Chapter Three: Pirate Mayhem
"Master Teasel, I'm picking up a signal from one of our Draches," a high pitched, slightly whiny voice said over to the man in green, sitting in a chair just behind and above the robot. "A Drache, hmm? Which one? I don't remember sending any of you Servbots out to explore or anything. What number is it?" a much more mature voice asked, and footsteps could be heard on the metallic surface of the floor as the gray haired, green armor wearing figure named Teasel came forward to look over the Servbot's shoulder. Servbot #21, who was sitting at the screen, punched up the number of the craft. "Drache number zero-zero-five, Master Teasel. But, according to our logs, that craft was destroyed by Mega Man on Kattlelox Island about four years ago."
"Hmm... it seems that someone must have found one of our Draches, and put it back together," Teasel mused. "Alright, it's time to visit Kattlelox Island again. We'll get that Drache back, and deal with the person who put it back together. If we're lucky, there will be lots of things we can get from the Island now, especially since that Blue Boy is off on another Dig!" Teasel's laughter filled the bridge area, and could be heard even outside the ship as the large ship, with the words Gesellchaft II etched on the side began a slow, leisurely turn, heading back toward the Island where the Bonnes had first met Mega Man. "Full speed to Kattlelox Island! There'll be no one to stop us this time!"
Tron appeared on the bridge as Teasel laughed maniacally. "Teasel, what's going on? I was working on a new robot, and then everything gets knocked all over the place because we're changing direction suddenly!" she went from a nice tone of voice to yelling by the end of her sentence, fairly annoyed at this newfound problem. "Come on, give us some time to get ready for a change of direction here, this Gesellchaft isn't as stable as the old one yet, ya know!" she sighed and shook her head a bit, hands on her hips as she looked back up to her big brother. "I guess this means we aren't going after Mega Man, huh?"
"That's right Tron, and for a good reason," Teasel began. "One of our old Draches has been reactivated on Kattlelox Island, and I think it's time we actually made money instead of losing it in battle with that blue boy!" Teasel laughed a bit as Tron looked thoughtful for a moment, and then gave a quick nod and a grin. "Alright, Teasel! Good idea! We'll go back to Kattlelox, raze the city, and then steal everything of value! Just like old times! I'll have everything ready by the time we get there!" she exclaimed, and ran back to the mecha bay, to finish up and get things ready. "Number 21, how long will it take for us to intercept the Drache?" Teasel asked, as he sat back down in his chair. "We will intercept him in about 5 hours, at full speed, Master Teasel."
----
Rick was walking back out of Apple Market, wearing his full suit of red and gray power armor, except with his helmet in hand. Soon, he caught up to Melissa, who was sitting on the ramp that led into the Shadow Nova. "Melissa, I'm glad you didn't leave." Rick smiled, and then grinned widely, as he saw the expression on her face when she saw the armor. "Wow... so, you're a Digger, and not a Mechanic or Designer, Rick?" she asked, standing up to look at his armor. "That's right... I'm a Digger as of about 3 hours ago, actually. This is my powered armor suit, which I call Nova. It has two fully functioning weapon systems, jump coils, a strengthened exoskeleton, and some of the hardest armor this side of one of this Island's Sub-Gates." He laughed a little bit, and then nodded to her. "Oh yeah, the thruster plans... Hold on a second," and he walked up the ramp and over to a nearby computer console, pulling up the plans and then copying them into a data disk, then ejected it as he walked back over to her.
"Here you are, Melissa. This has all the details you might need to replicate this system. If you ever figure out a way to enhance and better it, let me know. Extra speed is always a good thing, I think." He grinned, handing the disk to her. Melissa took it, and tucked the disk into one of her pockets. "Well, Rick, I guess I'll be seeing ya sometime later," she exclaimed, smiling at him as she clasped her hands together behind her back. "It was great meeting you, and it was great to work on your airship, too."
