Canadian Rocks: I will try. I had some trouble with this chapter, but I think it is acceptable.
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The orange lombax child had tried to signal his partner, but she hadn't paid attention. Now she was caught in a trap, and she had been seen. She knew what that meant and he did too.
It was protocol, simple, and unpersonal, like most things in the lombax society. He aimed down the sight of the rifle. His cross came over the guard, who was still in shock from the realization that she was a spy.
The Orange lombax was hesitating. Suddenly, the rifle he had sprinted with effortlessly before, fealt really heavy. His crosshairs moved, and focused on the white fur. The orange Lombax's hand felt stiff. He had to do this. He'd seen a hundred screens. "If your partner is caught, they must be terminated. Do your duty for our empire. Our Empire can not tolerate failure." Those all had flashed on the education screens. He had to do this… so why was did his hand cramp in that moment. It wouldn't go around the trigger.
She knew it as well. The white Lombax had mentally prepared herself. She was ready to die for the glorious Lombax Empire. So why did her heart beat so fast, and her breath feel so quick. She'd never get to eat with her partner again, they'd never shine their shoes together, they'd never stand side-by-side again. She would be gone. In her deepest pits of her heart, she'd hoped he would miss her. Of course, now it was up to him to… terminate her.
The White Lombax closed her eyes. Why was she afraid? She knew why. The White Lombax had… deep down, loved those things. She'd loved their cuddles before they would go to sleep, she'd loved the sour face her partner had gotten when he'd eat the rice in the rations, she'd loved it all. She was going to miss it. But She had to be terminated. She had gotten attached, which meant she was defective, a failure.
The Orange Lombax was sweating, his tiny body shaking. He had to pull the trigger, or they'd risk discovery. The Elders wouldn't be upset, they'd acknowledge the necessity and respect for protocol. But his hand still refused to cooperate. His throat suddenly felt tight, and he turned away as grey-green spewed out of it. He had to do his duty. He aimed down the sight once again.
What was taking him so long? The White Lombax should have been dead by now, and she knew it. She looked around. The Guard pulled out his walkie talkie.
"This is East side, we 'ave a-" A sudden ripple through the air silenced the Guard, as his body slumped to the side, slowly dissolving into orange flakes as he burned to cinders.
The White lombax closed her eyes and braced. She would be next. She felt her heart begin to beat exceptionally fast. She was going to die.
He Knew this was a blatant defiance of all things they had been taught, but what would it matter. She was still a good and loyal servant to the empire. He was justifying his decision. He knew the real reason, but refused to give the dignity of acknowledgement. The Orange Lombax's feet struck the ground and he pulled out his survival knife.
Was she dead? She hadn't felt anything, but that could have just been her head trying to make her comfortable. She opened her eyes, and looked around and- He was running towards her? What was he doing, he should have put a rod through her head by now! She then realized, he was coming to collect the documents. They had to be secured, then he'd finish the job. The Least she could do was help. She undid her bag and held it out-
The Orange Lombax ignored it, and ran to the trap. What the hell was he doing? They didn't have time for this. But he still went to work, the screw driver on his survival knife spinning as he undid the guard for the trap's plate. She felt the jaws flop off, and fall to the ground, and he held out a hand. He had chosen to save her. The White Lombax felt herself get angry, and relieved at the same time. She took his hand.
He hadn't planned this out. She was injured, and they had no time to plan out an escape. They knew where they needed to be, and when they needed to be there. He ducked his head under her arm, and carried her towards the tree line. They would have an easier time avoiding hostiles there. As they limped he could hear her breath giving a little more than usual. She had an injury, but she was shrugging it off. Her endurance and stoicism had always amazed him.
She, on the otherhand, felt conflicted. She would not have done the same for him, despite her desired outcome. Orders and protocol existed for a reason, and while glad he had saved her, that was her flaw to bear. She should have accepted her fate. She didn't think she would do the same for him.
The two limped the twenty yards up the incline that led to the forest. They could hear guards following, but they were so close, they just had to-
A shot rippled through the air, and the Orange Lombax tripped. His side tingled, and he felt himself wimpering. His partner looked down at him. They had made it to the forest. She seemed to freeze, but he knew what was about to happen. He handed her the folded rifle on his back, and loaded the disintegrator pistol with a single bullet. She took the rifle and ran.
She wouldn't return the favor. He knew that. But it hurt. He was now afraid, and in pain. His side continued to bleed, and he rolled down in a dried stream of the forest, and crawled under a tree root. This was how his story was going to end. He clutched his side, before pulling out the bright orange vial.
