Foreword:
I wish I could've updated sooner, but this whole 'coming of age' story arc kinda came to me as an afterthought. ^^' There I was, working on what I had intended to be Chapter 2, and I was getting along quite well with it, thinking I'd be able to post in a timely manner after all... Then I suddenly realized (thanks to ZacAttack) that there needed to be something between that chapter and Chapter 1 to fill the gap between them. The transition was just too abrupt and sudden, and I realized that the story would benefit from a little more character development early on. But I didn't want to just arbitrarily stuff something in that didn't have any bearing on the plot. So, with the help of my little sister (who is practically my co-author for this project), I cobbled together a chapter that carried the essential development I wanted, but wasn't just extra fluff... and then that chapter came out so long I had to split it into two chapters. So chapter 2 is now chapter 4 (or 5, or 6...), the new chapter 2 is now chapters 2 and 3, and chapter 3 is finished but I'm gonna wait a week or so before I post it to give myself a head start on planning for the next few chapters (I just realized there's a whole lot of plot stuff that I still need to work out). o_0
"I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around."
— Psalm 3:6
« ... »
Numbers and equations spun through Kaden's mind as he hurriedly worked on the project before him, holding his wrench in his teeth while his hands were busy fastening a clasp around a stubborn nozzle. The internal temperature needed to be -126 degrees, right? Or was that today's date? He didn't have much time, and the pressure to finish quickly was mixing up his train of thought. I have to get over there soon, or I'll miss him!
Once the clasp was in place he took his wrench in hand and used it to tighten the seal. Then he grabbed his contraption and sprinted to the other side of his workshop, leaping over disorganized clutter all the way. He practically threw his project into the vice and spun the crank around to press it securely in place, simultaneously grabbing a welding mask from the bench next to him. Now he took a breath and paused for a moment to settle down. This next part was delicate, and he couldn't afford to speed through it. Slowly and carefully he loosened a small valve near the top of his invention, and held still while it whistled off a steady stream of cold smoke. With his eyes fixed intently on the open valve and his tongue stuck out at an angle, he held up a syringe over the small opening and meticulously allowed a single drop of clear liquid to fall in.
Immediately he snapped back to fast mode, closing the valve tightly with one deft twist of his wrist, and then he picked up a small device off the floor that looked like a flat pad with a digital display and several buttons. His eyes flitted across the screen, hastily reading the numbers that scrolled by, until an ecstatic smile played across his brown-striped cheeks.
"Yes! The chemical reaction is stable!" he exclaimed. "And it didn't blow up this time!"
Kaden flung off his mask and released the successful experiment from the vice. He stuffed it into a backpack sitting open on the bench next to him, which he slung over his shoulders. He dashed outside, where he was greeted by a warm breeze. He smiled happily, taking in a deep, satisfied
breath as his ears whipped about. The wind was on his side today. With a quick tug on his backpack straps to make sure it was securely in place, he activated his hoverboots and blasted off.
The scenery soared past in a reddish-brown blur as Kaden rocketed through the plains and valleys of Lumos's wild frontier. Here, beyond the outskirts of the Lombax settlement where he lived, was the place where he truly felt at home. There was just something about the fresh air, the uneven landscape, and the wide-open space that stretched all the way to the horizon... Being out here where he could go as fast and as far as he wanted without concern for hurting or worrying anyone—made him feel free and strong and alive like nowhere else. Why Alister was so eager to leave this place was beyond him, although he could understand his desire to see new worlds and explore different mysteries—he shared some of that sentiment himself.
After a few minutes of racing forward in an almost straight line, the young Lombax looked up at an approaching stone wall that towered hazardously before him. He leaned his weight to the left to execute a smooth turn and flew along the base of the cliffside until the structure ended, then banked to the right and made a steep dip down into a shaded valley cleaved in half by a wide river. Kaden charged on, savoring the mist that his boots kicked up as he zipped across, his feet hovering mere inches from the surface of the water. As he left the river behind and began to climb the steady incline out of the valley, he suddenly found himself back in the sun. That was his signal to make a slight detour.
He executed a sharp ninety-degree turn and leaned forward as he jetted ahead as fast as he could. His eyes were fixed on a spot dead-ahead where the ground suddenly dropped off into a steep cliff that tapered into a canyon below and came up even with its sister cliff on the other side. The space between them was considerable, as was the fall that waited should one unsuccessfully attempt to bridge the gap. Most wouldn't even consider taking the jump, but such a stunt was too simple to satisfy Kaden.
