Chapter 7: Homeless

Deep in hyperspace on board of Ratchet's ship, Jak sat in his room, alone, sulking in regret for what just happened. Every time he looked out the window, the depression grew because he could no longer see his home planet. He could no longer help the people that counted on him. Soon, Daxter and Keira walked into the room, both of them concerned of Jak's wellbeing.

"Uh…Jak? Buddy?" Daxter began to pry at his best friend, "Look, I don't know what the hell is wrong with you lately, but ever since you took into this 'Jedi Crap' you became a completely different person. You've become more moody and mopey than a chick that got dumped at the prom! You'll fling that wimp stick around instead of using your eco powers, you broke all of your weapons, and you left all of us out there in the freezing rain with more explosions than you can shake that wimp stick at, just so you can fight that Vader guy alone! I told you we could've taken him together! But since I've been there for you since day one, and for that I'll ask you one question," He then suddenly grabbed his friend's shoulders and yelled into his face, "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH YOU!?"

"DAXTER!" Keira barked at the orange ottsel, "Let me talk to him, I'll handle this." She then turned to Jak, sat next to him, and embraced him with her left hand on his shoulder, and her right holding his hand. "What's wrong, Jak?"

"I failed." Jak softly replied to her.

Keria tried to make him feel better. She told him, "No you didn't, Jak. We all knew-"

"Yes Keira, I did." Jak said as he stood up. "Daxter was right. I didn't do enough to save our planet and the people that live on it. So many people I have come to know and love over the years died today because I let them down. For the first time in my entire life, I failed a mission. Not just any mission, but the one that mattered most."

"Jak," Keira continued as he tried to reason with him. "I'm sure you did everything you could. The Empire was just too strong for our forces to hold them off. Plus, Vader didn't really kill us like he thought he did, so that gives us an opportunity to save an entire galaxy. To save millions and billions of more people than the ones that ever lived back at home! You may not realize this yet, but there are people across this universe that are counting on us more than ever, in their desperate times. We have a chance to do something that's bigger than us. That's why you haven't failed this mission yet!"

"I had Vader right where I wanted him too," Jak continued as he turned around to face his wife, "Several times during our fight, I had him at his weakest points. I could've used my light eco powers to destroy him for good. If I had done that, we wouldn't be in space right now. We would be still at home rebuilding our planet. And believe me, that is what I would rather be doing."

"So why didn't you use them?" Daxter intervened.

"Because," Jak held back for a moment, sat down on the bed, and continued, "Because I was afraid I would lose you guys if I did."

"Care to elaborate on that more?" Daxter pried at him again.

Jak continued to tell them, "Lately, before I even knew of this Jedi stuff, I've been having visions. Terrifying visions, of me losing control of my eco powers. Dark and light eco would fuse within me to consume me from the inside out; making me lose any sub consciousness I had left in my mind. This would make me kill everyone I know unwillingly, including you guys. After that happens, the eco has consumed my body as a whole, and I somehow explode and become nothing. Vader tried to force me to use my dark eco powers against him during the duel. He insulted me and threatened you guys and the rest of our friends. Because of that, I almost lost myself within them. Luckily, I had enough control to retract them; because I was afraid that would be the day I would forever lose myself to them. I wake up everyday full of fear, hoping that day would never come, because I care about you guys more than anything. I was afraid that if I use my eco powers too much, I might lose myself and cause total destruction in the universe. I didn't want to tell you guys about these visions I've been having because I didn't want to scare everyone. My fear cost me our home, and I realize now that if I had used them at that moment, we would have a planet to live on and a life worth living. And for that, I'm sorry, to everyone."

"I knew you were having these problems all along, Jak!" Samos interjected as he barged into the room, "That's why I taught you to use the Force, WITH your eco powers! With the aid of the Force, the actions you have been seeing in your visions will never happen!"

