Location: Temporary Sheriff's Office, Oko Plaza, Kyzil Plateau Spaceport, Veldin
Time: 11:00 AM, Friday
"And this is the last of the sophonts found in and among the wreckage of the ship that dropped the aggressor vehicle into the charity race, Sheriff Taunty," Captain Sasha Phyronix stated as the last group was marched into the makeshift court hall.
"And like all the others, I recognise every last one of them, and not one of them has been off Veldin even once in their entire lives. I don't see how any of them could have been working with this Spanner fellow, except maybe by accident, and none of them are currently wanted for anything serious enough to merit taking up space in what few cells we have left after the attack."
"I guess that's it then," Sasha said, as yet another lead dried up before it actually went anywhere.
"Eh, not quite," Sheriff pro tem Taunty drawled, and then turned to address the final group of former suspects. "Now listen up! You all check out this time, so you're free to go if'n y'all want. You can even go right back to salvaging that ship y'all were swarmin' all over if ya want, since Starwatch got what they needed from it and Builders' League United wrote it off as a loss due to piracy, so nobody's gonna hassle you over it 'cept each other.
"That said, Builders' League United expressed an interest in possibly hirin' a bunch of ya, seeing as you had the motivation and wherewithal to strip so much of their former ship down in such a short time. So anyone interested in on the job trainin' should be here around noon on Monday to speak to their rep when he or she gets here. Impress them, and you might actually end up with a job before the day is out. Now pass the word on when ya leave, would ya? I know not all of you can read the job postings on the notice boards."
There was a general cheer from the rapidly dispersing Salvage Rats as they quickly left the room before the former deputy changed his mind.
"That was an interesting way to handle things," Sasha noted.
"It's the way Sheriff Marshal would have wanted it done," Tanty stated. "Personally, if the jailhouse wasn't in ruins, I'd have had most of 'em in holding at least overnight if not for a day or two longer just for the general trouble they get up to, but like I said, not one of them has done anything that merits takin' up valuable space in what few remaining cells that we have."
"I suppose that it doesn't hurt that BLU might be taking them off your hands soon."
"Maybe, maybe not," Taunty shrugged. "BLU is probably going to employ a lot of them locally in the rebuilding effort, and then take only those who have proven themselves worth the effort when they finally pull out. But it'll give 'em hope and maybe they'll try harder for it.
"After all, way back when I first laid eyes on Widget when I caught her trying to steal scrap from out behind where Grim's place used to be, I'd have sworn up and down that the little monster'd grow up to be a space pirate. Bit my wrist once and my ankles twice 'fore I got her into the back of my skycar, and swore fit to make a longshoreman blush. Pure evil in rags, I'd have said, and Grim's a saint for convincing her to put shoes on over those claws of hers. Left gashes in my boots, they did. And the back of my seat…
"Anyhow, I don't know what spark of decency Marshal somehow saw in her, but he pushed for leniency at her trial in juvie court, and even convinced Ol' Grim, the Fongoid she tried to steal from, to agree to be her guardian. An' now look at her: a Galactic Ranger and from what I can tell workin' up to be a pretty good one at that. Still a might rough around the edges perhaps, but damn if that tiny spark Marshal saw grew into somethin' resemblin' a proper fire."
Sheriff pro tem Taunty sighed. "I didn't always see eye to eye with how Marshal did things. Still don't, for a lot of things. But I figure that if there's even a small chance that any of those Scavenger Rats we just let walk out those doors have that same sort of tiny spark that Widget had, then I owe it to Marshal to give those sparks a chance to blaze as bright as they can so they have some chance at a future."
"So this Widget left a good impression on you then?"
"Actually," Taunty grinned, "I count it as a plus that I walked away from talkin' with her last night without a new set of teeth marks somewhere on my body. That girl used to be as mean as horny toads when she was pissed, and just about as polite."
-o-
Location:The Phoenix, Bay 35, Kyzil Plateau Spaceport, Veldin
Time: 11:00 AM, Friday
Widget was losing herself in tweaking one of the detached weapon arms from the Bravo Squad warbots her little brother had accidentally recruited due to an accident of history. Which was to say that neither Clank nor she had known that there had ever been previous iterations of the Galactic Rangers, nor that Captain Qwark had adopted the old logo when he reactivated the charter in order to create his version of the team.