At maximum speed, with a daring smile and a sparkle in his eyes, he reached the edge of the cliff and jumped. The momentum of his hoverboots carried him high into the air, and at the pinnacle of his upward arc he looked excitedly down at his intended landing spot. As the neighboring cliffside rushed toward him he straightened his body and stretched out his legs.
His trajectory was perfect, and when his feet came in contact with the rocky ground his hoverboots caught his weight and continued to carry him forward like clockwork. Of his own accord, however, he ground to a halt and looked behind him. He saw the patch of disturbed dirt where he'd landed, and a few feet closer to the cliff edge there was a short branch with a piece of cloth attached to the end, sticking out of the earth like a makeshift flag. He smiled victoriously and walked over to it, pulling it from its current place and replanting it beside the blackened crater where he'd touched down a few seconds ago.
"Goodbye, record," he muttered to himself. "I'll see you again tomorrow."
Before long Kaden's journey found him at his destination— a small, semi-circular plot of land almost completely enclosed by rock formations. He and Alister had stumbled upon it one day while hoverbooting and it quickly became a favorite place of theirs to meet. Al had agreed to be there today, and Kaden was banking on that promise as he carefully tiptoed toward the nearest entrance to their little oasis.
Suddenly he jumped out into the open, eagerly shouting, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
Then he gasped and dove behind a nearby boulder just in time to avoid a plasma blast that seared through the air right past him. A second later he poked his head cautiously back out and saw Alister standing ten feet away, pointing a blaster at him.
"Holy Gelatonium, you scared me!" the older Lombax exclaimed.
"Me?" Kaden argued in a nervous voice, "You're the one with the gun!"
Alister lowered his weapon and sheepishly muttered, "Sorry, I was practicing my aim. You okay?"
Kaden emerged from his hiding place and walked over to his friend, sarcastically muttering, "I'll need therapy for the next year or two, but I'll be fine."
Alister rolled his eyes with a half-annoyed, half-endearing smile.
"This morning I went to the militia training center and signed up," he said. "I have an initiation exam scheduled for this afternoon."
"Whoa, they don't give you much time to prepare, do they?"
"Actually, they recommended I wait at least a week before taking the exam, but I figure I've been waiting long enough."
"I dunno, Al..." Kaden muttered, "Maybe you should wait."
"This coming from you?"Alister scoffed. "How long did it take you to get here?"
Kaden whipped out his watch and proudly stated, "Nine minutes and twenty-eight seconds."
"Is that a new record?"
"No, but I lost ten seconds checking to see if I broke another record— which I did, by the way."
Alister eyed Kaden with a snide smile as though to say, 'I rest my case.'
"All right, point taken," Kaden relented. "I'm just saying: there's a difference between hurrying and rushing."
"Yeah, I know." Alister crossed his arms and tilted his head as he asked, "So what's in the backpack?"
Kaden smiled with excitement as he swung the parcel off his back and immediately opened it up to reach inside. "This is your birthday present— Ta-da!"
His hands emerged from inside the bag, proudly presenting a gadget of some sort— or so one would presume... To Alister it looked like a really weird refrigerator magnet attached to a fingerless glove.
"Say hello to the 'Cryobomb Launcher'," Kaden stated proudly. "It's a defensive weapon I designed for forcibly inducing cryosleep."
"Wait, wait, wait..." Alister muttered doubtfully, closing his eyes and waving his hands before him. "You mean if I shoot someone with this thing it'll freeze them?"
"That's correct," Kaden answered with a confident grin. "The design isn't perfect, and I'm sure I could improve it a lot if I put some more work into it, but for now it's a completely adequate weapon. Try it!"
Alister looked dubiously down at the odd piece of equipment. He exhaled anxiously as he took the machine and slipped it over his right hand, surprised at how well it fit.
"All-righty, let's see what you've got," he muttered, and he scanned the area for a suitable target. A few paces to the left he saw a red cactus, and he took aim, coiling his arm and pitching one of Kaden's bombs at his unfortunate victim. When the device struck it broke open with a loud sharp hiss, and the whole plant instantly froze over, within seconds looking like it had been standing in a snowstorm for months.
"Whoa," Alister gasped in amazement.
Kaden crossed his arms and nodded expectantly. "Cool, huh?"
"Very cool," Alister agreed, "...as cliché as that sounds."
"Oh! And before I forget..." Kaden muttered, digging into his backpack once again, "I also have these."
He produced an identical pair of small devices, holding one in each hand. They somewhat resembled watches, each having several buttons as well as a small screen, plus a wrist strap attached to the back.
