08-12-2015, 11:32 PM
Zack smiled as Colonel agreed to join up with them. The more the merrier, as far as Zack was concerned. He pulled himself the rest of the way onto the skiff, with Colonel stepping up beside him. Miranda made her way over, and it appeared to Zack that she might be inspecting them for damage. Zack just flashed a cocky grin in response.
"Nothing to worry about," he cheerfully replied, then glanced over to their newest teammate. "Miranda, this is Colonel. Colonel, Miranda Frost. He's going to help us out with the bandits."
He stepped over to the Koopa as the two of them made their introductions. He couldn't help but think about the two odd characters that had attacked them, earlier. He also knew that he and Miranda would definitely need to debrief and discuss them and Mayor Orange. Whatever their connection was to their mysterious traveling companion was, they needed to figure it out. For better or worse, it was safe to say that Mayor Orange had been more than he appeared.
Again Zack shoved the thoughts from his mind, knowing he couldn't do anything about it now. They'd discuss it on solid land, or what passed for such in this hellscape of a verse. For now, he addressed the the Koopa that was attempting to be at the controls for this skiff.
"Thanks for the lift, buddy!" Zack said as he put a hand on the control panel, wondering how in the world this guy managed to steer it. He didn't wonder for too long, because he suddenly remembered Miranda hanging on for dear life.
The Koopa nodded in response to Zack's kind words, though it was obviously a little on edge, still. Zack noticed the crack in the creature's shell, and had a pretty good guess where that might have come from. Hopefully roughing up a soldier of Bowser's in a time of crisis wouldn't make things difficult for them down the road.
He looked back to Miranda and Colonel, taking a moment to focus on Colonel. He'd noticed the man had done something before they'd boarded the skiff, some sort of fidgeting with his electronics. He'd almost wanted to ask if everything was alright, but figured that might be considered rude. Really, he had no way of telling. His companions each had a fair amount of robotic apparatus, more than anyone he'd held with in the past. They were obviously signs of very different worlds.
Miranda suddenly made the suggestion that they hold on, unless someone knew how to drive. Zack glanced back to the controls, and the Koopa that was clearly uncomfortable behind them. That same mischievous grin that he'd displayed at the bar, before, appeared on his face and he walked over to the controls.
"I'll take a turn. Can you direct me back?" Zack asked the small Koopa.
"Yes, but are you sure...?" the Koopa asked, the uneasiness apparent in his voice as he stepped back and tightly grabbed the side of the skiff.
"It'll be alright," Zack said, despite obviously having no way of backing up that statement. "Just hang on."
He looked at the controls, seeing several buttons and two levers. He didn't really understand what each one might be, but he had a pretty general working knowledge of machinery. This skiff didn't really resemble anything he'd operated before, but that was no excuse to him. Like always, he was eager to learn.
So he compared the skiff to other machines he'd operated in the past, and assumed the right lever would be the throttle. With nothing to lose, Zack pressed it forward, expecting it to take the craft straight forward.
Instead, the right thruster was the only one that engaged, and the skiff immediately cut a hard left and began spinning in circles with great velocity. Zack stumbled back, but managed to force himself forward and throw himself onto the control panel, gripping it in a tight bear hug. As soon as he grabbed it, he quickly reached up for that lever and pulled it back, causing the skiff to stop at a hover once more. He took a breath and looked up. Miranda and Colonel appeared to have expected some level of disaster, so they were tightly gripping the side railings, as was the Koopa that had made it all the way over to them in that brief moment of chaos. All three of them, even the Koopa, looked a little less than amused at Zack for essentially cutting donuts for a few seconds, directly above a lake of lava.
Zack just gave a sheepish grin and scratched his head. "So the right lever is the right thruster...left is the left! That sure makes sense. Take two!"
With little warning other than his spoken thoughts, Zack pushed the levers forward, this time taking the skiff in a straight trajectory. He gave a thumbs up to Miranda and Colonel, half apologetically, but also hoping to give them a bit of comfort with his driving ability. The Koopa, meanwhile, eased it's way back and pointed Zack in the proper direction to it's fort.
