Author's note:

…and I'm late. Again. But on the flipside, aside from the by now usual teething troubles, the story pacing is coming to me a little easier now that I'm reorienting back towards canon once again. Still nowhere near as fast or smooth as I'd like, but at least the updates are still coming, and with some time off work due this summer, I can hopefully start to pick up the pace once more. In the meantime though, here's the first half of Grelbin. Hope it was worth the wait.

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.

- 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 47:

A Frosty Reception

Tundor Wastes, Grelbin

Bogon Galaxy

G2.17.100 Galactic calendar

11:27am local time

Desolate, subject to sub-zero temperatures all year round, and virtually uninhabitable to all but the most hardiest of life forms, Grelbin was definitely not Ellen's first choice for a holiday destination. Constant howling winds ensuring that at least part of the planet's surface was engulfed in a driving storm of ice and snow at all times, reducing visibility to a matter of feet at best for those foolhardy enough to brave the surface, and making any kind of navigation nearly impossible across the vast frozen fields that covered most of the landscape. And yet those very same traits also made the planet an ideal location for those looking to avoid the authorities' prying gaze. Both atmospheric and weather conditions making orbital surveillance a insurmountable task at best, while remaining isolated enough to avoid Megacorp's expanding search net, yet close enough to civilised systems for practical long term resupply.

Which was kind of ironic really, given the fact that Megacorp themselves had a vested interest in this particular ball of ice, and originally set up shop there less than five years ago by local standards. No doubt hoping to take full advantage of the speculated and otherwise untapped raritanium deposits that were believed to be located far below the frozen surface, closer to the core. Resulting in a number of self-contained, fully automated prospecting stations being dropped onto surveyed locations from orbit, some scattered hundreds of miles apart, and left to mine and refine whatever they could excavate with practically zero supervision whatsoever. It wasn't like the attendant drones were smart enough to even consider rebelling after all, and who wanted to be stuck monitoring such a godforsaken place for months on end anyway? Hell, even the ships used to transport the precious ore off world were little more than a cargo barge mated to a single, looping program that was dumber than the average household toaster, and far less functional to boot.

All of which meant that it was almost laughably easy for Angela to infiltrate one such facility and claim a small portion of it for her own purposes. Creating a combined safe house and field laboratory right under Megacorp's nose, and with easy access to all the necessary parts and refined materials that she could manage to skim off the regular shipments coming to and fro. An almost perfect retreat for a rogue scientist on the run, and a veritable gold mine of information considering that this was also where Angela had hidden a good portion of the original files she had stolen during her flight from Megacorp, including what little had survived on the Protopet project.

Or at least that's what little Ellen had been able to extract from her otherwise foul tempered and still seething pilot at any rate, during their six hour long journey from Slim Cognito's hidden space station. Angela's mood not having abetted in the slightest since the heated, four way argument between herself and the others back in that cramped little room, and leaving an awkward silence hanging over the cramped cockpit of the lombax's old scout ship. The every same one she had used as part of her masked thief persona, in fact, and barely able to accommodate another passenger at all, let alone two with a certain little robot insisting upon tagging along for the ride. The pair just barely managing to squeeze into a tiny storage space behind the pilot's seat with zero leg room and Ellen's helmet scraping the canopy above, while holding Samus tightly to Ellen's chest and hoping against hope that Angela would find a way to lighten up sooner rather than not.

The older lombax had been extremely vocal about not letting Ellen off of the station, or indeed out of her sight until a rigorous battery of tests could confirm just what exactly was causing her to recover so damn fast. Much as she wouldn't have minded finding out herself under other circumstances, after being bedridden for so long, the last thing Ellen wanted was to cooped up in a lab while being prodded and poked for science. Add to that the growing swell of energy she had felt deep inside since waking up in the sick bay, almost urging her to get back out there and do something, and it was perhaps little surprise that there was friction between all involved. Ratchet taking the other lombax's side hurting a little more than she cared to admit, even if Ellen could understand his reasoning and need to somehow 'protect' her from his perceived mistakes, no matter how daft the idea might seem. They both risked death on a daily basis after all, both as commandos and independent heroes before that, and nobody could predict when their luck would eventually run out, let alone what had happened on Snivelak.

Thankfully, however, Debby was in her corner and just as passionate about the redhead maintaining her freedom to operate as she saw fit. Patiently reminding them that Ellen was an adult, not a child, and more than capable of making her own judgement as to whether or not she was fit enough to take on a combat role again. Arguments and counter-arguments were traded back and forth between both parties, and Ellen couldn't help but wonder whether the valkyrie woman had been some kind of orator or public speaker in the past, given how powerful and well thought out each and every one of her statements was. Even Samus seemed enraptured, quiet as see was out of fear of upsetting either party, and as time passed, the tide gradually began to turn in the redhead's favour. Eventually culminating in a very grudging agreement that Ellen would be allowed to accompany Angela and act as backup, just so long as she avoided undue strain and followed the lombax's instructions exactly to the letter.

Something which Ellen had no problem following at all, given how poor the visibility was outside of their insulated cockpit, and the fact that she had no idea where they were supposed to be going now that they had finally landed somehow. The ship's engines spooling down as Angela went through the necessary shutdown procedures, while strong winds and thick flurries of snow obscured a majority of the structures surrounding the mining station's solitary landing pad from view. Leaving Ellen little to do while Samus and herself waited impatiently to disembark, save for sating her own curiosity. "Are you sure this is the right place? it all looks the same to me."

