Author's note:

Hi everybody, I'm back off holiday and ready to get this story updated once again. I'm afraid I may have gone a bit overboard again with this chapter, and it ended up a lot longer than I had initially anticipated. I had originally intended to have things play out in a similar manner to the Wupash Nebula but quickly realised I'd just be re-treading old ground, so instead I came up with something a little more… original.

Not much else to say other than to thank you for your patience while I've been away and that I hope you all enjoy my take on the Feltzin System. Enjoy!

Review replies:

Firestar5277 - I always find it so difficult to adequately portray the sense of speed and pacing when it comes to describing the racing events in this series, or in general without becoming stagnant; but I'm glad you like the end result, and my slightly extended interactions with the robot saleswoman. I can neither confirm nor deny Ace's future intentions without giving away the plot, but I will say your sense of his character is very acute… I don't think the biker has a canonical name, or at least not to my knowledge, but I am inclined towards Steve myself. It seems right somehow. Thank you once again, and hope you enjoy the new chapter.

Destiny W - Glad you liked the chapter, and thank you for your understanding. Believe me when I say that time away was just what I needed considering the recent upheavals at work over the past few weeks, and I'm feeling a lot better now for it. Updates may become a little more sporadic on the run up to Christmas due to prior commitments, but I'm eager to get this story rolling again and don't intend to stop anytime soon barring circumstances beyond my control.

StaticBomb93 - I think I may have mentioned this at some point during the last story, but it's amazing just how good the original Ratchet and Clank games still are even over a decade after their original release, and not just in terms of gameplay. Insomniac's brand of irrelevant humour and double entendres is still just as funny today as it was back then, with Logan's little anecdotes being just another smirk-worthy example.

As for Ratchet, well… he might just have interpreted Ellen's teasing in entirely the wrong way, although to be fair she usually gives as good as she gets considering their past exchanges. Hope you like the new chapter.

Lightsaviour2759 - Thank you, although considering the tribesmen's usual tactics are along the lines of 'rush 'em and pray' portraying them accurately wasn't too challenging. Oh yes, Ellen is most definitely going to be going to town on whomever crosses their path now she's got one of her most powerful weapons back, and Ratchet still has a thing for big guns that make bigger booms. It's just kind of his thing really.

Considering how much of a headache it proved to be for the previous one, I think I might take your advice to heart once again and perhaps skip a vast majority of the Joba hoverbike race when it crops up. Should make my life a lot easier and hopefully keep the plot rolling along at a decent pace rather than become bogged down in something that can easily be cut. Take care, hope to hear from you again soon.

DarkEnigma95 - Hey yourself, and I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter along with the hoverbike race in particular. Thank you for the reminder about the nanotech upgrade as well; I actually forgot and your prompt has partially influenced how a few things for how the next chapter will pan out. I'll definitely have Ratchet and Ellen share its effects though, or simply have one for each of them considering they're going to need it sooner rather than not. Thanks again.

Tempest Fugit - Aw thanks, and I would never say no to more explosive firepower for Ratchet and Ellen's growing arsenal. I am honestly flattered though that you consider this series thus far to be of published novel quality, especially since Time Heals All is long overdue for reformatting into something easier to read. Definitely something I'll get to as soon as I've got some spare time.

Your background information on the ACK and STIKY are very much appreciated and will go a long way towards giving me a way to blend them into the Ratchet and Clank universe when the time comes for their introduction. Would you happen to have any rough physical descriptions for each though, or would you be happy to let me have free rein on their appearance?

ReginaDC21 - Ah don't worry about it; it sounds like you've got enough on your plate to deal with as is, and I'm honestly amazed you managed to find enough time to post a review at all considering how busy you must be right now. I am glad to hear from you again though, and you're right on the money with Ace and his subtle needling of Ratchet; though the reasons why I'll leave up to your imagination.

I would have to agree with you, Trinity was a pretty cool design for Dino Stalker and I do feel more of an affinity towards the first two games. If only Capcom would reboot the series for the next-gen consoles while taking the best elements of Dino Crisis 1, 2, and Stalker and blending it together. Could you imagine how awesome that would be? I'm glad to hear you sister is on the mend, and at least she's got something to look forward to. Though I am curious as to how a big screen adaptation of Goosebumps would work… Say hi to your sister for me, and take care, both of you. Looking forward to hearing from you again soon.

The White Guardian - Glad you approve, and I would have to agree with regards to the space battles in Going commando. It's just a shame that there weren't any in Up Your Arsenal, though I'm not going to rule out adding my own into the inevitable sequel just yet. Hopefully this chapter will live up to your expectations.

I'm pretty sure the robot saleswoman was, like you said, simply a game mechanic to help reintroduce the small Gadgetron arsenal into Going Commando in a plausible way. Although it would have been nice to know a little more about her in canon, and it seems kind of cruel to just leave her there on a hostile planet without at least offering a way off world.

Random Rockets - Well hello new reviewer, and might I say I'm glad to hear this story has exceeded your initial expectations. As you've quite rightly pointed out, too many OC insert stories tend to rapidly degenerate into Mary Sue mode and end up with the character overshadowing the canon cast to a ridiculous degree. My character philosophy is that an OC insert should never be above and beyond the main protagonists without a damn good reason, and even then needs to be balanced out to make the overall story work without breaking it entirely.

I also admit that the setup premise for Time Heals All that you've described is one that has practically become cliché in the past few years of fan fiction, although I've tried to make Ellen a more practical sort rather than simply milking the underlying tragedy of the character forth all it's worth like some stories I've seen. Still, from your response I believe that I'm by and large on the right track when it comes to keeping her a useful, yet balanced character. Thanks again for reviewing, and hope you enjoy the new chapter.

