Post by drake on Sept 4, 2008 7:22:16 GMT
Drake's Story, in exactly 1000 words...
The Zebolt Shipyards third dockyard was the scene of controlled pandemonium, none of the workers knew why they were working night and day on an airship that had, a month previously, been slated for the scrap yard until a young Burmecian Engineer had strolled in with a pile of gil and began rebuilding it. He had completely replaced the outer hull, the keel and bottom half of the ship was armor quality steel, that had been welded and riveted to the point of being completely airtight, the wood was held together by a resin they hadn’t worked with before, but also made the cabin airtight.
It was a spacious ship; three of the five originally planned turrets had been ripped out, as had the mist engine. A special order steam engine system had been hauled in from the Engineering district and installed, along with four large exhaust pipes, two on either side. The ship engine was completely enclosed, and not only kept the vessel flying, but provided heat and hot water to the entire ship via an ingenious radiator system that kept rooms warm, and allowed water to cool as it flowed through the system. There was also a long bay on the top deck, where a large bladder was stored, it was meant to be filled with hydrogen, the volatile, but powerful lifting element needed to reach the higher altitudes. There was even a garden room where one of the storerooms for ammunition had been, it grew fresh vegetables, kept the air fresh, and was the site of a small dining room. Next door, was a conference room, some of the antique furniture from the old airship he had flown the remnants of the group to Lindblum in had been in good enough condition to furnish this room, even a tapestry or two hung from the walls.
The group… Drake hadn’t been able to forgive Vix for running off, and disappearing after he had worked so hard getting everything to fall together… The moment he delivered the news to the regent, an arduous task what with nearly no credibility or family name to work with, he had left the others to their own business and devoted himself to his new project, that he bought with the last of his funds, and the small amount he made as a reward from the Regent for his assistance.
His plan was to fly far above the current limits of any other airship, past the freezing line, and above the clouds, the world’s first Cloudbreaker, he named the craft the Daedalus, and devoted all his time to it… He would escape the conflict below, as far as he was concerned, he had done his part, it was now up to the armies and airships, what could one young engineer hardly anyone took seriously do…?
“Happy Birthday…” Came a voice from behind, he turned to see his adoptive father, a human nearing sixty-eight years old, he was an engineer of great renown, even well into his retirement…
“What? I thought there was another week…” Drake said, pulling himself out of the tangle of control cables he had been lodged in… He was covered in grease and oil, his hair was a wreck, looking black and disheveled, and he had bags under his eyes that betrayed the long sleepless nights that had been the past month…
“Your mother was getting worried you wouldn’t show up, but, it would be a lie if I said I had never missed any of my own birthdays while working on my own projects…” He said, looking up at the ship, “Looks like she’s almost ready to go…”
“Given another couple of days and she’ll be airworthy, I’ve already moved into the Captains quarters onboard… Just need to finish the rest of the control surfaces and it’ll be ready to fly… She’ll almost fly herself… With you onboard to assist, we can easily be out of range…” he said, wiping his hands off on a hankerchief…
“Well… I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that… Your mother and I can’t go with you, we’ve lived in Lindblum for our entire lives, and the regent will need every single Engineer in the city if we want to have a hope of holding the enemy off…”
“But…” He started, but stopped, he would never be able to convince his parents otherwise…
“Come on home for a night, you don’t turn eighteen every day, and tomorrow we’ll move the rest of the manuals to the Daedalus, along with everything else… The ship won’t go anywhere, there’s enough security in the city right now that not even a cockroach could get into the dockyards without the Regent’s permission…”
“You’re right…” He said, weariness coming over him now, he followed him towards the door.
“Drake...? Er… Mr. Fedrich… Sir?” A nervous voice said, he turned to see the young human engineer who had been working with the team for the past month, she was an odd duck, but ingenious, tall, lean, with black hair and a pair of wireframe glasses, she had signed on to work the engines on the ship after takeoff…
“Yes Misa?” He asked, “You’re more than welcome to take a break tonight too…” He said, the exhaustion evident in his voice. Several of the technicians in the back perked up, excited at the prospect of sleeping in a real bed, after a real shower…
“Thanks… but I just wanted to say, happy birthday…” She said,
“Oh… thanks…” He said, really not sure how to respond, so far, he’d only pushed this crew to their limits, this might be the first non-airship related conversation he’d had with them in the month so far… perhaps ever… He simply gave a weary smile before following his father…
“Night Captain!” She called after him…
“I’m never going to get used to that…” Drake said,
“What, working with actual people?” His father asked,
“No… being called Captain…”
“There’s a lot worse you could be called…”
The Zebolt Shipyards third dockyard was the scene of controlled pandemonium, none of the workers knew why they were working night and day on an airship that had, a month previously, been slated for the scrap yard until a young Burmecian Engineer had strolled in with a pile of gil and began rebuilding it. He had completely replaced the outer hull, the keel and bottom half of the ship was armor quality steel, that had been welded and riveted to the point of being completely airtight, the wood was held together by a resin they hadn’t worked with before, but also made the cabin airtight.