Which actually fit the pattern of behavior she was beginning to recognize from the Captain, which was to acquire something for the team because it was either cool or useful, but then make an odd decision about it that would later prove to be either very awkward, annoying, or impossibly lucky.
She was still undecided as to whether the bizarre chain of events that had led to Bravo Squad adopting Clank as their new sergeant, and thus the rest of the team as their officers by default, was awkward, annoying, impossibly lucky, or (as she was increasingly suspecting), all three.
"I hear you had a bit of an adventure," Widget heard Cora say, causing her to look up as Cora and Brax entered the maintenance bay.
"You could say that, yes," Widget replied, turning her attention back to the weapon she was working on, since it wasn't really at a stage where she felt comfortable setting it aside.
"Um…" Brax hesitated for a moment, then continued, "Why is there what looks like a group of one armed warbots in the corner looking over… color pallets?"
"That would because there is a group of one armed warbots in the corner, and they are looking over color pallets," Widget snarked absently as she made yet another adjustment to the arm cannon.
"But why?" Brax asked.
"I think they're still deciding whether to go with a single unified paint theme with just their designations to identify them, or to go with individual themes with just the logo to identify them as being part of the Galactic Rangers,"
"Er… That doesn't… um…"
"I think what Brax is trying to ask is why do we suddenly have a squad of warbots at all," Cora clarified.
"Near as I can tell?" Widget shrugged as she looked up from the weapon she was working on again. "Sheer dumb luck and stupidity involving a chain of events that should not have happened in a sane universe."
"Yup!" one of the warbots spoke up, turning his attention from the discussion he was having with his squadmates. "That sounds about right, Sir!"
"Did that warbot just call you Sir?" Cora couldn't help but ask.
"They seem to think I'm their new lieutenant for some reason that makes even less sense than them deciding that Clank is their new sergeant."
"You keep saying that, Sir," the warbot continued, "but we can't help but notice that you are looking after us anyway."
"With as long as you've all gone without more than what little self-maintenance you could do out there? And then finding out that you're all apparently legacy members from the previous team? I wasn't about to just leave you out there! Especially not after how you helped us take down and capture that dangerous idiot, Spanner."
"And that's what makes you a good lieutenant, Sir!"
"Hey," Brax interjected as he noticed what Widget was working on. "Are you adding a grenade launcher to that arm cannon?"
"It's for Fusion Bombs, mostly," Widget informed them, holding up the dummy bomb she was using to make sure that she got the proportions right. "But I suppose it can easily be used with other types of bombs and grenades. I'm leaving a space to install a cheap A.S.S. ammo selector so that C-44 can swap between what types of bombs he wants to use for any given shot.
"And that's why you're a great lieutenant, Sir!" a different warbot, presumably C-44, cheerfully called out.
"Uhuh," Cora nodded uncertainly. "On a different note, do we want to know why Elaris is hanging from a swingshot line in the crew quarters?"
"I'd rather you didn't," Widget stated as she went back to working on the arm cannon.
"I'll just go check the security logs then," Brax stated as he turned to leave.
"Wait, don't…" Widget half stood up, but hesitated, torn between chasing after Brax and making sure not to leave a potentially dangerous weapon laying around unsecured.
"Well, it looks like you're busy," Cora teased as she too turned to leave, "So I'll just go help Brax find the right footage."
"GUYS! WAIT!" Widget yelled as they left. "NO FAIR!"
-o-
Location:BlargTech Flagship, Deep Space
Time: 11:00 AM, Friday
"Thank you so much for having me and the boys broken out, Mr. Drek Sir," Drek smiled indulgently as Little Tony thanked him profusely. Not that the oversized Cazar was actually important or integral to any plan, being nothing more than dumb muscle, but it was always nice to be appreciated by the minions.
"Why wouldn't I have the spokesperson of our new planet rescued?" Drek asked kindly, perpetuating the implied but otherwise blatantly false importance of Little Tony's role in his plans. "You're a part of the BlargTech family now! Now why don't you and the boys go get cleaned up, and then I'll treat you all to a nice lunch to celebrate your hard won freedom?"