Keira stepped in and said to him, "Daddy, I don't think this is a good time to-"

"This is the perfect time to discuss this!" Samos cut his daughter off. Keira had a disgusted look on her face after that. She hated the fact that she was cut off twice. Samos turned to Jak and told him, "Now Jak, I trained you well enough for you to know that the only way to prevent your eco powers from taking over your mind and soul is to use them with the Force while you're still alive. Before you fought Vader, I told you not to be afraid to use them. Fear got into your head and made you reluctant to unleash everything you had when our home was on the line!"

"I'm sorry, Samos," Jak told him, "I don't know what came over me. I guess Keira was right, I wasn't ready enough to face him yet. I didn't feel I was powerful enough to use my eco powers against him."

"But you were, my boy. That's the thing!" Samos said to him, "You see, If you are reluctant to utilize your special eco powers when you open yourself to the Force, you become that much more vulnerable to fall into the Dark Side!"

"Well, I definitely don't want to do that." Jak told him.

"I know you don't my boy," Samos continued to encourage him as he walked to stand in front of him. "That's why you must use your eco powers as much as you can to save the galaxy, us, and even yourself. Dark, light, it doesn't matter! What matters is with your exceptional powers and with the Force by your side, you're the most powerful weapon we've got! We need you. The galaxy now needs you. Keira was right; the loss of our planet was a necessary loss, because it allows us to save an entire galaxy, OUR galaxy! This mission is bigger than us and the only way to accomplish it is to stop the Empire with everything we've got!"

Samos finished this monologue to Jak just before he left the room, "Jak, the fate of an entire universe is now in your hands. You have two options: You can either sulk and feel sorry for yourself since it's the first time you lost something, or you can face up to what you've done and redeem yourself by saving billions of people across the universe in their most desperate time of need. The choice is yours." He finished, and walked away.

"Jak," Keira spoke to him as he stood up directly in front of her, "I know you won't give up and join the fight. I have faith that whatever is haunting you in your visions not come true. I know you have the will and the drive to help us destroy this Empire once and for all. You are tough on the outside, but deep down inside, your care for the people around you makes you special, even when you do transform. That is why I married you." She kissed him on the cheek.

"Thanks Keira," Jak said in gratitude and relief. "I feel a lot better thanks to you. I'll join the fight. C'mon Dax!"

The three walked out of the bedroom and out of the bedroom hallway into the command center of the ship. It was about ten feet away from the cockpit. Like the war room back at the palace, it had a circular table with a projector on it, and everyone was occupying the seats. Once they saw Jak come out of the hallway, they all stood up and cheered for him in approval, handing him nothing but praise. Sig and Torn would soon surround him.

"Good to have you back, Jak!" Sig praised him, patting him on the back. "Listen," he continued, "don't be thinking about the past too much. Whatever happened happened. It's nothing to get upset about now. Just keep your head up, Chili Pepper, because we'll be blowing out those Imperial creeps in no time! Just like we did with those nasty metalheads!"

"Good to have you back pal," Torn chimed in. "We can't fight this fight without you. What's done is done. We need your strength and your power to destroy those Imperial goons once and for all."

"Thanks guys." Jak replied to them softly with enlightenment.

"I'm glad to see you in a better mood, Jak!" Ratchet said as he approached him, "Unlike how you are usually."

"Hey don't start with me pal," Jak retorted facetiously, "you'll kill the moment."

"Very well then, tough guy!" Ratchet joked back. He suddenly remembered, "Oh! Where are my manners? I would like to cordially introduce to everyone the toughest, fastest, and one of the overall best ships in the galaxy: The Renegade! You guys have seen all of the weaponry that it has when we held off those guys coming from Eco-"

"Which reminds me…" Jak spoke to himself softly, cutting Ratchet off. He quickly grabbed his holster off his back and dumped out all the items that were inside of it. "At least we didn't leave our planet completely behind." They were all amazed of all the items he bought back with him. Especially Keira.

"Awh, Jak!" Keira spoke affectionately, "You bought back all of our stuff from our room!?"

"Well, not ALL of it," Jak corrected her, "The bag can only fit so much, you know?"