Sonachugirl - Thank you, the hover bike race took a stupid amount of time to put together coherently so I'm relieved to hear you liked it. As for Ace, well… you're not the only one he's rubbing up the wrong way; Ratchet certainly won't be leaving him with Ellen for extended periods, that's for sure.

Also, after searching for Ohmwrecker as you suggested I finally got a chance to check out your Colors gallery, and I have say you're selling yourself short. Seriously, I love your work and art style in general; it's definitely miles better than anything I could hope to come up with. Though it was nice to get away from everything this past week, it's good to be home again; and thankfully I actually managed to get this chapter up on time. Enjoy!

zenith88 - Hey again, and yeah, it's annoying that fanfiction doesn't count replacing an entire chapter's content as an update but hopefully I can avoid any such mishaps in for the foreseeable future. Still, I'm glad you liked both chapters of the Barlow arc and can only hope you approve of my initial take on the Feltzin System level.

I'm always trying to improve as a writer, so please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome, flamers are not.

If you enjoy this story, please feel free to check out the other stories on my account should you wish.

More space battles abound as the team seek out answers at the thug's rendezvous point, but will they end up biting off more than they can chew? Read on in Chapter 13.

- RevenantReaper337

Disclaimer:

Ratchet & Clank, associated characters, organisations, and intellectual properties belong to Insomniac Games. All other real world organisations and products belong to their respective governments, companies, etc. Original characters, creatures, weapons, etc. belong to me. Cover art belongs to Nekolover3 and is used with her kind permission.

'Thoughts'

Flashbacks

"Speech"

Chapter 13:

No Picnic

Thugs-4-Less Rendezvous Point, Feltzin System

Bogon Galaxy

G2.17.082 Galactic calendar

11:53am local time

Within the confines of a gaseous green-hued nebula, far away from civilised space, a vast armada of small vessels began to congregate. In ones and twos they came; forming into larger groups and filtering through the surrounding asteroid field like great shoals of silvery metallic fish before disappearing into the epicentre. Had the occupants not been so preoccupied with where they were going however, they might have caught a fleeting glimpse of two distinctly shaped spacecraft hidden within the shadows cast by of one such floating space rock; their engines shut down and instruments running on minimum power to prevent detection while their pilots observed the seemingly never-ending convoys of Thugs-4-less ships passing by.

"There goes another lot," Ellen observed. "How many's that now; seven, eight?"

"More like ten, probably more," Ratchet replied over the shortwave radio link between their ships; neither wanting to risk discovery by chancing anything more complex at the moment. "Who knows how many are already at their rendezvous from before we got here."

Looking up briefly from where he was busily recalibrating the red Star Explorer's long range scanners, Clank decided to add his own input. "Considering the diminishing number of observable vessels passing by our position, it is logical to assume that almost all of the Thugs-4-Less employees attending this gathering are already present and most likely preparing to move on to their present objective."

"While we're still stuck here waiting for Ace to show up," the lombax groused. "Seriously, we've been here for an hour and still haven't heard a word from him."

Ellen nodded in spite of no one being able to see the gesture, watching the slowing trickle of sleek long-range fighters and limbering bulbous transports pass by with an increasing sense of gnawing worry that only continued to rise by the minute. "Yeah, I know. I say we give it another five minutes then go in quietly; there's a lot more of them than us, and I'd rather avoid an unnecessary fight if we can help it."

Having been stuck here for so long with nothing to do but watch, Ratchet couldn't help but agree. They had made best speed from Barlow and, after having explained to Clank who they were meeting along the way, had arrived near to the designated coordinates within a scant few hours; the initial rush and sense of urgency tapering down in favour of caution the further they penetrated inside the supposed staging zone. At first there didn't seem to be any activity around at all, not even any false positives from their Star Explorer's probing sensors; or at least that was until Clank had detected an incoming spike of energy close by, proceeding several heavy transports with fighter escorts materialising from an FTL jump barely more than a few hundred yards away.

Using the surrounding debris field as cover, the two commandos had shadowed the small fleet further into the asteroid filled nebula at a discreet distance; hoping they would lead them to wherever the actual rendezvous point was. What the human and lombax had discovered however was that this gathering was going to be a lot bigger than any of them had anticipated, and considering the growing numbers of ships filtering into the system along with the chance of detection, they had eventually opted for hunkering down to wait for their fellow commando to turn up while keeping a running tally of the enemy's numbers. That had been an hour ago though, and with fewer and fewer ships passing through their window of opportunity was shrinking fast.

Achingly long minutes ticked by before a thoroughly frustrated Ratchet shook his head and reopened the comm channel. "We can't afford to wait any longer. If Ace isn't here by now, then he's obviously not coming."

"Yeah, you're right," Ellen sighed aloud. "Come on, let's- Hold on a sec."

Her abrupt change of tone was due to a long range contact showing up on the periphery of her ship's radar and closing by the second; both commandos wordlessly reorienting their fighters towards the potential threat even as they discretely powered up their shields, flipping the safeties off of their weapon systems and preparing to engage the potential foe. As the unknown craft got within visual range however, the waiting vessels occupants relaxed upon seeing a familiar and heavily armed golden-yellow painted starfighter approaching them at cruising speed before slowing to a halt just beside their hiding spot.

"hey kid," Ace greeted the lombax before turning his head towards the sole female of the group, "and hello to you again, missy. Been waiting long?"