Rick watched as she ran up and into her airship, and smiled, waving to her as she started it up, stepping back as her ship ascended into the sky. "Well, I guess it's just you and me now, Nova," he commented, before turning to go back up the ramp. "Computer, close Ramp door. Begin take off sequence." He said, loudly enough for the computer system to understand his commands. "Acknowledged. Please return to the cockpit for your safety," it replied, just as Rick went, rung by rung, up the ladder. Then he opened the door and entered the cockpit as the ship slowly ascended as well, thrusters flaring as he slipped into his pilot's seat, and then buckled himself up in the seat as he took the lever in hand, the wings now fully in their normal, horizontal position. Slowly pushing the lever forward with his left hand, he took control of the control stick as he began to move forward, and away from the island.
Well, I may as well go to Nino Island, Rick thought. Have to get this airship registered, and that's the best place to do so. "Computer, set auto-nav course for Nino Island. Estimate time at full cruising speed until arrival." He said to the computer, and the ship slowly turned to face the direction he needed to go in. "Estimated time to Nino Island is ten hours, and twenty-one minutes, at full cruising speed." The computer replied, and Rick nodded, setting the lever all the way forward with his left hand, which makes the ship increase in speed.
----
"Miss Tron, the Drache we have been tracking has begun to turn towards us," the same Servbot said. "When will we intercept the Drache?" Tron asked, looking from the chair her brother had left over half an hour ago, to go get some rest. "We will have contact with the Drache in about 45 minutes, Miss Tron." The same whiny voice replied, looking back to its master. "However, the Drache seems much faster than the normal Draches, Miss Tron. I think someone must have changed its engine somehow." Tron looked thoughtful at that, and then nodded once, quickly. A fist went into the palm of her other hand, and she smiled. "Well, if the person who is flying it can improve that Drache, then they can improve ours, too! It won't cost us a thing either!"
"Yes ma'am!" each and every Servbot on the bridge area said. Tron pushed a button, and the intercom crackled to life. "This is Tron. Prepare for battle! We have 45 minutes before we make contact with our target! Get all weapons and Draches ready! We won't lose this time!" she exclaimed, and a resounding cheer could be heard resonating through the decks of the ship, and a loud, echoing "Baboo!" could also be heard, even as Tron turned off the intercom. "I'll be working on my robot, the Fokker Falcon. Let me know the minute we have reached the Drache, okay? If you mess up this time, I'm going to use you to guide my missiles again!" She exclaimed, hopping out of the chair, and out the door to go back to the Mecha Hangar. "Oh no!" all five Servbots on the Bridge said loudly, wincing even as they kept straight on their course.
----
"Computer, confirm the object on radar is there." Rick said. He now had his helmet on, which was linked with the computer system on his ship now. "Confirmed. Large airship moving at 600 miles per hour is heading straight toward this ship. Recommend keeping out of weapons range. Visual Sight has not yet been established." The computer spoke out loud to him, in the cockpit. "Computer, identify class of vessel, and possible armaments."
"Airship is Class A, large enough to carry its own ships within it. It may have a particle blaster, four or six Vulcan guns upon turrets, and two rocket launchers." The computer replied, and Rick felt a cold chill run through him. "Estimated time before contact?" he asked, weighing his options carefully. Turn and run, continue on in case they were friendly, or perhaps circle wide around them. "Estimated time at current speed is 30 minutes," it replied. "However, if speed was reduced by half, it would take 45 minutes to contact."
Rick nodded, and cut his ships speed by half. "Inform me when we are five minutes away from contact, Computer." He said, and stepped away from the controls, his auto-nav keeping the ship on course. "Acknowledged" it replied, even as Rick went over to the center area of the deck, and looked up at the retractable gun above his head. A single, long barrel could be seen, though it was part of the ceiling at this angle. Pushing a button in the wall, the gun slid up and popped out of the small hatch on the top of the ship, a plate of armor settling back into place over the hole. He then reached up, and began fixing the wiring, which he had never completed beforehand, and got to work.