Several Years later…
"How is this my fault?" Ratchet asked innocently. He didn't do anything. Actually, it would be better if he said it out loud, "I didn't do anything."
"Yeah, it's precisely that. You didn't anything when you should have. You should have shot me right then and there." Rivet muttered looking away. Gosh he was being stupid.
"What?" Ratchet asked, feeling even more confused, "Why would I shoot you? We're… friends… right?"
"You really don't remember?" Rivet asked as she slowly looked him in the face.
Ratchet frowned, "Ok, you keep asking, and I keep saying, I don't remember. What happened?"
Rivet sighed, "Alright, you see, th-" She was interrupted by the door opening, and two small robots being pushed into the room by what appeared to be Lombax Praetorians.
"Clank, hey Buddy, Are you ok?" Ratchet Jumped up. He walked over to the edge of his cell, and pressed up against the clear wall.
Clank was scrapping along the ground, "I am going as fast as I can."
The Praetorians didn't seem to care, and pushed him further.
Ratchet waited against the door as the two robots were thrown in. Ratchet picked up clank and put him on his back. "They weren't too rough with you guys were they?"
Kit shuffled her feet, and looked down. Ratchet sighed, " They were not gentle."
Rivet walked over, "What did they do to you guys?" She asked with concern the two looked as though they had been tortured.
"The first day, the entered into our memory banks. The Second day, the ran-" Clank started.
Ratchet raised his hands, "Hold up, what do you mean first day? How many days have we been in here?"
"Ratchet, We've been in this dimension for three days. Today is our fourth." Clank stated.
Rivet looked at Ratchet, and slumped with pity. He wasn't bad, even if this was all his fault.
Ratchet noticed her look, and she turned around, with her ears slumped against her head and her tail drooping.
Ratchet over to her, "Hey, I don't know what I did, but… Sorry. I-"
The Door opened once again, and the Praetorians walked in, "Come forward prisoners. You will be brought to the court room to be tried."
Ratchet walked up to the doorway, "Do we get a lawyer?"
The two Praetorians looked at each other and laughed.
Rivet pushed past Ratchet as the door opened, "The "innocent" don't need lawyers. That's the rules." She muttered.
Ratchet frowned, and walked through the doorway, and a rift opened to pull Ratchet into a large room surrounded by seats of Lombaxes, who simply starred. There was no cheering or anger, they were silent. At the ground level, stood a towering podium, overlooking the two desks, one of which had three lombaxes and three seats. The other had two seats and two ports for machine charging.
A door slammed open, and a large…man walked in. He boasted a beard, and walked in with chainmail armor wrapped around his body, made of a strange black-grey metal.
The man sat down, and a Lombax on the level cleared his throat, "We were told the Alatreon would be arbitrating for this trial."
"You asked for the Alatreon, You got me." The man corrected, his face clearly in a scowl, "Come now, where are my papers. I have large of men who need to die, and you are cutting into that time."
"Your papers are on the desk, sir." The Lombax explained.
"Let's see… Serial number, being tried for…. That's dumb…. I'll wave that one… Have to listen to that one… Very serious." The man/judge muttered.
"S-Sir?" The Lombax asked.
The man stood up and looked down ,"R….. Do you have a name, or something I can call you."
"I'm Ratchet." Ratchet held out his hand… which in hind sight was pretty unformal.
The man looked down, and smirked, "Alright. Ratchet and…"
"Rivet." Rivet muttered.
The man nodded, "You are being tried with seven counts of defiance of protocol, two accounts of "attachment", Defiance of orders, Defiance of the chain of command, Destruction of equipment, and desertion."
Ratchet didn't know too much about most of those, but it seemed like a long list. He turned to the Lombaxes shocked. He was sudden jarred into how they were actually treating them.
"I am going to wave the first two charges." The man proceeded, "I'll hear out all sides for the rest."
The Prosecution table stood up, "This is out-"
The man interrupted, "Protocol and processes are for idealists, the real world is different. As for attachment, that seems to be standard. Attachment is to be expected for life-partners, which is sort of the goal of pairing them up. You've set them up to fail essentially."
Ratchet leaned over to Rivet, "him waving stuff is good, right?"
She didn't answer. This wasn't how she expected to return, but she should have seen it coming. Of course after what happened that night, with no communication… they'd think that she and Ratchet were traitors, deserters.
