Talwyn paced the room. She tugged at loose strands of hair, thinking hard. It just didn't make sense.
"Are you sure it's that Smuggler?" Zephyr asked.
"I am about 90.8% sure he was the one I saw." Clank replied.
Why would he kidnap Ratchet? What did he have to gain? Ratchet had scarcely interacted with the man. Had he done something, in those few interactions, to provoke him to this extent? Or had someone else paid him? A low character like that, she could see him trying to collect bounty on Ratchet's head. But, if so, then who was paying him? Talwyn paused, and gently touched a hand to the patch of hair she had been fiddling with. At this rate she would make herself go bald.
"Maybe we should call galactic authorities?" She finally prompted in a worn out tone.
"Are you kidding?" Cronk exclaimed, instantly impassioned and overzealous. "Those idiots couldn't rescue a critter from a tree, much less a person! They probably wouldn't even want to save Ratchet since he's a hero stealing all their limelight. Bah! If we got them on board, he's as good as-"
The sudden elbow to his side interrupted Cronk's ramblings. Zephyr angrily directed his attention to the sullen look of the other two. Cronk stuttered, clearing his throat loudly, before attempting to speak again.
"What I mean to say is… let's try to figure this out ourselves for now. Getting galactic authorities involved would just complicate things."
Talwyn sighed.
"No, you're right," she paused before interjecting seriously. "I want to take out this bastard myself for what he's done."
Normally Clank would have cautioned against such reckless talk, but he knew the situation was starting to wear on the usually levelheaded woman. It weighed heavily upon him too. Instead, he tried to turn their attention to something more constructive.
"We should see if we can find any further information about the Smuggler. Perhaps, we could use Aphelion's computer system?" Clank suggested.
"If we can get her functioning. Wasn't Ratchet doing maintenance on her?" Zephyr levied.
"Ah, you kids are smart. I'm sure the four of us will be able to figure things out if there are any hiccups." Cronk countered.
Talwyn and Clank nodded in agreement. There wasn't a whole lot that needed to be done. Just some wires that Ratchet had disconnected to avoid damaging Aphelion's system, while he had installed the new tech. They couldn't help feeling a small ache as they worked with Ratchet's latest project, knowing this was exactly what he was doing before he had been stolen away. Would it be his last? The energetic hum of Aphelion coming to life pushed the question from the collective's minds.
"Hello, Clank," the ship rang out, greeting the robot in front of her "How may I assist you?"
"Ratchet has gone missing. We were wondering if you might be able to supply us with any information." Said Clank.
"Oh no, I'm sorry to hear that. What do you need me to do?"
"We believe it was the Smuggler who took Ratchet. Would you be able to do a background check on him? I'll feed you all the details I currently know."
Hopping into the ship, Clank hooked himself up to Aphelion, passing on the information he had stored in his memory bank. They waited quietly as she compiled her findings, before citing it aloud.
"The Smuggler
Real name: unknown
Age: unknown
A notorious Smuggler, hunter and thief, most recognisable by his tall lanky stature, blue complexion, rustic clothes, and eye patch. He also keeps a red parrot, which can often be seen sitting on his shoulder. Currently there are several warrants out for his arrest, with charges including illegal hunting, manufacturing and sale of illegal weapons, and tax fraud."
"Any information on his current whereabouts?" Talwyn asked.
"Hmm… galactic authorities recently attempted to detain him on planet Magnus." Aphelion said, shifting through her data.
"Do you think he could still be there?" Talwyn speculated.
"Hold on, I think I've found something." Aphelion chimed, before displaying a fuzzy and out of focus hologram. It appeared to be the security footage for some sort of shop. Aphelion paused it when the visage of the Smuggler appeared walking up to the register.
"It's from a local store on Magnus. This footage seems to be from earlier today." Aphelion explained.
"That doesn't necessarily mean he's still there. He could have just stopped in before going somewhere else." Cronk said.
"It's the only lead we have." Talwyn remarked "We should talk to the store owner and see if he knows anything about him."
As soon as she finished speaking, Talwyn tried to suppress the huge yawn that seized her.
"We should go tomorrow," Zephyr said. "It's the middle of the night over there as well. We'll go first thing in the morning when the store is open."
As much as it pained them, Talwyn and Clank agreed. They wanted to find Ratchet as soon as possible, but they had to wait. Clank had just now noticed the heavy bags under Talwyn's eyes. He too felt utterly exhausted. Even if the store was open presently, he knew they couldn't go there without getting some sort of sleep first. They all stayed the night at the duo's place, so they could be ready to go as soon as possible. Clank set up the living room for Cronk and Zephyr to rest, while Talwyn slept in Ratchet's bed. Finally, with nothing left to occupy his mind, all Clank could do was lay wide awake, his mind flooded with every horrible situation Ratchet could be in. He wouldn't get very much sleep that night, and from the soft sobbing he could hear coming from Talwyn's side of the room, he knew she wouldn't be getting much either.
Chapter 6 image: i imgur com VIM0hQp png