"Oh," she spoke softly, as she noticed the picture of their wedding kiss. Her eyes began to fill up with tears of joy, she said to him with her heart warm, "and you even brought the picture of us on our wedding day with you!"

"How could I not?" Jak replied to her with pride and joy. "It was the best moment of my life."

"You simply are amazing." Keira said to him, gazing at his face with her dreamy green eyes.

"Hey!" Ratchet suddenly exclaimed, interrupting Jak and Keira's intimate moment, "You even brought Clank back with you!" He was overjoyed that Jak was able to bring Clank back to him.

"Had to," Jak began to explain to him. "You wouldn't last a second without your sidekick. I know I can'.t" He finished by giving Daxter a noogie. The ottsel appreciated Jak's comments to him, but not the noogie.

"But still…" Ratchet's tone transitioned from exuberant to melancholy, "He can't be of any use to us at all if he's…you know, broken."

Jak began to uplift Ratchet by telling him, "Well I figured 'little miss mechanic here,' (nudging Keira) would help you out by fixing him up and getting him back going again!"

"Keira," Ratchet began to plead to her, "do you think you can fix him?"

"Let me see…" Keira said as she picked up the miniature and heavily damaged robot. She began her examinations by removing his chest plate and the back of his head, thoroughly examining the extent of the damage with a small microscope. She formed up her prognosis: "Looks like he'll need new small cyber kinetic limbs that match the ones he has on right now, a small cranial power generator that I'll have to install through the temporal side of his head, which transmits electricity to the six micro-circuit breakers in his chest, which I also need as well. To finish things off would be some small repairs for the exterior cosmetic damage that he sustained, and then he should be good as new!" She concluded, "Yeah, I have the parts and pieces to fix him up in no time."

"Thanks Keira!" A relieved Ratchet said to her in gratitude.

"No problem!" Keira replied to him as she walked away from the control room and down to the second floor of the renegade with Clank in her hands. Now the attention turned to Jak, as everyone became eager to hear of his encounter with Darth Vader.

"So, tough guy," Ashelin began the meeting, "What was it like to take Vader on face to face?"

"He was very powerful," Jak gravely replied to her as he took his seat at the table. He then turned to everyone, "He was unlike anyone or anything I've ever faced before. Ruthless, relentless, and shows no mercy for anyone that he faces. It's because of the darkness within him. There's a ton of it for sure."

"Which is why Darth Vader and the Empire that he leads is more dangerous than anything the people in the galaxy will ever know!" Samos added on.

"Actually," Jak began to correct the sage, "I don't think he's leading the Empire's charge. He plays a huge role in it we know that. But I know he's not the guy that's in total command. I think he made mentions of this, Emperor guy, whoever he is. He didn't really get into telling me who he really is. He just mentioned him, that's all."

"How do ya know this?" Jinx asked him.

"He kinda spoiled his plan to me a little bit," Jak began to reveal details; "he was trying to persuade me into joining him to help defeat this Emperor. I refused because I could see what would happen if I did, and I'm telling you all every good thing that he would promise to you (if you ever meet him) is completely false. It would involve killing the last of the Jedi remaining in the universe and him eventually killing Keira and I once the Emperor would die. He wants complete control of the galaxy to himself."

"Then the only way to destroy this Empire is to blow those two creeps deep into outer space!" Sig boisterously suggested, "That way, the Empire wouldn't even have a ruler, it would be in complete chaos, and we can expose those Imperial creeps from the inside out!"

"That's easier said than done," Samos coldly intervened, "It would be even more difficult if Vader begins to acquire any followers, which I'm afraid he might somehow. He'll give that same offer to any of the remaining Jedi in the galaxy. Most will refuse, and he'll kill them. But the ones that don't could be very dangerous."

"Which is why we have to act quickly before Vader starts to build an army of his own along with the Empire." Jak declared, "If he becomes Emperor, it could spell doom for the galaxy."