"Believe me, I'm sure," Angela answered flatly, hunching forward in her seat and rummaging in the storage compartment beneath it. "I've been here enough times to tell the difference, and the transponder I set up on my last visit is still broadcasting at full strength. All we have to do is follow the signal and we'll be there in no time."

Well that doesn't sound so bad_ Samus opinioned, perking up slightly. Only to tilt her head in confusion at the object Angela had pulled out and inspected for flaws, before attaching it top her face with a pneumatic hiss of air. Um, is that what I think it is?_

The lombax turned to look over her shoulder, and Ellen couldn't help but twitch at the blank face of Angela's masked thief persona staring back at them; her chuckles distorted by the built in voice changer. "What's the matter, Pearce. You look like you've seen a ghost."

"One whose ass I've kicked before," Ellen retorted, rolling her eyes. "Why do you still have that thing anyway?"

"Protection from the elements, mostly. Not all of us are wearing a fully sealed, custom armoured suit, you know," Angela replied dryly, pulling up the hood on her thick winter overcoat and securing it in place. "Plus it acts as an authorisation key for the safe house, once we get past the biometric lock at any rate."

'And I though I was paranoid...'

Before Ellen could think of a comeback however, their pilot popped the canopy seal and a rush of freezing ice and sleet rushed to fill the growing gap, almost blinding in its intensity. Angela on the other hand didn't seem to be all that affected and nimbly hopped down on to the snow covered landing pad, leaving Ellen to try and extract herself from the cramped rear compartment with a little help from Samus, whereupon she found a new appreciation for all of Debby's hard work. Because the fashionista's new and improved armour set, and its environmental regulation system in particular, was an absolute godsend right about now. Especially since there were actual icicles starting to form on both the extremities of Angela's overcoat and her own armour, though thankfully not enough to fog her vision as yet. Or what little she could see through her new helmet's visor anyway, given that visibility had dropped to under five feet by now and wasn't showing any signs of letting up any time soon.

The helmet, along with the rest of the armour, was so much more than just a cut above her previous set. It was the kind of thing for which every nation state, arms manufacturer, and die hard sci-fi fan back home would happily give up their first born child in order to possess; practically a work of art in its own right, given how much technology had gone into the thing. While heavily resembling her old commando helmet in terms of general shape, it featured a much heavier, armoured 'brow' that neatly contrasted with the sleek, contoured lines that gave it a more streamlined appearance. A pair of circular protrusions sat neatly where her ears would be, with the right one sporting a small sensor array and the left a protruding antennae that swept backwards at a forty degree angle. Both feeding a constant flow of information to the reinforced, variable tinted visor that covered a good half of her face, which in turn could be further strengthened by lowering the armoured brow and an retractable mouth guard that sealed the helmet entirely from the outside world.

With the slightly shimmering, and surprisingly comfortable valkyrie skinsuit as a base, the other armour pieces fit snugly in place and scarcely restricted her mobility at all. Though the additional weight did take some getting used to at first, and had initially thrown off Ellen's sense of balance for a while considering just how much bulkier it was compared to her old jumpsuit. But decreased speed was a fair trade off for such a massive boost in protection, and the dual-layered ablative chest piece was more than enough to shrug off the kind of impacts that had led to her hospitalisation. A thicker, more bulbous layer with matching shoulder guards covering from the tapered neck protector down past her bosom and overlapping with a more figure hugging inner layer that protected her from the waist upwards. Both separated from each other and the skinsuit beneath by a thick honeycomb structure that was supposed to help absorb kinetic impacts and spread the damage across a broad area, making it much harder to penetrate and keeping her vital organs safe.

Below that was what she thought of as an armoured crotch protector for lack of a better term, wrapping around her waist and groin as it did. Albeit one with a built in utility belt, and numerous magnetic clamps for storing equipment, Quick Select modules, or anything else that sprung to mind. A similar design philosophy that the full length gauntlets and greaves seemed to follow, given their built in storage features. The former boasting thicker forearm protectors, with an built in Wrist Com in one and an integrated sheath for her Versa Blade in the other. While the latter had matching shin guards and, interestingly, a quartet of Nanoclip holsters mounted in pairs; slightly protruding from the upper portions of either thigh for easy access, and making it easier to rapidly reload on the go.

To top it all off, Debby had not only managed to seamlessly integrate both Ellen's Jump Pack and Charge Boots into the final design, but actually found enough time to repaint them. The entire ensemble finished in a gleaming bone white with royal blue trim, neatly contrasting with what little could be seen of the jet black skinsuit underneath and currently semi-opaque, slate grey visor that obscured her face. Leaving a carefully positioned series of gently pulsing, cyan strobe lights spread across her armour to act as a beacon in the near whiteout conditions, though she made a mental note to toggle them off once they finally reached shelter, indoors and away from the storm. No sense in giving any potential foe a bigger target, after all.

"Alright, we're here. Watch my back while I get this door open."

Blinking out of her reverie at the lombax's words, Ellen soon realised she had been following behind on auto pilot and that they were already at the main facility entrance. Thick drifts of snow and ice piling up across both the raised gantry leading back to the landing pad and the expansive platform they were now occupying, along with the sheer, towering metallic walls of what was presumably the mining facility itself, stretching into the white ether above. With the door in question being set into a recessed airlock of sorts on the far left side, which Angela was currently attempting to bypass via an open control panel just off to one side.

"Uh, right! Give me a sec..."