"I made these communicators for us to stay in touch. I've boosted the signal strength and modified the receiver to cut out 99% of interference, regardless of distance, weather, or dense materials blocking the transmission. They also have a built-in tracking system so that they can always triangulate each other's position, as far as a galaxy apart, and accurate within seven inches."
"What, no radio?" Alister teased.
"No, but I can program the navigator to sing the coordinates, if you want," Kaden retorted.
Alister laughed heartily, then smiled and said with utmost sincerity, "Thanks, Kaden."
"No problem, pal," Kaden replied, returning his friend's smile. "Good luck out there."
"Luck is for people who don't know what they're doing."
"Yeah, well... try not to shoot any innocent civilians, at least."
"Goodbye, Kaden," Alister drawled loudly with an annoyed roll of his eyes.
Kaden bid farewell with a smile and an honorary salute, and walked away without activating his hoverboots.
« « « « « ж » » » » »
As Alister Azimuth headed toward the militia training center on the afternoon of his seventeenth birthday, the emotion most prevalent in him was excitement. He had been waiting on this day for years— ever since he'd decided as a child that he wanted to join the military— and now it was here. Today he had a chance to reach for his dream, and nothing could discourage him.
Nonetheless, when he arrived at the enormous gray building and stood across from it on the other side of the street, he couldn't help but feel a small surge of apprehension. It wasn't the place's imposing, fortress-like appearance that worried him, or the distinct lack of windows, or the huge bronze memorial plate adorning the wall beside the door, engraved with an extensive list of past members who had died in the line of duty. He had seen all these things earlier that very day... But this morning he'd come to do paperwork and usher in another comparatively short but nonetheless annoying period of waiting. Now it was finally sinking in that his wait was actually over. No longer was he sitting on the edge of his patience counting the days until he could answer his calling. His destiny was finally at hand, staring him in the face almost tauntingly, and no one could mess it up except him. The feeling was at once both exhilarating and terrifying.
Taking a deep breath, he crossed the street toward the waiting gates of his future.
Once inside the building he made his way to the front desk, which characteristically looked more like a battlefield than the station of a secretary. For sure there were stacks of paper and clutter of office supplies, but these were vastly outnumbered by war mementos, empty bullet casings, and a few medals scattered about as frivolously as though they were spare change. However, the most intimidating factor by far was the Lombax sitting at the desk. He was tall and muscular, with broad shoulders, sharp eyes, and a coat of ashen-black fur with silver highlights. He sat sideways in his chair, sharpening a knife against a rock that bore a deep notch along the path of the blade. Alister swallowed as he approached him, repeatedly instructing himself, Don't let him scare you, don't let him scare you...
He stopped in front of the desk and stood at attention, loudly and respectfully saying, "Alister Azimuth reporting for initiation exam, sir!"
The Lombax turned a fierce eye on him, then slowly shifted in his seat to face the young recruit before him with an intense expression that made Alister cringe.
"What do you think you're doing?" he asked sourly.
Alister was surprised at the question, and in response he could only say, "Sir?"
"You think this is an audition?" the Lombax went on, "That showing up and putting on a good act will increase your chances of being accepted? Don't insult me by trying to mimic military protocol if you haven't even taken the exam yet."
Shocked and humiliated, Alister lowered his head and apologetically muttered, "I'm sorry, sir."
"It's ex-Lieutenant Raiken, to you," he corrected. "Until you've passed the qualifier, you haven't earned the right to call me 'sir'."
Alister swallowed and said, retaining as much dignity as possible, "I understand."
"No, I don't think you do." Raiken rose from his chair and slowly made his way around the desk toward Alister as he went on in a dark, foreboding voice. "A long time ago, when I was still in the formal military, my unit was captured by a terrorist group that believes the galaxy was better off under Cragmite rule than it is now. They hate Lombaxes for liberating them. How's that for gratitude? They killed all of us except me, then sent me back to tell the tale as a scare tactic."
Alister was speechless as the older Lombax stood directly in front of him, towering a full head taller and staring menacingly down into his frightened eyes.
"Just because this is a local militia and not the Lombax Pretorian Guard doesn't mean we aren't risking our lives to be here. We have to deal with wild animals, desert marauders, even random attacks from Agorian battle fleets... You don't have a clue what it's like in this line of work."
Alister was humbled by the veteran's words, but something about the patronizing tone with which he so callously dismissed his ambition emboldened him to speak in his own defense.