----
"How close are we now?" said the female voice, into the wrist communicator she had. It only worked inside the Gesellchaft II, but it was helpful for times like now, when she was working on a project. "We are less than 10 minutes away, Miss Tron. We have a visual on the Drache, but it does not look much like one of our Draches, Miss Tron." The voice on the other end replied. Servbot #28, she thought, from the sound of his voice. "Number 28, prepare the front cannons and the turreted Vulcan guns. I want to see this Drache on my monitor in here, too, and hurry it up, we're almost within range!" she exclaimed, and grinned, seeing the monitor in her robot come to life. Roll was wrong, she thought. You can create something fully usable and safe from spare parts, and still save lots of money! Then she got a good sight at the airship, and blinked in surprise. "That looks like about two or three of our Draches put together!" she said to herself, and then she grinned. "All Servbots to their stations! This is not a Drill, repeat, this is not a Drill!" a high pitched voice on the intercom said, and as Tron looked out the view screen, she could see the Servbots scrambling into positions, either at turret guns or within their own Draches.
"Teasel, Bomb, are you two ready?" Tron asked, getting both of her brothers on her screen, instead of the other airship. "Yes Tron, I'm on the Bridge. I'll be directing the fight from here, and Bomb is ready in his new ship, if he needs to be sent out for the battle." Teasel responded, to which Bomb Bonne had only to add, "Baboo!" Tron nodded, and grinned once again. "Good! Let's try to capture that ship in one piece, it'll be worth a lot if we sell it!" Teasel and Tron both laughed at that comment. "We are now less than 5 minutes away from the Drache," Servbot #21's voice could be heard as he made the announcement.
----
"We are now 5 minutes to the target. Markings on the airship register it as the Gesellchaft II." The computer said flatly, and Rick blinked in surprise- he knew that name. "Damn it... the Bonnes? Why do I have to run into them on my first flight!" he sighed, and then hurried back into the cockpit. Taking his place in the pilot's seat, he lifted the gun trigger covering, and then he pushed a button, which produced a trigger in the handle, for his index finger to pull. His left hand moved to rest on the lever which controlled the Shadow Nova's acceleration, and he quickly punched it forward, moving the ship back up to full speed. The main thrusters flared to a bright blue brilliance as the ship flashed forward. "Prepare afterburner maneuver." He said, waiting now only on the Bonnes... and suddenly, the front part of the Bonne's airship opened wide.
Out came several Draches, he noticed, the same kinds he had salvaged before. Rick laughed, he knew from experience that their armor was flimsy, and much weaker than his own ship's armor. Pressing a small button on the side of the accelerator lever, a lock on sight appeared upon the HUD. "Computer, open a channel to them." He said, just as a snotty voice came over his speakers.
"To the person flying that airship, prepare to be boarded! Or else, we will destroy your ship! Huahahahaha!" the voice laughed, and Rick winced at the annoying sound. "Nice try, but if I remember correctly, you destroyed my house a few years ago. Now, I'm going to give you and your Servbots until the count of 10 to get away from me... Or else." Rick said, a serious tone in his voice. "Kid, I don't think you know what you're talking about! We're the Bonnes! No one battles us and wins!" the voice spoke up, almost whining again.
"Yeah, right. No one except Mega Man Volnut that is, right?" Rick laughed, and he heard multiple thuds onto a metallic surface. "Ouch, that sounds like it had to hurt!" Rick commented, even as he could hear the speaker get to his feet. "That's it kid, no more Mr. Nice Pirate! Prepare to be blown out of the sky!" Teasel yelled, about to go crazy as this kid reminded him of his family's past failures. "All ships, attack him! Shoot him out of the sky!"