Her boots thudding with every step, Ellen quickly jogged the remaining distance across the platform with her carbine drawn and took up an overwatch position facing out towards the white void beyond. Samus opting to float overhead and aid the older lombax in her efforts, which left Ellen little to do other than wait impatiently; shifting her grip on the weapon and straining to catch so much as a hint of anything attempting to sneak up on them from behind. But with nothing more forthcoming after several long minutes, bar for jumping at shadows and some creative cursing on Angela's part, she couldn't help wondering what was taking so long for just one door. Unfortunately, the answer was pretty much par for the course by now.

"It's no good, the damn thing's stuck tight," Angela growled, the flat of her fist thumping against the closest wall in frustration. "I don't know if it's the controls or hydraulics that are seized up, but there's no way we're getting through this way."

"I don't suppose we can just blast our way through," Ellen asked, already anticipating a negative response. "I've probably got enough explosives to force the lock, or maybe the frame if you happen to know any weak points."

Samus didn't disappoint, shaking her head as she floated away from the control panel and back up to eye level with her partner. Sorry Ellen, but those doors are made from six inch thick, carbonox reinforced trillium plating. I doubt you're carrying anything that'll even scratch the paint, unless Mr Cognito happened to slip you a couple of Mini-Nukes before we left_

"Besides, even if it did work, all that light and noise would attract the wrong kind of attention, and I'm not just talking about Megacorp either," Angela continued grimly, shouldering her way past the pair and back out on to the platform. "The local wildlife isn't too fussy when it comes to food, and a big heat source like that would be like ringing the damn dinner bell for whatever's lurking out there."

"You mean those 'YETI' things you were talking about on the way over, right?" Ellen asked rhetorically, unconsciously gripping her weapon tighter as she scanned the surrounding area. "Which I'm guessing we'll have to go through anyway, seeing as there isn't a convenient side door or air duct big enough for us to squeeze through, and I doubt we can just fly over there, otherwise you would have mentioned it by now."

Giving the human an unreadable look behind from behind her mask, Angela let out a weary sigh as she closed the control panel with an audible click and paced back towards the other two. Her Wrist Com already flaring into life, with the Automapper function displaying a patchwork rendition of the surrounding area that had far too many holes for anyone's liking. "Much as I hate to say it, unfortunately you're right. The only other way into the station that I know of is a service entrance on the far side, close to the main docking bay, which we should be able to access via one of the old mine shafts, here. But in order to get there in the first place, we're going to have to cut through the ice fields."

"Which are probably full of genetically modified apex predators, just waiting to slaughter anyone dumb enough to go stumbling through a massive blizzard with practically zero visibility."

"Pretty much," Angela replied, an airy, light humoured tone colouring her still altered voice as she patted Ellen on the shoulder. "Which, of course, is where you come in. Unless you want to admit I was right and head back to Cognito's station, that is."

I, uh... vote for the second option_ Samus opinioned with a meekly raised arm. I mean, we don't really have to go out there all on our own, right? We could just head back and wait for the others before trying again later. Or at least wait until the storm dies down enough for us to see where we're going... and for all the animals to go away_

It was, quite honestly, really tempting to do just that, and probably the most sensible option to take given the circumstances. But while Ellen was admittedly still not feeling entirely herself, even with the hours spent readjusting after finally waking up on Slim's space station, she was determined to see this little excursion through. Not just for the 'master key' or whatever it was that Angela wanted to retrieve, but for her own sake as well. To prove that she could still hold her own and contribute to the team... and maybe rub the increasingly overbearing lombax's nose in the metaphorical dirt as well.

Shaking her head almost imperceptibly, Ellen raised her carbine and took a determined step back on to the gantry outside their little cubby hole. Her armour almost blending in with the continuous, wind-driven snowfall battering the mining station's exterior as she turned to look over her shoulder. "Sorry, Samus, but we're on a time limit as it is, and I'll be damned if we came all this way for nothing. You can head back to the ship if you want - neither of us would judge you for that - but I'm going to find that mine shaft. Angela?"

"You know, I'm still not sure whether you're suicidally brave, or just plain dumb for deliberately putting yourself through this kind of crap," the lombax dryly quipped with a mirthful snort. "Or what that says about me, for actually going along with it in the first place. But what the hell. Just follow me, don't do anything stupid, and with any luck we'll be there before anything even knows we were here."

I..._ Hesitating, Samus' optics flickered between the pair in indecision, before letting her shoulders slump in defeat. I don't like it, but... I guess I'm coming too_

"Are you sure?" Ellen questioned, letting Angela pass by and take the lead. "Nobody's forcing you to go, and we can probably handle this ourselves if need be. Don't feel pressured to come along just because everyone else is."

It's not that_ Samus began uncomfortably, her servos wringing together as she shifted from side to side. I'm... afraid, of being alone again. Especially after what happened with..._ Trembling with emotion, she latched on to human's arm as if it were a lifeline, optics wide with naked fear. Please... Please don't leave me again_

"I won't," Ellen promised quietly, giving the shuddering little robot a warm hug. "Besides, I could do with an extra pair of eyes out there, and there's few other people I trust to watch my back. Now, what do you say we catch up before Angela gets herself lost?"

"Hey! I heard that!"

Tittering lightly at Angela's indignant response, Samus pulled herself flush to Ellen's back and latched on to whatever handholds she could find so as to shield herself from the buffeting winds outside, before lightly bobbing her head in response. Right behind you, Ellen_

The weather seemed to be taking a turn for the worse as Ellen jogged along the raised walkway to where Angela was waiting impatiently, arms folded and a single foot tapping rhythmically against snow-covered metal plating. A howling gust of icy wind almost bowling the redhead over, had she not latched on to the closest, ice-covered railing for support, while Samus clung on to her partner with a fearful squeak. But thankfully the moment quickly passed, and they were soon right beside the lombax as she began to cautiously descend a short set of long since frozen-over stairs to the snow field below. A drawn pistol in one hand while the Automapper function displayed upon her Wrist Com was held up face level, trying to gain her bearings and a direction to start walking, before finally gesturing with the gun off to their immediate left.