Zack simply pushed the levers down and the skiff accelerated a little bit more. Within no time they would be at the fortress, and then they could regroup and get back to work.
"Nothing to worry about," he cheerfully replied, then glanced over to their newest teammate. "Miranda, this is Colonel. Colonel, Miranda Frost. He's going to help us out with the bandits."
He stepped over to the Koopa as the two of them made their introductions. He couldn't help but think about the two odd characters that had attacked them, earlier. He also knew that he and Miranda would definitely need to debrief and discuss them and Mayor Orange. Whatever their connection was to their mysterious traveling companion was, they needed to figure it out. For better or worse, it was safe to say that Mayor Orange had been more than he appeared.
Again Zack shoved the thoughts from his mind, knowing he couldn't do anything about it now. They'd discuss it on solid land, or what passed for such in this hellscape of a verse. For now, he addressed the the Koopa that was attempting to be at the controls for this skiff.
"Thanks for the lift, buddy!" Zack said as he put a hand on the control panel, wondering how in the world this guy managed to steer it. He didn't wonder for too long, because he suddenly remembered Miranda hanging on for dear life.
The Koopa nodded in response to Zack's kind words, though it was obviously a little on edge, still. Zack noticed the crack in the creature's shell, and had a pretty good guess where that might have come from. Hopefully roughing up a soldier of Bowser's in a time of crisis wouldn't make things difficult for them down the road.
He looked back to Miranda and Colonel, taking a moment to focus on Colonel. He'd noticed the man had done something before they'd boarded the skiff, some sort of fidgeting with his electronics. He'd almost wanted to ask if everything was alright, but figured that might be considered rude. Really, he had no way of telling. His companions each had a fair amount of robotic apparatus, more than anyone he'd held with in the past. They were obviously signs of very different worlds.
Miranda suddenly made the suggestion that they hold on, unless someone knew how to drive. Zack glanced back to the controls, and the Koopa that was clearly uncomfortable behind them. That same mischievous grin that he'd displayed at the bar, before, appeared on his face and he walked over to the controls.
"I'll take a turn. Can you direct me back?" Zack asked the small Koopa.
"Yes, but are you sure...?" the Koopa asked, the uneasiness apparent in his voice as he stepped back and tightly grabbed the side of the skiff.
"It'll be alright," Zack said, despite obviously having no way of backing up that statement. "Just hang on."
He looked at the controls, seeing several buttons and two levers. He didn't really understand what each one might be, but he had a pretty general working knowledge of machinery. This skiff didn't really resemble anything he'd operated before, but that was no excuse to him. Like always, he was eager to learn.
So he compared the skiff to other machines he'd operated in the past, and assumed the right lever would be the throttle. With nothing to lose, Zack pressed it forward, expecting it to take the craft straight forward.
Instead, the right thruster was the only one that engaged, and the skiff immediately cut a hard left and began spinning in circles with great velocity. Zack stumbled back, but managed to force himself forward and throw himself onto the control panel, gripping it in a tight bear hug. As soon as he grabbed it, he quickly reached up for that lever and pulled it back, causing the skiff to stop at a hover once more. He took a breath and looked up. Miranda and Colonel appeared to have expected some level of disaster, so they were tightly gripping the side railings, as was the Koopa that had made it all the way over to them in that brief moment of chaos. All three of them, even the Koopa, looked a little less than amused at Zack for essentially cutting donuts for a few seconds, directly above a lake of lava.
Zack just gave a sheepish grin and scratched his head. "So the right lever is the right thruster...left is the left! That sure makes sense. Take two!"
With little warning other than his spoken thoughts, Zack pushed the levers forward, this time taking the skiff in a straight trajectory. He gave a thumbs up to Miranda and Colonel, half apologetically, but also hoping to give them a bit of comfort with his driving ability. The Koopa, meanwhile, eased it's way back and pointed Zack in the proper direction to it's fort.
Zack simply pushed the levers down and the skiff accelerated a little bit more. Within no time they would be at the fortress, and then they could regroup and get back to work.