"You're welcome to try!" Rick countered, and with his lock on system, set the turreted gun's sights on the nearest Drache. "All too easy," he commented, as he pushed the top button on the control stick, and two shots slammed out of the top mounted cannon and into the Drache, leaving it smoking as it fell from the sky. Resetting the lock on, Rick turned to follow a Drache that was flying off to his right. Switching to Vulcan Guns, he began firing the quad guns in rapid bursts, easily dusting the Drache in a furious melee of energy bullets. "Are you pirates done, or are ya thirsty for more?" he taunted, continuing on to lock onto another Drache, who was firing at him. Feeling the ship shudder twice in response to the Vulcan gun energy slamming into its armor, Rick grinned, and then tapped the top button three times, sending cannon fire into the Drache, the third hit causing it to simply explode and evaporate in mid air.
Soon, there were three Servbots falling toward the ocean with their parachutes, and the other three Draches headed back toward the Gesellchaft II. "You haven't won yet, kid!" said a slightly high pitched voice, but he knew it wasn't a Servbot that spoke now, as a new ship flew out from behind the large airship. It was an orange color, and it looked like a bird more than an airship, he noticed. But, as it fired a large amount of rockets, Rick knew that he better fight back quickly. Slamming his thumb onto the cannon button, a steady stream poured from it, even as the rockets came in at him. One by one, his cannon fire destroyed the rockets, and one or two shots even seemed to hit the large, flying craft that was heading towards him. "Not bad..." the female's voice commented. "But not good enough!" she exclaimed, flying over his ship, not thinking he could fire at her from that angle. "Perhaps... perhaps not," he responded, his thumb tapping on the cannon button again, blasting at her mech as she began to rain Vulcan gun energy at his ship. "Activate Afterburner, now!" he exclaimed, and he was slammed into his seat as the sudden burst of speed kicked in. The gunshots went wide, as a collective "What!" could be heard from both English speaking Bonnes.
----
"How'd he do that?" Teasel yelled, slamming both fists onto the console on his chair. The Gesellchaft II was out of range of the fighting, as much for its safety as it was for Tron's. Having a large ship like this one would severely limit Tron's mobility, as well as giving her the chance that, if she missed, her own fire might hit the ship! This Drache that wasn't really a Drache was beginning to annoy him, too. That pilot had already taken out three of his Draches, and now it was faring well against even Tron's own mech! "Master Teasel, the signal coming from that airship is now gone. It must have been destroyed from the few hits our Draches had on it," one of the Servbots said.
"Tron, we're taking too much damage in our reserves! Think you can finish him?" Teasel asked, even as she watched the strange airship pull away from her, and then climb higher, to her altitude, even as it turned towards her. "I don't know, Teasel. This guy seems to have a few tricks up his sleeve. Ack!" and she quickly moved out of the way of a quad vulcan gun attack, spinning her mech into a dive as the airship approached, much faster than she would have thought possible for such a small ship. Her own Fokker Falcon shuddered a little, taking a little bit of damage from the attack as a few shots grazed its armor. "Teasel, I think we better fall back and regroup!" she exclaimed, heading toward the Gesellchaft II, even as the airship shot past her, overhead. "Agreed. Bomb, go after that airship, and distract him so Tron can get away!" Teasel said, and Tron headed back to the ship, turning the turret-like cockpit so that she faced the airship that had evaded her. "He's good..." she whispered to herself.
"Baboo!" was all that could be heard before the youngest of the Bonne's took off, heading toward Rick's airship with only some long-range guns to distract him. Which easily happened, since Bomb kept his pattern simple to avoid, but hard to get a shot off at. At the same time, Tron's mech reached the ship, and disappeared within. "All right, Bomb, good work! Now, get back to the ship, and we'll get outta here!" the little kid heard Teasel say. "Baboo," Bomb responded, and left the airship's gun range while it turned back to face them, flying toward the Gesellchaft as fast as he could.
----
"You won't get away with this, kid. Next time, we'll be ready for you. When that time comes, you'll be blown out of the sky! Huahahahaha!" Teasel began laughing like crazy, as they pulled away from his ship, and Rick sighed softly, shaking his head. He had nothing left to say, as he turned off the communication's channel, and kept the afterburners on, soon out of the Bonne's range as he continued back toward Nino Island.