Ratchet for his part, still wasn't sure why they were being so closed off. The Lombaxes were supposed to be a noble, fair, intelligent people.
The Judge stood up, "The rest of the charges stay until proven or disproven."
The Prosecution seemed to grumble among themselves.
The judge slammed a large knife on the table, "IS THERE ANY OPPOSITION?"
The prosecution shook their heads.
The Judge Nodded, "Good. Now, stake your case."
The Lombax Prosecution stood up, "Arbitrator, These Lombaxes stole a dimensionator, assaulted a superior officer, and defied the very orders that have kept us safe for all these years. "
The Judge nodded, "Noted, Defense, how do you plea?"
Rivet stood up, "Not guilty."
"N-Not Guilty." Ratchet just went with it. He didn't remember anything like what the prosecutor just said.
The judge sighed, "Alright, present your case, prosecution."
The Prosecutor stood up, "I would like to call R1437 to the stand."
The Judge blinked, "A fridge?"
"I would call Rivet to the stand." The Prosecution corrected.
Rivet sighed, and everyone gave a look of encouragement. She walked to the stand, and sat down.
"Young… "Rivet" as you have chosen to be called… You are being tried for several acts of defiance against our people and existence. Do you understand this fully?" The Prosecutor asked.
Rivet nodded, "Yes."
"Can you describe the events that you deserted your post?" The prosecutor asked.
Clank spoke up, "Objection! The concept of desertion has yet to be proven."
The Judge thought for a moment, "Very well, Refrain from stating opinion as fact."
The prosecution frowned. The first sign of emotions out of them that wasn't smugness. Rivet got a little joy from that.
"Please rephrase your question." The judge requested.
The Prosecutor growled, even more emotion, "Please describe the night that you allegedly deserted your post."
Rivet nodded, "Yes. We were deployed to extract scientific plans for a new type of heavy weapon gear. I was dispatched with my partner, who ran the role of spotter. I entered the facility via a vent, opening and closing it from the outside. I traversed the facility until I found the digital storage. I extracted the files, and also discovered a secondary, physical blueprint for a weapon that would have accelerated our science division forward by a decade."
"And what happened, after you discovered these blue prints. Were you tempted to defect for monetary, or status gain from a dimensional enemy?" The prosecutor accused.
Rivet shook her head, "No, I was never tempted. I Simply escaped the facility. My partner notified me of an upcoming patrol, and I ran to avoid being spotted. I… got careless." Ratchet heard both embarrassment and regret from her voice.
"What happened." The prosecutor asked.
"I stepped on an anti-personnel trap. My leg was damaged in the process, and I alerted the enemy to my presence through an involuntary noise." Rivet confessed.
"And what was protocol for being trapped and risking discovery?" Asked the Prosecutor.
" To be terminated by a fellow lombax to prevent discovery." Rivet slumped.
Ratchet was shocked. What happened to the noble Lombaxes that he had been told about. The Great empire?
"I now call Raider- Ratchet to the stand." The Prosecutor proclaimed
Ratchet passed a slumped Rivet, and made his way to the podium.
"Now, Ratchet, do you recall the events of that night?" Asked the prosecutor, smugly.
Ratchet licked his lips.
"Raider 1492, do you recall the events of that night." The Prosecutor's voice took a harsher tone.
"No… I don't remember anything. I don't remember the Lombaxes, or any "night". I just have stories… which I guess were wrong." Ratchet slumped in defeat.
"You… Don't remember?" The Prosecutor asked, blinking.
"I am going to adjourn this court for the time being, because clearly, neither party is prepared. Count yourselves lucky, where I come from, you'd be dead for wasting our time." The Judge growled, standing up.
The Prosecutor bowed his head in appreciation, and ordered the guards to take them back to their cells.
The two sat there, in silence… What was to be said? Did it matter, they were both probably going to die?
Ratchet wanted to say something, in case they would die, "Hey, Rivet… Clank… Kit."
The robots turned their heads, but Rivet remained Slumped in her seat.
Ratchet stood up and walked over, to place a hand on her metal, robot shoulder, "I'm reall glad I met you, regardless of what happens, or what did happen."
Rivet felt her heart get crushed by that. In the end, it was her fault. She got careless. She couldn't blame him… not fully.
"I didn't leave you…" Rivet muttered.
Ratchet blinked, "What?"
"You were wounded… I should have left you… but I got attached." Rivet muttered, slumping, "Here's what happened…"