"There! It should be about half a klick that way."

Ellen nodded, keeping her own weapon shouldered and finger poised against the trigger as both Samus and herself scanned what little could be seen of the surrounding area. "Alright... Let's get going."

A sentiment that was easier said than done, considering just how deep the snow was in places and near whiteout conditions. But with Angela's fragmented map to guide them and a fresh arsenal of weaponry at her fingertips, Ellen was confident that they could rapidly cover the relatively short distance in good time, and hopefully without the local wildlife deciding they were an easy meal. A comfortable silence stretching out between them as she followed the stark red shape of Angela's winter coat deeper into the snowy abyss, broken only by the soft crunch of boots on virgin snow and constant, driving winds that mercilessly scoured this plain. Stopping every twenty yards or so for the lombax to check their bearings and ensure they were still heading in the right direction, while Ellen covered their rear and kept an eye out for any signs of movement. A dull, repetitive exercise that served only to make her mind wander and sense of paranoia increase with each passing minute of no contact within the all enveloping snow storm.

Something only made worse by the oddly shaped snow drifts they increasingly came across en route and were forced to detour around, lest they sink any further into the softer top layer that already reached up to waist level in some places. The frequency and 'convenient' proximity to their meandering route setting off alarm bells once Ellen recalled the brief rundown Angela had given Samus and herself with regards to the 'YETIs' that now called this ice ball of a planet home, and their ruthless cunning in particular.

Originally created by the same bio-engineering division that created Chainblade and the assorted cannon fodder used in their gladiatorial combat arenas, the YETI program was originally intended to keep Grelbin's native wildlife in check and away from Megacorp's mining facilities. Specifically the gargantuan and appropriately named 'arctic leviathans' that dominated large swathes of the planet and were a constant threat to the company's operations. However, budget cuts and a breakdown in their social programming resulted in extreme aggression amongst the initial population, and it wasn't long until the creatures were beyond any form of control. Their boosted intelligence and memetic library of effective group tactics soon propelling them to the top of the local food chain, allowing them to overrun virtually the entire surface unchallenged, save for the leviathans themselves. Tactics such as lying in wait for extended periods along a predicted route, allowing the constant snowfall to camouflage their hulking forms before springing an ambush on their unsuspecting prey.

Which was why Ellen didn't hesitate when one such bulbous pile of snow promptly exploded the moment she passed by, a hulking mass of muscle and dirty white fur lunging forth in an attempt to crush her with its shovel-like hands. The redhead just barely avoiding its grasp as she instinctively threw herself to one side away and tucked into a roll, before coming up on one knee and drilling an extended burst into the YETI's centre mass. Or at least she tried to, only for Samus to squeak in alarm from where she still clung to Ellen's shoulder and something to suddenly drive all the air from her lungs with an oversized fist, sending them both tumbling a dozen or so yards away with a pained cry.

So fixated had she been on the first that Ellen hadn't even seen the other YETI until it was far too late, let alone a third that was currently trying to flank Angela. A stupid mistake that had almost cost her life had it not been for Debby's new armour spreading the force of impact over a wider area, ensuring that what should have been a crushed ribcage or broken ribs at the very least under any other circumstances left mere bruising instead. It still hurt like hell and left her struggling for breath, but at least she was alive to appreciate it, and coherent enough to roll away as one of the ape-like beasts tried to cave her skull in with both fists clenched together. A point blank blast from her Blitz Cannon discouraging it from following up and buying Ellen the precious seconds she needed to scramble away, snatching up her fallen carbine in the process and aiming to gain some sorely needed distance before it could fully recover.

Because despite another spread of electrified buckshot striking the YETI's broad chest and the bloody fur from repeated hits, the damn thing was still standing and apparently adapting on the fly, given the way it hunched down with one arm held protectively over its face and charged straight at her. The primate's other fist already swinging around in a telegraphed arc that forced Ellen to duck low and dive away once again, only for a heavy foot to lash out and clip her Jump Pack in passing. Sending the redhead sprawling across the snow in a jumble of limbs once again, only this time she had a little help in the form of Samus flitting around the monstrous creature's face and generally making a nuisance of herself in an effort to keep it distracted. Leave her alone you-you big stupid monkey!_

A metallic digit poking one of its beady black eyes proved to be more than a enough to gain the YETI's wrath if the pained roar and furious swatting at the little robot's panicked form was anything to go by. But more importantly it gave Ellen a chance to force her already aching body back to its feet while reaching towards her Quick Select for what would hopefully be a much more effective weapon against the genetically modified beast's surprisingly thick hide. Samus just barely managing to avoid another enraged swing, thanks in part to being constantly buffeted by the howling winds, only to cut her thrusters entirely at the redhead's sudden, amplified shout.

"Get down!"

But before Ellen could even consider squeezing the trigger on her newly equipped HK22 Gun, something else sailed out of the white ether surrounding them and impacted the YETI from behind. The very air above its head seeming to shimmer for but a moment, before igniting into a veritable firestorm that fell upon the looming creature without warning, screeching in fear and pain as the napalm-like substance clung to its thick winter coat and continued to burn in spite of the sub-zero conditions. Samus Quickly jinking to one side as the blazing YETI desperately tried to put itself out by rolling in the snow and dashed back towards Ellen's side, just as the obscured yet familiar figure of one Angela Cross came charging out of the blizzard and directly towards the pair with her own pursuers close behind. Ellen wasting no time in taking a leaf out of Ratchet's playbook and launching salvo after salvo of target-seeking missiles over the lombax's head, not letting up until finally, half a magazine later, both YETIs were down for good.