"What a day."
"Master Teasel, I'm picking up a signal from one of our Draches," a high pitched, slightly whiny voice said over to the man in green, sitting in a chair just behind and above the robot. "A Drache, hmm? Which one? I don't remember sending any of you Servbots out to explore or anything. What number is it?" a much more mature voice asked, and footsteps could be heard on the metallic surface of the floor as the gray haired, green armor wearing figure named Teasel came forward to look over the Servbot's shoulder. Servbot #21, who was sitting at the screen, punched up the number of the craft. "Drache number zero-zero-five, Master Teasel. But, according to our logs, that craft was destroyed by Mega Man on Kattlelox Island about four years ago."
"Hmm... it seems that someone must have found one of our Draches, and put it back together," Teasel mused. "Alright, it's time to visit Kattlelox Island again. We'll get that Drache back, and deal with the person who put it back together. If we're lucky, there will be lots of things we can get from the Island now, especially since that Blue Boy is off on another Dig!" Teasel's laughter filled the bridge area, and could be heard even outside the ship as the large ship, with the words Gesellchaft II etched on the side began a slow, leisurely turn, heading back toward the Island where the Bonnes had first met Mega Man. "Full speed to Kattlelox Island! There'll be no one to stop us this time!"
Tron appeared on the bridge as Teasel laughed maniacally. "Teasel, what's going on? I was working on a new robot, and then everything gets knocked all over the place because we're changing direction suddenly!" she went from a nice tone of voice to yelling by the end of her sentence, fairly annoyed at this newfound problem. "Come on, give us some time to get ready for a change of direction here, this Gesellchaft isn't as stable as the old one yet, ya know!" she sighed and shook her head a bit, hands on her hips as she looked back up to her big brother. "I guess this means we aren't going after Mega Man, huh?"
"That's right Tron, and for a good reason," Teasel began. "One of our old Draches has been reactivated on Kattlelox Island, and I think it's time we actually made money instead of losing it in battle with that blue boy!" Teasel laughed a bit as Tron looked thoughtful for a moment, and then gave a quick nod and a grin. "Alright, Teasel! Good idea! We'll go back to Kattlelox, raze the city, and then steal everything of value! Just like old times! I'll have everything ready by the time we get there!" she exclaimed, and ran back to the mecha bay, to finish up and get things ready. "Number 21, how long will it take for us to intercept the Drache?" Teasel asked, as he sat back down in his chair. "We will intercept him in about 5 hours, at full speed, Master Teasel."
----
Rick was walking back out of Apple Market, wearing his full suit of red and gray power armor, except with his helmet in hand. Soon, he caught up to Melissa, who was sitting on the ramp that led into the Shadow Nova. "Melissa, I'm glad you didn't leave." Rick smiled, and then grinned widely, as he saw the expression on her face when she saw the armor. "Wow... so, you're a Digger, and not a Mechanic or Designer, Rick?" she asked, standing up to look at his armor. "That's right... I'm a Digger as of about 3 hours ago, actually. This is my powered armor suit, which I call Nova. It has two fully functioning weapon systems, jump coils, a strengthened exoskeleton, and some of the hardest armor this side of one of this Island's Sub-Gates." He laughed a little bit, and then nodded to her. "Oh yeah, the thruster plans... Hold on a second," and he walked up the ramp and over to a nearby computer console, pulling up the plans and then copying them into a data disk, then ejected it as he walked back over to her.
"Here you are, Melissa. This has all the details you might need to replicate this system. If you ever figure out a way to enhance and better it, let me know. Extra speed is always a good thing, I think." He grinned, handing the disk to her. Melissa took it, and tucked the disk into one of her pockets. "Well, Rick, I guess I'll be seeing ya sometime later," she exclaimed, smiling at him as she clasped her hands together behind her back. "It was great meeting you, and it was great to work on your airship, too."
