[FR]

Chapter Three

[FR]

Captain Qwark's office, Hall of Heroes, Aleero City, Planet Kerwan

Located on a floating island of sorts in the city limits of Kerwan's planetary capital, the Hall of Heroes was the chief Galactic Ranger Headquarters where prominent selfies and actual heroic operations were conducted from. Once Ratchet and Cora returned from their Star Jumper test flight with the self-designated Warbot Defect B54295, however, the whole building was influx from the revelation that the Blarg, specifically Drek Industries, were the ones responsible for the recent destruction of several planets in the galaxy and had planned to send a warbot army to destroy the Rangers themselves before they could interfere in their schemes.

Fortunately, once President Phyronix was informed, he had already dispatched a fleet of military vessels to stand guard over Kerwan in the event the Blarg invasion still happened, and Captain Qwark himself received word that both Ratchet and Elaris were overlooking as well as interviewing the little warbot to learn more details about their newly discovered enemies, which left Qwark enough personal time for himself. Taking out a recording device while he sat in his office chair, Qwark proceeded to chronicle his team's exploits, especially since they, in his eyes, mirrored his own work.

"And to think, we know this now because the new guy spotted an out of control ship that happened to have a certain robot defecting from the very perpetrators of the big case we're currently working on," Qwark rhetorically commented before bursting into joyous laughter, saying, "Ratchet is the gift that just keeps on giving!"

Shortly calming down, though, Qwark then cautiously said, "The little guy is clearly of use in the field, and would probably be a decent go between for Elaris and the rest of the team, but being a member of an endangered species still raises the risk of liability if something happens to him." Showing a smirk quickly enough, he then added, "However this just came to me. What if the pocket warbot he and Cora recently rescued could be convinced to help watch Ratchet's back in the field literally? Perhaps with a few modifications by Elaris and Ratchet himself to boost their synergy," Qwark's words were then interrupted when he heard someone knock on his office door.

"Um, Captain," a familiar woman's voice inquired on the other side.

Placing his recorder away on pause, Qwark then turned his attention to the local science officer. "Yes, Elaris? Please come in."

Entering the office, Elaris showed herself inside in her white and black clothing. While a Kerwan like Qwark, she was born with light blue skin and dark blue facial markings, and had two horns that curved downward at the back of her head in addition to five fingers on each hand.

Getting to the point, Elaris reported, "Clank's fully repaired now, sir, but there's something you should know."

"Uh, Clank," Qwark could help but say in response to the unfamiliar name, if it could even be called a name.

Elaris quickly answered, "That's the nickname Ratchet just came up with for Warbot Defect B54296. He actually suggested that we invite him on the team in a support role as well."

Thinking it over, Qwark could not restrain an amused grin. "Huh, I see. Nice, simple, and rolls off the tongue well when paired after Ratchet."

"Yes, yes, but we can worry about marketing later. I think we have a problem."

Seeing how serious she was, Qwark nodded in a permitting kind of way. "Lay it on me, Elaris."

"I recognize the design work of most of Clank's internal components. Other than a few unidentifiable parts which seem to be the source of the code that made him a so-called defect, most of his interior design is clearly the work of my predecessor on this team, Doctor Nefarious."

"What," Qwark said in response with widened eyes at the news. "But we had witnesses who said he died attempting a jailbreak!"

Showing the palms of her hands, Elaris replied, "Well, apparently, he's either still alive or Drek Industries somehow got ahold of one of the doomsday projects he made after he went mad."

Palming his face momentarily, Qwark exclaimed, "This is a disaster!" Taking a deep breath, however, he then turned to Elaris to say, "Look, I'm all up for Clank joining the team, especially if he's helping Ratchet, but we need to go over him and make sure that he's safe for any of us to rely on in the field. The last thing we need is for one of our own to be taken out by a boobytrap created by Doctor Nutjob."

Elaris nodded. "Already on it. Ratchet is doublechecking my work even as we speak."

"Great initiative from the both of you then," Qwark cheered as he stood up from his desk to place an approving hand on Elaris's shoulder. "You two let me know when that's done, then we'll have a team meeting and plan out our next move. Doctor Nefarious is a dangerous madman, and as a former Ranger he knows most of our procedures and tactics already, so we're going to have to plan accordingly."

"Emphasis on 'plan', sir," Elaris could not help but ask, considering that her own contributions as tactical officer were limited due to her teammates' showy personalities.

Allowing a chuckle, Qwark nodded as he confirmed, "You heard me, Elaris." Exhaling, however, Qwark took a look outside of a nearby window over the cityscape, commenting, "Hopefully, it's just a case of the Blarg having come across some old doomsday plot of his, but if he's actually still alive and involved? Things just got a lot more dangerous."

