Lamb&Scap Inc. the company of monsters
(I'll just want to say a few things before you read this:
1 I'm not a baker of SC, I follow it somewhat loosely and know little about the lore;
2 the text written below is of course fan fiction and in no way canonical
3 this my first time writing anything fictitious or literary for that matter and it is far from my field of expertise so I apologize if it's poorly written and hard to read.
That being said I hope you enjoy the work and fell free to ask any questions or make suggestions)
Theodore Lambert and Antonio Scapini were fresh out of college, having acceptable performances in mechanical engineering, and found themselves struggling to find a job in the sudden space race as employees from the asian market were taking over position after position. Desperate, they applied as apprentices of mechanics on various expeditions and were finally taken in by a Group called the Turf Rats, a bunch of old drunks who went into conflict zones like the fishermen of the mid XXº century to scavenge warships and other vessels.
Scapini entertained himself trying to make working machines out of unwanted scrap and things he kept to himself while his superiors weren't looking back at the Rats' outpost, something he grew up doing in his family shop back home. Lamb, a nickname his master had given him (not to his approval), watched him from his corner studying the manuals of the various ships they recovered and laughing at every of his colleague's failures, cheering him on with a:" Don't worry, next it may just catch fire", witch Scap replied: " The only fire you will see is going to be from my main engine lighting up your hatches HA HA". This routine went on for weeks, mouths until one day, while mixing an escape pod with a fighter's cockpit, Scap managed to have it fly; for about 30 seconds before the lack of wings or any thrust supporting lift resulted in a fireball in the rocks below their hangar. This caught Lambert's attention however, as this time he knew Scap would have made it further, if they had a few components he had seen floating on his travels. From then on, the englishman and the italian would help each other out in Scap's crazy projects.
The wrecks on under the scavenger base piled up and left a landscape that resembled a cemetery. The Rats at this point didn't care, they enjoyed betting on how far the next abomination would go. One afternoon, however, they were surprised but a gust of wind that send them of the chair. It flew, no one knew how as it was horrendous but danced in the clouds like a bird. The boys had made it, finally.
Initially its name was Icebreaker XXVI, but the Rats refereed to it as a Frankenstein, as it was made up of nearly every ship available: police craft, dropships, racers and fuel tankers, even train parts had their place. The designation caught on and the people around the sector started use it for every amalgamation that somehow worked.
A year passed and the two finished their course. Icebreaker XXVI had crashed a few months back during testing but left interesting results for his would-be successors.
Confident the boys decided to become partners. They cached a ride with their former group to the nearest conflict zone and set up a shop near a small city on the system nearby. Of course, this was only a way to pay rent and a stop from various scavengers with parts to make more Frankenstiens. Sometimes the job was for local workers, others their old pals but there were times where they would find themselves with missiles and shell flying around them to get fresh materials.
Their goal was to have a working vessel they could be sold on the market and that hope came in the form of the LS-2 Work Horse. The small ship was made up of components that were relatively easy to find, possessing a large cargo container and a weapon loadout that gave it teeth. Coupled with surprisingly low price resulted in the craft being extremely popular in the poorest markets. Its performance was inferior to that of any other ship of it's class by established corporations, but it was all many could afford so it sold so much it put the partners on the map, they were small but visible.
Lamb&Scap Inc. had been born and boys, now men, were radiant with their success.
To keep itself afloat it tried its hand in every vehicle it could think of. From freighters, to armoured vehicles, to carriers, even mechs and walkers were conserved, all with very mixed successes but enough to give it's founders a calm life.
The big dogs of the business laughed at the mentioning of those factories. But neither Lambert nor Scapini cared has they loved to see their monstrosities flying over their heads.
The company kept growing slowly but steadily, their miniscule operational range. Even after Theodore and Antonio had succumbed to time new blood moved to gears of the factories. The war with the Vandull was one of the highest points of the company as they serialized any Frankenstein that proved to be of any help to the settlements near the front lines like the MACSA (Mobile Anti Capital Ship Artillery). So many abominations plagued the sky in those times even the aliens thought them to be ugly, and that was L&S's pride.
In the current days, however, it has taken a low profile. The sudden influx of military grade vessels raised the competition significantly, in a way they were not prepared to handle.
There also have been some problems from inside the door: The current CEO is conservative preferring to stick to production to older designs rather than betting on new Frankensteins. A recent controversy involving a promising engineer when a safety inspector found him playing around with various alien tech and AI also doesn't help. The army later arrived to find an empty workshop, it's though the other works help their colleague escape nut no one can prove a thing. Either way it's best not to catch the press's attention.
But who knows, admires of Lambert and Scapini apply every day for a job at L&S Inc. and we may once again see horrendous machines fill the verse.