Rick watched as she ran up and into her airship, and smiled, waving to her as she started it up, stepping back as her ship ascended into the sky. "Well, I guess it's just you and me now, Nova," he commented, before turning to go back up the ramp. "Computer, close Ramp door. Begin take off sequence." He said, loudly enough for the computer system to understand his commands. "Acknowledged. Please return to the cockpit for your safety," it replied, just as Rick went, rung by rung, up the ladder. Then he opened the door and entered the cockpit as the ship slowly ascended as well, thrusters flaring as he slipped into his pilot's seat, and then buckled himself up in the seat as he took the lever in hand, the wings now fully in their normal, horizontal position. Slowly pushing the lever forward with his left hand, he took control of the control stick as he began to move forward, and away from the island.
Well, I may as well go to Nino Island, Rick thought. Have to get this airship registered, and that's the best place to do so. "Computer, set auto-nav course for Nino Island. Estimate time at full cruising speed until arrival." He said to the computer, and the ship slowly turned to face the direction he needed to go in. "Estimated time to Nino Island is ten hours, and twenty-one minutes, at full cruising speed." The computer replied, and Rick nodded, setting the lever all the way forward with his left hand, which makes the ship increase in speed.
----
"Miss Tron, the Drache we have been tracking has begun to turn towards us," the same Servbot said. "When will we intercept the Drache?" Tron asked, looking from the chair her brother had left over half an hour ago, to go get some rest. "We will have contact with the Drache in about 45 minutes, Miss Tron." The same whiny voice replied, looking back to its master. "However, the Drache seems much faster than the normal Draches, Miss Tron. I think someone must have changed its engine somehow." Tron looked thoughtful at that, and then nodded once, quickly. A fist went into the palm of her other hand, and she smiled. "Well, if the person who is flying it can improve that Drache, then they can improve ours, too! It won't cost us a thing either!"
"Yes ma'am!" each and every Servbot on the bridge area said. Tron pushed a button, and the intercom crackled to life. "This is Tron. Prepare for battle! We have 45 minutes before we make contact with our target! Get all weapons and Draches ready! We won't lose this time!" she exclaimed, and a resounding cheer could be heard resonating through the decks of the ship, and a loud, echoing "Baboo!" could also be heard, even as Tron turned off the intercom. "I'll be working on my robot, the Fokker Falcon. Let me know the minute we have reached the Drache, okay? If you mess up this time, I'm going to use you to guide my missiles again!" She exclaimed, hopping out of the chair, and out the door to go back to the Mecha Hangar. "Oh no!" all five Servbots on the Bridge said loudly, wincing even as they kept straight on their course.
----
"Computer, confirm the object on radar is there." Rick said. He now had his helmet on, which was linked with the computer system on his ship now. "Confirmed. Large airship moving at 600 miles per hour is heading straight toward this ship. Recommend keeping out of weapons range. Visual Sight has not yet been established." The computer spoke out loud to him, in the cockpit. "Computer, identify class of vessel, and possible armaments."
"Airship is Class A, large enough to carry its own ships within it. It may have a particle blaster, four or six Vulcan guns upon turrets, and two rocket launchers." The computer replied, and Rick felt a cold chill run through him. "Estimated time before contact?" he asked, weighing his options carefully. Turn and run, continue on in case they were friendly, or perhaps circle wide around them. "Estimated time at current speed is 30 minutes," it replied. "However, if speed was reduced by half, it would take 45 minutes to contact."
Rick nodded, and cut his ships speed by half. "Inform me when we are five minutes away from contact, Computer." He said, and stepped away from the controls, his auto-nav keeping the ship on course. "Acknowledged" it replied, even as Rick went over to the center area of the deck, and looked up at the retractable gun above his head. A single, long barrel could be seen, though it was part of the ceiling at this angle. Pushing a button in the wall, the gun slid up and popped out of the small hatch on the top of the ship, a plate of armor settling back into place over the hole. He then reached up, and began fixing the wiring, which he had never completed beforehand, and got to work.
