Ratchet didn't waste any time; he quickly ran to his armory, entered his pass code, and entered. He hastily donned his Hyper-Flux armor, put his Omega Constructo Pistol in his side holster, slid on the Omega Constructo Bomb Glove on his left hand, slung the Omega Constructo Shotgun on his back, and grabbed the Omega Judicator. Ratchet ran outside, saw the incoming Cragmite ship and hid behind a boulder for cover.
"Alright, boys and girls, lock and load!" Ramirez yelled. Everyone put on their helmets and loaded their weapons. They had a redesigned ACR assault rifle—which fires bolts of plasma—plasma grenades, and a M9 plasma pistol. "Activate your shields and get ready to drop!"
Everyone but the pilot went to the sides of the transport and grabbed an over-head handle. Everyone waited to see the green light to turn on. The side doors slowly opened and the oxygen inside was sucked out as the vacuum of space entered the hull. They felt like they were getting pulled outside. The green lights turned on. Through the helmets' internal com-link, the pilot yelled, "GO, GO, GO!"
As soon as they heard the pilot, everyone let go of their handles, flew out the transport, and descended rapidly into Veldin's atmosphere.
"Whatever you do, do not destroy the Cragmite ship. Its flight logs could tell us where they came from," Ramirez ordered his troops as he burned through the atmosphere.
The Cragmite ship landed about 50 yards away from Ratchet's garage. One by one, Cragmite soldiers and brutes exited and scouted the area. Ratchet turned the safety off on his weapons and was about to open fire until Ramirez's voice came through the com-link.
"Ratchet, whatever you do, do not destroy the Cragmite transport. We can hack its flight logs and find out where they came from."
"Acknowledged," Ratchet replied.
Ratchet switched the Omega Judicator for the Omega Constructo Shotgun. When he looked out of cover, he saw three Cragmites in a group. Ratchet armed the Omega Constructo Bomb Glove, produced a bomb and threw it into the middle of the group. All three were vaporized when the grenade exploded. The rest of the Cragmites turned to the direction where the grenade came from and opened fire. There were way too many for Ratchet to handle, they outnumbered him from 30 to 1. Ratchet opened fire with the shotgun. The spread of pellets managed to kill some of the Cragmites. However, the west of the Cragmites flanked him. There were right behind him.
"We got you now! Drop your weapons and hands up!" a Cragmite soldier ordered. Ratchet knew that his armor can take a lot of damage, but there's always a limit. He dropped his weapons and put his hands up. "Heh…heh…you should have known you would lose. You're alone."
Ratchet looked up and saw 20 streaks of flame descending towards his location. He smiled and said, "Who said that I was alone?"
"10,000 meters!" Ramirez yelled through the com-link.
They were descending fast. They were still and were vertical so they can cut through the atmosphere. Their armors were golden-yellow from burning through the atmosphere. Usually, objects would get disintegrated at that speed, but with Trillium and Carbonox plating and shielding, they were fine.
"8000 meters…7000…6000…5000…4000…3000…2000…1000...500! Now!"
Everyone somersaulted so their feet faced the ground. Once they did that, they activated their hover boots to slow their descent. Meter after meter, they gradually slowed down. On touch down, there was a loud thump as they all landed as one. As the dust settled, the Cragmites turned to look at them.
Gun ready, Ramirez yelled, "Open fire, Leviathans!" All of the Leviathans fired their weapons. Ratchet took the opportunity; he grabbed his Omega Constructo Pistol and joined in the fight.
It was a fast paced fire fight. Plasma bolts and globs of plasma flew everywhere. There was barely any cover, and all of the soldiers, including Ratchet and Ramirez, got hit. However, thanks to Task Force: Leviathans' shielding system and Ratchet's high damage protection armor, the Cragmites were losing. One by one, the Cragmites died. All of the Cragmites were spotted with plasma burns.
"Clear!" a female Corporal yelled.
