Drake

Drake, or as he refers to himself "Helmsman Drake, champion of the Daggers, unparalleled acrobat, master of disguise, merchant of secrets, and world's greatest treasure hunter" is a member of the Daggers and a recurring character in all seasons of Ships of the Northern Fleet. Drake is incredibly full of himself, thinking himself to be charismatic, daring, and beautiful. In actuality, few people pay attention to him and most laugh him off as a joke.

However, Drake uses this to his advantage. His comic nature is a persona he puts on specifically to make himself seem unimportant. It allows him to bumble into situations that always seem to provide him access to a key item or piece of information that no one else had access to.

Before Drake joined up with the Daggers after his sister Darla died to a case of Blackrot, he was a member of the Scribe Feathers where he was known by his real name Darian Fortesque. Darian joined up with the Scribes to attempt to treat his sister's illness. However, he never quite grew in the ranks and the cure for Blackrot was never given to him because the Scribe Feathers' leadership was afraid that he could not be trusted with the information.

After Darla died, Drake changed his name and joined the Daggers, disgusted with the way that bureaucracy and hierarchy can cost someone their lives. His new mission was to "never not know." His goal was to know everything, to be the key to every problem because he understood every problem, and that required infiltrating multiple fleets and governments. While much of his braggadocio is nothing but lies, he actually is fairly competent at disguise and frequently infiltrates fleets under assumed personas.

Drake is largely played for comic relief as an antagonist in seasons 1-3, however the darker side of his backstory is revealed in season 4. He becomes something of an anti-hero at that point, though he never officially joins any fleet or crew, because he finds the independence of the Daggers far more fitting.

## Notable Quotes

* "How did I know that? Because you didn't. That makes it my job."
* "He won't remember a thing. We're going to give 'em a powerful memory erasing potion... it's called Rum."
* "He's in command. She's in command. Blah Blah... There's only one person at the wheel of this ship and he could run us around on the surface if you cross him."
* "Keep your friends close, your enemies closer, but keep the guy with the key to the treasure closest of all. Don't want him making off with it."
* "We have two choices, surrender, or certain death, and luckily enough I've been waiting for certain death. I've grown rather bored of the tedium of waking up in the morning. Come at me!"
* "When you fall so far that you have nothing left to lose, you suddenly find that you owe nothing to no man. None can barter with you. None can blackmail you. It's in the depth of despair that you find true freedom."
* "If I didn't know better, I would think you were trying to seduce me." \*Gets kneed in the gut by Frida\* "I know better! I definitely know better."
* \*Climbs up on the deck of of a Necronaut Titan class ship\* "Betcha didn't know this about the Daggers... WE CAN FLY!" \*Falls backward off the deck about six feet onto the lower deck crumpled in pain\* "Gah... oooof.... not sure what I was expecting."
* "Come back to the Fleets? The Fleets are a bumbling hierarchy of fools trying to survive in a broken world, a beast with a million hands all grabbing at the treasures the others are holding. In my time with The Daggers I have seen wonders that every cabin boy, deckhand, and expendable soldier in your precious fleets will only get to dream about, and it's because I have to call no man 'Captain'."