If there had ever been a doubt of Ratchet's commitment to his cause – founded or not – it had been completely wiped from his central processing unit as the two worked together to study the diagram of typical Blargian fleet formations, looking for weak points and places where infiltration would be easiest. Enemy patrol routines and weapon analysis. Everything they would need to know in order to infiltrate the Blargian fleet and destroy that laser.
The Deplanetizer, as it was called, was powerful, its max energy capacity weighing in at around 5.0x10^34 joules. More than enough power to blow Veldin off the intergalactic map. That is all Clank knows about the device. That and that he cannot let such an event come to past. Not only because his mother desires him to; not only because it would be the biggest victory in his quest to save the galaxy from the Blarg; but because of Ratchet. Because of the sadness and mourning that had gripped him when he learned of his planet's fate. Because of the determination that crept into his eyes. Because... because it was his home.
Clank took another look at the diagram.
"Since they are not expecting an attack, they will most likely be in position Delta-A413," The robot spoke aloud, tracing over the formation with his hands, "There will be a Landing Craft near the rear of the ship, where we should be able to infiltrate without much resistance. From there, it is just a matter of ship-hopping via teleporters placed throughout the fleet until we find our target."
Ratchet nodded, eyes burning with a single-minded desire to protect, "Yeah, alright. How will we know when we find it?"
For an organic... unless they knew exactly what they were looking for, there was no way to tell it apart from any other machinery the Blarg might have lying around. For a robot, though, it was a simple matter of scanning its energy readings. This thing was going to require far more power than anything else the Blarg could possibly have. Once on-board, you could hack into the ship's computer and perform an all-out scan of the entire ship. The method, granted, did not sound very efficient, but it would not do them any good to simply follow the fleet to Veldin; by then, it might be too late to stop them. Not that this plan was foolproof either, but... it was their best bet. They talked it over, weighed the pros and cons... they cooperated to find the most efficient route, and this was the end result. They would see if it worked. A large part of him... hoped that it would.
Once he had explained how it would work, the on-board navigation computer beeped, sending invisible signals to its robotic ignition system telling him that they were approaching their destination. It seemed that Ratchet recognized the signal as well, because he moved from examining the diagrams to taking over for the autopilot, gripping the steering mechanism firmly and straightening his posture in preparation.
Moments later, the entire Blargian fleet was spread out in front of them.
Here, Clank could not help but sit completely rigid and tense, watching with eyes tuned to catch every detail. The ship was, in all technicality, an ally; it would not be attacked unless they gave reason to. Still, he could not quite help but count the fighters – twelve – flying just below them, almost anticipating a possible attack. Nothing less than pure relief filled him as he watched them simply fly past, not even so much as scanning them. Almost immediately after, he wondered why he was so relieved. Technically, this was the ship of a superior officer. Of COURSE they would not waste their time scanning their craft. Still...
"Alert: Your ship's registry does not have the required security clearance for landing. Please submit the security code in the next sixty seconds or your vehicle will be vaporized."
Without putting much thought into the action, Clank sent the launch bay codes his mother had given him. The response was almost immediate; the landing craft in front of the opened its bay doors, happily receiving the two intruders as Ratchet directed them in, carefully. His skill as a pilot had improved tremendously, Clank also noted. He was not as focused on the piloting this time, his eyes scanning the fighters flying in predetermined paths around the fleet. Yet his driving did not suffer the least bit for it. If anything, it was... professional.
Pulling into the loading bay, Clank stared out the viewport as Ratchet gently lowered their ship down. From the glass walling of the loading bay, he could clearly see the Blarg's new planet. Oddly enough, his processor pulled the image of a poorly created quilt from his memory banks. Ocean blue and forest green and desert tan covered the surface in haphazard patches, poorly sewn together. Pieces of other, dying planets pieced together awkwardly. It was... disgusting.
"Clank?" Ratchet asked, brow raised.
Pulled out of his stupor by the Lombax's voice, Clank shook his head, berating himself for getting lost in his thoughts. While simultaneously beginning the hacking process, Clank stared up at Ratchet and asked, "Yes."
"You, uh... spaced out for a moment there," The Lombax stated, all body language prompting some sort of response. When he received none, he sighed under his breath and said, "Uh, never mind. Just... come on. We have to keep moving and I'm not the one with the built in map."
Right. Clank did not really respond – maybe a distant yes or okay – but other than that kept his focus on his hacking. Scan was twenty percent complete... fifty... eighty... scan complete. There was no sign of the necessary energy draw on this ship. Not that he expected that particular outcome. It would have been far too convenient. Once that was done, he spoke aloud, "Upon that platform to the right is a teleporter pad that will bring us to the missile cruiser. We will continue our search there."
