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Tales of the Drive
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PANEL 1: The MACHITO has landed in front of a palace. Steam gathers under the ship, the sun comes in from the side. SOUND EFFECT: knock knock NANDO, from inside the ship: Orla, can I talk to you for a second? ORLA, from inside the ship: Of course. PANEL 2: ORLA pours herself a cup of coffee from a coffee maker, while NANDO stands behind a counter. On the counter is a cake under a glass cloche with a note taped on that reads “Do NOT eat! Is Nosh’s Cake! [heart]” NANDO: Why did Admiral Mbeki not arrest Los Tres Primos? ORLA: Because you asked him not to. PANEL 3: NANDO reacts, holding his hand to his chest. ORLA turns and puts a hand on the counter, the other hand. holding her mug of coffee. NANDO: Yeah but WHY? I’m not anything to his chain of command. ORLA: ‘Nando, the perception of power IS power. PANEL 4: ORLA explains while holding her coffee. ORLA: Every Admiral…every Administrator…every Jinyiwei Agent serves the Empire. And right now each one of them is doing the mental math on who the next Emperor will be. PANEL 5: NANDO fiddles with his hands, nervously while ORLA continues. ORLA: This is good. This is what you want. No one wants to get on your bad side, because next week you might rule over them. PANEL 6: ORLA cocks an eyebrow as she takes a sip of her coffee. ORLA: So when you walk into that Grand Council tomorrow, and the eyes of a thousand cousins fall on you… PANEL 7: ORLA points decidedly on the counter while holding her coffee and looking straight at the viewer. ORLA: If they believe you control the room. YOU ALREADY DO. —— Want to read the full story? Join us at Patreon.com/drive for the *FULL* Tales of the Drive archives, art giveaways, fun community, and more! DRIVE copyright Dave Kellett. Colors by Beth Reidmiller

PANEL 1: The MACHITO has landed in front of a palace. Steam gathers under the ship, the sun comes in from the side. SOUND EFFECT: knock knock NANDO, from inside the ship: Orla, can I talk to you for a second? ORLA, from inside the ship: Of course. PANEL 2: ORLA pours herself a cup of coffee from a coffee maker, while NANDO stands behind a counter. On the counter is a cake under a glass cloche with a note taped on that reads “Do NOT eat! Is Nosh’s Cake! [heart]” NANDO: Why did Admiral Mbeki not arrest Los Tres Primos? ORLA: Because you asked him not to. PANEL 3: NANDO reacts, holding his hand to his chest. ORLA turns and puts a hand on the counter, the other hand. holding her mug of coffee. NANDO: Yeah but WHY? I’m not anything to his chain of command. ORLA: ‘Nando, the perception of power IS power. PANEL 4: ORLA explains while holding her coffee. ORLA: Every Admiral…every Administrator…every Jinyiwei Agent serves the Empire. And right now each one of them is doing the mental math on who the next Emperor will be. PANEL 5: NANDO fiddles with his hands, nervously while ORLA continues. ORLA: This is good. This is what you want. No one wants to get on your bad side, because next week you might rule over them. PANEL 6: ORLA cocks an eyebrow as she takes a sip of her coffee. ORLA: So when you walk into that Grand Council tomorrow, and the eyes of a thousand cousins fall on you… PANEL 7: ORLA points decidedly on the counter while holding her coffee and looking straight at the viewer. ORLA: If they believe you control the room. YOU ALREADY DO. —— Want to read the full story? Join us at Patreon.com/drive for the *FULL* Tales of the Drive archives, art giveaways, fun community, and more! DRIVE copyright Dave Kellett. Colors by Beth Reidmiller
FULL ARCHIVES
Act 5. Pg 108
Act 5. Pg 109
Act 5. Pg 110
Act 5. Pg 111
JUMP TO:
Act 1Act 4
Act 2Act 5
Act 3Act 6
Tales of the Drive
JUMP TO:  Act 1 Act 2 Act 3 Act 4 Act 5Act 6 Tales of the Drive
ARCHIVE
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Act 5. Pg 111
Posted on August 20, 2026 by Beth Reidmiller

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