"You're late," Ellen cut in before her partner could rise to the bait once again. "We were just about to go in without you."

"Well we can't have that now, can we?" he replied with an audible smirk in his tone. "Now that the guests are all here, whadya say we get this party started?"

Falling into a loose V-formation once they had restarted their engines and relevant systems, the lombax and human fell in on either side of their older colleague and began to weave through the sporadic asteroid field towards where the Thugs-4-less ships had appeared to be going. The further they penetrated into the green-hued nebula, the denser the debris field seemed to get; the three Megacorp backed fighters having to pull some creative manoeuvring in order to squeeze through some particularly narrow gaps without potentially compromising their presence to any out lying pickets the thugs may have posted.

It was as they cleared one such formation of skyscraper sized rock formations lazily rotating in the void that they caught sight of their objective. Almost in the middle of the vast debris field of rock and ice lay a truly massive construct formed out of the excavated remains of an equally large asteroid; the top half a bristling fortress of black non reflective metal interspersed with the natural greys of the hollowed out rock to form a rough dome shape, topped with an observation deck of sorts and multiple aerials. Several large towers sporting either coiled generators of some kind or a multitude of defensive batteries were positioned strategically across the surface, while a pair of well lit trapezoid entrances filtered traffic to and from the base with more likely on the other side, and a cruiser-sized interstellar communications dish protruded from the bottom.

"Well newbies," Ace quipped, "looks like we hit pay dirt. So, what's the game plan?"

Nearby, the massed armada of Thugs-4-Less ships of all sizes were beginning to disperse into smaller groups before collectively using their warp drives to jump towards their next destination. Declining in number as they were, the mercenary forces still outnumbered the Megacorp backed team by at least ten to one; but if they were leaving already then the commandos were about to lose their only possible lead on finding both the missing Protopet and scientist unless they acted right now. Thankfully however, Clank already had a possible solution in his processor and had come up with a plan.

"That star base appears to be the primary staging point for all Thugs-4-Less forces operating in this sector. By maintaining a close proximity to the lower communications array, I may be able to intercept any ongoing transmissions and determine as to where their intended destination may be."

"But that would leave you and Ratchet exposed to any enemy fighters, plus whatever defences they've got set up on that rock," Ellen argued. "We'd need to thin their numbers out first before even attempting to hack their communications, and I doubt even three of us working together could hold them off for long."

"Maybe, but it's all we got," Ratchet replied with steely determination colouring his tone. "We'll just have to work fast and give Clank the room he needs to work is all."

"Now you're talking!" their markazian wingman chimed in eagerly, already pushing his throttle forward and accelerating in towards the nearest merc formation. "You'll have to introduce me to your new friend once this is over, by the way. But right now, it's time to show these guys what happens when you mess with the best!"

The two Star Explorers were struggling to catch up as Ace unleashed his opening salvo; a quartet of missiles streaking forth and gutting a trio of fighters, while the fourth managed to bank away only to fall prey to nigh point blank cannon fire. Of course by now virtually every vessel in the area had been alerted to the Megacorp ship's arrival and the other two commandos were forced to twist and turn as a veritable torrent of green fire filled the space between them. Blowing through the defensive screen with their afterburners on full, the human and lombax managed to tag a few fighters between them in spite of the sheer amount of speed they were pushing while their shields took some glancing hits; both sides looping around once they had passed by each other and descending into a veritable melee.

While the three commandos were preoccupied with their own battles however, their opponents had not taken the sudden raid on their rendezvous lying down. Even as the last of their gathered fleet jumped away to who knows where, the star base's defensive batteries began to swing into action even as fresh squadrons of fighters poured out of their respective hanger bays and swarmed towards the ongoing furball.

Ellen chased one of the green-hued fighters across the surface of an nearby asteroid fragment that could easily dwarf a small city, jinking sporadically to either side to throw off his wingman's aim while she waited for the growling tone in her helmet to signify a positive missile lock. Launching the second she had tone, the human pulled up and over into a hard right turn to avoid the increasingly accurate laser bolts that skimmed past her cockpit before corkscrewing back over the other way; her pursuer overshooting and running directly into the blue Star Explorer's gunsights.

Ratchet meanwhile had found himself dealing with some kind of fast-moving interceptor that they hadn't encountered before; predominantly purple and centred around a pair of powerful ion engines, each hosting two claw-like control surfaces that tapered in past the cockpit to a fine point. In a straight line he simply couldn't catch up, the Thugs-4-Less ship having a phenomenal rate of acceleration that easily let it out pace his Star Explorer while he was kept busy before banking around at a safe distance to make a high speed strafing run and screaming past again. It was during these periods between runs however that the interceptor demonstrated its lack of mobility; seeming to have all the turning proficiency of a bus and leaving its surprisingly resilient armour vulnerable to being pounded by the lombax's cannon fire along its predicted route.

Jinking right to avoid a flash of green fire streaking across his fighter's nose, Ratchet soon caught wind of another interceptor dogging Ellen's Star Explorer as she weaved between the space station's towers and across the glass-domed observation deck protruding from the top even as she splashed another fighter that happened to cross her path. Inverting his craft and yanking back on the control stick, the lombax briefly dove towards the construct before rolling back up the right way and pulling up just below the top of the defensive towers and behind the human's persistent pursuer while still trying to throw off the one on his tail.

"Hang on babe, I got your six. Just keep him moving left a little more."