Security Android-5325 blinked impassively as its patrol partner, Security Android-5322, walked a little too close to the automatic door separating the security shield it was guarding from the room its partner was patrolling. For the fifth time, it sent a request to its partner to please keep away from the doorway. Of course, it was not annoyed with its partners behavior. The route it had been given directed its partner right by the door, but its own directive was to not allow this door to open unless somebody was passing through. Since its partner was not passing, it was nothing more than wasteful for it to open the door each time it passed. A beat of silence followed. Not that the bot expected any noise. Neither of them, nor any of their brethren (if such a word could be used to described the unfeeling work relationship this particular droid had with the robot that came off the assembly line mere minutes before it did), possessed vocal processors.
After a length of time, the door remained closed. Android-5325 assumed that its message finally got through to its brother. Then the door again. The robot guardian of the force shield almost sent the message for a sixth time before his antennae caught a completely different signal. This was Security Android-9999, who was being transferred to the Dreadnaught. The robot waved.
Security Android-5325 waved back, before opening the force field for its brother. It would keep it down until it got the return code signaling that it must turn the shield back on. The return code never came.
In its place was a clear, hot shot melting through its chest. It immediately tried to send a warning to the rest of its brothers, but a familiar code blocked it. 9999. As was pre-programmed, 5325 raised its arm, a virus, being coded in the hurried seconds of death, making its way across invisible airways and towards this... this defect. The defect must be destroyed. The... defect...
Ratchet stared at the 'bot, head tilted to the side as it appeared to reach out for... something. Then it simply fell limp to the ground. Behind him, a completely different 'bot lay in a crumpled heap. Had it... had it been reaching out for help? A wave of guilt ran through him before he angrily squashed it down. These things served Drek. Now wasn't the time to get all sympathetic.
Clank was... a little too silent.
"Hey," Ratchet called, keeping his voice low; one never knew where a hidden microphone might be on a ship like this, "You okay?"
"Pardon me, Ratchet," The robot spoke, seemingly not at all broken up, "Just dealing with a weak little virus. Nothing to worry about."
The Lombax shrugged, his shoulders suddenly a tad lighter, "If you say so."
It was with a hasty whisper that Clank interrupted their progress, "Ratchet, stop!"
"Hmm?" The Lombax would have looked back at the robot, if that would not have looked weird with their hologuise, "What's up?"
"Can you hear that? That... barking in the distance?" Ratchet scoffed, almost asking if the question was rhetorical. Of COURSE he could hear it. He'd heard it for a while now, actually. Since the teleporter pad had brought them to this strange, oversized ship. The Dreadnaught, Clank had called it? Whatever. Taking his answer for positive, Clank continued, "Those are the sounds of Lupine Detection Units. Basically, they... recognize based on whether your image is imprinted in their memory banks. And seeing how we currently look-"
Ratchet finished for him, bitterness icing over his voice, "Our disguise is useless," Well, that was just GREAT. Just freakin' great. Now what where they supposed to do? The hologuise gave them free access to security checkpoints, so long as they did not arouse suspicion in it. Having to chase off these... Lupine things would blow their cover. What were they supposed to do?
After a few moments of thinking, it came to Ratchet. Deactivating the guise, and being mindful of possible cameras, Ratchet shifted in his harness until Clank got the cue and removed himself, landing on the floor with an almost too loud thud. He did not question the move aloud, but his eyes held all the inquiry he was holding back. Then, Ratchet explained. It was by no means a brilliant plan – in fact, it was what some might call 'obvious' – but Clank seemed impressed, mouth dropping slightly as he took in the plan, then nodding in ascent. The weapon was handed over, hologuise re-engaged, and Ratchet was off, walking into a room of security 'bots and crazed dogs alone. He waited for a moment or two, giving Clank time to set up, before bursting into the room, doing all he could to attract attention under the name 'Security Android-FFDD'. An obvious defect. Live bait.
First, the lupine units – mechanized guard dogs – noticed him, growling loudly and running towards the disguised organic. Following shortly after were the much larger androids, but they did not concern Ratchet as much. Thanks to Clank's mom, they were as good as useless. The same, however, could not be said about the Lupines. They charged after him with hesitation, forcing the disguised Lombax back as droids chased him out of the room and into the hallway. Quick as he could, he turned the corner and pressed his body flat against the wall, closing his eyes tight at the increasingly familiar sounds of a blaster firing. Once. Twice. Three times. Four. Ratchet lost count rather quickly, instead focusing on the feeling of teeth digging into his lower lip, on the unnoticeable droplet of crimson that made an odyssey of a journey down.
