01-31-2016, 07:30 PM
Drake had known a dragon back home once. He'd been a real prick, but also insanely wealthy and influential. Somewhere between a king and an oil baron, the blue dragon had often contacted Drake about buying derelict VARIAtech equipment. It was because of this that the smuggler was sort of surprised that the dragon Zack had hijacked was completely fine with the fact its handler had thrown off its back. Whatever; different universe, different dragons.
There were four dragon riders remaining, and as they swept through the suffocating skies, rippling fields of pumice and obsidian zipping past far below, Drake began to formulate a plan. Sure this clown car wasn't exactly a Viper II, but he'd already put it through its paces, and what it lacked in speed, it made up for in maneuverability. Just don't bank too hard or turn it upside down. Zack and Drake had learned that the hard way.
Also, there were a large array of shiny buttons on the panel that Drake hadn't tried yet. Maybe they were weapons systems? I mean, honestly the cavernous design of this thing didn't leave much room for any hidden systems at all, but that didn't mean such a thing couldn't be crammed in some where. Wiggling his fingers for a moment, Drake opted to jab a big red button that had a pair of angry eyes on it.
When he did so, an enormous, slightly phallic, missile with angry eyes and arms on it blasted out from...somewhere in the front of the clown car. It shot off into a black bank of clouds, leaving a loud whistling jet stream behind it.
"Hmm."
Drake jabbed the button again, but nothing happened. Okay, so apparently that thing had only had one shot. Grimmacing, Drake resisted the urge to try the other buttons, on the likey chance that they too were one-shot deals. Drake became dimly aware that he'd lost sight of one of the riders, and on a whim, ducked just in time to avoid having his head bitten off by a swooping lizard monster.
"Always nice to have a volunteer..." Drake muttered, giving the throttle on the clown car a kick in the ass. The pitiable rotor that kept the machine airborne revved to life, making a raspy sound not entirely unlike a giant fart. The dragon was already hundreds of yards away, and there was no way Drake was going to out speed the monster and his tiny friend. No, he would have to make the dragon and its rider play his game insteaed. Drake whipped the clown car around, back towards the cloud of scales and claws that Zack was caught up in. The SOLDIER was holding his own, but three on one is terrible odds.
The smuggler knew that, by now, his predator had already likely winged over and was on his way to make a second pass. Drake leaned into the control panel, willing the clown car to hurry up. His keen eyes spotted a dragon that had locked on to Zack's tail, so the smuggler cut the power and let the aircraft plummet a few feet, only to put himself right in front of the snout of Zack's pursuer.
To further goad the rider, Drake pulled out his plasma derringer and fired a pot shot which whizzed past the helmeted bandit's face like a green flash of lightning. Sneering, the bandit slapped his dragon's neck and caused the bronze-scaled monstrosity to belch forth an acrid stream of fire. Drake juked upwards and pointed the roto forwards, causing the clown car to zip back right over top of the dragon's back.
Suddenly, the came a loud whistle from behind Drake's head, and the smuggler instantly knew it to be his prior assailant. Both Drake and the rider he was screwing with turned their heads to see the hulking creature gliding towards them at top speed, eager to pluck the clown car out of the sky. He whipped his derringer around and squinted sharply for a moment, before squeezing off an emerald shot which smacked into the incoming dragon's wing joint with a spray of magnetized plasma.
The swooping beast let loose a shrill screech as its entire wing convulsed momentarily, throwing its vector just barely off course enough to allow Drake to buzz off to the right while the faltering monster slammed into his wingmate with full force. Both riders and dragons were immediately caught up in each other, and the collective tangle of wings and tails plummeted swiftly towards the ground far below.
Grinning, Drake wheeled the clown car around buzzed back towards Zack, who was still tangling with the other two riders. They seemed a little too preoccupied to notice the smuggler hovering above the furball, er, scaleball, rather. This gave him a chance to look at the toys on the weapons(?) panel again. One in particular caught his eye; it depicted a ball with vertical, speedy lines above it. Did this thing have some sort of bomb hatch? Well, might as well try it and take a royal dump on these smelly herpephiles. The botton made an adorable little Boop! when Drake pressed it.
In the next instant, Drake was in the air, several dozen yards above the clown car, somehow having been ejected by a hidden spring under his seat. Honestly, that didn't make any sense, but then Drake realized that the clown car had tipped over and was falling rapidly to the scorched earth. As Drake hit the zenith of his upwards momentum, he had only one thing to say.
