Sir,
I hereby request your permission to utilise Bretonian Armed Forces technology
with respect to the recommissioning of a Bretonian Gunboat.
My name is Commander Lemming of the Galactic Militia.
We are a group that values Peace, never taking a hostile stance unless absolutely necessary.
We look after our own and try to get along with those around us.
Most of our time is spent trading, mining and escorting law abiding persons,
but forgive me, I'll get to the point of all this.
I was visiting Trafalgar Base on a recent trade assignment
when I met a Junker who approached me with an offer of high-density scrap for sale.
He said the item was a derelict vessel that he wanted rid of - due to it's awkward size.
(I will spare you the direct quote as it is needless to say that Junkers are... a coarse lot)
After discussing the price and volume of material I agreed to his terms,
as he only wanted a fraction of the raw scrap value as it was surplus to his needs.
He thereafter presented me with the ownership codes, I had the cargo scanned by Trafalgar to check it was
indeed roughly 70% high density alloys and we parted company.
I then proceeded to go about my business organising the trade convoy and thought little else of it.
It was only when I had the item scanned for structural integrity, prior to heavy lifting,
that I realised it was the frame of a Bretonian gunboat embedded in a mixture of debris and entangled metal.
After removing several pieces of asteroid and an assortment of scrap, further investigation revealed that
most of the ship's structure was still intact and, it occurred to me that I might be able to restore the craft.
So this brings me up to date.
I am hereby formally requesting I be granted licence to restore this vessel to it's former glory
and give it a new lease of life serving in The Fleet as an escort for our traders.
I understand that war materials are limited and I will therefore make a sizeable donation to the BAF
in the form of war bonds to more than make up for any resources used in the re-commissioning of the vessel.
This would of course be subject to the following conditions:
1. Under no circumstances whatsoever would the vessel be transferred to another pilot.
Should anything happen to me then the ship would be returned to Bretonia
or, at the discretion of the BAF - be destroyed.
2. I will remain loyal to the Bretonian Crown and not use the ship against any friend of Bretonia.
3. The ship will not break any laws of Bretonia or her allies.
I can understand that you may have concerns about allowing a request such as this.
Perhaps telling you a little more about how I came to find myself being a commanding officer in the
Galactic Militia will serve to put your mind at rest.
I myself am a Bretonian, having been born on planet Leeds.
I lived there for a number of years before leaving for the outer border worlds to seek adventure
and escape the bitter conflict that has troubled our kingdom for so long.
It was during that time that I encountered the Galactic Militia.
I was flying through uncharted space when I was attacked by a group of hostile ships.
A barrage of blue gunfire surrounded my ship and before I'd even had chance to target
the aggressors my craft had been destroyed.
The only good thing about that ship was the fact that it's destruction catapulted me clear of the attacking ships and sent me drifting yet further into uncharted space.
The UTC display in my damaged escape pod and the now completely burnt out communications system served only to taunt me as my hopes of surviving slowly faded, along with my oxygen reserves.
My last recollection of being in that pod is seeing a distant light approach as I drifted in and out of conciousness.
When I came to, I found I was aboard the [GM]~Atlantis, a large transport on a trade mission hauling food rations to a remote asteroid base.
It was only due to the kindness of the GM that I survived.
They took me in, gave me a ship and taught me how to survive in a hostile environment.
Since that time I have risen through the ranks of GM, proudly serving the people that saved my life.
So in summary:
If you do not find this request acceptable then I will return the vessel to the nearest Bretonian base forthwith for scrap processing.
However I feel that since I am a responsible Bretonian citizen with no prior convictions
(not even so much as a verbal warning)
I am able to be trusted with this responsibility and can allow this gunboat to once again serve as a force for good.