"Thanks for the save, but we can't stop," Angela breathed heavily as she staggered to a halt at the redhead's side, the voice changer in her mask making it sound more than a little disturbing. "There's bound to be more close by, and all that noise will definitely have attracted their attention by now. We need to get to that mineshaft entrance now."

As if to punctuate her words, the now weakly flailing and thoroughly barbequed YETI Angela had lit up gave one last mournful howl before finally falling still in a shallow pit of melted snow. A cry that was reciprocated in kind with distant angered bellowing, seeming to come from every direction at once, and causing the three companions to involuntarily draw closer together and eye their surroundings in some primal, instinctive defence against the unknown. With Ellen almost automatically swapping out her half empty Nanoclip for a fresh one and keeping the missile launcher wavering between potential avenues of attack, while Samus reclaimed her space astride the redhead's shoulders and Angela alternated between checking her Wrist Com and what little was visible of the horizon.

"Angela..." Ellen began leadingly, her muscles tensing and gaze flickering to every perceived flicker of movement amongst the heavy snow fall. "Any time now would be good."

"What do you think I'm doing?" the lombax shot back hotly, smacking the side of her Wrist Com and growling lowly at the flickering image displayed above her arm. "This damn storm's interfering with the Automapper, and I can barely piece together what fragments I have as is. I can narrow the heading down to a rough arc, but with visibility this bad, we could easily miss the mine entrance by a couple of yards and not even realise it."

"Then we'll have to make do," Ellen stated with finality as she began to walk in the general direction Angela had indicated, the others swiftly following suit in their own manner. "Because I don't know about you, but I've got no intentions of hanging around here with Bigfoot's cousins breathing down my neck. The sooner we're out of this shitty snowstorm, the better."

"The hell is a 'Bigfoot'?" Angela muttered under her breath, brow furrowed in confusion. Only for her curiosity to swiftly take a backseat in favour of keeping an eye on their surroundings as a distant bellow of rage echoed through the impenetrable snow storm, shortly followed by an answering call from somewhere far too close for comfort. "Maybe we should pick up the pace..."

Perhaps unsurprisingly, both of her other companions agreed wholeheartedly, and the trio were soon forcing themselves through knee deep snow as rapidly at what amounted to a fast waddling pace. The superheated edge of Ellen's Versa Blade managing to at least partly melt the frozen terrain directly before her and make the going a little easier, only for any half melted chunks of ice to quickly freeze over again within seconds thanks to the bitterly cold weather conditions. Though it probably didn't help that the storm seemed to be closing in and gradually getting worse by the minute, nor the fact that the every exposed rock formation or terrain feature they stumbled across along the way looked like another one of those YETIs at first glance, lying in wait and ready to pounce. Ellen's finger tightening once again on the trigger with each passing moment, apprehension and adrenaline flooding every nerve as she waited for the inevitable rush of monsters bursting forth from the ether, eager to tear them limb from limb.

Unfortunately for the beleaguered trio, they wouldn't have to wait for long.

With speed taking priority over caution, and an invisible threat seemingly closing in from all sides, it was almost inevitable that one of them would eventually run out of luck. Though none could have predicted a muscular, furry arm suddenly punching out of the otherwise featureless snow field beneath their feet with lightning speed. Angela giving a startled cry of alarm that quickly morphed into fear as it grabbed her by the waist and began to drag her under, another pair crushing Ellen in their embrace and ensuring she couldn't intervene as the two camouflaged YETIs revealed themselves. Leaving Samus to panic and squeak fretfully as she jinked away from the hulking creatures, able to do little more than watch as her companions struggled to free themselves in vain. Ellen somehow having drawn her knife from its sheaf, pinned as she was, and attempting to stab the offending limb holding her in place, while the drawn pistol in Angela's hand barked twice more, bullets harmlessly impacting the surrounding snow, before being thrown from her grasp as the YETI violently shook her around like a ragdoll.

Angela! Ellen!_

Even half buried as it was in a small mound, the dark colouration against such a pure white backdrop meant Samus could easily spot the lombax's fallen weapon where it fell. Close to the YETI's stomping feet, yet far enough away that she could reach it before the beast could react... But what if she couldn't? What if she wasn't fast enough, and the beast simply plucked her out of the air with one of those massive hands? What if her actions made it see her as a threat to its prize and decided to pulp the poor lombax then and there, as opposed to simply restraining her for some unfathomable reason? She shivered involuntarily at the mental image of her friends, bodies broken but alive, being dragged back to the predator's lair and thrown to their young as live prey. A pained cry and ominous creaking from Ellen's armour finally snapping the little robot out of her indecision and sending her surging forth against the battering winds and driving snow with all thrusters at maximum velocity, a fiery determination overriding any lingering doubt and every other process in her diminutive frame.

Arm outstretched towards the rapidly approaching, fallen handgun, the YETI finally seemed to notice her approach and made to snatch the converted infobot out of the air with frightening speed for such a large creature. But Samus was faster still, and genetically modified or not, the YETI's reaction speed still couldn't equal that of a comparatively tiny machine capable of making near instantaneous decisions. Cutting all forward thrust and sharply diving towards the ground, only to pull up at the very last moment and skim across the top layer of snow; leaving a shallow trench behind as she gradually ground to a halt with both hands tightly clutching the still snow encrusted pistol to her chest. Leaving Samus momentarily dazed and vulnerable as the YETI fell upon her with two massive strides, its free hand momentarily pinning her to the ground before lifting the little robot up to eye level. An almost contemptuous grunt escaping from its fang laden maw as coal black eyes glared at her from mere inches away, even as she shakily raised the borrowed weapon with quivering limbs and pointed it straight at the YETI's flattened nose.

