To Frankenstein a Bird

[aerelm]

Cartagena Shipyard was not the most prestigious of places, but it was filled with people who knew what they were doing, and that was what he liked about that base. Knowing even complete strangers can be trusted under certain circumstances long as there's enough ‘pesos’ involved, he knew the dedication of his new team of engineers was something he could count on, but as common courtesy in any social interaction dictates, a casually polite letter of encouragement never hurts as a starting incentive.

 

Everyone fly at least one ship throughout their lives, and everyone fly it to shoot down other ships, so no matter the ship you fly, it needs to have one quality – It needs to be worth flying. “What makes a ship worth flying?” you may ask, the answer is simple – Style, elegancy, and of course distinctiveness. You don’t need to get your hands on the ‘best ship ever made’ to know somewhere deep inside it’s worth flying. All you need to feel is that the ship is ‘yours’.

Old times were better. They always are. There were people around who had taste, who had style; People who didn’t fly any ship they could get their hands on just because that ship had a killer of a reputation. The times pass though, and people change. This new generation of tasteless, styleless, spineless miserable excuses of pilots who just look for the ‘best’ ship around the very moment they can afford a ship would most certainly understand none of it, and it’s our fault – If we had showed them what actual style means, they would’ve never degraded to such a level to fly such eye-soars like that new borderworlds boat.

Now, where was I? Right. A ship needs to have style, and that’s all it needs. It obviously needs guns too, but that’s beside the point. Have you ever looked at a ship and from the very first moment you saw it you knew you’d never be satisfied flying anything else? That’s my Roc. She’s been good to me for the past years, and she lacks nothing, but when it comes to making a dream-ship, sky’s the limit – as the old saying goes. Now, dear reader, if you’re reading this, means you’ve been included in a particular deal a fine gentleman and I made on Malta not long ago, and despite my utmost gratitude for your understanding and willingness to cooperate, trust me – I’m as big of a douche as one can get when it comes to official business, so don’t feel offended if you’re mistreated in the upcoming months, it’s nothing personal.

Anyways, let’s cut through all the crap and get straight to the point – You managed to build a ship to rival the Sairs’ Gladiator, only cause an anonymous individual managed to grab the blueprints and toss ‘em your way, and even though you’ve done a marvelous job after you got the prints, with me being that anonymous individual I believe you owe me one. I was pretty impressed when I first saw the design you could pull off with those blueprints, and to be frank, a bunch like you is what I’ve been looking for lately.

Roc is a marvelous ship, and one could ask for nothing more when flying a Roc. She’s perfection in every way, except for one – She’s overused and abused by every random corporate scum and his blind dog. None of them can use her right, but nonetheless, I feel offended every single time I see a rookie flying the same ship as me. So, what can you do to help me here, you may ask, and the answer is simple – I’ve always been a man of taste, and despite all the ideas I’ve gathered in these past few years, I lack the technical knowledge and the means to actually try out those ideas, which is why I’m relying on your expertise to make one ship really worth flying out of the good old Roc.

It’s not every day one approaches you with such an unusual request, is it? So consider this your lucky day, because if you succeed in getting me what I want, you’ll be rewarded fully and you’ll be rewarded generously. I’ll be dropping by in a couple of days to see where should we start, and I’ll be sending you a few sketches until then which we can discuss on our first meeting. Now I’m no artist, but at least I’m no stranger to a pen, so the few ideas I’ve drawn may be able to show you what I have in mind, so stay tuned.

Yours truly,
The anonymous individual who got you the Gladiator blueprints