"With all due respect, ex-Lieutenant Raiken, my father was in the military," he said in a steady voice, daring to look the other Lombax in the eye. "He died in the line of duty after ten years of service, but not before passing on plenty of stories equally disturbing to the one you just told me... So contrary to what you might think, I do have at least a clue what it's like in this line of work, and I am not afraid to experience it first-hand."
After saying his piece Alister fought to hold his head high, praying that he hadn't just made a terrible mistake. The black Lombax gave a wry smile, leaning back against his desk with loosely crossed arms, and Alister couldn't tell whether this enigmatic gesture meant that he was impressed, or just inwardly mocking him some more.
"Let's see what you've got, then," he said in a low tone. He whipped his tail to the left so that it struck a button on the underside of his desk, and Alister yelped as he suddenly fell through a trap door he hadn't realized was there.
The surprised teenager managed to land on his feet, and when he stood up he found himself in complete darkness for all of a second before several dim red lights ignited nearby to reveal that he was in an enormous room. The expansive space was far from empty, as obstructions he couldn't identify silhouetted his vision in all sorts of shapes and sizes. What looked like metal spikes protruded from the walls, while strange machines hung from the ceiling, and the floor was checkered with crossing lines which he assumed to be seams.
Raiken's muffled, tinny voice issued through the air from an unseen speaker, saying, "Your objective for this exercise is simple: survive. At the end of three minutes your performance will be judged based on how much damage you were able to do— in comparison to how much damage was done to you, of course. Begin."
No sooner had his instructions ended than the room erupted into a death course. Machines on the ceiling rained down smoldering chunks of metal. Panels in the floor opened to reveal acid pits, defense turrets, and vicious rotating saw blades. Automated weapons along the wall began firing lasers everywhere, and at least a dozen robot drones poured into view and charged purposefully toward him.
Alister had no time to marvel over the excessiveness of this exercise or the unfairness of his being expected to handle it. He could only remember his drive, and let the strength of it compel him to conquer.
He dashed to the left, narrowly avoiding several well-aimed laser blasts, and made a mad-dash for one of the attacking robots. Zigzagging along a precarious path to avoid its fire, he took a desperate leap and landed on top of the thing, then jumped off it again just as a plasma bolt struck it in the chest, causing it to explode.
Then Alister turned on his heels and made a beeline for the closest defense turret. He had to do a few flips through the air to keep clear of its deadly stream of bullets, but within a few seconds he managed to get behind it. There he bravely grabbed the thing by its head and pulled back as hard as he could. His strength was barely sufficient to angle the turret's line of fire just enough to make it spray ammunition all across the opposing wall and take out several laser cannons.
Now Alister pulled out the blaster he'd been practicing with earlier and shot the turret over which he stood, rendering it harmless. He took quick aim to his right and fired six times, destroying four more of the attack bots. Before he could finish off the rest he was obliged to jump out of the path of a tendril of flame that lashed out at him from nowhere. A glance over his shoulder revealed a newly-spawned fire spinner that was steadily spewing spirals of flame from the gas tube rotating in the center. Alister's peripheral vision picked up several more of these devices popping up like weeds across the floor, and he immediately realized he would have to take care of them quickly, or the heat would sap his strength even if he could avoid getting burned.
Thinking of fire in turn made him think of ice, and he suddenly remembered his birthday gift from his best friend. He flung out his right arm and dispensed a cryobomb at the fire spinner that had nearly killed him. Like an answer to prayer the small spherical device struck the machine, and instantly the center pipe stopped turning and the fires died out as the machine froze solid.
Smiling excitedly, Alister charged back into battle, within the next five seconds launching a string of cryobombs that successfully disabled every fire spinner in the room. Then, with hope rekindled, he set to ravaging the rest of the room's defenses.
Two minutes later, after a few dozen more evasive maneuvers and near-misses, he stood victorious in the middle of the floor, panting as he surveyed the heaps of sparking scrap metal lying devastated all around him. He stayed on his guard, half-expecting another surprise attack to jump out at him, but as the seconds dragged by in silence he realized with speechless amazement that it was over.
He'd done it. He'd won.
He smiled with profound accomplishment as he stood tall, drinking in his moment of glory.
Then, with no warning, a line of hidden panels in the wall suddenly opened, forming a ring around the circumference of the room. Before Alister could register what was happening, several dozen guns emerged from inside the wall— each and every one of them trained on him.
All the guns fired at once, and suddenly a myriad of colors flashed before his eyes. He felt cold, wet pinpricks all over his body— like a thousand spoonfuls of liquid were simultaneously splattering against his skin. About five seconds later it stopped, the guns retreated back into the wall, and he looked himself over to discover that he was dripping from head to toe in a rainbow of fresh paint.