[FR]

Hall of Heroes Conference Room

Not so long after her report to the Captain, Elaris and Ratchet quickly worked on getting Clank up to speed before a team meeting was then held. During their analysis, the trio learned that Clank had the capability to be augmented with certain upgrades, such as the Hydro Pack which his design was somehow already equipped with. Elaris had every intention of calling for a favor from the electronic expert, Big Al, to further supply Clank with a Heli Pack and Thruster Pack, but first, they had a meeting to attend to.

Upon being seated next to Clank and Elaris and opposite of Cora and Brax, Ratchet looked over the U-shaped table curiously before commenting, "Not to judge, but wouldn't a Q-shaped table be more unique for a conference room?"

Having gotten everyone's attention, Brax was the first to respond to Ratchet's observation. "How do you figure that, kid?"

Shrugging, Ratchet explained just as Qwark himself was showing up, "Well, the Captain's last name starts with a Q, and I can imagine that if there was a large table fashioned after that letter, then the tail could be either where Captain Qwark himself would be seated, or we could have a podium at the tail where any member of the team and some guests could report what's going on and offer strategies for any occurring mission."

At the end of Ratchet's summary, everyone's eyes were widened with surprise and interest, including Qwark.

"Huh," the Captain muttered aloud as he considered it, "I never thought of it like that before," then quickly taking a notepad and pen, made a note aloud. " 'Note to future self, commission a Q-shaped conference table, podium attached.' "

The others could not resist chuckling at that, which even prompted Clank to ask, "Are we sure Ratchet is not a future Galactic Ranger head in the making?"

Reluctant to comment on that, even as Ratchet himself looked interested, Qwark could only say, "Uh, one good thing at a time, Clank."

"Yeah, that would be a nightmare," Cora dryly remarked.

"What did I do," Ratchet asked a bit dismayed at the Markazian's bluntness.

Brax was quick to ask, "Well, if the next new recruit was selected to be our new captain, wouldn't you feel a bit underwhelmed for being sidelined?"

After a moment, the Lombax nodded as he said, "That actually sounds fair."

"In any event," Elaris interjected to get everyone back on topic, "we have to deal with the Blarg right now, so let's put everything else aside for the moment."

Muttering in agreement, everyone but Qwark remained seated at the table while the Captain stood over them to get their attention. Clearing his throat, he then announced, "Straight on topic, people, thanks to Clank's knowledge, we now know that Chairman Alonzo Drek of the Blarg is the one responsible for the destruction of four planets as of now. His motives are a mystery still, but from Clank's databanks, which included in-depth information of every Galactic Ranger here, we think have an idea that one to two of Drek's next targets are Novalis and Pokitaru."

"Seriously," Cora remarked in disgust upon hearing Novalis's name, considering that was her home planet just as Pokitaru was Ratchet's.

Brax, however, looked perplexed enough to ask, "What do you mean by 'one to two', sir?"

In response to Brax's question, Qwark allowed Elaris to answer on his behalf. "Well, Brax, according to the way Novalis and Pokitaru were marked in the bios Clank had on Cora and Ratchet, we believe that Novalis is a higher priority target than Pokitaru." Turning to Ratchet apologetically, she then said, "But no offense."

"None taken," the Lombax replied nonchalantly before adding, "Still doesn't answer 'why,' but I guess we'll figure it out as we go."

Taking hold of the meeting once again, Qwark then said, "In addition to those planets, Clank's databanks also revealed that Drek Industries created artificial creatures called the Amoeboids to help assist their Warbots. I don't know where and when we'll be seeing them, but it's better to be safe than sorry all the same. In any event, the President informed me that Pokitaru is safe for the moment, but Novalis has currently gone silent, so some investigative field agents are in order, I believe."

"Then home is where I'm going, Captain," Cora said as she stood up from her seat.

Brax, Ratchet, and Clank were quick to follow with the Novalian asking, "Is this a private fight, or can we join in, too?"

[FR]

With some alterations, I owe Qwark's journal entry and following conversation with Elaris to my fellow Ratchet & Clank fanfiction writer, Tangent. The reason I wanted Qwark to chronicle his adventures was because it not only fitted his personality, but also because it reminded me of Lando Calrissian's "Calrissian Chronicles" from the Solo movie, which made it perfect in more ways than one. And while I have limited knowledge of the character Ciaphas Cain from the Warhammer 40,000 series, I can almost imagine him being comparable to both Qwark and maybe his dimensional counterpart, Quantum, so I would not mind a Qwark-centric story that delves into such a story concept.

Anyway, not exactly an action-packed update, but I needed to make an update all the same, so that is what I did.