----
"How close are we now?" said the female voice, into the wrist communicator she had. It only worked inside the Gesellchaft II, but it was helpful for times like now, when she was working on a project. "We are less than 10 minutes away, Miss Tron. We have a visual on the Drache, but it does not look much like one of our Draches, Miss Tron." The voice on the other end replied. Servbot #28, she thought, from the sound of his voice. "Number 28, prepare the front cannons and the turreted Vulcan guns. I want to see this Drache on my monitor in here, too, and hurry it up, we're almost within range!" she exclaimed, and grinned, seeing the monitor in her robot come to life. Roll was wrong, she thought. You can create something fully usable and safe from spare parts, and still save lots of money! Then she got a good sight at the airship, and blinked in surprise. "That looks like about two or three of our Draches put together!" she said to herself, and then she grinned. "All Servbots to their stations! This is not a Drill, repeat, this is not a Drill!" a high pitched voice on the intercom said, and as Tron looked out the view screen, she could see the Servbots scrambling into positions, either at turret guns or within their own Draches.
"Teasel, Bomb, are you two ready?" Tron asked, getting both of her brothers on her screen, instead of the other airship. "Yes Tron, I'm on the Bridge. I'll be directing the fight from here, and Bomb is ready in his new ship, if he needs to be sent out for the battle." Teasel responded, to which Bomb Bonne had only to add, "Baboo!" Tron nodded, and grinned once again. "Good! Let's try to capture that ship in one piece, it'll be worth a lot if we sell it!" Teasel and Tron both laughed at that comment. "We are now less than 5 minutes away from the Drache," Servbot #21's voice could be heard as he made the announcement.
----
"We are now 5 minutes to the target. Markings on the airship register it as the Gesellchaft II." The computer said flatly, and Rick blinked in surprise- he knew that name. "Damn it... the Bonnes? Why do I have to run into them on my first flight!" he sighed, and then hurried back into the cockpit. Taking his place in the pilot's seat, he lifted the gun trigger covering, and then he pushed a button, which produced a trigger in the handle, for his index finger to pull. His left hand moved to rest on the lever which controlled the Shadow Nova's acceleration, and he quickly punched it forward, moving the ship back up to full speed. The main thrusters flared to a bright blue brilliance as the ship flashed forward. "Prepare afterburner maneuver." He said, waiting now only on the Bonnes... and suddenly, the front part of the Bonne's airship opened wide.
Out came several Draches, he noticed, the same kinds he had salvaged before. Rick laughed, he knew from experience that their armor was flimsy, and much weaker than his own ship's armor. Pressing a small button on the side of the accelerator lever, a lock on sight appeared upon the HUD. "Computer, open a channel to them." He said, just as a snotty voice came over his speakers.
"To the person flying that airship, prepare to be boarded! Or else, we will destroy your ship! Huahahahaha!" the voice laughed, and Rick winced at the annoying sound. "Nice try, but if I remember correctly, you destroyed my house a few years ago. Now, I'm going to give you and your Servbots until the count of 10 to get away from me... Or else." Rick said, a serious tone in his voice. "Kid, I don't think you know what you're talking about! We're the Bonnes! No one battles us and wins!" the voice spoke up, almost whining again.
"Yeah, right. No one except Mega Man Volnut that is, right?" Rick laughed, and he heard multiple thuds onto a metallic surface. "Ouch, that sounds like it had to hurt!" Rick commented, even as he could hear the speaker get to his feet. "That's it kid, no more Mr. Nice Pirate! Prepare to be blown out of the sky!" Teasel yelled, about to go crazy as this kid reminded him of his family's past failures. "All ships, attack him! Shoot him out of the sky!"