"Not to mention all the advanced warfare and technology the Empire has already." Ratchet added along. Then he thought; "If only Clank were up and running again, he would give us some Intel on where the Empire is constructing all of these weapons and ships, what factories are they using on what system, how they're operated, everything."

"And I am fully operational to assist you with retaining that Intel, my good friend!" Clank suddenly barged in with bravado. He looked good as new, as if nothing ever happened to him. Ratchet and Clank were overjoyed to see each other, and beyond thankful that Keira reunited them again.

"Clank!" he yelled at his robot sidekick with joy. They ran to each other and embraced one another. He told him, "I'm glad to have you back, buddy!" He then turned to Keira, who just walked out from the repair room in the second floor. "Keira," he began to speak, "that was the quickest I have ever seen anyone make repairs on anything. You really are simply amazing!"

"Hey!" Jak began to jokingly taunt Ratchet, "I was supposed to say that to her!"

"Ehh," Keira began to reply to Ratchet, "I try!" She then added, "I also gave him the lowdown on everything that's been happening once I woke him up again."

"How can I ever repay you?" The lombax asked her.

"You can start by protecting our tails, fur ball!" Keira taunted Ratchet playfully, rubbing his head.

"HEY!" Daxter suddenly chimed in, "I thought I was the fur ball around here! What am I!? Chopped Liver!?"

"No Daxter," Samos began to chide the ottsel, "You're just an obnoxious and loud weasel."

An alert signal ignited from the cockpit. Clank was the first to notice. "Ratchet," he began to warn him, "It looks like we're approaching on a planet too fast!"

"YIKES!" Ratchet exclaimed. "Got to take this old girl out of light speed before she won't be an old girl at all." He rushed to the controls and set the Renegade out of light speed, just before they touched the atmosphere of Raxus Prime.

"Well my friends," Ratchet began to speak to everyone, "Welcome to the 'glorious' planet of Raxus Prime. Yes, it's nasty looking for sure, with the molten lava and scrap metal and everything. This is where expired droids go when they don't work anymore. Heck, this is where Clank probably would've ended up had Keira not fixed him up."

Clank gulped out of fear. Ratchet was able to calm him down. "Don't worry buddy, just be thankful you're not gonna be with them now," He told his sidekick, and then continued on to everyone else, "Anyway, the underground fortress that we're going to is going to be a lot more peaceful than what you guys see now. You'll get just enough hospitality you need. I'll take you there now."

Ratchet flew the Renegade through the volcanic terrains of the barren planet until he found a cliff where there was a large hangar bay. He flew the ship underneath it and put it down in the landing area. The gang all exited the ship, stretched, and looked around the hanger, amazed. The Halo army's display of weapons, artillery, and spacecraft were quite impressive to say the least. Star fighters, big guns, and bombs as far as the eye can see. They all gazed in wonder.

"This is the most amazing set of weaponry I have ever seen!" Jinx said in awe.

"That's just the tip of the iceberg buddy," Ratchet began his bold claim. "Just wait until we take even more of these babies to the Empire!"

"We'll fry those Imperial creeps faster than a farm full of chickens!" Sig exclaimed pompously, "Can't wait to get started on the home cooking baby!"

"Well I'm afraid you're gonna have to for just a little bit big guy," Ratchet reassured him, "Because I got to make some plans on some serious upgrades if we're gonna have a chance. While I deal with my men, why don't you guys make yourselves at home in the living quarters? There's plenty of food to eat and plenty of rooms to sleep! Y'all are gonna need it!"

"HECK YES WE ARE!" Daxter exclaimed loudly with excitement, jumping up and down on the ground. "All this fighting, and shooting, and blasting, and blowing up stuff all day sure got my stomach empty. Gimme some grub! I got a galaxy to save!"

"WE got a galaxy to save, Daxter," Samos wisely corrected him. He led the gang out front towards the living quarters, "Come everyone!" he began to implore, "We must eat up and rest up immediately. Tomorrow begins our adventure through the universe!"

"Can't wait." Jak said quietly to himself. They proceeded into the living quarters and stayed through the night.