Although she didn't answer verbally, Ellen obligingly threw her ship into a hard left turn while punching the throttle; the sickle-winged fighter glued to her rear matching the manoeuvre only to get a heat-seeker for his trouble. With her tail momentarily clear, the human continued into a high speed vertical climb before cutting the engines entirely for a few brief seconds and flipping her craft over so that it pointed back down at the glass dome beneath her; catching a glimpse of her wingman shooting past underneath with a green-hued predatory vessel following closely behind. Seeking to return the favour, Ellen dove after the lombax's pursuer and led her target carefully before stabbing the trigger; a short cannon burst nigh severing its port wing, almost causing the fighter to fold in on itself as it span out of control before exploding violently.

"And I've got yours," the redhead retorted, her ship constantly changing direction to prevent any of the thugs from getting a bead on her. "By the way, have you seen where Ace has gotten to?"

"Heck if I know!" Ratchet managed to yell out over the alarm blaring in his cockpit, wrenching his Star Explorer into a hard turn and skimming past the surface of a nearby floating asteroid. A salvo of anti-ship missiles followed in his wake a split second later, slamming into the giant space rock's surface and rupturing it into pieces that drained his shields further still. Breathing a sigh of relief, the lombax continued. "Right now I'm more worried about keeping those damn missile batteries off of our backs. Those things pack a punch!"

"Way ahead of you, kid. I got this."

A golden yellow metallic blur flashed by over their heads and straight towards the Thug's way station at high speed; taking down another pair of fighters with precise cannon fire before corkscrewing around a barrage of missiles and unleashing his rocket pods point blank against the tower based launchers. Despite the station's passive shield absorbing most of the damage, at least two of the raised defensive structures were mangled beyond repair and no longer a threat to the attacking Megacorp ships; Ace making his getaway even as more fighters harried him and several short-range laser turrets attempted to blanket the surrounding space with green death.

"That oughta give them something to remember me by," Ace quipped, his trio of pursuers still latched on as he neatly avoided a hastily launched missile by barrel rolling to one side before delving straight into the surrounding asteroid field. "What do you say me and the lady finish these guys off, while your little friend gets to work before they can call in any reinforcements?"

Ellen grimaced at the thought before sighing aloud. "As much as I hate to say it, he's right. The longer we wait, the harder this is going to get. You need to get Clank close enough to do his thing, and you can't do that in the middle of a dogfight."

Any further conversation was put on hold as both she and Ratchet tag-teamed a flight of the thug's metallic-silver painted elite fighters, the sae type they had encountered before that had rear facing guns mounted on their reverse-swept wings along with their more conventional armament. Bracketing the group between them in a deadly crossfire, two of the ships practically disintegrated when their leader's engine core imploded; the solitary, battered survivor able to get some good hits in on Ellen's half-drained shields before she managed to break away. Her soon went the same way as his friends shortly thereafter however once her golden-furred wingman shoved a heat-seeker up his engine's exhaust.

"Yeah, I know," Ratchet shot back once they had a few seconds worth of breathing space. "But I don't like the idea of leaving you alone out here."

A pair of muted explosions flashed within the surrounding asteroid field, shortly followed by one of the merc's purple-tinted interceptors streaking through one such giant space rock that had been hollowed out through artificial means with Ace's distinctive craft just behind. There was an audible grin in his voice as he gutted his target with a volley of crimson laser bolts before rolling over to settle on the human's wing. "Don't worry about your lady friend, kid. I'll make sure to take special care of her."

'And that's what worries me,' the lombax thought with a scowl, even as he prepared to head towards the way station's lower, protruding communication array. "Fine. But she better be safe when I get back."

"The same goes for you too, fuzz ball," Ellen added as she broke off from the formation and followed their markazian acquaintance into the path of a newly launched fighter squadron. "We'll keep them off of you for as much as possible, but that won't be for long. Just make sure to grab that information fast so we can get out of here."

Ratchet nodded in affirmation in spite of her not being able to see the gesture. "Count on it." Turning his gaze towards where his minute metal companion was busy fiddling with the central console, he raised a brow. "You ready for this, pal?"

Clank bobbed his helm in agreement, optics not leaving his self-appointed task even as he replied. "I believe so. I have attuned the equipment to the best of my ability, and if my calculations are correct, we should be able to intercept any signal traffic within a quarter mile radius of the primary communications array."

Gripping the control column with determination in his emerald eyes, the lombax pushed his Star explorer into a steep dive at full throttle and angled back towards the star base once more. "Alright then, let's do this."

Thankfully the surface defences were virtually non-existent on the station's underside, and with the other two keeping a majority of the Thugs-4-Less starfighters busy, Ratchet could simply concentrate on making a steady circuit of the massive protruding dish while the little silver robot sat next to him put his considerable intellect to work. After a half-dozen laps and more than a few stragglers run off or shot down however, it quickly became apparent that something was wrong; a deep frown set on Clank's face as his digits continued to blur across the Star Explorer's central console with steadily increasing urgency.

"Uh, Clank, buddy? You might wanna hurry things up there, we're practically sitting ducks as it is."

The minute machine didn't even spare him a glance as he desperately tried to modulate the numerous frequencies their equipment was picking up, dismissing another pop up window and running the numbers again and again with the same agitating results. "I am trying Ratchet, however the security algorithms for their communication array appears to be much more greatly advanced than we anticipated. There also appears to be a strong, underlying magnetic resonance interfering with any exterior attempts to hack the system."

"You mean... you can't break in?" the lombax blinked in surprise.

Clank merely shook his helm in frustration. "I am afraid not, or at least not with our current equipment. The only conceivable way to ascertain the information we require now would be to obtain it directly from the source deep within this facility."