"You're welcome to try!" Rick countered, and with his lock on system, set the turreted gun's sights on the nearest Drache. "All too easy," he commented, as he pushed the top button on the control stick, and two shots slammed out of the top mounted cannon and into the Drache, leaving it smoking as it fell from the sky. Resetting the lock on, Rick turned to follow a Drache that was flying off to his right. Switching to Vulcan Guns, he began firing the quad guns in rapid bursts, easily dusting the Drache in a furious melee of energy bullets. "Are you pirates done, or are ya thirsty for more?" he taunted, continuing on to lock onto another Drache, who was firing at him. Feeling the ship shudder twice in response to the Vulcan gun energy slamming into its armor, Rick grinned, and then tapped the top button three times, sending cannon fire into the Drache, the third hit causing it to simply explode and evaporate in mid air.
Soon, there were three Servbots falling toward the ocean with their parachutes, and the other three Draches headed back toward the Gesellchaft II. "You haven't won yet, kid!" said a slightly high pitched voice, but he knew it wasn't a Servbot that spoke now, as a new ship flew out from behind the large airship. It was an orange color, and it looked like a bird more than an airship, he noticed. But, as it fired a large amount of rockets, Rick knew that he better fight back quickly. Slamming his thumb onto the cannon button, a steady stream poured from it, even as the rockets came in at him. One by one, his cannon fire destroyed the rockets, and one or two shots even seemed to hit the large, flying craft that was heading towards him. "Not bad..." the female's voice commented. "But not good enough!" she exclaimed, flying over his ship, not thinking he could fire at her from that angle. "Perhaps... perhaps not," he responded, his thumb tapping on the cannon button again, blasting at her mech as she began to rain Vulcan gun energy at his ship. "Activate Afterburner, now!" he exclaimed, and he was slammed into his seat as the sudden burst of speed kicked in. The gunshots went wide, as a collective "What!" could be heard from both English speaking Bonnes.
----
"How'd he do that?" Teasel yelled, slamming both fists onto the console on his chair. The Gesellchaft II was out of range of the fighting, as much for its safety as it was for Tron's. Having a large ship like this one would severely limit Tron's mobility, as well as giving her the chance that, if she missed, her own fire might hit the ship! This Drache that wasn't really a Drache was beginning to annoy him, too. That pilot had already taken out three of his Draches, and now it was faring well against even Tron's own mech! "Master Teasel, the signal coming from that airship is now gone. It must have been destroyed from the few hits our Draches had on it," one of the Servbots said.
"Tron, we're taking too much damage in our reserves! Think you can finish him?" Teasel asked, even as she watched the strange airship pull away from her, and then climb higher, to her altitude, even as it turned towards her. "I don't know, Teasel. This guy seems to have a few tricks up his sleeve. Ack!" and she quickly moved out of the way of a quad vulcan gun attack, spinning her mech into a dive as the airship approached, much faster than she would have thought possible for such a small ship. Her own Fokker Falcon shuddered a little, taking a little bit of damage from the attack as a few shots grazed its armor. "Teasel, I think we better fall back and regroup!" she exclaimed, heading toward the Gesellchaft II, even as the airship shot past her, overhead. "Agreed. Bomb, go after that airship, and distract him so Tron can get away!" Teasel said, and Tron headed back to the ship, turning the turret-like cockpit so that she faced the airship that had evaded her. "He's good..." she whispered to herself.
"Baboo!" was all that could be heard before the youngest of the Bonne's took off, heading toward Rick's airship with only some long-range guns to distract him. Which easily happened, since Bomb kept his pattern simple to avoid, but hard to get a shot off at. At the same time, Tron's mech reached the ship, and disappeared within. "All right, Bomb, good work! Now, get back to the ship, and we'll get outta here!" the little kid heard Teasel say. "Baboo," Bomb responded, and left the airship's gun range while it turned back to face them, flying toward the Gesellchaft as fast as he could.
----
"You won't get away with this, kid. Next time, we'll be ready for you. When that time comes, you'll be blown out of the sky! Huahahahaha!" Teasel began laughing like crazy, as they pulled away from his ship, and Rick sighed softly, shaking his head. He had nothing left to say, as he turned off the communication's channel, and kept the afterburners on, soon out of the Bonne's range as he continued back toward Nino Island.
"What a day."