Moments later, the shooting stopped, and Ratchet heard his name being called above the roaring silence. There was a pause, a moment where Ratchet chose to suck on the miniscule blood flow from his lips as opposed to responding to Clank, before turning the corner and walking into a gore scene – starring an all-robot cast.
Strange, how innocent Clank looked amidst the carnage, despite the gun in his hand.
It was not hard to become worried.
Realistically, it was ridiculous; they had only been on a few ships by the point they had reached the Light Cruiser. But as they continued on, Clank took the initiative to hack into nearby ships using telecommunication orbs and network relays used by his brethren for broadcasting messages across the fleet and... found no sign of the correct energy readings. Even though he and Ratchet had only explored three or four ships, he had scanned nearly twenty. None of them had the Deplanetizer aboard.
In addition to this, Ratchet was beginning to get impatient.
It was not logical, for him to become frustrated with a failing search for the weapon that would destroy his home, but it was beginning to effect his skill levels. Even with his heightened senses and Clank's warnings, he had still managed to get himself hurt in that last battle against a full pack of Lupines. They were forced to take a short break as Ratchet bound his bleeding foot, unwilling to spare nanotech that they had picked up earlier on what he called a 'minor' wound. And yes, it was minor. Barely bleeding, in fact. But it was still unnerving to see the drying red liquid that was still caught in the fur surrounding the bandaging.
Actually... now that he looked at the organic, Clank could make out quite a few minor wounds hiding under his fur. Small scratches from walking through tall brush and bruises from the amount of tumbling they did. It was becoming borderline painfully difficult to ignore the way his face contorted when he had to put too much pressure on his left leg, or how he subconsciously held and rubbed his shoulder when there was nothing to occupy his opposing arm. All minor wounds in the long run, but put together like that...
And the oddest thing of all was that Ratchet was aware of how bad his condition was. He knew, because Ratchet's body reacted to the pain instinctively, as every organic's did. He put more weight on his right foot as he walked, avoided using one arm entirely and even adjusted his harness so that carrying the robot was not quite as uncomfortable. His ears simply lied limp against his skull as he trudged onward, a reaction he had seen when he knew for certain that Ratchet was hurting. And yet the Lombax continued to insist on doing nothing about it, saving the nanotech they had found earlier for greater wounds he might receive later. It was almost like his own pain did not matter...
Clank did not know much about organic minds and how they worked, but he knew that was not quite right.
As they continued onward, trapped in a disguise, Clank continued to scan the contents of his memory banks. The limp had been there for a while... the shoulder thing was slightly new, though. And it was getting harder and harder not to simply pull Ratchet over and demand that he take care of himself. Instead, he recanted every injury Ratchet might have, mapping the possible bruises and accounting for his body's natural healing. Even so, it was not a pretty picture he ended up with in the end.
When they finally reached the teleporter that led to Drek's flagship, Clank finally let himself snap. He pulled himself off of Ratchet's back, ignoring the Lombax's questions, and forced open the container of nanotech. Ratchet gave him a sharp look, scolding him both with words and expression for wasting their medicine, but when he finally gave up and allowed Clank onto his back again, the robot was smiling.
Ratchet's limp was gone.
There were no shut down codes.
No robot guarding it to let them past.
Nothing. No way past their newest obstacle; a simple force field.
"Why does this not surprise me?" Grumbled the Lombax, leaning laxly against the nearby wall. His hand pressed against his temple, rubbing as if to soothe a headache, "They finally wised up. They finally put up an impassible obstacle. No freakin' way we're getting through here."
To his side, the robot puzzled over the field, looking over it again and again with narrowed eyes. Then he turned to examine the rest of the room. Then, finally, he turned to Ratchet with a faint grin, "Well, if we cannot go through it, we might as well go under it."
The Lombax's response was borderline predictable; he raised a 'brow at the bot and stared t him like he had lost his marbles, "Under it?" He repeated, each syllable pronounced in exactly the right way to let Clank know what exactly he thought of the idea.
Still Clank did not waver. If anything, his smile seemed to grow, "Yes. It appears as though this is a landing platform for... 'diplomatic guests'. As secure as it may seem, the ships have to come in from somewhere, correct? Just give me a moment," A single moment passed. Then two. Then three. Then a hanger bay door to their right opened, startling the Lombax enough to cause him to jump. Clank, giggling at the display, quieted down at the glare Ratchet shot his way, "Right," He spoke, still smiling, "Just strap on your magnet boots and O2 mask. We are about to walk in space."
"Somehow," Spoke the Lombax, pouting some as he pulled on the shoes, "I don't think that's going to be as fun as it sounds," Once the shoe was on, he made to tie it and was surprised when Clank took over the job for him. His way of tying the knot was much more efficient than Ratchet's: X, through the loop, pull, loop it, pull around, through the noose, pull taut. Ratchet committed the process to memory and tried it with his other shoe. And... whataya know? Much more effective. With that done, Clank was secured on the harness, the O2 mask was pulled over his head, and off they were, scaling the side of the gigantic flagship.
