, remote) front, 2 x weapon mount (standard, internal, flexible, remote) sides, 3 x weapon mount (standard, external, flexible, remote) rear
Bishop opened his eyes and saw Finch leaning over and yelling at him. It took a few seconds, but the loud ringing slowly gave way to the street samurai’s voice.
“… oss! You okay? Boss!!!”
Bishop waved his hand, trying to signal he was fine. Taking Finch’s arm, he lifted himself upright and imme- diately regretted the decision as pain shot through his torso and legs from shrapnel.
Propping himself up against an old, rusted heating unit, he looked out over the skyscraper’s rooftop but fell back down. On the other side of the heater, he felt heavy rounds impact. Finch rose and let loose with a long burst from his AK, tagging a Northrup Wasp as it flew by. The small security helo trailed smoke but remained airborne. A second Wasp took up the slack, its chin-turret MMG blazing away.
Bishop looked up just as up Finch, defiantly blasting away with his AK, was cut in half by MG rounds. AROs from the team’s PI-TAC floated in Bishop’s field of vision, fuzzy and distorted. In his ear, Bishop thought he heard someone say something like “ETA, twenty seconds.” He tried again to get into the fight but realized his shotgun was gone.
Wracked with pain, Bishop crawled past Finch’s body. He saw the rest of his team, all wounded and pinned down by machine gun fire. Moon-Seeker’s chest was covered in crimson as Bingo tried to apply trauma patch- es; the female shaman wasn’t moving. Hooper, the other samurai, was army-crawling behind another heater, his right cyberarm hanging on by a few wires. The only one
left in the fight was Thunder, but the second Wasp kept the troll pinned down.
The first Wasp formed up with his wingman, both hovering nearby. Under stubby wings hung ripple-fire rocket pods. Bishop knew they were waiting for perfect target locks before they finished his team off. He could see the looks of smug superiority on the pilot’s faces. Defiantly, Bishop gave them the middle finger— just as the first Wasp was ripped to shreds by heavy-machine- gun fire.
The second Wasp then banked sharply to the right and accelerated. Another helo, a Hughes WK-4 Stallion, painted to look like a local trid station, pursued. But in- stead of packing cameras and sensors, it packed its own rocket pod and machine guns. It didn’t take long for the Stallion to blast the Wasp out of the sky with its own rockets.
His vision swam, but Bishop felt hands reach under his arms. Bishop looked over his shoulder and saw his team’s rigger, Crankshaft, hauling him into the now wait- ing Stallion. Likewise, Thunder and Bingo were helping Hooper and Moon-Seeker (and the rest of Finch) into the helo as well.
An ork in the Stallion’s pilot’s seat, wearing a worn flight suit and helmet with the name “Zero” stenciled on it, looked back at Bishop and smiled before mouthing “Need a lift?”
Bishop raised his arm, and instead of a finger he gave Zero a thumbs-up.