I'm-I'm warning you! Let my friends go or I'll... I'll shoot! I mean it!_

A deafening roar blasted her face, spittle and long rotting meat plastering her quivering form as Samus cringed away in a combination of fear and disgust. Her optics soon widening upon realising that there were a lot more YETIs emerging from the all concealing snow storm around them, dozens at the very least, and all looking distinctly hungry.

...

Please?_ she meekly asked the raging beast, knowing full well that she was simply wasting what little time she had remaining. A single digit fearfully poised against the trigger of her borrowed weapon, while both hands kept the business end jammed waveringly against the YETIs face.

But before she could follow through and the bloodshed begin in earnest, something strange and completely unexpected interrupted their stand off. An odd figure, its form undefined through an all encompassing thick hide, appeared from amidst a swirling eddy of snow off to their immediate left. Shambling and swaying in an unsteady pattern as it slowly meandered ever closer, long flexible arms waving above what passed for its head while a wailing, keening moan filled the air.

"Awwooowwoooohoooo!"

It was bizarre and surreal in equal measure, almost causing an error in Samus' processor as she tried to make sense of the approaching creature. But to the surrounding YETIs, the newcomer almost seemed to be like a harbinger of death if the way they were fearfully beginning to back away from it was anything to go by. Angela and Ellen both giving almost simultaneous grunts as they were unceremoniously abandoned by they captors and fell face first into the snow, before scrambling back to their feet and watching in bewilderment as the murderous beasts suddenly broke and fled like frightened children.

"What the actual hell?" Ellen murmured, sharing an equally confused look between her two companions, before yet another mournful moan drew their attention back to the one who had made their attackers flee so effectively.

"Awwooowooowoooohoooo!"

There was something... oddly familiar about that voice, or rather the underlying traces of an accent she had heard all too recently. What had seemed like such a strange and terrible creature from a distance soon resolving into the figure of a relatively tall and thin man swaddled in a thick brown robe that was clearly several sizes too big for him, given the fact that his limp sleeves extended past his hands by a good few yards. The rest seemed to be padded out in an effort to make him look bigger, including the drawn up hood that hung forward and prevented anybody from seeing his face. but it was the pair of gangly, blue-green skinned feet, clad in sandals that protruded from beneath the otherwise all encompassing robes that made Ellen gawp before beginning to chuckle under her breath. Angela and Samus exchanging a puzzled look at the redhead's sudden change in mood, only to swiftly draw their attention back to the stranger as he came to a halt less than half a dozen paces away.

"The eye of the storm will be upon us soon. Come, there is shelter nearby, and precious little time."

So saying, their strange rescuer turned on his heel and began to walk back the same way he came, the buffeting flurries of snow already starting to obscure his figure once more. Ellen rushing to catch up a moment later, with Samus only pausing to return Angela's pistol before following suit with a burst of her tiny thrusters. The sudden turnabout having caught the lombax off guard and left her blinking in bewilderment, staring unseeingly at the weapon for but a few long seconds, before the by now familiar feeling of bubbling anger and indignation reasserted itself. Sending her stomping after the rapidly departing party with a mile long scowl and far more questions than she had answers for.

"Hey! What do you mean, 'precious little time'? Who the hell are you anyway?"

"Patience, young one," the stranger chided, his tone annoying Angela further still. "The snow dwellers may startle easily, but they shall return."

"And in greater numbers?" Ellen questioned with an amused lilt to her voice, as if at some private joke.

"Indeed so," the stranger replied with a brief nod of acknowledgement, before turning his attention back to the glaring lombax. "Rest assured, all shall be explained once we reach my sanctuary. Come, it isn't far now."

True to his word, less than half a minute later they were cresting over a slight ridge in the ice field when Samus first caught sight of it from where she was perched atop Ellen's helmet. The gale force winds and constantly driving snow gradually beginning to drop off with each step closer they took until eventually dissipating altogether as they crossed some invisible barrier; revealing a perfectly circular and entirely inexplicable spot of calm weather amongst the chaos raging on all sides. Appearing for all intents and purposes as if somebody had set up some kind of giant force field dome in the middle of nowhere, which might not be too far from the truth, if the eerily familiar, glowing purple crystals flowing floating in the air above them were anything to go by. Both massive chunks and smaller clusters orbiting in a loose perimeter around a particularly large formation at the very epicentre; a shining beacon covered in a veritable blanket of crystalline patches from which faint wisps of energy seemed to be flow at regular intervals. Presumably the power source for said floating formations, or perhaps something else altogether.

Like her companions, Ellen could do little more than speculate as to its intended purpose or origins, let alone how the surrounding force field dome was sustained without so much as a visible hint of technology. But while it was certainly a fascinating sight to behold, with her sense of disbelief long since shattered by the sheer amount of weird science, general insanity, and occasionally reality warping bullshit she had witnessed upon her travels across the stars, it was... actually rather tame in comparison. A little jaded of her to think of it as such, perhaps, but then again, the pseudo-monolith wasn't the main focus of her attention.

