The Cyclops: Imperfect Child
Preface
An origin story for the Cyclops, heavily inspired by the similar story for the Tyrfing, "The God-Tooth", written by Casiella Truza.
The Cyclops: Imperfect Child
The Cyclops is the most recent work of visionary Roden Shipyards designer Dr. Shanelle Arlette Tressier, a tragic genius if ever there was one. Dr. Tressier was burdened from birth with a form of severe genetic mental disorder that renders her barely able to speak, unable to properly process human contact and incapable of surviving without virtually constant assistance. Her disabilities, however failed to diminish the development of a vast intellect, incredible mathematical skill and a seemingly unsurpassed talent for starship design - talents that are for the most part frustratingly trapped within her own mind by her inability to express them. Responsible for several critical design elements in the Enyo, the Oneiros, the Phobos and most recently the Proteus, Dr. Tressier was nonetheless a relative unknown in the field of ship design until YC 111.
Having won the Federal contract to develop a new heavy fighter-bomber craft for use in the Federation Navy's strike craft wings, Roden Shipyards set about finding a suitable lead designer for the project. Organising an internal competition of sorts, the corporation's R&D department played its best and brightest off against each other to draft the best possible design proposal. Expecting no entries for at least a month, the corporation's directors were flaberghasted when only three days later, Tressier produced not only a proposal but a full series of schematics and design drawings for the prototype of what would become the Cyclops, much of which incorporated new technologies she had designed entirely by herself.
Designed from the ground-up as a war machine, rather than a statement, the Cyclops both reinforces and diverges from expectations of Gallente starships. Showing clear descent from the Gallente Firbolg fighter, the Cyclops seamlessly merges traditional flowing, organic Gallente design philosophy with a plainer, utilitarian aesthetic. Easily a match for its peer, the Mantis, the Cyclops went through a series of comparitively minor overhauls during its uncommonly short development, all overseen by Tressier, her name quickly finding itself on the lips of almost every member of the Federal Navy's top brass. In no more than six months the Cyclops was completed, polished, and ready to be shown to the world, and Tressier was hailed as one of the foremost geniuses in her field.
Yet even this story of triumph over adversity was tinged with tragedy: Tressier, extremely socially phobic by nature due to her condition, had to be led out in tears after suffering a panic attack during the official unveiling of her creation, and was subsequently unable to attend her own award ceremony or the banquet the President himself held in her honour. She currently resides in a care home for sufferers of her condition, the location of which has been struck from public record by the express request of Miloise Roden, the CEO of Roden Shipyards, and she is largely unaware of the wealth, fame and respect her magnum opus has brought her.