"Great, I was afraid you were gonna say that, "Ratchet groaned aloud. Breaking off from his circling pattern, the golden-furred commando reopened the radio link to the other two's ships as he pulled up and back into the maelstrom of fighters, laser fire, and explosions not so far above. "Guys, we've got a slight problem..."

{()}

Meanwhile, Ellen and Ace were embroiled in a rolling dogfight seemingly without end; the combatants swirling around each other in a mass of fast moving metal that barely missed colliding by scant inches. The human stabbed down on the trigger as a flash of green temporarily sped through her gunsights, already banking away and squeezing off a locked missile onto a more distant target even as she inverted into a half-loop to a avoid a torrent of fire striking her already weakened shields from behind.

"Define 'problem'," she managed to grit out while pulling a sharp turn before reversing direction to light up an interceptor that crossed her path. Unfortunately, Ratchet's reply over the secure channel didn't exactly make her feel any better.

"The comms dish is a no go; Clank can't hack their system, and he reckons the only way we're gonna get what we need is to get inside the station itself."

Firing off a salvo of rockets into the veritable melee, Ace gave a grim smirk of satisfaction as several of the high-explosive warheads tore apart a handful of fighters that crossed his path before setting to work with his dual-linked cannons once more. "This day keeps on getting better by the second!" he chuckled mirthlessly. "Unfortunately it looks like they've got some kind of shield covering the base, so we can't just ring the doorbell and waltz on in there without shutting it down first."

"Well I'm all ears," Ellen retorted tensely; feinting to her left before barrel rolling to the right in order to psyche out the fighter attempting to attack her head on. The evasive manoeuvres gave her the precious seconds she needed to finish locking on, blowing it away at nigh point blank range and swooping through the resulting fireball. "Any suggestions?"

The older commando paused a moment as he waited for the last missile seeker on his HUD to line up with the appropriate target before unleashing four at once, not waiting to see whether they hit as he wrenched his craft into a looping corkscrew to evade an incoming missile and walked a stream of laser bolts across the path of another elite fighter just off his nose. "Best guess is that those generator towers up top supply the power; take 'em out and we should be able to slip inside. But first we gotta punch our way through these guys."

Meaning, she reflected grimly, the two dozen or so remaining Thugs-4-Less ships which were busy forming a stupidly large fighter screen between them and their target; plus of course the remaining defence batteries on the station itself which had been fairly quiet up until now. Their remaining missile reserves were starting to run low, but with Ratchet and Clank returning to the fray and settling in off her port wing at least they had a chance to pool their collective firepower into one last push that would hopefully end this confrontation and get them inside.

"Incoming long-range anti-ship missiles detected," Clank intoned with a worried voice; a sextet of flaring lights streaking from the top of the way station and over the orbiting mercenary fighters before arcing down on a direct collision course with the Megacorp fighters. "Estimated time to impact; fifteen seconds and counting."

"Dive underneath their flight path and punch the throttle, they won't be able to out turn us!"

The two Star Explorer pilots followed Ace's advice to the letter, hitting the afterburners and racing forwards at a steep angle just as the monstrous capital ship killers angled down in an attempt to follow their path. As the markazian predicted, the unwieldy missiles couldn't alter course quickly enough to get anywhere near to their intended targets. Unfortunately, he didn't take into account the surrounding asteroid belt, or the often huge rocks that made up their numbers. The warheads detonated against the surface of one such city-sized lump with the equivalent force of a half-kiloton tactical nuke, breaking it into several unwieldy chunks and many thousands of smaller pieces that were suddenly accelerated to an extremely high velocity in all directions; including straight towards the three Megacorp affiliated ships making best speed away from the point of impact.

Their craft shuddered and lurched violently with each impact from the lighter, and subsequently faster moving fragments pelting their rapidly diminishing shields; Ellen cursing up a storm as she desperately tried to keep her ship stable with her fellow commandos not far behind. Thankfully they managed to escape being turned into pin cushions via shrapnel from the initial shockwave by ducking into the surrounding asteroid field and using it to shield them from further impacts, although their waiting foes weren't quite so lucky. Though spread out much like a shotgun blast, the lack of any air friction acting upon the numerous remaining fragments meant that they would continue to accelerate on their original trajectory until they finally struck something, solid or otherwise.

As a result, the PMC affiliated fighter screen stood very little chance when so much improvised ordinance was being sent their way; shredding many of their unshielded craft like tin foil and leaving very few unscathed. The heavy barrier of the way station just behind them flickered constantly with every impact but otherwise stayed intact under the barrage of remaining fragments, leaving the disorganised and confused survivors exposed to the Megacorp ship's opening attack.

Deciding to strike while they still held the advantage, the three brightly painted craft swooped out of the now thoroughly cratered asteroid field and rode in behind the impromptu meteor shower with weapons blazing; several fighters falling prey to the initial assault before their disoriented pilots could reorient themselves. Ace punched straight through the centre of the swirling mass of ships and lit up two with his cannons before veering away from a pair of missiles fired from below, the shooters attempting to get on his tail only to pass straight into Ratchet and Ellen's waiting gunsights before being torn apart by concentrated fire.

With the element of surprise lost, the remaining Thugs-4-Less forces were soon back in action fighting and fighting a desperate defensive battle to keep the keep the three Megacorp vessels from getting any closer to their objective. Splitting apart, Ratchet went high and quickly latched onto one of the few interceptors still intact; peppering it with laser bolts as its frantic pilot tried to shake him off before finishing it with his last missile. Rolling over two thirds and pulling the control stick back towards his chest, he inverted into an angled half-loop and soon caught sight of Ellen doggedly pursuing her own target before opening up on the silver-painted elite fighter trying to blindside her off her starboard wing.