It was a spacious ship; three of the five originally planned turrets had been ripped out, as had the mist engine. A special order steam engine system had been hauled in from the Engineering district and installed, along with four large exhaust pipes, two on either side. The ship engine was completely enclosed, and not only kept the vessel flying, but provided heat and hot water to the entire ship via an ingenious radiator system that kept rooms warm, and allowed water to cool as it flowed through the system. There was also a long bay on the top deck, where a large bladder was stored, it was meant to be filled with hydrogen, the volatile, but powerful lifting element needed to reach the higher altitudes. There was even a garden room where one of the storerooms for ammunition had been, it grew fresh vegetables, kept the air fresh, and was the site of a small dining room. Next door, was a conference room, some of the antique furniture from the old airship he had flown the remnants of the group to Lindblum in had been in good enough condition to furnish this room, even a tapestry or two hung from the walls.
The group… Drake hadn’t been able to forgive Vix for running off, and disappearing after he had worked so hard getting everything to fall together… The moment he delivered the news to the regent, an arduous task what with nearly no credibility or family name to work with, he had left the others to their own business and devoted himself to his new project, that he bought with the last of his funds, and the small amount he made as a reward from the Regent for his assistance.
His plan was to fly far above the current limits of any other airship, past the freezing line, and above the clouds, the world’s first Cloudbreaker, he named the craft the Daedalus, and devoted all his time to it… He would escape the conflict below, as far as he was concerned, he had done his part, it was now up to the armies and airships, what could one young engineer hardly anyone took seriously do…?
“Happy Birthday…” Came a voice from behind, he turned to see his adoptive father, a human nearing sixty-eight years old, he was an engineer of great renown, even well into his retirement…
“What? I thought there was another week…” Drake said, pulling himself out of the tangle of control cables he had been lodged in… He was covered in grease and oil, his hair was a wreck, looking black and disheveled, and he had bags under his eyes that betrayed the long sleepless nights that had been the past month…
“Your mother was getting worried you wouldn’t show up, but, it would be a lie if I said I had never missed any of my own birthdays while working on my own projects…” He said, looking up at the ship, “Looks like she’s almost ready to go…”
“Given another couple of days and she’ll be airworthy, I’ve already moved into the Captains quarters onboard… Just need to finish the rest of the control surfaces and it’ll be ready to fly… She’ll almost fly herself… With you onboard to assist, we can easily be out of range…” he said, wiping his hands off on a hankerchief…
“Well… I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that… Your mother and I can’t go with you, we’ve lived in Lindblum for our entire lives, and the regent will need every single Engineer in the city if we want to have a hope of holding the enemy off…”
“But…” He started, but stopped, he would never be able to convince his parents otherwise…
“Come on home for a night, you don’t turn eighteen every day, and tomorrow we’ll move the rest of the manuals to the Daedalus, along with everything else… The ship won’t go anywhere, there’s enough security in the city right now that not even a cockroach could get into the dockyards without the Regent’s permission…”
“You’re right…” He said, weariness coming over him now, he followed him towards the door.
“Drake...? Er… Mr. Fedrich… Sir?” A nervous voice said, he turned to see the young human engineer who had been working with the team for the past month, she was an odd duck, but ingenious, tall, lean, with black hair and a pair of wireframe glasses, she had signed on to work the engines on the ship after takeoff…
“Yes Misa?” He asked, “You’re more than welcome to take a break tonight too…” He said, the exhaustion evident in his voice. Several of the technicians in the back perked up, excited at the prospect of sleeping in a real bed, after a real shower…
“Thanks… but I just wanted to say, happy birthday…” She said,
“Oh… thanks…” He said, really not sure how to respond, so far, he’d only pushed this crew to their limits, this might be the first non-airship related conversation he’d had with them in the month so far… perhaps ever… He simply gave a weary smile before following his father…
“Night Captain!” She called after him…
“I’m never going to get used to that…” Drake said,
“What, working with actual people?” His father asked,
“No… being called Captain…”
“There’s a lot worse you could be called…”