Alex Drake
From Changeling Venue
"We shoot the sick, the young, the lame,
We do our best to maim,
Because the kills all count the same,
Napalm sticks to kids."
- Running cadence at NAS Whiting Fields
"I love the smell of napalm in the morning.
Smells like... victory."
- Lt. Col. William Killgore
1st Company, 9th Cavalry (Airborne Recon)
Overview
| Seeming | Beast Windwing |
|---|---|
| Court | Summer Court •• |
| Freehold | New-New Amsterdam |
| Player | Peter V. (dalentalas (at) gmail (dot) com) US2007111280 |
Alias(es): None
Real Name: LT Alexander T. Drake, USN VFA-41 "Black Aces" (ret.)
Age: 62 according to birth certificate, appears late-30’s
Concept: Bitter Veteran
Entitlement: None
Physical description:
- Mien: Dragon-like humanoid with jet-black scales, leathery wings, and occasional wisps of smoke trailing out of his nostrils. His Summer Mantle radiates damp heat, along with a faint smell of what seems to be gasoline and barbecue.
- Mask: Non-remarkable, somewhat above average height, a bit overweight. Alex usually wears a black canvas jacket with a POW/MIA patch and a Black Aces pin on top of whatever was the first thing he grabbed out of the closet. He seems to be slow and sluggish, however capable of sudden bursts of speed.
Relevant Mechanics: None
Character Information
Flight Log: Known History
Waypoints: Basic Timeline
- Date of birth: 1945
- Enlisted: 1963
- Deployed in Vietnam: early 1965
- Taken: late 1965
- Escaped: 1999
- Released from mental institution: June 2001
- Battle in the Bronx: January 2007
- Appointed as Marshall of Summer: February, 2008
Mission Objectives: Current Activities
When not busy trying to survive on a veteran's pension, Drake organizes the city's defenses as the Marshall of the Summer Court.
Mission Background
Takeoff: Early History
Alex was born in the family of a New York automobile mechanic. His life was pretty unremarkable until he graduated high school, and planned to attend The Cooper Union college. His family could not spare anything to pay for his tuition, and Alex decided to sign up with a NAVY recruiter to get the money he needed. Due to his good eyesight and reflexes, he got assigned to the NAVY Air Force.
By the time Alex finished pilot training, he was already hooked on flying, and earned a reputation of being reckless to the point of insanity. Alex graduated among the top fifty of the course, and was transferred to the VFA-41 "Black Aces" NAVY Strike Fighter Squadron. In 1965, the squadron was deployed in ‘Nam.
The Aces toured Vietnam for about seven moths, and Alex came through it with only minor scratches and scrapes – "on balls and sheer dumb luck", as his commander once said. It was about a week before the squadron's scheduled return date when Alex's luck ran out.
Approach: Lost in the Hedge
The mission was supposed to be the last one Alex and his Weapons Officer LTJG Sammy "Payload" Higgins flew in Vietnam. Everything went on as usual, however, half way to the carrier, the navigational systems died. That wasn’t such a big problem, since all Alex had to do was to hold his course, and eventually they’d get within the visual range of the carrier.
After an hour of flying over the unfamiliar jungle, Alex realized that they were lost. He decided to backtrack, hoping to get to a familiar area, or at least within radio range of friendly troops, but that did not work either. As the plane ran out of fuel, Alex and Sammy were forced to bailed out. Sammy was injured during the landing, and died from blood loss less than 24 hours later.
Engagement: Captivity and Escape
Alex was captured by the True Fae called The Dragonlord, who turned Alex into one of his "pets". Alex doesn't remember all that well the time he spent in captivity. He does recall several flights he made with the Dragonlord's pack against the armies of other True Fae. However, such memories are tightly intertwined with memories from his combat flights in 'Nam, to a point where Alex can't make out which one is which.
As far as he can recreate the evens of his escape, he was engaged in yet another sortie, when he heard a vaguely familiar chatter at a distance. He broke off from the combat, and headed to the source of the chatter, with the rest Dragonlord's pack close on his tail. The closer he got to the source of that chatter, the more of his old human consciousness returned to him, until he finally realized for what it was: radio chatter from the control tower at the JFK Airport. Just then, the Dragonlord's pack caught up to him.
Alex was severely wounded in the ensuing aerial combat, and finally plummeted back into the jungle below. However, he survived the fall, and, once the Dragonlord's pack had left, crawled through the Hedge until he emerged near a highway in Upstate NY.
Back to Base: Return Home
Alex was found by a police patrol, unconscious and badly mangled. At first, they were unable to establish his identity; however, once he regained consciousness, he requested to contact his squadron.
The NAVY authorities were completely befuddled by the sudden appearance of a man claiming to be a pilot who went MIA on the other side of the world over 30 years ago. Luckily for Alex, they were able to match his biometrics to their old records, and the question, why did he appear about 20 years younger than he was supposed to be, got swept under the carpet. Also, unlike most Changelings, Alex never had a Fetch (or it had perished in the Vietnam jungle), and this made re-establishing his identity much easier.
Alex's description of his time spent in a Faerie earned him a diagnosis of "amnesia due to sudden late-onset post-traumatic stress syndrome" (a handy way for the NAVY to wrap up any inconsistencies in his story), and an extended stay at a mental facility. By the end of his second year there, he was discovered by Myo, who helped him come to terms with his present condition enough to be released as an off-site patient.