No, that was reserved for the robed and achingly familiar stranger now stood facing towards them with arms outstretched. An audible grin colouring his tone as he swept over long sleeve across the pristine, weather free zone before them. "Welcome to my place of Zen and enlightenment. Please, feel free to rest a while and lighten your burden."

"Okay, I've had enough of this," Angela groused, stomping forth to jab a finger at the man's well padded chest. "Now, who are you, and why are you helping us?"

To her growing irritation, the stranger simply chuckled as he lazily tilted his head towards her. "Such anger you still harbour, young one. It clouds the mind, blinding you to the truth and embracing the Cosmos' will."

Eyes widening in a combination of realisation and disbelief as the slightly muffled words rolled over her, Angela took a step back as the man finally reached up and pulled his hood back with a single, lazy motion. Exposing a somewhat grudgingly welcome, well weathered face, and an ever elusive, all knowing smile. "You again?! What the hell are you doing here?!"

Ignoring the lombax's tirade, much to her growing annoyance, golden yellow eyes flickered over towards an openly sniggering Ellen as the new age mystic regarded her warmly. A sense of peace and understanding like nothing the redhead had ever experienced before passing between them before the maybe-a-Jedi spoke once more.

"Greetings, my child. I trust your spiritual journey goes well?"

{()}

In the darkness between stars, far beyond Grelbin's upper atmosphere, a monstrously large vessel continued along its long established route towards the frozen world. The lack of a single living crewmember on board irrelevant as the fully automated Megacorp cargo ship slightly shifted course in accordance with its pre-programmed navigation software and began its final approach. Following a long established chain of deep space beacons that broadcast on a specific frequency in short, controlled pulses every few seconds, before switching over to ground based guidance from the designated prospecting station assigned for this supply run.

It was a pattern that had been followed time and again over the last five years or so, with scores of identical vessels making an almost perpetual round trip between Grelbin and closest Megacorp owned storage facility a few systems over. Slavishly following their programming and never once deviating from their assigned task, possessing neither the intelligence nor incentive to question their purpose, or anything else for that matter. Which was why, when the soulless and entirely unimaginative operating core of Long range Cargo Transport LRCT-013 picked up an anomaly within its main cargo bay, it was simply logged for later review and subsequently ignored in favour of its primary mission. The fact said anomaly was organic in nature, when the cargo itself consisted solely of mining equipment and spare parts, and appeared to be emanating from an unregistered shipping container was considered largely irrelevant at best. Especially since the chances that such a small number of tiny heat signatures posed any kind of threat to the ship at large was virtually non-existent in the machine's limited experience.

An assumption that would prove to be partially right, since the creatures that had been smuggled aboard were not intended for sabotage, but rather something else altogether. Their container only sealed by the barest of margins, with the magnetic door deliberately wired to fail upon reaching their intended destination and unleash the chittering, fluffy horrors held within on an unsuspecting mining facility. The fact that half of rogue elements set on opposing the Protopet project were already planet-side was simply a bonus in the greater scheme of things, and while he honestly didn't expect the genetic abominations to achieve much against such seasoned combatants, it would certainly provide his employer with some excellent combat data in return. Speaking of which...

"Is it done?"

"yes, sir. Nobody suspects a thing," Ace replied with a nod towards the man on the monitor before him. His carefully distorted and scrambled image taking up the top right corner, while remainder of the screen depicted hacked security camera feeds from the primary prospecting station on Grelbin. "The package is still undetected and on its way. ETA thirty minutes."

"Good. Proceed as planned and continue monitoring from off world, but don't interfere unless an opportunity to secure Doctor Cross arises. We've come too far to fail now, and the last thing I need is for you to go off half-cocked."

"Hard to do that when you're officially dead," Ace retorted with a wry smirk, before schooling his features once more. "Believe me, sir, so long as you're paying me, I'm more than happy to kick back and sit this one out. Just remember the terms of our... agreement."

Difficult as it was to pick out on screen, the mystery man's answering glare was unmistakable. As were his parting words just before the connection cut off altogether. "Don't push your luck, Bunyon. You'll get what's coming to you in time, just as soon as I get what's rightfully mine. Until then, do your damn job and send the data over when you're done."

"Asshole," Ace muttered to himself, once he was sure that his employer was no longer listening in. But settled himself down in the swivel chair he was perched upon nevertheless and lazily flipped through the security feeds, idly letting his mind wander back to the day his life had taken an... unexpected and potentially profitable turn. The fact that he still didn't know much, if anything at all about the man was frustrating to say the least, regardless of how many feelers he put out amongst his usual source of informants. While any attempts at back tracing his transmission and finding the point of origin resulted in constant failure, and snide, amused comments from the target in question.

But Ace still had a few cards up his sleeve, and with the resulting data from this little exercise, perhaps a little more leverage in case things went sideways. It wouldn't do for anyone to be associated with what was about to be unleashed on an unsuspecting galaxy, after all, and if this guy had his tendrils hooked in to as much as the markazian suspected? Well, it always paid to have some extra insurance when dealing with unknowns. Especially when there's a good chance of them screwing you over in the near future, and with the amount of secrets he already had squirreled away for a rainy day, Ace figured he had more than enough to both bury Megacorp and the shadow man behind this whole farce of a scheme if need be.

A sudden flicker of movement on the monitor caught his attention and promptly snapped Ace from his reverie as he enlarged the security feed so that it filled the whole screen. A ghost of a smile playing across his lips as he watched an armoured figure advancing through one of the old mineshafts stretching out beneath the mining facility, a Blitz Cannon sighted and sweeping the area ahead, while a taller, hooded figure followed shortly behind with a floating drone of some sort in tow. The trio advancing past the security camera's range and into another, with Ace tracking them all the way from one static screen to another as he chuckled aloud.