Just then he heard a metal door slide open, and spun around to see Raiken stroll leisurely into the room, grinning with cruel satisfaction.
"Congratulations, weasel," he greeted patronizingly. "You just got plastered."
Alister panicked, hastily stuttering a string of excuses in broken sentences. Raiken just laughed and calmly assured, "Relax, this is a good thing. No one can actually get past that trap; we just have it there for fun."
"Huh?" Alister muttered in confusion, a stupefied expression managing to show through the pink and green paint slathered all over his face.
"It's what you might call a rite of passage," the black Lombax explained further. "The paint guns don't activate unless you're able to defeat every other defense in the room— which reminds me..."
He held up a holo-recorder and clicked the shutter, causing Alister to blink as a bright flash blinded him for a split second. Then Raiken pulled out a small remote control, pressed a button on it with his thumb, and a deluge of water cascaded down from the ceiling, pouring liberally over Alister's head and instantly (though unpleasantly) washing all the paint out of his fur. The poor shocked recruit coughed and sputtered for a few seconds, his ears pasted to the back of his head and his fur heavy with soaked-up liquid. Raiken just smiled with amusement and turned to walk away, casually calling back to him, "Well, come along then."
Alister entertained a brief hateful glare at the smug Lombax as he walked away, then swallowed his pride and sprinted off in pursuit, trailing wet footprints behind him.
To his surprise, Raiken stopped suddenly in the corridor just outside the training room and turned to face the wall on his left as his holo-recorder churned out a sheet of paper with Alister's picture on it.
"Nice work, rookie," he said with what sounded like sincere approval. "You've earned a place on the 'wall of fame'."
He tacked the picture to an open space on the wall, which Alister now realized was covered with pictures of young male Lombaxes, all wearing the same immediately familiar befuddled expression and coat of multi-colored paint. As annoyed as he had been only seconds ago, now he couldn't help but smile.
Raiken smiled as well, this time with genuine favor rather than snide sarcasm. "Welcome to the team, Mister Azimuth. You're one of the most promising new recruits I've ever seen."
Alister beamed with pure ecstasy at this compliment, instantly forgetting every trace of resentment he'd ever felt for this brash veteran.
"Thank you, ex-Lieutenant Raiken!"
"Don't you dare address your superiors so familiarly, soldier!" Raiken snapped, though his tone seemed almost joking. "From this point on you will address me as 'sir.' Understood?"
Alister resisted the urge to chuckle and instead just smiled as he stood up straight and vehemently replied, "Yes, sir!"
Author's Notes:
- The 'Cryobomb Launcher'— Before anyone makes any comments about this, let me just say right now that I know it's called the Cryomine and not the Cryobomb. I changed the name and description on purpose because I imagine that Kaden, despite being a genius, is still a teenager, and thus I think it would've been a bit farfetched for him to have already designed the perfected version of a weapon that's being mass-produced for sale more than twenty years in the future. So instead I gave him a clunkier, more primitive version of the weapon we know he invented, with plans to address his 'new and improved' version later on in the story when he's older.
- Techno-Babble— I can already tell this one's gonna haunt me for the remainder of the story. *-* Kaden is a Lombax— a smart Lombax. Thus, a clash with techno-babble was unavoidable. I know this is the Ratchet & Clank fandom and technical explanations don't actually have to make perfect sense in strict scientific terms, but I still feel burdened to at least try to make Kaden's mechanical explanations at least remotely plausible. It's a good thing I was raised on Star Trek, because my memories of it will probably save my bacon in this area. :P But if any of you happen to be mechanics or physics-majors or anything, and you notice that my techno-babble is flawed anywhere, feel free to suggest better words for me to use. :)
- Alister's Initiation— Back when this scene was just a small part of a much bigger chapter, I was sorely tempted to skip over it altogether. I don't trust myself with writing military stuff, and I felt somewhat clueless as to how a Lombax militia would go about recruiting and evaluating new members. *-* But I felt like this chapter could use some more action, and besides, I need to make sure Alister doesn't get completely eclipsed by Kaden in the early chapters. Even though Kaden is my favorite, I must remember that this story is about both of them... Where was I going with this? Oh yeah, the initiation scene... I consulted my brother about fun-yet-somewhat-believable angles for this, and I tried to draw from the various training course scenes that I've seen in Men In Black, Modern Warfare 2, X-Men: Evolution, etc. Still, there's a good chance I've missed something. So if you have any comments/criticisms about that scene (or anything else, for that matter), I'm all ears!