"You got it, Boss!" Little Tony agreed, then turned to follow the dismissed troops out of the conference room.
Turning his attention to the remaining figures in the room, Drek addressed Shiv Helix. "While it wasn't part of your initial contract, the extra troops you freed during your break out of Little Tony is a perfectly acceptable bonus objective."
"Glad you think so, Mr. Drek," Shiv stated. "I was thinking a thousand each would suffice as a bonus payout."
"Sure," Drek said agreeably, then turned more serious. "If I had stated that as a bonus objective ahead of time, instead of you risking the mission for a side objective I hadn't even asked for. Fifty Bolts each, no more."
"Ah, but those are troops you don't have to pay the expense of training up replacements for. Nine hundred each, and not a Bolt less."
Drek and Helix settled into an enjoyable bit of haggling, eventually settling on seven hundred Bolts for each extra trooper freed this time, with a thousand bolts each agreed upon as an acceptable bonus payout for such during any similar breakout called for in any future contracts.
The Stig, as seemed to be his norm, said nothing as he joined them when they left to join Little Tony and the freed troopers for the party.
-o-
Location:The Phoenix, Bay 35, Kyzil Plateau Spaceport, Veldin
Time: 11:00 AM, Friday
Clank was in the hangar, going over the custom built oversized Grav-sled that he had the pit-bots assemble for him yesterday. Bloop was on hand with a datapad, recording every little detail as they went over the machine, as the Wipeout League had informed them that, while most of the sponsors he had taken parts from were fine with him grabbing parts in the line of duty, only two had agreed to actually let him keep any of what had went into his machine without paying. Even then it was only one or two signature pieces per sponsor and not everything he had the pit-bots take from their work pits.
And he didn't have nearly enough Bolts in his account to pay for everything he used (he had checked), and while he might easily get that much in the near future, it wouldn't be likely to happen until after they left Veldin.
And, no, he couldn't get an advance on his pay just for this.
The best he could hope for was what he got: an agreement from the Wipeout League to let the Galactic Rangers log what went into his machine and how it all went together, and for the League itself to hold onto it as a neutral party for him for up to a year before they took it apart and sent the parts back to all of the various sponsors.
Testing it out in holosims would have to do until then. And for that, he needed verifiable data for Dr. Nefarious to program the sim from that didn't require his presence. Hence what he and Bloop were doing in the ship's hangar bay right now.
Noting the two reporters and their camera-bots walking up the rear access ramp as if they owned the ship, Clank left Bloop to continue recording details and making notes, trusting him to do a good job while he saw what the reporters wanted. He met them moments later, with the pair having stopped just on the other side of the security field.
"Hello, little guy, I'm…"
"Dallas Wannamaker, I know," Clank interrupted, annoyed. Dallas preened for a moment right before Clank continued. "I believe my sister has expressed an interest in inflicting grievous bodily harm upon your person. Please stay there while I go get her."
"Aheh… I'm sure she was just exaggerating..?" Dallas implied hopefully.
"I should hope so, considering her actual statement was that she was going to kill you. I suggested a light to medium maiming as a more appropriate deterrent for the offense."
"I think I like you and your sister already," Juanita Alvera stated happily. "I'm so glad you insisted that we try for an interview today, Dallas!"
"Ah, do you really think this is the time, Juanita?" Dallas asked as he tugged at his collar nervously.
"What are you worried about, Dallas? You're insured, and from the sound of it, I'm sure that the hospital stay would be brief."
"Not helping, Juanita…"
"Now Dallas, what was it you said back when we were doing that exposé on Don Corneo back in Midgar? 'It depends on your definition of help?' Well, by my definition, I'm helping!"
"Please don't. I promise not to do anything like that again!"
"And I promise not to do anything like this again," Juanita agreed.
Dallas relaxed.
"But the key word here is again," Jaunita stated firmly.
Dallas made a run for it.
Much to Juanita's disappointment, there was no pursuit.
She was, however, invited into the ship with both camera bots provided she agreed to behave herself.