"Hmmm..."
There were four dragon riders remaining, and as they swept through the suffocating skies, rippling fields of pumice and obsidian zipping past far below, Drake began to formulate a plan. Sure this clown car wasn't exactly a Viper II, but he'd already put it through its paces, and what it lacked in speed, it made up for in maneuverability. Just don't bank too hard or turn it upside down. Zack and Drake had learned that the hard way.
Also, there were a large array of shiny buttons on the panel that Drake hadn't tried yet. Maybe they were weapons systems? I mean, honestly the cavernous design of this thing didn't leave much room for any hidden systems at all, but that didn't mean such a thing couldn't be crammed in some where. Wiggling his fingers for a moment, Drake opted to jab a big red button that had a pair of angry eyes on it.
When he did so, an enormous, slightly phallic, missile with angry eyes and arms on it blasted out from...somewhere in the front of the clown car. It shot off into a black bank of clouds, leaving a loud whistling jet stream behind it.
"Hmm."
Drake jabbed the button again, but nothing happened. Okay, so apparently that thing had only had one shot. Grimmacing, Drake resisted the urge to try the other buttons, on the likey chance that they too were one-shot deals. Drake became dimly aware that he'd lost sight of one of the riders, and on a whim, ducked just in time to avoid having his head bitten off by a swooping lizard monster.
"Always nice to have a volunteer..." Drake muttered, giving the throttle on the clown car a kick in the ass. The pitiable rotor that kept the machine airborne revved to life, making a raspy sound not entirely unlike a giant fart. The dragon was already hundreds of yards away, and there was no way Drake was going to out speed the monster and his tiny friend. No, he would have to make the dragon and its rider play his game insteaed. Drake whipped the clown car around, back towards the cloud of scales and claws that Zack was caught up in. The SOLDIER was holding his own, but three on one is terrible odds.
The smuggler knew that, by now, his predator had already likely winged over and was on his way to make a second pass. Drake leaned into the control panel, willing the clown car to hurry up. His keen eyes spotted a dragon that had locked on to Zack's tail, so the smuggler cut the power and let the aircraft plummet a few feet, only to put himself right in front of the snout of Zack's pursuer.
To further goad the rider, Drake pulled out his plasma derringer and fired a pot shot which whizzed past the helmeted bandit's face like a green flash of lightning. Sneering, the bandit slapped his dragon's neck and caused the bronze-scaled monstrosity to belch forth an acrid stream of fire. Drake juked upwards and pointed the roto forwards, causing the clown car to zip back right over top of the dragon's back.
Suddenly, the came a loud whistle from behind Drake's head, and the smuggler instantly knew it to be his prior assailant. Both Drake and the rider he was screwing with turned their heads to see the hulking creature gliding towards them at top speed, eager to pluck the clown car out of the sky. He whipped his derringer around and squinted sharply for a moment, before squeezing off an emerald shot which smacked into the incoming dragon's wing joint with a spray of magnetized plasma.
The swooping beast let loose a shrill screech as its entire wing convulsed momentarily, throwing its vector just barely off course enough to allow Drake to buzz off to the right while the faltering monster slammed into his wingmate with full force. Both riders and dragons were immediately caught up in each other, and the collective tangle of wings and tails plummeted swiftly towards the ground far below.
Grinning, Drake wheeled the clown car around buzzed back towards Zack, who was still tangling with the other two riders. They seemed a little too preoccupied to notice the smuggler hovering above the furball, er, scaleball, rather. This gave him a chance to look at the toys on the weapons(?) panel again. One in particular caught his eye; it depicted a ball with vertical, speedy lines above it. Did this thing have some sort of bomb hatch? Well, might as well try it and take a royal dump on these smelly herpephiles. The botton made an adorable little Boop! when Drake pressed it.
In the next instant, Drake was in the air, several dozen yards above the clown car, somehow having been ejected by a hidden spring under his seat. Honestly, that didn't make any sense, but then Drake realized that the clown car had tipped over and was falling rapidly to the scorched earth. As Drake hit the zenith of his upwards momentum, he had only one thing to say.
"Hmmm..."
And, we dream of home I dream of life out of here Their dreams are small My dreams don't know fear I got my heart full of hope I will change everything No matter what I'm told How impossible it seems We did it before And we'll do it again We're indestructible Even when we're tired And we've been here before Just you and I
Don't try to rescue me I don't need to be rescued
Don't try to rescue me I don't need to be rescued