Everyone turned the safety on their weapons. Ramirez removed his helmet, took a deep breath, and let loose a happy sigh. He preferred the smell of the air without the helmet's filter system. Breathing sterile air seemed…unnatural to Ramirez. Everyone else removed their helmets, too and took a big breath of Veldin's air. Some coughed due to the dry climate.
Ramirez went to Ratchet and said, "Well Ratchet, this is my team." All of the troops smiled and introduced themselves. "Hey, we got a present." He then put his helmet back on and said to the pilot, through coms, "You can land now."
Their transport landed 50 yards away. Ramirez entered the ship and went to the back. Minutes later, he reappeared with a huge case. He presented the case to Ratchet, which he opened. Inside was a pale grey armored-suit that's designed to fit a Lombax. On the armor plate of the left arm, there was a small emblem of the head of the space leviathan.
"What is this?" Ratchet asked.
"It's your own modified Task Force armor. Trillium and Carbonox alloyed armor plating, a HUD visor in the helmet, a constant rechargeable shielding system, hidden gauntlet ballistic blades on each arm, and a programmable camouflage system. It's all yours." Ratchet looked at his own armor and saw how much damage it took: the plating was covered with dents and scorch marks, and some of the plating melted. It would cost a fortune to repair and clean the Hyper-Flux armor. Ratchet didn't know what to say, but he wanted to try it on. Ramirez saw it in his eyes and he told him, "Yeah, you can try it on." Ratchet ran to his home, excited. He then faced one of troops and ordered, "Alright, I want you to go in the Cragmite ship and hack their flight logs. Get someone's help if you need to."
"Sir, yes, sir!" the trooper saluted before he entered the ship.
Everyone else started to clean up the place. After that, they just relaxed. Many of them played card games, slept, read books, or played on the Gamestation 3s that they brought with them. Ratchet had some trouble putting the armor on, so Ramirez sent a few troops to help.
While the troops were taking a break from gaming, Ramirez was lying on the couch and watched the news, trying to catch up on what had happened. After 15 minutes of watching sports scores, something caught his attention. On the title bar, it says "Search for Missing Mega Corp. Employee Continues."
Ramirez sat up. Remembering Angela, Ramirez got a little worried. Nah, it can't be her. Ramirez shuffled a bit uncomfortable at the possibility. However, it's better to be safe than sorry. "Ratchet, could you come to the living room for a minute?" Ramirez called out.
Ratchet appeared, wearing the armor and carrying the helmet under his arm. "What's up?"
"Watch this," Ramirez replied as he increased the volume.
The news anchor appeared and said, "Hello, our Top Story for this evening: the search for missing Mega Corp. employee, a female Lombax named Angela Cross, continues." Ramirez and Ratchet were taken back. What really took them back was the confirmation that Angela was Lombax. Both didn't know until now. "Five weeks ago, Abercrombie Fizzwidget, CEO of Mega Corp, reported her missing when she didn't show up to work for three days. Here's his statement he gave when he reported her missing."
They then showed a recording of an interview with Mr. Fizzwidget. He said, "Angela is an excellent employee. She always enjoyed her work and always shows up. Unlike many of my employees, she works overtime and works on her days off. She accumulated four years worth of vacation days. Angela isn't a person that goes on vacation often, so when she didn't show up for work, I knew something was wrong."
Ratchet turned off the vidscreen, and sat on the couch, in confusion and fear. Where is she? Why did she leave? Is she in danger? These kinds of questions filled his mind. He was worried.
Ramirez saw it in Ratchet's eyes. He placed a comforting hand on Ratchet's shoulder. "Don't worry, they'll find her. She's probably sick and forgot to tell Fizzwidget." On his com-link, he asked the trooper in the Cragmite's ship, "What did you find."
"Not good," he replied, "There was virus program that deleted most of the information. However, I managed to delete the program and got one planet and a time: Planet Gelbin, five weeks ago."
Ramirez's heart rate spiked. He jumped off the coach. "Everyone on the transport, now!" Ramirez ordered.
"What's wrong?" Ratchet asked.
"The Cragmites went to Grelbin at the time she disappeared. We're Oscar Mike—we're on the move!"