-o-
Location: Aleero City General Hospital, Kerwan
Time: 11:45 AM, Friday
Grim shut off the holovid in what was soon to be his former hospital room.
"Damn, Veldin just can't seem to catch a break, can it?" his brother, Felton commented. "First the Blarg attack and then that asshole tearing up the charity race yesterday."
"They'll bounce back," Grim shook his head. "The only difference between these incidents and the space pirate raid is that this time the news is paying attention to it for a change."
"I still can't believe you chose to stay there despite the Lombax colony being abandoned when we arrived in Solana."
"Well, it's not like they took their buildings with them when they left, and it's not like they're all gone either."
"I know, I know," Felton said. "I see them from time to time on Pokitaru. Families or couples on vacation, but they never say where they're from. Ever. Well, at least not the planet, anyway, as they do sometimes talk about this or that enclave or outpost."
"Kind of wish you'd have mentioned that sooner," Grim stated. "I might have brought Widget over to give her a chance of meeting other Lombaxes in a safe setting."
"Well, I would have told you, but up until a few weeks ago you hadn't even told me you had adopted one!"
"Yeah yeah, I know," Grim admitted reluctantly. "It's just that Widget spent most of her life so far as a Scavenger Rat who had to work, fight, and bleed for everything she had, and be ready to ditch it all at a moment's notice if she had to run away in a hurry. I was kind of worried how she'd take learning about you, Mr. Ten-Years-On-A-Fishing-Trip."
"Are you still on about that? I told you, I work at the resort! Is it my fault that they gave me a job where I can do what I love to do every day?"
"Yes."
"I'm not sure if I should feel complimented or insulted!"
"Also yes."
"Look, are you ready to go or not? The Starbus back to Poketaru will be leaving pretty soon. Or, if you want to surprise Widget, we can hop on the next one to Veldin. I think the Rangers are supposed to be there for at least a few more days."
"Yeah, let's do that one," Grim decided. "Besides, I should probably let my friends there know that I hadn't died in the attack."
"GRIM!"Felton admonished his brother. "Interplanetary holocalls aren't that expensive! You've got to actually call people sometimes and not just wait until they come to you!"
"Eh, it's worked out for me so far."
"Uhuh. Sure. And now Widget's first experience with another Lombax that looks to be about her own age is that nutjob showed up yesterday. You know as well as I do that she's probably been the only Lombax on Veldin the entire time since the refugee ships arrived. Like I said, I see them from time to time on Poketaru, so I guess wherever they've moved to, they still take vacations, but until Widget and now this guy, you just don't seem to find them in the news like back in Polaris before that Tachyon asshole mucked things up."
"You obviously don't keep a weather ear on news from Polaris then."
"Let me guess: Another 'insurgency' of 'criminally insane' Lombax terrorists? Why do you bother keeping track of that drivel? You know as well as I do that Tachyon has had a stranglehold on every major news outlet in Polaris since shortly after he declared himself their Benevolent Emperor for Life."
"Sooner or later he's going to finish consolidating his power there, Felton. And once he does, he's probably going to start wondering where all those Lombaxes in the resistance are coming from, because they're running out of places to hide in Polaris. And he's got to have noticed that he's not finding any Lombax kids and be wondering where they are."
"And what does Widget think about all this?"
"She doesn't know," Grim stated. "I keep the parental controls active on my holonet terminal."
"GRIM! You can't keep her sheltered all her life! Not from this!"
"I… I just can't Felton. If you haven't been watching the Polaris newsfeeds, you don't know what Tachyon's been doing to the Lombaxes he catches! Rugs! Trophies! Wall hangings! Slaves! Zoo exhibits! And I can't decide which of any of these is worse than the others! I just can't subject Widget to that!"
"She's eighteen now, Grim. Sooner or later she's going to look stuff up on her own."
"I know, I know, it's just that she's not angry all the time any more. She's grown so much since I took her in, got a good head on her shoulders. I just worry that if she ever finds out about what Tachyon's been up to, all the peace she's gained since then will be shattered, leaving behind nothing but rage."
"And her finding out on her own is going to stop that, how?"
Grim sighed. "You're right, of course."
"So you'll tell her?"
"If I can figure out how? Yeah. I guess it's time."