The red-headed human was all too aware of the incoming threat thanks to the constant growling sound from the Star Explorer's radar warning receiver blaring in her ears, diving under the intended strafing run and hastily launched missile streaking mere feet above her cockpit before jerking back on course to reacquire her original target. The attacking ship blurred overhead a split-second later only to explode violently; the distinctive red blur of Ratchet's ship following shortly thereafter and flying through the resulting short-lived fireball. His well timed save gave her the breathing space she needed to finally lead the fleeing fighter before her correctly, orienting her craft just so in order to have it fly straight into the projected path of her laser bolts, only to see it pounded by Ace's heavy cannons as he tore across her line of sight with a victorious barrel roll.

"Too slow, sweetheart. You gotta move faster'n that if you wanna get anywhere near my level!"

Gritting her teeth at the cocky rebuke, Ellen swung her ship around to follow Ace as he proceeded to tear into any other merc vessel that got in his way; inadvertently leading them both back towards the space station with Ratchet taking down another as he rejoined them along the way. The scant few enemy fighters that still remained fled towards their base as quickly as possible in the wake of the seemingly unstoppable Megacorp ships, slipping inside one of the star base's trapezoid-shaped entrances and clearing the way for its still formidable defensive network to let loose without any fear of hitting their own side.

Thankfully there were no more of those ridiculously overpowered anti-ship missiles coming their way, but the three commandos still had to deal with an overwhelming amount of firepower arrayed against them. Short-range missile batteries and laser turrets mounted on the raised towers soon filled the surrounding space with lethal ordinance and a seemingly never ending chain of explosions from proximity warheads detonating far too close for comfort. Had they been moving any slower and not constantly changing direction then the Megacorp affiliated ships would likely have been reduced to atoms within the first few seconds of bombardment; as it was, they were hard pressed enough to weather the storm with only superficial damage before getting close enough to target the way station's defences up close.

Once again Ace led the strike with his rocket pods flaring, a cluster of the unguided projectiles spreading out towards one of the defence towers only for a majority of them to be prematurely detonated by massed laser battery fire before a salvo of missiles forced him to break off. Ellen was similarly frustrated by her missiles being shot down in an identical fashion, the rapidly firing turrets blanketing the area and preventing her from getting any closer. In fact, Ratchet was the only one to cause any significant damage at all with his snap strafing run; destroying a single rank of turrets and damaging one of the tower-mounted launchers before screaming past on full throttle.

"This isn't gonna work!" the lombax yelled over the radio as stuck close to the station's glass-domed observation deck and used it to shield his retreat from retaliatory fire. "We need to concentrate our fire or they'll just keep shooting our attacks down before we can do any real damage!"

It seemed as good an idea as any considering their situation and the fact their shields had long since blown out from constant abuse. Ratchet finished his circuit of the structure and opened up on the base of the closest tower with Ellen slotting in behind him, sending a pair of missile streaking overhead before contributing to his fire with her own cannons. Ace on the other hand came in from their right and slightly above, contributing a withering stream of rockets and laser bolts in an attempt to aid their saturation attack.

Apparently it worked a lot better than they had anticipated since the laser batteries couldn't cope with the sheer amount of incoming fire; the tower's base fracturing under the punishing assault before finally shattering altogether. They must have hit something vital, because a chain reaction of explosions rippled up the structure from base to tip; detonating the remaining ammo stores and leaving it a twisted, mangled husk. With renewed desperation, the remaining towers redoubled their fire but the damage had already been done. Now that there was a blind spot in the base's defensive coverage, the presumed shield generators were entirely exposed to the commando's follow up attacks; falling silent one by one until the translucent barrier surrounding the space station flickered out and finally died.

"Alright, we've got an opening! Follow me in!"

Not needing to be told twice, the lombax and human dove after their markazian counterpart and away from the torrent of laser fire nipping at their heels all the way; reorienting themselves once they were safely below the line of fire and pushing towards the closest hanger entrance. Of course the thugs had to get smart sometime and were already in the process of lowering shutters over the trapezoid openings, but it was a case of too little, too late considering how fast the three ships were moving. Ace ducked through the rapidly closing gap followed by Ellen with Ratchet bringing up the rear, piercing through the permeable shimmering barrier just inside the short tunnel and into the station interior where the mercs were already preparing for their arrival.

The hanger bay itself was roughly the size of a football pitch, the floor dominated by two even rows of mostly empty helipad-like parking spaces for starfighters with a clear strip that ran up the middle. A series of large shipping containers were neatly stacked on the far left hand side along with various scattered supply crates and an overhead magnetic crane to move them around, while the right seemed to be mostly reinforced liquid fuel tanks along with their requisite pumps.

Railed catwalks lined the walls around two thirds of the way up towards the ceiling upon which several heavy weapons teams were already set up and angling their weapons towards the intruders, while multiple mixed squads of thugs streamed in through the massive set of pneumatic doors on the far side of the bay to take up position behind a pre-erected, metal-walled barricade with slits to shoot through, or otherwise made use of whatever cover they could find. It was a perfectly positioned kill zone and the resident mercs knew it; the ominous thudding of the shutter door blocking off the currently hovering and completely exposed Megacorp team's only means of escape, and apparently acting as the signal to spring their trap.

"Light 'em up!"