The outside of the large ship was just as one might have expected it to be; gray, boring. With nothing but fighters flying around on their patrol routes. Walking around out here, despite being technically upside down, was not nearly as strenuous as Ratchet's other experiences with the magnet boots. Decreased gravity really did do wonders. Still, despite how interesting an experience it was, both robot and organic were tense. The fur at the base of Ratchet's neck stood up on end; Clank was rigid, absolutely still. But how could they not be nervous, surrounded by the enemy, risking being caught every second they were outside of cover. The large turrets on the other side, dangerous and inactive, only made it worse. They were pointed directly at the maintenance catwalk the duo were waddling on, and every second in their range of fire increased the pounding of Ratchet's heart against his ribcage.
Clank kind of liked the feeling; it was a reassurance that they had not yet died.
Getting to the other side felt as though it took forever; when they finally did, Clank remotely activated the maintenance elevator, which lowered them into the safety of the ship, still upside down. It was downright laughable; just below them, with at least triple Ratchet's height of distance between them, were Lupine units, feebly barking at the roof while the singular guard in the room remained clueless. Both of them laughed freely at their circumstance, then made their way across the roof, not giving a second thought to the enemies below them.
The elevator that finally brought them down to the ground – it was the ground, right? – was in the room next to the bridge which, oddly enough, was completely vacant. To Clank, this was no surprise. The flagship was mostly automated, due to Drek's hatred for unwelcome interruptions. To Ratchet, it was just weird. Even the most advanced of artificially intelligent ships needed maintenance crew around. To see an entire ship barren of organic life felt off, in some strange way. It went against everything he knew as a mechanic.
There was a singular chair in the room; occupied by a short figure. Clank removed himself from Ratchet's back, gave the Lombax a nod, and they crept forward, fully intent on smacking the information out of the only person who could possibly be in that chair: Supreme Executive Chairman Drek-
Before they could get too close, though, the chair spun around, revealing a single infobot. It squeaked awkwardly at the sight of them, ready to attack, and began to shiver in fear.
"An infobot?" Ratchet questioned, lowering his blaster.
Clank nodded, approaching the poor thing and reassuring it in binary as he simultaneously spoke to Ratchet, "I would imagine this is Drek's personal infobot."
It looked up at Clank, unsure for a second whether or not it should betray its master's trust. It took a little more coaxing on Clank's part – and a reminder that Drek was not his 'master', and should not be referred to as such – before it relented, expanding to show Ratchet and Clank where the weapon they had been seeking was.
"Tonight!" The announcer shouted, voice tinged with excitement, "The night we have all been waiting for since Operation: Recolonization began: The destruction of the completely useless rock once known as Veldin! Witness, as Ultimate Extreme Executive Chairman Drek," The screen flashed to Drek, standing outside of a building and grinning proudly, "Presses a large button and restores the hopes and dreams of the Blargian people!"
The screen flashed to Drek, grinning widely at the camera, "I am Extreme Executive Chairman Drek and I approve this message."
"Also, tonight: The Galaxy's Funniest Superhero Bloopers! Starring Captain Qwark!"
"He is already set up," Clank mumbled as he and Ratchet stared at the screen blankly; both wearing the same neutral expression for the first time, "We... we have no time left. There is no way we can search all of Veldin before he-"
Ratchet interrupted, voice quiet and numb, "I know where he is."
Shocked, the robot looked towards the young Lombax, eyes widened, "What? Where?"
"That was my garage in the background," Ratchet's voice remained numb, unwavering in its emotionless state, "There's a mountain range not far from there... formed straight on top of a fault line. If Drek's anywhere, he's there."
There was a moment's silence, where Ratchet took a moment to compose himself, taking a deep breath, and finally turning to Clank. There were no words, no reassurances. Those would were useless now, they both knew. The only thing they could do was race to the finish; find Drek, find that laser. And pray, hope, wish that they found it in time.
Disclaimer: Ratchet and Clank do not belong to me.
Authoress' Notes: WHATISTHISIDON'TEVEN-
Apologies. Most of this was written while I was half-asleep. I'm mostly used to the meds now, but they've still messed up my sleepcycle. Whatever. So... comments on the chapter... I have none. Literally, I cannot think of a single thing to say right now. Nothing. So... um, yeah.
What did I do good on?: Eh... section four. About Clank and nanotech.
What did I fail on?: Section three is so weird. I did not mean to make it that way I swear. Just... um... yeah.
Random question for reviewers: How do you think Orvus feels about Ratchet?