"Well hello again, sweetheart. Let's see if you do any better on the ground than you did in the air..."

Still a little too info-dumpy for my tastes, but I think this chapter got most of what I set out to achieve across without getting too bogged down. Plus a little foreshadowing for what is, in my opinion, a minor canon plot hole towards the end of this level in game, and my attempt at addressing it. Ergo, how exactly a certain little blue menace got to grelbin in the first place, and why. Hopefully the concluding half will be a little more timely, though as it stands, I can't guarantee anything with the way things are going for me right now. See you next time!

Review replies:

starrat - Thanks again! Hopefully it'll be along a little sooner next time.

Bookwriter94 - Fingers crossed, the following chapters will flow a little easier, and hopefully a lot quicker too. But you're right; rushing just leads to more mistakes, and in the pursuit of churning out content on an artificial deadline over the years, I've made so many , easily avoidable screw ups that could have been avoided. Perhaps taking things easier for a while isn't such a bad thing, and with any luck, will cut down on the amount of fixes and rewrites I'm going to have to do across the series so far once this story is done. Thank you, and hope you enjoyed the new chapter.

Guest - Oh? Care to share?

TheRestingRiolu - Woo! New reviewer! And thanks; with any luck, things should start getting a little easier for me from here on out.

Cortana Hansen - Thank you! By 'dated', I was referring to the control schemes more than anything else, and the lack of proper aiming making gunplay a bit hit and miss, particularly in the first game. The lock-strafe button in Going Commando was a massive improvement, but not a patch on proper dual stick shooting controls as available in Up Your Arsenal. Or at least I my opinion, anyway. I got your PM, and I'll be taking a gander at those stories as requested over the weekend, so expect a review or two winging your way sooner than not. But before I go, a little addendum to Rule #2:

2) You can never have enough dakka.

2a) You do not have enough dakka.

2b) Why don't you have more dakka?

2c) You should buy more dakka, and what better place than at Gadgetron®: the one stop shop for all your personal defence needs. Visit your nearest kiosk today!*

*This infomercial is sponsored by Gadgetron Defence Armaments, a subsidy of Gadgetron Trading Limited. Gadgetron, Gadgetron Trading Limited, and Gadgetron Defence Armaments are registered trademarks of their respective parent company and subject to copyright law. Attempts at infringement will be met with appropriate force, up to and including highly trained teams of heavily armed, paramilitary lawyers, along with suspension of existing service agreements. All rights reserved.

AustinGamer117 - Thanks. It's taking a lot longer than I'd hoped, but at least I'm making progress now. There's not quite as much action this time around either, but rest assured there will be plenty more explosions of both frayed tempers and the conventional variety in the concluding half of Grelbin. See you then!

DarkEnigma95 - Thanks! It was kind of filler-ish, I admit, but necessary for steering things back on track, and getting most of the info dumping well out of the way so I can concentrate on the action. Speaking of which, this story is (perhaps unfortunately) fast approaching the final stretch, with only three planets left to go, Grelbin included. Plus I'm avoiding backtracking and unnecessary side quests, so that should streamline things even more. Which should hopefully lead to a tighter, more action focused run up to the final showdown, and an epic one at that.

But don't worry! There's still a planned sequel in the pipeline to look forward to, plus an as yet vaguely sketched out side story to bridge the two, once I get my head around it. So at least there's that in the meantime. Take care, and thank you once again.

Firestar5277 - Aw, thanks! To be honest, it was one hell of a job to get everything working even semi-coherently, and I'm still amazed that it even worked out at all. But I'm glad I did, and that you enjoyed the chapter for what it was. I did actually consider having Ellen wake up to Ratchet watching over her at one point, inevitable tender scenes and all. But it felt too forced, clichéd, and would probably end up needing yet another chapter on top just to play catch up and cover all the necessary bases before forging on. I think it works better this way, and will hopefully have a much bigger impact once Ellen finally reunites with Ratchet in person.

I'm still a little stressed from work commitments and a few lingering, personal issues that I'm steadily working through. But I've come to accept that I can't please everyone, or solve everything on my own, and… I honestly feel a whole lot better for it. Taking things one day, and one problem, at a time with a little help from my friends and family. Safe in the knowledge that, eventually, it'll all turn out okay in the end some day. Thank you.

But before I go, another wonderful pun on your part, and I'm glad you liked mine. One punch Man is easily my favourite anime of all time, and with season two fast approaching, I literally can't wait for the first episode to finally drop. But until then, I guess it's my turn to inflict another terrible gag upon the world.

(At a Monsters Anonymous meeting) "Hi, my name is Steve, and I used to be a werewolf. But I'm alright NOWWWWOOOOOOOOO!"

Plazmatik - Ah, don't worry about. Procrastination and I go way back, and as the saying goes, why do today what you can put off until tomorrow. Or at least I think that's how it went… In any case, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and this one too.

Razor of DOOM - "Needs more dakka, boss!" - random ork #33435534, DoW

You've got to love orks though, and they're still my favourite army in Dawn of War (the first one, never played the sequels) and just so damn quotable too. Wagh banner + turret spam FTW, or at least until I can churn out enough heavy hitters for an assault at any rate. As for Angela, she's busy avoiding Debby like the plague right now. Unfortunately for her, that only gives Debby more time to come up with something 'special' for said lombax to wear, or perhaps even an entire wardrobe. Suffice to say, Angela definitely won't like it one bit, and especially some of the more… questionable numbers.