Of course the fact their targets were currently piloting what amounted to expensive flying gun turrets right now soon put paid to that idea; hosing the immediate area with laser fire and effectively wiping out the hastily set up emplacements on the upper levels before they could get more than a single salvo off. In such a relatively cramped space and with no shields to rely upon however, the Megacorp ships were hard pressed to dodge effectively without hitting the walls or each other in the process; taking several glancing blows and giving the ground based thugs a chance to counter with small arms and missile launchers.

It was obvious that their fighters could only take so much punishment, and it was only a matter of time until the assembled mercs took one of them down. Raking her cannons across a row of the few parked fighters present, Ellen grit her teeth as another explosion rocked her craft and swerved to avoid a second of the small yet powerful missiles streaking past her wing. "Damn it, We're sitting ducks up here!"

"You two need to get groundside pronto before they fill us all full of holes," Ace cut in while keeping a squad of brutes pinned down behind a surprisingly resilient slanted shield that had popped out of the hanger floor to cover their advance. "Try to push up on the hanger doors, I'll keep you covered from up here."

With the markazian hosing the far side of the hanger bay with his cannons, Ratchet and Ellen set down as quickly as they dared near to the shutter-sealed exit from whence they had entered; landing amongst the fiery wreckage of what used to be starfighters and quickly dropping over the sides of their respective cockpits. The two commandos with Clank in tow sprinted for the nearest available cover with automatic gunfire following in their wake, slamming their backs up against one of the industrial shipping containers lining the left side of the hanger and readying their respective weapons before preparing to move on.

"Ellen, you ready?" the lombax yelled over the din of incoming fire hammering the far side of their temporary hiding spot while drawing his Multi-Star.

"Uh-huh," his panting human partner replied, gripping her Reaver Carbine tightly and trying to calm her racing heart.

"Alright... Now!"

The pair rounded the far side of the shipping container and dashed across the gap towards the next in line even as a salvo of missiles shredded a good portion of their previous cover into scrap metal; Ellen firing a torrent of suppressing fire over Ratchet's head at the waiting thugs while he flung a trio of throwing stars downrange that ricocheted between the surviving parked fighters and various crates ahead in a maelstrom of whirling blades. With their foes distracted or otherwise incapacitated, the red-headed commando stuck the barrel of her Reaver around their new cover and kept the enemy at bay with extended bursts, while her golden furred partner hooked around the far side of the shipping container and tossed a few explosive orbs from his recently required Bomb Glove at a pair of thug brutes hunkered down behind a munitions crate.

The stockpiled ammo unsurprisingly went up with one hell of a bang and the unfortunate mercs along with it, the shockwave reverberating across the hanger floor and drawing enough attention for Ellen to duck low and push up towards a tarpaulin covered stack of crates just ahead. Before she could get close however something smacked into her side, knocking the breath from her lungs and the weapon from her hands while sending the human sprawling across the floor. Forcing herself up on her elbows with a groan, a glint of metal from the corner of her eye had Ellen instinctively rolling away and staggering back up to her feet before the rifle butt could connect.

Crimson eyes burned into her own from less than a half-dozen feet away, belonging to one of the distinctly lizard-like rank and file thugs with a viciously sharp-toothed grin on his face. Rising up with deliberate slowness from where he had been crouched over her prior position, the merc casually extracted his assault rifle from the slight indentation where her head would have been and holstered it; drawing a wicked looking blade from the bandolier across his bare chest with each hand. Twirling each dagger expertly, he showboated with a series of whirling arcs and crosses that whistled through the air; creating a deadly dance of metal that promised untold pain upon any who were on the receiving end of his wrath.

Ellen shot him in the face.

Lowering her smoking hand cannon, she couldn't help but shake her head. Just because she was nominally one of the good guys, didn't mean she had to fight fair in the slightest. Retrieving her bull pup from where it had ended up wedged underneath a crate, Ellen switched over to her shotgun and kept a more careful eye on the surrounding environment as she raced to catch up with Ratchet lest she be ambushed by a thug who wasn't quite as stupid. The situation may have gone sour, but they could still salvage this. It was just a matter of getting past a small army of heavily armed mercenaries and finding the station's communications room before the logs could be wiped.

She found the lombax a half-minute later simply by following the trail of destruction he had left in his wake, stepping over a contorted corpse and snapping her carbine up to drill a brute attempting to outflank him while he was distracted with his current opponent. Ratchet didn't even flinch at the rounds whizzing past his ears, his focus kept upon preventing the enforcer before him from bringing his shotgun to bear and avoiding having his head staved in via arm-mounted riot shield while Clank watched his back. His opportunity came when the merc was distracted by a volley of automatic fire striking his shield, angling it towards where Ellen was firing elongated bursts and leaving his legs exposed to a thrown wrench that staggered the armoured thug long enough to leap up his back and crack him across the skull.

"So," Ratchet began with a smirk as he switched out to his grenade launcher and fell in beside her. "What kept you?"

Ellen rolled her eyes with a snort, swapping out to her shotgun considering the close-quarters fighting they were currently embroiled in. "Ran into someone who thought it was a good idea to bring a knife to a gun fight. You sure you want to be using that with all the fuel and ammo scattered around here?"

The lombax merely shrugged. "Meh, I'm sure it'll be fine. Besides, we're probably gonna need it for that."