Alex's release happened just a few months before 9/11. He attempted to re-enlist for the following Operation Enduring Freedom, but got rejected due to his age and previous history as a mental patient. This had left him rather bitter with the military authorities.
For some time after that, Alex studied under Alexander Delapore, to whom he originally came for help with the nightmares of his Durance. However, their approach to the problem was completely different: while Delapore to get Alex to understand the cause of his fears, Alex simply tried to overcome them. In the end, they parted as Alex ended up joining the Summer Court (for which he was better suited anyway). He still holds a great respect for his old mentor.
Around 2003, Alex was told by Edria Meredith (also a student of Delapore's) of a Bright One at the House of Cards Freehold in Orlando, who shared Alex's last name. More than coincidentally, that Lost, by the name of Lance Drake, turned out to be Alex's distant relative. In addition to that, Lance somehow figured in Alex's memories of Faerie, something Alex has yet to put a claw on.
For the following years, Alex kept a low profile, surfacing only when the Summer Court needed close-range air support (in particular, during the Battle in the Bronx). However, after the re-emergence of the city's Courts in late 2007 - early 2008, he was appointed Marshall of the Summer Court by Nemo, the current Summer Monarch.
Squadron: Motley and Affiliations
- Allies: Summer Court Bronx Battle Survivors - the Oath of Blood Kinship
- Family: The Drake Family
Wingmen: Friends and Allies
- Myo - "If it weren't for her, I'd still be locked up at the loony house. I owe her a big one."
- Alexander Delapore - "Sometimes, his mumbo-jumbo is too heavy for my head. Still, he helped me to figure out where I belong."
- Lance Drake - "From what I heard, the kid's doing fine down there in Orlando. Heck, maybe some day I'll pay him a visit."
- Paul Swann - "Not sure if he kept it or lost it."
- Ox - "He's like a Claymore mine: front towards enemy, stand well back. No, wait. Make that a Daisy Cutter."
- Rook - "Never block his line of fire."
- Nemo - "In New York City, fish sushi you!"
Bogeys and Bandits: Enemies
- The Dragonlord - "Some day, I'll return to his desert. And when I'm done with it, it'll become a desert of ashes."
Flight Recorder: Quotes
By Alex:
- "Do you know what dragonfire does to unprotected flesh? No? Would you like me to demonstrate?"
- (when re-enlisting after 9/11)
Alex: "What do you mean I'm too old? Do I look like I'm sixty?"
Clerk: "Um, sir, it says that right here on your birth certificate."
About Alex:
(feel free to add one)
Radio Chatter: Rumors
(feel free to add one)
- During his time in Faerie, Alex's human consciousness was suppressed by a dragon personality. Now it's the other way around - Alex is desperately trying to keep the dragon in check. One can only guess what will happen if the Beast breaks free...
- Alex is a pyromaniac, and is responsible for several fires in the Bronx.
- Alex always carries a whiskey flask full of jet fuel... in case he gets thirsty.
- Alex's F-4 is still fully operational, armed and fueled, and ready to take off from a hidden runway in the Hedge.
Ground School: Character Inspirations
- Capt. Benjamin Willard ("Apocalypse Now"): "Saigon... shit; I'm still only in Saigon... Every time I think I'm gonna wake up back in the jungle. When I was home after my first tour, it was worse. I'd wake up and there'd be nothing... When I was here, I wanted to be there; when I was there, all I could think of was getting back into the jungle. I'm here a week now... waiting for a mission... getting softer; every minute I stay in this room, I get weaker, and every minute Charlie squats in the bush, he gets stronger. Each time I looked around, the walls moved in a little tighter."
- Lt. Col. William Killgore ("Apocalypse Now"): "You smell that? Do you smell that? Napalm, son. Nothing else in the world smells like that... I love the smell of napalm in the morning. You know, one time we had a hill bombed, for 12 hours. When it was all over, I walked up. We didn't find one of 'em, not one stinkin' body. The smell, you know that gasoline smell, the whole hill. Smelled like... victory. Someday this war's gonna end..."
- Col. Walter E. Kurtz ("Apocalypse Now"): "I've seen horrors... horrors that you've seen. But you have no right to call me a murderer. You have a right to kill me. You have a right to do that... but you have no right to judge me. [...] You have to have men who are moral... and at the same time who are able to utilize their primordial instincts to kill without feeling... without passion... without judgment... without judgment. Because it's judgment that defeats us."
- LT Pete "Maverick" Mitchell ("Top Gun"): Iceman: "You're everyone's problem. That's because every time you go up in the air, you're unsafe. I don't like you because you're dangerous." Maverick: "That's right! Ice... man. I am dangerous."
- Reign of Fire
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3evAtxHTNE
Jukebox at the Club: Soundtracks
- Puff the Magic Dragon (Vietnam Version)
- Napalm Sticks to Kids
- Highway to the Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins
- Aces High by Hammerfall (originally by Iron Maiden)
- Death from Above by Anthrax
- Napalm in the Morning by Sodom
- For Whom The Bell Tolls by Metallica
- Dragon Attack by Queen
- Fire, Fire by Motorhead