His finger pointed towards the elongated pseudo-bunker that almost ran from wall to wall just beyond the last line of shipping containers, the muzzle flashes from multiple automatic weapons clearly visible through the narrow vision slits along with the occasional salvo of micro-missiles courtesy of launcher wielding brutes as they tried to down Ace's already pockmarked ship. There was a fair stretch of open ground between them and the barricade, and the chances of getting close let alone past it without being shot to pieces were pretty slim even before Ratchet managed to catch the attention of an embedded machinegun nest around mid-way along the fortification. Squeezing the trigger, he skidded into the relative shelter provided by heavy metal crates just behind Ellen; the miniature nuclear bomb sailing through the air on a downward arc that formed the archetypal mushroom cloud upon impact with the reinforced wall.

Upon peeking out to check on the damage however, the golden furred commando was stunned to see that aside from turning the initial layers of armour into so much slag, the barricade was still very much intact and the emplacement's gunner very much active. "You've gotta be kidding me! What kind of armour can tank a Mini-Nuke?!"

Having yanked his head back into cover to avoid the murderous return fire that now had them pinned down, Ellen started going through her inventory in an effort to try and find a way out of this situation. "No idea, fuzz ball..." her voice trailed off as she glanced up, icy blue eyes catching sight of the overhanging crane and the beginnings of a stupidly dangerous, yet increasingly necessary solution churning in the human's mind. "But I think I've got an idea. Ace, you still there? we're pinned down near to the barricade and could use a little help."

It took a few seconds of crackling static before the markazian's voice filtered through their helmet's earpieces, likely due to the fact he was somewhat preoccupied at that given moment. "Got more holes in my ship than the plot of the last Captain Qwark movie, but I'm still here, sweetheart." There was a brief pause as he jinked away from a salvo of missiles directed his way before hammering home a volley of rounds onto the machine gun nest that had been firing on the two huddled commandos. "You should be clear for now, but I don't know how much longer I can keep this up. Whatever you're planning on doing, you better do it soon."

Thanking the markazian for the assist, Ellen pulled out her Grapple Gun and let the highly tensile cable latch onto the catwalk above before Ratchet could even question her motives; reeling herself in rapidly and vaulting over the railing even as she sprinted towards the control booth she spied on the far side. A pair of assault rifle packing thugs coming from the opposite direction tried to intercept her only to be blown off of the gantry altogether courtesy of her golden furred partner, giving the lombax a quick wave of acknowledgement but otherwise remaining focused upon her goal even with the odd round ricocheting off the walls around her.

Ducking low to avoid a micro-missile flying overhead, Ellen dropped a few Miniturrets to cover her back before swinging herself up into the partially sheltered crane control booth and, after a brief fumble with the controls, managed to get the overhanging electro-magnet moving in the right direction. While Ratchet and Ace kept the defending mercenaries occupied, the red-headed commando set about locating the biggest and most volatile munitions containers she could reach and promptly began dropping them off along the length of the barricade wall. It didn't take long for the bunkered down thugs to realise what she was planning, but thanks to the combined efforts of her fellow commandos and the automated turrets protecting her rear, it was already far too late to escape the inevitable.

"Alright boys, all yours. Time to light the fuse."

It wasn't clear who fired first between the markazian or the lombax, but the end result certainly couldn't be argued with in terms of effectiveness. Once the first crate of ordinance went up, a chain reaction of detonations rocked the pseudo bunker in a massive pyrotechnical display; tearing the armoured structure to pieces and leaving little more than flaming wreckage and charred corpses when the smoke finally began to clear. Rappelling back down to ground level and moving to stand beside her feline partner, Ellen couldn't help but stare wide-eyed at the sheer amount of carnage they had caused between them all.

"Holy shit... Talk about overkill..."

Ratchet merely gave a self depreciating chuckle, wrapping an arm around the human's waist and giving her a gentle squeeze. "Considering our line of work, I'm pretty sure it's safe to say there's no such thing as overkill."

The thump of landing gear on the metal plated floor followed by the whine of engines spooling down announced Ace's arrival, the younger pair turning around to see the markazian commando slide out of his cockpit before jogging up to them with a sleek-looking scoped marksman rifle in hand and an appreciative grin on his face. "Nice going missy, and you too kid." Gesturing them towards the set of towering pneumatic doors just beyond the defensive chokepoint they had collectively demolished, he tried the release controls only to find them thoroughly sealed. "Looks like they don't appreciate house calls, and I can't see any other way in. Unless of course your little friend can find a way-"

"Already done," Clank intoned with a hint of amusement as the control panel briefly flashed green and the doors began to grind open at a crawl. "Seven figure integer with a quantum entanglement encryption loop and a twelve digit security password. Rather lax for such a supposedly secure facility."

"Way to go pal," Ratchet complimented while swapping out to his LMG. "let's just hope we can find this communications room before it's too late."

The three commandos cautiously stepped into the wide corridor beyond with their weapons raised and ready, advancing at a quick yet careful pace while keeping an eye out for any potential ambushes. Considering just how much of the local merc forces had been wiped out, they may have entertained the thought that things would get a little easier from here on in. Little did they know however just what would be waiting for them inside the station's interior, and that the worst was yet to come.

Yup, another cliff-hanger this week; but at least this time it was intentional on my part. Still, I hope you like my take on how I feel this level could have gone thus far. Considering the seriously underused space station and the fact you can fly through the interior, I thought it would be much more interesting to land inside and assault it on foot; making our heroes actually work for the information they need rather than just randomly receive it after a five minute dogfight.

In the concluding half we'll be seeing the station interior proper, plus the dynamics of adding Ace to their usual combat formation and tactics. That, and can you say 'boss fight'? I've got some catching up to do now that I'm back off holiday, but with any luck I should still be on time next week.

Until next time, please review and check out my other stories once they're posted and/or updated.

Thanks for reading

- RevenantReaper337